Trip Ryker (silvertongued) wrote in the_dome, @ 2013-04-29 23:38:00 |
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Entry tags: | 03-27-2017, december, december and mannix, mannix |
Counterproductive Drinking Dealings
Who: Mannix and December
Where: December's living room
When: Wee hours of the morning
Warnings: None
When Mickey was officially gone, December went back inside. And she went straight for the bottle of wine Mannix had brought earlier. Because jesus fucking christ on a pogostick, she was thrown. December wasn’t a girl who dealt well with being knocked off balance, mentally speaking. She made a habit of feeling like she was on solid ground. And right now, it seemed like she was anything but. So, she got out a glass, popped the cork on some sweet, sweet alcohol, and took too big a drink to be doing anything but attempting drunkenness.
Mannix woke up as the door opened, drawing his gun upon instinct. He remembered where he was faster this time, but had no idea how long it had been since December had stepped outside. It could have been minutes or hours. Putting the gun back down, he intended to fall back asleep, but watched as she went straight for the wine bottle on the counter, the one he’d brought back as promised. He propped himself up on his elbows and raised a brow as she took a long drink from the glass. “Want some company?” he asked, sitting the rest of the way up. If not, she might as well drink from the bottle at that rate.
"No. I was just thinking that I needed a crutch, and budding alcoholism is a good place to start." she said, all that while she got him a glass and poured it. She dumped more in her own glass as well.
“Yeah, but if you’re going to be an alcoholic, you might as well be a social one,” he said, climbing to his feet and walking towards her. His eyes were still half closed, but he was awake and alert, dressed in his pajama pants.
She downed another heavy drink, setting the glass down. She stared into a middle distance, not sure what to say. If anything. She should just go the fuck to bed, but whatever. She didn't think she'd sleep for a while.
Mannix picked up the glass, took one sip, then a longer one. It was good wine, but at the moment he didn’t care. “Who was at the door?” he asked, leaning against the counter. He could guess, but it would only be a guess.
"You get three guesses, and the first two don't count." she told him, knowing he would know full well who it had been. "He's...chosen tonight to drop a few things on me that y'know. He completely neglected to say at any previous moment in time, even if he could have and it would likely have made more sense." She rolled her eyes. "But who needs sense when you can go for the gusto with shock factor?"
With an answer like that, Mannix didn’t need to guess. He knew. “Motivation comes in all forms,” he said, taking another sip. “Shock factor, though... what’s so shocking about it?” He was making guesses now, hoping she might fill in the blanks. Mickey had obviously dropped a bomb tonight, but to what extent he wasn’t sure.
"Yeah, and apparently motivation for him was seeing you anywhere within ten feet of me." December said. "And it was shocking because at no point has he given even a hint of any inclination toward me. Nothing at all. If I hadn't just heard him tell me I was beautiful, I'd have not believed he thought that. I don't know. He just never gave any indication, besides now, when apparently a ridiculous jealous streak kicked up."
Mannix hid his smile behind another sip of wine, quickly draining his first glass. Now they were even, so he poured himself a second. “He’s right. You are. But pulling you out in the middle of the night might not’ve been the best timing,” he said. “Then again, it worked for Juliet. But I wouldn’t say you’re anything like her.” He might’ve said that Mickey had no reason to be jealous, but that wasn’t quite true. Mannix was definitely interested. He just hadn’t done anything about it yet.
"Um, yeah. Definitely not good on the timing thing." December said, holding out her glass so he'd pour her some more too. "Also, thank you." she added, propping her chin on her hand. It was nice to hear, honestly. From either of them. She wasn't a person who even remotely sought out approval from other people, but she wasn't made of stone, either. "And yeah, Juliet was a twit. Let's not put her in the same sentence as me, shall we?"
“Any time,” he said, smiling as he looked up at her before pouring her some more wine. At the rate they were going, he was going to need the other bottle out of his bag. “Noted. My recollection of Shakespeare is foggy at best. I was only thinking of the balcony scene.” Which didn’t have near the effect as knocking on the front door. “I’m afraid I won’t be much help when it comes to Mickey. It seems, um, counterproductive.”
December snorted. "Yeah." she agreed. Then she climbed up onto one of the island stools, past that to sit up on the countertop itself. "I don't think it's actually me." she admitted. "The Mickey jealousy thing, I mean. I think he just...I don't know. Didn't expect there ever to be anyone who could stand my company for over ten minutes. I think it's just issues, that he thinks are jealousy."
“It sounds like it’s just been the two of you for a long time,” Mannix said. “If being in the dome didn’t change that, if he hasn’t connected with anyone else, then, yeah, I could see how he’d feel threatened. You might want to remind him I’m sleeping on your couch, not taking you out of Delphi.” It wasn’t necessary for him to point out that that wasn’t even an option. They’d known each other a few days and Mannix wasn’t usually one to jump on board to a commitment like that.
"How can he connect with anyone when he doesn't fucking talk?" December posed. "He just hasn't been trying, in my opinion. Maybe that's because of me, in some weird way. Like I'm holding back progress or something, just by being present. I told him to go get drunk and hit on someone, see where that took him."
“Eh, that sounds like his own fault. He’s a handyman, right? He’s had every opportunity to branch out. If you don’t talk to the people you work with, that’s normal. They’re dead. Getting drunk and branching out might be good advice,” Mannix said. People didn’t normally make the best decisions while they were drunk, but it didn’t sound like Mickey was getting anywhere sober. Besides, fun times could be had while drunk.
December shrugged. "Maybe it'll work out for him." she said, still not sure what to do with the entire situation. "You strike me as someone who never has to deal with shit like this."
Mannix considered the statement, draining the glass again before giving her an answer. “I’m probably a bad example of the norm,” he said. “The last time I had a normal relationship was high school. After that, it seemed like too much of a risk. I didn’t want to put anyone in danger, I didn’t want them to be used against me, and I just didn’t know if I’d live long enough for it to be worth it," he said, absently rubbing at the gunshot wound near his left shoulder. “And then there were zombies. So no, not really, but not for the reasons you might expect.”
"Normal is overrated. And, more or less non-existent these days, considering." she said. "And right, the whole crime family thing." she said, understanding his meaning. "And now you travel around and unless you got someone you could stand an endless road trip with--which, let's face facts here--would be impossible," she trailed off. "Right."
“It’s not that I’ve never wanted it,” Mannix said, swirling the wine around in his glass. He could be the good guy here and help her with her problem, which would be the friendly thing to do. He just wasn’t sure if it would work out for him. “Have you ever been interested in him like that?” he asked. “Or is it just the timing or the method?”
"Never considered it." December said. "The world went to hell. Survival was important, and he never showed even slight interest, so it didn't occur to me. I mean, it's not like I didn't notice he's easy on the eyes, but a lot of people are. He's my friend, though it's a weird definition of the word to start with." She shrugged. "I wouldn't consider ditching him. But I don't know that that translates to anything romantic, or whatever."
“In my experience, you can have friends of the opposite sex and not be attracted to them, even though they’re attractive,” Mannix said. He’d known girls that were beautiful that he wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot-pole, but enjoyed hanging out with. And he was sure there were girls who felt the same way about him. “That he hasn’t said anything till now... I don’t know. If I was him, I would’ve made a move the day you walked in the dome.”
"You would think at some point that would have become the thing to do." December said. "I mean, sex is a need. It's a physiological thing. So unless someone's freaking asexual, there's got to be some drive there." She drained her glass and set it down. "Clearly that's not the case for Jealous McSaintpants. So, whatever. He couldn't be bothered."
“And if I could be?” Mannix asked, raising one brow with a little smirk. He hadn’t planned on saying anything, or doing anything, but she’d gotten two and a half glasses of wine in him and then started talking about how everyone needed sex. If they were going to keep talking about missed opportunities, Mannix didn’t want to stumble blindly past his own.
"Then you're going to have to put effort in." she told him. It wasn't a no. She did like the guy. She had no idea what would come of it, if anything. But she also couldn't quite care right then. Not with some wine in her system and her not wanting to stand around feeling confused all night. But it also didn't mean she was going to just drag him off to bed or anything.
“Yeah, I might want to start doing that,” Mannix said, moving closer to her. “I have the feeling you’d be worth the effort, though.” The issue with Mannix was that he didn’t really know what he was doing when it came to girls he saw more than once and a while. December wasn’t going to be easily charmed and fall into bed with him. He’d be disappointed if she was. “I’ll just give you something to think about,” he said, then leaned down to kiss her.
December hadn't been kissed in a long time. Probably what most in the world would consider 'too long'. Long enough, anyhow, that she got a little flip in her stomach when she realized he was going to kiss her. She didn't pull back, and let it happen, seeking to reacquaint herself with that sensation. Plus, it did in fact get her mind off of everything. And that? Was priceless.
Mannix honestly wasn’t sure she’d let him do it, but the moment his lips touched hers he relaxed, sliding one arm around her waist as the other moved behind her neck. Kissing was easy, something that always made him smile, even though his mouth was otherwise occupied. And kissing December was something he’d wanted enough to go for it, even though her reaction wasn’t guaranteed.
She stepped in close when he put his arm around her, and she reached up to let her nails dig into the back of his shoulder just slightly, nipping at his lower lip when the kiss drew to it's natural conclusion.
The bite of her nails was unexpected, but pleasing counter to her lips on his. When she drew back, he was still smiling, and lightly ran his hand up her back, then back down. He could feel the studs of her corset piercing and wondered how that felt to her, even though it was light. “Definitely worth it,” he muttered with a smile.
She smirked at that, really liking the feel of his fingertips against the ribbons at her back. "I wouldn't forget that any time soon." she told him. There was an amusement in her tone, in her eyes. It had a playful undercurrent.
“Well, if you do, let me know and I’ll refresh your memory,” he grinned back at her. It felt like such a reward to see her smile, to see that look in her eyes. In the short time he’d known her, he’d learned it wasn’t an expression she wore often.
She laughed. "I meant you. You shouldn't forget that it was worth it." she said. Maybe she'd had a little too much wine. No, that was really probably very much the case. But she was still feeling good, so that was a plus.
“Oh!” he laughed. “Yes! Well, I don’t think that’ll be a problem.” December might be a difficult woman, but sometimes working harder meant the payoff was better. “Though if you’re worried about me forgetting, maybe I should have another for good measure,” he teased.
"And I get what out of the deal?" she asked, arching a brow at him. Sure, there was a smile just barely hinted at, but it was still a challenge. She had to see what he would do with it. It was fun, because she honestly didn't know.
“Good God, woman, I’d give you anything,” Mannix grinned, his hands settling on her hips. “Coffee, chocolate, cigarettes. A kiss that’ll make your toes curl.” He wasn’t exactly hard up. He wasn’t going to beg. But he wasn’t going to give up either. His thumbs slid just under the edge of her tank top, along the waistband of her pajama bottoms, giving him the briefest touch of her skin. “A better question is what do you want?”
"Coffee sounds good." she said, smirking. "We'll see about the kiss part." she added. She also went to turn away, even if the light touch of her skin gave her goosebumps. "You have a good night's sleep, Mannix." Yep. She knew what she was doing there. She did it on purpose.
She was making this hard on him, what she wanted and what he should go for, but the challenge was part of what he enjoyed about her. Was he meant to go after her or let her go? He couldn’t quite tell, even if they both knew what he wanted. That was his fault. He’d shown his cards. He rocked back on his heels as he sighed, smirking. “You too, December.”
She was just a pinch disappointed, but also figured this meant they could play the game again sometime. And if he didn't want to because she didn't jump right into bed with him? He wasn't worth her time in the first place. She glanced back over her shoulder and smiled at him, waving before she disappeared from the room.