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Who: Oliver Day (

oliverplus) and Sebastian Flyte (

fruitbrandy)
Where: Oliver's favourite pub in Gondolla and presumably a bar in Oxford
When: Sometime after their first conversation
What: Oliver and Sebastian have a surprise (and accidental) meeting off the Plane
Warnings: Alcohol and male bonding

Oliver finished leaving a message for Anna and then slipped his datapad back into his pocket. She'd be expecting him at home, and after the day he'd had, he wasn't ready to go there yet. She'd be worried that he was planning to spend the evening in the pub alone--again--but he knew her well enough to know she wouldn't protest or come after him. And what he really wanted right now was a little time to himself. Anna was always willing to listen to his work woes, but lately his life had become more complicated than refugees who weren't getting their credits. And there was no way he was going to breathe a word about that other place he ran away to--not to Anna or anyone else--so he was much better off alone and away from prying questions for a while.

So it was that, with domestic worries out of his mind, he turned to the bartender. "One pint. Oh, and some chips." Good chips always made a bad day better, after all.

Waiting for his order, he relaxed on the stool, turning around to survey the other occupants of the pub. Even after a year, he hadn't really started to socialise with the other regulars, but people-watching was always a fun way to unwind. And when your life had you tired, it was nice to shift your focus to someone else's.

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"Darling, sweetheart, and dearest from how you hear Julia refer to it. Now that I think on it, that's much the same way she refers to her people." Sebastian waved this off in favour of chocolate bars.

"Do you know when they do? I wonder of the kitchen on the Plane would have one. I hate waiting for anything. It gives me wrinkles." He drank from his Brandy Alexander, heedless of the liver poisoning or thinning hair that it might give him.

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like quite the character, your sister."

He thought about that. As far as he was concerned, Mars bars had always been around, but he had an admittedly narrow perspective on the issue. They weren't even something that he'd looked for during his forays into the recent past.

"I could try to find out for you? But I bet the kitchen'd have them! It seems to have everything else. Wanna find out?" he asked with a grin, excited at the prospect. "Well, next time we're on the Plane, anyway."

"Why not go now?" Sebastian stood as he said it, mainly because he still hadn't learned how to get to the Plane without actually taking a step. He set his Brandy Alexander (now empty) on the counter-top and smiled at Oliver.

Oliver blinked, surprised at the move, but he stood as well and grinned back. "Sure, why not?" He took Sebastian's arm, not yet having mastered the art of appearing where he wanted to on the Plane. "Let's go together."

Sebastian was used to that sort of gesture, so he didn't miss a beat, saying, "Here we go," as he stepped forward and onto the plane of stars. How he wished for a painting of it! But that could be done later, because he was going to try a 'Mars Bar.' "Which way is the kitchen, do you recall?"

Perhaps distressingly, Sebastian could only find his way to the bar automatically.

For Oliver, it was the first time he'd accompanied someone to the Plane. As such, he was a bit surprised to find they'd arrived. He couldn't help but stagger a step, flailing slightly for balance at the sudden appearance of the rather-disorienting starry landscape. But once he'd gotten over his initial surprise, he quickly recovered his composure. He let go of Sebastian's arm, taking a thoughtful look around them. "I think...it's over that way. Somewhere." He started walking in a somewhat arbitrary direction, hoping he had it right. If not, he figured they'd work it out soon enough.

Sebastian walked after Oliver, sometimes switching up his pace with a hop or a skip, but mostly walking with that curious air of one who has as much interest in the scenery as in the journey. He stopped by the theatre to examine it. "Do you know, this almost looks like it could be from somewhere I know."

Oliver stopped, glancing back at Sebastian, then over at the theatre. "Do you mean it's from around the same time? Or you've seen this exact one?" he asked curiously. He wondered, not for the first time, where the theatre--like the other buildings on the Plane--had come from. Had someone brought it here? If they had, did that mean there was someone else from Sebastian's time around? Or at least, that someone had been here? He smiled faintly at the thought. Somehow the Plane always managed to keep life interesting, even when nothing was happening there.

"Oh, I've not seen one just like this. I think it's too American for London and too progressive for Oxford." That did not stop Sebastian from admiring the design, going so far as to touch the outside, either to assure himself it was real or simply because part of aesthetic experience was in touch. He looked back to Oliver. "We were going to the kitchen, weren't we? For your Mars Bars of the future. I can only wonder what Mr Wells would think of that."

Sebastian's abrupt changes in subject couldn't help but remind Oliver of someone else who was prone to doing that. Thankfully, this meant he was used to dealing with it, and he smiled faintly at the memories it brought to mind. "You mean, H.G. Wells? War of the Worlds? I bet he'd be thrilled. I should ask the Doctor sometime; he's probably met him."

He turned back the way they had been going, then glanced at the position of the theatre, followed by the position of several other visible landmarks. "You know, we're a little off. The kitchen's just over that way--you can almost see it!" He pointed helpfully before heading off in the direction he had indicated. "Shouldn't be long now. Oh, you are a fan of chocolate, right? Because you're really gonna love this."

(Well, Sebastian's mother was Claire Bloom. That, of course, made Bridey Brax. It was an uncomfortable comparison that no one wanted to think about too much, particularly not when it meant understanding how Anthony Blanche came to be Straxus.)

"Anyone who doesn't like chocolate has very poor tastes. Or simply hasn't had very good chocolate. I have tasted some chocolate I do not like." As he walked, he let his hands link together, because his arm could not lock in Oliver's. But his hands did not stay still, instead stretching out, folding over, wringing not in nervousness but idleness. "I don't like chocolate that's very bitter."

"That won't be a problem! Well, depending on what sort of Mars Bars the kitchen's got, I guess. You never know what future ones might be like..."

But the kitchen came into view then, and Oliver glanced back at Sebastian, grinning widely. "C'mon! We're almost there!" Since he had given fair warning, he then proceeded to take off running toward their destination. The more they talked about it, the more excited he found himself getting to have a Mars Bar. After all, it had been a few years for him, and really, there was nothing better than sharing good food with your mates.

Sebastian was one of the aesthetic circles, not one of the athletes, so running wildly after his friends wasn't among the most common things for him, but he was also Sebastian Flyte, and as the most childish boy in his year, he knew well enough how to race after a friend.

His weakness, of course, was in stopping, and Sebastian smashed himself into a counter with a resounding, "Dammit!"

If there was one thing Oliver had learned from his travels with the Doctor, it was how to run effectively--and stop when necessary. Such as at the edge of a cliff. In this case, he stopped himself amidst the tile, slightly wobbly but still standing.

He was unable to keep from laughing at Sebastian's rather-impressive slide followed by a less-than-impressive stop. "Hey, you okay?" he called, his concern genuine even if he was still smiling in amusement at his friend.

"It's not funny." It was the hint of an oncoming sulk, augmented by the whined, "And it hurts," but Sebastian took a chair and, in remembering his purpose, Sebastian did not forget his pain, but he put it to very good use.

As his sister said, he could be 'maddeningly pathetic.' "I think," said Sebastian, perfectly embodying his sister's phrase, "that the only thing that might help would be some chocolate from the future."

"Yeah, yeah, 'course it isn't." Oliver patted him on the back cheerfully, knowing that anyone who had the forethought to be that sulky was also someone who was generally unharmed. "And I think I know just the thing."

He grinned, heading over to the pantry. He then spent several minutes digging around inside, impressed at the selection but distressed at how hard it made it to find what he was looking for. "Oh, come on, it's gotta be in here somewhere..." he mumbled to himself as he continued to rummage. "Ohhh! Here we go!"

With an excited smile, he re-emerged, two brown-wrapped bars of chocolate with bright red MARS labels in his hand. "Have some chocolate from the future, Sebastian." He slid one across the table to his friend as he took a seat himself.

Looking at the wrapping, Sebastian had to note, "They don't go for subtlety, do they?" He turned it around with care, looking at this object that had not yet come to be. Sebastian's curiosity was not deeply intellectual, but it was still there, and he began to pull on the wrapping, revealing the chocolate underneath.

"Oh," he said, suddenly remembering, "thank you."

Oliver laughed, though he was curious what advertising was like in Sebastian's time. He supposed it must not be as flashy or ever-present as what the future would bring. "I guess they wouldn't sell as many if they did," he commented.

He watched Sebastian examine the chocolate bar before unwrapping it, leaning toward his friend in anticipation as he watched for...Sebastian to pause and thank him before trying it. Damn. "Sure," he said with a smile. "I mean, you could've found it yourself in here. I just hope you like it!" Which was a genuine concern, as he had a feeling Sebastian was used to much more expensive chocolate. He just had to hope that the innovation of the bar would help make up for that.

Oliver's hopes were met. Sebastian, though he had great love for the finer things in life, was not completely discriminating in his tastes. Something sufficiently new and glamorous (or in this case, involving enough different flavours and textures) would easily distract him from any deficiencies in quality.

"'s very good," Sebastian said as he chewed on the bar. He had enough manners to try not to reveal the food in his mouth, but hadn't remembered enough of propriety to actually wait until he had swallowed. The result was a rather garbled pronunciation of enthusiasm.

Oliver grinned at that response--exactly what he'd been hoping for! Being a male university student himself, he was not put off in the least by Sebastian's talking with food in his mouth and was just glad that his friend was enjoying his recommendation.

Now that he'd seen his friend's reaction, he seized the opportunity to unwrap his own bar, eager to enjoy his first in years. He barely had the wrapper halfway off before he gave in and took a bite. Then, not wanting to pass up a good opportunity, he proceeded to speak with food in his mouth as well, savouring the moment. "Mmmm, always is."

"Are they very common?" Sebastian asked (though it sounded more like, 'Aww vey vewy comom'). Chocolate was not quite yet the confectionery of choice in Britain, though Sebastian himself got enough of it as gifts. Like most things in Sebastian's life, his chocolate supply was given to him, and he was never allowed nor required to try to acquire it on his own.

Luckily, Oliver was just finishing his bite and had the sense to swallow before speaking again. "Yeah," he said as he unwrapped the bar further. "They're everywhere in my time. I mean, not just these, but candy bars of all sorts. They do have that in your time, don't they? Chocolate bars, at least?" He took another bite.

"Yes, I've had some. The Hershey bar is one." Now that he had eaten all there was to eat of it, Sebastian was playing with the wrapper. "I've never had one like this, though."

"So they were just chocolate? I guess that makes sense, that they would've started out like that." Oliver finished off his own bar, gazing at the wrapper a little forlornly as he did so. He hadn't seen any more Mars Bars in the pantry, but hopefully there would be the next time he came to the kitchen. "They've got tons of different kinds in the future. I mean, in the near future on Earth. They get a bit boring in the way future--little tiny energy bars with taste but not much texture. It's just not the same." He shook his head.

Still fiddling with his wrapper, he turned too look around at what else was visible in the kitchen from where they sat. "So while we're here, what else should we try, you think?" he asked, glancing at Sebastian.

Sebastian nodded. "I would like to try some of them. I'll look for them. If I see any, I'll tell you straight away and you can tell me if it's very awful or worth trying."

Then he paused, considering. Lacking Aloysius to swing around, he kicked back his chair, rocking dangerously on the back legs. There was no one around to tell him not to. "I've tried an awful lot of the drinks, so perhaps something else. A pastry of some kind?"