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. ]
[ 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. ]
[ 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. ]
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. ]
[ 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. ]
[ 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. ]
[ 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. ]
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.
[ 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.
[ 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. ]
[ 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. ]
[ oh gross. he doesn't want to think about that fundraiser at all again. well thinking about one part has been difficult not to do, but the rest of it could quite easily be consigned to the abyss. ]
Nah. Long as I was there with a smile when they needed, nobody gave a shit.
[ not that he got any real flak for disappearing. one of the others did say he saw the two of them out on the balcony being reasonably cordial, which would have resulted in something much worse if the followup hadn't been a comment on how glad he'd been they didn't have to pull apart a shitshow of a fight. evan had managed to dismiss it with a shrug and a comment about things being less now that they'd almost killed each other for real, and that had done the trick.
he doesn't mention it, though. nobody saw them disappear. that's all that matters. ]
How many more of those things you think you got in you this year?
[ some years it's a lot, some it's only one or two. ever since he was a kid, there was always some way to get him to be a little performer whenever they needed. having a kid who's at least a little charming is great for optics, really helps sell things. ]
[ he could ask evan the same question, but david halfway expects he'd just get the same answer back. besides, he doesn't care about that at all. he's reaching the limit on how much small talk he can really tolerate, especially with someone he knows also has low patience for this shit. ]
[ what he wants is to ask why evan called him out here, but knowing what he probably actually called david for, david's not sure he wants to get into that. ]
That what you called me for?
[ unfortunately his mouth moves faster than his head. ]
[ he could offer to meet david somewhere less public if he wants to talk about this. you know. his apartment. david's apartment, now that he knows where it is (and he does know, having made his way there last week just to see if it was even a real place; he stayed a street away, but he knows, now, what he's dealing with). the abandoned brewery. an underpass.
but in a bar, where people could listen in, they probably won't. it's a stupid line of logic that he's found is true more often than not. they haven't been caught yet, have they?
yet. ]
What do you think?
[ his expression would be angrier if he wasn't so embarrassed about the fact that he called david out in the first place. ]
[ which is, frustratingly, the truth. six (?) months ago it was simple, he saw evan, it meant he wanted to fight. wanted to kill really, but the circumstances that would allow either of them to actually do it are extremely limited. now? he's always uncertain when he sees evan, no idea what either of them wants out of any situation anymore. ]
[ david sighs and leans forward on an elbow — outwardly friendly, but it's just so he can speak lower without being overheard. ]
Maybe you just wanna talk, maybe you need some drinks before you make a shittier decision than that. I've got no idea.
[ a shittier decision than that. he sneers for a second, but david's right. almost every time they've had drinks lately, it's ended with - something. and even when they didn't have drinks. he's got no idea how to address this; all he knows is that he needed to deal with this, except he doesn't know how the fuck he's going to do that. ]
How's the last two weeks been?
[ this isn't an idle question. it's almost an accusation. if he's the only part of this who's been distracted and spending most nights lying awake trying to think of anything but what they did, then he's going to walk out of the city and never come back. so he needs to know if david's been as ... preoccupied as him. ]
[ something about the question makes the anger surge, and david honestly welcomes it if only for the familiarity of the feeling. the comfort of it. he exhales a puff of breath through his nose, smirks, seemingly amused except the cold stare and the way he licks his lips give him away in an instant. ]
[ the anger makes him ballsy too. comparatively, at least. being sure no one except evan can hear him alongside a spiteful desire to spark that fear he's seen in evan's eyes enough times by now drowns out every other voice in his head telling him to shut the fuck up. ]
Why? Need to know how many times I rubbed one out thinkin' about your cock in my hand?
[ the smirk curls into a sneer, not quite disgusted. closer to ashamed but not quite that either. not enough. ]
Not as many times as I've wondered why it's gotta be you of all fuckin' people, I'll tell you that much.
[ there's that brief look of terror david was looking for as evan glances at the nearest people in the crowd, but none of them are listening. then it's gone, replaced with a similar anger for what david said - and no small hint of embarrassment, too.
he didn't have to say it like that. ]
Yeah? Same here. This ain't somethin' I can just ignore. I've tried.
[ why david fucking king, of all people? he could guess at why, but he's not going to, at least not right now. ]
We keep doing stupid shit, we're gonna get caught.
[ it's not much, not enough, but it mollifies david a little. especially when he says he's tried to ignore it and couldn't. weirdly relieved by it, in fact. ]
[ we're gonna get caught, he says. and david shrugs a shoulder in response. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hardlydead) wrote2024-05-20 10:36 pm
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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.
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[ 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. ]
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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.
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Not 'til we pass out, eh?
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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. ]
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[ 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. ]
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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. ]
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I'd never be so cruel.
[ he would and they both know it, especially with the little smirk he says it with. ]
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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. ]
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[ 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.
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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.
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Have you know we keep our places runnin' well.
[ well. there's a brief, playful edge to it when he adds: ] Usually.
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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. ]
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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. ]
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[ 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?
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Nah. Long as I was there with a smile when they needed, nobody gave a shit.
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[ not that he got any real flak for disappearing. one of the others did say he saw the two of them out on the balcony being reasonably cordial, which would have resulted in something much worse if the followup hadn't been a comment on how glad he'd been they didn't have to pull apart a shitshow of a fight. evan had managed to dismiss it with a shrug and a comment about things being less now that they'd almost killed each other for real, and that had done the trick.
he doesn't mention it, though. nobody saw them disappear. that's all that matters. ]
How many more of those things you think you got in you this year?
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[ some years it's a lot, some it's only one or two. ever since he was a kid, there was always some way to get him to be a little performer whenever they needed. having a kid who's at least a little charming is great for optics, really helps sell things. ]
[ he could ask evan the same question, but david halfway expects he'd just get the same answer back. besides, he doesn't care about that at all. he's reaching the limit on how much small talk he can really tolerate, especially with someone he knows also has low patience for this shit. ]
[ what he wants is to ask why evan called him out here, but knowing what he probably actually called david for, david's not sure he wants to get into that. ]
That what you called me for?
[ unfortunately his mouth moves faster than his head. ]
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but in a bar, where people could listen in, they probably won't. it's a stupid line of logic that he's found is true more often than not. they haven't been caught yet, have they?
yet. ]
What do you think?
[ his expression would be angrier if he wasn't so embarrassed about the fact that he called david out in the first place. ]
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[ which is, frustratingly, the truth. six (?) months ago it was simple, he saw evan, it meant he wanted to fight. wanted to kill really, but the circumstances that would allow either of them to actually do it are extremely limited. now? he's always uncertain when he sees evan, no idea what either of them wants out of any situation anymore. ]
[ david sighs and leans forward on an elbow — outwardly friendly, but it's just so he can speak lower without being overheard. ]
Maybe you just wanna talk, maybe you need some drinks before you make a shittier decision than that. I've got no idea.
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How's the last two weeks been?
[ this isn't an idle question. it's almost an accusation. if he's the only part of this who's been distracted and spending most nights lying awake trying to think of anything but what they did, then he's going to walk out of the city and never come back. so he needs to know if david's been as ... preoccupied as him. ]
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[ the anger makes him ballsy too. comparatively, at least. being sure no one except evan can hear him alongside a spiteful desire to spark that fear he's seen in evan's eyes enough times by now drowns out every other voice in his head telling him to shut the fuck up. ]
Why? Need to know how many times I rubbed one out thinkin' about your cock in my hand?
[ the smirk curls into a sneer, not quite disgusted. closer to ashamed but not quite that either. not enough. ]
Not as many times as I've wondered why it's gotta be you of all fuckin' people, I'll tell you that much.
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he didn't have to say it like that. ]
Yeah? Same here. This ain't somethin' I can just ignore. I've tried.
[ why david fucking king, of all people? he could guess at why, but he's not going to, at least not right now. ]
We keep doing stupid shit, we're gonna get caught.
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[ we're gonna get caught, he says. and david shrugs a shoulder in response. ]
And yet, here we are.
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You didn't have to come out. Could've told me to go fuck myself and solved the problem for both of us.
[ and he could have resisted the urge to text him. he's ignoring that. ]
If this is gonna - keep happening, then we need to figure out a way to make it happen like we aren't the dumbest motherfuckers alive.
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