Manly Request Week: A Toast to Us (FFVIII, for Quela)
Title: A Toast to Us
Fandom: FFVIII
Characters/Pairings included: Laguna, Kiros, Ward
Rating: PG-13, for mild language.
Warnings: Silly.
Summary: Kiros and Ward pump Laguna for the big wave.
For nashidesei. Written for Manly Request Week.
---
Three glasses clinked together in the silence of the empty bar.
The first was an amber ale, resting in a plain pilsner glass and already half-gone, with thick dirty fingers curled around it possessively. Ward Zaback was a simple man, and he liked his beer the same: simple, straightforward, and guaranteed to get you drunk. Preferably dark beer (dark and thick - the way he liked his women), but beggars weren't choosers and Ward, though not poor, wasn't very picky: cheap beer got you drunk same as fancy beer.
The second was a shorter angled glass filled with bourbon and soda, on the rocks. Kiros Seagil wasn't a snob, but he was the sort of man who believed life was too short for cheap drinks and shit beer (and never missed a chance to remind Ward of this particular belief). Kiros had particular tastes in particular things, and the way the ice clinked around in the glass never failed to pleased him.
The third was an outrageous cocktail glass, made of some sort of sparkling plastic which curved in and then flared out at the top, rimmed in electric blue salt and filled with bright pink slush. Laguna Loire loved bright things, and shiny things, and sweet-tasting alcohol, and this drink had all three, plus two paper umbrellas (only slightly broken) and a fantastic twisty straw. Also, he loved showing off, and this thing was basically showing off in a glass.
"Here's to us," Kiros said with a fiendish grin as the toast broke up and they all drank.
"This bar sucks," Laguna offered around his straw.
"You're just pissed 'cause it's Julia's night off," Ward grunted, the other half of his beer having mysteriously vanished. He signaled the bartender for another one with a ferocious grimace.
"Alas!" Laguna made a dramatic gesture and almost sloshed pink froth all over Kiros's front. "My heart is wounded!" He recovered the drink, taking another pull through the straw. "And thus, this bar sucks."
"Just because Julia's not here doesn't mean the bar is a complete waste," Kiros stated.
"Ah, but it does," Laguna said.
He offered no further explanation. Ward grunted; Kiros noted that half of his large friend's new beer seemed to be suddenly missing, and wondered whether this was worth any sort of worry or caution.
"Laguna. Drinks are cheaper here, and they even made you a Tiki Tiki Centran Sunrise." The dark-skinned man eyed the pink-and-blue monstrosity with distaste and took a meaningful gulp of his bourbon-and-soda.
Laguna sighed. "The Hotel would make me a Tiki Tiki Sunrise if I asked them to."
Kiros arched an eyebrow. "You always drink beer at the Hotel."
"Yeah," Laguna said sulkily, looking at his toes. "Want Julia to think I'm manly."
Ward snorted, eyeing the paper umbrellas and the corkscrew straw. "Can't blame you, brother. That's the kind of thing girls drink."
"I like my Tiki Tiki Sunrise," Laguna said defensively.
"Wouldn't you rather Julia like you for who you are?" Kiros offered gently, tapping his (empty) glass on the bar lightly to request a new one.
"Rather she liked me at all," Laguna said sheepishly, his face darkening red. "We'll worry about the details later."
Ward barked out a great big laugh. "Alright, then. Next time she plays, I want you to go talk to her!"
The thin man's face turned almost comically white. "Nonono, Ward, I can't do that!"
"Why not?" Kiros smiled a sly smile. "What is there to lose? C'mon, Laguna, at least entertain us!"
Laguna sipped at his straw. "No way, you two. Can't. What if I go talk to her and she likes me and then I get shipped out somewhere and I have to leave her? It'll suck!"
"You're gonna whine about it anyway," Ward said. "May as well be whining about having done something." He turned to Kiros for support, but the other man was doubled over in laughter at Laguna's last statement.
"What's so funny?" Laguna asked.
Kiros finally pulled himself together. "You're so sure she's - ha - going to like you that much, eh, Laguna?"
Laguna slurped the pink slush angrily. "Well, okay, what if she doesn't like me then, and then I make an ass of myself, and then we can't drink at the Hotel anymore and then I can never see her again? What happens then?"
Kiros and Ward glanced at each other and said in unison, "You'll whine about it."
Laguna rolled his eyes dramatically and set his glass down. "Fine, then!" He pumped an arm in the air. "No more whining. Next time we're at the Hotel, I'll - I'll go wave at her!"
Kiros rolled his own eyes in response. "Oh, you brave man," he said sarcastically, and Ward snorted.
"I'll talk to her!" Laguna declared, lost again in his own tirade and enthusiasm. "I'll wave, and then I'll talk to her!" He slurped the last of his drink through the twisty straw and smiled. "I love this bar."
It was Ward's turn to roll his eyes, and so he did, signaling to the bartender for another round. "You get 'em, cowboy," he grunted, picking up the new beer and gesturing for a toast. "Here's to us."
Fandom: FFVIII
Characters/Pairings included: Laguna, Kiros, Ward
Rating: PG-13, for mild language.
Warnings: Silly.
Summary: Kiros and Ward pump Laguna for the big wave.
For nashidesei. Written for Manly Request Week.
---
Three glasses clinked together in the silence of the empty bar.
The first was an amber ale, resting in a plain pilsner glass and already half-gone, with thick dirty fingers curled around it possessively. Ward Zaback was a simple man, and he liked his beer the same: simple, straightforward, and guaranteed to get you drunk. Preferably dark beer (dark and thick - the way he liked his women), but beggars weren't choosers and Ward, though not poor, wasn't very picky: cheap beer got you drunk same as fancy beer.
The second was a shorter angled glass filled with bourbon and soda, on the rocks. Kiros Seagil wasn't a snob, but he was the sort of man who believed life was too short for cheap drinks and shit beer (and never missed a chance to remind Ward of this particular belief). Kiros had particular tastes in particular things, and the way the ice clinked around in the glass never failed to pleased him.
The third was an outrageous cocktail glass, made of some sort of sparkling plastic which curved in and then flared out at the top, rimmed in electric blue salt and filled with bright pink slush. Laguna Loire loved bright things, and shiny things, and sweet-tasting alcohol, and this drink had all three, plus two paper umbrellas (only slightly broken) and a fantastic twisty straw. Also, he loved showing off, and this thing was basically showing off in a glass.
"Here's to us," Kiros said with a fiendish grin as the toast broke up and they all drank.
"This bar sucks," Laguna offered around his straw.
"You're just pissed 'cause it's Julia's night off," Ward grunted, the other half of his beer having mysteriously vanished. He signaled the bartender for another one with a ferocious grimace.
"Alas!" Laguna made a dramatic gesture and almost sloshed pink froth all over Kiros's front. "My heart is wounded!" He recovered the drink, taking another pull through the straw. "And thus, this bar sucks."
"Just because Julia's not here doesn't mean the bar is a complete waste," Kiros stated.
"Ah, but it does," Laguna said.
He offered no further explanation. Ward grunted; Kiros noted that half of his large friend's new beer seemed to be suddenly missing, and wondered whether this was worth any sort of worry or caution.
"Laguna. Drinks are cheaper here, and they even made you a Tiki Tiki Centran Sunrise." The dark-skinned man eyed the pink-and-blue monstrosity with distaste and took a meaningful gulp of his bourbon-and-soda.
Laguna sighed. "The Hotel would make me a Tiki Tiki Sunrise if I asked them to."
Kiros arched an eyebrow. "You always drink beer at the Hotel."
"Yeah," Laguna said sulkily, looking at his toes. "Want Julia to think I'm manly."
Ward snorted, eyeing the paper umbrellas and the corkscrew straw. "Can't blame you, brother. That's the kind of thing girls drink."
"I like my Tiki Tiki Sunrise," Laguna said defensively.
"Wouldn't you rather Julia like you for who you are?" Kiros offered gently, tapping his (empty) glass on the bar lightly to request a new one.
"Rather she liked me at all," Laguna said sheepishly, his face darkening red. "We'll worry about the details later."
Ward barked out a great big laugh. "Alright, then. Next time she plays, I want you to go talk to her!"
The thin man's face turned almost comically white. "Nonono, Ward, I can't do that!"
"Why not?" Kiros smiled a sly smile. "What is there to lose? C'mon, Laguna, at least entertain us!"
Laguna sipped at his straw. "No way, you two. Can't. What if I go talk to her and she likes me and then I get shipped out somewhere and I have to leave her? It'll suck!"
"You're gonna whine about it anyway," Ward said. "May as well be whining about having done something." He turned to Kiros for support, but the other man was doubled over in laughter at Laguna's last statement.
"What's so funny?" Laguna asked.
Kiros finally pulled himself together. "You're so sure she's - ha - going to like you that much, eh, Laguna?"
Laguna slurped the pink slush angrily. "Well, okay, what if she doesn't like me then, and then I make an ass of myself, and then we can't drink at the Hotel anymore and then I can never see her again? What happens then?"
Kiros and Ward glanced at each other and said in unison, "You'll whine about it."
Laguna rolled his eyes dramatically and set his glass down. "Fine, then!" He pumped an arm in the air. "No more whining. Next time we're at the Hotel, I'll - I'll go wave at her!"
Kiros rolled his own eyes in response. "Oh, you brave man," he said sarcastically, and Ward snorted.
"I'll talk to her!" Laguna declared, lost again in his own tirade and enthusiasm. "I'll wave, and then I'll talk to her!" He slurped the last of his drink through the twisty straw and smiled. "I love this bar."
It was Ward's turn to roll his eyes, and so he did, signaling to the bartender for another round. "You get 'em, cowboy," he grunted, picking up the new beer and gesturing for a toast. "Here's to us."