Never heard of that place. [ then again, geography was only important when they were either having to move their base of operations or when they were sending people out on resource runs. as far as he knew, they'd never had to go to mystic falls.
it sounded very...idyllic. but marcos knows from experience that few places are truly what they seem from the outside. ]
I'll remember not to dump sugar in your cup if I'm ever getting you coffee.
[ not that that would happen here with the price of coffee but he'd remember it anyway. ]
[ she was a much better night owl than she ever was a morning person. even without needing to catch so many z's, caroline still found herself enjoying a little beauty rest when she could get it.
and, speaking of bourbon: the faint signage of the bar itself calls out in the distance, just a block or so away. ]
You mean New Amsterdam? [ obviously. ] Yeah, I mean, it's like five hundred years in the future or something. It's totally different. The coolest thing we had in Mystic Falls was a pageant and a homecoming parade. My mom still had a flip phone.
Hey, does it really matter if the phone did what it needed to do? [ not that he'd had a flip phone but if it had been the only thing available, he would have used it until it died or someone stomped on it or shot it or it burned or...any number of other things that might happen to it. ]
Pageants and homecoming parades, huh? [ sounds nice. almost normal. ] That does sound pretty cool.
[ could you tell he wasn't much of a pageant or homecoming guy? but his needling was light. ]
I don't know if you're going to find anything like that here.
Oh, shut up. [ she knows he's teasing. she also knows that talking about being in pageants and homecoming parades doesn't exactly paint a picture of a super cool big city girl — but she's never been one of those, and she wouldn't know the first thing about trying to pretend to be. she's always been the little girl who dreamed of winning miss mystic falls (and then did), who made a wedding inspiration album at eight, who planned the policeman's raffle every year since she was thirteen and who never missed an opportunity to run a committee or plan an event. ] Like you're so much cooler.
[ he wasn't. but neither was she. they were both out of their element here in different ways. ]
I kind of like what I'm finding, though. It's different, but... [ a pause as they reach the door, and whether or not he plans to open it for her, caroline does it anyway. she's impatient. he can pull out a seat for her, if he really wants to. ] I don't know. There's a lot of stuff that I don't understand, but I'm just trying to take it one day at a time, you know?
Oh, I know I'm not cooler. [ he wears flannel and denim shirts. it was probably a fashion faux pas of the highest kind but marcos' fashionista phase had ended when he'd left the sharp suits of the cartel behind.
now, it was dressing for the weather, dressing for comfort, and dressing in case someone shot him. had to plan for everything.
he follows her inside the bar, almost amused as just how take charge and proactive with things she is, even in something as simple as finding their way to a bar. ]
I don't know if I like what I'm finding. [ because he hasn't found much yet. ] This isn't where I'm supposed to be, though. I do know that.
[ his place was back with the underground, doing what he could to help people who couldn't help themselves. and now here he was, one of those people that couldn't help himself. ]
[ it's not meant to be a cry for attention or a plea for pity, just a reminder to (again) try to be positive. this may not be where they want to be — it's certainly not a five star hotel or even a familiar place to them — but it's better than the alternatives. someone (or something) had the ability to summon them, drag them through time and space, but they were still alive. they weren't in immediate pain, or under torture.
they were just... here. and sure, they had the empathy bond and weird abilities and surgically added implants to contend with, but it was better than some other options that were probably available. like death, for one thing. ]
But you're not the only person who wants to go back to something more important. It's really just a matter of time, right?
What kind of place were you at that this is better? [ he doesn't know if he can say that about where he'd come from. this place might be better but it's not where he's needed. it's not where he'd spent so many years trying to make a better world for people like him. this place might not even need him. ]
I wish I had your optimism. [ because he's talked to a lot of people who've been here awhile. people who've been here months going on a year. that doesn't really strike him as a matter of time. ]
But I guess they can't keep us forever. [ that was his best attempt at being positive. ]
[ he asks, but she doesn't answer right away. instead, she downloads the bar's menu onto her neural desktop and looks over the options. there are too many, really, and beer's never been her thing. there are a lot of them on the menu, too — porters and stouts and ipas and whatever a craft draft flight was.
it's easier just to tell the digital waiter that she wants a double bourbon neat. so she does. two of them, in fact; one for her and one for him, the first round on her as promised. only then does caroline turn her full attention back to him, blinking a bit to adjust her eyes from digital holoscreen to the real world. ]
I was — [ but she shakes her head, the words stilling on her lips. it's not exactly a fun story to tell, and besides, she doesn't really think he's all that interested in the specifics. ]
I'm probably the only person who says that, though. I think most people are in your shoes. They just want to get home.
[ she starts and stops herself before saying anything and while marcos mentally files that away, he doesn't push on her. she's been nice to him, kind when she didn't have to be, and he doesn't want to force something out of her that she doesn't want to share. it's not his place. ]
Maybe.
[ he hasn't talked to enough people to really know. most conversations that he's had have revolved around the who and what and where and how of it. ways to make his adjustment easier and how to go about living a life here. ]
But if this place is better for you, then good. That's a good thing.
[ it is a good thing, and she appreciates him saying so — but she appreciates the quick delivery of two rocks glasses a little more, each one bearing the promised two shots neat and settled in front of their respective drinker.
there's a casual ease in the way caroline's fingers wrap around her glass, lifting the rim to her lips for a slow inhale before she actually takes a sip. god, but bourbon just smells so good. ]
[ it was a good toast to make. would it have any bearing on the good things? probably not but it was still a good toast. he picks up the glass and knocks it back quickly, letting it slide down his throat and into his blood.
that definitely wasn't the cheap stuff. that wasn't bottom shelf wine or gas station booze that had been easy for mutants to pick up back home. he blows out a breath and coughs. ]
[ it better be strong. if it was weak bourbon, she'd have to have words with the bartender for trying to shortchange her on a straight pour.
but when he coughs, caroline does have to tamp down a grin behind her glass. she could tip her own back in one go — and handle it better than he does, for sure — but instead, she sips, savoring the burn and the woodsy flavor as it coats her mouth. ]
They have beer, too, if you need something weaker.
[ caroline's been spoiled in that regard. most of her liquor back home came pilfered from the salvatores' own supply — good, aged bourbon, either kept and aged at home or simply lifted from a liquor store with a kiss of compulsion.
she's had weak beer and cheap mixers at parties, of course, but that seems like a lifetime ago. before she'd died and come back, before alcohol became more than just an escape path, before it was a way of mitigating much stronger cravings. ]
[ he can...figure something out. he has a little money earned from some odd jobs in new tokyo and he thinks he can probably get a job really quick which means he can buy at least one round.
maybe. ]
I can get us something. [ and if he can't afford it, he can wash dishes until the tabs paid off or something. ]
[ marcos, please. have you seen her? she's a reasonably attractive girl in a bar populated mostly by dudes, she's pretty sure she could get a free bottle if she asked the right person.
which is, obviously, what she does, pulling away from their booth long enough to sidle up to an empty spot at the bar. it doesn't take long — maybe five minutes of friendly, flirtatious chatter before she's mentioning really wanting to try that brand of bourbon on the top shelf — the same brand that only comes in bottle pours, easily twice as expensive per ounce as the stuff she'd ordered on her own.
doesn't seem to stop a thirsty man from trying to win her over, though, so she's all smiles when the bartender hands it over. could she stay at the bar and give the man at least the courtesy of her attention for a few minutes more? well, sure, but she doesn't want to. more fun to scamper back to their booth, a pleased smile on her face as she sets the bottle in front of her companion. ]
You can get dessert, how about that?
[ there's a cute food truck down the street that sells rolled ice cream. she's been wanting to try it. ]
[ there's not much else he can do but sit back and watch her do her thing. it's not an entirely unfamiliar thing to see. he's been friends with girls who've been able to talk their way into free drinks or just...use their abilities when worse came to worse.
but, as far as he can tell, this is just her using her personality and he watches on in amusement as the bartender just falls for it and gives her what he knows to be an expensive bottle of alcohol. she doesn't linger and soon enough, she's back at the table, bottle on the table between them. ]
You've done that before.
[ there was experience in how she'd worked that. ]
I'll buy you some dessert just for letting me watch that.
[ she hasn't. well, not in this exact scenario, not literally using her charms and feminine wiles to walk away with a free bottle of booze. but she's certainly charmed her way into things before, and even without the benefit of compulsion, being able to zero in on someone whose heartbeat kicked up a few notches in her presence makes things a little easier.
but knowing that it works? that's half the battle. ]
You're always welcome to watch, you know. [ a wink, there and gone in a flash, as she reaches for their empty glasses to refill them. the pour this time is a little smaller. pace yourself, she wants to tell him. don't get yourself drunk under a table when there's no money on the line. ]
[ it's an automatic reaction, a wall thrown up just in case someone tries to step around it and get themselves closer than he wants. she wouldn't say that if she knew him so might as well just — just make that known.
but, he doesn't reach for another glass at least. he does stare at them intently so he doesn't have to look up at her and what he expects would be a concerned expression. ]
Can't get home, remember? [ they'd taken him (and her) from their homes. ] I'm fine though. I can handle it.
[ okay, mr broody tuesday, you can tone down the grouch factor. she's not put off by it... mostly because she's an expert in Ignoring It. instead, caroline pours herself another glass, tipping it gently in his direction before taking a sip. ]
And you know what I meant.
[ back to the safehouse, not back to where they came from. if they wallowed in that misery, they'd never get out of it. all they can do is keep moving forward. persevere, like scarlett o'hara. ]
If you want another glass, you have to actually talk to me. I didn't get this so you could sulk.
[ all right, even he can admit that might have been a knee jerk overreaction. hard not to have them after everything but it wasn't her fault. she hadn't brought him here. he holds up a hand in apology and blows out a breath. ]
Talk to you about what?
[ he folds his hands in front of him and nods. if she wants to talk, he's been known to be able to do that here and there lately. he could hold a conversation without being a total jackass. ]
[ she shrugs off the apology. it's not like he insulted her. she's heard worse. ]
I don't know. You said I don't know you, so let's change that. [ as if to entice, she drapes a half-pour into his glass, sliding it over to him. ] Or we can play 20 Questions, if you'd rather.
[ he takes the drink and curls his fingers around it but doesn't immediately do anything but hold it. he taps the glass against the wood, thoughtful for a few seconds, before figuring out something easy he could tell her. ]
Soy de Bogotá, Colombia. Probablemente nunca hayas estado, pero a veces hace calor y está mojado e incómodo No es un lugar fácil para vivir a menos que conozcas a las personas adecuadas. Ah, y puedo hablar español.
[ he actually follows that with a smile because maybe she knows spanish, maybe she doesn't but he's pretty pleased with himself for going that route with some information. don't worry, he'd translate if needed. ]
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it sounded very...idyllic. but marcos knows from experience that few places are truly what they seem from the outside. ]
I'll remember not to dump sugar in your cup if I'm ever getting you coffee.
[ not that that would happen here with the price of coffee but he'd remember it anyway. ]
This place really different from Virginia?
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[ she was a much better night owl than she ever was a morning person. even without needing to catch so many z's, caroline still found herself enjoying a little beauty rest when she could get it.
and, speaking of bourbon: the faint signage of the bar itself calls out in the distance, just a block or so away. ]
You mean New Amsterdam? [ obviously. ] Yeah, I mean, it's like five hundred years in the future or something. It's totally different. The coolest thing we had in Mystic Falls was a pageant and a homecoming parade. My mom still had a flip phone.
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Pageants and homecoming parades, huh? [ sounds nice. almost normal. ] That does sound pretty cool.
[ could you tell he wasn't much of a pageant or homecoming guy? but his needling was light. ]
I don't know if you're going to find anything like that here.
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[ he wasn't. but neither was she. they were both out of their element here in different ways. ]
I kind of like what I'm finding, though. It's different, but... [ a pause as they reach the door, and whether or not he plans to open it for her, caroline does it anyway. she's impatient. he can pull out a seat for her, if he really wants to. ] I don't know. There's a lot of stuff that I don't understand, but I'm just trying to take it one day at a time, you know?
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now, it was dressing for the weather, dressing for comfort, and dressing in case someone shot him. had to plan for everything.
he follows her inside the bar, almost amused as just how take charge and proactive with things she is, even in something as simple as finding their way to a bar. ]
I don't know if I like what I'm finding. [ because he hasn't found much yet. ] This isn't where I'm supposed to be, though. I do know that.
[ his place was back with the underground, doing what he could to help people who couldn't help themselves. and now here he was, one of those people that couldn't help himself. ]
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[ it's not meant to be a cry for attention or a plea for pity, just a reminder to (again) try to be positive. this may not be where they want to be — it's certainly not a five star hotel or even a familiar place to them — but it's better than the alternatives. someone (or something) had the ability to summon them, drag them through time and space, but they were still alive. they weren't in immediate pain, or under torture.
they were just... here. and sure, they had the empathy bond and weird abilities and surgically added implants to contend with, but it was better than some other options that were probably available. like death, for one thing. ]
But you're not the only person who wants to go back to something more important. It's really just a matter of time, right?
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I wish I had your optimism. [ because he's talked to a lot of people who've been here awhile. people who've been here months going on a year. that doesn't really strike him as a matter of time. ]
But I guess they can't keep us forever. [ that was his best attempt at being positive. ]
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it's easier just to tell the digital waiter that she wants a double bourbon neat. so she does. two of them, in fact; one for her and one for him, the first round on her as promised. only then does caroline turn her full attention back to him, blinking a bit to adjust her eyes from digital holoscreen to the real world. ]
I was — [ but she shakes her head, the words stilling on her lips. it's not exactly a fun story to tell, and besides, she doesn't really think he's all that interested in the specifics. ]
I'm probably the only person who says that, though. I think most people are in your shoes. They just want to get home.
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Maybe.
[ he hasn't talked to enough people to really know. most conversations that he's had have revolved around the who and what and where and how of it. ways to make his adjustment easier and how to go about living a life here. ]
But if this place is better for you, then good. That's a good thing.
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there's a casual ease in the way caroline's fingers wrap around her glass, lifting the rim to her lips for a slow inhale before she actually takes a sip. god, but bourbon just smells so good. ]
To good things, then. For me and for you.
[ whatever those might be. ]
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that definitely wasn't the cheap stuff. that wasn't bottom shelf wine or gas station booze that had been easy for mutants to pick up back home. he blows out a breath and coughs. ]
Strong stuff.
[ he approves. ]
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but when he coughs, caroline does have to tamp down a grin behind her glass. she could tip her own back in one go — and handle it better than he does, for sure — but instead, she sips, savoring the burn and the woodsy flavor as it coats her mouth. ]
They have beer, too, if you need something weaker.
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[ that's all he says to that little joke. beer's fine. it's not his favorite but it'd do in a pinch. ]
It's better than the stuff we had access to back home. Bottom shelf, cheap stuff mostly. Did the job it was made to do but it wasn't quality.
[ didn't need to be when all you wanted it to do was make you forget so you could get a few hours of sleep. ]
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[ caroline's been spoiled in that regard. most of her liquor back home came pilfered from the salvatores' own supply — good, aged bourbon, either kept and aged at home or simply lifted from a liquor store with a kiss of compulsion.
she's had weak beer and cheap mixers at parties, of course, but that seems like a lifetime ago. before she'd died and come back, before alcohol became more than just an escape path, before it was a way of mitigating much stronger cravings. ]
Do you want another one?
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[ he can...figure something out. he has a little money earned from some odd jobs in new tokyo and he thinks he can probably get a job really quick which means he can buy at least one round.
maybe. ]
I can get us something. [ and if he can't afford it, he can wash dishes until the tabs paid off or something. ]
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[ marcos, please. have you seen her? she's a reasonably attractive girl in a bar populated mostly by dudes, she's pretty sure she could get a free bottle if she asked the right person.
which is, obviously, what she does, pulling away from their booth long enough to sidle up to an empty spot at the bar. it doesn't take long — maybe five minutes of friendly, flirtatious chatter before she's mentioning really wanting to try that brand of bourbon on the top shelf — the same brand that only comes in bottle pours, easily twice as expensive per ounce as the stuff she'd ordered on her own.
doesn't seem to stop a thirsty man from trying to win her over, though, so she's all smiles when the bartender hands it over. could she stay at the bar and give the man at least the courtesy of her attention for a few minutes more? well, sure, but she doesn't want to. more fun to scamper back to their booth, a pleased smile on her face as she sets the bottle in front of her companion. ]
You can get dessert, how about that?
[ there's a cute food truck down the street that sells rolled ice cream. she's been wanting to try it. ]
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but, as far as he can tell, this is just her using her personality and he watches on in amusement as the bartender just falls for it and gives her what he knows to be an expensive bottle of alcohol. she doesn't linger and soon enough, she's back at the table, bottle on the table between them. ]
You've done that before.
[ there was experience in how she'd worked that. ]
I'll buy you some dessert just for letting me watch that.
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[ she hasn't. well, not in this exact scenario, not literally using her charms and feminine wiles to walk away with a free bottle of booze. but she's certainly charmed her way into things before, and even without the benefit of compulsion, being able to zero in on someone whose heartbeat kicked up a few notches in her presence makes things a little easier.
but knowing that it works? that's half the battle. ]
You're always welcome to watch, you know. [ a wink, there and gone in a flash, as she reaches for their empty glasses to refill them. the pour this time is a little smaller. pace yourself, she wants to tell him. don't get yourself drunk under a table when there's no money on the line. ]
No dessert required.
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You've got better things to do than entertain me.
[ and that's a fact. she doesn't pour as much but he still tips it back quickly, ignoring her unspoken warning. ]
Trust me. You've got better things to do.
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[ though she does worry, a little, when he drops back another shot. this time, she doesn't refill either of their glasses. ]
There's no rush, you know. You don't have to get home by midnight or anything, do you?
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[ it's an automatic reaction, a wall thrown up just in case someone tries to step around it and get themselves closer than he wants. she wouldn't say that if she knew him so might as well just — just make that known.
but, he doesn't reach for another glass at least. he does stare at them intently so he doesn't have to look up at her and what he expects would be a concerned expression. ]
Can't get home, remember? [ they'd taken him (and her) from their homes. ] I'm fine though. I can handle it.
[ yeah right. ]
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[ okay, mr broody tuesday, you can tone down the grouch factor. she's not put off by it... mostly because she's an expert in Ignoring It. instead, caroline pours herself another glass, tipping it gently in his direction before taking a sip. ]
And you know what I meant.
[ back to the safehouse, not back to where they came from. if they wallowed in that misery, they'd never get out of it. all they can do is keep moving forward. persevere, like scarlett o'hara. ]
If you want another glass, you have to actually talk to me. I didn't get this so you could sulk.
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Talk to you about what?
[ he folds his hands in front of him and nods. if she wants to talk, he's been known to be able to do that here and there lately. he could hold a conversation without being a total jackass. ]
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I don't know. You said I don't know you, so let's change that. [ as if to entice, she drapes a half-pour into his glass, sliding it over to him. ] Or we can play 20 Questions, if you'd rather.
[ truly adult conversation starters ]
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[ he takes the drink and curls his fingers around it but doesn't immediately do anything but hold it. he taps the glass against the wood, thoughtful for a few seconds, before figuring out something easy he could tell her. ]
Soy de Bogotá, Colombia. Probablemente nunca hayas estado, pero a veces hace calor y está mojado e incómodo No es un lugar fácil para vivir a menos que conozcas a las personas adecuadas. Ah, y puedo hablar español.
[ he actually follows that with a smile because maybe she knows spanish, maybe she doesn't but he's pretty pleased with himself for going that route with some information. don't worry, he'd translate if needed. ]
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