Double it

Part Seven

Last days were supposed to be hard.
It was your last shift working at Duncan's Diner before you left for your new job for Cassian.
You hadn't seen him since he walked you home a few nights ago, apart from in your dreams of course.

He was awkward in saying goodbye to you that night so you have no idea why your thoughts were pure filth about him.

"You best not be a stranger!" the voice of Jan brings you back into the room.
"I live round the corner!" you laugh.
"Yeah well I want you to develop a problem with alcohol..." she says as you look at her confused "...so you can be in here every night" she rolls her eyes as if you should of cottoned on.
"Well day drinking perhaps, I'll be working at night" you smile at her as she slaps her own hand to her forehead in realisation.

"Hey girls, fancy actually working on your last night?" Duncan attempts to break up your conversation as you walk away to serve a table that just arrived. 

"What can I get ya?" You ask them putting on your best customer service smile.
"Hmmm" the guy sitting directly underneath where you were stood runs his eyes down the length of your body and back up again as you start to tap your pencil against the pad to mask your frustration.
"What's on the menu tonight sweet cheeks?" He replies whilst his minions laugh at him being a douche.
"Tonight's special is..." you were about to tell him about the cheese meatball foot long that was on offer but he cuts you off.
"Tonight's special is...you" he bites his lip as he runs a hand up your thigh.
You were just about to give him what's for but are beaten to it by a very angry looking vampire.
He moved so quickly you barely sensed he had walked into the bar before he had a hand wrapped about the obnoxious guys throat.
Leaning over him now, his fangs exposed as the guy almost wets himself.

"You don't fucking touch her" he spits as the other two guys sat at the table move their chairs back in fear.
You don't say a word as you want what's coming to Mr touchy feely but Duncan hollers you from across the bar.
He shouts as you look over to him gesturing towards Cassian still gripping the guy.
"Cass..." you speak softly as he looks at you now.
"Maybe not in a packed out bar in front of all these witnesses" you tell him as your mind flashes back to that vamp that got his arm ripped off in the car park.

Pulling gently on his large muscled arm he finally releases the vice he had on the guys throat as he splutters for air.
"You're not to come back here" Cassian says as he clicks his fangs back in "Do you hear me?"

"Y...y...yeah" he says as he struggles to find his footing quick enough and walks towards the door. Both his minions following behind him.

You stand there looking at Cassian for a few seconds, suddenly forgetting where you were as images flash across your mind of him taking you on the now vacated table you were stood at.
Your saviour once again.
This has gotten into some sort of habit for him.

"Mind telling me why you're wanting to kill a man inside my bar tonight?" Duncan had made his way over to you both now.
"Mind telling me why you let your so called customers feel up your staff?" Cassian says to him flatly.
"What?!" Duncan snaps looking at you to confirm it as you nod.

"Ergh!" He sighs out running a hand through his hair, something he always did when he was annoyed.
"Still, we have protocols for things like this where..." he goes on to ramble but Cassian doesn't want to hear it.
"You're not protecting what is mine!" Cassian sounds menacing as he towers over Duncan now.
"Yours!?" He somehow has a confidence boost.
"My staff" Cassian quickly adds.
Looking away from the gaze you had set on him this whole time.
"Your staff? Well, until 10pm, when she officially clocks off, she's MY staff" he crosses his arms in defence.
"Then do better" Cassian tells him leaning towards him a little.
They seem to get into a staring match which you break up by telling Cassian to take a booth and you'd fetch him a bottle, on the house for his heroics.

Jan joins you behind the bar as you wait for the drink to go through the heating process.
"Hey, you ok?" She asks you whilst pouring her own customer a pint.
"Mmm hmm" you answer not thinking about it.

What did Cassian mean by 'protecting what's his'. You know he said the word staff but he looked away when he added that part, meaning he could be lying.

"Ooops" Jan laughs awkwardly as she turns the beeping alarm off on the heater.
"Sorry" you mumble "miles away" you tell her as she walks away to serve another table.

10pm quickly came around.
Duncan did welcome you to stay till closing to say a proper goodbye but when you poured your self a drink and joined Cassian, who was still sat at the booth, he sighs in annoyance.

"No goodbye speech?" Cassian smirks as he plays with the label on the bottle of synth-blood.
"They don't care" you shrug as you slide into the booth on the opposite side of him. "I left this job last year too so they probably think I'll be back again" you tilt your head at the rolled up pieces of bottle label on the table.
"You really don't like them do you?" You ask, pulling the drink out of his hands.
He looks up at you as you bring the bottle to your face.
You take in the scent but pull a face instead, causing him to laugh slightly.
"Doesn't smell like anything does it?" He asks you as you put it back down.
"Does it smell to you?" You ask him as he shakes his head.
"I mean it does have a scent but nothing like the..."
"The real thing" you finished his sentence again, just like the first night you met.

"What does it taste like?" You ask him the age old question that you've never been brave enough to ask a vampire. But seeing as this one is so fond on your safety from others, you take that as a means to he wouldn't hurt you.
"Blood" he says matter of factly as you show your disappointment a little to much on your face.

"I mean...I haven't tasted anything else in so long, I don't have any other ways to describe it" he tries to make you feel less embarrassed.
"how old are you?" you blurt out, leaning your elbows on the table now.
"I stopped counting" he tells you as you feel like you're burdening him with questions that he's probably been asked thousands of times.
You lean back on the leather of the booth, wanting to shut up now.
"..I stopped counting at a thousand" he tells you finally, sensing you felt defeated.
"A thousand?!" You say a little too enthusiastically.
"That's insane!"
He just chuckles at you.
"Thomas is what.. like 200?" You ask.
"273" he says flatly, slightly annoyed that you wanted to talk about Tommy.
"See now that's old!" You snort "but over a thousand?!"
"I'm ancient" he adds on.

***

"You drove tonight?" Cassian states the obvious as you walk towards your car.
Parked in the same spot it was that first night you had met him.
"Did you?" You ask him as he shakes his head.
"Wanna ride home?" You try to ask him unbothered but he can tell you were nervous.

"I shouldn't" he says, stopping a few steps behind you as you unlocked the car door.
His words cause you to spin around to face him.
"Why do you keep saying that?!" You don't mean for it to come out snappy but you couldn't help it.
He's surprised at the way you were talking to him, never expecting the sass that always fell from your lips.

"Saying what?"

"Saying that you shouldn't or we shouldn't or
I shouldn't or whatever" you huff out as he raises his eyebrows.
"Cause we shouldn't" he tells you like he was telling you off.
You roll your eyes at the non-answer of your question.
"Stop.rolling.your.eyes" he steps towards you now as you widen them, trying to prove to him you weren't about to do it again.

He was so close to you now you had nothing going through your head as you focused on him.
He pursed his lips as you look up at him, he needs to physically hold himself back when he was with you.

"Cassian..." you manage to call out his name he closes his eyes at the way your voice sounded.

"Do you really just want me to tend your bar?" You ask him flat out, no more beating around the bush.
"If you do..." you quickly add on as he stayed silent "...then I'll stop trying to get you to kiss me again" you smirk suddenly feeling very confident.
"You don't have to make me want to kiss you, I'm trying to hold myself back" his reply takes you by surprise.
"So why say what you say?" You furrow your eyebrows at him.
"It's not me..." he tells you but you don't understand.
"Then who is it?" You question him.
"Who's saying we shouldn't??"

He takes a while before answering.
"Your sister" he says as he watches the anger paint your face.