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"Uh, plenty of worse things could happen! He's terrifying and I'm...generally a smart ass," Damian laughed. There was just something about authority figures that he'd always clashed with. Probably the fact that he liked to make jokes at inappropriate times, but who could blame him, honestly. Life was boring without jokes.
Noting her reaction to what he said, he rolled his eyes, "Oh c'mon, don't look at me like that. You know I'm just joking. And don't even say you weren't looking at me a certain way because you were." It was the same look every woman gave him when he said something smart and perhaps distasteful. Although most of the time he was joking. In fact, 99% of the time he was joking. The other 1% was reserved for special cases.
Like his ex. He couldn't help but speak poorly about her, even if she had given him his kid.
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."
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."
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.
Damian arched an eyebrow and snorted, "When have you ever known me to act like an adult?" He could only name a select few times that he bothered with it. And it typically was when he was with his son, but even then, he hated being serious and strict with Jace seeing as he only got to see him twice a month.
He scrunched his nose up, "You're really testing my behavioral skills, aren't you? Colby is one thing, but I'm not sure I can control my jokes around your dad." And he sort of needed to since he was kind of a big deal in Damian's workforce.
"I actually met this really cool chick just the other day. She was a real hands-on kinda girl," Lie. Big lie. Or rather, exaggeration of the truth. He met plenty of 'lady friends' as she called them. It was rare that they became repetitive or worthy of taking to dinner. Least of all around the only person who knew the ins and outs of his personality. He couldn't afford for Lux to tell them something embarrassing about him.
"Pasta is easily the most amazing thing ever created in the world. And I won't have you trying to sway my opinion, Luxie!" Damian said with a stern expression. He took his Italian food intake very seriously. And he felt as though everyone should indulge a little. It wasn't his fault that it was the only thing he could remember of growing up. Only one of the houses that he'd been to was ever really decent and they made a point to try a little bit of everything, he figured that was probably why he liked it so much.
"And yes, lasagna," He stuck his tongue out at her.
The question again brought a smile to his face. He could have said something like, it depends on who has the bigger bed, but he managed to refrain from his terrible joke. His wasn't all that nice, a little place with very little in it. He'd never been sentimental, and his apartment showed it. "Yours might be a bit more comfortable."
He shrugged, he couldn't particularly help the way he looked at himself. It'd been something in the making since he was too young to remember. Not only because he had no family, but he had no clue who he was supposed to be and what he'd become was based on alcohol, military training and more alcohol. Nothing about that was something he found to be great.
Lux had left it wide open for him with her question. And it was so easy that it almost hurt, so he had to say it despite how creepy it sounded, "You?" His smile crept back onto his face and he laughed, leaning back on the stool so that she didn't reach out and smack him or something. It was truly terrible, like, he couldn't even handle the fact that he'd just said it. Damian never did feel bad about his poor jokes and the tastelessness of them. Although, to be fair, he found himself to be pretty funny on occasion.
"Okay, okay, but in all seriousness, I'm feeling some lasagna or something like that. Pasta is the best and I fully intend on clogging my arteries as quickly as possible with all those carbs," He smirked.
Damian's eyes fell on the two glasses that were set in front of them and at that he had to smile. At least she was willing to help a guy out. Typically when he drank, he managed to stay away from the topic. He'd find someone to talk to about his job, or his dog, something that didn't really weight heavily on him. Something that typically kept him in high spirits even if it was a show. He supposed though that finding a lawyer, he shouldn't have expected an easy conversation.
How to start was another story. What was he supposed to do, dive into his life story? His teeth sunk into his lip, "I'm not really sure what to say. I'm divorced with an eight year old that I only get to see a few times a month. That about sums it up." He laughed humorlessly and shook his head. It was more complicated once the gritty details were involved, but he was reluctant to talk about any of it, to be honest.
The military while it had probably saved his life more times than one, had also aided in fucking it up just as well in the long run. Although, perhaps it saved him from a toxic situation because he'd seen how crazy she could get after they separated.
For a moment he just looked at her. It was sort of entertaining the way that they both were so protective of each other. There was no way he'd ever let anything bad happen to her if he could actually stop it. Her ability he may not have had control over, but her safety, he did. "Only in your eyes, Lux," He answered quietly as he looked down at his hands.
His lips quirked up and he nodded. He'd always heard that dogs took after their owners. And he supposed that his kid had, too, in some ways. When she placed her hand on his cheek, his smile widened and he scrunched his nose when she pinched. "I don't think you ever need to worry about me in that regard, doll face." He would adore her long after she was gone, no matter how much it hurt him.
"Thank God," Damian laughed. He was getting a little sick of cold pizza and wings. Plus, he was pretty sure he'd get fat if he ever stopped working out. Alcohol and pizza, not the healthiest choices. "I missed you, ya know."
Damian found her response interesting. He probably should have taken a page from her book, not caring about people he didn't know. However, in his line of work, he cared a little too much about everyone he was out to save. Perhaps that was why in his personal life he pushed everyone so far away, he was too busy caring about complete strangers. He hardly had the capacity for that.
He gave a nod and shrugged, "Makes sense. No use in caring unnecessarily." So he said.
The question, he had to have seen it coming. In the first few sentences he'd told her that he was having a shit day, though to be fair, he didn't think she'd care enough to remember. Looking straight ahead, he tipped back his beer and took a large gulp while he carefully considered what to say. Well, it didn't really matter, actually. "Had to send my son back to his mother's house today. I've found that after eight years, it still isn't easy."
"Fuck. No. You're not going to be like me," On this, he wasn't afraid to put his foot down. The last thing he was about to let happen, was for her to waste away and be anything but herself. Damian had no choice, his true self was heightened when he drank.
Once he was past the initial blunt force of responding to her drinking habits, he eased back and smiled. "He's better than me, of that I can assure you." And it wasn't even just Koda that was better. Jace was going to be a better person than Damian and his ex ever would be. If he had any influence on his kid, he would make sure of that. "But, much like me, he's gonna adore the hell outta you." It was safe to say this because it was something she already knew.
His eyebrows shot up and he placed a hand on his chest, "As if I can't do low key and chill. I'm the epitome of such things!" He paused and dropped his hand, "That's such a lie. I dunno, baby, whattaya thinkin'? Movie date or four-wheeling? Both?"
"Alcohol helps," He shrugged as he brought the beer back to his lips again. If he didn't drink, Damian was pretty certain he'd be a miserable person. The only time he ever felt good when he was sober was when he was in danger or when he was with his son, which in all honesty were the same thing considering who is ex was. If it weren't for that, he would have been a very angry person, constantly lashing out about little things.
His face scrunched up when she declared that he was stuck with her for part of his day off. After a moment, his features smoothed out and he smiled wider, "Koda will like that. You should see him now, he's a fucking beast." Although, he was getting old and Damian knew he'd have to face that fact sooner rather than later. "What do you want to do with our time tomorrow, Luxie? Your choice because I'm fresh out of cool shit to do in my, as you said, old age." He scoffed again at the very concept of him aging.
It was always good when she gave him what he was looking for. He'd always loved that about her. Even before he flirted with her, he'd joke around and she'd laugh or she'd add a factor into the joke that made it better. All he'd ever wanted to do, from the very moment he met her, was make her laugh for as long as possible. With age came innuendo and he couldn't look back now. Especially seeing as she was a walking fantasy for him.
He grinned at her, as if he was seventeen again. Damian always forgot how long he'd known her. It was sort of terrifying to think that she knew him better than anyone else ever had and likely ever would. "I do have it all figured out, thanks for noticing, Buttercup." He could only hope that his looks lasted forever, there wasn't much else to him that would attract anybody. Unless they liked a smart ass.
When she looked around, he followed her eyes and arched an eyebrow when he looked back at her. Damian snapped his fingers, "I'm over here, pay attention to me." Of course, he was joking and oblivious to the fact that she thought he would go off with someone else. It wasn't a stretch, really, he typically did go off with some stranger from a bar to hook up with. That, or he called the only lady friend he had that was his age that he could sex up without much conversation involved. However, he had no plans to do as such. His focus was still very much on her so when she asked him what he was doing the next day, his face scrunched up.
He took a moment to think, "I have to take Koda for a check up, just to make sure he's still solid. Other than that, nothing. I've got the day off, might workout, might sleep all day. Haven't decided, why?"
He tried to keep a straight face, he really did, but his lips twitched at the corners in his struggle to maintain it, "I can make sure you like it too, babe." He winked dramatically then and snickered. Damian wasn't the creep that he often made himself out to be, but Lux was also old enough that he didn't quite feel too bad about it anymore. Perhaps when she was eighteen he felt a little weird, but she was of legal drinking age now, she was fully developed.
When she pulled the sad face, his stomach lurched for a moment, but he wasn't dense. She knew she could play him like a fiddle, she'd been able to since the first day he met her. Back before she had boobs and a butt and knew what make up was. Back before he saw her as a woman. And now she had it all, dangling it in front of him like a steak. Damian stared at her with narrowed eyes and frowned, "Don't do that. Frowning will make your face look funny later, why do you think I always smile? Because I'm gonna be hot forever." He was just going to disregard the fact that she didn't even have forever. Not going there.
"It's beer, Lux. Any dark beer is good beer. It's hearty and robust, the way I like my women," He winked at her.
When she motioned towards the door where the bouncer stood, Damian puffed out his chest and gave a dainty wave to the man, too. It was not received as well as hers had been. Ah well, he was scrappy, he could take him. "Dammit, and here I had hoped you'd want to handle me." Although, he knew he wasn't quite that lucky.
She leaned closer and he was tempted to pull her the rest of the way across the bar, just to set her straight of course. He refrained and instead just flicked her in the nose, "You're an asshole. I'm not getting gray. And even if I was, I'd be a helluva silver fox. Tell me I'm wrong. G'head. Try." Damian would never be aging, nope, he was going to remain this hot hunk of man forever and there was nothing she could do about it.
Damian brought the beer up to his lips and rolled his eyes back in his head, moaning slightly, "Best goddamn beer I've tasted all day." It was also his first beer of the day, which said a lot.
