“right, so … gin, ginny. i — okay, you don’t want to talk about the guy from last week, i get that.” the blonde paused with a thoughtful expression as she bit down on her bottom lip. daphne coughed. “you’ve got a very contradictory habit to what docs preach.” and again with a wave of her hand in front of her face. “but if i could just get a few answers about it, like just okay, blink if it was a gunshot wound and if he’s been in here before for something similar in the past.” she waited. “was that it? is that a yes?”

x: when have you ever known these motherfuckers to not be slobby as hell 🤨

x: that's just how they roll

x: what way do you want it?

ben: maybe we should start an assigned chores list.

ben: next thing to bring to church i guess

ben: in a cup?

—

The night was just full of surprises. Forrest’s was clear on his face, eyebrows shooting up at both the casual mention of Imogen’s father’s curiosity, and the brush of her foot against his leg. The latter overpowered the former, a jolt of electricity shooting up his body and sending a shiver down his spine, but the moment passed with the clearing of her throat, and made way for the topic of their conversation to come rushing back at him full force.

Imogen’s father. Imogen’s father, who Forrest happened to have information on in regards to the money laundering scheme he happened to have his hands in. Imogen’s father, who Forrest should not have had this information about, unless he were somehow involved in the money laundering himself. Imogen’s father, who, as far as Forrest knew, hated his absolute guts for what he’d done to his daughter. If that man were still asking about him, it could not be good.

Realizing he’d been quiet a beat too long, Forrest was quick to clear his own throat, doing his best to wipe the surprise off of his face. “Oh, uh…does he really?” His eyebrows furrowed, reaching to take a sip of the fresh beer that’d been set down before him. “How is he? Your dad, I mean.” 

He was grateful for the change in topic–not just for his own sake, but for the sight of the grin that graced her lips. It was enough to pull one from Forrest, shoulders relaxing as they strayed away from the talk of her father. “We had a fair deal and you just didn’t want to follow it.” But his cheeks might have tinged pink with the implication of her words, eyes straying away from her to look up towards the ceiling, smile turned sheepish. “Yeah, well…sometimes it took even less than that.” 

He’d never get tired of the sound of her laugh. Even if it was at his expense, it’d always been one of his favorite things about her. “What, there’s something funny about me being a dad?” But even as he spoke the words, they were laced with his own laughter. It was not lost on him that back then, this had been the last thing anybody had expected of him.

Their eyes met, and it was impossible not to melt underneath her gaze. Selfishly, he wanted to keep her there, just a little longer, but the mention of Maren’s porn stache drawing ability earned a snort out of Forrest, and the moment broke. “That was Maren? That was you?”

Imogen watched the rolodex of emotions flip over Forrest’s features at the mention of her father. She had seen plenty of them before, so it was easy to know when he was uncomfortable. Unable to stop herself, she narrowed her eyes in confusion for a quick moment before ultimately relaxing again.

“Yeah,” she confirmed, watching his movements. Surely, no ex-boyfriend wanted to talk about their ex-girlfriend’s father, of course, and up until the end her father had nothing but good things to say about Forrest – in fact he was a main campaigner of their presumed nuptials. Even asking Imogen if she would reconsider extending the olive branch before the final shoe dropped. After the bombshell hit James Vance was on a tyrant on the entire Holloway family; furious for making a mockery out of not only his daughter, but more importantly himself.

“He’s okay. He’s getting a little crankier with age but y’know, nothing completely out of the ordinary.” Her father’s illusiveness was something she was taught to never question, his businesses being comparable to having other children, a whole other life. Her and her mother were cared for, that’s all that mattered at the end of the day. What he did was his business and his business only; he provided for his family, community and was generally well-liked.

“That deal was bullshit, and I’m pretty sure that coin was rigged,” her coy smile remained planted on her face as he broke eye contact. The 50/50 chance ended up being more of an 80/20 chance on Forrest’s end of the stick, though she could usually use some sort of persuasive measure in her favour, it usually worked.  

“Funny? No, I wouldn’t say it’s funny.” Her laughter dialing down, smile still sitting softly. “I guess it’s just, I dunno,” looking down and taking a sip. “Not what I expected. I’m not saying it’s a bad look for you, either.” The words she was really hoping to say were somewhere along those lines, but with some truths that were probably better left unsaid, at least for now.

“The academy, huh?” It was unsurprising to Marley that she seemed to have a thing for a man in uniform, even if the man was not currently in uniform…and even if that man was considering throwing away however long he spent training for the possibility of a get rich quick scheme. She couldn’t help but laugh at the seriousness of what she’d only meant as a joke, but had somehow come back full circle to the initial topic of this conversation: his hair. “See? It all connects.” Her hands lifted, as if to say what more can you say? 

She was more than aware of the turn the conversation had taken. While Marley didn’t think she’d set out with the intention of flirting, it was hard to distinguish when she wasn’t flirting, her easy-going attitude and near constant smile making even the most innocent conversation sound coquettish. This, however, was a welcome distinction, though an eyebrow raised curiously at his assertion. “Oh, is that so?” His hand lingered in hers just a beat longer than what she’d consider a casual handshake, and she knew what was coming, what her offer would prompt him to counter with. She’d had half a mind to beat him to it, but with a grin like that, she couldn’t steal his moment. “I can’t say that I see a reason why you couldn’t.”  His smile was matched with one of her own.

It was a nice fantasy, the coozie enterprise, but alas, it was not in his current hand. What could be in his cards, though, was something even more exciting.  “It’s like the future is set out right in front of me,” he flirted further, her laughter coaxing out some of his own. Damian had a bad rep for being putty in any woman’s hands, now was no exception. Monogamy was off the table, as far as D was concerned; his college girlfriend took all that he had with her - that still didn’t mean he wasn’t a sucker for a pretty smile paired with quick wit.

for: @in-stxrdust​​​​​

muses: xavier teller + dealer’s choice! 

“I just came to get a drink.” 

marley: oh girlie it's like you read my mind!

marley: on both accounts. been pulling graveyards at the meadows the last week.

marley: working all night, sleeping during the day...are we modern vampires?

peach: yay!!!! i miss your sweet face

peach: treat yourself, you deserve it!! if i had to put up with half of the idiots you did i wouldn't have a job

echo: Either a nickname or an earned name, by what I've read up.

echo: Yeah that timeline kinda lines up with the complaint we got from some anonymous call. I assumed it was from one of his buddies or a bystander

echo: Something about his right shoulder getting hit?

gin: k give me five mins and i'll grab the file from records

gin: so according to our file, it was also an anonymous drop off at the emerg - car pulled into the ambulance bay and pushed the guy out and left him. a couple found him outside and brought him in.

x: again??

x: i'm gonna get you one of those clippy things for your belt like you're a damn janitor if you keep being so forgetful

x: i can be there in about 20

x: getting coffee. want one?

ben: yeah. again. i don't want to hear it.

ben: i might as well be the damn janitor around here since no one seems to wanna fuckin clean up after themselves lately.

ben: i almost broke my ankle tripping over a jack yesterday.

.

“Well, if you’ve got eczema or dry skin, maybe that forty dollars on soap is the difference between pain or not.” She told him as if it was the clearest thing in the world, but she knew by the look on the bottle that this wasn’t some sort of miracle elixir. “This, however, is a fucking rip off.” Turning it around to read the products, she shook her head. “It has alcohol in it which is going to dry up your skin like the nevada dessert. Disgrace.” Placing the item back, she moved on to the next which happened to be a little more expensive. She looked over at him at the mention of it staining the bath. “Imagine what it could have done to your hair, then.” She did research for her own beauty products but she knew she was blessed with issues that were easily resolvable which wasn’t everyone’s problem. Her brow rose at his compliment as she looked him up and down. “Are you flirting?” She didn’t know. Her eyes then moved over her own person. “I like to think that it’s my charm that keeps people around.” Which was far from the truth since her sarcasm wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. 

“I would likely be kicked off the platform if I was dancing along those sixteen years old. I watch it because dumb people are probably the best form of entertainment that I’ve found in a while and there’s a lot of those on there.”

.

“That’s a great way of putting it,” he reflected. Damian hadn’t thought about it like that, the conversation almost humbling him in a way. It was nice to be shown other point of views, anything that could help him see the bigger picture more clearly, the better. Maybe he could come up with some magic-potion shampoo that could cater to his own specific needs, but then again he also didn’t have the extra time or the brain power to do so; the kindness of a stranger in the beauty salon would have to do. Taking serious notes of her comments, he stored them in his memory bank for later-use, knowing he would most certainly end up in the same predicament once again. “Alcohol, bad. Got it.” he nodded. “I’d probably end up bald.” He sighed dramatically, playing-up the gravity of the situation. He raised a brow to match, challenging her own, “Am I?” He might’ve been. He definitely was. It was hard not to. “I can see why,” he followed up. 

rohan: EYYYYY PAL

rohan: free beer + your company + THE LATEST GOSSIP? 👀

rohan: how could i turn down an invitation like that?

rohan: pls do spare me the suspense and tell me who you saw at jo's tho

rohan: not sure i could handle the drive over without knowing

damian: It's hard to say no to a guy like me ;)

damian: Perfect, I'll get the game set up too.

damian: Your lovely partner, Echo was getting her hooves painted.

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓: ‘  roll it down  ’               𝐅𝐎𝐑: @in-stxrdust​ ( anyone of them )

    “so can you just,” daphne tapped on the window glass of the car, “just roll down the … i’m not, okay this looks worse than it is, but i think you’re gonna want to talk to me.”

⟿

Atlas knew he’d been a little too obvious and possibly eager, he needed to reel it in. He was out of his league when it came to the whole career criminal with a smooth delivery. There were things he could do smoothly, a trick on his board, even drop a line to flirt and add a new name to his contacts list. This was new and yet, he went for it anyway. “I didn’t mention anything about credit card fraud. It would be a gift for my time and service. Out of the kindness of your heart. A token of appreciation, so to speak.” Now he was laying it on thick, in the hopes that the man would completely disregard what he said and take it as a joke. “Am I really going to have to explain an IOU to you. It’s a verbal agreement. Which you just fully agreed to. You’ll do me a solid, maybe stop me from eating chap stick or lotion. Especially if it’s a day I skipped lunch.” What he wanted to say, maybe you’ll look the other way when you catch me doing some shit I shouldn’t. Those words, he kept to himself. “Simple almost friend type shit.” Atlas motioned towards the bag. “But seriously, when I see you again, I expect you tell me how it tastes.”

ben: hey, i was hoping to come into the shop sometime next week.

peach: hiiiii

peach: what would you say to a nail date sometime this week? i could book us an appointment on a day off?!

damian: HEY

damian: You free tonight? I've got a couple of beer in the fridge with your name on them.

ben: hey

ben: i forgot my keys to the office. can you come unlock it?