Kersen

[real_gun_hand]

Hotch had been trying to get out. He'd never been the sort to just go out for the sake of going out, but in London he knew so few people and the town itself was a mystery. He'd taken it to heart that he should find at least one new place every week and this week he'd found a lovely restaurant that served Asian food. Of course he had had Chinese in mind when he heard 'Asian' and was surprise dwhen he arrived that it was Indian cuisine. He'd enjoyed a delicious meal and then had started off to the tube when he spotted a bar. He could have one drink, he thought, and had made his way inside.

A piano bar, neatly appointed and apparently popular. Hotch took a seat at the bar and ordered a scotch, then turned to watch the pianist. He didn't recognize the song, but that was no shock. It sounded jazzy and that really wasn't his specialty.

Comments

[kersen]

Kersen hadn't performed that entire week, as he'd been too busy with administrative things in the bar, and Tabitha had taken a few days off so he'd been picking up the slack with bartending as well. He was happy just for the excuse to get pretty and sing, and he went with old hollywood glam that night - a classic gown, a red so dark it was almost black, with a high neck and lace sleeves covering both adam's apple and tattoos. His wig was long, black hair that he'd pulled back into a loose bun with chopsticks and a red flower. There was a slit up one leg that he took advantage of when he slid up onto the top of the piano and crossed his legs to croon "Love for Sale." Apparently he still hadn't gotten over his Cole Porter phase lately.

[real_gun_hand]

Hotch listened and after a while he took his drink to sit closer to the piano. It took him much too long to decide if the pinaist was a mannish woman or a feminine man. In this day and age it didn't particularly matter either way, but Hotch liked things to be clear. He liked to know where he stood. When the next song finished he took a note from his wallet and put it in the glass meant for tips.

"You're good," he said conversationally.

[kersen]

Kersen's blood red lips curved into a smile. "Thank you, honey," he said. "You like Cole Porter?"

[real_gun_hand]

"I don't know who that is," Hotch admitted without shame or hesitation. His musical knowledge was limited, to say the least. He listened to the radio and knew quite a bit of 80's music, but by the time Nirvana became popular Hotch was too busy with his career to pay much attention.

[kersen]

Kersen arched a brow. "He was a songwriter. Thirties and forties, mostly. He wrote some of the most iconic musical numbers... some Sinatra... you do know who Frank Sinatra is, honey?" He didn't sound condescending at all, almost charmed instead, like he was genuinely pleased to be sharing this with someone.

[real_gun_hand]

"I do know Frank Sinatra," Hotch replied with a small half-smile tugging up the corner of his lips. "I'm pretty sure everyone in America knows a little Sinatra."

[kersen]

"How about this one, then," Kersen said, and sang a few bars of 'I've Got You Under My Skin.'

[real_gun_hand]

"Not going with Witchcraft?" he asked when Kersen finished. "Or New York New York...that one might not have the same impact here in London."

He took a sip.

"I'm Aaron."

[kersen]

"Yes, but those weren't Cole Porter," Kersen said with a little laugh. "Who was American, too." He offered his hand. His nails were approximately the same color as his lips. "Kersen. Pleasure to meet you."

[real_gun_hand]

"Do you do this full time? Play piano in here?" he asked. It was his second drink and he was primed to make conversation. He still hadn't decided Kersen's gender, though he was leaning toward a man in drag. Though his experience with drag queens was exceptionally limited and he didn't feel confident making the call...and he certainly wasn't going to ask.

[kersen]

Kersen didn't generally try to actually make people believe he was a woman, but tonight he might have been doing a fair job of it on accident, what with the subtle makeup and the high neck. And the bar was dark. And well, he wouldn't be the first woman with a deeper voice. But for now it didn't even occur to him that Aaron might think he was a woman.

"Sort of," he said, smiling. "It's my bar. You like?"

[real_gun_hand]

"Oh? I do. It's nice. Most of the bars and pubs have been so loud. In DC I went to a quiet bar most of the time. They had live music but it was never really loud. It's nice to be able to talk."

He knew JJ and Emily and Penelope went out to different bars, but the one they went to as a team wasn't really loud. Qquiet enough for Reid to play knowledge games and JJ to dominate the dart board.

Thinking of it made him just a touch melancholy. He did miss home.

[kersen]

"I like it, too," Kersen said. "You sound a little homesick. Not been here long, then?"

[real_gun_hand]

"Just a few weeks. I'm still not even settled into my apartment," he said. His landlady called it a flat but he just couldn't change his entire vocabulary that quickly. "It's got a steep learning curve. From driving on the wrong side of the road to the differences in food and...you know, everything. Have you ever been to America?"

[kersen]

Kersen nodded. "I lived in New York City for a little while, actually." A little while meaning almost a decade... twice... but he always came back to Europe. He'd spent more time here than he had in Asia, too. "This city will grow on you."

[real_gun_hand]

"I'm sure it will. I did move from the west coast to the east. The difference between Seattle and DC took some getting used to. This is just a bigger move," Hotch said, adding a shrug.

[kersen]

"And what brought you to our fair continent?" Kersen asked.

Though before Aaron could answer, Tabitha walked over and handed Kersen a glass of red wine. He laughed and gave her a little nod of thanks before turning his attention back to Aaron. "She kept telling me I should just take the night off."

[real_gun_hand]

"If you own the bar you could probably get away with taking the night off now and again," he said. He paused to take a sip of his drink, then tilted his head. "Work. I was a supervisory special agent with the behavioral analysis unit of the FBI. But some changes happened and I got transferred to the legat's office here in London. Doing much the same job, but without a team and focusing on foreign threats instead of domestic psychotics."

[kersen]

"Ah, you're a law man," Kersen said with a smile, and took a sip of the wine, leaving behind a lipstick smudge. "That must be both dangerous and rewarding."

[real_gun_hand]

"I can't imagine doing anything else. I began as an attorney, but I decided to try to stop criminals rather than prosecute them after the fact," he explained.

[kersen]

Kersen thought about how much time he'd spent lately acting like he was in some kind of law enforcement himself. He actually felt like he was even finally starting to gain some sort of respect in the vampire community, because he'd put his foot down about behavior in his bar.

"I'm sure you're very good at what you do," he said with a little smile.

[real_gun_hand]

"I try," Hotch replied, returning the smile. He tried to think of something that would be polite to talk about with a stranger, a new friend. He wasn't awkward, but he was accustomed to being with other agents where conversation often turned to the more grave parts of the job. He doubted Kersen would like to hear any of that.

"So what else do you play?" he asked. "I know 80's music, but I doubt you go in for Flock of Seagulls in here."

[kersen]

"Try me," Kersen said with a sly little smile. "Any requests?"

[real_gun_hand]

"Do you know New Order's Bizarre Love Triangle?" he asked, thinking it might be a bit of an odd request...though he did think it would fit the theme of the bar. It was a nice love song.

[kersen]

Kersen's smile widened. "I do, actually," he said. "It might not be fancy, but familiar enough I can probably muddle my way through it... you wait just here."

He reached out and patted Aaron's cheek gently and then got to his feet and went back over to the piano. He waited until the song ended and then tapped the pianist on the shoulder, letting him off for a minute. Kersen slid onto the bench so that he could play.

He'd been playing long enough and had enough practice at this sort of thing that he could pick out the melody without having practiced. The improvisation wasn't fancy, but it was enough that he could sing the song acoustic, with his own accompaniment. He sang it slow, like an old love song rather than the new wave eighties character of the original. "Every time I think of you I feel shot right through with a bolt of blue... It's no problem of mine, but it's a problem I find..."