Fuck You Guys, I'm Going Home

[Ehcorn]

Dana glanced at Trick, a pensive tilt to her mouth. Like she'd mentioned, she’d covered the nymph murder cases. What she hadn’t shared were the images of broken and lifeless bodies that’d been seared into her brain, or all the interviews she'd held with bereaved family members who'd just wanted to be left alone to mourn. She hadn’t let herself see them at the moment — she’d recorded her soundbites and she’d pushed forward.

Would he still think she’d done good if he knew what she’d had to do to write her articles?

The moment to ask passed when he mentioned the radio, and when Harm surged between the seats to respond to his request, she turned to stare out the passenger-side window and the shadowy outlines of trees and telephone poles, flicking idly at the thick strap of her messenger satchel.

She might’ve remained like that, quietly sinking into a quagmire of regret and doubt, but two things happened in quick succession that dragged her back to solid ground: Harm kicked off music that was loud enough to burst her fucking eardrums and when she turned to beg him to turn it down, she spied something silvery sticking out of his pocket.

"Sonofabitch," she breathed and sat up. He’d been the asshole who’d taken her flask. She didn’t waste any time making accusations, though. She grabbed her stolen property, unscrewed it, and settled back to have a much-needed drink.

[Existentially Odd]

Harm also flinched when the radio blasted the cabin of the car, leaning backward with a sourpuss expression on his face and twisting the dial so fast he got it down to no volume at all within a second. His heart was thumping and he couldn't help but pant as the excitement of deafening music assaulting their ears faded into stunned silence.

"Fuck, sorry about that, I didn't realise it'd be so... hey!" His apology - directed towards Trick - was interrupted when he felt the unmistakeable sensation of his hip pocket being emptied of Dana's flask. His head swivelled in her direction and he boggled at the fact that she'd got it undone and was already drinking out of the fucking thing!

"Don't you think you've already had enough of that?" he snapped in his most authoritative nurse voice, leaning his shoulder into Trick's as he turned sideways to get a better look at Dana. His other hand found its way onto his hip sassily. He was tempted to snatch the flask away from her again but he knew it wasn't his place. It was her property, after all, and she had every right to take it back. How much alcohol could the thing even hold? Surely not enough to induce alcohol poisoning? He could hope, anyway.

[Ehcorn]

Dana removed her lips from her flask long enough to shoot back a retort: "Don’t you think you should have a seat belt on? He hits the brakes, you’re gonna go right through that windshield."

Then she was back to drinking, one glug after the other, relishing the feel of whiskey searing a path down her throat and pooling in her belly. Soon enough, the throb in her head would disappear, and if she kept at it a bit more, her thoughts would lose their sharp edges and she could try to sleep again.

She looked sidelong at Harm, half expecting that he'd try to stop her.

[Existentially Odd]

Harm exhaled heavily through his nostrils, his disapproval obvious in his stare, his lips pinched as he watched Dana swig her way towards unconsciousness. She was an adult. It wasn't his place. That was what he told himself, anyway.

With a resigned sigh, he swivelled towards Trick, his expression softening into a smile as he observed his handsome boyfriend's profile. Every time he looked at him, his heart flipped and lust tugged his groin towards his stomach. Every. Single. Time.

"He wouldn't do that," Harm told Dana haughtily, kissing Trick's cheek and skimming fingers briefly through his hair before he withdrew and flopped down into the back seat. "Apart from the fact he's an excellent driver, I'm far too pretty to send through that windshield!" he cackled, rebuckling his seat belt despite his confidence in Trick's driving abilities.

"So do you have any hobbies? Besides making enemies through your job and drinking, that is?" Harm asked, lifting his leg and nudging the back of Dana's seat sharply, hoping to disrupt her drinking (and also because it amused him to annoy her).

[Pocky]

Trick blew air through puffed out cheeks after Harm insisted that he wouldn't slam on the brakes. He watched Harm for a moment in the rear-view mirror before his eyes flicked out to the sparse traffic on the highway.

"I don't think she meant I'd do it on purpose, Dam."

He eyed the highway information sign that showed their exit was coming up soon. He needed 202C and they'd sped past 202A.

[Ehcorn]

Her eyes widened as she was sent rocking forward and back with her seat. If she’d had an open glass, the results might’ve been different, but she moved her hand along with the motion and kept her lips sealed over the opening of her flask. She didn’t spill a single drop. Harm didn’t know he was dealing with a professional. Or maybe he did, given his remark about her hobbies.

She let it slide, mainly because he’d done what she wanted and put his seatbelt back on.

Dana raised her flask Trick’s direction. "Exactly. Like my dad always said, 'assume everyone else on the road is an idiot. Especially the deer.' They’ve got death wishes and they’re everywhere." To emphasize her point, she called their attention to multiple pairs of eyes reflecting back at them alongside the highway, and as they drew closer, the shadowy outlines of several does filled out. "Had one of those assholes trash my first car when it jumped through the windshield."

She took one last sip of her whiskey, capped it off, then slid it into her messenger satchel without looking away from the road. Warmth oozed from her belly to her head, dulling the ache that'd taken up residency in the front of her brain. By the time they reached her place, she’d be able to dive into bed and right to sleep. "My exit’s the one after this. You’ll take a left at the first light. Just follow the signs for the caravan park after that."

Directions given, she glanced back at Harm to answer his question and ask one in return: "I also swim, by the way. There’s a nice spot out near Glitter Beach not many folks know about, so it’s nice and quiet." She raised an eyebrow. "What about you two? Any hobbies, or do you usually hang out looking for ways to be good Samaritans?"

[Existentially Odd]

Trick grabbed Harm's attention completely with the new nickname, this one causing his breath to hitch and a rush of what he could only describe as stupidity to wash through him. It made him embarrassingly giddy to hear Dam - not 'damn', as he'd initially thought, but an abbreviation of Damsel - slip between Trick's delicious lips. Maybe it was because he'd been single too long or maybe Trick was just that good at the endearment game but he sure knew how to make a puddle out of Harm's insides. Trick was so getting laid again tonight.

Harm giggled at Trick's comment, captivated by his words (well, just one word, really) to the point that he only caught some of what Dana said about deer wrecking her first car. Deer? Why would she talk about them? it wasn't like they were everywhere in the city. It also confused him because he'd zoned out at the relevant connection bit at the start and then he couldn't recapture the thread of that part of the conversation at all. He was able to make a sympathetic noise and shake his head reprovingly at the thought of her first car being totalled, though.

Giving up on talking about deer, Harm leant forward again, nuzzling his face into the back of Trick's arm, near his armpit. He'd gone to Harm's parents' place straight from work (well, technically straight from fucking him in a bathroom near his work) and then they'd danced for quite a while at the club so Trick didn't smell fresh. Harm loved it, though, sniffing his body odour, drying sweat, minor waft of deodorant almost used up and Trick's natural musk.

He was content to let Trick answer Dana regarding the swimming (water nymph, hello!) and whether they had other hobbies while he lost himself in his boyfriend's scent. He wondered idly if sex could be counted as a hobby. He really thought it should be.

[Pocky]

"Making sure nothing bad happens to a drunk person is what any decent person would do," Trick said, his voice low but easily heard in the quiet metal cavern of his car. There was a depth of pause before he continued in a more buoyant tone. "Hey, pretty sure I know that half-moon of sand you're talking about. That's the one around around and over a bunch of jagged looking rocks that are easier to climb than you think. And the ocean's always warmer than expected because it stays waist-deep until a long way out."

He nodded even as he took the exit and kept left for a turn at the first intersection which was lit up a joyous green. No cars challenged him for a light change and soon they were on a more dimly lit road. "I swim and I also surf. Unfortunately I don't live near the ocean but there's a pretty big lake a short jog away. It's my element so I can't stand being far away from water." He gave a shudder as though a chill had run up his spine.

[Ehcorn]

Dana had cleared her throat to point out that she was an incredibly capable drunk person, but then she remembered that she'd fallen off her barstool in front of them, and that Trick had needed to drag her out of Club Zero for a water and air break.

"Yeah, that's the place. If I don't have my van parked somewhere for work, it's usually down that way. Maybe we'll bump into each other sometime," she said instead, having decided that talking about their favorite swimming spots was preferable to talking any more about her drinking habit. Especially with Judgy McJudgerson trying to crawl into the front of the car again to be with his boyfriend — new boyfriend, given his apparent need to maintain physical contact with Trick at all times. If she'd known (or been capable of it at the time), she would've insisted on sitting in the back so they could be together. They didn't have far to go, though, so she clutched her messenger bag tightly against her stomach and leaned towards the door, angling herself to look out the window and give them as much space as she could until they got where they were going.

"They made me hide my van all the way in the back," Dana said as Trick turned the car into the caravan park, rolling her eyes as they passed row after row of various well-kept RVs, from huge mobile mansions to smaller but no less extravagant houses on wheels. When they reached the last spot in the last row, there was the yellow camper van — pocked with rust and in desperate need of a paint job — that she called home.

Dana inhaled deeply, clicked her tongue off the roof of her mouth, and exhaled noisily as she turned to look at Harm and Trick in turn. "Well, gentlemen, I appreciate the ride." She unraveled her arms from around her bag to flip it open one last time and extracted a cream-colored business card that had her name, number, and email address stacked neatly on top of one another. She held it out for either one of them to take. "If you ever have a story or wanna hear one, that's how you can reach me."

[Pocky]

The tyres of Trick's car crunched to a stop outside the cheerfully-coloured rust-bucket. He put his car into park and clacked the park brake on but didn't turn the key that would switch off the engine. It was late and his car was idling softly enough to not wake anyone but the lightest of sleepers.

Trick took the card from Dana and tossed it into the centre console before he undid his seatbelt. He held the metal part while it contracted back into its slot, casting wary looks at Harm's face that was still near his body. Once the metal was safely away he left the car just as Dana opened the door on her side. On the way around he heard another car door open and figured Harm was on his way out as well.

"I'm glad you're a mellow drunk," Trick said, smirking as he walked beside Dana who seemed outrageously capable of walking to her home, though she wasn't entirely straight-lining it. He was eyeballing her, ready to grab her arm if she favoured too much of a lean. "It would suck if you were the angry type."

[Existentially Odd]

Harm hadn't considered that Trick had an inbuilt need to be near water because it was his element. It made sense, now he thought about it, and he wondered just how large the body of water had to be. Obviously, what came out of the plumbing system at home didn't suffice so did that mean it had to be a decently sized lake or would a creek running nearby do? He filed the thought away to ask Trick about once they were driving again, distracted enough by their entry into the caravan park to straighten away from Trick and look around.

Intrigued by the way people lived and presented their lives in orderly rows with varying levels of love and attention, he found the presentation of Dana's van disheartening. It made him wonder what sacrifices she'd made in her life to end up with such a flawed roof over her head and whether or not the alcohol was doing as much damage to her interpersonal relationships as it was her liver. It wasn't his place but he worried for her. He liked her fire and her acidic tongue. Her zeal for uncovering the truth was pretty damn alluring, too.

Smiling at her when she thanked them for the ride (but not saying anything because it wasn't like he'd done anything to earn her gratitude in that sense, it was all Trick), he nodded and watched the business card get dropped casually into the car. He tried to imagine a time he'd ever have cause to call that number or contact Dana. Sadly - or was that 'thankfully'? - he could imagine a few situations where it could happen. Most of them involved Luke and his boss, Jake McCloud, though Ben was certainly an important consideration. Damn, he owed him a phone call, too.

"Thanks!" he chirped, referencing the card and watched the pair in the front clamber out of the car. Since he wouldn't ride in the back once it was just him and Trick again, he got out of the car. Because it was still running, he decided he was going to stay with it. He opened the front passenger door and folded his arms atop it, watching Trick gallantly accompany Dana all the way to her door. He looked ready to catch her if she fell, which warmed Harm's heart. Watching Trick's ass as he retreated warmed him in entirely different ways. "Night!" he called to Dana in a stage whisper, giving her a goofy wave. He was pleased Dana's van was pretty far away from most neighbours as he wouldn't disturb them too much.

The supernatural couple were far enough away from him that he couldn't hear what they were saying now. As soon as Trick turned to head back to the car, he'd slide in but, until then, he hovered over the door, watching intently.

[Ehcorn]

Dana was surprised to hear a second pair of feet crunching through the gravel behind her, and even more surprised to find that Trick hadn’t followed her because she’d left anything behind. No, he’d followed so he could watch her like a hawk and gently steer her back towards the side door of her van whenever she veered too far off course (which happened twice, much to her chagrin). He was a knight in shining armor, and it seemed like his quest wouldn’t be complete until he’d deposited the trailer trash princess into her raggedy-ass castle. Did that make Harm his squire? She glanced over her shoulder in time to catch the blond’s theatrical farewell and snorted a laugh.

"I try to keep my anger directed at the people who deserve it," she told Trick when she turned back around. "Not decent people like you two." She’d recycled his phrasing from earlier, but it’d been apt. Only decent people would go to all the trouble they had for a stranger.

As they continued walking, she dug into her messenger satchel and extracted a pack of cigarettes. With practiced movements, she packed it on the heel of her palm, flipped open the top to slide her lighter and a cigarette out, then returned the box to her bag.

When they crossed onto the small lot her van had been parked on, Dana came to a swaying stop. "I’m gonna smoke then I’ll head in," she said. "You can go on. I’ll be alright." She smiled in what she’d intended to be a reassuring manner but it came out sloppy and lopsided. "Promise." 

[Pocky]

Trick watched her practiced maneuver with the smokes and halted when Dana did.

"Okay, I guess," he said, his tone revealing he wasn't convinced. He released his guiding hold on her with reluctance and swept a hand through his hair. "Good night."

Trick turned and headed back for the car, his concern melting into a beaming smile when he saw Harm waiting for him. He walked directly to his boyfriend and planted a kiss on his lips, lingering for as long as he could before heading around to the driver's side.

"Now let's get you home next, Damsel," he grinned, slowly working his way out back through the caravan park to not wake anyone up - even though he could see some people were still up and sitting out the front of their vans, watching the car go past with inquisitive eyes.