perfect distraction

Giving someone your number, even when they’d asked for it, didn’t mean you were gonna hear from them. Kace figured it’d been about a fifty-fifty shot. If it didn’t happen? Well, he wasn’t gonna go crying about it. Life in Mystic Falls wasn’t the same as it had been back home, hell, he wasn’t who he’d been the last time he’d done anything like this. Dying and coming back to life, twice if you counted being erased from existence and brought back again, tended to fuck you up in multiple ways. Some of them had healed, at least far enough that he wasn’t gonna be wringing his hands over leaving Mikey and Dom closing up tonight.

You wanna grab a drink? hadn’t exactly been code, but still, he’d left the Diner an hour and a half before he was meant to meet Tobi. A hot shower, a little time with Frank’s hair dryer (he was pretty sure it was Frank’s, he seemed like the sort of guy who had a manscaping routine), aftershave. It wasn’t like some anonymous hook up he was trying to impress, there’d been those other messages after all, but hey, a little effort before they got to the live version of the pics – if they got there – was worth it.

There were plenty of other things he’d felt rusty over after his first return. Playing tutor to Cassie before Kit had had hit the roof had proved that sleeping with someone wasn’t one of them. If he’d gone back to LA before now, he’d have already slipped back into his old routine. Gage, Ronni, whoever else caught his eye. Little moments where he felt more fully alive than at any other time since he’d got back. Mystic Falls shouldn’t have been any different, but that wasn’t a part of his routine he’d entirely thrown himself back into yet. Baby steps – or better yet, just getting back on the damn horse.

That analogy had struck as he’d driven towards Campbell’s, wringing a smirk out of him. He’d seen Tobi’s pics, it wasn’t exactly an inaccurate thought. Parking a couple of spaces down from the bar, Kace strolled towards Campbell’s with ten minutes to spare. He might not’ve been Mr Responsible in many other ways, but punctuality mattered. A quick scan of the place proved that Tobi wasn’t quite as anal when it came to that. He headed for an empty booth, catching a passing waitress to ask for a beer just as he slipped into it. In a way the place reminded him enough of Bodhi’s for a pang to hit the pit of his stomach. Life woulda been pretty fucking different if Kit hadn’t come back there with the mental scars war and grief had carved into him, He’d have given all of that up if a heartbeat if it would’ve saved his brother from that.

Minutes later he was halfway through the first beer, brushing foam from his upper lip with a knuckle. The door had opened a handful of times since he’d arrived, but this time it was Tobi strolling in, wearing a shirt covered in … seahorses? Kace grinned, gesturing vaguely with the bottle before he set it down on the table. ”Pop was always a stickler for being on time. I didn’t beat you here by much.”

Kace let his gaze drop to Tobi’s shirt, his grin twitching again at the pattern. Not something he’d wear, but he appreciated a guy who went his own way, especially in a town where most folks seemed like little cookie cutter versions of each other – only the club seemed to really stick out, an eye sore for some maybe, but some people needed the place. ”You got dressed up huh? I like it.” Catching the same waitress heading back towards the table, Kace turned that grin on her, then flicked his gaze back to Tobi. ”I’m gonna grab another beer. What do you want?” If it was the club he’d already have been downing something stronger, but Campbell’s didn’t seem like the sort of place that lined up a dozen shots on the bar and set them on fire.

Tagged: TOBI PARKER * Word Count: 694

Going full Lazarus hadn’t turned him into a monk – giving Cassie a lesson was proof of that – but Kace supposed he was the next best thing to one. A sinner turned saint (alright, he’d been too much of an asshole to Kit in the name of helping him to claim that), habits that he’d never seen as bad shed like a snake skin when he’d stumbled free of his coffin. Too cowardly to go back to his old life in LA, not wanting to drag anybody else into the shit that periodically washed over his life tidal wave style, he’d held himself at a distance from most people. You only had to look at what had happened to Mikey to realise how dangerous letting them in was. Family didn’t count, but he probably should’ve come with a warning for everybody else. This guy will fuck your life up.

Another night spent drinking beers with Frank, or sat watching mind numbing TV while everybody else was out. Flickering images that filled the room and chased back what lay beyond the drapes. The channel flipped when the gun shots or explosions cut in, dread filling the pit of his stomach at the thought of Kit coming home to it again. Seeing his brother fall apart again when he’d come back had brought back all those old fears, leaving him walling off bits of his life again when he should’ve been out there, pushing the boundaries, living.

From what he’d seen, Tobi didn’t have much trouble with that last bit. He was a formerly-dead-boy pushing the limits the same way Theo had. The grim reaper? The afterlife? We don’t know ‘em. Seahorse shirts and d*ck pics screamed fuck you to the universe. Maybe it was time he livened up his closet, tossing aside the hoodies and jeans. A trip to a barber probably wouldn’t hurt either, cut away a little of who he wasn’t anymore, stop scandalising the old ladies who came into the diner expecting polite service instead of a grin from a long-haired degenerate. Kace’s gaze ticked up to Tobi’s tussled hair as he considered it. Maybe not, there was definitely something to be said for being able to get a fistful of hair.

His grin broadened as he met Tobi’s eye, a low laugh rolling out of him. ”Maybe I oughta try followin’ it sometime. I’m probably underdressed.” Subdued at least, his shirt dark and plain like the rest of his clothes. Kace’s brows rose. That definitely sounded like an invite to him. ”I’m guessin’ it’s real impressive,” he drawled. ”You’d love some of the spots in West Hollywood. They’re stuff’s right up your street.” It was the sort of stuff designed to catch your attention – wannabe starlets flitted between them like hummingbirds, trying to find something in them to make them stand out from the crowd.

If there was one person in the bar that did that now, it was Tobi. Guys in Texas didn’t go ordering cosmos, most of the guys he knew in LA didn’t either. It was beers down on the beach, sticky sweet shots that tasted as good off of skin as they did out of a glass. Kace aimed his smile at the waitress. ”You know, that sounds pretty good, can we get four cosmos, please? Thanks.” Kace tilted his head slightly as he leaned back in the booth. ”Figured we might as well double up, this place gets busy in the evenins. I guess there’s not a lot of choice around here if you want drinks – the Grill, the Casino, here … the club, and I guess that doesn’t feel like a place to hang out these days. How’s that goin’? Hope Kit’s not orderin’ you around too much.” Kit could draw a hard line on the job, wanting to give it his all despite the place being a cess pit, but he was also fair, even when you couldn’t see he was at the time.

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It hadn’t mattered how thin the tether to his old had been when he’d followed Kit across the country. What did a dead guy need to worry about the life he’d left behind? Who’d wanna stand there and watch their friends empty out their closet or slowly strip them out of their apartment? Who’d wanna know how big (or small) the hole left in their lives was? In his head there hadn’t been a chance that he’d end up walking, talking and breathing again. When he had it’d felt like he was some sort of refugee here. Frank hadn’t blinked about the whole thing, just opening up some corner of his life to make room for his bestie’s little brother. Clothes had handed over without a word, cash too, little things to keep him going until he found his feet again.

These days his wallet was a little fuller, even if technically it wasn’t his name on the paperwork on the Diner. According to official records Kace Clarke was still resting peacefully six feet underground in California. He hadn’t had the balls to start digging into how you had that shit officially reversed yet, especially when Kamilla had practically made his death a public spectacle. One step at a time, in his case an inch at a time, moving like a crippled ninety-year old.

Kace glanced down at himself and huffed out a laugh before he let his eyes slide back up to Tobi. Maybe he did look great, but he could break out of the chrysalis he’d been wrapped in after he’d come back and add a little something new to his closet. ”I could let better. Maybe you can play stylist at some point, drag me shoppin’.” And probably freak Kit out with what he came back with. In LA Tobi might just’ve been another boldly dressed hottie on the streets, but in Mystic Falls he’d stand out against all the drab business casual. ”I’ll keep an eye out for it.” For him. Maybe if he ever found the balls to go back home and reveal to the rest of his family that he was alive, he’d take Tobi back there with him. The smile on his face took on a slightly sad, nostalgic edge. ”A lot of people think it’s overrated, but it’s worth seeing. It was home.” He gave a little shrug, the word sticking in his throat. Was home, now it felt like that was definitely here.

A couple of cosmos to celebrate his fresh start. Kace slanted a Tobi a grin when his approval of the drinks came. ”Might as well start as we mean to go on,” he said lightly. He meant to make the most of the night and being out. Sandy brows rose and he let out a stunned chuckle. ”Makes me wish Kit had decided to keep me on. I coulda done with some time on a beach. They’ve always seemed tight there. A while back Hector flew them all to London.” While he’d been a little pissed that he hadn’t been invited to that either, he’d seen it as a break from the shitty reality of his life for Kit. A week without having to look the brother he killed in the eye every day. That had been before those sons of bitches had erased him from existence and had given Kit months like that though.

He was glad Tobi hadn’t launched into a tirade about Kit being an asshole boss, it made all of this way easier. Barring Kit’s kicking him out from the job, he’d never seemed like that sorta guy. The army had probably knocked that shit out of him if it had ever been there in the first place. ”Just to keep you on the right path,” Kace said quietly, nodding. ”He’s always kinda been like that.” But he’d definitely fought it more that day than he ever had before.

”Thanks,” Kace murmured as the waitress set the cocktails down on the table, watching the easy way Tobi charmed her. His gaze flicked from that easy smile back up to Tobi’s. Kace lifted a glass, feeling a warmth already working its way through him before he chinked his glass against his. ”To being the guys who are gonna be downing a dozen of ‘em tonight.” Kace drained half his cocktail in one go, letting out a small sound of approval as he trailed his tongue over his lower lip. ”Is this how you usually party? Quiet bars and cocktails?” The question was light, but he already propping his elbows on the bar, studying Tobi as he leaned in a little.

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Out of all of them Kace had felt like he was closest to taking after Kamilla. Not in the shitty, abandoning your husband and kids for a shitty career kind way, of course, he’d never do that shit. It was more that he’d never seen himself as the sort to settle down. White picket fences, a wife (or husband, he wouldn’t have ruled out either, even if he had been all domesticated), a bunch of kids running around the place, didn’t feel like it’d ever work for him. That was where he’d figured Kit would end up one day (he still had the chance to make it happen), Kandice was already there. The closest he’d ever gotten was inheriting Bodhi’s and his name on the paperwork for the Diner. If that was as far as he ever got in the responsibility stakes, he didn’t think he’d mind all that much – even if Kit thought he was worth way more than that.

Kace laugh settled into a grin and after just a second’s hesitation, he nodded at Tobi. It’d get him out of his rut without, and would probably leave some wrinkled old mouths hanging open when he turned up at work in that stuff. ”Mmm,” Kace muttered by way of agreement as Tobi bashed the local stores. ”Maybe we can take a ride to Richmond. There’s gotta be somethin’ a little … shinier there.” Richmond still wouldn’t rival the glitzy insanity of LA, but it would be a step up. Unlike Tobi, it seemed like he’d spent half his childhood travelling, the yoyo trips back and forth between LA and Texas. As he’d gotten older and Kit had enlisted there’d been trips up and down the coast with Gage and Ronni. ”Seattle’s not bad, not a patch on LA though.” The corner of his mouth lifted and the thick feeling in his throat intensified. Would he ever actually make it back there?

When the Ghost Riders had taken him it’d felt like he’d never have the chance to reunite with his family (well, with Kandice at lest). There’d been moments when that had felt like it was for the best. Kit would be free of the guilt that tore him apartment while he existed, Kandice wouldn’t have to explain to her daughter about what had happened to Uncle Kace and Kamilla didn’t have the opportunity to keep monopolising on his death like he was just a marketing opportunity. The minute he’d come back that rabbit hole of thoughts had collapsed. Even if him being back caused problems, he’d rather be here, alive, griping over not getting the benefits of working for Hector. For that alone it would’ve been worth sticking around the club.

”That oughta come first on the job advert – may include travel to tropical locations on the boss’ dime.” Given what other shit they had to put up with at the club, it was probably the least Hector felt like he could do for them. At Tobi’s offer, Kace studied his face for a minute before he smiled. ”I’d like that,” he admitted honestly. Maybe Kit wouldn’t, but a beach in Aruba had to be safer than the monster filled basement at the club. All his problems would still be waiting for him when he got back here, for a few days, though, he have sand between his toes and the scent of salt water clinging to his skin again.

Tapping his thumb lightly against the neck of his glass, Kace watched Tobi sip at his drink – more judiciously than he had. There’d been that feeling of kindred spirits almost when the two of them had realised they were both a part of the Formerly Dead Dudes club. Tobi felt like the sorta guy they’d have dragged into their circle back home, the kind happy to party or just hang out down on the beach with a bottle. ”The eighties had some decent music. How ‘bout sittin’ sittin’ on beaches doing the same?” Not that there was anything in town he could drag Tobi off to for that.

Kace’s nose wrinkled faintly as he grinned and considered the question. ”You mean other than guys in furry jackets and seahorse shirts?” he asked almost innocently, although he guessed that was more like who he’d do for fun. ”Not that different to you, although there’s a lot more surf and sand involved. I’ve been a surfer since I was a kid. They never could get me off the beach. Set up a bonfire with friends, hang out under the stars with bottles of booze, wake up out there next morning.” God, he missed it like he did a limb, but there was nothing much he could do about that yet.

Tagged: TOBI PARKER * Word Count: 790