Morning Coffee And Sweet Surprises (Closed to Poprockz)

[Drobabes]

Vin and Lizzy had still been talking when Damien came up with the cups, but they both stopped to give him a smile and thanks before continuing their conversation.

"I hear you on that. Just let me know if you ever need a hug or some shit, okay?"

She returned his soft smile with her own and nodded. Cora thought to herself that she probably wouldn't need to, but, at the same time, she felt very comfortable with Sabastian so maybe she would take him up on the offer if she really needed to.

When Damien came over and handed them their dinner, she smiled at his little joke and then patted the spot beside her before taking out a pickle to munch on. She was quiet for a moment, simply chewing and enjoying the crunchy texture and watching with amusement Delvin and Lizz told stories to each other. Or, it looked like they were telling stories. Vin's hands were very animated as he talked, and Lizzy kept laughing. It reminded her of Quint, and although it hurt a little to think that, it was nice to see them so happy.

"So what did Lizz say after she looked at the car? Can she fix it?"

 

[Poprockz]

Damien avoided her eyes and tried to act distracted. "Oh, hold that thought. I'm going to grab my own cup." he quickly turned from her and walked over to his cup, glad that she couldn't see the worried look on his face.

He took his own dinner in hand and wiped that look off his face before turning around, the man having hoped that he could delay things. Obviously, whoever was tailing them didn't want him to talk about the messages he received, but he couldn't withhold the information about the car. After all, even if he were to lie to Cora for her own safety, Cora would hear the truth from Lizz sooner or later. Maybe he could downplay it a little bit though.

He forced his body to relax and tried to retain a neutral expression as though they were simply going to be talking about everyday things. Striding over to her, he sat down on the floor to her side and sighed, "well, she said that one of the caps on one of the chambers that holds oil wasn't on the car anymore. She found cork crumbles around it, so it looked as though someone put a cork in there to fall out at some indeterminant time. It could have been the people at the church prison having fiddled with the car, perhaps. Must have been a pretty sturdy cork though. Maybe they glued it in or something."

The man took a bite of beef jerky, grateful to release some of his anxious energy by chewing the dried meat.

Sabastian was about to take a bite, but paused. Someone had sabotaged the car? That was troubling, but he wondered why the church people would have done it. He could see them putting in a temporary cork that would fall out soon so that they would crawl back to the church, but why not just sabotage the car so that it couldn't start? But the even more disturbing question was that if they didn't do it, then who did?

 

[Drobabes]

"She found cork crumbles around it, so it looked as though someone put a cork in there to fall out at some indeterminant time."

Cora coughed, a bit of her food going down the wrong side as she had been attempting to swallow right as he brought up that little bit of info. It took her a moment to get the coughing under control, but when she did, she reached over and grabbed a bottle of water to hide the expression on her face, taking a few slow sips and pretending that the choking was the reason she had gone silent.

Up until this point, she hadn't put a whole lot of thought into what had went down back at the base. Everything had gone to shit so quickly, and then almost directly after that, she had been bit. However, now there was proof that someone was tampering with their car... Still, she didn't know what had actually happened to that man at the base, that he had been shot and killed, and someone trying to mess with their car, while quite disturbing, didn't necessarily mean the two things were related. The church had been...terrifying, and she had no doubt that that crazy preacher might have tried to pull off a move like that. However, it seemed like there would have been easier, more permanent ways to mess with someone's car.

She didn't look up at Sabastian, nor did she look over at Damien. Perhaps only because she had already just gone through quite a bit of stress with the back massage, her panic wasn't as intense at it had been at the base. Cora was still scared, terrified of what it could mean, but there was also a lot going on with the world now. For all she knew, it could have been someone else doing this to anyone that they saw coming. Lizzy had said her truck had broken down as well, and how had Tiffany and Maverick ended up here? Perhaps there was some gang trying to stop people and gather them up...

"It sounds like we need to get it fixed as soon as possible then, and get Lizz and them a car. If it was the church, then maybe the cork expanded or something from the heat and got stuck in there, but if it wasn't them, then there might be some other people out there trying to lay some kind of trap."

She was quiet for a moment, trying to distract herself with the food in her hand, although now her mind was racing. Cora didn't want to give into her fear and paranoia like she had before, and the talk that her and Damien had shared in the forest, when she had went running after something she was sure now she had only imagined, was still fresh on her mind.

"I think tomorrow, if we can, I would like to try and find some more bullets for my pistol. And you're probably almost out too, aren't you Damien?"

 

[Poprockz]

Damien looked at her with concern as he started to rub her back, hoping she hadn't choked too badly on her food. No doubt the news was surprising, so he couldn't blame her for sucking in a breath while she was chewing. However, he was relieved to see that when the coughing stopped, she didn't seem too upset, not like the night at the base where she had basically had a panic attack and threw up. For that reason, he thought that maybe she had believed the bit about the church group having done it.

"...but if it wasn't them, then there might be some other people out there trying to lay some kind of trap."

He nodded, trying not to give her any indication that he believed one way or another. "That is a disturbing thought. Maverick did say something earlier about gangs. It could be one of those, perhaps if it wasn't the church." The man took a bite of a pickle, eating the crunchy vegetable as he hoped she didn't suspect anything. While the outcome of the mysterious letters seemed ominous, they had threatened to hurt Cora if he divulged anything of his own accord. After all, it seemed like whoever sent the messages wanted to punish him for his past trespasses, and he would be damned if the rest of the group suffered for it. He still hadn't quite decided what to do about it, knowing that someday there might be a time when they came for him.

It was reckless to stay quiet about it, but it was reckless to inform them too. Either way, it was a shitshow. At least if he kept his mouth shut, they might have a chance of getting away over a long flat stretch of road since they couldn't follow too close behind or risk being seen.

His steely eyes drifted to her once more and he shrugged, "I would never say no to more bullets. As it stands, I am pretty low on that supply. Maybe there's a gun shop nearby we could go to. I think food should be a priority though, then we get more ammo afterward."

"Why do we have to chose? Maybe we could split up or some shit? One group could go to the store, and the other could go to the ammo shop," Sabastian spoke up, making short work of the food in his cup. His eyes glanced over at Vin for just a second before averting his eyes. He wondered how he was going to get close when bedtime came with that flame going bright over there. No doubt Lizz would insist on keeping it lit so that they could all see when they went to their sleeping bags, but he wouldn't be able to approach.

 

[Drobabes]

Luckily for Sabastian, Vin was thinking a similar line of thought about the candle, and after they finished eating and finished their conversation, he asked Lizz if she would mind putting it a bit higher up on one of the tables-which were further away from where they were all going to sleep. The point he made was that it would provide a better light source from higher up, instead of low down on the ground, plus if it went out during the night, they wouldn't trip on it by accident.

When she got up to put her empty cup away, Vin looked over to Sabastian with a small smile before heading to the bathroom again. He wanted to change out of those jeans and into something a little softer so he could cuddle the little blond properly.

"Why do we have to chose? Maybe we could split up or some shit? One group could go to the store, and the other could go to the ammo shop."

"We could do that," Cora said, looking up at him.

"But I think we should be careful. If there isn't an ammo supply near a store, or preferably just a sporting goods store with some food in it as well, then I think half of us should just stay where it's safe. If someone is trying to tamper with things, the last thing you want is to let them split you up."

She also didn't want to be left alone with Tiffany or Maverick. They had played nice so far, but she just really didn't trust either one of them.

 

[Poprockz]

When Lizz went to put the light up, Sabastian hadn't noticed due to being engrossed in their conversation. For that reason, he also didn't see that little smile Vin gave him, though if he did, he would might have been tempted to look at the man dreamily. The way Vin had taken him today had left his ass just a bit sore, but it was the good kind of sore that he would beg for over and over again.

He thought to himself that while what Cora said made some sense, it was still splitting up the party. Whether each half of the group was somewhere safe was irrelevant; a safe space could be made unsafe in the blink of the eye if a gang were to descend upon them and try to kidnap them all, or worse. Still, he liked the idea of a smaller group going out to do things anyway. Having their large group go out at the same time, especially if Maverick and Tiffany were together, would attract more attention.

Damien's thoughts were somewhat similar, but he thought to himself that he didn't want to leave Cora around Maverick. He kept his voice low as he suggested, "this may sound sexist as hell, but what if the ladies held down the fort, and the guys went to get stuff? That way we could have an excuse for splitting those two up, and Maverick... could help with any heavy lifting." The man wanted to say that Maverick would be kept away from his hazel-eyed lady, but he didn't voice that concern.

 

[Drobabes]

She finished her jerky as Damien made his suggestion, and then she nodded.

"That's probably not a bad idea, honestly."

She kept her voice low as well, not wanting to be heard by the thirsty couple. While she really didn't like the idea of fighting, if it came right down to it, Cora thought she had a much better chance of fighting off Tiffany than Maverick-if they tried anything. She wasn't a short girl, and she wasn't exactly out of shape. She would hate to do that of course, but at least that way she felt like she had a bit more of a chance. She also didn't think Tiffany would really do much without the boys around, as she would have no one to hit on, except maybe Lizz if she swung that way.

In the bathrooms, Vin quickly got himself dressed and then folded his old clothes up. When he came back out, he walked over to the three of them and put his hand on Sabastian's back.

"You about ready for bed, or did you want to stay up a little longer?"

He was really looking forward to cuddling with him, the emotional strain of the day wanting to sneak back up on him now that things were more calm and he didn't have much else to focus on.

 

[Poprockz]

Sighing in relief that Cora approved of his idea, Damien took another bite of jerky, the man continuing to eat until his cup was empty.

Sabastian also finished up his food, finding that he had been quite hungry. It was funny, there as always a little gnawing hunger in his stomach unless he ate a big meal, perhaps on account of his metabolism now. He would have thought that with such a fast metabolism he would starve, but maybe it sped up when he ate, and slowed down when his stomach was empty. It was hard to tell what was going on with his new body these days.

He was taking one last bite as he felt that warm hand on his back. The blonde looked up and smiled warmly at Vin, chewing as the man asked him what his preference was regarding going to bed. To be honest, the thought of cuddling Vin sounded so nice right now, especially now that he was calmer. Maverick was so fucking wrong about this gentle, sensitive man. Their earlier session had scratched that lustful itch of his, but now he very much wanted to simply be pressed up against his warm chest.

"I think I'm ready for bed now." He stood up and nodded at Cora and Damien before taking Vin's hand and leading him back over toward the sleeping bags. It was going to be a bit embarrassing wiggling into the same sleeping bag as Vin with one of his childhood friends right there, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from holding Vin in his arms and giving him as much comfort as he could needed.

Maverick didn't say anything, simply smirked and then got into his sleeping bag, turning on his side away from them in his mummy bag. Since Lizz hadn't taken up their offer to take his, he had taken it back. Tiffany had already gotten into her own sleeping bag, pulling the top up over her face so that it blocked out the light of the candle.

After Sabastian and Delvin left, Damien gently rubbed Cora's shoulder. "Are you thinking you want to go to bed now too? It's been a long day, so I wouldn't mind getting some shut-eye." It had certainly been a stressful day, especially with Tiffany and Maverick sowing chaos within the group. It was bad enough trying to keep Maverick away from his girl, but Tiffany was equally exhausting.

 

[Drobabes]

Lizz had already moved her sleeping bag a few feet away from Vin's and curled up-feet facing his, while he had gone to change in the bathroom. And just like she always had, she had fallen asleep almost the minute her head hit her makeshift pillow, softly breathing by the time that Sabastian came over.

Vin waited for Sabastian to get comfortable, and then he crawled in and put his arm around him, pulling him close as he let out a long sigh. It conveyed both relief and melancholy, the hard days events catching up with him.
________

She sat her cup down on the now empty chair, and then turned to him so that she could run her fingers through his hair affectionately. Despite her newfound bravery, the thought of someone trying to do something to them was eating away at her. What if she woke up only to find someone gone, or some stranger standing over them with weapons? She had watched Lizz lock the shop doors earlier, but it was still scary to think about. However, she was also exhausted and wanted nothing more than to simply fall asleep in his arms, with her friends close by.

"Yea, let's get some sleep."

After they had set their sleeping bags out and had gotten themselves situated and comfortable, Cora pulled his hand up to lay a soft kiss on his fingers.

"I love you" she whispered, closing her eyes and trying to shut off her troubling thoughts.

 

[Poprockz]

Sabastian sighed as well, the comforting feeling of Vin beside him making all of his tenseness go away. He shuffled a bit in the sleeping bag so he was facing Vin, cuddling close to his chest and giving his warm skin a soft kiss before laying his head down and looking up into Vin's eyes. If Vin was tired, he was happy to drift off to sleep with him, but he wanted to be available for the man if he needed to unburden himself too. After all, if Sabastian could lighten Vin's heavy heart, he would stop at nothing to do so. However, he soon found himself falling asleep, and his last thought was that he hoped Vin would at least find his presence helpful.

"I love you too," Damien murmured, kissing her shoulder before closing his eyes and relaxing. And so he did; the only love of his life was laying with him in a sleeping bag miles from home. He quietly wondered whether she truly knew how much he needed her. Soon though, he drifted off to sleep.

-------------------------------------------------------------

He didn't know what time it was, but Damien awoke, one of Maverick's louder snores having roused him from his slumber. The man glared at Maverick in the darkness, but ultimately there was nothing he could do about it short of putting a pillow over the man's head. Cora probably wouldn't like that, though. It was soon apparent that he needed to use the restroom, the man apparently having drank too much before bedtime.

Damien tried to resist, to go back asleep, but the urge to use the restroom kept annoying him until he finally couldn't ignore it. With a soft sigh, he very carefully got out of their sleeping bag and headed toward the bathroom. It was very quiet in that building, but he didn't find himself spooked. He borrowed the candle, taking it with him into the bathroom to light his way. Upon his arrival, he set down the candle on the sinks, went into a stall, and did his business before flushing and going to the sink to wash his hands. The man froze, looking over to find that Tiffany was standing there in the dim light, leaning against a wall.

His lips pursed as he looked at her, sensing that this was going to be trouble. "Tiffany. I was just going back to bed. I'll see you in the morning." He started moving toward her, but she mirrored his movements, eventually meeting him in the middle and putting a hand on his chest. She gently pushed him backwards until his back was against the wall, the man looking down at her warily.

"What's your hurry, Damien? I know we already had dinner, but..." She ran her hand up and down his chest sensually, her eyes flicking up to his. "I was in the mood for dessert too."

He reached up and grabbed her wrist firmly but gently, removing it from his chest as he tried to keep control of the situation. "Well then, perhaps you should have spoken up earlier. I would have been happy to give you a can of mandarin oranges."

Not remotely discouraged, Tiffany put her other hand on his chest, rubbing him in that same way. "I do want something round and thick, but it isn't a can of oranges. I think you can guess what it is."

His other hand grabbed her other wrist in much the same way, now holding both her arms away from his chest. This was starting to get really uncomfortable for him, and he knew he needed to make things abundantly clear. "Tiffany, listen to me. I'm not going to sleep with you. Not a blowjob, fingering, anal, nothing. Nothing is going to happen."

She put on a pouty expression and leaned forward, taking advantage of the fact that he was holding her arms in order for her to squish her bra-covered breasts against him. "You say that like it's a sure thing when you haven't even given me a shot. I could make you feel so good..." She started to rub her chest up and down against him, her soft, lacy bra teasing his skin.

He shifted a bit, not liking the fact that she was literally pressed up against him. "I'm sure you could, you're a very attractive woman. However, I am in a committed relationship, and don't need any "side action." I love her, end of story." His steely eyes were serious as he waited for her to back off.

Tiffany's lip curled slightly and she huffed. "You're so dumb, Damien. I can't believe you would turn me down for some chick who's a dime a dozen. I bet she doesn't please you like I could. What's the harm in just one fuck? It's not like she would ever find out, and it's not that big a deal..." Her voice was slightly whiny as she said this, her knee coming up to rub gently against his groin.

He wanted to push her away, but doing so would push her off-balance and she might hit her head if she fell backward. The pressure against his groin wasn't welcome, but his cock stirred slightly nonetheless. "It is a big deal. If you're needing some attention, go find some with Maverick. I'm not interested in the least. I've been with a lot of women, and the only one who I really want is Cora. It's Cora or nothing."

Tiffany's nostrils flared as she glared at him. "You're making this so much more difficult than it has to be, Damien." She seemed to think for a moment, a look of lust and possessiveness in her eyes. "If you don't sleep with me, then I'll... I'll tell them all that you forced me... that you took me in the middle of the night when no one was around."

Damien's eyes widened with fear and uncertainty and he wished he could back away from this poisonous woman. He didn't know whether she would actually do such a thing, but something told him that she meant it. She didn't know his history, so she had no idea how potent that threat was. Cora knew what he was, but none of the rest knew (the man not knowing that Sabastian was already aware). If Tiffany called his morals into question, perhaps Cora would believe her. It wasn't as though he had a stamp on his forehead that said he was reformed or that he wouldn't relapse into his old behaviors.

If he lost her... he didn't know what he would do. That wasn't entirely true, he would probably murder Tiffany first, but then he wouldn't know where to go from there. Speaking of which, murdering Tiffany was certainly an option, though he knew that he couldn't go through with something like that. Cora would hate him if he did that, even if Tiffany was annoying. Besides, he was trying to be better for her, so that was out of the question.

The way the others would look at him too... Even if there was a sliver of doubt within them, they would look at him differently, treat him differently.

After several moments of stunned, indecisive silence, his shoulders slumped slightly, knowing that the only safe option would be to sleep with her and hope to God Cora didn't find out. She was worth more to him than his dignity. "I-" his voice was strained, his steely eyes burning with resentment at the pink-haired woman.

 

[Drobabes]

Cora sat up, the sleeping bag pooling around her waist. Her back felt sweaty despite how chilly the shop felt, and for a moment, she couldn't make sense of what she looking at.

"Sarah?" she whispered, blinking blearily as she looked around. It took her a moment, but once she was able to wake up a bit, she realized where she was. The moonlight was coming in through the window, and although it wasn't as bright now, it was still just enough dim light to see the outlines of the other sleeping bags, and for her to notice that Damien wasn't beside her.

Fear started knocking her heart against her chest hard, and she immediately threw the blanket off of herself and got up, scrambling around in her pile of stuff to find her phone. She had been trying not to use it as much for fear of breaking it, but right now, she really needed the light. Once she had it, she turned the brightness down to the lowest it would go, as not to wake anyone else up, and then she started walking around the shop as quietly as she could.

Her head was still a bit fuzzy from having been in such a deep sleep, so for a moment, she wasn't really thinking and was just wandering around aimlessly. However, once she stepped near Mavericks sleeping spot and noticed that Tiffany wasn't in her sleeping bag either, her brows knitted and she looked towards the bathrooms.

She wouldn't...

But what if she had? Only one way to find out.

"You're so dumb, Damien. I can't believe you would turn me down for some chick who's a dime a dozen. I bet she doesn't please you like I could. What's the harm in just one fuck? It's not like she would ever find out, and it's not that big a deal..."

Cora hit the power button on her phone to switch the light off, and then she stuffed it down into her back pocket of her shorts before sneaking as close in as she dared. For a moment, she simply stood frozen in place, not believing what she was hearing. She had thought Tiffany was rude, sure, but that was pretty goddamn low. Still, the way that Damien shot her down made her proud and brought a little smile to her lips. That was, until Cora heard the next words that left that disgusting women's mouth.

Shocked, disgusted, and absolutely burning with barely contained rage, she stood there just as frozen as Damien. That disgusting bitch had not just threatened him-not him, the man who she loved above all else in this world. She had heard enough, and finally, she found the courage to step out from the shadows and into the dim light of the candle.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing you disgusting cunt?"

Her voice was not quiet, and it was laced with venom as she strode up and grabbed the women by the back of her pants, yanking her back and away from Damien with more than enough force.

"Did you seriously just fucking trap him in here and threaten him? What the fuck?! What were you going to do, rape him and then use the victim card to get all of us on your fucking side?!"

She was shaking as she glared down at the women, her hands balled into fists by her sides like she was getting ready to punch her pouty little face, and the more she spoke, the louder her voice got until she yelling. Did she care if she woke the rest of them up? Not one goddamnit bit.

 

[Poprockz]

Both Damien and Tiffany jumped as Cora made herself known with her righteous fury. Though once they discovered that it was Cora, they had exceedingly different reactions. Damien felt relief flooding his system, but also a bit of guilt. True, he had turned down Tiffany's advances without fail, but he had been about to give in and sleep with her to keep her from putting a wedge between them. He wasn't sure whether she would understand that he just wanted her and couldn't let his own comfort or pride stand in the way of that.

Tiffany's face paled and she yelped when she was pulled back by her pants, but she recovered quickly, puffing her chest out a little as Cora looked down on her. When Cora accused her in an escalating pitch of rage, Tiffany blew a raspberry. "Pfff. Yeah yeah. I think you're really blowing this out of proportion. I was only joking. If you hadn't interrupted, I would have told him that I was pulling his leg and that it was fine. If he wants to be with a boring, brown-haired sock puppet, then that's his decision."

The woman didn't back down from Cora's posture, the look on her face catty and smug.

Damien knew that wasn't true, the way she had looked at him wasn't the look of someone who was joking, and even if it was a joke, it was in incredibly poor taste. However, he had just the slightest sliver of doubt. Maybe she had been joking... was he really that easy to manipulate?

 

[Drobabes]

Her anger only grew more furious as Tiffany lied to her, and she stepped even closer, getting within inches of her face.

"Joking? Joking?!" she yelled.

"That was not a fucking 'joke' you stupid cunt! You don't joke about something like that! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

Outside the bathrooms, Vin woke up, having heard the yelling but not quite making sense of what was going on yet. He sat up slightly and looked around blearily.

"Have you ever been on the receiving end of that shit, Tiffany? Have you ever had someone threaten you into compliance or risk tearing down your whole world? Do you have any idea what that feels like?! Or are you too much of a rich fucking princess who has had everything handed to her from the time she was born and never taught what NO means?!"

Cora wasn't backing down from this, too full of fury from what had almost just happened, not to mention the type of pain she knew it could cause.

 

[Poprockz]

Sabastian also awoke from the yelling, sitting up as well and leaning on Vin. He was surprised to find that it was still nighttime, having thought in his sleepy state that maybe this was a morning fight going on. "Mm... What's going on?" he mumbled softly, sighing and wishing there would just be silence so he could go back to sleep. It was a bit chilly outside the sleeping bag after having slept next to the space heater that was Vin, making him shiver slightly and try to pull up the covers ust a bit. As he became more awake though, he recognized Cora's angry voice and he became a little more alert.

With every word Cora yelled, Tiffany became angrier herself, the woman glaring at Cora as they faced-off against one another in their spat.

"No one says no to me because I'm a hot bitch, Cora." She flicked her hair over her shoulder, purposefully letting it almost whip Cora in the face.

"And what do you know about that kind of shit, hm? I bet no one ever had to threaten you for anything. You probably just fucked them anyway, grateful that someone thought you were even a little bit pretty. Damien probably just stays with you because he feels sorry for such an ugly, uptight, priss! You can't fault me for trying to help him out." She inched her own face defiantly closer to Cora's, snapping her fingers in Cora's face to emphasize her point.

Damien was at a loss for words, looking back and forth between them. He had never seen Cora blow up like this, and part of him was really touched. She cared enough about him to get livid on his behalf, willing to stand up for him.

"That's not true Tiffany, and you know it," he interjected, taking a step closer to them.

The pink-haired diva waved at him dismissively. "Whatever Damien. If that's how you want to save face, then sure. We both know you were starting to get hard for me."

 

[Drobabes]

Vin had stiffened up a bit as the fight went on, trying to listen to what was being said. When Sabastian asked what was happening, he simply said "shh" very quietly. After another moment, and recognizing that it was Cora yelling, he peeled the blanket off of himself and got up, starting to head towards the source of the yelling.

"You don't know anything about me Tiffany" she growled, getting closer and closer to her line of how much shit she was willing to take from this women.

"We both know you were starting to get hard for me."

And her line was reached. It was one thing to suggest that Cora slept around willy-nilly, and although that hurt, a lot, touched her in a very sore spot even, she would not put up with someone insinuating that an involuntary reaction of the body somehow meant consent.

"You ignorant piece of shit" she growled before she pulled her arm back and swung hard. Her blow was softened, however, as Vin had showed up in the bathroom at the exact same time that Cora had lifted her arm, and already knowing what was going to follow, he had jumped forward and wrapped his own arms up and under hers before fully lifting her off the ground and spinning her around in the opposite direction.

"Cora stop!" his voice boomed, and immediately she went limp, the authority in his voice just too strong for her to ignore.

 

[Poprockz]

The blanket being pulled off made Sabastian shiver again, the cold being enough to awaken him enough to get up and follow Vin toward the bathrooms. He could hear the argument Cora and Tiffany were having, but he didn't realize just how tense things were until Vin physically stopped Cora from punching the other woman square in the face.

When that fist had been drawn back and launched forward, Tiffany had braced herself for the impact, knowing that if she didn't then Cora was liable to break her nose. However, that punch never came, the woman watching in surprise as Cora was lifted and turned away by Vin. A smirk curled up on her lips and she looked at her nails.

"Hmph!" Tiffany made a little satisfied noise, feeling smug in the fact that Cora was stopped from landing a blow on her. Walking around Vin, she leaned in close with a arrogant smirk. "It's probably better this way anyway. I would end up fucking up a weak-ass bitch like you in that fight." She sounded self-assured, as though she was confident that if they had actually fought, Cora would end up having a lot more scratches and bruises.

With that, her eyes flicked down and up Cora's body and she gave her a look as though saying she wasn't impressed, "It's a good thing you have these guys around so you don't have to fight your own battles. You sure you're not fucking both of them for protection?" She flicked Cora's forehead and grinned.

 

[Drobabes]

Her eyes went wide as she looked over Vin's arm, and before he had time to tighten his grip on the feisty women, she had slipped down and under his arms. If there had been more light in that little room, she would have been seeing red as she stepped forward, and this time, made sure her punch landed.

Back in her earlier twenties, when they were still new to the bar scene, Cora had seen her brother get in many a fights and she had always been scared by it or having to jump in the middle to break it up, because she knew he wouldn't hit her. But until this point in her life, she had never understood the anger behind his blows, or how he could have gotten himself so worked up to a point where he thought fighting was every necessary.

Now she understood, however. Some people just had it fucking coming to them.

 

[Poprockz]

Tiffany jerked back from the force of the punch, putting her hand up to her face as her eyes looked at Cora in shock. That shock quickly turned to rage as she retaliated, pulling back and punching her right back. She then grabbed a secure handful of Cora's hair and yanked her closer, trying to get enough leverage to slam Cora into a wall. Cora was very feisty though, so she had trouble getting enough momentum to slam her and instead ended up yanking Cora's head painfully this way and that.

"Fucking bitch! Do you want me to beat the shit out of you?!" She pulled her in again with a yank and punched Cora in the gut. Tiffany looked extremely pissed, as though she was releasing several years worth of frustration on Cora.

 

[Drobabes]

Cora hissed in pain, but other than that, she showed no sign that what the pink haired women was doing to her was really causing her any harm. Even when the women punched her, she simply let out a shocked breath, more from the force of it than anything, and continued to try to free herself of her grip in her hair as she used her height to keep her body upright and away from the dangerous hard tiles of the bathroom wall. She knew from experience how fucking bad that hurt and she wasn't about to let it happen again so easily.

Vin knew he had fucked up by letting his grip loosen on Cora. He really should have expected Tiffany to escalate it, but he thought his voice would have been enough. Seeing as it wasn't, however, he quickly stepped forward.

"Damien grab her!" he yelled, indicating that he needed to get Tiffany off of Cora. As soon as Damien had her, Vin wrapped his arm around Cora's waist and tried to pull her free again, but he kept in mind that the prissy bitch probably wasn't going to let go of her hair, so he didn't try to pull them all the way apart just yet.

 

[Poprockz]

Damien stood there as Tiffany writhed in his arms, her hand still gripping Cora's hair tightly as she hissed at the steely-eyed man who held her, "let me fucking go, Damien! This bitch is going to fucking get it!" She tried to smack Cora's face, but her hand couldn't reach her face enough for her to actually slap her with any force.

He didn't take that as a very good reason to let her go, and she already hurt Cora so she was currently on his shit-list. He frowned as he waited for her to stop raging, his eyes on Cora to make sure that she wasn't hurt. Reaching out, he grabbed Tiffany's wrist and growled, "let go of her."

"No, fuck you! I don't give a fuck what you say, asshole!" It was obvious that Tiffany was still hyped up, the adrenaline pumping as she sought to continue the fight. Her eyes flashed as she gave Cora another good yank, her hair the only foothold she still had. Damien squeezed her wrist painfully, the girl trying to struggle before she ended up releasing Cora's hair and yelping, "fuck, Damien stop! It hurts!"

The man relaxed his grip on her only enough for it to stop hurting her, still holding her tightly.

"Jesus..." Sabastian muttered, watching everything that was happening. "What the fuck is going on?"

 

[Drobabes]

Cora continued to simply hold herself in, refusing to show the pink haired women that she was hurting her. However, unbeknownst to Tiffany, she was gripping Vin's arm in desperation as her skin began to pale and her body shook with new vigor. He could tell that something was very wrong; this wasn't the usual reaction of someone who had just gotten in a fight, nor was it the reaction of someone starting to calm down or trying to de-escalate. He could actually feel the drop in temperature of her body as he was finally able to pull her back out of Tiffany's reach.

With a bit of nervous worry settling over his face, he turned her to Sabastian and pushed her towards him.

"Take her out of here and get a blanket wrapped around her" he said quietly, but with authority. He knew something wasn't right with Cora and he didn't want to upset her more by raising his voice again. He then turned to Tiffany and glared at her as he stepped up to her.

"You. Chill the fuck out right now or I will wake everyone else up and we'll decide what to do with you, and you better think about your next words carefully because right now, it's four against two and we have guns" he growled. Of course, he would never actually threaten the women's life, but with the way she was acting right now, he might have no qualms about leaving her and her shitty boyfriends ass here with no car and barely any supplies if she couldn't get her shit together.

 

[Poprockz]

Sabastian caught Cora as she was pushed over to him, putting his arm around her and leading her away; if she ever became weak, he could support her weight easily. He took her over to her Sleeping bag and unzipped it so that it was more like a blanket. He had her sit down, sitting down next to her and pulling the sleeping bag around them to give them some warmth. At that moment, he felt something on his leg, something slick and smooth.

Looking down, he saw Bowie slithering up as though he sensed that something was wrong, the snake slithering into Cora's lap and raising his little head to look at her from within the blanket. Sabastian agreed with Bowie- he was worried about her too. He rubbed her arms to try to warm her up.

"You're okay Cora, everything is okay. Me and Bowie are here with you."

--------------------

In the bathroom, Tiffany panted for a few moments after Vin's words, swallowing and taking a few more deep breaths before nodding. "Okay, I'm cool. I'll be cool." She calmed down, relaxing in Damien's grip and catching her breath a bit. She looked a bit resigned, as though she wished their fight could have been resolved, but she recognized that the ship had since sailed.

Damien didn't know if he could let go of her yet, but he tentatively let her wrist go and she didn't bolt or anything like that. When that went well, he let go of her entirely. The woman walked over to the sink and leaned over it, quietly standing there and looking down into the porcelain sink. She didn't say anything, perhaps not thinking that there was anything she could say at that point to recover her pride.

 

[Drobabes]

She let him lead her numbly to the blanket, her gaze just staring down at the ground. Once he had the blanket around them both, she seemed to relax just the smallest amount, until he started to rub her arms. Her hand shoots up and she grips his wrist, her fingers shaking like she had just drank a whole pot of coffee.

"Don't touch me" she whispered, before letting his wrist go. Then after a few seconds of silence, she spoke up a little louder.

"Please...it's not you..."

Her hands in her lap started to fidget together, beginning to squeeze each of her fingertips rhythmically like she had back at the base, and her expression remained stoically blank as she simply stared out into the darkness of the shop.
_________

Delvin simply glared at her for a few moments after she went to the sink, and then he finally looked up at Damien, his expression softening for him a bit before he gestured with his chin for him to follow him out. He picked up the candle before they left, leaving Tiffany alone in the dark. Once they were out of the bathroom, he turned to Damien and spoke very quietly.

"Are you alright man?"

He didn't know what had happened in that bathroom, but Damien didn't look guilty, like he had been caught doing something-he looked upset and angry. All Vin could think of was that the thirsty women had pursued him with even more energy, and from the way that Cora had been yelling, likely tried to make a more physical move on the steely eyed man. But even if he was wrong in his assumption about what had happened, Vin considered him a friend, so that came first and foremost to him despite whatever may have went down between the three of them.

 

[Poprockz]

When she gripped his wrist, the blonde felt bad, not having known that he might have been making it worse. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it seemed like a panic attack. It was strange though- he didn’t see her as the type of person who would panic over getting into a fight with another woman.

He let go of her arms and got out of the blanket, wrapping it solely around her before sitting down next to her once more. She would probably do well with the warmth and comfort of the blanket itself.

Maverick sat up in his sleeping bag and looked at them blearily, his eyes going to Cora and seeing the way she was hyper-focused and fidgeting anxiously. He had heard yelling, but he figured it was just an argument. The way she moved made him think of their massage, the tenseness of her muscles and the likelihood of trauma; this seemed to confirm it in his mind.

Wordlessly, he got up and walked into the office and grabbed a bag, taking it over to them and opening up a little case with pretty little color-coded tubes. He set it in front of Cora and nodded at it. “Those are scented oils. I figured you might find a smell calming, but I didn’t just want to wave the lavender under your nose on the off-chance you hate it. There’s lavender, citrus orange, sandalwood, mint, sage, clean laundry, rum, and tobacco. It looks like you have your own coping mechanisms, but I thought I’d offer.” He shrugged and yawned, leaving the case there and heading toward the bathrooms.

Sabastian had scowled at him as he approached, ready to chase him off if he was going to be a dick. To his surprise, the man seemed to be trying to be helpful, not cracking a single sexual innuendo or flirty comment before putting the oils down and leaving.

———————————-

Damien followed Vin out of the bathroom, thinking they were going to check on Cora. To his surprise though, Vin stopped and seemed to be concerned about him. It caught him a bit off guard and he couldn’t find words for a moment, his lips pursed.

“I had gotten up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, and when I came out of the stall, she was there. She tried to hit on me again with more... enthusiasm, but I tried to be clear in turning her down. She threatened that if I didn’t sleep with her, she would tell everyone that I forced her. And that’s when Cora came in. The rest you can guess.” He crossed his arms and glanced at the bathroom before his dark grey gaze settled on a spot on the floor.

“If Cora hadn’t come, I would have serviced her. I wouldn’t have wanted to, but I don’t think the session would have lasted longer than an hour, so it would have a been a small price to pay. I... just couldn’t bear the idea of losing Cora. I Haven’t met anyone as special as she is, so I would have had to. But to answer your question, I’ll be fine.”

“Mrs. Cornell wants you to visit again. She’s become quite fond of you, you know... Maybe if you keep this up, you’ll actually be able to repay me a sliver of my kindness.” The smell of vodka, and the sound of a cold laugh.

 

[Drobabes]

Cora had switched from fidgeting with her fingers to doing a combination of petting Bowie while also using her free hand to press her thumb to each of the pads on her fingers rhythmically. It was working, albeit slowly, but it was working. However, when Maverick came up to her, she started to tense up again. She was not ready to have that conversation with him, of why she had punched his girl.

What he did shocked her however, and she momentarily stopped her fidgeting to look at the case of oils that he was offering. Her eyes raked over each one slowly as he listed the smells out.

"It looks like you have your own coping mechanisms..."

Her eyes shot up to him, a bit stunned that he recognized what she was going through, though she couldn't bring herself to say anything to him. Once he walked away, Cora sat there for a few long seconds before hesitantly reaching out and taking the sandalwood bottle and letting just a bit get on her hand. She then put the cap back on and sat it back in the case, lifting the hand up to her nose while she continued to stroke Bowie's scales along his body.
________

"She threatened that if I didn’t sleep with her, she would tell everyone that I forced her."

Vin's eyes went wide for just a split second before his face settled into a deep scowl.

"She what?" he growled, although Damien's next words made him shut his mouth as he listened quietly.

When he was done, Vin had a very strange look on his face and he was very quiet. After a moment of silence, he turned and sat the candle down on a little table before turning back to Damien and crossing his arms.

"Damien, listen," he started, keeping his voice low so as no one else could hear them.

"I don't know how you grew up, and I'm not about to go prying in your business, but the way you just described that...it sounded like that's not the first time something like that has happened to you."

He opened his mouth to speak again, but for a moment, he struggled with finding any words. When he did manage to figure out what to say, however, his voice was laced with sadness.

"What she just did to you was wrong. It was disgusting. And I understand where you are coming from with that fear of losing Cora, but don't put yourself down by saying it would have been a small price. There is no price on consent, and she had absolutely no right to threaten you like that. You have a right to say no. You have a right over your body, and no one, no one, ever has the right to try and force you or coerce you into doing something that you don't want to do."

He went a little quiet after that, simply staring at the taller man, not with pity, but just with sadness. He didn't understand what could have drove him to talk about himself in such a way, but whatever, or whoever, it was, must have really beat the idea into his head that he wasn't deserving, and that was horseshit.

His eyes looked away when he saw movement, and he spotted Maverick coming over towards the bathrooms. He let the man walk by, and once he was inside, he turned away from Damien and started to follow after him. Vin paused before he went inside, however, and looked over his shoulder.

"I'm not going to start a fight, but I'm going to get this taken care of. You should probably go check on Cora."

With that he started walking away, intent on having a talk with Maverick about what had just happened and seeing where the man stood with his women.