I stared at him for a beat before a loud laugh erupted from my mouth.Where the hell did that come from?But it was like a dam breaking and now that it was out there, I couldn't stop laughing.
“I'm happy to see you laughing, but seeing how it's a rare occurrence that only comes round as often as a plague of locusts, I'm not sure if we should be here drinking or preparing for the end of days,” Bram teased, pouring us each a double of the amber alcohol.
“Oh, fuck off.” I chuckled one more time, and took my drink. Holding it up, I waited for my drinking partner.
“To being the coolest dads ever,” Bram said and I snorted, clanking my glass against his. The liquor burned on the way down but quickly turned into a soothing heat that spread through my body like a warm caress.
“I think you've just cursed us. Anyone who says they're a 'cool dad' is definitely not a cool dad,” I told him, pushing my glass over for a refill. One to sip this time.
Bram took a drink and looked at me contemplatively. “How are you doing with the news?”
I rested my elbows on the table and took a deep breath, willing myself to let my guard down and have this discussion with my friend. “It was a bit of a shock. I'm not so sure I should've been the one reproducing,” I admitted.
Bram sat back, swirling the liquor in his glass. “Why? Because of your father?”
“Yeah. That's part of it. I didn't exactly have a great example of what a good father is supposed to look like,” I explained.That’s putting it mildly.
“I can relate. We may not know what it looks like to be a good dad, but we know what itdoesn'tlook like. I figure we can use that to guide us. Plus, the other guys will be awesome. You will too, man,” he assured me with a grin.
“I hope she ends up looking like her,” I muttered, and quickly finished my drink. It had been a while since I'd had a few drinks and relaxed like this, and my head was already feeling buzzed.
Bram leaned over and refilled my glass. “Well, I certainly hope so. Looking at your face is torture enough,” he said without skipping a beat, and I flipped him off just as smoothly.
“Oh, fuck you. I'm a hundred times better looking than you are.”
Bram tossed his head back and laughed loudly, the sound filling the quiet night air. We sat in companionable silence for a bit, drinking and looking up at the stars.
“So, you and Faris, huh?” I asked, and Bram slowly brought his focus back to my face, his eyebrow lifting.
“What about it?”
“Nothing. Just curious,” I added quickly. “He hates me.”
“He doesn't hate you. I think he's confused about several things since getting his own body. I'm sure you can imagine where he might be coming from though? The arrangement you and Fischer had always worked to put him tightly away in a little box. So to him, I think when he sees you, it's probably a little intimidating,” Bram told me, and I nodded. He was right. I hadn't looked at it exactly like that before, but it made sense.
“So what do I do to fix it?”
“You want to fix it?” Bram sounded shocked, and I resented that for a moment before remembering who I was... or who I’d been, anyway.
“I'm trying to be better. For her. For all of us... for myself.”
“Have you tried apologizing?”
“Of cou—” I froze.Oh fuck... I don't think I have.
Bram slowly grinned and tipped his glass toward me. “Maybe start there?” I lifted my glass and clinked it against his, the alcohol going down easier and easier each time.
“Fuck, I'm tingly.” I chuckled, stretching my legs out and rolling my ankles around.
“It takes a shitload of this to get a buzz going for me.” Bram sighed, and then abruptly jumped up. “Oh ho ho…” He chuckled. “Forgot I grabbed this when we were in Besmet.” He snapped his fingers, and a jeweled flask appeared in his hand.
“What the fuck?” I blinked furiously.
“This is Dragon's Fireball. It's a demonic alcohol made with the fire of dragons. It's the only stuff strong enough to get a demon drunk. Shall we?”
“That might be game over for me. I'm already feeling the whiskey,” I told him, standing up to walk around. When I looked back at him, he had the flask extended toward me with a pleading look on his face. “Ugh, fine. Give it here.”
“Fuck yes!” Bram shouted, shoving the flask into my hand. I took a swig and felt my blood light up the moment the liquid hit my tongue.
