2019-12-18 - We Should Talk <> Drinking?

Showing up at Geoff's for a night of boozing and hanging out is not terribly uncommon for Easton. Granted more often than not lately he has been showing up at the end of a night of drinking to pass out on Geoff's couch. But tonight he's showing up at a much more reasonable hour, dressed in his usual dark jeans and tee shirt with a black TwIBS hoodie over it. He knocks on the door of the trailer but lets himself in instead of waiting for an answer.

"Turner?"

Geoff is crashed on the couch, two boxes of freshly delivered pizza sitting on the table in front of him. When he hears Easton entering a grin pulls across his features and he calls out "Hey man, I got pizza." his hand gesturing to the boxes as if Easton might be able to miss the smell or sight of them "It's good catching you finally, don't know when the last time we met up here and we were both awake.

Nodding at Geoff on the couch, Easton heads for the fridge out of habit asking on his way, "Want a beer?" It's not really a question he feels the need to ask but he does anyway. Granted opening the fridge to see that there isn't any booze in there confuses him. He straightens up, closes the fridge and asks, "Was I supposed to bring beer? I thought you..?" He stands there in the kitchen area, confused.

Geoff watches as Easton approaches the fridge out of the corner of his eye before shaking his head at the question "Nah, I figured we'd do tonight sober man. We gotta have a talk." gesturing to the cushion beside him he says "I got pizza good, and it's the stuff from the good shop too." The pizzas would be what the two normally order for themselves, and from the good pizza place in town too.

Easton can't quite the keep his brow from furrowing when Geoff mentions doing tonight sober. "Kinda thought the plan was drinking, but oookay." He flops down on the couch and helps himself to a slice of pizza. With a mouthful of deliciousness he asks, "What we .. talking bout?" Yeah, his habit of eating far too fast and just in general not having table manners continues apace.

Geoff snorts and says "I think I said you should come by and we should talk. Or if not the plan changed." he offers a wry grin at that before grabbing his own slice of pizza and gesturing with it "So man I'm just going to be straight with you. You need to get your act together man, you know I have no problem letting you crash here, and that's not going to change but when I see you here more times here passed out drunk on my couch over half the week I get concerned about you man." this brings a frown to his lips as if he isn't quite used to admitting concern for someone

"That..." Easton thinks back and realizes that maaaybe he assumed 'we should talk' meant 'we should drink' but still finishes, "doesn't sound right?" But he's smiling and can roll with it. But then Geoff's expressing concern and Easton looks at him out of the corner of his eye. He thinks through that for a while, throwing down his pizza in the process. Finally, after quite a bit of considering he works up to asking, "I need to? Or what?"

Geoff shifts to watch Easton, taking a bite from his pizza to chew it over and bide time as he thinks "I mean there's no or what on my end man, I'm not going to force you to change. I can't it has to be something you want to do." with a sigh he shakes his head "I mean the or what that's going to happen is that things are going to keep going downhill for you. You're going to keep fucking up your life and relationship one by one because you're living in the fucking past and trying to drown it with the bottle. Then with every failure you're just going to drink more and add it to the scrapheap of sorrow." after a moment he asks "I know you broke up, but is this the man you want Bennie to see? Is this the guy that Tom would have befriended and wanted to be around? Is this the guy I would have married?" His lip quirks up in a hint of amusement at this but he is somber and means it "Someone so caught up in their pain that all they do is drown it in the bottle instead of trying to move forward and past it. You're stronger then this Easton."

"Are we really fuckin' doing this?" Easton sounds not quite angry almost more disappointed or annoyed. "I get it. I'm a fuck up." He grits his teeth at a few of those lines. "Tom was an asshole." Is about all he get out before Geoff brings up their marriage and he can't quite keep himself from smiling at it. "So what? I just feel like shit all the time and ignore that? I can't unfuck this Geoff. Tom's gone. Bennie's gone. And I swear to God Geoff if.." He stops and looks at him, tries to get the words. "Don't do this. Don't make this a thing between us. I am barely hanging on right now."

Geoff claps Easton on the shoulder "Man I promised before Elvis to take you in sickness and in health. I don't know about you, but where I come from a promise made before Elvis is binding." Punching Easton in the shoulder he says "And I'm not calling you a fuck up, I'm saying that you're in a dangerous place and I absolutely believe you can do better man. I don't want to see you get hurt." these words coming earnestly "I want to see you on your feet and happy, and I think the biggest thing there that is keeping you from that is you. Like hey you know me, I don't think there is any problem with getting drunk and having a good time....But you're not having a good time, you're just using it as a crutch."

The fact that they did in fact get married before Elvis and treat it as seriously as wedding vows will never fail to at least bring a little smile to Easton's face. He also relaxes when Geoff reassures him that he's not going anywhere. The punch is also reassuring in it's own way. He sighs and waits a beat before punching back, maybe a little harder than necessary. "Fine. But what the fuck do I do in the meantime? Cause I really don't think casual sex is going to solve this and frankly that's about it for my list of fixes." He takes a break to grab another slice of pizza, really wishing there were at least beer.

Geoff cracks a grin at Easton "We're going to give you something to do, not just passively sit. You need a project, a dragon to conquer." with a chuckle Geoff says "When I got locked up, I thought my life was over and if I'd had booze I would have drowned in it. Instead I set goals for myself every day to conquer and just kept myself busy with taking one step after another, and now look at me I can kick ass and quote dead german philosphers. Living the life."

Shaking his head ruefully at the talk of dragons to slay, Easton looks a little wary at whatever Geoff has in mind. He nods and seems to accept what Geoff's saying before cracking a smile and saying, "And look at you now, yer living in a trailer park and married to a one-legged drunken slut. Hardly the glowing success story Turner."

Geoff snorts softly and shakes his head "No, I own a business and I choose to live here because this is where I grew up and there are still folks here I can help. I might be married to a one legged slut but I got one hell of a mistress, and life is seriously good." taking a bite from his pizza he wolfs it down before continuing "So man, you're going to find something to throw yourself into. I don't care if its resurrecting uncle monty, or finding a way to regrow your leg. I'm going to help you bro and we're going to take this on."

Easton smirks at Geoff and elbows him and agrees, "Your mistress is pretty damn great. Can you thank her again for the care package?" Which he realizes now had no booze in it. An omission he didn't think much about until now. He frowns and says, "What about.." He doesn't finish that thought and instead takes another slice. "Did I tell you I think Aidan regrew my stump a little? Had to get my fakie refit. After I nearly beat him and baylee to death with my crutches half naked..."

Geoff grins broadly "Harper is the fucking best, I adore that woman." at the news of Easton regrowing his leg he shakes his head "I didn't hear about that, but I can believe it....I feel like if I could just get a bit better I could make it happen but I'm not quite there yet. Though if Aiden can do it, I'll let him take the heat from the darkmen for it."

"I'm glad. You don't deserve it, but that gives the rest of us hope." Easton laughs and does his best not to get mopey about it now. "Yea, I wasn't sure if I was making it up or not until I went to see someone about it." He then laughs and shoulder checks Geoff at the crack about Aidan taking the heat, "Nice. How very noble of you."

There is silence for a while whilst Easton munches pizza and tries not to think about how much a beer would hit the spot right now.

"Think there's any shot she ever forgives me?"

He glances over to the side as if unsure if should have even asked.

Geoff grows quiet at that question, wishing for a moment there was some alcohol left in his apartment, "You know I can't say...But I think if you could take steps to sober up, to be the man she saw in you before and prove that you can change...I think you got at least a shot. It'd show you can grow and better yourself which means that forgiveness wouldn't be an empty gesture." with a laugh he explains "Like I'm not going to forgive track mark Steve down at the seven eleven for stealing my wallet because he's still using and nothing's changed. Though if he got cleaned up and turned his life around? Sure."

"Are you sure the answers not drink more and fuck around? Because I gotta say, I'm pretty sure that's the best course of action." Easton can at least joke around about his self-destructive tendencies even if it's not all that funny that he keeps making the same mistakes. "Oh come on, track mark Steve is a saint." No, Easton doesn't know the man. "Sure, he likes a little H and some meth now and then but it doesn't mean he won't cut you open and watch you bleed if he thinks it'll help him get his next fix." That is the opposite of the point, but it makes Easton smile a little to so poorly defend the man.

"Man, he cuts his H with peyote. Track mark Steve is an innovator well beyond our time and honestly I'm amazed he's still alive....Seriously I didn't even know you could cut things with Peyote. I mean I was still angry when I tracked him down to get my wallet back, but I was impressed by his explanation and explorer's spirit." Geoff explains candidly, because of course the local addict is an innovator beyond their time. "Point still stands man, you gotta cut down on the drinking and man whoring. You want to fix up a car? We could go get a junker and fix it up then go on a high speed chase."

Easton is no slouch when it comes to experimentation, particularly in his younger days, so he is duly impressed. "That is innovative. Never did heroin but I wonder what that high would be like." There we go. Easton's new project: Heroin. Great talk Geoff! Way to go.

"Do I look like I know shit about fixing up a car?" He does not. BUT. The thought of fixing up an old classic truck or seventies era land cruiser is appealing on some level. That level being his deeply yuppie East Coast roots.

"Nah. I think I already have the project." He pulls the key out of his pocket and looks at it. "I just need to stop fuckin' around and do it."

Geoff grins broadly at that "Then do it, you've had your fun and fucked around and now is your time to get to it. Besides you know on some level that you want to do this, that it calls to you, even if you deny it." Polishing off his slice of pizza he goes for another "Just tell me how I can help man and I'll be your wingman any day."

"I have done very little fucking around." Easton protests but then has to admit, "Just tremendously stupid fucking around." He shakes his head and says, "I haven't even slept with anyone else." Okay, it's not like he didn't try a couple of times, but in the end one or the other party called it off. "I don't want to fuck around. I also don't really want to be sober.. but.." He looks sideways again and gives an annoyed sigh, "Yer not wrong."

"Yea? I shoulda made you hit up some gay bars with me. Yelling out 'This is my straight husband and he really wants to get me laid' would probably work damn well." He grins and then reconsiders, "Oh no fuck that, I wouldn't get a damn look all night next to your scruffy ass." Pretending to grumble about it he knocks his shoulder. "Dick."

Geoff says rather dryly "I'm sorry our marriage is keeping you from fulfilling your deep seated dream to recreate that scene from pulp fiction as the guy in the gimp suit." Geoff clearly has no idea what actually happens in gay bars, but it probably has to do with pulp fiction. With a laugh he arches an eyebrow and asks "Did you really think earlier I was on the verge of breaking up man? You should know me better then that, you're stuck with your straight husband till death."

Easton's face twists into a grimace, "Yea, no. Not my deal. Nooope. But it's cute that you're trying to be supportive." Is he though? Debatable. But much funnier for Easton to call it that. At the talk of almost breaking up Easton gets more serious for a moment. He lifts his shoulder barely in a shrug and says, "No. But.. fuck dude, I just can't lose something else right now." With that sentiment expressed he can at least shift back to a somewhat more joking, "Yea well you're stuck with your more flexible hubbie too."