parked | Log with Ianto: The Proof is in the Pudding

Ianto turned his head to look out...well. Where the window would be, if it weren't rolled down. "Yeah," Ianto said, trying to be cocky as he did so, "'course there are." He just...couldn't think of anything that he was good at that anyone would think was cool. ...couldn't think of anything that anyone would be proud of him for. He sunk in his seat a little, both because he was uneasy and also because he was suddenly upset with his life all over again.

"How far away is this place, anyway?" he asked.

Sulu was just about to ask Ianto to elaborate when the other boy asked him where they were going. It took him a minute to decide where they should go, but he knew a place down by the pier that would probably be best for them. "Ten minutes, depending on traffic. Then again, I have no idea if the place is gonna be overrun with cadets trying to get lunch in before their classes, or whatever, so. Here's hoping they go somewhere closer to the Academy."

He took a bit of a sharp right suddenly, realizing that they were going to have to actually go to the restaurant if they wanted to eat. "Sorry," he apologized, though he didn't sound too upset by it. He suddenly pointed to Ianto's right, just briefly enough to point out a tall, blue Andorian dressed in the red cadet uniform of the Academy, grinning a bit. "See, I wasn't lying about alien life, either. But don't tell anyone, I'm pretty sure it's breaking the law to show them to you."

Ianto blanched, clutching the door frame as they turned the corner sharply. He had absolutely no idea where they were going, so he hoped that the other boy did, because that was yet another thing that he didn't want to have to experience, being lost in a foreign world with absolutely no way of getting home save for the kid who'd gotten him lost in the first place, so.

But then there was an alien and Ianto's mind was solely focused on that. "...oh my god," Ianto said, trying to hard not to stare open-mouthedly. "...they're blue."

"Yep," Sulu said, laughing, "Blue. Couple that with the antennas and the white hair and I think you can't really say he's just a performance actor, or anything. Andorian, by the way, that's what he is. And that," he pointed to three green-skinned people, two women and one man, on his side of the street.

"Orions. Tellarite," pointing to a more warmly dressed person with a distinctive looking snout and a long beard. "And, you know. Humans, everywhere, because this is still Earth. Don't worry, it hasn't been replaced or anything." He pulled up at the stoplight as a group of cadets, mostly humans, passed by the crosswalk. "That red uniform means they're cadets at Starfleet Academy. Uh, that's like... a military school."

The Tellarite Ianto really didn't know what to think about, but the Andorian, and those Orions... God, but. They were fascinating. Gorgeous, at least in the case of the green women. And all of them vaguely human in appearance, so. At least that was good. No...well. God, who knows what an alien would look like. Apparently like that, but. There could be some really odd ones out there.

"Starfleet?" Ianto questioned, finding it hard to tear his eyes off of the Orion women, although he did so eventually, turning instead to stare at the Starfleet cadets now. "So. Is this the only place that there is an Academy, then? I mean. Why here of all places?" Not that he was going to argue for there to be one in the UK, certainly not in Wales, but. Ianto didn't really know all that much about America, and it was really showing.

"San Francisco's the official Starfleet headquarters. I mean, the Federation is widespread and all, but it was founded here in 2161. So, everything just sort of gravitated here, instead of, like, Vulcan or something." Sulu shrugged, accelerating the moment the light turned green despite a Cadet that had been about to enter the crosswalk. He rolled his eyes, "The only problem is that some of them act like they own the city. Which is sorta true, I guess, but seriously. It's a green light," he groused, checking his mirror.

"Anyway, the Federation was founded in 2161, like I said, and the Academy was created to train Starfleet officers. It made sense to put it in San Francisco, I guess."

Ianto gripped the door handle of the car tightly as Sulu pushed the car through the light right before that Cadet crossed the road, biting back a hiss to be careful and not kill anyone. He...wasn't sure how bad being run over by a hovercar would be as opposed to a regular car, but. He didn't want to have to watch and find out, either.

"...but why? I mean. Why is Starfleet in San Francisco anyway, and not... I don't know, somewhere else? I mean. I'm not sure what there really is in San Francisco in my time." Which could be showing his ignorance, but. Really, though.

"It just... is. I dunno." Admittedly, the only reason he didn't know was because he didn't always pay attention during Civics, especially when it came to things that he really should know, but he was sure he could look it up later. He probably would, too, now that Ianto had brought it up.

"We're going to Pier 39, by the way," he added, "So you'll get a good look view of the Golden Gate bridge and stuff. It's like a classic tourist spot, but that's where all the good food is, you know? In tourist spots."

Ianto was a little annoyed that Sulu didn't know (people should know their local history, shouldn't they? Ianto certainly knew his), but he wasn't going to press it. He just gave himself a mental pat on the back for having stumped the other.

"Pier 39?" Ianto asked. "I'm guessing...that it's by the ocean, then?" Unless it wasn't, and that was just what it was called, in which case Ianto would feel stupid, but. It was a reasonable assumption, and all. If it was by the ocean, though...at least that'd be something familiar. Granted, not the same ocean, but. At least there wouldn't be any surprises, there.

"God, though. Anywhere that has good food would be top. I'm starving." He hadn't had much to eat before going out--he didn't want his dad to catch him and make it impossible to come in the first place, as it were.

"Yeah, it's at the bay." He hoped that Ianto could actually eat the food - wasn't that one of those time-travelling things? That even if you went somewhere, your body wouldn't be able to handle the food? But he knew instinctively that that wasn't the case here. The people he'd seen worldhopping all over the place never seemed to have trouble, and some of them even lived in worlds other than their own. If that change in diet didn't make you sick, he was pretty sure a cheeseburger or some other, more alien food wouldn't hurt either.

"Actually, we're just about there. I just have to find a spot to park, which is the really fun part." He rolled his eyes as they breezed down the street, the smell of saltwater getting stronger as they got closer. "There used to be sealions all over the place there, too, but they're gone now. That was way back in the 21st century, and all."

Ianto cocked his head at the other boy, finding it odd first of all that someone would be referring to anything as 'way back in the 21st century' when the 21st century hadn't started yet, for him. And then there was the case that his phrasing was really odd there.

"'They're all gone now'?" Ianto repeated, raising an eyebrow at the other boy. "What d'you mean by that? Have they...I dunno, migrated on or something?" It never even occurred to Ianto that 'they're gone now' would mean anything along the lines of what Sulu really meant by that statement.

"The type of sea lions that lived around here are extinct," Sulu replied, using the casual tone of someone talking about something that happened a long, long time ago. They were only a block away now, and so he started looking for a place to park, managing to miraculously find a spot on the street. "Like humpback whales. But... uh, I guess I shouldn't really tell you that."

Even so, Sulu was young and had no intention of hiding these kinds of things from Ianto. They just didn't register as breaking any real rules, since Ianto was just one kid, and he was from probably a completely different Earth. Hopefully. He powered down the engine and brought the hovercar to rest on the pavement, then grinned at Ianto. "So. Lunch?"

Ianto shrugged. "It's not like me knowing that whales go extinct is going to change the future," he said. "I'm not...I dunno, going to become some sort of whale nature activist or something. Not really my cuppa, thanks," he said.

All things considered, aside from almost hitting that one pedestrian, the ride had gone a lot smoother than he'd anticipated it. He'd even forgotten to keep his death grip on the handle of the car door for some of the time. He still was more than a little relieved to be touching down on the ground again, but. Definitely not the horrible roller coaster ride that he'd been dreading it would become.

"Lunch," Ianto echoed back at him. "You're treating, so. Wherever you'd like to go, I'm fine with that. I'm not really all that picky." Well. Not too picky, at any rate.

Sulu took a moment to undo his seatbelt and open his door, climbing out and quickly moving to the sidewalk to avoid oncoming traffic. That was the last thing he needed to do, get hit by a car. He was admittedly pretty proud that Ianto didn't seem to be as freaked out by his driving as he had been at first; he was sensitive about how well he handled flying in general, so it was good to know he wasn't just boasting for the hell of it.

"I've got a place in mind. It's mostly American food, but there're some alien dishes that you might like too. C'mon, we'll head over there."

Ianto shrugged again at Sulu's downplaying where it was that they were headed. He quickly fought his way out of his seatbelt and out of the car, onto the sidewalk to join the other boy. He glanced back at the car, unsure as to whether...well, if it were safe to leave a convertible parked on the side of the road there like that. He'd never seen one before, and he definitely grew up in the part of town where a car like this one would be stolen in half an hour at the most, so. He was more than a little wary of just leaving it there.

"You're forgetting that I'm from Wales. I mean. Sure, we have American food, but. I'm in a foreign country. In the future. I'm pretty sure just about anywhere you take me to will be more than a little bit exciting..." he said, dryly.

They headed down the street towards the pier, Sulu briefly touching the remote in hand to lock the car before tucking the piece of technology away. He couldn't help but stick close to Ianto, mostly because he really didn't need the other kid getting lost; that would seriously suck for the both of them, after all.

"Well, it's kind of a tacky place, and it tries sort of hard to be all old-fashioned, but it's more like a 22nd century diner than a 21st anymore." He grinned, "It's like a restaurant that pretended to be from the 1950s, then threw some things in from the 2150's when the 21st century was seriously going out of style."

"When the 21st century was going out of style?" Ianto repeated, quirking an eyebrow and not really sure he'd heard that other boy correctly, there. "And anyway, 21st century...depending on when in that century, is still in the future for me. I mean...it's only 1999," Ianto said, sounding a bit embarrassed for having to admit to that fact. He frowned.

It made him feel. Well, dated, to be from the past. Stupid. Uninformed. Feelings that he didn't particularly like. Especially because this Sulu kid was just tossing facts around so flippantly, about the 'ancient past', as he'd put it, which still was a year that Ianto hadn't even experienced yet.

Sulu shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets, not realizing that he was being a little insensitive towards Ianto's time. He didn't think the other kid was dated or stupid, though; he couldn't know about the things Sulu knew, because they hadn't happened. That didn't make him stupid.

"Well, I mean, if you think about it, every time goes out of style. In 1999, you don't see people wandering around in 1800's clothing, right? It's just what happens. The 21st century is a really important time for modern history," and there he was, admitting that it was still technically sort of modern, not ancient, "So there's still a lot of throwback to it around here, even now. But the 20th century, like 1999 and stuff? I don't think there's much difference between it and the early 21st century."

Ianto supposed that that was true. At least people of this era seemed to stick with the same fashion that he'd grown up with. He wasn't sure if that was because they were going through some sort of throwback to his era, or whether after a certain point, things had mainstreamed enough to pretty much comfortably sit around the same styles for the rest of time. Of course, there were some pretty weird things that other people were wearing, so. Maybe this was just "classic", or whatever.

"A really important time for modern history..." Ianto echoed, repeating Sulu's words again. "I. Not sure what you mean by that at all, mate, but. Sounds tidy enough."

"Sounds tidy?" Sulu repeated, giving Ianto a skeptical look. "Either way, you're going to go through it all soon enough, so I don't want to spoil it for you or anything."

They came up on the crosswalk to the bay-side, the crowds a great deal thicker here with people from all over the Federation. He could see the place he was planning on taking Ianto wasn't overfilled, which was good, so he threw his arm over Ianto's shoulder to make sure he wouldn't lose the other and began the push through the crowd as they streamed over the crosswalk. "I forgot, it can get pretty busy around here."

"Yeah," Ianto said, repeating himself, feeling silly now that he realized that was probably only something they said in the UK, possibly only in Wales. "It sounds... It sounds interesting. Cool, I guess you would say. That. Well, that I get to live through a 'really important time for modern history' and all..."

More than a bit intimidated by the amount of people there (Ianto hadn't seen this many people outside of a football game, and even that was only when it was on the television), Ianto was grateful for the other boy's arm around him, going so far as to duck in a little further against him, especially as another one of those weird Tellarite aliens almost bowled him over, crossing in the opposite direction. "There certainly are enough people here..." he remarked, trying not to sound as intimidated as he felt by the idea that...if he got lost from the other boy, he was basically screwed.

"It'll thin out once we get to the diner," Sulu replied, shooting the Tellarite's back a nasty look despite the fact that honestly, it was expected. A little jostling around this time and in this area was sort of part of it's charm. ...Sort of.

"'Sounds tidy,' though," Sulu repeated again, grinning a bit as they finally reached the other side of the crosswalk, "I like that." The crowd was indeed thinning out a little as he led Ianto towards the diner in the two-story, wood-plank plaza, the bay dotted with sailboats and the Golden Gate bridge visible to the east. The stainless steel crab statue was an homage to the original, the one that had gotten replaced sometime in the late 22nd century almost three decades after it had been torn down. "It's a historical district," Sulu explained, pointing with his free hand down the promenade, "We're going to go to a place I know up over there."

Ianto nodded, sticking close to Sulu still, still a little bit intimidated by the fact that there were aliens walking around on the streets with them and absolutely no one but him seemed to be surprised by this. He supposed it made sense that they weren't, if this was normal, but. He was still trying to wrap his head around the idea.

He blushed at Sulu's repeating his words. The phrase sounded a lot different, when repeated in an American accent, after all. "Ehm, thanks," he said, embarrassed by how British he got. He didn't really notice it until he was somewhere like this, where. Well, apparently, it stood out. No one else around had an accent like his, after all.

Once again, Ianto was a little bit put out that the historical district was something that he might have seen on any pier during his time, but. There were accents here and there that definitely reminded him he was anywhere but home. "So. What kind of place is it, then? Why this one specifically? Just because you've been there before, or...?" Ianto asked, curious.

"I've been there before and I think it's a good place to go, generally. I mean, there are a lot of clubs and bars around here, but we can't get into those, and anyway, I like it. It's kind of touristy, anyway, the whole place, so if you end up looking around, nobody's going to think twice about it." There were plenty of people sightseeing, from other parts of Earth and other planets, so at least Sulu was right about that.

"As for what kind of place it is, it's more American. Kind of open, we can sit outside if you want since the weather's pretty nice. It's got a lot of Federation dishes in general, but their cheeseburgers are seriously delicious." Sulu couldn't help it - he had a thing about burgers, and some places were better than others.

Ianto was a 15-year-old boy, and that having been said, the prospect of a good cheeseburger was a hard one to pass up. He nodded. "It sounds good to me," he said. Of course, maybe...he should eat something foreign, while he was there in the future and all. He'd have to ask Sulu to order something for him, though, having absolutely no idea what would be good and what wouldn't be, just from looking at the menu. Maybe...that would be for sides, or something, though. A real, honest-to-god American burger sounded pretty good, about then.

Ianto shrugged at the comment about sitting outside. "We...don't usually get to sit outside, in Wales," he remarked. "Usually, it's raining. And no one wants to sit or serve people out in the rain."

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