bakerstreet | Denny's

[ in the back, one cup coffee in front of him, not drinking it. ]

Edited 2022-08-16 12:06 (UTC)

[ it’s 3am in this little diner, and she is sliiiding into the booth seat across from him. ]

…I’m famished, what about you?

[ …aka, hi there, mister sociable. ]

[ of course, she would be the one to find him and decide to join him. others have noticed but kept their distance, whispering their judgments over a plate of waffles or somesuch.

he ignores them. but, he can't ignore her. ]

I'm fine. I don't get hungry.

[ but the coffee wasn't bad. ]

[ ironically, the curious glances from onlookers largely vanishes when she claims the seat across the table, possibly dispelling that ethereal and mysterious aura about him a bit. they must assume he was waiting for her to join him — a colleague, friend perhaps, or maybe something more with the fond way her eyes rove over him, her trademark smirk curling at her mouth.

the waitress comes by to take her order, and flipping quickly through the menu, she decides on: ]

Belgian waffle, please, with strawberries and whipped cream. And a side of those little link sausages.

[ tilts her head to look at him, again — ] Sure you don't want something? My treat, of course.

Edited 2022-08-17 17:45 (UTC)

No, I'm fine.

[ he has coffee, at least. he wasn't sitting there just staring out at the other diners in that creepy way that he has. that's progress. ]

You visit this diner often or is this just an interesting coincidence?

[ again, baby steps. it's a good thing he's making progress; johanna's faced down literal demons, but the dream lord's penetrating stare is a little unnerving all on its own.

the waitress brings her coffee almost on instinct and she nods thoughtfully as it's set down, piling in cream and sugar until it's milky-sweet. ]

I've come here a few times before; it's one of the only places open, this time of night. But this is still a coincidence — I didn't expect to see you, here.

[ tilts her head to regard him with that faint smirk. ] What brings you? You could have always sent your raven, if you felt the need to observe.

I wanted a coffee.

[ the coffee that's sitting in front of him, full and cold. he doesn't really know what brought him here, if he's honest. he sighs and sits back, eyes flicking around the area before they settle back on her. ]

I'm not here to observe. I'm here —

[ because he'd been driving lucienne mad and she'd made a strong suggestion that he take a break. ]

Would you prefer speaking with Matthew right now instead of me?

[ the smirk disappears, and she just looks at him for a long, perplexed moment.

when she speaks again, it's decisive, clipped. ]

No. I wouldn't have sat down, if it'd been your raven and not you. [ a beat. ] No offense to Matthew, of course.

[ and then her eyes narrow, as she tries to feel him out. ] Why do you ask?

[ even someone who could be as obtuse to human emotions as he could knew that he'd said the wrong thing there. he narrows his eyes and reaches for the coffee, fingers closing around it.

the ceramic is cold. ]

I'm sure Matthew takes no offense. I probably would have if I'd been turned away in lieu of a bird.

[ matthew would have been a better conversationalist, at least. he sits back, eyeing her steadily. ]

What were you out doing before this? Anything interesting?

[ johanna watches his eyes narrow across the table in a mirror image of her own, observes the way his fingers wrap around the cup of coffee that looks untouched and lost its aroma and must have gone cold an hour ago. she recognizes a deflection when she sees it, and she can't help but let it pique her interest.

morpheus is reticent enough already, but if he has something to hide, well. that's interesting.

she stirs her own cup idly, looking down at it for a moment and shaking her head in reply. ] Typical worknight for me; I wouldn't call that anything resembling interesting. But...

[ she lifts her gaze to meet his again, this time knowingly. she hadn't anticipated seeing him so soon like this, but now that he's here in front of her she sees no reason not to tell him. ]

...What I do find interesting, though, and I'm sure you'll agree with me, is that the demon I sent back to Hell tonight mentioned you by name. Said he had a message for Lord Morpheus. [ and she'd just managed to let him scream it out, before he'd been dragged back down into fire.

her brows lift lightly. ] ...You've been busy since we met, haven't you.

Did he?

[ he supposes that's not terribly surprising all things considered. though, if the lightbringer truly wanted to get a message to him, he thinks they would have found a better way than a demon that could be easily vanquished before getting to him.

which the lucifer should have known and probably did. hm. he tilts his head, thoughtful. ]

Did the demon tell you his name?

[ her voice is low, confidential, as she leans over her coffee cup - even though the demon's been banished, she doesn't need to shout about it for all in this diner to hear. ]

Choronzon. Told me more than that, though.

Said the Dukes of Hell are rallying against you for your disruption in their realm. Said you took something that didn't fairly belong to you anymore.
Said you publicly humiliated Lucifer.

[ it's right then that her food arrives, a fragrantly-sweet waffle concoction with red sliced strawberries, whipped cream, and powdered sugar. johanna gives a brief half-smile and glance as it's set down, before the waitress leaves and she turns her eyes on him again, eyes narrowing again but the smirk remaining. ]

...You want to tell me what the fuck's going on, now?

[ ah, that. yes, that's about what he expected to hear from a demon from hell since he would expect it to be fairly big news. lucifer wouldn't take it with aplomb and now he had an invasion from hell to look forward to.

he tips his head slightly to one side. ]

If I tell you, that involves you and this —

[ he gestures to the table though he means the entire business with hell. ]

You don't need to be involved in it.

[ ...too late, mate. the smirk drops again. ]

That's all well and chivalrous of you, isn't it. But I found that demon, Choronzon, occupying the body of Rachel's father.

[ and she doesn't need to remind him of that guilt she's already carrying, the weight of it compounded even more so now after tonight. ]

The host was chosen specifically because of his ties, to me. They knew I'd pass on the message.

[ she unfolds her napkin into her lap, using it as an excuse to avert her eyes momentarily. then she's picking up knife and fork to dig into the crispy, sweet mess on her plate, cutting and spearing a forkful of waffle, cream, and berries.

lifts it halfway to her mouth, and then stops, meeting his gaze again purposefully. ]

I'm afraid I'm already involved, so you're going to have to think up a new excuse not to enlighten me.

I could just leave.

[ but he doesn't because they both know she has a point. they've used her because of her connection to him and that's enough to set his jaw on edge. involving him is one thing, involving a mortal is another.

even if she is very unlike other mortals. ]

I went to Hell to retrieve a possession of mine that was taken during my imprisonment. Choronzon challenged me and chose the Lightbringer to be his champion. I prevailed and I left with my helm.

[ and had pissed off the entire dimension while he was at it. ]

I was hopeful Lucifer would take the loss and let it go.

[ ha. ]

[ she just tilts her head at him at first, chewing, a dab of whipped cream at the corner of her mouth, dark eyes bright on his. no, he won't.

she listens attentively as he gives her the bare-bones version of what occurred in hell, piecing together what he doesn't say in her mind to fill in the gaps. chose the lightbringer to be his champion...i prevailed, was hopeful lucifer would take the loss.

she swallows, her voice a low whisper. ]

...Jesus, fuck. No wonder they're pissed. You beat Lucifer Morningstar in a challenge of magic, didn't you, in front of all the legions of Hell.

[ the bloody bollocks on you, morpheus. her estimation of him has just taken on another gigantic leap — not that she'll be able to admit it to him.

but her eyes are wider and the dark gleam in them a bit brighter, and johanna licks the trace of whipped cream from the corner of her mouth, leaving a smirk in its wake as she shakes her head wondrously at him. ]

What I would've given for a ringside seat, to that one.

It was a fair fight. Lucifer had the opportunity to beat me and couldn't.

[ perhaps it had just been luck that had led him to victory or just sheer determination to get his belongings back so he could rebuild his realm. maybe it was a combination of both. he shrugs a shoulder and taps a finger against the ceramic of the mug. ]

And now that Lucifer has so kindly involved you in our matters, you might end up being close enough to our next encounter. Not that I know when that will be.

[ he doubts lucifer was going to forewarn him. ]

Or what will happen.

I don't doubt for a moment that it was fair.

[ something tells her he's not the type to cheat - whether people, or rules, or even something as benign as a game.

not that a game played with lucifer, ruler of hell, would ever be anything remotely close to benign, but still. the point stands.

it's what he says next, though, that has her momentarily abandoning her interest in her plate. ]

You're not pleased about that, are you.

About not being able to tell what Lucifer's next move is?

[ oh, he knows what she's referring to and he's being deliberately obtuse to give himself time to figure out what to say. ]

Wouldn't that bother you? Not knowing when the ruler of Hell was going to come calling?

dream — sandman, netflix

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