Who: Damien and Miriam What: Catching up When: Early October Where: Verdant Rating: PG-13 Status: Closed; Completed Gdoc
It had been a while since Damien and Miriam had drinks and caught up. With Alyssa entertaining some friends for dinner, Damien decided tonight was the perfect time to meet up with his friend. After sending out a text to Miriam and letting Alyssa know of his plans, Damien showered. He changed into his normal attire of black, black, and more black before grabbing his bomber jacket and heading for the front door. He paused long enough to greet the two gentlemen Alyssa had invited over before stepping out into the cool, autumn night.
Damien puffed on a cigarette as he made his way to the club. The nicotine flooded his system and he exhaled a hazy cloud into the navy sky, already feeling far calmer and focused than before the cigarette penetrated his lips. He knew he should enjoy every drag; smoking was against the rules at Verdant and, seeing as Damien preferred to drink there versus anywhere else, he didn’t particularly want to get kicked out anytime soon.
With a final drag, Damien dropped his cigarette butt to the ground and stubbed it out with his boot. Then, he stepped inside the club and made his way to the bar. The music and voices pounded in his ears and the smell of sweat and perfume combined with greasy food filled his nose. The vampire did his best to ignore it, drown out everything, but only the sounds key to his survival should anything go ary. Dodging gracefully around a group of giggling girls on the dance floor, Damien felt their eyes on him as he settled onto an empty barstool.
He put in an order for a bourbon, neat, and then waited for Miriam, making a point to ignore the young women clearly whispering about him behind his back.
Miriam obviously adored Shadow, but she realized she hadn’t seen Damien or Chuuya recently. So she’d been happy when Damien texted about getting a drink. After kissing her boyfriend and telling him not to wait up (because she planned on visiting the lab for a couple hours after drinks), the brunette made her way to the bar. The ancient vampire wore skinny jeans, a Pixies t, and her leather jacket.
She breathed in the cool crisp air. All her centuries on this Earth and early autumn remained her favourite season. Miriam loved the changing colours, how the leaves’ colours looked like sunsets and fire. Each season provided beauty, but nothing like autumn.
Upon arriving, the vampire smelled a recently lit cigarette on the ground and grinned, knowing Damien already arrived. Opening the door, Miriam made her way to the bar. Even with the noise (and the overwhelming stench of AXE body spray. Really when would young men stop wearing that particular awful scent?), Miriam could pick out a gaggle of young women giggling and headed in that direction, assuming she’d find her friend in that area.
“Hello Damien,” she greeted her friend with a smile. Now the giggling stopped and whispers started about her arrival. A roll of her eyes and Miriam nodded at Nick, who set a bottle of wine and a glass in front of her. After a few more seconds, she turned around and eyed the young women, who decided that maybe they should go elsewhere. While Miriam could certainly turn heads, her resting bitch face tended to make men think twice. And apparently women.
“Hello, Miriam,” Damien greeted as the other vampire slipped into the seat beside him at the bar. Immediately the giggling stopped, but the whispering continued. Obnoxious. Damien was about to go over there and compel the girls to go fuck off when Miriam basically did the honors for him with her trademark bitch face. The whispers ceased and clicking heels signaled to Damien that the annoying gaggle of girls had vacated the area.
A rare smirk graced his lips as he turned to his friend. “I knew there was a reason I kept you around.” With the arrival of Miriam’s wine, Damien’s bourbon was not far behind and the vampire eagerly picked up the glass and indulged in a sip.
She smirked in return. “Happy to help save you from all of your admirers. Especially the annoying ones.” Miriam could only handle so much giggling and especially not when it annoyed someone she cared about. Perhaps if Damien was single she would have watched in amusement, but he wasn’t and nothing about him gave any indication he’d notice anyone besides Alyssa.
Miriam poured herself some wine and took a much needed sip before her attention returned to her friend. “So, other than the usual of annoying women finding you attractive, how are you?” She turned around as a different young woman approached. “Try it and I will rip out your throat out of sheer annoyance.” The girl looked terrified, but left.
“Your house, by the way? Gorgeous.”
“They tend to all be annoying.” Even when he was single, he believed that. Though, when he was single he often took advantage of it and simply compelled them to shut the fuck up. As he was in a relationship now, it held no benefits and all the negatives. He was fine with Miriam telling them to fuck off and spare them both from that annoying, incessant laughter.
Damien stifled a rare chuckle, his blue eyes flashing in amusement, as Miriam told yet another young woman to get lost. As he said, that was certainly one reason he tended to keep her around. Her lack of people skills could be essential sometimes.
“I have no complaints. The house is gorgeous. Plenty of space for the two of us.” The most unsettling thing had been the arrival of a future child, but Damien was slowly moving past the feelings that stirred up.
“What about you? How is Shadow?”
Miriam and Damien were very similar in how they approached others while in a relationship. Neither of them had the patience for those who annoyed them, and even less for those who found them attractive. Plus, Miriam didn’t have patience for most people on a good day. Just ask Damien.
She used her lack of people skills to do good for her friends. At least in cases like this. Miriam did offer a rare grin when she noticed her friend stifle a chuckle.
Technically, Miriam meant his house back in Midnight, but thought his house in Madison lovely as well. “Is Alyssa truly building a treehouse?” Miriam liked Alyssa, but found some of her hobby choices strange. She took that whole kid at heart thing seriously.
“Shadow is alright. He handled the fact I had a child with Kenny show up rather well, and we both enjoyed our future child, but it reminded me I’m not mother material. Also, I might be the only person in town who had a kid with Kenny and hasn’t slept with him.” Miriam engaged in only one one night stand and that had been over a year ago, with Kol, which she didn’t really think about ever. “I wasn’t sure how sharing a house with him would go, but I’m finding I like it.” She sipped her wine. “Our property, though, isn’t nearly as nice as yours with the little pond. How is Alyssa?”
Both of Damien’s homes were magnificent in their own right. Damien was happy that Bran and himself had an opportunity to return home last month through the portal. Outside of a few hangups, he was also glad Alyssa had the chance to visit Midnight Harbor as well.
Damien nodded. “She is. Her brothers are helping her with it.” Damien had no issues with Ned or Peter. Given Alyssa viewed them as siblings, she doubted either of them would ever make an attempt to flirt with her. Besides, they had girlfriends and he was pretty sure Ned was at least a little terrified of him.
“I’m not parental material either,” Damien admitted. Alyssa had experience being a mother and she clearly relished in the role. While Damien had a great capacity to love, showing that love, even to his child, was difficult. While he didn’t go as far as to admit it, he was strangely comforted by the fact that Miriam also felt similar to himself.
He took a sip of bourbon and let the burn from the alcohol settling in his stomach drown out the thoughts of future children. “I’m happy that moving in with Shadow seems to have worked out for you both.” Even if the property was not nearly as nice as what Alyssa and Damien had, as long as the person living their enjoyed it? Nothing else mattered.
“Alyssa is doing well. When our future daughter was sent home, it was hard on her, but she has bounced back.”
Miriam could easily see herself in the world of Midnight. In some ways it reminded her of home. But, she did like her life here, including her house.
“I assume you mean Peter and Ned.” Miriam only knew of the pair from the network, but she thought they seemed like nice enough people. And even without a girlfriend, the vampire sensed Ned was also a bit terrified of Alyssa. They also didn’t strike her as the type to hit on someone in a relationship.
“Even back home, I rarely see my stepson. We talk on the phone a lot, but I’ve never felt compelled to turn a human into a vampire and have a child of my own.” She sighed and shrugged. “I think my life is full enough.” Miriam appreciated that Damien felt similar to her.
“Living with Shadow makes me happier than I expected, especially because he doesn’t mind if I spend a night in the lab.” Not everyone would understand.
“Alyssa strikes me as the type who can bounce back from most things. She looked right at home at your party in your home portal.” A sip of wine and a drop splattered on the bar. “I haven’t spilled a drop since 1954.”
Damien nodded. Kol was also Alyssa’s surrogate brother of sorts, but Damien didn’t care to talk about the other vampire if he could help it.
“I can agree.” While Madison Valley afforded him far more freedom, he still felt as if his life here was full enough without adding a child into the mix. Besides, it wasn’t as if Damien could technically even have a child currently. The daughter the Dome had gifted them was from a future that may never come to pass.
The vampire nodded again. Even if he didn’t always show the emotion, Damien was happy for his friend. Miriam deserved love as much as anyone even if Damien didn’t always think he did.
“Her adaptability has always been an admirable quality,” he replied, taking another sip from his glass. It was one of the qualities he loved most about her. A smirk tugged at his lips when Miriam spilled a drop on the bartop.
“Maybe you’re losing your touch or you’re out of practice,” he teased gently.
Miriam preferred to not think about the Mikaelsons. Something about them left the ancient vampire feeling uneasy, although they’d never caused her problems. At least Klaus got sent home, which left Miriam feeling a bit better.
She clicked her glass against Damien’s. “To a full life. Without children.” The vampire greatly enjoyed a friend who could see things the same as her on some things.
“It’s very admirable,” and then she turned her bitch face on Damien, before laughing briefly. “I’d rather blame Nick for the pour, but since I poured it, I’m possibly out of practice.”
Damien returned the toast. He was relieved in a way that Miriam agreed with him. It made him feel more of a kinship with the other vampire than before.
The vampire smirked. “Just a little. You can’t blame him, but you can at least have him clean it up for you.”