OTA

[jageskro]

It was like an itch you knew you weren't supposed to scratch. A lot of things had become clearer to Jag, about himself, since he'd watched Hex's videos, and somehow, the closer it came to the time Val would be back, the more Jag wanted to give in to his 'old' habits and do something really stupid. Start a bar in a fight with an arsehole or two, and get hurt.

It was as far from healthy as he could get, he realised, and that was why he hadn't started a bar fight in over a month now. He was in a bar right now, having a pint and trying to resist the desire to walk over to the bastards in the booth right behind him. Their racist, homophobic conversation wasn't making it easy on him. He was waiting for the misogyny to make an appearance, really. He'd barely touched his pint in the last ten minutes and was gnawing on his thumb's nail, feet propped on his bar stool, one leg bouncing.

Comments

[sunsongs]

Coby had about an hour before he absolutely had to be at Scandals, but tonight was one of those nights where he wanted a quiet drink some place before he had to be on, and it could be hard to do that in a bar where he was playing. So he stopped off at a bar not too far away for a beer first. He ordered an IPA, and as he waited for it, picked up on the guy next to him's nervous energy. "You all right, dude?" he asked, the words out of his mouth before Coby realized he knew him, and if he'd had any doubts whether he should ask, that's when they disappeared. "It's Jag, right?"

[jageskro]

'Fine,' Jag had been about to reply with a scowl, but at that last bit, he looked at the bloke beside him. Right, Christmas party. The musician. The one who wasn't Willy, anyway. "Yeah," he confirmed, and raked his brain for his name. At least his leg had stopped bouncing. "I'm - sorry, what was your name again? I remember you play Scandals, but..." His memory could be oddly selective.

[london_spy]

The barman was a 'friend', and had told Danny he'd kick him a few quid under the table if he'd cover a shift for one of his servers. It wasn't much, but at the moment every penny counted.

He kept his head down the whole time, bringing people drinks, clearing tables, doing his best not to be recognized. His story was long faded from the papers, but in a crowd like this, the last thing he wanted to do was jog someone's memory.

His shift was just ending as he cleared his last table- Only to have some bastard deliberately stick his foot out and trip him. One of the glasses shattered, but Danny was so relieved not to have shed any blood that he wasn't even angry- Just shaken as he started to pick up the broken glass very carefully. All while ignoring the nasty comments coming from the table behind him.

"Sorry," he said, glancing up at the bloke at the bar, who'd already seemed tense and agitated to start with.

[sunsongs]

"Coby." He wasn't bothered Jag hadn't remembered his name. He couldn't say he'd have remembered Jag's if it had been something more common like Jeff or Tom, or like Coby's name. He remembered the important shit anyway.

"And yeah, I'm heading over there soon. Wanted a quiet drink first." He glanced behind them at the booth of assholes. "Not sure I'm going to get it, though."

[jageskro]

"Tell me about it," Jag agreed, shooting them an annoyed glance before turning back tp Coby, and his stout. "S'pose this is the universe telling me to go listen to you." He still hadn't.

[jageskro]

Jag was downright glaring at the bastards when the waiter spoke up, and his look softened as he looked down at him, then moved off his stool to help him out with the glass. "Not on you to apologise," he remarked, picking up the bigger shards of glass first.

And if the table heard that? Good.

[london_spy]

It was kind of the stranger to help, but the fact that they were both touching the glass only made him more anxious. ...It was also the moment the barman noticed what was happening.

"Jesus, Danny, what are you doing?" the barman said, physically pulling Danny away from the broken glass. "You can't do that, it's a health hazard. I run a bloody bar you idiot."

He pushed a wad of cash into Danny's hand, then nudged him toward the door. "You're done for the day, go home.

He turned to Jag next, gingerly taking the glass from him. "Last drink's on the house mate. Don't worry about this."

Danny looked somewhat mortified, and offered the stranger and apologetic look.

[jageskro]

A look which was lost on Jag, since he was frowning at the bartender. "It wasn't his fault."

[london_spy]

"It would be if he cut himself in here," the barman replied with an annoyed frown. "Just stay out of it, alright? I'm comping you your drink, and he's leaving, aren't you Danny?" he added.

[jageskro]

"Not just the patrons who are arseholes here, then," Jag remarked hotly, picking up his coat to get out of there.

[london_spy]

"You've no idea what you're talking about mate, alright? I did you a favour, and you don't even know it," the barman replied, looking at Danny, then shaking his head as he returned to the task of picking up glass.

Danny's face was blank now, expressionless, and he said nothing as he pocketed his pay and headed outside to light a cigarette. He'd been trying to quit, but the world seemed dead set on giving him a reason to light up another and another.

[jageskro]

Jag muttered a, "Fucking wankers," under his breath as he headed out, pausing outside to light up a cigarette of his own. Then only did he notice the bloke, and winced. "Sorry. It was none of my business."

[london_spy]

"No he was right," Danny replied, shaking his head as he took a long drag. "I shouldn't have been picking up glass- If I'd cut myself... It could have been bad. I understand why he got upset."

[jageskro]

"Didn't have to be an arsehole about it," Jag retorted with a shake of his head.

[london_spy]

"He's just panicked. ...I'm, um- I'm positive, and I don't officially work here," Danny explained quietly, not sure why he felt the need to defend the bloke.

"I'm just sorry if he chased you out as well."

[jageskro]

"Honestly, I was about one nasty remark from picking a fight with the wankers who tripped you," Jag remarked with a bit of a shrug. "Probably best this way."

[london_spy]

"Blokes like that aren't worth it, you'd only be giving them what they want- And there's no fun in that. Better to watch them fail, don't you think?" he suggested with a faint smile.

[jageskro]

"Probably," Jag agreed, although he didn't sound convinced. Rationally, he knew that it was true, of course. That didn't change his impulses, though. "Not sure I'm wired that way."

[sunsongs]

Coby paid for his beer and took a sip before nodding. "Could be. Not like I'm going to try to talk you out of it." But he had wanted a quiet drink, and if he sat here much longer, chances were a punch was going to get thrown eventually. He glanced around the bar, then jerked his chin toward a empty booth much further from the assholes' table.

"You could do me a favor first, though. With two of us, we could grab that booth, actually enjoy our drinks."

[jageskro]

"I don't know," Jag answered, tilting his head to the side with a purse of his lips. "The more time passes, the more I want to go introduce my fist to those fuckers." Not a good idea, and he was aware of that. It didn't make the urge go away.

[london_spy]

"You're a fighter then?" Danny asked with a faint smile. "Nothing wrong with having a spark, I don't think. I'm not one for physical confrontation, but I like to think I fight when it matters."

[jageskro]

"Different sorts of fighting, yeah?" Jag shrugged, and took another drag off his cigarette. "I don't know whether that's the sort of thing to really matter," he added, nodding back towards the pub.

[london_spy]

"It isn't," Danny assured him. "People like that, moments like that. It's forgotten so fast that fighting it is a waste of energy."

[jageskro]

"It isn't about fighting them, though, not really," Jag answered, and shrugged. "Anyway, sorry about that. I'm going to try and find a better pub."

[london_spy]

"Yeah?" Danny asked, holding up his pay with a smile. "Me too, I think."