This is a story that I wrote about 4 years ago, and I finally got the courage to post it. For some reason Misao and Aoshi kept popping into my head though I don't use names at all and it's not canon. It's an open-ended story, so I hope you enjoy it.

~Aislinn

Whiskey and Scotch: A Tale of Two Souls

The dimly lit bar was shaking with the heavy bass of thundering music beating in time with the heart of the underage looking woman. She looked around nervously, as if hoping the person who got her in didn't abandon her. Hopeless, she finally sat down at the bar and ordered a whiskey while the bartender gave her a perplexed look as if he was debating whether to actually give her the drink. The young woman noticed this and with a huff pulled her I.D. from her black purse. Satisfied, the bartender handed her the drink. Downing it in one gulp with a look of pain she caught the attention of the only other person sitting at the bar who had been pounding back drinks as fast as he could.

Looking at her with interest, he slid over to the seat next to her and analyzed how she was dressed. Of all the times he'd spent here, he hadn't seen many people like her. This bar was more of the "after a hard days work at the office" type bar, not a "Romanticism" type of bar. However, this young woman was dressed like she was a modern Victorian with her black corset over lace, long flowing skirt, with eyelet and buckled platform boots. She wore almost too much black eye makeup, but it somehow made her look beautiful in a mysterious kind of way. Nervously glancing over at the man every once in a while, her bright green eyes glowed against the darkness. Her waist length black hair hung straight down and shimmered with a red glint in the dim lights of the bar.

The young woman noticed him staring and shifted nervously on her barstool looking straight ahead at the mirror behind the bar. Even though she was trying to ignore the presence of the man beside her, she couldn't help but watch him in the mirror. He slouched heavily and leaned on the bar for support, but even in his drunken state he seemed to require some sort of respect. Donning an obviously expensive black suit, it was evident that he had a very important job with a big name company. His black hair fell into his face in a seductive way to cover his deep blue eyes and the girl couldn't help but stare. When he looked up, their eyes met in the mirror and she quickly looked away.
"Loneliness is a painful thing," the man said.

The girl almost missed what he had said over the blaring music.

"Why do you say that?"she answered, finally allowing herself to look at him.

"Just stating the obvious," he sadly smiled. "I figured that you would understand by the look in your eyes. I can see that you have the same pain in your heart that I have in mine."

"You're seeing things then." The young woman looked away from him again and called for another whiskey.

"I don't think I am. You have the same look on your face as my best friend did when someone important left her over and over again to go away on business trips." He called for another scotch on the rocks.

"And what look would that be?" the girl asked throwing back her drink.

"The look of being abandoned."

"So what if I do?" She looked down into her empty glass, curtaining her face with her shining hair.

"Well a beautiful woman like you shouldn't look like that. Plus I really doubt if he wanted to go on that business trip and leave you here alone anyway. I'm sure he loves you too much."

The girl turned and glared at him. "What do you know about anything? Obviously you're drunk and you don't know anything about my situation!"

The man just smiled even though the girl was irritated with him.

"Let me tell you a story."

"How 'bout you don't and we can say you did. That way I can go back to my drinking?" the young woman said with her irritation seeping through.

"Or you can keep drinking and I can still tell you my story," the man said with a small smile playing at his lips.

The young woman just rolled her eyes and asked the bartender to bring her another drink.

"I've always had what most people would call a good life. As a child I had everything I ever could have wanted, a big house with a bright green lawn, my own pet, and any toy I wanted. My room resembled a toy land and that was all I ever wanted until I met my best friend. Unlike other boys my best friend wasn't another boy or any kind of animal, but a girl. We went through all of elementary school together, always in the same class and always sharing toys. We never went anywhere without each other, that was just a fact."

The young woman sighed and tapped her fingers on the bar, interrupting him. The man just rolled his eyes as a mockery and ordered a drink for both of them. After practically chugging half the drink, the man continued again.

"But as we entered middle school, we started going our separate ways. We had different classes, met new people and our interests changed. It seemed that we no longer had time for each other. I admit that at the time it didn't matter to me much, but it did later..

"Fortunately, we found each other again at a school dance our freshman year. I went stag. But she had come with a boy who she had spent a lot of time with. He ended up ditching her for some popular chick who obviously was just pulling him around for fun. Of course, my friend was upset and had started to leave the dance when we quite literally, bumped into each other. We got to talking, and eventually started to hang out like we used to. By our sophomore year, we began to see each other as we were, a boy and a girl. With a bold move on my part, we started dating. Our parents were happy with us finally hooking up. They liked to say, "It's about time!" with big grins on their faces."

"I'm sure the parents couldn't have been that enthusiastic about her dating you," the young woman said in a sarcastic tone.

"O.K., maybe not that enthusiastic, but close enough. Plus, this is my story, I can say it how I want.." the man said matter-of-factly.

The young woman just rolled her eyes again and sipped on her alcohol.

"Anyways, we dated for, oh, I don't know, five years. We got an apartment together and expected to get married soon, when I got the biggest job break that I could ever have hoped for. She encouraged me to take the job, even though it would mean me being away on business trips constantly. She knew what it meant to me. So for a couple of years, we went through not seeing each other for almost months on end and me only being home with her for two days tops. It killed me not seeing her, just killed me. But I had a job to do and bills to pay and a boss to make happy. I put the job first, I did it and talked myself out of being guilty by saying that she encouraged me, she knew what was going to happen. Anyways, it was my dream job. Or so I told myself."

"Then one night, I came home and it was empty. Nothing of hers was there anymore. I couldn't understand. After sitting on the couch for, god only knows how long, I remembered the last phone call I had with her. She wasn't very talkative, but then before I told her that I had to go, she said something that didn't hit me until just that night. She said, 'I'm tired of waiting.' I didn't understand what she meant until then even with her asking, begging me to try to stay home more. Telling me that she needed me. I guess I just assumed that she would always just be there, forever, waiting."

"Well, you sure assumed wrong, didn't you?" the young woman said in a biting tone.

"Yes, I did. As wrong as anyone could ever get... But enough about me for a tid bit. Why are you here?"

The young woman looked up and glared at the man in the mirror. "What do you mean why am I here? It's a free country and I can drink where ever I want to," she answered darkly.

"Well you don't see many people in a bar like this that look like you," he voiced his first thoughts about her.

"That look like me?" If looks could kill, the man beside her would've dropped dead right there.

The man just chuckled and defended himself, " what I was trying to say is that you are the most beautiful out of all the women here."

The young woman blushed a little and stared back down at her drink, finding it suddenly the most interesting object in the world.

"Alright, you caught me," the young woman sighed. "I guess you can say I'm waiting for someone. You know, just to see if they'll come around and see the light."

"Well, I've paid for it." The man said monotonously as he played with the empty glass in front of him.

The young woman glanced over and back down to her drink. "Doesn't really seem like you payed very much, you still have your high class job."

"Actually, not anymore," the man said staring down into his half empty glass.

The young woman gasped in surprise. "Did you get fired?"

"No, I transferred to a different job. One that I can do from home." He looked up hopefully.

The young woman continued looking down at her drink and half smiled. The first thing even close to a smile that he'd seen from her that night. At that moment, all he could see was her.

"I'm ready to come home forever," he whispered so only she could hear.

"You promise to never leave again?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes, I promise. If you will still have a drunk boy like me back in your arms." He swaggered off of the bar stool and stood beside her.

"Please..."

"Welcome home my love." She looked up and had a smile on her face that illuminated the entire poorly lit bar.

Fin