Window Table

[hades]

"This place can be cold, dark, chaotic, and the colors are dull--browns, grays, blacks..."

"I guess I never think about that," Hades said with a small shrug. "Boston is just as dark as here... pretty close to the same all around. Gets a little colder in the winter but other than that, the same." He listened to her continue, watching her as she talked.

"And, no one judges you by the color of your skin-- well, no one that matters anyways."

"I never got that," he said, tapping his fingers against his coffee mug, shrugging again. "I never got why people would be so obnoxious about something like that. None of their damn business, you know?" He watched her as she let her hair fall into her face, looking at her almost curiously as she hid behind it.

His father may have been a horrible person, but his mother was one of the fairest, nicest people he know. She'd done her best to raise him and his sister to respect other people, something he wasn't soon going to forget. They hadn't cared what anyone's skin color was, and he certainly wasn't going to start now.

"People that pay attention to that kind of shit aren't worth anything," he continued, his tone slightly softer than before. "It's not what you look like, it's who you are. Simple as that."

[lunayoung]

"I never got why people would be so obnoxious about something like that. None of their damn business, you know?"

"Yeah..." Luna replied quietly, tracing circles with her finger on the tabletop. "Some people just can't except others who look different from them..."

"People that pay attention to that kind of shit aren't worth anything," he continued, his tone slightly softer than before. "It's not what you look like, it's who you are. Simple as that."

Luna tucked her hair behind her ears and looked up at Hades giving him a half smile, "Yeah... I guess you are right." She set her utensils on her empty plate and pushed it to the edge of the table. "Thanks, Hades... No matter what anyone else thinks or how you portray yourself to everyone, I think you're sweet..." She reached out and gently laid her hand on Hades arm.

[hades]

"No matter what anyone else thinks or how you portray yourself to everyone, I think you're sweet..."

Hades chuckled lightly, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth as he glanced over at her. He pushed his hair out of his eyes as she laid her hand on his arm. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't go spreading that opinion around."

He wasn't used to anyone having a good opinion of him. It wasn't that he was an overtly mean person, it's just what came with the territory of being a fighter. Combine that with his general antisocial tendencies and before he knew it, he had an reputation and image that did not necessarily fit him but managed to get the job done. He didn't care what anyone thought of him -- the ones who were important enough would know the truth.

[lunayoung]

As she listened to Hades chuckled and saw him smile, Luna's stomach did a little flip-flop--a totally unexpected response. These things she was feeling startled and confused her. She only ever reacted this way when she was with Snoddy...

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't go spreading that opinion around."

Luna let out a little giggle as she slowly pulled her hand back, "Oh, don't worry about that, Hades. Your secrets safe with me. I promise." She rested her forearms on the edge of the table, looked down at her hands, and began to pick at her nails--a nervous habit she'd had since she was a child...

Luna bit her bottom lip and looked up at Hades. Realizing it would probably make him uncomfortable if she tried to express how she was feeling--which she was never afraid to do but most of the time didn't turn out so well--she decided it'd be best to change the subject.

Luna flashed Hades one of her big dimpled-smiles, "You said you had a twin sister... You mind telling me about her? Is she like you? My brother Harrison and me, are exact opposites. He's the shy, quiet, obedient type and I'm... not. And, we were really close but because we're so different we were always arguing about stupid stuff... I do miss him though."

[hades]

"You said you had a twin sister... You mind telling me about her? Is she like you?”

“She’s a lot like me,” Hades replied after a moment of thought, rubbing his jaw. “Beatrix is quite a bit like me, though she tried to hide it a lot. She’s got the temper, the mouth, she just keeps it quiet.” He paused, smiling a little to himself. “So I guess… exactly like me. Except she doesn’t go around fighting people. She found different ways to deal.”

“And, we were really close but because we're so different we were always arguing about stupid stuff... I do miss him though."

Hades watched her as she spoke about her brother, slowly taking a sip of his coffee. “I miss Beatrix. We never really fought. She’d yell at me sometimes, for doing stupid stuff, but that was about it. I really miss her… worry about her. I worry about her and my mother.” He frowned, shaking his head a little. “Wish I could’ve brought her with me.”

[lunayoung]

“Wish I could’ve brought her with me.”

Luna smiled, reached across the table, and placed her right hand on top of Hades' left hand--it was resting flat on the tabletop. "Well, if she's as tough as you described, at least you know that she can handle herself and take care of your mother while your away... Until you can see them again." She caressed the back of his hand gently with her thumb a few times in a soothing manner.

_{(Sorry, it's so short. I'll try to make the next longer.)}

[hades]

"at least you know that she can handle herself and take care of your mother while your away..."

"Yeah, I certainly hope so," he said, running his hand through his hair before resting it on top of her hand that was on his for a moment. "Don't know what I'd do if I went back. Not exactly welcome, or anything." He realized he was rambling and frowned a little, taking his hand off hers to grab his coffee and take a sip. "Sorry, I don't mean to go on like this."

[lunayoung]

"Sorry, I don't mean to go on like this."

Luna gently caressed Hades' hand with her thumb a few times before reluctantly putting her hand back in front of her. "It's perfectly alright. It's actually nice to have someone to talk to lately who kind of knows what you're going through. Sure, several of the kids here left family but not many of them have probably left behind a twin. That's different than just leaving behind a sibling..." A brief hint of melancholy flashed across her face, thinking about Harrison.

The waitress came over to their table--pulling Luna back from her thoughts--and set their check down on the tabletop, and quickly began clearing the empty dishes from the table with a look of annoyance on her face. A smile slowly crept onto Luna's face as she watched the waitress--who was obviously trying to avoid eye contact with the two of them--clear the table. As she walked back towards the kitchen, Luna burst out into a fit of giggles.

Luna looked up at Hades and shook her head as the giggles subsided. "I wonder what's wrong with her?" she asked rhetorically.

[hades]

"Sure, several of the kids here left family but not many of them have probably left behind a twin. That's different than just leaving behind a sibling..."

Hades frowned, folding his arms across his chest. He regretted more and more every day leaving her behind. Leaving at all. It had been the right thing to do, but he wished he had given it more thought, more time. Everything had happened so fast, and now he had no idea what was going on back home. And that killed him. "It is different. Very different. We're closer than people who are just siblings. It's not cliche, it's true."

His eyes flitted up to the waitress when she came back over to the table, his expression not softening in the least. The entire time she cleared the table he just watched her, pieces of his dark hair falling into his eyes. A smirk twitched at the corners of his mouth when she turned and walked away, and his eyes went back to Luna when she giggled.

"I wonder what's wrong with her?"

"So very many things," he said under his breath, despite knowing she wasn't actually looking for an answer. He knew he looked worse for wear and he was used to people avoiding him because of it. He welcomed that. But when it turned into rudeness, that's when he got annoyed. He may be many things, but rude was not one of them.

[lunayoung]

"It is different. Very different. We're closer than people who are just siblings. It's not cliche, it's true."

Luna folded her arms in front of her and rested them on the tabletop. She sighed and then replied, "Yeah. And, I know it also sounds cliche but you feel like you've left behind a part of you..." Thinking about her twin, a single tear slowly trailed down her cheek. It had been a long time since she had shown emotions such as these to anyone; not even Snoddy, her best friend, had seen her cry.

[hades]

Hades glanced across the table at her, his frown deepening slightly at the sight of the tear streaking down her cheek. Without even thinking about it, he reached over and brushed it away with his thumb. He wasn't sure how she'd take it - his hands were rough and calloused, hardly soothing. "No, I understand," he added quietly.

[lunayoung]

Luna forced a smile onto her face and tilted her head into Hades' hand for a moment or two, enjoying the feel of the rough, calloused hand against her cheek. Then, she reached up and gently pulled his hand away from her cheek, gave it a little squeeze, and--without releasing it--rested their joined hands back on the table. "It's nice to finally know someone who does," she replied softly.

She looked up at him and began to study his face--every cut, every bruise, every line. How does someone she just met make her open up more than her best friend ever had?

[hades]

"It's nice to finally know someone who does."

"Yeah." He didn't look down at their hands, except out of the corner of his eye. He didn't want to make a fuss about it, or embarrass her if she wasn't aware of it. His eyes met hers a moment, but hers were so searching on his face that he looked away. "I think you're the first person I've told about her. Well, I mean, it's not like I'm overrun with people trying to get to know me or anything, but..."

[booster]

(New day!)

There had been a rather rowdy group sitting at the window table. All boys, leaving crumbs and dirty napkins behind, and as Rosalyn collected their money, she stifled a laugh. She wasn't laughing at them; she was more amused by the mess they made. They'd enjoyed their meal and had a good time, and Rosalyn didn't see anything wrong with that. It was just funny.

"Thank you, boys," She replied, giving them an amused but warm smile. "Have a nice day." She turned away and headed over to the cash register, dropping the couple of bills and several coins into it before grabbing a circular tray and walking back to the newly messy window table. The girl began clearing the dishes away, stacking plates and setting cups alongside them.

The sun had actually managed to show up today, and it was hitting the window just right, bringing a little bit of warmth into the restaurant. Rosalyn smiled to herself, finally letting out the quiet laugh she'd been holding in as she wiped crumbs away from the table's surface. Her strawberry blonde hair was tied back in a low ponytail with a deep red ribbon, and she wore a regular creme colored dress; not too fancy, and it was okay if it got something spilled on it. As a waitress, you had to be prepared for that sort of thing, of course!