Lone Wolf

"oh yeah, all the caffeine." theo laughed lightly. he felt kind of bad for talking about how well his bar was doing with all things considered. but ever since coming to town and opening the place, he had learnt that he needed to celebrate the small wins or he'd go crazy. he smiled at the man behind the cart and then turned to her, watching her try to decide what to have. "i'm trying to avoid overly sweet stuff." he shrugged "but a mocha does sound good."

"actually, i'm pretty sure shakespeare probably dealt with a lot of drunk assholes in the crowds of his shows," romy pondered aloud more so than replied, actions coming to a still and eyes flickering up towards the ceiling in brief consideration. as though she'd momentarily blipped into a room of her own thought before snapping back into her body and returned to cleaning the glass.

theo simply nodded in agreement. he always found it strange how rare dealing with drunken assholes had been at this place. maybe he was just fortunate enough to never get them, but a part of him liked to think that this town just didn't have all that many compared to the bars in new york he was used to frequenting.

theo laughed along with the man as he raised his drink to his lips again, taking a short sip, eyes not moving from rhys. "you think?" he questioned as he rested his glass back down "never really thought her voice was all that great." he shrugged "controversial i know, but i've seen some real good singers on that stage over there, could certainly give a few pop stars a run for their money." he added, as he reached up and grabbed a glass, pouring out a pint before the man could even finish talking.

“nothing coffee or an energy drink can’t handle, boss.” as if on auto pilot, which he was, dario began to settle into the rhythm of things. he began fidgeting with the coffee maker in the back, lazily plopping in coffee grounds, setting it up to get something brewing. “okay maybe like ten minutes. you know how she is,” he tiredly joked, nodding to the coffee maker. the last comment made his smile slowly fade and he turned to properly look at theo. he can’t remember the last time someone took that much notice in him. “no,” he says after a minute, “i haven’t been okay for a while, theo. but we keep on living, right? we adjust and that’s life.” he didn’t mean to sound stand offish, truly, the guy was just not used to this. he turned back towards the coffee machine, “you want a cup?”

"let's not with the energy drinks. those things are awful for you." theo reminded dario, trying his hardest to not sound like a parent telling a child off, but it was hard not to with the boy. "used to drink ten a day back in law school, thank god i stopped." he added with a light laugh, trying to keep things lighter.

when all the men began to 'explain' the situation to him theo resisted every urge he had to roll his eyes. never quite understanding why people argued so much over paying for a round, but there was a lot he strugged to understand about the patrons of his bar lately.

a small scoff of satisfaction escaped romy at the sound of theo ordering the guy out. while her gaze lowered to focus on a freshly emptied glass that someone had returned to the bar, her ears acutely listened to see if he'd throw a tantrum. when no such yelling occurred, she assumed he'd merely thrown out a profanity and left. goddamn, finally.

"you're right, he did say that, but i doubt shakespeare ever had to deal with drunk assholes like you do." theo joked. extremely thankful for the fact that he hadn't reacted in such a way, and had good reasoning for it. those fights never ended well for anybody involved, and always just meant more for theodore to deall with when he was already fairly busy.

Thomas stared at Theo for a second after the explanation, like he was trying to sort out whether he’d done something wrong without realizing it. Eventually he gave a small nod, accepting it at face value. “Alright,” he said simply, voice low and even. He took another drink from his glass before setting it back down carefully. At the question about his truck, his shoulders eased just a little. That, at least, was something he understood. “Ain’t sweet,” he admitted plainly. “Looks rough.” A faint shrug followed. “But it runs good. Don’t make strange noises neither.” Which seemed important to him. “I work on it myself.” There was a quiet sort of pride in that, subtle but there. When Theo mentioned crossfit, Thomas nodded once. “Makes you stronger,” he said like that explained the appeal enough. “I like knowin’ I can carry things. Or people.” The last part came out matter of factly, not threatening in his mind, though it probably sounded that way anyway. Then Theo said the names, and Thomas’s brows pulled together immediately. He looked genuinely confused now, head tilting slightly. “…Cher?” he repeated slowly. His eyes narrowed faintly as he tried to place it. “Madonna?” Another pause. “Shania?” He glanced toward the stage, then back at Theo. “Are they bands too?” he asked plainly.

"all you need i guess man" theo had never even had a car until he came to town, he never needed one, and knew better than to get anything too flashy around here, settling for a slightly beat up old jeep, so he knew all about how a rough ride only needed to ride. when thomas mentioned needing to carry people theo's eyes shot up and looked up at him more directly, lifting his own glass to take a swig, trying to work out once again, what exactly this guy was referring to, though his mind had drifted to a certain explination, it was unlikely to be the right one. "yeah you look strong enough, man." he nodded, leaving it there, eyes flickering down, hoping thomas wouldn't notice. wouldn't be the first time theo got the wrong idea from someone, or gave them a worse one.

Thomas just looked at him for a second, eyes steady, not mean, just trying to figure out why the man kept going. His head tilted slightly, confusion sitting plain on his face. “Why you sayin’ all that ‘bout me?” he asked, voice low and direct, not sharp, just honest. He didn’t sound offended. Just… puzzled. His gaze drifted past Theo then, back to the stage where someone was singing. The lights hitting them in a way that made Thomas shift a little in his seat. He shook his head once, slow. “Don’t like stages,” he muttered under his breath. His fingers tapped lightly against his glass before he picked it up, taking a small drink. At the question, he paused like he had to actually think on it, not used to being asked. “Drive,” he said first, simple. “Mostly at night.” A small pause. “Walk some. Fix things when they’re broke.” He set the glass back down with a soft clink. “Train.” Another beat. “Crossfit.” He shrugged one shoulder like that was all there was to it. “Keeps me busy.”

Theodore paused, looking almost past the man sat in front of him. worried for a moment that he had overstepped. it wouldn't be the first time in his life that he had said too much, or even said the wrong thing to the wrong person, but fortunately, he was pretty good at saving himself in these situations. "just making an observation, dude." he shrugged "not saying it's true, just, get that vibe." he added, unsure if he was helping himself at all.

◜☀︎ ˚ ﹔ closed starter › @theoxelkn. ◜☀︎ ˚ ﹔ location › utp.

"it's cool. things did go south quick, i get it." he shrugged, having fortunately left the gala as soon as everything went down. not wanting to get in the middle of stuff that didn't invovle him. "and coffee sounds great. i know how you feel, late one at the bar last night, so i'm a little, fragile today." theo joked as they walked towards the coffee cart "not much to report though. usual stuff. work, work, and more work. business is booming, i think it might be all the stress fo this town, makes people need to let off steam."

She didn't want to deal with people tonight. Working during the day always left her in a bad mood, and all she wanted to do was enjoy the drink in front of her. She lifted it to her lips and tried to ignore the man beside her, but he was making it hard. "I already told you to fuck off." She raised her voice and turned to look at him. She was going to say something else until the bartender interrupted.

theo's eyes darted to the man when sloane gestured towards him. staring at him as he tried to defend himself, before walking away. he was glad that things hadn't gone further, for the girl's sake but also becasue theo really didn't want a fight tonight. "for sure." he said grabbing a glass and pouring out a fresh one "are you okay? plenty of weirdos about tonight, not too sure why."

mila couldn't recall how long it had been since she'd been in a bar fight, but fighting a man would be a first, and she was up for it. luckily theo knew exactly how to swoop in and ease the tension, or perhaps the scrawny little man just didn't want to test the owner? either way, she smirked as he took off, and then she turned towards the knight in shining armor. "are you supposed to be calling your patrons weirdos?" she teased, though the man wasn't wrong at all. "how do you handle people butchering songs as much as you do? have your ears just started tuning it all out by now, or do you secretly wear ear plugs most of the shift?" she definitely didn't come in enough to be subjected to such horror, but she was sure that theo had to be one of the world's strongest soldiers to be tormented so often. "wait, do you ever get up there and sing?"

"i calls them how i see them, and that guy was a grade a freak." theo laughed. he was usually a little better with his words, but the drinks had been certainly flowing tonight and he was in the mood to be a little more honest with his thoughts. he looked at the stage when she mentioned people butchering songs and then back at mila. "i think i tune it out, or i just drink until they start to sound good, whichever ends up being easiest." he said gesturing to his drink behind the bar "of course i do" he said proudly, taking a swig of his drink "i'm a closer though. i wait until everyone is drunk enough to not mind my singing and then i get up and kill it." he laughed, resting his drink down "you fancy giving it a go? we could always duet. every dolly parton needs their kenny rogers, right?"

dario hadn’t slept..at all. just caffeine, nicotine, and a brain that refused to shut up once it got stuck on bash and everything that had gone down at the ball. by the time he pushed through the door, he looked it too: a little too wired, a little too worn down around the edges, like he’d been running on autopilot for hours. theo’s comment barely landed before dario exhaled through his nose, rubbing the back of his neck and letting his keys drop onto the counter with a soft clatter. “yeah…funny story,” he muttered, though there wasn’t much humor in it, just exhaustion layered under the words.

"not sure you could handle a double shift if you tried, dario" theo joked, turning to get a better look at the boy who was clearly not long after waking up. he looked even more tired than usual, and could tell this wasn't just another normal late night. "yeah it's running." he gestured to the coffee machine "are you sure five minutes will be enough?" he asked teasingly "cause no offence, and i mean this from a place of love and care, but" he paused, to take a sip of his own coffee "you look fucking rough, kid"

unlike most people, mila wasn't as shaken by recent events, so the thought of going out to get hammered after a stressful week sounded like the best way to unwind. she hadn't been to the splatoon in a while, but the place was usually packed and offered up enough of a distraction from the disarray of town, so it had been perfect. she could have done without some of the karaoke singers butchering good songs, but the more she drank, the more bearable that became. what she couldn't brush off was the drunk asshole who was repeatedly making advances at her as he inched closer and closer to her. all she had gathered from his stench was that he worked at the docks and was barking up a tree he couldn't afford, and after telling him to 'piss off' for what felt like the tenth time already, she was about to sock him right in his nose. "for the last time, get the fuck out of my face!" she huffed just before another voice chimed in. glancing over to see that it was theo, mila shrugged. "would you be mad if i made your place a little bloody? this guy won't take no for an answer, so i'm about to beat the shit out of him real quick."

"please don't." theo smirked playfully, turning to mila and then back to the man stood in front of her. "you wouldn't want that either, would you buddy?" he asked, retaining the soft smile across his lips as he spoke. as much as he enjoyed watching a good bar fight here and there, the last thing this place needed tonight was unnecessary drama, and he was a little too tipsy by this point to deal with it.

the interruption had miraculously been performed at the perfect moment, romy's fingers freshly wrapped around a nearby full glass of water. the place was packed, the air hot, and she'd merely poured it to have on hand. had it not been for the words that popped the tension bubble between her and the man across the bar, it would've been put to different use.

theo clocked the glass in romy's hand, and had seen enough bar interactions go south to know what she might do with it, thankfully though his interruption seemed to hold off any public soakings, and he was glad for it, not because the customer didn't deserve it or anything, he probably did, but because he just didn't need the extra work, not tonight.

Thomas sat where he was, shoulders relaxed but his presence still heavy at the end of the bar, fingers wrapped around his glass like it gave him something to hold onto. He gave a small nod at Theo’s words, understanding enough of that part. “Trouble don’t start with me,” he said, voice low and plain. “Just finds me sometimes.” He didn’t say more on it, didn’t seem like something that needed explaining. His eyes shifted past the bar then, landing on the stage where someone was singing loud and offkey, but the crowd cheering anyway. He watched for a second, head tilting just slightly like he was trying to figure it out, then shook it once, slow. “Ain’t for me,” he muttered. At the mention of taking the mic, his brows pulled together faintly, like the idea didn’t sit right at all. “No, sir,” he said, firm but not sharp. He took a small drink, setting the glass back down careful. “Don’t sing.” A pause, his gaze drifting back to the stage, then to the room. “Don’t see the point in folks watchin’ me like that.” His fingers tapped once against the glass, thoughtful. “I’m better off sittin’ right here.”

theo smirked, though he knew the man wasn't joking in what he said. he still found it funny though. he heard the same kind of thing from most people who started trouble in his bar, but weirdly, he actually believed this guy a little more than the rest. "yeah that's what they all say." he nodded, not wanting to start anything, just stating a fact. "you sound unsure." once again, he probably should have kept his thoughts to himself, but theo was well past that "i think you'd rock that mic. but i would never force you up there." he shrugged "so, other than sit here avoidin' trouble, and not singing, what do you do for fun?" something intrigued theo aboutt he man sat at his bar, and he was sure to figure out why.

Thomas stayed where he was, shoulders loose but steady, one hand still wrapped around his glass like he’d never moved at all. The noise had died down enough, the boys backing off just a step, and he didn’t follow. Didn’t need to. His eyes shifted to Theo when the man spoke, head tilting slightly, confusion settling in plain on his face. “I ain’t do nothin’,” he said, voice low, not defensive, just stating it how he saw it. He glanced once toward where the men had been, then back to the bartender. “Just told ‘em t’ be quiet. They was makin’ a mess of things.” His grip on the glass loosened a fraction, lifting it just enough to take a small drink before setting it back down. The suggestion to relax didn’t land wrong, just didn’t make much sense to him. He already was, far as he knew. Then the rest of it came, the song, the name, and Thomas’s brows pulled together faintly. He looked at Theo like he was trying to piece it together proper. “Glee?” he repeated, slow, like testing the word. His head tilted the other way now. “That a band or somethin’?”

"i never said you did." if the man had even thrown a punch he would have been out of there. theo was understanding though, he knew the man wasn't in the wrong here and things had been heated in town enough lately to know when to take things seriously. this wasn't one of those times. his eyes shot between the man backing off and the man by the bar. "and i appreciate that." teddy muttered earnestly. "but i don't want any trouble, from anybody." he sighed.