“Alright!” Louise kicked her feet onto the table and pushed her chair back as she dangled a half-eaten pizza slice over her face, “too bad you guys only got six bottles, I don’t think that’s gonna get us too wasted,” she took a monstrous bite, giggling around the mouthful as Danny passed her a half-empty glass of red. They didn’t know what kind. None of the hunters generally went for anything classier than the stuff from the box. The only thing that counted right now was having a good time and forgetting all about ghoul guts.
Lee came up behind Louise, bending over and kissing her forehead, “you can have my share.” He pulled out a chair, sitting beside her. He’d just finished his emails for the night, so he was free to join the rest of them for what little time they had to enjoy themselves. Louise’s eyes lingered on him for just a moment. Without Lee, they’d probably fall apart. He was a lot smarter than anyone gave him credit for. She slipped a free hand under the table and squeezed his knee. A look passed between them.
Her gaze darted back up to Gabriel. He was so focused on his glass, she wondered if he was trying not to look at her. The breakup was mutual, but Louise still didn’t want to rub it in his face.
“You guys gonna stay in the office tonight to help Chuck catch up on that backlog?” Gabriel finally looked up at them, scooping up his own slice of pizza.
Lee nodded, “yes, although I'm sure I'll be the only one sober enough to do so,” he smiled, watching Louise, “give me a piece of that pizza, if you would be so kind.”
“Oh, here, I’ll do it-” Danny began, standing up to lean over the table, whilst simultaneously managing to knock over Chuck’s own solo cup of whiskey. “Sorry! Sorry!” He apologized, dropping his slice of pizza onto his plate so he could scoop up a wad of napkins to dab at the spreading mess.
Lee snatched up Chuck’s cup before the last portion of it could slosh over the side of the table, “Danny, Danny, just stop. Sit down, it's alright, just relax.” Sometimes they wondered what was going on with the kid to make him so accident prone. That he’d managed to survive this long was even more baffling.
Chuck actually didn’t react much at all, which was surprising. Usually he was pretty moody about his liquor, “was done drinking anyway,” he said, ruffling Danny’s hair reassuringly. He usually wasn’t that friendly unless he was hammered, which Louise was quickly realizing had to be the case. Well, they’d all earned it.
Gabriel took a gulp of wine, “can you believe how much people pay for this stuff? It’s basically rotten Kool Aid.”
“Oh, come on, Gabe, show a little class, it's good!” Louise wiggled her glass in the air, “refill!”
Lee quickly grabbed their half-empty bottle on the table to oblige her, snatching up a couple of napkins in the process to dab at the bourbon Danny had somehow splashed onto his sleeve. Lee grinned as he poured her a glass, “tell me when.” With his slicked-back hair, clunky glasses, and cheesy black vest, he didn’t exactly have the suave look down. Still, his smile lit up the room, and Louise couldn’t help but love him for it.
“When!” The glass was nearly full, the ruby liquid almost to the rim, it was a miracle she didn't spill it when she brought it to her mouth. She certainly felt tipsy enough. “I'm surprised that sexist bastard was willing to part with his precious wine,” Louise took a long drink after she spoke, “this is really good.”
“He let Danny pick it,” Gabriel reminded her, “probably keeps the best stuff hidden in a cursed…” he trailed off, squinting thoughtfully, “rice pot or something like that. I dunno.”
Chuck looked over at him with a faintly amused smile, “rice pot? I think I’m gonna call it a night. Wake up in a couple of hours to get some real work done.” He stood up, grunting a little with the effort of pushing his chair away from their fold-out poker table. The man’s age was starting to show. He disappeared into one of the back rooms, taking a bottle of the wine with him. Probably protecting it from Danny, just in case he wanted a pick-me-up in the morning.
Lee watched Chuck leave, “I'm going to take care of that paperwork. Don't drink too much,” he advised Louise, getting to his feet.
Louise looked at him incredulously, “I would never drink too much!”
He rolled his eyes, leaning down to give her a quick peck on the cheek. “Sure, of course, silly me.”
“This is fun,” Danny remarked, topping off his own glass and then Gabriel’s with the last dregs of the bottle before he popped open another. “How often do we get to do this?”
Gabriel shrugged, taking a bite of pizza, “rarely,” he replied through a mouthful of cheese and pepperoni, “Louise is a lightweight.”
Louise let out a snort, “am not,” she downed the last of her wine as quickly as she could manage. Not a great idea, since she’d just topped it up, but it was a party!
Lee put a hand on Louise’s shoulder, “I’ll unfold the futon in the back room. You hang out here for awhile, and call me if you need me.”
“What, from five feet away?” Louise asked, setting her cup down.
“If you pass out before I finish getting the futon,” he explained. Honestly, Lee was such a mother hen sometimes.
“You don’t think I can survive the walk into the back room?” She asked, feigning surprise. Somehow, the words came out a lot more slurred than she’d intended. Actually, a nap right now wouldn’t be too bad. Maybe she could even convince him to forget about the paperwork for awhile. A lazy smile crept across Louise’s face, which immediately got Lee’s attention.
“You alright?” He asked, pushing her cup away from her grasp, probably worried she’d go for one more refill.
Louise threw her arms around Lee’s torso, letting her head fall back a little, “leth’s go to bed,” she suggested playfully.
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Lee laughed down at her, slowly and clumsily helping Louise to her feet. She didn’t make it very easy.
“I think we’re going to call it a night,” he turned to the others, wrapping one arm around the small of Louise’s back to help her stand. Maybe that last glass of wine wasn’t a great idea. She felt so warm and fuzzy, though.
“So nice,” Louise mumbled, nuzzling her face into Lee’s shoulder.
“Okay, let’s go, sleeping beauty,” he replied softly. Louise didn’t make it easy for him, but eventually they managed to stumble out of the room together, and for the remainder of the night she did her best to try to convince him not to go back to his paperwork.
----------------------------------------
“Night,” Gabriel called out to them, directing his attention back to his wine, a sudden sense of loneliness seeming to strike out of nowhere. It felt like he was watching what could’ve been just walk out of that room.
“Danny,” Gabriel looked up from his cup, “don’t ever get involved at work. With coworkers. Or clients. Just don’t get involved with anyone, it’s not worth the trouble.”
Danny blinked at him slowly, looking at his cup before looking back at Gabriel, “why?” he looked toward where Lee and Louise had left, “I mean, they look happy.”
“They like the hassle, I guess,” Gabriel lied. “Louise and me had a thing going for awhile before they hooked up. Hunting just isn’t--” he was struggling to find the right words without giving too much away. Gabriel just couldn’t seem to connect with anyone like Lee and Louise did. It hurt, because she was pretty much the only person he’d tried to fall for. “--hunters shouldn’t date or marry. It’s a dangerous job, and you’re putting yourself at risk when you throw love into the mix.”
“But if you're both hunters or she at least knows shouldn't it be alright?” He shuffled his cup between his hands, staring down into the ruby liquid.
“Look, I’m not telling Louise what to do with her life, or Lee. This isn’t about them, it’s about you. You’re inexperienced, and I’m sorry Danny, but you’re fairly clumsy. If you decide to quit hunting, by all means go find a chick. Just keep it simple while you can.”
Danny gnawed on his lip, “I guess,” he shrugged, “I just hope I can have what they have someday.”
Gabriel swirled the dregs of his wine around, sniffing at the contents. Why did people smell wine anyway? He didn’t see the point. “Danny,” Gabriel began again, “everybody wants that. The chances are pretty slim you’ll get it. Besides, didn’t a blob monster or something eat your high school sweetheart?”
He glared at his boss, “yeah, well, I'm hoping to find a girl who isn't at risk of being eaten. No blob monsters in my future, no thank you.” he scowled, taking a deep drink of his wine.
“Ah, man,” Gabriel took a deep breath and let it out, “I’m not trying to be a dick. It just sucks. The whole thing sucks. Hunting. Dating. Bills. At least you get a choice with the second one. Hunting isn’t something you can turn away from once you start.” He ought to know.
“I think I want to drink more, do you want to drink more? I want to drink more.” Danny mumbled, fumbling for a bottle.
Gabriel nodded, feeling a little embarrassed for his little bitter advice session he’d tried to shove down Danny’s throat, “I don’t think I really like this one. What else did you grab?” He set his glass back on the table, eyeing the box of wine below.
“Umm,” Danny looked down at the box, picking through them. Almost every single bottle left had been drained, except for one. He snatched it up, placing it on the table in front of them with a flare, “last one. Mystery wine!”
“That looks promising,” Gabriel replied with a dubious frown, reaching forward to twist the bottle and examine it. As if that would somehow tell him anything about the wine inside. Weird. “No writing or anything on it? Danny, you sure this is even wine? It’s warm.” Not just warm. It felt like the glass was pulsing beneath his touch. He frowned, pulling his hand back and looking down at his fingers. Maybe he’d had just a little too much to drink.
Danny crossed his arms, “it’s wine. Why would he let us have it if it wasn’t?”
“Could be something else. God knows that old freak has a weird sense of humor. Maybe it’s homemade drain cleaner? Bathtub beer? I dunno, man,” Gabriel shrugged and tossed back the contents of his glass. He cringed at the taste, “probably can’t be that much worse than whatever the other wine was.” He snatched up a discarded corkscrew tucked between the wadded pile of wet napkins from Danny’s spill, and a half-empty pizza box. “You want some?”
The kid shook his head, grabbing the bottle Gabriel refused, “I'll finish this.”
“Alright,” Gabriel said, “suit yourself. Guess I’m the only real daredevil in this office.” He smirked, making quick work of the cork. He did wonder for a moment whether this was really a good idea, but the fuzz in his brain from the steady hour and a half he’d already spent drinking pretty much pushed that doubt aside. He’d done dumber things.
Gabriel slowly filled his glass, glancing up to look at Danny’s slightly doubtful expression, “what? You worried now?” It didn’t look like normal wine. Way too dark. Maybe it was port or something. He set the bottle aside and lifted the glass to his nose, “it kinda smells like cloves.”
Danny leaned forward, “lemme smell,” he reached for the glass, only for his hand to be quickly batted away.
“Smell the bottle. This is mine,” Gabriel defended his wine, bringing it to his lips while his free hand still guarded it from Danny’s clumsiness. He’d probably spill the whole thing. Then knock over a lamp, set the office on fire, and destroy the whole block. The possibilities were endless.
The young man pouted, grabbing the bottle and sniffed it, “eww,” he put the bottle back down, pushing it back toward Gabe, “smells like ass.”
“What? Are you fucking kidding? It smells like God damned Christmas!” Gabriel defended his sense of smell, “your nose is broken. Maybe you got some ghoul guts stuck in it.” He wouldn’t be entirely surprised if that was the case. Gabriel didn’t wait for a response, instead deciding to go ahead and risk his first sip of what could very well kill him.
It went down like water. Like breathing. Like heaven in a fucking bottle. There was also something familiar about it he couldn’t place. He was so focused on the flavor of the wine, or whatever it was, Gabriel didn’t even notice he’d already finished his first and even second glass.
“Wow,” he breathed, snatching up the bottle again, “Danny. You have no idea what you’re missing.” Gabriel could hear blood rushing in his head, even felt his heart pounding in his chest, but he blamed it all on being too damn drunk to know when he’d had enough. He wasn’t even sure he’d be able to stop himself now. This wine was incredible. It reminded him of something, but he couldn't quite place the taste. Whatever it was, Gabriel would almost kill to have more of it.
“All yours, you can drink the shitty stuff, you're just trying to trick me into trying it. I'm smarter than that!”
“Yeah, Danny. That’s my goal. Poison everyone in the office. You’ve figured out my master plan,” Gabriel rolled his eyes, deciding to just leave his empty glass on the table and go right for the bottle. Hell, they didn’t have any appointments in the morning. One very massive hangover to end all hangovers probably wouldn’t kill him. Hopefully…