I'm Trying, Really

@ronnie

He needed a drink. Granted, he needed more than one drink, but for right now he would deal with just one drink, and he would go from there. Not only did he need a drink, he needed someone to talk to him. He had been shouting at his team for hours now, he had been dealing with the tension of people asking him about his relationship with Vesper... Really, you asked a witch on one date and things just went downhill from there. He had never had this problem before. He had gone on a million different dates, so things should have been easier. But he supposed that it was his fault, as he did ask out his subordinate. 

He entered The Griffin with a sigh, Marcus made his way immediately to the bar. Getting a drink was the only thing on his mind. Well, that and probably finding some dinner. He hadn't bothered to fix his counters after he almost burned down the kitchen, and he really should have. He had basically been living off of takeaway and whatever else he could scrounge up. Fixing everything should've been that bad, it should've been quick and painless, but he had forgotten about it, and now he was hungry. 

It was one of those nights where Ronnie hung around after he got off and watched the staff. He did this for many reasons, though most were lies. He was lonely. He could only lie to himself for so long before the one night stands with the same type of woman began to wear a little thin. He wanted more than what this was. He wanted someone to care about him. He wanted find love, like Mark and Violet; though not like those two. He wanted shoot over the stars, heart pounding teeth clenching, waking up with a goofy grin for cuddles despite the crazy hair and bad breath in the morning. He wanted his happy ever after; though he was beginning to doubt that he would ever get it.

He was taking a drink from his Side Car when he looked up to see one of the most handsome men of his memory, Marcus Flint, walk in. Oh, sweet Circe. He sat the glass down and watched in fascination, and horror as the man sat down near him. Should he say something? Should he greet him. A bloody pureblood Qudditch royalty had just walked into his bar and all Ronnie could do was sit there with his mouth hanging open.

Outfit

He still didn't know if he and Vesper were technically in a relationship, and he was scared to ask. Marcus knew he shouldn't be scared of her; he could definitely pick her up with one hand. But he just happened to find the scariest witches to be friendly with. Olivia Graves was petrifying, Xio could be scary if she wanted to, and Chang (whose acquaintance he adamantly denied) was horrifying. He hadn't told her about Vesper yet, because he knew she would get onto him about her age. Marcus knew she was younger than him, but he didn't think it was that bad, and he really wasn't going to be the one to hurt her. By his track record, any relationship that lasted a week was usually broken off by the witch. She hadn't done that yet, and he thought things were going fine, but...

Something was off. He knew that Vesper was used to different dates, or more... kissing. He didn't like it. He knew that he was coming off as a prude, but he was trying. He was just uncomfortable. Marcus ran a hand through his hair, frowned at his growling stomach, and tried to figure out what he wanted. Rum? He could go for that. If he was being honest, he needed some good firewhiskey, but that wasn't an option. Scotch? Scrunching his brows, Marcus grumbled out his order. "Can I get a scotch on the rocks?" Then, after a second, he sighed. Nobody here knew who he was. What was he doing? "On second though, can I just get a beer?"

Ronnie held up to fingers before getting up to move closer to the man. Ronnie, what the fuck are you doing? Asked that small voice in the back of his head. He shook it away though and sat down in the seat beside the man. ”Peter, the coach of the Tornadoes drinks free here. “ He said before finishing his drink and motioning for another.

He turned to Marcus Flint and felt his stomach drop. The liquor was the only reason that he was sitting there. Ronnie would never have the guts to do any of this without it honestly. ”So, what brings you to the Griffin?” He asked before holding out his hand. ’I’m Ronnie Handson, co-owner.” He preened like a peacock and took the drink that was offered to him by the bartender. "Mind if I join you?" Woah, slow your self there, cowboy. Don't get ahead of yourself. This was Marcus Flint that he was talking to, getting hurt because he outed himself and hit on the wrong person would be a no-no.

He needed to take a deep breath, because he was overthinking everything. Marcus was sure that every problem that he was facing was his own fault, and he needed to get out of that head space. There were things that he could control and things that he couldn't. He couldn't control how awkward he was or how stupid he was, but he could try to make everything better for Vesper, he could be the boyfriend that she needed while also being the best coach. The latter was the easiest; he had been coaching for a while. Dating, on the other hand, that was the problem. He wasn't good at it, he had never been. Marcus was more equipped to deal with failed dates than he was to deal with the ones that were going well. He didn't even know what to do when they ended on a happy note... Because kissing the back of her hand had been his first choice, but it probably wasn't what Vesper really wanted... He should've just kissed her and been a man about it, but he was scared.

He wasn't diving straight into anything, and that was his own fault. He had been hiding around and not actually trying, and that was his fault. This was like Quidditch, he needed to put his all into it. Marcus crinkled his nose for a moment before someone settled next to him. He hadn't realized that there were even seats besides him, and he was surprised to see someone else just... sitting there. Talking to him, willingly. He was motioning behind the bar when Marcus finally zeroed into the conversation, and he arched a brow as the beer was given to the other person. At least he wasn't paying to drink (though it really wouldn't matter otherwise, because he had the money). "Nice to meet you, Ronnie," he mumbled, ducking his head. He might have been drinking for free but he was still embarrassed to be caught drinking by himself. He should have dragged Theo or Pucey to come out with him... Or even Montague... Where were his friends when he really needed them? Probably off betting to see how long it took him to mess up with Vesper.

He took the proffered hand and shook it, squeezing it like normal  before realizing that his grip was often considered too harsh. Oops. Marcus withdrew and shifted awkwardly in his seat, almost wishing that Vesper was there with  him to remind him how to act. Then again, he was there to drink and forget about that problem, so that wasn't the smartest thought. "Feel free to join. Here by myself tonight. And I'm pretty glad my team isn't  here, because they know the no drinking on the weekdays rule." After a moment, he flashed a grin at the other man. "Fair warning- the things you hear about my Quidditch obsession? True. I don't stop talking about it."

It was an odd thing to know that he was accepted by his best friend, he had not expected anything less than that; but after all of his years of infatuation with Mark it was nice to be able to know the man accepted him. Ronnie wasn’t living out per say, he had stopped taking women home as much, and he was no longer putting on the aires he had before about being straight. He was just being himself, and if someone asked him about it, then things would be just fine.

The man had a strong handshake like Ronnie had expected of someone like him. He wasn’t shaken at all by the firmness, he had always been told that it was a sign of confidence. ”ell, as the co-owner of this lovely establishment, let me just say that sometimes rules were made to be broken, and I am glad you are breaking them here.” It was a bad joke. A horrible, bad bad bad joke. ”Well, you won’t be alone in that. My best mate has literally paid me to shut me up and I left it for all of an hour before picking it back up. I hate the Cannons, they are horrible, and he ued to be a fan.”