Unwelcome Company (Stefan)

[Deleted]

It was expected that over the course of the 20 years that Derek had not been in Pilot Ridge, that all of the previous establishments that he once frequented would have either closed, or been redone in order to keep up with being 'hip' or however the young ones called it these days. This left Derek to now have to explore the multitude of new establishments in order to find one in which he was satisfied enough to wish to patronize on a regular basis. He always did enjoy familiarity.

Unfortunately, most of the places he'd been were much like this one once evening fell; noisy and crowded with young, irresponsible college students. It was quiet when he first came in, which had been a blessing after a long, hard day stuck in a confining blue cubicle and talking on the phone with irate customers who didn't know how to read the fine print. After about an hour, however, the throngs came in and Derek was immediately bombarded with their auras, forcing him to re-shield his eyes with his sunshades under the dim lighting.

Derek turned on the bar stool, his back now to the collective-merriment going on behind him and continued to nurse his scotch. He wasn't likely to stay for very much longer.

[Stefan Spencer]

Stefan was also sampling the bars in the area. Though unlike Derek, Stefan’s version of sampling was just rotating through the list. He enjoyed seeing a set of different faces each night. Added to that was that moving around helped his odds of finding someone who would welcome sharing a spot at the bar with him. Not to mention a barkeep who hadn’t had the pleasure of booting him out in the past few days.

He had been at this particular bar for a couple of hours. Therefore he had also been turned down a few times already that night. Still the night was young and Stefan was enjoying his drinks enough that he didn’t feel worried.

His pleasant outlook only increased when he spied a fellow scotch drinker seated at the bar. Helping himself to the stool next to the man, Stefan signaled to the barkeep.

“I’ll have what he’s havin’,” Stefan said before turning to give the man beside him a warm smile and a once over. “So gorgeous, did it hurt when you fell from heaven?”

[Deleted]

The last thing that Derek wanted was for a person to try talking to him, much less flirt. So when an older looking man (he looked to be in his late 50s) sidled up next to the korean man and uttered those words, Derek blanched, his face twisted in an expression which was the furthest thing from flattered. A moment of staring at this man passed, and Derek narrowed his eyes in a look of obvious disgust.

“Are you so starved for attention that you must hit on not only a man, but a man with no homosexual tendencies whatsoever?” he challenged. Derek set down his glass and continued to glare. If he’d known this was a homo-bar, Derek never would have set foot in it. “Or do you specifically get off on making other men uncomfortable with your aberrant lechery?" Derek honestly wished he understood the train of thought that some of these faggots had and what drove them to flaunt their "sexuality" all over the damn place.

[Stefan Spencer]

Stefan was a bit startled when the man spoke. True he had a few drinks in him, so his ability wasn't working at its peek. But he was usually a bit better at not openly flirting with homophobics. And though he hated to make anyone feel uncomfortable, he couldn't shake the idea that he had been so wrong about this man. He had to have picked up on some sort of vibe from him right?

"Hey buddy," Stefan said, finishing his drink in one swallow. "I don't know what you're so upset about. I meant no harm." Seriously, what person in their right mind would blanch at the thought of someone saying they were gorgeous, no matter their sexuality. And still the nagging thought that he couldn't be that drunk to have messed up so bad, right? Maybe that was the reason this guy was so upset. Because Stefan had called him out on it. Yeah, that had to be it.

"Come on, don't tell me a nice looking guy like you hasn't thought about it before," Stefan said, signaling for another drink. "Your secret's safe with me."

[Deleted]

Exactly what about Derek gave anyone the vibe that he might accept the advances of a homosexual man? He was a perfectly well-dressed, straight-laced man more often seen in the company of woman if anyone at all. He didn’t go around wearing pink and walk with a swag and shake in his hips. He didn’t speak with a lisp or suck on fruity cocktails, he had a man’s drink of scotch in hand. What could possible give this…person that impression?

Had Derek been at the office or in a more professional environment(and not sucking on 100 proof alcohol), the man would have been much more pleasant and professional, staving off the man’s advances with a more polite, “I decline, please stop.” But this was a bar where Derek was sitting alone and trying to enjoy his misery all by himself without the interference of anybody much less a sex-starved homo. Therefore he, for the sake of his masculinity, had every right and thought to turn this guy away as explosively as he deemed acceptable.

Derek turned to the other man, his brows furrowed in clear hostility, before he spoke in a hissing voice. “Never in my life have I ever felt the need to copulate with another man for any reason, and I’m disgusted that you would even insinuate that kind of behavior from me.” Derek took a harsh breath. “Now rid yourself of my company before I make you,” he said slowly. “Faggot.”

[Stefan Spencer]

If this conversation had taken place in the morning hours, there would have been a chance it would have gone much better. Or perhaps not even happened at all. Of course, Stefan wasn’t always completely sober in the morning either. But usually he had slept off enough of his drunkenness that his ability was informing him better. Sadly for Derek, he had met Stefan in a bar, in the evening, and after he already had too many scotches swimming in his veins. Stefan may not be drunk enough to make out with lamp posts at the moment, but he wasn’t anywhere close to sober either.

“Whatever you say pal,” Stefan said, holding up his hand palms out in an ‘I surrender’ gesture. He was still sure this man was hiding something, but he was figuring out it was time to back off. After all this place was full of other people who would probably respond better to his advances.

He was actually rising from his bar stool, ready to leave this man alone, when he had felt the need to go one. Now Stefan had been called his fair share of names. And usually he let them roll off his back. After all, he wasn’t a man to fight just for the heck of it. Usually his brawls started because he was defending someone else. But there was something about the way this man spat out the offensive word that made Stefan’s blood boil.

This man wasn’t just calling him a ‘faggot’, he was spouting hatred at all men who leaned toward homosexuality. And since a good deal of Stefan’s friends leaned that way, he couldn’t help but feel the need to stand up for them.

“Now listen here, pal,” Stefan said, sitting down and slamming his drink on the counter (a bit harder than he meant to actually). “There’s no need for that sort of name calling. I’d expect a man of your age to have a little class.”

[Deleted]

Had this been the morning hours, this conversation most definitely would not have happened at all, because Derek would not be in the vicinity of a bar and most likely on his way to work. If by some chance they had met in the morning, and Derek hadn’t been intoxicated himself, he might have expressed more tolerance. But considering what might have happened in a scenario with completely different variables was pointless. The fact is, that this did happen, this drunken man did hit on a drunken Derek, and Derek was incredibly intolerant.

At least this offensive man had quickly learned his lesson and was appearing to move on to someone else. Relieved, Derek turned back to his drink and resumed sipping.

“If you must speak of class, then you only need to look at yourself to find one lacking in it,” Derek said curtly, turning his head back to the man who still hadn’t left. “You’re getting yourself piss drunk and hitting on anything that suits you, regardless of their orientation.” He snarled. “It’s because of fags like you that this world is going to hell.” Derek was speaking in a general sense of the word. He wasn’t a religious person, but even he could see just how hellish this world had become ever since the gay community started flaunting themselves all over the place like a damn parade, shoving their “freedom” needlessly in the faces of people who would otherwise like them if they didn’t know. “Now I’ll tell you again. Get away from me,” he hissed. Derek was quickly losing whatever patience he had left. 

[Stefan Spencer]

Stefan liked to think of himself as a tolerant man. And truthfully, whether he was drunk or sober, he was pretty accepting of different ideals and feelings. Of course he had always been exceptionally tolerant in the bedroom, always willing to try new things.

That said, there were things that Stefan could not stand for. No matter how drunk he was.

And so, while the still functioning and reasoning part of his brain was telling him to just walk away and leave this close-minded fool to his scotch, that part was submerged under the depths of alcohol he'd consumed that evening.

"Excuse me?" Stefan said. He really couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was still half convinced that his ability would never betray him. Certainly this man was closeted. And while that might be the reason behind the other man's violent outburst, that was still no excuse. "I've always been a proponent of speaking one's mind. But when it's a mind of a prejudice bigot, then you should just keep your trap shut."

"And perhaps you should leave," Stefan added.

[Deleted]

Tolerance…..was not immediately striking a man who was repeatedly sexually harassing him long after Derek had told him to leave. He was lucky that words were all he’d gotten so far from this inebriated Korean man.

But even after the harsh words, the obvious dislike for the male attention - it couldn’t have been more clear that Derek just wanted to be left alone - the homosexual man still felt the need to have his “final word” in an altercation that hadn’t needed to happen in the first place!

Derek wasn’t a violent man. He had, however, been in his fair share of bar-room scuffles. His own drunkenness might have been an attributing cause to many of these encounters. But even sober, Derek would have realized that words were not getting his message across.

Derek stood from his stool to his near 6 foot height, quickly pulled back his arm, and slugged the gay man in the part of him that simply would not stay shut.

The noise of the bar-room dimmed down to a dull murmur as near every head nearby turned to face the two men.

[Stefan Spencer]

Even when Stefan had been in the height of his boxing days, he'd never considered himself to be a violent man. It was a sport, like baseball. He had no deep, hidden rage for the other contenders.

Stefan also got into his share of bar-room scuffles. But even those where usually started because of some misunderstanding or Stefan's need to step in and play protector. It wasn't often that Stefan actually got into a fight because he was upset or angry. He had never been a violent drunk.

And even though this man was pushing the limits of his self-control, it hadn't occurred to Stefan that it would come to actual physical blows.

Had Stefan been a tad more sober, and a bit more younger and limber, he would have most likely side-stepped the other man's fist. But since the alcohol slowed his ability and the years had slowed his physical reflexes, Stefan took the blow right between the eyes.

He felt off the bar stool with an expression on his face that was more confusion that anger or pain. He stood up slowly, brushing at the front of his shirt as if to wipe off the filth of contact with such an ignorant fool.

"So that's how it's gotta be then?" Stefan asked before giving his a physical reply of a fist towards the solar plexus.

[Deleted]

Derek didn’t feel the stinging that usually came with hitting knuckle to bone, but even his drunken mind knew he was going to feel that hard later. Derek had never taken a proper fighting class, but it didn’t take much to know how to throw a punch. Keep your wrist straight and your thumb tucked. Don’t over-compress, keep it firm but supple right until impact. This was to prevent injury to the wrist and hand from overstraining. From trying too hard.

Derek could not begin to count how many times he’d had to treat a broken wrist due to a improperly thrown punch.

As for taking the hit, well….the gay man was on his own with that one, but he seemed to recover faster than expected. Derek held his ground and took the man’s punch to his gut.

Had Derek not been drunk, he would have warded it off better. As it was, he was swaying from merely standing. The wind was pushed out from his lungs upon impact and he doubled over, grasping his belly and gasping to regain his breath. While stunned, Derek had no intention of going down without a fight.

He let the force of his fall propel him into the other man, wrapping his arm around his waist and pushing him forward in an attempt to tackle him to the ground. He’d swing another wild punch if successful.

[Stefan Spencer]

Stefan's fast recovery was in part because of his years of boxing before his injury. But mostly just because he was drunk enough that he didn't really feel the blow. That would come in the morning. And mostly likely he would have a very hazy recollection of just why his jaw was aching so much.

Still, his boxing only took him so far. And while his reflexes and stance might have been a bit better than the average drunken brawler, he wasn't exactly at his prime. And it was a good thing his opponent was apparently just as drunk as he was.

So when he threw his fist forward, his body decided to go along for the ride. He tried to collect himself a bit by grabbing onto the closet bar stool so he didn't fall into the idiot he was fighting.

For a second he actually thought the man was attempting to help him regain his balance when he lunged towards him. But no luck, Stefan fell backwards, trying his best to drag the other man down with him. He threw a wild punch of his own after catching the other man's in the face.

Yeah he was probably going to have a sore jaw and a black eye in the morning.

Their fight was starting to draw quite a lot of attention. Surely someone, possible the barkeep, would step in soon.

[Deleted]

This fag was obviously drunker than Derek, otherwise he might have actually backed off when Derek told him to. Then again, he was definitely on of those hopelessly lonesome gays that had to fling their sexuality at everyone they met in the hopes of getting laid, so Derek couldn’t say with confidence that he wouldn’t have done the same thing sober. Either way, Derek did not appreciate it, and since words didn’t get through to him, he was forced to communicate his point like a real man.

When he lunged forward and failed to connect, he also failed to maintain his balance. Guess he wasn’t quite as sober as he thought. Well, wait no…he wanted to tackle him anyway. It was all just happening in a such a blur that Derek wasn’t exactly thinking anymore. Everything was happening purely on impulse by this point.

The two men tumbled to the floor, their arms flailing wildly as each tried to hit the other. Derek didn’t even feel his own fists connect with the other man’s face, but he sure did feel something else connect against his own jaw. He flung another punch, barely registering that they were both grappling on the floor of the bar with a crowd surrounding them.

He barely registered that there was someone twice his size trying to pull the Asian man off of the scumbag he was trying to beat. In his frenzy, he nearly turned on the bouncer himself before finally realizing the fool he’d made of himself in his drunken anger. “Get off me!” he shouted to the bouncer, trying to shrug the burly man off his shoulders.

[Stefan Spencer]

At this point, as the two men rolled and tumbled around on the floor flailing with their fists, Stefan wasn't even sure if half of his punches were even landing. he did feel his hand connect with something once or twice, but those could have just as easily been a chair, the bar, or even the floor for all he knew. It sure felt like he was connecting with something more solid than a human body.

It also seemed like he was getting ht a lot more than his punches were landing. Although he didn't feel all of the pain connected with each blow right now, thanks to the liquid pain blocker flowing in his veins.

If he hadn't been so angry a the close-minded bigot, Stefan would have thought the whole scene was hilarious. Two grown men tumbling around like toddlers arguing over whose dad was cooler. Maybe in the morning he could look back and laugh.

So he wasn't in the friendliest of moods when someone pried the two of them apart. But he somehow managed to keep his intended target straight and keep from hitting the bouncer as well.

"Finally," Stefan said, trying to steady himself on his feet. "Someone to help me rid this fine establishment of such indecency." He looked around for his cane, but couldn't spot it at the moment. It didn't help that one of his eyes seemed to be starting to swell shut.

[Deleted]

Derek had taken his fair share of hits. He was going to be feeling them in the morning, for certain. Maybe even an hour from now when the alcohol started to think about wearing off. For now, it acted as the best numbing agent a brawling man could hope for.

The whole thing came and went in the blink of an eye, though in his drunken state, it felt like it lasted forever as well.

When he was finally to his feet, Derek had gradually come to his senses, or whatever of them were left. “I’ll be glad to leave if it means I don’t have to put up with sexual harassment from gay men!” he spat back at the other brawler.

Had he paid already? Derek couldn’t remember. Habit of paying in cash said he did, so with that reassurance in mind, Derek turned to head for the door. “I know my way out,” he grumbled to the bouncer, who very “kindly” told him he was no longer welcome at this establishment.

“That’s fine,” he retorted. Derek had no intention of returning anyway.