#brazyspirit

The backyard was a blur of domesticity that Eddie couldn't quite bring into focus. The smell of Bobby's brisket and the high-pitched frequency of Christopher's laughter should have been enough to ground him, but he felt like he was still vibrating at the speed of the car crash. Every time he closed his eyes, he wasn't in Los Angeles; he was back in the dust of that roadside, looking at the empty space where a truck (and his best friend) used to be. Eddie wasn't built for the aftermath of things; he was built for the crisis, the moment where he could pull a weapon or a Halligan and make the world make sense through sheer force of will. Sitting here with a lukewarm beer while people celebrated felt like one hugely uncomfortable performance.

His eyes followed the familiar shape of the man who had been a ghost for forty-eight hours---------- Buck was moving through the crowd with that characteristic golden-retriever energy, but Eddie could see the tells. The way his grip tightened on his soda, the minute flinch when a balloon popped near the kids. It made the air in Eddie's lungs feel thick and hot. He needed to say something, but the words felt like lead in his throat, blocked by every emotion he'd shoved into a box the moment he woke up in that hospital bed.

adelaide wasn't quite ready to go home yet, not wanting to walk through the thick fog on her own. it was a little scary. but mostly just dispiriting. day in and day out, much of the same. the temperature had a rise but it wasn't fulfilling enough. for possibly the first time since getting to portum, the hybrid felt homesick. she missed new orleans. it might be warm and humid at this time, but she ached for it. in trying to make portum her new home, it wasn't a great feeling to have. a familiar face at the bar perks her up, a reason not to go anywhere for a while. maybe she could even convince the vampire to walk her home later. ❝ can you make me something that will remind me of being on the beach? virgin, please. ❞ she sits in front of koda, taking a quick glance around when settling on the stool, letting her gaze come back to the other when she finishes her brief survey of the bar. ❝ do you ever miss london, koda? ❞

In name alone, The Old Haunt seemed like exactly the kind of place you might find a vampire. It was all a bit kitschy, wasn't it? Arriving in Portum, Skylar didn't have very high hopes for a small town so off the map. Admittedly, she'd become a bit of a city girl. But she had to give it to them. Portum did kitschy well.

When she stepped foot into the bar, it was more than what she was expecting. She came with the sole intention of scoping out her little brother's boyfriend. But maybe she'd stay for a drink after all. It was a little over the line, even for Skylar. She knew that. But she just wanted to set eyes on this Koda, that was all.

Missing the last few years of her sibling's lives had her feeling...disconnected from the lot. But that was something she would never admit. What harm was there in seeing what they had been up to anyway? Or who they'd been up to?

Skylar found herself a seat at the bar, one of the male patrons immediately taking a liking to her. He was persistent, she'd give him that. But she wasn't interested. Skylar could buy her own drink. Skylar's head soon whipped around to face the patron next to her, eyes glowing orange once her patience was up. "Fuck off." She bit back under her breath.

She watched with slight satisfaction as he immediately backed away and left her alone, her eyes returning to their light brown color. With a sigh, she turned her attention to the bartender. "Let me do a gin and tonic. Please."

It had been quite the long day for Dex, and he was rather looking forward to his shift being over so that he could go home and get some rest. There had been quite a few difficult calls that he had faced, it seemed that some days were more like that than others. Among them had been one where he had guided a firefighter through a burning building in search of a lone woman trapped. It had been a relief when he heard that both Firefighter Buckley and the civilian had made it out alive, but he had thought that would be the end of it.

Until he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder drawing his attention to another young man, and he realised who it was he was speaking to.

It had been a long few days, and now, he was beginning to truly feel the consequences of it. The adrenaline had worn off, the discharge papers had been filed, and despite his best efforts to put on a brave face in front of everyone, there was one person who he could not manage that in front of. He tried his best, tried to hold it together for him. TK had already been through so much in his life, lost so much. Carlos had always tried to be the one who could hold it together for his partner's sake, but right now? God, it was harder than he could have imagined.

He had been mostly silent on the car ride back from West Park, trying his best to keep some kind of conversation going with TK, but the entire time, his hand never left his fiance's knee. It was as if he felt that should he let go, it would slip away. All of it.

By the time that the two of them reached the loft, he could feel the exhaustion coursing through his entire body and he stepped inside the familiar space feeling a strange sense of unease. The last time he had been there, the last time he had walked out of that door, he had spoken so harshly to TK, and there had been a time where he felt that would be the last thing he ever said to the man he loved. He wasn't sure how long he had been standing there for when he heard the sound of TK's voice behind him, and Carlos turned around.

Friday nights, Meena had decided a while back, were for being a public menace, just like teenagers always used to be, back in the day. The world outside Portum had moved away from traditional antisociality and towards an online system, but there was still so much charm and fun in the classic "approaching people on the street" method.

"Oi-" she called out once somebody caught her eye, with something that could only be described as a shit-eating grin on her face. "You work at the gym, right? I'm trying to see how many people I can lure over to the strength tester before the fair packs up,"

And that really was it: her evil, devious, no-good scheme. It's rather funny, the sorts of things you'll do to pass the time once your perspective on mortality changes.