Angel and Julian || At The Club (Backdated)

[x-firestar.livejournal.com]

Angel finally goes to check out Julian's club, and the two talk about how weird their lives are. Backdated to 8/23



The bass thudded against the insulated glass of the office, which overlooked the sea of bodies- most of whom were in outrageously skimpy costumes. Julian pushed a TK field against the glass from a few feet away, savoring the feel of the vibrations against his entire body; this may have had something to do with the fourth glass of wine he'd just finished. Below, in the crowd, he noticed a familiar ginger looking gobsmacked and made his way to the large desk nearby to have security bring her up.

Gobsmacked, perhaps, but Angel was still having the time of her life. She flagged down the bartender, ordering the fruitiest thing she could find, and turned to admire the impressive club. Jeez Julian, you don't do anything small in any universe, do you?

She was just getting her drink when a security guard caught up with her and informed her the owner wanted to see her. "Could've just sent a text but no," she said with a giggle as she followed the guard upstairs.

Julian had moved to a couch overlooking the dance floor, a new glass of wine to hand as he reviewed some expense reports that Harry had flagged as odd. As Angelica entered, he nodded for the guards to shut the door behind him, "Miss Jones, what brings you to my den of darkness and depravity." He kept a serious expression for as long as he could before a smile cracked through.

Angel, to her credit, managed to keep a straight face as she said, "I was actually sent by your competition to scope out the place and bring back all your trade secrets. They figured you would never suspect someone close to you. It was the perfect plan."

"Classic Black Court," Julian rolled his eyes and made a motion for her to sit with him. "Harry wouldn't have taken that joke nearly as well as I did, Angel," he poured her a glass of wine from a decanter on the table, "I'm glad for both our sakes that you came here on a night when I was on duty."

"Well if it was Harry I probably would have even been given the opportunity to make that joke," Angel said with a wink as she took the glass. "So moot point. How's your night going? Looks thrilling."

"One of my bartenders is skimming the til," Julian shrugged and set the paperwork down. "You know...I never thought I'd miss getting shot at by terrorists or...or, being kidnapped and forced into a reality television death-trap."

"Can't trust anyone these days, huh?" Angel said as she leaned against the desk, still sipping her wine. "Do you really think being trapped in a television death-trap is better than paperwork though?"

"Oh, absolutely not- I'm more than happy to take a desk job. I get my fill of panic from helping the New Mu...um...Generation X." He took a drink from his glass, then set it on the table next to the decanter. "So, what do you think of my place?"

"Hey at least they've stayed out of trouble so far. Makes me wonder what the end of the year is going to bring though." Angel sipped her drink, smiling. "It's great. I really hope the bartender down there isn't the one skimming because he makes a great strawberry something."

"He's the same one from the penthouse party...I guess he kept his skills in the change- but no, I don't think it's him." A thought seized Julian, "I should hire Gabriel to work here- he has experience, and could put that speediness of his to work." He turned to Angel and chuckled, "And then I'd know who was skimming the til for certain."

"Ah, good. Good to know some things never change." Angel laughed, sipping her drink. "Aaaawww, Gabriel's a lot of things but I don't think...well. He'd make a damn good drink too so it'd be worth it."

Julian was quiet for a moment, mulling over something in his head before turning it over to his companion, "I wonder if we'd lose business for hiring a mutant?"

"Probably." There was no point in denying it. "Be a big huge scandal. The next Watergate." It sounded sarcastic, but her tone said otherwise. It was the truth, after all.

"Laugh all you want, ginger-" Julian took a long drink before continuing. "People aren't as tolerant as they used to be." The club co-owner moved toward well-stocked bar on the opposite wall to refill his drink. "I swear, I'm immune to this stuff now."

"I wasn't laughing," Angel pointed out quietly. She knew just as well as Julian how miserable this world was. She wasn't stupid.

"No..." he admitted, solemnly, as the golden liquid poured from the bottle, ultimately emptying it. Turning back to his guest, his smile gone, he met her lovely eyes, "No, you weren't. I did not intend to bring you up here to slight you- if I've offended..."

"All good." Angel threw back the last of her own drink, sighing. "And hey, you ever decide you want to harbor a mutant or an alien or whoever needs harboring, you'll always have my support."

Julian scoffed, "Aliens, right." He looked down on the dance floor again, the alcohol giving him a comfortable burn inside his chest. "Still, if we needed a place to hide such a person...a, hmm, non-alien, human who happens to...I don't know," he turned back to Angelica. "Shoot thunder from his eyes or something, this place is like a damn onion. Layers, within layers."

"If we ever get one who shoots thunder from their eyes I'm retiring," Angel joked. "But yeah, that's always an option. The last place anyone would ever think to look."

"And any flat-scans," he rolled his eyes, "don't give me that look. Any humans who do see them would just think it's a costume or something."

"Halloween here would be a awesome," Angel pointed out with a grin. "Who can tell the difference between a really awesome rich person costume that looks authentic and a mutant?"

"They can't, which is kind of the point," Julian shrugged. "Harry, my roommate, knows that I'm a mutant for some reason, and thought this would help me blend. Homosapien guilt I guess?" Moving over to his desk, he grabbed his tablet and pulled up some charts on it. "As for Halloween, you'd think we'd be busy, but apparently not." He held the touchscreen out to Angelica, showing several graphs that showed a dip in sales around Halloween, but a sharp increase after. "We don't even open on October 31st anymore."

"Hey, be grateful you have an understanding roommate I'd say," Angel said as she took the tablet, raising an eyebrow. "What, really? That's crazy."

"Too much, cheaper competition- why buy a ten-dollar daiquiri here when you can get one for half the price with all the atmosphere elsewhere." Julian shrugged and settled back onto the sofa, "We've been considering trying to arrange some sort of special with local costume shops for super discounted prices on Halloween- but, it's not worth it. We make enough money the rest of the year to close one night a year, and it adds to our mystique."

"That's fair." Angel looked out the window, examining the packed floor below. "You guys certainly don't see to be hurting for anything."

"Yeah, everything is going really well- I take credit for it, but...and I'll never admit to this if you repeat it, but I do ridiculously little here." Julian joined her at the window, "Harry runs things, I just send out some tweets and sign the checks- oh and deal with firing people." Leaning against the glass he turned to his companion and smirked, "Feel like dancing?"

Angel grinned, pushing herself up. "Don't worry your secret's safe with me. Meanwhile I thought you'd never ask. Let's go."