𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢 𝔪𝔞𝔤𝔦𝔠

They're on the roof of The Roundhouse, he and @emcreates. He'd invited Liam up to it after the two found the inside of the bar to be presently far too loud. It wasn't usually as rowdy as it was tonight, but it seemed there was a good game of billiards occurring with a drinking game in tandem. He didn't mind noise at times, but he was in his head about preparing for his trip back to the west coast and it was just a bit on the too much side. He didn't mind Liam though, the guy wasn't an enigma of endless words. He was more of a silent type, speaking when he found it important or necessary. The two of them got along for that reason. Sully wasn't all that talkative, but he knew when conversation was good and tonight it felt like neither were fully up to speaking much. He was okay with that. Especially since Sully was debating how to go about telling Zara he was going west again and he was planning to do so alone.

He lifts the beer bottle that's in his hands, touching the mouth of it to his lips then tipping it to take a slow drink. His eyes are on the skyline of the small New York town, debating in that moment if he'd ever see it again after he went back west. He brings the beer away and sighs a little, shaking his head then speaking with a tip back. He looks up at the darkened night sky, spotting what stars he could see, "I have a dilemma in front of me, Magus."

♥

he enjoys quiet moments like this. ian isn't one for small talk -- there's no use in filling up space just to ensure there's no silence. casual pleasantries makes the hair on the back of his neck stand up straight, and he often removes himself from the situation before most people realize he's here. ( the benefit of being able to blend in, he thinks. ) a beer bottle rests in one hand, finger tapping idly against the top as he looks up, enjoys the view of the night sky. ( sully is a good person to do this with, he thinks. they get along. they work the same. have been dealt the same shitty hand in life. birds of a feather, and all that. )

He'd been stewing since the conversation with Jillian regarding the Elliot situation. He was trying not to put much thought into it as to not mess with his head, but it was hard not to think about it. Either they were looking at bringing Elliot into the fold to some degree or losing Jillian to a life outside of Paradise. If it was the latter... their business would suffer significantly. That wasn't his only reason to be stuck in his head, no. The other was much personal, much more directed at himself than the state of this retreat. He loved Jillian. He's loved her for years and it has been detrimental to him. He had been too nervous in college to make a move on her and when he finally found the courage years later, locked into a well off place within Paradise? She'd laughed and waved him off, teasing that he was great with jokes. It had crushed something in him and tore whatever remained of it to pieces. He was ready for rejection, but to make her laugh and have her think it was just a joke? That had hurt more. So really, maybe it was a case of just not getting over it and he should. Maybe this was all one bigger slap in the face to get him to realize his lingering thoughts about Jillian were pointless.

When @emcreates enters his office he doesn't look up from where he's sat behind his desk, eyes on the keyboard in front of him and elbows resting by it. He's got fingers pressed to his temples and he's doing his best to focus his thoughts and get away from the ones regarding Jillian. He hears his brother sit in one of the chairs on the opposite side of the desk and his eyes shut, sigh escaping him, "What is it, Chadley?"

♥

after jillian's announcement, vincent knew things were tense. though his stakes were less romantic when it came to involving someone else, he couldn't hide the nerves that bubbled in his chest at the thought of having to welcome someone new into the fold. ( and yes, elliot was new. despite how long they'd been together, elliot had no clue what it took for the three of them to run paradise successfully. quietly, without a fuss. bringing someone new in jeopardizes their entire ecosystem. )

he needs to talk to victor. his brother. they need to sort this out together.

he enters, quietly, and isn't shocked at the sight he's met with. there's a sigh that escapes his lips, and vincent settles himself into the chair in front of his desk. ( sideways, of course, legs dangling off the right arm chair. for fun. )

“charming. hell is truly where we make it.” 

“all right, let that anger out however you see fit.” 

“i think i’ll need a drink with the rest of that story.”

“better safe than, well, dead.” 

“i see the art of eloquence is alive and well.”

“i’m awed, impressed, and a little bit scared of you right now.” 

“let’s try to be diplomatic, shall we?” 

“the dignified thing for me to say is ‘no, of course not. forthrightness before all’, but honestly? yes… i would have rather you lied.”

“you and i have very different definitions of right and wrong.”

“given my propensity towards verbosity, it surely can’t be a surprise that i have a practised tongue.” 

“if you think you know best, go right ahead.” 

“allow me to live dangerously while i still can.” 

“if you use that knife, i will incinerate you.” 

“sweet that you care enough to murder me… mind me if you don’t?”

“i’m an open book, requiring only your gentle hands to turn my pages.”

“oh, now that can’t be comfortable. especially for the corpses.”

“don’t take this the wrong way, but i think i’ve just lost all respect for you.”

“hmm… good back support, but a little too tyrannical for my taste.” 

“we all have our quirks when it comes to using magic. some more than others.”

“ha, you truly are testing the patience of a man who could level a city if he wished, you know.”

“i find you quite irresistible. even illuminated by such rotten light as this place produces.”

“i hope i didn’t make too much of an ass of myself just now.”

“that’s… it? she ‘annoyed you’? if that was just cause for killing someone i’d be dead a thousand times over!”

“might i suggest that was a little too easy?”

“well, this seems as good a time as any for me to stop babbling on.”

“the hand that feeds is the hand that’s loved. it’ll never leave your side now.” 

“stop licking the damn thing!” 

“i hope it has been made abundantly clear that to kill me is… counterproductive.”

“a little premature for us to start celebrating, i suppose.” 

“there is poetry to be found in even the dingiest of holes.” 

“destroying magic like this was my bread and butter.”

“generosity is always a noble virtue - whether it be in the streets, at the charity box, or betwixt the sheets.”

 “not how i would’ve done it.”

“i suppose such wicked killers deserve wicked ends.” 

“oh, i do apologize. i meant: are you studied in magic? namely: are you a wizard? which you are not.”

“your hide, your choice. not quite my cup of tea, though.” 

“wonderful! the more, the merrier.” 

“as an expert on the subject - i’d like to point out that blowing oneself up is never the solution.”

“i have a cat, a library, and a weakness for a good glass of wine. and if the mood takes me, i’m known to try my hand at poetry.” 

“how about now you make him kiss your feet next?”