Lonely Night Out: The Night

Cardiff never seemed so small and boring as it did now, when he was off roaming the streets by himself. Somehow he managed to get by well for a long time before he met Finn; wandering around alone had never been a problem before. Perhaps he was more dependent than he thought he was, whether that was a good or bad thing. Looking back on it now, it seemed almost impossible and certainly not worth it in the least.

Dermut stopped meandering down the pavement and peered into the large front window of a decent sized pub. Quietly, he considered having a few drinks, thinking it might be a welcomed interruption to the tangled mess of thoughts relentlessly going through his head. Now that he thought about it, it was as if his feet seemed to have brought him here on their own. Therefore, there was no point in wasting the opportunity.

Confident he would only consume a few pints and immediately return to check up on Finn’s condition, he climbed the few steps up and into the uncomfortably warm and stuffy place. Already the patrons noisily rambled away at volumes they were unaware of, spilling drinks in a fitful laugh or because of their greatly reduced coordination. He shed his jacket and threw it over one arm on his way to the bar.

Dermut quickly ordered a beer and found a stool around a small circular bar table in the corner. It stood by a wall-sized window, similar to the one he had peered into earlier. It didn’t face the direction he came from, rather it showed out across the street to an empty barber shop. It wasn't exciting, but it was enough of a distraction. Besides, this way he wouldn't wind up in any unwanted bar fights, in case someone recognised him from some previous confrontation.

Content with its isolation, he dropped his coat down on another stool and sat down on the one that offered him the view. If Finn weren’t going through one of his break downs right now, all this time would be spent drinking with him. Actually, the drinking would come later, if Dermut had any say in it. He was more than just worried for him- he was bloody frustrated. Christ, Finn had only fucked him twice and he was already unable to get enough, it felt like ages since the last time. With the sadist in a mental break down, it was a slim chance in hell that he’d get what he wanted. It didn't help that there was no way to tell how long it would last.

Dermut sighed and took another sip of his beer. His dull green eyes instinctively fell on a movement outside- the figure of a man walking past the pub. As his gaze absent mindedly followed the man walking past, he kept hoping that this situation with Finn wouldn't last long. Only once had he seen Finn break down, far before the Welshman even noticed his complimentary thing to Dermut's; that got off on beating the shit out of people. That one had lasted a long while, although he had absolutely nothing to compare it to. It wasn’t something he was about to ask any time soon.

He brought his glass to his lips once again and gave the source of a loud shatter and burst of laughter an askance look as he threw it back for a big gulp. Damn drunks. A pair of hands wrapped around his neck, their fingers pressed deeply into his throat at the exact moment he decided to swallow. The large gulp was forced back out, erupting in a spluttered coughing fit. Involuntarily his body leaned forward and gripped the glass tightly as his body panicked.

Dermut didn’t have time to think of retaliation before his throat was released, his lungs suddenly allowed the oxygen they needed. He didn’t even wait for a full breath before he spun around and threw his fist out at the idiot that attacked him. They must have seen it coming somehow because his fist hit nothing but air, only causing him more frustration.

“That’s certainly a different reaction from last time, love,” a silky voice cooed. It was then that Dermut noticed his surprisingly strong aggressor was, in fact, a woman. A woman that seemed to know him, and yet he couldn’t remember her to save his life.

“Who the fuck are you?” he spat as he crossed his arms and towered over her imposingly. She must have been no taller than 5’5”, though fairly well built. She cocked her head and ran a delicate hand through her styled dark blonde hair with a slightly disappointed frown. It pissed him off more than it normally would have had she not been dressed in as expensive clothing as possible. The whole scenario simply rubbed him wrong.

The woman’s dead animal coat was hanging off her shoulders and made it clearl that her top had no straps. It exposing her large and, undeniably, rather shapely cleavage. Despite that, the extremely low cut top she wore seemed to be made out of a material worth more than him and the long skirt could probably be sold to feed a small African country. That was disregarding the large jewellery dangling from her ears and holding her neck. Dermut scowled.

“What? You don’t recognise me?” she asked indignantly. “Maybe this’ll help your memory.” Swiftly, she swiped her flat palm and slapped him hard on the cheek. She giggled darkly, like a socipathic child amused at the death of a small animal, and placed the hand on a shapely hip. Dermut would have punched her in the face if it didn’t actually, seriously remind him of who she was. She must have caught recognition in his eyes, because her grin widened without him saying a word.

“Aha, how cute! That does remind you!” she mused, paying absolutely no attention to the few curious on lookers around them. Dermut sighed and sat down on his stool, facing away from her. This was the last thing he needed right now- a one night stand stayed a one night stand, as far as he was concerned, no matter how good or bad it was. Especially if it was good, and especially if the person shared that odd something in common with Finn.

“It’s a shame no one has prettied your face recently,” the woman said as she curled her fingers around his chin and pushed his face from side to side to get a good look. Dermut pulled away like a cat refusing to let someone grasp on to them. Who the fuck did she think she was?

“What do you want?” he growled after looking away. There was no way she would get the satisfaction of holding all his attention. She faked a hurt frown and brushed back a strand of hair. Too bad he didn't see it.

“That’s no way to address a stranger you had a marvellous time with,” she scolded. One of her elegant hands reached out and grabbed a stool just after the patron previously occupying it left. She pushed it around to one side of the small round table, patted her clothing as if the thought of a minute amount of dust gathering on it was unbearable, and plopped herself down on it.

Dermut sighed and turned back again towards the window. Maybe if he ignored her long enough, she’d get bored and piss off. Christ, why did things just have to get worse today? Fuck’s sake. Life would never give him a break, would it?

“Yeh, and that’s no way to greet a stranger,” Dermut remarked after a while of awkward silence, rubbing his neck to show her what he was talking about. “So what the fuck do you want?” It was probably useless to ask, he had a fairly good idea of the reason why she’d even bother to approach him again. Too bad for her he wasn’t in any bloody mood for it.

A hand reached into a small leather bag and withdrew a tissue, which she used to clean a portion of the table before leaning and an elbow on it. The more she treated her surroundings like it was diseased was the less patient Dermut felt, and he hadn't started with a lot. The masochist was five seconds away from getting up and walking off when she finally replied with a smirk.

“I wanted to know if you were interested for another go. Maybe even figure out something a little more… Long term?” She raised an eyebrow at him and grinned, as if expecting a positive reply.

“No.” Dermut replied immediately, blankly staring at her, almost like he expected that she had no more reason to stick around any longer and would scuttle off. A long moment of silence passed between them as they stared at each other; the woman looked as if she hadn’t heard a word and was still waiting for an answer, and Dermut as if he was waiting for her to get up and leave. If she expected him to take it back or give an explanation or some shit, she was going to be pretty fucking disappointed. His answer was his answer.

“No?” she asked finally, crossing her arms stubbornly. It dawned on her that he wasn't going to add to it.

“No.” Dermut repeated. Perhaps he should just get up and leave; just go the fuck back to Finn’s place and hang around until he recovered. For some reason he didn’t, and he couldn’t quite figure out why. It didn’t help his mood at all. The blonde shifted in her stool and twisted her face into a perplexed expression.

“Hmm, and why not? It’s certainly not because you didn’t enjoy yourself with me…” she thought out loud. Dermut scowled, opting to avert his gaze and glare at a wall. There would be no point in arguing that, because he’d be lying. He did enjoy fucking her. God damn it.

“So then someone already has you, is that it?” She paused, and a large and mischievous grin grew on her face, “You wouldn’t have been lying to me when you said you didn’t have a partner, would you?” Dermut remained staring at the wall in silence. The answer to that was… Complicated. Complicated and not something he cared to explain to her or anyone else, least of all in a bar in public. He didn't have to clue her in to his private life. Things between Finn and him have changed a lot since then and now.

Well, only one thing has changed, but it was still a big change. Most of all, however, the woman was just making everything that much more of a hassle. Under normal circumstances, he probably wouldn’t give as much of a damn. For now, her presence made him feel guilty and reminded him how much he prefers his best friend to anyone else.

She took his silence as a ‘yes’ and said with a laugh, “Oh my, no wonder you’re not pleased to see me again.” Rather than attempt to correct her or explain, Dermut just growled. Whether he confirmed or denied, there was no doubt this woman would just continue to be one hell of a nuisance. He could easily see any answer giving her incentive to just pry harder.

“Well, it doesn’t have to interfere with whoever else you’re with,” she said with a hand delicately cradling her cheek and a mischievous grin. “We might even be able to make an arrangement with her, it's not impossible.”

“Whatever,” Dermut growled as he abruptly got off the bar stool and nearly sent it skidding across the pub. The masochist pushed chattering patrons out of the way, fully intent on leaving with a door slam. He barely touched down onto the pavement when he felt a hand wrap around his wrist and a weight trying to pull him back towards the pub.

“Whatever? Whatever? That’s it?” she asked indignantly. “Hold on, stop!” Dermut rolled his eyes and pulled her away from the pub’s entrance. She might be surprisingly strong, but he was still taller, bigger, and stronger than her. Maybe in her world that didn’t mean anything, but to him it meant everything; he just couldn’t respect anyone who couldn’t exert themselves over him. He dragged her a few paces away, as if to punctuate the fact, and growled.

“What-” his angry reply was interrupted by the force of a stiletto heel stomping on his foot and a knee swiftly hitting him between the legs. Dermut nearly dropped to the ground as the pain forced him to curl up, exclaiming an obscenity in German which the feisty, stubborn woman simply ignored. She pushed him backwards into a brick wall, amused by his reaction and the gasped grunt he made when the back of his head met the bricks.

“Learn to listen, boy,” she snapped. “ And get some manners. We were in the middle of a conversation, you don’t get up and walk away.”

The woman grinned when she noticed the larger man surrender, although the only evidence he offered to support it was a scowl- the rest was inaction. Dermut wondered what it would take to get her to leave him the fuck alone right now. Every second spent out here was one more second he desired even more to just go home.

“Just once more,” the blonde said after studying Dermut's face for a few silent moments. “It doesn't have to get in the way of anything else you're involved in. If you still don't fancy the idea, I won't bother you again.” It was a compromise, really. She simply didn't want to explain boldly, out in public, that she really never met a more fun masochist-submissive before. Perhaps if he just gave it one more chance, she'd ensnare him.

Dermut stared at her, not entirely sure how to feel about that. It seemed easier to just agree, and without the prospect of being dragged into something permanent, much more appealing. Could it really be that easy? All this hassle just for that? Fuck's sake. Women were weird creatures. Without thinking it through, he grunted an agreement, anything to just go home to his friend. She smiled sweetly and backed away from him, removing her hands from his body.

“You know you won't be let down,” she smirked. “Next time we see each other, you're coming home with me- with or without your girlfriend, I don't mind which. Deal? Brilliant!” She concluded without hearing any confirmation from him. Even if he was going to, however, he wouldn't have said much. His personal relationship was not something he discussed at all. It didn't matter that he didn't have a girlfriend, she could keep thinking he did, and she could be left in the dark about what he thought about it.

Dermut felt himself abruptly pulled down into an aggressive kiss. Even if he didn't want to admit it, the woman sure knew how to handle him in the manner he found most pleasing. His automatic response was to oblige the dominance and kiss back, which he did until he got a hold of himself and where his loyalties lay. Then all he could think of was Finn, and his annoyance returned.

The blonde sauntered off, thankfully in the opposite direction from his own destination. With the entire incident banished from his mind, he sped off to return to Finn's place. It was much later than he would have liked, damn that woman. Hopefully nothing else bad happened while he was dealing with this shit. Of course, 'dealing' with it wasn't quite what happened, but he wouldn't come to that realisation until much later.

For now, there was an important person in his life to take care of.