Who: Wash and Jack What: Wash checks out the bar When: Mid March Where: Johnny's Saloon Ratings/Warnings: Low and none Status: Complete
Wash hadn’t been to Johnny’s Saloon before and knowing the place was open well past 2 am was a giant plus. There were times in which he hadn’t tracked down a bounty until well into the night and if he was looking to “celebrate” afterwards, he really needed a place that didn’t close down two hours after he showed up.
Also knowing the bartender at Johnny’s wasn’t likely to take one look at him, recognize him and toss him out on his ass for starting a fight in the past was also a plus. Technically the first fight hadn’t been his fault. Oh, he’d started it, there was no doubt about that, but he hadn’t been himself at the time. And the more recent fight he and Peeta had been in? He had tried to break it up before it had gotten out of hand, but a loaded frat boy had decided to sucker punch Wash right in the kidney. He had no choice but to retaliate.
There would be no fighting tonight. Wash didn’t have the energy for it and fighting really wasn’t his thing. He wasn’t the type to go looking for fights on a regular basis. He had done his time in the military, that life was supposed to be over. It wasn’t, though. Not really. He didn’t work for Uncle Sam anymore, but Wash clung to certain habits. Combat boots constantly on his feet, dog tags around his neck and a constant need to be on the ground when Orange County decided to go tits up. It was just in his nature.
It was a little after eleven when he took a seat at the bar. He had no open contracts that night. He’d cleared his load with the upcoming trip to West Virginia to visit Gale’s family and he found that two or three evenings of idleness wasn’t sitting well with him. He signaled the bartender. “Whiskey, please,” he said as he dug out his wallet and ID.
*** Not many people would view working at a bar as a suitable long term gig, yet Jack was never one to follow conventional views. Hell it had been a few years since he first wandered into the punk rock dive bar looking for work, and now he owned the place thanks to the generosity of the previous own leaving it to Jackie when he passed away. Still the young man had always felt a closeness to the staff and the old owner, he considered them to be the closest thing he had to family. So while not much else in his life was solid Jack considered the bar to be his home. Oh it was still a run down bar, to be sure, but the music and drinks were good and all the staff were serious as fuck when it came to taking care of their vets.
It was an old tradition, started a few decades back by the now deceased owner, that the military rank and file ‘got treated with the god damn respect that they fucking deserve’. So when the bartender spotted the tags hanging around the man’s neck she flashed a genuine smile and nodded at the request. Instead of the cheap swill she actually pulled up a bottle of the top shelf and poured a double shot for Wash, shaking her head as he reached for his wallet. “First one’s one the house, the rest are just a dollar a piece, hon.” Before moving to take another patron’s order she dug out a menu from beneath the bar and set it down in front of him. “Happy hour ends at 8pm, but for you boys the food specials run till close. So take a look and let me know what you’d like.” A few moments later word reached Jack about the new arrival, and like always he made his way out of his office to come shake the man’s hand. Had he realized that it was the same one he had spoken with earlier Jackie would have been grinning a bit more, yet a chuckle did escape him as Jackie pulled up a stool beside Wash. “Hey. Glad ya could make it, bud. Would have greeted you sooner if I knew you were coming. Still welcome to my bar.” His smile held as the young man offered an extended hand, and with a nod to the bartender he had another shot glass laid out and the bottle left there on the bar.
*** His first round on the house, the rest only a dollar, food specials until close and now the bar’s owner coming out personally to shake his hand? This was about as close to first class treatment Wash had ever received in his life. It was nice, flattering even, but also a little strange. Wash was used to not being noticed, much less fussed over. Stealth had meant his squad’s continued life during their special and especially black ops missions. Even as a kid, Wash had gone out of his way to go unnoticed, else gain his stepfather’s drunken wrath. Not that it it always worked, but hope always sprang eternal.
The result was an awkward smile in return greeting. “Thanks,” he said and accepted the offered hand to shake. “I think I spoke with you on the network earlier today?”He shifted a little on the bar stool. “I wish I knew about your bar earlier. Especially since I’m sometimes working until midnight and it’s nice to have a place to go and unwind.”
*** Going unnoticed had been Jackie’s way of life growing up, after all you learned to be good at it when it came time to hide from one drunk foster parent or another. Hell it was a skill that served him well back when Jack was living rough on the streets too. However being part of the bar staff meant being part of the family, and ever since he took over the joint...well it fell to the young man to be noticed. Greeting the vets personally was just how they did things at Johnny’s Saloon, and that wasn’t going to change. As the owner it was also his duty to be present and visible throughout the night for his staff as well,
Still after shaking the man’s hand and simply nodding little to confirm that he was indeed the one from the network; it felt good to sit down and just focus his gaze down at the drink in his hand. After downing the shot he poured a second but instead of drinking it Jackie simply pulled out a pack of smokes and lit up as he listened to Wash speak. “We aren’t exactly big on advertising a lot, since most of our business is brought in by word of mouth. Still with everything going on, well I figured that it wouldn’t hurt to let people know there was a place they could come chill at when it got late.”
*** It wasn’t a bad thing to be personally greeted, just a little awkward. But, Wash relaxed better on the bar stool once Jack confirmed that he was the one Wash spoke to on the network. He felt less random with that information.
Jack lit up his cigarette and Wash downed his first shot without much ceremony. He placed the glass down on the bartop upside down and motioned for another shot. If Jack was nice enough to give him his first shot on the house, the least he could do was make it worth the man’s while and order another, even if they were on special. He ordered a beer to go with it.
A small frown pulled at the corners of his mouth as he thought about everything that had been going on. He glanced at Jack out of the corner of his eye. “A lot has been happening,” he agreed. “Too much...not enough...nothing in between,” he said thoughtfully, almost to himself. He cleared his throat. “Sorry. Have you, uh, have you been on the network long? It’s not a bad place for getting word of mouth going...among other things.”
*** The bartender was quick to refill Wash’s empty shot glass and to pour a pint of beer for both of the men. Jack himself just nodded his thanks and quietly spoke up to her for just a moment. “Have em put the order in for my usual, and a side of the chili cheese fries too.” Honestly he wasn’t exactly hungry at the moment, but drinking on an empty stomach was never the smartest move. Well that, and he really did like the fries. The Saloon may be a punk rock dive bar, but fuck if the food wasn’t actually surprisingly good.
When he heard Wash speak again Jackie turned his focus back towards him, and offered up a slight shrug before piping up. “I’ve been keeping to myself for a while now, but figured the network shit was a decent source of free publicity for this place. The more folks who come in, the bigger the tips for the staff, and the longer the place keeps the lights on. Aside from that I haven’t really heard much of anything bout shit going on. Alway did prefer to just keep my head down when possible.”
*** Katou would like this place, Wash decided. When the kid was old enough to drink legally at a bar, Wash would bring him. Maybe for his 21st or something. That about two years away, and who knew what would happen between now and then, but it was still a good idea to keep in the back of his mind. Katou would like the place.
Wash actually liked it too. He wasn’t really into the punk scene. He looked a little out of place at the bar, but he didn’t really feel out of place. The bartender wasn’t eyeing him for his lack of punk attire and the owner seemed to like having him there as well. He seemed to enjoy having vets in his bar. That was not always the case, even in Seal Beach, so close to the base. Despite how the attention had initially made him a little uncomfortable, Wash could appreciate the sentiment. It wasn’t like that everywhere.
He downed his second shot, letting the alcohol warm him from the inside out and then turned his focus on his beer. He sighed. If only it was so easy to just keep your head down. Wash couldn’t, even if he wanted to. It was the marine in him to have a need to have feet on the ground and help and protect those who couldn’t necessarily help and protect themselves. Hopefully the friendly bar owner wouldn’t be needing any of that. Hopefully the OC’s fuckery would leave him and his bar alone. Somehow, though, Wash doubted that very much.
“The network will definitely bring you more business.” He said and then chuckled. “Brought me in, right? They’re a good group of people, for the most part. They watch out for each other. They kind of have to, I guess. You didn’t happen to see the kinds of...posts people put up on that network did you?”
*** Jack had has doubts about using the network at all, after having seen a lot of strange things on it. Still he could admit when he was wrong about something, and Wash really did have a point. The bar itself was doing well enough, since people seemed drawn to cheap drinks and the late hours well enough. Yet if a few free ads on the network drew in more customers than that meant more tips for his staff too, and Mercer considered them to be family. “Right you are. Was a bit reserved bout them in general since...well since the talk of the dreams and shit was more than a little weird. Still as long as they can pay, and don’t get handsy with the staff, I got no problem letting in new patrons.”
He went still for a second as he consider the question, and shrugged at last before speaking up. “You mean the strange shit, bout people not being who they are or were? Seen a lot of talk about the fucking dreams and the weird stuff just showing up out of the blue. Honestly I thought they were just full of shit, but it’s a lot of different people saying that it’s real...so I got no clue what to make of it all.” Jack had considered inquiring a little about the dreams and all that other stuff. Yet since he hadn’t experienced any of them himself, and since he already had more than enough shit on his plate to deal with, Jackie just never really cared enough to ask.