Stupid Cupid (Lucy) ●

[Nathaniel Knight]

It was Valentine's Day yet again and Nate wished it would just go away. Seeing all the lovebirds made him honestly sick to his stomach. This damn day was nothing but a painful reminder that he had lost the love of his life all those years ago and right then the only thing he wanted to do was go home and get drunk. He had even called Lucian and asked him if he had wanted to drink with him even if he was technically underage. In Nate's mind his son could drink if he wanted to, there was no reason why he shouldn't and Lucian had proven himself to be responsible. Nate trusted Lucian to not drink too much though it was a sure thing that Nate wouldn't be doing the same thing.

Nate hated everything about Valentine's Day, all the cute fluffy balloons, the aisles filled with chocolates and disgustingly adorable huge stuffed animals were nauseating. There was a time when he loved this day, Nate had enjoyed bringing a smile to his wife's face and making her feel treasured. That was before she had been taken from him, now he didn't give a damn about all the pink frilly hearts decorating the store. All he was in here for was to get the biggest case of beer he could find and hell he'd fill a shopping cart full of the hard stuff while he was at it. Taking a grocery cart, he'd pick up the action packed thriller they'd watch tonight and get a few snacks to go with it before hitting the liquor aisle. It didn't take long before his cart was filled with hard liquor and various other things that he could use to make a few mixed drinks if he wanted to. From the looks of it, Nate was getting enough liquor for a mini bar but then again, he never wanted to run out alcohol should he want it. One thing was for sure, Nate needed every bit of it in order to get through this day.

Thankfully the line wasn't that long at the check stands. Sure, he got a few odd looks from a few of the other people milling around the store and a few of the cashiers but Nate didn't give a damn about what they thought. The alcohol would be what got him through today after all, anything to numb the pain that came back every damn year at remembering what those murdering bastards had cost him. At least he still had Lucian though, his son was the only thing that kept him sane at times. If it weren't for him, Nate was pretty sure he would have gone off the deep end years ago. By the time he got home, it was all he could do not to put his fist through a wall. The groceries wouldn't be put away before he had downed two beers, welcoming the numbing sensation the alcohol gave him. Now all he had to do was wait for Lucian to come over as he drowned the pain he was feeling. It wasn't like he was going anywhere after all so why the hell should he care if it wasn't even noon yet. He could do whatever he damn well pleased on this god-forsaken loathsome day.

~~~

Lucian Knight

[Lucian Knight]

Valentine’s Day. Lucian didn’t have a lot of particular feelings toward the holiday. The pink was gross, and he could do without the frill, but whatever. Certain people seemed to like it, and that was fine with him. PDA didn’t bother him too very much. After all, when he had a girlfriend or boyfriend he kissed them wherever he wanted whenever he wanted. But this particular Valentine’s Day he did not have one, and that was fine with him too. Really, just about everything was fine with Lucian. He tended to go with the flow of life, just riding the current as long as it took him where he wanted. And if it didn’t, no big deal. He’d make it take him where he wanted to be, or he’d make the best of whatever shit it put him through. Heh, not like he hadn’t learned coping mechanisms as a child, after all.

Gloved thumbs were hooked through the loops of his pants as he rocked back and forth absently on his feet, blue eyes staring very hard at a very large box of chocolates. He wanted it. For himself, and Dad too if he wanted some. But still, it seemed stupid to get it when it would be on sale as early as tomorrow. They had plenty of money, sure, but Lucian simply couldn’t bring himself to spend it frivolously most of the time. Sighing softly, the brunette spun around on his heel and sauntered right back out of the store. It wasn’t worth it.

It would be around four before he made it back to the house. He knew, of course, what to expect there. He knew how Dad felt on Valentine’s Day, and despite the offer for him to drink as well, he knew he wouldn’t be drinking much. He wasn’t exactly sure at what point he had started taking care of his dad in situations like these, but it came as naturally as breathing to him now. As he entered the house, he would walk around until he found the man in question. “Yooo, Daddio~” He greeted, placing his hands on his father’s shoulders briefly. He ignored the bottle in his hand as he gathered up a couple of empty beer bottles to throw them away. “Don’tcha think it’s a little early for all of that?” He questioned, smirking cheekily. Of course, Lucy respected his dad immensely, but when they were drinking together he saw no reason not to play.

He flexed the fingers of his free hand slightly, thinking. Normally he would have removed his gloves and jacket around his dad, but ehh… the scars would probably just be another reminder that he didn’t need right now. He ambled through the house easily, depositing the bottles in the trashcan before he grabbed a plastic bag and brought it back to where Nate was. He grabbed a beer of his own, popping the cap off of it and taking a sip. Disgusting. Perfect. He smirked again.

--
Nathaniel Knight

[Nathaniel Knight]

By the time Lucian arrived, Nate was more than a little drunk considering he had downed quite a few beers and was working on a bottle of hard liquor. The beer had only barely numbed the pain though and all things considered, Nate had a rather high tolerance for alcohol. Besides, the whole point of buying enough liquor to start his own bar was to get wasted enough that he would be able to escape the pain. It was a welcome distraction and aside from not being able to stand straight he was lucid enough to talk coherently at least.

Seeing Lucian again brought a smile to Nate's features as he gave his son a quick hug before rolling his eyes at the question. He knew it was only in jest and if anyone else had said something similar to him they would have earned a punch in the face. Lucian was different though, he understood better than anyone why Nate chose to get wasted today instead of gushing about love and becoming all twitter-pated simply because it was Valentine's day. "It's never too early," Nate replied snarkily as he took another swig of the bottle in his hands as if to prove his point.

It wouldn't escape Nate's notice that Lucian had left his gloves on this time. Usually, Nate might have teased his son about it before but this time he was thankful that he didn't have the reminder of his incompetency staring him in the face. If he had only been there, maybe he could have prevented the whole thing from happening in the first place. Taking another long drink, Nate welcomed the burning sensation in his throat, it was something to take his mind off of the pain that threatened to overwhelm him. There was no sense in torturing himself with what ifs and maybes when there was nothing that could be done.

Finishing the rest of the bottle off, Nate tossed it into the trash bag so conveniently placed beside him before grabbing another beer. "Like you're one to talk, Lucy,"Nate quipped as he watched his son take a sip of his own beer before doing the same, "Movie's in the player," he continued briefly, gesturing to the TV with his free hand before tossing the remote at Lucian. Nate might be lucid enough to talk coherently but at this point it was questionable at best whether the same could be said of his ability to read.

~~~

Lucian Knight

[Lucian Knight]

don't believe me? just watch

Deep blue eyes rolled skyward as his father told him ‘it was never too early’. Ha. If he had his way about it, he wouldn’t allow the man to drink at all, but he didn’t. The most he could do was make sure his father didn’t get into trouble, which was rather ironic all things considered. Lucian himself wasn’t the biggest fan of alcohol. He didn’t particularly like being impaired, though it wasn’t quite as bad when he was at home. He could at least count on being safe there, but he couldn’t bring himself to trust the general public enough to get drunk at parties and the like. He had a deeply rooted cynicism that told him that people would take advantage of him or harm him if he gave them the chance… so he simply didn’t. He had more or less mastered the art of sipping on one beer all night. When everyone else was drunk, they never noticed.

Lips closed around his beer once again, but the sip he took was extremely small. He had already decided he wouldn’t be getting drunk tonight. Perhaps slightly tipsy depending on how his father was taking everything. Today wasn’t about him, after all. It was about Nate, and helping him to forget… her. Lucy didn’t like to remember her either, but as the years passed he’d found that even her face had blurred from his memory slightly. He had been young, and the trauma had done nothing to help his memories. Her hair, though, and her smile – he found he could remember those things vividly if he chose to. But he never did.

“Now, now. I’ve had two sips of beer.” He winked a bit as he walked around the table, his hands moving to set up the movie and get it started and such. Once that was finished, he flopped back next to Nate and heaved a little sigh as he picked his beer back up. Blue eyes moved to the side every now and then to check on his father’s general condition, though surreptitiously. Mostly he focused in on the movie, which was perfectly explosive and gory. It was a wonder that such things didn’t bother him, given his life experiences, but Nate had done a good job with all that therapy he could barely remember apparently.

Nathaniel Knight