nextgen_citizen (nextgen_citizen) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2010-01-26 02:02:00

Entry tags:

Michael Sapt could not believe he had let the girls from the office conspire with their friend Bryn into getting him into this situation. But so it went. Sydney didn't sound bad at all, of course, but after all this time, he still wasn't sure how to go about having another relationship, so it was hard to say how well this could possibly go even if it did go well.

So he was sitting here in the Literati Cafe waiting to meet Bryn's sister. He'd arrived early -- as usual.

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sydney_ashcroft
2010-01-26 09:27 am UTC (link)

Syd smiled. "Yes, it is a difficult age and Zoey's a very peculiar child on top of it. Don't get me wrong, she's a great kid, but she has some very definite ideas about things."

Syd smiled. "Los Angeles is a good place for that. It's a very interesting city and a major business hub. The company I work for has an office here. What will you be importing and exporting?"

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	nextgen_citizen 2010-01-26 09:35 am UTC (link)
	"At the moment, clocks, of all things. It takes on a bizarre sort of humor when one has to make conference calls at two o'clock in the morning because of time zones. May I ask what you tend to find yourself doing?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sydney_ashcroft 2010-01-26 09:40 am UTC (link)
	Syd grinned. "Yes, I could imagine." Just how did she explain her job? Make that jobs. Baby sitting gods? Den mother to a superhero team? That wasn't even mentioning the Scion stuff. "I'm a cultural liaison to a small group of people. I help them adjust to living here in California. I also sit on a board of shareholders for a company." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_citizen 2010-01-26 09:48 am UTC (link)
	Well, that certainly sounded impressive and busy. "I can see how it could be a useful position for people new to America to have someone in. California can be like another world sometimes." "Does Zoey enjoy the cross-cultural experiences?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sydney_ashcroft 2010-01-26 09:51 am UTC (link)
	Sydney nodded. "It definitely can be. I grew up in San Francisco and LA is nothing like San Francisco. They're a unique bunch of people." That was a mild way of putting it. "Oh she is. So much that she emulates them on a regular basis. I have to remind her on a regular basis that we're mortal and not like them." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_citizen 2010-01-26 09:56 am UTC (link)
	Michael blinks. "...I'm sure that's a difficult fact to impress on a girl her age. So you work with the, um, Defenders?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sydney_ashcroft 2010-01-26 09:59 am UTC (link)
	Oooops. A slip there. "Yes, I do work with them. I'm sort of like the team den mother. Zoey adores all of them and wants to be like them." "I try not to announce that I work with them for various reasons. Mostly to keep Zoey safe." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

nextgen_citizen
2010-01-26 10:05 am UTC (link)

"Understandable enough, I suppose. Well, you can rest assured Bryn didn't spread it around." A pause. "Although I suppose it would explain her giggling when I mentioned that I fence -- which is, I assure you, only a hobby -- and attempting to determine that 'those really big kind of swords' weren't involved."

He stops speaking for a moment when the waitress arrives with their coffee and chai.

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	sydney_ashcroft 2010-01-26 10:25 am UTC (link)
	"Thank you," Syd said to the waitress. She took a sip of the chai and a look of almost pure bliss crossed her face. "That sounds like Bryn. She wouldn't know the difference between a broadsword, a cutlass, a rapier and a sabre. A sword is a sword to her. How long have you been studying fencing?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_citizen 2010-01-26 10:29 am UTC (link)
	"Well, we all have our particular gaps of knowledge." Michael smiles. "Eight years. It's still the most popular sport in Streslau, whether or not one's from the usual appropriate situation for it." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sydney_ashcroft 2010-01-26 10:43 am UTC (link)
	"True, very true. I'm in the process of trying to play catch up in the business world. I wanted to be a history professor, but somehow ended up in business. I'm still trying to figure that one out." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_citizen 2010-01-26 10:48 am UTC (link)
	Michael chuckles slightly. "My sympathies. The corporate world can be very intimidating even when you've prepared for it." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

sydney_ashcroft
2010-01-26 10:53 am UTC (link)

"You know what they say about life and plans," she said with a rueful smile. "I did get a little lucky. I go to board meetings, vote, and that's about the extent of my involvement. Thankfully Mr. Stark handles the rest of it."

Syd took a small sip of her chai. It was still a little on the too hot side.

"So tell me, what's Ruritania like? Is there one thing in particular that you like or enjoy the most?"

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nextgen_citizen
2010-01-26 11:22 am UTC (link)

"Ruritania's still very 'Old World,' as I hear it's called, just some parts in different ways. Most of the central parts of Strelsau haven't changed much in centuries; it's like a labyrinth. Further out to the Nicer Neighborhoods, and it's much as you'd see in plenty of modernized European suburbs. But not excessively far out from there, the forest's still thick. The trees are just as old and twisted and packed together as the buildings in Old Town. So there's constant company on one extreme, and peace and quiet on the other." He sipped his coffee and then shrugged. "I always kind of liked that."

"Things must have been even busier for you lately, then, with all the fuss at Stark Industries."

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	sydney_ashcroft 2010-01-26 08:41 pm UTC (link)
	Syd smiled. "It sounds lovely." Syd tucked a lock of hair behind one ear. "Do you miss being there?" "I've mostly been able to stay out of it. Mr. Stark really handles the day to day stuff." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_citizen 2010-01-26 08:55 pm UTC (link)
	"From time to time, but there are plenty of aspects I don't miss, too. The government's tried to make changes for the better in recent years, but there are still...problems." "Have you always lived in California?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

sydney_ashcroft
2010-01-26 11:26 pm UTC (link)

Syd nodded. It was the same with all governments. "Do you get to go back often? Do you still have family there?"

"I have. I grew up in San Francisco and just moved down here to LA three years ago. My sister wanted to pursue a career in acting so Zoey and I moved with her."

Syd tilted her head. "How do you know my sister? No offense, but you don't seem like the type of guy she normally associates with."

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nextgen_citizen
2010-01-27 03:28 am UTC (link)

"I've gone home each Christmas and one Easter since I've been gone. My mother and sister are still there, and we write a lot." He smiles. "Actual letters. They don't have a computer."

"I'm not positive how the girls from the office met Bryn, but we are next door to a casting agency. At any rate, they've done a lot of...chattering." He says it as delicately as possible.

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	sydney_ashcroft 2010-01-27 03:49 am UTC (link)
	Syd smiled at that. "The lost art of writing letters still lives on. I'd rather write things out as well. It's good that you get to go back and see them. Family is important." Syd shook her head. "It seems my sister's quest to hook me up with someone is branching out." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_citizen 2010-01-27 04:02 am UTC (link)
	"It is." A strained smile. "I'm sure it's...all well-intentioned." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sydney_ashcroft 2010-01-27 04:13 am UTC (link)
	"She means well and for some reason she thinks I need to date. I love her, but there are times I do wish she would stay out of my personal life." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_citizen 2010-01-27 04:27 am UTC (link)
	"Understandable." Michael nods slightly. "The girls at the office assure me it is a crime against God and man to have not had a girlfriend since college," he says drily. "At least -- if you will excuse the presumption -- this evening is not proceeding too horrifically?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sydney_ashcroft 2010-01-27 04:40 am UTC (link)
	"My sister feels the same about me not having a boyfriend since college." Syd gave him a smile. "To be honest? It's going great. The best blind date I've been on. Bryn usually sets me up with guys that are her type and who are not my type at all." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	nextgen_citizen 2010-01-27 06:11 am UTC (link)
	A returned smile. "Certainly good to have that established. Perhaps she is learning from trial and error?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sydney_ashcroft 2010-01-27 06:25 am UTC (link)
	"Hope springs eternal," Syd said with a smile. "I have no idea what goes through her head." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)