Visions Spiral

daniel had to laugh ; partially because he was amused that bijan thought he was younger than he was. he felt pretty sure that, if anything, he'd aged more in the last two years than he had over the rest of his life combined -- trauma will do that to a person. "i'll take late twenties no problem... but you're not far off ; 'm thirty-three. so pretty much a decade between us. i think that means my original point stands." a playful smile. bijan was probably ( definitely, in fact but he clung to his ounce of denial ) right, but the striking up a conversation or connection was the bit daniel struggled with most and no doubt that wasn't doing him any favours. "i wish they would just come to me," he joked lightly, fidgeting with hem of his jumper. "would make my life a helluva lot easier." a pause. "i don't think i'm gonna find anyone in the er -- but maybe i'll keep a lookout from now on. seems to be working for some of us. how long have you been together?"

"Alright, I was far off indeed," Bijan said, chuckling. "Yes, that makes your former point valid, a decade is just less than a generation," he agreed. From what he could recall, a generation was twelve years, or a bit more than twelve. He wasn't perfectly certain, since all he held in regard was that his students were most definitely a younger generation. "You guessed my age much better than I did yours." He had to laugh a little at Dan's plea, he could understand it, he was an introvert at heart, but he did have a fascination with beautiful people. "Well, it might just happen to you, you never know. I'm sure there are still people like me out there, who want to strike up conversations with people in bookshops." He nodded at the mention of the ER. "Are you a doctor?" he asked. "We have been together for only two months now, but we've been very close for years, so it was meant to happen at some point." Or so he liked to believe. Colson had been there through his injury and recovery, before they'd made it official between the two of them.

When Bijan had invited Grayson over to his place, he wasn't really sure what to think but he figured that it didn't hurt to get out of his normal place. He had been sketching for hours and needed something to distract him and give him a break. He was at the door of Bijan's and he saw the door swing open and the offer came pretty quick after. "Uhhhh, sure. But you better have some sort of green tea." He mentioned to the other.

Bijan smiled at the other's confusion. "Of course, I have plenty of green teas. Are you afraid of the caffeine?" he asked, as he gestured for the other to follow him inside. "I also have Turkish tea, if you're interested, made the traditional way." Because else he wasn't allowed to call it that, according to his mother. "Are you hungry?" he asked, because he was. He knew his eyes were bigger than his stomach right now, but just the thought of everything he'd put on the kitchen table was enough to make his mouth water.

robin wasn't sure if she had overdressed. or under. already awake early due to a later shift at the diner, she came in her tracksuit straight from the late 2000s & had no regrets about it. already returning the smile before she even saw it on bijan's face, that stutter of nerves of oh, god, i hope i do this right — before she walked in. "i am so happy you even wanted to break fast with me."

Bijan smiled kindly. He was dressed in his kurta pajama, of a light beige colour that was a loose fit and warm enough in the colour New York weather. He'd been taught to dress for comfort. "Of course, I do enjoy to celebrate this with friends rather than strangers, or by myself." Strangers were not that bad, by himself however.

"it is a bother," Bijan agreed, as he leaned heavy on his walking stick. He had wanted to lean against the window, but he felt sweaty already from his walk here and he didn't want to look absolutely helpless. "It does seem to be going a bit faster now," he said, looking at the line. "I've never experienced driving in Los Angeles," he admitted. "Is it truly that bad?" He did think the best pies were already sold out, but luckily his taste was often far from the average person's, and it helped in these situations. He was eager to try out something new.

"i think you're probably right, there." he agreed. it was how things tended to work ; the more invested you were in something, seemingly the more likely it was to fall apart -- certainly it stung a lot more. it was precisely that fear that made daniel more hesitant to engage than he wanted to be. "c'mon, man. i don't think there's even a generation between us -- you're what? forty?" head tilting slightly to one side, he gave a soft laugh. "and anyway, i'm pretty sure there's people like that in every generation. there's a chance online dating just has a high concentration of them." it wasn't his favourite means of finding a relationship by any stretch of the imagination ; daniel too was maybe slightly 'old-fashioned' or romantic in his wanting to meet someone organically as bijan had described. "yeah. might've dodged a bullet there, huh? 'm happy with the alternative stranger today, for sure... can i get the addresses of these places? never seems to happen to me." he laughed.

Bijan grinned. "Forty-three," he corrected, then gave Daniel another once over. "And you're... you look like you're barely a year over thirty, perhaps even younger. Late-twenties?" Bijan was very bad at guessing ages. He'd had plenty of years where he'd been guessed younger, until the grey hair came in. His family turned grey early, in many ways both a blessing and a curse. Bijan felt far too static to go along with the younger generations. "Hmm, perhaps that's also a very likely scenario," he agreed. The youth in his classroom lived fast, but they were kind... at times. They still had a lot to learn at that age, however. "Of course, you do have to talk to them. They won't just come to you," he explained. "And truly, any old library or book shop. I can't promise you instant success, but having shared interests go a long way, even if it's just the interest in books, in general." He paused. "I met my current partner at my job, or well, we frequent the same circles, both professors."

"not at all!" he insisted, hand on his heart. "i would never attempt empty flattery -- not even for the best iranian food in town." the statement wasn't entirely false ; there wasn't a whole lot jasper wouldn't do for food he liked. he did, however, resent the idea that he was attempting it on bijan. no, he happened to be genuinely fond of the other... his knowledge and ability in the food world was nothing more than an added bonus. the tomkins were and always had been a very tight-knit family, something jasper was extremely grateful for. "oh, i'm definitely not. they like any excuse to come here, yes. but i think my parents are still a bit miffed i never finished university. they're teachers, so. very education-focused. though i'll never say they were anything but supportive." he had been very lucky in that way -- and was acutely aware of it. "exactly. there's no comparison in my mind."

Bijan chuckled again, though his cheeks felt slightly warm. He knew this was probably banter, but he couldn't ignore that Jasper did sound very genuine. And he'd take it. His mother would be most happy to hear it. Food was to share, but sometimes getting compliments was just as nice. "Ah, they just use you to visit New York City, that's understandable." He grinned, taking another piece of the food himself, and a sip of his drink. "Hasn't that been years now? I understand wanting your kids to get an education, not that I have kids, but earning a piece of paper is only one of the ways to get anywhere. For my parents, me getting my masters was huge, but only because being a smart enough student meant I got to study abroad. It's a dream for a lot of people in my country to get a chance to study somewhere else." For Bijan, it had been an easy decision, he'd been slurping information since he'd been old enough to read. "Next time they're in town, you should introduce me."

"next time i get on the phone, i'll tell ma you said that." and speaking to him made her remember how much she missed her parents. sometimes, she wanted to throw it all back in the bag & toss it into the river before heading back to atlanta. what was the use of remaining here when she was homesick? but it was these kinds of encounters that kept her moving forward, both metaphorical & in the literal sense. "nice to meet you, professor mousavi. that is super impressive. i can tell ya i definitely did not go to university for that." she couldn't imagine teaching it either. she already struggled with not making reading for pleasure become boring. "i'm robin morgan. i'm one of the singing waitresses at stardust." she hesitated. "... and a bartender at becky's." she would leave her third job off the marker. "i'm used to hurryin' and stressin', i'm afraid. it's all in the job description, which they do not tell you about."

Bijan chuckled. "Yes, please do," he agreed. He smiled brightly at the 'professor mousavi', it was definitely something that he loved to hear. Not from students but from people outside of the faculty. It was a sign of respect, and a gesture to all the work he'd done to get to this place. To get to a point where his voice and his knowledge was wanted and needed. Though at the same time, Bijan tried not to let it go to his head and continue learning. "Nice to meet you Robin. A singing waitress? That sounds interesting. Stardust, you say. I'll have to take my partner there some day, I think he'll either love it completely or he'll hate it." And it would then be the most fun to Bijan. "It does sound stressful," he agreed. "I'm very lucky that walking isn't part of my job description." He didn't need to point out the walking stick, but he felt like it was a good joke. "I spend most of my time doing research though, I also work for the World Health Organisation, flying all over the world to hold conferences and reading new research papers. Some days, I'm not sure which I like more. Talking with fellow professors or drilling knowledge into young minds. And you? Singing or bartending?"

"For once I actually have time off, but I have no idea what to do with it. Usually I just spend it with my best friend husband, but I don't know what I should do right now. Help?" @bhqextras

Bjian made a face that suggested he was thinking it over. Though it was much harder to think of answers for other people than it would be for himself. "That's... a good question. Do you like art? Or museums? I was going to visit that famous art museum today, despite having been in this city for ages, I've never been there."