McGinty's Bar and Grill was a favorite of the keepers at the reserve, even if it was a real shithole. To be fair, Morris had inherited a much bigger mess from his father than it was now. The first time he was in that bar, almost a decade ago, the walls had dry rot, the dancefloor was scuffed and ripped up in places, and the decor was all original from the seventies. Morris had replaced and refurnished everything in the bar, but the only thing he couldn't replace was the clientele. Secretly, Marcus was fairly certain he enjoyed the drama and occasional violence, so he doubted he even wanted to.
Morris graduated high school a few years ahead of Marcus and was also the only other mundane he knew of in the area. Naturally, they'd become close, especially in Marcus' early teen years, where being non-magical from a prominent magical family in the area was isolating, to say the least.
"You and Victoria, huh?" Morris asked him, popping the top off a bottle and handing it to another patron standing beside him.
"You sound surprised." Marcus said, checking over his shoulder to the door again.
"Yeah, that's because I am." Morris nodded. "Not because of you. Just not really Vic's type."
"She lets you call her Vic?"
"You see these?" Morris ran his hand over the row of taps in front of him that dispensed various beers. "These are magical nozzles that give me more power than most therapists."
"Alright, any sage advice, Dr. McGinty?"
"Not a chance, Red." Morris took another order and started mixing a drink before coming back to him. "She's a tough nut to crack. Speak of the devil." Morris nodded toward the door.
There was no doubting Victoria carried an aura about her. Some witches and wizards could sense such things, even see them in special cases. Anyone with the slightest observational skills could observe it with her, though. Her hips swayed just slightly as she walked, the path to the bar clearing naturally for her. The motorcycle helmet she must have left on the bike had tussled her undercut, leaving sections of it toward the back flying off in different directions.
Morris already had a beer waiting for her when she arrived at the bar beside him. "Half expected you not to come." Her voice was flat and indifferent. "Can we get a pitcher, Morris?"
"Of course, Vic."
"Why wouldn't I come?" Marcus asked, taking a drink from his beer.
She just shrugged her answer, not saying another word until Morris handed her the pitcher. "Come on." She jerked her head in the direction of the pool tables.
"I am really terrible at pool," Marcus said, chalking the tip of his cue a few minutes later.
"Good," Victoria said, breaking the table and sinking two balls in the process. "Easier for me." Her eyes flicked to him, and he thought he spotted a tiny, almost imperceptible smirk.
Marcus finished off his first beer, setting it on the table currently occupied only by their jackets. Victoria took another shot, cursing when she missed. "So, on the drive over, I realized that outside of work I know close to nothing about you. What do you do when you're not at the reserve?"
"Don't do that." Victoria took a long drink from her own beer.
"Do what?"
"Awkward first date shit." She waved a hand at the table, indicating for him to shoot. "This isn't a date."
Marcus looked around the bar, but just grinned at her and shrugged. She didn't return the smile, but she didn't roll her eyes either. A win is a win. "If you say so." He took a shot, really just scattering the balls around the table without much purpose. "So no getting to know each other?"
"Definitely not." She walked over, lined up and sunk another ball.
"What do you want to talk about, then?"
"I don't, really." She bent, the toned muscles of her arms and shoulders flexing as cue hit ball, ball hit ball, and ball sunk into pocket. "If you insist on running your mouth, though, we can talk about work, I guess?"
"Okay, sure." His work was probably his favorite subject, so why not. "I know you've got a military background; how did you land on being a keeper?"
"How'd you know I have a military background?" She halted her shot to straighten up and look at him.
"I...have eyes? And ears? And both my parents were military once upon a time."
The tension in her shoulders rested, then she nodded and leaned back over the table to take her shot. "I'm not allowed to say."
Marcus frowned, "You're not allowed? You got some kinda black ops contract or something."
"I..." She took in a sharp breath and shook her head before letting it out. "Next questions Tenneson."
Marcus' brows furrowed, "Okay. How are the new recruits?"
"It's only been a day. Too early to say." She finally missed a shot, but had placed the ball in a spot where it was impossible for him to make any move. They continued with the idle chatter for some time. Marcus got rightly handled in the first game before starting a second and ordering another pitcher from Morris.
The more they spoke, the shorter Victoria's responses became. "You know you're the one that invited me here, right?" Marcus leaned against the table, looking at her curiously. "If you didn't want to spend time with me, why ask me in the first place?"
"I technically didn't invite you. I just told you this is where I'd be." She corrected him, walking over to the table after missing a shot and refilling her glass. "It's your shot."
"Sure, but there was something going on there." He pointed over his shoulder toward the door. "You were definitely flirting with me, and now I can barely get you to speak. What's the deal?"
Victoria rolled her eyes and sighed. "There's no deal, Tenneson. I was feeling some kinda way, and now I'm not. I don't know what to tell you."
A loud smack broke the tension. "Oh shit, boys, look at that thing?!" Victoria hopped into the air toward him, landing just a few inches away from him. Three idiots in board shorts and flip-flops walked by behind her, the largest of them, and perpetrator of the ass smack, let out a whistle. "You wanna come over and sit with us, Mama?" his words generating a laugh from his lackeys.
The initial shock having faded, Victoria slammed her glass on the table and spun around. "No, you disgusting perv." She snapped back at the man.
"Ooo, fiery. Just how I like them." The largest of the idiots took a step toward them, highball glass in hand.
Marcus moved up beside Victoria, his eyes narrowing. "Go fuck yourselves." The hum of conversation that normally filled the bar had faded, only the dulcet tones of an old Brooks and Dunn song filling the tense silence.
"Excuse me?" Lead douche cocked his head in his direction like the confused dog he was. "You wanna run that by me again, fire crotch?"
"Go. Fuck. Yourselves." Marcus emphasized each syllable to make sure they sunk in.
"Honey, you might wanna back up. I'm gonna have to beat your boyfriend's ass now."
"You're not gonna do shit, pencil dick." Victoria snapped at him, not moving from her spot, though from the corner of his eyes he could see the muscles in her shoulders and biceps twitch, waiting to spring.
"My friend deserves an apology." Marcus nodded his head to the side at Victoria. "Then you can finish your drinks and get the fuck out."
"I apologize for having to beat your boyfriend's ass. I'll probably have to cast a shrivel dick hex on him after, too." The leader gave a remorseful look to Victoria, "Sorry, baby."
Marcus waited for the man to step toward him before acting. He hucked the near full glass of beer as hard as he could at one of the men behind him, knowing full well how pack animals reacted when their leader was in danger. The glass shattered with the force, followed by spurts of blood coming from the nose of one of the lackeys.
Victoria had already tackled the leader and was alternating between elbowing him in his face and landing vicious shots to his ribs when he covered up. Marcus grabbed the second lackey as he lunged for Victoria, putting him in a rear naked choke and dragging him away.
He dropped the passed out lackey just in time for the first to recover from the sudden impact of the glass. As he ran at Victoria, Marcus kicked the pool cue up that was leaning against the table and swung it like a baseball bat. His already devastated nose collided with the cue, combining to make a sickening snapping sound of breaking bone and splintering wood.
The broken remnants of a man beneath Victoria was hardly defending himself at that point, but Marcus let her get in a few more shots before grabbing her by the waist and lifting her off the idiot.
"Alright, he's done. You got him." He said in a calming tone, hoping her fists didn't immediately turn on him. For a moment, she fought against his grip, but eventually let him pull her back to the table. "You alright?" Marcus got around her, grabbing her hands and cleaning her bloody fists off with his shirt.
She wrenched her hands out of his, staring at him through rapidly softening eyes. In a heartbeat, her fingers were gripping the sides of his head. The hold was firm, but not in a way that set off alarm bells. Her fingers flexed in the hair over his ears. Brown eyes stared deep into his green, searching for something. Whatever it was, she must have found it. Her lips crashed into his, sending his head swimming immediately.
Surprise. Confusion. Arousal. More confusion. As their tongues lashed out at one another's, Marcus found it harder and harder for his thoughts to properly form. He knew his hands were gripping her waist, teasing at the muscles beneath the fabric, but he hadn't told them to do that. Victoria pressed against him, refusing to let any space between them. Time seemed to evaporate around them. His brain registered the roar of the bar had restarted after the tense silence, but all he could hear was 'Ain't Nothing 'bout You' over the sound system. He wasn't certain how long the kiss lasted, but it certainly ended just as abruptly as it started.
His hands were suddenly behind his back, cool metal being locked around his wrists, followed by a slight tingle of an electrical current. The scent of sandalwood and cigarettes hung on his nose as his eyes opened, immediately locking with Victoria's, who was currently getting handcuffed herself. The wild grin on her lips spread to his.
It was not his first time in the back of a cop car, and if he had to guess would probably not be his last. Not even this could ruin his mood right now. Whatever he'd expected to happen tonight, it was certainly not that. He wasn't even sure how to accurately describe it. The taste of her lips and that wild, primal grin would never fade from his mind.
###
"You broke a pool cue across someone's face?" His sister pushed him as they exited the police station. "What is wrong with you?"
"I'll get you the bail money as soon as I can," He said, avoiding the questioning tone. "Besides, like they said. It was self defense. Security cameras don't lie."
"You idiot." Calliope sighed in exasperation. "I don't care about the money. I just bailed my little brother out of jail for assaulting someone." She punched him in the arm. "What happened?"
"Just some idiots. They deserved it if that makes you feel better."
"No, it doesn't make me feel better!" she snapped at him. "I'm going to need more of an explanation than that."
They got into the car, and Marcus sighed. "I was out with a girl, some idiot with his friends got handsy, and things escalated from there. It's not much of a story." He lied.
Calliope leaned back in the seat, her hands gripping the steering wheel. "Listen, I get the chivalry thing. Dad would be very proud of you. Modern women don't need you to fight their battles, though." Marcus choked back a laugh, drawing a piercing gaze that immediately silenced him. "Are you really laughing right now?"
"Sorry." He bit his lip, still fighting back fits of laughter. "I was just keeping the guy's friends busy. Victoria beat the shit out of the guy herself."
Calliope got quiet, but the grip on the wheel visibly relaxed. "Oh." She said finally. "That's different, I guess. Who's Victoria?" Her accusatory tone changed to valley girl gossip in an instant.
"Oh God, please don't start."
"Come on, pleeeease? Just tell me what she's like? Obviously, she's a fighter. Is she a witch? Do you work with her?"
Marcus rolled his eyes and leaned his head back. "Can you put me back in jail, please?"
"No, now spill it." His sister started the car and pulled out.
"Yes, she's a witch."
"A witch that you work with?" She prodded.
"Yes, a witch that I work with."
Calliope nodded, the smile on her face widening to the point Marcus thought it may extend off her face. "And you like this woman? Victoria?"
"Yeah, I mean.." Marcus shrugged. "We're colleagues. It's been complicated."
"How so?"
"She's very.. Competitive, I guess?" Marcus thought back to times she'd purposely set herself on recoveries that he'd volunteered for. "And she technically outranks me, but she's in charge of the trainees, so it's hardly the same."
"And you're not competitive?" His sister gave him a skeptical look.
"Not at work, no," he said genuinely. "I'm good at my job, but I don't compete with the others."
"Okay, what else?"
"I don't really know that much about her. She's not the sharing type."
"Well, that's something you know about her then." Calliope drummed the steering wheel. "Do you know why she doesn't like sharing?"
"That would require her to talk to me."
"Okay, don't be a smartass." His sister went on to attempt to psychoanalyze a woman whom she'd never met. Theorizing that she was likely just a guarded person, or that she had some kind of a traumatic past that made it hard to open up to people. She finally stopped when they pulled into McGinty's parking lot beside his truck. He had only been in the drunk tank a few hours, but the bar had cleared out, even Morris having left for the night.
"Are you going to invite her to dinner on Friday?"
"Are you out of your mind?" Marcus couldn't stop the laugh that time. "In the off chance there was any kind of future with her, that would cut it off at the ankles."
"Rude." She smacked his shoulder. "True, but still rude."