Don't look now. That chick is so scoping me!
Blank coolly observed her observing him. She was pretty for a bar maid… though her clothes were beer-stained and plain-looking, she certainly had all the accessories that counted. And plenty of them.
She gave him a little smile from across the smokey tavern room.
Hot damn! That was a pass! She's callin' a pass on me!!
He returned her greeting with his you're-kinda-cute-but-whatcha-got-that-I-haven't-had-baby smile. Her eyes fluttered to the floor for a moment.
Shit! I think I lost her… Dammit!
A call ran across the room, distracting her attention to another patron. She swished away purposefully, pulling a pen and paper from her front pocket. Blank watched for a passing moment, then huffed.
Well… if she doesn't have what it takes, then she don't need to be with me. Man.. sometimes I hate being so damn cool.
The thief grinned to himself, then propped his feet up on the bar, leaning back on his stool. Slapping down a gold piece, Blank ordered himself a strong one. The bar tender eyed him with disapproval before sliding the drink over to him.
The booze here in Alexandria sucks. A total rip-off. Everything in this city is all talk and no action. No wonder Marcus skipped out on this job. I've been in this town too long…
Boss didn't give him much to go on. But then again, Blank didn't need much to begin with. His orders had dropped him on the streets of Alexandria with what little cash he had in his pocket and what little more he could snag from unknowing tourists. Why anyone would want to vacation in Alexandria was beyond him. The pickings were much more slim here than Lindblum.
Weeks and weeks of searching and prowling about.. still nothin'. Boss is gonna be pissed if I come back empty handed. Man… this whole deal sucks..
He took a long swallow, almost slamming the mug down on the ruddy wooden counter.
"Hey, buddy!" The bartender growled. "Ya gonna pay fer that there glass if it breaks, ya know?"
Blank considered testing the statement, but decided it was much better to lay low for the time being. So he simply turned and looked at the guy. Intently. It was his specialty. His dammit-you-know-better-than-to-mess-with-someone-like-me look. Less than a minute later, the man was off scrubbing at imaginary spills on the bar with a dirty rag.
Too bad. I've never got to fist-fight a bar tender before.
Being in Alexandria always depressed him. It made him think about Zidane. Blank had made it a rule to forget about him. After all, he was never coming back. It had seemed impossible. It was still hard for him to believe. But it had been months already. Months since he had run off with that Dagger chick… for whatever reason he had… to fight some insane battle with that white-haired freak Kuja.
And all for what? A girl?
Dammit, Zidane. I always told you that chasing girls would be the end of you. But you never listened to me. You just totally zoned everytime you got close to a pretty face. Man.. why didn't you ever listen to me?
Of course, he didn't blame Dagger for it. Or any of the others. They had been just as bummed as he had at the news, if not more-so. Boss had laughed it off at first. But as time passed without even so much as a tail-wag from the blond-headed thief, even the Boss' laughter had become doubtful.
Funny thing is… I think Dagger is still waitin' for him to come back. Still waitin' up there all painted up in that pretty little tower with her pretty little dresses… Where'd it all get Zidane in the end? Dead!
Blank slammed the mug down on the bar, winning another reproachful glance from the bar tender. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, then leaned forward to hunch over his drink.
Girls ain't nothin but trouble.
He happened to look up across the room for a moment, and caught sight of the waitress. She saw his look, and gave a sly side-wink. Blank's mouth grew dry.
…But they sure are nice to look at…
The girl swished right past him, so closely her hip brushed his shoulder, the scent of her perfume tantalizing. Blank found himself staring. In a very un-cool way. He fished for an expression, but found none that came to mind.
She just MEGA PASSED at me!
It took him a moment for him to realize she had left something behind. A tiny slip of folded paper on the counter. Blank looked at it for a moment. He looked one way. Then the other.
What the hell…?
Carefully, he unfolded it. Her handwriting was nice and neat, tidy little letters of curls and little circles above the "I"s. It was short but to the point.
My shift is off in about 5 minutes.
I'll see you out back if you wanna do something…..
~Ruth
Blank quickly folded the paper and put it away. He gulped down the last of his drink, then pulled the paper out, unfolded and read it again. It still said the same thing.
He realized his hands were sweating.
Get it together, Blankie-boy. You've just hooked yourself a babe tonight! Sure beats playing cards at the tavern again…
Standing, he sauntered out of the door, running a quick hand through his red hair for good measure. Remembering what the note said, he slipped around to the side alleyway, finding his way to the back of the tavern. It was actually a good deal cleaner back there than it was inside the tavern. Still….
What an weird place for her to choose to meet me. Hmmmph. Guess she doesn't wanna make all the guys in there jealous… But.. dammit.. I wish I had known I was gonna meet a babe tonight. I woulda fixed myself up better than this.
He began to self-consciously look himself over, straightening himself to the best of his ability. Then he stopped.
Of course… if she was interested in a guy like me… she's probably into the rough-and-wild type. Makes sense… an ordinary dame like her's gotta break out every now and then… Heh. This might actually be interesting.
The door creaked slowly as it opened, the back-way exit to the bar. Blank found himself looking up the stairs expectantly, then forced himself to lean against the far wall, arms crossed. He put on his best dammit-girl-whatcha-makin-me-wait-for-lets-get-this-thing-goin-on frown.
She had wrapped herself in a dull-colored shawl. It might have been an attempt to dress up, or maybe even to cover the scent of booze that followed her. But her steps were graceful, and her body had that sway…
Probably what got her the job here… heh…
"Hello there…" Her voice was nice. It fit her looks.
Her soft brown eyes didn't leave his face as she approached. There was a strange, unreadable look painted there. Ever so slowly she reached up with both arms, making certain that he traced every line, every motion, and unclasped her hair, letting a shimmering wave of bronze fall down, just past her shoulders.
Blank's mouth was partly open. All thoughts had just flown from his mind.
Where the hell did this come from… she looks like an innocent school girl…!
"I saw you watching me from across the room.." She continued, still making her way towards him. "You looked kinda… lonely…"
"Well, actually…" But there was nothing to follow the words with.
"So I thought to myself… there's a guy who could really do with some company tonight. Am I right?" She smiled. It was a naughty smile.
His eyes bugged out. "That is… I.."
Then she traced a finger down the front of his chest. There was a little pout on her face.
Holy shit…!
"What's wrong… am I.. making you.. uncomfortable?"
"No… n-not at all!" He shook his head quickly.
Man.. this is harder than it looks.. how did Zidane do it! Blank… come on…get your act together!
"Good…." She cocked her head at him with a playful smile. She planted one hand on the wall on either side of him, leaning closer.
Blank felt himself flatten against the brick unconsciously. His face was hot.
Am I blushing?
"Because… it'll only be a minute more.." She told him.
What? What the hell does that mean?
"Till what…?"
"Till my friend gets here.."
"Friend?" Blank's brow wrinkled. "What friend?"
The sounds of heavy footsteps came from out of the shadows. Slowly, the figure materialized, the sliver of moonlight playing reflections off of the shimmering armor, and unsheathed sword. A sword with a point leveled at his throat.
SHIT!
"That friend." Ruth smiled sweetly, then took a few steps back and away, drawing her shawl tightly around her shoulders. She twisted with a child-like giggle, eyes sparkling at the man who had just appeared. "How was that.. did I do good?"
The man gave what looked to be a grin. But it was hard to tell under the shadow of his helmet. "Yeah, Ruth… thanks a million…!"
"Sure.. anything for you, Laudo.." She chortled with a huge smile. There was obviously deep affection in the words.
"What the hell is going on here!" Blank snarled finally put thoughts to words. "You damn well better spill it!"
"I don't believe you are in the position to be making such demands, you filthy thieving street-dreg!" The young man frowned at him, slowly bringing the tip of his blade closer to Blank's throat. "I am Laudo, Pluto Knight IV. And you… are under arrest!"