[C] Old Friends

Doc sat at the bar quietly, Patch knew well enough on nights like this to just keep the drinks coming.

He sipped at his whiskey and picked at a bowl of bar mix that the bartender had put in front of him, slowly eating all of the peanuts.

When Ian sat down next to him he didn't acknowledge the man, he didn't understand why he was here other than to give him his case back.

Deacon knew himself, he couldn't have just one night, not when it came to Ian. Sure he could have fun tonight but tomorrow morning it would hurt all over again, he wouldn't pull the man through this life style anymore.

Instead he would rather just not have one night, perhaps he could shake it off if they just went back to avoiding each other again.

Ian reached over to the bowl of bar mix and picked up a peanut. He turned it in his fingers slowly.

"Never did like peanuts. It was always your job to eat all the peanuts so I could have everything else."

He bit into the peanut, though, chewing it slowly.

"Nope, still don't like them."

He swiped Doc's whiskey and took a little sip.

Deacon's gaze turned over to Ian as he spoke and stole his drink.

"Just going to pretend like it's old times and everything is alright?"

He asked dully as he rolled his eyes and turned back to the bowl, pushing Ian's hand away from it as he continued to pick at the contents.

He was frustrated and confused, at the end of the day he just didn't have to energy to play Ian's games.

"Don't think I could manage to make everything seem all right if I tried."

His gaze dropped to Doc's hand as his own was pushed away.

"But I do miss you, Dea. I pulled a dick move three years ago and I don't expect forgiveness or even a welcoming of any kind."

"I miss you and I was just shown that even if I wanted a happy, cheerful life that I broke away from all this for, I cant have it. I came on too strong to a girl and she ran away. Literally jumped out of my lap and ran away."

He reached for the bar mix again. "Threw me. When was the last time someone ran away from me when I was making out with them? I can't do nice life if I have to worry about my partners running away from me when I try to get it on."

"Good, because I don't think I can forgive you at the moment."

The wounds were cut deep and it took quite a lot to even make a scratch on the Warlock.

"That the Vampire chick Abene was bitching about?"

He asked idly as he took his drink back and sipped at it, Abene had mentioned that he was hitting on some lady Vampire before Ian swooped in a took her.

No doubt Abene was harassing the poor girl, he always came on too strong.

"Vampire chick? Abene's talking out of his ass. She's a nurse at the donor clinic. Day-time shifts, doesn't wear jewellery."

Ian waved down the bartender and ordered himself a whiskey.

"She just ordered a real Bloody Mary by mistake and was too polite to say anything about it. But yeah, it was here. Literally jumped off me like my dick had burnt her through her clothes."

Deacon just shrugged, he knew well enough that Abene talked a lot of trash.

"Bartenders wouldn't be handing out a human blood, and if they are Tony is going to be pissed."

The bartenders were trained to be able to tell exactly who to give the real ones too.

"You asked her why?"

"The club was packed. Bartender was a shifter anyhow. Our senses aren't great when we're in a place with a lot of people."

Ian snorted softly.

"Haven't had the chance to. She hasn't answered any of my texts."

He'd been left well alone. Not even a peep from her.

"You should just stop being a wuss and go talk to her, you know where she works, no use being all hung up about it."

It was hard giving Ian relationship advice especially since they had only just started talking to one another again.

"Sure there is a reason, you're not ugly enough just to scare someone off."

"Yeah, I know. I just don't want a kick in the balls when she drops me like a hot rock, you know?"

His lips curled up into a grin as he swiped the peanut Doc had just picked up.

"Not like you, huh, witch?" he asked playfully, tossing the peanut for Doc to catch in his mouth.

"Man up."

He replied, rolling his eyes a little, if he was that upset then he needed to deal with it before it became a real issue.

Doc's lips pursed when his peanut was stolen, he knew well enough what was coming next.

"Bitch please, I'm gorgeous."

He replied sarcastically as he caught the peanut in his mouth and chewed it happily.

"Uh-huh. Whatever helps you rest at night, I suppose."

He tossed another peanut at the Scot.

"Gorgeous until you open that gaping maw in your face. That accent could put even the most horny person off." He grinned at Doc as he tossed a third peanut at him.

Picking on each other's accents had always been something they had fun doing.

The Scot and the Aussie got a lot of stick for their accents.

Deacon snorted a laugh as he missed the second peanut.

"Oh please, I've picked up plenty of guys because of my accent, they love it. Yours on the other hand is an abomination."

He replied, his normal grin appearing on his face again.

This time he caught the peanut and chewed on it slowly.

"Yes, such an abomination." His usually mild accent thickened to an almost painful degree as he spoke, just to poke at Doc.

For the rest of the night, his accent would be as thick as shit just to annoy the Scot.

"People love my accent. Way more than they love yours. Hey, bartender, settle a dispute for us, will ya? Which of our accents are better?"

"They love yours because you sound like an idiot when you speak."

He replied with a snorted laugh before looking over at Patch.

The bartender shook his head at both of them as he cleaned a glass.

"You both sound stupid."

He replied, his own accent was heavily Irish.

"Ah, that's the perfect Irish warmth that I miss, Patch. Lay some love on me and give me a glass of the good Irish stuff on the house?"

He knew he was cruising to get a fist to the face. He'd always had this cheekiness with Patch, though. The man had suffered him for eight years.

Ian leant against the bar and turned his gaze to Doc.

"You know he thinks your accent is worse, right?"

"Yeah go fuck y'self mate."

Patch wasn't in the habit of handing out free drinks, let alone his good stock.

Deacon laughed, Patch looked like he was going to hit Ian over the head with the glass he was washing.

As a rule, you never pissed off Patch, less so when he had some sort of object to use as a weapon.

"All he is thinking about it way to knock you out."

Ian knew that rule well.

But, as it were, he was always cheeky. He just couldn't not be cheeky. It was just in his nature. Patch had suffered it a lot in the past decade.

"Yeah, but that isn't new."

Patch was always trying to think of ways to murder him when he was around.

Ian tossed another peanut at Doc.

Deacon wasn't paying attention and the peanut bounced off of his nose and onto the floor.

"One day he is going to knock you on your ass and I'm just going to laugh at you."

There was no doubt about that, there was only so far that you could push Patch's patience.

"Been there, done that."

Patch had punched him out a few times in the past and Doc had dragged his sorry ass upstairs to patch him up.

"So how's business? Found yourself someone new?"

Ian was curious, but also secretly dreading the answer.

"You think you would have learned by now."

He replied, shaking his head with a chuckle, Patch packed quite a punch.

"Business is fine I suppose, spending more time selling blood to the coven, they're getting quite big now so it keeps me busy, plus I supply most of the town now too."

Deacon's lips kicked up into a little half smile.

"Nah, just me."

"Nah. I never learn the important stuff."

Ian wasn't one to learn the important stuff about self-preservation. Especially not with Patch. He always managed to piss off Patch.

"You're in the blood business now?" Doc had fun being part of the drug business. Going into selling something clean like blood didn't seem like Doc's jam.

It seemed like Doc had grown a little since they'd split.

"Really?" He thought Doc would have found some type of partner again.

"Yeah well, Tony needed a supplier that knew how to be discrete about everything and I have a few connections in the blood industry so I took over supplying that."

He replied with a shrug, it was good, easy money and it meant a lot less hunting going on around town.

"I'm still cooking though."

It was best not to delude Ian into thinking he had changed, the man wanted a clean life and he deserved to have it.

"Yeah, haven't had a real partner in a fair while, I fool around with the guys at the club though, mainly Dario, helps him pay the bills."

He hadn't had a real partner since Ian, he didn't want one.

"If you need someone to help with deliveries for that, I should be able to make some time."

Being a courier for blood wasn't something that would get him in any type of shit. Not like the drugs that Doc was delving into when he split. He could go around delivering blood.

Blood deliveries and drug stuff had to be separate, right? The blood would have to be clean and uncontaminated.

He could do blood delivering if it was separate.

"I know. They share stories. Seems like none of them have gone for the obvious, though, huh?"

Deacon gave a little shrug.

"The works there if you need it but I'm holding up alright, I don't want you getting involved in things again."

He had done well so far in keeping his life fairly clean, if that was his desire then he wouldn't go a ruin it for him by dragging him back.

"I figured they would gossip, some of them don't know about me and I want to keep it that way."

Deacon had always been very secretive about his real species and intentions, the only ones who really knew where Ian and Tony.

A small smirk curled at his lips as he gave a nod.
"They're good enough fucks but they don't know my body like you did."