firstofitskind | La Scala Italian Restaurant to Dominic's Apartment, Verity’s Baltimore, Monday Evening

La Scala Italian Restaurant to Dominic's Apartment, Verity’s Baltimore, Monday Evening

There had been some weeks this summer that Liam would be perfectly willing to describe as 'traumatizing'. The past week had not been such. No, the word he would use to describe the past week was 'frustrating'. Especially when coupled (heh) with the fact that his and Verity's attempts to get off (heh) the island had been foiled at every turn.

And so when Monday morning rolled around and things were back to- not normal, that wasn't the word to use when a trip to the bathroom involved a brief stopover in some sort of pocket dimension filled with ducks- but it was clear that at least on a personal level, everything was functioning the way it should, he and Verity made the executive decision to go ahead with those plans for an off-island date.

With one rather significant difference. The reservation at La Scala was for three, not two.

Verity	"What did you tell him?" Verity asked, as the waiter poured a round of reds for the table. "And what did he say?" An emergency summons to mediate between the dragons and the ghouls had taken a lot longer than Verity had anticipated - contract negotiations between the two groups was murder and it was possibly only because she had been present that that was only figurative - and she'd missed out on grilling Liam beforehand. But hey, the ghouls had helped her with her hair, so...partial win?
Liam	Liam had put aside his usual paranoia and sprung for one of the restaurant's private rooms for the reservation... though the room did have a large picture window that looked out into the rest of the restaurant, including a good view of the door ~~which the player is modding as existing despite never having been to this restaurant because of reasons~~. "Uh," he scrubbed a hand through his hair. "That we hadn't seen him for a while, we missed his company, and where bette to take our favorite Italian import than this Italian place that's got rave reviews?" So... the truth, if a highly edited version.
Verity	"I mean, you say that, but I've had peanut butter and fluff gelato, so I'm holding back judgment," Verity said, snickering. The three chairs around the table formed a triangle, with one chair with its back directly to the large picture window. Verity looked at it, looked at Liam, thought about Dominic, and sighed, sitting with her shoulderblades in view of the door. "Don't say I don't love you," she muttered darkly.
Liam	"... Peanut butter and what gelato?" Liam echoed. He beamed at her as she took her seat, knowing what it meant that she'd concede to being the one without a view of the exit. "Would I ever say such a thing?"
Verity	"Marshmallow fluff," Verity said. "Otherwise known as god's gift to mankind and also sandwiches."
Dominic	"If this is the discourse I am to be subjected to over dinner, I am taking my leave now," Dominic said from the doorway. His smile was surprisingly warm and appreciative as he looked at them both, before thanking the maitre'd in Italian for guiding him here.
Liam	"Oh," Liam said, feigning disappointment (not very well). "You saying you don't have an opinion on... marshmallow fluff?" The last two words were said in an extremely dubious tone, as if he couldn't quite believe that such a thing actually existed.
Verity	"If either of you two have ever had it before forming baseless opinions, I'd be willing to at least listen," Verity declared, though at least half of that sentence was a lie. Because marshmallow fluff was amazing. "But you're both just being judgy for no reason."
Dominic	"Counterpoint, I have plenty of reasons," Dominic said, sauntering over to take the other seat with a view of the window. "Being judgmental is a side-effect of being correct."
Liam	"It's so nice to have backup," Liam said, eyes crinkling in amusement as he watched Dominic take his seat.
Verity	"That's it," Verity growled. "I'm claiming all the wine, deliberately drinking out of the bottle, and leaving the two of you to be smug bastards with the good seats."
Dominic	Dominic reached for the wine immediately, fully confident that Verity would do exactly as she said if she felt moved to. "And here, I'd been thinking that I've missed you," he said dryly, glancing at Liam to include him in that statement as well.
Liam	"Verity!" Liam hissed dramatically. "Don't scare him away!" as if he hadn't been just as complicit as Dominic in the teasing. For his part, he didn't move to protect his own glass of wine. Verity knew full well his feelings on alcohol, after all, and while he did still drink the occasional glass of wine with dinner, he was also perfectly happy to forgo it altogether.
Verity	Verity tossed her hair. "Hardly my fault that Covenant boys aren't trained to properly deal with Price girls," she said, leaning over to steal Liam's wine and drink a few sips.
Dominic	"That's certainly true," Dominic said. And then just - stopped - barely seeming to breathe, as Verity leaned towards him and deliberately stole his wine glass, too. He watched as she took three swallows of the deep red liquid, and didn't - maybe couldn't - talk again until she placed it back in front of him, licking several drops off her upper lip. "Very true," he said softly. "If I had been, I would have come far more heavily armed and done away with you long before you were able to say two words to me."
Verity	"You say the sweetest things," Verity said, lips curving into a smile. "...And you would have tried, anyway."
Liam	"Well," Liam said slowly, eyes flicking between Dominic and Verity, eyebrow raising as if to say 'See? I told you so.' to the latter. "I'm glad you didn't. Or I would've done way worse than just tackle you on that rooftop."
Dominic	"And thus, the trouble of ambushing a team," Dominic conceded. "You have to make sure you can take on both."
Liam	And of course, that was the exact moment Liam had chosen to go for a sip of water. "... Right," he coughed, setting the glass back down and trying for all the world to seem totally casual. His eyes locked on to Dominic's. "And do you think you could?" A beat. "Have. Could have." Real smooth there, Kincaid.
Dominic	"When I first arrived in Baltimore?" Dominic asked and then shook his head. "No, I don't believe so. There were a lot of things I wasn't really prepared for." His eyes lingered on Liam for a moment, before he coughed, a little self-consciously, and helped himself to the wine Verity had left him. "Now, perhaps," he said, glancing back up again. "Now that I've learned a few more things, it's possible. Might be worth giving it a shot sometime."
Verity	"Sounds like a good time," Verity said, smirking. "Solo workouts at the gym are fun and all, but very little gets the blood pumping like a real hot'n heavy fight." ...Her opinion remained the same whether they were talking about a literal fight or a metaphorical one.
Liam	And given how the past week had involved plenty of the former and none of the latter... well. "Going at it alone isn't nearly as much fun," he agreed, reaching out to oh-so-casually brush his fingers across the top of Dominic's hand.
Dominic	Dominic started a little at the touch, his smile a moment later almost sheepish. "I've got several fights under my, umm, belt," he said, blushing at the inadvertant double entendre. "But I've never, er...all my fights have been one-on-one thus far."
Verity	Verity thought about declaring herself the world heavyweight champion for a moment, just to see his face, but decided to play nice. "That's fair," she told him. "I haven't either. And unless Liam and I need to have a very stern talk, neither has he."
Liam	"No stern talks needed," Liam confirmed. "I promise there's just been you." Why yes, Dominic, that did mean that Verity had so far been his only sexual partner.
Verity	"I never had any doubt," Verity said with a soft smile, her hand reaching over for his.
Dominic	Dominic coughed a little, politely. "Uh, if I may," he said softly. "You two are an incredible...fighting team." Yeah, that flush wasn't really going anywhere. "So then why...?"
Verity	"Look for new team members?" Verity supplied. Dominic nodded hastily. "Well, it's not like we're doing an open casting call," Verity said, poking her straw in her virgin Shirley Temple. "Just you."
Dominic	"That may be the part I understand least," Dominic admitted. "We are allies, yes, and even friends, but it wasn't a full year ago that we were on opposite sides of the line."
Liam	"Exactly," Liam nodded. "And in that time, you gave up your world, everything you knew, because you came to understand that that line was wrong. You've got a good heart, Dominic," he said softly. And without that last part, for Liam at least, no amount of finding him objectively attractive would've mattered.
Verity	"And you're hot," Verity teased "You know, for the shallow end of the table over here."
Dominic	Shocking no one, really, Dominic started blushing. Dominic could face down a ravening lindwurm without batting an eye, but a compliment could make him stutter. Not unlike Liam, actually. He muttered something under his breath, sipping at his wine, quietly turning red.
Liam	Hey now, that was... okay, totally accurate. "And you're hot," Liam agreed, grinning. Just because he could empathize didn’t mean he wasn’t above a little teasing himself.
Verity	"Oh that reminds me!" Verity said with a perky smile. "We saved you a piece of Liam's cake." She reached into her purse and got out the tupperware container with the slice that said 'ass.' "Here you go!"
Dominic	Dominic looked down at the cake. Back up to Verity. Down to the cake. Then sighed and looked at Liam face full of amused resignation. "Do I want to know why your cake had the word 'ass' on it?"
Liam	Liam sighed the sigh of the hard done by (but not really). “She has them put ‘Happy Birthday Sheriff Sexy Ass’ on it,” he explained. And now was demonstrating his own tendency to get all flustered when faced with a compliment.
Verity	"I did," Verity said smugly. "In my defense, it was deserved."
Dominic	"So I have noticed," Dominic said wryly. "My question is why I received this piece."
Liam	Because the look on your face had been priceless, Dominic. “Because yours isn’t bad either?” Liam tried, doing his best to seem innocent.
Verity	"Can't argue with the man when he's right," Verity said, sweet as that cake. "And if you argue, he might just open an investigation into it."
Dominic	"I suppose the question is, then," Dominic said quietly, "whether that is meant to dissuade...or as incentive."
Liam	“What would you like?” Liam asked pointedly. Since they hadn’t actually covered that.
Dominic	Dominic's answer was forestalled by the arrival of the waiter to take their orders and refill their glasses. And after he left, Dominic took a long sip of his wine and contemplated. "So, in the Covenant, there was never a question about 'want' or 'like,'" he said quietly. "Who you settled down with was a matter of history and geneology, determined when you're children to make sure we get the most diversity in the bloodlines. There's time when we're out on assignment before we settle down, but the whole time, you're aware that it's temporary, that duty will require you later." He was quiet again, another long sip of wine. "I guess my question to your question to my question," he said with a wry smile, "is how long is this - whatever it is - going to last. Is it a fun, temporary thing before you settle down? Or...?" He trailed off, unsure.
Liam	Well, there was at least one version of the future out there where they’d kept this ‘whatever it is’ going for a good twenty years... but Liam wasn’t sure if mentioning that would scare Dominic off. “Personally, I’m leaning more towards the ‘or’,” Liam said. “But I figure, we try this out, see how things go. If we all have a good time, then...” he shrugged. “I care about you, Dominic. I - we- want you in our lives, regardless. Whether that’s just as a friend, or as a friend that we also sometimes have sex with...”
Verity	"Wherever this goes, you're not just an experiment to liven up the bedroom," Verity said, dropping her playful demeanor for the moment. "Not willing to swear up and down it's a forever thing, but we're not gonna sneak out while you're sleeping, either." Beat. "Err, if we stay over, that is," she added. "If you want us to."
Dominic	"I do," Dominic said quietly. "I want to. I mean, if you promise not to sneak out." The corner of his mouth kicked up. "Besides, there's no way you can sneak quietly enough to not wake me up."
Liam	“Oh, now you’ve done it,” Liam said, shaking his head at Dominic. Rookie mistake.
Dominic	"Oh dear," Dominic said, looking more like the cat that had caught the canary than someone who had made a mistake. "I suppose you shall have to keep trying until you successfully make it."
Liam	Liam threw back his head and laughed, clearly delighted. Okay, possibly not so much a mistake as a calculated move. Point to Dominic. “This’ll be good,” he decided, still snickering a little.
Verity	"You sneaky little asshole," Verity said, laughing. "I guess I walked into that."
Dominic	Dominic gave her a sly smile. "I am a Covenant-trained hunter, you know," he pointed out. "And you don't hate them because they're incompetent."
Liam	“Incompetent, no,” Liam agreed. “But not always successful at training out that whole ‘critical thinking’ piece, thankfully.”
Dominic	"Hey!" Dominic protested. "I'm not saying you're wrong, exactly, but hey!"
Verity	Verity leaned over and gave Liam a kiss. "So low-key sassy," she congratulated.
Liam	“It’s one of my better qualities, or so I’m told.” By... pretty much no one but Verity, really.
Verity	Verity laughed and sat back up in her seat - fast enough to see Dominic's look of longing before he had a chance to smooth his expression away to neutrality. "You want one, too?" she asked.
Dominic	Dominic blushed. Opened his mouth. Closed it. Glanced at the giant window where other tables were full of people. Bit his lip, concerned.
Liam	Full of people, yes. But people who were focused on their own meals and conversations, people who were paying no mind at all to a private dining room. ... And even if they were, what were the chances of running in to any of these people ever again? “Nobody’s watching,” Liam pointed out. “... Except me,” he amended after a minute. “And I’m fine.” His tone was light, but there was a hunger in his expression that had nothing to do with the restaurant’s menu.
Dominic	Dominic looked at Verity, raising an eyebrow in question. Verity just smirked and raised one back, though hers was all challenge. With one more glance at Liam, Dominic leaned forward, cupping Verity's head, her hair soft between his fingers, and kissed her, tentative to start out with, and then surer as she responded.
Liam	God, but they were both so hot. Liam’s tongue darted out, moistening his lips as he watched that kiss. “So,” he managed finally, raising an eyebrow at Verity. “Does he pass muster?” It had certainly looked like she’d enjoyed it, after all.
Verity	Verity pulled away, eyes heavy-lidded and cheeks a little pink. "I think so," she said. "But I'm pretty sure you're going to have to see for yourself before we make a final determination."
Dominic	"Fortunately for you both, I excel at tests," Dominic informed them, before reaching for Liam.
Liam	He really did, Liam found himself thinking, making a pleased noise in the back of his throat as his tongue found Dominic’s.

[ooc: NFB due to distance, preplayed with

arboreal_priestess pulling double duty as

hardchoicesindarkplaces, and TBC in comments, where it will likely get NSFW.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I look forward to them," Dominic said, his voice husky.

Verity's hand idly brushed over her cleavage, prominently displayed in her new dress. It wasn't a tango costume but covered up about as much of her as a costume would - which was to say 'not much.' "Anything else you're looking forward to?"

"There's a lot I'm looking forward to," he admitted. "Enough that it's hard to narrow down." He licked suddenly dry lips. "Just...a lot."

Liam grinned, leaning over to whisper something into Dominic’s ear, feeling compelled to share just one of the many things he was looking forward to.

Dominic's eyes went wide and his Adam's apple jumped in his throat. It was a good thing he hadn't been eating or he might have choked.

He shifted in his chair, pants tighter than they'd been.

He needed some wine.

"All right you two," Verity said, giving Liam a pointed look. "Share."

“Remember that discussion we had?” Liam asked, still grinning. “Just filling Dominic in on some of the points we covered.”

"You know, Liam, it's funny but I don't remember that conversation," she said, sounding as flighty and blonde as possible. "Could you remind me again? You know, out loud and for the whole table?"

Dominic sputtered on his wine, torn between shock and horror at how utterly brainless Verity sounded.

"I--I believe she needs a recap," he said, if only to make her stop.

Liam narrowed his eyes at her. “You know it drives me crazy when you do that,” he complained. And not the fun kind of crazy, either. “But fine.”

This wasn’t specifically why he’d booked them a private dining room, but he was glad he did as he refreshed Verity’s memory in regards to that particular conversation.

"Ohhhh yeah," Verity said, back to sounding normal again. "I think one of my favorite things about Liam is his genuine appreciation of sharing."

Lower case 's.' Her, rather than everything.

"Well, you will both be sharing, will you not?" Dominic asked, his face flushed. At some point, he'd also unfastened the top button of his shirt.

"That's the idea," Liam acknowledged, gaze drifting to that little bit of skin that undoing that button had left exposed.

... They could skip dessert, right? That'd be fine?

"I'm thinking of it less as 'sharing' and more as 'double the pleasure / double the fun,'" Verity argued, singing the jingle while she watched Liam's eyes track Dominic's pulse.

"That how you want it, Verity?" Dominic asked. "Both of us at once?"

He exchanged smiles with Liam, eyes dark.

There was going to be plenty of dessert where they were going.

"It is," Liam confirmed, remembering another conversation, the one where he'd first brought up the idea. "One of us holding her, plying her with kisses, the other going down on her..."

"And then you two can spit roast me," Verity said, her sweet tone and demure body language at odds with her incredibly filthy suggestion.

Dominic choked on his wine again. At this point, he was lucky he wasn't wearing half of it down his front. He pulled out his phone, checking to see if that bit of American slang meant what he thought it did - and yes. Yes it did.

"That is quite the mental picture," he said, pretending his voice hadn't cracked halfway through.

And if Dominic happened to be looking at Liam at just the right moment, he would see the faint ripple of blue beneath his skin that was an energy blush.

“And it sure would be nice if you actually got to experience it rather than a trip to the hospital because someone made you choke on your glass of wine,” he chided, as if the mental image hadn’t affected him just as much, albeit differently.

"Her fault," Dominic said immediately. "Have you heard the mouth on her?"

"More than heard it," Verity said in that same sweet tone. "Experienced it fully."

She touched her tongue to her upper lip as Dominic pointed at her, a giant See what I mean?!? in Liam's direction.

... Well, if she hadn’t said it, he would’ve.

“When you’re right, you’re right,” he agreed.

Who was he agreeing with, exactly? Both of them, as it happened.

"Just so you both know, if dinner turns out to be a giant tease, followed by a 'Gotcha, Covenant boy!' I am going to start the next invasion myself," Dominic threatened.

Teased?

Something.

Verity stood up, daintily blotting the sides of her mouth with her napkin, and stood from her chair. She crossed over to behind him, bending down so the back of his head was resting in her cleavage.

"Liam, c'mere and show him we're serious."

Liam raised an eyebrow, but got up from his seat to stand beside her. "What did you have in mind?"

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject