Late nights and coffee shops [open]

[second_son]

Demetri's only been back in the city for a day, but it feels like more. He's spent all of it in the makeshift town hall offices, getting the paperwork together for his proposal to the council the next night. The funding hadn't been easy to get, especially with the lack of strings that he had demanded. No oversight committee, no outside presence helping them dispense the grant money. Siren Cove business would stay just that, Siren Cove business.

There's more work to do, but he knows he should go home and get some sleep. But sleep is exactly what he doesn't want to do. With sleep comes dreams - nightmares more like it. Of all the things that have been happening in his town whilst he's been away, of everything that had happened in the months leading up to that. His brother being gone and the questions that had remained unanswered about Fabrice's attack.

He settles on setting up in a diner in the end. He has a beer at his elbow and a cooling plate of fries he's not really touched. Laptop open, he's playing with files without really making any changes or doing much work. It's a distraction more than anything, a reason to not go home.

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[techwitch]

It had been his mother that had pointed the time out to Luke. The amount of time that had passed after he had started on reorganizing the financial calendar of Apples and Eve. It was his first job here, and not paying very well, but he was glad with the distraction.

Until he wasn't, because distraction meant forgetting to eat and a growling stomach was never a nice treat. His mother had offered him to make something, but he had waved it off.

This place was the only thing still open, and Luke was pretty surprised he wasn't the only one around. He looked like another Big Family family member, but maybe that was just because of the hair color.

He sat down in the booth behind him and looked at the menu.

[second_son]

There comes a point when Demetri is too tired to actually do any work, knowing that he'll likely just create a mess that he has to unravel in the morning. He snaps shut his laptop just as a man he only half-recognises walks in. That alone is strange for him, and he finds himself turning, smiling. "Do I know you?"

[techwitch]

"Probably not, mister Th-"

Luke turns around. "I've been gone for a few years and last time I was close to one of the families was when they visited high school for some weird reason. But maybe I fixed your computer or television once?"

He offers a hand. "Mar- Luke Nimes. From the edge of town. I'm sorry to bother you, but your face is pretty omnipresent in the city hall."

[second_son]

He catches the slips and smiles very nearly bashfully. It’s a fairly practiced look, people are never very keen on having their family name lorded over them, and nor should they be. He’s done it a lot. “Luke. Demetri,” he says, taking the hand. “But it seems that you already notice that.”

[techwitch]

"Father works in the main building. I guess you are the poster child for the family. Literally." He shot him an awkward smile. "Sorry to remind you of that, in case you don't like it. Is the town really off so badly that you need to work at this time? Or have I bothered you during pleasure?"

[second_son]

“It’s okay. I mean, it’s not something I can forget.” Really not, with his father looming over his shoulder most of the time. He likes to make sure Demetri gets as much as the media attention as possible, even if the job would be so much easier working behind the scenes. “No, it’s fine. Honestly. I have this presentation tomorrow and I should leave it alone, but I can’t. Perfectionist and workaholic.”

[techwitch]

"Never felt like disappearing?"

Luke loves his parents, but there have been plenty of times when he didn't want to be their star. "Perfectionism chokes out everything else, right? Although I'm not allowed to speak about it, tech at least has a clear goal and a clear finish. Everything else just ..can be worked on forever."

He frowned. "I'm probably making none of this any better, sorry man."

[second_son]

He had felt the urge, but it's not something he'd admit to a relative stranger. Especially not here in Siren Cove. "It's fine. Honestly, I'm used to it. It's a pretty good life. I love what I do, I have a good family, how could I complain?"

[techwitch]

"Sounds familiar."

Luke hadn't planned on talking himself into the dumpsters, but there you had it. His little personal life's crisis.

"Hey, if you're happy, you're happy. I'm not here like an early ghost of Christmas present or something. Never mind me."

[second_son]

"You don't have any chains. Or was that the ghost of Christmas future? You're not my Marley?" He's smiling, leaning back against the booth. "It's fine. Honestly, it's fine."

[techwitch]

Luke grins. "You're going to test me on my knowledge of children's stories now? Heck, I'm doomed. You're skipping from your work, mister Thornton."

[second_son]

“Probably,” he says, laughing. It’s an honest laugh, for once, chiding himself at how distracted he’s become. “I should probably give up and go home.”

[techwitch]

"I think you should. I think we can all sleep safely even if you aren't around to fluff our pillows." He nods. "I promise, tomorrow will be there when you open your eyes and realize that there's still too much stuff that needs to be done."

[second_son]

"Alright. Alright, I give in. No more work tonight." He even goes so far as to pull out his bag, sliding the laptop and his notes inside of it. "It was nice meeting you, possibly again."

[second_son]

He shouldn’t, and he knows that he shouldn’t. Leaving a diner together late at night, heading to Fabrice’s mother’s house? It’s precisely the sort of thing that someone would want to snap a photo of and put on the front page of the Siren Cove paper in the morning. But it’s an offer that he can’t bring himself to refuse either, knowing just how secretive Fabrice is about his family.

“Sure.” Demetri closes his laptop, shoving it and the papers he has piled up into the bag. He throws a note down on the table, smiling at the waitress and hoping she appreciates the tip. “You order and I’ll pack up.”

[ofcatsandfate]

It's a risk, to offer such a proposition to the other man. But Fabrice trusts him, and he knows that his mother's home, near enough to his own, is secluded well away from prying eyes. He can't deny the excitement and relief that both run through him when Demetri accepts.

"Okay," he nods, before making his way over to the counter. He orders enough food for the three of them, making sure to include a few slices of the diner's signature pie for dessert. He returns with several bags in tow, offering a small smile, one especially bright at the edges, to Demetri.

"I know a way that's pretty secretive," he assures him. "An old hiking trail no one ever uses." He glances at Demetri's laptop and the work he's brought with him. "Do you need any help with that?"

[second_son]

“No, it’s all fine. I’ll sort it out later.” He has done a half-decent job of getting the papers together in the right order, snapping the bag shut and shouldering it. Demetri grins when he sees the bags. “I think I should be asking you. Are you feeding an army?”

[ofcatsandfate]

"Alright, if you're sure," he nods towards the bag on the other man's shoulder. He ducks his head, letting out a small chuckle at the question. "Well, I just wanted to make sure I had enough food for all of us," he shrugs. "I get my bottomless stomach from my mother, she tells me. Wanted to make sure you'd have some too. You didn't seem to touch your fries, earlier."

He moves and holds the door open for them both, waiting for Demetri to walk through it before heading out into the night.

"It's this way," he gestures with a nod of his head to the left.

[second_son]

He'd ordered them more out of habit than any real desire to eat. Shrugging, he follows, going where Fabrice points. "You know, I am going to start thinking that you have all these plans just to get me alone in the woods."

[ofcatsandfate]

Fabrice thinks, regardless if the food gets eaten tonight or not, he'll most likely have leftovers, which is great because he can't cook for shit; he can barely manage noodles on the best nights. "Damn, you've discovered my ulterior motive," he says, blushing as he offers the other man a small grin.

[second_son]

"I knew it." It's easier to tease than to say what's truly on his mind. Then to say that he wants to spend as much time as he can with Fabrice and that he's terrified at the prospect of meeting his mother.

He reaches, taking Fabrice's free hand with his own. "I like it."

[ofcatsandfate]

"Always seeing right through me," he says, shaking his head. He thinks the other man has more on his mind; he's curious to know what it is, but also knows that Demetri will tell him in his own time, if he feels like sharing.

He glances down at their entwined hands and his smile widens. "Me too."

[second_son]

“Is this-“ Demetri starts to say something, then stops, trying to think of how to word his question. “Is this you introducing me to your mother? Because... My father, I can’t-“

Not yet, he wants to say. He can’t tell his father yet, he can’t even bring himself to tell his brothers. Those are things that he’s not ready for and doesn’t know when he will be.

[ofcatsandfate]

He pauses, looking at Demetri before leaning in and kissing him quickly. "If she comes out of her room, then yes. She...hasn't left it much since Violet fled," he admits, running a hand through his hair. "And I know. Your father...I know." He's very much aware of how intimidating the head of the Thornton clan is, though he's never met the man. He knows this mostly because of what Demetri's told him, and the way Demetri reacts to mentions of him.

He leans in again and kisses him, wanting to reassure him that he understands.

[second_son]

Everyone knew about his father; the head of the Thornton clan very nearly famous for being an asshole of epic proportions. Yet this, going with Fabrice tonight feels like it's something else, like they're making a statement. And that worries him. Fabrice deserves better than a philandering erk who can't even be honest with his family. "Are you sure you want to? This is me, after all."