jla_watchtower | Beer Burger Pool!

Entry tags:

arsenal,
damage

Beer Burger Pool!

Philadelphia's night life can be wild if you know where to go. The wild days are over now, though, but there's places just as fun.

This endeavor is as much for Roy to show Grant the places in Philadelphia to drink, but also the places not to drink at. Nightwing-- Dick-- would probably have his head if he knew he was showing Mar'i's boyfriend how to drink, but someone's got to do it. No one likes hangovers, if Grant can even have them, and besides, friends show friends how to drink smart.

Roy hooks an arm over Grant's shoulder and faces him to the long boulevard that stretches out before them. Scattered about from side to side, down and down the block, bars: big ones, flashy ones, hole-in-the-wall bars.

"The trickiest part of your training will be bar food, young padawan. Let's find some grub and start the trials!"

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Grant is silent for several moments, focusing on his food, silently cursing himself for not realizing what was wrong with Donna. He'd been so wrapped up in his own stuff lately that he hadn't even noticed. Some kid brother he's turning out to be.

Setting the burger down, he plucks a few fries from the plate, dipping them in some ketchup, popping them into his mouth. Another sip of beer, and he clears his throat, looking back at Roy. "Donna's the best, Roy," he says, a tight smile on his face. "She can do the impossible. If she can get me to rejoin the Titans, she can get through this."

It would probably make Grant feel better to know Roy's been feeling the exact same way in regards to his schedule. So much planning before the wedding, and enjoying their life after while trying to keep the peace as much as they can. There have been speed-bumps; like Despero. He knows they'll get through it, though.

"We fought too long for this," he says nonchalantly. "We'll be okay, and individually, so will she. In time. I get that and all, but it's... it's complicated just being around her right now. Trying to steer it all without crashing the ship but you can't see, y'know?" He chuckles. "Women write in all those bonehead husband moves to Red Book and Cosmo. I don't want to ever be in there for that reason."

If he knows one thing at the moment, it's that Roy didn't bring him out to Philly's nightspots to talk about heavy, emotional stuff. This is supposed to be a chance for them to reconnect - the two Titans, who many have regarded as siblings, have exchanged only a handful of words since Grant actually returned to the team.

"Oh, come on - if you end up in Red Book or Cosmo, it's going to be for something a lot worse than that. I mean, how long have you and Donna known each other?" Grant asks, taking another sip from his beer, then setting aside the empty glass, reaching for his fresh one.

"Mar'i and I are talking about UPenn. What do you think? You in? We could car pool, eat lunch together. It'd be great," Emerson says, a wink betraying his sarcasm.

"Probably about as long as-- well, you!" he teases back. "But you're right. I'd probably have to do something really awful. Really, really awful. Like spit in her socks."

He thinks about that. "No, that's too much. That'd just get me crucified. Anyway, I looked into UPenn. It's good I guess, I just have no idea what I want to do. I actually eventually just started 'x'ing places out because they all look the same when you have no clue." There's obviously been some thought to it, though... "Temple's got a great engineering program. UPenn's full of doctors and professionals. Not sure I'd feel right there when really what I want to do is learn how to blow things up. Maybe get a bachelor's in engineering, work in demo. That'd be cool."

"You going to school to learn how to blow things up real good," Grant replies with a shake of his head. "Now why does that make a ridiculous amount of sense?"

Picking up his burger again, Grant takes a few bites, then sets it back down, chasing it with another swig of beer. Strangely, he's beginning to like the foul-tasting liquid. Tapping a finger on the table, he goes quiet for a moment, thinking how to approach this next topic.

"I told Mar'i," he says simply.

That makes the next swallow of beer go down hard. Roy could pretend Grant means the three-worded thing guys tells girls, but that'd just be a nice lie.

He smiles a little. Not meanly, but Grant might be a little tipsy. "Okay," he says, trying to make it casual. "How'd it go?"

Fingers tapping the side of his glass, Grant thinks back to that conversation with Mar'i. She'd gotten a pie for them that night. It had been his first time to see her apartment. Wonder if she's going to start looking for a place in Philly...

Looking up at the red-headed archer, a small smile pulls at the corners of Grant's mouth. "It went really well, actually," he finally says, the smile widening. "She knew something was wrong, because... well, I'm not sure exactly how. She just knew. But it didn't change anything between us."

Another sip of beer and his gaze returns to Roy. "Getting ready for the move and everything, we haven't gotten to see much of each other, but things are going well," he adds. There's no disguising the adoration in his voice.

"Bravo, man!" The kid hesitated and Roy's heart is just climbing back down from his throat for the few seconds it was clung there. Mar'i was a rational girl borne of, at least in this world, rational people. Roy hadn't expected to hear something bad, and hearing something good is a spectacular step-up.

"I'd buy you another round but it looks like you're having a fine time with that one." He's nibbling at the third pretzel now, dipping pieces in the beer. "That really is awesome to hear, though. Things were rocky for you there for a bit, but I'm glad to know things levelled out. Oh, and you're cute together, nyah."

Did Roy really just say he and Mar'i are "cute"? Aren't there man laws against that or something? Well, regardless, it would appear that Arsenal approves of the relationship. That the older Titan hasn't already asked a series of embarrassing questions regarding Tamaranean sexuality actually comes as something of a surprise to Emerson.

Glancing at his beer, Grant can't help but smile, then downs the rest of his glass, reaching for his burger and taking a few bites. That's when he sees Roy dipping bits of his pretzel into his beer.

"Is that any good?" he asks, a quizzical expression on his face.

"No," he says matter-of-factly. "I do it to practice suppressing my gag reflex." He gets through two more nibbles, and a swig of beer before he laughs openly.

"Yes, it is. It's not cheez goo... the cheese is in the pretzel dough. Soaks up the beer nice especially if you've got a good head on it."

"Har har," Grant replies, making a face at Roy's joke. Leaning back in his seat, Emerson pats his stomach, nodding a little. He has to hand it to the elder Titan - the place really did have a surprisingly good burger. And, now that he's finished his second one, he has to admit that the beer really isn't that bad.

"So, how long you figure until the new complex is ready to go?" he asks, stretching a bit.

Roy swivels the plate around with one finger so the other half of the pretzel is in front of Grant. "Welcome to try it yourself," he says.

Even thinking about the land almost gives him a migraine. It's the part of him that will always be a reservation boy and respect that around him. "The dredging work on the intermediary's gotta happen," he says with a sigh. "Not to mention all the security, and dealing with the local bureacrats... best case scenario, three months? Six? I dunno. Not like we need to leave the work to contractors entirely, though."

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Beer Burger Pool!

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