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Damian pursed his lips and nodded, "Yup, okay, I can accept that. He's terrifying and I'm a sissy because he's terrifying. Sounds about right to me, Buttercup." He polished off his beer at that. When the man could make Damian a mall cop with a single word, well, he was going to go with terrifying. It didn't mean he wasn't a great person or anything, it just meant he could literally crush Damian's job nuts if he wanted to.
When she leaned on the bar closer, he narrowed his eyes at her. He knew what she was doing, using her assets to mess with him. It usually worked, he had to admit, but he'd never withheld any of the feelings he had towards her. Or rather, he played them off as jokes to mask the sincerity. "Any way you'd like to, babe. Just not all judgey. I get judgey from everyone else, I don't need it from you, too." He booped her nose again and leaned back. "Mind getting me another beer, baby?"
"Whatever you say." She laughed. She still couldn't see it, but she was aware enough to know that she was biased. Still, she wouldn't miss out on the chance at prodding at Damian's ego. She couldn't help it and a few years ago, she would have felt bad about it. Now, though... Now she didn't. "Sissy." She added under her breath.
When he booped her nose, the brunette wrinkled it. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she drew back with a sigh. "I would never judge you. You know that." She wasn't sure if she was truly capable of it. She didn't understand the social nature of people enough to judge. She had spent most of her life apart from the rest. Apart from the masses. She'd never been one to have a lot of friends. She'd stuck to the few that had taken her in, and while she wasn't about to complain, they hadn't taught her a lot about people. What she knew, she'd figured out on her own. And it wasn't enough for her to understand why people did the things they did.
"If you stop calling me baby, sure." Still, she reached for the fridge and pulled out another beer for him. While Jack had been her best friend, Damian had always been the one she'd felt like she could talk to. Even more so than her father. "He's back." She stated simply, objectively. She wondered if he'd even remember. While she hadn't told Damian much about Carter, she was certain she'd gotten across how confused he'd made her feel. Carter had made her question so many things about life, she had figured that at the time, it had been worth mentioning it to Damian before he'd left. Even briefly so.
That's what they all said. No judgment, ever. It seemed unlikely. Especially since he was probably the easiest person to judge. His life skills were bogus, his morals were nonexistent and he was generally a mess. What wasn't there to judge? Add to that he was a father even though he had no clue how to be one, and well, he was prime pickens for it. Damian didn't hassle her though, he figured she of all people had all of the ammunition in the world to judge him if she wanted to. She probably just chose not to.
"Oh you love it," He was not dense enough to believe that she actually enjoyed the nicknames he had for her. Babe and baby less than the other he figured, but old habits died hard. Besides, at least when he called her that it wasn't meant to be degrading, not the way it was when he used it on everyone else. He tipped the beer towards her in a thankful gesture before bringing it to his lips and taking a long swig. In the midst of his drink, the two words she spoke he knew meant something, he just didn't know what he was supposed to get from it. He? Who was this he and why was he worth mentioning? Only a few moments had to pass before he figured it out.
The French guy that was drooled over by everyone at the academy. The one guy that Lux even seemed remotely into in some kind of way. Damian had heard about him, pretended like it went in one ear and out the other, but he retained the information that he needed to. "Did you boink him yet? As a welcome back gift?" It was crass, of course, but that was the big question everyone always wanted to know. And Lux, well, she was the innocent one. He liked to think she would be upfront with him when that changed.
She supposed she should have seen it coming. She should have known exactly what kind of remark or question would be thrown her way and yet, when he asked, the brunette couldn't quite help the widening of her eyes and the hand swatting in his direction.
"What, no!" She said, her voice hushed. She was hardly a creature that sought out physical contact and 'boinking' anyone hardly seemed appropriate at this time in her life. Well, she'd told her something similar four years ago and she hadn't exactly listened then either. Still, her reaction seemed fitting nonetheless.
"Not this time, anyways." She added quietly, under her breath as she turned away, hoping he hadn't caught it. She was a terrible liar by nature, after all.
Damian smirked at the reaction. Even if she had, he had a feeling she'd react similarly. Talking about it was so wrong to most people. But where he was concerned, it didn't really matter. Sex was just sex, it was easy and careless and didn't have to have anything tied to it if it was done correctly. He was the hit it and quit it type though, and those were the only types that he agreed to an arrangement with. Lux didn't strike him as such, but he still flirted mercilessly regardless.
"Poor guy. I'm sure it'll happen eventually though," He shrugged, not paying any mind to her mumbled words. If she felt he was worthy of bringing up, clearly he must have been worth having sex with. Perhaps that was just his twisted way of thinking.
Damian tilted his beer back against his lips and took a drink. He figured she deserved it though, having sex with the guy that she seemed so infatuated with. The girl was dying, best to have as much fun as she could in whatever amount of time she had left. He wasn't one to judge for those kinds of things. "It's too bad I'm not into guys, that'd probably be a fun little three way." He was drunk, it was starting to become very clear that he was drunk.
While she couldn't outright deny it, she didn't have to agree, either. Instead, the brunette simply rolled her eyes. "You would say that." While she didn't think that was all there was to him, Damian seemed to have his head in the gutter most of the time. She had to wonder if it was an act, or if it had started out that way and eventually ended up being a reality for him. She didn't really mind, though; She cared about him regardless. She always would - even if always to her was a limited term. More so than what it was for most others.
She had a feeling Carter wouldn't have minded that, though, she didn't tell Damian that little bit of information. "Too bad, indeed." She mused, head shaking. Though, having sex with Carter - or anyone else for that matter wasn't exactly something the brunette felt comfortable talking about. Or rather, she didn't see the point in it. It was her business after all, no?
"I'm going to cut you off if you don't take it easy." She warned him, wagging a finger his way.
To be honest, Damian probably couldn't have answered whether he'd always been a disgusting perv or if it was a newer development. Most of the time he couldn't tell if he was joking either. He had this terrible problem of saying whatever came to mind and he never quite learned how to filter it. The problem only got worse when alcohol was involved and most of the time it was.
When she threatened to cut him off, Damian gasped and his hand flew to his chest dramatically, "Excuse you. What makes you think I'm not taking it easy?" He was certain that his words came out clearly, but there was definitely a slur to them. What could he say, he liked his beer hefty and with that came a higher alcohol content. Nothing to complain about in his mind. He rested his chin in his hand and narrowed his eyes at her. She had all the power being the bartender. It was hardly fair that his little Luxxie-boo could cut him off whenever she saw it necessary.
Damian suddenly grinned, "You know, you look the same even with beer goggles on. Which doesn't sound like a compliment, but it super is. You can't get better looking with beer goggles because you're already the prettiest damn thing ever. You know that? I think you should know that if you don't." He was rambling now, but he found it difficult to stop.
The brunette could only shake her head: While she'd never condemn him for drinking, she didn't understand why so many people drank so much they could barely keep themselves controlled. She was hardly one to judge, though. After all, their drinking did pay her bills. "Don't be so dramatic." She chastised him with a light chuckle.
As he continued, the brunette's chuckle developed into a laugh. "Alright, you're officially cut off." She reached for his beer bottle, waggling her fingers at it. She didn't honestly think he'd give it up, but it was worth a shot. Of course, like any woman, she appreciated the compliment, but she found it difficult to take him very seriously in this kind of state, but even she wasn't immune to his charms. She never had been.
She put a glass with water, ice cubes and a slice of lemon in front of him. "Mmm, doesn't this look delicious?"
Her waggling fingers in front of his beer made him swat at her. His eyebrows pulled together and he pulled the bottle closer to him, chomping his teeth near her fingers, "Nope nope nope. Is mine, dun touch." Perhaps he should have been cut off, but he was a grown man. He could hold his alcohol!
His face scrunched up more when she set the glass of water in front of him. Water with lemon was not a man's drink. Regular water wasn't even a man's drink. Alcohol; hefty, dark, chewy beer was a man's drink. His eyes lifted up to hers and he shook his head, "No, it doesn't. I like my beer. I'll stick with my beer. Please, Luxxie?" He fluttered his eyelashes dramatically at her and grinned.
A sigh fell from the brunette's lips as she drew her hand back. She hadn't honestly though it would work, but she supposed it had been worth a shot. "Alright. Enjoy it. It's the last you'll be getting." She warned him. She could only hope he'd take it easy, though, perhaps she'd just issued him a challenge instead.
She left the glass where she'd placed it, but she didn't argue. She wasn't going to serve him anything else alcoholic - that much she could be in control of, but she couldn't exactly force him to drink the water. It wasn't wise of him, but then again, she'd never known him to be particularly wise to begin with.
Damian grinned victoriously. He wasn't wise, no, not even the tiniest bit, but he was fun and he enjoyed having fun. If he had to drink in order to feel better, then that was what he wanted to do. Why should he have to be so serious all the time? That's what he was good at his job for, being focused and intense. And he was even a decent parent when he had to be, rare as it was.
Her question halted him for a moment and he had to think about what she was talking about. After a little longer than it should have taken, he snorted, "I can't bring a kid to a bar, Lux. Jeez." He shrugged after his joke and tapped his fingers on the bar top. "He's with the She-Devil. A.k.a. his mother and my ex wife. She's probably mid-brainwash."
