Driving up (Mal and Cass) - Malachi's Penthouse

That's when Estaban's phone started to ring.

"Have I pained you, Estaban? I don't know whether I should be sorry or extremely proud," a grin.

He laughed

"In only the best of ways. Excuse me a minute while I answer my phone?"

He stood and stepped to the side opening the phone.

Cass nodded to Estaban and stood to go join Mal in getting that drink. No need for prying ears.

Pissy Sheriff sounded pissy.

"Hey, where are you and who all is with you?"

He took Cassiel to the side and started to pour them all three drinks from his little bar. He was smiling.

"You feeling better yet, darling?"

"A little," she nodded, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'll feel a little better once I get some sleep, I think. Time to just let my mind shut the fuck up for a bit, you know?"

He nodded and looked her over.

"Do you have someone to stay with you, love? I don't think that leaving you alone right now is the best option."

"Actually... Charlie... I've been staying with him off and on," she looked at the glasses and most pointedly not at Mal.

He leaned against the countertop and took a sip from his glass.

"So, you're staying with Charlie and having Alex profess his love to you? Good heavens, my dear."

He didn't sound upset at all.

She took the glass and swirled the contents.... and threw it back quickly as she stared at the counter. She blinked, pinching the bridge of her nose as she closed her eyes.

"At least I know where I stand with Charlie. He's not preaching his love and promising not to take it back. Things with me and Charlie are simple-- we're friends. Alex is... confusing. I swore I would have some fun and not fall for empty promises and and empty words. I swore I wouldn't, Mal," Cass said with a guilty look, like she had just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"But that shit pales in comparison to the events of this evening. It's not even worth giving a second thought to right now."

He shook his head and took a sip from his glass.

"That is where you are wrong, my darling. Now, you've very rarely seen me give advice, and I rarely do give advice. But this time, you will have to grin and bear it, because you need to understand that the two situations are inevitably intertwined."

He took another sip from the glass in his hand.

"You know where you stand with Charlie. And you don't know where you stand with Alex, other than that he's professed his love to you after what? Playing once? Now, think on it this way. How does Charlie feel that it was Alex that you called to help you tonight? How would Alex feel if it had been Charlie that you had called? The fact is, my dear, you're in a bit of an odd little triangle, which, depending on how bad this situation turns out to truly be, could be made much worse by this little explosion of tempers."

"But I didn't call Alex to help me, Mal," she sighed, feeling defeated and guilty and horrible. But she didn't add any subtext.

"This is exactly why I don't stay in one place for too long. People get hurt. One way or another, people get hurt. I know this looks bad, sounds bad... I know it does. And it's killing me, Mal."

Clearly, this was somehow all her fault.

He stared at her.

"Do you love him? Either of them?"

Teeth grinding, mental cursing... Two words in the English language she hated, and the dreaded 'L' word was one of them...

She stared for a long time at the counter before running her fingers through her hair.

"Yes... Both of them. Both for different reasons. But, yes... I do."

Unhappy Cass was suddenly very, very displeased.

He crossed his feet at the ankles.

"Well, now we are getting somewhere. Do you return Alex's feelings for you in the same way he feels them?"

"I think I could, given the opportunity. And the scares the shit out of me. Because I'm not the only one in his existence and he's told me that. And I've already tried justifying to myself just how and why I can live with that," calmly stated.

"I can't stop thinking about him. I can't, I've tried. It's like... fate or some shit..." She became pensive, fidgeting with her gold chain and very nearly pulling it off her neck.

He saw her fidgeting and raised her a ... he didn't move at all. His brow only rose.

"And is Charlie aware of this?"

"He knows. He's only ever said he wants me to be happy. But it's not the same with Charlie. I can't explain it. He and I both know what we want with each other-- and that kind of love isn't it."

She shook her head with a sigh.

"I was fine, I swear I was fine. Until I saw Alex's tattoo."

Nope, if it didn't make sense to Mal, that was alright. She didn't expect it to.

He sighed.

"That sounds like a mess. Does Alex know about Charlie?"

"Not from my lips. And most definitely not from Charlie's. Everything happened so fast," she shook her head.

"And that just sounds like a piss poor excuse. I was still trying to figure out some things when this happened. A stupid little girl praying for an answer."

Another shake of her head-- the kindred felt physically ill.

"Frederico was right. I need to grow up."

"You need to tell Alex sooner rather than later, child. The longer you wait, the worse it will be, and it is unfair to that Gangrel, as often as he gives his heart away, to find out through the grapevine. If you hope to ever have a future with Alex, in any capacity, tell him now. Use my phone."

She looked at Mal, staring at him. And then shook her head.

"Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will tell him. I'm not going to have the possibility of Alex being all in a tizzy while he's supposed to be protecting Greer. I won't let something happening to her be on my head. Just as much as I shouldn't be alone, neither should she. And I don't trust that he won't flap his wings and take off in some depressed or angry fit."

He stared at her.

"No. Procrastinating is the most cruel thing you could do to him. Do it now, child."

"And I said no, Mal. Tomorrow. I will even do it in person with you there if you want. But not tonight."

Seriously, stop breaking the Toreador-- it was written all over her face.