Funnily enough, 'Prom' was the last thing from Nathan's mind. He'd been going for a walk, mostly, his semester over and the class final having been kind of a write-off, what with the giant rabbits and so on roaming the island.
And still, Portalocity wasn't throwing him a bone and arranging a way back to Japan. His Japan. Not the modern one, or that one that occasionally had giant monsters smashing around on it. So... today he was just trying to get back into the rhythm of the island.
Apparently today that involved stepping into the flower shop, taking a look around, and smiling faintly.
"Ah, right, there's a dance coming up, isn't there?"
"Do teachers not go to prom, then?" Peter shrugged. "Sorry, I'm not exactly up on modern education customs. Though last I checked, the rabbits weren't part of it, so I'm guessing that's just Fandom."
"Teachers can absolutely go to prom," Nathan replied, "if they want to play chaperone to a bunch of hormonal teenagers on what's apparently the most important night of their high school careers."
He didn't sound entirely like he bought that. Then again, he also didn't sound like he had much interest in it, either way.
"Nathan Algren," he said, reaching to shake Peter's hand. "A pleasure, Mr. Octavian."
"I can list a dozen things I'd rather do than have to stare a teenager down as they attempt to spike the punch for the tenth time in one evening," Nathan explained, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling. "And so I'll be doing exactly that. Staying home and reading, perhaps. Or writing. Or..."
He regarded the flower shop thoughtfully.
"I don't suppose you have any books about ikebana, by any chance?"
Hey, a man needed hobbies. Better ones than whiskey, anyway.
He headed into the back and came back out with a small armful of books. "There's some other stuff in here too; I wasn't fussy about what kind of arranging I was going for. It's just when I started here," he set the books down and started rifling through them, "I knew exactly nothing about flowers except they were pretty."
He found a couple ikebana books and set them to one side, then waved Nathan at both piles. "If you see anything you like, you can borrow it, or I can get another copy in. Can I get you some tea while you look?"
"Thank you," Nathan replied, giving a grateful little nod to Peter both for the books, and in reply to his question about the tea. "I wouldn't mind having something to put on a bookshelf later on, but I realize I'm not exactly walking into a bookstore looking for these."
Nathan nodded his thanks again, and then rummaged for a minute before surfacing with a nice green tea.
"I'll admit I'm not exactly a professional myself," he noted. "So much as I could use a hobby, and that hobby might as well be something that I can continue doing if I ever get back home. My options are somewhat limited in that regard."
"The clothes are from the eighteen sixties," Nathan confirmed, smiling wryly. "The rest of me just hasn't bought a new suit in six years. Which, I suppose, makes me old-fashioned even among the old-fashioned."
"This time around, only a few months," Nathan replied. "But I've been here before, for a year or two. It all kind of blurs together when you're fighting zombies and sentient bees."
And still, Portalocity wasn't throwing him a bone and arranging a way back to Japan. His Japan. Not the modern one, or that one that occasionally had giant monsters smashing around on it. So... today he was just trying to get back into the rhythm of the island.
Apparently today that involved stepping into the flower shop, taking a look around, and smiling faintly.
"Ah, right, there's a dance coming up, isn't there?"
He'd had no intention of chaperoning, no.
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Nathan shrugged his shoulders a little.
"This week has been a little off, though. Our class didn't get a final because people were busy not getting eaten by rabbits instead."
Priorities.
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He held out a hand. "Peter Octavian."
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He didn't sound entirely like he bought that. Then again, he also didn't sound like he had much interest in it, either way.
"Nathan Algren," he said, reaching to shake Peter's hand. "A pleasure, Mr. Octavian."
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As opposed to, you know, the nights when he was a party animal all around the island.
"In any case, can I help you with anything, or were you just enjoying the greenery?"
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He regarded the flower shop thoughtfully.
"I don't suppose you have any books about ikebana, by any chance?"
Hey, a man needed hobbies. Better ones than whiskey, anyway.
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He headed into the back and came back out with a small armful of books. "There's some other stuff in here too; I wasn't fussy about what kind of arranging I was going for. It's just when I started here," he set the books down and started rifling through them, "I knew exactly nothing about flowers except they were pretty."
He found a couple ikebana books and set them to one side, then waved Nathan at both piles. "If you see anything you like, you can borrow it, or I can get another copy in. Can I get you some tea while you look?"
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He headed back to put the electric kettle on and came back with a box of different sorts of tea bags for Nathan to choose from.
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"I'll admit I'm not exactly a professional myself," he noted. "So much as I could use a hobby, and that hobby might as well be something that I can continue doing if I ever get back home. My options are somewhat limited in that regard."
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He glanced over Nathan's clothing. "You're from...the eighteen sixties or seventies?" he guessed. "Or a different world entirely."
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Basically, yes. His answer was yes.
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Fandom.
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Only a few catastrophes. When you'd spent a millennium in Hell, your perception was possibly skewed just a bit.
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