Spring Cleaning! Spriiing Cleaning!

[forcegalactic]

Characters: Barkeep and OPEN
Where: House A-08, Space Saloon
When: April 04-11, then whenever before the event
Summary: It may still be a little chilly, but it's due time for spring cleaning. Bother him whenever. Then, he goes back to work at the Space Saloon.
Warnings: Possible drunk times in the second prompt

A. April 4th - 11th, House A-08

The sun had risen over the rooftops of the surrounding homes, Ramza had gone off to work with a packed lunch - despite his protests that he had more than enough to eat at the station, Mordecai would hear none of that. Police work involved lots of running around, and he wouldn't let any amount of polite contrariness stop him. The days were getting warmer, and with the sun illuminating the inside of the house earlier and earlier each morning, the dust sitting everywhere became obvious to the trained eye.

When even was the last time he did a thorough cleaning of the house? This sort of thing could not stand. Mordecai slammed the mug of coffee onto the table and snatched a piece of paper from the stationary drawer.

"Annie! Get this letter down to the Space Saloon. Tell 'em to take over my shift today and tomorrow!" He paused his writing. "Actually, the whole week. I got a lotta work to do here."

The Moogle grumbled and refused to smile or even thank the barkeep even as she flew out of the house.

Mordecai substituted his battle robes for a familiar vest and a coat, filled a basin with water, and went to work on dusting the living room. Then his and Ramza's room (he had to remind the young man to reorganize the closet. bedsheets were taking outside, and with the aid of leather gloves, he scrubbed them on the washing board while he watched the residents of the neighborhood walk by. Mars was a cold planet, and despite the initial internal complaints, early spring in Aqures Ixen wasn't all that bad. Life was different when you didn't have access to luxuries like washing machines, and he could feel muscles growing in his arms after every laundry day. He will return home buffer and wiser, he comforted himself each time his arms ached.

The next day, he took the rugs out for a beating, washed the windows, and took the wooden chairs' cushions out for a cleaning. The couch was next...if he could get it out properly. Despite all the exercise from housework - though he was getting sore - he wasn't strong enough to lift a couch on his own. He stood in the doorway of his own house stroking his moustache and eyeing the piece of furniture like philosophy's next biggest dilemma.

The remaining days were slower, dedicated to organizing the pantry and cleaning out the entire kitchen cabinets. With the extra time, he decided to cook something nice for Ramza. Stew was a good meal, easy to watch over while he disinfected the sink.

A knock on the door caught his attention, and he dropped his rag before running to the door, wiping his hands on his apron.

"Evenin'," he automatically responded when he opened the door.

B. April 12th - 19th, Space Saloon.

The assistant bartenders sighed in relief when they saw the boss return. The saloon was a lot of young visitors celebrating the start of spring, but no broken tables or anything, really. The barkeep wasn't ready to take their word for it, but if they did their best, what could he do? It was another sunny day.

For the rest of the week, he took his regular position at the bar, tending to customers, checking through the books, and listening in on any new gossip. Behind his desk was a newly written story born out of recent interactions with Dr. Cid. There were some people he wanted to show it to.

Comments

/o/

[confidentia]

Ace, on the other hand, didn't consider Cid to be a proper candidate for caretaking duties of any kind, given the man's short temper - but such seemed to be the trend among those in the lead, which was something he'd already taken note of during his academy days. Though animals had their ways in swaying the hardest hearts, one had first to deserve their kindness... but perhaps, just perhaps, he could grow to be more lenient about his personal rules.

"This isn't how I tend to spend my evenings, I have to admit." The cadet inclined his head in a polite nod before taking a seat. He was quick to refuse any drinks, but the mention of snacks had his eyes sweep over to the other end of the counter, where someone else was currently busy digging into the contents of their bowl. It hadn't been his reason for coming there, but he was slowly beginning to see the appeal of getting some food.

"I'll pass on drinking, thanks. But maybe...." There was still some hesitation on his part as he spoke. "Something to eat sounds good. I'm not picky, so I'll gladly go with whatever you would recommend."

[forcegalactic]

"Wouldn't recommend doin' this too often, even if said advice goes against the basic principles of capitalism, you know, makin' sure I get all the profits I can. But at the same time, this is a saloon." He chuckled to himself as he pulled out a copy of the menu and slid it onto the counter. "You don't meed much advertisin' to get folks to come here."

The list of foods ranging from fried snacks to soups to hearty meals. "I'll let you pick whatever you want, but lemme tell you. I highly recommend the stuffed cabbage. Warm, and I have lots left over from today."

He had to get rid of stock, after all.

[confidentia]

Ace's expression softened at the unexpected words of honesty, prompting a smirk he couldn't stifle. "And making a regular customer out of a police officer wouldn't help your business much, I presume. You know what you're doing." Although he was nothing but an ordinary patron outside of his patrol hours, he could no longer consider himself a completely anonymous figure.

Grabbing the menu, he mindlessly flipped it in his fingers before giving it a momentary glance. While his interest had been captured, he still failed to feel actual hunger, it just seemed like a rational decision tohis mind at the time. A way of saving his Moogle the effort of fussing over his well-being, if anything.

So, cabbage it was. "It's all right, I guess I can trust you on that." Placing the card back on the counter, he straightened up in his seat, mulling over his next choice of words. Despite having had his practice, he still couldn't claim to be skilled at initiating small talk.

"... How long do you stay open?"

[forcegalactic]

That was a simplistic way of looking at it. "Kid, once you get older, you're gonna see policemen comin' here regularly after work like it's nothin'. Take Sparks Nevada, for example. Overly dedicated to his work, still comes to my saloon once a week. Can't blame him, what with him bein' one of the few lawmen on Mars." He waved at a couple that was leaving before continuing. "He doesn't come here as often now that we're on another planet, but you can't break old habits that easily."

He stepped out form behind the counter, ready to run to the kitchen to prepare Ace's meal, when the question stopped him. There was never small talk with the Barkeep; there was only all talk.

"After midnight. No one in their right mind goes out to drink in the mornin'. But durin' the middle of the week, I close a bit early when it's light out. That way I can get home in time to have dinner with Ramza. But don't you worry, I still got time before I close today." With that, he turned to the kitchen. There were other customers waiting for him, and further talk would have to wait until he returned.

[confidentia]

Kid. It was a manner of address Ace wasn't quite used to, tensing ever so slightly at the unexpectedly paternal tone. "... You think?" Doubt seeped into his voice, and he wasn't expecting to hear an answer, though there was also the mention of Sparks that instantly piqued his curiosity. The man never made a secret out of his previous work experiences, but it was as far as his personal talk went, so that certainly was an interesting piece of information. The cadet had managed to learn a couple of things about this... Mars, though as he'd happened to notice, Earth usually won in terms of popularity.

Though he figured the Barkeep must have been used by the busy routine by now, he certainly didn't want to get in the way. Trying to relax his shoulders, he leaned slightly back and waited, eyes tracing the intricately arranged rows of bottles in the back. Still not interested.

However, he had an answer at the ready for when the Barkeep got back, along with a quiet word of thanks. "It seems to me like you're pretty familiar with the entire police station." After all, he'd just managed to hear Ramza's name as well. "I didn't know you two shared a place."

[forcegalactic]

The warm cabbage rolls had just been reheated, so they were steaming when they were laid out in front of Ace. Hero or not, the Barkeep though the teenager was too thin and needed more meat on his bones, and it was that thought that gave him pause. He really was starting to sound like his parents, wasn't he? Despite briefly coaching a youth league soccer team on Mars, he didn't monitor the teens' eating habits, but now that he had to regularly interact with people vastly younger than himself, he started to see how most young people acted. It was different than interacting with adults: they needed to be looked after more carefully. All this work had to be stressing Ace out, despite his outer appearance.

"I wouldn't say I'm familiar. More like I know a few folks." He slid his arms into a folded position on the table and relaxed. "I've known Sparks ever since he became Mars' new marshal, and Ramza's my roommate. It just so happens they both happened to go down the same career path. It ain't like we got much choices."

It was either help out with running the city, doing minimum wage work, or having the natural skill with running one's own shop. Mordecai was lucky to be in the last group.

But Ace's curiosity awoke the gossip inside his heart. "What, you got some questions about Sparks Nevada? Then I got all the answers! Don't be shy."

[confidentia]

Ace hadn't been lucky enough to hit the same growth spurt as most of his brothers, and there was little to do about it other than try his hardest to fight the inevitable remarks. Just as the Barkeep had noted, he was also unusually thin for a soldier, but there was more strength to his body than it might have seemed. His eating habits, too, could be considered more or less healthy on a normal day. He had no issue digging into his plate as it was offered to him, at least, feelings of hunger resurfacing at the sight and scent of a warm meal.

"It's good." While he'd never been taught proper table manners, he could still appreciate the efforts of a skilled cook with words of courtesy.

"Somehow, this sounds less fun when you phrase it that way. Inquiring about people's lives... I mean," he absentmindedly sifted through the food with his fork, looking thoughtful, "as a superior officer, he can be insufferable, but at least he's consistent, and fair when it comes down to it." Unlike those eager to abuse their position in order to trouble their subordinates with pointless tasks; it was people like Cid who made his patience run thin.

And these days, he didn't have much of a patience to begin with. "Though maybe there's something. Were the horses really that big of a deal on Mars?" That outright contempt for all things Chocobo interested him far more than whatever spicy details the Barkeep had in store. He also found enjoyment in listening to stories about different worlds, it didn't happen often enough.

[forcegalactic]

There was a brief wave of disappointment with Ace's lack of enthusiasm. Sparks Nevada wasn't a perfect hero of the law, and keeping tabs on his little escapades kept the Barkeep's perception in line. Thankfully, not all was lost.

"He's good at what he does, that bein' catchin' outlaws and managin' the paperwork, but his peoples skill can use work. Like, a lot of work. I'm not surprised he gets all antsy when it comes to doin' work the way he likes it." He always had been insufferable, even with Croach (who despite protests otherwise, was clearly his best friend). There was not reason Sparks would be friendly with new hires.

"Horses? Why that? Everyone who's got the means has a horse, but it ain't that big a deal." That was no excuse to hate on the local transportation, even if they were giant chickens. "Horses are a heck lot easier than stage coaches when it comes to travelin' Mars terrain, but it's the same thing here with Chocobos."

He didn't see anyone here hate Mercury or Rialynn's horse.