everyonelives | the ground could open, he could still say please

First of all, thanks for that.

[He does like it when his physique is appreciated, he puts a lot of work into it.]

Second of all, it sounds like you've been through some fucked up shit.

[He's not quite able to translate all of this into vampire talk, but it's become obvious that he's been compelled at some point, which sucks. Compulsion is not one of the vampire tricks that Wes likes to use, and tends to only do it when he absolutely has to. Just because he's not on hunters' radar doesn't mean he wants to get there.]

But, the bright side about the world is that there's a lot of people around who have also been through fucked up shit. All you have to do is find your people who get that.

( The fucked up mundane shit and the fucked up supernatural shit. He's had a car ride, a surreal parental explosion they sidestepped and this time to think about it. It's early days when it comes to what would work for him next, he's just not used to what any freedom entails. He escaped Texas. He thought he escaped the army. He was captured all over again against his will and made in Klaus Mikaelson's image. He revealed something incredibly personal, something he didn't even know he was carrying with him. )

And if you thought you found your people, but it turned out the only thing you had in common was one big fat lie?

( This is far too complicated to go into right now. He downs that second shot and takes another sip of the beer he ordered. )

You know what, don't answer that. Just tell me about you. It sounds like you've been through some fucked up shit. I'd love to hear about it.

[The question about thinking you've found your people, and the thing in common being a lie resonates, even if his experiences don't explicitly reflect it. But when he asks about Wes's fucked up shit, well ... there's more than enough of that. He lets out a laugh before leaning back and trying to figure out where to start.]

Let's see. Disowned at sixteen, ran away, struggled for a while to find my place. Found a group of people that I thought could be a family, but they got me into something that ... definitely messed me up, more than I'd care to admit.

[But that's a conversation for when they're not dancing around the V-word.]

But eventually I did find my people. Better ones who actually gave a shit about me. Sometimes a little too much, but I'll take too much over not at all.

( It's striking how similar their beginnings are. He felt worlds away from everyone but in this moment in this night club, he feels closer to Wes. )

Yeah, I found people. ( Cooper. ) Coop's had my back from the jump. His father too to an extent.

( Maybe he found it. )

Maybe I'm not as lost as I think.

( It's not weak to embrace those who embrace you. )

I don't think we ever really are.

[It just feels like the world is crashing in on you sometimes, and that's a very valid feeling to feel. Or so his would tell him, if he managed to go to one for longer than a session.]

I think the world just feels far away sometimes. But it always comes back around, sooner or later. Live long enough, you figure that out.

Funny.

( Not that Wes knows why it's funny. )

Guess I don't know what I'm coming back around to. I didn't leave behind much. I'm from Texas.

Texas isn't bad.

[A beat.]

Well, some parts of Texas aren't bad. But I can't really talk. I'm from New Jersey.

Never been, what's it like.

( He's been sipping at his beer here and there, but sticking around for the conversation. Mia's somewhere with her friend and Cooper's with William. He can be with Wes. Better than being with his own thoughts. )

The part where I grew up? Not much going on. There will be pockets of civilization and then nothing but trees and sand for miles. You could escape to Philly or Atlantic City on the weekends, but not much.

[He shrugs.]

There's a reason why when I got kicked out I ran to the city, first Philly, then New York.

( Mickey's gaydar comes to a tepid (2), as he just feels for the other man, but can't see why anyone would kick Wes out ~~of bed for eating crackers~~. )

Who would kick you out?

[He laughs.]

My very religious parents who didn't like the idea of their son-in-law being married to their son rather than their daughter.

[It was a different time then. Sure it still happens, but much less than it used to, and that is a comfort in itself.]

Yeah, that would do it.

( Well hey. )

I didn't come out to mine. Just... enlisted.

I didn't technically either. I got caught.

[His old man did not enjoy that scene, not one bit. Honestly, he's surprised he made it out of town alive, if he's honest.]

But it was for the best. That family wasn't the right one for me, though I still talk to my sister sometimes.

I have two sisters and a brother. I send birthday cards.

( To his brother's nieces, too. )

It's good to keep in touch.

[His sister in her late seventies at this point, with grandkids and even a few great ones. He probably won't see her again until her funeral, but sometimes he gets a Christmas card.]

But it gets harder the older you get.

Yeah, I don't think that counts as keeping in touch.

( But he tries. He was a big coward, but he didn't want to put his life on his family. His siblings call. He tries. It's hard. His parents don't reach out. He thinks they know. )

And that's what I'm going to do. Get older and older.

It's a lot at first. But you get used to it after a while.

[Is that tipping his hand? Maybe. But he's never really been good at dancing around the idea in the first place.]

( Mickey thinks he's not far off as he drums his lapis bound finger (11) but he's not confident enough to ask anything further. )

So what happened after you ran away?

Went to New York. I was couch floating for a while, working odd jobs trying to keep myself afloat. Had to drop out of school so no diploma, but fortunately they weren't as big on that in those days.

Got this one gig for these old school rich folks. It was one of those too good to be true things. You just had to show up at this apartment and you'd walk away with enough money to make rent for a month in one night. Seemed too good to be true, but sometimes you get desperate.

[He leans forward, rolling up one sleeve so that Mickey can see the scar of a bite mark in his forearm.]

Turns out, they had a very specific ask for their hired hands.

( He expects it to be about sex, maybe something darker, but leaning forward he sees a clear indentation. His eyes trail upward. )

They were vampires?

[He nods.]

Very old, very fancy ones. They liked to serve dressed up street kids at their fancy vampire gatherings and paid them quite handsomely for it.

[He shrugs.]

They were nice enough, in a way that some farmers treat their cows well before they slaughter them.

That's disturbing.

( He can picture it, street kids begging for scraps in oversize clothes being -- served to the guests. )

You survived.

Survival is ... relative.

[Because technically he did survive them, but he is also still dead.]

Technically they aren't the ones who killed me, but they're the reason I'm not still dead.

[Time to call it what it is.]

( (13) As thick-headed as he's been, missing the signs, he doesn't miss it this time. )

What, did they pay you in their blood? Donate yours and we'll make sure if anything happens, you'll be able to do it again?

( Yeah, he hates them. )

So you're -

( They're alone at the bar, most people concerned with dancing or sitting a few seats away. The music pumps through the speakers as he still speaks with his eyes.

He looks down at his own hand, flexing, his lapis lazuli a glint in the green laser show around them. )

What are the chances?

Smaller than you think.

[Because it's true, there are a lot more vampires out there than most people realize. A lot of them are just way better at flying under the radar than vampires like the Salvatores and the Mikaelsons.]

And no, they paid us in cash. But they didn't want bodies tracked back to them, so sometimes they would give us some blood to make sure we didn't die. I just happened to leave one night and run into people who weren't as considerate.

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