Bottoms Up (Open)

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Aching bones. Trembling lungs. A horrible pounding sensation in the head. The familiarity of these feelings caused Isaac to open his eyes, to look around himself in wary apprehension. There were little patches of clearly visible landmarks and such that were scattered around, but for the most part, everything was clouded over by darkness, made hard to see in the midst of the shadows. Glum surroundings filled the ex-angel's vision as a nagging feeling formed in the back of his mind. It was telling him that this was all a dream, that none of it was real. But could that really be? Lying flat on his back, Isaac couldn't help but wonder if he was reliving that fateful day all over again. Everything he felt was just as real feeling as it had been the first time, and just because his surroundings were odd looking didn't mean he wasn't possibly delusional. The pain was what kept rooting him to the idea that maybe he really was going through it all again. Before he had fallen, he had never experienced pain before. To say crashing to the earth was a wake up call was an understatement. The fallen angel could vividly recall his distress at it all, at the terrible feelings that racked his body. They were unfortunately returning this very moment. Of course, before then, he had been a legitimate angel. He never had a reason to know any of the troubling sensations. That is, until his fall.

A breath spluttered out and Isaac's eyes quickly opened, more darkness greeting their blue depths. He knew he was awake now, he could feel the difference in atmosphere compared to that in his dream. Funny how things in dreams seem so real, though. So, wait... Could this also be a dream? Just because of the realness of it all? The dirty-blond rolled his eyes at himself as he sat up. He thought things over way too much sometimes. Isaac raised his hands and rubbed at his groggy eyes for a moment, simply sitting there in his bed. He really didn't want to look over at his alarm clock, simply because he knew it wasn't even close to being past midnight yet. An annoyed grumble escaped his lips and he lowered his hands back down and glared into the darkness. Another restless night was upon him. He knew it would be a waste of his time to try to even get ten minutes worth of sleep in, so why just sit here in bed doing nothing? The young man flung his sheets to one side of his bed and moved off, stretching his lean back once his feet hit the floor. The scars pulled and ached, reminding him of his dream and causing a grimace to form on his face. No. Not yet. He wasn't going to mull over his fatal flaw right now. There was someplace he needed to be first before he allowed himself to get lost in his depression.

The young man got to work, getting dressed and cleaned up in a matter of minutes. He wore nothing but a simple pair of jeans and a black, cotton shirt, but it was enough for him. Isaac drew in a deep breath before heading out of his dark apartment, going to his one set destination in mind. Where to, you ask? Why, where else would he go at this time of night? To the Impresio Nightclub, of course. Although, he wasn't going there for the club experience. He was going there for the bar. Better yet, the alcohol at the bar. The fallen angel traveled quickly to the night scene, ready to lose himself to a good amount of drinks. He didn't have anything special going on that night, nobody to share it with, and nothing happening the next day. Not like that would've stopped him anyways. The ex-angel was an alcoholic, that was for certain. A very committed one. He stuck to his drinks and they stuck to him. He could always count on the alcohol to get him away from reality, if only for just a little while. And so, much to his relief, the blond found himself inside the nightclub, seated on a stool, holding a beer in hand. As he drew the drink up for a swig, he couldn't help but allow his mind to wander. Things like that happen a lot when there's nobody to distract yourself with. His thoughts began to focus on his fall, on how he failed God. He didn't remember what it was exactly that had brought him down here, but whatever the reason, it was certainly enough to scar him for life. The young man sighed lowly, and ordered himself another beer, the first already drained dry. It was going to be a long night.

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She was exhausted; both mentally and physically. Aroura had been up since dawn in order to get in her morning run, which she would have gladly skipped if she had know what the agency had planned for her today. When she arrived at work she went through a very rigorous training session, working nearly every muscle in her body as she went through every training exercise. Every hour involved another level practice: knife throwing, archery, bow-staffs, a brief run through of the P.I.D.A.'s arsenal at the shooting range, and finally, the one she enjoyed the most, hand to hand combat. All this was finished before lunch. She was given an hour to eat and get her energy back and then to go back to work.

The second half of her day consisted of sorting reports and organizing information and leads, making sure everything in her particular section of files was nice and tidy. A relatively simple task, but it was a very tedious one. By the time the agent had finished, even reading a date on a piece of paper became too much. She was used to hard work, but today was just a little too over the top, even being the experienced agent that she was. It has just been one of those kind of days. It was long past sunset, so it only took her a split second to make up her mind.

Aroura walked into her apartment and closed the door behind her, locking the deadbolt in her usual precautionary way. It didn't take her long to get showered and changed into civilian clothes. She didn't bother dressing up (she hardly ever did). The redhead wore a simple, navy blue V-cut short sleeve and a dark pair of jeans. Her only accessory being her cross--an unique piece that was made up of three iron nails bound together by a silver male wedding band with the word Eternity etched onto the front--and she tucked that into her shirt so only the black velvet string was visible. She took one last look in the mirror, and frowned at her reflection. Her auburn hair was the same wild curls they had always been: untamed, red, and everywhere. Instead of pulling it into her usual ponytail, she just left it be, truly not caring tonight.

It was a short walk from her apartment building to the Impresio Nightclub. When she showed up she walked around the dance floor and all its occupants in the center of the room, making a beeline for the bar. She sat down in a stool and ordered two beers at the same time, knowing she would finish the first one quickly. She looked to her right; an empty stool. However, when her light blue eyes glanced over to her left, she saw a blonde man in a black shirt and jeans. A plain outfit but somehow, it seemed to suit him. She flicked her eyes to the bar space in front of him and her soft pink lips quirked up at the corners. She took a deep swallow of her beverage. " Guess its been that kinda night for you too eh mister?" She couldn't hide the amusement that exuded from her deep southern drawl. She shook her head at herself and took another sip of her beer, savoring its raw, familiar taste.

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Hm... How long had he been here now? Isaac looked down at the counter in front of him, his vision slightly hazed on the edges but otherwise unaffected. Five beer bottles were laid out before him, just sitting there and shining dimly beneath the lights. The ex-angel's gaze shifted over to his right hand, where another one of those bottles was held. This one, though, was half full, while all the others were completely empty. The blond sighed and looked up and across the bar to where many of the club's alcoholic choices were displayed, not even close to being half as intoxicated as he would've liked. His eyes roamed over all the different beverages, drinking in their appealing sights. Not all of them tasted good, but they definitely contained a good punch to them. Isaac always liked the more potent, dry drinks, considering how they hammered him faster and more effectively than regular old beer did. But he figured tonight he might as well stick to the amber-colored drink. Tomorrow he had work to go to, and he really didn't need to forget about it. Not again. Sure, he could deal with a hangover, but sleeping in - even if his shift started after noon that day - wasn't exactly on the top of his list of things to do. Then again, who really gave a f*ck? Not him, not right now. He wasn't really in the mood to think about work and life right now. Hence the drinking.

Coming to the bar was normal, though. Routine. If he didn't do it, no doubt he would be ultimately lost. He would have nothing to do, nowhere to go, and sadly, a painfully clear head. And that was just not acceptable. Even with work tomorrow Isaac was tempted to ask for a more pungent drink. Beer wasn't nearly interesting enough for his taste buds anymore after all the drinking he's done. The young man lifted his gaze - which he hadn't realized had fallen - and began to search for a bartender. Why the hell weren't there any around him? Isaac was about to flag one down when somebody suddenly spoke to him. Turning his head so that he could properly see the person, the first thing that registered in his mind was red. A pretty red, mind you, and a curly one at that too. Trailing his eyes down a little, Isaac saw that this pretty, curly redness belonged to a woman, who was equally as pretty, if not more so. A weird feeling came over Isaac. He felt like he had seen this woman before. But where would he have..? Ah! That was it! He had seen her at work, she was a fellow agent. He had never had the chance to run across her though, they had always been at opposite ends of the building or on a different case than one another. Briefly, Isaac wondered if this woman recognized him as well, or if she was simply speaking to him because it was the friendly thing to do and she saw the mess of bottles sitting in front of him. Blinking out of his daze, he realized he had been staring for a good moment or two. Well that was embarrassing.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I guess you could say that..." he said, looking back down in front of himself and down to his hands. He wrapped both of them around his nearly empty bottle and frowned a little. Where was that bartender? Isaac blinked and looked back over to the redhead, a curious look coming over his face. He tilted his head a little, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly as they drank in the pretty sight before them. "I'm pretty sure I've seen you around before. At work, I mean."

[/color] God, that sounded lame. Really lame. Whatever. That was pushing it as to what he could even say about their work anyways. People weren't supposed to hear about it in the public, so what else could he say really? Exactly. As he waited for the woman's response, his eyes took on a mind of their own and began to wander, taking in her wild yet sexy curls and nicely shaped body. The young man quickly snapped his gaze back upward, having learned better than to start out as a complete creep. Of course, he had learned a lot of other things too when he up in Heaven... A lot of things that didn't seem to matter in the end. All of that hard work, that devotion, that endless love. Gone. Just like that. Isaac's aura seemed to heavy a bit as he grabbed his beer and drained it clean. Damn. Not even enough for a proper sip. Isaac sighed a little and set the empty bottle back down on the counter and returned his attention to the pretty redhead. She could distract him long enough for him to wait for a bartender to make their way back over. He knew she could.[/size][/blockquote]

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Aroura took another long pull from her beer and finished her second bottle. She let out a small sigh of regret. These things don't last as long as they use too. She had come to the bar more and more often over the past weeks. She liked being busy. It kept her mind occupied and her thoughts focused. Life was easier, it seemed, when she didn't have time to think about herself. When she did, her thoughts automatically fled to the white plantation house. She was engulfed in the memories of her exceedingly pleasant home on the river; picturing the dark hared man with the hazel eyes and a fiendish crooked smile. When she was lost in her one little personal haven, a small pink, wiggly bundle in her arms, she felt like they were still there. Then something brought her back, and she relived their deaths all over again. The grief over whelmed her each and every time. Aroura was every bit the strong southern woman her father had raised her to be. She was able to funnel all her sorrowful, and depressing thoughts into a bottle and lock them away in a chest somewhere in the recesses of her mind. However, when the process repeated itself, the collection of fragile glass containers that harbored her unstable emotions grew and multiplied; there was less and less room in that chest as time progressed. It wouldn't be long until she couldn't close the latch, and all those bottles would burst into shards of shrapnel...

Her eyes--that were more of a cerulean color this particular evening-- flickered to the blonde man to her left. She caught his look as he assessed her. She quickly looked away, battling away the blood flow that tried to flood her pale ivory cheeks. The redhead twirled one of the dark empty bottles around on the smooth counter top as she waited for one of the bartenders to pass by. Wow, tonight's service has really gone down hill. She was looking at the different varieties of booze to keep her mind busy when she heard the man respond. Her lips quirked up at the corners at his first reply. It wasn't hard to guess it right. His second statement however, caught her off guard. She tensed slightly, but forced her muscles to relax. She turned in her stool to rake her gaze down the man's figure once more. The agent's keen blue eyes trailed over the man's muscle toned physique. After a thorough once over, her eyes made their way back up to the blonde man's face where they lingered for a few moments; studying each unique feature that might reveal something to her about him. Aroura searched her mind for some sense of familiarity...and came up blank. The agent raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the man, whom she had no name for, and spoke a little apprehensively. "I don't think I can say the same." She paused for a second then gave a small shrug before she resumed to twirl her empty beer bottle. " That doesn't say much though. There are lots of people where I work, and the job keeps me busy." She looked over at the blonde man, a teasing look in her eye. " Sorry if that crushes your ego pretty boy, don't mean to offend you or nothin'. This redhead just doesn't have the free time." The woman gave a crooked smile and then peered down the length of the bar. Where the hell is that bartender?

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After the redhead spoke again Isaac felt his cheeks heat up gradually as her words registered in his mind. She didn't recognize him...? The man would've facepalmed if not for the pretty agent next to him. One point for her, zero for him. Isaac nodded slightly as she continued to speak, his eyes back on his hands for a brief moment. He was probably just being a creeper and any normal person wouldn't have noticed her like he had. Probably. The young man looked back to the redhead, his cheeks slowly losing their red tint. "Nah, it's cool. There are a lot of people there, I don't blame you for not paying attention to everyone," he said in reply. A chuckle escaped his mouth at what she said next, and at what she had called him. Isaac shook his head a little as he responded. "Don't worry about me, sweetness. I can get by knowing that you don't recognize me."

[/color] So maybe that wasn't the absolute best thing to say, but he was getting a little hazy now that the alcohol and his lack of sleep were beginning to mix together. The blond turned to look down the bar as well, his eyes locking onto the bartender who was just now making his way over. Finally. There were a few customers in between them and the man, though, so it would be a little bit more of a wait before he arrived.

Holding in another sigh to keep it from escaping his lungs, Isaac turned back to the woman next to him. Might as well take the time to pull off introductions. Holding out his hand for her to shake, the ex-angel smiled a little, his navy blue eyes coming off a hint darker in the bar's light. "I'm Isaac. Isaac DeLand. It's nice to meet you, miss...?" With that he trailed off, giving the woman time to respond however she liked. She could choose to tell him her name in return or not, whatever she wanted. She seemed like the kind that liked to play games, he could tell immediately right off the bat that she was an interesting person. After a moment or two Isaac turned to look back to the bartender, his fingers once again finding one out of his many empty beer bottles. He wondered if the bartender was beginning to notice just how much time Isaac's eyes spent on him and how he interpreted that little piece of information. With an amused smirk, the blond turned back to the redhead, pleased by the bartender's progress toward the two of them. In no time he would be there, and Isaac would finally be able to order himself another drink. Maybe one for this lady here, too.


((Sorry this is so short and bleh ;-; BUT AT LEAST I FINALLY REPLIED SLFKHSD <3))[/size][/blockquote]