The apartment above Luke's, Wednesday afternoon

[myfifthrodeo]

Her potential future landlord smelled like rum.

So . . . that was a thing.

"It's like. two pm, dude."

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair with a grimace. "I know. There's, uh. A problem with the taps right now. Hope you weren't expecting a shower first thing."

"That happen a lot?"

"Nope." He shrugged at her with a wry, charming grin that she was pretty sure was a front. "So. Rosalinda Ortecho, welcome to Fandom. What, uh. What brings you to town?"

Rosa turned in a slow circle, looking around the little apartment. It was cute. A two bedroom, like the one over the Crashdown back home, and somehow deeply affordable, despite its proximity to downtown. An occasional problem with the pipes smelling like rum might be doable. It'd be no worse than hanging around Maria's bar all the time. "I'm a student," she said. "At MICA. Needed to get out of the dorms and I found your ad."

"My . . . ad." The guy -- Duke, apparently -- blinked. "Right. Cool. Well, Fandom's not a bad spot for an artist."

Rosa nodded. "I saw some of the murals. You guys have an arts counsel or something?"

"No, just a lot of teenagers and a police force uninterested in enforcing any vandalism laws."

Rosa laughed. He didn't. Rosa let her laugh taper off slowly. ". . . Okay," she said. "Well, um. I guess I'll take it?"

"Yeah?" Duke smiled at her again. "I can't promise it'll always be peaceful or quiet."

"I grew up over a diner," Rosa assured him. "And I really need to get out of the dorms."

". . . Right." Duke looked amused. "Whelp." He held out a set of keys. "It's all yours, then."

"Cool." Rosa held the keys in her hand and looked around again. It was all hers. "Hey, you mind if I paint?"

"Knock your socks off," Duke said. "If you're any good, maybe I'll even commission something from you downstairs."

Rosa grinned. Being paid for her art? In a place that cost only as much as she might make on tips in a day at the Crashdown? Where was the catch?

Other than the pipes thing.

"This place isn't, like. Infested with roaches or a death trap or something, is it? Because my cousin's boyfriend is a cop, and he's --"

"It's fine," Duke said. "Fandom is just . . . unique. If you spotted, uh, my ad, then you're supposed to be here. Who am I to argue with the multiverse?"

Ah. He was one of those people. Odd, she'd have expected more crystals.

"Any other questions?" he asked.

"Yeah," Rosa said. "If you're Duke, how come the diner's named 'Luke's'?"

"Because it's been Luke's forever. I've only been here about three years." Duke shrugged. "I'm not here to change the name of a local institution, you know?"

"Right." Rosa weighed the keys in her hands again and looked around, licking her lips a little. "Well. I guess . . . if I need anything, I've got your number."

"That you do." Duke put his hands in his pockets and backed towards the door, giving her another bright, shallow grin. "Welcome to Fandom, Rosalinda. Hope you like it here."

Rosa nodded back and watched him go, then shook her head. She slung her backpack down on the futon that dominated the little living room.

"Can't be any weirder than Roswell," she muttered.

Even if she did have to stock up on bottled water.

[Duke modded with permission from myself, mwahahahaha!. NFI -- if you want to meet Rosa, she's at JGOB!]