NOTES: this is totally AU for obvious reasons.
The Old Bar Joke
Cephied Variable
You've probably heard this one before, but don't stop me: two men walk into a bar. One's got this peculiar black hair- shiny and spiked, except there's these streaks of gold and this strange thing about his complexion that makes you think that the entire mop is the wrong color. He wears a button up shirt and a long, brown jacket patched with some colors that don't match.
The other man's taller, though the height difference might as well be a trick of the eye. He's also dark haired, but his is a dustier hue with gray here and there. Age is crinkled at the corner of his eyes and around his mouth; he smokes and has a rosary wound around his neck.
They take a seat near the back of the bar and order enough drinks to sink a sand steamer bandit for more than three weeks. Patches drinks most of it and laughs and spreads his long arms gleefully while Rosary-man drinks quietly, accutely aware of the eyes on them.
"To our first day of normality!" Patches toasts after about an hour. His companion sips his drink carefully and says, a small smile tugging at his lips, "Everyone still stares at you, broomhead."
"Awww, Wolfwood!" Patches whines, "Just toast with me! We've both cheated death just by being here today- this is a toast to being alive!"
Rosary-man's got this grin on his face like he's trying to look exasperated, but everything on his face is beaming damn grateful affection as he raises his glass. It's not a punchline exactly, but sometimes you just have to thank the good Lord for what you have.
fin.