(no subject)
Who: Easy Raub (BIG BAD WOLF) and Alex Chase (KING SHAHRYAR)
What: The boys go prowling for Valentine's Day, but first catch up over a few drinks
When: Valentine's Day, early evening, before it gets too busy
Where: A downtown bar, doing some sort of 'singles night'
Rating: R for language and sexual content
Note: This scene takes place roughly two weeks after this. During the interim Easy has been largely AWOL, which anyone who has any sort of regular contact with him may have noticed. Not that it's all too unusual.
Easy: Easy had been very specific to pick out a bar - nothing so trendy that the clientele would be expecting nice suits and fat wallets, but nothing so divey that the selection would be of equally poor quality. The result was more of an upscale Irish-themed pub, all dolled up for a Valentine's Day singles event. He had suggested the two arrive early under the onus of securing a good spot to watch the possible prey as they arrived, but the fact of the matter was that Easy was in bad need of some actual guy talk time. He had scarcely communicated with anyone from the community for a couple weeks, and only rang Alex to make plans the day prior.
Easy had arrived first and, after grabbing a couple beers from the bartender, set himself up at one of the small tables towards the front of the bar, with a perfect vantage point to watch the patrons as they filtered in. He was looking his scruffy best, which is to say bathed if not shaved, and with a rumpled dress shirt with the top few buttons casually neglected. He tilted his beer back and waited for Alex to arrive, and when the man did he greeted with a slight tip of the bottle and a lazy smile. "Happy Easy Pickin's Day, sport."
Alex: His own bottle lifted in salute, and Alex took a long swig of beer that was all the sweeter in the uncomplicated expectations of exactly how this evening would pan out; all guys together and hitting on women. Time spent hanging around Easy was remarkably uncomplicated and simple. Which after too much time with women, all of whom had the emotional complication of hormonal teenagers, was incredibly desirable.
"Same to you, stranger," he returned, with another quick swallow. "Seen any conquests yet?"
Easy: Easy shifted around to sit with his back to the table, so that he could look out at the interior of the bar. Very few patrons had arrived yet and things were still quiet, though there were a few young ladies who seemed to have the same idea of some pre-drinks to ensure that their moods later would make them predisposed to not spending Valentine's Day alone. "Things are definitely looking promising." Easy mused with a sly smile, "But then, trolling on V-Day is like shootin' fish in a barrel. Might as well be Christmas, in my goddamn opinion."
He took another swig and rested his elbows on the table, before commenting in a casual, sideways way, "You get things worked out with that baby momma came calling a while back?"
Alex: Instinctual grimace at that, and coming as it did from a grin of salaciousness, it was magnified. He didn't want to talk grown-up shit and kids - and rather thought Easy didn't want to hear it, but he nodded and shrugged. "Yeah. It's my kid. Working on it," and he didn't offer up any further details. Here to have fun, kick back, pick up a few of the pretties and mosey on home with Company.
"Shooting fish in a barrel still means you end up with a hella lot of fish," he pointed out with his very own lazy grin. "And you ain't been keeping appearances around the Compendiums, so I don't know if you've had as short a supply of fish as me. Well," he amended. "Bar one."
Easy: The typically masculine response seemed more than enough for Easy, and though he made the obligatory noncommittal grunt and tipped his beer in acknowledgment, his disinterest wasn't total. The extremely perceptive observer may notice Easy watching Alex out of the corner of his eye doubtfully, but he made no effort to follow up on the sensitive topic.
At the mention of his recent absence, it was Easy's turn to grimace - though more mildly than Alex's, and with an almost self-deprecating shudder. "I had my reason for bein' scarce, and though it was technically a woman, I can't rightly say that she kept me out of commission in any positive sort of way." Although this line was delivered with a grim humour, there was nothing to suggest it was a non-topic; though Easy did make an effort to ride with Alex's segue. "Which 'one' would that be, champ?"
Alex: But he's not letting that slide into his own women-problems; he's come out to get rid of them, not to dwell, and his mentor, having trouble with women? "What happened to you?" he countered question with question, waving aside the details of names and particulars. "What reason? Got me all intrigued now as to who could take you down."
Easy: Easy offered a derisive chuckle, as well as a sidelong look to let Alex know that the topic may have been changed, but not forgotten. He didn't appear quite as taciturn in offering up the sordid details of his 'romantic' life, but then it was his kidney on the line, not his heart! With a humourless smile he tilted to one side and pulled up the hem of his shirt, offering a brief glance of a stitched-up, partically-healed knife wound on his lower back. The would is relatively small, but no simple in-and-out; whoever did it certainly took their time with it.
"Marie's ideas of foreplay might be gettin' a little too wild, even for me." He half-drawled, half-growled, the mild anger in his tone poorly veiled with wry sarcasm. Alex was one of the very few people aware of Marie and Easy's 'special arrangement', and though he'd had all sorts of battle scars to show off before, nothing this serious - or incapacitating. "Apparently she wanted to give me a lil' lesson about territory after I had some fun with that Edwina broad."
Alex: There was a soft, high whistle of surprise as Alex registered the definite violence done. That it had come from Marie... well now, girl wasn't exactly easy-going, and while admiration had to be given to a man who'd managed to wangle that into bed, he was mighty particular about not dying as foreplay. Marie hadn't been all that careful before, and that she wanted to play 'hide the knife' rather than 'hide the salami' ...one conquest he didn't envy his companion.
"You didn't," he shook his head at the utter stupidity. "For Edwina? She ain't worth a trip to the ER. Seems like Marie knows more tricks than Edwina does."
Easy: "Don't I know it." Easy agreed darkly, shaking his head and sipping his beer. "There was business to conduct, but I couldn't resist having a lil' fun with it. Still, point bein' that Marie seemed to think she had me on some sort of collar, and woman needed to find out what's what. She wants a wolf with a collar, she can mince around with that wolf-gone-dog Librarian." His lip curled in a reflexive snarl, his animosity towards Noah showing clear through the growled words.
"Soo Min cleaned me up, got me to a hospital." He added as casually as possible, though there was a bit of sheepishness in admitting that he'd had to go to a woman for help. His brow furrowed in consternation as he thought on the matter for a moment, "Not exactly a favour I'm happy owin', given that she's almost as rough as Marie, if not more." He made a dismissive gesture and looked back to the bar, now beginning to slowly fill up. "Goddamn if my goal for the night is to find a woman that doesn't treat a good roll in the hay like it's a no-holds cage match."
Alex: Soo Min. Skip from a psychopath to someone who only resembled one; step in the right direction, at least, he supposed. Although sex without the need to press assault charges was probably much more of a stress-relief. Hell, if all it did was make you uptight, far better to squeeze one out with America's Next Top Model playing in the background; caused less bodily trauma.
He scouted around at the women, trying to select a potential conquest. Except that one had the same color hair as Bee, all bright gold and tumbled down her back. That one had the same hidden smile as Vel, and goddamnit, was he going to find a lay that didn't remind him of the women he was determinedly avoiding?
"Damn good plan. Select you a nice dumb thing, with big ta-tas," Alex made a crude gesture accompanied by a broad grin, hefting imaginary breasts in his hands.
Easy: Easy let out a chuckle and inclined his bottle towards Alex in a meager salute, before lifting it to his lips for another draught. "Definitely lookin' for something a bit more doe-eyed tonight, no doubt about it. How about you, tiger? If I had to guess your flavour, I'd say..." His eyes scanned through the crowd calculatingly, and after a couple moments of thought, he gestured with his beer towards the exact blonde that bore such a striking resemblance to Bee. At least Easy knew Alex's type. "Her, yeah?"
Alex: Alex raised his eyebrows; the girl turned to laugh at something her friend had said and he could see her fully in profile. Shorter than Bee; bigger boobs, less of the legs. Still - who had said anything more than a handful was a waste? Definitely true, but there should be experimentation in everything. Perhaps he could bang her out of the system; replace self-loathing with satisfaction as an aftermath to sex-with-a-blonde. Been a while since he'd thought something else.
"I am predictable," he acknowledged, but not allowing it to be the final choice for the evening. Gotta have pride. "You, man? Anything with big baby blues that she can bat at you?" Innocent. Look for the girl who looks out of place in the bar, and she'd be Easy's prey.
Easy: Easy grinned as he scanned the crowd, his gaze hopping from woman to woman with the trained analysis of a predator. "Oh, I think I see one or two. Sure there's plenty of shy lil' things dragged along by their friends." With a decisive gesture he slapped his thigh and stood up. "Reckon it's about time for us to stop window shopping and dive right in." He made a gesture to the bartender to uncap a second round for them, and moved as if to set off into the crowd, casting a tempting grin back to his companion.
"You with me, Chase?"
Alex: He rose as easily as if it were planned, the two of them far more devastating together - that way, you had a wingman, someone with innate knowledge of exactly what to say, what ideas to play on, when to drift into the background, leaving your chosen victim breathlessly caught on the tail ends of your words. Took the drink, eyed up the blonde once again, the column of her throat as she tossed her head back, laughing. She'd seen him looking, probably calculating how long it would take for him to cross over, do something about it. Make her wait. There were plenty of women here, and - scouting around - a rich night of pickings.
"Ready to learn from the master," he said with an edge of tease but not quite, apprentice still in all things decadent and corrupt.
What: The boys go prowling for Valentine's Day, but first catch up over a few drinks
When: Valentine's Day, early evening, before it gets too busy
Where: A downtown bar, doing some sort of 'singles night'
Rating: R for language and sexual content
Note: This scene takes place roughly two weeks after this. During the interim Easy has been largely AWOL, which anyone who has any sort of regular contact with him may have noticed. Not that it's all too unusual.
Easy: Easy had been very specific to pick out a bar - nothing so trendy that the clientele would be expecting nice suits and fat wallets, but nothing so divey that the selection would be of equally poor quality. The result was more of an upscale Irish-themed pub, all dolled up for a Valentine's Day singles event. He had suggested the two arrive early under the onus of securing a good spot to watch the possible prey as they arrived, but the fact of the matter was that Easy was in bad need of some actual guy talk time. He had scarcely communicated with anyone from the community for a couple weeks, and only rang Alex to make plans the day prior.
Easy had arrived first and, after grabbing a couple beers from the bartender, set himself up at one of the small tables towards the front of the bar, with a perfect vantage point to watch the patrons as they filtered in. He was looking his scruffy best, which is to say bathed if not shaved, and with a rumpled dress shirt with the top few buttons casually neglected. He tilted his beer back and waited for Alex to arrive, and when the man did he greeted with a slight tip of the bottle and a lazy smile. "Happy Easy Pickin's Day, sport."
Alex: His own bottle lifted in salute, and Alex took a long swig of beer that was all the sweeter in the uncomplicated expectations of exactly how this evening would pan out; all guys together and hitting on women. Time spent hanging around Easy was remarkably uncomplicated and simple. Which after too much time with women, all of whom had the emotional complication of hormonal teenagers, was incredibly desirable.
"Same to you, stranger," he returned, with another quick swallow. "Seen any conquests yet?"
Easy: Easy shifted around to sit with his back to the table, so that he could look out at the interior of the bar. Very few patrons had arrived yet and things were still quiet, though there were a few young ladies who seemed to have the same idea of some pre-drinks to ensure that their moods later would make them predisposed to not spending Valentine's Day alone. "Things are definitely looking promising." Easy mused with a sly smile, "But then, trolling on V-Day is like shootin' fish in a barrel. Might as well be Christmas, in my goddamn opinion."
He took another swig and rested his elbows on the table, before commenting in a casual, sideways way, "You get things worked out with that baby momma came calling a while back?"
Alex: Instinctual grimace at that, and coming as it did from a grin of salaciousness, it was magnified. He didn't want to talk grown-up shit and kids - and rather thought Easy didn't want to hear it, but he nodded and shrugged. "Yeah. It's my kid. Working on it," and he didn't offer up any further details. Here to have fun, kick back, pick up a few of the pretties and mosey on home with Company.
"Shooting fish in a barrel still means you end up with a hella lot of fish," he pointed out with his very own lazy grin. "And you ain't been keeping appearances around the Compendiums, so I don't know if you've had as short a supply of fish as me. Well," he amended. "Bar one."
Easy: The typically masculine response seemed more than enough for Easy, and though he made the obligatory noncommittal grunt and tipped his beer in acknowledgment, his disinterest wasn't total. The extremely perceptive observer may notice Easy watching Alex out of the corner of his eye doubtfully, but he made no effort to follow up on the sensitive topic.
At the mention of his recent absence, it was Easy's turn to grimace - though more mildly than Alex's, and with an almost self-deprecating shudder. "I had my reason for bein' scarce, and though it was technically a woman, I can't rightly say that she kept me out of commission in any positive sort of way." Although this line was delivered with a grim humour, there was nothing to suggest it was a non-topic; though Easy did make an effort to ride with Alex's segue. "Which 'one' would that be, champ?"
Alex: But he's not letting that slide into his own women-problems; he's come out to get rid of them, not to dwell, and his mentor, having trouble with women? "What happened to you?" he countered question with question, waving aside the details of names and particulars. "What reason? Got me all intrigued now as to who could take you down."
Easy: Easy offered a derisive chuckle, as well as a sidelong look to let Alex know that the topic may have been changed, but not forgotten. He didn't appear quite as taciturn in offering up the sordid details of his 'romantic' life, but then it was his kidney on the line, not his heart! With a humourless smile he tilted to one side and pulled up the hem of his shirt, offering a brief glance of a stitched-up, partically-healed knife wound on his lower back. The would is relatively small, but no simple in-and-out; whoever did it certainly took their time with it.
"Marie's ideas of foreplay might be gettin' a little too wild, even for me." He half-drawled, half-growled, the mild anger in his tone poorly veiled with wry sarcasm. Alex was one of the very few people aware of Marie and Easy's 'special arrangement', and though he'd had all sorts of battle scars to show off before, nothing this serious - or incapacitating. "Apparently she wanted to give me a lil' lesson about territory after I had some fun with that Edwina broad."
Alex: There was a soft, high whistle of surprise as Alex registered the definite violence done. That it had come from Marie... well now, girl wasn't exactly easy-going, and while admiration had to be given to a man who'd managed to wangle that into bed, he was mighty particular about not dying as foreplay. Marie hadn't been all that careful before, and that she wanted to play 'hide the knife' rather than 'hide the salami' ...one conquest he didn't envy his companion.
"You didn't," he shook his head at the utter stupidity. "For Edwina? She ain't worth a trip to the ER. Seems like Marie knows more tricks than Edwina does."
Easy: "Don't I know it." Easy agreed darkly, shaking his head and sipping his beer. "There was business to conduct, but I couldn't resist having a lil' fun with it. Still, point bein' that Marie seemed to think she had me on some sort of collar, and woman needed to find out what's what. She wants a wolf with a collar, she can mince around with that wolf-gone-dog Librarian." His lip curled in a reflexive snarl, his animosity towards Noah showing clear through the growled words.
"Soo Min cleaned me up, got me to a hospital." He added as casually as possible, though there was a bit of sheepishness in admitting that he'd had to go to a woman for help. His brow furrowed in consternation as he thought on the matter for a moment, "Not exactly a favour I'm happy owin', given that she's almost as rough as Marie, if not more." He made a dismissive gesture and looked back to the bar, now beginning to slowly fill up. "Goddamn if my goal for the night is to find a woman that doesn't treat a good roll in the hay like it's a no-holds cage match."
Alex: Soo Min. Skip from a psychopath to someone who only resembled one; step in the right direction, at least, he supposed. Although sex without the need to press assault charges was probably much more of a stress-relief. Hell, if all it did was make you uptight, far better to squeeze one out with America's Next Top Model playing in the background; caused less bodily trauma.
He scouted around at the women, trying to select a potential conquest. Except that one had the same color hair as Bee, all bright gold and tumbled down her back. That one had the same hidden smile as Vel, and goddamnit, was he going to find a lay that didn't remind him of the women he was determinedly avoiding?
"Damn good plan. Select you a nice dumb thing, with big ta-tas," Alex made a crude gesture accompanied by a broad grin, hefting imaginary breasts in his hands.
Easy: Easy let out a chuckle and inclined his bottle towards Alex in a meager salute, before lifting it to his lips for another draught. "Definitely lookin' for something a bit more doe-eyed tonight, no doubt about it. How about you, tiger? If I had to guess your flavour, I'd say..." His eyes scanned through the crowd calculatingly, and after a couple moments of thought, he gestured with his beer towards the exact blonde that bore such a striking resemblance to Bee. At least Easy knew Alex's type. "Her, yeah?"
Alex: Alex raised his eyebrows; the girl turned to laugh at something her friend had said and he could see her fully in profile. Shorter than Bee; bigger boobs, less of the legs. Still - who had said anything more than a handful was a waste? Definitely true, but there should be experimentation in everything. Perhaps he could bang her out of the system; replace self-loathing with satisfaction as an aftermath to sex-with-a-blonde. Been a while since he'd thought something else.
"I am predictable," he acknowledged, but not allowing it to be the final choice for the evening. Gotta have pride. "You, man? Anything with big baby blues that she can bat at you?" Innocent. Look for the girl who looks out of place in the bar, and she'd be Easy's prey.
Easy: Easy grinned as he scanned the crowd, his gaze hopping from woman to woman with the trained analysis of a predator. "Oh, I think I see one or two. Sure there's plenty of shy lil' things dragged along by their friends." With a decisive gesture he slapped his thigh and stood up. "Reckon it's about time for us to stop window shopping and dive right in." He made a gesture to the bartender to uncap a second round for them, and moved as if to set off into the crowd, casting a tempting grin back to his companion.
"You with me, Chase?"
Alex: He rose as easily as if it were planned, the two of them far more devastating together - that way, you had a wingman, someone with innate knowledge of exactly what to say, what ideas to play on, when to drift into the background, leaving your chosen victim breathlessly caught on the tail ends of your words. Took the drink, eyed up the blonde once again, the column of her throat as she tossed her head back, laughing. She'd seen him looking, probably calculating how long it would take for him to cross over, do something about it. Make her wait. There were plenty of women here, and - scouting around - a rich night of pickings.
"Ready to learn from the master," he said with an edge of tease but not quite, apprentice still in all things decadent and corrupt.