A demon who loves - [Ten Forward - OTA]

[demontobeloved]

This Synthehol stuff is pretty decent. Doesn't have the kick the real stuff has, of course, but he's not going to be waking up with a pounding headache in the morning...

...Although, Cole wonders if that's a good thing or not.

Being winked onto the Enterprise hasn't done wonders for the demon's emotions, after all, and, honestly, the glass of synthetic scotch obtained from the Replicator is more so he can stare into something and not seem like a total whackjob.

He'd take alcoholic over insane.

Either way, Cole is sat at the far end of the bar, staring into his glass, pondering over his situation... And the more he does, the more he doesn't like it, and the more he realises he can't do squat to change it.

Comments

[hasopinions]

Quark was always saying everyone loved the bartender. And when she watched people around Ten Forward, she could understand why. Though she was sure some of it was this particular bartender.

But, that particularly bartender wasn't speaking to the customer at this moment. So why not say hello. Have a little chat. "Lot on your mind?"

[demontobeloved]

A side-glance to the person who's appeared next to him. He would react, but, eh... he's seen weirder.

"You could say that." He replies, swirling the amber synthehol in his glass idly. "It's pretty complicated."

[hasopinions]

"We're all travelling on a Federation vessel because some sort of all powerful being got bored and started dragging people across time and universes to entertain him." Or in other words, everything about their lives were pretty complicated now.

She slides into the seat next to him. Complicated also meant no sense discussing anything standing up.

[demontobeloved]

"I'm kinda used to being the cosmic whipping boy by this point." Cole admits, slumping back. "Although, it's Q's fault that things are even more complicated."

[hasopinions]

"I'd be really worried if Q had managed to improve your life on that front." There might be people that this was simpler for. But that was not a good situation to be in at all. It would basically require their home be the Vault of Eternal Destitution.

[demontobeloved]

"I dunno. There are some benefits to being relocated to a different universe." He has to admit it's good to not be hiding from the Source's bounty hunters all the time. "It's just a pain in the ass that the other people from where I'm from are from the future."

[hasopinions]

"I'll have to take your word on the universe. All Q did was send me into the past and I can't say I care for it." Living in this time once was quite enough for her. THough it was at least better on a Federation vessel than her own planet. "Have they told you things you wish you didn't know yet?"

[demontobeloved]

"No." He admits. "But the fact that the love of my life now hates me when ten minutes before I got here she loved me as much as I love her..." He shrugs. "Kinda says a lot."

[hasopinions]

"That's a mess." No arguing with that one at all. "How long is it between you two?" Not that it would really help to know. But a long time at least would make a little bit of sense.

[demontobeloved]

"About a year, now." It might not seem much, but considering Phoebe won past his demonic half? That's quite an achievement. "Our relationship... it's... complicated. That's before all the temporal tweaking."

[hasopinions]

"A lot can happen in a year." She might be old, but once things started changing, they started changing fast. "Not a standard contract, then."

There was a certain simplicity to standard contracts. Of course, most of that had come from not everyone involved getting input into the terms.

[demontobeloved]

"Contract?" He asks, frowning.

[hasopinions]

"Ferengi have standard contracts for marriages. The terms were updated recently." Much better terms now. Though some males might argue. "Reduces complications to set it all out in advance."

[demontobeloved]

"Contract as in... business contract?" He needs to clarify that, because... Well, it's an odd way of doing it.

Not that Cole's judging, of course. A demon being in love with a witch was more than odd, after all.

"And I... I hadn't gotten around to asking her to marry me yet."

[impossibilities]

Grainne trotted into Ten Forward with a PADD in hand, and promptly sat down at the bar, placing it face up. She didn't order anything, not yet anyway, but one of the bartenders placed a glass of plain water in front of her, a slice of apple on the rim as if it were her usual.

There was a recipe for a bread pudding showing on her PADD, that called for something named 'saurian brandy' so naturally Ten Forward would be the best place to find out where to get some. That is, until she looked around at the other patrons and froze when she spotted a rather sad looking man at the end of the bar.

Oh no. That pose. That glass. That pathetic looking into the glass. She has seen it before.

Grainne turned back to her own drink, about to ask what saurian brandy was, at first thinking it best to leave the man alone. But Beverly also said she should talk to people... On the other hand, she was horrible at affairs of the heart. There was a slim chance it was something else, but... nah. It was definitely love-something.

"Scotch is rather horrible at writing love poems, if that is what you're wondering. I recommend ale, it has more heart of a poet."

[demontobeloved]

There's an amused snort as Cole swirls the amber liquid around in the appropriate glass, gaze not leaving it.

"If only poetry could fix the cosmic fuckery currently going on in my love life."

This is remarked as he downs the drink and motions to the bartender for another.

"It would be a pretty simple fix."

[impossibilities]

"It is always the love life." She sighed, taking the apple slice and nibbling on it. 'Cosmic fuckery' must mean the multiversal aspect.

"It suffers the most, it seems, with those of us the multiverse has chosen to play with. I learned far too late. I would give you advice, if I could, but there is no easy way to deal the alternate versions of people you love. All I know is you can easily find your heart torn out and your own loved ones in your universe remember nothing. That makes it all the more difficult."

[demontobeloved]

"Less multiverse, more temporal." Cole grunts. "And, strangely, I think the timeline I'm being screwed over by is the right one."

[impossibilities]

"I see." Grainne finished off the apple slice, and took a sip of her water. "Still, between some universes it is only a matter of a single choice in the difference between them. A difference in time itself might be a different universe. They all branch off of each other." At least that was the gist she got about the... what did Una call them? The flows? Ah, maybe she was getting forgetful in her old age. It still boggled her that people actually willingly traveled the multiverse like that.

"Maybe you could learn from this and seek to avoid the mistakes made in their world. Or do nothing and let it play out as it would. What exactly is the problem?"

[demontobeloved]

"Our timeline's a bit... fragile." Cole remarks. "I change one thing, and the whole world would change... probably for the worse."

[impossibilities]

"If you wish to look at it that way, perhaps it would be. I'm afraid my perception is very skewed in things like that." Grainne handed her PADD to the bartender, who started looking in the stock for her recipe ingredients. "But what is ailing you in particular? Did they find another lover?"

[demontobeloved]

"I don't know." He sighs, shifting. "I kinda don't want to know. All I know is that one moment she's in love with me, the next? Different hairdo and aiming a kick at my head."

[impossibilities]

"Hate isn't the opposite of love, it's love twisted in on itself and upside down." Grainne mumbled, drawing her knees up to her chest. "It shows she still cares, one way or another. For it to be so, there must have been a hurt of epic proportions." Sigh. "I would say to talk to her, but I've found that advice useless."

[demontobeloved]

"I don't really want to know what caused that kind of hate." Cole admits. "But, yeah, you're right. I must've screwed up big time."

[impossibilities]

"It is not necessarily done by you, it may have been something much different." She pointed out, shaking her head. "But I can say with sincerity if their love was not strong enough to let it be sorted out, then you would be much better off finding someone deserving of your love." Now if only she could follow her own advice. "But I am the worst person on the ship to take advice from on matters of love... Why don't you take a visit to the ship's therapists? They may be able to help you."

Grainne took her basket of ingredients, straightened out and hopped off her barstool. "I wish you well."

[premonitioned]

Phoebe is ashamed to admit that she's been avoiding him. She's got a reasonable excuse already to go, but when she does see him, it seems pretty weak. When she sees him in the bar, she doesn't immediately walk out and ask one of her sisters to come with her, in case she does something stupid. She can do this, and she can't avoid him forever.

She walks down the bar and places a hand on his shoulder. It's time to try being a friend, to help Cole find a reason to live, that isn't centred around here. "Hi. Have my sisters been giving you a hard time?"

[demontobeloved]

He glances over at her, but doesn't respond to the hand on her shoulder. "No, I've managed to avoid them other than when they arrived here. Luckily, neither of them tried to vanquish me. I'd hate to explain that to the barstaff."

[premonitioned]

"Yeah, I'm not sure the bar staff would like demon goo everywhere." She winces, and shits herself up and on to the barstool beside him. "I've pretty much convinced them not to try killing you. You're on the side of good, I know that." For now, and she can only hope that he will choose to continue this while they are here.

[demontobeloved]

"I've worked hard at keeping that promise. Even here." He remarks, his tone a bit bitter. A low blow? Maybe. Phoebe was, after all, the main reason he remained good.