Midnight Answers and Stray Arrows

[Dominic Diaz]

Prompt List

• Competition
• Party
• Dangerous
• Drunk
• Accident
• Cherry
• Introduction
• Office
• Responsible
• Friends

[Dominic Diaz]

C O M P E T I T I O N

Dominic sighed and sank down in the seat of his car, glancing down at his watch. It was almost two in the morning. He was almost a hundred percent certain that his client was out of their mind, and that her husband wasn't cheating at all. He hadn't seen him leave the building at all, but that was probably because the guy was hip to the idea his wife had hired a PI, and had sneaked out the fire escape while Dominic was posted across the street of the entrance. He rolled his window down and spit sunflower seeds out, irritated. He was not going to get paid unless he could bust this idiot, and this lady was offering a lot of money.

A commotion in the alley caught his attention - he might have missed it if he hadn't rolled his window down, actually. He turned his radio down quickly, tilting his head as he tried to figure out if it was worth his time to go check it out. When he heard actual yelling, he decided that his job was a bust, and he'd at least go get his licks in elsewhere. He rounded the corner and surprise fucking surprise, the dude he was trying to catch was in the alley shaking down some poor goth kid. In fact, he was succeeding at shaking him down it looked like - he had a camera in his hand and was waving it around, yelling something about "my bitch wife".

"Ohhhhhh," Dominic said loudly, putting the pieces together.

Both men turned to look at him, the goth kid closing his eyes in a moment of gratitude at the interruption. Dominic didn't know that it was opposite the reason he would think, but that was neither here nor there.

"Fuck off, pal," the philandering husband said. "This is between this little prick and me."

"Ehhhh, I don't think I can, pal", Dominic said. Oh man. Oh man. He might actually get to fight this dude. Why do they always say the same dumb b-reel shit, he wondered.

The guy let go of the goth kid, camera still in his hand, and turned more fully to face Dominic. "Well, then I guess I'm going to kick both of your asses, huh?"

"Okay so - " Dominic said, holding his hands up as he advanced on the man. He glanced at the goth kid, and looked pointedly at the camera, hoping that the kid got the hint to snatch it. Thankfully he did, and in the moment that he did, Dominic continued talking, stepping into the man's space quickly. "Here's the thing, dude - no."

The guy swung, but Dom was ready for it. He caught his fist and landed a left hook straight to the dude's gut. He doubled over, and Dominic kicked him for good measure, sending him back into some trash bags.

"I don't know why you motherfuckers always try to pick fights when you're so out of shape. Whose ass were you gonna kick, bro?" he asked. He glanced over at the goth kid - who wasn't really so much a kid as he was like, maybe mid-20s, now that Dominic actually looked at him. "You good, man?"

"Yeah," he said. "Honestly, this happens to me all the time. I'm usually just too quick for them to get the drop on me."

I bet, Dominic thought. Dude looked flighty as fuck. He definitely didn't strike him as a fighter. It wasn't an insult, just - Dominic fought for sport, and trained at a local gym. This dude was way more of the typical private investigator type he would picture in a big city, not his own meathead ass. "Yeah, me too. Well, that the cheating spouse tries to swing on me - not that I find out my client has double-booked. That's kind of new," he said, shrugging. He held his hand out. "You were here first, though. Fair is fair. Dominic, by the way."

The guy regarded him critically for a moment, then held a gloved hand out, knuckles first. "Not much of handshake guy," he admitted. "Jamie, though."

"Alright, alright," Dom said, tapping knuckles with Jamie. "I can dig it."

The trash rustled as the husband stood up, and Dom lunged at him a little, causing him to fall back over. "Yeah, stay down," he muttered. "Jamie. Come on man. I'll buy you a beer. Who you work for? I don't like competition, what's he pay you?" he said, gesturing his arm to the mouth of the alley. "Let's talk."

"Beer, sure," Jamie said. "I'm actually pretty thirsty. All that not getting my ass kicked, and all," he added, glancing at the man in the trash who'd almost broken his very expensive camera. "Bitch," he said under his breath. He followed behind Dominic without a second look back.

[Dominic Diaz]

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Meeting friends of friends was always interesting for Dominic. There was an even split fifty/fifty chance that they'd either get along really well, or not at all. Of course, he was referencing meeting Annika's friends versus her sister, and Cherie's idea of Dominic might have been a little tainted by the fact that they were not exactly two people who should have ever dated. He kind of thought Cherie was just a bitch though, and it had nothing to do with him. He was, obviously, biased.

But, Jamie had actually been enthusiastic about this, citing this as an opportunity for Dominic to meet one of his "best" friends. He fully expected to meet another goth dude, which he still lowkey thought Jamie was, even after Jamie had explained MULTIPLE TIMES the differences between the goth aesthetic and whatever his aesthetic currently was. At any rate, he was surprised as fuck when Jamie left the high top they were seated at in the bar and came back with a smokin' blonde girl that was just alt enough for Dominic to be both interested and understand how she and Jamie might be friends.

"This is Dominic," Jamie said proudly. "The one I've been telling you about. Okay, I'll be right back, I gotta make a call. Client stuff," he said quickly, and just -

"Wow, he kind of put me on the spot and then bailed," she said. Fuck, she was gorgeous. She held her hand out to Dominic, flashing him a thousand watt smile. "Chloe," she offered, introducing herself properly. "I actually work here, but I got off about thirty minutes ago. Jamie said he was going to come by and wanted me to meet someone, so I decided to stick around."

Dominic actually didn't know what to say for a second. He shook her hand and let it go, feeling the warmth still on his palm from her touch. "Yeah, he kind of sprang this on me too, to be honest. Listen, don't feel obligated to stick around and fill the weird gap he just left. I am plenty good to sip on a beer until he comes back. Unless you want to stay," he added quickly. Good going, he thought to himself. Was he trying to get her to fuck off?

"No, I'm good to stay," she laughed, still smiling. "In fact, I wouldn't mind a drink myself. Do you want another one?" Without waiting fr an answer, she waved at a passing server, turning to face the girl. "Get him another of the same, and can I get two AMFs?" she asked. The girl said something he couldn't hear, and left them at the high top alone again.

"AMF?" Dominic asked, brows raised.

"Yeah. Adios, Motherfucker," she told him. She settled into her seat more, finally sliding her glittery shoulder bag off and putting it on the little peg that stuck off the top of the back of the chair. "Do you know it?"

He snorted. "Yeah, I definitely know it, but if I didn't know any better I'd think you were trying to get me fucked up," he teased. He couldn't help but flirt a little. Just a little.

"Me?" Chloe asked, her face one of exaggerated shock. "I would never." And that was a lie, because she totally would, but it was obvious that she was joking. The truth was, she wanted to see if this guy was really friends with Jamie or just using him to boost his business. He was attractive and she was absolutely flirting a little, but the drink was mostly to see if she could get him to spill the beans. Devious, Chloe. But also, protective, Chloe.

After they got their drinks and she was satisfied that Dominic at least had a buzz, she began her subtle interrogation. "So, Jamie told me that you stopped him from having to buy a new camera. Hopefully you haven't had too many more incidents like that?"

Dominic laughed into his beer. He set the bottle down and made a face that, honestly, if Chloe had been single, would have had her questioning her evening plans. He wasn't aware of it, though. "Actually, no. Jamie can sure attract trouble, but I do a pretty good job of catching it before it becomes an issue." He switched back to the blue drink, which was more than halfway gone at this point. "How do YOU know him, though? He just says that you guys live next door to eachother or something?"

Chloe grinned. "Yeah, we sure do. He helps me out from time to time. I keep him fed and somewhat domesticated. I feel like if given the chance he would go feral very quickly," she laughed. "I help him go through files sometimes, when he's overloaded. Well, I used to, but now that you guys work together it seems like he's got time to do other things besides work. Which is good," she added quickly.

"Yeah, he really focuses on shit sometimes and forgets that the rest of the world is still going on around him," Dominic agreed. "But, I do too. We kind of feed off of eachother in that regard honestly, but it's doubled the success rate and cut out a lot of the bullshit. A long night is a long night if it needs to be, but they happen way less frequently - on both ends, it sounds like."

"He's a good friend though," he continued, pushing his empty glass away from him after a long final drink. "I feel like we met at a good time. He teaches me about nerdy shit, and some art shit, which I had no idea I was even interested in before, and I take him to the range and to the gym, and pretty much we just vibe. He gets along with my friends. He's like the nerdy little brother I never got. And I guess I'm the jocky big brother? I don't know. But I will say," he added, sitting up a little, "that on one hand, it's a little underhanded that his best friend would want to get me drunk to find out if I'm really friends with him or not - but on the other hand, it's kind of endearing that you care about him that much to put yourself out there and do the work."

Chloe looked a little shocked. "How'd you know?" she asked. She wasn't even going to try to lie.

Dominic smiled, and this time Chloe felt her cheeks redden a little. "A few things. One, every time I tried to ask about anything else, you somehow directed the conversation back to Jamie. Two, you flirted with me, but that guy at the door keeps looking over here and I'm pretty sure that's your man. And three, you work at a bar, and one AMF isn't really going to mess with you at all, but since you don't know me, you assume that it'll get me good and tipsy. Here's the thing - I was in a frat my entire time in college. Do you know how many times I've had my stomach pumped? Trust me, I have worked hard for my tolerance. This is a drop in the bucket."

"Well," Chloe said. She didn't know what else to say. "I'm sorry I tried to trick you?" she attempted. "Look, I just - Jamie's really special to me. He's important. And I haven't had the best experiences in life, and neither has he, and I just wanted to make sure - "

He cut her off with a wave. "Really, don't worry about it, Chloe. I haven't had the best life either." He paused. "Truth is, I wish I'd had someone there to suss out whether someone's intentions with me were good or not. But you really don't have to worry." He looked over at Jamie who was now being hassled by the man that he assumed was Chloe's boyfriend. "He's like family, which I think I said before." He pushed his chair back from the table, though. "But all the same, I'm gonna go, because that looks like it's about to get loud."

"Oh, no, that's just how they are. They don't really get along," Chloe said, putting a hand on his shoulder before he could get any further. Dominic turned back to look at her, a brow raised.

"So you just did all this to figure out whether or not I'm actually being nice to my friend when your man is over there stressing him out?" he asked. "Weird." He gave a little laugh, which Chloe definitely understood wasn't jovial by any means, and pushed her hand off of his shoulder.

"Yo Jamie, are you ready to go?" he called. The bar wasn't that busy, so he didn't have to really yell. He approached them. "Hey man, what's up?" he asked, nodding to Anthony. He turned to Jamie. "Come on man, gym time." And with that, ushered him out the door.

"So, how'd that go?" Jamie asked, trying to be nonchalant.

Dominic gave him a Look as they walked to the parking lot.

"Did.. she not like you?" Jamie asked, confused. "What did you say to her?!"

"Chill, man!" Dominic insisted, opening his door and getting into the car. Jamie jumped into the other side, waiting for what possibly could have gone wrong. "No, she likes me just fine. I just don't think I like her." He looked at Jamie's face. "Look dude, you can bug your eyes out of your head like the little poison dart frog you are, that's not gonna change my answer. Also, were you trying to hook us up when she had a boyfriend? Because I feel like..." he trailed off.

"No!" he shrieked. "That would be really shitty of me to do, especially because I like her boyfriend so much and I think that you and she would not absolutely get along at all, in any way." He stared at Dominic and Dominic stared back at him.

"Fucking unbelievable," Dominic finally muttered, throwing the car into gear. "You lose the radio privilege this week!" he snapped, slapping his hand away as he went for the bluetooth. "And today we're going to drive in silence so you can have some time to think about whatever the hell it was you just tried in there," he added.

"Ugh," Jamie moaned.

[Dominic Diaz]

C H E R R Y

A by-product of being friends with Jamie was that Dominic was beginning to develop taste for things he'd never really realized he liked before. As far as jocks went, Dominic was of the open-minded variety. It was actually funny how constantly amazed Jamie said he was by this; apparently his experiences thus far in life had been more of the douchebag variety (like his next door neighbor). At any rate, Dom had been having a lot of fun with these constant discoveries, and because he was a good looking guy, he often dragged a companion along for the experience.

He'd decided instead of the usual drink/dance/do the dirty/sneak out, he was going to try and take a more active role in his dates. Unfortunately, he was going out with someone Oz had set him up with, and she had been under the impression that they were going to party, so when he dropped the keys of his car in the hands of the valet at Bonne Chance, she was a little confused.

"Isn't this place kind of fancy? I'm dressed for it, but - I thought we were going like, out out?" Lita pushed her bouncy red curls out of her eyes.

"No, I thought I'd try something a little different. Look, if you hate it, we can bail. But let's at least get dinner first," he said, offering her an arm. To be perfectly honest, she hadn't been much for conversation; she'd been buried in her phone the entire ride there.

"Okay, whatever," she shrugged. She took his arm, stepping off the curb with her stupidly high heels. Fucking bummer. She walked inside with him, and they got into the lift to take them up to the restaurant. It was on the top few floors of a posh high rise - she'd actually never been in it before. Lita was kind of impressed, but also, she had been promised debauchery.

They ended up on the second floor, where the seating was only small tables, reminiscent of a kind of lounge. There was a piano with a man seated at it, though he wasn't playing yet. A woman came up to their table to take their drink orders, and Dominic had to stop himself from staring. She also had red hair, but hers was fiery compared to Lita's dark red. It was striking. His date didn't notice him staring, thankfully. She was on her phone again.

"So, Oz tells me you have a lot of siblings?" he asked, trying to bring her back to the present. The redhead brought their drinks back and left again. Was that their uniform? She was in a pair of stylish black slacks and a bustier/tank top combo. It looked more like she should be a bartender than a serv-oh, she went behind the bar and leaned against the counter, saying something to the bombshell who was already back there.

"Yeah," Lita said. "Lots. Me and Mina usually stick together. Twins and all. Fraternal, not identical," she added.

Dominic nodded. He was waiting for her to continue, but she went back to her phone. "So, have you known Oz a long time, or..?" he asked. This was like pulling teeth. The redhead came back to take their orders, but paused to talk to a server on the floor. The piano suddenly banged to life, and Dominic jumped a little.

"Ugh, this music sucks," Lita muttered.

"Uh, this is Mozart's Lacrimosa, I'm pretty sure," he said, tilting his head a little. He paused. "Yeah, definitely. And this guy is playing it pretty well."

The redhead had stopped talking to the server and watched their exchange a little, hesitant to interrupt.

"Well whoever it is, it's depressing as fuck," Lita snorted.

"Well yeah, it was his last piece before he died. Actually, I don't think he finished it. I think one of his students did." Dominic's tone changed slightly; he was getting a little annoyed now, but he didn't want to be an ass.

"Hi, are you guys ready to order?" the redhead asked, sensing now would be a good time.

"Yeah, can I get another one of these? And where's the bathroom?" Lita asked, glancing up and thrusting her empty glass into the girl's hand.

"Oh, sure. Uh, it's right over there," she added, pointing. She stepped aside to let the Lita get up, and then focused on Dominic. Once Lita was out of earshot, she smiled at him. "So, you like classical music? Or just Mozart?"

Dominic laughed a little, feeling slightly less annoyed once Lita had fucked off. He was going to have to come up with an excuse to get out of there. "I'm, ah, broadening my horizons, I guess you could say."

"Well, your girlfriend doesn't seem to feel the same way," she said. "Oh, sorry - I'm kidding, really," she said, holding a hand up.

Dominic laughed more and sat up in his chair. "No, you're fine. And she's not my girlfriend. She's a blind date - and between you and I, it's going horribly."

"Mm, I can relate. Been there before," she empathized. Lance. She found out later that he hadn't really been lying, and they did have an emergency, but it was like, the third time it had happened. She wasn't about that life. She gave a little push in Lita's direction, then excused herself. "I'll come back in a few minutes," she told him, nodding her head to the empty glass.

No sooner had she left than did Lita come back from the bathroom, holding her shoes in her hand. Dominic stood up, but she held a hand out, motioning for him not to bother. "My fucking heel broke while I was in the bathroom - and then the soap dispenser vomited on my dress," she added, turning to show him the giant splotch on her side. "Look, I'm just gonna call it a night. You're really nice, but I'm not feeling this, and I'd rather just go now before it gets any worse. Here's twenty bucks for the drink. Tell Oz he's a piss poor matchmaker." And with that, she left.

"Well, then," Dominic said to nobody in particular. He sat there for a second, and then snapped the twenty off of the table and walked up to the bar, where the redhead was pouring a new drink from the strainer into a glass. She placed the cherry in it and then looked up.

"Oh! I'm about to bring your date's drink over... or not?" she asked, confused as she watched the girl step, sans shoes, into the elevator. She'd only sent a little bad luck her way, not enough to make her leave. Maybe the girl had racked up enough of her own over the last few days and she just got an extra dose?

"Yeah, she left. It's for the best. Listen, I'm Dominic," he said, leaning on the bar. "This is going to sound pretty forward, but - "

"I get off in ten minutes. Save me this drink," she interrupted. "Oh," she laughed, realizing that she hadn't even told him her name. "I'm Wren. Like, the bird." She grinned at him, and pushed the glass across the counter to where his hand rested.

"Wren," he repeated. "I like it. Okay, you're on. I'll wait here. Can't promise I won't drink the drink, though. I do like a Manhattan."

"Don't eat my cherry," she warned him, glancing over her shoulder as she headed to another table with two beer bottles in her hand. "It's my favourite part."

[Dominic Diaz]

F R I E N D S

"Yeah, so Odin actually moved in with Shaun permanently now, I guess," Dawn said, sneaking a bell pepper off of the cutting board that Dom was using. She got a solid rap across her wrist with a wooden spoon for her bounty, but ignored him completely.

"Oh yeah?" he asked, glancing up as he cut.

"Honey, eyes on the blade, okay?" Wren warned him. "Don't want to have to put your finger on ice until we're done with dinner."

"What?" Dom choked.

Wren snorted. "Do you really think I'm missing fajita night? You're out of your mind."

"Anyways, Freddy Four Fingers," Dawn said, putting them back on track. "Yes, I talked to Shaun about it last night when he came by for a beer after work and to help me out." By 'help me out', she meant sit and listen to her play the piano for a little. Dawn had figured out that she didn't hurt anyone or take anything from them when she fed her magic; on the contrary, as a Muse, she fed off their attention, and they felt comfort or joy from her music if she willed it. She could turn it negatively, of course, but hadn't, and didn't plan to.

"Oh, that's cool," Dom said, scooping the peppers off of the board and putting them into a bowl. He threw down an onion and started in on that. "Why don't you call Shaun and have him and Odin come by for dinner, then? We've got more than enough."

"I'll do it!" Wren said, sliding off of the white countertop and setting her beer down. She hurried towards the door, then turned around and came back. "Almost forgot this," she said, brows raised as she snatched the Corona.

When she closed the door, Dom looked at Dawn, biting his lip. "Should I be worried about that?" he asked.

Dawn looked up, her face half-in the green crushed ice that was her margarita. "Hmm?" she said, continuing to drink. She lowered the glass, aware that there was ice on her nose, and ignored it. "What 'that' are you asking about? Shaun? Or the other one?"

Dom motioned to her nose, and Dawn finally raised an arm, like a cat, and rubbed at her face with the sleeve of her grey sweatshirt. "The other one," he said honestly. He continued to cut the onion, but still held her green eyes, waiting for an answer.

Dawn made a face, debating on fucking with him. But, she liked Dominic, a lot, actually. "No. Nothing to worry about. Though, I will say, he and Wren are so similar that they make better siblings than we do. I fully believe those two aren't long from being joined at the hip." She set her glass down on the counter, thrusting her finger on the rim to sweep up the salt.

"Well," he said. "I don't know how to feel about my girlfriend pair-bonding with another dude. I guess, I don't know. I'm not really the insecure type," he shrugged.

"Okay," Dawn said, making another face. "So, don't be." She licked the salt off her fingers. "Listen dude, I know Wren. She's not the type. And Odin, heh," she said with a laugh, eyes widening for a second. "He's not the type, either."

"What, like he's gay?" Dom asked, using the knife to corral the onion slices into another bowl. He decided on doing separate bowls for the vegetables since this was more or less DIY fajita night because Dawn and Wren were strangely picky eaters.

Dawn chucked. "No, he's not gay. He's loyal." She got up from the stool, making her way to the little area she'd cleared in the corner of where the half-wall and kitchen wall met. She leaned forward more, dumping the remnants of melted ice from her glass in the sink, then set on making herself a fresh drink.

"How do you know so much about this kid, you don't even leave your apartment," Dom teased.

"I got him and Shaun to let me play for them," she said, grinning as she turned to look at him. When he shook his head, she turned back to what she was doing.

"Damn, girl, you are ice cold," he informed her.

"Me? No, not at all. But, I like to know who I invite into my apartment. And they're both fine."

At that, he heard the door open, and Wren's distinct laughter, like bells. It made his body warm every time she laughed. He had suspicion that Wren was the same as Dawn in aspects of her magic; Dawn had always been patient with his questions, understanding that he only liked to have the facts and he tried not to judge. Normally, it would have bothered him that he was being pulled in a little by something out of his control, but then again, he'd freely given Wren his heart, and what she did with it - that would be on her, not him. He prepped the tortillas to warm, occupying himself as the trio filled the kitchen, offering friendly greetings to their new guests.

"Hey, man," he said, wiping his hand on a towel before extending it to Shaun, and then to Odin. "Please, have a seat, it's almost ready." He explained the way the dinner would work - they'd basically give him their orders and he'd make them, like a hot line at a buffet. Wren got them drinks, and sat down next to Odin, he noticed, talking intently with him as she took his hand and pressed it against the bottle of Corona.

"Do you want me to do the lime?" she asked.

"Nah, I think I got it," Odin said, fist around the bottle firmly so he wouldn't drop it. He took the lime she held outstretched toward him, accepting the offering and letting his fingers linger on her own for a second. It was uncanny, the way he clicked so fully with her. It was not unlike how he was with his sister, except Wren was practically his mirror in terms of emotional direction and personality. Expertly, he thumbed the lime into the neck of the beer, tipped it upside down, and then upright again, raising it to his mouth and spilling the standard acceptable amount that was expected when one did such things.

"Yeah, I guess you do got it," Wren said, a smile on her face. She looked up as she felt a hand on her shoulder, and smiled again as Dominic bent down to kiss her on top of her mess of red hair.

"Not bad," Dom said, a compliment to Odin on his effort. "We'll upgrade you to a margarita next."

"Oh, no," Odin laughed. For someone who was blind, he sure still knew how to maintain eye contact. "I think this should be enough for now."

"Alright, well, I'm ready when you guys are." When Wren made move to get up so she could help, he shook his head. "Nah, babe, stay here and catch up. I got it." He winked at her, and in that moment, knew wholly that he was one-hundred percent secure about their relationship. He felt Dawn staring at him, and without looking at her, spoke. "Dawn, come sit down, this is your house. I got it," he said again.

"Yeah, looks like you do," Dawn said, echoing her sister's previously stated sentiment.

"Alright!" Shaun said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them greedily. "Let's do this!"

[Dominic Diaz]

R E S P O N S I B L E

"Do you know why spam e-mails and fake internet ads always target men?"

The question came from Jamie finally asking Dominic why he - and subsequently Wren - didn't like Chloe. He was on the roof of Dom's apartment, as was their setting for serious questions, it seemed. It was summer, it was hot, and Dom had picked smoking up again. He'd warned Jamie not to tell Wren as he'd bought a pack of cigarettes, and that same warning was issued just now as he lit one. 'Roof Beers', as they called them, were a necessary part of their week. It was where they retreated to have serious conversations, usually about hard subjects. This time, Jamie was in the hot seat. Next time, it would probably be Dominic.

"I don't see what this has to do with Chloe," Jamie challenged.

Dom ignored him, and kept speaking. "Because men are stupid, Jamie. We see a shiny thing, and we gotta have it. We do the stupidest shit for it. Do you know, Wren wanted to go to Bed Bath and Beyond? And then IKEA? We almost had an Ikea fight. We didn't, but boy, if she hadn't have brought me those meatballs..." he trailed off, closing his eyes. "Anyway, I digress. My point is, we see something shiny and we follow it. We do shit for it, we get close to it, hoping that one day we can get it. Like a fucking golden snitch. But that snitch in particular will be the one shiny thing you, my friend, are never going to get. You're so deep in the friendzone that you're about to end up in the closet. So, when you ask why we don't like Chloe, it's not because she's done something to us. It's because I see, and Wren especially sees, that she's kind of stringing you along man. And that sucks. Ergo, she sucks. Her brother is legit though.

"Don't you think I know that?" Jamie asked, rolling his eyes at Dom's speech. He looked at his friend intensely, and then away, drinking his beer and using that moment to gather his thoughts. It was obvious from Dom's expression that he hadn't anticipated Jamie just coming right out of the gate and saying that, so he'd bought himself a decent amount of time to respond.

He sighed, holding his hand out for Dom's pack of cigarettes. Dom handed them to him - carefully, so as not to touch him - and then tossed him a lighter.  Once he'd taken a drag and exhaled through his nose, which shocked the SHIT out of Dom who'd never even seen him come anywhere NEAR a cigarette before, he started talking again.

"I know, man. I know I don't have a chance with her. It doesn't stop me from feeling the way that I feel? And - my poison, it like, protects me. From ever having to have her reject me. Because it could never come to that, regardless. So, I'll just take her friendship, and give mine in return, and if it makes her happy that I pay attention to her, or compliment her, then I'll keep doing it. I'm absolutely not crossing any boundaries by being her friend," he said, holding a hand up. He did not want that fight with Anthony, regardless of the outcome (him, it would be Jamie).

"Well," Dominic said. "Sounds like you've thought about this. I can't say I agree with your methods, but I guess I would feel irresponsible if I didn't just have this conversation with you. Because, man, Wren really doesn't like her. She thinks she's fake as fuck," he said, shaking his head and making that face he always made. "I can't argue with hero on this one. But, I can tell her you've got it under control."

"You know, Wren's really good at not liking someone and nobody knowing it - that's kind of scary," Jamie pointed out. "How do I know she doesn't secretly hate me?"

Dom laughed. "I think she'd tell me if she didn't like my best friend. I mean, her best friend is a really good-looking blind dude, so I figure, if I can cope, she can cope." He shrugged, tipping his beer back.

"What? Good looking blind dude?" Jamie exclaimed. "When the fuck did this happen?"

"A while ago, man. He lives down the hall from her sister."

The door to the stairs opened up and Wren stuck her head out. "Hey, dinner's ready. Finish your Roof Beer and let's go before it gets cold," she called. She didn't linger, but did prop the door open with one of the lawn flamingos that they'd found on the roof inexplicably a few days prior.

"Wren knows about Roof Beer?" Jamie asked, dropping the cigarette butt he had into his bottle.

"I hate to break it to you, but Wren invented Roof Beer - with her sister. You should see the view from her place sometime, man - beats bums pissing in the alley." He mirrored Jamie with the cigarette, then placed his bottle in the six-pack carrier he had. It was full of four empty bottles already. He took Jamie's bottle and did the same, then began heading for the door.

"I believe you," Jamie said, following him. "We have clients over there. Instead of bums in the alley, we have dudes smashing their secretaries in offices in high rises."