silentlystrong (silentlystrong) wrote in the_dome, @ 2013-05-12 10:56:00 |
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Entry tags: | #group-scene, 03-28-2017, december, mannix, mickey, zania |
grilling turned confusing
Who: December, Mickey, Zania and Mannix
Where: between Mickey’s and December’s houses
When: night
Warnings: language
December had had another weird day, getting called in to deal with corpses from the riot, and other bullshit. She’d gotten another evening off afterwards, so she'd gotten up earlier than usual, set up the ancient charcoal grill in the back yard and went and bought beer and food to roll with. It was sort of both her and Mickey's, something they just shared and used whenever. She felt like relaxing tonight, having a beer or many, sitting outside on the blanket she had spread out there. She put kabobs on the grill after she got it going, and was just cracking a beer. She figured the smell of food would bring people coming in her direction.
Mickey didn’t so much smell the food as much as he caught a glimpse of her in the window, moving things around between their houses. It had him watching her for a moment then going to his own things, going through his store until he had something to add to the grill, mostly on the veggie side, but it would do the trick. He had that ready to take out as well as grabbing his own beer, but Mickey found himself stopping. Zania had left just as it got dark which meant he was alone for the moment and Mannix didn’t seem to be anywhere. He looked at December for a long moment through the window, then went back to his bedroom, reaching into the back of the closet, knowing exactly what he was looking for.
He’d bought it their second week in the dome. Silly, but it was one of those good luck moments. The trader had steep prices, too steep for him, but then her truck broke down and he was the only guy who could fix it. She’d given him a deal and he’d run with it. The plan had been to give it to her the next day, but the moment never happened. That was probably why she didn’t know. He’d been shitty at showing her. There was always something else to do.
Tucking the small package into his pocket, he carried the rest out, beer in one hand as he added his food to the grill, not quite making contact until that was done and he eyed her food to make sure it didn’t need to be turned. Satisfied, he headed to the blanket, dropping near her. “We haven’t done this in a while.”
"Nope." she agreed. "So, one night of going out and you're having sleepovers." she noted. It wasn't like the brightly colored woman who'd left Mickey's just a bit earlier had been hard to miss. And she hadn't seen her go in, so she was making a leap there. She could be wrong, but he'd get all huffy with her if she was, so she just went for it.
It figured that December would have caught that. “It wasn’t like that,” he said shaking his head and focusing on drinking his beer instead of looking at her. Sure, there’d been the cuddling and then that awkward moment of teasing like something would happen and then the vampire thing. It definitely wasn’t like he guessed December was thinking.
December smirked, eyeing him. "Oh really?" she asked. "Because going out and taking a woman home means something different in Mickey-land?" she mused, clearly not buying it. "That shit usually means someone got laid, and if you didn't, you got gypped. Though, my bigger point is--see? Not that hard for you. Told you this whole thing wasn't a thing." she said, motioning between the two of them.
“Then I got gypped. She didn’t have anywhere else to go. If I hadn’t been drunk I probably would have slept on the couch.” He looked over at her when she said that, watching her for a moment before shifting to hand her the package from his pocket. “It’s still a thing,” he said, nodding towards it.
"Ha! But you didn't. Which means you got all bed friendly with what's-her-name." December said, pointing at him. She took another drink, watching him. She might have said something more, but then he was throwing a curveball at her. "...What's this?" she asked, taking it, though she looked like she might be expecting it to explode.
“Zania. And your definition of ‘bed friendly’ is not what happened.” Mickey rolled his eyes at her. “It’s something I spent too much on a while ago because I thought you might need it. It made more sense when we’d only been here two weeks.” He watched her then reached out and tapped it. “It’s not going to bite you. Just open it.”
"That's a real name? Sounds like a mental disorder." December said, fully aware she herself had at least a little bit of an odd name. Month names weren't uncommon, but people didn't usually go with the one her lazy ass mom did. "Zany-mania. Clearly that's now a thing, wrapped up in a person. You lucky thing you. If anyone's going to rock and roll your world, it'd be someone with a creative stripper name."
She had to get that out first before she took a long drink, setting her beer down. She eyed him for a moment, before she wondered what she might need. Or what he thought she would. Or why he'd sat on it for ages. She didn't ask any of that thought, instead opening up the box.
“You sound jealous,” Mickey said, though it wasn’t accusing. It was just a casual statement in response to her attack of Zania’s name. Which yes, was weird and probably why he’d just called her ‘diner girl’ in his head for so long.
Mickey was pleased, looking over her shoulder that the contents were still in perfect condition. Three different twists of ribbon, made of the fine materials that were near impossible to find these days. They were hand-dyed different colors, which meant they came out all the richer, a deep red, a dark purple and a royal blue.
She didn't know what she'd been expecting. Or, maybe she did. Her expectations were a big blank question mark, because she hadn't the slightest clue what he would get her. When she opened up the box, and saw the spools or ribbon, the bright colors in shades she very much appreciated, she couldn't help but smile. It was a surprised little expression, but pleased. "These are...wow." she said, not even sure how to respond. "Thank you." she said, looking up at him again.
The smile, that was more than enough to get a real smile out of Mickey, the kind that didn’t show up often, possibly not even at all. “I remember thinking that you needed something new, the ones you had were dingy and old. I should have given it to you a long time ago, but I guess I felt like you might not understand.”
December wasn't exactly sure she understood now, either. "Well, they're beautiful." she started. "I--" and then she saw a figure approaching, and judging from the height, it had to be Mannx.
Mannix had determined they needed a permanent place to store their loot so that neither he nor Jack had to sleep with it and keep guard. Being down near trader’s circle was getting downright dangerous since the riot, partially because he and his brother had been willing to beat up just about anyone that looked at them wrong. And some of them had survived. Mannix was glad to get away for now, having moved the rest of their stuff to their sister’s house for the time being. Now neither of them should have to sleep in the truck.
From there he’d headed back towards December’s place, a fresh bottle of wine in hand to replace the one they’d finished off already. Things were going smoothly until a flock of bats swarmed him and he almost dropped the bottle. What is a group of bats called? he wondered, rubbing his shoulder. One of them had gotten him through his shirt, but it was nothing. He had worse injuries from the riot.
As December came into view, he waved, noting the other figure there with her. Mickey. He had nothing against the guy, but knew Mickey wasn’t a fan and that would likely only get worse if he had his way.
Oh for fuck's sake. This sort of thing always happened to Mickey. "Looks like your sleepover came back," he said, trying to keep the ire out of his voice but completely annoyed at Mannix's timing.
"My sleepover didn't share my bed." she muttered under her breath, waving to Mannix. "There's food and alcohol." she called to Mannix. "Or, there will be food." she amended, since it wasn't finished yet. Then she stopped and blinked. "What the fuck happened to you?"
Mannix laughed silently at the exchange between them, not realizing that he shouldn’t be able to hear them. He was about to comment on it when his attention was diverted by December’s question. “Got into a bit of a brawl yesterday,” he grinned. “Fight broke out down by the door. Good times. I brought wine, but I see you’ve already got beer. Hey Mickey,” he added, giving the other guy a nod.
Mickey had an answer for that too, but mostly it was something of relief, as he bit back a laugh at the state of Mannix. “I heard about the fight,” he said shaking his head. “Not sure why it had to turn to that though.” He half raised his beer towards Mannix, but was more focused on putting the top back on the box in December’s hand. The last thing he wanted was Mannix getting ideas.
"I see that--have you been looked at?" she asked. "You don't look like you're 'let's get medical attention!' guy." she pointed out. She saw Mickey put the top back on the box, and set it aside, though she didn't know why he was doing that. She didn't ask. "I'm going to go ahead and guess that it had to turn into that because there's a shit ton of displaced people chomping at the bit to be the fuck out of here, they all got pissed off, and then things got ugly fast." she provided for Mickey. "Sit down so I can at least see if you're injured enough for me to get the first aid kit." she said to Mannix.
“Eh, probably didn’t have to turn to that, but it did, and then I joined in,” Mannix said, grabbing a beer for himself. “And, no, I’m not the medical attention guy. I’m more like the ‘cops are coming, time to go’ kind of guy. Nothing’s broken, so far as I can tell.” He thought he’d probably bruised a rib, though. Jack wasn’t the only one with brass knuckles out there, but Mannix had taken the guy out with a lead pipe. “Sitting, sitting,” he snickered, gently sitting himself down. He was still sore and suspected it would get worse before it got better. “What’s in the box?”
He shrugged. “I guess I was thinking like he did, that it didn’t have to turn to that.” Didn’t they have enough issues outside of the dome that they had to be a point of violence for one another inside it? He had a hard time judging someone who would step into a fight, considering he’d likely do the same, but at the same time he was slightly unamused at the fact that Mannix was a run from the cops kind of guy. “Nothing,” he said slipping the box more out of reach, not able to help the defensive tone in his voice.
"It's cute you both have faith in humanity like that, in a ‘second grade’ kind of way, but I'm maintaining that that shit was going to get violent and ugly from day one." December said. Because it was how her cynical brain worked. That, as she started checking him over. Because 'nothing's broken' wasn't exactly good enough. When Mickey sounded all defensive, she glanced at him, arching a brow. "Okay, whatever, weirdo, no it isn't nothing." she said, going back to looking Mannix over. "It's incredibly awesome, very me-colored ribbons." she provided.
“I think it had to do with letting all the traders linger down by the door. They’ve pretty much pushed everyone back to camp and encouraged us to disperse, if possible,” Mannix said. Fights were going to break out, but he couldn’t see this particular one going down again. It was now established that everyone wanted the doors open and punching someone wasn’t going to make it happen. “Can I see? Or are they for private viewing only?” he grinned, rubbing at his shoulder. It still hurt like a bitch, which was weird considering he had other injuries that should be aching far worse.
“You used to like my faith in humanity. Actually recently you chastised me for losing it.” Mickey half rolled his eyes at her, but managed half a smirk at her description of what she said about the gift. He guessed he had done well with that one. “Up to her,” he said nodding toward Mannix’s shoulder. “What’d you do there?”
"I did mention it was cute." December pointed out. "Plus I never said I thought it was a big boy point of view, just that someone around here should probably not be looking for the next apocalypse on the horizon all the time. I have that shit covered." she explained. "And yes, you can see them. I was actually going to ask that someone thread the blue ones in." she said, also frowning at Mannix' shoulder. She reached out, seeing a little bit of red, and poked gently at what looked like a bleeding wound there. Small, but bleeding. "Is this from the brawl? Because if it's still bleeding, that's bad."
“I would love to assist you with that,” Mannix said, grinning wolfishly. He couldn’t help it. He was pleased to be extended the offer, and even moreso in front of Mickey. “Ow,” he said when she poked at his shoulder. “No, I got that on the way over here. I got swarmed by bats and I think one of them bit me. It’s actually bleeding?” he asked, unbuttoning his shirt so she could see the wound better. It wasn’t in a place where he could get a good view, not without a mirror.
“Try again Romeo,” Mickey said, edge to his voice. “My gift.” Which meant Mannix was not getting his hands on her with his gift. Not a chance. That defeated the entire point. He leaned in more though when Mannix mentioned the bats, and without thinking about it his hand when out to grab December’s wrist, pulling it away from Mannix’s shoulder. “Don’t. You’re sure it was a bat?” he asked voice, changing completely.
December frowned when Mannix said he got bit by a bat, and even more so when Mickey grabbed her wrist. "...If he's hurt, I'm going to need to clean the wound. I will require my hand to do that, you know." She stared at Mickey. "...what's wrong?"
Mannix was also lost as to why Mickey would be so alarmed. “I didn’t get a good look at it, but I don’t think birds bite,” Mannix told Mickey. His eyes zeroed in on where Mickey was holding her wrist, then looked back and forth between them. “There a rabies problem in the dome or something?”
“No,” Mickey said, getting up and pulling December with him, though he wasn’t trying to be rough about it, just urgent. “I’ll get my first aid kit. Give me a hand December,” he said, taking a step back before looking back at Mannix. “Stay.”
This was weird. Like, kind of alarming weird. Mickey may sometimes behave like a controlling dick with her, but this seemed abrupt, specific and a little fucked. She stood, looking to Mannix. "I'll be right back." she promised. "Don't poke at it, okay? We might actually need to bring you in. Animal bites aren't anything to fuck around with." she said, before turning to head after Mickey. “What the hell is going on?”
“What the fuck?” Mannix asked, watching as Mickey pulled December away. Being told to stay didn’t sit well with him, but December’s response kept him seated, just about to poke at it when she told him not to. “I’ve had worse,” he called back, then sat back and had a sip of his beer while they went to get Mickey’s first aid kit.
As soon as they were far enough away Mickey turned to face December. “Tell him to get lost. Now. I don’t care how, but make him gone. For good.” His voice was different this time, not controlling, not jealous, just purely concerned, with just a twinge of fear laced somewhere in it.
"Um, how about no." December said, crossing her arms. "What's the matter with you? Why are you freaking out? Because this is you, freaking all the way out. What're you afraid of?" she asked, definitely being able to tell the difference in his voice there.
“I can still hear you!” Mannix yelled back at them. This was just great. For whatever reason, Mickey had flipped and decided that he needed to get lost, now. He was pretty sure that had been true before, but now the guy seemed significantly more urgent.
Mickey looked over at Mannix then at December. “He shouldn’t be able to hear us. Look this will sound insane,” he said dropping his voice even lower. “But bad shit is about to go down with him. I just went through the same thing this morning. Make him go before he’s trying to bite you for your blood.”
December did blink when Mannix said he could still hear them, then she was looking back at Mickey. "Before...are you fucking kidding me?" she asked. "Bite me? For my blood? I...Michael, I think you might be kind of cracking up. I don't know what happened with chica there, but you're sounding completely off your rocker. He needs help. Animal bites, they're full of bacteria, he could get really, really sick. He could die, depending. We should probably just get him to the hospital, if you don't want to come with, I get it. Just...wait here, make sure the houses don't burn down and we'll talk about this later." she said, turning to walk back toward Mannix.
Whatever Mickey said, it was a little too low for Mannix to hear, but December’s response wasn’t quite as quiet. Apparently Mickey really had cracked. Maybe he was on something, or he thought Mannix was more a monster than Mannix really was. He’d killed some people, sure, and he occasionally bit, but the two didn’t go together. Mannix took another long sip of beer and waited for them to return.
“Mickey!” Zania called, waving her umbrella as he came into view. The afternoon rain had allowed her to go out earlier than she’d expected, and now with the sun behind the trees she was free to walk outside. “I found a roommate!”
Michael. She never called him that unless she was being really serious. Half the time he forgot she actually knew his full name. Reaching out he caught her arm before she could walk away. “December please. Zania has fangs, burns in the sun, the whole nine yards and she got bit too. I know. it’s insane, and if I hadn’t seen it I wouldn’t believe me either, but damnit let whatever happens to him happen somewhere that’s not here.” Where she could get hurt. And that showed in his eyes until he heard Zania’s voice and internally swore. Letting go of December, he turned, waving to Zania. “Yeah?”
December was left blinking. "What. The. Fuck." She said slowly, with feeling. "Seriously?" she asked, sighing as she threw her hands up in the air, and started to march back to Mannix. She didn't greet Ms. Stripper Name. Mickey was clearly kinda nuts at the moment, and as far as December was concerned, maybe that girl was another symptom. Apparently it was enough that she had Mickey believing she was a fucking vampire. Because yes, she could add all that shit up and get to dracula.
She walked to the blanket, and looked at him. "Feel like sucking my blood, biting me, or sleeping in a coffin, by chance?" she asked. "No? Good. You need to get to the hospital to get that bite looked at. I probably don't have everything I need here, and you shouldn't argue with me, because I think I've got quite enough crazy being thrown around my yard for one night. Don't add."
“I might bite you, but the other stuff? No, not my thing,” Mannix smirked. “I really don’t think it’s that bad. Can we give it a few hours and, if it gets worse, I’ll go? I’m not a fan of hospitals.” He’d been taught to stay away from them, mostly because that made his injuries traceable. They’d had an in house doctor growing up, someone who could operate off the books if they got shot or stabbed on the job. “Who’s Mickey’s friend?” he asked, nodding towards the redhead.
“I’m Zania,” she said, introducing herself as she heard Mannix ask. It didn’t occur to her that she was still a bit far away, but he hadn’t exactly been whispering either. She hooked her arm through Mickey’s and proceeded to drag him back towards the group. “You must be December?” she asked, eyeing the other woman. “He talks a lot about you.”
“God damnit December,” Mickey swore when she walked away. When had he ever lied to her? And of course, she went right back to Mr. Creep and he was left just staring at them, considering going inside and saying fuck it to Mannix getting his bloody,now probably a vampire hands all over her and maybe just drink himself to sleep. The thought didn’t last long until Zania had him and was dragging him back to them. “It’s not a lot,” he corrected, most definitely not wanting to be on what felt like a double date.
"Zania." she echoed Zan. "And no. We can't 'give it a few hours'. That just gives the infection all the more time to settle in, and I could give a shit that you aren't a fan of hospitals. Man the fuck up." she said to Mannix first.
Then she looked at Zania. "I'm December. And sorry, that's got to be really dull for you." she said about Mickey talking about her. She was pretty sure no girl wanted to listen to dudes going on about other girls. "So, Zania, do you happen to be a vampire? Because that's what Mickey here believes, and Mannix here's gotten bit by a bat tonight, and this all seems to be one giant clusterfuck of an evening already. So, add some fuel to the fire. I need to turn the goddamn kabobs."
Mannix didn’t know how he could contribute to make the conversation more interesting than it already was. Apparently Mickey thought he was going to become a vampire. And his friend was one as well? All the while, December wanted him to go to the hospital for a bat bite, which was probably the least worrisome injury he’d ever had. “I think both of you are over exaggerating bit,” he said. “Can we at least eat first? I’m starving.”
Zania’s reaction wasn’t quite so subdued. Her eyes widened and she turned to glare at Mickey, about ready to rip his head off for spilling her secret to the first person he came across. True, it was the girl he was fawning over, but that didn’t make it any better. “Really?” she snapped at him. “You had to bring that up? I guess I should be going.” She took two steps away, but then spun, unable to leave it at that. “But just so you know, everyone that’s been bitten has died. Everyone but me, at least so far. It’s on the radio. Mickey knows what’ll help your friend, don’t you?”
This whole scene, this whole mess of fighting and the feeling of the double date from hell, this was why Mickey didn’t do people. Or that was how it felt in that moment. “Damnit December. Seriously?” he asked her, obviously not amused. “You,” he said pointing to Mannix. “Just do what the fuck she says and stop trying to be a fucking hardass and impress her. That doesn’t work.” He ran a hand over his face and looked at Zania, following after her. “I didn’t spill. I was trying to warn her,” he told the redhead, voice lower, softer with her. “You don’t have to go. Stay. Don’t do this.”
December turned the kabobs, but did look over at Mickey, being all...what, sweet? Gentle, and soft or something. Yeah. And he had been denying he slept with her. Right. Though one thing caught her attention more than that. "...Zania." she said. "What do you mean 'Mickey knows what'll help your friend'?" she asked. "And you didn't actually answer the question." she added, turning to cross her arms, frowning at the whole lot of them.
“Could you not have warned her without telling her it was me?” Zania asked Mickey. “You could have told her we fucked on the kitchen table for all I care, but instead you took the one thing I asked you to keep quiet about and you told her. Do you know what they’d do to me in the hospital, Mickey? I don’t have a fucking heart beat!” She sput on December, annoyed to be asked the question again, one she didn’t really want to answer. “I mean that every person who’s been bitten by a bat has died within twenty-four hours of being bitten. I should hit that mark at, what do you think Mickey? Midnight? Or was it earlier? You can take your friend to the hospital and watch him die, or Mickey can tell you how to save him. I think Mickey would like him to die!” she smiled brightly, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “What do you think?” she asked the guy she hadn’t been properly introduced to.
Mannix rarely freaked out, but this conversation had taken a turn he didn’t like at all. If everyone had died, then yes, he needed to get to the hospital. But Zania was talking like that wouldn’t do a thing. “Mickey?” he asked hesitantly. He knew the guy didn’t like him, but if he really knew a way to save him, would he hold it back from him?
“Why would I say the fucking thing about the counter when we didn’t?” Mickey demanded, feeling his cheeks heat up and out of habit he shook his hair into his face. “I don’t want him to die. I don’t want anyone to fucking die. Why is this on me now? Do I know what maybe saved her, sure. Because I guess no one else has been fortunate enough to be around a guy who cuts himself and then latches on. So blood Mannix. Happy?” Fuck. This whole thing was more than fucked up and all he wanted to do was get out of there, and at the same time, he wasn’t sure he could leave as suddenly the guy that wanted someone else to die.
"Priorities, Mickey!" snapped December when Mickey picked out the whole counter adventures thing out of Zania's rant to comment on first.
Then he kept talking. And she was putting things together. She didn't know if she believed it yet, but she took it in. She was silent for a few long, assessing moments. "So, she sucked your blood, and now she's okay." she said. "And he needs blood, or bad things will happen." she continued. She dug in her pocket for her pocket knife, and unfolded the blade, considering it. "I'm not diseased. And it can't actually hurt anything more than it already is." she added. She landed her gaze on Mannix, a silent question there. Did he want to try it, just in case Mickey and Zania weren't fucking clownshit insane?
“I’m not sure okay is the word I would use,” Zania said, crossing her arms over her chest. “But yes.” She wasn’t even going to argue about what they did or didn’t do on the counter because Mickey had obviously missed the point.
Mannix had done some batshit crazy things in his life, but this had to top all of them. He was pretty sure December was offering him some blood on the off chance that he’d turn into a vampire rather than die. If zombies weren’t a real thing, he would have gotten up then and walked away, leaving them to their crazy. But zombies were real and people were dying. “I guess it can’t hurt anything, can it?” he said hesitantly. “What happens afterwards?” he asked the redhead.
“I’ve been one for less than twelve hours,” Zania said, her lips tugging up as she rolled her eyes. “They didn’t leave me a manual.”
“No. No, no, no.” Mickey knew that knife and it was enough to get him moving, faster than normal to her. “Don’t. Get as pissed at me as you want, but no.” His hand went over hers, eyes serious. “I will pry this from you hands if I have to, but no, I am not watching that.”
"I will knee you in the nuts so hard you'll taste them when they stop their journey." December countered. "And you don't have to watch. Close your eyes." she added, tone just slightly more gentle. Because he sounded ridiculously distressed here. "Look, apparently you did it and it was just fucking fine. So, in theory, if any of this is real in the first place, it'll be fine now." She moved her free hand down, then twisted her wrist that Mickey was holding. The tip of the knife sliced into the heel of her hand, down toward her wrist but not actually that far. It was deep enough to bleed, but not to cut anything important.
Both Zania and Mannix hissed at the same time. Zania’s hand flew to her mouth and she forced herself to look away, which Mannix was suddenly so focused on the scent of blood that he found it hard to restrain himself. The craving was more than he could stand and he found himself standing, reaching for her hand, and pressing his lips against the cut. He’d never been a drug addict, but he was sure this was what it felt like to need a fix. He just couldn’t help himself.
“Mickey?” Zania said quietly, forcing herself to take deep breaths. It wasn’t as bad as the last time, but her fangs had descended again just from smelling blood in the air.
Mickey swore at her, at Mannix, at all of it. He wanted to look away, great, but he couldn’t, nor was he handling Mannix with his face shoved against her hand. He waited half a breath then had December’s wrist, pulling it away from Mannix. “He doesn’t need more than mouthful at best.” His focus was there, on them, until he heard Zania and that had his head whipping around. “What? What’s wrong?”
So, December had the abrupt, horrifying realization that she was totally wrong. Because the hissing, along with abruptly being latched onto by Mannix was all pointing toward this not being ridiculous bullshit. It pointed toward this being some terrifying reality. She was wide eyed, the pain in her hand not having been bad til y'know. Mannix was sucking at it. She didn't even have time to react, really, her brain just going 'holy shitballs' too much to do much of anything.
When Mickey tried to get her hand away from Mannix, she let out a gasp of pain, Mannix not releasing her right away. But it was only a second or two later that he did, and she was left standing there, her wrist coming up to her chest. She looked between the two vampires, and totally now understood why that was a stupid, stupid plan. And she had no words. Or, she thought she didn't. "...do I need to run?" she asked, voice barely audible. She was tensed for it, not even sure where she would go. Inside? Did they need an invite? Was that just bullshit? Shit. Shit.
For a few second there, Mannix was lost, sucking at the blood on December’s hand like a man dying of thirst. He didn’t even realize what he was doing until Mickey tried to pull her hand away, and even then he held on for a second more. And then it hit him. Mannix let go in an instant, her blood still on his lips, panic in his eyes. There was a bright burst of pain, then blood in his mouth. Not thinking, Mannix leaned over and spit it out in the grass. He gasped for air, though he wasn’t entirely sure he needed it. He thought maybe his heart had stopped. “No. I’m sorry,” he said, his mouth feeling all kinds of wrong when he spoke. “I won’t hurt you.”
Zania didn’t have time to warn Mickey, or Mannix for that matter. By the time Mickey was asking what was wrong, a warning wouldn’t be enough. “Just the smell of blood. The taste,” Zania said softly. “Remember what happened?”
Mickey wasn’t listening to Mannix. All he was doing was hearing that small voice from December and that was enough. “Go,” he told her. “Inside.” And he hoped that didn’t stop things. Then his attention went back to Zania, though his eyes stayed on Mannix. “Fangs and worse?” he asked, eyes ticking to her once before they went back to the guy on the ground.
December watched Mannix spit blood out and thought she saw a flash of something like fangs there, but she couldn't be sure. She was, however, super aware that Zania hadn't answered her question. And she was hearing things like 'remember what happened', which to her just didn't sound great. She put her knife back into her pocket, took the kabobs off of the grill, and set the plate on the blanket. "Zania." she said. "You ever bite him, or hurt him, or suck his blood, or whatever the fuck it is you already did again, and I will hunt you down, and dissect you with efficient. fucking. precision." she told her. Her tone wasn't angry, it was just edged. She spoke like it was a fact, not a threat.
She looked at the slice on her hand again, that was still bleeding, and was guessing she didn't want to know what went on there. Mickey certainly seemed to be all fluffy with the girl, even if he was clearly upset about Mannix being a vampire. At the moment, she didn't even know what to do. So, she grabbed the bottle of wine Mannix brought, and decided she needed to go inside and at the very least, stop the bleeding. Then maybe she could figure out what her next move was.
“I can’t make the fangs go away when there’s blood in the air,” Zania said, to which Mannix looked up. Fangs. That’s why his mouth felt so weird, even with it shut. Especially with it shut. With it open, it felt like he was in danger of slicing his own lip open. Mannix wasn’t wholly happy with this moment, particularly the one where December started off towards the house, but he felt like this was one time that he’d have to let her go.
“I didn’t do anything to him!” Zania shouted towards December. “He cut his thumb while peeling an apple, then came after me with a kitchen knife while I locked myself in the bathroom.” She didn’t like being threatened, nor did she appreciate the insinuation that she’d hurt Mickey. He’d been so sweet to her, so understanding, up till the point where he told the bitch he was crushing on that she was a vampire.
Whoa. That was one hell of a threat from December; enough to have Mickey staring after her. Maybe she did care a little more than she let on. “I didn’t come after you,” Mickey said, rolling his eyes and moving back to the blanket to snatch the box December had left behind. After pocketing it, he went back to Zania, tilting his head as he looked at her. “You gonna be okay?”
December bit back a response to Zania about how clearly there was a missed step, since she was certain blood hadn't magically appeared in her mouth, but she needed a minute. She needed to get inside, deal with her wound, and mentally regroup. And possibly pound half a bottle of wine, just so she could deal with it at all. Disappearing inside, she shut the door behind herself, leaned against it and squeezed her eyes shut tight.
Zania hugged her arms around herself as she rocked back and forth, waiting for her fangs to disappear again. At some point she hoped to have more of a handle on them, but so far they pretty much came out whenever they wanted to. “No,” she said, turning to look over at Mickey. “I feel like I have some kind of a boner for blood and it sucks. And I can’t believe you told her. I could have helped him without making a scene, you know. Now she wants to kill me.”
There were few things that made Mannix panic, but he was pretty sure this scene was pushing him close to some kind of mental break. He didn’t want to sit and listen to Mickey and Zania talk about what could have happened. Or what might not have been shared. Because it didn’t change anything and now he had fucking fangs. Without a word to either of them, he got up and started after December. As he opened the door to her house, he called out her name, then attempted to enter, only to feel like he’d walked into a wall. “Shit!” he cursed, stumbling backwards. “December? Are you okay?”
“She doesn’t want to kill you. Trust me. You’d be dead already,” Mickey said, shaking his head. “She’s just scared. I’m gonna go...” He turned around when he heard Mannix called out December’s name and looked back at her house. “None of that said...maybe you should find somewhere else to be?” Mickey called out giving Mannix a dirty look. Running a hand over his face he looked at Zania instead. “I wasn’t trying to tell her I was trying to warn her. So that didn’t happen.” He waved towards the blanket where they’d just had their own fair share of scene. “Do you need somewhere to stay tonight?” he asked instead, looking past her towards his house.
December had gone to grab disinfectant, and was cleaning out the wound. She had grabbed her junk drawer, pulling it out from the cabinet itself to dig through it, bloody hand dripping over the sink. She looked up at the 'shit', and frowned. "Whole lots of no, Mannix." she called. "I need a minute to process. Which I'm sure you require too, what with randomly turning into a fucking vampire tonight. But first things first--I'm going to stop bleeding. Because obviously that's Bad, right now, so how about I just don't. Go...eat a kabob, or grab a beer, or kinda anything. I'll be back out...in a few."
She finally found what she was looking for, and after paper toweling off as much blood as possible, she squeezed crazy glue into the slice, letting out a cry of pain, because fuckballs did that hurt. But she squeezed the wound together, knowing that was a good way to get a wound to stop bleeding and fast. She bit her lip, squeezed her eyes shut and attempted to breathe, before she started downing a whole lot of wine.
Zania could tell that Mickey wanted to go after December and she fully expected him to do so. What she didn’t expect was for him to offer her a place to stay again. While she planned to move in with Clemmie, she couldn’t do that right this second, so she’d expected to go back to Nic’s place... except that if Nic might have to invite her in. It could be awkward if he wasn’t already home. “If you’ll have me,” Zania said. After this morning, she was surprised to hear him offer again.
Mannix found himself sliding down an invisible wall where there should be none and leaning against it, unable to get back into December’s house. She was right; he had a lot to think about. And he wanted his share of that wine because he felt like getting absolutely smashed now. He didn’t know what this meant, exactly, but he figured he and Zania should talk, since she’d learned a bit in the past few hours. But right now he was just numb, unable to believe this was happening to him. Did he need a coffin? Someone had mentioned coffins. A manual really would have been nice. “Save me some wine.”
"I'm really not the kind of guy to leave you homeless," Mickey said, realizing he was a giant contradiction because he was more than ready for Mannix to go anywhere else, but he was letting Zania stay. It didn't matter though, not in the moment. Again he looked back towards December's house, but he didn't move that way.
December scrubbed at her hand after the glue had dried, trying to get traces of blood off of her. She knew from experience as a coroner before the big zombie invasion that blood got everywhere, and trace amounts were all the fuck over sometimes. Would tiny amounts like that matter? No? Was it just flowing blood? She had no idea. She scrubbed anyhow, wanting to just go douse herself in the shower. And after a minute, she did do that. She went into the bathroom to scrub herself down, and change, whatever. It would also give her a few extra moments to just...think. Something. She had no idea.
“Yeah?” Zania asked, hoping that was still true. She knew she’d lost her temper, but this whole thing still scared her and the idea of being without a place to stay was even more frightening now that she knew what the sun could do to her. It wouldn’t come down to that, though. If Mickey didn’t offer, she could go to Nic, or even Justin. Her brother might be annoyed, but he’d still give her the couch. Zania followed Mickey’s gaze towards the house, but it wasn’t December she was thinking of. She watched as Mannix took a flask out of his pocket and started in on that, since the wine had been taken into the house. “Is he staying with her?” she asked Mickey.
“Yeah. I’m tragically nice like that,” Mickey said. And possibly suicidal. He wasn’t about to just leave her with nowhere to go and as much as he wanted to be back inside, taking care of December and keeping Mannix as far away from her as possible, he had a hard time telling Zania to get lost. Looking back at Mannix he rolled his eyes. “I guess he’s crashing on her couch. Maybe. I don’t know.”
“It’s not tragic,” she said, smiling softly. “Though I can see where the confusion comes from. Vampires are typically seen as a threat. And the ones that aren’t, sparkle. Do I need to go douse myself in glitter to convince you?” There was a little voice in her head nagging about the idea that she’d need blood to survive, but she hadn’t gotten that far yet. So far, she hadn’t had to bite someone. Zania didn’t know what she’d done when that happened. “You think she’ll let him in now?” she asked. “Cause if not, he needs to find some place else before sunrise.”
“It is tragic.” Mickey sighed, but then made a face. “No, no glitter. That stuff never goes away.” Rose had gone through a glitter phase and it had been everywhere. All the time. Awful stuff. Though finding it after she died, randomly attached to shirts that hadn’t been worn in a while, that was heartbreaking. Looking at Mannix he shrugged. “I hope not.” Which meant Mickey had to do something. Sighing, he started over towards other man, no vampire, and reached for his shirt once he was close enough. “Come on, Romeo. She’s not letting you in if I have any say, but you can’t very well sleep on the porch.”
Zania watched as Mickey walked over towards Mannix, her hands sliding into her back pockets. It felt like her arrival had started a downslide into chaos, but if Mannix had been bitten and Mickey knew about it, then it was heading that way anyways. She just wasn’t sure it had to go down quite the way it did.
Mannix sat on December’s porch, his own pocket knife in his hand. What he knew about vampires was limited to movies, not even books, but one thing stuck out in his mind. They healed faster than humans. Since he’d been sitting there, against the doorway he couldn’t enter, he’d noticed every little nick and scratch had healed. Every scab, every bruise, even the rib he’d thought was almost broken. And that was when he’d gotten out his pocket knife and started sticking his finger, just to watch it heal back again. He pulled away when Mickey made a grab for him, mostly by instinct, but stood up anyways. “So you’re offering yours? Have you lost your mind?”
Mickey shook his head at himself. “Apparently yes. Mickey’s charitable home for vampires. Come on, leave her alone.” Because December didn’t need this.
“You’re crazy,” Mannix responded, but he gave a little nod, then slowly started towards Mickey’s place, but stopped when they got to the grill. They couldn’t leave the fire going, and there was still food out. “We should at least clean up,” he said, still in a bit of a daze. A glance at the meat and his stomach growled, though now he wasn’t even sure that that’s what he wanted. “Can I even eat real food?”
“I had pie this morning,” Zania said, taking a few steps closer. “And a sandwich this afternoon, so I’d say yes.” It hadn’t made her sick and that was all she had to go off. This being a vampire thing was all trial and error. “You really shouldn’t let the food go to waste,” she told Mickey. “At least finish cooking it for her and leave it in her kitchen.”
There was no need to agree with Mannix. He was crazy, that was understood. “I hadn’t planned on it,” Mickey said, eying what was left on the grill and pulling the last of it off. It was probably a little more well done than planned, but it would work. He plated off part of it and set the rest in front of Mannix and Zania. “Eat. I’ll take this over there,” he said, grabbing his half forgotten beer at the last minute and making his way to December’s house, not having the same issues as Mannix had with getting in and towards her kitchen.
Zania sat down and picked up a kabob. She wasn’t going to turn down free food, especially when she was short on cash and had to call in sick to work today. Her schedule was all messed up and she didn’t know how to explain to her brother that she could only work night shifts now. That was going to be a fun conversation.
“Check and make sure she’s okay?” Mannix called out to Mickey as he disappeared into December’s house. It bothered him that he couldn’t even do that much. Had this even been the right decision? It had seemed so insane that he didn’t see how it could hurt to try, but now everything had changed. At least his fangs had decided to go away for the time being.
December was still feeling a little dazed, though she rinsed the soap and shampoo off of herself, and shut the water off, thinking she was probably being fucking ridiculous in the first place. But then again, vampires. That hiss, in unison, she was never going to forget that sound. Stepping out of the shower, she grabbed her brush and started to pull it through her wet hair, hearing footsteps. She walked over to the door and peered out into the main room, spotting Mickey. She said nothing, and turned back around to go back to hair brushing.
Mickey had set the food on the counter and not seeing her, he'd wandered more into than just the back door. He'd not been here nearly enough. They layout was like his, and he managed to spot her when she peeked out to look at him. There was a hesitation, but then he followed her, towards the bathroom, leaning in the doorway.
She didn't say anything for a few long moments, finishing brushing her hair, towel wrapped around herself. She could sense him behind her there, and still wasn't even sure where to start. "So, she skipped a part." she eventually said. "Between you cutting yourself and her running to lock herself in the bathroom. The part where she got your blood in her system." She rubbed at the heel of her hand where the wound was, testing to be sure she didn't need more super glue.
"She grabbed my hand before I could stop her and had it in her mouth until I jerked away," Mickey said, clearing up the part that got left out since she'd asked. He didn't move from the doorway, giving her space as she needed it.
"And she's your new sleepover buddy." she added, though that wasn't a question. The girl had been coming by to see Mickey again tonight. Even after the whole vampire reveal thing. Obviously Mickey was fine with it. Or, more accurately, he was fine with it so long as it wasn't Mannix, a double standard of epic proportions.
"She was before the blood thing," Mickey pointed out, but Zania was back, and staying with him tonight too. "I told you it wasn't like that December."
"And I saw you with her. So, I'm just going to go ahead and call bullshit. Which y'know what? Is fine. It's none of my fucking business in the first place. I told you to go out and hook someone and you did. So, hopefully that helps your self esteem, or whatever." she said, walking toward him then pushing past so she could get to her bedroom and change. "Just...if she hurts you...it's not going to be pretty. And you better not turn up a goddamn vampire one day either."
Mickey had her arm as she passed. "I wouldn't lie to you damnit. Why do you not believe me?" he asked her, holding her arm still. "I'm not turning into a vampire and I won't let her hurt me."
"It's adorable that you think you have a choice. If that woman wanted to hurt you, she could. Because she's a vampire, so let's not lose sight of the fact that you might not be as in control as you think." she snapped at him, giving his hand on her arm a pointed stare. "And I don't think you're lying, I just think it's bullshit. The two aren't mutually exclusive. You might as well give up the ghost on this one, because your behavior? Said all it needed to to sell me on the idea that you're already completely invested."
"Fine. I don't have control," Mickey said rolling his eyes. When she glared at his hand he loosened his grip but didn't let go. "Are you upset it's not you?"
"I'm upset you grabbed some chick and took her home, she turns out to be a vampire, and you're still practically cooing at her out there in the back yard--while denying things, by the way--and simultaneously attempting to run off Mannix." she told him. "It's not fair." she told him firmly. "And you might want to take the ribbons back, I'm sure you handing out prezzies to other women isn't going to fly all that well. Wouldn't want her getting ideas about just draining me dry to get rid of the problem. Are you going to let me get my clothes on?" she asked, arching a brow at her, and she threatened to drop the towel, just to get him to back off.
“I spent yesterday calming her down. So, sure, I’m so goddamn nice I’m suicidal. The kind of nice where even though I’m trying to get Mannix to stay as far the fuck away as he can, I just offered to let him stay at my house.” He shook his head, not letting go of her, because really threatening to drop the towel wasn’t much of a threat. Like he’d be against that. That he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if she didn’t have it on wasn’t the point. He reached for the box again, holding it out to her. “Please December. I won’t let anyone hurt you. Plus I’m pretty sure you can take her. I know I haven’t been fair, but I swear nothing has happened with her.”
"And you don't know what's upsetting, here? Try that too, dumbass. You, with the fucking suicidal thing." she snapped. "As for Mannix, at least I've known him longer than you've known her, and he hasn't shared my bed, where as you jumped straight to that! And I'm not that terrible a judge of character. Maybe you could try trusting me for five minutes instead of spending all your time distrusting him while getting all sweet and snuggly with miss one night stand-turned-fanged bedbuddy'." December said. "And two seconds ago you admitted you don't have control, how do you forget that so fast? You wouldn't be able to stop anyone hurting me. Why do you think I didn't tell Zania that I'd stop her? I wouldn't be able to--because no, I don't think I can take her. She's a vampire, and who the fuck knows what that means yet. Or what she hasn't told you. But I could most certainly take some vivid, torturous revenge."
“Why hasn’t Mannix?” Mickey asked, giving her a look. “Because you haven’t let him? I’m guessing he’s tried. It’s written all over his damn face. I don’t distrust him, I don’t want him sleeping with you.” That was most of it. He didn’t want to be replaced by fully functioning, sweet-talking Mannix. Who was now a vampire. Mickey ran his hand through his hair and finally let go of her. He dropped the box on the counter of her bathroom and started back towards the door, but only made it a few steps before he stopped, honestly not able to leave. “Why do I do this?” he asked mostly himself, before turning back around to look at her. “What do you need? Right now, that I can do.”
"Because he hasn't tried. I haven't had to lock my bedroom door or threaten bodily harm for him to back off." He even had opportunity, and didn't take it. "So, rest easy, Warden, he hasn't been sleeping with me." she said, tugging her towel up better when he finally let go and walked away. "Why do you do what?" she asked, picking up the box and heading to her room, so she could get clothes on. "And what I need is you to be freaking out in the right direction, not at me. You realize you've gone straight to dropping everything to cater and be sweet to a creature of the night, and you're in here, bitching at me, yes?" she asked, setting the box down on her bed first, then she went to grab undies.
“Don’t call me that,” Mickey countered, looking at her and after a moment following, though he stayed outside of the bedroom, lurking in the doorway. “And he’s an idiot. I’m glad he is, but it should be said.” Mickey let out a sigh and opted not to answer her question. The answer was something along the lines of put up with her and let himself care so damn much about someone who acted like she hated him from time to time and he guessed neither answer would go over well. “I have not dropped everything,” he said shaking his head. “And...I like her. She’s nice to me. And friendly and you told me to make friends so look, I did and now you’re acting all jealous or something that someone else is playing with the toy you’ve forgotten you had. And yes, she’s a vampire. It’s a new development that I’m still wrapping my head around and I keep wishing was a bad dream. Are you going to blow Mannix off because he’s one? And I am not bitching at you damnit, I’m trying to make sure you’re okay and I brought you dinner.”
And it was that moment when she felt a stab of...something she couldn't quite identify. Maybe he was right, and she was jealous, or something, she just didn't know if that was it or not. She didn't usually do jealousy at all. It wasn't who she was as a person. Or, she thought it wasn't. So, shit. The part that stood out to her, however was 'she's nice to me'.
All that was obliterated, however, when he compared himself to a forgotten toy. He might as well have slapped her, considering the impact it had. She stared at the contents of her underwear drawer and all words failed her. Was that what he really thought? That was how he saw her? Like some cruel bitch who just toyed with him then was throwing a fit when someone was going to be nice and play with him? Or...however that added up? It left a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Silently she pulled on a camisole and panties, then got her robe from the bedpost and put it on.
How could he possibly stick around if that was how he viewed her? Because he's too nice, and a glutton for punishment. was her immediate answer. She knew she needed to answer him, because he was waiting for her to say something, but she still didn't know what to say. So it turned into the least possible, and the bare minimum. "Thank you for bringing in dinner." she said first. "I'm fine. I would appreciate it if you left now. Besides. People are waiting on you." Her voice was neutral. Nothing behind it. December didn't exactly get emotionally wounded easily. She was more the type to deny she had real people feelings in the first place. But right then and there, that was exactly how she felt. Just a bit gutted.
Mickey didn’t know what to do with that. He found himself staring at her, confused and visibly hurt. Had she ever asked him to leave? Told him she didn’t want him around, but she hadn’t asked him to leave when he stayed. He wasn’t good at taking that direction, just like he wasn’t good at giving up on her. The lack of everything, that she didn’t respond to what he’d said, that sense of nothing in her voice, that scared the shit out of him. He’d ruined it for good hadn’t he? He pushed off the doorframe and took half a step back. “They can wait longer if you need me.” Moronic to ask for more, but he didn’t know what to make of that voice and despite what she said about wanting him to go, he wasn’t sure leaving was the right answer.
She was staring into a middle distance, and his silence didn't help things, nor did his words. In light of what else he'd just said? It just felt worse. What, so I can just be using you again? went through her mind, but again she bit her tongue on it. It didn't even make it near articulation. And she really, really didn't want him to see her cry, even if it felt a bit like she was heading down that road. "Go, Michael." she said, in that same dead voice, though it was quieter this time. Talking loud was usually a poor idea when you had a lump starting to form in your throat.
He didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t even sure where to start, just knowing that something was wrong, really wrong. Part of him wanted to go to her, scoop her up in a way he’d never dared to before, tell her it was fine, everything was fine, that he’d take care of her and them and everything else he could. It was a big part of him, almost enough to get him moving, but what stopped him was her. His name, his real name, with the order to go. The fact that she might not want him to touch her, or be close to her. Wouldn’t that rejection be even worse than the quiet dismissal? And there were people waiting on him, people would might not put up with the few hours he could kill her with her, just trying to make it better. “Okay,” he finally said, taking a step back. “But come find me if you need something.” He watched her for a moment more, then headed back towards the door he’d come in and out into the yard.
Zania and Mannix had taken their time together to discuss what little they knew of being a vampire. It wasn’t a lot-- sunlight burns, mirrors don’t work, and healing is incredible was about all they had to go on. They didn’t even know where blood consumption came in, though they’d both learned the hard way that their fangs came out to play when blood was in the air. Both of them looked up when Mickey came out, and Mannix looked back behind him, hoping December would follow.
“She not coming out?” he asked, concern in his voice. Mannix didn’t know what had transpired within, but he’d known he’d likely scared the shit out of her. The knowledge was not comforting.
“No,” Mickey answered, down to short words, lack of words, again. He was aching from whatever the fuck just happened in there. Why had she just shut down? He went for a beer instead, opening it up and drinking way too much of it in one gulp.
Mickey’s response made even Zania worried, and she wasn’t even sure she liked December. She liked Mickey, though, and he was upset by more than her and Mannix’s sudden vampirism. “Mickey... Are you sure you want us at your place tonight?”
Mannix wasn’t sure where he could go, but he’d find a place if need be. Hell, he’d lock himself in the back of the truck, if it really came to that, though he hoped it wouldn’t.
That was the million dollar question wasn’t it? No. He wasn’t sure. But he knew they didn’t have anywhere else to go and he hated the idea of just saying ‘no’ and being a dick about it. That wasn’t who he was. So he let it go. All the frustration and the hurt, for the moment he pushed it away and looked back at them, shaking his head. “It’s fine. Just tired. I might sleep early. Like...soon or now or whatever.”
“Okay,” Zania said, moving to follow him, though she wasn’t entirely sure she would stay. She could always work on moving into Clementine’s tonight and that would give him his space to... do whatever he needed to do. Sleep, without her there, she thought. Zania looked back at December’s house, continuing to worry.
“Why don’t you give me permission, since that’s a thing, and I’ll come back later,” Mannix said. Part of him wanted to make sure December was okay, while another part thought he might just wander the city at night and think to himself. Maybe he’d go find Jack and he could try telling his brother what had happened. He wasn’t sure what to do with himself, but he didn’t think going to sleep on Mickey’s couch right now was what he needed. “If that’s cool with you,” he added, not wanting to presume. Mickey was doing him a huge favor just by offering.
“If you’re going to stand outside her door and bother her, no,” Mickey said watching Mannix, stopping in his tracks to his house. “Leave her alone tonight.” He didn’t know what he wanted when it came to Zania, but at least she’d be there. That was a start right? And if he was going to get in trouble for it, he might as well enjoy it.
“I just need some time to clear my head, okay?” Mannix asked, running his fingers through his hair. As much as he wanted to play it cool, this wasn’t exactly easy for him and he was kind of freaking out. If he was going to freak out, he wasn’t going to do it in Mickey’s living room. “I’m not gonna stalk her. I’m just gonna go for a walk.”
Mickey watched Mannix for a long moment, hating that that pang of guilt rose up at what he was sure was the traumatizing event the guy had just gone through. Finally he nodded and started towards the house. “You’ve got permission to come in when you want if you need to. Just be safe.” Which was counterproductive for Mickey to say, but again he found himself unable to not be nice. Damn his struggling faith in humanity.
“Thanks,” Mannix said, then headed out towards the road. Maybe he’d track down his brother, who should probably know about this new development in his life, even if he’d rather keep it to himself. It made leaving the dome, or going anywhere, tricky from here on out. How could he continue to function if he couldn’t go out in the sun? It was something he’d have to play with once the sun rose and see how far he could push that boundary.
Zania watched Mannix walk away, then turned to follow Mickey. She knew what the other guy had to be feeling, still dealing with it herself. There were adjustments that would need to be made, some more difficult to explain than others. She needed to tell her own brother, as well as Nic, but how was she supposed to start that conversation? She’d seen how December had laughed it off like she was crazy and suspected that others would have a similar reaction. Maybe that was a good thing, since it meant most people wouldn’t suspect. Right now, though, she’d keep Mickey company if he needed her there, or wanted her there. And once he fell asleep, she could sneak out and run the errands she couldn’t during the daytime. Even though December’s words had stung, she really was a creature of the night.