coming at you fast, midnight

[cosmiccon]

Comments

[pumping]

( New vampire friend is generous. Mickey is making effort to not hope it's more. He just met the guy. He's new to everything Wes has lived through. He's not asking for a mentor or for pity. Or, vampire charity. But, he felt sparks. There were sparks, right? No, he's not overthinking.

He's just changing the four shirts he has on him.

Should he have gone shopping?

Maybe changing the jacket will help. )

Could never get enough of it, now it's more like a placeholder. Still tastes good, though, which surprised me.

Do you cook?

( And then, is he asking about cooking? He's probably just asking about inviting him to dinner. Why did he ask about cooking. )

I think food makes a good promise for a date.

( What does that mean.

He tosses his phone away, then. He tears off his jacket. )

[mojitos]

I do, but I thought that if you're going to be sticking around a while, I could show you some of the best places for food, if you're into that.

[He's squinting at that date comment, regretting text being the main form of communication here because tone would say a lot and Wes doesn't know him well enough to read into it.

What happened to phone calls? He always enjoyed a good phone call.]

Food or live music. Those are your choices for tonight's adventure.

[pumping]

( he's always liked a good adventure. )

I can't be greedy and say both? Adventure implies a map. Hidden treasure. More than one destination. Not that we're pulling from the Odyssey or Indiana Jones.

( is that being difficult. )

But if I have to choose Holy Grail-style, I choose live music.

[mojitos]

Music it is, then.

[And he'll drop a pin for their first stop on their music adventure.]

Wear good shoes. We're going to be doing some walking.

[And with that, those are all the hints that Mickey will get.]

[pumping]

( That's it? That's all he gets. Well, he does like a good mystery when it's wrapped in a bingeable package. This is first in-person real life one. Hunting for Monroe didn't count as a mystery. Those were orders given and followed up on. He didn't grow up in the life like Cooper.

Fashion-wise, he stays away from being tactical and puts on a fashionable jacket - all dark colors, and boots his feet feel comfortable in.

Being the ex-military hunter-in-training and being new to Seattle he gets turned around (9), but manages to walk himself to where the pin awaits him, luckily. If only his own dot were easier to follow. He's only five to ten minutes late because he arrived so early. Or thought he had anyway.

Is someone waiting here for him? )

[mojitos]

[Someone is, because Wes doesn't like to leave friends of any capacity waiting. The bar itself seems a bit run down, but has a punk rock vibe, much different from the polished angles and lux atmosphere of Verdant.

Wes smiles when he sees him, before holding up a finger.]

Okay, so we're getting this out of the way so we can get the making fun of me out of the way, but performing here tonight is the best Bon Jovi cover band not from New Jersey.

[pumping]

( The bar's much more his style, so everyone gets points there. )

Was I supposed to be making fun of you? I love Bon Jovi.

[mojitos]

This far west and this far past their prime, you never know.

[But he seems pleased that they have similar taste in music.]

Do you have similar feelings about the Boss?

[... Look he grew up in New Jersey in the eighties. He's going to be predictable in at least that aspect.]

[pumping]

I fuck with Springsteen. But, a bigger Led fan. Lynyrd. Blue Oyster Cult.

( He's a miniature Dean Winchester with his tastes. Oh, and --

He points to Wes. )

Country?

[mojitos]

I grew up in the sticks in New Jersey, so sometimes? But I'm willing to bet most of my tastes there are a bit outdated.

[South Jersey does love their line dancing though.]

[pumping]

Vampire territory?

( To each his own when it comes to music. He likes his guilt pleasures, too. But like he's going to drop the catchy Meghan Trainor bomb on date one. )

[mojitos]

The things you love when you're a teenager stick with you in a way that nothing else does.

[So that music is always going to be a part of him.]

And sadly, I am really just a very handsome but old man.

[pumping]

I've heard that.

( Now his parents' tastes make sense. )

I don't see anything sad.

( And old has now become relative. )

And I always liked em older.

( Women for... a long time. But, older. This tracks in his sexual awakening. )

[mojitos]

[Well that is good to know. He seems to take that with interest, before waving towards the door of the club.]

C'mon. Let's go grab a beer.

[pumping]

( Or five, to calm his nerves. But, he nods and follows behind, taking in the sound of the bar he's been brought to, still every bit the new vampire. It takes him a split second as he pauses in the entrance to push through the music and the crowd (12) and keep his extra senses in check. )

Sorry. How old do I sound if I tell you high volume full capacity still challenge me.

( He says it with a side smirk, not intending to ditch out on this date. He just needed the moment. )

I'm good now.

[mojitos]

[Wes shakes his head because he remembers how that goes. Hearing is the one thing that never really adjusts the way you hoped.]

I avoided clubs and bars for months while I tried to get a handle on things. I don't blame you for finding it overwhelming.

[He leans at the bar to flag down the bartender to get their first round.]

Booth or table?

[pumping]

( He spent a lot of time to himself in the barracks, he didn't get to teach himself how to be a vampire. Now he has time to himself while his best friend shacks up at his boyfriend's shack. )

Let's get a booth. Keep you close.

[mojitos]

[Wes nods, before glancing around until he spots one of his favorites, tucked away from the full force of the stage but still close enough that they can see. He slides into the side with his back to the stage, since he's been here and seen this show before, propping his back against the wall as he sips his beer.]

Get out to see live music a lot back in Texas?

[pumping]

( Mickey slides in, giving him a polite amount of space he hopes to lessen as the night continues. )

Me? No. We couldn't really afford it. My brother took me one night to White Oak Music Hall. We didn't have tickets, he just parked us outside. You could hear everything from the parking lot. I fully believed the people tailgating had a better time than the people with actual tickets.

[mojitos]

You are not wrong. I have tailgated many an Eagles game in my time, and it was always way more fun in the parking lot than it was in the stadium. And you saved so much money.

[Football tickets are expensive.]

[pumping]

Philadelphia, right?

( He nods, peeling at his beer label. He brings a hand up, defeated already. )

Cowboys.

( It has been years since being a Cowboys fan has paid off. He was not alive... But, he loves what he loves! )

We like classic rock and football? Are we sure we're gay?

( Maybe Wes can tell, but Mickey is new to all of this having discovered it under Monroe's tutelage. )

[mojitos]

[Wes makes a face before shaking his head.]

I'm going to pretend you didn't say that.

[Because why the Cowboys. Apparently this is going to be their enemies to lovers story.]

About the Cowboys, I mean. As for whether or not I'm sure, I've done enough exploring to confirm it.

[pumping]

I didn't. Did I? Do I need to call Klaus and beg him to compel the guy I'm on a date with? Not sure how that will go.

( Shit, did he fuck himself? )

I'll just say me, too, and then we can get back to you liking what I say. Or, how I look, or whatever you liked about me before I mentioned the C word.

[mojitos]

[He laughs.]

Nothing that extreme. Just a reflex that's hard to break.

[When you're raised by die-hard Eagles fans, you don't tolerate the Cowboys. That's just how it is. They just won't talk about football, it's fine.]

When I was growing up, we took football very seriously.

[pumping]

Same. Every Sunday, Thursday, and Monday. Religiously.

( He grew up on it. )

Can I ask, after everything, what do you do with your family? You don't age. Is that it?

( As far as his family is concerned, he's deployed. )