rockandrollvampire | Drinking with Strangers

Drinking with Strangers

There are so many places one could visit in the Nexus that choosing can be a daunting ask for any newcomer.

Unless you're an immortal with a drinking ~~problem~~ habit. Then the choice is easy.

The Nexus is the textbook definition of 'choice overload' and any normal human would struggle with how decisively Toby is able to locate and settle in at the nearest bar whenever he steps through his portal. Being a vampire can be useful, and this is one of the few times that Toby will admit to that fact.

Alcohol, lots of alcohol, is very necessary for him at all times right now. Sobriety is the enemy of a heartbroken man and today is a day when it seems to dog him despite his best efforts, hence coming to the Nexus to rid himself of it.

The bar itself is nondescript, nothing special by any stretch of anyone's imagination. It has exactly enough space for the bar counter with a dozen seats and two small tables in front of that. Posters of bands and pictures of movie stars not from Toby's version of Earth plaster the walls, but that doesn't really matter to the vampire. So long as the gnome behind the counter keeps pouring something akin to whiskey into a glass for him, he'll make do.

"Barkeep, another. Please." Toby sighs heavily as he leans his elbows on the bar. He balances his empty rocks glass on the bottom edge as he waits impatiently for the tiny woman to finish up her conversation with another patron and pour his drink. This is the most sober he's been in months and he really needs that to stop now. The thoughts that come with a lack of alcohol in his system suck.

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"Then I must invite you to my storehouse. You can pick out your choice of the most aged batches..." Augustine gives Toby another charming smile.

He does not notice Toby's colder touch, since he does not remove his gloves for the handshake. He does smile a little wider at seeing Toby smile.

"You can call me Gus." He bows his head with a flourish.

He adds a generous tip to the coins on the table, when the bartender presents their bourbon for a toast. He returns the toast, with another smile, "To new friends. Most certainly."

Edited 2019-06-11 03:17 (UTC)

"That sounds heavenly." And that's not a term Toby uses lightly! Hell is a very real thing as far as he's been able to tell, so the idea of heaven being real isn't too outside the realm of possibility. "Anytime you're willing to have me, I'll be there."

An unusual nickname, but Gus' choice of clothing makes it quite suitable for him. "Gus it is then."

Toby clinks his glass to the other man's gently and then takes a reasonably human-sized drink. It's not quite as good as the whiskey Gus poured, but considering the small size of the bar they're at? It's very impressive.

"Lovely," he says with an appreciative hum. "Not as good as your whiskey, but better than anything I've been drinking so far today by a fair bit." He grins and then helps himself to another swig. "So, friend, what brings you out today? Other than rescuing me from an inattentive bartender."

"Well Toby, if you decide the night life is not your style, we can always retire to my study. And more of my whiskey."

Augustine sips at his bourbon. And bittersweet smile on his lips. "Trying my hardest to forget someone unforgettable. Or unforgiveable."

"Who says the night life has to involve going out for good liquor when the best is found when staying in?" Staying in alone isn't pleasant, but staying in with someone else and their delicious whiskey? That's something Toby can go for easily.

...well that's not something he can relate to at all. Really. He frowns sympathetically and takes a sip of his drink to collect himself a bit.

"My sympathies, Gus. I'm in much the same place these days." Fuck the universe for that one. Things were going so well until they suddenly weren't because of a single choice he made, one that he still feels was dangled in front of him on purpose by the asshole that is The Universe that loves to kick him around.

"I find the drink helps, if only to keep me from thinking too much on what's now missing from my life."

"The best nights in my life have been in my study, with good liquor, and a warm fire reminding me that everything eventually burns away..." Gus chuckles a little. Low and a little dark, if one truly contemplates on it.

"Ah. Well then definitely we were meant to find each other then. Lovers scorned who can drink together. Forget together."

"And perhaps we won't miss anything or anyone anymore."

Something in the way Gus says that catches Toby's attention. It's not often that humans, mortals especially, have a darkness in them the way this man seems to. Even if they do, it's often tempered with worries that are relegated to those who have a finite lifespan, who can't think beyond the eighty or so years they'll be alive. It's curious that he'd bump into someone else who views the grand scheme of things the way he does, but it seems the Nexus is good at offering up most anything a man could think of.

"Everything changes," the vampire agrees. He takes a sip of his bourbon then turns a dark smile of his own at his new friend. "It's the one true constant of the universe."

Mention of being a lover scorned makes Toby frown again. "Afraid I can only sympathize with you on being scorned. I'm more of a 'love lost' kind of man, but I've been there with the scorn. It's not easy, and the drink is equally helpful." Usually in creating said scorned lovers, but that's something that can't be avoided when you live for hundreds of years.

"Forgetting someone like my lover," or anyone, really, given the nature of his curse of a consistent memory, "is impossible. I'll happily take the distraction for a night, though." A night spent drinking with someone who understands will be good, if only to have a listening ear when the drink really starts to hit him in an hour or so.

Toby raises his glass one last time to his new friend and throws back the rest of the bourbon. He hisses a slow exhale as the burn starts to subside, then pushes himself to his feet and nods away from the bar. Time to hide away with someone for the first time in ...God, must be over a year at this point.

"Let's get out of here. This place is a dive in the best of ways, but I hear your whiskey and fireplace calling my name."

"Ah. Another unforgettable lover. I wonder if yours was as unforgivable as mine was." Gus finishes his drink. And leaves behind a generous tip for the bartender.

He places a hand behind Toby's back, and smiles at him. In that Brothers in Arms sort of way. "Certainly. My carriage is outside."

Yes. He has a horse-drawn carriage awaiting him. An unusual sight in the Nexus of all places. But it is what he seems comfortable with. Once they board, he nods to the driver, the only instruction the quiet, lean man needs to get the horses moving. They head towards an area of the Nexus that seems to cater to those of a different century. For it seems even they need security and a place to stay.

Gus has a large, expensive-looking place that is hidden away down a lonely street in that area of the Nexus. And staff that greets him when they arrive.

"Shall we?" He grins at Toby again, heading inside and towards his study. The butler at the door taking his hat, coat and gloves.

Toby scoffs at that. "Only if you count his snoring. Trying to fall asleep after that started was always a challenge."

...what. He's not going to say nice things about Dorian all the time, no matter how much he misses him.

A carriage? Toby feels like he's stepping back to a time he's long since left behind. One he watched evolve and change several times over during the long span of his life. His eyebrows reach his hairline as they approach the carriage and climb inside. "Impressive, even by standards I'm used to." Having lived on the coattails of many a nobleman and woman in the past, it's hard to impress him with displays like this. Whatever Gus does for a living, he does it well if he can afford luxury like this. Or so Toby assumes. He's still a little unsure how the whole money thing works in the Nexus.

The hidden street makes him grin as they make their way toward the large house at the end of it. He turns to Gus and teases, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to hide from the rest of the Nexus is in a place like this. That, or you were hoping for more... private time with me."

There's no shame or uncertainty in Toby's voice. He knows he's a beautiful man by many standards and this certainly wouldn't be the first time someone had bought him a drink and asked him to come home with them. If that's not the case, then the vampire will shrug off his insinuation and move on. Gus is excellent company and offering a quiet evening with a fine whiskey at the very least, and Toby can always appreciate the beauty of his new friend as they drink the night away.

He lets the butler at the door take his leather jacket before following after Gus. He feels a bit under dressed in his jeans and long-sleeved striped shirt, but there's nothing that can be done about it now. Besides, it's not like he knew he was going to get picked up in some form or another before he went out tonight.

"You have a beautiful home," he notes as he follows his friend to the study. "This place rivals the house I used to live in until recently, but you'll excuse me for saying I love that place more, still." He offers Gus a rueful smile. "The heart lets go of favored places poorly."

"Private time is always a pleasure." Gus smiles at the bold statement. He definitely has found good company for the night. Whatever might come of it. Even if it is just some gentle flirting and fine whiskey.

"Ah. It is a bit massive at times. Empty rooms reminding me of my loneliness." The large study is themed with dark blues, and prominent in one corer is a drinking table.

"Well... let us hope you have room for a new favored place."

Edited 2019-06-11 23:06 (UTC)

Flirting is a given when Toby's involved. What else may come of the night, though... that's something the vampire couldn't even begin to guess at yet. He hasn't wanted companionship other than someone to drink with at a bar since he accepted the fact that he'll never be with Dorian again, so a night like this has the potential to go very far or come to a hard stop if one person is looking for more than the other.

"Let's at least fill your study with better memories, shall we?" He throws an encouraging smile in Gus' direction as they step into the room. It's well manicured and Toby's eyes roam over everything appreciatively. Yes, this is the kind of house he could easily find himself settling into.

"I'll try to find some optimism beneath the heartache," he jokes, his tone a bit dark. The corner of his lip tugs up into a grin. "Whiskey has a curative effect to that end. It lifts a surprising amount of weight when applied liberally to a broken heart."

Gus takes a seat at his drinking table, and hums to himself as he brings out a new bottle of fine whiskey. There is a warm fire nearby, giving the area a slight glow.

"Enough of broken hearts, less they weigh our minds for the evening." He pours two glasses, and gestures to Toby to sit down.

"I imagine we could find much more interesting conversation."

The warmth of the fire is a welcome thing. Not being able to produce his body heat makes him always inch towards it when he's able to, which is why Toby shifts his seat around the table so he can have his back as close to the fireplace as possible.

"I'd imagine so," he agrees with a chuckle. Taking his glass in hand - and being very care to not let his fingers touch Gus' now that the man has taken off his gloves - the vampire raises his glass in toast.

"To making new memories," he offers with a small smile, "and avoiding loneliness for as long as possible." His smile pulls a little wider before he takes a long sip of his whiskey, exhaling a content breath at the way it burns oh so nicely down the back of his throat.

Once they've both had a chance to sip at their whiskey a bit, Toby turns his full attention to his host for the evening. "Tell me, if it's not too bold for your tastes, what exactly is it that you do? Your home is beautiful and your whiskey selection top shelf. Did you find your fortune in the Nexus? Or was this place a lucky find after the fact?"

It is a nice big fire. And Toby is more than welcome to claim a spot for himself near it. Gus watches the flames dance, content to watch 'everything burn' as he put it beforehand.

"To new memories..." Gus returns the toast. And sips at his whiskey. Just enjoying the taste of it, as the drink goes down his throat.

He chuckles lightly. "To find fortune in the Nexus -- now I thought that was unperceivable. Very few here seem to care about wanting money. So many give of themselves without thought of repayment."

"I own a few dozen distilleries. What can I say? I found a new love..." He tips his glass at Toby in another toast.

The corner of Toby's lips tug into a grin. "A love like that is one to hold onto. No man with a hand and heart full of whiskey can be in a truly bad spot when it fills his pockets, too." Really, how could owning a distillery that makes fine liquor be a bad thing for any person who loves to drink it?

He takes a long, slow sip of his whiskey, drawing out the flavor as much as possible for the sheer pleasure of it, then arches a curious eyebrow at Gus. "Anything else keeping you occupied here in the Nexus? Running a distillery is all well and good, but it can't take all your time, else you'd never have picked me up in that bar."

Why, yes, Toby is going to keep suggesting that there's a chance at something more this evening. It still may not come to fruition, but that doesn't mean he's about to stomp out the possibility for it.

"Oh I have my amusements. A few projects on my plate." Gus smiles. "They do keep me occupied."

"But none are as interesting as you, dear Tobias." Gus is definitely keeping the possibility of something more on the table.

"Perhaps you can help me claim an interest in previous passions."

Toby's grin pulls wider around another sip of his whiskey. This is a much better evening than bar hopping until he stumbled his way back into his apartment when he'd had his fill of alcohol for the night.

"Tell me more about these passions, and I'll see what I can do."

Gus leans back in his chair, and swirls his whiskey in his glass. "My passions are like my whiskey... dignified, a little dry, dark, spicy, but with a delicate balance that keeps life interesting."

"Any of that catch your interest?"

Toby leans forward under the guise of resting his elbows on the table as Gus speaks, watching the man closely. Whatever his aim is for the evening, he's good at playing this flirting game they've begun.

"All of it does, but you knew that already." He chuckles and finishes off the whiskey in his glass, then sets it in front of Gus for another pour.

"Tell me a bit more about the darkness you're looking for while you pour me another," he begins slowly, "and I'll let you call me Toby from here on in." A nickname given to a rare few, and Gus has more than earned the use of it already.

"Ah, but wouldn't you rather hear me whisper Tobias in your ear, as I hold you close?" Gus chuckles lowly, leaning in himself to keep his tone playful, conspiratorial, and a little predatory.

And he fills Toby's glass again.

"Would my darkness frighten you? To know that I am skilled with binding a person. That the sight blood does not bother me, in the slightest. That it excites me?" Gus sighs a little. "That I have a fancy for a little knife play. Or to feel the heat of the fire dance on my fingers?"

"Depends on my mood, really." And who exactly he's taking to bed. Not everyone gets the nickname after all. "But if Tobias is what you prefer, I'll not stop you."

Toby helps himself to a sip of whiskey while he listens. If Gus thought he would find any kind of concern or fear, he's about to be surprised.

"Blood's never bothered me in the least. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it is mine." He leans a little further forward onto the table, lowering his voice as he gets closer to the other man. "You'll find I'm not one easy to draw from, but I enjoy the rougher side of life. No pleasure comes without hardship, and sometimes that means a little pain."

Gus smiles wider as Toby confesses his own pleasures. "I am quite good at reading one's mood."

"And I am glad to hear you do. I enjoy being rough. And the thrill of sharing in a little pain... to let it consume you... ah, my dear Toby, there is nothing finer. Well, perhaps with the exception of my whiskey." Gus grins.

He reaches out and stays his fingers through Toby's hair. And tightens his grasp, as a little test of what they both might be venturing in.

"I wish nothing more to be rough with you."

Warm fingers in his hair is something that Toby has sorely missed since losing Dorian. He doesn't let himself get close enough to most anyone for them to touch him in this way, let alone have the ability to impart this intimate gesture. Not in the way it's happening down, at least.

Reflexively, when Gus tugs at his hair with those same warm fingers, Toby reaches up with a speed much too quick for a human to grab the other man's arm. There's no way for Toby to hide his cool skin with this touch, but that's not really on his mind right this second.

"Then ask for it," he murmurs, tugging the other man closer to him with a strength that doesn't match his frame. The grin he fixes Gus with has a dark edge to it. "Do that, and I'll offer the same in return in ways you can't even imagine."

Slowly and with very deliberate movements, Toby stands and takes a few steps around the table closer to Gus. His grin stays in place, but there's an addition to it as he approaches; White fangs flash briefly over the corners of his lips before disappearing as if they were never there. Blink once, there they are. Blink again and they're gone.

He wasn't planning on being a monster tonight, but if someone's going to ask for it rough and tell him they enjoy the sight of blood? It's hard for Toby to resist.

"Care to see how deep my darkness runs?"

Gus gives a little surprised grunt when Toby grabs his arm. His eyes note how quickly Toby had made the action. There is a satisfied smile on Gus' face that can not be explained at the discovery.

"Ah. You desire a more direct approach." Gus has a toned frame, so it is not difficult for him to be tugged closer.

He watches as Toby stands and moves closer. He chuckles lowly. Not afraid by any presence of fangs. Even when they disappear quickly.

"Show me yours... and I show you mine..." Gus parts his knees. And reaches out to pull Toby closer to him.

It's a dangerous game they're playing, but for the first time in a very long time, Toby feels like his playmate won't crumple under the weight of it. Stupid, reckless, dangerous, or not, the door's been opened and the vampire is ready to step through it.

"Gladly."

Toby flashes a grin, his fangs on full display, as he quickly shifts his grip to hold Gus in place. One hand on the back of his jaw, the other at his waist. No matter how much anyone wants this (and some of them very much do), there's always a small jump when he pierces the skin. It's a natural reaction to being bitten, one any prey has when a predator takes hold. Toby's seen it hundreds, thousands of times over the past three centuries without fail, and he's certain this time will be no different.

Funny how he can be so right and so wrong at the same time, because what happens next is far from the vampire is expecting.

The tension he feels in Gus as he sinks his teeth into the man's jugular is the same reaction he's felt every time, but the taste that follows is not. Gus, human as he might look, is not a normal man. The blood that flows from his neck is green in color and tastes more like the morphine Toby has used in the past to numb the pain than the life giving nectar he's accustomed to when he tastes someone. The warm liquid that runs over his tongue is all wrong for a human, but it leaves him feeling the beginnings of euphoria, of a numbness that hits all the right triggers to be good, and an apathy that makes it impossible to focus on or realize he's in any pain.

It's all wrong, but it's also so right. It's something he's wanted without realizing it, and it brings out the monster in him that he's always trying to deny.

He pulls greedily at Gus' neck, ignoring all else in the world that isn't him sating his hunger for more. The blood he tastes doesn't take the edge off his need for a meal, but it takes away everything else that pains him. The heartache, the loneliness, the need for drink to wash it all away. It takes from him and Toby wants it to. He wants to lose himself to whatever the hell this high is that's beginning inside of him and he doesn't want to let up for a second.

But eventually he has to let go, to pull back and take a single necessary breath - and laugh. It's completely inexplicable. There's no reason to laugh right now, but there he stands anyway, trails of green down his chin as he takes a step back from Gus to throw is head back and laugh. Maybe it's the absurdity of this moment, the small patch of pure white skin he sees on Gus' neck, or the fact that he's found someone who seems to be as ruthless and monstrous as he is without really trying. Does it matter?

Not one goddamned bit.

Eat your heart out, Universe. This monster is about to have some fun.

Still laughing, Toby grins and takes the other man's face between his hands. His hands are lukewarm compared to the cool they were before, but the most noticeable change in the vampire is the way his eyes are dilated and his cheeks lightly flushed. What small amount of restorative power Gus' blood has in it has given Toby at least that much, but any thoughts about what that means will have to wait for the apathy to all things that aren't the high he's feeling right now to fade.

"What are you?" he asks between smaller bouts of laughter. "What monster are you to manage this with someone like me?" And can he have more?

Gus seems to be destined to continue to surprise Toby. He doesn't even flinch in the slightest at the bite. If anything he arches into it... and grasps his fingers into Toby's hair as the vampire takes blood over him.

He sighs low and contently... quite satisfied with the situation at hand, as Toby drinks greedily from him. There is a moment of pure clarity for Gus, as he feels his own euphoria of the vampire's bite. A sensation that he has never felt before in his entire life.

Gus leans back and watches with interest as Toby laughs without reason. It amuses him to see the other man to be so free. To laugh as nothing else matters in the world.

With a fluid movement, Gus stands and pushes Toby up against the nearest wall. And grins. "The Devil Dances Whenever He Pleases..." It seems to be a special phrase. As the appearance of Gus appears. And in seconds, the man who has Toby in his grasp is quite different. Chalky white skin. Green spiked hair. And a twisted, cut smile on his face.

"This kind of Monster..." He plants a hungry kiss against Toby's lips."

The change in appearance is unexpected, but far less than being pushed around like this. No one he's been with in a very long time has the strength to push him around without him letting them do so. A wide grin splits his lips as he grabs hold of Gus' hips, not to stop the man from doing exactly as he is but to make sure he himself doesn't lose focus.

This is absurd. Completely absurd. What the Hell is happening? And why the fuck doesn't he care?

Somewhere in his mind he vaguely recognizes Gus for who he really is. Never one for comics himself, it's impossible for Toby not to know about such an iconic character. Right now, however, his mind is far too gone to really take it in and give a damn.

It's the kiss that does him in, if he were able to think about it. The hunger, the forcefulness, the passion he feels being poured into him through it. God, it's everything he's missed since he lost his soulmate and it's the one and only thing that could trip him into wanting this with anyone but Dorian.

This may be a terrible mistake, but Toby really can't give a single shit about it right now. Not with a temptation he's been denying for so long dangling in front of him, begging for him to go for it.

He answers the hunger with a kiss of his own, his arms sliding around Gus' torso to hold him tight against himself. He can only somewhat control his strength right now, distracted as he is and with a muffled laughter still pouring from him between the first set of kisses and the next. But again... he doesn't care. Whatever is happening now, Toby is all in on it.

When they finally part, the vampire's eyes are wide and his hands are already tugging insistently at any patch of fabric they can find on the other man. "Be my monster," he murmurs, chuckling as the last syllable falls from his lips. Of all the things he never thought he'd say in his life, that's right near the top. "I don't care what happens afterward. All I want is this and now."

Gus seems to have his own enhanced strength. If Toby pushes back, of course the vampire would be able to overpower him. But the other man is definitely stronger than most humans are.

And he would be thrilled to know that he was somewhat recognized. But right now, he has something more important on his mind.

With a rip of fabric, Gus tears off the shirt off Toby's chest. And grins, that twisted little grin of his. "I do hope you are a screamer. Because we are about to have some fun..."

Toby's chest is incredibly pale with very few marks to blemish it. What few scars there are scattered around are small and don't give away how very old the vampire is. A gift, as it were, for being a monster.

If Gus is going to start tearing clothes off - literally - then Toby's not about to hold back either. With another laugh, he begins to tear the other man's clothes apart seam by seam. His laughter grows with each section of skin he reveals and his fingers work eagerly to get them both to more.

"If you want a scream, you're going to have to work for it. I don't give anything that's not earned." A challenge? A promise? Both?? Any could be the truth, but the vampire isn't about to pause long enough to explain. No, there are lips to be kissed while clothes are ripped to shreds and Toby's eager to get to that.

If Toby thinks he is pale --- Gus takes it to a whole new level. As his clothes are torn off, more and more of that ghostly pale skin is revealed. The other man is lean, with tones muscles. And no visible scars on his skin.

And there is a dagger belt hanging at his hip, and he chuckles lowly. He pins both of Toby's hands for a moment, while letting the dagger belt drop to the ground.

But there is one dagger left in Gus' deft fingers. And he runs the blade up Toby bare skin, with another low chuckle.

"Oh. Sweetheart. Screams that are earned are so much sweeter."

This. Is. Crazy.

Why, again, does he not care? Why does this feel like it's going to be so much... fun?

He grabs hold of Gus' wrist, pinning the flat of the blade against his skin as he tugs the man in for another hard kiss. He cringes briefly in pain as the movements of his body cause the dagger to leave a long slit in his skin along its edge. Having recently fed (though admittedly on something that was very much not normal for him), a small amount of blood flows from the wound and down the length of Toby's body. But honestly? Other than the pain, it's hardly anything to be noticed.

"Slice all you want, but no stabbing," he says firmly between a bit of laughter. This so isn't funny, but God is it going to be good and so worth the need to go out from a proper vampiric meal after this. "Stab wounds are Hell to heal from, and we've no time for that now."

"Oh Toby, darling, this is a beginning of a beautiful relationship." Gus grinned. He leans down to lick the blood off Toby's chest. It felt exhilarating to be able to be as wild as he wanted to be. And to have such a wonderful participating partner to explore the darkness with.

[Fade to black]

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Drinking with Strangers

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CW: Blood, drug use/experience

Trigger Warnings continue...

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CW for this one as well >>;

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