2019-07: Saturday night's alright for fighting

[Charlie Tanner]

"Oh, don't give us none of your aggravation
We had it with your discipline
Oh, Saturday night's alright for fighting
Get a little action in"

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They'd all agreed it was a good idea to meet up before hand and chat, prepare for the bar fight. After all, not everyone was practiced in pulling their punches- or brawling, at all. It had started out a simple enough plan... until Milo had ended up invited along- oops, had he done that?- and then Duncan was ducking out for his own, personal appointment. He was going to teach Fleur how to throw down, like the experienced bar-fight-starter he was. Sure. Tanner believed him, entirely.

Even if he didn't, Tanner couldn't say no when he saw that excited sparkle in his Childe's eye, no matter how the man tried to hide it. Duncan deserved some happiness, some friends aside from his dusty old Sire, some distraction from the hell they'd been through lately. Even if it was only what the younger man said it was. He could hardly begrudge the man some independence; his Beast might not entirely agree, but at the very least he trusted Duncan in Fleur's company, alone, more than he would have in Thomas' for some reason.

Which left Tanner in the interesting boat of meeting up with the very same, his new... step-Childe, and the young gangrel's hot-headed boyfriend. Even knowing what the infamous Milo could supposedly do, Tanner found himself more amused at the prospect than worried. He knew he should be worried, on some level, at how much the decades had changed him- how fun he found it to toy with those younger and weaker. Right now, however, he simply told himself that it was the nerves he always got before starting a bar fight (because of course he started them on purpose); the excitement at the promise of a good brawl.

Neither Milo nor Tanner nor Thomas had been willing to give up their address and invite the other two to their haven, however, so they found themselves agreeing to meet in a park in Amsterdam, instead, near their eventual target: MOMO. The rival club to that owned by the Tremere fellow with the impressive beard. (Hey, if this sent people packing to the wizard's club, instead, perhaps he'd consider it a personal favour and look favorably on them, next time they'd meet. Either way, it would be fun.) Tanner had, with some difficulty, managed to figure out how to send his location to the phones of the other two- the miracles of modern technology!- near enough a pond in a currently abandoned corner of park to easily jump in, should the irritable mortal decide to greet him with fire. Not that he expected Milo would be that stupid, but he thought they might find it as amusing a touch as he had. That, and it gave him an excuse to feed the ducks and fish and have an excuse to be there that kept the mortals off his back.

Having filled his quota for technological mastery that evening, Tanner decided to boldly shirk the stereotype of lurking menacingly in the shadows and simply lean against a streetlight pole and wait, and hope that the boys would know better than to keep him waiting.

[Thomas Parker]

Thomas was on time. Thomas was always on time. That military streak of him never left him, although his newfound paranoia did lead him up in a tree -nearby- their meeting place. On time, nonetheless.

He was looking forward to this moment as much as he looked forward to getting his shots when he was still alive; he knew it would be good for him in the long run but he simply hated needles. This was a needly situation for sure. The only reason he agreed to go to the bar fight in the first place was because his sister wanted to go and he didn't want her to go alone. The only reason he agreed to take Milo along was because his guilt apparently left him spineless.

Nonetheless, when he saw Tanner approach he softly leapt out of his tree and pretended to just by coincidence arrive at the same moment the Australian did.
"Hey Tanner.. Sir" he wasn't completely sure what to make of the situation yet, nor did he know whether or not he should be thankful to Groot, pawning him off like that. On the other hand, from Tanner he might actually learn something and he respected the veteran.

[Charlie Tanner]

Tanner was always economical with his reactions, when he could be, when he didn't have a point to prove. Now that displayed itself in how he didn't even glance Thomas' way until the younger man was troublingly close, and there could be no doubt that he must've heard him by now. Even then, following Thomas greeting, the older man only smiled a little as he looked him over in silence for several excruciatingly long seconds.

"Evenin', Tommy," Tanner replied, finally, in his customary Aussie twang, pushing off the lamppost and stepping closer to hold out his hand for a shake. He smirked a little, but didn't discourage Thomas immediately from calling him sir. Tanner didn't typically stand for titles and authority figures and bullshit like that, but it could have it's advantages. For now, it told anyone hearing it that they should direct their issues to him rather than Thomas, which was probably a good thing when they were planning on getting in a fight, soon. Plus... he imagined it would ruffle Milo all the wrong ways. He'd tell Thomas to ditch the prefix, later.

"Surprised you two didn't come together, I'll be honest," he admitted, dark eyes scanning the area briefly in curiosity, as if he expected to find Milo hiding in a bush or something. "How are you doing? Had dinner?"

[Milo Hayes]

As if summoned by the mere thought of him, what sounded to be a quiet scoff emanated from somewhere behind the tree Thomas had sneakily dropped down from only shortly before, and not a bush as Tanner suspected. This was soon followed by a soft hiss, click, crackle, and the small glint of a flame lighting up in the darkness, hovering in the air beside the tree. But it was miniscule, a candle’s strength at best, and instead of building to anything concerning it died swiftly, leaving only a glowing ember in its wake. The ember began to bounce forward, and the streetlight soon revealed a sour-faced Milo, a now lit cigarette perched between his lips.

“It’s not like I have him on a leash. I’m his boyfriend, not his...” Milo gestured vaguely in lieu of finding the right word immediately, but he was eyeing Tanner with some mild hint of ambivalence. “...Master...” He finished with a shrug, continuing his approach at a lazy pace only.

“Mister Tanner,” Milo bobbed his head, and though he didn't offer his hand his tone at least wasn’t sarcastic when he greeted the Aussie, actually sounding to be a genuine attempt at respect of some form. Or at least an olive branch, perhaps. Unless otherwise stopped, he made to drape his free arm around Thomas’ shoulders. “...’lo love. Doing alright?” He echoed Tanner’s previous inquiry somewhat, though his tone was much warmer.

[Thomas Parker]

"Had to feed first" Thomas replied, bashful about his vampire ways around humans. Well, specifically human Milo. He had kept his undead life remarkably private, which he considered a huge achievement because normally he couldn't hide anything from the redhead. Most of the times he even managed to think about breathing and keeping his body temperature at a normal level. Intimacy had been a sore point which he was not ready for whatsoever and Milo seemed to accept that, with a little bit of reluctance. Thomas wasn't ready yet to find out whether or not everything still worked.

Unsurprisingly Milo appeared out of nowhere. Thomas had the stranged inkling that he had been on his case for a while now because of all things that were going on in Haarlem. He had no idea just how much the warlock had been, and he wondered how he managed it. Probably magic. Probably something he was never going to understand but really tried to in order to keep up with him.

Somehow the burning ember seemed like a threat. Milo flexing his muscles opposed to Tanner, who did so in his own way. Primarily by calling him Tommy, which was what Milo called him and vaguely belittling coming from the mouth of the Australian. He didn't know why both of them needed to show their respective dominance over him, nor why he did so little about it currently. Maybe because he had bigger fish to fry.

Of course Milo was hostile. The way he said master indicated his opinion on the arrangement between Tanner and Groot, no, Tanner and himself, more than clearly. He couldn't do anything about it though so he just shook his head quietly and let himself be hugged.
"Yes, ready for some mindless violence. You?"

[Charlie Tanner]

Tanner smirked faintly when Milo appeared out of the darkness, although it was more amused than smug. His eyes flickered over the young man- although he supposed, by appearances, he looked like the younger of the two. It was an odd revelation. Still, Tanner exuded the kind of calm authority that came with decades of experience, his energy in no way like a man only in his late twenties. The quiet menace of the Beast was ever present, when faced with what he knew to be a flesh-and-blood mortal, as well.

“Hey, no kink shaming, mister Milo,” he retorted with a tongue-in-cheek smile, itching at his stubble. “Some people are into leashes and Masters.” His gaze flickered briefly over Thomas, as if checking whether this would scandalize either of them, clearly having fun for himself. “Anyway. Consider me more of a fatherly figure.”

He couldn’t seem to help himself from playing, a bit, although it merely seemed good-natured at this point (so far); he didn’t seem to be actively trying to aggravate or intimidate Milo, just watching and learning. Calling Thomas ‘Tommy’ had merely been his nod to their people’s mutual slang for ‘soldier’, meant to call upon their shared brotherhood rather than belittle him- or antagonize Milo. He didn’t need to express his dominance, here, in his mind; it was a given. But misunderstandings were wont to happen.

His gaze sharpened slightly as it passed over the lit cigarette, especially when the man stood so near to Thomas, briefly checking in with his Kindred. “Look, you can be an asshole all you like to me, mate, but put that shit out, near him, yeah? C’mon, he's your man,” he said, wrinkling his nose a little.

Tanner looked to Thomas, again, next. “It won’t be mindless. It’ll be very mindful violence,” he said, with a hint of an excited smile. “It can be very meditative. And you’ll have to concentrate, to make sure you don’t... go overboard. This’ll be good practice in upholding the Masquerade. And I was thinkin’ we should practice, before we do the real thing.”

[Milo Hayes]

Milo grunted at the cheeky insistence not to ‘kink shame’, waving the cigarette-wielding hand in a vaguely dismissive gesture. “No judgement on them,” He muttered off handedly, not seeming particularly shocked, though one brow did briefly perk upwards as if in afterthought. “..Surprised you know what that is,” Milo murmured quietly, again not seeming more a throwaway comment rather than a conversation piece he was really invested in.

“Oh, he’s got a father,” Milo corrected the correction swiftly though in an overly casual tone, gesturing towards Thomas briefly. “Nice guy,” He added with a nod, as if this were all a very normal conversation, though it was likely clear he simply didn’t want to give Tanner an inch, even if he was doing his best not to be actively aggressive.

Milo’s nose wrinkled almost simultaneously when Tanner’s did, as if he was hard-wired to respond to sour expressions with his own. His lips drew into a scowl, though his brows did raise again as he actually processed the words, and instead Milo looked towards Thomas for confirmation. “Really, this much is enough?” He half whispered in a higher pitched tone, shrugging his shoulders as if it was news to him. “Sorry, love,” He offered, still softly but sincere, as he turned his head away from Thomas to take a final drag.

It wasn’t simply for Thomas’s benefit that he turned away from him as he did. Drawing on the cigarette, the ember’s glow reflected quite visibly in his eyes even despite the fact that they were under the light of the streetlamp. It could have just been a trick of the light if it were anyone else, but there was a definite moment as he held Tanner’s gaze where the reflection exceeded its origin. For just a moment, it even took on the distinct shape of a flame flickering within icy blues, lingering even as he drew the cig away from his mouth. The echo faded rapidly as he dropped the offending item unceremoniously and ground it under his boot.

Lifting his now empty hand as if a show of peace, Milo flashed a smile between the pair. “Bad habit, anyway,” He conceded, whether honestly or not it was difficult to say. Thomas admitting he was ready for mindless violence did catch him a bit off guard though, the redhead flashing his beau a look of somewhat amused surprise, before his head swung back towards Tanner once more. “Yeah, so... What exactly is this mindful violence about? You start a fight intentionally? What are you training exactly?”

The final words caused his smile to become a little more tight lipped, though still present, while his eyes narrowed ever so slightly in suspicion.

[Thomas Parker]

As the cigarette flew through the air, following Milo's waving hand while showing how much he wasn't flustered by any of the witty remarks the Australian made, Thomas ducked out of the way for the smoldering stick. His heart was racing for a moment but he didn't want to let it show so he just muttered something like "to each their own", not willing to disclose any information as to the dynamic between Milo and him. That was none of Tanners' business. If there was something that couldn't trigger him anymore it was probably anything to do with weird kinks anyway. He had spent most of his last living years surrounded by very testosterone high men in a desert with little privacy. The walls of their tents were covered in the most revealing photographs of all kinds, from 'normal' large breasted blonde women to nurses to flat-out BDSM latex models. All nude of course. In silent defiance, he had hung up a Calvin Klein ad above his bed of two male models in very tight undies. His female colleagues followed suit and it had been their running gag ever since.

The remark about his father hurt though. His head jerked sideways to look at Milo in disbelief for a moment. Yes, his father was a lovely guy. A man who he missed belly-achingly much, just like the rest of his family. He had a niece that he had never seen (and probably never would) for crying out loud. It made him feel homesick. Very homesick.
"Yes, but since the reverent thinks I am dead I guess that's not an option." It came out a bit more bitter than he anticipated and he immediately regretted his tone.
"What I meant to say is, it doesn't really matter Milo. Father, boss, Master, Admiral, he's responsible for my behavior in our society I guess. Which means he'll have to deal with you too by proxy so I thought it would be a good idea to get to know each other."

Thomas waved away Milo's apology. If he still had working balls he'd probably have said something himself but everything had been so.. off. "Yup, that much will do it. Putting on a kettle is a gamble if it's not on induction." Secretly he was happy to see the cigarette go. It was a bad habit and a sore point between the two men. Just because Thomas was dead didn't mean Milo needed to try that hard to die too.

Immediately it became apparent Thomas' remark had lost the tone of irony he had meant to attach to it. He hated violence. Especially when it was mindless. Milo knew this of course and he understood the confusion.
"I know. It was an ill-brought joke. I hate violence, Tanner. I think you can relate to that. And I don't see how this is going to be educational, I only volunteered to come along because my idiot sister wants to come." Oh damn, Fleur, Milo doesn't know about Fleur. Immediately he spun around facing Milo, guilt written across his face.
"So eh.. now is the correct way too late time to tell you that we Gangrel, that's my clan, work in packs. Like wolves and stuff. We're monsters so why not right? Anyway, in my 'pack', there's this girl who is sort of my sister. And she gets in trouble all the time. Her name is Fleur. You'll meet her tonight. She's lovely. And I think she might be part of eh.. my other family too to be honest. She has like a blue flamed sprite in her hair."

[Charlie Tanner]

Tanner arched a brow when Milo snapped that Thomas had a father, but the other man answered before he could. “He’s right,” Tanner agreed, sharply, before the unmissable bitterness in Thomas’ voice gave him reason to soften his expression and voice a few degrees. “It’s imperative for everyone’s safety that Thomas remain dead to the world, tough as that is. He is. You shouldn’t even know better, but, well…” Tanner reigned himself in from calling Thomas soft to his face. He knew what the boy had suffered, to a certain degree, and survived; that wasn’t soft. But, when it came to surviving the world of monsters, he was hopelessly unequipped. Well. That was why he'd been assigned to Tanner. “...the circumstances seem to be extenuating,” he finished, instead.

“For everyone’s safety, it’s best if you present yourself as Thomas’ vassal,” Tanner continued, hoping that speaking to Milo directly would show him enough respect that the young man might listen. He’d learned a thing or two lately about youths valuing being spoken to as adults, even when Tanner himself had difficulty relating to them as a peer, himself. “And he bonded you before he came to Haarlem. That is not a request. If you’re joining, tonight, that’s the story that you’re sticking to. I can’t have you getting murdered by other Kindred and sending Thomas into a frenzy, now that I’m in charge of ‘im.”

Tanner’s expression was raptor-like on Milo as the man put out his cigarette while holding eye contact. Both that challenging gesture and the ever distasteful threat of fire held within it were unwelcome signs of disrespectful to his inner Beast, and it stirred angrily within him, demanding satisfaction. Tanner’s gaze cold and dead, eyes seeming black in the streetlight, and for a moment the uncanny valley made him look very much inhuman; the message was clear, palpable in one’s mortal bones- I could snap you like a twig without breaking a sweat, and I’d like to. Keep testing just how much my regard for Thomas outweighs my impatience with your attitude.

Tanner didn’t mean to do it, but he was Brujah- and they were known for their short fuses. His just tended to display itself in quiet menace more than explosive outbursts, anymore, and more and more far too easily in the form of using his Disciplines. Thomas’ sudden outburst about Fleur luckily snapped him out of his thoughts- and spared him having to acknowledge or apologize for his instinctive intimidation. He didn’t even have time to elaborate on the goal of that evening before his step-Childe was rambling about his pack and, frankly, even providing Tanner with some interesting information. His gaze flickered with displeased surprise to hear Fleur described as constant trouble, knowing that she was currently ‘preparing’ with his Trouble… perhaps he’d misjudged her. The Beast coiled even tighter as he tried to wrangle his thoughts away from what they might be getting up to; at this point, he was just happy if it wasn’t anything physically dangerous.

“Yes. More fledglings are coming,” he summarized, stretching his neck to vent some residual irritation as he tried to reign everyone back in- himself included. “But I’m responsible for the circus. So Thomas is right, we should get to know each other. You want to start, or shall I?”

[Milo Hayes]

Milo knew he shouldn’t bring up Thomas’ father. Talking about the vampire’s family at all was still a tender subject, and to use it for such a petty move, even if not directed at Thomas, had been particularly unkind. The particular level of bitterness in the other man’s tone was a well needed verbal slap, Milo’s shoulders tightening a bit as he immediately felt a wrenching of guilt.

Do not use his name in vain, idiot. He thought sourly to himself.

Milo didn’t look at Thomas for a while as the young vampire explained why it didn’t truly matter what they wanted to refer to Tanner as, his role was still crucial. It was something Thomas had tried to explain to him already just yesterday, but it was difficult for Milo to fully accept. He didn’t like sharing priority in Thomas’ life, no matter how essential it was in this case, but he wasn’t going to take it out on Thomas. So that left... Tanner. Until he could get over himself. The twisting guilt of invoking Thomas’ father had at least quieted him for the time being, and he felt at least somewhat validated by Thomas accepting and voicing that it meant Tanner had to deal with him too.

He would have let the little fire staring stunt be the last of it in honour of that, but even then it had been too much. This much became obvious as he felt the weight of Tanner’s presence suddenly bearing down on him. It was kept at bay this time by some intangible force, though Milo’s eyes did widen slightly all the same in indignation and surprise.

“Fuck off with that!” He snapped instinctively, though continued to speak quickly, lest it become an actual fight. “I get it, alright, you’re big n’ scary, and you’re doing Thomas a solid. You keep yourself out of my head though, no one wants to be in there, okay? I’ll behave, alright? Jesus Christ.” Milo sighed harshly, holding up his hands as if somewhere between a showing of peace, and one of defeat, though frustration remained riddling his features and body language. “I’ll play along. Thomas’s vassal.”

The word ‘sister’ did immediately draw his attention to Thomas, his expression perplexed and incredulous, because he knew Thomas’ sister, his biological one, and she definitely wasn’t about to be attending any bar fights, let alone with her supposedly dead brother. “O-Oh, right...” He nodded as the young vampire was quick enough to catch the confusion and explain, though the language used caused a subtle flinch as Milo glanced around quickly to try and hide it. “You’re not a monster...” Milo grumbled softly in protest, not actually wanting to interrupt, but he couldn’t let the comment slide. The addition that this Fleur might be part of his ‘second’ family caused Milo’s gaze to return to Thomas, intrigue winning over discomfort.

“Oh...? Well that’s interesting...” Milo murmured, glancing between the pair briefly but lingering on Thomas. Somehow knowing Fleur shared that particular connection made him feel better about Thomas calling her ‘sister’, though he couldn’t quite place why. Probably just his overarching resentment towards the vampires in general. The offer to choose who got to know each other first did somewhat derail his thoughts as he glanced back towards Tanner; Milo wasn’t particularly good at making friends, even with mortal people. And he was fairly certain despite Thomas’ insistence they make nice, Tanner really didn’t give a rat’s ass to know anything about Milo as a person.

“Uh... I don’t even know where to start, mate," He sounded somewhat uncertain, disarmed without anger to fall back on. "I’ve known Thomas forever, literally forever, we grew up together. Just down the street from each other. I’ve been into weird stuff just as long as I’ve been into him, which is to say a long fucking time. From a... mortal standpoint, anyway,” He corrected himself a little awkwardly, still unused to the idea that Tanner was older than him. “So don’t blame him. I could see that none of you were... ‘natural’, shall we say, whatever that word is good for. The super variety of natural is my gig. It was only a matter of time before I figured it out.” Another shrug, and Milo glanced towards Thomas with another look of vague apology, feeling it was owed for... so many things. There was also a hint of pained questioning, unsure how to better fulfill his side of the ‘getting to know you’ act.