of liquor & wynne

“I don’t know if I like this logic of yours,” Katherine said with a laugh, “But fine, since it’s your birthday I’ll do it, eventhough that means you probably have to eat the same pasta dish for three nights in a row,” she chuckled, “But I still want the bread, maybe this time you can actually teach my how to make one on my own,” she smiled.

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“What? You wanna make me happy, don’t you?” he said with a grin. “I’ll still make you your bread and even show you how to bake it, but it’s gonna be a lot of precise measurements and following the recipe,” he warned. “So, you know, if you think you can handle that, then yeah, I’ll show you.”

“You would be surprised. I spent the majority of my university course drunk.” Alec admitted and chuckled. “Two hours sleep and a can of redbull to get over the pending hangover and I was good to go.” He listened to the other man speak and chuckled. “No voices that I am aware of but yes a lot going on in my mind.”

“Oh, well, I spend the majority of my waking hours drunk, so you know,” he said as he raised his beer before bringing it back to his lips. “It’s amazing what the turnover time in college is. When you’re twenty-one and don’t need something like sleep,” he nodded. “As long as there’s no extra voices in there.”

“I will have to ask her, worst case she may be able to help me find some good stuff from designers I would never know about. This is literally the first time in my life I’ve ever even needed to dress nicely other than an occasional wedding. Dressing the part is half of it, and given the—–character I’m playing I think it’s important i’m wearing good stuff” he explained. “The pool is pretty nice. But you can guarantee I’m going to be taking a week or two trip to California at some point. You and Kat ever want to have a joined vacation out there, let me know. I’ll find a girl to bring so i’m not a total third wheel” he laughed at the thought of it just being him with the couple. “The hard work is worth it the second the official holds my hand up at the end of the fight and I hear people screaming, applauding, or chanting. That moment makes it all alright’.

“Yeah, she’d definitely dress you up one way or another. I’m basically her living doll whenever we’ve gone to some formal event. The fact that I’ve gone to more than one last year has made her happy and me, not so much. But you know,” he said with a shrug. “I mean, it seems to be important to wear the good stuff. I personally don’t get it. Don’t think I ever will,” he said. “Yeah? You going just for kicks to California?” he asked. “You don’t have to invite us to be nice. Apparently we really scare people away when we’re together. We can basically empty a room. It’s not like we’re fucking on a table or anything either. But yeah, that could be fun. Kat could even find you someone if you couldn’t. She’s good at that stuff. Or so she says,” he added. “Well, yeah, when you’re adored that makes everything alright.”

Robin looked like she was incredibly done with this entire conversation. She just wanted to get out of there, the longer they were there talking, the longer she was in a place that she could get caught. She just wanted to take the gun back to the bando her boss was at, take her cut, go home. Everything had gone smoothly before she’d been careless about zipping the bag back up, which she would have if she’d just remembered. She was all over the place lately and it made her more sloppy. “You don’t know shit okay, you’re just a fucking bartender.” She said. That may have been low, especially considering she didn’t actually have any complex over him because of what his job was. Her complex was entirely because she truly thought she was that much of a thug or gangster. “If I thought I needed to maybe I would shoot you, you don’t know that. Maybe you should be cautious. You’re the one making assumptions on that, and a pretty dumb one considering I’m the one that has the gun.” She pointed out. It was a half assed threat, because she really didn’t want it to come to that. That was a mess that would be incredibly hard for her to clean up, especially with them being just in a parking lot where anyone could see. She wouldn’t have the time to take care of his body and cover the evidence, and besides, even if she’d killed people before, it was only when she perceived it as a necessity. “I’m not writing any letters to the fucking police.” She snapped. Although she had vandalized a cop car with Toni, but they’d managed to get away without getting caught. That could have easily gone the other way too, however; especially if the cop hadn’t lost them in the ally or if he’d had the chance to shoot at them. But Robin had gotten away like she usually did, she hadn’t ever been caught by the police. This whole situation reminded her of the last time she messed up. She was just eighteen and had stolen a guys wallet, she’d meant to be sneaky and pickpocket but she’d failed and he’d tracker her down. That had been a mess and now she’d gotten caught again, except a machine gun was a lot more than a wallet. “That was over a normal bar fight, this is a bit different.” She shook her head and crossed her arms. Hearing that he would keep it over her head until he needed a favor she just shook her head. “Really?” She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine, whatever. What kind of favor?”

“No, I don’t know shit. I’m just making guesses here based on evidence and your behavior and what you’ve surprisingly and readily have admitted to me,” he told her. “And while I maybe be just a bartender to you and most of the people who walk through that bar I have a life, a background, a persona,” he said with a shrug. “Not that I’m here to interest you in what I may or may not do in my free time,” he added. “No, I didn’t say you were. I’m just giving an example of what cockiness and an ego did to the greats before you. You know, learn from the mistakes of those in the past. The whole history repeating itself. That’s not just a cliche because it’s catchy and ominous, it’s a cliche because it holds truth and people always seem to think they’re the exception, but really we’re all the rule. Including you.” Zachary almost enjoyed talking and seeing Robin squirm. He could see her getting frustrated and her temper rising and it was cathartic for him, even if he was being a bit of a dick. Then again, all things considered, it was hard to feel sorry about being an ass to someone who was outright breaking the law. “Well, if I knew that, I’d ask for the favor now. Point of holding it over your head is to claim it later no matter how big or small. That’s kind of how blackmail works, you know. However, I think you should consider it a blessing I haven’t left or bothered to call the police, so why push your luck, right?"

Robin clenched her jaw and sighed as he spoke, her level of annoyance only rising. She’d already been more irritable than was usual for her, which said a lot considering how quick to get in a fight she already was typically. It pissed her off that he was there underestimating her, and sure, she did look guilty, but who the fuck would think she was innocent when she had a machine gun? She wasn’t stupid and she assumed he wasn’t either, but if he was going to cause her real trouble then she’d bring it right back at him. “Did you believe I’m perfectly innocent?” She asked as she raised her eyebrows. “Because if you did then you’re stupid, figured I wouldn’t try convincing you that I am when you already saw what I have. Did I overestimate your ability to put two and two together?” She asked. Sure she hadn’t minded his company much at the bar, but right now was a very different situation. “Which since you did see it do you really want to start with me?” She asked. In reality, Robin truly could act the part of a typical, pompous criminal. But she had been in the game a long time. She worked for a huge gang that dealt with big jobs like this one, just because it wasn’t her typical work didn’t mean that she wasn’t cut out to do what she did do. She was great at her regular job, if she wasn’t there was no way she would’ve made it this far and gotten this involved with such a big and serious gang. However, her big ego was a flaw she had that had already been the source of trouble several other times. She wasn’t sure why but she wanted to go off on him and defend herself. She wasn’t some petty criminal that couldn’t handle her shit, she’d been doing dangerous things since she was a teenager. She had already worked herself up from pick pocketing and conning to organized crime, she didn’t need him lecturing her about how she should go about being a criminal. Though she was also aware that defending her ego and how much of a bad ass she thought she was wasn’t going to help the situation. Still, she was cocky and didn’t like being disrespected. “This is me not playing games right now, so how bout you drop the bullshit too. I’m not in the fucking mood and you don’t who you’re dealing with. What the fuck do you want?”

“No, but I’m me and I’m not stupid and naive. Someone else, though. You could have gotten away with it, maybe. I’m just saying, for future reference. Considering how bad you are at this, you will probably make this mistake again and next time, that person might be naive and stumble into something they’re not sure about and you can worm your way out of it, but not like that, you won’t. You should probably also try to worm your way out of things first. Regardless of how highly you think my level of intelligence is, never hurts to try and play the victim before you go on the defense,” he said with a nod. He spoke casually like they were two strangers discussing their careers. “I mean, if you were really worried about me, you’d have shot me by now. I’m not too worried about starting with you in all honesty.” He sighed and shook his head. “As you so astutely observed, I can put two and two together. I can even put three and four together, which means I know who I’m dealing with. A criminal. An amateur at best all things considered, but I know you’re not some innocent bystander who got in way over their head. Probably a little cocky, though, which shows you’re new. Once you’re in that sort of thing long enough, you know that you always take precautions first. You never let ego get the best of you because that will be the very thing that tears you down. Most murderers and criminals aren’t caught because they’re bad. They’re caught because their egos get in the way and they start taunting the police with those letters and notes and basically give themselves up. Son of Sam? He started writing letters to the police and he was caught, so you know. You might want to pull back a little there. Learn from his mistakes. And all that being said, I thought you’d be smart enough to know, given our last encounter that I am exactly the type of person who would just fuck around with you for the sake of it. Did you learn nothing from the rum and coke dance we did when you came in?” he asked, clicking his tongue. “Tsk, tsk need to think on your feet more. As for what I want, well, wouldn’t do me any good to let you off the hook just like that,” he said as he snapped his fingers. “Keeping this over your head until I need a favor? Well, that’s way more ideal, isn’t it?”

Robin took a deep breath when he spoke and she knew that he’d clearly seen it. She didn’t know this guy or what kind of person he was,if he was the type to mind his own business or report things he saw fit to the police. She had just sold several machine guns, and realistically, who bought a machine gun? Probably someone that planned to do something terrible to a number of people, and as far as Robin was concerned, that was on him. Still she had supplied him the weapon and ability to cause that amount of violence and death if he went through with it, but that wasn’t her problem. Her involvement was done, she sold the weapons and got the money, now she just needed to go back to find her boss and take her cut.·

She got out of her car and stood with the door open and separating the two of them, which Robin brought her arms over and leaned against.·“Look what’re you getting at?” She asked, not really in the mood for any sarcastic banter over this of all things.·“You gonna mind your own business or do we have a problem?” She asked as she straightened her posture and held her shoulders back, as though sizing him up. It wasn’t a threat, not yet anyway. If she thought he was going to call the police, she wasn’t sure yet how she’d handle it. She had a handgun tucked under her jacket where he couldn’t see, a machine gun in her car - Surely he wasn’t about to start trouble with her? She was smaller than him and while she knew how to throw a punch, she was realistic about who would win in a fist fight. Still, the gun she had tucked into her pants gave her that cockiness she needed to play the tough don’t fuck with me card. She had an attitude similar to what most common thugs had, over confident, reckless, and an ego that wouldn’t allow her to get a clear head and handle this properly. She was sloppy with these sorts of jobs, it was why she didn’t do them. She could cover her tracks with a computer just fine, but doing jobs out of the comfort of her apartment and dealing weapons, well that brought up the risk factor. It also meant a higher paycheck if she got back without Zachary calling the police.·“It’s not my gun okay, I just happen to have it right now. How bout you be straight with me and just fucking tell me what you want?” She said. Why else would he have come up to her if he wasn’t after something? From Robin’s standpoint, she was just waiting for him to come up with some sort of favor or blackmail to get something out of her so he’d keep his mouth shut. Clearly she was breaking the law, just having that gun was enough to get into plenty of trouble. Why else would he be approaching her about it if he didn’t want something? She had a Mercedes, clearly she made decent money with what she did - If he wasn’t after her money then why was he still there? Why not just keep walking and call the cops if he was that worried? Or keep walking and mind his own damn business? She was certain that he had to have some sort of agenda and she just wanted him to get to the chase and skip the banter.

Zachary gave her a look as she seemed to puff herself up, like prey trying to look themselves bigger and more intimidating than they actually were to the predator. He could tell she was up to something illegal but he wasn’t too worried. “You know, even if I had no idea what you were up or thought you were perfectly innocent, I wouldn’t think that now,” he told her bluntly. “You look guilty as hell. If you’re gonna be a criminal, you might want to work your way up to the big stuff. You know, start with trespassing. Maybe some pickpocketing. Work your way up to thievery, but not a bank yet, like a convenience store or something with no big pay off but enough to get your criminal juices flowing. You can’t go straight to peddling machine guns. It’s like math. You don’t start with integrals and differentials. You start with the basics and work your way up to that,” he told her and shook his head ignoring when she’d asked what he wanted. He could let her sit and stew for a while. That was always fun for Zachary. 

“I see what you mean. I can imagine this being busy in the summer. Do they have a pop upbar here in the summer?” He asked and looked around. “Me? Oh, I escape from being around people and at times, my own head if that makes any sense.” He said and bowed his head.  “It seems that when I come up here, I get some kind of peace and it helps me sleep.”

“Popup bar? No,” he said shaking his head. “They don’t. We have parties up here, though. You don’t seem like the party kind of guy,” he added as he glanced at the man, sitting up now and picking up a bottle of beer from nearby that he’d been drinking from. “What? Got a lot going on in your head or do you hear voices or something?”

“Not really and sometimes light pollution can be an issue, but when it does show up. it is rather beautiful.” Alec replied and looked up at the sky then back at the man lying on the lounger. “Have you come up here to escape as well?” He asked and quietly sat down on a lounger nearby. 

“Sure. In a sense. I wouldn’t call it an escape. Not much of a people person, so I generally come up here because there’s not a lot of people and I have to already deal with them all day long,” he said. “It’s fucking exhausting, so here I am. Cool temperatures have kept people at bay. Once it warms up a little more, I’m sure people will flock again.” He paused. “What’re you escaping?”

Alec made his way up to the rooftop for the first time since he had moved into the building. It was a soft, spring night and although there was a chill in the air, Alec didn’t have a coat. He gazed up at the sky and smiled to himself as he watched the stars above him started to appear and the cyan sky turned to an inky black. “It’s lovely up here isn’t it?” He murmured to the person he heard approaching. “ I  was told you could see the Milky way up here.” He put his finger to his lip and thought for a moment before continuing. “Or maybe it’s Orion's belt.”

“Uh, it’s alright, I guess,” said Zachary. He was laying on on his back on one of the lounge chairs up on the roof with a beanie over his face as if trying to sleep, though Zachary often came up here just to avoid the chaos of the apartments. “Is the Milky Way that close that you can ever see it?” he said not really caring, though being conversational since the other man was still talking. 

“I think it’s difficult to have to be so precise, I kept messing things up when I tried to make any cake from scratch,” she admitted to Zach even though she probably only ever tried once or twice in her life. “Uh because it’s so confusing and complicated and just difficult?” she offered an answer to him before laughing. “Hmm, why that sounds like I’m losing here?” she raised her eyebrow, “How about I cook us dinner tomorrow night and you baked us a nice bread?” she suggested to him with a matching grin.

“Well for today just stop thinking any thoughts that can make this moment less happy,” she said to him before she pulled him towards her by his shirt so she can kiss him. “Oh god, you’re ridiculous,” she laughed before rolling over to her stomach and her fingers prying his belt open, “Yeah sure, I can give you a pair of socks, maybe I’ll give you a bouquet of socks,” she chuckled.

“Because it’s my birthday and because of that, I automatically win no matter what and you automatically lose,” he reasoned. “I normally wouldn’t even care, but since you insisted on having a loser who cooks, well, I’ll go with that birthday logic. But fine, alright. I guess I can do that. I still say that you should just cook on account of it being my birthday and all that.”

“But you have to be so precise in anything, I’m not too good at following recipes or instructions, you know that, you’ve seen the shelves I tried to put by myself,” she shook her head, “I don’t know I think I like that about cooking, the whole experimenting, which is why you’re the baker in this relationship. Speaking of, since we’re calling this match a tie, who should cook dinner for the rest of the week?” she asked, looking up at him from his lap as she finished her pizza.

“Yeah but then you come up with all these theories that will prevent you to actually be happy because of some reason,” she said, turning around a little so she could look at him better from her position. “Seriously? A sex related wish?” she laughed, “That’s really what you wish for? For now? For your birthday?”

“Yes, exactly, you have to be precise and that’s good,” said Zachary with a nod. “I like precision. I can follow recipes and instructions because they’re clear,” he reasoned. “I don’t know how you can’t get shelves up,” he said and shook his head at her. “I don’t like that about cooking because I fucking hate experimenting. I just want to eat food. And I think you should cook since we’ve just established I’m the baker and you’re the cook,” he grinned at her.

“But making cakes from scratch had a lot to do with doing the exact measurement for the ingredients and it required so many ingridients that I know I won’t use it again until it expired, so brownie mix is the safest option for both of us, I mean come on, at least I’m making an effort to bake you the cake, right?” she grinned. “Cooking is easier because I can just wing it, I don’t really have to follow the recipe to a tee,” she said again before placing the cake down and she took one slice of pizza.

“Oh boy, here we go again…” she rolled her eyes mockingly at him  for all his “being realistic” ranting. “You know what? You’re so hard to pleased sometimes,” she said to him, biting into her pizza, “Let’s play a game, give me one wish you know I can give to you, a simple one,” she insisted. She smiled at what he said, “I’m glad,” she nod her head and moved so she could lie down with her head on his lap.

“Yes, that’s why baking is so easy. You don’t have to experiment or taste it or anything. You follow the directions exactly as they’re presented to you and it should come out just fine,” he said. “Cooking? Where you throw shit in randomly and experiment and a pinch of this and taste and figure out what else it needs and all that– not my thing. I’d rather know exactly what I’m doing and have all the ingredients with exact measurements, than just winging it.” He shook his head. Zachary was a generally impulsive person, too. Winging it was his life’s motto, but he was more confident with life than he was with cooking.

It wasn’t much of a secret that Robin was questionable company. She was rough around the edges, did things that most people would never consider, but it was what she was used to. She was used to the chaos and having to live like a shark in a cold world, and she wasn’t bad at surviving in it. What was a secret was exactly how much of a criminal she was. Most people could probably assume she didn’t follow each law to the letter, but she also didn’t go breaking them left and right for the world to see - She just bent them every now and again. With those outside of her gang and small circle she trusted, she was just a reckless and potentially sketchy person. 

A few hours ago she had snuck out of Queens with a duffel bag her boss had left her, containing four automatic, military grade guns. It wasn’t really her expertise as far as the job went, but there was a paycheck at the end of it, and nothing motivated Robin more than money. The deal had gone without a hitch, which was lucky for her considering her lack of experience dealing guns. The guy she’d sold the bag of weapons to was foreign and claimed to just be passing through. He was sketchy, but so was Robin, and if anything happened to her during that deal her gang would have let hell lose on the man. Once she had her money for the three illegal guns she sold, she walked out of the motel room and down the street to her Mercedes. 

She still had the duffel bag, although now it only contained the one gun she didn’t manage to sell, along with the money she collected. She walked up to her car and clicked the button on her key chain, hearing it beep once and unlock. It was then as she opened the door and tossed the duffel bag into the passenger seat that heard the sound of something solid hitting the ground. She looked down with wide eyes to find a  M249 light machine gun on the ground by her foot. She froze and looked around her to see if she saw anybody nearby, and when she thought nobody was looking, squatted down and tucked as much of the firearm as she could fit under her jacket, then stood to hide it back in the duffel bag. How had she managed to be so clumsy and let it fall out like that? She could have sworn she zipped it, but her mind had been all over the place lately. 

He could see a figure walking out from a room, a duffel bag in hand and running to a car. He even heard the beep of the car unlocking and he curiously wandered closer suddenly recognizing her as the girl from the bar that had decided to wander back. He raised an eyebrow as he watched her throw a bag inside her car, getting in, and then getting back out again. He walked over and stood behind her, until she noticed him. “Is nothing the answer you’re looking for? Because I feel like the actual answer is pretty obvious and you should already know,” he said with his usual snark and wry smile. He let out a low whistle. “You pack some serious heat there, don’t you? Are you just paranoid or have people after you? Always figured a handgun would suffice for most things assuming you just have it for protection. Anything more seems like overkill.”