Joseph was so happy to spend some time with his little sis. Granted, he couldn't believe she was as grown as she. His little sis really was more just his sister now. She was in school, she could drink, and from what he heard from phone calls & family members, she was in a pretty happy relationship with... A video game designer? He couldn't quite remember what she did, so he made sure to make a mental note to ask about her.

In either case, they had agreed to meet at the McSorley's Old Ale House. It was a quaint little pub stuffed almost in lower Manhattan. Besides, that, it was a regular pub - drink beer, take a few shots, get wasted. He had a couple day layover in NYC before due to a snow storm - this was a hell of a bar, if it hadn't been changed. In either case, they agreed to meet at the pub since they'd both be drinking - it would be safer for them to take the metro or a cab back.

Joseph decided to wear a blue t-shirt and a pair of slacks. Basic, but it looked nice on him. He had saw Gina during Christmas, but with the school season starting, time kind of got away from him. Tonight, though, they would have some good brother-sister bonding. Hopefully, instead of all that family stuff, they could catch up not only as family, but as friends.

In either case, he stood outside the pub waiting for Gina to arrive. He wanted to make sure they would be together when they entered - after all, it was safer that way. He didn't want anything to happen to his lil' sis.

Gina wore an outfit befitting drinks at the pub with your big brother-- cropped jeans when ripped knees, a loose black shirt and an olive, military-styled jacket. Her hair had been wrangled into a messy bun, curls fighting to get free of the tie that held them. Gina wasn't exactly a pub person (she liked clubs, with dancing and fruity drinks) but she'd jump at any excuse to hangout with Joey, particularly if drinks were on him.

Gina landed at a nearby park, walking the few blocks to their designated meeting spot. Joey wasn't hard to find. Six foot tall, and leaving a wake of tittering girls in his immediate vicinity. Gina trotted closer, her tail flicking excitedly. When she was close enough to be within earshot, she called out to him.

“Hey, stranger,” she all but sang, “Can you direct me to McSorley’s? I'm terribly lost!”

She grinned at that and, rising on her tiptoes, kissed Joseph upon his scruffy cheek.

“How've you been?”

Half of him wanted to smoke a cigarette - a habit he had kicked a couple years back, as he waited for Gina. He took his Galaxy out and fiddled with it for a bit.

It wasn't long before he heard a familiar voice that he loved. Gina! "Well, well, I think I might be able to help ya out there." He gave her a wink and gave her a tight hug. "Sorry we haven't talked for a bit, getting ready for the spring has been a rough one." He chuckled a little, "Pretty darn good! Just busy, you know how it goes."

He still couldn't believe she had grown up so much. She had grown up into a good, young woman. When he left for college when he was 18, she was only 12. Sure, he saw her in between but he hadn't seen her as a woman until this past Christmas. He had been overseas in eastern Europe, Asia, etc for so long. Even the tan he  received was only just now fading.

He smiled and opened the door for her, motioning her inside quickly. No reason to stay outside any longer than they need too. It was chilly, especially with the winter storm hitting the Northeast. "How have you been though? Are you still living at that... Cunningham? Honeycomb? Complex? And how about your girlfriend?"

His face wrinkled as he tried to remember the name of complex, her girlfriend's name, and everything else she told him. Clearly, he didn't have the best memory.

"I do," Gina avowed, wrapping her arms around the back of Joey's neck. Hugs were exchanged, and the two of them strolled into the pub and out of the cold. She was grateful-- cold weather had a way of making her groggy. Gina shuffled inside, clasping her wings close to her back.

"Honeycomb!" Gina said brightly, "The Co-Op. Yeah, still there. I like it."

Some of her roommates... okay, all of her roommates... were a lot different from her, but different was okay! And besides, she had plenty of friends on the other floors.

"Which girlfriend?" Gina said idly, feigning confusion. It wasn't a ruse she could keep-up long, though. She beamed, "Nessa is fine. We're doing great. You'll have to meet her eventually."

The relationship was looking to be a long-term one, after all. There seemed to be a few open seats at the bar. Gina nodded towards them, and clambered up onto a stool. She liked stools because it was pretty the low back meant there was spac for her wings. She couldn't really fit into booths.

"What about you? Any girlfriends?"

He was so glad to see Gina again. His number one goal once he got settled was to see her more often - he missed seeing her, being around her, and must having fun family time with her.

Once inside, he rubbed his arms taking a look around the pub. He noted several differences in the pub already and he nearly sighed, thinking about how different things were. He felt like he missed a lot of time to be in Gina & his families life. On the same note, he would never take back the past 10 years. He loved it too darn much.

His eyes widened as he offered a one of the stool seats to Gina after she motioned towards them. He sat next to her. "Oh, you. You almost had me!" He laughed - she totally got him for a minute there. Heck, he couldn't believe it even if she was telling the truth. He couldn't imagine Gina being the one to have more than one girlfriend.

Motioning for the bartender, he perked a brow at his question and shook his head, "Oh, um, nope. No girlfriends for me." He smiled. He should really tell her that he was gay, but... No one really knew, yet. Besides a couple really close friends, who don't even live in the states, he had mostly kept it to himself. Maybe it was time to change that.

Joey's surprise earned an impish smirk from the gargoyle, which instantly foiled her ruse of being some sort of polyamorous goddess. One could dream... but honestly, she was quite happy with just Nessa. She didn't need an entourage.

>> "Oh, um, nope. No girlfriends for me."

"Booo," the gargoyle voiced her disapproval. How had Joey managed that? With looks like his, he had to beating girls back with a stick. Or just... really, really picky. For someone who was already involved in a relationship with another girl, the obvious alternative surprisingly did not occur to her.

"That's okay, though. Being a free agent is sometimes good, too. You have so much more time for... activities!"

As if a twenty-one-year-old had the right to give sage advice to her big brother. Pah.

It was true, though. Relationships took work. Not being in a relationship meant... you had more time to do your own thing!

He smiled as the bartender came to ask them for their order. "I'll take a Red Apple Ale, if you don't mind." He said to the person. Thankfully, he no longer got carded. His little sister on the other hand, probably would.

He laughed and shrugged, "Eh, just haven't found the right one, you know? We can't all be like you and find a sweet girlfriend." He winked.

He shook his head a little bit at her, playfully of course. "Yeah... Activities. You know, I'm your brother and it just seems... Weird." He laughed, "But I know you're not a kid anymore." He smiled. "Tell me though, how's school? I do need to meet this Nessa individual by the way. I don't know if she's good enough for you yet."

>> "Eh, just haven't found the right one, you know? We can't all be like you and find a sweet girlfriend. Yeah... Activities. You know, I'm your brother and it just seems... Weird."

Gina smiled, her tail curling. She hadn't really meant the remark to be weird… “activities” was just an all-encompassing term for whatever Joey did these days. She wasn't really sure. She also wasn't totally invested in her brother's dating life, either. Joey could live his own life. Do what he wanted. It was fine.

>> “But I know you're not a kid anymore. Tell me though, how's school? I do need to meet this Nessa individual by the way. I don't know if she's good enough for you yet."

“School's fine. Busy,” Gina murmured, “Just trying to push through until Spring Break. And you totally do need to meet Nessa. She's wonderful.”

The bartender turned their attention to her, their gaze half inquiring what she wanted, and half inquiring if she was old enough to be sitting at the bar.

“Hard Cider, please?” she asked. She was already pulling out her ID before they even asked.

Joey smiled, happy that him and Gina were finally getting some time together. Sure, they had some earlier activities together Christmas, but it still wasn't the same as a good night out on the town.

He nodded as he listened to her explain how she was doing. It was only a few minutes later that the bartender returned with his Ale and her Hard Cider. He took a sip, sighing satisfactorily. "How much longer before you graduate? This semester or next year?"

He smiled at the mention of Nessa. He was glad his little sister had found someone good who loved her and that she loved. Despite however he might feel about her, he was just happy she was happy. "You know, we'll have to throw you a big *ss party when you graduate. Oh, I can cook us some dinner maybe a couple weekends from now? My apartment is all settled in, now."

Gina's expression pinched at the graduation question.

"Bro, I'm double-majoring," she said, elbowing him lightly. Four years was a total myth, besdies. She had only just transfered to NYU from a community college the previous semester... and, even so, she still had some catch-up to do... three years might have been doable with one major, buuuut... "I might be on the six-year plan."

That's what she got for going for both fashion and social work. That didn't even cover postbaccalaureate stuff. Gina grinned amicably at her brother. She knew he didn't mean anything by it.

"I would never turn down food," Gina asserted, "And I guess spending time with you would be okay, too."

She winked at Joseph. Gina always enjoyed this kind of ribbing with him.