Spilling the Tea

Hikaru Suzuki

It hasn't escaped Hikaru's notice that Vincent is a tall and intimidating (and handsome) man, and in Hikaru's expert opinion, that is the sort of person that he would prefer to be on the good side of. Especially in a prison full of murderers. The bandages on Vincent's neck haven't escaped his notice, and inspire Hikaru with an idea for a good first impression.

By luck, he happens across him in the dining room, giving him the perfect chance to put his plan into action.

"Oh, perfect timing. I couldn't help but notice your injury when we were all gathered earlier. Would you like some lemon tea or something to soothe your throat? You can watch me make it if you're worried about me trying to trick you, or something."

…All that cunning planning and yet Hikaru has forgot that lemon doesn't do anything to help external injuries.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Vincent had gone to the dining room for completely normal reasons before he'd been approached by Hikaru, but whatever reason he'd had was immediately forgotten as soon as he heard That come out of Hikaru's mouth. It definitely takes him a bit off guard, both because of the tone Hikaru's using with him and the actual absurdity of the logic involved.

"You…" Honestly, thinking about it too deeply probably wasn't worth the trouble, actually. So just this once, Vincent elects to simply turn his brain off with a sigh. Tea DID sound good, even if he'd never have asked anyone else to make it For him if Hikaru hadn't offered first. "Yeah, sure, I'll take it. Do you… make tea for strangers often?"

At this point, Vincent wasn't terribly concerned about anyone trying to pull anything over on him Anyways, but he'll at least stay within a conversational distance and probably just find a place to sit.

Hikaru Suzuki

Hikaru smiles, satisfied by the response, and begins to busy himself with setting the kettle on the boil and finding a mug, before responding to Vincent as he begins to juice a lemon.

"Well… not really, unless you count a Long Island iced tea. But serving drinks to strangers is pretty much my day job - or night job, I guess - so it's not really anything out of the ordinary to me, no."

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Yeah, Vincent is just gonna… awkwardly hover in the doorway, both Out Of Hikaru's Way in the kitchen as he's working on this, but not rudely in an entirely different room while talking.

"Ah, I see. Are you a bartender then for work? Or one of your works, anyways." Since 'day/night job' did kind of imply multiple existing yeah. Vincent looks Hikaru up and down for a moment, before deciding ultimately that this guy definitely Did have the vibes of a bartender. …Wild that even his straightjacket accommodated that fashion vibe too.

Hikaru Suzuki

That's cool with Hikaru, who seems to be pretty used to having someone watch him work, whether on the job or not.

"Yep, that's me. And I play darts, too, when I get the chance."

Noticing that Vincent's eyes are on him, Hikaru can't help but preen just a little. Even if Vincent isn't checking him out and is just being curious, the reaction is almost instinctive.

"And what about you? With a style that striking, I would've guessed something in the arts, but you're a bit more well-built than the average artist."

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Darts? Huh. Presumably, that must mean he was pretty good at that, then.

"That being your other job, I take it? I suppose bars and darts do often go together. That's impressive that you're able to do so for profit, in any case."

Vincent raises an eyebrow at the Other bit that Hikaru says though as he's preening. Well built was certainly a choice of phrase, but Vincent is an expert at ignoring that.

"Well, the straitjacket is certainly something I wouldn't usually be wearing, but… Regardless, my build and sense of style both have nothing to do with my career. I have an office job doing administration work."

Hikaru Suzuki

"Mm-hm. The profit is pretty limited usually, but it's more about the fun than the money for me!"

And a little bit of being able to show off, of course.

"Yeah, the straightjackets are a level of fashion I… haven't dipped my toe into yet, and I imagine it's the same for most of us. That's cool, though! Most office workers I know look way too uniform - I'd definitely get told to dye my hair back - so it's nice that you can still have some level of self-expression."

Hikaru certainly couldn't imagine Vincent as a salaryman in some serious office - not that he really had a good idea of what office life was like, outside of TV shows.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

"That makes sense. If one job can supply you more stable income, another can easily be purely for he fun of it. Have you won any competitions of note to you?" Just a little friendly conversation as the tea is being made, Vincent isn't Terrible at small talk when it's appropriate to make it.

Vincent gives a hum at the other part of things as well.

"It sounds like a fashion look that wouldn't seem terrible on it's own and is certainly already out there, but… yes, it's not something I've seen simply in daily life." He pauses though at the mention of hair dye, though not for long, because it's not like it's the First time it's come up. "This is my natural hair color, actually, though I've had to learn how to style it to actually look decent over time, and I have tried dying it before. My wife's kept her hair dyed pink for a long time now, though. The deep blue looks good on you."

…Black AND White was his natural hair color??? God damn.

Hikaru Suzuki

Small talk is absolutely Hikaru's comfort zone, and he nods as he waits for the kettle to boil - his eyes are mostly on Vincent, rather than trying his luck with the whole 'watched kettle' superstition.

"Yeah, exactly! Hm, I haven't won anything particularly big - my eyes are on the Japan Open some day - but I did manage to get to the quarter finals of the Vegas Classic. It's not the most prestigious tournament, but the fun for me was getting to go there. What about you? Any hobbies you're proud of?"

Or even ones he's not proud of, Hikaru would be nosy either way. His eyebrows raise in both surprise and envy when Vincent mentions his hair is natural.

"Seriously? Ah, that's really cool - being able to keep up that edgy style without spending the money and time on hair dye… Pink sounds cute, though - I bet the two of you make for a fun contrast stood together."

The inevitable Wife Mention means Hikaru knows to lay off the flirting, though since he hasn't heard the news yet he might say some things that end up being slightly awkward.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

“Ah, aiming larger? That’s bold- Good luck with that, then.” …Not to mention good luck with that while currently imprisoned for murder (or ‘murder’, hard to know who might count or not there),but regardless.

The hobby question being turned back at Vincent, however, makes him admittedly pause. …Did… he have hobbies he was proud of…? What even counted as a hobby, anyways? His mind is blanking, and suddenly he’s not sure if he has any hobbies at all.

“…Not that I can think of right now, at least. Things have been getting far too busy with work and personal matters to have much time on my hands.” He liked?? Reading??? But when was the last time he even read a book for fun-

Vincent hums in agreement about his hair, though.

“I’ve come to appreciate it more now than I used to. I’ve gotten in the habit of still doing a fair bit of hair care though, perhaps as a carryover from when it was longer.” He will in fact Not be a fan of the 5-in-1 indeed, but that was for another time. “And yeah, we do. It’s always been opposite aesthetics with the two of us, but Gracie always said it paired nicely.”

It’s fine, Vincent will say Plenty if awkward things by his own accord anyways-

Hikaru Suzuki

"Can't make a shot you don't aim for, right? Kind of literally, in this case."

Yeah, the whole being in jail thing is kind of putting a dumper on Hikaru's plans, but it's easier to talk about his life as if none of this is happening.

He blinks in interest, or perhaps more concern, when Vincent says he can't even think of a hobby. That's kind of… sad? Perhaps a little worrying?

"Ah… not even any TV you like watching? Sports team you support? I get being busy at work, though. It's kind of scary how much time can go by before you realise you haven't done anything else in weeks. And I hear married life is kind of busier in general too…"

Longer hair… Hikaru can picture it. Fits well with Vincent's goth image, not that his current hair doesn't either.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

"That's… true, I suppose. Not even trying would only be a guaranteed miss." Literally in this case indeed-

As for Vincent hobbies… Haha.

"…Yeah, it gets like that sometimes. Paperwork really piles up sometimes, alone with household matters. I'm not a follower of sports, though, and I haven't kept up with shows lately, though I guess I do watch some my wife likes with her sometimes." ….Ok yeah that really wasn't helping his case either, if it was someone Else's hobby more than his. Hobbies… hobbies… "I… suppose I could call cooking a hobby?"

Not one he was Proud of though, and that too was just a Task to him and not particularly a joy, really. He's really not sure he's been passionate about anything in quite awhile, though. …Maybe he shouldn't think about this too much.

"Anyways, how is the tea going?" Not to pressure Hikaru, just to shiiiift the topic away from that-

Hikaru Suzuki

Yeah, this is a little concerning. Not that Hikaru wants to come across as too fussy about this almost-stranger's day-to-day life, but still. Hikaru himself is honestly a basic kind of guy, who would probably list his interests as 'shopping' and 'going out', so the fact a very clearly not basic guy such as Vincent couldn't even come up with that worries him.

"…Yeah! Cooking counts, for sure. I like to cook, too. Hey, it's good if you enjoy something you have to do anyway, right?"

He doesn't sound convinced, but he's doing his best to encourage Vincent.

"Ah, right. The tea."

The kettle is indeed boiling, and he takes it to pour over a teabag, waiting for it to steep before he stirs in the lemon juice.

"How strong do you like it?"

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

What can he say, maybe he's just a simple guy… Who should really get some kind of a real hobby, yeah. Thankfully, Hikaru was accepting his uncertain answer anyhow though, so he can go with that.

"Yes… It's something that's both necessary but also relaxing, in a way. I wouldn't call myself a chef by any means, but even basic meals are nice to have home-cooked." Was it fun, though…? At the very least, right now the thought of it isn't, but maybe it had been for him at some point.

Hikaru was clearly good at socializing and keeping the energy up regardless, though, which is fitting for a bar tender Vincent supposes. He's also kind of glad, because Hikaru is singlehandedly saving this conversation from being more awkward than it could be.

The tea! Vincent blinks a little at the wording of that question, mentally having to adjust to the fact that it wasn't alcohol being talked about. Probably.

"Ah, if you mean tea strength, then as strong as I can get the tea bags I use to get it while staying hot, though I can't say that they're terribly strong to begin with." Cheaper stuff will do that. Also depending on the type of tea in the first place too, of course. "Whatever other blend amounts of things I'll leave to you, though, since you're clearly an expert." Maybe not in tea specifically, but…

Hikaru Suzuki

Hikaru nods understandingly, glad that he's been able to avoid making Vincent feel too uncomfortable about it. Maybe at some later point they could find some board game in the warehouse and unlock a new passion or something?

If only they were talking about alcohol… Hikaru would probably be having a much better time here. Maybe the same couldn't be said for all the others though.

"I'm hardly an expert, but I hear you. I'll get that mixed up for you."

And so he does - as he said, he mighn't specialise in tea, but he's clearly made enough and his general skills with drinks transfer over. He leaves the teabag in for a good while before giving everything a final mix and bringing over the cup.

"Here you go. Hoping it's to your taste!"

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Vincent gives a nod that's more like a tiny bow, with how he's trying not to bend his neck too much, as he takes the cup of tea carefully and moves a bit over so he's both no longer blocking the doorway and can actually sit down at one of the dining room tables. Hikaru is of course free to join him.

"Thank you, I appreciate it." He didn't feel like he deserved the kindness Hikaru was giving him, necessarily, but he was hardly going to be rude about it, and so he of course takes a slow sip.

It was pretty hard to mess up tea, at least in Vincent's experience, but still, the care that had been put into it was still apparent. And despite it not in fact helping his throat, he does feel just a little more relaxed, which he hadn't been sure he could be in this situation.

"It's good. I can feel it helping already, I'm sure." A pause. "…I don't know your motives, in going out of your way for someone like me, but… it was kind of you to offer regardless."

Hikaru Suzuki

The lack of dismissal (or Vincent just straight up leaving) is enough of a non-verbal invitation for Hikaru, who slides in to sit at a seat adjacent to Vincent's.

"No worries. Glad you like it."

It's a reasonable enough question. Going out of one's way to help out anyone in a group full of killers is a bit of an odd move to begin with, let alone helping the guy who has consistently been spookily insistent on his guilt.

"Eh… honestly, I think I just wanted to feel like I could do something here to help someone out. My skillset isn't really suited to a place like this, and I've definitely made some bad first impressions, so I suppose I selfishly wanted to establish a good one. As for 'someone like you', well - I doubt you've done anything worse than I have, even if you think you did. So it's really… whatever."

Who knows how much of that is honest - but he does say it frankly enough.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Indeed, Vincent does not object to Hikaru’s company- Much as he may not seek people out or ask them to stay, he’s also fine with others choosing to stay talking too.

Vincent gives a low hum, at that.

“I see… I suppose that’s understandable, more than it is selfish. It’s normal to try to make a good impression in most aspects of life. Though, I’m surprised you’ve made bad impressions already. You seem very… sociable, I suppose.” Charismatic, good with words and people. Though that of course may reflect more on the people interacting with Hikaru than Hikaru himself too, unless Hikaru was just drastically changing his demeanor for this particular conversation.

He does give Hikaru a glance, though, as he says he doubts Vincent has done anything worse than him, but then hums.

“…I’d rather not make it into a competition, so I’ll take your word for it. Regardless of the specific reasons we’re all here… Well, we’re all here regardless.”

Hikaru Suzuki

Hikaru sure does live up to Vincent's assessment of him, being chatty and generally trying to keep the other guy at ease. That includes brushing over the discussion of their potential heinous crimes. Just two guys having a nice friendly conversation over tea!