Who: Eve and Matt What: An date night When: during the Duval House Party Where: Midnight Rating: low Status: g-doc
Matt didn’t quite know how he looked, only that he’d mentioned taking Eve out on a date now that she was corporal again. Thankfully, Savannah took it upon herself to help dress Matt appropriately. So, in her words, he’d look even better escorting her mother. While Matt didn’t particularly like black tie events, he wanted to go out with Eve in some fashion. And this felt less overwhelming than a frat type party, even while he knew a frat party probably involved more people with whom he could relate.
After their arrival at the party, Matt leaned over to Eve, “You look sensational.” While he couldn’t see her perfectly, Matt could see enough.
Eve didn’t dress up a lot in her day-to-day. It was something that she and Savannah different a lot in. It probably had to do partially with Sav’s friendship with Cassandra and Eve didn’t really mind. She was never someone who had hoped to have a ‘mini me’ except maybe where it counted - self confidence and the ability to kick ass.
Even so, she had to admit she looked good when she cleaned up. She sort of wished she could shove this in Thomas Nast’s face since she thought she looked as good as any high class socialite they’d have picked for his sons. Of course, she knew the main reason had to do with the fact she was a witch, but that she couldn’t - and wouldn’t - change.
“You’re going to put everyone else to shame with compliments like that.” It was way nicer than ‘you look beautiful’ which was good on its own, but sensational was just - better. “You look pretty suave yourself. I think we’re going to end up putting the rest of the couples here to shame.” She meant it. She thought it was especially ‘impressive’ because there were a lot of vampires and by nature vampires often looked good - for whatever reason. She suddenly wondered if she’d run into Kol here.
“Have you ever been around this many supernaturals at once before?” She meant in a small area. Of course he was from Madison.
Matt didn’t dress up a lot in his day-to-day life either, preferring the work clothes he wore. They’d become a uniform outside of the Daredevil one, easy to put on and know they matched well enough. Given what Sav said about Jaime and Cassandra, she enjoyed shopping trips with both ladies, thus her love for high end fashion. Given what Matt could see of Eve’s daughter, he figured most high end fashion was made to fit her. Except perhaps her height.
He chuckled and smirked. “Obviously putting everyone to shame with my compliments is my end game.” Matt thought Eve deserved better compliments than the generic You look beautiful because…she did. “Thanks. I like that compliment. Your daughter helped me find an outfit, so you should probably thank her as well.” At least Savannah seemed to like him, or at least that he made her mom smile and the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen would take it.
A server walked by and Matt stopped before he walked into Matt and Eve. “My apologies. Champagne? Wine? You don’t look like the blood drinking type.” Well…at least Matt didn’t give off vampire vibes? He didn’t answer right away, allowing Eve to choose first. “I’ll have whatever the lady wants to drink.”
“That better be a compliment.” She meant about him not being a vampire. She still hadn’t quite got a handle on the supernaturals here which bothered her a little bit. It seemed, at least, that the witches weren’t as ‘reserved’ as back home, but like any group of people, some were extremely stuck up. Thankfully she hadn’t tried to kill anyone on her visit to the magic shops the other day.
“Let’s go with champagne.” She waited until the server left, now holding a flute of champagne, then turned to survey the room a bit better. “I will say it’s refreshing to make eye contact with men and not suddenly have a sorcerer turning his nose down on me.” Though Eve suddenly wondered if that was what would happen now, even back home. Would she register as a simple witch? She’d have to ask Sean or Kris about it when she saw one of them.
“In this crowd, I’d wager it is not a compliment.” The server shrugged in a noncommittal type way. Matt hadn’t ventured into this place much, outside of shopping and this party, because he wasn’t supernatural and honestly? Matt could hold his own, but super strength belonged to werewolves and people like Steve. Not him.
He cocked his head after he took a sip of champagne. “What about now?” he asked, having realized she’d…well died. “It’s not refreshing the amount of people I hear sucking literal blood.” Matt tried to filter out most of the noise, though. “Although, I’m getting quite the gossip, if you want me to fill you in on any of it.”
Eve cringed. “I didn’t consider that. Now I’m feeling bad for having agreed to come here.” The idea of being able to hear even one person would be terrible, but multiple? No thanks.
“Now? No idea. I didn’t even think about it until now.” Not that Sean, Kris, or Lucas said anything different. Maybe it was the same or maybe they just didn’t say anything or - “Now I need to ask a few people when we get home.”
She turned her eye on the room again. “What’s some of the best gossip you can hear?”
Matt shrugged. “It didn’t occur to me either until right this moment. I’d much rather focus on gossip.” He opened his mouth again when a young woman sidled up to them and spoke in flawless English, albeit with a French accent. “I’m quite curious which gossip you’ve managed. Hello. I’m Jimmy, Damien’s Third.” And Bran’s ride or die best friend, but that mattered less at the moment.
Hell’s Devil stopped. “She,” Matt paused head in the direction of a vampire he didn’t know was fucking Sky (Bran’s name for her), “thinks flirting with that vampire will make Bran jealous. I’m picking up that she could set herself on fire and Bran would celebrate?”
Jimmy smiled. Since everyone knew the past between Sky and Bran, she saw no harm in confirmation. “They did not enjoy an amicable relationship let alone breakup.” He stopped. “That human is telling the other human that Damien could do better, by which I assume she means herself.” Now the vampire rolled her eyes. “Besotted humans can be rather annoying.”
The fact people dating Bran wasn’t entirely surprising - he was in a position of power, obviously - but also strange in the sense the man seemed to have a hard time feeling feelings and expressing more than ire and resentment. She hadn’t spoken to the man directly, but this was Eve’s assessment from ‘afar’. The brothers struck her kind of similar to Kol and some of the other Mikaelsons who had issues, though many vampires had superiority complexes. Not that she’d express any of that stuff while she was surrounded by supernatural super-hearers.
Eve followed the newcomer’s indication. “Is it really that or do they just know who’s who in the hierarchy.” It seemed to Eve that humans were pretty low on the rung and making friends or more with the ones in charge was a good survival tactic. “Does that mean you’re not besotted yourself?” She was teasing, but she had no idea who this person was and so for all she knew, they were.
Matt’s only interaction with either brother had been listening to Damien on the other end of Alyssa’s phone when he first arrived and accidentally took her down landing on her. And that told him enough to stay away and leave Alyssa before an irate vampire showed up to take her wherever he’d taken her. “I can’t picture Bran in a relationship. On the other hand, I probably could say the same thing about Damien and yet.” Everyone and their mothers knew about his relationship with Alyssa at this point. Jimmy shrugged. “I wouldn’t say emotions played into it at all.” Neither had monogamy, but Jimmy wouldn’t mention that particular nugget.
“I’m Jimmy. Damien’s and Bran’s Third in Command. Vampire.” She offered a hand first to Matt and then to Eve a smile meeting her eyes. “Besotted humans are easy to spot. Their eyes? Will never fully leave the subject of their obsession.” And the young woman’s eyes always seemed to know where Damien stood and when he so much as moved a muscle. “Whereas,” and Jimmy pointed at a different young woman who rolled up her sleeve for a different vampire. “She hasn’t given Bran a second glance, even after he fed from her. That’s just part of her job. Unfortunately, the besotted shouldn’t be here, but as Bran opened the party up for anyone to attend, we have them present tonight. We don’t allow them to pledge to a house as it becomes far too complicated”
Matt found the information both disturbing and interesting. “So humans…know they’re going to be treated as food?” Jimmy nodded. “Yes. They get protection and a stipend, obviously.”
“Obviously.” Eve didn’t think she’d like that arrangement, but then again, she wasn’t someone who couldn’t defend herself. Maybe it was the best move if you were in a city like this. Of course she had to wonder why the humans just didn’t leave, but to each their own. “I’m Eve.” She didn’t introduce Matt because she wasn’t sure if he wanted Jimmy to have his name. So she’d let him decide.
“This is definitely different from home. We’re not exactly allowed to let humans know we’re real and it’s generally frowned upon using humans as food.” Though of course there was that pesky thing for vampires where they had to kill at least once a year to survive.
“Looks as if both of them missed this kind of thing.” Eve bit her tongue about probably because they were just like everyone else back in Madison.
Matt also wondered why humans didn’t leave, but didn’t ask. Maybe some of them preferred to be in a place where they knew magic existed than out in the rest of the world where they didn’t? He sure didn’t plan to ask, though.
“Oh sorry. I’m Matt.” He’d been lost in thought and forgot to introduce himself. Jimmy nodded. “The rules in Midnight aren’t the rules outside of Midnight. No humans outside of Midnight know about us and we keep it that way.” Even if Damien held a few businesses outside of Midnight, he didn’t hunt in them generally. And Bran…would be Bran. “We need to eat.” Jimmy made no apologies for being a vampire, but she at least understood Eve’s point.
Jimmy grinned, knowing the Duval brothers well at this point. They were, after all, her chosen family and Bran had been her best friend for a long time at this point. “Damien more than Bran, I’m sure.” But she wouldn’t be disloyal. “Although the fact he fell in love was a trip.”
Eve didn’t actually judge the vampires. If she were being truthful, it was the humans she was judging. But only a little - she knew what it meant to do whatever it took to survive. “So if a human chooses to leave Midnight -?” She finished the question with an eyebrow. Were they not allowed? Did they lose their memory?
“You’d be surprised about where we’re from. It has a habit of making your perspectives change. I’m sure Bran eventually will say the L word too, just you wait.” Maybe. Eve didn’t know him very well, but if any place could change someone, it was Madison.
“Are you technically in charge when Damien and Bran aren’t here?” Eve assumed Bran was ‘Damien’s Second’.
Jimmy nodded. “Humans can leave. It’s one of the reasons we have humans wait until they’re 21. Not everyone, but some humans want to go to college elsewhere. Although, since most humans end up pledged and their families are here, we don’t exactly have a high turnover rate. Occasionally we do get an outside human who decides to stay too.” While rare, such things weren’t completely unheard of.
The vampire blinked, and then laughed. “Perhaps Bran will say the L word.” She knew her best friend and while she didn’t think it impossible, Jimmy did wager it would be rather unlikely.
Matt listened to the two women, which he preferred over hearing the slurping of blood. He might have to rethink beverages with straws for the next while.
“Yes. But I’m not Damien. He’s always managed politics far better than either Bran or myself. Vampires listen to me, obviously, but it’s not quite the same.” And of course, Jimmy needed to contend with Sky who gave her a headache on a good day.
“Trust me, I get it. I was in a coven once. What a shitshow.” Though Eve’s experience in the coven was a little skewed compared to how it usually went, but Eve blamed the others for being so closed minded. She was glad Paige had her head on straight that way. “Being in charge is the pits.” Though she also didn’t like having to take orders from people either. She was complicated.
She looked at Matt. “Would you like to dance or would that not be enough distraction?” She was also okay with leaving earlier if he’d prefer. “I’ve gotten good dancing with a sword, I promise.”
Jimmy smiled. “You two enjoy yourselves. I should go make sure Bran continues to behave.” He listened to Jimmy more than anyone else, Damien included.
Matt grinned at Eve. “I would love to dance with you. Thank you, Jimmy.” He pulled Eve close and kissed her. “I’ll take dancing with you and a sword over not dancing with you at all.”