Now I know there’s no such thing; OPEN/CLOSED

[mississippis]

Who: Rogue and OPEN/CLOSED
Where: around Panorama, the Fringes, etc.
When: throughout February
What: catch-all

Warnings: will add as necessary

Comments

open;

[mississippis]

[ Happy to write starters or respond to tag ins. Rogue's CR meme comment is here.

She can be found around the Diadem:

At work at one of the greasy spoon diners around Panorama called the Pit Stop. It tends to cater to a less than savory clientele and she tends to work the overnight shift when it's not terribly crowded but the people who come in are usually rowdy drunks. The food's a little too oily but the pie's fantastic. If you're an adult with a bad attitude, she'll give it back to you. If you're a kid trying to steal food, she'll probably give you a doggy bag.

She's taken another part time job delivering candygrams for extra cash. (Moving out of the shitty motel and to somewhere like Acreage is on the forefront of her mind, but a gal needs decent money for that so...) Happy for this to facilitate meetings or mixups with deliveries.

If you bump into her at the chocolate river, she's most interested in seeing if there's anything to scavenge there. Otherwise, she finds the entire thing disgusting and is eager to get back on the road. ]

diner; for logan

[mississippis]

It's in the middle of another late night shift when she glances up from her problem table and sees Logan walking in.

Huh.

Not that she hasn't figured out that he's looking out for her in whatever way he can. (Though she wonders how he manages to find enough hours in the day with all the troubled cases that land on his figurative doorstep). But she's not expecting him to be blatant about it that he comes directly into the diner while she's working.

Then again... that might mean that something's wrong. And that thought earns him a brittle welcoming smile when she manages to catch his eye from where she's standing with a tray of entrees.

"Hey, sweetcheeks. You gonna service us or you gonna keep making eyes at the other customers?" The words are slurred nearly beyond recognition because this particular customer is drunk, bleary and red-eyed and probably here to soak up all the alcohol from a binge with greasy diner potatoes and bitter coffee. But Rogue's got about as much patience for it as she'd had for the guards in that lab.

Which is to say: none.

But it's his buddy's response that really sends her over the edge and turns the gritted-teeth, overly wide smile she's giving them into something else.

"I could go for being serviced by--" His friend starts, punctuating it by reaching out and giving her a slap on the ass.

She doesn't even hear how that sure-to-be-disparaging sentence ends, just starts putting plates down on the table. Leaves the bowl of hot soup for last -- Stan in the back is a real winner and always makes it boiling hot for her just to see if there'll be any fireworks that night -- and instead of putting it on the tabletop, upends it in the lap of the guy who seems to think it's okay to go around grabbing people.

And, really, she's got to hand it to him: his shriek is so high-pitched that it's got to be a full octave above anything she'd ever be capable of.

[carcajous]

Yeah, he doesn't usually walk out in plain view when he's checking in on her. Doesn't often stay long, either, though the nights when he's got the time, he'll have a smoke out back until she comes out.

But tonight's different. Tonight, he is looking to talk to her.

He steps through the door just before midnight, catching Rogue's gaze when she pokes out of the kitchen. Like always, he finds a table in the corner. Like always, most everyone else knows better than to bother him. Another waitress gets to his table, which is fine by him. He orders a coffee. Turns down the menu. The guys a few tables over don't escape his notice, but Logan's not here to pick a fight while Rogue's working. He's not trying to get her fired.

More he watches, though, the more tempted he is to get involved. Nearly does, in fact, 'til he sees her stride up with a steaming bowl in one hand. He can already tell what's coming, and sure enough—

Logan's eyes narrow. Part of him's waiting for the asshole's dumbass buddies to make it a thing instead of leaving with his tail between his legs like he oughta. With guys like these, you never know which you'll get.

And listen, Logan might've not started it this time, but he's more than happy to finish it.

[mississippis]

She’s temporarily forgotten that Logan’s there at all, mostly because this isn’t exactly an uncommon occurrence for her. It’s not the first time a customer’s been rude or handsy. And it’s certainly not the first time she’s retaliated.

Won't be the last either, more than likely.

So she knows the cook in the kitchen who’d given her piping hot soup is watching from his cutout window and giving the two men that look, the one that's just daring them to retaliate. And, like clockwork, the owner comes out from his office, pointing at her -- "Kitchen, go" -- like this has happened a few dozen times already and they've got the steps down pat.

There's a reason she still has a job: her boss and the rest of the staff enjoys watching her torment rude customers.

Rogue actually follows this directions this time -- mostly because these seem like the type of guys to throw fists -- but she's only in the kitchen long enough for her boss to start leading the screaming (and soup covered) customers to the door before she's slipping back out with a pot of fresh coffee and another mug to slide in across from Logan.

It's break time for her. Apparently.

"It's always something in this place," she says, eyes darting to where one of the guys is getting a hard shove out the door. "And you came on a calm night."