Is that really you?

A small smile on her cheek. "I'm sorry you gone though that, you probably hear that a hundred times, but I do mean that." Knowing a few friends who had come from a broken home, she understood. No family was perfect. "I'm trying to drink less. Alcoholics in my family but I have more control than they do." She joked. "I try to keep myself occupied these days. Tonight I just...needed a drink or two."

Waving his hand dismissively, Leo said, “None of that. It’s been 20 years since I had to worry about foster families.” He didn’t add that he was only 35, so he’d run away when he was 15. “All those years on my own taught me to take care of myself,” Leo went on, “but yeah…alcohol helps.” He’d been planning to make some sort of joke about being an amateur alcoholic, but after hearing Saffron’s comment, it didn’t feel like she was the audience for it. “You know, if it helps, you could tell a stranger what led you here tonight,” Leo told her. “Sometimes it’s easier than telling people you know.”

Smiling when he introduced himself officially. Then trying to pronounce his full name in her head. "Drinking to...staying out of my family drama because...it's not my business. So I am going to enjoy myself tonight."

“Ah, the proverbial ‘family business,’” Leo said, smirking. “Don’t have a lot of experience with that myself, but…well, I guess I do if foster family business counts. Nearly all of the homes I went to were at least a little fucked up.” Although Leo said this like a joke, it was the furthest thing from it. “I’m all for using alcohol to avoid life problems and get away from the drama though,” he said, taking a big drink of his Old Fashioned.

Then she heard a male voice beside her. Then a laugh left her when he said that she looked how he felt. "I will take that as a compliment." A pause, "I think?" Saffron scooted slightly closer to him. "You look familiar but you could also just have one of those faces. Like I think I know who you are but you're just some random person."

Moving to sit at the table with her, Leo said, “My name is Leonidas, though most people call me Leo.” He didn’t hate his name or anything, it was just a mouthful. Holding up his glass, he asked, “So what are we drinking to?”

So Leo was at the Trebel Night Club for the first time. Sitting at the bar, he looked at a nearby table and saw a woman down a glass of wine, and man, Leo could relate. "I get it," he said, holding up his own drink and taking a big sip of it. He was drinking an Old Fashioned because this seemed like a classy place, classier than what he was used to at least. "You look like how I feel right now."

“pete the pervert?” emily repeated, brows lifting. “yes, have you not seen him?” she turned, scanning the bar like she could summon him just by talking shit, but thankfully he wasn’t there tonight. she faced leo again with a grimace. “he’s a regular,” she said, disgusted, “and he’s sleazy. like, he tried to grab my ass when i first started.” emily rolled her eyes so hard it was a full-body action. “so i grabbed his phone, dropped it in his drink, and told him if he tried it again i’d make sure he regretted having hands.” she shrugged, calm as anything. “he hasn’t messed with me since.”

she took the napkins he offered and wiped her forehead again out of habit, even though it was dry now. then leo asked about nathan, and her expression softened in that way it always did when his name came up, which was happy and aching at the same time. “he went to new york for a book deal,” emily said, and the pride in her voice was real. “which is amazing. i’m so happy for him, i really am.” she took a bigger sip of her drink, like she was trying to swallow the second half of the sentence. “but…” she shrugged, then finished the rest of her drink in one go. “i hate not seeing him. we’ve spent almost every day together since we started dating, and yeah, i know it’s healthy to spend time apart and have separate lives and whatever.” her smile was small, a little embarrassed. “but my bed’s just… lonely.”

Shaking his head, Leo made a face of disdain and said, "He sounds disgusting. Why do they keep letting him back in?" Maybe Emily had scared him enough that he kept his hands to himself with all the girls, but then again, why the nickname? Or maybe it had just stuck even after Emily had put him in his place. "This place really does attract some creeps," Leo said, "but I guess that comes with the territory. The worst is when they all congregate at the same time, like the other night when a bachelor party was here." Luckily the employees at Eden's took care of the girls - who also could take care of themselves - so it hadn't gone well for those assholes. "You're going to have to point out Pete so that I can keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't misbehave, though I have to say, I don't have high hopes for him."

It was clear by the look on Emily's face as she began to talk about Nathan that she really loved him, and just seeing that made Leo smile. He acted like he was cold and closed off to love, that he didn't really believe in it, but the truth was that Leo did, and current events had him thinking about that more than usual. But Leo shut down thoughts of JP before he could sink into them; he had lost his chance with the man, and Leo knew he had to just accept that. "Still, he could have taken you with him," Leo said, but he was smiling, just giving this Nathan guy a hard time. "I think maybe I've seen you with him actually," he went on, "at The Stacks. Though I could be wrong." But if Emily and Nathan were spending every day together, Leo assumed Nathan was at The Stacks at least some of the time. "He better bring you something back," Leo commented, wiping down the bar some more so that there were no more incidents, just in case Emily put her face down on it again, though he didn't expect that. "You probably are better off here," Leo said, grabbing the beer he had under the bar and taking a sip, deciding he didn't need to hide it from Emily (or maybe he just didn't care enough to). "Sure, there's always something to do there, but it's like...you can never really relax," Leo elaborated. "It's like the city is too alive or something. I was on edge the entire time I lived there." It wasn't like Leo was a small town guy exactly; he'd lived in big cities before. But something about NYC had felt like too much.

He let him speak mostly, sometimes a listening ear was more than enough, giving life advice aren't what people need. And so he listened, and empathized. "Don't we all?" Ash sighed with jest, going back in time to fix every thing that went wrong would be a dream for him too, ignoring any time paradox it might cause, "guess the only thing we can change is right now." He shrugged, understanding his predicament more than he thought. "It's.. okay to give yourself the time to move on. And then just, try," he shrugged, "..me and my ex didn't speak for ten years basically." It was ugly it was painful, and taking that step to speak first was stressful and awkward. "Not- saying you need to take ten years. But.. we're also trying to find some way to normalcy in each others lives again. Without the whole.. relationship thing."

Again Leo laughed, without humor this time. "Yeah, I guess if time travel existed, we'd never learn from our mistakes. But frankly I don't really care. There are so many things I'd do over, and not just the situation with JP." If he could go back in time, Leo's parents would still be alive, but then he'd never have met JP. Pressing his palm to his forehead, Leo groaned, "Ugh, time travel is so confusing." He pushed the thought out of his mind, refocusing on Ashton. "So you managed to find a way to mend things, at least enough to be in each other's lives," Leo said. "Interesting...though yeah, I don't want it to take ten years." Leo thought about how this related to his own situation, and he told Ashton, "That's the thing: we're already back to talking and flirting. It's like there's something pulling us together. I don't think I could fight it even if I wanted to."

Irvin looks in the direction Leo had mentioned, good looking but not really their type. "You really gave this a lot of thought, haven't you?" The florist comments, turning their attention back to the other." If someone doesn't want to dance with you they can just say a polite no and move along. I feel that if you take a bracelet than that is an invitation for anyone that is interested, no matter what gender." They hum taking the baby blue fabric in their hands, still not sure himself." But I can see your points. It's suppose to be a fun night, wouldn't want to get hurt."

Laughing, Leo nodded and admitted, "Kind of yeah, at least in the last few minutes." Those thoughts had flashed through his mind in quick succession. But Leo thought he was right. "Sure, in a perfect world, that's how it would go," he told Irvin. "Someone would just politely say no, or hell, they'd dance with you even if it didn't match their sexual orientation. It's just a dance, it's not a marriage proposal or something, you know what I mean? But that's just not the reality of this world we live in." Things would be a lot easier if it were. "So yeah, there's a bit too much unpredictability for me to fully lean into this, at least at a formal occassion. Maybe if we were in a bar and everyone was a bit rowdier, I could get into it." It might even have been fun in that scenario.

Shaking his head, Leo replied, "No, it doesn't. Sometimes I don't believe in love either. That's why it's always been easy for me to leave...well almost always. But lately I've been wondering if I really feel that way." Leo always thought love was a waste of time, despite the fact that his parents had had a good marriage. It hadn't saved them. Love wasn't enough to keep Leo from becoming an orphan. And rationally Leo knew it was kind of crazy to think like that - something abstract like love had no chance against the very concrete experience of your car being mangled with you inside it - but it was just a notion that had cemented itself in his mind in the years since his parents' deaths. "Weddings are fine if you're really in love, but most people who get married aren't," Leo answered. "As for what I want...I don't really know. I haven't known for a long time." Things felt a little clearer lately though. Taking a drag of his cigarette, he held out his free hand to the man and said, "My name is Leo by the way."

"Right? A bouquet!" It made sense in their head, also it would be nice to catch it, fun even. "I guess but now a days would it be so bad for others to join? I could have used the flowers for the kitchen, if I was able to grab them of course." Irvin breaths in." But I guess this is nice too, the bracelets are well made and this way everyone gets something." He chuckles." I rather not imagine being not chosen, I'm not sure I could survive the embarrassment."

"Maybe." He still wasn't sure, dancing was fun but was that something that he was feeling tonight? Maybe he could just take one as a gift and not wear it, that would be okay, right?

Shrugging, Leo replied, “I haven’t actually been to a wedding in awhile. Maybe the whole throwing bouquet thing is dated; maybe this is how they do it now.” This was at least more gender inclusive, but that brought another thought to mind. “What if someone asks you who you don’t want to dance with?” Leo asked. “And what if you want to dance with someone and think they’ll say no?” He looked around, spotting a drop dead gorgeous guy across the room. “Like that guy,” he said, “the one who’s practically busting out of his suit jacket. Super hot, but like, what if he doesn’t want to dance with another guy, you know?” Looking at the basket of bracelets, Leo decided, “There are just too many variables to consider. I don’t think this is for me.”

John-Paul didn't want to stay away from him. He didn't want them to avoid each other. He didn't want to lose him all over again. He didn't want things to be so hard for them. He also didn't want it to interfere with him and Maddox. He didn't. But he wanted both men. Maddox and Leonidas. He couldn't deny he loved, LOVED, loved, Mad, but he also had very strong feelings bordering on the same for Leo that he just couldn't shove aside. And by God had he been trying.

"I can' stop thnkin' 'bout'chu either," he admitted quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. "I don'...." know what to do about it. "Mad's jus'....we..." His brow furrowed, conflicted. He fidgeted gently with his ring, rolling it back and forth on his finger. "I love 'im, but..." he went on shakily. "I think...I migh' still....I dunno," he stumbled. He couldn't say it. He couldn't get out the words because what if. The fallout of Leonidas would be devastating if he was wrong, and he wasn't sure he could survive it.

Ugh, this was torture. All Leo wanted was to rip JP’s clothes off. That thought kept coming to him, right here where anyone could see; Leo wouldn’t care if it meant he got to touch the man. Eyes widening at JP’s admission, Leo smiled. “Yeah babe?” he asked. “Glad it’s not just me, but also…I wish it were easier for you.” Leo didn’t like the idea of causing strife for his ex. As JP stumbled over his words, Leo smiled, though it was somber because he knew that it didn’t change anything. JP was still off limits. Still, it was nice to hear. “Yeah, me too,” Leo said, making it clear he understood JP’s meaning. Finally he let go of the man, dropping his hands, and he laughed sardonically. “So what do we do about this?” He asked JP.

"Ah, not really a place I go, I do know some people that work there too though," Ash shook his head though at least making some form of a connection with that establishment. Nothing really against it per se, just never anything for him. He waited expectantly with a cheeky grin for a but as Leo hesitated on a no to a picture, "of course not, snap away, I think it'll be pretty funny too." Ash gave the camera a wide smile with a small peace sign below for him to snap a picture. "What's the guy's name? Maybe if he ever comes for a King's game I'll make sure to shout you out, Leo says hi and all that." Ashton had to chuckle at the scenario, "maybe you should, just out of curiosity. If this isn't a guy that's.. well, gonna get all up in your head too," Ash lightly shrugged cautiously double backing on that idea not really realizing what he might be encouraging, a fun curious look up on a hook up, or another tragic ex to spiral him further.

He couldn't help the gently scoff, wishing that he was confident to say he's got it all figure out, "I'm not sure if I really deserve them just yet. But.. I guess." He tried not to continue this habit of self sabotage, stopping himself from spiraling further into that line of thought. He focused back on the real woes that mattered more, "but you guys tried at a relationship, right? How'd that go?" Ash knew the answer might not be pretty, but it might be nice for him to get it off his chest at least, to someone that has no stake in the game. "Then.. do you still want to at least be in his life? Or he in yours?" Claude's face specifically comes to mind, "if.. you still care bout him, then that's the point. Doesn't.. always have to end up romantic."

What Ashton was saying was something Leo had thought about already. “I do want to be in his life whatever way I can,” he admitted. “Like…I left him once, and I don’t know if I can do it again. But I need to get it out of my head that we’ll ever be want I want us to be. Those days are done, and it’s my fault.” Leo wasn’t just taking the blame - this was a fact. If he hadn’t left, he and JP would still be together. Leo had no doubt about that. “I know what I’d do if I could time travel,” Leo said, laughing solemnly. 

Leaning against the wall, Leo put his cigarette between his lips and patted his pockets for his lighter, forgetting where it was. He found it and quickly lit his cigarette, taking that first puff and sighing, eyes closed. Yeah, he wasn't a smoker, but sometimes it was just what he needed. As the calm washed over him, Leo opened his eyes and looked at the stranger, saying, "So I take it you're not a fan of weddings."

Ash was glad the man was laughing over the situation at least, some people take hockey a little too seriously, and that's coming from the guy that plays it for a living. "I think it's working, we've had a pretty cursed year this season," he grinned, honestly with the time passing after the last brutal lost in the playoffs, it's been getting easier to get over it. all. "I'm sure he did," Ash gestured the sentiment back to the other man, before chuckling, "want a photo just in case you ever see him again?" Ash isn't ever opposed to photos when asked, specially if it's for a fan, even by proxy, and this would be pretty funny.

He took a second the genuinely contemplate the question, something about opening up to strangers that had no prior connections to you to talk about vulnerable topics, it's somehow almost easier. "Well.. maybe someone I thought I wasn't allowed to have," he shrugged, "it was more self sabotage I guess." How many years did Ash let slip away, telling himself it wasn't worth ruining a friendship with March? "Have you tried talking to him yet? Feel out where you guys stand with each other?"

“I bartend at Eden’s,” Leo answered, “so if you never go there, you’ll never see me bartending.” Leo had taken the job because it was the only bartending gig he could find, but now he was glad that was where he ended up, and not just because JP worked there. It was just…comforting. It made Leo feel less alone working with those people, and that was definitely not something he’d anticipated finding at a strip club. “I want to say no because I’m probably never going to see him again,” Leo replied, “but…if I actually do run into him and don’t have the picture, I’m going to be pissed. So…yes, if you don’t care.” He moved to stand by Ashton, holding his phone out to take a selfie with him. “Man, he’d lose his mind if he saw this,” Leo said with a grin, looking at the photo. “Kind of makes me want to look him up.”

As he listened to Ashton, Leo just nodded, and finally he said, “Well it sounds like you’ve figured out that you can have this person. You’ve got one up on me.” He thought back to when he was with JP, how it had felt, and Leo admitted, “I think back then I didn’t want to get attached. That doesn’t usually go well in my experience. And then I convinced myself he was better off without me. That’s actually probably still true.” Leo sighed again, shaking his head. “What would be the point?” he asked Ashton. “He’s not available. He’s got a boyfriend already.” Leo had missed his chance. 

"singles dance." Irvin murmurs not sure he wanted to go through it, self esteem still shaken from the past month." Whatever happened to throwing a bouquet?" He glances towards the other, Irvin couldn't really place him, not sure if they had met before or not, he assumed the latter. "Sounds like a complicated ritual, what if you don't get picked by anyone?"

Nodding, Leo replied, "Yeah, I think so. Kinda weird, right? I mean...to each their own, but it's definitely the first time I've been to a wedding with something like this." Leo took a sip of his drink, looking around to see who was wearing bracelets; that would help him decide if he wanted to wear one after all. Turning back to the other, Leo exclaimed, "That's what I said! Okay, I more so thought it, but yeah, like that's what I was expecting. But I guess traditionally that's just for the girls, and also this way everyone has a chance to meet someone, but still...imagine being the one not chosen." Leo cringed at the thought, even if admittedly he didn't expect that to happen to him.