[ evan almost laughs again at that. his relationship with cops might be slightly better than david's, but that's only because of how he was raised. archie despises the police primarily on the grounds that he's better than them, not because they get in his way (which they don't). so it's bled down to his son. ]
Guess that's the benefit of gettin' talked down to all the time. Thrown the scraps. Might be insulting, but nobody can touch us.
[ he debates that, weighs whether it's worth it or not, and takes another drinks. ]
[ cops love his dad — he pays well and pretends to have the utmost respect for them — the fact that david isn't anything like him probably makes them dislike him more. they give him a lot of shit when he has to deal with them, but ultimately, like evan says, they can't touch him. ]
[ david's not sure it's worth it, but it's some small consolation. ]
Except us.
[ he raises his glass in half a toast and takes a drink. ]
[ evan doesn't match the raised glass, but he does nod, a little more lifelike than he has been. ]
Yeah. Suppose so.
[ not that he can think of how, really. even in jail, he might get more respect than he does now. real respect. not just people backing off because he might kill them, or because his father might do that for him. ]
[ how could it be worse? david isn't sure. they could be kept on tighter leashes, that would suck. david doesn't have as much freedom as he'd like, but he has a lot more than he used to, something he's worked real fucking hard for. still remembers ducking his parents' watchers to spend time with-- ]
[ anyway. he raises an eyebrow at what evan says, glances around the bar thoughtfully. weirdly enough, hardly anyone seems to be paying any attention to them, or maybe they're just doing a good job of pretending. ]
You can go if you want. I won't keep you.
[ he assumes that's why evan's bringing it up. david's not in any rush to leave himself, but he recognises that evan is neither a fan of him or being seen with him. probably because the feeling's mutual most days, but right now david honestly can't find it in himself to care. ]
[ evan glances at david. not that he expects david to be delighted with his presence, but the casual dismissal, instead of an insult or flying punch, is almost a surprise. mostly he was bringing it up as a fate worse than what they're dealing with, because he's sure that his father won't be happy that they're playing nice independently. not under threat.
but maybe he won't care that much. better than starting another massive fight. ]
Finish this first.
[ he tilts his glass, maybe a third empty. sure. he'll go after that. try and recover. try and figure out what the hell this night was all about. ]
Figure we're bad enough off it can't do much worse.
[ david snorts and nods, though he's personally deeply considering a second. moderation has never been his strong suit. besides, he's fucked up enough that david's pretty sure all adding booze is gonna do is make him tired. there's already a calm to him he doesn't usually get off just one drink alone. ]
Dunno. I think I could fit a few more bad decisions in.
[ but that's just david in a nutshell, isn't it? reckless and stupid except when he's not. ]
[ isn't that most of his own life? isn't that what this is? he takes another long drink, doesn't quite finish it, reconsiders going back home, drunk, to sulk and get yelled at. because of the state of him, he's temporarily off any kind of real jobs or duties. nobody's going to be looking for him. ]
[ that should annoy him, but under the circumstances what it gets is an amused breath as he pushes himself up with a noise of complaint. right. how could he forget how much everything hurts right now? ]
[ david ambles toward the bar, drains the last of his drink on the way, spares a thought for what a strange situation this is as he goes. beat the fuck up, drinking with evan macmillan of all fucking people. he's gonna get an earful about this when he gets home, no way his father doesn't know by now, but david's phone is on silent and he's ordering a fresh round. that's a problem for later. ]
Be crazy if I tried to poison you this time round.
[ yup. that's what david chooses to say when he comes back and sets their drinks down, carefully easing himself back into his seat. ]
[ while david's gone, evan finishes his drink, then glances at his phone. no messages. no missed calls. nothing. nobody even noticed he left, probably. or just assumed he went out to get drunk. at least this way he's making that more plausible. staggering back smashed as hell won't do him any favors, but nobody's going to guess who he was doing it with.
he grabs the new drink and then david speaks, making him look down into the glass and then almost actually laugh. when did he start trusting this asshole? ]
You're too fucked up to pull it off.
[ so's he. at least that's off the table. he's not sure david would have ever tried that, but on someone else's orders ... maybe. ]
[ david wouldn't anyway, not off his own back. he holds a fucked up kind of respect for evan, the kind that says when he kills him, he'll do it with his hands. if anything contravenes that-- if someone else kills him, or david is forced to do it some other way, he's gonna be real miserable about it. ]
Wouldn't though. When it comes to it, it's fists or nothin'.
[ he looks down into his glass, takes a deep drink, and the look he fixes evan with when he sets it down is deadly serious. no anger or violence behind it, he's not looking for a fight, obviously. not after the shitshow that just was. just david vocalising what he believes has been in unspoken agreement between them for all these years. ]
[ david's abrupt serious intensity makes evan scowl, surprised by it after everything was so ... normal, for lack of a better word. and on top of that, they've never been that serious before. about anything other than how much they hate each other.
he looks david in the eyes, fingers wrapped around the beer glass, and gives him a flat look. ]
Thought that was obvious.
[ in truth he might shoot david, but only to put him out of his misery after beating him into a pulp - leaving him to try and crawl back home means he might actually do it. but everything else, right up to that provided he doesn't feel david go still under his own hands, is going to be directly by his own fists.
he tilts the glass toward david in the same half-salute david gave him earlier. ]
[ david laughs, a soft chuckle, seriousness from a moment ago seemingly evaporated in an instant. he doesn't know why he felt the need to bring that up, but it felt important. still does, but now it's confirmed. ]
Good. [ a hint of a smirk tugs at his expression, giving away the fact he's about to say some dumb shit. ] Not gonna rob a bank with someone who'd fuck that up.
[ evan doesn't laugh this time, but he does smirk. ]
As if you wouldn't get shot thirty seconds in.
[ he downs half his drink in one go. a light buzz is settling in, probably from all the injuries and blood loss; he's not enough of a lightweight for two beers to get him even slightly drunk under normal circumstances. maybe this should be the last one?
but then he owes david for another. that'll be it, then. he can still get back home on that, he's sure. ]
[ david says it with an exaggerated scoff, mirroring evan in the way he downs half hia drink. barely noticing his own buzz settling in, warming him up, making the pain a little less insistent. normally he can drink just about anyone under the table and barely get drunk himself, but there's how fucked up he is. hasn't really been eating much either, too busy feeling sorry for himself. ]
[ he certainly doesn't look so sorry right now though, not with the smirk still clinging to his expression as he gestures broadly to evan. ]
Save your arse by makin' myself an enticing target. You're welcome.
[ he's laughed more in this conversation than he has in probably years, and that's saying something given how short and abrupt all of it is. it's a bad sign, but he's not focused enough to realize it. ]
Even with a vest, they'll take you out. Leave me to haul ass outta there with my half of the cash.
[ he doesn't finish his drink off quite yet, but opts to test his weight and stand. ]
[ david laughs, easy and genuine. it's surprisingly easy to imagine; evan running for his life while david manages to get his ass taken out by the cops. evan wouldn't even look back, what a prick. ]
Yeah, thanks.
[ call that another win for david's irresistible charm and wit. that's what he'd assume anyway, and not that they're both tipsy and miserable and desperate enough for any kind of genuine connection that even someone they hate is easier to get along with than most people. ]
[ evan heads to the bar and gets two more. the bartender eyes him, but because his attitude is less of a problem than before, because drinking has put him in a better mood, he gets the drinks without a problem. leaves the bill without taking the change, either, which he's long since learned gets him leeway at any bar, although in this case it's mostly because he doesn't remember to stick around.
he slides one drink in front of david and finishes off his own second before starting on the third. ]
[ amazingly that's not even close to the worst review he's given a beer, though the bad ones are often some variety of piss-flavoured. not that that ever slows david down in the slightest, and it's not going to now either. ]
[ if evan was ever honest with anyone, or even himself, he'd admit he doesn't like most beer at all. liquor is more the usual choice at home, the harder the better, but he doesn't like that either. he's not sure what he does like, other than being just drunk enough to take the doubt and anxiety off his brain.
not that he'd ever admit that's the reason he drinks. ]
Got better stuff back home, but like hell I can get you there.
[ even the idea of it makes a part of him go cold and sober. he shakes it off. it's just a joke. ]
[ david opens his mouth to say something — he has a place, a few bottles of decent stuff — but he's not quite had enough to drink that his brain can't stop him before he shares that fact. telling evan macmillan about his one little refuge? he's taken a lot of hits to the head recently, but he's not quite that stupid yet. ]
[ he looks down at his drink, shakes his head as another mental image floats to the surface before he can get caught up wondering what the fuck is going through his mind. ]
Imagine you tryin' to smuggle me in like a box of, I dunno. Guns or some shit.
[ it's funny enough to make david shake his head, lightly amused at the mental image. ]
[ drink #3 goes down as easily as the first two. it makes it easier to listen to david jokingly suggest they figure out how to get him back to the macmillan estate. ]
I'd be dead before you.
[ he pauses, stares into his drink with a frown. ]
Or I'd just be dead and your ass'd be in a closet somewhere, waiting for a ransom payment. You'd come out better'n me, probably.
[ david says it with a snort, shaking his head. he's pissed off way too many people to imagine he'd survive long enough for them to ransom him, plus he'd keep pissing them off while he was there too. ]
[ whatever. he waves a hand dismissively, downs a significant amount of beer, and sighs. that's too real, too close to something that could actually happen, too close to the actual sources of their misery. ]
Could always buy a bottle. Go hang out under a bridge like a pair of bums.
[ that's a joke. like either of them could haul their sorry asses to a liquor store right now anyway. ]
[ evan almost argues. his father might hate david, but he'd see the value in a ransom, or a trade, or just a general hostage situation. why start a war so quickly over his own idiot son's actions? but there's other people there who don't have that foresight or self-control. they'd kill david first, even if it got them killed.
stupid idea anyway. evan looks down at the last inch or two of beer in his glass. ]
Get us both killed that way. Someone'll rob us. Don't think we're in great condition to fight that off.
[ or they'll end up at the police station. drunk and disorderly and beat to all hell. no, he's not interested in that right now, either. ]
Got a place about three blocks from here. Not much in it, but.
[ he doesn't think about the same thing david does - that he's letting david in on a secret, a place he hides out in, a place to take back home to raid later. partly because he's lightheaded enough not to realize it, but also because he hasn't used it in three years. it's got nothing valuable in it. just a bed, a kitchen - it was supposed to be an outpost, but they changed tactics. he just never stopped paying the rent. ]
[ david looks like he wants to argue about them getting robbed like his body isn't being held together by spite and he's not halfway to drunk right now, but that moves to surprise when evan mentions his place. ]
[ but the idea appeals more than going home does, which would be real fucking upsetting to consider if he had the mental capacity for it right now. thankfully he doesn't. ]
Yeah, fuck it. Go on then.
[ a joke about how this better not be some ruse to kill him flits through his mind, but after he more or less made evan promise they're gonna beat eachother to death one day, it seems a bit much. he occupies his mouth with finishing the last bit of his beer instead. ]
[ evan follows suit, then stands, tests his balance again, and heads out.
it occurs to him about one block out that this might be a mistake, but he brushes it off. about two blocks in he wonders if he's being followed. surely someone saw them both. and is now seeing them both again, leaving. but when he checks his phone there's still nothing there. he doesn't get a lot of messages because he rarely responds to them, but now it strikes him as suspicious.
but ... whatever. better than fighting in the streets, he'll argue. keeping up appearances. maybe the remnants of the encroaching group will think the alliance was real and long-term, and back off.
the building is old, but it doesn't look like it's about to collapse. at this time of night, there's nobody outside their rooms. he takes the stairs in an attempt to clear his head. it doesn't work.
fortunately his place is still unoccupied. it's stuffy, smells like dust and mildew, but nobody else has been there. he fights a window open as david follows him inside. ]
Think there's something in the kitchen.
[ the fridge is empty, but there's an unopened bottle of gin in an upper cabinet. housewarming gift, someone told him sarcastically. ]
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Guess that's the benefit of gettin' talked down to all the time. Thrown the scraps. Might be insulting, but nobody can touch us.
[ he debates that, weighs whether it's worth it or not, and takes another drinks. ]
Except us, I guess.
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[ david's not sure it's worth it, but it's some small consolation. ]
Except us.
[ he raises his glass in half a toast and takes a drink. ]
Could be worse.
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Yeah. Suppose so.
[ not that he can think of how, really. even in jail, he might get more respect than he does now. real respect. not just people backing off because he might kill them, or because his father might do that for him. ]
Someone might figure out where we are right now.
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[ anyway. he raises an eyebrow at what evan says, glances around the bar thoughtfully.
weirdly enough, hardly anyone seems to be paying any attention to them, or maybe they're just doing a good job of pretending. ]
You can go if you want. I won't keep you.
[ he assumes that's why evan's bringing it up. david's not in any rush to leave himself, but he recognises that evan is neither a fan of him or being seen with him. probably because the feeling's mutual most days, but right now david honestly can't find it in himself to care. ]
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but maybe he won't care that much. better than starting another massive fight. ]
Finish this first.
[ he tilts his glass, maybe a third empty. sure. he'll go after that. try and recover. try and figure out what the hell this night was all about. ]
Figure we're bad enough off it can't do much worse.
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Dunno. I think I could fit a few more bad decisions in.
[ but that's just david in a nutshell, isn't it? reckless and stupid except when he's not. ]
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Ain't that your whole life?
[ isn't that most of his own life? isn't that what this is? he takes another long drink, doesn't quite finish it, reconsiders going back home, drunk, to sulk and get yelled at. because of the state of him, he's temporarily off any kind of real jobs or duties. nobody's going to be looking for him. ]
Get me a second while you're up there.
[ he'll get the third round. ]
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[ david ambles toward the bar, drains the last of his drink on the way, spares a thought for what a strange situation this is as he goes. beat the fuck up, drinking with evan macmillan of all fucking people. he's gonna get an earful about this when he gets home, no way his father doesn't know by now, but david's phone is on silent and he's ordering a fresh round. that's a problem for later. ]
Be crazy if I tried to poison you this time round.
[ yup. that's what david chooses to say when he comes back and sets their drinks down, carefully easing himself back into his seat. ]
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he grabs the new drink and then david speaks, making him look down into the glass and then almost actually laugh. when did he start trusting this asshole? ]
You're too fucked up to pull it off.
[ so's he. at least that's off the table. he's not sure david would have ever tried that, but on someone else's orders ... maybe. ]
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[ he is. ]
[ david wouldn't anyway, not off his own back. he holds a fucked up kind of respect for evan, the kind that says when he kills him, he'll do it with his hands. if anything contravenes that-- if someone else kills him, or david is forced to do it some other way, he's gonna be real miserable about it. ]
Wouldn't though. When it comes to it, it's fists or nothin'.
[ he looks down into his glass, takes a deep drink, and the look he fixes evan with when he sets it down is deadly serious. no anger or violence behind it, he's not looking for a fight, obviously. not after the shitshow that just was. just david vocalising what he believes has been in unspoken agreement between them for all these years. ]
Expect the same from you.
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he looks david in the eyes, fingers wrapped around the beer glass, and gives him a flat look. ]
Thought that was obvious.
[ in truth he might shoot david, but only to put him out of his misery after beating him into a pulp - leaving him to try and crawl back home means he might actually do it. but everything else, right up to that provided he doesn't feel david go still under his own hands, is going to be directly by his own fists.
he tilts the glass toward david in the same half-salute david gave him earlier. ]
Woulda shot you years ago otherwise.
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Good. [ a hint of a smirk tugs at his expression, giving away the fact he's about to say some dumb shit. ] Not gonna rob a bank with someone who'd fuck that up.
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As if you wouldn't get shot thirty seconds in.
[ he downs half his drink in one go. a light buzz is settling in, probably from all the injuries and blood loss; he's not enough of a lightweight for two beers to get him even slightly drunk under normal circumstances. maybe this should be the last one?
but then he owes david for another. that'll be it, then. he can still get back home on that, he's sure. ]
Cops aim for the flashiest target.
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[ david says it with an exaggerated scoff, mirroring evan in the way he downs half hia drink. barely noticing his own buzz settling in, warming him up, making the pain a little less insistent. normally he can drink just about anyone under the table and barely get drunk himself, but there's how fucked up he is. hasn't really been eating much either, too busy feeling sorry for himself. ]
[ he certainly doesn't look so sorry right now though, not with the smirk still clinging to his expression as he gestures broadly to evan. ]
Save your arse by makin' myself an enticing target. You're welcome.
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Even with a vest, they'll take you out. Leave me to haul ass outta there with my half of the cash.
[ he doesn't finish his drink off quite yet, but opts to test his weight and stand. ]
Same thing again?
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Yeah, thanks.
[ call that another win for david's irresistible charm and wit. that's what he'd assume anyway, and not that they're both tipsy and miserable and desperate enough for any kind of genuine connection that even someone they hate is easier to get along with than most people. ]
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he slides one drink in front of david and finishes off his own second before starting on the third. ]
This shit ain't very good.
[ he says, as he continues to drink it. ]
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[ david agrees, also continuing to drink it. ]
Tastes like old piss.
[ amazingly that's not even close to the worst review he's given a beer, though the bad ones are often some variety of piss-flavoured. not that that ever slows david down in the slightest, and it's not going to now either. ]
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not that he'd ever admit that's the reason he drinks. ]
Got better stuff back home, but like hell I can get you there.
[ even the idea of it makes a part of him go cold and sober. he shakes it off. it's just a joke. ]
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[ he looks down at his drink, shakes his head as another mental image floats to the surface before he can get caught up wondering what the fuck is going through his mind. ]
Imagine you tryin' to smuggle me in like a box of, I dunno. Guns or some shit.
[ it's funny enough to make david shake his head, lightly amused at the mental image. ]
It'd be a shitshow.
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I'd be dead before you.
[ he pauses, stares into his drink with a frown. ]
Or I'd just be dead and your ass'd be in a closet somewhere, waiting for a ransom payment. You'd come out better'n me, probably.
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[ david says it with a snort, shaking his head. he's pissed off way too many people to imagine he'd survive long enough for them to ransom him, plus he'd keep pissing them off while he was there too. ]
[ whatever. he waves a hand dismissively, downs a significant amount of beer, and sighs. that's too real, too close to something that could actually happen, too close to the actual sources of their misery. ]
Could always buy a bottle. Go hang out under a bridge like a pair of bums.
[ that's a joke. like either of them could haul their sorry asses to a liquor store right now anyway. ]
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stupid idea anyway. evan looks down at the last inch or two of beer in his glass. ]
Get us both killed that way. Someone'll rob us. Don't think we're in great condition to fight that off.
[ or they'll end up at the police station. drunk and disorderly and beat to all hell. no, he's not interested in that right now, either. ]
Got a place about three blocks from here. Not much in it, but.
[ he doesn't think about the same thing david does - that he's letting david in on a secret, a place he hides out in, a place to take back home to raid later. partly because he's lightheaded enough not to realize it, but also because he hasn't used it in three years. it's got nothing valuable in it. just a bed, a kitchen - it was supposed to be an outpost, but they changed tactics. he just never stopped paying the rent. ]
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[ but the idea appeals more than going home does, which would be real fucking upsetting to consider if he had the mental capacity for it right now. thankfully he doesn't.
]
Yeah, fuck it. Go on then.
[ a joke about how this better not be some ruse to kill him flits through his mind, but after he more or less made evan promise they're gonna beat eachother to death one day, it seems a bit much. he occupies his mouth with finishing the last bit of his beer instead. ]
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it occurs to him about one block out that this might be a mistake, but he brushes it off. about two blocks in he wonders if he's being followed. surely someone saw them both. and is now seeing them both again, leaving. but when he checks his phone there's still nothing there. he doesn't get a lot of messages because he rarely responds to them, but now it strikes him as suspicious.
but ... whatever. better than fighting in the streets, he'll argue. keeping up appearances. maybe the remnants of the encroaching group will think the alliance was real and long-term, and back off.
the building is old, but it doesn't look like it's about to collapse. at this time of night, there's nobody outside their rooms. he takes the stairs in an attempt to clear his head. it doesn't work.
fortunately his place is still unoccupied. it's stuffy, smells like dust and mildew, but nobody else has been there. he fights a window open as david follows him inside. ]
Think there's something in the kitchen.
[ the fridge is empty, but there's an unopened bottle of gin in an upper cabinet. housewarming gift, someone told him sarcastically. ]
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