Tracey was released from medical with the “promise” that she would agree to counseling sessions with one of the therapists. It was something she agreed to so that she could get the hell out of there and go home when really she hoped she could easily find a way to get out of going to any type of therapy session. She’d already seen a therapist after the first encounter with her biological father, and it wasn’t something Tracey ever wanted to rehash or talk about again if she could help it. She’d moved past that years ago, or so she’d thought, and now Atlantis had decided to churn up those memories all over again with the special addition of finding out one of his previous victims was here in Atlantis with her. Yet Marcus, the one person she felt comfortable talking to about the gory details, had been sent home weeks prior.
Instead of letting her mind linger about the madness of the “dream” or whatever she’d experienced in the several days of her coma, she planned to do her best to forget about the last few days with the help of her mate and teammate. Though, with Atlantis having official quidditch teams now, she supposed now Lucian was her former teammate. As promised, he’d arrived at her home and they set off. They decided on Caritas for something a little different and unfamiliar for the night. It was a karaoke bar with a demon who could read your destiny, but Tracey wasn’t planning to get up on stage. The atmosphere was fun and engaging and had plenty of colorful and fruity drinks.
They sat at one of the tables near the bar, and Tracey went ahead and ordered them a bottle of tequila but also a tequila sunrise to get herself started. Two shot glasses arrived with the bottle of tequila, and she poured them both a round. Tonight was supposed to be about fun and forgetting the last half week ever happened, so she clinked her glass with Lucian’s and grinned.
“Here’s to me kicking your ass in quidditch during our first match… whenever that may be,” she said and downed her drink before he had the chance to counter her toast.
Lucian smirked when she took her shot without a chance for him to say anything, and downed his own. “I’d like to see you try, Trace,” he said. “Just because we’re teammates back home doesn’t mean you know me at all. I however know you very well,” he teased lightly as he poured them another shot.
He was glad to serve as some sort of distraction after whatever she must’ve gone through while being in a coma for almost five days.
“Hah,” Tracey let out a laugh and shook her head as the glasses were being refilled. “You wish.” She down the second shot easily enough. The dangerous part about tequila was that it often went down very easily. Sometimes too easily, but it was a drink that was guaranteed to help her feel better about the shitty coma week she’d had and forget her paternal reunion.
“Alright, humour me. How exactly is it that you know me so much better than I know you?” She asked, leaning forward a little against the table and lifted her fruity drink to her lips for a sip. “And it better be something good.”
Lucian grinned and shook his head. “No no no, I’m not spelling any secrets with the enemy now,” he said with a chuckle. “But I will say you have a tick. Several, actually. And they’re very helpful.” He raised his glass to her and took his second shot.
“Oh, I’m the enemy now, am I?” Tracey shot him a teasing look but then narrowed her eyes a little. She had a tick? Damn, now she was going to have to figure out what it was - or they since he declared she had several.
“Well, Mr. Bole,” she said, picking up her tequila sunrise for a sip. “You have a few of those yourself. And a few weaknesses.” Smirking after the sip, she plucked out the cherry and popped into her mouth. The cherry had already had the chance to soak in some of the punch of the tequila, making it a little more potent. Yum.
“Besides, a little competition might be fun,” she said, leaning forward in her seat.
“You are,” he teased with a playful smirk on his lips. He knew she was probably thinking what her tics were now, and that amused him. “Oh, of course I do. We all have them,” he said.
“That I totally agree with,” he said as he leaned forward too, taking his glass and downing his shot.
“Glad you agree.” Tracey grinned, watching him for a moment before breaking the gaze and going for the bottle of tequila again. A couple more shots were poured for the two of them, and she quickly downed the liquid. They’d barely made a dent in the bottle, and she could already feel her skin feel warm and her body a little more loose than usual. It was a nice feeling and exactly what she was going for by going out tonight.
“We should do this more often,” she said, casually and without much thought laying a hand on his arm. “Going out, having fun for the hell of it. Like after matches except we’re missing the rest of the team.” She brought her other hand up to her face as if to whisper a secret. “You were the fun one out of everyone though. With me as a close second - obviously.”
She laughed again and took a sip of the next shot but didn’t down it completely. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to be in a bad way very quickly. Tequila was a drink that she often found went down far too easily.
He smiled at her and took his shot without a second thought. Lucian was someone who could hold their liquor quite well, even tequila. He might get a little more touchy feely than usual, but nothing more than that. Most of the times, that is. There had been a few nights out where he had blacked out completely and woke up next to a woman he didn’t even remember talking to.
Lucian leaned in a little closer as if listening to her secret and chuckled at her words. “Of course I am. I’m the life of the party. Well, we are. Everyone knows there’s no party without us. And I agree, we should definitely do this more often. I enjoy spending time with you, Trace.”
As he leaned and spoke, Tracey caught herself looking a little too deep into his dark eyes. Whether it was the look, the alcohol, or something else, she wasn’t sure, but she still felt an ounce of warmth in her chest. One one hand it took her a little by surprise given how long they’d known one another and the fact he was one of her brother’s closest friends, but she also wasn’t blind. Lucian was one of the best-looking people she’d met in her life. He knew it, sure, but not in the same obnoxious way other blokes she knew did.
She sat there for a moment leaning forward until her eyes drifted up to the stage where someone had started singing a new song. It was slow but still had plenty of movement to it. Tracey smiled once her eyes met Lucian’s again. “Wanna dance?”
She didn’t know exactly what she was doing, but that was the fun of it. This was the night of not worrying about the past or anything else she ought to worry over. She wanted to have fun, and right now that fun involved the very good-looking friend in front of her.
He looked into her eyes and his lips curled into a small smile. There was no harm in some flirting, was it? Besides, Lucian could not stay away from flirting when there was a woman near him, even if that woman in particular was his best friend’s sister. It was just fun, harmless flirting, he told himself.
He nodded at her suggestion and go up, holding out his hand for her to take. “Try not to step on my shoes. I just bought them,” he teased playfully.
“I think I might be able to manage that,” she laughed. “Unless there are one too many spins. In that case, I make no promises.” They took the few steps over to the floor among the other handful of couples already there. It wasn’t a crowded dance floor, but they at least weren’t the only ones out there.
Tracey took one his hands in hers and stood close to him, placing her free hand at his waist and let him take the lead. It had been a while since she’d had a dance like this, so she was going to enjoy it while it lasted.
Lucian placed his free hand on her back and pulled her a little closer toward him before he began to move to the rhythm of the song.
Lucian didn’t like to brag about it, but he was a pretty good dancer. And it was all thanks to his governess, who believed every man should know how to dance in order to woo a woman.
Even if this wasn’t the first time in her life that Tracey had ever danced with Lucian, it was the first time she’d danced with him when she considered there being something more to it. Tequila was a powerful drink, wasn’t it?
As the song played and then transitioned into another, slower song, Tracey stepped a shade closer and stood against him. At first she still stood there with her hands in their proper places but soon lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, leaning in so that her face was next to his.
She smiled to herself and asked softly, “Are you still certain you know all of my ticks and what they mean?”
He wasn’t sure if it was the song, the tequila, her being so close or all together, but Lucian was beginning to feel something warm inside him and he didn’t want it to stop.
When she wrapped her arms around his neck, his hands moved closer around her waist, dipping them a little lower so they rested on the small of her back. He moved with her slowly at the rhythm of the song.
“I guess there’s only one way to find out,” he replied softly, his eyes never leaving hers except to glance at her lips for a second.
Even with her mind being a little fuzzy from tequila shots, Tracey took his words as a go signal and after a short moment leaned in and kissed him. Her arms tightened a bit around his next when she leaned into him, kissing him deeper once he made it clear he didn’t exactly mind.
There was chance she might feel differently about how this night went in the morning, but right then in she was perfectly fine. Kissing her teammate and mate of so many years possibly could have felt strange except that there was definitely nothing strange in how she felt once the kiss ended and she pulled back just enough to look at him.
“And now?”
He couldn’t say he was surprised by the kiss. He had practically told her to with his words. And he had to admit he had wondered more than a couple of times how it would be like to kiss Tracey.
His arms tightened around her and closed whatever distance was between them as they kissed. He could taste the tequila in her, and something else that was purely Tracey.
“Now,” he began to say as he swayed them together to the song that was still playing in the background. “We can either finish this song and go back to the table where we’ll take some more shots. Or I’ll take you back to my room where I plan to do unspeakable but very fun things to you,” he said, his lips curling in a smirk as he said the last words.
A chill ran down her spine at Lucian’s words, and Tracey felt her lips turn up into a small smirk as she looked at him. She paused for a short moment, considering her options - all good options - but her mind was clearly already made up the moment he’d first given the two choices. Though with maybe a slight deviation.
“How about,” she said slowly, licking her lips. She could still feel them tingling from their kiss. “We finish this song and take that bottle of tequila back to your room for a few more shots. Body shots.” Her eyes danced a bit. “I’ll get us some limes, you get the bottle.” The salt they could find back at his place.
Then he could do all of those unspeakable things he had in mind, and she would be perfectly alright with that. As far as she was concerned, tonight’s Operation Tequila had been a grand success.
He knew where body shots would take them, and it was exactly where he wanted to go. His lips curled in a playful smile as she spoke. “I like that plan of yours,” he said, letting his hands travel a little down south as he swayed them together to the rhythm of the music.
When the song ended, he kept one of his hands on the small of her back and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Grab the limes,” and he pressed a kiss on her pulse before moving to grab the bottle.
She swayed a little once he pulled and stepped away, but the mischievous smile was still on Tracey’s face as she turned and watched him. She could tell her mind had started to clear a bit since the buzz she’d been feeling hadn’t been too strong, and she strode over to the bar to request a handful of lime wedges - to go.
Once she had the small baggie of limes in hang, Tracey joined Lucian again and out the door they went. When they agreed to meet up for drinks that night, she knew the tequila would make her a little handsy and extra flirty, but she couldn’t argue with how the night was turning out for the pair of them even if a bit unexpected. And, in this case, there was nothing wrong with the unexpected.