Across The (Sticky) Bar Floor
A/N: For Wolfy and all the other Buffer fans. Enjoy.
Credit to SA.
"I… I's amn't not… not dwunk." A stumbling Spider slurred as he, Buffer and ET walked from the bar and back to their seats. Spider had just been denied another drink, with reason, and was now getting moody.
Buffer chuckled and shot ET a look. "Sure mate, you're fine."
The three of them had engaged in a hard liquor drinking competition to celebrate the end of Samaru and Spider hadn't taken to it as well as the others. In fact, with Charge and Bomber also involved in the competition, he'd been the first to go. An act that had been met with laughter and applause from the girls Bomber and Nav. They'd left, Charge sharing a taxi with them, but Spider had refused to go. Now, bordering embaressing, Buffer thought it was time to intervene. Now, leading the Seaman away from the bar and to the door, he didn't noticed the girl walking in until he ran right into her. Much smaller than himself, she took the brunt of the knock and fell to the ground unceremoniously. She landed on her backside, frowning up at him animatedly.
"Damn it, it's sticky." She grinned.
Dropping Spider's arm and allowing the young man's weight to fall on ET (who of course hadn't been expecting it and nearly fell himself), Buffer offered the woman a hand. "Sorry, I didn't see you there."
She shrugged as he pulled her to her feet. "It's fine, you've.. uh…" She looked at Spider and wrinkled her nose a little. "You've obviously got your hands full." She flashed Buffer a smile. "It's fine."
Buffer glanced at ET. "Do you… uh."
ET understood. "I've got him. You go ahead." And with that ET lead the slurring and stumbling Spider from the pub.
Buffer looked back at the girl with a smile. "Sorry again. Can I get you a cab or something?"
She shook her head. "What's a night out at the pub without a sticky bum anyway?" She laughed, flashing him another smile. "But you can by me a drink if you feel bad."
Buffer was a little taken aback by her forwardness, then smiled. "Yeah, sure, it's the least I can do." He followed her to the bar. "What do you want?" He asked, expecting wine or a fruity cocktail. Either way, something embaressing for a man like him to order.
"Just a Carlton." She smiled, glancing up at Buffer's face. "What?"
Buffer shook his head. "Nothing." He ordered them both a beer then sat down with her at the bar. "So, I'm Peter Tomaszewski." He offered her a hand and she took it with a smile.
"Di Wolfe. Nice to finally know the name of the man who just ruined my new jeans." She grinned.
He shrugged. "Sorry, again."
Di just laughed. "It's fine. Really. I'm just messing with you." She put her hand on his arm and he got goosebumps. It was weird. "Relax."
Buffer nodded slowly. "Yeah, sure. So, what do you do?"
She shrugged. "Not a lot." She grinned and feigned stupidity. "Oh, you mean as a job?"
Buffer laughed. "Yeah, as a job."
She shrugged. "Desk work, mainly." She gave him a mysterious smile. "What do you do?" She took a swig of her beer.
"I'm in the Navy." He said quickly, offering little explanation.
Surprisingly she didn't seem too taken aback. She just waved her arm at the others in the bar. "So are half the people in this bar." She grinned. "What job?"
"Petty Officer Bosun…" He frowned. "You seem to know a lot about the Navy."
She shrugged. "Yeah, well…" But she said nothing else, just smiling at him over her beer. For a long time they just sat there, watching each other drink, before Di put down her empty glass and grinned. "Well, thank you for the drink Petty Officer Tomaszewski. It was nice to meet you, but I better get back to work."
Buffer frowned. "You're still at work?" He glanced at his watch. It was after 1900. "I thought it was desk work?"
She smiled. "Combat Systems Operators work at desks Mister Tomaszewski." And with a grin she left. Shaking his head Buffer's eyes followed her from the pub.