You catch your breath and winter starts again, and everyone else is springbound...

[w_for_wizard]

In the alley behind the Empress Theatre, there's the loud crack of a pistol, easily mistaken for a car backfiring or something else entirely unnotable. There's no reason to be alarmed about it, either - if anyone happens to poke their head into the alley, they'll just see Harry, tucking his pistol away and moving forward to inspect a small leather

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[despite_myrage]

((OOC: semi-late tagging ftw! Also, I'm sick so I apologize if anything doesn't make sense.))

Robin stops by the Conrad to do work on occasion. One time he stopped by to pick up a penguin. The narration digresses.

He pokes his head into the medical room to say hi to Grace, if she's there. Robin pauses at the expression on her face... and the broken file cabinet, which seems odd.

"Something the matter?"

[2ndchanceacharm]

Grace sets the files down and turns to face Robin with a faint smile. "No, it's fine. I was just... checking my files. In case... I don't know."

But except for the file cabinet, nothing appears to be out of place, so there's nothing to worry about.

[despite_myrage]

"In case, something... happened to them?"

Robin looks over the file cabinet, stepping inside. He can't really imagine what anyone would want with those files either. Unless they were looking for specific information about a wanderer. Still.

He takes a closer look at the file cabinet, reaching out to examine it.

"It seems odd that it would simply break like that. I suppose it wouldn't be the first time something... odd happened. Certainly not here. I'm not exactly an expert on file cabinets," he admits after a moment, making a face at it. "Believe it or not."

[2ndchanceacharm]

"I am shocked to hear that," Grace replies, somehow managing to remain straight-faced as she does. "I think my entire world view's just been shattered, now that I know you're not an expert on file cabinets."

She gathers the files into something resembling a neat pile, setting them on top of the cabinet to be put back later.

"Nothing seems to be gone, anyway, so I think it's okay. ...and hi, by the way. I haven't seen you around in a while."

[despite_myrage]

Robin raises his eyebrows, not quite managing a straight face. There's a small smile on his face.

"I apologize profusely. It was never my intention to shatter your world." He smirks at her. "Or lead you to incorrectly believe that I was the expert at everything. I do have my limits."

These limits are few. Of course.

He can't really imagine what anyone would want with the files at any rate. Is there anything in them that would be dangerous for someone to know? He doesn't think so.

"Hi," Robin says, shrugging his shoulders though he's still smiling. "I've been... busy. And I haven't been in the basement much since I... moved out."

[2ndchanceacharm]

"Well, yeah. New place and all, I kind of figured you wouldn't be around for a while..." She smiles over at him, and adds, "I have missed you, though."

She just wants to make sure he knows that. The way Chicago is, people disappearing at random... it's probably good to let your friends know that sort of thing every now and then.

[despite_myrage]

"There was a lot to do. A lot to sort out with... myself as well," Robin admits. It feels strange saying it out loud.

He smiles back at her. There's warmth and fondness in his gaze. It is good to know, even if he wishes that he had been capable of handling those issues and staying in contact. Regrets fill up his life. He's trying to learn how to move on.

"I've missed you, too," Robin says, softly. He clears his throat, gesturing toward the door and smiling, all charm again. "...do you want a cup of coffee? I was going to make a pot. Honestly, I've no idea what you all do for coffee when I'm not around. I shudder to think."

[2ndchanceacharm]

"I would love some coffee," she says, and grins at him. "Though I'll have you know that we do manage when you're not around. I kind of dread to think about what this place would be like if everyone were deprived of caffeine." She's pretty well convinced that Chicago runs on caffeine and alcohol in equal measures.

[despite_myrage]

Robin smiles back at her as he walks toward the door.

"I'm positive you all manage. People in cities all across the world... manage. It doesn't mean that I still don't shudder to think about it." The smile slips into a smirk. "It's a shame to think that the entire world can't enjoy my coffee."

Please, do not turn that into an innuendo, Robin.

"If there was no caffeine, I have a feeling that it'd be a lot like Apocalypse Now down here. Would anyone be able to function like civilized human beings?"

[2ndchanceacharm]

Grace drops in to follow at his heels. "Well, eventually, I'm sure the withdrawal would pass and we'd all be able to behave like something other than a bunch of addicts... Assuming, of course, we didn't kill each other in the mean time. I guess that's kind of a big if, there."

[despite_myrage]

"It's a huge if, Grace. Most of the people around here have no self control. You take away the one item in their life that keeps them calm. You take away their reason," Robin explains, as if he's spent so much time researching and thinking about this. "The ones that do have self control would be killed by the ones that didn't, turned into animals by the terrible beast known as... withdrawal."

He's talking rather plainly about it for someone who's experienced it firsthand.

Robin steps into the cafeteria and prepares a fresh pot of coffee. It's honestly like riding a bike. Something he will never forget. Even if he had amnesia, he's positive that he'd still know how to make his coffee.

[2ndchanceacharm]

"Well then, it's a very good thing we have people like you around," Grace says with a fond smile. She pauses a moment, and then hops up onto one of the counters, ankles crossed as she watches him prepare the coffee.

"So how is the new place?"