coughed out my heart in the last stall

[justsookie]

It's been a few weeks since Will's disappearance, and Sookie has been good. Very good. She's been dealing with the loss by speaking with people, but also allocating a fair amount of time to self-reflection. She's felt the brunt of devastation, but she hasn't let herself wallow in it constantly, instead making sure that she still interacts with her friends and keeps her chin up at work. Everything's been fine. Functional. As much as someone can expect for a woman who's lost someone she loved yet again.

But for some reason, being good is the last thing that she wants tonight. Instead, the thought of throwing all caution to the wind and getting horribly, unforgivably drunk sounds like a good idea.

She won't, of course. The risk of a hangover the next day is far too much for Sookie to bear. But she is very willing to at least give a friend a call, and see whether or not a night of wine is in the cards. After finding out that Fred is free, Sookie works on making her apartment presentable and welcoming, lighting a couple of sandalwood candles to warm up the space.

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[walkswithheroes]

Fred doesn't know why she's nervous about going over to Sookie's. She knows Sookie, even if the Sookie in this dimension doesn't know her as well as she did back on the island. But at least they've got a shot at changing that. And Fred is convinced that they can maybe be even closer in Darrow.

Hopefully.

She knocks on the door and greets Sookie with a smile when she answers, a bottle of red wine in one hand. Something about showing up empty-handed didn't seem quite right.

"Hi," Fred says, and thinks she should probably explain the bottle in her hands before Sookie asks about it, "I brought a bottle of wine. I know you said that we would have wine, which suggests you've probably already got some, but I thought it was probably polite."

[justsookie]

Sookie blinks, admittedly surprised by the wine, but it only takes a couple of seconds for her expression to soften as she steps forward to offer Fred a hug.

"I definitely won't say no to more wine, but you're going to have to enjoy it with me," Sookie says pointedly, grinning as she ushers Fred gently inside. "You're so sweet to bring a bottle, though. Now I feel like I should've prepared something better than a few candles and a couple of wine glasses. Let's see... I mean, we could probably bake cookies if you're up for it."

Whisking into the kitchen, Sookie roots through her cabinets. "What's your favorite kind of cookie? I feel like I need to know this for future reference."

[walkswithheroes]

"The last time I tried to cook something, I almost set the kitchen on fire," Fred admits, a little embarrassed as she follows Sookie inside. Her mom was always a pretty good cook, but unfortunately, it never really caught on with her. There should be similarities between some of the kinds of lab work she's done in the past and baking, but apparently, it's not quite teh same.

"I'm a fan of chocolate chip, though," she adds, "The kind with the big chunks?"

[justsookie]

"It's almost a relief to hear you say that," Sookie says with a good-natured laugh. "I was beginnin' to think that you were good at everything, which just wouldn't be fair for the rest of us. But if you ever want to try your hand at cooking again, you give me a call. I'm no pro chef, but I learned enough from gran to get by. Now, let's see... big chocolate chunks..."

She rummages through her cabinets. Big chips have always been one of her favorites in cookies, something that distinguishes them easily from Nestle Tollhouse cookies. Finding a small bar of baking chocolate in a cupboard, Sookie emerges triumphantly and waves the package, before digging through the rest of her cabinets for the other ingredients.

"Do you think we should be bold enough to drink and bake at the same time? It sounds like either the best idea ever, or a recipe for disaster."

[walkswithheroes]

"Oh, the science stuff is easy. It's stuff like this that's hard. And more important to be good at, probably," Fred replies, and she believes it. She remembers when her own mom used to bake from time to time and how happy it'd make people. Can't really say the same thing for a tray of laboratory samples.

She pauses, and eyes the wine.

"If we're quick about the cookies and sip, maybe they'll be nearly out before we even feel anything," she says, though she knows that it doesn't really take a lot, with her.

[justsookie]

"You think so? Meanwhile, I can't be glad enough for how much good science has done all of us back home. I mean, back in my world, these Japanese scientists came up with a formula for synthetic human blood. Synthetic human blood. Before that, vampires had to feed on living people day in and out, but afterwards, vampires could sustain themselves even without humans, and it made it possible for them to come out into the open," Sookie points out, setting out all of the bowls and ingredients they'll be needing, and then bringing out a couple of her best wine glasses as well. "Of course, I won't argue against how much good cooking can mean. Growing up with my gran, her cooking was like... what made the home. It kept Jason coming around during the years when he certainly wouldn't have been interested in visiting his pesky little sister."

Finding her wine opener, Sookie works on popping the bottle open. She doesn't have a decanter, but she manages to pour the wine expertly, avoiding bubbles as she gives both herself and Fred a significant amount. "Drunk cookies it is. Might as well have fun tonight, right? We'll make extra so that you can take some over to Jason later," Sookie says, grinning mischievously.

[walkswithheroes]

Fred grins when Sookie mentions Jason, but she's also more than a little distracted about the information that Sookie brushes past. As much as she just about eats up anything she or Jason have to say about their lives— their childhoods or their family and friends in Bon Temps— the thing she says about synthetic blood piques Fred's interest right away.

"Synthetic blood?" she repeats, running the idea over in her head and wondering if that's the kind of thing they could have developed at Wolfram and Hart under its new direction, "I think the vampires in Los Angeles weren't in it so much for the blood as for the killing part. Or maybe a little bit of both. Or maybe I should probably stop talking about vampires when we're trying to have a good time."

She takes one of the full glasses that Sookie's poured, mostly hoping that she can make herself stop talking.

"Thanks."

[justsookie]

"Are you kiddin' me?" Sookie asks, waving Fred's concerns off dismissively, although she takes a moment to take a deep sip of her wine. "Practically half of my life back in Bon Temps was about vampires. I don't mind discussing them. I mean, I dated a couple of them, for better or worse." Pausing, Sookie lets out a soft exhale. Sometimes, she still misses Bill and Eric, each in different ways.

Even though she knows that Darrow's been a lot better to her than Bon Temps had been in recent years.

"A lot of vampires where I'm from were in it for the excitement, too, but I think a good portion of vampires wanted to mainstream. Meaning, live among humans and follow human laws. A lot of vampires would just find a human to feed on without killing? But there were still murderous vampires, too. It took all sorts," Sookie says, starting to sift flour through the first bowl.

[walkswithheroes]

"It was one side of the spectrum with us, with only a couple of exceptions," Fred replies, once she's swallowed, "They hunted at night, made alleys pretty much no-go zones. There were some people who just spent a lot of time trying to make sure they didn't kill anyone."

She never met Buffy before the island, but from what she hears, that was the most important thing in the Slayer's job description. Angel Investigations was less vampire-centric. And after taking over Wolfram and Hart, Fred didn't think she ever had to go out with a couple of stakes handy at all.

Probably because she spent most of her time cooped up in her lab.

[justsookie]

It's a little unnerving to know that there's a completely vicious species of vampire that may turn up in the city at any time. Sookie's not sure why. She knows that humans are also capable of being monsters, lacking in morals and hiding easily among the populace. It doesn't change how she'll live every day in Darrow.

Maybe it's trying to picture Fred's world that's bizarre. A world in which it makes sense to go out and hunt vampires, staking any that rear their heads.

"That sounds like such a tough job. Some people in my world tried to take up that sort of job, and they were — they were kinda psycho. Like, religious extremists. But if almost all vampires are just murdering constantly, that changes everything. Are the vampires in your world also turned? From humans?"

[walkswithheroes]

Fred's trying to picture a preacher from back home going out to kill vampires, and she can't. Then again, that's probably not exactly what Sookie's talking about.

She nods in response so the other woman's question, though.

"There's a whole siring ritual," she says, trying to remember exactly how Wesley explained it once, "An exchange of blood. From what I hear, it's not all that pretty."

[justsookie]

"Yeah, it's... not pretty in my world, either. It's kinda similar, from what I hear. Vampire drains a person mostly dry, but before the person dies completely, they gotta drink some of the vampire's blood in return. Then both of them are buried in the earth overnight, and by the time the sun's down the next day, it's done," Sookie says, wrinkling her nose at the memory as she starts to cream the butter and sugar. "Here, can you whisk an egg for me? This part's almost creamed."

She shakes her head. "You know, I used to date a vampire, and I can't deny that I've thought about turning vampire now and again. Since they're not soulless in my world, or anything. It seemed like an option if I wanted that whole eternally young, life forever kind of deal. But, I don't know. It seems like something you'd really learn to regret after a while. It's not fun to always remain the same while the world changes around you."

[walkswithheroes]

"Definitely," Fred replies, and she's up to grab a bowl and the whisk pretty much instantly. She may not be too good a cook, but whisking's not much different than a lot of basic chemistry mixing. Should be a piece of cake.

Or cookie.

"I wouldn't ever want to be turned," she says, with a frown, "There's no synthetic blood where I come from. Keepin' clean... not drinking humans is a struggle, from what I've seen. Even if you do end up getting ensouled."

[justsookie]

A corner of Sookie's mouth lifts with a quirk, and she reaches out for her wine glass, drinking a deep gulp before coming up again with a shake of her head. "Oh, yeah. I don't think I've come across a single vampire who's ever argued that the synthetic stuff tastes as good as blood from a living human being," she admits with a nod. "Well, maybe one who felt so guilty over it all — but even that ex I just mentioned almost drained me dry once in a fit of bloodlust, so it's naive to think that they can always control themselves. My blood also isn't completely normal, 'cause I've got some fairy background, so it drives vampires crazy even quicker."

She tilts her head, stretching her neck before pressing her lips into a thin line.

"Anyway. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't ever make that choice. Though I almost did, once, thanks to this... manipulative bastard. But that is a story for another day." She works quickly at the butter and sugar mix before quirking a brow. "Gotta say, vampires do have the benefit of living long enough to perfect whatever they've got going in the bedroom, though."