milliways_bar | (no subject)

Hyde appears from somewhere and sits down beside her - wherever it is she's sitting.

"Hey," he greets simply. He's been a bit subdued these last couple of days.

She's at a booth at this point, out of the general stream of downcast faces.

She smiles without the usual lecherous sparkle. Tired, but genuine.

"Evening. Care to sit for awhile?"

Indeed, Hyde doesn't seem to be high on lech factor tonight himself.

"Good thing I'm already sitting," he cracks, because he can't help it. He starts digging in his pockets for cigarettes.

"Yes, I'm aware. Just don't get up and run off anywhere, hmm? I'd enjoy the company."

"Get me something fermented and drinkable and I'll stay as long you want."

Hyde fishes out his pack of Marlboros, takes one, and - after a moment's thought - offers the pack to Shady.

Shadow slides one out and toys with it for a moment before searching for a match and lighting it.

"Easy," she chuckles. All sorts of meanings there.

Rats and sentient bars aside, Shadow gets up and returns with two ales.

"Drink up."

He does. Quickly. He doesn't finish it, but he's apparently not in the mood to savor tonight.

As he smokes, he fiddles with his pinup lighter, flitting the flame off-on, off-on, off-on...

She blows a few smoke rings and slides a little to the left so she can stretch out in the booth.

"What's on your mind tonight?"

Hyde puts the lighter down - with a bit of a clatter, in fact - and looks straight at Shady. Then he says something strange.

"You know what freaks me out? And this isn't what's on my mind, but - you remind me of my mom sometimes. A hotter, nicer version of my mom."

Shadow's hands still abruptly and she stares at him, a little paler than before.

"Why?"

But Hyde's his usual earthy self when he discusses this, cigarette in one hand and ale in the other.

"Because she's, like, when she's in a good mood - which is rare, mind you - she gets all buddy-buddy with me, and buys me beer and smokes, and we talk kinda...like this. The important difference is that she hits me when she's in a bad mood, whereas you fuck me when you're in a good mood."

And here comes a liiiiiittle bit of that lecherous smile.

Shadow takes a sip of her ale and recovers.

"Hit her back," is her advice.

And a smile for him. Not lecherous, not tired. It lights up her face and softens a little of the experience in her eyes. It's just ... Shadow.

Hyde just shrugs. "I'm not gonna hit a chick, man. Even if she's hitting me." A beat while he takes a drag and billows smoke out the side of his mouth. "Okay, unless she's trying to kill me. Then I'd hit her. Hard."

"A little less honor in that quarter would do you well, I think. And remember, 'tis better to hit strategically."

"Yeah, below the belt usually works," says the wiseass.

Hyde drinks his ale, running his hand up and down the mug rather tenderly.

"That and a few other places."

She drains the mug and runs a fingertip around the rim to collect the foam.

"Mmm, and before I forget - I liberated this from a good home in the market a few days ago," she says, pulling a small dagger in its sheath out of her sleeve. "I've got too many damned blades as it is. You interested?"

"Sweet!" Hyde grins at the dagger, holding his hand out for it. "Yeah I'll take it. I'm a sucker for anything stolen."

She places it in his hand and adds a friendly ruffle to Lapsu.

"Don't kill anyone too important."

"Yeah, I better go for the Vice-President instead."

Hyde fiddles with the dagger, taking it out of its sheath and admiring it. "Knives are great, man. Especially at school."

"Which is where I assume you're not allowed to have them?"

She pulls out one of her own daggers and tosses it from hand to hand idly.

"You know me so well."

Hyde stares contemplatively down at the tabletop. He is seriously tempted to carve the damn thing up. Except for the many fascist enforcers in the bar who'd give him shit for it, of course.

"Humans have a tendency to govern in a way that provokes the masses to do whatever it is they've set out to prevent, and centuries haven't taught them any better."

She lays down completely and closes her eyes.

"That sounds about right," murmurs Hyde, who hasn't been very talkative tonight.

He cranes his neck over to her side of the booth. "You shrunk."

She smiles and blows a wisp of hair out of her face. "Impossible; if I got any shorter I'd disappear."

"But what you lack in height, you make up in ~~shortness~~ firepower," Hyde grins.