(( them gods gonna hurt you son; when you play with a loaded gun ))

[hardlydead]

❤

Comments

[bloodandbrass]

[ he's not thrilled about getting a response. part of him was hoping he'd get left on read. or not and just ignored outright. too late now. ]

New bar opened up. Haven't been there yet. Not really my kind of place

[ it'll be closed in a month, he's sure. three at the most. but. ]

2 for $5 domestic and imported from 5 til 9

[hardlydead]

Not really your kind of place, huh?
You wanna check it out?

[bloodandbrass]

Last place anybody'll look for me and not close enough to home for you

[ he doesn't, really, cheap beer aside. but he also can't get that night out of his fucking skull, so maybe seeing david's smug everyday face in his stupid everyday clothes will help that. ]

[hardlydead]

[ does evan even like drinking? david would swear the man hates everywhere and every drink he's
ever seen him have, like it's just a necessary step in his life or some shit. ]

[ who fucking knows honestly.
just like who knows why he's about to say yes, like he's not about to bail on a sure thing for tonight and her friends, some of whom are actually kind of fun. ]

Fair enough. Where is it? I'll meet you there.

[bloodandbrass]

[ a spark of self-preservation flares in the face of the simple reply david gives. ]

you sure you don't have someone better to drink with?

[hardlydead]

Do you want me to come or not?

[bloodandbrass]

[ no hope now. ]

Be there in 20

[ it takes him 30, only partly deliberately. he doesn't fit with the crowd when he gets in, but he also doesn't stand out, and that's what matters, honestly.

he looks for david, half expecting him to be just as late or more if he hasn't blown the whole thing off. ]

[hardlydead]

[ david's usually punctual to just about everything, so it kind of bugs him that it takes more like 45 minutes to get there, but in his defence he had to get away from the group he was with before he could even leave, and that was a whole fucking thing. ]

[ but he does show up, back to his normal dress sense — though a graphic t-shirt and a leather jacket is probably on the low end of what anyone would consider annoying. just don't ask how much the shirt cost. he slips through the crowd, uncaring whether or not he fits in as he looks around to see if evan's still here. ]

[bloodandbrass]

[ evan's at the bar by that point, half thinking he got ditched in favor of whoever else. if his last desperate attempt to make this not happen actually worked. funny how that actually irritates him, despite everything else about this.

there's two beers in front of him, one untouched, the other almost done. he's not trying to be unassuming; it's just that in the crowd, with everyone else around, he doesn't really stand out ... unless someone's looking for the lowest energy in the bar.

he tipped enough that he's not getting any shit for the fact that he should probably be in a different bar. nobody's even going to notice david, he's sure, provided he shows. evan glances back toward the door and after a few seconds, finally sees david heading toward him. less flashy than usual, but still flashy enough to fit. nobody's looking twice. ]

Took your time, huh.

[hardlydead]

Had a hard time getting away.

[ it would probably have worked better if evan knew more about david, but there are things david has no intention of sharing. evan already knows too much about him, after all. ]

[ anyway-- ]

Is that for me?

[ he gestures to the untouched beer. maybe he should buy evan one to make up for being late. ]

[ nah. ]

[bloodandbrass]

[ it wasn't, but after staring at it for a few seconds, evan nudges it david's way with the partly-empty bottle he's drinking out of. ]

Pay me back later.

[ he signals the bartender for another two. cheap deals, after all. and these ones are for him. ]

How long you think this place'll be open? Professional opinion.

[hardlydead]

Six months. Maybe nine if they really net some loyals.

[ david takes the beer and leans against the bar, looking up and around at the place. ]

Hype dies off after a few weeks, few months in people find a new place - maybe somewhere new. After that it's all adjusting prices and the drinks menu and events with diminishing returns to try and reignite the original hype.

[ david shrugs a shoulder. feels like opening a place that knows how to be stable is a dying art these days, he's seen so many places that come and go inside of a year. ]

[ the bartender gives him a bit of a look at his assessment when she serves evan's beers, but there's definitely a hint of her wearily agreeing too. or maybe david imagined that part. ]

[bloodandbrass]

[ evan almost raises his eyebrows at the appraisal, because the professional opinion bit was mostly a joke. an insult about the fact that david spends all his goddamned time in bars. but it's probably the most accurate thing he's heard lately. there's nothing he can argue with in it.

mostly he doesn't care, because he does a lot of his drinking in dives or at home. but it's still enough of a surprise that he doesn't reply right away. ]

Better take advantage of the deal while it's still here, then.

[ he finishes off the first bottled and pops open one of the newly arrived ones. ]

Not 'til we pass out, though.

[hardlydead]

[ david snorts and gestures for two more so he can catch evan up, which is met with some concern but david knows what he's doing. which is chugging that first bottle in a matter of seconds so he doesn't end up lagging behind. ]

Not 'til we pass out, eh?

[bloodandbrass]

[ the look evan gives david after that move is slightly impressed, but mostly judgmental. ]

I'm not dragging your ass anywhere. Figure you aren't interested in doing the same for me.

[ he grabs his beers and glances around for a table, or better yet, a booth. there's not many. ]

[hardlydead]

Drag you somewhere I can toss you in a ditch, maybe.

[ he says it with a snort and a raised eyebrow as he follows evan's lead and looks around. there's not much, and even less david's comfortable with when he's trying to avoid attention. otherwise he'd just go tell someone to clear off out of their booth like he would anywhere else. ]

[ there's a free tall table with a couple of high chairs, can't imagine why nobody wants to sit there. but it's somewhere to sit, so david nudges evan and points it out. ]

[bloodandbrass]

[ the tall table makes evan grimace, but standing after a day like the one he's had isn't appealing. it's not an obvious spot, but it's a little more public than he'd like. he just has to hope this really is an out of the way place, and that he's not a memorable face.

he heads there with david, finally picking up on that last little insult. ]

Step up from a dumpster.

[ at least the table's out of the way. not many people near them, and he doubts anyone will hear them over the crowd and the music, anyway. ]

[hardlydead]

[ david picks up his beers and goes with evan to the table, perches himself up on one of the chairs with a light frown. he's never been a fan of these kinds of tables, but it is what it is. the chairs are more comfortable than he expected, at least. ]

I'd never be so cruel.

[ he would and they both know it, especially with the little smirk he says it with. ]

[bloodandbrass]

[ evan's grimace holds out after that comment, too. and because he somehow feels short at this table. that's a new experience for him as an adult, and not one he likes. ]

That bartender looked like she didn't like you bein' right.

[ small talk. anything to keep from the reason they're out here, or rather, the reason he called david out here. just ... idle chatter. and drinks. ]

[hardlydead]

Probably sick of having to look for a new job every six months.

[ maybe he'll give her a leg up or something, tell her to apply somewhere he knows the management, maybe not. depends how it goes next time he goes up to order. ]

[ whatever. he shrugs a shoulder. ]

Course there's every chance I'm wrong and this place manages to last instead. Seen some places stick it out when reason says they shouldn't.

[bloodandbrass]

[ keep to the small talk, he thinks, opening the next beer. it's a good distraction. ]

This close to the highway, it might.

[ but again, he's not someone with any kind of serious knowledge about the lifespan of a bar. much as he was joking earlier, david probably is the one with an almost professional take. ]

'Til yours or mine take it over and tank it doing somethin' stupid.

[hardlydead]

[ david laughs at that, quiet and easy over the lip of his bottle. ]

Have you know we keep our places runnin' well.

[ well. there's a brief, playful edge to it when he adds: ] Usually.

[bloodandbrass]

[ this time evan gives david a flat look. keep their places running well ... usually. yeah, he knows that. he also knows which ones are on the verge of collapse, because he read some of the family accountant's ledgers the other day when there was an argument going on.

not because he wanted to know where to go to potentially find david, obviously. he's stupid, but not that stupid.

usually. ]

Right up to the day someone tries to rob it and ends up getting smeared across the pavement outside the door because none of your boys can keep their trigger fingers under control.

[ but it's said lightly, because it's evan saying it, and hypocrite or not he knows he has control problems. they've been more obvious than usual, lately. ]

[hardlydead]

[ david raises an eyebrow ]

Sounds more like your lot than ours there, Mac.

[ not really. it's a persistent issue on all sides, he assumes. there's a million reasons there's a high turnover on the bottom rungs and itchy fingers and a lack of discipline is a pretty common one. david knows he's had to smack the shit out of more than one dumb kid who escalated something that had no need for it. ]

[bloodandbrass]

Yeah, probably.

[ he can't argue with that. well, he can, but it'd make him look even stupider. ]

Better if we don't guess, probably. Either it'll happen or it won't.

[ the beer's not very good, but at least it's something. ]

You, uh ... get any flak from walking outta that party a few times?