finneganinqueens :
Banned? Finn’s eyebrows raised in surprise. Of course it wasn’t out of the ordinary for Casey to get mixed up in something he shouldn’t. But Finn hadn’t heard anything about Casey getting banned from Rosie’s. The comment brought up a familiar question that often occupied Finn’s mind when he was alone. How much of Casey’s life was still a secret? Living together didn’t automatically bring him access to all of Casey’s daily life. There were so many nights when Finn was left wondering where Casey was, or where he’d been before he arrived home. Sometimes I think you’ve gone and died too. Finn thought begrudgingly as he walked beside his boyfriend. But he was just being dramatic and he knew it. Casey always came home eventually.
“Today was alright.” Finn shrugged. “It was all pretty typical stuff. Car wrecks… small kitchen fires… people stuck on their roof…” He was grateful for the slow days though. Major fires didn’t happen very often, and with any luck he’d be able to continue avoiding them. His attempt at going to therapy had been derailed by his run in with Keegan, and he was delaying finding a new one to go to. Facing his fear head on at this point was probably inadvisable. “It’s a bummer not being a lieutenant anymore.” He admitted with a new softness in his tone. “The lieutenant of my squad isn’t very organized and it drives me nuts. I know that I could do a better job.” Finn took a breath and then shook his head a bit and smiled. “I can’t complain though. At least I’m back in a firehouse, you know?” He turned to look at Casey. “Has Oprah told you anything useful lately?” He asked with a cheeky grin. “She’s kind of a master of the universe, isn’t she?” The bar came into sight and Finn held the door for Casey so that he could enter first.
As soon as Finn finally started talking about his day, Casey could relax. He didn’t have to come up with anything to talk about-- What was there even to say after Oprah? I laid at home staring at the ceiling, played some Apex, wasted oxygen, spent time alone with my thoughts. The brief shake of his head was to rid himself of those thoughts when he looked over at Finn with a quirk of a smile, a smile that melted back into a thin line as he spoke. “I’m glad there hasn’t been bigger fires. Work yourself up towards that, you know? Don’t think it’s gonna end well if everything happens at once--” His eyes wandered at that, looking at the street a few blocks down to avoid looking at the reaction Finn would give; It wasn’t often that Casey reverted back to his psychiatrist ways, but when he did it felt pretentious as hell, even if he meant every word. The thought of Finn having another panic attack, or flashback while he wasn’t there to help was nightmare fuel, ad it twisted his insides in the most volatile way. He cleared his throat and straightened himself with a stretch, burrowing his hands in his pockets as he walked, “--But what do I know, I’m not a shrink. Still, hope you saved some cats from trees too. That’s like, the number one cliche I want to believe in.” He tilted his head to the side and gave Finn a side-eyed glance, a more natural grin gracing his lips this time around.
“I can get that, the head psych at Glendale was hazardous, changed patients on a whim and they never knew where they were supposed to--” He paused and took a deep breath, dropping the subject before even getting further in it. “Can’t wait to call you a lieutenant, it suits you. Carries a lot of authority in it, and honestly? It’s hot. Bet Charlie would agree.” Casey chuckled, a hint of malice in the words soon buried underneath another sound of glee when the bar came into view. If it was possible that a place was calling his name, it was now. His fingers itched to get themselves around a cold pint and just down them until he didn’t have to deal with the consequences of his words anymore. “Oh man I’d follow that lady through Hell, what a Goddess. I guess she taught me that I should read more? Some life lessons, like it’s easy to give up on yourself and changing your way of thinking can change your whole life, yada yada, that sort of things.” He waved off with a roll of his wrist before reaching for the door, retracting his hand when Finn got to it first. His hand made a confused jostle around the handle before he slunk inside, holding the door open himself even if there was already another pair of hands already holding it.
“What a gentleman,” Casey murmured, a small, amused huff coming from his nose before he scanned the whole of the bar. his eyes briefly pause at the corner of the room where he had tackled one of the patron to the ground, nearly splitting their skull open on the edge of the pool table, and he shivered at the memory, albeit briefly. His eyes got used to the dim lighting quickly and he reached back to grab Finn by the wrist, a physical contact he hadn’t offered a whole lot of after his mind went spiraling, now excitedly tugging him over to the counter. The bartender gave him a quick once-over that just screamed ‘oh bloody hell’, but it only elicited a toothy smile from the blonde as the morbid overtones of his being morphing into something more manageable when he placed the order for a double whiskey. When the bartender went for the bottle, Casey expectantly turned to Finn, the fingers around his wrist reluctantly disappearing to dig out the worn-out wallet in his back pocket. “Drinks on me. Gotta be of some use, right? What’s your poison tonight, lieutenant?”










