OOM: Night Before the Allpocalypse

[trigger_man]

 It's quieter in the upstairs hallway, and there's less evidence of impending disaster up here. It's almost enough to allow you to forget what's going on downstairs, or to write it off.

Almost. Not quite.

Jack turns to Beckett as they reach his room.  "You want to come in for one more drink?"

He doesn't want to say it out loud, but there's a part of him that doesn't want to be alone just yet.

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[trigger_man]

"Yeah. Strange how that happens. I don't think that when I first came in here, I could ever have imagined this place becoming a kind of normal to me."

Of course when he'd first walked in the bar, there's a lot of things that he never could have imagined that have happened anyway.

[fanofthegenre]

"And now it has."

She rests her elbow along the top of the couch cushions, pivoting herself towards him.

"What do you think about that?"

[trigger_man]

"I think I probably should have learned by now that I can adjust to pretty much any situation, with enough time," Jack says with a slight smile.

"And that I was pretty lucky to find the place and the people in it."

[fanofthegenre]

"Exactly. We're adaptable creatures," Beckett agrees, staring into the contents of her drink before downing a good portion.

It's possible this drink is catching up with the others she's had downstairs.

"Yeah?"

[trigger_man]

"Yeah. I don't know what I would have done without being able to come in here and see certain people."

There's a pause as he takes a sip of his drink, then he adds, "People like you."

[fanofthegenre]

"Are you sure you're not just saying that 'cause it might be the end of the world?"

She tilts her cheek into her hand, lips curving in a slow smile.

[trigger_man]

"Just because it might be the end of the world, doesn't mean that I'm just saying it. It doesn't...it doesn't mean that I'm not serious."

[fanofthegenre]

"I know," she softly adds, after a beat.

"I'm grateful too, you know. For everyone I've met here, for every way I've been helped. For you."

[trigger_man]

"Even when I've been stuck in here and haven't actually been able to help with anything outside?" Jack says with a self-deprecating smile.

[fanofthegenre]

"You've helped with plenty," Beckett insists, her voice quiet.

"Really, I don't - I don't know how to thank you."

[trigger_man]

"The best way to thank me is don't," he says with a slight smile to soften the comment. "It's not like the favors have been all one-sided. You've helped me a lot of times too."

[fanofthegenre]

"Well, I can't not thank you," she replies, giving him a look over the rim of her glass.

"So now we're at an impasse."

[trigger_man]

"Not much of one. Besides, I owe you as much thanks as you do me. How about we just say we're mutually grateful for each other?"

[fanofthegenre]

"I can live with mutual," she replies, idly tapping her index finger against her glass before polishing off the contents in a few sips.

"It's better than the alternative."

[trigger_man]

"The alternative?" he asks, taking a sip of his drink.

[fanofthegenre]

"Not having it be mutual?" she replies, raising an eyebrow as her mouth quirks in a slow grin.

[trigger_man]

"If it wasn't, would we even be friends, though?" he says.

[fanofthegenre]

"Maybe," she replies, still fighting back the full force of her grin.

"I've been told I'm a very friendly person."

[trigger_man]

"So you're just that irresistible?" he asks, teasing.

Then, his voice turning a little more wry, he adds, "Guess in my case it would just be a good thing I'm so naturally charming."

[fanofthegenre]

"Well, irresistible may not be the word I'd use," she replies lowly.

"You're the one who brought that into the conversation."

[trigger_man]

"Imperfect word choice, then. Blame a lack of sleep and the alcohol."

[fanofthegenre]

"Fine, fine, do-over," she murmurs, her cheek slipping off her hand to rest against the couch cushions instead.

"Pick another word."

[trigger_man]

"Mmmm...persuasive? I think 'persuasive' would work."

[fanofthegenre]

"I'll take persuasive," she agrees, muffling a yawn with the back of her free hand.

[trigger_man]

"And tired, by the look of it."