The Hellion (collateralshot) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2018-01-06 17:04:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, dan smith, leon orcot, olivia moore |
Who: Dan Smith, Liv Moore and Leon Orcot
What: Mistletoe strikes and Leon is the "winner"
When: Backdated to Mid-December (During the Evil Mistletoe Plot)
Where: The Double Tap
Rating/Warnings Lowish, snogging
Status: Complete!
Liv often went for drink with Leon after work. Lately she had been skipping out, opting to go to The Double Tap and see Dan, instead of McNally’s with her work friend. But the past few months had been tough for Leon. Hell, they had been tough for Liv as well. All those religious murders she had to relive, not to mention everything going on in her personal life. Still, she knew Leon was practically killing himself trying to solve the murders. He needed a night off, a night away from anything work related. Which meant, no McNally’s. Liv had told Leon once that she would take him to her new favorite bar. Tonight seemed like the perfect night.
It was slightly different walking into the bar with Leon. She usually came alone so she could visit with Dan. But oh well. She had met Dan’s wife. It was time he met some of her friends too. Other than Ravi. “You know,” she told Leon as they made their way over to two empty stools. “Dan makes the best jalapeño margarita.” Not that Leon had the same taste for spice as she did, but still, she couldn’t help but brag.
Leon was a little surprised when Liv pulled up in front of her favourite bar. He’d actually been there not too long ago. He knew someone at work had mentioned it, though at the time he couldn’t remember who had. Now he realized, it was probably Liv.
“Good to know,” he said. “He also pours a pretty good cheap whiskey,” he said, shooting Dan a bit of a grin.
Dan had come to expect and look forward to Liv’s nightly visits to his bar. Tending bar always seemed to make him happy, no matter how the evening went. However, Liv’s visits were always the hightst points of the evenings. This particular night, though He hadn’t expected her to have company and he certainly hadn’t expected that company to be the detective who’d been to his bar not that long ago. Though, if he thought about it, it shouldn’t have been much of a surprise that a detective and a medical examiner would know each other. It just reminded Dan how small the world really was.
He didn’t mention anything about how the last time Leon had been in the bar, he’d taken a tumble off the stool. Best not embarrass the poor man, no matter how impressive it had been that he’d managed to save his glass and drink, if not his pride.
Dan grinned back as the two took their seats at the bar. “I do pour a mean drink.” He reached across the bar to take Leon’s hand in greeting. “Good to see ye again, Detective. What kin I get you? Ye wanna try one o’ Liv’s jalapeno margaritas?”
Liv’s attention had already been on Dan when Leon spoke. Wait, what? She did a double take looking back at her detective friend. Leon had been here before? Since when did he ever drink somewhere that wasn’t McNally’s?
Liv wasn’t entirely sure how to handle the situation, so she just went with it. “I didn’t know you too had already met,” Liv commented as she climbed onto an empty bar stool. “Guess that saves me from doing introductions.” Not that she had talked much about Dan. Other than that he made good drinks. Yes, there was a lot to say but there was no point in Liv talking about it. Especially with Leon. She couldn’t exactly explain to him why Dan had to remain just a friend.
“Well,” Liv said to Dan. “I don’t know about Leon, but I’ll definitely have a jalapeno margarita,” a pause. “You know, you really should think about making some Christmas themed drinks.” That of course was the brain talking, not so much Liv herself. She’d ask Leon to back her up, but he was such a Scrooge.
“I’m not really a margarita man,” Leon said. Last time Liv had convinced him to try one of her fancy expensive drinks, she’d taken a selfie with him and stuck him with the bill afterwards. “Just a beer.” He glanced sideways at Liv. Veronica’s Christmas cheer had always struck him as excessive, but apparently she didn’t hold a candle to Liv. Leon was actually looking forward to Christmas this year, even if he was going to be stuck at work for most of the day. “Hold the candycane. Christmas themed drinks sound campy as hell, Liv.”
“Aye, Detective Orcott was in ‘ere a coupla weeks ago,” Dan explained for Liv. Then he grinned again. Oh, yes. The Christmas Brain. It had heavily influenced not just Liv this time, but Dan as well. A shopping trip to get Liv a Christmas village had turned into shopping for decorations for Dan too. His apartment over the bar was now thoroughly decorated in Christmas lights, garlands, a tree, poinsettias and even a wreath on his door. He had managed to talk Liv out of putting a Christmas tree in the bar itself, but a few strings of colored lights had been hung along the mirror behind the bar and a few red bows had been put up as well. Dan thought it was festive at least and his customers for the most part also seemed to enjoy it.
Dan got Leon his beer first, filling a chilled glass with the same draft beer Leon had ordered previously. He glanced up at Liv with a grin. “Sorry, Liv, but I gotta agree with’im. My regulars aren’t the kind t’ order themed drinks. Besides,” he set Leon’s beer in front of him and then started making Liv her margarita. “I donnea ‘ave anythin’ top shelf t’ make themed drinks with anyway. But ye know, darlin’, I kin always make you any drink ye want a’tcher house. All ye gotta do is ask.”
Liv suppressed an eye roll. Of course Leon didn’t agree with her. He was like the least festive guy she knew. And she was determined to change that. Or rather the brain she was in was determined to change that. But not right now. No, right now her focus was solely on the handsome bartender.
She was about to comment that he could at least get some eggnog. Didn’t need top shelf rum for that. But then he went on about how he would always make her whatever drink she wanted. The way he said it caused Liv’s stomach to do a little flip. If it was possible for her to blush her cheeks would be bright pink right now. Instead she just beamed at Dan. “You know I’m going to take you up on that,” she finally replied.
Liv had briefly forgotten Leon was there too, sitting right next to her. She glanced over at her coworker/friend. That’s when it happened. Flying mistletoe swooped in above them. Before Liv could stop herself she was reaching for the side of Leon’s face, bringing it towards her. And then her lips were colliding with his.
Leon took off his gloves and toque and slipped out of his jacket, though not before removing his pack of smokes from his pockets. His eyebrows rose just a bit at Dan’s comment. He hadn’t realized that Liv and Dan were seeing one another, but that’s sure how it looked. He hadn’t really taken Dan as Liv’s type, not after that rock star she’d been seeing the year before, but it really wasn’t his business anyway. Her love life wasn’t any more of his business than his was hers.
He pulled a smoke out of the pack of cigarettes, and met her look with a sly one of his own that said I see what’s going on around here.
But he didn’t see. Not at all. Because one minute he was getting prepared to light his smoke, and the next, instead of a cigarette, his mouth was full of Liv. It took him a moment to react to the fact that Liv was kissing him and that he was kissing her back, but once he realized what was happening, he pulled away sharply, nearly toppling over his stool again. He managed to get his feet under him before he took another embarrassing fall, his face already turning red. “What the fuck?”
What the fuck, indeed. Dan starred, mouth slightly agape, when Liv grabbed Leon by his face and planted one good and hard right on his lips and as if that wasn’t enough Leon kissed her right back! Dan was left standing behind the bar, blinking and processing what he’d just seen. “Liv!” He heard himself exclaim in surprise and perhaps a bit more hurt than he wanted to admit.
He caught the swooping mistletoe out of the corner of his eye. Ok, sure. Liv’s Christmas Brain may have compelled her to kiss Leon, it was tradition after all. But still-
-Wait a minute. “I didn’t hang up any mistletoe,” Dan said, his brows furrowing together hard. Then, before Dan realized what he was doing, he’d leaned across the bar, grasped Leon by the sides of his red face, turned it towards him and kissed him full on the mouth.
As soon as Liv kissed Leon she felt instantly guilty. How could she be kissing Leon when the person she really wanted to kiss was standing just across the bar from her, and sounding quite hurt. And why the hell was she kissing Leon again. This happened last Christmas too. That’s when she saw the mistletoe, only now it was above Dan. And he was kissing Leon.
“What the fu.. fa-la-la?” Apparently Christmas!brain was also into Christmas!swearing. But still, what the hell? Even though she knew what was happening, why it was happening, she still couldn’t help but be shocked. “Mistletoe strikes again,” she finally said once the shock wore off, giving Dan a wry smile.
What was going on? Once Leon was able to stop kissing Dan, he pulled away, the horror evident on his face. Sure he'd kissed Liv last year, but at least then he hadn't also made out with Liv’s boyfriend. Now he was dumbstruck. He gaped at Dan for a moment, then whirled to face Liv.
Finally, he could find his voice. “I am never hanging out with you and some guy you're seeing again. Especially not around Christmas.” Jesus, what would Alex think if he found out about this? Probably nothing, he was forced to admit.
The horror was mirrored on Dan’s face. What was happening?! Had he seriously just kissed one of his customers?! He had always made it a point to not make out with one of his customers. Liv was the exception to the rule, but by the time they had had their make-out session, she had become more than just a customer (it wasn’t as if they could go any further than just friends anyway). On top of that, Leon was a dude and Dan definitely did not go that way, despite what his mouth had just done.
Thankfully the bar itself hadn’t gotten it’s evening rush yet and there hadn’t been very many witnesses to what had just happened. That being said, Dan was still absolutely mortified. He looked to Liv, who seemed to be the only one who knew what was going on. “What the hell just happened?” He asked. “Why the hell did I just kiss Leon? Why did you just kiss Leon? What the hell is with that mistletoe?”
Liv chose to ignore the comment about guys she was seeing. Now was not the time to clarify to Leon that Dan was just a friend, despite the fact they both wished they could be more. There was too much else going on. Things Liv needed to explain. She honestly figured Dan would get it. He understood the strangeness that happened more than Leon. Her detective friend was still in denial about the network and all the weird occurrences that happened in the county. Even though this same exact thing had happened to them before.
“I’m not sure exactly what’s with it,” Liv replied honestly. “But it definitely makes you kiss whoever you are under it with. It happened to me and Leon last year too,” she informed Dan, trying to somewhat explain Leon’s comment about hanging out with guys she was dating. “I think it’s just another freak thing that happens around here.”
Another freak thing that happens around here. Leon scowled. “That can’t be legal,” he grumbled. He would get to the bottom of whatever the hell was happening. Forcing people to kiss each other, inserting weird memories into their head, and giving them strange magical powers without their permission was just too much. If he wasn’t so caught up with his serial killer investigation, he’d have already started looking into it.
Dan may have understood the weirdness, but that didn’t necessarily mean it still didn’t surprise him from time to time, especially when the weirdness that compelled him to kiss someone, not only against his will, but against the other person’s will as well. There was just something wrong about that.
“I agree,” Dan said. Already he was pouring himself, Leon and Liv shots of the strongest alcohol he had on hand. “That definitely cannae be legal.” But that was Orange County. What were they going to do? Put their Dreams in jail?
He pushed two of the shot glasses he’d poured towards Liv and Leon, “on the house,” he told them both before knocking back his own shot.
Again Liv didn’t comment. Legal or not there wasn’t much they could do about it. Weird things happened in Orange County. Whether you wanted them to or not. It was a fact she had learned to live with. Just like being a zombie. “Thanks,” she replied taking the shot and downing it. Of course all Liv’s shots were free but that was beside the point.
Leon snatched the shot off the counter nearly as soon as the shot glass was filled, and poured the liquid down his throat. Then, he reached into his pocket for a few crumpled dollar bills and laid them on the counter for his beer. “I think it's time for me to go home,” he said.
Oh, wonderful. Rogue evil mistletoe was chasing customers from his bar. Dan frowned, but he couldn’t exactly blame Leon for wanting to leave, especially after he’d been made to kiss not just Liv, but Dan as well. Staying probably would have been awkward. For all of them. “Aye, if ye think ye should…” Dan exchanged an uncomfortable look with Liv.
Liv watched Leon leave, which she couldn’t exactly blame him for either. Even though she was the most cool headed of them all the situation was awkward for her as well. Kissing Leon was weird enough, but watching him kiss the man she wanted for herself? It was a bit too much. “There goes my ride,” Liv told Dan once Leon was gone. The irony was not lost on her given she had once abandoned Leon in a bar. She was going to have to call a cab like he had to. Or.... “Guess you’ll have to take me home.” Yeah, Dan was definitely a better option.