An Evening Out

Who: Doc and Eva
Where: Upfront
When: Evening

The world was a fascinating place, and Doc was seeing more and more of it with every day. But there was some constant advantage to familiarity, to knowing the city surrounding him. That was why he'd settled on the Upfront & Company club; a cleaner, classier drink than his usual spot at The Wooden Nickel. Doc had even made some effort, clad in a clean tee under his old fatigue jacket. Tucked away at the bar, he leaned an elbow on the wood as he grinned over the edge ofhis glass. The bar was buzzing with activity, though it wasn't a wild night, but people always got a smirk out of him when they gathered. So many ways to distract themselves from it all.

Eva hadn't managed to explore the nightlife in yet; she'd been too busy getting things ready for the upcoming semester, organizing and unpacking her home as well as her new office and generally trying to learn the layout of the town. When evening rolled around and found her yet again alphebetizing her book collection, she took herself sternly in hand and decided that this was to be the night she checked out the club that Socko had recommended. She'd showered and dressed in a black blouse, jeans and boots, black hair loose and flowing. Casual, elegant, but understated so as to avoid undue attention. Grabbing her purse and locking her door, she was on her way.

Upfront wasn't quite up to the level she'd known in Italy, but it had a charm all its own - and the music wasn't half bad. Making her way to the bar, Eva signaled for the bartender's attention and perused the selection while she waited.

From his seat, Doc looked down the span of the bar at the other patrons: there were a few college kids weaving in and out of the open space of bartop, calling for drinks largely at random from the bartender. Catching the sight of a waving hand, Doc leaned forward to frown at the sight of Eva going unnoticed as the barkeep rounded up glasses for a younger man buying a round. "No respect these days," he muttered to himself with a chuckle, looking to the other bartender and nodding. "Hit me again," Doc said, sliding his glass forward, "Then slide on down to your buddy's side and help that lady out, yeah?"

The jostling youngsters were certainly a bit of a deterrant for Eva; thankfully she was able to place her drink order and start a tab once the other bartender had come to her. "And please, add the gentleman's drink as well," she added, having caught the exchange. She hadn't heard what was said, but she'd seen the man call over the bartender and send him her way. Her drink arrived and, with a smile, she lifted it briefly to him in thanks before taking a sip.

Doc's cheeks bunched up with an amicable grin in return, the scrawled tattoo scrunching with the gesture as he toasted Eva in kind. She wasn't familiar to him, but he was far from a regular here, so who could say? Still she stood out, possessed of a certain elegance or grace. Doc was curious as he tucked a new cigarette in his lips, but not so brash as to turn this into a pick-up attempt. For all he knew she was like him, in search of a good drink and not much more.

Eva pondered her options in silence a moment, but quickly made up her mind. It wasn't as if she'd make friends in this town by sitting in a corner and waiting for them to come to her. Maneuvering through those gathered around the bar again, she snagged the spot beside him. "My thanks," she said, accented voice low but loud enough to be heard over the music. "At the risk of sounding cliché, do you come here often?"

Actually somewhat surprised, Doc turned in his seat to grin warmly at Eva, grey eyes assessing her. "No thanks needed... if it'd been a guy tending drinks you wouldn'tve needed me in the first place," he chuckled. "And not too often, really... a drink now and then when I need a pricy scotch. I think you could do worse too, as far as bad lines. Could've asked what my sign was..." Grinning around his smoke, Doc offered a hand across the meager space between them. "I'm Eric, but everyone calls me Doc."

"Or offered to make you a star if you'd gone back to my hotel room with me," Eva said, grinning and going with the joke. "I'm Eva; pleased to meet you." She shook his hand, grip firm before pulling a cigarette from the pack in her purse and lighting up, since he obviously wouldn't mind. "Are you a doctor, then, or is the nickname for something else?"

"Professor, actually. But not in any professional capacity for a while now," Doc answered, purposefully easy with his grip on her hand. "Nothing like putting twelve years into extra school and changing your mind, is there?" He tucked his smoke in the ashtray, knocking back a swallow of scotch. "But no, my friends way back when I was young couldn't think of a good short version of 'professor', so they went with Doc."

"Ah, so you're a professor," Eva said, eyes lighting up at that admission. "I myself put quite a few years into school; it's why I'm in Marquette, actually. I'll be teaching this year at the university. Professor of what, might I ask?"

Doc washed back his glass in a smooth swallow, giving a low rumble of satisfaction and setting the glass down. "Physics, believe it or not," he answered, always aware of the dichotomy between his look and his intellect. "Picked up a masters while I was at it, but I got tired of dissertations eventually. What about you?" he asked in kind, curious to cross paths so randomly with the faculty.

"What is there to disbelieve?" Eva said smoothly, smiling. "Academic interests and aptitudes are as varied amongst individuals as faces and body types." She sipped at her drink, tapping off her cigarette in the ashtray. "A bachelor's in art history," she said, "and a laurea specialistica - ah, a master's - in production of fine arts, though I went on to earn a doctorate in fine arts as well." She smiled. "Thankfully, my dissertations generally took the form of practical application - I design jewelry and small metalwork."

"Really?" Doc asked, tossing a few bucks down for his new drink. "I'm something of a metalsmith too, normally bigger pieces though. More practical things; parts, casings, auto work... nothing too fascinating. What sort of classes you running, then? I'm always interested in loitering for free if the classes are interesting." Being around other smokers was just like encouragement for Doc, who wasted no time in screwing a new smoke into his lips and flaring it to life.

"For now, jewelrymaking with one specializing only in wire sculpture and filigree," Eva said, "and a more traditional one. It's still undetermined as of now, but I may be taking on a section of freshman art history." She smiled. "Art History for Dummies, I believe is the term the other professors have so lovingly adopted. You're welcome in any of them, of course; I might be interested in what a more practical metalsmith could do in the realm of decoration."

Doc chuckled in sudden consternation, head dipping forward as he gave a guilty smile. "Truth be told, I haven't worked a forge in a while now. I'd hate to embarass you in your own class or anything." He exhaled a long stream of smoke that was lost in the club, swirling the remnants of his drink thoughtfully. "Now 'Art For Dummies', I could use. I'm one of those guys who can summarize their entire knowledge of art in two, maybe three sentences."

"Oh, what a shame," Eva said, signaling the bartender for another drink. "There is such a wealth of amazing art in the world; pieces that stir the soul, the way a single brushstroke or a simple curve in a sculpture can invoke emotions... it's absolute magic." She looked rather dreamy-eyed for a moment, before remembering where she was. "Apologies," she said with a smile. "I have the bad habit of attempting to wax poetic when it comes to art. It's a shame you're not teaching; I've an interest in physics that, unfortunately, vastly eclipses my capacity to understand it."

"Well, I didn't say I don't appreciate art, just that I don't know all the nuance of it," Doc corrected with a wink. "I've seen pieces that are evocative beyond most anything else, sculpture and painting alike. Just never really spent the time to learn it all." This was dangerous ground; a beautiful woman with passion for her field, a field that held interest for him. And what was more? She wanted to learn things he knew... "Just because I'm not teaching a class doesn't mean I don't teach," Doc teased before swigging back more scotch.

"Ah, but appreciation grows exponentially when one develops an eye for detail and technique," Eva pointed out with a playfully raised eyebrow. "I may be biased, but it's certainly worth the time to study." She laughed at his last sally, nodding to concede the point. "I see," she said, amused. "Then tell me, signor, how might one begin lessons?"

Was that a line? That was a line. Doc chuckled wryly, plucking a new cigarette from his pack and cupping his hand around it as he brought the remnants of his old one to the tip. "Serious?" he finally asked, grinding out the old smoke. "I suppose I could pop into campus if you had a free hour now and then. I run kinda steep rates, generally coffee, sometimes whiskey. If you were serious, that is." Did I just... Doc didn't quite finish the thought, lips twisting in a disarming smile before he tilted his glass back.

It actually hadn't been a line; Eva was always interested in learning new things. Though if she had to be honest with herself, he was much easier on the eyes than any potential septuagenarian physics professor at the university. Eva's interest - for learning - was evident as she smiled, a smile that grew (and grew a bit sly) as he responded. "I was serious," she said, nodding. "Though may come to regret it. I've the suspicion that I'll be a slow student." She pretended to consider his offer, stubbing out her cigarette and debating having another. "Coffee and whiskey, hm?" she said. "You drive a hard bargain, signor, but I think I could oblige. Coffee is, after all, something we Italians do well."

"I think you might surprise yourself, Eva," Doc asserted, "My forte's what you might call applied physics, so we'll go over plenty of examples. It's easier to grasp when it's right there in front of you, happening in the moment." Yes, when one bent a knowledge of science into a career spent hunting the impossible, you definitely got hands-on experience. "Can I, at the risk of sounding eager, get a number to reach you at?"

"I'm intrigued already," Eva said. She reached into her bag again, finding a pen and a card from the jewelry-design business she ran back in Italy. Scratching out the Italian numbers, she scrawled down her office number on the back. After an unnoticeable pause, she added her home number as well. After all, it never hurt to give options. "I'm usually on campus for a few hours each day," she said as she held it out to him. "It seems that my supplies multiplied in the move. There's much to organize."

Doc plucked the card from her grip with a nod, studying the numbers for a moment before pocketing it. He dug around in his coat, fingers closing on a fold of paper. Tugging it free, Doc gave the briefest glance before turning it over and scrawling his voicemail number on the back. Cash receipt for smokes, no harm no foul, he thought as he offered it in exchange. "Only phone I've got. Don't worry if it hits voicemail, I tend to screen," he explained with a smirk.

"As do I," Eva confessed. "Not that my phone rings terribly often now; the time difference is usually too great for calls home. I bless the invention of email, however." She took the paper, glancing at the number as she tucked it into her bag. "That's quite the interesting tattoo, by the way," she added, catching sight of the barcode again and remembering her intention to remark on it. "Is there a story behind it?"

"There usually is," he answered, musing on just what to say. A drunken night in college? A brand of shame? Some bold statement, maybe? "When I was younger, I had a... temper. I was doing a post-grad project, a think-tank sort of thing," he lied, deciding it sounded better than 'when i was training my powers to fight demons...'. "I had a falling out with some of the boys, went and got right plastered, started a barfight, and had the tattoo done before I could bruise up entirely," he finished, smirking somewhat embarassedly and finishing his drink.

Eva tried not to laugh, but the image was so entertaining that she couldn't help a few chuckles. "That sounds like quite the evening," she said, eyes gleaming with amusement as she took in his somewhat embarrassed expression. "It doesn't, however, sound particularly out of the ordinary for a young man in school. Seems like one of those rights of passage we see in films, doesn't it?" She laughed softly.

"It's a little different when it's eight scrawny MIT kids, and one of them's in biker gear," Doc joked with a twinkle in his eye. "But it was a hell of a night. I'm not bragging, but I guarantee that bar never saw me coming." He was chatty with her, it was unusual to say the least. But not bad. Pretty far from it, in fact. "Any tattoos yourself? Sometimes you can find out all sorts of things from them."

"Nowhere I can readily show off in public," Eva confessed, "but yes. An interpretation of Rene Magritte's Hegel's Holiday. I, too, had it done when in university. I was entirely sober at the time, however. I suppose I fancied myself a philosopher as well as an art student."

Doc's smile turned mischievious for a moment before he laughed heartily, shaking his head at her. "Color me curious, then," he complimented, "I have a rendition of a Hokusai waterfall, myself," he leveraged in comparison, thinking of the countless other tattoos he carried. Doc was a walking mural when uncovered, and while he was never eager to show it all, talk was just fine.

"Hokusai, an excellent choice. His landscapes are wonderful, though it seems you have me beat in quantity already," Eva said, chuckling. "I have only the one; I suppose I prefer to enjoy art in museums and in books rather than on my body. I admit, I didn't expect it to be quite as uncomfortable as it was. Then again, it is over bone. All the same, I haven't yet found a design that I'd want permanently etched onto myself. I'll stick to appreciating it on others."

"I like to commemorate things," Doc explained, "And I'm rapidly approaching 'old man' every day, so if I've lived my life right I should have plenty to mark." His smile was somewhat self-deprecating, but amused by the whole of this encounter. "But it's good that you can still appreciate it, I've known a few art 'experts' who put almost no stock in the medium." He was curious about where exactly that tattoo had ended up on her, but it'd just be crude to press the point. "And Hokusai's almost the whole of my art knowledge, so don't be too impressed."

"Ah, but some knowledge is better than none at all," Eva pointed out. "I have a book on Magritte; if you like, I'll loan it to you sometime. I think you'd enjoy him; he was a Belgian surrealist. You've likely seen one of his works - called The Treachery of Images. It's a pipe, with the words 'ceci n'est pas une pipe' beneath it." She smiled. "I've always found his works to be engaging and amusing."

Sitting forward unexpectedly, Doc smiled candidly at Eva. "I have a proposal, maybe a renegotiation... toss some art education my way and maybe we'll call it square for Physics 101," he offered, nodding at her description. "I've seen that, now that you mention it... it got a smile from me. But that's my problem, I have no idea where to start with it all. So... yeah. Trading lessons."

Eva took a drag from her cigarette while she pretended to ponder his offer, turning her head away from him and the bar to expel the smoke out towards the dance floor. "That seems a fair trade," she said, turning back to him with a smile. "I won't even require you to sit in on any freshman lectures I find myself leading. I do, however, reserve the right to include practical applications in our lessons." Her eyes glinted with amusement. "I confess, I'm curious to see what you could do when turned loose amongst my supplies."

"Me? Paint or sculpt or whathaveyou?" Doc asked skeptically, wondering just hat he'd gotten into. "Can't say I've tried arts and crafts since kindergarten," he confessed with a surprised grin. "But two points for creativity, Eva." The truth was that, with his willworking arts, Doc was a master of most solid objects, but his words were genuine. He'd never been a man to even try the traditional arts, and the prospect had him smirking in thought.

"I am neither painter nor sculptor, Doc," Eva pointed out, smile widening. "I create with metal, jewels. Wire sculpture or a type of chain creation called Persian weave. Intricate in its own right, but I believe a little friendlier to beginners. I think you might enjoy it. You strike me as a man who has a mind for intricacies and patterns."

"You teach art history," Doc countered wryly, "For all I know, you dabble in everything." But as she shared her impression, the wry grin turned more genuine. She was on the mark, to be sure; a man with memories of two worlds definitely picked up on the patterns existing around him. "Now you have my interest though, working with my hands is right up my alley."

"Somehow, I find myself unsurprised," Eva said in amusement, glancing down at the hands in question briefly. "However," she continued, finishing her drink and stubbing out the paltry remains of her cigarette, "I believe I've monopolized enough of your time, and the unpacking waiting for me at home won't wait forever." She held out her hand once more. "It was, however, a great pleasure to meet you, Doc. I look forward to seeing you again."

Doc's hand found hers quickly, shaking it as he nodded enthusiastically. "Likewise on all fronts, Eva. Really good meeting you, I'll be in touch soon. Good unpacking to you," he bid her, winking disarmingly, "I hope you find everything in town welcoming..." Which reminded him that Doc hadn't given his customary after-dark warnings to her, but Eva seemed more than competent without his inttervention.

"I shall wait with bated breath," Eva teased lightly, grinning as she shook his hand. "And thank you. So far, I've found everything to be quite lovely." She gathered her things, giving him another nod and smile. "Until later, Doc. Enjoy your evening."