Drink by Drink | bowstrung

inkfated

Angelic. That was a new one. And it had made him blush too. Angelic, really? He wondered what his sister would say about that one. She’d probably tell him to make a move. And then she’d say that if he didn’t, then she would. It wouldn’t be the first time Izzy ended up getting someone that he’d been interested in. Boys tended to like her better. Not that he was jealous really, but he did wish that he could be looked at first. “Of course it is,” Alec replied with a smile. He cleaned off Jace’s area for him and handed the things to the bartender that he knew that took the next shift.

“Come on then, up you get.” He tried to help Jace up and said, “If you need to lean into me, you can. My car isn’t far from here.” With that, he started leading the way, going slowly as he went. People moved out of their way once they noticed the drunken Jace. Fortunately it really hadn’t taken long to get to his car and he opened the passenger side door and helped him in. “Where did you say you lived? I’m going to need an address. Though if you can’t remember right now, you’re welcome to crash at my place. I’ve got a guest bedroom that’s never used.” Well, unless his sister was staying over, which she wasn’t. She was too attached to her new boyfriend to stay the night at his place much lately.

Jace smiled at him, barely managing to stand. He tried to really stand, but he almost fell as he took a few steps and he reluctantly leaned into Alec. HE really wanted to know the guy before he started getting cuddly, but he supposed there wasn’t much he could do about it now. “I live on the other side of town. If your place is closer, that’s fine.” he murmured, leaning into the seat as he struggled to buckle himself in for a moment. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” he asked, looking over with bloodshot eyes.

Drink by Drink | bowstrung

bowstrung

“You’ll find that I’m not like most people and I do mean it.” He wanted to see him be happier like he used to be, however he knew that heartbreak could hurt. Alec had one been broken hearted and it was why he didn’t open his heart up so easily anymore. He’d been a fool back then and that would never happen again. The club kept him busy from his thoughts though. The guy that had hired him had been pretty nice to him, had even been rather understanding of his situation, which he had been grateful for. Alec in turn knew when to help someone out who was having a tough time.

“You’re welcome,” Alec replied with an easy going smile. “You think I’m pretty?” He tilted his head, almost surprised by the comment. That wouldn’t be the first time he’d been called pretty. The club owner had a couple of times, he was pretty sure he’d been flirting with him too, but Alec hadn’t fallen for it. “And you’re more than you seem as well,” he replied gently. “Do let me know if you need anything else, okay? I’ll be around here, tending to the bar and the people.” Alec resisted the urge to reach out his hand. A piece of blonde hair stuck out on Jace’s forehead and he wanted to tuck it back behind his ear. Instead, he passed Jace over some water to balance out the alcohol and flickered off to tend to his other customers. Two hours later, it was time for his shift to end and the guy was still there and looking nowhere near sober. Alec joined him at the bar and said, “How was the food?” And if he needed it, he still intended to give Jace a ride home.

Jace watched the other for a moment, feeling caught off guard. After his parents, his grandmother had grieved by diving into nonstop work, leaving a twelve year old Jace to fend for himself most of the time since the babysitters spent their time talking on their phones. He was used to being alone, and maybe it was the alcohol in his system, but something made him feel like with Alec in that moment, he wasn’t as alone as he’d felt for so long. He managed a quiet little smile. “Thank you, Alec.” he said as he took another drink of his water.

“I mean, you’re not just pretty. You’re like….angelic.” Jace slurred, smiling at him drunkenly. “I’m not entirely sure you’re real.” he joked, leaning forward on the bar some more. He nodded as Alec spoke before nodding weakly and eating. Somehow he managed to eat it all, and the food and the water did help some, but not enough. He looked up as he heard a voice, blonde hair a tousled mess atop his head. “It was good.” he said, clearly in no condition to walk. “IS, uh….is that ride still a thing?”

Drink by Drink | bowstrung

bowstrung

Alec had a feeling that there was no talking him out of his sadness. At least not right now. He didn’t expect him to open up about his family either and Alec’s face softened. “I am so sorry that you’ve had to go through that. If you need a friend and I know that we don’t really know each other, know that I’m here for you okay?” He hoped that wasn’t weird, but Alec did want to make sure that he was okay. It was just who he was to take care of people and to see that Jace was going through so much made him want to keep him safe from the rest of the world.

When Alec did return from finishing out some drinks and orders, he spotted where Jace had landed on the menu and said, “The chili cheese fries and nachos, huh? They’re some of our best selling items. I can get you one of each if you can’t decide.” He knew that he was probably being a bit much, but he was trying to help in whatever way he could. Once Jace gave him his order, Alec filled out a slip and said, “I’ll be right back.” And with that, he sent the order to the kitchen before returning with everything. Everyone else was entertained with their drinks and friends and food and he’d only had to stop once on the way there for make a refill. “Here you are. One of our most popular items too, I hope that you enjoy them.” And maybe the food would cheer him up, at least a little bit anyway. Eating ones feelings wasn’t good like drinking either, but Alec could admit that he’d done that himself before he he wasn’t going to complain to anyone.

Jace looked up at the words, watching the dark haired man. He’d noticed Alec a few times – always a sucker for blue or green eyes – but he hadn’t offered much in terms of communication or flirting because of his relationship. But even as he admired the other’s beauty, he noted the actual tone to Alec’s words. “Y’know, lotta people say that, but most of ‘em don’ really mean it.” He slurred. “A friend would be good. Haven’t really had a lot of them.” He admitted.

One of each? This guy had to be too good to be true. “Sure, one of each is fine.” He replied, sipping what little was left of his drink. He waited patiently until Alec returned, watching him work, even if it seemed Alec was paying particular attention to him. Jace was happy to have someone looking out for him, even if he didn’t say it. He smiled as he took a bite of the fries, humming softly as he ate, enjoying the flavors as he people watched. When Alec returned he nodded. “Thanks, by the way.” he mused. “You’re more than a pretty face around here. It’s good to know.”

Drink by Drink | bowstrung

Alec

“If she wasn’t interested in you from the beginning then she should have said so,” Alec said. “It doesn’t matter that they were friends, it wasn’t right of her to cheat on you.” He felt very strongly about this subject because a few months ago he’d found out that his dad had been cheating on his mom. It had felt like a slap in the face, though he couldn’t imagine what his mom was feeling. “Sure, I guess.” He shrugged a little. Alec shook his head and said, “No, not at all. I just know that you’ll regret drinking that much tomorrow. I know it all hurts, but you can’t hurt yourself like that.”

“I’m not, but I’m glad that you’re not far from here. If you’d like, I can drive you home once my shift is finished.” He probably shouldn’t do that, but he felt protective of the blonde. He understood the taking care of himself thing. “You can let other people take care of you, you know. It’s not so bad. Trust me. It took ages for my sister to open me up again once I’d moved out. Now most of my family is back in my life and I’m glad that she did. You’ll get there eventually.” Alec hoped that he had given him some sort of comfort, but could tell that he was still sad. “Listen, I’ve got to make a couple of more drinks for some guys over there. Though how about you look at the menu again and get yourself something to eat, on the house. I’ll take care of it.” He pushed the full menu toward Jace and hoped that he’d take him up on his offer. “And then I’ll take you home in an hour if you want to leave. Though you don’t have to, I’ll stay here and chat with you all night if you’d like.”

Jace shrugged. “I mean, she was for a while? I thought we were great.” He mumbled, looking at his hands. He chuckled drunkenly, looking up at the other and tilting his head. “I’d rather hurt from this,” he lifted his half empty glass. “Than from my heart.” he replied, finishing the drink and setting it down, staring at the glass for a long minute. He was never, ever going to let himself get close enough to love someone ever again. Fuck love.

Two toned eyes looked up and he tilted his head the other way. “Sure, a ride home won’t be so bad.” he agreed with a shrug. “I don’t really have anyone to take care of me, pal.” he said bitterly. “My parents were killed when I was little. My grandmother took me in, but after losing my dad, she kind of became a workaholic.” He opened his mouth to say he was fine, but he decided free food would be worth it, so he looked over the menu quietly, trying to find something that sounded appealing. He usually loved pizza, but it would only trigger more memories of his ex, so he debated between chili cheese fries and nachos for a long moment while he waited for Alec to return.

Drink by Drink | bowstrung

Alec [ @bowstrung ]

“Do you want to talk about it?” Alec asked as he leaned his elbows on the counter. Part of the job was getting to know people and he’d found that he didn’t mind it as much as he thought he would. He was generally a very caring person over being reclusive and it was easy to get lost in someone else’s problems. “I’m sorry, that sucks. No one deserves to go through that.” The guy had been cheated on and he felt terrible for him. Alec made a mental note to not give that redhead anything should she come back there. He didn’t approve of cheaters, that was for sure.

Good looking, huh? He was used to the compliments by now. This job led to them all the time. If someone wasn’t trying to get a free drink out of him, they were trying to get into his pants and he didn’t give into either of those thanks. “I didn’t want to take over the family business, so I let my sister have it. My parents also don’t approve of well…me, so I was kicked out and have to make a living somehow. This was the first place that hired me and it’s not so bad. You meet some decent people here.” And pretty ones, he noted as he looked the blonde over. If he wasn’t a customer and wasn’t hurting over being cheated on, he may have asked him out. Though Alec wasn’t always so brave. “You might want to slow down after that one,” Alec suggested with a gesture toward his glass. “You didn’t drive here, did you?”

Jace glanced up. “I guess I should have expected it. They grew up super close and they spent a ton of time together anyway, more than I spend with her.” He shrugged sluggishly, not caring much about anything but getting rid of the ache in his chest. He listened and gave a smile. “Rebel in ya, huh?” he asked, setting his glass down as the other finished. He glanced at his now empty cup and frowned. “Why? Am I somehow causing trouble?” the blonde asked, confused.

He laughed a little as the other asked if he drove. “No, my apartment is like a block from here. I can get home fine if you’re throwing me out.” he said, slouching forward a little. “I’ve always taken care of myself.” his tone was sad and hurt, but he was too drunk by then to care.