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Post by dusty on Jul 30, 2006 5:59:23 GMT -5
On the outskirts of New York sat a run down little bar that was packed full of some of the seedier inhabitants of the human portion of the city. The whitewashed walls on the outside were peeling and flickering neon sign simply read "Dukes." As if the run down appearance of the place wasn't enough to put people off, there was only one street lamp outside. In the parking lot one could see an odd assortment of nearly broken down cars and ratty motorcycles.
Dukes was a place commongly visited by lowlifes, thugs, and whores. Not a place one would normally expect Dusty Rose to be visiting.... And yet there he was, drinking his sixth glass of scotch and rambling on and on to anyone who would listen. "...An' I walk back int' th' hospital room, and... Poof! She's gone. No sign of her an'where... Didn't even say g'bye." He said, now addressing a woman with rather over-done makeup and a slutty looking leopard-print dress. He took another long gulp of scotch and set it down on the counter for the bartender to refill. "O' course I deserved it... After leaving her behind with no notice... But in th' condition she was in?" He asked, his words slurring and his Irish accent becoming more and more obvious. "I mean, really... She shouldna been doing anything like so strenuous...." He took a long draught of scotch before once again continuing.
"Honestly... She was everything to me... Then I had to do something stupid like go and help my family..." He let out a hysterical giggle at that. "'Course I get no thank you or by your leave from them, on top o' everything else... 'Sall about duty t' them..." He glowered down into his scotch before taking another drink.
The young woman, who was obviously unsure of what to say to all of this, just shrugged off her confusion. "Well... From what I can see... You seem like you could use some company for the night... I don't suppose...." She began, starting to put her arm around him seductively.
Dusty jerked away, mid-drink, managing to spill scotch all over himself and the woman as he jumped to his feet. "Weren't y' listening to m' story, woman?" He demanded. "I want nobody but her, so you'll kindly keep your hands offa me." He said, swaying slightly where he stood.
"Here now, what do you think you're doing, raising your voice to a lady?" A gruff voice asked from behind Dusty. He turned to the owner of the voice. Before him stood a bear of a man who was dressed in tattered jeans and a leather vest. His unkept beard hung nearly to his chest and his hair was wild. On his arm there was a tatoo of a skull.
"What business is it'f yours how I talk to anyone? And what are you s'posed t'be, anyway? The missing link?" He demanded, finding a new outlet for the anger he'd been feeling for the past year... Like he'd been doing most nights. After his words, he gulped down what was left of the scotch in his glass and set it on the bar, preparing himself for the fight he knew was about to happen.
"Why, you little shit..." The man growled, then motioned to a couple of his friends who, before Dusty could react, grabbed ahold of his arms. The young man looked at them both in suprise. He hadn't been expecting this. Some small part of his foggy brain wondered if he should just try and leave, but the rest of his mind, the foggiest parts, decided that he could take these guys. It was at that point that the first man started punching him in the stomache.
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Post by Adelia Cunnane on Jul 30, 2006 6:25:39 GMT -5
They hadn't actually expected to find him here. Or anywhere near here for that matter. They had come this way just for the hell of it. But both of them felt it and as much as they wanted to, neither of them could deny that Dusty was inside the seedy, skanky little bar that appropriatly enough, called itself "Dukes". Dee and Winter looked at each other in mutual surprise and disgust.
"Are you freaking kidding me? He's actually in that nasty little pit that has the gall to call itself a bar?" Dee burst out. Winter just shrugged at her and both of them at a loss just stood there and looked at the "building". There was one street lamp that stood above them flickering weakly off and on casting an eriee light onto the badly cracked pavement. The neon sign cast an odd light and made Winter's skin take on a sick yellow glow.
"Let's just make sure before we actually go in there. We can just...go up to the door." Grabbing Winny's hand she started up the wobbly stairs. Glancing down she couldn't see any visible reason why they should be standing. A large partiularly gross looking cockroach seemed to be guarding the front door. Squeezing Winny's hand so she would kill it, she turned her head away until she was sure that disgusting parasite was no longer a problem. She would rather die than admit it but she had a phobia of spiders and cockroaches and only Winter and Dusty were trunsted enough to know it.
They both heard Dusty's drunken slurrs, an angry voice then a stool crashing over and figured it was a good time to make an apparence. Nodding at Winny to stand back, Dee put her fingers on her weapons, doubting she would need them and kicked down the pathetic looking door.
When the abundent dust cleared she saw two goons holding Dusty, one big ape with fists still in mid air and one slutty bimbo who was obviously cheerin them on a moment before.
Nobody moved, no one made a sound. Dee and Winny slowly made their way in and Dee took one long slow look around the room before resting her eyes on the big ape and his goons who had yet to move. She winced inwardly as she saw a nice shiner already forming on Dusty's face. She could take care of that soon enough. She foucused her attention on the big idiot in front of her. "Problem ?"
"Yeah Lady!" The bartender exclaimed. "You busted down my door!"
Dee turned and stared him down. "I wasn't talking to you sir," she turned back to the man in front of her. " I was talking to the idiot who's about to get his ass kicked. So I ask again. Problem?"
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Post by dusty on Jul 30, 2006 6:45:03 GMT -5
Winter looked around the room, her disgust at the seedy little hellhole matching Dee's. The place stank of liquor, and she couldn't believe that her brother would even set foot in here... Not to mention actually be drinking anything here. After giving the room a once over, she raised her eyebrow at Dusty. Whatever she had been expecting of his absences, this wasn't it.
After giving him a good, long look, she turned her attention to the men who had taken it upon themselves to attack her brother. The glare she afforded them was full of ice daggers, and it would've made a demon shake in its boots. Nobody messed with her brother. Even when he deserved it.
"This little shit was bein' rude to Mandi... And then he had the gall to badmouth me. And I would advise that you two little tarts stay out of the way." He responded, backhanding Dusty, who had been staring, slackjawed, at Dee. The blow brought him back to reality, and Dusty kicked the big man in the groin. Showing rather remarkable flexibility, he twisted himself around until the two men holding him were forced to let him go. Ignoring the slightly pulled muscles caused by that stunt, he spun around and banged thier heads together with enough force to knock them both out.
Several more men jumped to thier feet and advanced on him with angry yells. Before all of them could even get close, Winter joined in the fray and kicked one of the men in the head, sending him sliding across the room, unconcious. "Dusty... What in the nine bleeding hells are you doing in a place like this?" She shouted over the sudden noise that erupted in the room.
Suddenly sober, Dusty dodged several blows aimed at him and managed to squeeze past the men coming at him. "Aw, c'mon sis... can't a guy have a little fun?" He asked, smashing another man's face into his knee as he made his way to Adelia. "'Sides..." He said in his sister's mind, his mental voice sounding somewhat sheepish. "I've been kicked out of most of the other bars in the area..."
He finally made his way to Adelia and pulled her aside from the fray as his sister rolled her eyes and continued to kick the shit out of anyone who dared try to advance on them. Before she could say anything, Dusty grabbed Adelia and pulled her to him in a tight hug. Sadly, he wasn't able to do anything more, as a chair came crashing towards them and he had to pull her down into a crouch. "Excuse me." He said, then charged at the man that had threw the chair. "Winny! Get Dee outside. I'll join you in a moment." He called mentally.
Winter sighed and quickly made her way to Adelia's side. "Time to go!" She said, grabbing ahold ofher friend's hand as they fought thier way towards the door.
((Woohoo... Bar brawl!!))
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Post by Adelia Cunnane on Jul 30, 2006 19:56:08 GMT -5
So the idiots were stupid enough to wail on witches. She sighed and gave a half smile, then grinned. She was REALLY in the mood to teach some stupid humans a lesson.
"This little shit was bein' rude to Kandy... And then he had the gall to badmouth me. And I would advise that you two little tarts stay out of the way." He responded, backhanding Dusty,
Her evil amusement burst into rage when she saw him hit Dusty. "Why you stupid son of a.." Her statement was cut off when Dusty kicked him in the crotch. "Well.." she admired "it's a start." And watched in atonishment as Dusty ...manuvered, was the only word that came to mind, his way out of the guys who were holding him. While he was smashing the heads together, Big Guy started to recover from his injury and started moving towards Dusty. "Oh I don't think so." She back handed him exactly as he had done to Dusty, kicked him in the stomach and elbowed him in the face. He dropped like a rock. "Remember the way you feel right now if you ever feel the need to defend another woman like Kandy again." Dee stood up and narrowly missed being smashed by a bar stool. Fists came at her out of nowhere, she blocked the blows and sent some very sad looking creature sprawling to the floor on top of the Big Guy. "Jesus Dusty, what did you SAY?" she got out dogding boot that came up near her face. "Did you insult her mother or something?" she asked breaking a nose and twisting an arm out of joint. "Didn't your mother tell you not to TRY to hit a lady?" She spat in the drunks ear before shoving him against the bar. She turned around again ready to dodge or hit but found herself in very, very familiar arms. For a single moment it seemed like nothing else was around them. She sighed, breathing in his scent and whispering his name. The moment however was shattered when Dusty shoved her out of the way of a chair. "Seriously, what did you say to her?" But didn't get an answer because someone was pulling her away.
"Time to go" Her friend said tugging her towards the door. About to protest she looked around. There were only two more men still standing. So she shrugged and allowed Winny to drag her outside.
The cool air felt good against her heated body. She was proud that she hadn't even broken a sweat. She was pissed at Dusty for being such an idiot, but relieved that essentially, he was ok. She dusted off her cloak and surveyed the damage. "Oh COME ON" She yelled shoving her hand through a huge whole in her cloak. "Oh I am going to KILL him! This is one of my best cloaks!" Her eyes flared in temper and she started marching right back towards the 'bar' to kick one more ass that night.
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Post by dusty on Jul 31, 2006 1:11:47 GMT -5
The man Dusty had charged managed to get behind him and put his arm around him, which proved a mistake as the young man grabbed ahold of the offending arm and hurled the man in the direction of his lone companion. The two went down in a heap and Dusty siezed the chance for a speedy escape.
After he cleared the door, he froze at the look on Dee's face. He suddenly found himself wishing that he was back in the tenious situation he'd been in before. At least then he'd actually been drunk. "Er... Hi..." He began, torn between fearing for his life and wanting to just grab her and kiss her. His need to be near her overrode his initial caution when it came to her temper.
Without preamble, he rushed foreward and pulled her into his arms. Pouring all of his emotion from the last year into it, he gave her a long kiss. He only pulled away because Winter cleared her throat.
When her brother turned his head towards her, Winter said, "As touching as this is, I think we need to get out of here. I'm going home... You two, go where ever it is you need to go to talk." She said, then disappeared.
Dusty turned his eyes back to Dee, hoping to see her anger at least mostly abated. "Where do you wanna go?" He asked her, suddenly nervous now that the moment he had started had been broken.
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Post by Adelia Cunnane on Jul 31, 2006 1:48:44 GMT -5
Seething with anger about her ripped cloak Dee charged up the stairs and almost ran smack into Dusty. They just stared at each other for a a second and just as she opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, and a great deal more, his mouth was on hers. She clung to him, running one hand in his hair and on his face, feeling every inch of him as if to make sure he was real. He made the kiss deepen and her swam and her breath caught in her throat. She never hear Winter. One second he was kissing her,( ) the next she stood there stunned trying to catch her breath. "Where do you wanna go?" "What?" Still dazed, Dee looked around and realized Whinny left...and why. "Oh. I don't care. I just need to do one thing first." She ran her fingers on his face and cupped his cheek. Looking deep into his eyes she said simply "I missed you" Dee pulled Dusty's face to her own and kissed him deeply just to show him how much.
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Post by dusty on Jul 31, 2006 2:40:41 GMT -5
Dusty pulled her closer as they kissed, the whole world disappearing for the moment. For the first time since she left he felt happiness flowing into him. The moment he'd set eyes on her in Duke's he had felt the opressive darkness that had hounded his every thought lessen. The whole thing was just further proof to him that she really was the light of his life. After a moment he remembered where they were and reluctantly pulled away. "We need to get away from here." He said softly, his voice husky. "Wouldn't want to have to humiliate those guys anymore than we already have, should they get the bright idea to follow us..." He added, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face. With a slight force of will, he transported them both to Dee's home, knowing automatically that she would choose to live in the same place as she had before. "I hope you don't mind..." He said, giving her a somewhat shy smile. Before either of them could say anything more, he pulled her into a tight hug. " A ghrá mo chroí... I've missed you so much...." He said, suddenly on the verge of tears as he held her close. "I was beginning to think you were never coming back..." (("a ghrá mo chroí" means "love of my heart", just so's you know. )
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Post by Adelia Cunnane on Jul 31, 2006 4:25:46 GMT -5
Dee lost herself in the beauty of the moment. She let the taste of him flow over her. For the first time in almost a year she was truly happy. She was so happy she could have cried. Dee breathed in deep the scent of him. She murmured quietly in protest when he drew away. Burying her head in the nape of his neck and unwilling...more unable to let go of him. She heard his words muffled by his flesh and nodded in agreement.
Dee felt the world tilt and swirl away, and slowly right itself inside her house. "I hope you don't mind..."
She pulled away and looked at him. "Why would I mind? You brought us home." He grabbed her and wonderfully crushed her against him.
A ghrá mo chroí... The words he use to speak to her brought tears to her eyes. She was afraid he'd forgotten. When he left, she was afraid she would never hear those words again. When she left him, she was almost sure she never would. She was so glad to be wrong.
"I was beginning to think you were never coming back..." Dee drew away and looked at him atonished. Anger clouded her eyes as she looked at him.
"How can you say that? How could you even think that?" The anger went as quickly as it came leaving her strangely empty. "I'm sorry I left you. I had to. I had just found you again. I couldn't bear to say goodbye."
She clung even tighter to him and just let out everything that she had held up for so long. It felt like a damn being broken and for a long time she could do nothing but sob and hold onto him like a life line.
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Post by dusty on Jul 31, 2006 4:42:18 GMT -5
Dusty gave her a pained look as she questioned him. "It's just... You never said goodbye or got in touch with me... I know that I was no better when I left, but... Dammit... It had been long enough then..." He said, his words echoing the heartache he'd been feeling ever since she disappeared.
At her next words, he tightened his arms around her. "I could've come with you... I would've come with you..." He told her softly as he held her. He pressed his face against the side of her head as he started crying quietly, his own emotional dam breaking as he held her.
After a few minutes, he managed to break away for a moment and pull her over to the couch where he pulled her down into a sitting position next to him, his arms still wrapped around her. "Dee..." He said softly, pulling back far enough to lift her chin sohe could look into her eyes. "We really have to stop doing this." He said with a slight smile as he gazed into her eyes. "Leaving eachother, that is." He added. "I really don't think I could stand going through it again..." He told her, gently brushing away her tears. He was completely ignorant of his own.
He pulled her close again and kissed her softly. "I love you so much, Dee... I've been so lost without you... As I'm sure you can tell..." He said, a wry smile on his face as he reached up and gingerly touched the bruise that was forming on his cheek. He sighed and the smile disappeared as he gazed into her eyes. "I don't ever want to lose you again..." He said, holding her close as his tears started to flow once again.
((Ok... That ending sucked... Bleh.))
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Post by Adelia Cunnane on Aug 8, 2006 2:43:48 GMT -5
Her hair was wet from Dusty's tears, her cheeks were still thick with her own, but Dee thought she had never been more happy in her whole life. She had her love, her life back. She had been surprised to hear he would have come with her, but looking into his eyes she decided she shouldn't have been. He loved her. She wasn't sure when he had fallen in love with her, but she had fallen in love with him the first time she layed eyes on him.
His voice snapped her out of her memory. Dee..." He said softly, pulling back far enough to lift her chin sohe could look into her eyes. "We really have to stop doing this." He said with a slight smile as he gazed into her eyes. "Leaving eachother, that is." He added. "I really don't think I could stand going through it again..."
She buried her face in the nape of his neck. "I won't. I won't leave again. I promise. But you have to promise me the same. I learned to hate you once, I can't bare to do it again.
Gently she ran her fingertips over his face. Everything was so familiar to her. She knew them as well as she knew her own face. The strong chin, the soft firm lips, the cute nose, and the eyes... Dee frowned when she felt the swelling of his eye. She'd forgotten about that. She pressed her fingers hard against the bruise knowing she would only hurt him for a moment, said the spell in her mind, and in a quiet flash of bright light, his face was so perfect and painless, unless you had seen it, you would never have known it was there to begin with. "Promise me Dusty. You won't leave me like that again"
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Post by dusty on Aug 15, 2006 0:13:05 GMT -5
Dusty wrapped his arms around her tightly, wincing as she healed his bruised eye. He pulled back from her and gazed into her eyes. "I swear it. I will never leave you again, ever." He told her firmly, then pulled her into another kiss.
"I love you, Dee." He said softly, gazing into her eyes once again. He sighed slightly after this and looked at her for a moment. "So... Mind if I ask what took you so long in getting back?" He asked, giving her a wry smile as he pulled her close again.
((GHA! That sucked... but it needed to be done... my post'll be better next time... And more timely.))
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Post by Adelia Cunnane on Aug 20, 2006 1:08:15 GMT -5
Dee carefully examined Dusty's eye. It looked as though it had never been hit at all.
"I love you, Dee." His eyes bored into hers and she knew he meant his words. He never would have said them if he hadn't. "I love you too" she whispered.
"So... Mind if I ask what took you so long in getting back?" He said it lightly, but she knew he still hurt. When he pulled her against him she nuzzled into his neck and just absorbed him for a few moments. She closed her eyes and just listened to his heart beat inside her head. She breathed deep and could still smell the rank scent of the bar. The alcohol, the stale cigarette smoke, and she SWORE she could smell that hooker's perfume. She sighed and decided she might as well just tell him. Besides Winter he was the only one she trusted to tell the truth to.
" At first, when she was completely healed, I didn't want to leave Jenny. I felt responsible. If she hadn't been there looking for me she never would have been in the city. If I had taken hunting more responsibly, or just kept to my damn self she wouldn't' have been hurt. You know how I am, live and let live as long as they aren't harming humans or myself needlessly. I forgot that a vampire is still a vampire, and he almost killed one of my family members. I'll never forget that again" she spat out bitterly. The anger suddenly drained away and she clung to him for the strength to go on. " I protected her out there. I was like an over protective mother hen. I watched her every move. But that was just an excuse. The truth is..." she paused building her courage to continue, "The truth is...I was afraid." She whispered. " I was afraid to come back here. I have all of Jenny's memories from the attack. The terror, the pain...all of it. Even before I took them I was afraid to come back here." She sat up and looked at him with tears in her eyes. "How could I face it here? How could I face you and Whinny again? What if I saw him again? Would I kill him? Would I be able to face him? I didn't want to walk the streets and have the attack haunting my every move. I felt like I had failed in every way a person could fail. So I took the coward's way out and I stayed away and as much as it hurt me, I didn't call you or Winter. I couldn't. Please understand. I missed you so much. I wished and prayed every night you were with me, or would somehow come find me so I wouldn't have to be so alone." Not feeling the tears on her cheeks, she pressed her face into his neck and held him close. "I know I said it before Dusty, but I'm sorry. I vow I'll never do that again. I couldn't bear it another time."
Feeling oddly more light hearted she contented herself to be held by him and only felt slightly apprehensive of his response.
((WHEW!!! That was a lot! I mean...GEEZ!! But it was LONG over due. Hope it doesn't suck too much!))
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Post by dusty on Aug 20, 2006 3:49:06 GMT -5
Dusty could tell that she was gathering the courage to tell him what happened, so he waited quietly as he held her. When the words came rushing out, he felt a pang of hurt for her. He didn't like the idea of her bearing all of that by herself. After a few moments, he cleared his throat, holding her tightly. "I should've come to find you..." He said softly, laying his cheek against the top of her head. He couldn't help but feel guilty for not trying to find her. Especially if she'd been going through all of that. He felt like such a fool for the way he'd handled things now. A fool and a coward.
"We're together now, A ghrá mo chroí, and that's what matters." He said quietly. "Tell me about the memories?" He asked quietly. "Maybe sharing will help..." He suggested uncertainly. He hated the thought of making her dredge them up, but it might be for the best if he could help lessen the turmoil they caused her.
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Post by Adelia Cunnane on Aug 20, 2006 4:14:32 GMT -5
"I should've come to find you..."
Dee wiped her cheeks but couldn't look at her love. "Even if you had, I doubt I would have let you near me. I needed to deal with it. I just haven't done a very good job" She smiled weakly and sighed.
"We're together now, A ghrá mo chroí, and that's what matters." He said quietly. "Tell me about the memories?" He asked quietly. "Maybe sharing will help...
Sheer terror ripped through her. Memories flooded her like a dam bursting, one image blending almost immediatly into the next. Then the pain, the ripping searing pain tore through her, followed immediatly by the feeling of dying. Dee gasped, shuddered then swallowed a scream. Using self control she didnt know she possesed, she forced her way through the memories into reality before they consumed her.
By the time she pulled herself completely out, she was pale, clammy and shakey. It took her longer to find her voice and she realized that more time had passed than she thought.
"I'm sorry" she managed horsely, "But please, PLEASE don't ever ask me that again. "
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Post by dusty on Aug 21, 2006 2:21:28 GMT -5
Dusty held her tightly as she shuddered, feeling like a complete idiot for having asked. As she pulled herself out of the obviously torturous memories, he held onto her, giving her as much love and support as he could. When she was obviously at least most of the way back to him, he reached up and brushed her hair out of his face, his own a mask of concern.
"Don't worry, Dee... You don't have to ask." He said, only noticing when he heard his own voice that he was shaking as well. "I'm so sorry..." He said hoarsley, pulling her close and giving her a loving kiss. "I didn't think..." He apologized, on the verge of tears. He didn't think he could be angrier with himself right now if he tried for causing the flashback.
After a few moments, he tentatively spoke again. "So... Did anything good happen while you were away?" He asked her, attempting to divert the topic to something a bit more lighthearted. In truth, he didn't care what they talked about so long as they were both happy and together.
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