open ; FOREVER, LOVE IS FREE

a melancholy town,

where we never smile.

it was a wonder why max even bothered leaving her [rivate quarters when she had a taste for alcohol. maybe it was to keep up appearances, to let everyone see she was just as fucked up as everyone else on the inside. but then again, no one barely paid attention to grim's leader when they were in the bourbon. they were normally too scared of making a drunken ass of themselves, and pissing the woman off. she tried not to act so intimidating on a regular basis, but it was her defence mechanism playing into things; ever since she'd started her mercenary work before the world went to shit, she'd developed a good game face that usually warded most social interaction away. it did a good job at routing out who was genuine with her, however; the ones that usually still approached her were the people she knew she could trust with her life. they weren't scared of her bark, because they knew she never really pulled out her bite unless she had to.

out of everyone who could've approached her out of the contents of the bourbon, when max's eyes lifted up to greet the oddly coloured eyes of her head of security, she was almost a little concerned. the sight of the drink in the woman's hand made her relax, however. there's no way her head of security would be coming to her with bad news with a drink in hand, no matter if it lacked an alcoholic substance. max did feel a little bad about not having been paying attention to hear what she'd said as she came up to the table, but the feeling was washed away quickly with her next batch of words after alphabet had taken a seat in the booth across from her- ones that she was paying attention to comprehend this time. glancing down at her drink, she swished the thin line of liquid before scooting it away with the tips of her fingers, as though she honestly wasn't craving for the last sweat drops. "i think this 'heroin' has had quite enough to take the edge off for tonight," she spoke over the laughter and talking around them, a ghost of a smile at the right corner of her lips to show that she was being playful with her friend. best friend, if she wanted to get technical. "no matter how much my waistline can handle."

willing herself to forget about her smoke case tucked snugly in her left jean pocket, max lifted the hand that'd pushed her drink away to flick some stray hair from her sight. ainsley's words caused max's left brow to raise in question, and a bit of a tilt of her head. she wasn't confused about the batman reference; more so the fact that she didn't quite understand what sort of bruce wayne vibe she was talking about. "i barely bring up the fact that my parents are dead," she muttered in a falsely defensive tone, deciding to let loose a bit and play a bit into her words. it was so much easier than being the debby downer and bringing the mood underground. as she waited for alpha's response, max let her eyes roan innocently over her friend, taking in her relaxed position. she always looked so stress-free, like everything rolled off her shoulders. max was almost envious, but then she remembered that most of her worries appeared to be non-existent. maybe ainsley was one of those lone soldiers, too?

"vultures?" max snapped back to reality, blinking as she came to. her head of security's stance had changed, and she couldn't withhold the laugh that surfaced from the back of her throat. she pulled off a realistic comic character well, matched with her tone and pursed lips. "everyone killed robin. i think he was DC's distraction method so batman could live, and have another legacy of 'my parents are dead' in a two-point-oh version." shrugging her shoulders, she slithered her hand forward, clasping it around her drink once more. lifting it, she finished off its contents, setting the glass back down with a soft thud. alpha almost conjured another chuckle of laughter with her next set of words, max's eyes closing in slight pleasure from the thought. it was nice, to just sit back and have a conversation about something as simple as comic book characters. she hadn't done this since grade nine. well before anything in her life had started to go downhill.

"honestly, i think you'd suit alfred better, anyway. plus, i kind of consider benjamin to be my boy wonder." it took her a moment, but max's face eventually twisted a bit with that thought. "maybe.. minus the spandex shorts." shaking her head, max laughed it off, scolding herself for even attempting to picture ben in anything other than his regular jeans and tee shirt sets. she couldn't afford to start thinking about her second in command like that. especially after so long of knowing - and slightly resenting - him. swallowing the lump it'd created in her throat, she glanced around, her eyes surprisingly finding the bartender's. he waved at her, and motioned a glass, tipping it to his mouth. it took her a moment before she realized he was asking if she wanted a refill. tonguing her cheek, she held her breath as she decided, before finally giving a brisk nod. apparently being the leader had a few luxuries. she could be a lazy drunk, now.

"so, alfred, the world's greatest detective needs a little help." smiling, she turned her attention back to alphabet. "what'd you mean, bruce wayne vibe? and, i'm just taking a stab in the dark here, but i'm assuming you're not in the bourbon, drinking frilly water-drinks, just to pretend to be my sidekick?" playfully, she nudged her friend's leg underneath the table with the side of her boot. "what's going on with you?"

open . 983 . i'm sorry there's not a whole lot to work with. i just didn't want to go crazy with the word count xD