cowbabes | you had jesus on your breath (and i caught him in mine)

[ Faraday can't help it – he quirks an eyebrow at Vasquez, the expression caught somewhere between amused and surprised. ]

Offerin' to pay again? You're feelin' generous today.

Just the one more, and then you can get drunk on your own money.

[ He snorts out a laugh, draining the last of his whiskey in a few easy gulps. It burns a familiar line down his throat, and he sighs with it. ]

Go on, then. I'll get the round after this one.

I'm going to hold you to that, guerito.

[ And Vasquez tosses him one of those unfettered grins, before he abandons Faraday at their table.

The bartender only has to see Vasquez approaching before she starts pulling out new glasses for him and Faraday. It's routine enough by now, and he doesn't even have to ask. He offers her a grateful smile and another wink, then accepts the drinks when she slides them across the bar. ]

Gracias.

[ Drinks in hand, Vasquez returns to Faraday, plopping down the whiskey in front of his partner again. ]

And after this, no more drinking for free, for you.

I never drink for free when you're around.

[ And he casts it with the obvious implication that hanging around Vasquez is such a chore. Never mind that they naturally gravitate toward one another, even in their off hours.

Still, he accepts the drink with another nod. He's silent for a second, thinking, then, ]

Should we mention Maximilano to Sam?

[ He hadn't even appeared as a footnote in their debriefing, but Faraday is starting to think they ought to broach the topic, just in case it comes back around to bite them in the ass. ]

[ Vasquez takes his place across from Faraday, resettling and similarly eating up Faraday's space as he stretches out his legs comfortably. He lifts his glass, but pauses when his partner speaks.

Vasquez sets the drink down again, looking thoughtful. ]

You think we need to, maybe?

More up to you than me, I think.

[ He lifts a shoulder in a shrug, lifting up his glass. ]

Certainly threw you off, though. And I don't think it'd hurt to keep you out of his path. Given the caliber of the guests at that shindig, he probably already assumed you had something to do with the cartels.

[ Faraday makes a good point, as he occasionally is wont to do, and Vasquez gives his partner's words legitimate consideration. ]

At least worth mentioning, then. He maybe didn't know me before, but that's more of a risk now.

[ Faraday lets out an agreeing hum as he takes a sip from his glass. ]

Could also be that he was too sauced by the end of that party to remember much of anything, but it won't hurt nothin' to avoid temptin' fate.

'Sides. Maybe you'll luck out and Sam'll stop sendin' you to those fancy gigs.

And then he’ll be sending you alone, eh?

[ He snorts as he lifts his glass, once again only downing half of the double shot. The tequila burns on his lips, and he sighs with contentment as he looks up at Faraday again. ]

Sounds like the short straw for you, guerito.

[ Faraday feigns a thoughtful look, gaze cast toward the ceiling. ]

A job where I don't gotta put up with your constant nonsense?

[ He frowns a little, jaw working to one side and eyes narrowing, then, ]

I dunno, Vas. That almost sounds too good to be true.

You say that, but I think maybe that nonsense is the only thing keeping you sane when you go rub elbows with those capullos.

[ But he pauses, reaching up to rub at his jaw as he adopts a faux thoughtfulness. ]

Or maybe instead it would make it easier for you to seduce your way through them, no? No one in your ear while you try to whisper your sweet nothings in theirs.

[ And his teasing grin is back just before he downs the second half of his shot. ]

[ Well, Faraday may not know a lot of Spanish, but the insults, apparently, he understands easily. It's why the observation draws out a quick, reluctant smile – reluctant, because Faraday tries his best to not let the other man know when he's hit the nail on the head.

The rest of it, though, earns a snort. ]

Oh, yeah, sure. [ Brightly, facetiously. ] If it weren't for you attached to my hip, I coulda just flirted my way through every guest and guard till I got to the prize.

[ Vasquez breathes past the bite of alcohol on his lips, offering a hum of agreement – though his sarcasm is only too obvious. ]

Exactly so. What guard can resist the world’s greatest lover?

Scoff all you want, but I don't recall you makin' any complaints.

[ The response is quick, thoughtless.

And he regrets it the instant the words have left his mouth. He freezes for a heartbeat before quickly downing a mouthful of his whiskey, just to shut himself up. ]

[ ... It's probably a good thing Vasquez already finished his tequila, because otherwise he might have choked on it. He still looks startled, if only because that's the first actual reference either of them has made to the... incident.

Vasquez clears his throat, rubbing his hand across his scruffy chin. ]

Well. There was nothing you were trying to get out of me, so that probably doesn't count as "flirting your way through."

Yeah.

[ He says it mildly, focusing on the glass in his hand, on the table in front of him – anywhere but Vasquez.

Absently, he rubs at his neck, right over the marks Vasquez had left the other night, before he straightens in his seat, moving back out of Vasquez's space. ]

Anyway. [ He nods towards Vasquez's empty glass. ] You want another drink?

[ Faraday may be avoiding Vasquez, but Vasquez watches Faraday's fidgeting, his eyes drawn to the marks still standing out starkly on Faraday's skin.

Fuck.

He refocuses when Faraday moves, when he speaks, and Vasquez just nods. ]

Si. As long as it's on you, guero.

I'm a man of my word, aren't I?

[ He drains the last of his whiskey before getting to his feet.

It's a tactical retreat, he tells himself. A moment to buy himself time to recompose himself, to figure out another topic to distract the two of them from this line of conversation.

Or maybe Faraday is making a mountain out of a molehill. There's a very real possibility that Vasquez saw the entire situation as a way of blowing off steam, and that Faraday is, uncharacteristically, taking things too seriously.

The bartender is ready for him before he even reaches the counter, and he plucks up the two new drinks with a quick, grateful nod. She casts him an amused look, tells him that the two of them ought to consider slowing down a little.

Faraday just smiles and shrugs.

He returns, setting the drinks down and sliding back into his seat. ]

Jenny suggests we be kinder to our livers.

[ Vasquez watches Faraday leave (maybe too intently, if he means to be honest with himself). It's hard not to appreciate his partner, given who Faraday is and how he looks, but for the sake of their professionalism, Vasquez has made a concentrated effort to cordon Faraday off somewhere outside of his own interest. Vasquez didn't have too much time on Faraday in Statesman, but Faraday is still the most effective partner Vasquez has ever worked with. They get each other, as much as they may gripe and harp on every small inconvenience. They're a well-oiled machine – and Faraday is surely the closest thing Vasquez has ever had to a real friend (a friend he legitimately trusts).

What kind of an idiot would fuck that up?

He's lost in the staring, tracking Faraday with his eyes as his partner retrieves the new pair of drinks. He straightens up more naturally when Faraday returns, drawing his tequila back in front of him. ]

I do not think it will be our livers that do us in one day.

[ Vasquez manages a crooked grin, trying to project ease instead of focusing on his tangled-up thoughts. ]

[ He nods, and his tone is lofty when he speaks, ]

You're absolutely right.

I plan on being done in by old age.

[ Which is absolute bullshit, and he betrays it by grinning. Statistically speaking, he's much more likely to be taken out when something blows up in his face than literally anything else. ]

[ —and Vasquez just bursts out laughing. It's sustained, too, for a good long moment, before he leans back in his seat, a hand resting on his side. ]

Ay, lindo, you know you're very funny sometimes.

"Old age." [ And he snorts on another laugh. ]

[ Just for show, Faraday casts Vasquez a sour look. ]

C'mon. It's not completely out of the question.

[ Though he gives up the act near instantly.

It is, in fact, completely out of the question, and he made his peace with that years and years ago. ]

What's that one mean? Lindo.

[ If Faraday had to hazard a guess based on the variety of insults Vasquez has thrown his way, it's probably "dumbass." ]

[ Vasquez doesn't seem to realize what he's tossed Faraday's way until the other man repeats it; the endearment came as easily now as it did when they'd fallen in bed together, as strange as that feels to realize.

Fortunately, he recovers quickly, shrugging as he lifts his glass. ]

Eh, more of the same.

[ Vague, as usual.

Vasquez throws back the full glass, this time, exhaling roughly as he speaks again, ]

Learn Spanish, you want to know so bad.

[ That's about what Faraday expected.

It doesn't stop him from cutting the other man an annoyed sneer. ]

You could just tell me when you're slanderin' me. [ Granted, he hardly sounds affronted about the possibility that Vasquez might be insulting him – it is, like the other man said, just more of the same. ] Get us both on the same page.

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