i don't even know what's real // audrey

The man pulled back, a scowl crossing his features as he looked up at Theo. He seemed to consider saying something in return, his hands still cupping the muscle-tempered curves of Diana's form, but another look between the two cured him of this desire.

"You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend," the man responded, his own alcohol intake preventing him from truly hearing Theo's words. Diana, who would usually be annoyed at the interference in her personal life, looked a little too pleased to see Theo, and it was clearly throwing the man off.

"Fine." He rolled his eyes, pushing away from Diana and standing, brushing himself off. "There's other women in this bar. It's a shame to lose such a pretty exotic one though. Makes sense that you two would be together." He gestured between the two of them as he uttered the not so subtly racist comment, moving off to the other end of the car.

Diana waved a hand in dismissal, disappointed she had lost an opportunity for fun but also turned off by the man's dehumanizing speech. After he was out of sight, she turned back to Theo, a beaming smile crossing her features. "Th-eo!" She said, a hiccup breaking the word in two. "I didn't think I'd see you until tomorrow morning." She stood unsteadily, bracing herself against the table. "Do you want a drink?"

Diana's full lips tilted downwards. "But I'm having a good time and I'm not ready to go to sleep," she said, crossing her arms. "Sit with me for just a few more minutes? You don't have to worry about me not being awake on time tomorrow. I've plenty of practice getting up after a night of drinking."

The hunter sank back into her chair, stretching her legs out in front of her and propping her chin on her hand. "Besides, we're going to be working together for the foreseeable future. Don't you think we should know more about each other? I'll start- I may look drunk, but I can handle my liquor pretty well, and I could still go toe to toe with a new vampire right now. What about you- how old are you, anyway? Have you ever gotten drunk before?"

Diana's good mood was dampered a little, by his seriousness and apparent disapproval. "No need to be so self-righteous, Theo. I know that's the angels' thing and all, but maybe a drink would loosen you up." She sighed, leaning her head back to stare up at the ceiling.

"My drinking isn't a problem if it doesn't interfere with my mission- and it won't. And no doubt I'll be embarrassed about this tomorrow, so no need to rub it in then." She knew she was reckless, and often stupid, but there was no need to explain herself to Theo. He could never understand why she drank so heavily. She raised her arm, looking at her watch.

"Eleven pm is a little early for me to go to bed, but I doubt I'll have much more fun with you around," she said, in drunken frankness. She stood and stretched, steadying herself on the tabletop again. "Be a gentleman and walk me back to my room, at least?"

"Sure, a little water would be nice." Now that the euphoria of drinking had faded, she did seem remarkably closer to sober, apart from the slight unsteadiness to her posture. Often she overhyped herself, and when someone killed her buzz she mellowed out quickly.

She took his hand and moved forward towards the bar, faintly resentful of his inquisitive gaze. Diana didn't really want to be figured out. She wanted... well, she didn't know what she wanted either. But being left to her self-destruction in peace was easier than this. His judgment reminded her of how far she had fallen, of how much potential she'd had once. Now what was she? A good hunter, but a promiscuous drunk who too often sat on the edge of rooftops, contemplating what it would be like to fall.

After they had gotten her water, she started back for her sleeping car, walking in silence beside Theo in the dimly lit train car halls. As they stopped outside her car, she spoke again. "I respect that you put the mission before everything," she said slowly. "I do the same. Trust me. There's nothing I want more than to wipe out the evils that hurt people." Memories of her mother flashed through her mind, followed by ones of her blood-drained body, and she winced faintly. "Well- I'll see you in the morning, then?"

Diana knew he didn't mean anything by the arm he used to guide her towards her room, but she still found herself leaning into it, and missing the simple warmth and comfort it provided when he removed it. She closed the door behind her, latching it tightly, before moving to her bed.

Absently, she fished out her phone, setting her alarm for the morning and rubbing her forehead. She laid back after she had set it down, staring up at the ceiling through the tears that welled in her eyes. It had been a long time since Diana had been touched in a non-sexual manner, and she had forgotten how desperate she was for it.

It meant nothing, she reminded herself, letting the hot tears fall down the sides of her cheeks, streaking past her ears and down onto her pillow. But for a moment, she had felt like a child again, when her father would reappear for a week and take her to the zoo or the park before disappearing, or when her mother would comfort her after a particularly bad fight with her friends. It had been years since she'd felt that kind of touch, and in her intoxicated state it brought back a flood of bittersweet memories, reminding her how lonely her life truly was.

Diana rolled onto her side, closing her eyes and letting the last of the tears fall silently onto her pillowcase as she drifted off.

---

In the morning Diana was ashamed of herself- for being caught by Theo, for crying herself to sleep over a platonic touch from a non-human being. She popped a few tylenol into her mouth from her disorganized bag and downed some water to fight off the coming headache.

When she met Theo she was dressed in fresh clothes, seemingly alert and ready to work. She had pulled her curls into a loose bun and greeted the angel cordially, with no mention of the night before. After they stepped off the train in Chicago, she turned to him. "So, we're hunting down evidence here? I'm not quite sure where to start. My missions are usually 'kill this vampire', so I haven't done a lot of research on artifacts."

(oh shit I thought I replied RIPPPPP how did I miss this)

Humans were so strange. Theo sighed, still staring at the closed door as Diana disappeared behind it, and after a few moments, his posture slumped back down to a more comfortable one. It was difficult to keep up an impression that he knew exactly what to do when all he had learned about humans were simply from books. From readings and observations and old classic novels he had found in his years after death. Mentally, he knew what it was like, to lose someone to the bottle, like they did in the stories.

Physically, watching a woman he barely know get drunk without a reason almost irritated him, in the sense that he couldn't even tell what her problem was, or why she'd do this to herself. Perhaps the years in the heavens made him a prude, but then again, perhaps having died and being without the same freedoms humans had made him all the more aware how lucky they had it.

An angel didn't need much sleep; he spent the night watching the world through a window, steeped in his own thoughts. Sunrises were still beautiful, he had to admit.

The next morning was as if nothing had happened.

"Morning," he replied briskly as he slung his bag across his shoulder and stepped off the train. "There's a Jesuit museum somewhere, might have a clue to what the artifact might be," he replied, looking over to her, "I guess I haven't explained what the artefact is right?"