(Untitled)

[sleazeoverstyle]

HEY. This place. Just like he wanted, and a note: maybe it's just a case of right place right time, or maybe Bar's sick of takin' his gil. Whatever it is, shit yeah, he'll tend bar for a couple hours instead of drinkin' his life away. There's plenty of time for that after.Since he was 18 he's worked for Shin-Ra and pourin' drinks behind a bar wasn'

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[will_scarlett]

Will just grins at the specials,

"Third one sounds like a good one to be startin' with."

[sleazeoverstyle]

"Sure, sure, make me friggin' work." He's just joking, though: it ain't all that hard to pour in vodka and sloe gin and top it off with lemonade. "Here you go, pal."

There, not so friggin' hard at all. "You'll have to let me know how it is. Where I'm from, the booze pours a little different."

It doesn't, but it sure as fuck sounds good.

[will_scarlett]

"Oh aye, course, always curious to try somethin' new 'ere."

[sleazeoverstyle]

"One Sex in the Red Zone." 'Cause he's seen Tifa do it this way before, he sets down a napkin and puts the glass on top of that, slides it over to the guy. "I think Bar picked that just to fuck with me. So I'd have to say the name a bunch of times."

[tom_lefroy]

"And what would be in an 'Icicle Run', then?" asks a young man who has only once seen someone behind the bar before.

He is dressed rather immaculately and speaks with a proper English accent, only slightly mixed with an Irish flavour.

[sleazeoverstyle]

"It'd be beer. On tap. Served ice cold."

Who the fuck doesn't know what an... oh, right. No one here but him and Tifa and Vincent and a couple other lucky people who've actually had one know what it is. It's easy to forget he ain't back home... like he'd ever set foot on this side of a bar back there? Nah.

He's always too busy drinkin' and spendin' his gil on the other side.

"You want to try some? You don't like it, I'll drink it for you." There's only one real question. "Glass or pint?" Guy looks awful friggin' fancy for bein' at a bar, but what the fuck. Takes all types, or that's what his brother used to tell him.

[tom_lefroy]

Back at home, a pint is a pint and if you wanted ice, you'd simply ask for it - with ice.

And no fancy pub or gathering would ever serve ice cold beer - drinks like scotch and whiskey and wine would be a more popular choice.

"Sure. A pint," he requests. "Thank you."

[sleazeoverstyle]

That's easy: he pulls a pint with just the right amount of foam, at least till the foam slops over the top and down the side.

HEY. Maybe there's more to this shit than he knows, but fuck it: he'll get it right on the second try and this first pint gets to be his. This time he's a little more careful and it comes out just right: a nice froth on top, nothin' spilling over the side.

"There. Did it." He sets the pint glass down on the bar and slides it over to the guy. "First time back here." Like that explanation was actually necessary? He doesn't think so.

[not_lugosi]

There's a familiar face behind the bar. Reno and Bela had a fun evening together not too long ago. Bela's actually getting used to seeing the guys she has fun evenings with again at Milliways. At home, this is not something that happens. Here? It's okay.

"Hey there, Mr. Bartender," she says, sliding onto a barstool. "I'll have a Sex in the Red Zone, please."

[sleazeoverstyle]

"I bet you will." The grin he gives her is nothin' less than a hundred percent smug -- ain't a thing wrong with his memory -- and he can't help but make a little bit of a show out of fixing up this drink for her.

"Check it out, Bela. The way the sloe gin just kind of... sinks to the bottom there. Tinging everything a nice haze of red. Then... yeah, the lemonade kinda shakes this shit up, doesn't it." In a metaphorical kind of way, it probably does.

"Here you go. And how you doin', pretty lady?" For his money, he's doin' great.

[not_lugosi]

"I'm fabulous now," she says, tossing her hair and smirking right back. "I have an intriguing drink and brilliant company."

What? She can lay it on thick, too. It's all in good fun.

"Is this a full time gig or are you filling in?"

She sips the drink. Mmm. Tart and sweet. Just how she likes it.

[sleazeoverstyle]

The shrug he gives her is entirely nonchalant. "Fuck if I know. I was just asked to do it and I figured sure, there's some pretty ladies here and look how lucky I am. I got the prettiest one sittin' right here with me."

Talk about overkill, but she is pretty. He knows he ain't brilliant company. Not standing behind a bar, but he'll take the compliment anyhow.

[noattachments]

When Kate comes downstairs, there's a familiar face behind the bar that she's not expecting to see. Rather than head outside, she makes for the bar instead.

"Hey, Reno."

She picks out a bar stool and grins.

"When'd you become a bartender by night?"

[sleazeoverstyle]

"The minute I looked in those pretty eyes of yours."

Eh, that's a shit line. "Hang on, that sucked. Let me do that over." He makes a big show of straightening up, clearing his throat, running a hand through his hair. "I became a bartender when I heard you were gonna stop by, so I could feed you the world's worst pickup lines. How's that?"

Now he laughs. "So, Kate. Hello. What can a guy like me do for a lady like you?"

Hey, it's about as open-ended as his questions get.

[noattachments]

"Better polish that one up if you're gonna be using it all night."

She's laughing as she says it; he's been pretty nice to her and he's been almost as bold as Sawyer when it comes to letting her know he's interested, but she figures she's pretty far from being the only one getting that kind of attention.

Reno just seems like that kind of guy.

"Well," she goes on, glancing at the board, "I know I like the Wutai Pale. Is Icicle Run another beer from Gaia?"

[sleazeoverstyle]

"Smart and pretty. It's a dangerous combination, or at least that's what I always hear." He laughs as he says it: she's cool. "You want a glass or a pint? The Wutai Pale's lighter than the Icicle Run but this ain't too heavy or nothin'. It's a good beer, real tasty. And it stays ice cold for a long time."

Funny how the shit from Icicle Village does that.

"Or there's always Sex in the Red Zone. Or anything else you want, really. I just might have to look up how to make it." He leans forward like he's about to share the biggest secret of his life. "This ain't my steady gig."

[antishinra]

Finishing a cup of Nibelheim berry tea, Tifa spends a full twenty minutes across the room after spotting Reno behind the bar.

(The bar must really need help tonight.)

She has to give him credit, though: he seems to have taken to his temporary job better than she'd have predicted. Empty cup in hand, she finally stands up and walks toward the bar, and when she catches his eye, she gives him a very small smile.

"How does it feel on that side of the bar?"

[sleazeoverstyle]

"Hey. Tifa."

If he's one thing, that one thing's determined and like he'd ever show her if he was flailing and didn't think he could do a thing? He doesn't think so. "At least I have the easy specials. Bottle of ale? Glass of beer? Sex in the Red Zone? Or a refill on whatever it was you had there?"

He's pretty sure the only rule back here is don't friggin' kill anyone and he's gonna try real hard not to. Also to be nice, 'cause there ain't a reason in the world not to be. Him and her, they made a little bit of peace last time and he'll try to keep it goin'.

[antishinra]

"How about that last special?"

She may be opening herself up to his commentary just by ordering the way she did. But she won't let him get to her. There's no flirtation in her tone, and even if he wasn't the Turk who dropped the plate on Sector 7, her heart's in Edge and he knows that as well as she does.

She just wants to watch him mix a drink for her while their positions are reversed like this.

"Is this your first time tending the bar?"

He hasn't been back there before when she's been around to see it.

[sleazeoverstyle]

Two can play the same caution game and he likes Tifa as much as he likes anyone. Well, maybe not as much but he likes her okay, and he gets it. He's stepping on her turf and he'd rather not make waves over it. "One vodka, sloe gin, and lemonade comin' right up. You can judge my drink-mixing style and let me know how I did for you