( Normally, the Thursday night closing shift consists of university students, Up locals, Dean Winchester, and Caroline. Tonight is a different, quieter breed. Quieter, because it's a quiet night and, quiet, because Dean isn't pestering the beleaguered owner.
If Michael notices Dean is absent, Damon hasn't pointed it out. He's been serving the customers. It's a Thursday and based on their turnout, Damon asks the top floor bartender to not come in. They can handle their small crowd.
Damon finds it easy to compartmentalize what they did, maneuvering around him to get what he needs, whether it be a glass or a pitcher. Their rhythm pays off as new patrons taper off.
Several times a night, two bartenders might hit a lull at the same time with every customer in the middle of their drink or meal. Damon settles against the back, leaning, crossing his arms. Nancy has their customers on the floor covered. )
We might get another rush in an hour. Or, this is the best it gets.
[ Michael doesn't yet know Dean, though it seems to him that the bar is quieter than usual. Maybe it's because everything had been so charged the last time he'd been in here. He'd understood the stolen coin's effect on him after the fact, but in the moment, it had just felt like he was amped up to a hundred. That whole night, Damon's presence in the room had seemed electric to him.
Now, it's not. He feels normal. He hasn't totally compartmentalised it; he remembers what they did, and he's not unattracted to Damon now that the coin isn't a thing.
But they're working well together. They have an easy kind of rhythm, one Michael's even enjoying.
In the lull, he's shining glasses and waiting for more orders. It's not the worst way to spend a night. He glances back at Damon with a smile. ]
I guess there's something about dying at sea that keeps people at home. I know we're down. They'll come back.
[ They'd been busy, before. There's no reason to think they won't be again. ]
( The attraction is there underneath, wrapped in a memory of intoxication he hasn't felt since Elena, since Katherine. Katherine the first time, pre-Pines. And before she pulled her body-steal. He winces at the memory, pushing that away. But, his memory of him and Michael? Of taking him where they're standing. He can't get away from that.
It's only as awkward as they make it, he decides.
Which is why he doesn't. )
They always do.
( He means patrons. Friends. Loved ones. If Elena could forgive him fifty times. (It seemed like fifty.) And Caroline, once. And Alaric, more times, too? Caroline could here. Dean could. He'll have his friend back. The hunter.
Caroline sits at a table in the corner, doing professional thing, laptop open. Damon's phone buzzes and he picks it up from the bar. Over his shoulder, Michael should be able to see that it's Caroline in his inbox and she's asking a money question. He quickly types the message back, hits send, and sets his phone back down. Looking over at Caroline, she doesn't look over to him.
Still ice. )
I uh, had it professionally cleaned. Well. Vash cleaned...here. After. ( Casual talk for a casual guy. ) Are we talking about it?
[ Michael's being casual like he thinks they agreed to be, not bringing anything up and acting like nothing happened. He's played that game before.
He sees who sends that text, and though he doesn't read it, he does glance up at Caroline. It only occurs to him then that she hasn't spoken to Damon all night, and obviously isn't intending to find him now.
That'll be the girl he mentioned, then. That's awkward.
With that on his mind, he's surprised Damon brings up what happened between them at all. His hand stills on the glass he's shining, and he turns to look at him. He tosses the rag he's using over his shoulder, because he's a professional bartender now and that's what they do, and he looks squarely at Damon. ]
I'm gonna go ahead and hope they clean here every night. [ Messy blow jobs and bartop sex aside. ] Do you want to talk about it? Cause I thought you didn't. But if you do...
Nope. Just wanted to open the floor. You need to let anything go, air anything out. It's quiet. If not, I'm good.
( Enough.
He picks up his club soda and sips. Sometimes, it's nice for something fizzy to sip on. Damon is a bizarre bartender. )
How come you and I can do what we did, I fire you, I hire you back. We're fine. Caroline breaks my neck, water under the bridge for me, ice ice baby from her.
( Not that he's not leaving out a few details.
There are things Damon never really says, like what he is. But, Michael probably picked up on his being supernatural. So much so that he talks like this so blatantly. And he's clearly alive. So, it doesn't concern him. Plus, he doesn't see Michael as the after hours bar gossip. And if he is. Well. That's what compulsion is for. )
[ Michael starts out smiling, but it fades to a kind of alarm at the news that Damon had his neck broken.
He's not an idiot. He knew that he'd died, just like Michael had, but they'd never really discussed the particulars of that. ]
Well firstly, I'm not gonna hold a grudge over sex that I wanted. You fired me, you brought me back. Water's under that bridge, man. The way I see it, you put up with my shit better than most people.
[ Better than basically anyone except Max. That only strengthens Michael's attraction to Damon, as a matter of fact. Most people walk away from him; Damon had come back. ]
Caroline? Look, I don't know what went down. But she's there, and that's a start. Why did she break your neck?
For, like, a week. I don't deserve a medal. Far as I know, your shit begins and ends with inappropriate feelings in your pants for your boss.
( It's something he can handle. He glances over. He frequently forgets who knows what because usually he's on good terms and he doesn't have to say things like, Caroline broke his neck. )
No. And the less questions you ask, the less I have to explain. I'm fine. She's fine. I bounce back like Teflon.
( Now he's thinking. And worrying. This isn't what Damon needs. )
Telekinesis, really?
( He interrupts Michael, but Michael keeps talking. Keeps pushing. Damon regards him, contemplates changing the subject again, but chooses to rip his bandaid off. Not Caroline's. That's not his place. )
I'm vampire. I threw an unwanted, unasked for party. Caroline didn't like it. We both said some things. I said some worse things. Hence my broken neck. Which I heal from. It varies in time. Few minutes. I am fine. The gold coin did a number on several of my friendships. And my own growth. That's all.
[ Michael takes a breath, which definitely comes across as relieved.
It wasn't serious. Vampires can heal from that. This is fine.
As is the fact that Damon is one, because true to form, Michael has no issue with that. He's heard of vampires since he arrived here, from both Kyle and Damon himself. That Damon is one isn't a huge surprise, given that he's from the town that he'd said himself was full of them.
Michael cares more that he's okay. He claps his shoulder, in a that wasn't so hard now, was it? kind of way, and sighs. ]
The gold coins screwed all of us up. She's gonna know that, man. And if she broke your neck already, I'd say you aren't the one with making up to do.
Crosses don't do anything, unless they're made of wood and stabbing me in the heart. Likewise, holy water.
( He's also not loving this line of questioning. He knows it's for concern. He's curious and wants to help. But, he's not going to go into what vervain is or why. )
[ So, crosses no. Stakes, though, apparently yes. That's worth knowing. Michael frowns, thinking through the implications, and he looks away. ]
Stabbing someone through the heart'll get most people.
[ It's just true. The specificity of that wooden something is what matters.
So he adds, more quietly: ]
Do people give you grief about it? Cause, when I say I have your back, I mean it. And I know humans aren't real cool about anyone who's not. I've seen some things.
[ Not vampire things, obviously. But things. Enough to make him concerned about what humans might do to Damon, if they knew what he was. ]
Anything but wood will just hurt. If it's big enough, it'll put me down for a few hours. But, it won't kill me.
( Also. Don't go thinking about it. Also, doing get stabbed in the heart Michael. He'll have to shuffle the bar schedule again. )
I don't just go around telling anyone. We've been hunted before. By, not just humans. I'm not open. Even if the majority here doesn't care. I know better.
[ Michael nods. He'd figured, anyway; if Damon had been open about this, he'd have known about it before now. He gets living with a secret. There's no obligation to tell anyone. ]
Yeah. So do I. No one's gonna hear it from me.
[ He doesn't know if he needs to make that clear, but just in case, he will. ]
If there's trouble, though, I'm gonna expect you to call me. I don't care how nice and open everyone seems. It only ever takes one who's not.
[ His broken hand is the proof of that. Michael doesn't forget. ]
( He licks his lips, his intense eye contact breaking finally.
He should not be glancing down at Michael's lips. He may not have been himself, but it's easy to play out what happened between them right behind his eyelids. )
I'm ever a threat, I'll let you put me down yourself.
( Not staked, for the record. Desiccated. Unless. He means, coming to his defense. He can make that distinction. Damon won't point it out. )
[ Michael sees that look, and his shoulders move slightly to open him up a little. What happened between them is an inch away. He remembers with clarity how those lips had felt. Where those hands had been.
Damon's talk of putting him down is completely opposed to that feeling. What the hell is he talking about? ]
I'm talking about people coming for you, Damon. You've been good to me.
[ He smiles, and then leans back against the bar. ]
So. How much older than me are you? I'm gonna guess, what, early twenties? Isn't exactly right.
( Damon sees every subtle movement, but tries not to come off like he notices. They're both aware of what could be called tension. He calls it professionalism.
Good to him. Very good, all right. )
You tell me your age and I'll ballpark it. Not that asking somebody's age is the polite thing to do. ( But, there's no reason to be cagey. ) I'm 178. Older.
I look great for it. I'm the eternal stud. 30% more modest about that, too.
( Ish, anyway. He's a better person than when he made that declaration. )
You're also not going to get yourself killed if anyone does come for me. I have people here who are more than capable of avenging a kidnapping. Or worse.
[ He gazes at Damon for a second, and then narrows his eyes. From the other end of the bar, a glass flies neatly into his hand, and he catches it to clean. ]
Yeah. And I'm one of them, so don't test me. I don't share a lot of this kind of honesty, Damon. We live on secrets in Roswell.
Your problems are my problems. And not just cause I work for you.
( Nobody blinks. Nobody looks up. Damon does give the bar a once-over. Their devices, their conversations, and the music covers Michael's telekinetic act. )
Not just.
( Yeah, okay. )
LIES takes me prisoner and gives me access to anything, I'll message you. Kay?
( You're special. Somehow. Maybe it's the alien thing. How you reacted after their encounter. That you came back to work after being fired - unjustly. )
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
| action
Date: 2020-08-07 03:36 pm (UTC)If Michael notices Dean is absent, Damon hasn't pointed it out. He's been serving the customers. It's a Thursday and based on their turnout, Damon asks the top floor bartender to not come in. They can handle their small crowd.
Damon finds it easy to compartmentalize what they did, maneuvering around him to get what he needs, whether it be a glass or a pitcher. Their rhythm pays off as new patrons taper off.
Several times a night, two bartenders might hit a lull at the same time with every customer in the middle of their drink or meal. Damon settles against the back, leaning, crossing his arms. Nancy has their customers on the floor covered. )
We might get another rush in an hour. Or, this is the best it gets.
sorry for being so slow
Date: 2020-08-15 11:54 am (UTC)Now, it's not. He feels normal. He hasn't totally compartmentalised it; he remembers what they did, and he's not unattracted to Damon now that the coin isn't a thing.
But they're working well together. They have an easy kind of rhythm, one Michael's even enjoying.
In the lull, he's shining glasses and waiting for more orders. It's not the worst way to spend a night. He glances back at Damon with a smile. ]
I guess there's something about dying at sea that keeps people at home. I know we're down. They'll come back.
[ They'd been busy, before. There's no reason to think they won't be again. ]
hon, this is a hobby!!
Date: 2020-08-15 05:18 pm (UTC)It's only as awkward as they make it, he decides.
Which is why he doesn't. )
They always do.
( He means patrons. Friends. Loved ones. If Elena could forgive him fifty times. (It seemed like fifty.) And Caroline, once. And Alaric, more times, too? Caroline could here. Dean could. He'll have his friend back. The hunter.
Caroline sits at a table in the corner, doing professional thing, laptop open. Damon's phone buzzes and he picks it up from the bar. Over his shoulder, Michael should be able to see that it's Caroline in his inbox and she's asking a money question. He quickly types the message back, hits send, and sets his phone back down. Looking over at Caroline, she doesn't look over to him.
Still ice. )
I uh, had it professionally cleaned. Well. Vash cleaned...here. After. ( Casual talk for a casual guy. ) Are we talking about it?
<3
Date: 2020-08-16 01:01 am (UTC)He sees who sends that text, and though he doesn't read it, he does glance up at Caroline. It only occurs to him then that she hasn't spoken to Damon all night, and obviously isn't intending to find him now.
That'll be the girl he mentioned, then. That's awkward.
With that on his mind, he's surprised Damon brings up what happened between them at all. His hand stills on the glass he's shining, and he turns to look at him. He tosses the rag he's using over his shoulder, because he's a professional bartender now and that's what they do, and he looks squarely at Damon. ]
I'm gonna go ahead and hope they clean here every night. [ Messy blow jobs and bartop sex aside. ] Do you want to talk about it? Cause I thought you didn't. But if you do...
no subject
Date: 2020-08-16 01:24 am (UTC)Nope. Just wanted to open the floor. You need to let anything go, air anything out. It's quiet. If not, I'm good.
( Enough.
He picks up his club soda and sips. Sometimes, it's nice for something fizzy to sip on. Damon is a bizarre bartender. )
How come you and I can do what we did, I fire you, I hire you back. We're fine. Caroline breaks my neck, water under the bridge for me, ice ice baby from her.
( Not that he's not leaving out a few details.
There are things Damon never really says, like what he is. But, Michael probably picked up on his being supernatural. So much so that he talks like this so blatantly. And he's clearly alive. So, it doesn't concern him. Plus, he doesn't see Michael as the after hours bar gossip. And if he is. Well. That's what compulsion is for. )
no subject
Date: 2020-08-20 04:03 pm (UTC)He's not an idiot. He knew that he'd died, just like Michael had, but they'd never really discussed the particulars of that. ]
Well firstly, I'm not gonna hold a grudge over sex that I wanted. You fired me, you brought me back. Water's under that bridge, man. The way I see it, you put up with my shit better than most people.
[ Better than basically anyone except Max. That only strengthens Michael's attraction to Damon, as a matter of fact. Most people walk away from him; Damon had come back. ]
Caroline? Look, I don't know what went down. But she's there, and that's a start. Why did she break your neck?
[ A pause. ]
She do that on the ship?
no subject
Date: 2020-08-20 04:10 pm (UTC)( It's something he can handle. He glances over. He frequently forgets who knows what because usually he's on good terms and he doesn't have to say things like, Caroline broke his neck. )
No. And the less questions you ask, the less I have to explain. I'm fine. She's fine. I bounce back like Teflon.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-20 04:14 pm (UTC)Why the fuck hadn't he known?
Why the fuck hadn't Damon been absent? They work together, and Michael's been back since the ship happened. So... ]
Look, Damon. I told you I can move things with my mind, and I'm not even from planet Earth. Whatever it is, I'm gonna have your back.
What are you? And what happened?
no subject
Date: 2020-08-20 04:20 pm (UTC)Telekinesis, really?
( He interrupts Michael, but Michael keeps talking. Keeps pushing. Damon regards him, contemplates changing the subject again, but chooses to rip his bandaid off. Not Caroline's. That's not his place. )
I'm vampire. I threw an unwanted, unasked for party. Caroline didn't like it. We both said some things. I said some worse things. Hence my broken neck. Which I heal from. It varies in time. Few minutes. I am fine. The gold coin did a number on several of my friendships. And my own growth. That's all.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-20 04:27 pm (UTC)It wasn't serious. Vampires can heal from that. This is fine.
As is the fact that Damon is one, because true to form, Michael has no issue with that. He's heard of vampires since he arrived here, from both Kyle and Damon himself. That Damon is one isn't a huge surprise, given that he's from the town that he'd said himself was full of them.
Michael cares more that he's okay. He claps his shoulder, in a that wasn't so hard now, was it? kind of way, and sighs. ]
The gold coins screwed all of us up. She's gonna know that, man. And if she broke your neck already, I'd say you aren't the one with making up to do.
[ A slight pause. ]
I need to stop eating garlic bread?
no subject
Date: 2020-08-20 04:37 pm (UTC)( He knew you wanted to do it again! Now, to play that off and be the nonchalant vampire he is. )
Garlic is fine. I'm Italian. But, don't inhale the whole basket. That's just bad manners. And you'll ruin your appetite.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-20 04:41 pm (UTC)What about crosses, holy water? I just wanna know how many times Buffy lied to us.
[ And he wants to know what he should watch out for, in case Damon's in trouble. In this city? It's gonna come up, he knows it will. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-21 02:33 pm (UTC)( He's also not loving this line of questioning. He knows it's for concern. He's curious and wants to help. But, he's not going to go into what vervain is or why. )
no subject
Date: 2020-08-21 04:43 pm (UTC)Stabbing someone through the heart'll get most people.
[ It's just true. The specificity of that wooden something is what matters.
So he adds, more quietly: ]
Do people give you grief about it? Cause, when I say I have your back, I mean it. And I know humans aren't real cool about anyone who's not. I've seen some things.
[ Not vampire things, obviously. But things. Enough to make him concerned about what humans might do to Damon, if they knew what he was. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-21 04:52 pm (UTC)( Also. Don't go thinking about it. Also, doing get stabbed in the heart Michael. He'll have to shuffle the bar schedule again. )
I don't just go around telling anyone. We've been hunted before. By, not just humans. I'm not open. Even if the majority here doesn't care. I know better.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-23 12:20 pm (UTC)Yeah. So do I. No one's gonna hear it from me.
[ He doesn't know if he needs to make that clear, but just in case, he will. ]
If there's trouble, though, I'm gonna expect you to call me. I don't care how nice and open everyone seems. It only ever takes one who's not.
[ His broken hand is the proof of that. Michael doesn't forget. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-23 02:29 pm (UTC)( He licks his lips, his intense eye contact breaking finally.
He should not be glancing down at Michael's lips. He may not have been himself, but it's easy to play out what happened between them right behind his eyelids. )
I'm ever a threat, I'll let you put me down yourself.
( Not staked, for the record. Desiccated. Unless. He means, coming to his defense. He can make that distinction. Damon won't point it out. )
no subject
Date: 2020-08-24 10:00 pm (UTC)Damon's talk of putting him down is completely opposed to that feeling. What the hell is he talking about? ]
I'm talking about people coming for you, Damon. You've been good to me.
[ He smiles, and then leans back against the bar. ]
So. How much older than me are you? I'm gonna guess, what, early twenties? Isn't exactly right.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-25 05:51 pm (UTC)Good to him. Very good, all right. )
You tell me your age and I'll ballpark it. Not that asking somebody's age is the polite thing to do. ( But, there's no reason to be cagey. ) I'm 178. Older.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-25 06:13 pm (UTC)I'm not that polite. I'm 28, though, so yeah. You look good for it.
[ But then, Damon knew that. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-08-25 06:19 pm (UTC)( Ish, anyway. He's a better person than when he made that declaration. )
You're also not going to get yourself killed if anyone does come for me. I have people here who are more than capable of avenging a kidnapping. Or worse.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-25 08:30 pm (UTC)Yeah. And I'm one of them, so don't test me. I don't share a lot of this kind of honesty, Damon. We live on secrets in Roswell.
Your problems are my problems. And not just cause I work for you.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-25 08:47 pm (UTC)Not just.
( Yeah, okay. )
LIES takes me prisoner and gives me access to anything, I'll message you. Kay?
no subject
Date: 2020-08-25 09:38 pm (UTC)Michael smiles. ]
That's all I ask.
[ Then a beat, while he turns to put the glass with the others. ]
Thanks, for telling me.
no subject
Date: 2020-08-25 09:40 pm (UTC)( You're special. Somehow. Maybe it's the alien thing. How you reacted after their encounter. That you came back to work after being fired - unjustly. )