Booze and Booty: a Happy Hour indeed

A busy, bustling bar certainly had its charms. Everyone drinking, snacking, laughing, sometimes even dancing and singing, drunkenly and not so drunkenly--

--that one bartender breaking her fifth glass for the night.

Yeah, in moments like those, where it was very, very clear that everyone was having a good time, well… Damian would have had to have been in an incredibly dour mood not to get infected with that kind of energy going around. However…

There certainly wasn’t anything wrong with this kind of atmosphere either.

While it made plenty of sense, in the moment it did still catch Damian off guard just how...slow The Rabbit Hole seemed to be tonight. A bit of a shock to his system, but one he managed to shrug off plenty easy. After all, a bar didn’t have to be absolutely packed and bumping to be a good time. At the very least he could still definitely get his drinking on, which, being completely honest, was still his main reason for even being here.

Guy had the strongest craving for a Sinnamon Whiskey. And maybe some sweet potato fries on the side.

So, with his original goal in mind he made strong, confident strides towards the counter; taking a seat before getting the attention of a bartender.

“Good evening! What’ll you be having tonight?”

Oh, well would you look at that. Lucky him. That one bartender that had the tendency to drop and break things would be taking his order--

Wait, hold on.

Damian took a second to give the bar a quick once over confirming once again that, yes; there was barely anyone here tonight. Or, well, for the time being, at least. That meant… He’d have the cute, clumsy bartender’s attention all to himself. If he played his cards right, anyway.

With that realization out of the way, the brawler put in his order. “Sinnamon Whiskey. Extra spicy.”

“That again? How many of those have you had this week? What, are you trying to see if you can blow fire-y smoke?” Hops asked playfully while getting to work on making Damian’s drink.

Damian couldn’t help but arch an eyebrow before arms crossed leaning against the bar’s counter more; a playful grin forming over his lips. “Why? Are you actually keeping count?” He certainly never did. He just tended to order whatever he felt like, however many he felt like. Though… The thought of breathing hot, flaming smoke did sounds kind of cool. Could certainly give him an edge during some of his matches. More than his smoke already did.

Hops simply giggled as she started pouring his glass before sliding it over to him. “Mmmmaaaybe? Who’s asking?”

“I am. Clearly.”

Well, he had her there.

She lightly shrugged her shoulders before leaning against the counter herself. It was slow; she could stay and chat with a loyal customer. It gave her something else to do besides cleaning the same few glasses over and over again. “I’m just saying that I’ve noticed you getting that particular drink a lot lately. Usually you like to throw in something like a Rum & Smoke or Bourbun every now and then.”

“Also, I’m just teasing, silly~” Hops stuck out her tongue a bit at the last bit, earning a bit of a laugh behind his drink from Damian.

“Fair enough. You’re usually so busy I didn’t think you’d notice something like that.”

“How dare!” She mock-pouted. “Of course I’d notice a regular’s orders.”

This reaction just made Damian laugh more. He usually didn’t get this much time to talk to Hops like this. Not this calmly, anyway. He enjoyed her company enough when the place was bustling; he might just be starting to like her even more when the place was not. “Well, to actually answer your question; nah. This is just what I’ve been feeling like drinking lately and who am I to not indulge?” He replied as he took another swig of his drink.

Mmmm, yeah… Extra spicy indeed.

This time was Hops’ turn to laugh, though. “Fair enough, fair enough. It’s also just that, we’ve got some new stuff on the menu, y’know?”

Once again Damian must raise an eyebrow. They did? Wow, he genuinely hadn’t noticed. “...go on.”

At that Hops clapped her hands together. “Oh, I’m sure you’re gonna love them.” She wasn’t. “This season I managed to mix up two new drinks to put on the menu; Mint Tulep and Glowjito!”

After mentioning the two new drinks’ names she started going on about what was in them, how she got the idea to make them, how she made them and so on. Damian had her full attention, but somewhere in the middle of her rambling he did get her to make him another Sinnamon Whiskey or two. He was definitely intrigued by the two new drinks, but he also wanted to indulge this particular craving a little longer.

At the end of her little spiel, though, he did notice what seemed like an expectant look on the bartender’s face as he finished up his latest drink.

Pfff.

“Hmm, okay… You’ve won me over. Get me one of each. Twice.”

...did Hops just squeal? Wow, he didn’t think his ordering them would make her that happy, but there she was. Happily bouncing around in her heels as she made the ordered drinks; almost dropping a glass in the process.

Hmm… What a nice show she was putting on for him.

So entranced by said show he was, that he almost didn’t notice when she put four whole drinks right in front of him with a pose and a, “Tadaaaa~”

No effort was made to get his mind out of the gutter, but he did take a moment to actually look at the drinks she had brought him. Hearing her talk about and describe them was different from actually seeing them with his own two eyes, and he had to say…

“...huh.”

The Glowjito in particular had his attention. He knew there was the word ‘glow’ in it, but he wasn’t actually expecting it to glow. Safe to say that was the first one he downed and, ooh! “That’s some good stuff. Might even be a new favourite of mine.” He grinned. He almost, almost reached out for the second one, but he didn’t. Instead he went ahead and downed the Mint Tulep and while not bad in any way, shape or form… Yeah.

The Glowjito was good.

“Hops, you gotta make me at least three more of those.” Did she say these were seasonal drinks? As in, after some time he wouldn’t be able to get them anymore? Meaning he had to drink, drink, and drink as much as he could until just hearing its name made him wanna throw up?

Hell yeah.

Hops didn’t need to be told twice that at least one of her latest concoctions was a huge success and needed to be mass produced, however… “Aren’t you gonna finish these two?” She asked, pointing at the remaining two drinks.

Ah, there it was. At that, Damian grinned. “Naaah… Those’re for you, hun.”

Hops’ eyes widened and a light, pink blush coloured her cheeks. Wait-- “What? I can’t-- I’m working!” She stammered.

“And when has that ever stopped you?”

...okay look.

It didn’t take much convincing to get Hops to join Damian in drinking. After all, it was a slow night, so… What was one or two drinks on a customer’s carat, right? Right?

Spoiler alert; it wasn’t just ‘one or two’ drinks. If anything, by the end of the night neither of them could tell you just how many drinks it had been. Damian kept ordering and Hops kept making them. Or, well… At a certain point someone else had to start making them. Somehow, at some point, the bartender ended up on Damian’s lap; giggling and laughing and clinking their glasses together as ‘one or two’ drinks became five, became seven, became let me help you home, became where did your pants go?, became--

...at least Damian paid for all the drinks; both his and Hops’.