drink and be merry

Hazel gave the man a look over, her dark eyes obviously scanning him; not in a way that was flirtatious, but in a way that a computer might scan a card. She took a brief overview of him, a small half-smile appearing on her face as her eyes found his face once more. Gigs quickly ate the bit of sandwich, glad for something other than pure scraps for food. “..thanks.” The words came out softly, and almost barely audible. “He usually stays by my side, but I guess you caught his attention.” She admitted, offering a nod. 

Jackson gave a chuckle as he fed the dog, letting the pup lick the remaining crumbs from his fingers. “Don’t sweat it,” he said, turning up to the girl and flashing her a brief smile, “If I were him, I’d find me too. I’ve heard I make killer sandwiches.” He gave a half-shrug before turning his attention back to the dog showing his empty palms. “That’s the last of it, buddy. ‘M sorry.”

Markus didn’t have time to object, not that he would. As he watched the other grab the pen, he only shook his head softly before cleaning his hands off with a rag. He watched, slightly curious as to what Jackson was writing, only to lose interest and sigh loudly. “What you getting?” Nodding to the pad of paper, “Find any kitchen supplies and I might have something for you.” As much as Markus enjoyed leaving New Seattle, it was harder to go on trips outside of the city when you had a job. Maybe once the meat ran low, he would be able to get out for a bit.

Jackson’s brows raised after Markus’ question, writing down the last of what he could remember. “Hmm?” he sounded, turning his attention back to the butcher. “Oh. Right yeah, uh. You know I’m always cravin’ your steaks, Mark. What kinda supplies you need? I can take a look around.” There was also bound to be a renegade assignment coming up, so he could always try and find what the other man needed.

“If I’m going to be completely honest with you I’m extremely drunk right now, like hell I see two of you right now. Two very attractive you’s if I might add.” Hugo said with a soft bitter laugh as he glanced over at the other. “But you’re kind of hot and I’m hot so if you’re into it I wouldn’t mind making out with you right now.” He said with a shrug. “I mean everything’s been so tense around here so like why the fuck not make out with someone? Seriously when was the last time someone loosened the fuck up around here? I’ve been here my entire life and I have never seen anyone actually let loose for once. ” 

Jackson watched the young man ramble on, tossing the hand towel over his shoulder as he listened. He’d been bringing drinks all night, and so it was only a matter of time. A brow raised slowly and he gave a short chuckle. He turned around without a word, poured a glass of water and placed it firmly in front of the other. “Drink, I think you’re letting a little too loose, buddy.”

“Innocent. Interesting. And how do you classify innocent people? I think it’s naive to think that anyone in this city is innocent. Are you? I’m certainly not.” Another sick smile. He could smell the rage building form the tall blond. It was thick and permeated the room. Andres licked his lips and readjusted the front of his pants. He hadn’t felt this thrilled in ages. “How do you know that nothing isn’t being done about it? You can only assume. It seems you like to make a bit of a jackass of yourself. I can tell that about you. And I care about the city. Naive to think otherwise.” His words were saccharine. Enough to put anyone listening into a diabetic coma. 

“People die within the walls and become walkers. That’s a fact of life. I know very well what I’m talking about. More than a man who makes alcohol.” Maybe he was laying it on too thick. But Jackson was on the verge of breaking. All it would take was a little push. “You should probably drink a little more. You seemed stressed.” A wry chuckle followed. 

There was that smile again, the one that made Jack’s skin crawl and settled a heavy weight of anger in his gut. Andres was taunting him, pulling at Jackson’s strings and flaunting the protection he had as commander of the council. Jackson could only bite his tongue, knowing he was more than likely to say something incriminating in response. Jackson’s jaw clenched tightly as his grip on his glass continued to build, eyes trained at the counter in front of his seat as he tried to stay the urge to start swinging.

By now, every single syllable out of Andres’ mouth pushed Jackson closer to the edge, making his blood pitch to a boil. But it was that last teasing phrase that toppled him over. With one smooth motion, Jack slammed down his empty glass onto the counter, shattering it upon impact. The room fell silent as shards cut into his hand and he finally turned to look at the councilman. “Fuck you,” he whispered low, his whole body gone rigid. The pricks of pain shooting up his arm the only things keeping him calm as arms suddenly appeared around him.

Hazel looked panicked, small feet quickly half-jogging in an attempt to catch up to her dog again. For some reason, he had run off, completely ignoring all of her commands. The phone she had been fixing was stuffed in her jacket pocket and a large backpack was slung over her shoulders as she tried to follow the mutt. “Gigs!” Her throat sounded dry as he finally stopped, right in front of the person. Hazel was wary, but they seemed nice enough. She slowed down, watching Gigs at their feet for a moment before her dark eyes met theirs. “That’s…my dog. Thanks for stopping him.” Hazel spoke softly. 

With a bite left of his sandwich, Jackson was met with a yip by his feet. He lifted a brow in confusion at the sight of the dog. It was soon followed by a worried-looking girl. “Cute little guy,” he replied, “Though I don’t think I had much to do with him stopping.” He lowered the bit of his sandwich to the creature, its tail beginning to wag. “Knew it. In it for the food like everyone else, huh?” he chucked as he asked the dog.

Although New Seattle resembled a wasteland in some ways, it was huge. She had lost her way several times in the city before and that day she had done it again. Jackie stood still on the street and scanned the many buildings that surrounded her until she spotted someone walking her way. “Excuse me? I was hoping you could point me towards the direction of the nearest grocery I thought it was that way but I feel like I’ve been going in circles for twenty-five minutes.”

Jackson’s hand shifted on its hold on the case of liquor he was bringing over to the bar, stored discreetly in an unmarked box. It wasn’t unheard of for people to get jumped when carrying the littlest thing of value, let alone six bottles of hard alcohol. People got desperate sometimes, so when the woman stopped him, his shoulders tensed for the briefest moment. A short breath of a laugh left him, his body relaxing, “You should’ve passed one on your way over here. C’mon, I’m headed in that direction anyway,” he said, tipping his head as he started to walk again, expecting her to follow. “New around here, I take it,” he remarked, glancing back at the woman.

@graysonwells

Jack found himself surrounded by people he didn’t really know, his fourth, possibly fifth, glass of whiskey in hand. He had a dopey smile on his face, his eyes tracking their way around the modestly decorated distillery wing of the Wells Brewery, the space so fresh that the space still smelled faintly of concrete, wood, and varnish. He couldn’t help himself from looking around every few minutes, taking in every detail he could find. And this was all his. Well, not completely his, exactly, but still it was the most substantial thing to his name he’d ever had. 

He realized his attention had drifted away from the conversation he was having, his gaze turning back to his brother to find a knowing smile on the other man’s face. 'You’re really fucking happy, huh, Jack?' Josh asked, a chuckle underneath his tone. Jackson took in a breath, a grin on his face as he let it back out, his split lip making him wince slightly. “Fuck, you have no idea. I still can’t believe this is all real, that this party’s kinda for me, you know?” he said shaking his head at himself as he glanced at the other guests, most of them friends or family of those involved in the construction, or longstanding employees of the brewery. His gaze eventually fell on a familiar face, and if Jackson were a more sentimental man, he may very well have shed a tear. There was so much to be thankful for, but perhaps most of all was Grayson. At the very least he wasn’t on the verge of crying from the throbbing in he left arm anymore - the booze saw to that. He knew better now than to go on a renegade mission the night before an evening of celebrations. Jack must have been staring a little too long, because there was a nudge against his elbow. 'Looks like your business partner’s looking to congratulate you, Jackie. I should probably get home anyway, it’s getting late.' And with a brief solid hug, Josh was heading towards the exit before Jack could argue, the sudden surge of pain blooming in his rib with the pressure. He turned back to look at Grayson.

“When was the last time we did this?” O echoed the question and thought about it for a moment longer, shrugging her shoulder. “Probably not that long ago, because it’s unlike us to be clean for too long, plus my memory is shit to begin with.” She laughed as she ran the needle through the flame before she disinfected the wound and moved closer to him. “Shut the hell up. Whether I’m rusty or not, it’s better than the shit jobs you keep doing on yourself. Now, drink and be quiet. I need to concentrate.”

Jack sucked in air between his teeth, “Uh- a couple years maybe?” he replied with a short shrug. It would’ve been after a renegade mission they did together or something, but he couldn’t quite recall. “Been taking too many punches to the head too, huh?” he teased about her memory. Bar fights definitely weren’t doing him any favors. “Christ,” he muttered, taking a long pull from the bottle before settling in his seat. He steadied his breathing, trying to focus a chair across the room as she moved closer, bracing for the needle. “Alright, do it.”

“And what type of people are that? What proof do you have? It seems you give a shit, so it’s not nobody.” Amusement creeped up in his tone. He forced himself to pull the smirk back. It wouldn’t do to look like he was enjoying himself so much. “And how do you know there isn’t concern? We don’t discuss everything with citizens. That’s not how you run a city. But I can’t expect you to know anything about it.” He noticed Jackson’s jaw tighten, a smug sense of satisfaction blooming in his chest. “I think the forces are known. Walkers are a hell of a thing. We are doing both at the same time. The wall is essential or do you disagree?” He took a long sip of his drink. It joined the satisfaction settling in his belly. He swore he felt his cock stir at the other’s anger. “Enjoying yourself then?”

“Innocent people. The list of eulogies in the papers are enough. There shouldn’t be so many people dying when this place is supposed to be safe.” It wasn’t like Jack disagreed with the statement, but he was far from unaware of what was happening, of why people were dying. But he couldn’t exactly say that out loud without painting a target on his back. “That’s fuckin’ bullshit. If there’s concern, then why isn’t anything being done about it? No special police task force, no crack down on violence within the walls. You’re a load of shit just like any other politician. All talk to make it sound like you care about anyone else but yourself,” he spat. Everything out of Andres’ mouth was a lie, and Jack could almost swear the man looked proud of it. But I can’t expect you to know anything about it. About running a city? About what the council actually stood for? Jackson was on the verge from getting up and leaving before he did something he really regretted, his hand white-knuckled around his pint. “There aren’t fuckin’ walkers within the walls, and you know that. The walls are doing a mighty fine job keeping them out, but there still people dying here.” Jackson could just about feel the veins in his temples bulging out of his head, suppressing the next string of accusations with the last few gulps of his drink. He wondered if he could get away with flat out punching a councillor in the face. “Yeah. Fuckin’ peachy.”

The tension was palpable and it made Andres happy. He liked it when people got upset with him – their irritation creeping closer toward the surface. Another smile, this time more genuine. “It would be nice to talk to the dead to get their opinion, but that’s not how any of this works, is it? Tell me, Mr. O’Malley, are you accusing the council of something?” He drained his glass and held it out to be refilled. He didn’t need to ask, the bartender knew better. “Sure. Especially common in New Seattle.” His heart thrummed in his chest – waking up for the first time tonight. It was thrilling to have someone speaking to him in public with such open disdain. “Just trying to quell some fears. It’s also nice to meet the people I work for. And is it your night off?”

“I never said that. It’s just convenient that only certain people are ending up dead. And it doesn’t look like people are giving two shits about it.” He tried to play up the concerned citizen card. For all the commander knew, Jackson could just be a keen observer noticing the swathe of infected deaths that crop up in New Seattle. “With everything you and the council do for the city, I’d expect there to be more concern about people dying within the walls and going missing.” His jaw tightened again, his heart beating hard in his chest as he pushed out his words meant to lead the other man away from his allegiances. His brothers always said his big mouth would be the death of him. “I have friends and family worried about losing people they care about from unknown forces. Why don’t you deal with those fears instead of playing up the stability of the walls,” he said, taking a large gulp of his own drink. “Wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t.”

“Yeah. It is sometimes…but everyone double, sometimes triple, checks everyone else’s work.” 

“Figure it’s got to be on demand.” He knew many people liked to take up drink when given the time to, had suffered at the hands of more than a few violent drunks.

Jackson nodded along. "That sounds reassuring at least,” he remarked.

“Don’t make me come in there, boys.” Ophelia called out while she rummaged through her things and gathered up all that was needed to stitch Jackson back together. Upon her return, she noted Diesel in the corner, already sound to the world. “I’m proud of you, I’ll give you a lollipop when I’m done.” The brunette teased as she plopped down at his side and proceeded to put her object in his lap. The bottle, however, she handed it to him so he could drink while she prepared the needle and thread. “You got a light on you?” She then asked, realizing she had placed hers in her jacket in the bedroom. It was to disinfect the needle and so nothing could move forward without that last item.

“Ooh, a yellow lemon one?” he replied, with childlike excitement in his voice. He’d be lying if he said it was all just for show, but he played along nonetheless. A short chuckle left him as he accepted the bottle, more than happy to take a few swigs before Ophelia got to stitching him up. He quickly swallowed down a mouthful before humming a sound of affirmation, digging a lighter out of his pocket. He handed it to her, narrowing his gaze, “When was the last time you did this?” he asked, "If you’re rusty, I think the bandage will hold well enough.” He gestured weakly at the butterfly bandage stuck over his right brow, the straight gash extending out from underneath it.

Cade shook his head. “I don’t take hand outs.” He said firmly. He knew that he was being slightly harsh. Taking a deep breath he let it out. “Sorry, I just. I don’t like taking things that other people have earned. I’m an abled bodied person, I shouldn’t take something that others might need more.” He shrugged and nodded towards his house. “Come on, I’ve got an extra bow you can borrow.”

Jackson’s brows raise at Cade’s sudden sharpness before he nodded with the explanation. “I respect that. You got a good head on your shoulders,” he said, giving Cade a warm smile. It was a mindset not many people had in desperate circumstances like these nowadays. Jackson counted himself lucky for what he had, and luckier for knowing people like Cade. “Lead the way.”