“Two senshi walk into a bar,” she said as she landed on top of a local bar on the very edge of her patrol border. She was trying to get better at this patrolling thing, but it was hard when you were still trying to balance having a fun life that wasn’t going to be all work and no play.
“One turns to the other and and says..”
Her eyes narrowed as her voice drifted off. So far it had been a quiet night, and she never actually thought of and end to the joke. Might as well shut up when no one was around to hear her.
“...Wonder if I could get a drink.”
Why am I talking to myself outloud so much lately? Pistol scoffed at herself and rolled her own eyes before looking down. Probably not dressed like this. It wasn’t Halloween yet. Senshi were getting a bad rap, from what she understood. So dressed like this, walking into a place where people were drunk, probably high, and aggression happened was probably a bad idea. So here she was, sitting on top of the sign, feet dangling as she weighed the pros and cons about going in by herself.
One she was underaged. Two she was a senshi. Three, she probably wouldn’t be able to get through the door. Then there was the people hitting on her and making a grab for her if she did get in and ended up with a drink.
“Uuuugh. Lame way to spend your Saturday night, Pistol.”
-----------------
“Join the club, “ a gruff voice called from behind her - not directly behind, but maybe too close for comfort. He wasn’t trying to scare the girl though. He just happened to be swinging on by, a cigarette dangling from his lips, when he sensed an order aura and decided to hone in on it.
Eurydike had been doing that a lot more ever since the whole mess with the half-youma demon hellspawn woman; the scars on his cheeks and chin, four on one side, one on the other from her dragging her claws down his ******** face, were still red and angry even if they’d more or less healed. Doctors said they’d fade with time, but they were probably never really going to be gone; same with the marks on his back. He was stuck with them.
The cast on his hand was still there, binding his two snapped fingers, but at least that was a matter of weeks and not a matter of the rest of his ******** life. “I hit this place a lot; they don’t card y’know. If you henshined down you could probably grab somethin’.” Speaking from experience. Hitch had learned there were a lot of places in this city that didn’t card if you knew where to look - or if in this shithole city they just stopped caring at all.
Personally, on a Saturday night, or any night, he’d rather just be home with Tolliver - but this was still for his sake, and duty called. (Or in this case, liquor. Really this type of lifestyle demanded some liquor.)
------------------------
Maybe not directly behind her but honestly waaaay to close for comfort. She yelped and jumped off the sign onto the little ledge just before it, heels hanging off haphazardly. She swallowed and then squinted and slowly sidled until she could actually see who was stalking her all of a sudden.
Well, he didn’t start attacking her, didn’t seem to be interested in it at all, which was good. One youma fight for her awakening and Pistol was completely paranoid about hurting herself. The girl swallowed and flushed a little before smoothing a hand over the pedals of her top and stepped closer to him.
“You.. Uh. Hm. I doubt I could get in even if they don’t card.” She looked far younger than she was (so she’d been told). Of course Pistol noticed the cast, noticed the scars and then just stopped herself from blurting out he looked like utter s**t. “..I’m going to assume you’ve had a really bad time lately…? Uh. I mean with your hand and the… scars.” She made a vague hand gesture before slowly extending that same hand.
“I’m Pistol.” Yay more awkward greetings. One day she’d get used to this.
------------------------
Eurydike felt a little bad for startling her, a little. Part of him wondered if she struggled at all with the whole sensing s**t jedi angle bullshit they were supposed to be able to do too, but - “I mean they usually don’t give a flyin’ ******** here ‘long as you pay, but I mean, you do look like fifteen so - you promise not to murder my family or nothin’, toss me some cash, I can go get’cha somethin’.” He was underage too, but he knew he didn’t look it. Probably the one thing the premature gray in his hair was any ******** good for.
His face dropped into a complete stoic, deadpan stare when she brought up the scars. “These? Nah man. These are just for shits an’ giggles, “ he droned, rolling his eyes - and trying to look unfazed, although his gaze dropped at the end and in the dim lights maybe she would see his cheeks burn with shame. “Word of advice kid, don’t be a moron an’ ******** with youma generals. Turns out that’s probably the worst idea anyone ever held. - at least the burns from the demon train healed. Awesome.” At least she’d said something instead of just staring, although he didn’t really know if that was worse or better.
He took a good long drag of his cigarette then, the red glow at the tip burning up and illuminating his face. “Pistol - y’look like a damn hippie.” He flashed her a lopsided smirk. “Eurydike, senshi of salt. Yeah, yeah, salt, I know.”
----------------------
...Generals and demon trains, eh? Nope, she definitely missed something and for once was glad she wasn’t caught up on all the ins and outs of being a senshi. So far there had been one youma.
“Aaah, I’ll take the advice into mind, and excuse you. I’m not fifteen. I’m nineteen, thank you.” SHe sniffed a little and then bit down on her bottom lip. If she powered down she definitely did have money. Eating vegan wasn’t cheap, so she earned her cash through various chores around the house and farm. Good money, she might add.
“..Well, salt’s better than pollen isn’t it? I make things sneeze.” Salt at least could burn open wounds, or eyes, or dehydrate! She.. made people sneeze. Yaay! Big deal there. “As for the hippie look, well… I don’t exactly get to chose how I look. I doubt you picked your own style.” One more vague motion toward him and then pink eyes flicked to his cigarette. Interesting. She thought about taking up smoking once, but with the way she latched onto things she feared it’d lead to something a lot more serious.
“So if I powered down you’d buy me a drink if I gave you the cash? We could.. I don’t know, talk about.. this demon train, or how you found me or.. anything related to our jobs?”
Look, she needed the info. If she could pump him for it, that’d just be amazing and she could probably sleep a lot better. Or you know, not be snuck up on so easily in the future.
----------------------
“Then when you’re 24 you’ll look 20. Yay for you, “ he droned sarcastically with a flourished wave of his own hand, arching a brow at her with a kind of playful little smirk. “Also hey, hey now, at least your magic like - does s**t - my magic’s supposed to protect people an’ half the time these ******** just wait right out of the ring like ‘huh?? why is there a ring?’ - the ******** you think there’s a ring for, jesus ********’ christ - “ Small tirade, yes. He was only a little sorry.
As for how he looked, well - Eurydike just had to laugh, and laugh hard, because seriously who the ******** would choose to wear what he was wearing right now. “That’s pretty much exactly what I just ********’ said, so yeah - an’ long as you give me some, I’ll tell you whatever the ******** you want - but I’m warnin’ ya Bumblebee, I don’t know a whole lot. If you couldn’t tell, it’s kinda been a trial by fire bullshit mess for me, “ literally. There had literally been a fire and it was bullshit and yet here he still was doing this insane senshi bulldshit.
----------------------
She grinned at his assessment of how she’d look when she was twenty-four. Well. She couldn’t argue. It had it’s perks, but right now it sucked. She rubbed her face after a minute and then blinked.
Pistol had to make sure she wasn’t getting mixed up. “Salt rings are big in demon superstition. They’re for protection..” She gave a little grin and then licked her lips. The ethings she knew. “Well, honestly, protective attacks would be great if you can protect the strongest fighter. Assuming it’s not yourself. I mean, strategy, really.” The blond nodded, braids bouncing on her shoulder and then grinned.
“Okay, okay. So.. Guess we jump down and power down, hm?” Without much preamble, that’s what she did. She jumped down beside the bar, in the little alleyway and glanced around to make sure she wouldn’t be discovered.
Remember what Ash told her, she powered down to her jeans, cowboy boots, and tank top, hair very much still in the same style as powered up. She did a quick pat down and realized that she did, in fact, have her wallet. Good. She put her henshin pen in her bra for now, and then waited for him.
Rough around the edges, this senshi of salt, but… he had to be a good guy, right?
----------------------
“Also be real great if people didn’t just walk right out the damn circle, “ he quipped back with a low peal of laughter, just before Operation Get Bumblebee a Drink went in full swing. Moments after they jumped into that alley, Eurydike was gone, and there he was replaced by - a guy still dressed in a deli uniform, hat and apron gone yeah, but the regulation shirt was still there with a flannel thrown on over it, big old workboots covered in cheesy and meaty bits galore, along with his jeans, his hair swept back from his scarred face in a loosening ponytail.
The cigarette, though, that was still balanced between his lips, and that didn’t change one damn bit.
“So, what’ll you have, Bumble? - I’m a bourbon guy myself if you ain’t got a preference, “ and he wished his phone wasn’t jacked up and dead; he would’ve loved to have taken the chance to shoot Tolliver a text just so he knew Hitch was alright. “Also, Hitch now, call me Hitch, ” he coerced her in a lower voice.
---------------------------
The nickname of Bumble and Bumblebee was rather adorable, but lost on her since her senshi form she was covered in flowers and she didn’t have an ounce of black or stripes on her. Whatever. She had a feeling it had to do with the flowers.
She watched the other power down, fascinated because she’s never seen anyone do it, and there stood a regular looking guy. Interesting. The glamor really did wonders, didn’t it?
Then he reintroduced himself as Hitch… What an unusual name. Then again, most of the names of people she’s met lately weren’t in the norm. Maybe that was a new norm. Shrugging off the thoughts, Daisy grinned a little.
“Daisy’s my name..” She headed out of the alley first, walking around to the front of the bar. “..I hope you don’t mind answering questions.”
---------------------------
To him, Bumble and Bumblebee were clearly the most logical nicknames; she was pollen, bees did the whole pollination thing, it was totally golden, practically ******** wrote itself. “Course your name is Daisy, “ he remarked with a low snicker, clapping her once on the shoulder as they walked.
Reallty, he was Logan Hitchcock - but aside from an annoyingly persist boss insisting on a ‘Logan’ nametag and refusing to call him by anything else (the tool), only one person was allowed to call him Logan and that was Tolliver. So in a way, Hitch made himself more unique than he really was.
“Long as you ain’t askin’ me how many inches I am, go ahead - I don’t know enough about this s**t to hide s**t, “ he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Also since you ain’t said anythin’ does that mean bourbon’s good then? - y’know you want bourbon, right?”
-----------------------------
“Okay, gross.” Why would she want to know how many inches he was? Daisy just rolled her pink eyes and rubbed the blush on her face, as if could go away. She basically followed him the rest of the way in and looked around, very surprised she didn’t get IDed, though most did look to be side eying her.
Could be the boots and hairstyle. Perverts fantasy, right? Whatever.
“...I’ve never had bourbon or really a drink so, yeah, fine with me.” Not entirely true. She’s never had a drink she could name. Usually just a mixed whatever from the punch bowls at parties or a bottle with the label conveniently ripped off. But those were just technicality and actually fruity mixed drinks.
“No, just questions like, how did you find me so easy? How’s that for a starter question?” Daisy smirked at her own smarts and bounced until she settled up on a bar stool.
-----------------
Hitch snickered at her reaction. “Hey, not weirdest bar question I’ve been asked Bumble, “ he quipped with a rhythmic little series of taps on his thigh as they headed inside. He canted his head casually to a couple of the guys, regulars he’d seen before. Some looked happier to see him than others, as was generally the way.
“Stick close to me by the way - an’ if someone tries to buy you a drink, whatever you do, don’t take it, “ he grunted lowly, settling comfortably on to the bar stool beside Daisy and nodding at the bar tender.
How he found her so easily, well - “Sensed it. ‘Parently that’s a thing we can do, even if I sorta suck at reading power levels - or I just didn’t try hard enough - anyway, s’easy to get a feel for chaos vs. order. First I only really cared ‘bout the former, but y’know, sorta learned my lesson - make friends Bumble, make lots of friends, save your own a** now.” The bourbon was here, so he gratefully took a too long swig on the stuff, savoring the sensation of the burn as it swept through him.
--------------------
Thank God that wasn’t the weirdest question. Daisy usually made social interactions with guys awkward because she was used to hanging around other girls. It was basically a case of what is appropriate? That, and you know, the whole senshi thing was fairly new to her despite waking up almost a year ago. She had a life, okay? It wasn’t like she could patrol every day!
Whatever. He explained and Daisy listened and tilted her head.
“Of course I’m not going to take it. I only know you here. It’d be different if it was one of my friends from school handing me a drink,” she muttered eyeing the liquid in the cup a bit. Definitely not going to have a fruity taste, was it?
She brought it to her nose and shuddered before practically gagging at the strong odor. Daisy looked like she immediately regretted this decision but… Bottoms up.
The glass was brought to her lips and she tried to take a swig like he did and barely made the first mouthful before she was coughing and hanging her head, eyes watering. Well that was strong to say the least. “Ugh…”
--------------------
Hitch flashed her a toothy grin and clapped her warmly on the back - it was funny, because for him, interacting with girls had been a good like, at least twenty times more awkward back before he’d come clean and started dating Tolliver. Because he wasn’t like, he tried not to be a total p***k to girls or anything, but he was always aware of the expectation, of the things he should have wanted to do with girls, and did, and never felt right about afterwards.
It was a whole slew of complicated feelings and dynamics and - god, even if he was still struggling to come to terms with some aspects of it, his mom’s memory especially, it really made so many things so much easier. Like this. If it’d been before Tolliver, ********, he probably would’ve tried to take her home tonight.
“You get used to the burn - starts to feel real good real fast. I promise. Gets ya all tingly an’ s**t.” He brought the glass to his lips again with arched brows, curious. “So, next question. Let’s hear it Bumble.”
--------------------
Unaware of the complication to his personal life, she focused on her own misery at the current time and place. She gagged and coughed a little more as she put her forehead to the wood of the bar and let the smell of smoke fill her nose, rather than alcohol. A shiver rippled through her spine and she slowly started to straighten up again.
“....Ugh. Uh..” Right, second question. “So… How do we sense these things? Like.. what does it feel like?” Maybe she’s felt it before and just never noticed. Maybe Daisy feels it all the time and just thought it was a bad case of the heebie jeebies or something like that.
Slowly the girl swirled the drink around in the glass before taking another fast, short swig of it. The coughing happened, but it wasn’t as bad. Sure, her stomach was wanting to rebel, but if it started to feel good, that’s all she could ask for.
“And.. Like. How many of us are there? What are we fighting? What’s a General?” Okay, so way more than one question.
--------------------
Hitch briefly wondered if she’d actually be okay or not - but she came back to life within a few moments, so he waited to see how that’d be pan. “I’m a bad person to ask, “ he said honestly, swirling his drink around in the glass as he fiddled with his lip piercing with the tip of his tongue. “Cause I sorta suck at it. But I guess if I had to describe it, it’s a little like… a weird prickle at the back of your neck. One prickle is nice an’ warm, the other ain’t. - if that sounds like stupid s**t, it’s because I’m literally s**t at it an’ it almost got me killed, so uh, please learn this s**t if you’re gonna keep doin’ what you’re doin’ Bumble.”
His eyes dropped as he took another long sip of his drink, because he sort of needed it. “I don’t know how many of us there are. But I know negaverse bitches are pieces of s**t. They kill people. They corrupt us - like, mind wipe us an’ make us bad - they steal regular peoples’ energy - they kidnap people, torture ‘em - they’re basically just terrible an’ even if we ain’t nearly as organized or whatever, we’re pretty much the only thing that stands between them an’ ********’ over everything.”
Hitch was tapping idly on his leg again as he pushed on, “Generals are, apparently, one of the highest levels negaverse bitches got. - an’ I picked a with one that was half-youma, or monster. Some wickedly tall woman with scales an’ horns an’ - if you ever see her, ******** - just hope you don’t see her, “ he hissed out, and extinguished one finished cigarette in favor of a fresh one. “If some stupid knight hadn’t come along when he did, I’d be dead - like I’m not exaggerating - an’ - yeah.” His hand shook a little as he fumbled with the lighter. “Next question?”
--------------------
Daisy was determined to actually finish this glass of bourbon. Slowly she licked her lips again when she caught notice of his pierced lip and squinted. So many girls in school had pierced tongues, noses, lips. She was completely unadorned. With an arch of her back, Daisy leaned forward and rested both elbows on the bartop and hummed.
"Does your lip ...I mean did your lip piercing hurt? It's very in right now... Maybe I should get it done. ...My tongue, actually.." Daisy stuck her tongue out and tried to look at it, though she could only see the tip of it. She had a short, almost sharp looking tongue. With a pouty noise, she took one more sip of her bourbon and downed it quickly before shuddering and gagging in her head. She couldn't keep insulting him.
Okay, Daisy, focus. "Nice and warm.. Mn.." Maybe that was the problem. She was warm almost 100% of the time. Ah, she was sure she could get a handle on it. But he went on to answer her next questions and described the Negaverse and let her brows knit together serious. "So we basically should.. Ngh.. Should attack them on sight if they're like, in the city? Make sure they don't hurt someone?"
Generals were described and she went wide eyed. Half-youma? That means they like, they’re losing humanity? In books she read people who were half-monster or something always ended up the bad guy and losing their minds. "So she's a dragon demon thing? Nope. Nuh-uh. I'm so not going to any energy signature ever. 's the safest way." Here came the slurring. She was a super light weight and this was really strong. However, with one more big, almost rough swig of the glass, it was gone and she coughed a bit more and pushed her hands through her bangs after dabbing her mouth with a napkin. "Oh God..
"What like... Like is there a place we go to meet others on our side?"
--------------------
Hitch’s brow arched and he snickered into his drink, lips brushing against the rim of the glass. “Not really.” Liar. “Not like I give a s**t about one way or the other, Bumble, but since when were piercin’s ever out?” He paused, propping his elbow on the counter, chin resting atop his hand. “Gotta say though. My boyfriend’s got one of those tongue piercin’s - I know that hurt him. Had to ice it, no kissin’ for a couple of weeks. But - “ He took a deliberately long sip of his bourbon and then swirled what was left in the glass, giving a thoughtful hum. “ - I think - no I know he’d totally say that it was five thousand percent ********’ worth it. Definitely worth the wait to me. The things he does with that piercin’ man… “
He cut himself off real fast then, a hint of color to his cheeks and a far off smile on his face; yeah, he was still sort of a lightweight himself when it came to drinking (even if he was getting a little better than a two glass hangover), but even with a buzz seeping into his blood and making his senses tingle, Hitch was nowhere near boozed up enough to be talking the intimates with a near stranger. “Anyway.”
Attack them on sight. “********, no. No no - I mean - sorta yeah, but - “ He took a deep breath and backtracked, polishing off his glass and ordering a second before he tried again. “Yeah, you wanna attack them an’ keep them from ********’ s**t up an’ drainin’ people. We protect the people, so yeah, you wanna do that. It’s important. Don’t just ********’ drop the battle ‘cause I got ******** up.” He had still seen what these ******** did, and he wasn’t about to stop and let more of it happen.
“Just - be smarter about it than I was. Learn to tell the difference in power between you an’ the other guy, see where you stand. Make some ********’ friends to call for help if a shitstorm descends on your head. We got phones as our other selves, “ and he was trying not to talk too loud, because yes this was a bar, but no, he didn’t really trust anyone. Not now. “So we can ********’ keep in touch with each other, an’ just don’t bite off more than - you okay?” he asked with another arch of his brow, reaching over to pat her back a little.
Should she really be drinking? - who knew. At least she came back pretty quick. “If there is, I ain’t found it. Best way to meet people is to wander - or, y’know, maybe see if you can ask about an’ find some dude named Butte - Thraen, “ he corrected quickly. “He’s tough, ********’ smart as ********, an’ he’s got a shitload of connections. If you really wanna meet people, he’s a great way to do it - speakin’ of Butterfly, I really gotta ********’ call him, “ he mumbled more to himself than Daisy, taking a nice long sip of his fresh drink.
--------------------
Pink eyes watched Hitch nurse his glass as he snickered and then arched a brow when he said it didn't hurt. She would think voluntarily putting a hole in yourself would hurt basically no matter where it was. Then the perverted stuff happened and she felt a hot wave come over her and her cheeks turned a very brilliant shade of red she could probably blame the liquor on. Quickly, Daisy adverted her eyes and let him have a moment with his memories about tongue rings and toyed with her tongue in her mouth.
Too bad he was gay. He was pretty cute. Oh well. She rested her cheek on one of her hands and just let out a soft laugh. "Ah.. Interesting.." Tongue would not be the first thing she pierced. Her nose maybe, or her lip, but she had no one to impress by piercing her tongue.
It came back around to the serious conversation and the blush died down and her drunken mind tried to focus on what he was saying. She licked dry lips and then took a deep breath as he gave her advice to learn from his mistakes. "O-oh yeah.. I got this phone.." She shuffled around and felt her pockets before she felt between her boobs where she'd put her henshin pin. She pulled out a white and yellow senshi phone and then gave a little grin. "We could 'schange numbers?"
Welp, her speech was already impaired but she wanted another drink. "Butte-Thraen? M'kay. Can I get more drinks?"
--------------------------------------
“Hey, careful flashin’ that s**t around, “ he warned, putting a hand over it to keep it out of sight with a quick glance around the bar. As much as he liked this place, his trust didn’t exactly extend too far. Not when there was a half-youma general that’d promised to make his life hell. Nah, thanks. “I’ll give you my number after, okay? - sound good Bumble?” He wasn’t saying it to be harsh, just - neither of them really needed the trouble.
Especially not when she was already slurring like that one drink down. He flashed her a lopsided grin. “Maybe next time - thinkin’ I should prolly get your tipsy a** home instead lil’ bumblebee, ‘fore you go buzzin’ into a bug zapper.”
------------------------------------------
“Buzz buzz,” was all she was able to reply with, a drunken giggle coming from her lips. She took a deep breath and then nodded. “Home sounds good. Uhm…” She blinked and put her phone away again, trying to think about where they were compared to where her house was. She wasn’t sure which direction it was.
“I live uhm… ‘n a farm? Uh… Some horses.. Just ...outside of the big part of the city.” Daisy nodded again and then rubbed her nose. “Oh, south! ‘s the direction. Mhm.” Luckily she didn’t drive here, but it might be difficult to get home. “C’n I get just a shot?” One more shot couldn’t hurt right? She was already drunk, so this would just be a cherry on the cake!
------------------------------------------
Hitch’s brow arched, and he wasn’t too sure whether he should’ve been laughing or groaning, because seriously? A farm somewhere with some horses? “Uh. Bumble. You’re gonna have to get a little more… specific if we’re gonna get your a** home tonight, “ he started, fidgeting with his piercing for a minute with his teeth.
At the request for another shot, he actually did give a short laugh. “Honeybee, I think you’ve had enough for - “ Thump. Before he could even finish getting the words out, the girl had just slumped right on over in a dead faint on the bar. Literally. Face-planted directly onto the ******** bar. Within seconds the bartender was shooting him a look that said she definitely wasn’t his problem, and Hitch’s shoulders sagged.
Then, he actually did groan, slapping his forehead with his palm. Okay. Okay. So his options here were… find a farm somewhere in the south with horses, or… ******** him, there really were no options. He would have to vouch for a lightweight.
(Like Hitch was really one to talk.)
Okay. So. First things first. He ******** ordered himself a shot of something, because he was going to ******** need it for the headache he just brought onto himself. Then, with it still burning its way down his throat, he at least had enough foresight to shoot his boyfriend a quick, concise text.
To Tolliver: i no how this iz gonna sound but i was hangin w/ new friend not jari an she drank 2 much so i m takin her 2 our couch, ilu c u soon
Then, without further adieu and no other ******** options, Hitch cracked his knuckles once and just hefted Daisy over his shoulder, swaying a little with her weight and the alcohol before he made his way out the door and towards him.
This one was going to be fun to explain.
--------------------------
He was awake, Tolliver curled up on the couch with a book, a cup of coffee nestled in the crook of his arm. It was a pleasant evening - or at least, it had been for the past little while, Tolliver in his usual pajamas of Hitch's boxers and a flannel shirt with sleeves that went past his fingers. It was buttoned up for once, the chill autumn air slowly beginning to seep into the apartment, but he loved fall, loved the smell of the seasons changing.
His phone buzzed, and Tolliver reached for it, somewhat sleepily, glancing at the screen. His stomach gave a happy little flutter at the name - even though the only people who would text him would be Hitch and Fritz - something warm and silly settling in his stomach.
Except the message made the warmth ebb, just a fraction, Tolliver's brow furrowing in confusion. Slowly he shut the book in his lap, trying not to think about why Hitch was out with a girl in the first place without telling him. Jarias was one thing, but someone he didn't know..?
Tolliver tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest and tapped out a reply:
To Heart: Okay. I'll see you soon. Love you.
Be safe.
-------------
By the time Hitch actually got to the apartment building, it was about twenty minutes of stumbling and fumbling with the bundle he’d shifted into his arms bridal style - because his shoulder was ******** done about halfway through - and then he got to the door of the apartment building itself, he had to try and hoist her back over his shoulder again. A) it made getting his keys a hell of alot easier, and b) it just looked a whole hell of a lot less compromising when he was hoisting her around like a sack of potatoes instead of a precious bundle in his arms. Like, not that she wasn’t precious or anything, but this was going to be ******** awkward enough as it was.
It didn’t help that Hitch was absolutely ******** drenched with sweat and practically wheezing with the effort - heavy smoking’ll do that to a guy - and he was feeling the bourbon and the shot of whatever the ******** the guy gave him pretty ******** well by then. His fingers were shaking as he reached for his keys, fumbling and missing the keyhole a good three or four times before he finally got it in, and then he had to fumble with the knob too, and -
“I can totally ********’ explain this, “ was the very first thing that left his mouth as he wobbled into the door, cringing not because he was in pain but because okay he knew how this ******** looked okay.
---------------
By the time the door opened, Tolliver had added a pair of loose sweats to his legs, just so he wasn't standing there in his underwear when someone unfamiliar came into his house. He fretted, of course, flitting around true apartment aimlessly and trying not to seem like he was completely anxious about the whole thing. His mind had about thirty different questions to ask and none of them made any sense at present except for one: what happened?
He dragged in a sharp breath as Hitch stumbled in, a body - a girl - draped unceremoniously over his shoulder. Tolliver moved forward instinctively to try and help him, a little frown of worry on his face.
"Who's this?" He asked, and then mentally slapped himself, blushing hard, because out of all the questions, one that sounded jealous and petty was not one he had intended on asking.
------------
Hitch winced again, tongue flicking over his lips as he fidgeted with her weight, readjusting her to try and handle her weight alone, at least until he got to the couch. Once she was on there, more or less, he could finally relax a little, leaning against the arm of the couch and rolling his shoulders.
“Daisy. That’s her name.”
He wiped his forehead and fidgeted again, trying to think of the right way to say it; but like always, once the words started, they weren’t liable to stop. “She was in the store earlier tonight an’ she was lookin’ for a good bar an’ so I knew one, the one me an’ Jari usually do, an’ so I took her there an’ I wasn’t plannin’ on stayin’ but then she got me a bourbon to say thanks an’ I wasn’t gonna say no to free booze an’ she was askin’ me about piercin’s an’ s**t an’ it was a nice talk an’ I was there too long an’ then - “ He paused, drew in a long, desperate breath, and pushed on, “ - she had one ********’ bourbon an’ she passed the ******** out, so then I texted you ‘cause I couldn’t really just leave her there an’ I know I shouldn’t have been there in the first place without callin’ you and I’m reallyreallyreallysorry.”
Then, he stood up, and swaying a little, rubbing the back of his neck as he admitted, “I migh’ve had a shot of somethin’ I don’t know what it was - but that’s literally everythin’ I ********’ did tonight I swear, I’m sorry, “ and he looked down at the floor because it didn’t feel like much of an excuse.
------------------------
Geeze, they act like she weighed a lot when she weighed maybe 120 max. Come on boys! Luckily, however, Daisy was snoozing, though she did make protesting noises every time she was jolted hard or she heard something too loud.
Finally she was placed on a non moving service and she made a noise and one pink eye opened before she whined. It was a loud, annoying sounding whine and she winced at the volume of it herself. Slowly the girl raised a hand to her face and ended up smacking herself in a drunken attempt to rub the itch of her hair on her nose. With struggling, flailing, and cursing under her breath, the girl got herself sitting up properly and then let her head fall backwards with a giggle. She sniffled a little and then opened to stare at a very unfamiliar ceiling. Slowly she licked her lips and then looked out at the world which she found herself.
“‘s all this then?” She asked, tilting her head this way and that, a flurry of blond hair flying out of a braid. “Whur’m I?” Daisy let out a noise as she looked around, trying to take in her surroundings again. Nope, still wasn’t sure where she was.
Another thought that came into mind was was she dressed. And so she looked down at herself and was immediately relieved once she saw she was still dressed. Nothing happened. “I dun like feelin’ like this…” She had a horrible taste in her mouth and already her head was starting to hurt. Before she could complain anymore, Daisy yawned long, and deeply. “C’n ….Hitch..? Hinch. Sinch? ….Wha?” She nodded and just leaned back against the couch again before her eyes slipped closed and she giggled again. “Spinnin’..”
------------------------
Daisy. He didn't know a Daisy, Tolliver's hands falling to his sides as Hitch carried her over to the couch, rather unceremoniously dropping her there. She was young, maybe a few years less than himself, and rather pretty - though admittedly, Tolliver didn't know the first thing about girls whatsoever, and even less about dealing with Hitch and girls. This was something completely out of his league and comfort zone.
He tried extremely, extremely hard not to wince a little at the mention of bourbon, Tolliver's gaze drifting toward the girl again. There was really no issue with Hitch having friends - he sincerely adored when he spoke of them - but it was a new situation, something he was unfamiliar with.
Tolliver had Hitch and Fritz, after all, and that was it. His list of friends ended there, something he tried not to think about too much, because the quiet ache in his chest refused to lift at times.
"It's all right," said Tolliver softly, putting a hand on his lover's arm briefly. "Really, Logan, you were just trying to help her."
He leaned and gave him a brief kiss on the cheek before easing away, a small smile on his face. The girl - Daisy - was stirring now, and if it wasn't evident enough before, it was evident now - she, along with Hitch, were both smashed.
Tolliver stepped away from his lover and knelt awkwardly beside the couch, ignoring the pang in his leg at the movement. "Are you all right?" He asked her quietly. "Do you need some water?"
-----------------------
120 pounds was usually nothing - but after a morning of job hunting, an eight hour shift at the deli, and then toss some bourbon and something else in his system for a nice long walk with a relatively light girl to carry - yeah, Hitch was fairly wiped. He was all aware he could’ve just powered up and made it way easier to carry her, but Eurydike sorta had enough bad press as it was that he didn’t need to be walking around buzzed with an unconscious girl to worry about.
In spite of Tolliver’s comforting words, touches, kisses, Hitch still felt pretty shitty about the whole thing - he had enough foresight to know that if the situation had been reversed, he would’ve flipped his s**t. He was a hypocrite, yeah, but not in that way. He didn’t expect people to give him a free pass when he really didn’t ******** deserve it.
Still. This was what it was now, Daisy was waking up now, and he was just going to have to make it up to Tolliver long and hard in the not-sexy way after it was all said and done. He couldn’t help but feel a little warmed at the sight of Tolliver kneeling there beside the couch, because no matter what he was just so ******** thoughtful and sweet and considerate and he was totally staring stupidly at his boyfriend without doing a goddamn thing to help. With a few smacks of his palm against his cheek and an uttered curse, he made his way over to thread fingers in Tolliver’s head as he leaned over the couch.
“Hi. Hey. Hello. ‘S my boyfriend, Tolliver.” He didn’t introduce him as Tolli, simply because no one else was allowed to call him that. “You’re at our place Bumble, “ he grunted, “‘Cause as it turns out, there’s a lot of farms with horses in the south, “ and he couldn’t help cracking a grin at that, because it was funnier now that it was over. Sort of over. “You ********’ lightweight.”
------------------------
Daisy looked to Tolliver and then to Hitch and then winced and rubbed a hand to her head. She felt so bad right now. Everything was wrong. “I don’t… know,” she said to the question of water. “My mouth ...tastes bad, so maybe…?” She then had to listen to what Hitch said and just winced again. Everything hurts. It all hurts.
“Sorry.. I’m sorry.. I never drank ‘fore,” she murmured. At least she wasn’t trying to stand up right now. That’d be a stupid thing. She would probably end up hurting herself if she tried. “C’n you just.. call me a cab? I c’n get home if you do that. Mhm.” If she could remember her address. She was pretty sure it was on her ID. Then again if she did that she might get in some serious trouble with her mom.
Oh, crap. Mom. She shifted to grab her phone from her chest, her real one, and then flipped it open and stared at it. “Gotta… tell mom.. where ‘m at.”
Nope, too far gone. She sighed slowly and just put her phone next to her on this strange couch that wasn’t as lumpy as hers and then gave a noise. “Sorry..” With that, she closed her eyes and almost automatically went right back to sleep, completely lax and limp.
------------------------
“Water would be good to keep you from getting dehydrated,” said Tolliver, speaking from experience. “You should lie back down, you don’t want to be moving around too much if this is your first time drinking. And we’re not just going to send you home in a cab just like that, right…?” He added, casting a worried look over his shoulder at Hitch. “We can’t just let her go off by herself.”
The blush that spread across his cheeks was unavoidable. Tolliver opened his mouth and then shut it again, face crimson - but it was, he realized belatedly, the first time that he had ever been introduced to someone else as Hitch’s boyfriend. And something about that made his heart squeeze in his chest, his stomach fluttering stupidly, along with the our place.
Except he tried not to think about this when there was a half drunk girl on his couch. Tolliver reached awkwardly out towards her, and then withdrew his hand a second later when she flopped back down, eyes closed, clearly asleep.
There was a beat of silence.
“What….should we do?” Tolliver asked, leg throbbing from the position he was still kneeling in, but he didn’t get up just yet. “Should we...should we take her home, or…?”
---------------------
What should they do? Well that was a great ******** question.
What he’d loved to do is crawl in bed with Tolliver and just deal with her hangover in the ******** morning with eggs and toast or ******** whatever.
“I knew it was her first drink, but… aw man, “ Hitch grunted to himself, but at least he had some idea where they should go from here, after extensive temple-massaging for about thirty seconds. The idea was there and all, it was just about expressing it. “Okay, okay. So cab’s outta the damn question - “ And was never really an option, let’s be honest. “But we should still - “ He reached out and plucked the phone from Daisy, gently. “ - give her mom a call or somethin’, let her know she’s okay, but - “
And this was about the point that he looked at Tolliver, fairly wide-eyed as he asked in his slurring way, “Uh. The ******** do I even say? - hey sorry I got your daughter drunk, no ********’ funny business??”
--------------------------
He didn’t want to call a cab any more than Hitch did, for obvious reasons. Tolliver’s gaze flicked back to the sleeping girl, trying to figure out if there was a better option at all, or if there was something they could do -
Nope. He came up with the same solution that Hitch had, and that was that she would have to stay here and that they would have to talk to her mother, just so she wouldn’t worry. It was awkward, having someone unfamiliar on his couch, but it wasn’t like they could do much about that. And besides, she’d seemed kind of nice, from the ten seconds of interaction he’d had with her.
“Here,” said Tolliver, and he gently pulled the phone from Hitch’s fingers, wincing a little as he eased back from the couch and sat on the floor, rubbing absently at his thigh. “I’ll send her a text, it would be weird if we called her, two strange guys, you know.”
He scrolled through her contacts until he found the one listed under Mom and then opened up a text window, squinting down at it.
He had no idea how to text like a girl. Tolliver frowned at it and then tapped out what he hoped was a reasonable message to send.
staying over at friend’s tonight! be backin morning, love you!
“Errr…” said Tolliver awkwardly. “I...well, hopefully that’s okay.”
He hastily stuck the phone back with Daisy and looked up at Hitch.
“You all right?”
-------------------------
Hitch kind of stayed there standing for a moment, staring down at his boyfriend with slightly wide eyes - and then almost abruptly, he flopped down onto the floor behind him, on his knees, reaching out and throwing his arms around Tolliver to drag him against his chest for a true, honest to goodness, warm and enveloping kind of hug that left absolutely no room for resistance. And he still smelled of bourbon and cigarettes and deli meats as he squeezed his lover tight.
“I’m so sorry - ******** - I literally - I’m ********’ useless without you, “ and he wasn’t even saying it to try and bring himself down, it wasn’t one of those kinds of moments where Hitch was so far gone in his dark place. “I don’t even know what the ******** I’d do without you you ********’ adorable, brilliant, sweet-a** - ********’ c’mere you little - “
And he was laughing, because he was kind of drunk and a lot of relieved and even more in love.
---------------------------
Tolliver gave a little yelp of surprise as he was pulled back, arms and legs flailing a little - but the hug was, in spite of itself, altogether warm and comfortable and all encompassing. His face inflamed, red suffusing his cheeks, but after a minute he settled down, listening to Hitch ramble on. His laughter echoed through him, and Tolliver laid a hand over one of the arms holding him, curling his fingers gently.
“You’re not useless,” he chided, and even though he was still a little confused, Hitch was drunk and, well, it was what it was.
He half turned and pressed a kiss to Hitch’s cheek.
“I love you,” said Tolliver, smiling at him. “Now you should get to bed too.”
-------------------------
“Like hell I’m - you’re so ********’ smart - textin’ an’ s**t, “ he murmured adoringly, tilting his head enough to catch his lover’s lips with his own. Tolliver dealt with so much anxiety, but in emergencies like this? - well, sort of an emergency - he still always pulled it together long enough to help get Hitch through it. And Hitch loved him for that, because no one, anxiety or not, had really done that for him before.
Daisy would be feeling that tomorrow. Some part of Hitch felt a little bad - he’d have to make her something good before work, maybe some coffee and eggs or something, nothing too complex because her stomach would probably be -
“No, “ he murmured at the suggestion, if it could really be called that. He just squeezed Tolliver tightly in his arms with the beginnings of a smirk. “Can’t make me babe.”
----------------------------
Tolliver tilted his head back against the kiss, fingers squeezing against Hitch’s arm. He nuzzled against him comfortably, feeling warm and safe - at least until he heard the almost petulant refusal, the playful banter starting up. Under normal circumstances, the immediate reaction would be to banter right back, probably in a way that would lead to other things, but -
“I can too,” said Tolliver, and he shifted forward away from Hitch, not irritatedly, faint traces of amusement in his voice.
“Sleep, or no cuddling.”
-------------------
“What - “ His eyes widened. His jaw dropped. And he basically looked like the world had just fallen out from under him, and it was probably one of the most ridiculously horrified faces that Logan Hitchcock had ever worn in his entire ******** life up until that point. “That’s - babe, that’s - that’s ********’ playin’ dirty, “ and of course he said it like it was a turn-on, because he was Hitch and that was Tolliver and of course.
--------------------
He had to try very hard to suppress the round of giggles that had risen up in him. Tolliver twisted around in his lover’s arms and leaned to press a gentle kiss to his forehead, ignoring the pitter patter of his own heart.
“I know,” he said affectionately, and then eased away, crawling over to the bed because standing was too much effort and his leg was starting to ache. “So you can either go to sleep with me, or you can be out there, cold and alone and lacking cuddles.”
He tossed a smile over his shoulder, cheeks pink with adoration.
“Come on, handsome.”
---------------------------
It took Hitch a minute to move, reaching out after Tolliver after he’d already gone, fingers half-curling in the air and a positively disgruntled look on his face. But then his lover called back to him and finally, Hitch relented, sighing as he crawled across the floor after him.
When he slid over onto the mattress, finally, he made quick work of it, grabbing Tolliver around the waist and dragging him right in to be the small spoon to his larger, tucking his face into the crook of his lover’s neck with a distinct grumble that was either a declaration of love or another mumbled apology. Or maybe both. Who even knew with Hitch sometimes, especially when he’d been drinking who even ******** knew what.
Either way, for all his grumbling, he fell asleep real fast, although his grip on Tolliver would not relent until way after the fact.
In the Name of the Moon!
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