Even Spartans need coffee..

[freelanceryork]

Who:  York, Ianto Jones and [OPEN]
When:  Friday, January 3rd, 10am
Where:  The coffee shop
What:  Even Spartans need coffee.
Rating:  PG-13 for likely cursing
Status:  Incomplete and open

Comments

[teapot_jones]

Huh. Uniform.

The coffee shop was a wonderful sort of place, Ianto had decided. It was warm and coffee scented and tended to draw in almost every type of person. Today, it seemed it was a uniformed man with teeth nearly as perfect as Jack's. They almost went tzing! when the guy smiled.

Ianto watched the uniformed man from the moment the chimes over the door tinkled (it was a slow day) and tried to place the uniform, but failed. It wasn't from any military he knew and that was saying quite a bit. And when he asked for plain black coffee, Ianto straightened and grinned. "Of course. Just a cup? No sugar, no cream?" No, he wouldn't want either, Ianto felt.

[freelanceryork]

"No sugar. No cream. Just coffee. Sludge-like and disgusting, if you have it. But I'm relatively sure a nice place like this doesn't serve tar." He lifted his eyebrows and smiled easily again, then straightened up and set his hands palm-down on the counter again, blue eyes directing back up to the menu. "And what's good to eat? How about a muffin? Blueberry? That sounds great. I like blueberries."

You have never had blueberries, York. Delta supplied helpfully, from inside the Spartan's head. The blueberry became extinct on earth in 2803, when they were unable to gain sufficient light from the sun to continue to grow. The stores of blueberry specimens that had been collected were deemed to be too invasive to grow in the parts of the continent that they would thrive on. And the remaining seeds were stored into the DNA vault in 2817 and were never again removed.

"Blueberries it is." The blonde man smiled winningly across at the man, [Barista, his mind supplied].

[teapot_jones]

He seemed fairly certain about the blueberries. Ianto grinned and plopped a muffin onto a little plate, setting this down on the counter before he went to fetch a cup and fill it with coffee magic. "Mm, sorry, no sludge, no disgusting, no tar. Only caffinated wonderful. Some decaf, if you really insist on it, but there's really no point to decaf coffee." The scent rising from the cup Ianto set down was rich and warm, curling round in the air. Definitely not sludge.

[freelanceryork]

"Smells like fancy coffee. I'm sort of excited to try it." He flashed him a grin then pulled out his wallet. Earth. Canada. 2009. Delta helpfully chimed as York flipped through a few bills, then pulled one out and extended it out to the Barista. "I hope that sound cover it." It'd cover about ten drinks and ten muffins. But York clearly didn't know much better. Delta, ever-helpful, informed him that the amount was too high, but York didn't correct himself.. he didn't want to seem crazy.

[brainpanned]

River liked visiting Ianto at the shop. Beyond the fact that he was one of her favorite people, she found that he was feeding her growing addiction to coffee. (Plus, it was always entertaining to see her get the jitters.)

Today, when she entered the little cafe, she didn't spot Ianto behind the counter -- River never stayed for drinks when he wasn't here. About to leave, she saw him sitting at a table with another man and smiled as she skipped over.

"Ianto! Brought someone new for me!"

[teapot_jones]

..There was a small, green hologram on the table. Ianto could tell it was a hologram, because York's arm went right through it. He shook York's hand absently and murmured, "Ianto Jones," before waggling his fingers through the hologram. It wouldn't do anything to the hologram, but it was fascinating.

"Hallo, River," he called, when River skipped over. "This is York and his .. hologram. Delta."

[freelanceryork]

When he was called a 'hologram', the green suit of armor straightened up and turned to face the Barista"I am an artificial intelligence program, designated Delta. The holographic representation of a suit of Spartan armor that you see before you is merely the form that I have chosen for myself that helps human beings to gasp the concept of artificial intelligence as a person that can be spoken to and reasoned with. I am a Smart Program and I am capable of learning, as well as reasoning, logic, and even the understanding of human emotion. To say that I am merely a hologram is incorrect. The light show before you, is no more me, than the clothes that you wear are you. You are able to change your clothing as I am able to change the shape that you see. I may be any color and any shape I please." This was all stated very matter-of-fact from the seven-inch figure standing on the table

[brainpanned]

River wasn't young! She'd rather protest to being called such. Eighteen made her an adult in every sense of the word, mature and -- and wise and oh look at that little green suit of armor standing on the table.

Jaw dropping slightly, River nearly missed the handsome man's wave as she crouched eye-level with the little glowing image, wearing an expression that melted from unabashed confusion to a one-sided grin. And then she laughed, reaching forward to brush her fingers through the little man, giggling as he reformed around it. It was a bit similar to watching a cat play with the beam of a flashlight.

"Holographic volumetric display. Interface of diffracted light coupled with artificial intelligence." She laughed again. "And he speaks!"

[m_f4rr3ll]

Once Matt set his mind on something, he was usually rather determined to see it through. Okay. Well, not completely. I mean, sometimes more thought just revealed that it was a stupid idea or wouldn't logically work -- But if that something was a simple adventure like, say, a new graphics card or a cup of really delicious coffee? Yeah, Matt could do that

[teapot_jones]

Well, it was Canada and as such, one had to expect ridiculously cold temperatures. The locals swore to him that by the end of March it was mostly bearable and rather nice if damp (he could do damp. Wales was damp.) and he was looking forward to it.

Still, when the little chimes above the door tinkled, saying that someone had wandered into the little shop, Ianto looked up and smiled. "Matt," he welcomed and unfolded himself from his spot to wander back to his accustomed place behind the counter. "Venturing out in the cold, then? Have you met York? He's a new comer to the town as well. Can I get you something?"

[m_f4rr3ll]

Matt nodded in greeting, making his way to the counter. "Hi, Ianto. Uh, no, I haven't met and, yeah, I don't have anything in mind, maybe something with chocolate in it?" Breakfast seemed like a long time ago, and Matt was starting to feel a little fluttery. Stupid low blood sugar. He glanced at the occupied table, smiling a little awkwardly toward York, that's what Ianto said, right?, and River.

[freelanceryork]

York paused in his eating of pie (he'd just fed a piece to River), and lifted his eyebrows at the newcomer.. then flashed him an easy smile. "Well isn't he cute? Is this your Someone Important, Ianto?" Though he knew it wasn't. "You should come sit with us. There's enough room for four.. River and I will just get a little closer, is all." Since it was a three sided table, with the other side being pressed against the window.

Even as he said it, he was reaching down to take the leg of River's chair (since she was on the end), and he was tugging her closer to him in one smooth pull, and the glowing green figure to his left followed without hesitation.

[brainpanned]

It was quite unfortunate that the people River liked had a tendency to be those that Ianto hated. Or hated Ianto. But in considering, one must also realize that just about everyone in town found River agreeable.

Hence the protectiveness.

She sat back with her legs curled up beneath her on the chair and fingers warmed by the coffee, simply observing. It was what she did best, listening, and unused skills were hardly ever improved.

[teapot_jones]

"It doesn't work that way with some people," he said to Matt, clattering dishes and silverware back behind the counter. York's comment didn't go unheard, either, though Ianto didn't want to think of himself as a doormat. Finally, though, he looked up and offered them all a little smile. "It's alright. It's just .. really humiliating." Total loss of dignity.

[freelanceryork]

"Have you found a new place to live now? Or are you staying at a hotel?" York asked the question even as he glanced aside at Delta, who had turned to face the blonde man. They shared a brief moment of silence, where they were undoubtedly speaking to one another, before blue eyes came back to Ianto. "She's easy enough to buy off. She'll do just about anything for money. Or a good trade."

[brainpanned]

"She gave me a knife." Suddenly River was talking, feeling like she had something important to bring to the conversation, especially when it came to Texasmiss.

"I named it Edmond."