Lee was still getting used to the fact that she was living with Jason, well, really that she was simply living with anyone. But Lee had already grown to love the fact that Jason waited up for her to come home from work almost every night. There was so much about him, about them, that she had never thought would be possible for her to have, thought between work and the physical contact they had together, it did often make finding the time and lack of energy to sleep difficult. Jason, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have much trouble with the insomnia he claimed to have suffered from before meeting her. Unfortunately, that meant quite a few long, lonely nights after he went to bed.

But the previous night had definitely been interesting. It certainly wasn’t every day that you were offered a job, especially not one at the Inferno, while working at some crappy yet popular Top 40s club. And it was not every night that the man offering her said job handed over a business card stating that he worked for Haven. Not that that had meant much to Lee until after she’d gotten home and Jason had gone to bed. Then she had time to do some research. And sure enough, Haven proved to be some sort of big deal charitable organization, and Inferno was located within their building. Certainly interesting.

Hours later, Lee got dressed, her outfit much more casual than the previous night’s had been, paired with fishnet stockings and her knee high, three inch heels. Then, after giving Jason a kiss, she left to give him privacy to meet with the client that was supposed to be coming in. Though she was still a little nervous about that with the whole Gladys issue they had hanging over their heads.

But despite the fact that it felt like it had already been a day or two since she had met Devon, not merely about 12 hours, Lee still had some time to kill before she’d get ahold of Devon. So she grabbed some coffee and started walking.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Lee made her way to the club at the time she had arranged on the phone with Devon. Stepping into the vacant club, Lee stopped and looked around, slightly in awe. She had worked at a lot of bars and clubs over the years, but even empty and fully lit, the Inferno definitely stood above everywhere else.

After she’d marvelled at the club for a moment, Lee let her eyes start travelling again, looking for the man she was there to meet.

Ever have one of those days where you struggling to get up after going out for a friend’s party the night before? Maybe you drank too much. Maybe you danced all night. Maybe you went to an after party later. Maybe you convinced two guys you’d help them hook up with a bar tender but then you videotaped them making out with each other? They came home with you anyway but then you didn’t let them upstairs and gave them to one of the high rollers while you had a night cap while watching cartoons? And maybe your friend got home okay but he was way too into that girl who was way into hooking up with someone to get… something. Maybe she was interesting but you’d decided she was trying too hard?

Okay and so maybe you eventually got up and took what accounted for a five-minute shower, long enough to get the sick of the clubs off you. And then you maybe got dressed but were a little woozy so you accidentally spelled your Chez Bond cologne down your shirt. But yeah maybe you were like forget people who complain you smell damn good. So maybe you made a Bloody Mary, grabbed your phone, and then remember that maybe you’d meet that girl downstairs in the Inferno who you wanted to hire. Cause maybe everyone else is doing their job while you pretend to go along with all this bull like it actually meant anything.

Oh and maybe the darn Frost woman at the front desk sent you a message letting you know she’d let this Lee girl – if that even was her real name – into the club to wait for you. Maybe you were late.

“Ah,” Devon said, the smell of him good but strong as he came down the marbled steps into the club proper. “I’m sorry. Looks like I’m a few minutes late! It was a long night,” he grimaced but then grinned. “Glad you came! Impressive right? Wait til tonight… it’ll get real busy and I figure you can just shadow people. No need to work really, just see how the club operates and then you can give me your yes or no.”

Devon laughed, “Although I’d love a drink, preferably with orange juice.” He nodded urgently, “Scurvy is the enemy, right? Oh, you will get paid for tonight of course. Did you quit that horrid place yet?” He shivered as he headed over the bar.

“How was your morning, hm?”

At first, Lee couldn’t see Devon anywhere in the club. Though, the fact that she had been let in at this time of the day, especially with the set up that they had out front, assured Lee that she had been expected. At least that was good; it meant that what had been said the previous night had not in fact been drunken ramblings spoken in an attempt to impress her.

A few minutes later, Lee finally saw Devon approaching, making his way down a staircase in the club. And it had certainly been a long night, though with how the man was looking, it was obviously for a different reason than her own night had been long. At least in Devon’s case, it was looking like that long night had changed into a different kind of long day.

”It’s very impressive,” Lee agreed with a nod and another glance around the place. It was by far the nicest establishment Lee had been in before, never mind comparing it to places she had worked.

But as Devon went on to start talking about how it was going to get busy that night, and how she could simply shadow people, Lee’s eyes shot back to him. To start that night. Devon had said something the previous night about how she shouldn’t have to spend another night at the bar he’d met her in, but to actually get a real job offer for that night from a man that was, well maybe not completely sober but much more so than he had been the night before, was different than the words had been the night before.

Lee nodded at the man, though by this point he was making his way toward the bar. For another drink, as if she hadn’t given him enough of those the previous night. ”I haven’t told them yet,” Lee admitted as they got to the bar. A much better stocked bar than she was used to seeing, even with the fact that it wasn’t technically open yet. ”If there’s a chance this may not work out,” Lee continued with a slight shrug. ”Gotta be practical, after all, and I’d much rather have one too many jobs tomorrow morning than none at all.

“My morning?” Lee repeated as they came up to the bar. Taking a seat on one of the stools, Lee crossed her legs as she looked at Devon. ”It was fairly typical. No sleep, copious amounts of coffee, and walking around to kill time.”

>> ”It’s very impressive,” Lee agreed

Devon nodded with a slight smile and a shrug. Yeah it was, but it was a club for rich, famous, and influential. It should be.

>> ”I haven’t told them yet,”

He went behind the bar and found a glass. He filled it half way with ice, then added some Grey Goose. Was that two shots worth? Orange juice was next. He covered it and shook it as she was explaining her need to be practical. Okay, fine. A mature bartender was probably good to have.

But the morning?

>> ”It was fairly typical. No sleep, copious amounts of coffee, and walking around to kill time.”

An eyebrow arched as Devon drank eagerly from his glass. He looked at her quizzically. He’d had maybe a swallow or two when he pulled the glass away. “No sleep?” he frowned. “Drug problem? Bad dreams? Stalker problems?”

Devon didn’t say anything about her needing to be practical so she hadn’t actually quit her job at the bar she hated yet. He simply nodded and started making himself a drink on the other side of the bar, their positions essentially reversed from the previous night. And with the reversal, Lee watched as Devon poured liquid into his glass. A screwdriver. Pretty typical fare for trying to avoid the hangover the next morning by getting drunk again.

Then he questioned her comment about having no sleep the night before. Lee simply shook her head at his immediate thoughts about why. ”Were you too drunk last night to remember me saying I’ve had a bit of insomnia lately?” Lee asked, the memory of what had caused that lack of sleep the previous night making a small smile grow on her face.

”I don’t do drugs, unless you count caffeine, don’t have any stalkers that I’m aware of, and you kind of need to fall asleep to have bad dreams.” Lee shrugged as she looked across the bar at Devon. ”It’s just hard to sleep when you’ve got too much energy to lay still.”

>> ”Were you too drunk last night to remember me saying I’ve had a bit of insomnia lately?”

Devon looked up as if the answers were on the ceiling, then shrugged as he looked back to her. He smiled and winked and chuckled slightly. Maybe? A brow quirked up and she went on, grinning.

Didn’t do drugs. Good. The staff didn’t partake; that was for the members and it made them easily pliable. Syndicate supplied, Haven approved. Caffeine was fine. Who didn’t like coffee? Human bigot racist communists didn’t like coffee. Ridiculous. No stalkers was good, and the no sleep? Well useful for a bar.

He took a few sips of his drink and nodded along. “Okay well, too much energy is a good thing here. You can work as much as you want, but I’ll want you on for the Friday and Saturday night rush of course. You’ll make huge tips and we pay quite well. HR can take care of all the common stuff,” he shrugged as he spoke somewhat dismissively.

“Any questions for me, hm?”

Devon didn’t deny her question about how inebriated he had been the night before, but he also didn’t confirm that he didn’t remember. Though, she had been making him some pretty strong drinks, and he hadn’t exactly been nursing them. Despite that seeming lack of recollection, Devon seemed pleased with what she said. But this was New York, and Lee knew that it wasn’t always easy to find someone to work behind a bar who didn’t have a stalker ex that also didn’t do drugs. She’d had enough coworkers with issues over the years to know that for a fact, though she kept her nose out to avoid problems and drama.

As Devon spoke, Lee nodded. Working as much as she wanted would be nice, as long as the opposite was also true, and being expected to work the Friday and Saturday rushes at the bar was no surprise.

Lee did blink in surprise when Devon mentioned that HR could take care of other aspects of her employment. That was...unusual to say the least. Lee had never heard of a bar that actually had a Human Resources department before. She’d have to make sure that her ID was up to snuff, if that was the case since they’d likely look much closer at her IDs than the typical bar owner.

But did she have any questions? Lee sat in thought for a moment before her eyes moved back to Devon. ”Is there a dress code? Or a uniform?” She asked. God, she hoped there wasn’t a uniform. ”Or am I free to dress as I wish?”

When Lee seemed taken aback about HR working with her, Devon smiled, “Inferno is owned by Haven and thus, Haven’s Human Resources processes applicants. But y’know, I push paper along.” He chuckled briefly and they went on. Thank God he could get his work done in a few hours today. It was mind numbing.

>>”Or am I free to dress as I wish?”

“Oh no,” Devon shook his head. “No uniform. Just don’t look like a dumpster fire or like you can’t afford something trendy or hot or whatever. Whether you dress in black and heels, red and flats, or varying patterns with ballet shoes… Just look cool. I mean…” he shook his head. “No, no uniform. You should be making enough to style it up.”

He grimaced a little, “I mean last night was great, the whole catholic school kind of get up… Though I wouldn’t play that up too much. Consider what your brand is. What is Lee, if that is your real name…” Devon smirked and chuckled. “Like my brand involves dark clothes, classic or traditional styles, with shocks of color. If I’m casual it’s dark jeans and a dark shirt, usually long sleeved. That’s my brand. Hell, it’s even my duplicate’s brand on the other side of the portal.”

Devon laughed as he finished his screwdriver. “I guess there’s no deviation there at least.”

Lee nodded when Devon said that he could push paper along, but that because Haven owned the Inferno it handled staffing. It made sense, it was just different from anything else that Lee had encountered before. Lee just hoped that Devon was right about being able to push things through if there turned out to be issues because of her...status and not so legal ID. And that if there were problems, that Devon would still want to push her paperwork through.

But those were thoughts for another day, even if that day ended up being tomorrow. At the moment, Lee’s thoughts were on clothing and...branding? That was something she had never thought about, she simply wore what she thought would look good on her. ”I didn’t play that up,” she told Devon. ”I wore that outfit for half the day. Though I have noticed that when my boyfriend has trouble keeping his hands off me, I tend to make better tips.”

If Lee was her real name? She just looked at Devon as he laughed at what he thought was a joke. ”Of course that’s my real name,” she told him. ”Well, close enough to it. People who use the name my parents gave me don’t walk away comfortably.”

As Devon continued speaking, and finishing his drink, Lee could only stare at him. His duplicate? For the moment, the job and the bar were forgotten. ”You’ve actually gone over there?” Lee asked. She’d heard rumours about what that other strange yet very similar world was like, but that’s all they were, rumours. She’d never actually met someone who’d been over there.Someone who knew if the rumours were true. ”What is it like?”

>> ”I wore that outfit for half the day. Though I have noticed that when my boyfriend has trouble keeping his hands off me, I tend to make better tips.”

Devon laughed and nodded, “Yeah, men are easily manipulated that way.” She acknowledged Lee was only sort of her real name. That’s what he thought. He smirked and nodded; it didn’t really matter to him. He just wanted a good drink.

He grimaced at her surprised, but continued nodding. He was so agreeable today! He must’ve been in a good mood. Another drink was sure to help. She asked the expected as he poured another. Devon shrugged and smirked and rolled his eyes.

“I mean… Same-ish? They’ve really had it too easy over there honestly. Still violent against mutants but they’re far more open, though I guess after some dangerous fights, even murderous mutants. But people in general seem more optimistic, happy, trusting there. I guess we’re the sad, difficult, pessimistic universe,” Devon shrugged again. “Sorry if you were hoping for better? My twin there is a yuppy douche who thinks he can just fix the world with smiles and education. He’s an ignorant hypocrite and even killed his parents! Disgusting really.”

Devon lifted his new drink, “But we’re different over here. We aren’t losing time and lives to such nonsense. We truly live!”

Yeah, Lee had noticed many years earlier that men were easily manipulated. Though, that wasn’t why she dressed the way she did. Lee chose her clothing because she liked the way she looked in it; the extra attention she got from Jason, and the tips from customers at work, were just extra byproducts that benefited her.

Not that she needed to explain that to Devon. Nor would she, even if he asked. The only person Lee would feel she’d need to explain that to, if he didn’t already know that, was waiting for her at home.

As Devon explained what the other world was like, Lee listened with rapt attention. There were still problems, it would be a little unsettling if there weren’t problems of some sort. But people seemed happier overall and mutants were able to live more openly? Despite the problems Devon had mentioned, and his apparent disgust with the place, it sounded incredibly promising to Lee. At least it sounded nicer than the world where she’d never had a boyfriend before Jason for fear that they’d find out she was a mutant, where they were dealing with a woman blackmailing Jason because she did find that out about him…

”Ah, now see, you’ve just made me more curious about what it’s like over there,” Lee relied, leaning forward on the bar slightly as she watched Devon raise his glass in a toast. ”We may be different, but happier is happier, right?” And being able to live without fear of being discovered for what you were sounded pretty damn good, too.

Lee’s interest did not escape his notice as Devon spoke.

>> ”We may be different, but happier is happier, right?”

“I know!” Devon shouted before throwing back of his second drink. “It’s infuriating. Why is it all sunshine and rainbows there while the clouds seem oppressive over here? Everything is such a fight and the people are just…” Devon groaned. “It’s not fair.”

A dark eyebrow quirked up as he grinned a wry grin, “Or are you more interested because you’re a mutant?” Devon glanced sideways to the doors into the bar, which were closed, and then back to Lee. His eyes were going black rather quickly, solid pools of darkness staring back at the young woman. “I mean, I wouldn’t be shocked to find out you were even more special than I could tell originally.”

It really wasn’t fair that everything seemed to be much better on the other side, in that other world. At least how Devon was explaining things. But, Lee had learned a long time ago that life wasn’t fair and that there really wasn’t a whole lot that you could do about it other than deal with what you were given. It wasn’t easy, but that was what she had been doing for the last 20 years.

But then Devon asked if the reason she was so interested in the other side was that she was a mutant. Lee couldn’t help it, her eyes widened in surprise. ”What?” she asked, a little too startled at the moment to be able to say anything more. Was it that obvious by her questions? Though, Devon was grinning as he spoke. And calling her ‘more special’ if she was a mutant. Surely that had to mean things were alright, that her secret was safe.

Right?

Then Lee noticed that Devon’s eyes were dark. No, not just dark, but black. Completely black. Inhumanly black, with no whites showing at all. It was a little unsettling, actually.

”Why would you even think that?” Lee asked, a crease forming between her brows as she frowned slightly. Unless he was a mutant too. He had to be with those eyes, right? But that wasn’t a question that was going to pass Lee’s lips.

Oh they always acted shocked at first. He nodded when she asked what. He glanced upwards – not that she could tell – and then back down as Lee stared back at him. Sometimes you had to be up front and if she really threw a fit, well, there were ways to handle that problem…

>> ”Why would you even think that?”

“Oh I don’t know,” Devon shrugged as she frowned. He smiled broadly, however, a wide Cheshire grin. “Maybe it’s the too much energy and no sleep? Or the seemingly better world for mutants being so interesting? All smart humans make sure to note they don’t trust mutants, how dangerous they are…” He waved an effete hand while the other brought his drink back to his lips.

Mmm, yum. Courage and vodka and vitamin C. Yay!

“Also you’re just cool. You are cool, right?” Devon asked, a brow arching upward. “I’d hate if you weren’t. You don’t have to be shy. I mean, I’m clearly a mutant. I’ve got an eye for finding them.” He winked and laughed, then stopped.

“Seriously, no need to be afraid. I may help mutants and mutant sympathizers here and there…” which was mostly true. “But really, let’s not do the whole ‘no, are you’ or ‘maybe I am.’ Either you are or you aren’t. I showed you mine…”

She had screwed up, Lee realized as Devon started speaking. She had been too interested in that other world, too interested in the fact that people were happier and that mutants could be more open there. And too open about how she had too much energy and couldn’t sleep. Most people just assumed it was the amount of coffee she drank (and it was enough to keep most people up for god knew how long), but Devon had taken the correct line of thought.

But his eyes were black, like black black. He was obviously a mutant. And he thought that her being one made her even cooler than he already thought she was. That would be a first, though he didn’t actually know what her powers were. And then he came out and actually said the words, admitting what he was.

Lee was silent for a few moments, just looking across the bar at the young mutant. ”You’d hate if I wasn’t a mutant?” Lee questioned rather than admit she was. ”I can honestly say that I’ve never heard anyone say that before.”

Devon didn’t want to play the whole ‘maybe I am’ game. Really, Lee couldn’t blame him, that game sucked. All it really did was deny actual proof that you were a mutant even though the person was still sure you were. Because really, if you weren’t a mutant, a person would just come out and say that. Plus, he had shown his mutation, at least the changing eyes, first.

As she sat there, Lee checked her siphoning; at least she knew that the only person close enough to hear her with how quietly she would speak was Devon. ”Alright, yes, I am,” Lee finally admitted, her voice loud enough that Devon would be able to hear her easily, but still quiet enough that if there was someone else in the bar beyond the range of her siphoning, they wouldn’t be able to hear her.