Devil's Advocate

Who: Brian and Olivia
Where: Babylon
When: About 2:30 in the afternoon

Finally, Brian had managed to get himself out of the house.... And to Babylon, which was all but deserted, and missing the big mirror behind the bar. But it was someplace to meet Olivia, get a little food-- bad food, he decided, as he made a face at the fries he'd been handed while he waited-- and a drink. Just one drink. Really.

And for once it was just him, too. Torziel wasn't about to show his face here bandaged up. Brian just figured everyone would look like him, after everything... but then, he wasn't vain. So he sat at the bar, with a black and tan and some soggy french fries that he was contemplating "embellishing" with a salad or something in case the cook was better at that, and waited for Olivia.

Olivia stepped into Babylon about ten minutes after Brian settled in with his food. She pulled off her jacket the minute she was through the doors and waved at a few of the waitresses she worked with. It wasn't hard to miss Brian and she walked up to him and slid up onto the chair beside him. Rarely did she come to Babylon anymore for anything other than work. But it was convenient, seeing as how she was going to be serving tonight anyway, she could eat something and talk to Brian until her shift started. With the diner closed, she was missing out on tips, so starting at Babylon a few hours early seemed like a good idea - financially.

"Hey," she greeted, placing her jacket on the empty seat beside her. She caught the bartender's eye and smiled. He immediately got to work on fixing her gin and tonic. "How are you?"

"Really, really glad to be out of the house for a little while," Brian sighed, but he shot her a smile. "Bit banged up, but it could be worse." He held up an arm and pulled back his sleeve with a wry grin to show off one of the bandages. "How about you? You don't look too beat up." She also looked ready for work-- was she back on already, after everything?

Olivia looked at his arm, growing used to seeing bandages on people. She grinned a bit and pulled back her shirt from her shoulder to show him her own bandages. "A lot of my cuts are healing up pretty quickly. Nothing terrible. I may scar, but that's okay." She was glad to be out of her apartment, that was for damn sure. A part of her was looking forward to working for the next several hours, just because it meant she wasn't cooped up in the small space. "It seems like the shadows are gone, thankfully. Hopefully they'll stay gone and Marquette can try to get back on track."

"Whatever that track is, now," Brian sighed, frowning at her own bindings. "I swear, half the town is gone or leaving, now." Or dead. There were a number of dead after yesterday. "I'm taking longer to heal up-- too active during. Did to much, I guess." At least he was done backlashing.

"Battle scars," she told him, thanking the bartender when he set her drink in front of her. She was itching to smoke, but refrained, since she was with Brian. "Do you ever think, that with all of this stuff happening, that eventually all of the pure humans are going to move out and Marquette is going to be a supernatural town through and through? Where everyone you pass on the street is something?"

"Lots and lots of battle scars," Brian agreed with a mutter into his beer and ale. He set it down again thoughtfully. "I don't know. I don't think so-- but I can bet you everyone who stays will at least know about the supernatural. I don't think you can live through yesterday and not at least suspect if not believe-- and want to know more. There won't be any more oblivious people."

"Maybe it's better for them that they know," Olivia suggested after taking a sip of her drink. She had to work later, so one drink was her limit. "That way they can be more aware the next time something happens." She's come to realize that there will always be something happening in town. The thought of Marquette returning to the sleepy little town it was once was unfathomable.

"Maybe," Brian shrugged, then winced a little at the cuts on his shoulder. "Maybe we'll wind up with more witches as people try to defend themselves." And get into shit they couldn't get out of, maybe, if they didn't start out right. Apparently his chat with Manhattan had put him in a bit of a funk. He shook his head a few times, trying to shake the subject away, and asked, "So did your roommate forgive you? For keeping him inside?"

"Maybe the witches in town could place some spells no town to keep the bad guys out," Olivia said, though that was wishful thinking. She didn't know any witches, and really, she imagined that any witch who would attempt something of that magnitude would have to be really, really powerful. And if they were, would they be living in Marquette? "Yes, Herbert forgave me. Mainly because I told him I thought the shadows were gone and he could leave the apartment." She grinned a bit. "Forgiveness comes with freedom, apparently."

"So, what," Brian said with a grin of his own, forcing himself into something more cheerful, "did he run off the instant you said he could?" Poor kid. Brian probably would have done the exact same thing, in his position. If he'd been his age. He offered Olivia a fry. "They're pretty bad, but might as well offer."

She took the fry and took a bite. A bit soggy, but it was food, so that was okay. "He did," she confirmed after swallowing. "I mean, he couldn't get dressed fast enough, you know? But he wasn't upset with me anymore, so I don't care. I'm trying really hard not to be over-protective of him." And as she usually did when mentioning that word, Olivia winced, though she didn't really realized she had done it. "But I feel a bit responsible for his well being, even if we're just roommates. He's just... a little slow. And innocent. And he acts before he really considers the consequences. I don't think he realizes that people might not want to see a bear running down the street, even if it's chasing a vampire, or shadow. All I keep seeing is some overeager person, or cop, wanting to be a hero and getting their shotgun out."

Brian noticed the wince and gave her a curious look for it-- something to do with her not having a Protected yet, maybe?-- but he didn't comment. "You really do care about this guy, don't you," was what he said instead, more of a comment than a question. "Wanting to look out for him and all that."

"Well yeah. I mean, I guess so." She took another small sip of her drink to consider how to answer the question properly. "Being around Herbert, it feels like it might if I had a younger brother. You know they have to learn on their own, but you want to look out for them anyway. But having no siblings growing up, being on my own for the last four years? I'm still learning how to do this," Olivia said, glancing at Brian. "I don't always say, or do, the right thing, but I'm trying."

"Nobody ever does or says the right thing all the time," Brian assured her. "Me, I managed to get Domino of all people pissed at me the other night." Didn't last very long, sure, but it happened. "I 'spect he'll forgive you the random slip up now and then." He understood the joys of little siblings who got into trouble-- though he expected Vanessa was a little more proactive in seeking it out than herbert was.

"Maybe. He got really sulky," Olivia said. She set her glass on the bar top. "What did you do to get Domino angry with you?" Herbert had apparently forgiven her, so to Olivia, that was that. Sure, they would probably have moments like that again, but she'd try to do what she could to avoid them.

"He'd just been talking about changing my bandages, and I asked him if he enjoyed looking after me like an invalid," Brian answered, rolling his eyes a little at the memory. "We were both really tired and he took it wrong, and I said it wrong, so he was kinda pissed. He got over it, though-- having to fight of shadow-attacks helps people get passed things like that, I guess. That, and sleep. We actually managed to get some that night, thank god."

"Well, you know, in high pressure situations where people are already tense, the littlest offense can set them off, you know?" Olivia patted his arm. "You guys are okay now though, right? If the shadows are truly gone, then maybe we'll all get some sleep and can relax for a bit."

"Yeah, we're good," Brian said with a little chuckle. "We got over it pretty quick after he did his shape-change thing. --Did you know werecats have this third form, kind of half-man0 half-cat?" he asked, suddenly curious if this kind of thing was common knowledge he just didn't know anything about, since Domino was his first experience with lycanthropes.

"Yeah, I read something about that awhile ago. Changing into their half forms on nights of the full moon?" She nodded and picked up her glass again. "I think lycanthropes can probably get a bit restless or tense if they go for awhile without changing. Has he been changing on a regular
basis?"

Remembering the many times Domino had clawed his way through shadows rather than taking a more conventional approach and using a weapon, Brian chuckled a little and said, "Oh, yes. A lot, actually. He was born the animal form, he says, so I think he likes it best." He paused
to give her another curious look. "How much do you know about were-critters, Olivia?"

She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "I know enough, I guess. After I found out what I was, I read a lot of books. I like to know what things are and what they can do. Meeting some of those particular creatures face to face since leaving home has given me more of a first hand learning experience, which has helped. Why?"

Scratching his head, Brian admitted, "Because I don't feel like I know jack shit about them, and I'm living with one. I don't know if what he tells me is true, or just an excuse-- and I don't know how much he doesn't tell me." Whether because it never came up, he figured Brian knew or would guess, or he didn't want Brian to know-- like the half-form.

Olivia's dark eyebrows twitched a bit and she turned fully on her chair to face Brian. "Like what does he tell you that you're unsure about? Do you not trust him?"

"Not that I don't trust him," Brian said quickly, not wanting her to think that. "But-- I don't know. He kind of... fooled around, once. Don't remember if you knew that. I called it off for a couple days when I found out. He blamed it on being a cougar, on instinct. I don't buy that-- didn't then, either, and the condition on us being together is that he not do it again. But it'd be nice to know if he was actually telling the truth about instinct being that hard to resist, or if he was just making excuses. He's... just a kid, in some things, still, and all."

Olivia blew and amused breath past her lips. "I know he cheated on you. I reamed him out for it. While I can understand that his cougar form probably... heightens certain desires, ultimately, I think the choice is your own, no matter what you are. I mean, unless you're an incubus or something." She waved her hand. "I would probably believe the cougar excuse to a point. But he's also part human, you know? He has willpower, and he has choice. It's hard to deny yourself when you've got magnetism, or someone else does, but..." Olivia shrugged. "I think he just fucked up."

"Thank you." Brian toasted her with the last of his black and tan. "That's pretty much exactly how I figured it. Instinct may be there, but he's a sensh-- a thinking person, not an animal, even if he looks like one sometimes." He sighed after a drink and set the empty glass down. "I hope he doesn't do it again."

"He messed up," Olivia repeated, reaching out to pat his arm. "And he knows it. What comes after that is working on rebuilding your trust in him. And not doing it again. If he truly cares about you, then he'll stay faithful." She knew she had messed up. In ways Judi didn't even know, and she had no intention of telling. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to try and do everything in her power to make it up to him.

"Thanks," Brian said with a wry grin her way. "Glad to know I got somebody on my side." He waved the bartender off when he came by to offer a refill. He didn't need more alcohol when he was still healing-- still bleeding, a little, from one of them. "So what else is new with you?" he asked Olivia, folding his arms on the bartop. "Besides attacks and sullen teenage boys, and solidir-- solid-- standing beside a friend who got fucked around on."

"Nothing really." She tapped her nails against the bar top. "I'm... back with Judiel." Though she didn't know if she'd ever told Brian that they had separated in the first place. "Really, that's about it. My life has been fairly boring as of late, but for fighting off shadows and the like."

"Which is completely not boring, if you ask me. Back with Judiel?" He tried to remember if he knew they'd broken up. It might've been in the middle of their "not talking" phase.... But it didn't sound familiar, so he might not've known. And if he had, he'd completely forgotten since. Oh, well. He knew now. "Well, that's good, isn't it?" he said with a smile. "And not the least bit boring, either. You happy?"

"As much as I can be right now," Olivia answered honestly. "He's good to me. And for me. And I care about him a lot. But there's still that... vacancy. I know a relationship won't fill it, but it's like I can feel happiness right there and it keeps eluding me." Olivia shifted back on her stool and picked up her drink again. "I just don't want to screw things up again."

"You know, there is something you could do about that," Brian suggested delicately. He knew what she was missing, and she probably knew what she was missing-- she was just avoiding thinking about it. "That doesn't involve screwing things up, or even coming close to it."

Olivia attempted to keep the look she shot him from appearing too annoyed. Yes, she knew what was missing. At her core, she knew. Olivia wanted to be able to accept that, and she was still trying. "I know. I just don't think I'm at that point where I can make the choice yet, if you're talking about what I think you're talking about. A part of wants to. Really badly. But another part of me keeps fighting it. Sometimes..." Olivia paused, struggling to find the right words. "Sometimes I really hate being who I am. What I am. And then I feel really selfish for feeling that way because it's just natural for me to want to protect people. But I want to do it on my terms, no one else's and I won't be able to do that."

"How do you know that you won't?" Brian asked lightly. "You don't know that the choice isn't in your own terms, you've never made it. Everything I've ever heard says it is. Who you choose and how you choose to protect them, that's all on you, all up to you." He picked up another french fry, catchup all over one end, and looked at it thoughtfully. "Hell, what with all that talk of wanting to keep your roommate safe-- seems like you're practically there already." He meant it flippantly, to prove that she really could make that choice however, and to whomever, she felt needed it, deserved it, and who she wanted. Even her wayward, teenage roommate, if she so chose-- not that he honestly expected her to, himself.

Olivia's eyes widened and she was fairly certain she could feel her chest seizing. She stared at Brian, dumbfounded and at a loss for words. What was that suppose to mean? Keeping Herbert safe had nothing to do with her being what she was. Well, in a way it did, but she wanted to keep Judiel safe too. And Mathias, even though she knew damn well he didn't need her help with anything. Instantly that familiar panic began to churn up inside of her, only it didn't overwhelm her as it usually did. The part that she supposed was "growth" inside of her allowed her to stay sitting there, rather than turning and running far from the building. It allowed her to try and calm herself, rather than going to immediately start packing her things and moving out. Olivia still struggled to respond. "No... just... no! No way. That's... completely innocent. He doesn't need my help, and he doesn't even really need me around. I'm just a roommate who pays rent. And hello! He's a bear. I can just imagine trying to protect a boy who can turn into a bear. That would be the worst feeling, Brian, choosing to protect someone who doesn't need you to protect them. No. That's just... that's not... no."

Arching his brows at her as he munched the french fry he'd just been contemplating, he finally said, "Olivia, I wasn't being serious. It was just a random thought. An example. --Though," he added, playing devil's advocate a little, "you obviously think he needs protecting of some sort, or you wouldn't have been so adamit-- adam-- adamant about him needing to be looked after. Oh my god, I actually said the word right." He snorted a little laugh and went for another french fry.

"Oh." Hearing he wasn't being serious made her cheeks flush a bit and she let her shoulders relax. "I guess I think he does... need protecting a bit. But... I never thought of it in that way. I just don't feel like he needs me around, and choosing to protect someone who doesn't really need you would be hard." She offered up a small smile. "Sorry for going off like that. I guess my internal panic button is still ready to go off at any little thing." She reached over to snag another fry from him.

"It's okay, Olivia," Brian said with a little grin. "Though you'd probably better work on the panic button if you ever do wanna fill that hole... it'd be pretty hard to choose if you freak out every time you think about it." He pushed the fry basket a little closer to her, for her stealing convenience.

"I'm trying really hard," Olivia said before a small giggle escaped her. "I just got to the point where I can be in a relationship without panicking. Even though I nearly screwed it up... it doesn't scare me as much anymore. Even though he's immortal and it probably won't last... but I'm willing to take the risk." She took another fry and took a bite. "I'm not running away from things anymore - at least not as much as I used too. When I get to the point where I can imagine protecting someone and not panic? I know it'll be time."

Brian smiled over at her, a real, encouraging smile this time. "Good. That's real good." He was a little proud of her, making that effort after all this time, now. "And don't go dooming your relationship before it even starts, all right?" He pointed at her with a fry. "Give it a go and see."

"I'll try on that too," she said. "It's hard, after four years of doom. But... I really want it to work this time. So hopefully I can keep the insanity to myself." Olivia munched on her fry and eyed him thoughtfully. "Thanks. For the advice and everything. It's nice to have someone to talk to about these things. I guess you're as close to a girlfriend as I have," she said with a grin.

"Oh, god, don't say that," Brian groaned, mostly theatrically. "It's bad enough having people automatically assume I'm gay, without people calling me a girlfriend. But I'm glad to listen and all that, anyway." He leaned over, ignoring the twinge of cuts, to give her shoulders a brief hug.

Olivia couldn't help but laugh, not at all minding the hug. "Aw, don't care so much about what other people think. All that matters if that you know you're not gay, and that you're happy, right? But I'll refrain from calling you a girlfriend, at least in public."

"Thanks," Brian said with a wry smile, sitting back up straight again. "I appr... I'd like that. Go with sympathetic older brother, if you have to. I can live with that one." Better than "dad in disguise", which he figured would probably not go over well with either of them, even though he could still see his parental leanings. He really had to get over that shit.

"Oh, you mean the sympathetic, much older brother," Olivia teased. She ate another fry, realizing she hadn't eaten anything substantial in several days. "So when is the diner re-opening? I could really use the money."

"Tuesday," Brian answered. "I know it's kind of hard, and I'm sorry, but most of the staff really isn't in any state to be serving-- and most of the town really isn't in any state to be coming in, so we wouldn't be making much, anyway. Besides, Mya'll be back by then...." Though she should have been back today. If she hadn't found a friend. Who he had no reason to suspect was anything other than a friend. Really.

Tuesday. She could survive until then. She was working extra hours tonight, and if she worked extra hours at Babylon on Sunday and then Monday... the tips were definitely better. "Tuesday works. I should be okay here. Just a little extra flirtation and adding a bit more saunter to my walk," Olivia said with a small smile. "Just let me know if my schedule's going to be the same as before, and maybe I'll come in a couple hours early if you guys don't mind. Rent and utilities are coming up." She made a face. "I'm seriously waiting for some kind of grand inheritance to find me." She constantly wondered if her dad had left her anything. But if he had, she was pretty sure she'd never see it, given his death wasn't exactly the norm.

"Thanks, Olivia," Brian said, nodding. He wouldn't mind having her around a bit more. "I haven't looked at schedules yet-- I'll have to make some calls tomorrow and Monday, see who all is still around, who all is up for working... I might wind up calling you for extra hours, if you want them, sure." She seemed to have fared pretty well, through everything, after all.

"Yeah, I could use the hours. At least this week." She was wondering if it was too soon to bring up Mt. Shasta to Judiel. A vacation was sounding really good about now, even if she was still semi-broke. "I'm sure by Tuesday everything will be okay... on it's way back to normal, at least. We'll see how long it lasts."

"I sure as hell hope so... I need a break. Need it really damn bad, actually." He needed time to heal, is what he needed. And to collect himself, because after the past three days-- the past week-- he felt like he'd just been... all over the place. "So Tuesday it is." He reached over to punch her shoulder, slowly and gently.

"I think we could all use a break. Which I guess is what this is," Olivia said, referring to the quiet day. She smiled at Brian and reached out to punch him back - gently of course. "We'll be okay. If I've learned anything being here, it's that people are resilient."

"There is definitely that," Brian chuckled. Then he sighed. "I should probably get out of here and get back home. Still have an unconscious man on my bed, and I kinda wanna be there if he wakes up."

He earned a strange look on that one. "Okay. I'm sure he'd probably like to have someone there when he wakes up too." She leaned forward to hug him briefly. It still felt a little weird, but at least there was progress. "Call me soon, okay?"

Brian hugged her back warmly, then got up, pulling out his wallet to leave his money. "I will, if just to get your schedule in order. And at the very least, I'll see you on Tuesday. Try not to work too hard, huh?" He smiled at her. "See you later, Olivia."