"So are you going to place a bet?"

Bright lights and clinking sounds seem to have adorned the establishment. The sounds of glass bumping glass and people laughing, groaning or arguing continued to resound, not to mention the obnoxious tune those blasted machines made. Surely that couldn't be called music but if one were to get into the technicalities, it would be of the lowest caliber. Then again, maybe Tharja was just salty tonight.

She eyed the orange haired man with a predatory glare. He only lifted his hands up in response.

"Nothing up my sleeve, promise," he defended, "Besides, why else would you be here if you weren't planning to live a little waste a little, ya know what I mean?"

The man had a point, she thought. In truth, she was getting annoyed. Henry invited her here to unwind but he failed to realize how much she hated the night life in this town. He also seems to have failed to realize that she also hated being left alone but what can she do? As soon as he went in, he was whisked away by a couple of his friends from university, was it? It could have been high school.

Quite frankly, she couldn't care less anymore. Besides, she barely had enough money to pay for her apartment, why should she spend the night here? It was a waste of time.

"Yoohoo," he set his hands down and shoved them in his pockets, "Not much of a talker, are you?"

Sighing in exasperation, the dealer began shuffling his cards. No point in asking a lady who doesn't want to play. She watches his nimble fingers as they meticulously arrange the deck. This guy wasn't to be messed around with or she'd get scammed. That was the point of these casinos, anyway, scamming people out of their hard earned money. He set the cards down.

"Well, sunshine, you gonna play or leave? Don't have all day waiting around, you know."

"What on earth would give you the idea that I'd want to play your silly game?"

"Uh, you're in a casino and you're staring at my station," he deadpanned, "Unless it's me you're staring at, that is."

She scoffed then rolled her eyes. What an arrogant man. She was tempted to walk away but surprisingly stood her ground. On the other hand, had she done that, she'd be closer to the obnoxious sounding slot machines and that would have given her a headache.

"Wow, you're really putting me at the top of my game here, sunshine," he smirked, "I know I'm unbelievably sexy but you don't have to stare so hard."

"Imbecile"

"That a challenge, I hear? You're probably gonna take that back if you ever place a bet."

"It sounds like you're the one challenging me."

"It is what it is, sunshine. Now what will be?" At this moment, he picked up the deck again and began reshuffling, "Play or walk away?"

This man was infuriating beyond comprehension, she told herself. The signals in her head were blaring. They told her not to take the bait. It's a trap. She'll be kicked out of her apartment if she played now. Somehow, though, she wanted to prove a point to both this man and herself. While rather ironic, she wanted to show him that she wasn't the type to be manipulated and so she sat across him and placed a chip on the table.

He smirked. Jackpot.

Still, it didn't help how she was staring him down like a hawk waiting to grab a serpent to bring to its nest. In this case he'd have to be the snake. It's not too bad, though. He'd just have to slither fast enough and he would get out of any bind he could possibly find himself in. The shuffling sound finished and he set the deck down once more.

"You know how to play blackjack, right?"

"I wouldn't be placing a chip if I didn't. That would be a one way ticket to getting cheated out of my money."

He laughs as he sets down the cards necessary for this session. "Hah, I like girls with dignity. You got a name, sunshine?"

"Please, it's probably the last thing you'd want to be graced by tonight," she was getting impatient, another light jab from the guy and she'd leave, taking her chip with her and going home. She'd better text Henry about that in a bit but she's pretty sure he'd understand, "And what does it matter to you anyway?"

"Nothing really it's just that you look a little familiar is all." He revealed the card values to her at that moment, "That adds up to seventeen. Willing to take a risk?"

"Hit me," her voice was cold and sharp as an icicle but that didn't matter. Snakes like him were cold blooded anyway. Of course, there's a limit to this but he'll just see where it goes. He raises an eyebrow in mock admiration.

"How very bold of you, fair maiden," and then he set down another card, a four, "It looks like it's your lucky day."

And it was in fact his lucky day. Of course, not with scamming the grumpy lady but he did manage to land her in bed for the night. Gaius was twirling her silky black hair in his fingers as she slept next to him, bare beneath her comforter. He had to admit, it was pretty cozy in her apartment.

The light of the morning sun was beginning to stream through her blinds so he decided to get up and get dressed. A one night stand after all meant there were no strings attached. He was pretty sure she wouldn't want to see him in the morning. However, the second he got out of bed, she stirred.

She woke to him in his boxers and looking for the rest of his clothes in the cluttered place.

"Good morning, sunshine," he said, "Want me to make you breakfast first or should I go now?"

"Do what you want."

"Are you really telling me to do that because I'd end up doing you again given the chance," that eyebrow wriggle owed him a pillow to the face.

"You know that's not what I meant." She was sitting upright now, clawing her sheets and looking absolutely menacing but he just shrugged it off and started laughing.

"Easy there, sunshine. You seriously can't take a joke." He gave up on looking for his clothes for the time being and entered her kitchen. "But I guess I can make you breakfast."

She slipped on a t-shirt and some underwear before joining him in the room. She walked over to the sink as he was rummaging through her fridge to brush her teeth. As soon as she got the water running and a toothbrush in her mouth, he closed the fridge and brought out a box of instant pancake mix.

"So Tharja, you really don't remember me?"

"Nope," she stated as bluntly as possible while he poured in the contents of the box into a not so shiny metal bowl. "But is it really that surprising? I was a weirdo back in college. Probably still am."

"I always thought you were cute though. There's gotta be some sweetness in all that spice and whatnot," eggs were cracked and into the bowl they went. Gaius mixed them in as he poured in a cup of sugar, "Last night sure as hell was tasty."

"Oh shut up," she turned the faucet off and placed her tooth brush back to where it was supposed to be. "Why do you even remember me? I don't think I talked to a lot of people."

"Well for one you're that creepy cashier at the grocery store on Marth Street," He seems to have begun searching for something in her cabinets. "Now where do you keep your frying pan?"

She hands it to him without so much as a side glance. "Of course," sarcasm oozed from each syllable.

"Thanks, sunshine." Then he pours in some milk into the bowl. "Also we were in the same English class."

She raised an eyebrow at that. "Were we?" Her memory was hazy. If this guy was telling the truth, she would remember. After all, he's kind of hard to forget in all his sarcastic chumminess but then again he could have been different in college. "My hot plate is over there by the way."

"Noted," he set it up then began frying, "You sat in front of me so I couldn't really forget what you looked like. You used to doodle a lot on your notebook too. I'd catch glimpses of them sometimes. Plus, you're a foreigner. Plegian, right?"

"Plegian, yeah."

"Sweet, I got it right." He flipped the first pancake and let the sizzling resound before flipping it onto a plate and pouring in another batch. "Sorry about this, sunshine. I usually make better sweets than this but I was unprepared."

Yawning, she sat down on her dining table, waiting. Gaius eventually finished up and handed her his not-so-special instant mix pancake breakfast. "Enjoy," he declared while covering his creation with sugar due to the absence of syrup in her fridge.

She cringed. "That's too much sugar."