come here often? ;; leon

Viv had nowhere to be and nothing to do tonight, so she made the decision to go out to a bar that she usually frequented. She went there so much that the bartender knew her by name, and he even knew her favorite drink. Whiskey on the rocks of course. She sat at the bar, one leg crossed over the other, leaning on the counter with her elbows, a cigarette in one hand, the other hand wrapped around her drink.

Jax sat on bar, facing his clio. Every once and a while he'd lean down to take sips of her drink. He also enjoyed the taste of whiskey.

Viv took a long drag of her cigarette, then blew the smoke out with a sigh.

"What's up, Viv?" The burly bartender asked, watching her intently while drying a glass. "You look down."

"I dunno, Wes," she yawned. "I'm just bored."

Wes chuckled and put the glass away. He topped off Viv's drink before going to another clio who motioned for him.

Viv watched him walk away, took another drag of her cigarette, then turned her head a little to study the clio around her. Nobody seemed to notice her that much, and that was good. This bar wasn't always the safest to be a woman all alone in, but she trusted Wes, and she definitely trusted her own abilities. She just hoped she wouldn't run into any rival gang members.

Leon just wanted to get fucking wasted and forget his troubles for a night. He was here with his cousin Marcus, who was trying to make him feel better by talking shit about his recent ex, but it wasn't really helping. So instead he just brought him another shot.

"Maybe you'd feel better if you hooked up with somebody," Marcus said. He glanced around. The place was kind of dead, but there was at least one decent looking girl at the bar. "What about her? She's pretty hot."

"I dunno, man--" Leon started.

"Just go buy her a drink or something," Marcus said. "I'm sick of watching you mope around, it's fucking depressing."

Leon looked over. The girl was attractive, and she had red hair. He kind of had a thing for redheads. Well...what the hell did he have to lose? He got up and walked over to the bar, casually standing next to her. "Hey, can I get a beer?" he asked the bartender. He looked over, as if he had just noticed the girl. "What are you having? I can grab your next drink."

Wes returned to Viv after taking care of the clio on the other side of the bar. Wes had known Viv since she was a baby. He was good friends with her parents, though he never associated himself with any of the gangs in Stonecraft. As long as there were no fights or murders happening under his roof, he served whoever had money to pay.

The two of them began to converse again, but when the stranger began to approach them, Wes glanced his way, causing Viv to look in the same direction. She didn’t recognize the guy, but she was intrigued by his tattoos and his attractive face. When he offered to buy Viv her next drink, she smirked and turned her whole body to face him.

“Wes,” she said, while keeping eye contact with the newcomer. “Another whiskey on the rocks please, courtesy of this guy.”

Okay, off to a good start here. She hadn't flat out rejected him, at least, which was good because he wasn't sure his ego could have handled that so soon after being dumped. "Good choice," he said, nodding at her drink as the bartender brought it out. He actually wasn't much a whiskey guy himself, but there was something attractive about a girl who could handle straight liquor. "I'm Leon, by the way."

"I didn't ask," Viv replied slyly. "But it's nice to meet you, Leon."

She turned back toward the bar, patting the stool next to her. "Why don't you take a seat, Leon." She rested her elbows on the bar again, grabbed her glass and drank deeply until she finished it. By then, Wes had already filled her a new one.

Don't get crazy, Jax warned. You don't know what this guy wants from you.

She knew that Jax was right, but she wasn't planning on getting drunk. This was only her third one, and she'd been drinking these for so long, she built up a bit of a tolerance for them. She lifted her empty hands and rested her chin on them. She turned her head to look at him after he presumably took the seat next to her. "You can call me Viv."

After giving Leon his drink, Wes had gone back to take care of other clio, or do other random things around the bar. He kept a close watch on Viv, though.

Viv smiled sweetly at her new friend and asked, "So what's up, Leon?"

Cute Girl wrote:"I didn't ask. But it's nice to meet you, Leon."

Leon raised his eyebrows and had a tiny smirk form on his face as the girl turned back to the bar. Her response caught him off guard, but he liked her sly smile and teasing voice. He sat down next to her as she introduced herself.

"Alright then, Viv," he said with a smile, meeting her eyes. She had a strikingly pretty face.

You're an idiot, you know that? Zeta rumbled from the floor beneath him, out of nowhere. You were literally just crying over Beth, and now you're already drooling over some random bar girl?

Oh, what-the fuck-ever, Leon replied. Marcus had been right, staying hung up on Beth wasn't doing anyone any favors, and what better way than this to handle a breakup? He was feeling better already.

"Oh, you know, just checking out a new bar with my cousin." He glanced around. "Who I'm pretty sure has ditched me, the bastard. What about you? You, uh, meetin' up with anyone here?"

"I wasn't planning on it," Viv replied casually. "But I've just met you..."

She hadn't decided yet if she was going to go home with this guy tonight. She hadn't really been planning on getting laid when she left home for the bar. Honestly, she just wanted to get out of the house for a little while.

Maybe for once you could not sleep with every bar guy you meet, Jax chastised. Maybe you could get to know this one.

But even Jax knew that was stupid. The only type of guys who approached Viv at a bar were the kind that only wanted her for her body.

"I'd be happy to keep you company," she decided out loud.

"I could definitely use some company right now," Leon said honestly. He couldn't stand being alone right now, which was why he had come here with his cousin in the first place. Good thing Viv actually wanted to talk to him, because said asshole cousin had already vanished.

They continued to chat for a bit. Viv proved to be very mysterious, giving mainly evasive or teasing answers any time he asked her about herself. It was frustratingly intriguing, and made him want to know even more.

As time went on, Leon got progressively drunker and cheerier as they talked. "Viv, we should...we should get out of here," he said, suddenly hit with drunken inspiration. "This place is boring, right? I mean talking to you isn't boring, but just sitting here--We should go explore. Outside. Explore the streets."

That is a bad idea, Zeta said, but not as firmly as she would have if they were sober. The streets of Stonecraft at night weren't exactly safe places for drunk idiots and the girls they were trying to impress. Not that this girl didn't look like she could handle herself, but still.

Viv wasn't getting nearly as drunk as Leon, but she did have a comfortable buzz going. She felt warm and amused, actually enjoying his company. She had stopped drinking several drinks before him, but she was pretty sure he didn't even notice. Even though she liked Leon, and thought that he was cute, it still didn't mean she could trust him. A girl's gotta be careful around this place.

Leon wrote:"This place is boring, right? I mean talking to you isn't boring, but just sitting here--We should go explore. Outside. Explore the streets."

Viv laughed, but nodded in agreement. "Yeah," she responded. "Let's get out of here."

She grabbed Leon's hand, pulling him off of his bar stool as she simultaneously slid off of hers. She waved goodbye to Wes as they left together, and burst out of the bar door, hand still holding Leon's tightly. They were greeted by the cold, night time air and Viv shuttered out loud.

Leon stumbled when Viv pulled him off the bar stool. Until getting to his feet, he hadn't realized exactly how drunk he really was. The answer was: Pretty fucking drunk. "Whoa!" He laughed as Viv lead him out the door.

Once they were outside, she gave a shiver. "Are you cold?" he asked. "Do you want my jacket?" He realized he wasn't wearing his jacket. He had left it in the bar. "Oh wait, be right back!"

He ran back in, grabbed his jacket, ran back out and presented it to Viv. "Here you go."

Zeta sighed, embarrassed to be attached to her particular clio. Leon could be a charming guy when he was sober, but once he got too drunk he just tended to be an idiot. Or maybe he was always an idiot, and being drunk just made it harder to hide.

Viv had her own jacket, but she thought it was sweet for Leon to bring her his. She took it from him, and draped it over her shoulders. It did help, and she smiled warmly at him. She decided right then that she hoped to see more of Leon, maybe in a less drunken state. She grabbed his hand again, pulling him along down the sidewalk. Jax was sitting on her shoulder, nestled closely to her head.

She giggled at Leon as he stumbled around, but she managed to hold on tightly to him, keeping him and herself from tumbling over. This was nice. She actually felt normal, like they were just a regular young couple, with nothing to worry about but themselves.

They continued to walk down the street, hand-in-hand, past old crumbly abandoned buildings, dingy apartments, and dusty stores. "Hey," Viv said suddenly, getting an idea. "Let's break into one of those buildings!"

"Whoa," Leon said, stopping dead in his tracks. "I'm pretty sure you just read my mind or something."

There were a lot of abandoned buildings in Stonecraft. Failed businesses, condemned apartments, unfinished construction projects. Nothing survived long in this city.

Leon and Viv decided on an old building that looked like someone had thought they'd put offices in. There was a rusty old chain hanging off one of the door handles that had been meant to keep clio out before some Dian or something broke in. Leon wondered if there'd be squatters here. They opened the door and crept inside.

Viv giggled at Leon, enjoying his drunken enthusiasm. As they stepped inside the dark and dusty building, she let go of Leon's hand and instead grabbed his arm with both of her hands, keeping close to him. A lot of things didn't scare Viv, but the idea that there could be crazy, homeless clio inside freaked her out. She had a vile of water to protect herself at all times, but she didn't want to end up in a situation where she was going to need it.

The two of them tread on, only speaking in whispers and quiet giggles, their footsteps echoing off of the crumbly walls. Suddenly a raspy sound came from one of the metal pillars that was supporting the building, and Viv had to slap a hand over her mouth to keep herself from screaming. Leaning against the pillar was a clio, snoring loudly, most likely passed out drunk. His long hair and beard were matted and unkempt, his clothes looking just as messy and wrinkled as his face. After staring at him in the dark for a moment, Viv noticed empty bottles of whatever he had been drinking to get himself into that state.

She looked at Leon, giggling and pointing toward the homeless man, then imitated somebody drinking a bottle of alcohol. They laughed quietly together then started exploring again. Eventually they found a set of stairs, and Viv immediately began to bound up them, not waiting for Leon to follow, just assuming that he'd be behind her.

If Leon were sober and his reaction time normal, he would have jumped at the sudden noise echoing through the empty building. Instead, he just slowly turned until he saw a squatter passed out against the wall. Not exactly an uncommon thing around here. In fact, he was surprised there was only one. Ah, the poor bastard, but at least he'd found a warmish, quiet place to drink till he fell asleep.

Leon turned to ask Viv what she thought this office building had been built for only to find the space next to him empty. Footsteps were echoing down from a staircase he'd been walking past. "Viv!" he called after her before stumbling up the steps. There were so many, it seemed like. He could still hear Viv's footsteps above, even as he past floor after floor.

Finally he found her on the roof. He walked up behind her, looking up at the night sky. "Y'know, I heard in the countryside you can see all the stars at night," he said.

Viv slowed down only once as she climbed up the stairs, listening for Leon's footsteps before continuing at a quick pace. She pushed her whole body against the door that led to the roof, and after a bit of force, she manged to pry the old rusty door open. Cold, night air blew through her hair, blowing it every which way. She pushed a hand through it, attempting to get it out of her face, only to have it blown back in her eyes. She gave up, and walked toward the edge of the building, to look over the dirty city she called home.

Leon wrote:"Y'know, I heard in the countryside you can see all the stars at night,"

Viv turned to look at him when he approached, then looked up into the sky with him. She had always wanted to visit the farming island of Annerb. She just never really had the money to get there. Plus, being a member of the Falcons kept her from really going anywhere far anyway.

"I bet it's beautiful," she said.

"Yeah," Leon agreed. He looked out over the cityscape and imagined seeing brilliant green instead of muted gray. It would be romantic, he thought, to bring a girl to the countryside. Maybe he'd be able to do it someday. Go camping together or some shit, and sleep together under the stars. (Couples did that here too, but it wasn't exactly romantic.)

He looked over at Viv, who was looking up at the sky. She turned to him and smiled. Drunkness made him bold, so he went for it and kissed her, his ex girlfriend temporarily forgotten. He felt light and happy, the complete opposite of how he'd started this evening out.

Viv was taken by surprised when Leon kissed her, but she happily kissed him back. She liked the warmth of his lips on hers, she wanted to stay in that moment forever.

They spent the rest of the night together, just talking and getting to know one another a little bit more. They kissed each other one more time before parting ways. When Viv finally arrived home, she laid in her bed for a moment, and touched her lips where his had been, and smiled before drifting off into sleep.