A quaint little shop (Stargate Atlantis/Black Books)
A quaint little shop.
Author: partofthequeue2
Pairing & Fandoms: Elizabeth Weir, Stargate Atlantis/Bernard Black, Black Books.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: Alcoholism, one swear word, mild verbal cruelty to employees :D
She had been expecting to jump on a plane straight back to America, however, her discussions had gone on longer than expected and she had missed the plane, the next one with a spare seat wasn’t due to leave until the next day, so Elizabeth was stuck in London. Instead of sitting around in her hotel, she had decided to explore a little, and that was how she found herself outside a quaint little second-hand bookshop with the name Black Books.
The windows were covered in a layer of dirt, although there was a slightly overweight man, with long hair and a goatee trying his best to scrub them clean, not that he was getting very far.
She entered the shop to the sound of a bell tinkling over the door and the smell of cleaning products, dust and stale cigarette smoke. Rows of shelves covered the walls, all were bulging with books, and there were several tables in the middle of the shop piled high with books. At the back of the shop was a man dressed all in black, with dark messy hair, a cigarette hanging from his lips and a glass of red wine in his hand.
As she moved further into the shop, the man in black yelled out, in a strong Irish accent, to the one who was cleaning the windows.
“Manny! You ape! What are you doing?”
“I’m cleaning the windows, Bernard, so that we can have natural light. You do remember natural light don’t you?” the one called Manny replied.
Bernard shuddered. “Yes I remember it, nasty stuff, I don’t want any of it in my shop Manny! I refuse to allow it to come in here and make me feel bad!”
“Yes Bernard”, Manny sighed.
“Good! Now go make me a cup of tea”.
“Yes Bernard”, Manny shook his head at his employer and trudged through a curtain into the back of the shop, dragging his bucket of cleaning products with him.
Elizabeth had watched the exchange from the shelves. She approached the desk where Bernard was to pay for the book of poetry that she had found. “Do you speak to all your employees like that?” she asked.
“What?” Bernard looked at her as if she had appeared from nowhere.
“I said, do you speak to all of your employees like that”, Elizabeth repeated.
“I only have one employee, and he loves it, he lives for it, it gives him a purpose in life”. Said Bernard, taking a sip of wine.
“Really?” asked Elizabeth, surprised.
“No! I do it because it makes me feel good! Now what do you want you skinny, nosy, American…” Bernard trailed off, taking a drag on his cigarette, before leaning forwards and looking at her almost pitifully. “What do you want?”
Elizabeth waved the book at him.
“Ten pounds”, Bernard stated without taking a proper look at the title, he turned and started tapping random buttons on the cash register.
“Manny! The damn thing isn’t working again! Manny!”
The blonde man came running out of the back of the shop with a chipped mug of steaming liquid.
“What’s this?” asked Bernard, sniffing the mug suspiciously.
“It’s tea Bernard, just like you asked for”, Manny took the book from Elizabeth, rung it up on the cash register and took her money, giving her an apologetic look.
“Tea? Why would I ask for tea! Do I look like a man who drinks tea! Where’s the wine!” Bernard took another look at Elizabeth who started backing away from the desk with her purchase.
“Who is this?” he asked Manny, pointing suspiciously.
“She’s a customer, remember Bernard, we sell books to them” Manny said gently.
“Oh yes, I remember. I also remember that I need more wine! Where’s Franny with the wine?”
Elizabeth reached the door and opened it whilst Bernard and Manny were arguing. She was about to leave the shop when a dark haired woman burst through waving several carrier bags, which bared the emblem ‘Bargain Booze’ and clinked suspiciously.
“Franny!” cried Manny.
“Wine!” cried Bernard.
Elizabeth made a quick exit. So much for 'quaint'
Author: partofthequeue2
Pairing & Fandoms: Elizabeth Weir, Stargate Atlantis/Bernard Black, Black Books.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: Alcoholism, one swear word, mild verbal cruelty to employees :D
She had been expecting to jump on a plane straight back to America, however, her discussions had gone on longer than expected and she had missed the plane, the next one with a spare seat wasn’t due to leave until the next day, so Elizabeth was stuck in London. Instead of sitting around in her hotel, she had decided to explore a little, and that was how she found herself outside a quaint little second-hand bookshop with the name Black Books.
The windows were covered in a layer of dirt, although there was a slightly overweight man, with long hair and a goatee trying his best to scrub them clean, not that he was getting very far.
She entered the shop to the sound of a bell tinkling over the door and the smell of cleaning products, dust and stale cigarette smoke. Rows of shelves covered the walls, all were bulging with books, and there were several tables in the middle of the shop piled high with books. At the back of the shop was a man dressed all in black, with dark messy hair, a cigarette hanging from his lips and a glass of red wine in his hand.
As she moved further into the shop, the man in black yelled out, in a strong Irish accent, to the one who was cleaning the windows.
“Manny! You ape! What are you doing?”
“I’m cleaning the windows, Bernard, so that we can have natural light. You do remember natural light don’t you?” the one called Manny replied.
Bernard shuddered. “Yes I remember it, nasty stuff, I don’t want any of it in my shop Manny! I refuse to allow it to come in here and make me feel bad!”
“Yes Bernard”, Manny sighed.
“Good! Now go make me a cup of tea”.
“Yes Bernard”, Manny shook his head at his employer and trudged through a curtain into the back of the shop, dragging his bucket of cleaning products with him.
Elizabeth had watched the exchange from the shelves. She approached the desk where Bernard was to pay for the book of poetry that she had found. “Do you speak to all your employees like that?” she asked.
“What?” Bernard looked at her as if she had appeared from nowhere.
“I said, do you speak to all of your employees like that”, Elizabeth repeated.
“I only have one employee, and he loves it, he lives for it, it gives him a purpose in life”. Said Bernard, taking a sip of wine.
“Really?” asked Elizabeth, surprised.
“No! I do it because it makes me feel good! Now what do you want you skinny, nosy, American…” Bernard trailed off, taking a drag on his cigarette, before leaning forwards and looking at her almost pitifully. “What do you want?”
Elizabeth waved the book at him.
“Ten pounds”, Bernard stated without taking a proper look at the title, he turned and started tapping random buttons on the cash register.
“Manny! The damn thing isn’t working again! Manny!”
The blonde man came running out of the back of the shop with a chipped mug of steaming liquid.
“What’s this?” asked Bernard, sniffing the mug suspiciously.
“It’s tea Bernard, just like you asked for”, Manny took the book from Elizabeth, rung it up on the cash register and took her money, giving her an apologetic look.
“Tea? Why would I ask for tea! Do I look like a man who drinks tea! Where’s the wine!” Bernard took another look at Elizabeth who started backing away from the desk with her purchase.
“Who is this?” he asked Manny, pointing suspiciously.
“She’s a customer, remember Bernard, we sell books to them” Manny said gently.
“Oh yes, I remember. I also remember that I need more wine! Where’s Franny with the wine?”
Elizabeth reached the door and opened it whilst Bernard and Manny were arguing. She was about to leave the shop when a dark haired woman burst through waving several carrier bags, which bared the emblem ‘Bargain Booze’ and clinked suspiciously.
“Franny!” cried Manny.
“Wine!” cried Bernard.
Elizabeth made a quick exit. So much for 'quaint'