New story… yes it's been a while… sorry.
All my previous stuff that is not complete will remain that way for the time being. I haven't been able to continue it nor will I be able to any time soon, but I felt the need to write so…
Updates will probably be slow too as I slowly get back into writing… that and the fact I've been ever so clumsy and fractured my wrist...
That being said, I hope you enjoy this and if you'd be nice enough to review it's always a bonus for me haha!

Caffeinated

She put down the empty glass that was once filled with a clear substance. Her thoughts were slowly fading into a jumbled fragment of just random glimpses of her emotions.

"Another." She called out to the man holding her momentarily shot of happiness, her shot of adrenalin or more importantly just a plain and simple shot of vodka.

"Miss…Do you think that's wise?"

"Wise? Since when has it ever been wise for a woman in love to be out drink continuous vodka shots at 3 in the morning all by herself…?"

Taking her words into consideration the bartender filled up another glass for his customer and then fixed a drink up for the man waiting behind her.

"In that case let me join you in a drink?"

She jumped at the unknown presence, before nodding her head in compliance and taking the glass from her server. She muttered a quick thank you before consuming it all. Meanwhile the new comer had settled himself in the barstool beside her and had paid for both of their drinks

His existence hardly hit her as she downed the liquor in one. The fiery taste of the alcohol burning her throat as it slipped down sure enough hit the spot though. It was either that or the bitter sweet anger that roared in her heart which caused quite a stir. She coughed and spluttered violently, with the glass dropping from her grasp. Before it could hit the ground a pair of gloved hands, with lightening reflexes, had not only caught the glass as it tumbled but with his other hand caught the girl as she too fell to the floor.

"How about we fix you up with a coffee now?"

This had been intended as a rhetorical question, yet the girl did not understand such a concept in her state and slurred out her response, "Can we make it an Irish one?"

The man let out a low chuckle and told her that it could be an Irish one if she so wished. Yet behind her back, he waved his now glass free hand to the bartender. It was understood that this simple enough gesture was a hint to the bartender to put nothing but coffee, sugar and milk into the extra-large mug.

As he waited for the drink he took the girl to an empty booth in the corner of the bar and settled her down onto the comfy seat. He then sat himself down opposite her as to keep a watchful eye on her. She was not so far gone as to have lost consciousness or mind, yet he knew that she would require some level of guidance and he wanted to be the one to offer this too her. He wanted to ensure her safety.

"You need to stay awake, the coffee will be here in a minute and then you can get some caffeine into your system to help you stay awake, yeah?" He half asked, half told her.

"What are you even doing here? I don't need you to baby sit me...I…ohhh…" The rest of her sentence trailed off at the arrival of a tray presented in front of her. She sniffed at the cream covered topping, the aroma from the coffee beans still hitting her while the scent worked its way through her body almost having the same effect as if she had drunk it. She lifted her head up from her sniffing to reveal a little button nose coated thickly in cream and the odd sprinkle of cocoa powder. Her company stifled a small chuckle and instead folded his arms together calling her a mess.

Naturally this would not have gone down well if she had heard. However she was too busy trying to reach her tongue up to the sugary splatter on her nose. He watched her do this for a while, her actions satisfying his amusement before slight pity took over. A gloved finger leaned over and scooped up the cream.

The woman pouted, then realised that the same gloved finger was being held in front of her mouth. She quickly flicked out her tongue and then it was gone, along with the substance. A big smile erupted from her face, in comparison to the flat expression attached to the gloved hand.

"Drink up."

"Why shouldn't I listen to you?"

"Should." He corrected the drunken slurring mess.

Defiant eyes glared into his, "I'm not listen to your commanding."

"Drink. Up. Now."

The low growl echoed into her ears as she followed her instructions and wrapped her fingers around her warmed mug before lifting it to her lips.

One sip just didn't fulfil her satisfaction though and soon she was downing the strong coffee into her system. She purred in happiness as she set the empty mug down. Looking up to her companion she figured he too was satisfied.

"Thank you…" She started, while he moved his head slightly in what she considered a small nod.

"I shall take you home now." He replied with a monotone voice.

She looked quizzical and replied by asking him why he was being so nice to her. He explained to her in very little words that he would always look out for her. He called it a duty. This just confused her more. However in his view her confusion was perfect.

He got up from the booth and went to speak to the bartender about settling her tab. He asked to see a copy before paying it… endless vodka shots, a few cosmopolitans, sex on the beach, peach schnapps, a couple of beers, margarita… Jesus how much has she had?

"When did she get her?"

"Before my shift at 8, though I'm not sure how long she's actually been here… she was pacing herself though when I started serving her. Where the handwriting changes… that's when I started…"

The list was long but he noted that the drinking did indeed pick up from the current bartenders first order which was another cocktail, a mojito.

Is she trying to get liver poisoning, daft women?

He growled into himself while handing over his card to settle her tab. He quickly did this transaction before taking back his card and slamming his fist and a now crumpled version of the tab down onto the counter into some spilled liquor. He returned to the woman, his hands balled into tight fists. Anger was the expression on his face, 'foolish, stupid woman' were the words on his lips…

That all evaporated when he was her drooling on the table, caught up in her dream world as her chest rose and fell with each inhalation of air. Her hair was all wild, tumbling and spreading out around her frame. He brushed back a strand from her face to her back, leaving her shoulder exposed. Gently, cautiously, he nudged her on her exposed shoulder.

Big eyes flickered open, slightly panicked at the awakening. She soon settled as she recognized his watching eyes over her though.

"I'll take you home now."

She stood up, stumbled along the way and ended up falling into his lightening reflexes. Tipsy and tired, not a good combination… She knew she'd come to regret this night at some point.

Looking up at her hero of the night, she finally acknowledged her companion who had saved her earlier that night after buying her a drink and revealing himself from the shadows.

"Thank you, Shadow…" She mumbled into his chest.