Miriam didn’t mind a change of place for drinking, especially if alcohol here could get vampires buzzed. Especially after she investigated that she could get wine. Sure, she could try a glass of whiskey, obviously, but the vampire was rarely without a glass of wine in her hand. She certainly missed the blood wine from the brewery, but it didn’t taste quite the same with the loss of Pepper.
She showed up, checking around to see if she’d arrived first, showing up ten minutes before their appointed time. Obviously the vampire might have age on Damien, but she never wanted to invoke his annoyance by being late, finding it rather tedious.
Damien arrived mere seconds after Miriam stepped inside. After a final drag on his cigarette, the vampire followed suit, entering the brewery and making his way to the private room he’d reserved for the three of them for the night. Spotting Damien, the hostess held the door open for him, flashing him a flirtatious smile which Damien pointedly ignored. He had little desire for anything of the female variety these days unless that female happened to be one Alyssa Gardner.
Bottles of the liquor that could intoxicate a vampire were already set out on the table along with glasses, ice, and wine. Damien knew how much Miriam enjoyed wine after all. While he hoped his friend would sip a little of the whiskey, he wanted to ensure she had something should she decide it wasn’t for her liking.
Miriam was also inside and Damien walked over. “Hello, Miriam,” Damien greeted. He wasn’t much for chivalry unless you were Alyssa, but Damien still pulled out the chair for his friend, gesturing for her to take a seat.
“I ordered whatever wine they had in stock. In case you find the whiskey isn’t to your liking,” he settled into the chair next to her and reached for the bottle of whiskey, pouring them both a glass though he only added a little to Miriam’s glass. “I hope you at least try it though. It’s worth the brief disgust. I promise.”
Chuuya was a bit surprised when it was suggested they try someplace new for drinks, but in the end, he didn't mind. As long as it took his mind off that damn Babushka, he was good with it. He was good with almost anything if it meant not thinking of her too often. Which was why he kept himself busy with work and other things. It was how he'd always coped with losing people.
He arrived a bit after Damien. Since the other vampire was talking to Miriam and Chuuya didn't want to interrupt, he simply sat down quietly.
Miriam rolled her eyes at the flirtatious smile. “I would save those efforts for someone not in a committed relationship,” she commented, sounding bored. Mostly because she knew how her friend felt about his girlfriend and the flirting would go nowhere, so the attempts by other women gave Miriam a headache and bored her to tears.
She turned her attention to her friend and offered him a not flirtatious smile. “Hello Damien.” The brunette allowed the chivalry and noted the look of envy which passed the hostess’s face. Whatever. “I appreciate the wine, but I will give the whiskey a try.” After all, Miriam should get out of her comfort zone on occasion and obviously her friend went to a lot of effort.
A sip as Chuuya slid into his seat. “Hello Chuuya.” Miriam did not plan on mentioning anything about losing Irina, no matter her feelings on Chuuya’s choice in women. She allowed the alcohol to flood her tongue before she swallowed. “Not wine, but certainly not disgusting.”
As long as she didn’t act on that envy, Damien didn’t care. He was here to spend time with his two friends, not to flirt with the staff. He was not going to allow her or anyone else to ruin their evening; Chuuya was still dealing with the loss of Irina. He didn’t need unnecessary drama in his life right now. None of them did.
“Good. I might be a little disappointed if you didn’t,” he replied. Even though he was a person that tended to meticulously plan every step of his life, to live in a ‘comfort zone,’ he was glad he’d allowed Scorpious to pull him in off the street that day to try the whiskey. While some might laugh, Damien thought it a rather impressive invention. It allowed someone like him a chance to enjoy alcohol. While Damien never wanted to be human again for a variety of reasons, having a buzz was not one of them.
Damien took a sip just as Chuuya settled into his seat. The other vampire said nothing to them. Losing Irina had wounded Chuuya deeply. Damien knew Chuuya was doing his best not to let the pain of losing Irina devour him whole. If the roles were reversed, Damien would be doing the same thing. He would be trying not to fall apart.
“Hello, Chuuya,” Damien greeted once he’d swallowed his own sip of potent whiskey. This time, before Damien could reach for the whiskey, the young woman was there, pouring some into Chuuya’s glass. The vampire gave her a nod and Damien was relieved when she retreated behind the small bar instead of causing a scene. He nodded towards the glass of whiskey in front of Chuuya. “Try the whiskey. If you don’t like it, I’ll order whatever else you want.” And he meant it. Chuuya was miserable enough; the choice of alcohol shouldn’t add to it. At Miriam’s comment, Damien shifted his gaze to her. It was probably the most positive review he could have hoped for from Miriam.
“That’s positive coming from you.”
Chuuya wouldn't say he was miserable. At least, he didn't feel miserable. But he was never good with emotions and never really had the time to just feel and process them. Part of him knew he probably should, since it was the healthy way to deal with the loss of Irina, but he wasn't going to start anytime soon.
He pretty much ignored the hostess, but he was a little amused at Miriam's comment and eye rolling at her attempts at flirting with Damien who completely ignored her. He could've said something cruel to the hostess but decided against it. He just wanted to spend the evening with his friends and also, he never liked causing unnecessary drama.
Instead, he returned his friends' greetings with a nod. "I'm sure the whiskey is fine," he said, thanking the hostess before she left. He took a sip. Not bad. He turned to Miriam and smirked. "A bit strange seeing you drink something besides wine." He didn't blame her, though. He liked all kinds of alcohol, but wine was definitely his favourite.
Miriam rolled her eyes, but grinned at Damien. “Not everyone can show as much emotion as you,” she teased, albeit kindly…for her. But yes, she’d decided to try something different since her friend asked her.
Losing the person you loved left a wound that never fully went away. Miriam knew this having witnessed her mate’s death nearly nine centuries ago and she still missed him every day, even while she built a life with Shadow. Time would help Chuuya, and throwing himself into work, but the vampire didn’t feel like offering any false platitudes to her friend either. She still hadn’t completely forgiven Matthew, might never completely forgive her best friend even while she loved him like family and would go to the ends of the Earth for him.
“Well, since Damien would like us to try the whiskey, I could at least try it. Strange to not be drinking the wine.” Another few sips of the whiskey and she paused, looking at the glass, back at Damien, before she tilted her head. “Damien. Is this…able to get us drunk?” Because she felt…a little different than usual. Miriam eyed both the drink and her friend with suspicion.
“I know. I’m just so emotional.” Damien raised his glass of whiskey to his lips and took a sip, savoring the taste and the burning sensation as it slipped down his throat. He appreciated Miriam’s effort to try the whiskey. Damien knew change was not easy, especially when you’d been doing something for as long as Miriam had.
He nodded at Chuuya. “It’s pretty good.” Not ‘top self’ good, but decent and it had the obvious bonus of being able to give every single one of them a buzz. Which, from Miriam’s actions, his friend had just started to figure out. It was like watching a light bulb go off in Miriam’s head. If Damien didn’t have so much apt control over his emotions, he may have smirked. Instead, he nodded.
“Yes, it is the one alcohol in this town that can get us drunk,” he confirmed, setting down his glass and folding his hands on the table. “Though, I doubt any of us in this room would allow ourselves to get that far.”
Chuuya was grateful that neither Miriam or Damien asked him how he had been since Irina's departure. He had never been good with dealing with emotions. Most of the time, he could barely identify them. He sure as hell wasn't great at talking about them. If he did, he usually just got angry and would've just yelled at whoever tried to get him to talk. Besides, he doubted talking about it would change anything. He found it pointless.
But having drinks with friends? He was good with that. "You should really learn to control those emotions," he said to Damien, keeping a straight face despite the obvious joke. He nodded to Miriam. "Fair enough. It's not bad either." He had better, more expensive whiskey but this one was quite good. There was also something else about this whiskey, something he hadn't felt in quite awhile. It took him a second to figure it out and Damien's answer to Miriam's question confirmed his suspicions.
"If that's the case, then I should probably stop right now." When he was human, it didn't take much to get him drunk. And he was an angry drunk. He doubted Miriam or Damien wanted to deal with him yelling, getting violent, or causing property damage. No, it was probably better he limited himself, especially if the whiskey was on the stronger side.
Miriam actually choked on her drink when Chuuya teased Damien. “Yes, Damien, I’m surprised Alyssa can handle of your emotions.” She deadpanned and then smirk, though. While she didn’t show emotions easily, she did have an easier time than her two friends. And no, she wouldn’t ask Chuuya, because he did not seem the emotional type. Honestly, Miriam would feel more comfortable asking Mr. Never Smiles Duval. Though she thought of him affectionately even with the nickname.
“No, I’m good on the getting buzzed front, though I may take a little to go study in the lab.” Once a scientist etc. etc.
“How did you two fare in the black and white world? The only change was that I had to cook and nearly killed Shadow’s boss because for obvious reasons I don’t cook and used the wrong spices. Oh and we thought we were married, but meh.” Maybe Miriam would get married again some day. She loved Shadow and couldn’t imagine this place without him, but she didn’t feel a need to get married.
“I’m surprised every single day of my existence as well.” As he spoke, Damien’s voice was as deadpanned as Miriam’s. Once he was turned, Damien had apt control over his emotions and he never considered going back. It was simply part of becoming a vampire in his world. Given how well he handled emotions, he wasn’t about to ask Chuuya to express his own.
Damien nodded towards the bar. “You two can feel free to order whatever you want.” He wasn’t going to push them to drink the whiskey; he’d simply wanted to share it with the only two people he actually considered to be friends in this town. Yes Alyssa and him were friends, but she was his girlfriend and he didn’t tend to count her as anything else.
He took a sip from his whiskey. “Sounds more eventful than mine. My brother was mostly annoyed that Alyssa and I weren’t married. It was scandalous.” It wasn’t now obviously, but in that black and white world, it very much was.
Chuuya had been more prone to being irritable when he was a teenager. But he had grown out of that and was a more calm person nowadays. It was only around certain people that he got annoyed a little more easily, but neither Miriam or Damien were those people.
"I might see if I can take some with me as well." Maybe he could get drunk when he wasn't in a public place and wouldn't have to worry about paying for damages. He had the money but he'd rather save it if he could. Plus, he'd rather get drunk alone.
He sipped the rest of his whiskey as he listened to their stories. "Pretty sure it skipped me because nothing happened." It was like he'd went to sleep then woke up and seeing people mentioning on the network. Not that he was complaining. He was fine that it skipped him.
Miriam finished her whiskey and looked at the server girl. “Wine, please.” She nodded looking professional now and opened the red, before pouring some for Miriam to sample. A nod and the serving girl poured her a proper glass. “Thank you.”
She sighed. “Your brother annoyed you didn’t marry Alyssa amuses me though I can understand how it would annoy you. But my few interactions with him tell me regular him wouldn’t care at all.” With Care being sent home, Miriam had three friends left in this town: these two and The Thirteenth Doctor. Though she’d become closer to these two than the others over the months of their friendship.
“Lucky. Shadow didn’t care if I cooked most nights, but the pressure was so terrible. As I’m sure Alyssa could attest. Although knowing your girlfriend, she probably didn’t care.” Miriam didn’t know Alyssa well at all, but obviously the pair spoke if they ran into each other. The one thing the vampire admired about the blonde was how few fucks she seemed to have left in her life.
Miriam turned her head towards Chuuya. “I’m sure between the three of us we can convince them to let you take some home.” The server spoke up. “You can buy some. It’s not a problem.”
“I wish it had skipped me.” Along with Alyssa and Bran. While he knew there were others that had dealt with far worse during that Dome weirdness, he still would have preferred himself and no one he cared about were affected.
Damien offered a rare shrug. “No, the entire thing made him the opposite in that regard.” Because Bran didn’t care that much about Damien’s relationship; unless something happened where Alyssa ended up hurting Damien, Bran wouldn’t bother interfering, especially when he had his own life to sort out here in Madison Valley.
“No, she handled it well.” And she didn’t complain. He was certain she didn’t enjoy cooking all the time, but Alyssa persevered through all of it. It sounded like, for the most part, that Miriam did too.
When the server said Chuuya could buy a bottle, Damien waved it off. “I’ll buy it.” Chuuya was his friend and it was the least he could do for him.
Chuuya didn't know Bran as well as his brother, but he did agree with Miriam - that regular Bran wouldn't give a shit about Damien and Alyssa's relationship. He certainly wouldn't have cared if they got married or not, so imagining that he had was a bit strange to Chuuya. So was Miriam cooking and being a housewife. Thank god everything was back to normal.
"Not surprise she did." He didn't know Alyssa too well, but she did seem the type that could handle a lot of things. "But yes, all of that makes me glad I didn't have to deal with that shit." Hopefully the next thing the dome did skipped him too, but he wouldn't hold his breath.
Normally, he didn't like people buying things for him. Hell, he didn't even like gifts. But he decided against arguing about it and just accepted Damien's offer. "Thanks."
Miriam would have preferred Chuuya not turn down the gift and when he didn’t she inwardly sighed in relief. She didn’t really want to be around that kind of conversation.
“I’m also kind of jealous I didn’t sleep through it, especially since my experience in the 50s involved my third doctorate. It’s amazing what money can do to persuade old men to allow women to study things.”
She sipped at her wine and crossed her legs. “But otherwise, Alyssa is doing well?” After all, it did seem rude not to ask after her friend’s significant other. She turned to Chuuya. “Business going well?” Miriam assumed he’d talk about business, at least in vague terms with the server in the background.
“I’m not surprised either.” It was Alyssa after all and she was resilient. “And you’re welcome.” It was the least Damien could offer given what Chuuya was dealing with. He knew if the roles were reversed Chuuya would be there for him too.
“Money always talks.” Damien poured himself some more whiskey. It would probably be his last of the night. “She’s doing well. I think she’s taking on the Art and Music Festival this year.” He turned to look over at Chuuya, curious to hear how business was doing.
Chuuya certainly would have done the same. Which, hopefully never happened. He wasn't close to Alyssa but he hoped she never got sent back home for Damien's sake. And Rebekah, who he knew loved Alyssa like a sister.
"It always does." He'd seen it plenty of times in the mafia. "That's good to hear. And I was wondering who would be taking over the festival when Kate left." While Chuuya was more of a math and physics kind of guy, he still enjoyed the arts. So he was glad to hear it was still going to happen. "It's been going well. We hired a couple new people. Well, one just part time." That's what he called the situation with Nina.
Miriam also hoped that Alyssa didn’t get sent home for the sake of those who loved her. She’d survive if Shadow got sent home, because it could never hurt like Bertrand’s death, though she’d miss him obviously, and a lot.
“I honestly forgot she didn’t run it, considering how much she does in the art circles in this place.” Alyssa always had art on display at the museum and had more than one show there. Plus, she owned the art store.
“Oh that’s good! You two could use the help.” Another sip of her wine, and the vampire felt gratitude for the friendship she had with these two. “Where are you and Karl going next?”
Damien nodded. “She does a lot with art in town. It’s fitting she would take it over.” He sipped his whiskey. What was most important was that those that participated would continue to have an avenue to display and showcase their abilities. He always enjoyed seeing what new artwork could be found there or new music.
“Yeah, it’s good you hired some extra help.” Not that he didn’t think Chuuya and Karl couldn’t handle it. They’d been doing very well without Irina, but an extra pair of hands couldn’t hurt.
"I'm not surprise she's the one to take over." And he was sure Alyssa would do a good job too.
"We figured we could use some help." After Irina had been sent home, but he didn't say that part out loud. "We haven't made any plans yet for our next trip, but we got some time to figure it out." Maybe he'd poke Karl about it another time, but tonight he was just going to enjoy drinks with his two friends.