You\'re Making Me Dizzy

[Black Philip]

Jake hid a smirk as Quinn tried desperately to hold on his balance. Tonight had shown Jake what an interesting and smart creature Quinn was, and the vampire was glad he\'d run into him. Jake placed a twenty on the counter. He couldn\'t remember if Quinn had payed or not. Even if he had, Jake decided the Barista needed the tip.

Jake found Quinn waiting at the door to the shop. The "Grand Poobah" was not a way Jake usually refereed to Kerr. As a result it took him a while to answer.

"I\'d guess it\'s the whole Lazarus thing," Jake said. Jake took a step outside the shop and waited for Quinn to follow.

[Trillian]

Lazarus.  Quin didn\'t mind the blonde vampire, though he\'d annoyed the previous Fae Oligarch so much that Quin himself had inherited the position when the other left the city.  Lazarus had indirectly promoted Quin, though it had been Kerr to make it all official.  It was nice to have the proper tattoo, and all.

"Been a while since he\'s made an appearance, aye," Quin commented, making small talk as they worked their way through the coffee shop and then stepped outside.  The city\'s lights were still bright and twinkling, lighting their way, while the sky remained very dark.  "Why\'s the Luminary got a meeting so late?" he asked after a short while, thinking that he\'d had the time to go to a bar earlier, which was unusual.  Kerr\'s meetings usually started early in the night - leaving the rest of the night for pleasure, Quin supposed.

[Black Philip]

This was true. Kerr did love the early meeting. Jake was finding himself surprised how organized Quinn\'s brain was. First, he was Fae, and Jake had never met a single one who wasn\'t mischievous and slightly disorganized. There was also the fact that Quinn was still very drunk. Jake decided honesty was needed here. Quinn was an Oligarch, and Jake didn\'t want to start speaking for Kerr.

"Alright don\'t hurt me," Jake said," but I was blowing smoke up your ass. There\'s no meeting. I\'m just concerned about getting you home. I lied, but know that your asking for details, I don\'t feel like telling a web of lies."

After all one lie was one thing. Many lies were many things. Jake preferred not to get too deep in that kind of shit hole.

[Trillian]

"Blowing smoke..." Quin said very slowly, "up my ass?" he questioned, never hearing that phrase before.  There were many common phrases he\'d never heard, plus a few uncommon ones that he thought popular and used often only to meet quizzical looks from others.  "Blowing smoke..." he said again, and then received an unbidden image of Jake on his knees with a cigarette in hand, blowing smoke up Quin\'s own tail.  It was such a delicious idea that he cackled insanely and patted Jake\'s arm, half for commendation and the other half to help keep himself up.  "Ah, that\'s quite alright," he said in between giggles, "all is forgiven."

He was in a good mood.  It would take more than a little lie about a meeting to upset him.  Now they wouldn\'t have to go to the meeting after all!  That meant the rest of the night was still available for partying.

[Black Philip]

Jake was happy Quinn wasn\'t the vindictive type. Maybe it was his simple Fae nature not to hate? Then again, Jake was on rocky terms with a nightmare named Eva Knox. She\'d shown how angry and upset Fae can be when passionate. Jake decided that it was just Quin\'s nature, and he liked it.

"You know Quinn, other than Kerr, you\'re the only member of the Oligarchy I really like," Jake pointed out. "I don\'t dislike anyone else, just with all of them it\'s business."

Jake checked his watch. It wasn\'t so late, and as long as they went to a place where he could go to ground, they didn\'t have to go right back home. If they did, Jake would just have to go back to work, and the "fun" he was having would end.

Finding himself in a good mood, Jake made a suggestion. "Would you like to see a tough vampire bar, that serves cheap whiskey?"

[Trillian]

He could\'ve asked Jake, why a tough vampire bar (or any vampire bar) would serve cheap whiskey.  Cheap blood, that made sense, but whiskey?  He could\'ve asked why Jake had pulled him out of the coffee shop in order to get him home, just to invite him to a bar.  He could\'ve asked who Jake liked the least in the Oligarchy, because he loved a piece of gossip.  He didn\'t, however, ask any of these things, because his focus had been captured immediately by the words \'cheap whiskey\'.

"I\'ll go wherever you want to take me, s\'long as there\'s cheap whiskey involved."

He didn\'t even care if it was particularly nasty whiskey, because it was all about continuing these nice warm feelings.  The effects of alcohol was starting to ebb away as the coffee began to do its job, so it made sense that he would need a second round to revisit his drunken state.

[Black Philip]

Jake smiled. He needed to go to the White Rabbit anyways. Lisa-Joe owed him money. Now, he had a reason to stay and hang out, be served good blood and enjoy Quinn\'s eccentric, yet likable, behavior.

"Sound\'s great," Jake said. "Let\'s call that car service we all have as Oligarchs. I never use it. Unless you want to take the subway?"

[Trillian]

"Which car d\'ye want to use?  Mine or yours?  I have quite a good lookin\' driver, mind he doesn\'t like being touched overly," Quin said, first grinning but ending with a frown, remembering last time that his hands had been slapped away when he\'d attempted to discover if his driver\'s bottom felt as nicely rounded as it looked.

[Black Philip]

Jake laughed. He felt sorry for the poor person who\'s job it was to escort Quinn around. Then again, Jake was sure Kerr would have assigned someone with iron skin to be the personal chauffeur to the Oligarch for Fae. Anything else would spell disaster.

"Sounds great," Jake said.