Darkness woke up the next morning and rubbed his arm where Blood Angel had shot him with a blood spike. He wasn't surprised that it was healed, but he still knew that he let two dangerous killers live to see another day. He shook his head and went downstairs to see Deimos and Tristan having breakfast together. He chuckled and grabbed an iced coffee from the bridge. Tristan narrowed his eyes at him in concern as he saw Darkness looking down. "Everything alright Derek?" He asked. Darkness shook his head and sat by him. "Just peachy..." He muttered bitterly as he looked to Deimos, "Thanks for the healing... Sorry, I was too out of it to say it last night." He muttered as Deimos nodded.
Tristan sighed and looked at him. "Something is clearly on your mind, anything you'd like to share?" He asked politely."
What are you, my therapist?" Asked Darkness as he glared at him, Causing both Deimos and Tristan to glare back. "Well excuse ME for showing concern for your well-being... should I get you a complimentary wine instead? Or some other alcohol to appease your unending habit?" He said in an icy tone. There was a brief stare-off between the two, and it was clear Darkness had a snappy comeback, instead, he powered down and let his hair turn back to jet black as he relaxed. "That's fair.... I'm sorry Tristan." He admitted, causing Deimos to raise his eyes in shock.
In the time that Deimos had known Darkness, he was always keeping people at arm's length emotionally, and rarely did he power down unless he was asleep. "Something about last night happened to bother you didn't it?" He asked as he looked to Darkness, who just nodded and looked at them. "Twice now have I fought two dangerous killers who hurt someone close to me... and now TWICE now I let them get away... What if they actually... Kill someone close to me?" He asked. Deimos studied him as Tristan nodded. "Listen... Derek.." He said with a pause as Darkness let him call him by his real name with no qualms. "I understand your concerns, and I KNOW what Percy is like... But you have to know you aren't in this alone." He said calmly as he put a hand on Darkness' formerly wounded shoulder. "If you were, you'd be in the hospital for that right now, with Celeste worse off." He said with a warm smile.
Derek sighed and breathed a puff of air and powered back up. "You're right... I can't wallow in this... lemme Irish up this coffee!" He said causing both Tristan and Deimos to lower their eyes as Tristan put a hand over the coffee. "Why DO you drink so much anyway?" He asked. Darkness just let out a sad chuckle. "You wouldn't believe it if I told you..." He admitted, causing Tristan to roll his eyes. "I can freeze an entire room, you can walk through walls, and Deimos just healed borderline mortal wounds last night, do not tell me what I will and won't believe." He said firmly.
Darkness just let out a genuine smile. "Very stern, I like that.... Alright Tristan, Deimos I'll tell you." He said as he leaned back in his chair and looked at them both before draining his coffee. "When I was overseas, we didn't have much in the way of venting stress... Go to your job, do your job, go home, go to sleep... day in, day out... It was a mess. But when your job requires you to stay up past your limits, function on barely enough food... And of course, kill people... Something needs to take the edge off... So my higher-ups just kept shoving booze in my face... eventually, it took control." he said slowly, causing Tristan and Deimos to lean in. "So that's why you drink now?" Asked Tristan.
Darkness sighed and shrugged. "Somewhat... when I drink... I remember a lot of people I've gotten drunk with, my comrades, my brothers in arms. Sometimes, it's like I can see them again, but other times, I just want to forget how close we were to ease the pain... And other times I just feel like drinking." He admitted, though his voice trailed off at the end. Tristan winced a bit as Darkness started to stare at the wall. "You HAVE to know there are healthier vices you can turn to though right? It doesn't HAVE to be alcohol every single time." He advised. Darkness chuckled and nodded. "You sound like my sister... yeah I'm still very much into music.. but at this point in my life, I'm just not willing to stop. I appreciate you trying to help, but you can't save everyone... Thanks for the listen though, it's more than I got overseas. He told him with a nod.
Tristan sighed. "Well, we AREN'T overseas... You have people in your life who are perfectly willing to help you. And I'm going to prove it right now." He said as he grabbed a phone, causing Darkness to raise a brow. Tristan dialed in and put the phone to his ear. "Hello? LISA! Bonjour! I'm calling to see if you'd be interested in planning a party at my house!" He said with a smile on his face. Darkness tried to grab the phone, but Tristan froze his fingers together as he kept talking, freezing Darkness' mouth for good measure. "Why YES! Your big brother will be there! Bring Silver if you like!" He added as he casually pushed Darkness away while setting up a New Year party at his house with Darkness' little sister as the planner.
After the party was officially planned, Tristan hung up the phone and unfroze Darkness, who was glaring at Tristan. "Why the HELL would you do that? ANY of that?!" He demanded. Tristan just glared at him right back and snorted. "Because what I heard was you acting like you have nobody to lean on when times get tough, That's insulting to your friends, and it's ESPECIALLY insulting to your family, how you've gone this far in life with social skills this poor I'll never know, but that stops here! New Year's party at my place, I have you under contract via Deimos, you will act like a social human being for once, and you WILL mingle... you can still drink if you want, but only if you're talking to someone, AM I CLEAR?!" He demanded hotly. Darkness and Deimos both raised their eyes before Darkness nodded. "Crystal." He answered. Tristan nodded and got up.
"Come on Deimos, we have outfits to pick out!" He said happily. Deimos smiled and followed behind him. Darkness watched them both open the door. "Hey Tristan!" He called. Causing Tristan to turn back to him. "...Thank you... I'm not always the best with social cues... but at least you put the tools in my hand to help me fix myself." He told him. Tristan smiled back at him and nodded silently as He left with Deimos, He had a party to get ready for after all!
I love how this starts off with Darkness going down to see Tristan and Deimos having breakfast together. I love how Tristan picks up on the vibe that something is off with Darkness and replies coolly to Darkness being nasty to Tristan. Tristan picks up on emotions, notices patterns, and notices things about others that people may not catch onto immediately.
ReplyDeleteHe knows Darkness turns to alcohol to drown out his sorrows. But I can confirm that drinking is only a temporary solution or a band-aid to put on the wound but it doesn't heal anything.
I love how Tristan asks Darkness why he drinks so much. Of course, he has his hunches, but he wants Darkness to confront his issues and stop running away from them. I do love Tristan's clapback as he's used to people underestimating him, so he would love to know.
Darkness is living in the past, not in the present or thinking of the future. Yes, that was then but this is now and there are better ways to cope. Yes, drinking is fine once in a while and socially but some people need to quit cold turkey and that is also valid.
Tristan is showing Darkness that people do care... and he can lose people to addictions. Addictions come in ALL forms, not just alcohol or drugs. I have an in-law who is addicted to hoarding wombats; it has gotten so bad that the house is nearly inhabitable for humans and she cannot host Christmas at her house anymore, so it's hosted at her friend's house. Her house also reeks of feces and waste. This is one addiction but I am explaining how addictions can cause strains on your relationships, be it with family, friends, found family, or whatever.
I am glad Tristan has the patience to help Darkness but is firm to call him out on his bullshit. That is so very him... and me. I can see I have written something of an epistle here.
Thank you for this. I enjoyed reading this.
I am so glad you liked this one, and thank you for the advice on the characters of Verdant Hawk! I will try to keep your dynamics more in my thoughts if/when I ever right them again, your advice and critiques have guided me well over the years, so I hope to make stuff you enjoy!
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read Tristan and Darkness' interactions here. Tristan is good at reading other's emotions and patterns, but Darkness isn't very good at hiding that either! xD
ReplyDeleteI think Tristan already knows why he turns to alchohol, but wants to hear that confirmation from him and challenge him to question himself. Darkness has been through a lot of trauma and I can see why he's developed his addiction to cope, but this won't solve his problems and only make them worse.
I hope he's able to work through his inner-demons. I LOVE how Tristan shows Darkness that people care about him and made him literally freeze. I think Darkness needs to pause and think sometimes. I love how Tristan handled Darkness with kindness and firmness. He needs someone to call him out on his bullshit and that's so very him!
Excellent job with this story! I enjoyed reading this!