universal_charm | SANCTUM IC CONTACT

[ Damon takes the comm, setting the glasses on the other side of the bar, by the bottles. Hand wrapping around the keys, he slides them off the bar and slips them into his pocket. ]

It's fine. I have two couches, remember?

What, you mean I don't get to cuddle with you at the end of the night?

_{[ He laughs a little, sipping his scotch slower this time, letting it flood his mouth, wash over his tongue, try and wipe out the bitter taste of his anger. He must be feeling a little better if he was teasing like that. ]}

I make no promises.

[ Yeah, that's not a no, but this is Damon the tease over here.

The quiet guy drops down his own money and they're left alone, Damon leaning against the bar, arms propping him up. He pulls off his own communicator and sets it down on the bar next to Kirk's. ] And that's enough of that for the night.

_{[ Kirk just smiles, really already figuring it was a no anyways.

He glances at the man leaving and then at Damon setting away his glasses, wrist slowly swirling the amber of his drink. ]}

What, not making promises or listening to the drivel?

_{[ He nods at the glasses, taking a sip. ]}

Really chomping at the bit, there.

[ But, Damon can't blame him. He's always been on the other end of that. ]

The glasses get in my way. [ If Stefan, or if Caroline or someone needs help, well, he'd get back to them. ] They're a distraction. When I've been told the customer is the priority. Always being right and all.

Well, I am right about 95% of the time.

_{[ He chuckled at his own bad joke, tapping his finger against the rim
of the glass before sipping again. He was going through it at a steady pace
here, but at least he was taking pauses, and treating the alcohol with the
respect it deserved. That whiskey shot might not be so lucky or deserving.
]}

So - what do you think about all of this?

_{[ He meant the trial, this talk about restricting them. ]}

And you're hoping that pertains to me.

[ Damon placed several glasses of ice in his own glass, pouring himself four fingers. ]

I think it's talk. I think they're looking for someone to place the blame. I think we all blend together. We're the intruders. Even though we'd choose to not be here.

Hmm, sounds about right.

_{[ He shifted and leaned back in his chair, not quite slouching, but taking on a more relaxed air. Normally expressive lips were turned the slightest bit down at the corners, blue eyes lacking their usual spark. ]}

How are you coping? Being here, I mean. Hasn't been that long for you, has it?

Three weeks. [ ... ] Today.

[ He half shrugs as he brings his glass to his mouth, tipping it back. The ice slides towards him with a clink before he sets it down, the glass hitting the bar with a thud. ]

I have a job. A new fully furnished apartment. I may not be dating my ex's best friend, but we can't all be Stefan.

Well, that sounds dangerous.

_{[ He drummed his fingers, antsy, nervous, angry. He wasn't good at sitting still. It was when he did that people knew something really was wrong with him. ]}

Happy three week-a-versary.

_{[ He raised his glass to him, using it as an excuse to take another drink. ]}

[ He raises it in kind, taking another sip, pushing the anniversary to the back of his mind. Three weeks. Four months in 1994. It's all relative, isn't it. ]

_{[ He sits there quietly for a bit, sometimes sipping his drink, the ice the loudest thing between them for a bit. He was letting the energy drain, not quite meditating, but close. He had barked a lot on the network, but he couldn't go off doing half-assed things that would make more trouble. He did that once and it had cost him more than a headache. ]}

You serve food here? Yelling at the general populace works up an appetite.

[ He's handed a menu with a brief selection of appetizers, high end bar food. Shoe string fries. Calimari, things like that. ]

_{[ He took it, perusing the menu quickly before snapping it shut and handing it back to him. ]}

Can you just do a grilled cheese?

I'm sure they can.

[ When he realizes Kirk is really going to order a grilled cheese, he goes over to the screen and taps a few times, ordering for Kirk, silently judging his seven year old life. ]

_{[ He can feel the other judging him. It's practically palpable. He almost wanted to classify it as Damon's super power. ]}

What? Grilled cheese and scotch, it's a perfect combo. Besides, I'm still on a budget after all that furniture...

Some of us hit it big at the auction. [ And Stefan had done just as well on his date with Caroline. Kirk wasn't lucky (or unlucky) enough to have a sibling here. Or, at all. He does wonder, though, as he returns to the spot in front of Kirk. ] Any brothers or sisters?

_{[ That catches him off guard, and he looks into the scotch for a long moment. When was the last time he had thought him? Talked about him? It seemed like forever since he had watched his back walking down the path from Frank's, forever since he had bothered speaking his name, or wondering where he was. ]}

Yeah. Older brother - Sam. Well, George Samuel, but I called him Sam.

As everyone should. [ George Samuel is best left to his birth certificate. ] Stefan mastered a few games in the casino. [ And Kirk still won't be paying for the drinks, anyway. ] Why my little foray into Bifrons Architectural Obsessive Digest didn't make that big a dent.

_{[ He snorted, swiping his thumb across his nose. ]}

There's a reason I never say what the T in my name stands for.

_{[ Charles knew, but then Charles had an equally horrible middle name, so it was sort of a quid-pro-quo thing. ]}

Casinos - the one place I've never had much luck in. Might be my turn to take a loan of you, huh?

Now, you have to. Those are the rules.

[ Seriously. ]

Maybe, I'd give you one. [ He shrugs. ] Did our spending spree put a wrench in your studio plans?

Only if you swear no one else ever hears of it. If you use it in the presence of anyone else, I swear I will take the nearest sharp object and stick it in a very unpleasant place.

_{[ That's how serious this is, Damon. ]}

Hmm, not really. I was moving slow on that anyways. I have the space to work, I can upgrade in pieces.

You and I might have different ideas of unpleasant.

[ But, whatever. ]

When you're not being shunned for the kidnapping victim you are.

I will find your unpleasant place and exploit it - with a sharp object.

_{[ Just so you were clear on the stakes here Damon. He ran a hand through his hair, one of his nervous gestures, steeling himself. ]}

Hmm, I'll just have to be more careful on who I choose to do the work. And you're a kindapee too, remember?

Be still my unbeating heart. [ ... ] Because I'm dead inside.

[ All these jokes! ]

Hard to forget.

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