Heavy Metal Lover
I don't own Final Fantasy, it belongs to Square Enix
She had gone through the moves a million times in their living room. She had tried on at least twenty different outfits before picking this one. She had three shots in her and she kept going over and over the words in her head. It was obvious she was nervous as she stared in the cloudy and crudely hung mirror on the wood paneling. This joint was far from glamorous; unknown stains littered the old and dingy well-worn carpet. Lighting down here was poor and it stunk of cigarettes, sweat and occasional whiff of stale dumpster. Thank god it was for just this once.
"Hey, you got twenty-five minutes." Someone called to her from the top of the rickety, squeaky steps that lead toward the stage. She nodded and dumped her cheap makeup over the flimsy folding table in front of her. She took a deep nervous breath and leaned over, smearing foundation all over her face. She hurriedly blended it into her skin though she could hardly see what she was doing. She had a huge support base out there tonight; fifty in fact. It had been like pulling teeth to get Reeve and Tseng to be here. Reeve's initial comment when she pitched the idea was "can't I just give you ten gil now and be done with it?" Tseng's was "I do this for you, you file all the reports for me." Nonetheless, she was one of them so they both came to make certain she won it.
"Hi. What are you drinking tonight? A beautiful and petite blonde asked as she wiped a damp cloth across the richly glossed counter.
"Uhhh…bloody Mary, please." Tseng answered her. He looked over his shoulder to be damn certain that Reeve didn't give his seat up. Much like his superior and mentor, Reeve, he didn't want to be here any longer than he had to. He was only doing it for her and he knew Reno would be pissed as hell at him had he not been here. She and Reno was a serious thing going on nearly three years.
"Here you go. Wanna start a tab?" the blonde asked.
"Yeah…yeah that's probably a good idea. Thank you." She watched him take a sip.
"Oh my….wow! That's the best bloody Mary I've ever had. Seriously! The best." Tseng assured her. She laughed.
"Thank you. Always nice to hear."
"So, how often do they have these things?" Tseng asked squeezing the lemon wedge into the spicy concoction and stirring it around.
"What things?" the bartender asked.
"This…amateur night or whatever?" Tseng asked, clearly the inexperienced strip club patron.
"Last Friday of every month. It's always a killer money maker for me. We get a lot of action on amateur night. Tonight, the prize is1600 gil. So, you here for one of the girls or just here to get off?" she asked. Tseng laughed at her, turning red all over. He found himself suddenly uncomfortable as she leaned against the edge of the bar behind her.
"Well if you must know, I'm here because my friend's girlfriend is dancing tonight. It's a long story, but he insisted she enter. She's not hard to look at, and I would be a dead man had I not shown up tonight to support her. I must say, she's very popular at work. She didn't have any trouble at all getting people to come support her. That whole Shinra group over there is here for her." Tseng sighed. "I'm a part of that group."
"No fuckin' way! I knew that was a Shinra group, hell half those SOLDIER come in here all the time. I know all of 'em. Especially that Zack. I'm in the academy. Second year." She said excitedly. Tseng's face lit up.
"Are you serious! You're in the academy? Who's your advisor? What department are you going to apply to next year?" he asked polishing off the bloody Mary.
"My advisor right now is Lesley Kaldwall. I'm going to apply to Administrative Research next year. I don't know if they'll accept me for the training though." She stopped and looked at his empty glass. "You hit that pretty hard. You want another one?" she asked. Tseng was staring at her stupidly.
"Uh…..yeah….yeah. That…that'd be great." he finally said.
She took a deep breath after putting the finishing touches on her heavy eyeliner. She dug around in what hadn't fallen out of her cluttered makeup bag looking for a lighter as she held a cigarette between her lips. After finally finding it, she lit her cigarette and took a long drag on it. The cloud of smoke that escaped her blocked the view of herself in the mirror. She closed her eyes and breathed in the sweet toxins.
"Hey, we're getting' ready to start. You're third. What should we call you?" She spun around and faced the girl who had called to her.
"Cissnei." She answered untying her satin robe and throwing it into the bag at her feet. The girl smiled and eyed her.
"Nice body…Cissnei."
"Can I get a shot down here somewhere?" Cissnei asked puffing on her cigarette again.
"Yeah, there's a liquor cabinet around that corner." The girl pointed. Cissnei nodded and took off. One more long drag and she had spent her cigarette. She threw the butt away in a nearby trash can before painting her lips a deep purple. There wasn't much time now. She knew she needed to another shot before this thing started.
"I'm Elena." The bartender introduced herself pushing another bloody Mary across the counter.
"Tseng." He answered her squeezing yet another lemon wedge into the deep crimson. "I'm next in line….to be department director that is. I work for Administrative Research. I've been with the department for six years. And yes, yes it's tough to get in. I'll let you meet the director later. What are you grades like?"
"I have A's in everything. I have three Elite Emblems right now. I'm working on my fourth."
"Have you been on the range?" he asked taking a long drink.
"No, next semester though. SOLDIER candidates have had it this entire semester." She answered.
"Speaking of SOLDIER. You said you know Zack Fair. Do you know Zack or do you "know" Zack?" Tseng asked putting the air quotes around Zack the second time. Elena laughed.
"I know Zack….no air quotes. See that brunette bartender working that end of the bar?" Elena nodded that way. Tseng looked in the direction Elena nodded.
"Yeah?"
"She "knows" Zack…in fact, I walked in on her "knowing" him right here in this club." She said seeing as Tseng was halfway through a second bloody Mary. He shook his head.
"Zack's pure of heart and he'd always help a stranger…but he has a hell of a hard time keeping his pants zipped." Elena laughed at him and looked up at the stage behind Tseng. The music stopped and the emcee for the evening greeted the crowd.
"You better get back. They're getting ready to start and your girl's gonna dance soon." Elena said wiping the bar down again.
"Damn it….yeah. I need to get over there. Reeve is gonna kill me. And she's not mygirl…I'll uh…I'll be back in a bit." Tseng hadn't expected himself to say something like that to a bartender...but this wasn't just a bartender.
"I'll save your seat, boss." Elena answered. That comment nearly made Tseng's heart stop. He couldn't wait to tell Reeve all about what he found nestled in the walls of this raunchy place. And speaking of Reeve….
"Oh my god…where the hell have you been for fifteen minutes! Reno is lit and he has been showing me every stupid picture in his phone and narrating all of them! I'm gonna' have to kill him." Reeve complained. Tseng just looked at him.
"Guess what I found working the bar here tonight?"
"I don't know Tseng, the holy grail?" Reeve said sarcastically as applause erupted from one side of the room. The emcee was announcing the order of dancers tonight.
"An academy student…with three Elite Emblems and working on a fourth."
"In this sleeze hole!" Reeve asked.
"I'm thinking the same thing. After Cissnei takes her…" Tseng was interrupted by the near deafening screams of Reno and the slew of SOLDIER who went wild when Cissnei's name was announced as being third to dance tonight. "….and I'm deaf…" it wasn't how Tseng intended to finish that sentence but shit now he couldn't hear and Reno was shaking the hell out of Reeve.
"He's so lit…I mean he is soooo lit." Reeve shook his head at Tseng. "What were you saying?"
"After we see a side of Cissnei we've never seen before, I'm going to go find out some more about the bartender. Wanna meet her?"
"Tseng, we both know it's not a half naked woman you'd fall for….the words elite emblem ties your stomach in knots if a woman says them. I'm begging you, don't take her home with you." Reeve said.
"Oh my god! You know I am not like that!" Tseng said rather appalled at Reeve.
"No, you're not. But not every woman tells you she has three elite emblems either. I know you. You'd rather here that than hear something uncouth. " Reeve reminded him.
She shook her hands frantically and wished to god she had a cigarette or another shot right now. She made Reno promise her he'd come meet her when she got off the stage. Her heart raced because they had started.
"You've never done this before have you?" a girl asked Cissnei.
"No….no I haven't." she admitted. The girl shrugged.
"This is my fifth time. Just remember…they're all drunk, lonely and horny." It was the most bitter of responses but the thing was… it wasn't necessarily true of the group Cissnei drug here with her tonight. The rest of the room yeah…but not her group. They had her back.
"Have you ever won it?" Cissnei asked trying to get her mind off the fact that in less than five minutes she would be taking her clothes off for a room full of strangers…and Reno. Right now she could freakin' kill him for talking her into this. The truth was, compared to a lot of the other regulars and amateurs here tonight Cissnei looked too wholesome and sweet. The other girls looked rather strung out, like they were hooked on something and as if they lead very hollow lives. Cissnei was too pretty to be here among them.
"Nah. The one that wins it…has to go out there and dance like she'd fuck every man in that room. I just kinda' go through the motions because I just want a few ones. I know I can't win it." Cissnei thought about that…
The one that wins it…has to go out there and dance like she'd fuck every man in that room…she shook her head.
"Let's do this." She said, her palms sweaty like never before.
"What are you dancing to?" she asked. Cissnei smiled.
"Heavy Metal Lover….Lady Gaga. Well, part of it anyway." She answered.
"Why that?"
"My boyfriend's a helicopter pilot for the Shinra company and most of those helicopters are rigged with really heavy artillery…we're talkin' shit that can blow a hole in the side of a mountain. One day we….kinda' had sex in one of the choppers and after the fact I said not bad heavy metal lover …aaaand here we are."
"Whoa…that's cool." The girl said. "Oh shit! I'm next. Good luck."
"Yeah…"Cissnei said.
"Three elite emblems? Okay, I'll be right back…" Reeve got up from his seat without saying another word.
"Tseng, Tseng, Tseng, Tseng…" Reno was wound up tighter than a toy monkey with those annoying clanging cymbals.
"Oh god…." Tseng mumbled under his breath.
"Here, here, here, here, here, here….take all these ones and when Cissnei gets like….all up in your face….you shove a wad of them in her thong and…"
"Noooooooo!" Tseng shoved Reno away from him. He wreaked of whiskey. Reno had already given Rude a wad of ones a fist thick.
"Zack Zack, Zack, Zack, Zack, Zack!" Reno pursued him next. They were good friends anyway and frankly, Zack would do anything Reno asked. It was strange because they hadn't exactly started out as friends. Reno had thought Zack was an idiot and Zack had thought Reno was a dumbass…but….they had one thing in common and shehad been with Zack before she had ever gotten together with Reno. Had it not been for her, they would have never started playing cards in the training room, started drinking together on weekends, or texting each other the stupidest shit at the most random of times in the day. That had been nearly four and a half years ago. Reeve returned to his seat beside Tseng.
Shit, you weren't gone long." Tseng said watching Reeve chew away on crushed ice. It was a habit of Reeve's. He was constantly gnawing away at ice. He had a funny look on his face.
"Please know, that I love my Karen dearly when I say this but…holy….shit. It's the blonde, she's the academy student isn't she? I could tell by her arms. She has that look like she's been practicing with guns. I'm begging you…if you have a chance in hell…which you probably don't 'cause you're you…get really shitfaced and wreck that girl. Then please tell me about it on Monday." Reeve said patting Tseng's back.
"Oh my god….Reeve! Again….I'm not that kind of guy and you know that." Reeve didn't have a chance to respond because of the once again, near deafening cheers from Cissnei's standing ovation as she took the stage.
"Oooh god…." Reeve mumbled and held his head in his hand.
Cissnei could hardly see a thing in the room because of the lights on the stage all over her like an iridescent beast. Her heart was about to pound out of her chest as she heard her music.
"Oh shit…..oh shit….oh shit….oh shit….oh shit…." She repeated a million times to herself on the verge of hyperventilation. She realized that she was frozen here for what felt like an eternity. She knew she was just standing here but for how long she didn't have a frame of reference
"TAKE IT OFF BABY GIRL!" Reno's drunken voice snapped her out of her daze. Okay, okay, okay…..it was okay. She had rehearsed these moves a billion times….all she had to do…was do it….she took a deep breath of the cigarette smoke filled room. It was all she needed….even though she may have to kill Reno later for giving her a near heart attack over this.
Dance like you'd fuck in this room….or…something like that? Cissnei was so nervous she couldn't remember exactly what that girl said. Indeed, she was well rehearsed, her moves very polished and her first swing on the pole released all her inhibitions. That did it. That's what she needed. From up here on the front of this scratched up and well worn stage she could see Reno clearly.
Now…she could do this. Thank goodness for all that SOLDIER support Reno and Zack had rounded up. Each dancer had only three minutes and Cissnei was no exception. Rude had already had plenty to drink tonight but as he watched Cissnei he realized that she was owning the room. The way she molded her body into that pole, the way her cherry brunette hair played all over her shoulders, and the way her sequins danced in the pink light….it was magnificent. But what really got to him was the way she looked over her shoulder at her pilot with those smoky eyes of a vixen.
"Where the hell…did she learn to move her body like that?" Reeve asked Tseng.
"Underneath Reno. I'm sure she's had a lot of practice. Not to mention, Reno proudly announced a month ago that they put a pole in their apartment to get ready for this night." Tseng practically yelled at Reeve over all the noise. Cissnei played on that pole as if she had never had an apprehension in the world about this.
"Does Karen know where you are right now?" Tseng asked Reeve, referring to his wife.
"Sadly, she does. And even more sadly, Karen helped the girls with their homework, cooked dinner, took them to her mother's for the weekend and I'm…here…in this hell hole. Oooh…my….god…."Reeve said realizing that Cissnei had gotten all kinds of topless in the 3.2 seconds he had taken his eyes off her. He looked over at Tseng. "I…I can't look at her! I kenw this sweet, sweet girl when she was fourteen! She's half naked Tseng! What the hell do I do! And why the hell is Reno encouraging this!"
She made absolutely certain, that when did finally let her sequin bra top hit the floor, she was right over her loyal supporters. Cissnei could feel sweat all over her body and she was breathless. On top of that…she had no clue where she had let her assortment of clothes land on this stage. She let her hands stroke her body….it was time to wrap this up. There had to be at least a hundred gil laying around the stage with another thirty on her hips. She didn't break her ending pose as the last of her music faded away. The roar of the crowd spoke for itself. Cissnei felt even more nervous now that this was done. She clumsily scooped her money up as quickly as she could along with the clothes she could actually find. She blew all her Shinra boys one last kiss before disappearing from the stage. Once out of sight and down the rickety stairs, she let her head hit the paneling hard and melted into the dirty floor. She was shaking all over.
Reeve looked over at Tseng. "She sure as hell better not be late Monday morning."
"I'll be back." Tseng said looking over his shoulder.
"No! No! You can't leave me here with….oh…Reno's gone. Fine, but you won't be back." Reeve said.
"Why the hell do you say that!" Tseng defended himself.
"Because the last time you said I'll be back and a woman was involved you ended up in an eight month relationship." Reeve reminded him.
"Oh shut up. That is not at all how that happened!"
"Riiiight. Whatever." Reeve said.
"Oh my god! Reno! Reno!" Cissnei had never ran that quickly toward him every before. He put his arms around her, lifting her off the floor. She squeezed the hell out of him. He wasn't back stage, he wasn't allowed there obviously. But he had me her in the darkened hallway that led to the backstage area.
"You're the sexiest fuckin' woman in the whole damn world. Shit, you're shaking." He kissed her neck. She had nearly fallen on wobbly legs three times hurrying to this hallway from the dingy floor where she had slumped down.
"Did I do okay? Oh god, I thought I was gonna freak the fuck out." She pulled his lips into hers.
"Baby…you were fuckin' amazing." He held her tighter against him, feeling her body shake all over. "Are you cold or just….freakin' out?"
"A little of both." Cissnei admitted.
"Do you know what I have waiting for you at home?" Cissnei looked at him, excitement flooding her eyes.
"A Family size bag of cool ranch Doritos and a six pack of that beer that I love and you hate!"
"That's exactly right." Reno kissed her again. Cissnei held on to him tighter. He was good to her. Even as odd as this was, throwing your girlfriend before a room full of strangers….he was good to her.
"See, I told you I'd save your seat, boss." Elena said sliding another bloody Mary toward Tseng. He smiled.
"No, no. I think you misunderstood. I'm not over the department. It's my superior Ree…." Elena cut him off.
"No, I think youmisunderstood. See, when I'm on this side of the counter and you're on that side…you're the boss." Elena paused and stared at him for a moment. "I knew you'd order that." She said backing away from the counter. "She did good…she did real good. She just might win it."
"Huh?" Tseng said a bit stupidly. He was still hung up on the fact that he was the boss.
"You're girl…she just might win it. She had that crowd goin' and not just you Shinra boys. Tseng smiled and took a long drink.
"She's not my girl…she just works with me." He downed the rest of it much faster than he should have. Elena laughed.
"You seem to really want to get that point across." Tseng tugged on the collar of his shirt even though it wasn't at all tight.
"Have you ever done that before?" Elena's eyes grew wide.
"What amateur night! Oh hell no! I'm not…I don't know…I'm not…" She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence.
"How old are you?" It was official…the third bloody Mary was taking effect. She smiled.
"Why does that matter?"
"I won't lie…I'd…like to take you out sometime. Maybe take you to the range and let you shoot or….you know whatever. But if you tell you me you're….like nineteen…I'll feel very creepy right now."
"How old do you think I look?" she asked. Tseng scoffed at her. Now, he was completely embarrassed.
"I….I…..think you look nineteen and I think I should be leaving now." Elena leaned forward, putting her elbows on the bar. Tseng couldn't keep his eyes out of the v in her shirt.
"I'm twenty-four." She said. Tseng's expression completely changed.
"There ya go…all set. Are ya' ready to go set with everyone until the other dancers finish?" Reno asked Cissnei. He had waited on her while she got herself presentable and calmed down. She put her arms around him.
"I made one hundred seventy-five gil with that little act. Even if I don't win it…I still won it. And yes, I'm ready to go out there and I want you to take this and get me somethin' strong to drink."
"Hell yeah! I'll have somethin' with ya' baby. I like your robe. You're sexy as hell, ya know that?" Reno kissed her again, deeply and longingly.
"Oh, I know it." Cissnei said all smiles. Reno grabbed her hand and lead her out of the hallway and into the crowded room.
"Zack and the other SOLDIER are dyin' to see you. You're gonna have to pass out like a hundred hugs."
"How did Reeve and Tseng do? All they did last week was complain about tonight."
"To hell if I know. My eyes were on you. Ask Rude. But kiss me first." Reno said pulling her around and picking her up off the floor. Reno had been right. The eruption from Zack and his crew could have shaken the floorboards as Reno dumped Cissnei onto Zack's lap.
"Look, Reno! I can't stay here a minute longer. I just know Karen is worried about me. I want to have a cup of tea and go to bed. I hope Cissnei wins and I'll see you both Monday morning." Reeve said just itching to make an escape.
"Awww, Reeve you are no fun at all!"
"Of course I'm not Reno! It's a quarter 'til one, I'm tired and I don't go to strip clubs! I'm gonna go home wreaking of smoke and…god only knows what else. Goodbye." He really wanted to talk to Tseng again before he left. He figured he'd just send him a text later.