[ if it's possible to be both completely numbed and yet also enraged, that's where david is at. typically he doesn't mind being spoken to like he's stupid, acts the way he does to encourage it in fact, because it only works in his favour if people don't expect anything from him. but spending an evening entertaining posh fucks who smugly nitpick the way he talks when fucking frankly? he's smarter than them. ]
[ they should be peers, really. like them, he was born to money, and it's not like everyone else's income is totally above board either. thank fucking god he was never really part of this world except when he had to be. ]
[ but david weathers it well. laughs when somebody makes a joke at his expense and politely pulls his punches when throwing one back, more and more often some guy trying to prove something because he's mad david's managed to charm a couple of women for ten minutes here and there like it means anything. he feels like he's handling himself well, so it surprises him when his mother suggests maybe he needs to get some air, which is her way of saying he needs to cool off. ]
[ but hell, he'll take it. doesn't quite storm out, but there's definitely an air of thunder to the way he takes a glass of champagne and exits to the balcony. not even noticing evan out there this time as he walks straight to the edge and takes a breath. ]
[ david's arrival is quiet, but abrupt. one second there's nobody to his right and then when he looks back ten seconds later, there's david, a glass in his hand, staring out over the city like he's about to burn it down. evan would know. he's an expert at that look.
but he doesn't look at evan at all, giving him a few more seconds to finish what he's eating in silence before debating if he should interrupt at all. ignoring him and giving him space is probably better.
but, here they are. ]
They get on your nerves enough?
[ he assumes there was no violence yet, because he hasn't heard any yelling. ]
[ it probably says plenty about his current mental state that david is visibly startled when evan speaks. it's nothing big, but it's there. a few seconds before he manages to parse what evan actually said and makes a quietly disgruntled noise. ]
Every time I come to one of these things, I think "they can't be as up themselves as I remember."
[ david takes a small sip from his glass and exhales a heavy breath through his nose. ]
Call 'em too clever by half, but most of 'em aren't nearly as smart as they think they are.
[ evan finishes off what little he kept on his plate and sets it aside. it's high-class fare, which means it looks good and tastes empty and doesn't do anything to cut the hunger. fortunately, he's used to that. ]
Rich fucks are delusional. Especially when they've never lifted a finger to earn shit.
[ no part of him is aware of the hypocrisy. he was born and raised rich, but he earned it, as far as he's concerned. ]
[ if it's hypocritical, david's not aware of it. he's been earning it every goddamn day of his life as far as he's concerned. something the two of them have in common, neither of their families would give them a free ride. ]
[ that sums it up, really. evan's not sure how to follow that up, until he eyes the glass. it's not wine, he can tell, and there's no hard liquor here, so it's not likely to ... start anything. hell, he'd be surprised if david got even slightly buzzed off that. ]
Enough to get you drinkin'.
[ as if that's hard for either of them. still. he's been avoiding alcohol lately. beer, even. just because. ]
[ there's a bitter edge to the joke, even the way david raises his glass in a mock toast. he's pretty sure 2 glasses over the course of an evening is the most self-restraint david's shown in years. even if he wanted to dial it back this past couple months, his public image wouldn't allow it. ]
[ but it is what it is. david turns his head a little, just enough to comfortably glance at evan. ]
[ evan's initial response to that is to try and one-up david, because that's what they both always do, but he hesitates for reasons he's not very clear on. maybe the recognition of their similar lives at this point is tempering him. a bad sign, but he's not mad enough to withdraw just because of that. ]
Probably not as bad.
[ getting kicked out of the old boys' club isn't the worst thing he can imagine happening here. ]
[ david offers it with a smirk, obviously joking. if only because he doesn't want to risk setting evan off and ruining this whole fucking thing. if evan doesn't put him in the hospital for it, his father would. ]
Engage you on somethin' that interests you and then talk down to you about it.
[ not that he has any idea what interests evan. as far as he can tell, the man's pissed off by almost everything. ]
[ evan's smile in response to that is very thin, and very brief, and not amused. david doesn't follow up on the threat, though, so the anger that started to bubble up settles back down. ]
Like what? Rugby again?
[ he's always assumed david's skills were limited to fighting, drinking, partying, and having sex with every woman who looked his way. and sports, to a certain degree. recent developments notwithstanding, that thought hasn't really changed. ]
[ david snorts and nods shallowly, unbothered, turning his gaze back to the city below them. ]
Yeah, sure.
[ not that he's not interested in rugby, he could talk somebody's ear off about it if the mood was right, but david already knows the game here. it's an easy dig, because he's an athelete and not an academic. didn't pick an intellectual career, and retired early at that. nobody here takes him seriously. ]
[ evan watches david a few seconds longer as the silence stretches on. normally he wouldn't care. letting other people get more awkward as the silence drags on until they finally have to fill it is something he knows how to do, although that's more out of not having any interest in saying anything than trying to manipulate.
but this time ... ]
They wouldn't treat you any better if you had a doctorate.
[ because he's not his father. that's all it is. ]
[ that's true enough. david doesn't even register the comment as anything supportive, if it's even meant that way, just an honest dig at their fellow attendees. he tips back what's left of his champagne and sets the glass aside. ]
All too busy tryin' to one up eachother 'cause the only thing that matters is being top outta a bunch of vapid fucks.
[ his father, at least, has earned some respect. partially because their family goes back generations, and assholes like this love that shit, partially because he put in the time and the money. mostly just because he's the fucker in charge. bunch of people who'll probably be chatting david up when it's his turn at the helm after treating him like shit this whole time. ]
[ there's some class resentment there, or at least evan would understand that if he knew the term. all he can really understand is david's frustration. the only reason people don't patronize him to that degree is because he's not as personable. he takes it to heart, immediately.
one of the few things his father doesn't actively punish him for acting out about. probably because it leaves such an impression. ]
One wrong move and they're dead.
[ which isn't so different from anyone else's life, but. ]
[ is that too grim? probably doesn't matter given who he's talking to. ]
Course I guess both're about the same to them.
[ david slips off his jacket, just out of a desire to feel a little bit less stiff, careful (yet quick and easy, clearly a familiar motion) in the way he smooths it down and folds it over his arm before he drapes it over a railing to make sure it doesn't wrinkle while it's off. ]
[ he rolls his shoulders, puts his hands down on the railing and leans into it to stretch out a little like he's stiff from sitting at a desk or some shit. ]
I ever end up like one of them, don't even fuckin' fight me, yeah? Just take a gun and end it.
[ evan wishes he'd been looking away when david did that. the practiced, casual ease of taking off the suit coat, so it's just the black shirt underneath, the way it clings in ways the jacket obviously didn't -
it's no less familiar than if he was taking off a jacket to fight. or at least, it shouldn't be. it still leaves evan silent, his mouth unusually dry. maybe he does need a drink.
the response is slower to come than it should be as he deliberately turns to glare out at the city again, trying to focus on the way the lights in the buildings almost make patterns, if he focuses. ]
Yeah. Sure. [ that's not good enough. ] You won't even see it coming.
[ david glances evan's way, eyebrow raised at that response. even after he spotted evan watching him earlier, it doesn't occur to him that this could be anything similar. initial assumption just that evan's tired or something, that's why it's such an underwhelming answer. ]
Thought you'd be a little more excited at the prospect.
If I wanted to shoot you, I'd have done it years ago.
[ not that it wouldn't be satisfying, but he doesn't want to shoot david. he wants him dead by his own hands, as literally as possible. but that's not really what he's thinking about now.
he can't tell him to put the jacket back on, because that's not going to help matters at all. ]
Don't worry. I'll fuck it all up for you if you get that bad.
[ david exhales through his nose, a quietly amused noise, and nods in apparent acceptance of the answer. though, because of who he is as a person, he can't help being a little shit and fixes evan with a raised eyebrow and a hint of a smirk. ]
So you don't wanna shoot me?
[ lighthearted, gently teasing, because he knows what evan means but this is also funnier. ]
[ he glares at david this time, turning away from the city, wishing he didn't have to but knowing the full force of his anger isn't going to make any difference when it's aimed away from david.
not that it usually has much effect anyway, but. ]
Would've put ten in your back by now if that was all I wanted. When I take you out, it ain't gonna be that easy.
[ under normal circumstances, "when I take you out" is practically a lay up, the joke's right there. david's expression makes it clear he's about to say something stupid, but it doesn't make it past that first stop where he remembers who he's talking to and suddenly stops himself. clearing his throat and glancing back out at the city. ]
When's pretty ambitious.
[ it lacks the bite, david can hear it, but what's he gonna do? flirt as a way of talking shit? with evan? those days might be over, it seems. ]
[ the double entendre went right past evan when he said it, but in the brief few moments before david responds, it hits him, and he wants to gouge out his own eyes.
david's followup lacks the snarl and bite he might expect ... or the subtle, aimed flirtation that would have driven him to a rage before everything that happened. god damn it. now they're both stuck in the same pit. he should have just left david alone with his drink. ]
Yeah, well.
[ that can't be how he ends it. ]
'If' doesn't cut it.
[ not with his family, and his life. of course, neither does the back end of decidedly not flirting with a lifelong enemy. ]
[ david's quiet for a long moment, a frown on his face in response to the lack of heat from evan. get what you give and all that, but considering the both of them have been champing at the bit to kill eachother practically their whole lives, this is... concerning. takes the sport right out of it, the stuff that keeps the hate and anger simmering until they can vent at least a little of it with their fists. ]
[ could just ignore it. with anyone else he might, if this was a one-sided problem, david definitely would, but truthfully he's never been a fan of leaving things alone, even if it's a massive fucking elephant taking up a tiny room. if something's on his mind, david prefers to just address it and move on, even if it makes him look stupid. the pragmatist in him says it's because shit can fester and grow and become a real problem if left like that, but maybe he just has so much baggage already he can't handle taking on any more. ]
[ he turns to lean a hip side-on against the parapet, folds his arms over his chest with a frown deeper than a moment ago. ]
We've gotta do something about this. Can't be havin' these weird awkward moments-- Not with you.
[ evan almost visibly tenses when david says that.
no, he doesn't want to do anything about it, but david's got a point. someone's going to notice the way they act around each other has changed, and not in a way that should make sense with them having nearly killed each other in public. they shouldn't have ended up being almost at peace with each other. they should be still trying to kill each other. or at least trying to sabotage each other's lives.
deliberately, anyway.
his glare hardens. he wants to storm back into the party, of all things, the anger trying to take over but being chokechained by the knowledge of what'll happen if he lets that happen. instead, he snaps out a response he didn't think about before saying it. ]
Like what? Make out in some dark corner where nobody's gonna find us to try and - and fucking cut the tension?
[ as a response, it visibly stuns david for a moment, surprised by evan saying that of all things. ]
I-- Maybe?
[ it's not what he would've suggested, but then again david doesn't know what he would've suggested. experience says that's not the smart play — he's suggested to enough women they should fuck to get him off their minds and it just roots him deeper in there, but those are people who are actually attracted to him. there's no attraction here, obviously. just some awkwardness borne of sharing similar trauma. ]
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hardlydead) wrote2024-05-20 10:36 pm
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[ they should be peers, really. like them, he was born to money, and it's not like everyone else's income is totally above board either. thank fucking god he was never really part of this world except when he had to be. ]
[ but david weathers it well. laughs when somebody makes a joke at his expense and politely pulls his punches when throwing one back, more and more often some guy trying to prove something because he's mad david's managed to charm a couple of women for ten minutes here and there like it means anything. he feels like he's handling himself well, so it surprises him when his mother suggests maybe he needs to get some air, which is her way of saying he needs to cool off. ]
[ but hell, he'll take it. doesn't quite storm out, but there's definitely an air of thunder to the way he takes a glass of champagne and exits to the balcony. not even noticing evan out there this time as he walks straight to the edge and takes a breath. ]
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but he doesn't look at evan at all, giving him a few more seconds to finish what he's eating in silence before debating if he should interrupt at all. ignoring him and giving him space is probably better.
but, here they are. ]
They get on your nerves enough?
[ he assumes there was no violence yet, because he hasn't heard any yelling. ]
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Every time I come to one of these things, I think "they can't be as up themselves as I remember."
[ david takes a small sip from his glass and exhales a heavy breath through his nose. ]
Call 'em too clever by half, but most of 'em aren't nearly as smart as they think they are.
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[ evan finishes off what little he kept on his plate and sets it aside. it's high-class fare, which means it looks good and tastes empty and doesn't do anything to cut the hunger. fortunately, he's used to that. ]
Rich fucks are delusional. Especially when they've never lifted a finger to earn shit.
[ no part of him is aware of the hypocrisy. he was born and raised rich, but he earned it, as far as he's concerned. ]
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Annoying as fuck.
[ he's so fucking tired. ]
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Enough to get you drinkin'.
[ as if that's hard for either of them. still. he's been avoiding alcohol lately. beer, even. just because. ]
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[ there's a bitter edge to the joke, even the way david raises his glass in a mock toast. he's pretty sure 2 glasses over the course of an evening is the most self-restraint david's shown in years. even if he wanted to dial it back this past couple months, his public image wouldn't allow it. ]
[ but it is what it is. david turns his head a little, just enough to comfortably glance at evan. ]
Guessing things are goin' about as well for you.
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Probably not as bad.
[ getting kicked out of the old boys' club isn't the worst thing he can imagine happening here. ]
Nobody's patronized me tonight.
[ worse than usual, anyway. ]
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[ david offers it with a smirk, obviously joking. if only because he doesn't want to risk setting evan off and ruining this whole fucking thing. if evan doesn't put him in the hospital for it, his father would. ]
Engage you on somethin' that interests you and then talk down to you about it.
[ not that he has any idea what interests evan. as far as he can tell, the man's pissed off by almost everything. ]
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Like what? Rugby again?
[ he's always assumed david's skills were limited to fighting, drinking, partying, and having sex with every woman who looked his way. and sports, to a certain degree. recent developments notwithstanding, that thought hasn't really changed. ]
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Yeah, sure.
[ not that he's not interested in rugby, he could talk somebody's ear off about it if the mood was right, but david already knows the game here. it's an easy dig, because he's an athelete and not an academic. didn't pick an intellectual career, and retired early at that. nobody here takes him seriously. ]
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but this time ... ]
They wouldn't treat you any better if you had a doctorate.
[ because he's not his father. that's all it is. ]
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[ that's true enough. david doesn't even register the comment as anything supportive, if it's even meant that way, just an honest dig at their fellow attendees. he tips back what's left of his champagne and sets the glass aside. ]
All too busy tryin' to one up eachother 'cause the only thing that matters is being top outta a bunch of vapid fucks.
[ his father, at least, has earned some respect. partially because their family goes back generations, and assholes like this love that shit, partially because he put in the time and the money. mostly just because he's the fucker in charge. bunch of people who'll probably be chatting david up when it's his turn at the helm after treating him like shit this whole time. ]
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one of the few things his father doesn't actively punish him for acting out about. probably because it leaves such an impression. ]
One wrong move and they're dead.
[ which isn't so different from anyone else's life, but. ]
Or at the bottom of the social circle.
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[ is that too grim? probably doesn't matter given who he's talking to. ]
Course I guess both're about the same to them.
[ david slips off his jacket, just out of a desire to feel a little bit less stiff, careful (yet quick and easy, clearly a familiar motion) in the way he smooths it down and folds it over his arm before he drapes it over a railing to make sure it doesn't wrinkle while it's off. ]
[ he rolls his shoulders, puts his hands down on the railing and leans into it to stretch out a little like he's stiff from sitting at a desk or some shit. ]
I ever end up like one of them, don't even fuckin' fight me, yeah? Just take a gun and end it.
[ it's less of a joke than he'd like honestly. ]
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it's no less familiar than if he was taking off a jacket to fight. or at least, it shouldn't be. it still leaves evan silent, his mouth unusually dry. maybe he does need a drink.
the response is slower to come than it should be as he deliberately turns to glare out at the city again, trying to focus on the way the lights in the buildings almost make patterns, if he focuses. ]
Yeah. Sure. [ that's not good enough. ] You won't even see it coming.
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Thought you'd be a little more excited at the prospect.
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If I wanted to shoot you, I'd have done it years ago.
[ not that it wouldn't be satisfying, but he doesn't want to shoot david. he wants him dead by his own hands, as literally as possible. but that's not really what he's thinking about now.
he can't tell him to put the jacket back on, because that's not going to help matters at all. ]
Don't worry. I'll fuck it all up for you if you get that bad.
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So you don't wanna shoot me?
[ lighthearted, gently teasing, because he knows what evan means but this is also funnier. ]
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not that it usually has much effect anyway, but. ]
Would've put ten in your back by now if that was all I wanted. When I take you out, it ain't gonna be that easy.
[ ... for david. it won't be easy for david. ]
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When's pretty ambitious.
[ it lacks the bite, david can hear it, but what's he gonna do? flirt as a way of talking shit? with evan? those days might be over, it seems. ]
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david's followup lacks the snarl and bite he might expect ... or the subtle, aimed flirtation that would have driven him to a rage before everything that happened. god damn it. now they're both stuck in the same pit. he should have just left david alone with his drink. ]
Yeah, well.
[ that can't be how he ends it. ]
'If' doesn't cut it.
[ not with his family, and his life. of course, neither does the back end of decidedly not flirting with a lifelong enemy. ]
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[ could just ignore it. with anyone else he might, if this was a one-sided problem, david definitely would, but truthfully he's never been a fan of leaving things alone, even if it's a massive fucking elephant taking up a tiny room. if something's on his mind, david prefers to just address it and move on, even if it makes him look stupid. the pragmatist in him says it's because shit can fester and grow and become a real problem if left like that, but maybe he just has so much baggage already he can't handle taking on any more. ]
[ he turns to lean a hip side-on against the parapet, folds his arms over his chest with a frown deeper than a moment ago. ]
We've gotta do something about this. Can't be havin' these weird awkward moments-- Not with you.
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no, he doesn't want to do anything about it, but david's got a point. someone's going to notice the way they act around each other has changed, and not in a way that should make sense with them having nearly killed each other in public. they shouldn't have ended up being almost at peace with each other. they should be still trying to kill each other. or at least trying to sabotage each other's lives.
deliberately, anyway.
his glare hardens. he wants to storm back into the party, of all things, the anger trying to take over but being chokechained by the knowledge of what'll happen if he lets that happen. instead, he snaps out a response he didn't think about before saying it. ]
Like what? Make out in some dark corner where nobody's gonna find us to try and - and fucking cut the tension?
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I-- Maybe?
[ it's not what he would've suggested, but then again david doesn't know what he would've suggested. experience says that's not the smart play — he's suggested to enough women they should fuck to get him off their minds and it just roots him deeper in there, but those are people who are actually attracted to him. there's no attraction here, obviously. just some awkwardness borne of sharing similar trauma. ]
I dunno, I mean - would that help?
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