[PRP] Light It Up [Zeke, Lucas, & Zul]

[Chrystali]

WHO: Zeke (Ravina Loki), Lucas, and Zul (Chrystali)
WHEN: Beginning of August 2016 - after work, the sun setting for the evening
WHERE: A nice bar off the pier, not far from the Lab.
WEATHER: Warm, but not awful. The worst heat is yet to come.


The next and most obvious person for Zul to connect with was his extended family. Unfortunately, the idea of approaching Brad was unthinkable just yet - he wasn't that close to the man, but he was close to his significant other. Getting in contact with Zeke was easy, thankfully, a quick text and an invitation to chat likely coming out of the blue for the vet; the time and date set for that very evening, Zul hadn't been entirely prepared to relive his antics again after so short a time between talking with Cesc and getting in touch with Alex again, but half the battle was taking that first step. The effort was being made, and once the momentum got moving, he'd be helpless but to succumb to the flow of things...even if the flow with Zeke was likely to be unpredictable and chaotic for both of them.

He sat patiently near the bar, unlike his time with Cesc where he'd been sitting at it - instead, he took a small table towards the back, near the patio that was open to let a comfortable cross-breeze through the chosen area. The sun hung low in the sky and cast a smattering of diamonds off the water that twinkled behind him, the soft light dimmed within the bar pale by comparison to the natural display. It was probably only noteworthy because the demon himself produced light naturally - but as he sat, his colors were dim, almost cooled off entirely: his central horn, usually a molten spike, barely pulsed with any color at all, as brown as the other two; his gorget, usually alive with the frost that coursed through him, was entirely colorless and as normally leather-clad around his neck as one found in a fetish shop. The leather cinched around his waist and his gloves were similarly unremarkable, his otherworldly glow a pale countenance in the bar.

Not that it would be hard to find him. He still had a crown of horns and wings, he still stuck out, but he was a bit more faded against the warm woods of the room, less set in the spotlight as oft he'd prefer. Zul sat quietly, not engaging in those around him, staring at a full glass of bourbon nestled between his hands, as if awaiting it to tell him the very secret of the world. Couldn't possibly be any more far-fetched than the crap he'd put his friends through.

 

[Ravina Loki]

The text from Zul had come as a surprise - pleasant to behold, but wholly unexpected. It had been awhile since Zeke had heard from the Baphomet and it felt like ages since he had seen the Sigel even then. So with that in mind (but no disregarding the fact this was his nephew making contact) Zeke had readily agreed to a drink and a talk at a bar not too far from the Lab in Gambino.

However, he did have to change a plan to accommodate this impromptu drink date. Like Zul, another had popped in out of the blue in the form of a random text just the other day and this person Zeke hadn't seen in a lifetime and a half. His best friend Lucas was in town and wanted to get a drink and catch up after all these years. Zeke, who had been knocked through a loop at the contact and was ever the eager beaver to reconnect with long lost friends, had readily agreed for this very same night. But, as it were, life went on and plans just changed.

He fired off a text after confirming with Zul, apologizing to his bestie and requesting a raincheck and a reschedule for the day after due to something coming up unexpectedly. He could do two bar runs in a week; unlike with Lucas, Zul was unlikely to have him drinking himself under the table or close to it at least. This actually worked out for his benefit! And it was all the better when a text came back confirming that the change was a-okay.

"Awesome, you're the best man," the vet fired off his thank you along with a 'see you tomorrow then!' and a smile emoji.

He arrived at the bar and set his sights immediately toward the long countertop that he assumed Zul would be sitting. The stools would offer more comfortable levels of wing room, but to his surprise the Sigel was not there. No biggie; Zeke's gaze then turned to the tables and booths dotting the place and he quickly found the Baphomet sitting toward the back, partially obscured by the booth seat in front of him. Even still, it was hard to miss the wings and the horns and...

Were his eyes deceiving him or did Zul look a little dimmer than usual?

He made his way over.

"Hey kiddo!" A jovial, Zeke-brand wave joined those words as they were spoken and a smile lit up the veterinarian's face as he got closer to the table. Years of practice kept it from faltering as he beheld the Baphomet in all his glory, or there lack of. He looked faded and tired, his blues and golds burning low and dull in his attributes, barely blue and gold at all.

This was not a Raevan who was easily camouflaged and yet here he was, very nearly masked by the scant shadows and polished wood of his chosen seat.

"It's been too long, c'mere you!" The wave that had been melted into outstretched arms as Zeke cleared the last bit of distance between him and Zul and he took one of the Sigel's hands in his own to pull him into his embrace. <********, he felt thinner than Zeke remembered.

"I've missed you, Zul! Where have you been hiding, eh? You know I was starting to think maybe you had grown out of hanging out with your favorite uncle but then I get a text outta the blue and lo and behold it's you!"  

[Chrystali]

Were he looking, he might have spotted Zeke before the vet saw him, but he was distracted, his thoughts loose and far away rather than collected and tight and anxious as they'd been with Cesc. He felt detached, like a spectator in his own life, and it wasn't until he heard the playful greeting that he tore his gaze from his glass to the man approaching him.

Not that it was a surprise, but Zeke looked well, and that was enough to pull a smile from the demon, despite his rather demure appearance. Releasing the glass to the table, he righted himself as the vet approached, spreading his arms in turn and clasping his friend and family affectionately, his temperature a comfortable and steady warmth even without his glow to supplement it. "Zeke," he hummed his greeting through the hug, a soft chuckle trickling over the man's shoulder, "so it has." Zul gently disengaged from the other, tilting his head and looking him over as though to seek any signs that the man might have had any issues that need to be addressed first. A distraction. An excuse. "Far too long." Of course, he could find none, his smile becoming a touch rueful as he realized what he was doing. There'd be no trying to weasel out of this, and he didn't really want to - but it wasn't like reliving the last two years of hell was high on his list of Fun Things To Do With Family.

The Sigel motioned to the bartender for an order, his attention never wavering from the brightly colored man before him. There was disquiet in his chest - not for Zeke's presence, but for the time that had stretched between them. It was his own fault, and he hated having to remind himself of it, important as it were. "You can't outgrow greatness," Zul countered smoothly, a glimmer of his confidence visible in the murky dark that he was presenting. "And blue was never your color." He winked playfully, and for a brief moment, his color pulsed over him: a glitter of molten in his horn, a soft heartbeat of blue in his attire. It was gone just as quickly as it came, and Zul motioned for Zeke to have a seat.

"I appreciate you coming out on short notice. I know you're busy - you're always busy, but you've always made time for everyone else." He wore a smile that was slightly crooked, a ghost of the expression that was more familiar on his features, but tired around the edges, seeped in an emotion that had not yet fully surfaced. Gently tapping the tips of his fingers against the table, he continued. "But! I wanted to catch up, to see how my - favorite uncle was doing." The words were drawn with amusement, having never used them with Zeke but finding it suiting. Didn't everyone have a weird uncle? Zeke just happened to be the best type. "How are you? How is work? And Bear and Anastacia?"

The last name was said a little more softly than the first, as he'd also made an attempt to connect with her, but not so much in the serious vein that he was doing so with her Guardian. A part of him ached to have them in such different worlds, but such was his way - crafting the seams of their relationship based on how much it could hold. His time with Anya was yet fresh, being stitched anew, whereas Zeke had been there nearly from his beginning. He owed him no less than...everything. "I saw her recently," he added as an after thought, "and she seemed well. She seemed - great, honestly. I'd never seen her look so..." He touched his tongue to the roof of his mouth, trying to find the right word. "...comfortable with life."  

[Ravina Loki]

The hug Zul imparted was not lacking for warmth, both in affection and in physicality, which eased Zeke's concern a faint touch. Dulled colors and a cold embrace from the Demon would set off alarm bells. Dulled colors and warmth, well, that could be just anything, but a far cry better than what could mean.

The two parted and Zul summoned the bartender, who looked at Zeke expectantly as the man gave a small 'hum' and debated his order.

"Never my color? You just haven't seen me in the right shades, kid." And as if to challenge the Baphomet's statement, Zeke ordered a Blue Lagoon with a cheeky smirk and a returned wink. "But look at you, Mr. Flattery! But then again it might not flattery so much as your eyes working juuuust fine."

The vet puffed out his chest as he sat down, posing just a little for the sake of the 'greatness' compliment. The return of Zul's color was brief but welcome, but as quickly as it came it dimmed again.

Was he not eating?

"Oh please," Zeke waved his hand at Zul's thank you, shaking his head just a touch, "I always make time for you, Zul! There ain't nothing on heaven, hell, or earth that would keep me from seeing you, short notice or no. And besides, busy is as busy does. You know me - I'm terribly unhappy if I'm not moving and grooving constantly."

Not entirely the truth to be sure but there were only a select few with whom he could remain idle with extendedly and not get a case of the jiggly legs.

"Getting right into it are we?" He laughed as Zul went right into the questions about how he was, how his family was. It was expected, but he had hoped to be the one to get to that starting line first. "I'm well, as you can see! Busy as you thought, as ever, but I'm happy and healthy and I don't have much to complain about other than the usual stupid adult human things that plague everyone at my age, but I won't bore you to death with those details."

His drink arrived and he thanked the bartender, taking his first sip with a satisfied 'ahh!' at the end of it.

"Work is hectic but I'm still in love with it. Both jobs, in fact!" He set his glass down on a provided coaster. "Brad is well! It's the working season for him so he's busy as ever but we've got plans in the work for some summer fun before fall comes. And Anya, well..."

He trailed off into another sip of his drink, his eyes sparkling over the top his glass at Zul and a smile working its way onto his face even as he drank.

"She told me she met up with you. I told her I was jealous!" He chuckled. "I don't think you need me to tell you she's well too. I get on her nerves most days I'm sure but we've come a long way I'd say." His tone was fond then and in turn the faint creases on his face that were developing at the corners of his eyes and lips became more apparent. More paternal and proud.

"She said you two have hit it off. Well, not in those exact words, but she said you both had a good time together and that she's eager to see you again."

He looked right at Zul when he said it, curious and eager in his own right to see the Baphomet's reaction to those words.

"But 'comfortable' is a great way to put it for her. She's come a long way and she's flourishing. There's nothing I want more for her than that."

A warmth spread through his chest as he spoke and his own feelings of contentment were apparent. 'A long way' was bordering an understatement given the tribulations of recent years but the darkness was the ancient history now. There was nothing ahead for her but light.

"But I gotta admit, when I poked her for details on how you are she wasn't exactly descriptive. I mean 'well' is just fine and dandy for most people but you know I need meat with those potatoes so..."

He trailed off, tipping his hand at the Sigel to take the lead now in their discussion of well being and life in general.

"How are you, Zul? And before you say anything, don't you hold out on me!" His look was pointed then and it was very clear he had not overlooked his nephew's drained appearance and was making sure Zul knew it. Zeke could sometimes miss the forest for the trees, but not when it came to the people he loved. "How's life been treating you?"  

[Chrystali]

Zul clicked his tongue again at Zeke's snappy response, earning a slight curl of lip in a grin, a brief flash of his unnatural teeth. "I don't think any of my kind wear glasses. Not only can we see just fine, we can see the exceptional with much more ease. You just make it harder to miss." Of course, Ethiriel was blind, but she could see in a different way - and his point would still stand. A soft bit of mirth trailed after the words, a laugh half formed and only partially given. It was a tired sound, which, Zul thought in hindsight, could be strange for for a being that didn't sleep.

The Sigel dipped his tri-horned head in acknowledgement of the man's words, lacing his fingers together over the time-glossed wood of the table as he listened. Having worked with Zeke's significant other, he knew the season would take Brad away to various sites that needed his keen-eyed monitoring - leaving the vet to juggle two jobs and Anastacia. Not that the man was incapable, but if he'd learned anything about his kin, it was that they could be excessive to an already heavy lifestyle. The light in Zeke's dark eyes and the fond curve of his smile did much to appease Zul, visibly relaxing by inches. "I'm glad," he replied in a voice of soft smoke, "I am trying to right my wrongs. And she was greatly wronged, too early, by one who had no right to judge."

But that wasn't the elephant in the room, so to speak, and Zeke did well to remind him of that in his gentle, affectionate way. Truly, he was feeling correct in his decision to reach out to Zeke, and was - as ever - comforted by his ways.

The small smile he wore didn't wane, but his eyelids dipped, blue gaze slightly lower at the chiding that said his time was up. There was no fidgeting, no exertion of energy that Zul often displayed; the fiddling with a glass, the toss of his head, the posture of his relaxation - it was all absent, and in its place, a very quiet sort of stillness. Zul drew in a deep breath, his chest lifting under the brief flicker of blue in his gorget, pausing - listening to the sound around them, the clink of glass and the backdrop of inaudible conversations going on. A reminder that life continues, and his own problems were not the End All Be All of what was happening. Tomorrow is on the horizon, as Alex would say.

Something flit through his eyes, a pinch of his brow. Alex, relegated to a painful memory. And then he continued.

"I'm feeling worn out, Zeke." A quiet, but hard truth. "Life has been - hectic, and confusing, amidst joys and triumphs." Zul hesitated, eyes shifting side to side, as if trying to decide which topic to broach first. Images of Melisande and Rivener played through his thoughts, and it was to these he latched, finally lifting his gaze to Zeke's face, earnest and terribly young. "I don't know where we left off, you and I, but Riv'ner and Melisande are doing well. The three of us are together, since shortly after the...excursion into the forest." His brows knit briefly once more, trying to sort through the order of things. "I suppose that's when it all started, after we all came back from that horrific mistake of a trip."

That's where it all got messy, and his expression made it obvious that he, too, was only just now fitting the pieces together: a clench of his jaw, a firm press of his lips, a resolute set of his gaze. Speaking in a voice that was more like his own, velvet and smoke, Zul asked with all seriousness, "Before I go on, I want to ask you a question - you don't have to answer it, but I want you to remember it: is there such a thing as going too far to keep the ones you love safe?"  

[Ravina Loki]

"Mm! Actually one does I can confirm!" Fia Nacci, the girl Frei with the octopus soul, needed them. But she nor her need for eye wear was the focus of the conversation and he waved his hand with a laugh as Zul went on. "What can I say, I try to leave an impression!"

He took another sip of his drink, watching his beloved nephew across the table. At the mention of writing wrongs the vet snorted audibly into his glass with a chuckle bubbling up to the surface soon after.

"'Write your wrongs?' Zul you were still young when Anya was born! You both rubbed each other wrong at the first go, it happens sometimes! Besides, you've both made up spectacularly, yeah? Don't feel as if you committed some horrible crime - not all folks get along right off the bat. Take it from me, I know from experience!"

Still he could see where the Baphomet was coming from. Zul, for all Zeke knew of him, had a wonderful track record with the new Raevans and Anya just happened to have been the curveball to take him off his game. Of course it had to have been his Raevan to have done that; life was indeed funny in that regard. Still, any perceived slights against Anastacia had since been smoothed over and the pair was on the up. The look on her face and the tone of her voice when she had said she looked forward to seeing Zul again after their day trip had said as much and more.

Ah, these kids.

But as soon as the conversation started and took on lighter tones did it start to switch to something that left the air at the table a bit charged. As Zeke tipped his hand, Zul fell mum and became most still - most definitely unlike himself. In response - and anticipating something heavy to come - Zeke straightened in his seat, leaning into the table with his arms crossed on top of it in front of him. His eyes were trained on Zul's face, watching, and patiently waiting.

Zul could take all the time he needed, Zeke wasn't one to push at a time like this.

After a few more beats of silence - though not wholly silent, what with the press of murmuring and clinking drinks in the background being a constant - the Baphomet finally opened up some.

And Zeke listened, trying to keep his face straight but unable to not quirk a brow here or work a muscle there unconsciously as he did so. The former came at the mention of Zul being together with Rivener and Melisande, was it? He almost started to think the word 'roommates' before the way the word 'together' was spoken hit home and the realization dawned.

Well, whaddya know?

"First lemme say, you look worn out Zul. I mean, damn. Second, it's funny how times of stress and fear can bring people together like that." His smile was soft and warm, a dollop of fondness therein both for Zul's own situation and the similarity to his own relationship. "S'kinda like how Brad and I met, you know?"

He'd happily recant the tale but the Sigel knew it by heart already, surely. Besides, now was not his time in the spotlight, it was all Zul's right now. Especially now when Zeke saw the way he chewed on the next part of what he had to say, before setting his jaw and speaking the words; a question, as a matter of fact.

Not any sort of question either, the kind of question that made a man leaning against a table pull back from it in a physical display of surprise of the seriousness of it. Although Zul left it open as a rhetorical, Zeke still moved his jaw as though to respond; agog at where the hell this came from.

"Well...Ah..." He ran his hand over the side of his face and back through his hair, blinking as though he had been given a smack out of the blue. "Sorry kiddo, I didn't realize you'd be throwing those sorts of questions at me!" He laughed, the sound a short bark as the hand he trailed back through his hair found his beard instead.

"I know you said I don't gotta answer but hell if I ain't gonna try to: I'm gonna start to say 'no' on that, Zul, because we'd all go through hell or high water to keep the people we love safe and I know I would for Anya or Brad or you or Alex, but I'm gonna add that there's gotta be a balance, otherwise you're walking on the edge of a sword that'll cut you if you're not careful. If you do go 'too far' - and what constitutes as that varies from person to person, mind - you could end up losing the ones you're trying to keep safe."

He paused then, rubbing his beard and breaking eye contact to think a little more on his response and if he could add anything to it.

"Sometimes what you need to do to keep someone safe is to trust them, you know? I know that sounds kind of weird," and the bridge of his nose crinkled as he said it, "but it's true. Relationships are a partnership and like..."

He found Zul's eyes again and stopped himself right there.

"Actually...Why don't you tell me what brought this about so I can piece together something that's not by the seat of my pants, yeah? Because between you, me, and the wall, I'm sensing there's a lot more to this one than just 'hey Zeke let's ******** you up with a big, loaded topic out of the blue for shits and giggles'."  

[Chrystali]

"I was young," he agreed, his smile faint, "but she didn't deserve my arrogance. I'm glad we're trying to right it now, but...so many years have been lost to a mere moment of judgment. It..." The demon shrugged, gaze falling to the table. "...doesn't seem fair." And he had no one but himself to blame for that. Apparently, brain-washing one's Guardian came with the price tag of convoluted self awareness of everything one has ever done wrong...he couldn't really say he was a fan.

Speaking of his loved ones was easier - time had allowed him to open up and be true to Melisande, while drawing his bond with Rivener ever tighter still. There was a brief moment that his posture straightened, his chin held high and, despite his lowered gaze, a clear fondness crept into his eyes and curved one half of his mouth upwards. "Riv'ner and I have been together a very long time, but Melisande..." Blue eyes closed and Zul smiled in earnest, the color in his gorget pulsing and glowing softly, but steadily. "...it took a long time to win her over. I've much to tell you about them, when time allows - and confess that I broke her into the Lab once before." His eyes opened and for a moment, they were bright and vibrant and very nearly glowing in the memory of the difficult history. "But after. Because...you've hit the entire issue on the head with your answer."

His voice thinned and softened, returning to the meat of the subject. Even so, the color thrumming along his neck didn't entirely fade, the soft, muted blue of an overcast day. "Trust is - hard, when you know how far someone else is willing to go. For example, if...Bear was willing and able to give his life for something you knew had an alternate path didn't didn't require such a sacrifice...wouldn't you do what you could to stop him? Or, perhaps, from the other side - if Anastascia ever found out what she was made of, if she were to become unstable or lose herself to what happened...how far would you go for her peace of mind?" Zul paused, and the intensity of his eyes took on a different hue: vibrant blue flame turned to ice and steel, and for a moment, he was very much a picture of the demon that he embodied, stalwart and unyielding. "How far would be too far?"

Zul drew in a deep breath, his wings adjusting over his back, the tuck of the bone tips curling against the flesh of his shoulder. Grounding him, reminding him that as awful as it was that it happened, he'd do it again. That was going to be the hardest part to share with the man. Closing his eyes once more, he exhaled sharply and nodded to himself. Opening his eyes, he looked to Zeke, and then off to the side - it was easier to recall the bad parts without looking into his earnest face. "It started at the forest, where we never should have been." Boots entered his field of vision of where he'd been staring at the floor, and without thinking, he glanced upwards. "It started with - " - jeans, a dark blue henley, that metal arm and wide jade eyes over a grin so big, the owner looked damn near feral, startling the Sigel from his story - " - Lucas?"

The man from the other night stood almost half the room away in all his s**t-eating grin glory, though Zul couldn't be sure why - especially because he was staring at Zeke. He had his hair in a half-tail, which kept his face clear of stray black locks, but also emphasized those white teeth with his strangely sharp canines. "Zeke?" he called out loudly, surprising Zul further, prompting him to glance towards the brightly-haired man. "Do mine eyes deceive me, or is that the actual Ezekiel Farris, as I live and breathe?" Lucas put his hands on his hips, canted to the side, that impossible grin remaining in place while his brows skewed in some sort of expression the demon couldn't read - like the man was preparing for something no one could see coming. And considering who his attention was direct towards, Zul believed the bar might not be able to handle what was about to happen.

For his part, he said nothing in muted surprise, looking from the dark-skinned man he'd met briefly to the bright-haired man he'd known all his life. Do you know each other? flit across his mind but didn't pass his teeth, looking at Zeke expectantly.  

[Ravina Loki]

"I recall you and Rivener yeah," he smiled when Zul did, even if the Baphomet didn't meet his gaze at the moment. A smile here, a pulse of blue light there - even as worn as he admitted he was, Zul was still under there and he couldn't hide himself and his feelings even if he tried. "I'd love to hear everything about them! They're your loved ones and they clearly make you happy; I wanna know all there is to know about the ones who make you feel so loved."

His eyes warmed, smile fond but edged with playfulness all the same. As true as his words were, he couldn't resist a little tease here or there when the time came. To melt a demon's heart like that, well, it'd take some VERY special people indeed.

"You...Broke her into the Lab?" He raised a brow at that, trying not to look impressed and failing. "Of all the places for a date, Zul, jeez. ...You better have not been doing anything in my office." He put on a suspicious look complete with narrowing of his eyes and a slight tilt of his colorful head. He trusted that was most certainly not the case but he still just had to do it.

He wanted to know more but the topic went back to seriousness again and Zeke's playful suspicion became genuine curiosity. He noted Zul's color remained, which only fueled the intrigue. Just what was going on in this boy's life that had yet to be released?

"Damn, really bringing the hard hitters." He listened though, fighting a smile at the mention of Brad, wincing a touch for the one of Anya, but nodding all the same to everything the demon had to say. For Brad, for Anya, the answer was always the same. "Anything in my power, for the both of them. I'd move heaven and earth to stop Brad and I wouldn't rest until Anya was at peace with that knowledge."

Although what he would do if he did tell her, he didn't rightly know.

"How far would be too far..." Zul was staring him down, regal, bordering on imposing and clearly hungry for a response. "It's hard to say, musing it like this. In the heat of the moment? Anything goes, the lines aren't so clear cut. It's...difficult and probably not what you're hoping to hear, I imagine."

He smiled a little, apologetic. But at the same time, Zeke couldn't go all in guns blazing with certainties and absolutes. Not only was it not right to assume, it wasn't right to lead Zul on with the idea things could be so easily drawn.

"Sometimes you just do and damn it all right then. The consequences don't exist until after the fact. It's kinda leaping before you look, huh?"

He fell silent to muse more, which was just as well since Zul seemed to be absorbing all that, or just gearing up for the bombshell. It was hard to tell, he suddenly wasn't looking at Zeke again and while certain someones could pull things out of the Baphomet he'd rather hide on the regular, he was still a very private individual and could put up his walls easily enough when necessary.

While Zul readied himself, Zeke opted to take another sip off his drink to fill that gap. Of course, as it works out that's when Zul decided to open up again and in between a mouthful of Blue Lagoon was a liquidy sort of 'mmhm!' of agreement and encouragement for him to continue.

But he didn't. Not entirely.

Lucas?

Zeke was turning to see who the Baphomet was suddenly looking at - who had that ******** name of all names - when the voice called out to him of all people at this one particular table.

He turned his head so fast he almost cricked it, brown eyes bulging wide out of his head at the sight of the undeserved, underhanded malcontent of the most wonderful woman alive wasn't standing right there right this second. He froze. He stared, like a deer in headlights. Then all of a sudden it was as if a million and one volts blasted through him. He started vibrating at the table, his hands still placed upon the top of it and thus causing the very thing to tremble beneath them. Every muscle in his body tensed and strained which was very apparent in his arms, exposed to the air in his tank top as they were. Vibrations became full on shaking.

Then, as the shakes reached their zenith, the vet shoved the table forward into Zul to give him enough space to LEAP from the booth and beeline it for the grinning b*****d standing too close for his own good.

"LUCAS!!!!" The name was pulled from the vet's lips in a roar of sheer delight and excitement. His face exploded in the biggest grin thus far this evening and as soon as he got free of the table Zeke's arms were opening wide to embrace the other. However, as he neared he did not stop and instead seemed to pick up speed, running full tilt at his long-lost best friend in order to bodily throw himself at him. Zeke went airborne, screaming wordlessly at this point and at a decibel that was perhaps going to be the cause of his lacerated larynx later, and hit Lucas square in the chest. His arms went around the other man's neck and his legs wrapped tight around his middle. He squeezed, hard, still screaming, now laughing.

"ARE YOU ******** STALKING ME?!?!?!" He hugged and hugged, laughed and laughed, and when he pulled back he was aglow. Zul, it seemed, was forgotten for now.

"IT'S BEEN TOO LONG YOU USELESS COCKSLEEVE!"  

[Chrystali]

The tension was mounting, even though no one was moving. Zul kept looking between the two, especially when Zeke whirled around to face the dark-haired man in all his toothy grinning glory. As Zeke stared, the other had the gall to keep pushing the envelope, putting a hand over his collar bone and then mock-fanning himself. "I do say, Mr. Farris, you needn't gawk so~" The faux southern accent didn't diminish the grin he wore, or that his pale eyes were entirely vibrant with amusement. Lucas glanced to Zul, catching his eyes; Zul offered the most confused shrug of his shoulders and baffled shake of his head, to which Lucas winked. Wait, he mouthed. Zul wasn't sure what other option there was --

And then the table started to vibrate. Zul shifted his attention back to Zeke with mild alarm, watching as the nicest, most easy-going and fun-loving guy he'd ever met started to collect energy and have no way to disperse it. The demon only realized what was going to happen a scant second before it did, able to push himself back as the table was thrust towards him, clinging to the edge of it with impossibly wide eyes.

The two collided and Zeke was whooping, and roaring, and - screaming? and - what in the devil was that noise? Subconsciously, Zul slowly, as though in a dream, righted the table back to where it needed to be and 'sat' on the edge of it, folding his arms over his chest and staring with open wonder. Was this what humans referred to as a train wreck?

Loud, delighted laughter chased Zeke's sounds, the slightly taller man catching the flying vet and pushing into a full spin, his good arm wrapped around Zeke's back and his prosthetic one seated in support against his butt. His embrace was tight, whole-hearted, and had Zul not known Zeke was 'married' to Brad, he'd have thought that perhaps they were two long lost lovers - though, perhaps, that wasn't entirely correct. It was more the way Alex was with Zeke, but the way Lucas pulled back enough to grin at Zeke, the way they looked at each other, seemed more...intimate, somehow.

And then Zeke called him a cocksleeve and Zul was absolutely agape.

The laughter continued, uproarious and drawing more than a little attention in the bar, Lucas doing another dancing sort of spin and narrowly missing taking out a passing server's tray with Zeke's foot. "You said you were busy! I was just coming to catch a drink since I was already in the area!" Completely out of place for the banter, Lucas abruptly leaned in and pressed a kiss square against Zeke's lips - not one that lasted very long, but wasn't exactly chaste, either. Zul thought he might actually have to sit down in earnest, as the entire interaction was coming too fast and too sudden, one hand absently finding its way to his hair in a gesture of surprise and shock.

"And," the man continued, "I am not a useless cocksleeve, I am a very effective one, you beautiful, wicked man!" Lucas continued to grin, pressing his nose and brow against Zeke's cheek in a fond gesture, before fully resuming the tight embrace. "How the ******** was I supposed to know your something unexpected," he said the words in a pitched voice that made it seem like Zeke was making an excuse, "was Zul? Here? I'm not that psychic, take some of that credit away, my good dude!" Those pale eyes turned to the demon again, and Zul was jarred back into existence and out of the Twilight Zone he had seemed to float into.

"You - " Zul cleared his throat. "You never did mention your friend's name. It's Zeke?"

The grin the other wore seemed to stretch, nodding. "And you know this party with legs? What a small damn world!"

The demon was flabbergasted. "Yes, he's - my uncle?" The words were strange and disembodied in his own ears.

Lucas' brows shot upward, turning his attention fully to Zeke again. "The ********, man? You don't answer your phone and you've started a ********' family without me?" Despite the exchange, the man still hadn't let go of the vet, fully supporting him and standing there in the middle of the bar like they owned the place. Not like anyone was going to tell them otherwise, not when the two together was like...Zeke squared. It was too much energy to approach. "You heart-breaker. What am I going to tell my parents?" Lucas cried out in offense, fully pursing his lips and curving his brows into an impressive approximation of a sad puppy look.

Zul found himself squinting, as if they were too bright to look at directly, even in the delicately lit atmosphere. He was having the worst time trying to connect the dots here - what the two were, why they were referring to each other as cocksleeves and walking parties. "What - what is going on?"  

[Ravina Loki]

The next thing he knew he was spinning and that only made him trill in delight, even if he did almost boot that tray clear across the bar in the middle of it. He was getting a bit lightheaded from screeching so much but he couldn't stop the noise, not when his best buddy in the whole wide world was here, now, spinning him in a tight hold and laughing as if they hadn't been apart a single minute since the last time they had met up.

"I can't believe it!!!!" He squealed the words, tickled all shades of pink and red and every other color under the rainbow, most of the shaking subsiding into jitters the longer he was held onto. "And yeah busy! But don't think for one minute I believe that shi--mm!" It was no small feat that his eyes went wider than they already did but they sure went above and beyond the moment he was kissed. Zeke sputtered against Lucas' lips and pushed against the other's collarbones to break them apart.

"Ugh! Dude! You taste like Listerine!" He scrunched his face up and stuck his tongue out for added grossed out effect, his tongue stud catching the light and glinting therein. "
But he was laughing again as he accused the other of such things, leaning into the affectionate touch to his cheek and wrapping a hand around the back of Lucas' head to really squish him on in there.

"Mm I guess I can't argue with you there, knowing your track record!" There was a wicked glint in his eye that sparkled down at the other man, hinting at things private but entirely well known between the pair. "WAIT A SECOND! STOP!" Zul was remembered then and Zeke snapped his attention from Lucas to Zul, back to Lucas, then right back to Zul. He stabbed a finger into Lucas' chest where it, like the rest of him, visibly thrummed. He looked at the Baphomet accusingly.

"How in this entire, unholy, goddamned, world did you meet THIS?!" He stared, wide eyed. "How did this happen, Zul?! How did--"

He snapped his focus back onto Lucas.

"What have you been telling him, huh?! What have you been telling him?!?!? GOD JUST LOOK AT HIM! HE'S SCARED!!! YOU SCARED ZUL OF ALL PEOPLE YOU ABSOLUTE s**t!"

He started drumming on the other man's chest with his fists, swinging his legs to and fro against Lucas' sides and kicking him square in the a** with his heel more than once. It still bounced off readily, he was quite pleased to note.

Zul, still very much IN SHOCK, gave up the goat on their relation and Zeke could not be happier to be so accused. He leaned back in the hold, giving the world's largest shrug and shaking his head like it ain't no thing that he just suddenly had himself a family after all this time.

"Listen, you left me on read for like, five ********' years and my biological clock was ticking. My mom's heartbroken and all and I'll never get to wear your mom's dress but ******** me, Lu, I held off for as long as I could!" He fell forward to hug Lucas' face against his own chest, pecking a kiss to the top of his dark head. "But hey, there's other fish in the sea, all you gotta do is cast your rod out and tug it or something, yadda yadda yadda...Just tell Mama that it's your fault and everything will be smoothed over for me, okay? Thanks you're the best, love you Lucas~"

He squished Lucas' cheeks in between his palms and stuck his tongue out again.

"Oh man Zul...Ah ha!" The poor kid was so lost and so afraid. To be fair, it was natural for the unitiated. If he survived this, he'd grow a skin and get used to it. "Man maybe he didn't tell you jack diddly, eh? Zul!!" He stuck his right hand out at Lucas as if introducing them for the first time. "Say hello to my first kiss!"  

[Chrystali]

"What?" Lucas responded with an outward sense of insult and offense, though neither were actually present in the wicked gleam of his eyes. "It's the best bar in Gambino, but judging by the taste of your mouth, their cocktails suck. I'm gonna need Listerine to get rid of that taste, ********, man!" Soft laughter chased his words, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he nestled in close to the man he had not yet released.

Zul's eyes widened again as Zeke suddenly laser-zoomed in on him, brows raising high at the fingers that started to jab at Lucas' chest. "I'm - I'm more alarmed by the ambulance-pitch sounds that both of you were emitting," he said after a moment of consideration, a small smile playing out over his lips. He had no idea what was actually going on, but there was something infectious in their brightly shared joy and sparkling laughter.

Being accosted didn't sway Lucas away from his hold, grinning through the entire thumping, but he did finally, finally let Zeke down to his feet as he was countered in his familial surprise. Rather than let him go completely, however, Lucas swept up one of Zeke's hands to rest against his warm metal palm, placing the other against his shoulder before holding the vet at his hip - and began to waltz effortlessly to a song no one could hear. "The ******** you mean, I left you on read!" He scoffed, but something strange passed over his face, a mote of confusion that knit his brows. "I called you last like, five years ago - well, it wasn't me," he amended, "so maybe you didn't recognize the number. But don't go all '******** me Lu' on me because we've been there, tried that, got shot down. Rods cast out and all." And he was grinning again, twisting gracefully for a man of six feet tall, narrowly missing another server but with a purposeful step. "You can tell my mother yourself, I'm not listening to her sobs over your betrayal."

The Sigel wasn't sure when it happened, but Zul found himself perched on the edge of the table, a hand halfway over his face and grinning widely. None of this made any sense to him, but he could taste the history between them - in their long cultivated jabs and nicknames, their body language, the effortless way they knew each other's ways to go from verbal sparring to waltzing in a bar. This was intense, and Zul wondered distantly what Alex would think, to see this display. The thought of his absent Guardian sobered him a bit, his grin tamping down into a smile, no less warm even for the more bridled mirth. "That's it?" the demon wondered aloud, one dark brow arching high. "You bodily tackled a man and talked about wearing his mother's wedding dress, for a first kiss? That's wildly impressive, Lucas."

"First kiss," Lucas agreed, "and most recent, though I have my regrets." He shared a wink with Zul, all toothy grin again. "I'd offer to share that power if you weren't my best friend's nephew. That might be crossing a line."

"It's not a biological relation. I'm sure it's difficult to tell."

The laugh that came from Lucas was warm and brief. "Ah, there's the playful fellow I met. I was wondering where he'd gone." Taking a sharp step to the side to avoid an amused passer-by, he dipped Zeke suddenly, looking the man in the eye. "And to answer your question, all I told him was I was in town to meet a friend I hadn't seen in a long time."

"Best friend," Zul supplemented helpfully. "A man you'd cross the world to see again, I believe is how you phrased it."

That earned a brisk upwards glance and playful scowl. "Don't share all my secrets!" Lucas righted their posture and held it in a gentle pause, swaying to the invisible music but not stepping to it again. "Should we sit? I didn't mean to interrupt you from your toilet cleaner of a drink," he wrinkled his nose, "or am I interrupting?" The look that crossed over his face turned his expression from playful and friendly to somewhat serious, lifting a brow towards Zul. "This can wait, even if we, as people, can't." Lucas shimmied a bit against Zeke as though to prove his point. "I love this guy but I can also make good on that raincheck."

Hesitating, Zul was torn. On one hand, he really did need to talk to Zeke...but on the other, it's not like what he had to say was going anywhere. He'd lived with his truth for years - and to end the outpouring of energy and love that connected the two seemed wrong and abrupt, somehow. "I don't mind," he ventured to speak up before Zeke could, knowing the man might actually turn Lucas away because of the word of presence he'd given Zul. "It's nothing that can't wait. You've five years to catch up on, so come." Zul 'stood' from the table, grabbing another chair and motioning to the bartender (which wasn't too hard, given they were already being stared at). "Take a seat, have a drink. If he tries to gloss over anything, I can always embellish." A playful twinkle formed in his blue gaze, and though the colors were still faint, the glow of his horn and his attire had returned in muted hues.  

[Ravina Loki]

"Oh that sound? That sound's normal with us, kiddo, especially after all this time. Hell I'm surprised the windows are still in their frames right now!" His grin was luminous even as he coughed to clear his throat after the crime he had just committed on his vocal chords.

When released Zeke plopped to his feet but was quick to fall into that smooth rhythm of Lucas' sudden urge to waltz with him. His eyes were on the other man's so he didn't notice the lack of flesh in the hand he held, otherwise there might have been a quip.

There would be one later, of course. It was only natural.

"You know damn well what I mean!" He puffed out his cheeks. "Voicemails exist for a reason, Lu! Leave a message and I'll call you right back, you know I of all people will!" Oh so maturely he stuck out his tongue again. "And if it wasn't you then whoever it was! And don't go all 'oh don't go all '******** me, Lu' on me, sir! Last I recall, any time I said "******** me, Lu" you'd be like "OKAY" and the pants couldn't come off fast enough! You tried to rip apart denim jeans more than once! I should know, I was there!"

His voice had taken on some mock annoyance when he chastised the other, but laughter wove its way back in there by the time he had come to an end on that one. It wouldn't be obvious to Zul right now but Zeke was joking on that front - he couldn't know that their history was remarkably chaste although the bawdy jokes would suggest otherwise.

"Pfft, please! Like I'd break her heart like that when it's entirely your fault, huh? Besides, you're the real heartbreaker - you took a baseball bat to my mother's heart the day she realized you were serious about joining the army and not marrying me the moment we both turned eighteen, like the 'peaked in high school' scrubs that we are!

"Oh trust me, Zul, there's SO much more than that! I could write NOVELS about our history and escapades! And to be fair, it was a really nice dress." His eyes remained on Zul until he was spun around again and in the motion he raised the hand resting against Lucas' shoulder and pounded it down on that spot in retaliation for the quip. "b***h, I taste delicious! You lack a cultured palette is what it is!"

There was a pout but a short lived one, laughing along with Lucas as Zul quipped. Now that was indeed refreshing to hear!

"Oh he's in there I'm sure of it. He's just gotta dig through the tidal wave of bullshit we just unleashed upon him without warning, which is also your fault by the way. He hasn't built up the immunity yet; remember how long it took our parents to allow sleepovers between us two again when we were kids? I distinctly remember a lot of "I love him like my own but..." and a lot of agreement that we were both shrieky little bastards times a million when we were paired off! Hah!"

He was dipped then and it was rewarded with another trill of delight from the shorter, more colorful man, until it worked its way into a guffaw and a very devilish look as Zul offered up a bit more of this sudden history between himself and Lucas Reis.

"Awwwwww Wucas missed meeeeeeeeeee!!!" As soon as he was righted Zeke was all about pinching Lucas' cheeks, making babyish sounds at him and generally being a shithead with a grin to match. "Aww WuWu I'm touched, weally I aaaaaam! I can't beweeve we've gone on so wong widdout thiiiiis. I know you missed thiiiiiiis most of aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwllll!!!"

He kept up the cheek pinching - making hurried, tiny little "pinchpinchpinchpinchpinch" sounds as he did so.

"D'awww Wucas you're awlways interrupting don't you know? Remember those report cards in elementary school? We had matching teacher's comments - 'constantly interrupting' and 'disruptive in class' stick out most of awlllll!" His switch from baby voice to normal voice back to baby voice again was so fluid it was perhaps a little scary. "And shut the ******** up about my drink! It's damn tasty, thank you very much!"

He smacked the other man open palmed on the arm before pulling the drink up to his lips and taking a long eye-to-eye gulp of it. He polished off half the glass in one go, then proceeded to flip Lucas off.

"a**." He quirked a crooked smile at Lucas again before turning it on Zul. "Hey kid, it's okay, really. We can get security to kick him out and trust me, it'll be really fun to watch!" He bounced on his toes at the very idea. "We can even take bets on how far he gets thrown and how many times he'll bounce on the sidewalk before he hits the street!"

But Zul being Zul he had already made up his mind. Zeke wasn't entirely serious of course, so to see the Baphomet invite the other to the table put a little song in his heart. He wanted to know more about this suddenly small world they all found themselves in, even if he still wanted to know what was going on with his nephew in equal measure.

If Zul was fine with waiting then he supposed he could be too. Besides, a beer or two might loosen him up and get him to the point all the faster when the time came. He plopped his a** back down and with his hand in Lucas' dragged him down to sitting level too.

"s**t, now I know you two hung out a bit for real because now Zul's threatening me like that! You don't gotta worry kiddo, I ain't about to gloss over nothin', but I am gonna warn you; it's probably gonna get weird from here on out."