Who: Savannah, Quentin, Allison, Kol What: a double date Where: Bonnie Belle When: Sat Warnings: uh TBD, but Kol being Kol I assume? Status: closed/g-doc
Savannah felt awkward about this planned evening as well as a bit tired. She’d met up with Kol earlier in the day so he could eat. It made more sense for him to eat earlier and while the apple juice definitely helped, Savannah felt slightly drained. At least the hour-long nap she took gave her enough energy for the evening ahead.
She chose a cute dress with a jean jacket and strappy sandals. Savannah checked in the mirror and unless someone looked closely nobody would see the marks on her neck. Better to take no chances and she applied a hint of cover up with her makeup.
Ready, she walked to the front door and thought about how this night could go. While she liked Kol and found him hilarious, she didn’t know how Quentin would deal with him. Kol wasn’t a bad guy, but he was an acquired taste. At least Allison would be there to help. Savannah told Q she’d meet him at the restaurant and they could walk home afterwards together.
When she arrived, she took a deep breath and walked to the entrance.
Allison and Kol were already there, sipping drinks as they sat at the bar waiting for Savannah and Quentin to arrive. When she spotted her friend walk in, Allison placed a hand on Kol’s arm. “It looks like we’re just about ready for a table.”
Setting down her drink, she lifted her other hand to catch the woman’s attention so she’d head over to them. Allison wore a form-fitting floral dress and bright heels to match, nothing too fancy since it was just a casual night out with friends.
Kol picked up on Savannah’s scent before Allison’s hand touched his arm. Glancing up from his bourbon, he wasn’t surprised to see she looked stunning. Obviously, Kol only had eyes for the woman next to him and he was biased; Allison looked beautiful in her flowery number and those bright heels. She lit up the room simply by being in it. Oh, Kol knew how lucky he was even as he also knew how delicate of a situation he found himself in tonight.
Savannah was his blood source and he’d fed on her before meeting with Allison. Granted, mints and a shot of bourbon took away any hint of blood on his breath, he knew it wasn’t nearly so easy for Savannah to erase the proof of their encounter on her neck. As he watched her approach, his eyes slipped to her throat. At least she’d added a solid layer of cover up. If Allison saw the mark, there were bound to be questions and Kol wasn’t ready to answer them yet. He didn’t know how Allison would feel about him feeding from a human instead of simply blood bags.
As Allison waved Savannah over, Kol couldn’t help, but tease his girlfriend just a little. “Love, I’m pretty sure she spotted you the moment she walked in. With those heels, you’re like your own spotlight.” An arm slid around her waist and he leaned over on his stool to press a kiss to her neck briefly.
Once Savannah was close enough, he slipped his arm from around Allison’s waist and sat back, offering the witch his classic cheeky smirk in greeting. “Hello darling.”
Quentin, of course, was late. Eliot had insisted on dressing him. The first outfit had been nixed without Q even looking in the mirror. Eliot then got told he wanted something less lacy and ripply. It only went downhill from there. Fortunately, they ended up laughing more than arguing, and he finally settled on all black.
The Uber dropped him off at the Bonnie Bell. Q took a moment to look at the establishment while he smoothed out any creases in the suit jacket then went inside. A quiet chat with the hostess and he was pointed toward the bar.
Then he saw Savannah. A stupid smile came to his face as he took in how beautiful she looked. What the hell was she doing with him? Q knew better than to ask that outloud, fortunately.
He knew nothing about Savannah being a donor for a vampire. If he did, he would express a whole host of issues about it. So he was clueless as he joined the group. “Hey. Sorry I’m late.”
Savannah walked over and properly wolf whistled at Allison. “Look at those legs in those heels, Al.” Then she added a wink and said, “Although, a sea captain did ask if we can use them in a lighthouse.”
“Hey Kol,” she greeted him. “Sorry. I passed out for an hour and obviously I ran a little late.” Her own fault for donating blood after a late night of spell casting. Obviously a few people would have issues with Kol drinking Sav’s blood, which explained why neither of them told anyone.
When she heard Q, Savannah turned and hugged him in greeting. “Hey! No, I just got here, myself.” And wow. Eliot managed to not include lace. Impressive. Savannah didn’t bother whispering, since Kol would hear her anyway. “You look great.” She placed a kiss on his cheek.
Oh, right, introductions. “Q, these are my friends Kol and Allison. And this is Quentin.” Let the games begin, she thought.
Allison leaned into Kol briefly when he kissed her neck, then made a face at his comment about her shoes - only for it to turn into a look of mock outrage when Savannah also walked up and commented on them. “Hey! They’ve been sitting in my closet for two years, and I finally found something to wear them with. I couldn’t not, okay?” Laughing a bit, she picked up her glass, then smiled when someone else joined them and Savannah introduced them.
“Nice to meet you, Quentin,” she told him, then waved at the host to let them know they were ready to be seated. Once they were a few seconds later and the host left with the promise that a server would be right with them, Allison turned her attention to the other couple at the table.
“So Quentin - how long have you been in town?” She already knew about Savannah since they’d gone out for drinks a couple times, but wanted to know more about their fourth - and work to put him at ease, if possible.
At his girlfriend’s response, Kol chuckled and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I do love teasing you, darling,” he murmured against her ear. “In all ways possible.” It was taking everything Kol had not to press her up against the bar and have his way with her. Fuck all who were watching, but he refrained obviously. This was a proper date after all.
Quentin looked like he was dressed for something far fancier than this entire situation was supposed to be. Then again, maybe someone else had dressed him. Kol watched him curiously as he approached them. He seemed friendly, awkward, but friendly and not at all what he pictured someone like Savannah drooling over. Opposites tend to attract, right? Kol merely gave him a smirk in greeting. It was his default expression.
“Yeah, nice to meet you, mate.” Kol kept it civil for the time being. He had loads of ideas of how to tease Quentin floating around in his thousand year old brain, but he’d wait and see how the conversation shifted before he used all, if any of them. Hands settled on Allison’s hips somewhat possessively as the group were led to their table and claimed seats. Obviously, Kol sat beside Allison and while Allison might have been working to put Quentin at ease, Kol would easily try to accomplish the opposite. He settled a hand on Allison’s thigh, unable to help himself.
“And the more important question, who picked that outfit for you?” Kol chimed in after Allison asked about how long he’d been in town. “Color me curious.”
Quentin got an instant smile for the hug and kiss to his cheek. There was even a blush to go with it. He wasn’t going to get used to that kind of attention from someone as pretty as Savannah any time soon, thanks.
But his attention reverted to Allison and Kol. There was something…sleezy…about Kol. Something Q couldn’t put his finger on, but he felt he could remain on his toes around him. He’d never say or show anything outwardly. He wasn’t THAT awkward, and after everything he’d been through in Fillory and The Library, he was a lot better at being prepared.
“Uh, not long. A month? More maybe?” He honestly hadn’t kept track.
Kol’s question earned him a guarded look from Quentin, however. “Something wrong with how I’m dressed?”
A few thoughts raced through Savannah’s mind. First off, as much as she liked Allison and Kol separately, she should have done a test run of hanging out with the two of them first. She could tell what Kol was thinking, which made her feel awkward, because at this point she’d been more intimate with Kol than Quentin. Obviously she’d not thought through this idea. Any other future double dates with these two would be after she started having sex with the person she was seeing.
Thank bloody fucking Christ for Allison, whom Savannah really did like a lot. Obviously, or Sav wouldn’t have told her about what the fuck happened with Adam. She did reach down and squeeze Quentin’s hand, interlacing their fingers, when Kol started being Kol.
“You really do look nice Q. I’d say you get used to Kol, but honestly he’s an acquired taste,” Sav said with both an eyeroll and a grin at her friend. “Bonus points for him, though, because he treats my friend like a goddess, which I appreciate.” And Savannah liked to see the two of them happy, because she did like them both.
The server came by for drink orders and Savannah didn’t hesitate to order scotch on the rocks. Years of staying with the Pack gave her an appreciation for the drink. Normally she’d order tequila, but she needed a tequila break, like she required an Adam break.
Kol actually was tempted to list the ways in which something was wrong with the way he dressed. The question left the field open for many a cheeky answer and Kol was sorely tempted to pick one of them. Instead, he decided to play it off as if Quentin was ‘overreacting.’ That was also bound to be amusing and it was another tactic Kol liked to use in these kinds of situations. And yes, he was aware he’d slept with Savannah and there was a good chance Quentin hadn’t.
“Easy, mate. It was just a question. Maybe I’m just looking for some fashion advice.” Kol was definitely not looking for fashion advice, especially from someone who clearly couldn’t dress themselves.
When Savannah said he was an acquired taste, Kol smirked. “It simply helps weed out the people that are worth my time and those that are not.” The vampire turned his attention to the server and quickly put in an order for another bourbon. At this rate, he might as well order the entire fucking bottle. He wished he hadn’t done this, but for Allison he would do anything, even sit through a barely tolerable double date.
“And I treat her like a goddess simply because she is one.” Kol shifted his hand from Allison’s leg to take her hand and raise it to his lips, pressing a kiss to the knuckles.
Allison decided to play it easy and ordered a rum and coke - something she could sip without getting too drunk too quickly, because it seemed like she might need to be a referee just in case. “There’s nothing wrong with how you’re dressed, Quentin. You look great,” she assured him, then looked over at Kol as he took her hand, giving him a warm smile, then looking back across the table at Savannah’s date.
“Don’t let him get to you. He just enjoys teasing people.” Mainly for his own entertainment, but Allison knew that if he didn’t like someone he’d be more likely to possibly kill them. So all-in-all tonight was actually going pretty well so far.
But then, they were only just at drinks right now.
“Do you think we should get an appetizer for the table, or just skip straight to the main entree?” She asked as her eyes tracked over to Savannah, trying to clear a little of the tension by making this more of an actual double date like it was supposed to be.
Quentin went with a gin and tonic, one of the staples in the Physical Kids cottage. He eyed Kol suspiciously. He couldn’t hide it if he wanted to. He was an open book, really. But he definitely didn’t like people who poked buttons on people they didn’t know. There was a word for that. Bully.
“Uh huh,” he said in response to Allison. This was going to be a long night, but Savannah was worth some patience. And a lot of gin.
Speaking of, he glanced to his date. A smile returned easily when he looked at Savannah. “What do you think? Stuffed mushrooms?”
Savannah mouthed a thank you to Allison and just looked at Kol for a few seconds, unblinking and then offered him a sweet smile. Anyone who knew her knew to be wary of such an expression from Savannah. Because she sat across from Allison, she’d pushed all her hair to the side of her neck where Kol fed from her. Although he hadn’t murdered anyone or started fucking Allison at the table, so she should take the win.
A small part of her knew this would be easier with Adam, which was the absolute worst thing to think and so disloyal to Q. On the other hand, they may no longer have a table with Adam if he burnt it to a crisp.
“I could go for some stuffed mushrooms, Q.” She smiled at Quentin, a genuine smile this time, leaning lightly into him. When the server returned with drinks, she said, dryly, “Just assume we’ll all want refills on drinks. Probably more than one.” At least Savannah hadn’t ordered an entire bottle of tequila…yet.
“I’m considering doing this crazy thing and taking art classes while I work.” There, a relatively benign conversation. “But Dad has so many cases, especially since it’s only him at the firm after the Dome first sent Lucas and then Logan home.” Savannah wished she’d gotten to meet Logan. In her timeline he’d already died by the time Savannah met the Pack. “I’ll probably be too exhausted to actually do any art.”
Kol merely looked between the two ladies. If Allison saw the marks, Kol would cut Savannah off for good. He considered that betrayal and what he did to Quentin hardly qualified for such a move. When he met the witch’s eyes, his own gaze darkened and for a moment, it was clearly dangerous. They were all very lucky he didn’t decide to make this a complete and utter blood bath. Though, the night was still young and they hadn’t even ordered their appetizers yet.
“Yeah, I was just teasing you. That’s all.” Kol reached for his bourbon and took a long sip. This was going to be a long night and it took a lot of bourbon to get Kol even drunk. Bloody hell. The warm smile Allison had given him was barely enough to satiate the annoyance brewing within him.
When Savannah started explaining how she was doing this crazy thing by taking art classes while working Kol couldn’t help himself.
“Yeah, that’s totally insane. Definitely looney.” Kol lifted his glass to his lips again and took a much needed drink. At this rate, he wanted the bottle and to be somewhere else, possibly killing something.
It was pretty obvious that Quentin didn’t like Kol, and everyone was starting to get more or less annoyed, so Allison was relieved when the other two decided on an appetizer and Savannah started talking about taking art classes. At Kol’s comment, Allison lightly pressed her knee against his in an attempt to get him to calm down while taking a sip of her own drink.
After she lowered it, she gave Savannah a bright smile. “You might think it’s a crazy idea now, but you’ll be happy about it in the long run. Otherwise you might do what I did my first year here and spend all your time at work.” Since none of her dinner companions had been there when she first arrived, Allison’s smile took in both guys too as she went on. “When I first got here, I was coming from just having been in my junior year of college, and I…wasn’t ready to pick things up again right away.” Dying really made you want to take some time off.
“So I went the GED route, instead of finishing, but most of my focus was at Pathways where I work. Though now since my own classes are all related to social work, I guess that extra time there paid off,” she added thoughtfully. “But still - take the art classes for fun.”
Q decided to let it go with Kol. He didn’t want to ruin the night. Savannah had wanted this. Allison seemed nice…even if he didn’t understand what she saw in Kol. It wasn’t any of his business, however, so he went with the change in subject.
“I get the impression that this place is kind of a second chance,” he said as he fiddled with the stir in his drink. “You can do the things you always wanted to do but never could back home for one reason or another.”
He gave Savannah an encouraging smile and a squeeze to her fingers laced through his. “Just don’t ask me to pose. I don’t think I could hold still.”
Savannah did mouth an apology to Kol. She’d made a pact with herself not to react and look at what she’d done. She laughed. “Yeah yeah I know.”
To Allison she smiled. “It’s less the work and more an opportunity to get to know Kristof…my dad. He’s dead back home, but here he is both alive and has a second family. Work is a great way to get to know him, without a lot of pressure.” She sipped her drink.
“Oh God, I promise I won’t. Besides, I am not talented with people like that winged fairy girl is. She did some really great pieces of you, Kol. I’d rather work on colour composition and less ‘hey, don’t fucking move a muscle for two hours’.” A smirk appeared on her lips. “Although I am tempted to do it to Nick.” Nick held a healthy dose of fear when it came to Savannah.
Kol couldn’t relate to any of it. He’d never gone to school. It hadn’t been part of growing up for him. He’d learned skills that his parents knew and others in his village. The only thing Kol had ever known well was witchcraft and when he became a vampire, he lost his access to magic. Everything else in his life he’d picked up traveling the world with his siblings. He’d been alive when some of the greatest artists were creating their best work. He was older than any of them, but it didn’t matter in this case.
Under normal circumstances, Kol wouldn’t have accepted the apology. She’d put his relationship at risk because he’d taken a shot at her date who couldn’t handle it. It wasn’t even the worst he could do. But whatever. He managed a curt nod in Savannah’s direction and that was all. And he probably could have come up with some cheeky comment about Quentin being unable to hold still long enough for Savannah to paint him, but he stifled the response with a drink. Allison’s knee was enough at the moment to keep him placid.
“Yeah, I didn’t pose for those,” Kol replied simply. Alyssa had simply sketched them when they conversed or from her memory. He raised his hand to signal the waitress. He needed another drink.
“That’s cool. I’m glad you have more time with him,” she told her friend sincerely, but refrained from expanding that she knew how that felt on the other end of things, since she lived with her dad here in Madison Valley, and she was the one who was dead back home.
“I actually picked up one of Alyssa’s pieces at that art festival a couple weeks ago.” It was one she’d done of Kol, and Allison had decided to get it even before they were officially a couple. Keeping her hand in his under the table, Allison brushed her thumb across his knuckles in an attempt to soothe him while inwardly beginning to regret the suggestion of this night.
It was too late to go back now.
Instead, when the server approached, she went ahead and ordered a basket of fries, and after the stuffed mushrooms had been ordered and the four were alone again, she turned her attention back to Quentin. “So, where are you from?” Allison asked lightly, determined to keep the mood easy for all of them.
Quentin stayed out of the father conversation. He’d always had a strained relationship with his own, and returning magic to the worlds had guaranteed that his dad died. Q blamed himself for coming to the conclusion that magic was more important than one man’s life, but he wouldn’t have done it differently. Instead of joining the conversation, he finished half his drink.
“New York,” he supplied with a grateful smile. “Originally. Then Brakebills, a university for magic. Then Fillory, a world that hosts the source of magic.” Q hoped that didn’t sound too weird or complicated.
Savannah decided to be on her best behaviour. She also didn’t mention the part where her parents were both dead and the fault laid with her. Obviously Paige, Sean, and Adam knew. If things kept going well with Quentin she would probably tell him.
“I’ve spent a lot of summers in Upstate New York at the Pack house and definitely shopping trips in New York City. But obviously the other two places didn’t exist in her world. “I’m kind of jealous you had a university for magic.” Fillory sounded strange, but Sav instead asked, “Did you spend a lot of time in Fillory?”
Kol also avoided mentioning anything related to his own father or his family. His relationship with the man was never the best; he’d hunted his siblings and himself for centuries after all. Allison already knew enough history to understand why he kept quiet during that part of the conversation. He wasn’t all for sharing and caring with two people he didn’t really know. One of which he was barely tolerating at this point.
Feeling Allison’s thumb brush his knuckles, Kol knew she was attempting to center him. To calm him down. He squeezed her fingers gently in return.
Quentin’s origin sounded confusing at best, but Kol took a drink instead of commenting. Thankfully, he’d ordered another bourbon. It was a distraction for how much of a bad idea this was turning out to be.
“My sister prefers New York,” Kol replied after a moment. “Probably for the shopping trips too.” Sometimes Kol would go with her. He was always closest to Rebekah in the family.
Linking her fingers with Kol’s, Allison studied Quentin as he answered the question. “I’ve never been to New York….or Fillory. Maybe we’ll get a portal to there sometime?” She suggested. After all, they’d had one to Narnia, so why not this other magical world?
Looking over at Kol, Allison offered a smile. “So if we go to New York, it sounds like Savannah and I will be recruiting your sister for a shopping trip,” she said lightly before taking another sip of her drink. Things were starting to go a little easier now that they were all relaxing, and hopefully the rest of the night would go just as well.
A portal to Fillory sounded like a very bad idea. Fillorians weren’t entirely thrilled with the children of Earth to begin with, let alone an influx of people from here. Plus, there were monsters to be wary of. Pick a dark fairy tale and it was in Fillory.
But he wasn’t going to offer any of that since it would probably require lengthy explanations he didn’t want to get into during a date. Q just smiled then took a sip of his drink.
He also never wanted to go back to New York again. That was for personal reasons and bad memories. Another topic he didn’t want to discuss. Another sip of his drink.
Fortunately, their server arrived to take their dinner order. Q was just shy of pouncing on the opportunity to change the subject. “I’ll have the fish.”