Double life

Tyler had never fully understood Nick Dalton. He didn’t fit well into that Dalton vision - the lawyers, the hard workers, the dedicated business men. Where Benji was a workaholic, killing himself by bending over backwards in his studies and to please their father, Nick was the opposite. He was the rebel without a cause, a man who acted seemingly without purpose or care, only doing what he wanted when he wanted no matter who else it caused problems for. Tyler didn’t like him - not for his overall attitude, not really, but because he was nothing if not the opposite of the big brother that Benji needed and deserved. 

“I’d be surprised if he knew what sleeping in was,” Tyler shook his head, “But I didn’t see him this morning. Probably already found a cozy place in the library by now.” 

Nick shook his head at Tyler’s words. They were true. Which was a fucking shame. Benji should be enjoying his life. Not that the senator cared. Selfish prick. “I thought that was what he had you for. Keep him from wasting his life away in the library. Tell me you at least get him out occasionally?” He had nothing against libraries, something that would likely have come to a surprise to the guy he was walking with. Nick knew that he gave off the impression of a guy who was more likely to have spent his college years at frat parties and never stepping foot in a library. Not entirely inaccurate. Nick drained the last of his coffee and tossed the cup into a trash can before finally turning his attention to his shirt. “How much further?”

Confident as Hazel was in Kaitlin’s ability, there was still a sense of relief at the fact that she hadn’t been chosen as an elite player. They’d both been so busy lately it felt as though she hadn’t gotten to see her sister at all. Did Nickel feel the same about Sean? She couldn’t imagine how he could; Kaitlin was lovely and kind and Sean was…not. 

Still, when she saw Nick at the bar, Hazel found herself strolling up beside him. Might as well play nice, get a drink, say hello to an old kind-of-friend. Remembering her mistake from Beltaine, she ordered herself a cocktail that would be a bit stronger than mere champagne and turned to lean against the bar to wait. “Nick,” she greeted him with a friendly smile, “It’s been a while. How’ve you been?” 

Nickel turned at the sound of his name, taking a drink of his scotch as he did so. “Hazel,” he returned the friendly smile. Technically she was the enemy, a Seelie fey. But the senator always said to keep your enemies close. Besides unlike other Seelie, he and Hazel actually had some shared history thanks to fey camp. It was easy to be friendlier with her. “Yeah, I’d say. Surprised you managed to stay away.” He gave her a wink along with his teasing.

“Keeping busy. You? How’s the Seelie court treating you? Enjoying that whole looks over substance shit?” Seelie’s reminded him too much of the crowd he had to hang around with to keep his ears open to anything of importance for his queen. Easy to dislike thanks to that. “Heard you guys had a little trouble with your bumbling knight. So what is it, too much hair gel or too tight pants or is he just a fucking idiot?” Nick didn’t try to hide his glee at the idea that Sorrel had gotten into trouble. It was just a shame he wasn’t tithed in Nickel’s opinion. Then again, as far as he remembered, you had to actually be liked or something like that to be tithed. Probably what saved Sorrel’s skin.

Jasper was never the party sort. His main reason for enjoying large gatherings was picking up on details that others would miss or the whispers that were just a little too loud under alcohol’s influence. And most got loose during Beltaine - hopped up on hormones and the desire to be free of responsibilities even for a short while. Jasper had been forcibly thrust into the latter company as one drink was just a little too sweet, a little too much. And after, everything around him seemed bigger and brighter, his mood included. So when he was approached by Nick, Jasper was eager to talk. “Hey, man. It’s good, yeah. A bit loud, but when is it not when everyone gets excited about something. Are you surviving the night?”

Nickel laughed his agreement at Jasper’s words. It was loud. But normally Nickel liked the loud. Less room for judgments. When the music was loud enough it could even drown out his own self-hatred for a little while. Make it easier to pretend he was good. “Everyone loves a good orgy,” he quipped in response to the idea of everyone being excited. “You know me and parties.” Nick gave Jasper a wry smile as he avoided answering the other’s question. “Just needed a little air. They really went all out with the flowers this year.” The flowers weren’t the reason he needed a little air but with any luck Jasper would connect the two. He wasn’t really in the mood to discuss why he wasn’t in the mood to party. Nickel took a drink of his whiskey before he spoke up again. “You crowning anyone tonight,” he asked in an effort to keep the conversation light and interesting. Hooking up was the whole purpose of this holiday after all.

Malachite was used to being alone at this time of night, or if there were any other subway-goers, they were just as inclined to stick to themselves. Unluckily for Mal, it seemed they’d chosen the one car that Nickel just so drunkenly stumbled into, and, rather quickly, made a giant mess of. Snorting softly, they pulled up the lapel of their jacket to further curl into, and hope Nickel found something more interesting to play with that night, “Does it matter? It seems you had enough of both for the night.”

Ignoring the fact that Malachite was clearly not in the mood, Nickel sat down. “Is that even a thing? Pretty sure for the likes of us too much doesn’t exist.” Wasn’t excess a fae thing? Certainly seemed that way to Nickel. Maybe more so the Seelie court but their court didn’t hold back at parties either from what he’d seen. Except for the one he was sitting beside. “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you party, that would be something to see. As would you on a date. I might even pay money to see that. Mine.” The distinction was important because Nickel had no problem spending other people’s money on all sorts of bullshit. “With the way you’re acting, Mal, you’d think you weren’t happy to see me,” he added with a laugh.

It had been a nice shirtdress, a soft, pale blush color tied with a cloth belt that, on the reverse side, showed a subtle pattern on cream. It had carried her through interview after interview, brunch after awkward family brunch, capably and without complaint. Yvette, whose attention was fixed on the map on her phone–the place her aunt had picked was obscure, which was how Auntie liked it–felt first the spike of heat on her shoulder, then the spread of warmth, all down her right side.

Yvette looked up, brown eyes opened wide, her mouth forming an O around the words what the fuck. He spoke first; she closed her mouth. Yvette’s first instinct was to scream. Her second was to say she was fine. She resisted both. Regardless of what this man said about himself, she was resisting very thoroughly and encountering success.

“Do you have somewhere to go?” Yvette found herself saying, out of longstanding habit. Her nose crinkled at the whiff of stale alcohol–some kind of liquor–and beat down any further concern her conscience might dredge up. She brought up Auntie’s contact, typing up a quick message. can we reschedule? 

The question was so not what he expected that Nick looked over at the person he’d just nearly ran into. Or from the look of her dress had indeed ran into. It took him a moment to realize she was indeed asking him. An amused smile replaced the scowl. He wasn’t sure he’d ever been picked up this quick before. If she was dressed differently he might have taken her for a hooker. Instead he was just amused and curious to see where this would go.

“Actually I was trying to decide where to go for,” Nick checked his watch, “brunch.” She looked like a brunch kind of girl. “I don’t suppose you know of any place. I’m positively famished.” He should probably apologize for the coffee stain on her dress but he couldn’t lie. Instead he opted for something vague. “I always hate it when I get coffee on nice clothes. Someday maybe I’ll learn to leave the lid on.” He wasn’t saying her dress was nice but if she took it that way all the better.

Nickel wasn’t a fan of Cotilan. Even less of Fidchell. They were just humans, it didn’t matter. Only it did matter and he couldn’t seem to bury that. It was stupid, he didn’t even like humans except for a select few. He fully believed he was better than most of them. They were weak mortals and he was a god. So it shouldn’t bother him to see them getting paraded about and fighting to their deaths. They were fleeting playthings and nothing more. Except when they were more. No matter how much he hated himself for letting any of them become more his self hatred couldn’t burn away the feelings. Scotch couldn’t either. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to give it his damnedest tonight. Nickel strolled up to the bar without bothering to look around. “Scotch, neat.” He ordered his drink and only then bothered to take a glance around the room before turning back to the bartender, “Better make that two.” Tonight felt like a good night to go double fisted on the drinks.

Tyler was only partly satisfied with the fact that he’d one-upped Nick, probably only because the guy was still intoxicated from the night before. He certainly smelled as if he were still intoxicated…or like maybe he bathed in it. Tyler had always known Nick as Benji’s disaster of an older brother, the guy who had never been there for Benji when he’d needed it. No, Tyler had been there for him instead. Not that it mattered. Benji didn’t need him. “Yeah, alright,” Tyler rolled his eyes a bit. A part of him hoped no one saw him around town with this disaster - and part of him didn’t care. Everyone around knew Nick was a disaster, after all. Anyone who knew him well enough. “Steak and eggs will probably good to soak up the liquor.” 

Nick’s stomach rumbled at the sound of steak and eggs. Fuck, he was hungry! “Yeah, that sounds good. Lead the way.” Nick took another drink of his coffee as they started walking again. It was less for the caffeine buzz and more for the aesthetic of it all. Far too much of his life was spent on the aesthetic. He didn’t see how the Seelie lived like this. It was empty and boring as fuck. Nick took another long drink before he broke the awkward silence between them. “So what’s my little brother up to? Holed up in some dark corner of the library or is he actually sleeping in?” Benji was the only thing he and Tyler had in common, the only topic of conversation worth pursing in Nick’s opinion. Even though he knew very well that Tyler had a low opinion of how he was as an older brother. Not that it bothered him, let Tyler think what he wanted.

Where: House of Yes

Who: @jasperxrebel

The party was raging, the venue crowded with people and those damned flower crowns. Too many of them hopped up on some elixir or other. Nickel was tempted to have one himself. Maybe actually enjoy the party. Instead he’d taken his fourth, fifth?, whiskey and stepped outside for some air. Times like this he wished he smoked. Then at least he’d have an excuse for being out here. Instead he just looked like a downer at a party. At least he wasn’t the only one. “Jasper, hey man,” he greeted the other fey with a smile, genuinely happy that it was someone he liked that came out. “How’s it going?” There was probably some religious shit he could say but Nickel had tuned out at camp when they started on that. Instead he’d focused on the fun parts, which judging from everyone inside he wasn’t the only one. The last five or so Beltaines had felt less and less fun. Maybe once he hit eighty or so he’d get back into party mode and think less about how much of an absolute ass most of them looked tonight.

“Can your brain not physically keep up this early in the morning?” Tyler mocked as Nick failed to answer any of his teasing questions, instead remarking on the time and need for coffee. Now Tyler certainly wasn’t a morning person by any stretch of the imagination, but he certainly didn’t bring that out on the streets. No, only Benji got to experience crabby morning Tyler on rare occasions. Tyler preferred to be presentable for the general public - which clearly, Nick did not feel the same. The offer of food of course was met with hesitant interest, though. Tyler also wasn’t one to turn down the offer of a meal. But could he stand to be seen with this train wreck standing before him? “It’s a deal if you at least fuckin’ button your shirt right first.” 

“Let’s go with that,” he answered. “Don’t tell me, you rise and shine like one of those morning people?” In truth Nick could be a morning person when he needed to be. Hidden under layers of faux hungover so no one knew just how attentive he really was. But he could pull it off when needed. Lately it had been a little harder. Sleep didn’t come as easy these days. The benefit, if it could be called that, was that his hungover act was easier to sell. As if he needed it to be easier. Even when Nick had tried to clean up his act, everyone had assumed the worst. Hungover, human disaster Nick Dalton was all anyone wanted to see. Nick was just giving people what they wanted. He chuckled at Tyler’s condition. It was tempting to remind the younger bloke that he was the one offering and paying. But what could he say, Tyler’s attitude amused him. “Let me finish my coffee first. What are you in the mood for? Make it good, I didn’t eat before the cocktail party I went to last night and shit on toothpicks and tiny pieces of toast just isn’t dinner.”

With his arms folded neatly in his lap, Benji nodded his head attentively, listening to the student sitting opposite him. She had failed the last legal exam of the year, meaning her graduate position was going to be re-packaged and gifted to the student who performed better than her. ‘She might have been stupid, but she wasn’t that stupid’ Benji thought as she wailed in hysterics. People glanced their way, some obviously irritated for having their breakfast disturbed; maybe a public coffee shop was a poor choice of setting to console his friend. “Your parents won’t hate you, that’s silly. They love you, and they’ll support you regardless.” He offered her cut-copy advice, empathizing with her pain but struggling to relate. She raised an eyebrow in response. “Really? You think so?” Her eyes glistened with a newfound hope. “Of course!” Benji beamed and wiped the stream of snot running down her nose. It was a lie, for all he knew her parent’s were going to be just as embarrassed and ashamed as she was. “Now look. Let’s call it a day, go take a bath, put on a face mask, you just need to relax.”

Benji apologized to the barista for the display of emotion as he paid for the two green teas, and made his way out of the cafeteria. He had called her a cab to take her home and offered his mobile. ‘I’m free whenever, just give me a ring!’ He remembers telling her and immediately regretted it. Truth be told, he wasn’t free ‘whenever’, he had five chapters to catch up on by tomorrow, or else he’d surely fall behind. He could hear himself breathing as he walked down the street, his lungs eating away at the thin oxygen he left for himself. What if he failed? Although he was surrounded by strangers, he couldn’t help but feel alone with his thoughts, the expectations slowly stripping away at his sanity. ‘You’ll be fine. No- not just fine, you’ll be perfect, you’re in the best position possible. Get it togeth-’ In the midst of his internal pep talk, a brutal force almost threw him to the ground, as he stumbled back to balance. The stench of B.O, alcohol and expensive cologne tickled at his nostrils, as he looked up to come face to face with his very own brother. “Nick!?” Benji gagged and covered his mouth, turning away for air. “You look disgusting!”  Although he was usually composed and selective with his language, his impulsiveness sometimes made it difficult for him to mask the truth, especially when speaking to someone he was comfortable around. He was used to seeing his brother like this. It was Benji who used to cover for him, Benji who would offer to nurse him back to reality after one Nick’s crazy benders. “Irresistible? Definitely not today.” Benji chuckled lightly. The stark comparison between the brothers was undeniable. While Nick failed to even get his shirt buttoned, Benji sported a pair black skinny jeans, black ankle boots and a baggy vintage black jumper tucked in but only on the left side of the waist. ‘Where are you going? Where have you been? What have you taken? What are you doing with your life?’ Although he so desperately wanted to bombard his brother with questions, he knew all too well he’d never get a straight answer. Nick was never a fan of interrogations anyway, possibly because he wasn’t ready to face his own reality. Pulling his brother to the side, Benji opted for a much softer approach. “How are you feeling? You really do look like a mess.” He joked, digging into his tote for his water bottle. “I’m guessing you’re on your way to work? Count your blessings, you’re lucky to have almost knocked me out because you can’t go in looking like… Looking like that.” 

He took out a small can of deodorant, a packet of gum, two Adderalls and some hydralyte. He watched as the hydralyte dissolved in the water, giving it an orange undertone, passing the ‘pick me ups’ to his older brother. Although he was a highly critical person, he didn’t necessarily enjoy criticizing his brother. He was aware Nick was all too familiar with lectures about ‘responsible adult decisions’ and ‘good life choices’, but while they had some effect on Benji, they never worked on Nick, evidently. In fact, he felt quite sorry for his brother. He wasn’t sure why he made the choices he was making, but at the end of the day, they were only a reflection of his internal world. He knew the same could be said for himself, with his incredibly high standards. 

Everything about him softened when he realized it was Benji he ran into. Despite Benji’s words he smiled at the other. “Hey, don’t bruise the ego along with the goods,” he teased with a soft chuckle that matched Benji’s. He might have felt bad about the way his younger brother sprang into action to help him but Benji liked it. Helping people was his thing. Nick was just providing Benji with another opportunity to do that. His smile turned a little wry as he took the proffered pills and water. The pride and joy of the Daltons passing out amphetamines on the street like a high rent drug addict. Wouldn’t the senator be proud. Except Nick knew instead of owning up to his own responsibility for this mess their dad would pass blame to him. As if he got Benji hooked on recreational drugs instead of Benji caving to the pressures of keeping the high expectations on him. Maybe he could help, not with the expectations, those were all Benji’s as the only male Dalton heir worth a damn. But he could talk to Mal, figure out if one of the elixirs would have less issues. Probably would. Nick didn’t know much about elixirs but surely they had to be better than adderall. If Benji was gonna be taking uppers the least Nick could do was make sure his little brother had the good stuff. A helping hand with all the shit Benji had on his plate. Because he didn’t judge Benji for using them. It wasn’t as if Benji was crushing them up and snorting them. Now that would have him a little concerned. Probably. Or not, everyone needed to kick back a little, enjoy themselves, especially Benji. Who was he to judge Benji for having a little fun, drugs involved or not. After a few gulps of the water, that was the only thing Benji had given him that would actually do anything with his fey metabolism, he spoke up. “Actually I’m on my way to find breakfast. Lunch…” Nick wasn’t sure what time of day it was but he knew he had time before work for food and a shower. “You hungry? I’ll let you pick,” he added with a coaxing smile. Usually when they did anything together Nick let Benji choose. A way of showing he cared. They’d do what Benji wanted or was good at. It might not be taking responsibilities off but he hoped it gave Benji a boost in other ways.

A footlong hot dog with all the works was good no matter what time of the day. Like most in New York, Jasmine was used to eating on the go, using her pinkie finger to wipe off the chili off the edge of her mouth. It was unhealthy and fattening, which was the point, considering that she had woken up with a hangover and blurred memories of the previous night. Thankfully, her reflexes were mostly on point because no way in hell she was about to drop the toppings all over her clothes that took her a hour just to pick out this morning. Clearly eyeing the man up and down, she let out a scoff that was a bit holier than thou. “You’re cute most of the time, but no. The fuck is this?” She questioned with a dismissive hand wave over his body. “You can do better. So much better.”

A scoff was his initial reaction at seeing who it was judging him. None other then on of the Seelie princess rejects. Looking even more not Seelie princess-like eating that fucking hot dog. Which actually looked good despite the negative feelings he had towards hot dogs. He must be hungry. “I call it last night’s clothes tossed back on so I could get out before I had to make awful morning after small talk look.” Nick glanced back down at his clothes before looking back up. “I think it works.” Certainly worked for the I don’t give a damn look he was going for. “Not all of us have full outfit changes for the morning after. Or were you the one that woke up alone?” A footlong hot dog was clearly a hungover breakfast. Seelie were so high maintenance he could picture them taking an overnight bag to a one night stand. Nick took another drink of his coffee not bothering to go back to his shirt.

Tyler had seen it coming. Nick was doing what Nick did best, making a scene where there didn’t need to be one and probably making small children cry, not paying any attention to where he was going. Tyler almost blocked his path purely out of curiosity to see what would happen - and of course it was Nick spitting off a line and, what do ya know, still only worrying about the spilled coffee. “Alright man, I know you work at a bar or whatever but that doesn’t mean you literally have to take it with you. Did you douse yourself in liquor before you left or something? Can you smell yourself or did you burn your nostrils out?” Tyler’s eyebrows knitted together, looking the elder Dalton up and down, “You’re like a walking, talking, horror show. Did you fucking dress yourself in the dark?” 

The familiar voice, and insults, brought his attention to the person he’d nearly collided with. As much as the young guy seemed to hate Nick, and really Nick couldn’t blame him for that, he liked Tyler. He wasn’t bad, for a human. Good for Benji. Came with a good reference from someone whose opinion held weight with Nick. He even worried about Tyler a little with his attraction to the Seelie casino but so far he seemed to be staying away. But fuck if right now he didn’t remind Nick of one of those little yapping dogs. “That’s a lot of fucking questions man, it’s only,” Nick looked at his watch with a frown, “eleven thirty. At least let a guy have his coffee before the inquisition.” He gave Tyler a smile before glancing around to see if Benji was with him, disappointed to see he wasn’t. “I’m on my way to find food, you hungry?” Not the best lunch companion he could get but offering the kid some food wasn’t going kill him.

Another sleepless night meant another morning spent walking along the beach until the sun came up, meant a clear need for coffee before he made his way to the library for the day. It was hardly a surprise to spot – or rather, smell – a familiar face already headed out of the coffee shop. And making quite the spectacle of himself, not that Gale would have expected any less. He could partially respect the party boy persona Nickel pulled off to such an extent that it was unclear, at times, how much was a persona and how much was real; it certainly had to aide in his work for the Court, so long as he didn’t do anything to knock him right out of the social circles he was supposed to be tapped into. But Gale knew Nickel took his role seriously… as much as appearances may have screamed the opposite. A wry smile pulled at his lips as he stepped to the side before Nickel could barge right into him, too busy making faces at a child to notice the near collision before it was too late. He reached out with a tired sigh and gently took the coffee from the other’s hands, giving him a look that was half amusement, half gentle chastisement. “Fix your shirt, Nickel, and I’ll buy you breakfast.”

At the feel of someone taking his coffee cup Nick finally looked up. Even before Gale spoke his face grew more sheepish. “Sure thing, dad,” he quipped. Despite the tease he was clearly chastised. Nick didn’t waste any time finishing buttoning up his shirt, even going the extra step to smooth it out a little. Not that it helped but he did try. He might even tuck it in once they got where they were going. A hand running through his hair to try and settle it into something more decent looking as he looked over at Gale. Gale looked impossibly like he’d gotten less sleep then Nick had, which lately wasn’t much. “You look like you need the rest of that more than I do, feel free,” he said motioning to his coffee still in Gale’s hand. Nick wasn’t going to pry into the reasons for Gale’s sleeplessness, that’s not what they did. He didn’t want Gale prying into the reasons for his. “What’s for breakfast, I’m starving!” He looked over at the other fey with an expectant smile, all traces of his momentary sheepishness gone. Nickel looked a little more presentable now, not as much as he’d have liked to in Gale’s company, but Gale had certainly seen him worse. Hell most of New York had thanks to the tabloids.

Where: Any street I’m good

Who: open (come at me!)

Nick reeked with the smell of last nights alcohol. His clothes were clearly from the night before, wrinkled and hastily thrown back on. A coffee cup clutched between his teeth as his hands worked to fix the buttons on his shirt. He could probably use a shower, but he’d worry about that before his shift at the Rookery. For now he was hungry. Nothing at the coffee shop had looked appealing so he’d grabbed his coffee and went off in search of a real meal. A glance at his reflection on the window of the coffee shop had let him know his shirt was buttoned wrong. Nick didn’t slow down his stride as he worked to fix it. He sneered, or as best he could with the coffee cup between his teeth, at a mother shielding her kids from him like asshole was infectious. Abandoning his shirt half buttoned, he pulled the coffee cup out of his mouth to make a face at one of the kids who was staring. Nick turned forward just in time to barely avoid colliding with someone. Coffee jostled out of his cup onto the sidewalk, Nick barely managing to avoid spilling it on his shoes. “Jesus fucking Christ! I know I’m irresistible but damn.” He was too busy worrying about his coffee, his shoes, his inconvenience to look at the person he’d nearly collided with.