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Teddy thought to ask him about the details of what sounded like an ill-weighted custody agreement, but she didn't. Talking legal matters over tequila didn't sound like proper business practice. But it wouldn't be the first time. It wasn't an easy topic to handle - stranger or not - but at least he admitted to a little more information. "When you're sober and you want to consider your legal options, I'm very easy to find." She was, after all, the only person in town willing to take on the ridiculous cases she'd already been getting.
"What's your name, by the way? I could guess, but I'd definitely get it wrong." Unfortunately for her, she hadn't gotten a single glance at his identification, so she operated in the dark. "I'm Teddy." With the snippet of information given, she watched and waited for his inevitable reaction to such a name.
His eyes darted to her when she offered her assistance for when he was not on the road to intoxication. She had been nice enough, sure, but he couldn't say that he expected her help. Least of all with the way things had started out. She didn't know anything about him, not that lawyers ever did going into a case. But that was where the problem lied, he didn't think she'd want to help him after she did get to know him better. "I didn't even realize I had legal options," But that was mainly because in order to be as peaceful as possible, he'd accepted the terms that his ex wife had laid out to him. No lawyers had ever been involved. Over the last few years, however, those terms had been starting to change.
Maybe it was time to get a lawyer.
"I bet your guess would have been better than mine. There's not a chance in hell I would have ever guessed Teddy, although, maybe through the slight haze of the alcohol, it suits you," He smiled. "I'm Damian, it's a pleasure." Even if it had turned out to be far different than he'd expected or intended. He couldn't complain too much though, it beat drinking alone.
"It's great for me, actually. People hear a name like that and they think they're going to get either an eighty-year-old man who has no idea how the modern legal system works, or a twenty-year-old law student who... Has no idea how the modern legal system works." Teddy explained with a laugh. She never got tired of the way people looked at her when she walked in. It was strikingly similar to the way she'd looked at him when he realised she wasn't what he expected. She was still trying to break that mold he figured he was holding onto.
"Tell me something about you that people wouldn't guess, then take the shot." She offered, tilting her head to the side with a slight smile. "I promise you, I'll do the same." And though lawyers weren't always known to keep their word, the same could be set of most cops.
There was nothing about her sentence that he'd expected to come from her. He actually laughed because she made a good point. He never would have expected her from just the sound of her name. Already he felt a little better now that they were off the topic of his rough day. He could do witty banter and he could do small talk till he was blue in the face.
Her challenge caused him to raise his eyebrows and he smirked, trying to think of something good. Damian always felt like he was sort of predictable. "Isn't having an eight year old something nobody would guess about me?" He laughed and shook his head, trying hard to think of something that most people found weird or not quite right for someone like him.
Finally he decided on something that, while silly, raised some concern from his eight year old. "My son's favorite cereal is Reese Puffs and every time I eat them, I have to eat the peanut butter ones first and the chocolate last." With that, he tilted his glass towards her before slamming it back and flipping the small glass bottom's up on the bar. His face scrunched and he cringed, "Just how I like my alcohol, burning all the way down."
Even Teddy had to laugh when he mentioned his son again. She supposed he had a fair point, and he had given her something when she'd given nothing in return. But it only took a second or so before he was complying with the challenge she put in place.
What she learned from him was just how dedicated he was to his son. Even his strange fact of choice had something to do with him. Even she cringed a little when he downed the shot provided. Now wasn't the time to point out it'd been far too long since tequila last touched her lips. Old habits.
When it was her turn, her fingers coiled around the glass in contemplation. She didn't look at him as much as she looked at it. "I'm a better shot with a gun than you are." Teddy said confidently, and a second later, that burning alcohol went down her throat and her glass matched his.
Damian watched the way she was looking so intently at the glass. Tequila wasn't for everyone, and frankly, he wasn't quite sure what had ever possessed him to make it his own drink. Perhaps because it hurt him the most when it went down and messed him up the fastest whether it was good quality or not. Luckily for the both of them, this particular shot wasn't the worst he'd ever had.
Her unknown fact made him laugh and he nodded, "Okay, alright. You know, I wish I could say that I was actually surprised by that, but I'm not." It didn't take much to be better than him with a gun. She'd never be as good with bombs as he was, of that he could assure anyone. It only took him six years or so to become the expert that he was though. "So does it really count if I'm not wowed by it? I think you owe me another."
Damian raised his hand to get the bartender to pour two more, "C'mon Teddy, give me something really good."
Persuasion from the officer to the lawyer. Teddy had to laugh at that. Staring at the set of empty glasses before them, she pursed her lips and crinkled her brow as she traced through the random things about herself to find something different.
Reeling back in her seat slightly, she looked him in the eye. "I have a scar on my shoulder from where my brother stabbed me." She explained with a laugh, raising a hand between them quickly, "Before you take that the wrong way, it was a total accident. He's over a decade younger than me and to this day I have no idea how he wielded that letter opener like a pro."
Damian covered his mouth with his hand as his eyebrows shot up. He could admit, he didn't see that one coming. Although as she explained the story, he could understand it. He'd been a reckless child that liked to run with scissors and set things on fire in the microwave. Boys were just a little on the wild side. But he hadn't been stabbed nor had he stabbed anyone from his childhood.
"That...that one got me. I'll give you that. How many stitches?" He dropped his hand and tapped his fingers on the countertop. In the nearly thirty years that he'd been alive, stitches were nothing to him anymore. He'd had countless injuries with dozens of stitches a piece. After a while, he wasn't even queasy over watching them do it. It was actually pretty calming.
He pressed his bottle of beer to his lips and tipped it back.
The look in his eyes showed Teddy that while he felt surprised, it wasn't over the fact that it had happened. In the short interaction they'd had, he seemed the type to be prone to that kind of behaviour when he was younger. She felt a little pride when he admitted that she got him.
"Three. And with a fear of needles, of all things, it was one of the longest experiences of my life." At least she couldn't see them sewing it up. She'd always be grateful for that. "But that sort of thing would be nothing to someone in a line of work like yours. Stitches and stabbings, I guess."
Only three, Damian couldn't keep the smirk from his face. The least amount of stitches he'd ever gotten was still in the double digits. But, he wasn't the brightest bulb either and he often went big with his reckless acts.
"I have more scars from stitches than I do from anything else. I've never been stabbed though, you've got me there," It wasn't to say he hadn't seen anyone get stabbed. He saw a lot of things being in the military for as long as he was. Not to mention the few years that he'd been a cop. Stabbings, bullet wounds, car accidents, there were a number of really fucked up things that he'd seen in his life. After a while, he supposed that he'd just desensitized himself to it. He had to, otherwise it would have messed him up more than he already was.
Damian gave her a once over again and he pursed his lips, "It's gotta be kind of nice only seeing photographs of the horrible shit people do, rather than the actual scene itself. It has to be easier, doesn't it?"
Counting herself a winner in some respect - however odd - was something Teddy had to grin over. She felt his eyes on her and honestly thought nothing of it. She knew how she looked and against his assumed thoughts, it must have matched the accent and the job to the letter.
"Oh, I'd never dream of swapping with you." She admitted. She hardly had the nerve for the front line. "For me, it's sometimes hard enough just hearing people recount their tragic events. I don't think you get enough credit for what you're made to endure. It's why I've always thought so highly of your profession. And, honestly, it's why I'd be willing to help you with your legal troubles." The last thing he needed was a negative home life to match his difficult profession.
Damian didn't quite think they needed praise for what they did. They signed up for it, they knew what they were getting into in some degree. Besides, being a cop was easy compared to being in the military. He wasn't undermining being a lawyer, he knew that it was probably harder having to stand in the same room as some of the messed up people that he was looking to put away. Worst yet was defending someone that may or may not have been guilty.
"I don't envy you either. I was never smart enough to be a lawyer, but even if I was, I couldn't imagine that kind of pressure." It sounded like fresh Hell to him. Add to that wearing a suit, dealing with stupid people and not being able to reach across the stand to smack someone, he was not cut out for that.
The continuation of her words made his eyebrows pull together. It always made him uncomfortable when he came across genuinely kind people. She was willing to help him with the custody problems he was having. "I appreciate it, really. I don't talk to lawyers often, which is probably why it got as bad as it is now." He didn't think things would go quite the way he wanted, what with his profession halting him from being a suitable choice for full custody, but more time was better than what he had now. "You got kids?" He asked as he tipped his beer back to his lips.
It was nice - and a little unusual - to have someone on his side of things appreciate her. More often than not, police had a negative or skewed view of lawyer. There weren't many men Teddy liked, but she had more of an appreciation for this one than she thought she would.
Shaking her head instantly, she wondered if he could have guessed the answer to that already. "No kids, no." She said anyway, "But, my dad was an amazing person, and I couldn't imagine my life without having him around when I was younger." Despite how odd it seemed, she definitely connected with him more than her mother.
Reaching into her purse, she slid a business card across the countertop in his direction. "No pressure. It's completely up to you." She wouldn't hurt if she never heard from him. It was a hard decision to make for anyone. Teddy eased out of her seat, giving him a quick smile; "Thanks for the drink, Damian."
There wasn't any shock in his expression when she said she didn't have kids. He hadn't expected her to, but her explanation was enough for him to understand why she was offering to help. He couldn't help the pang of envy he had for her relationship with her father. Damian couldn't even remember his. He supposed that was another reason he wanted so badly to be part of his son's life.
She slid a card across the counter and he glanced down at it before looking back up at her. Once she got up from the bar stool and set his beer down and gave her a nod, "It's been fun. And I appreciate your offer. I'll see ya around, Teddy." He grinned before turning back to the bartender and knocking on the counter to signal he wanted another beer.
