Author's Notes: *clears throat* Okay, this is my first fan fiction, so just to clear up a few things - the story is based of an western rp site called Adler's Gulch on AR2. It is actually set prior to the site's current events. It involves two character's from the site, Reine La Roux and Joaquin Romero. More about the characters is explained in the story, so I won't bore you with a long list of details. The fanfic traces their mysterious and shady relationship back to the very beginning where they first met, to their adventures, and some of the events leading up to the present time of the site. The story is rated M due to violence, gore, sexual themes, drug and alcohol use, and possible perversion, among other things.


Once Upon A Time In Mexico

Three year. That's how long it had been since the half-bred young woman had been wandering after being forced to flee for taking retribution on the ones that has caused her so much pain, the ones whose had taken away the only family and friends this world had given her. Three years of fleeing, impersonating a bounty hunter, getting odd looks and whipsers, all to reach the haven that lay across the Mexican borders. Three years she had run and now she had found it. The only problem was, this haven was no different than any other hell hole of a town that she'd been in since leaving the Indian Territories back in Oklahoma. The only lingering difference was the scarcity of U.S. lawman.

Sitting at one of the tables in a small dusty canteena, actually it was the only canteena, considering the town of Rio Verde was rather small in comparison. Even calling it a town was stretching it, this was nothing more than a village with a couple dozen farmer, their families, and the occasion travelers that tended to wander these parts, people not unlike herself. It was here Reine sat, lost in the depths of her mind as she pondered her next steps. When she'd fled for Mexico, Reine had neglected to figure out how exactly she expected to survive in Mexico with no friends or family. Fate had smiled on her once, giving Reine a true sign of what she thought was redemption in bounty hunting. That dream, however, was very short lived.

Reine was just as white as she was Indian, but the white's never saw it that way. No matter how many outlaw she brought in, no matter how many towns she had saved, she was still nothing more than an bloody savage. If it had simply been a matter of race, Reine believed she could have cooped. The Indians had long since had shaky ties with the white, but worse was the corruption. Dirty sheriffs, politicians under the pocket of outlaws, all willing to shed blood at the drop of a hat, as if human life had no more meaning than the price that could be earned from it. For someone who had been brought up that all life was precious, it made her sick to her stomach. Perhaps she could have remained a bounty hunter here in Mexico, but Reine had seen the path the gun had led many down and she was tired. She'd seen enough blood to last a lifetime, all she wanted was peace, even if meant giving up the gun.

Her dark brown eyes stared down at the half empty glass of lukewarm water in the tinted glass. Watching it swirl as she tilted the glass, Reine took another sip, managing to glance up at the faint noise of commotion outside. It was faint at first, the sound of hoof beats, but as the drew closer to the canteena, the pounding of horse hooves. For whatever the reason, likely from the commotion as the hooves grinded to a halt, a thick cloud of dust was thrown into the air, well visible even from where Reine was sitting. Outside, she could hear what sounded like whoops and hollers of men outside, a rather noisy bunch for sure. Reine spared a final glanced before going back to her drinking, thinking nothing of the matter since no one else in the canteen move, figuring the ruckus for nothing more than a group of Mexican cowboys.

No sooner had Reine lower her gaze, however, than the doors of the canteena flew open with the force of whirlwind, allowing the cloud of dust to drift inside from behind the figure which now strode confidently into the canteena. Several more figured trailed in behind the first, their coarse laughter and cheerful faces completely lost on the young woman, who never so much as lifted her gaze, keeping it hidden beneath the rim of the old cowboy hat.


As the men strode up to the bar, they began to take their places and order their drinks. There were probably a good twenty or more, but any of the locals knew all to well these men were not cowboys. Rio Verde was a small town and there were no Don, or Spanish landowners here, and certainly none of the farmers were wealthy enough to own perhaps more than a dozen head. No, these men were far more notorious figured in Mexico, these men were bandidos and everyone in the canteena seemed to be aware of that, save for one who never so much as bother to glance up in acknowledgment.

As the drinks began to flow, a few toasts were given in Spanish. Meanwhile, a few of the waitresses were flirting with the men, while some had decided to sit next to them or even on the laps of such men. In the center of it all stood a young man in his mid-twenties dressed in a dusty, white button up shirt and trousers. His steel gray eyes seemed to smile at his laughter as the cheers of 'salud' and 'viva la capitan' began to die off. "Si, si, your sentiments are much appreciated, but I didn't not do this alone and tonight we will have fiesta to celebrate." The man explained, attempting to wave them off as he tilted his bottle of tequila back and taking a long swig.

The men cheered once more at the suggestion of the celebration, but no sooner had the men began downing their drinks did one of them decide to interrupt. "Does this mean your going to find yourself a senorita to share the evening with as well?" One of the men teased.

"If that's the case, he'd better hurry. This is a small town and there are not many women here, and this one - is taken." The man who spoke clarified as he wrapped his arm around the waist of the girl sitting on his lap, causing her to let out a short yelp before proceeding into a giggle that soon all the men had joined in the amusement.

The capitan could only chuckle lightly and answer with a simple, "Perhaps, perhaps." By that time, something had caught his attention from the corner of the room, something he would have missed if he hadn't had his back against the bar. Taking another long swig of tequila from the bottle, he reached over, just enough to bump the man next to him in the side and call his attention. "Miguel... Miguel," Joaquin's voice had dropped off into an odd whisper as he glanced over at his Lieutenant and second-in-command, if one could call it that.

Miguel was downing another shot of the fiery liquid when he'd felt the bump and instantly shot a curious look at the one responsible. "What's the matter, Joaquin? Something wrong?" He asked dully. As he often did, Miguel didn't have the keenest sense of humor, even on a good day he retain a staunch seriousness about his features.

"Look over there and tell me what you see," Joaquin explained as seriously as he could muster, careful to keep his voice to minimum, which wasn't hard with all the noise the rest of the bandidos were making.

Miguel gave Joaquin and odd look at first, a bit unsure if he was serious or playing some childish joke. His brown eyes fell to the table in the corner, studying the figure the best he could for a few seconds, but there was nothing that struck him as odd about the figure. Turning around and looking at Joaquin, Miguel threw back another shot. "I see a man at a table and minding his own business." Miguel answered, a biting sarcasm to his words.

"Yes, I know, that is what I thought at first as well." Joaquin explain with an oddly enthusiastic smile.

"If you knew, then why did you ask me?" Miguel retorted, suddenly arching an eyebrow in realization at the other man's expression. "What are you getting at?" He asked skeptically.

A rather large, clever grin crossed Joaquin's face at the man's question before admitting his assumption. "I think that is not a man... I think it is a woman."

Miguel's expression suddenly dropped slightly, giving Joaquin a drop dead, serious look. "Capitan, I mean no disrespect, but I fear you have been out in the sun to long."

"I have not been in the sun to long," Joaquin retorted, albeit a bit louder than he probably shoulder have. Quickly correcting his error, Joaquin cleared his throat, leaning in a bit. "I am telling you, Miguel, that is not a man. That is a woman, disguised as a man."

"Joaquin, be reasonable for once. No senorita is going to dress up like a man and do a man's work, it just simply isn't done." Miguel explained in some vain attempt to talk some sense into his capitain. "There are ways this world is suppose to work and no one is going to risk their life dressing up like a...." His words suddenly came to a halt as his gaze dropped over to where Joaquin was sitting. Well, perhaps more accurately had been formerly sitting. As he often did, Joaquin would not listen to reason and was on his feet before he could stop him. "Joaquin," Miguel hissed through clench teeth as he turned around to the sight of Joaquin who had taken a few steps away from the bar.

Joaquin glanced over her shoulder just enough to flash a clever, boyish smile. "Calm down, I am simply going to prove which one of us is right." He explain, tilting his tequil bottle back once more. "If I'm right, then perhaps I will have some company tonight after all, in which case it will be much more fun, si?" A joyous chuckle escaped his throat as his steps drew away from the other bandido.

"And if you are wrong, we all get to see a bit of fun, aye, Capitan?" Miguel answered with a laugh, throwing back another shot of tequila as Joaquin made his way past a few of the men before finally coming to a stop at the edge of the table. Oh, this was certainly going to be entertaining, no matter what the outcome would be, Miguel had no doubt about that in his mind.


As the footsteps came to a halt, the figure at the table finally ventured to lift their eyes to the side, but not entirely. They stopped about half way up, resting on the gun belt around Joaquin's waist. For a moment, it got a bit quieter inside the canteena, in part because a few of the bandidos had ceased their ruckus as their attention followed their leader over to the table curiously. Taking a scan of the room, the figure finally spoke but never bothered to look up. "You looking for something?" The voice was clearly uninterested, but an answer never came. Well, at least not a spoken with.

Joaquin''s hand had reached up away from his belt and up towards the figure, taking a hold of the hat brim that was blocking his view of the person's face and lifting the hat right off her head. No sooner was it removed, than it no longer hide her long dark locks tucked beneath and they soon fell, spilling loosely down her back and shoulders. Joaquin's eyes rested on the figure that had seeming changed from some dusty stranger into a girl, a much prettier one than even he had been expecting.

Unfortunately, the removal of her hat inquired and instant reaction from Reine whose hand shot up to grab the hat in surprise. "Hey! Give the back!" Reine ordered in irritation, her temper slightly overriding her surprise as the man's boldness. There were three things you didn't do in the west: you didn't touch a man's horse, you didn't touch his guns, and last but not least, you never touched his hat. One of these infractions was enough to instigate a fight and Reine was no exception to this belief.

Joaquin raised an eyebrow as the woman spoke, pulling the hat out of her reach as he gave an amused smirk. "Well now, it seems we have a gringa in our midsts." Joaquin stated, recalling the protest had not been in Spanish, but English. Honestly, if she'd of spoke spanish, Joaquin would've easily mistaken her for a woman of Mexican blood due to her appearance. However, this was far more interesting. Mexico saw it's share of Americans from time to time, but most of those were men. Their women were a far rarer sight and one had to cross the border if he sought such company.

"That's none of your business." Reine growled as she rose from her seat, reaching for her hat once more. She was clearly in no mood, only wanting to be left alone and in no mood for games.

Joaquin held his arm straight up and a bit back to keep it from her reach, smiling as she rose from the table, putting barely a few inches between them as she struggled to obtain the cowboys hat. "Oh?" He began as if he didn't know that before laughing once more. "Come now, angel, it's just a bit fun." Joaquin tossed the hat over to the bar, not to far from where Miguel was sitting. Grinning like a fox, he quickly let his free hand suddenly slipped around the young woman's waist as he stepped forward, taking hold her of her in strong embrace and pulling her closer to him.

"So, what'd you say you say we go have a bit more fun in private, huh?" Joaquin asked in a provocative tone, a deep chuckle escaping his let his other arms slip around her.

Reine's face had now flushed a bright shade of red at his innuendo, both offended and rather embarrassed by such a bold move. There was another part of her, however, a part that was overriding even her own humiliation and that was unbridled fury. Feeling his other hand began to slip down her back, Reine reacted. "Don't called me that." She growled in a deadly tone. "Now, let me go." She ordered sharply as she lifted her boot and slammed it as hard as she could straight down on the top of his foot.

Needless to say, Joaquin immediately removed his hand, letting out a yelp as he loosened his grip. Reine's slipped her arms free of his grasp and immediately gave him a hard shove, using his own imbalance stance that had been meant to guard his foot against him and sending him backwards, into and rolling over a nearby table, taking the rickety table with him as he hit the floor with a loud clunk.

Several of the bandidos' jaws dropped in shock and truthfully in a bit of amazement at the woman's actions. Swapping glances among their themselves as if unsure of what action to take. No one had ever been bold enough to do such a thing to Joaquin, at least, none that had lived to tell about and certainly none that were cross-dressing women. Whether it was better to deal with the matter on their own accord or stand back and wait for Joaquin's wrath, none of them seemed to sure.

Miguel could only shake his head and let out a sigh at the sight, as the young woman whirled around and suddenly started over towards the bar where he was sitting. He straightened up as she approached, backing away to give the girl some distance and keeping his hands up in front of him as a gesture that he wasn't going to try anything. Miguel's english wasn't nearly as sharp as Joaquin, but he didn't have to speak the language to know what had caused the matter. He stepped aside, allowing her to step past him and pick up the hat that Joaquin had tossed onto the bar.

Meanwhile, Joaquin sat up slowly, having quickly recovered from the fall and shaken most of it off. He was simply more stunned than actually hurt, but even he had to admits that was not what he had expected. Then again, Joaquin had never had a woman so blatantly refuse his advances, Mexican or gringo, let alone pull a stunt like that. "Damn. Do all the gringos teach all their women to fight like you?" He questioned seriously before a clever grin returned to his face. "If so, I can certainly see why Santa Anna lost." Joaquin spoke sarcastically with a chuckle as he heaved himself up to his feet and dusted himself off.

Reine shot Miguel an icy stare, before her hand reached out and picked up her hat. Plopping the worn black cowboy hat back on her head, she had glanced over her shoulder to the Joaquin as he bounced back onto his feet and started over towards the bar. "I told you, that's none of your business. I ain't looking for a fight, so just leave me alone." Reine answered coldly, still in no mood, but attempting to walk away. For a former gunslinger, she wasn't that found of killing or shedding blood unless she had to. Aside from that, right now, all she wanted was to be left alone, but that seemed far to much to ask.

She returned her focus on the bar, intent of paying for her drinks and maybe a room for the night, but before Reine could ever remove the money from her pocket, she felt the familiar grip of a pair of arms as they coiled tightly around her body. Stunned, Reine froze up at first, clearly not expecting it. Her gaze shot back over her shoulder to see the devilish grin of the young bandido, a subtle smirk and amused expression on her face. He had clearly closed the gap with his longs stride and now had her hands pinned close to her figure, the long duster pressed tightly against her and cutting off her path the the gun beneath her coat. A bit of a rough tug threatened to push the air from her stomach as his grip tightened like a constrictor around her waist, just enough to that he could rest his chin on her shoulder, next to her ear.

"Really now? Well, that's a good thing to know, since I'm not looking for a fight either." Joaquin practically purred into her ear.

A shudder ran up her spine, but Reine didn't struggle. Instead, she remained rather still, dropping her head so that her eyes became obscured by the brim of the hat as her lips formed into a tight line, "I'm giving you two seconds to let go of me or, by God Almighty, I'll make you regret it." She growled under her breath.

Joaquin's expression dropped a bit, contemplatively, before grinning again and tightening his grip, doing so as if in a daring manner. "And what if I refuse?" No sooner had he spoke than Joaquin's foot shot out of the way, narrowly avoiding the woman's own as it slammed down, clearly in hopes of catching him off guard again. Letting out an amused laugh, Joaquin stepped in closer, using his own weight as a momentum to, more or less, pick her up. It was not all that hard, but certainly enough to knock a bit of the wind and fight out of the young woman, at least in most cases it was. "Uh-uh-uh." Joaquin spoke as if correcting a child. "You've got a lot fight for the face of an angel, but I don't fall for that same trick twice."

To say that Reine was a little taken back by this whole ordeal was a complete understatement. For starters, he had picked her up, something no one had done since she was a child and lived to tell about it. Two, he had the gaul to treat her like a child, a very big mistake. Letting out a faint cough as Joaquin let her down so that her feet rested on the floor once more, Reine allowed her shoulders, seemingly in defeat. He truly had her at a disadvantage in this state and that alone caused her blood to seethe in irritation. "That's to bad." Reine answered almost sweetly, before adding a final word. "Then I guess we got to do this the hard way." Reine suddenly dropped her weight to her knees as her forearms shot up and outward, breaking Joaquin's grip. Throwing her elbow up, Reine whirled around with every intent to catch him in the face or jaw and knock the unholy hell out of him.

Thankfully, despite his teasing and flirtatious manner, Joaquin had been quick enough to let go and dodge, just in time to avoid the elbow directed at him. Pulling back, Joaquin allowed the young woman's own speed to carry her around and back to where she was facing him. Perhaps the teasing had gone a bit to far at this point, but then again, he'd never known a woman who could move with such speed. She had a true fire in her eyes now and he could not hide the satisfied smile on his face. Pushing himself forward, Joaquin took hold of one of her wrists, partly to avoid her making any sort of counter attack and harming either herself or more importantly, him. However, before he could procure the other hand, a sharp pain rushed through his head and his vision went black.


Watching the entire ordeal, a few of the men had jeered on as the scene played out and the young woman actually been swapping blows with the capitan. Meanwhile, Miguel only chose to watch. Honestly, he wasn't sure what Joaquin was thinking in picking such a fight. No woman was worth so much trouble and certainly not one that fought more like an Indian. As the thought crossed his mind, Miguel lit up a hand rolled cigarette before taking a long drag and letting out a trail of smoke. His gaze returned to the scene just in time to catch what happened next and one that caused the cigarette to slip from his mouth and onto the floor, if in nothing else that pure disbelief.


Reine's adrenaline had kicked in somewhere between her move at freedom and feeling the hand on her wrist. "Let Go!" Reine barked, a final warning before instinct took over. In a split second, her free hand grabbed the closest thing she could find on the bar directly behind her. Unfortunately for Joaquin, that just happen to be half-full bottle of Mexican tequila. One good swing and Reine hit her mark, catching him in the side of the head and sending him stumbling a few paces before the bandido hit the floor, out cold. Now the action had been done in more of a panic than any actual intent, acting before she'd realized what she had done or what had happened. As he hit the floor, however, the reality sunk in and Reine took a step back, her weight falling against the bar as she steadied her breathing.

The broken tequila bottle in her hand, none of the bandidos seemed sure what to think, although there apparent shock was more painfully evident on their faces. "Capitan?!" One of he men shouted, as a few made a mood to check on their fallen leader. Even Reine had to question in her mind whether or not he was still alive, especially after a hit like that.

Rising from the bar, Reine started over slowly, making her way over to where Joaquin had landed. The second she'd started, however, a few of the bandidos had whipped around to face her. "Who the hell do you think you are, bruja?" One of the men barked in Spanish, as a couple of them went for their gun.

Reine's hand was already in her coat, withdrawing the 1851 Colt Revolver and taking aim at the man closest to her, cocking back the hammer. "Just try it. You'll be dead before your hand reaches your belt." Reine growled sharply. The men slowly began to let their hands fall to the side as Reine made her way over to where Joaquin had fallen. While a few of them watched with a weary eye, they were either hesitant to make a move or had noticed Miguel wave them off.

Something about this young woman, like Joaquin, caused him to hesitate. The look on her face, while fierce before had almost soften in some degree as she made her way over to Joaquin, kneeling down over him. "He breaths?" Miguel questioned curiously.

Reine was leaned down on one knee over the the bandido, her hand resting on his wrist. Letting out a sigh, there was no doubt he had a pulse and was therefore still among the land of the living. "He's breathing and he'll come around sooner or later." She answered, hearing the question from over her shoulder. Mainly, Reine simply wanted to make sure she hadn't killed him. She'd of felt a bit guilty for such an act of instinct, even if he had been a pain in the ass earlier. Honestly, staring down at his unconscious and peaceful expression, he wasn't nearly as bad as before.

With her conscience relieved, Reine attempted to rise, but was suddenly stopped short as a hand coiled around her's once more. Surprised at first, Reine glanced down to the bandido, who was slowly regaining consciousness. Somehow, she doubted he was going to be all to happy to see her after what had happened, even if it was his fault.


His head ached and spun as his eyes fluttered open, blinded by the bright rays of the sun and the shadows that seemed to dance around him and the mumbling of noises that he couldn't quite make out. As his eyes slid open, the light and shadows soon became figures. It was the darker one in the center, larger and closer than the rest it seemed, that seemed to gain his attention though, as the light behind it seemed to illuminate it in a nearly heavenly glow. As pain rushed through his head once more, Joaquin was near sure he had died. He felt light, weightless, yet he was relatively sure this was not hell. A cool hand slid against his own, soothing away the fear of doubt. Perhaps this really was as he had heard as a child, what he had learned at the mission, the stories of angels and paradise, stories of heaven. Although, after what he had done in this lide, Joaquin never thought he would've seen it.

Above him though, now lingered nothing short of an angel, a thought that was only reaffirmed as a feminine figure came into view. However, as it began to pull away, without thinking Joaquin reached out and closed gently around the hand. "Angel... don't go." The words escaped his lips in a hoarse whisper, barely audible to any around him. The figure lingered for a moment as Joaquin strained to blink, his eyes finally beginning to clear and a face became visible. It was a face he knew, a face he had seen before, very recently. "¡Estoy enamorado!" Joaquin spoke a bit more clearly as he rested his head back against the floor.


Reine hesitated at the grasp, glancing back at Joaquin and catching the whisper of his words. The second he'd said it though, Reine regretted hesitating, because her entire face suddenly flushed a bright shade of red. Pulling her hand lose, Reine wasn't sure what to make of his condition. He wasn't dead, but he looked a little bit out of it. She rose to her feet as he spoke once more, this time more clearly. However, Reine's Spanish was still rather new and this was not a phrase she was familiar with. "What did he say?" She asked hesitantly, glancing over at Miguel who had picked up the cigarette and decided to join a few of the other bandidos who were now staring down at their capitan.

Glancing over at her, Miguel gave a hesitant look before a smirk appeared on his face. "I believe in your language, it means, I think I'm in love." Miguel tried to explain in a bit of broken English.

Reine gave him a rather distasteful look before dropping her gaze to the man now sprawled out on the floor. "Great, so I did hit him to hard." She added sarcastically, tossing the broken bottle aside as a few of the bandidos were finally able to get Joaquin to recognize them and onto his feet, sort of.

He was a little wobbly at first, but soon enough Joaquin stumbled up his feet. Glancing around the room, Joaquin searched it before finding Miguel. "Aye dios mio." Joaquin began, still holding his head in pain. "What happened?"

"Your advances we're rather unwelcomed and since you refused to see reason, she hit you with a bottle, of very good tequila I might add." Miguel explained, recalling the story with a rather amused grin. Not that he liked to see Joaquin get hurt, but it did the younger man good sometimes to be knocked off his high horse. Even so, Miguel always assumed it would be a man to do so to the likes of Joaquin and no some Indian, although he neglected to mention that part to Joaquin.

"She?" Joaquin questioned a bit puzzled at first ".... The senorita!" Joaquin stated in remembrance, as his eyes darted around the bar. Somewhere in the mayhem, however, she was no where to be found. The only hint that anyone had left was the swinging door on the canteena.

Truthfully, Reine hadn't seen much use hanging around if the man was still breathing. It was not her place, since she was no longer a bounty hunter or a gunslinger. Among the mix of chats and while Miguel was explaining to Joaquin, Reine had slipped out the front door and started down the streets. She'd hoped to linger in this town a little longer, but with a rather cantankerous group of men, who were probably furious with her, that didn't seem like a plausible idea.


Back in the bar, Miguel was giving Joaquin a look as if contemplating he had been hit far to hard. "Joaquin, where are you going?" Miguel asked arching a skeptical brow.

"I'm going to find her." Joaquin answered as if it should have been obvious.

"Her, her who?

"The girl."

"You don't even know her, why do you want to go after her?"

"No, but you saw her fight. She is just what we need."

"This is a bad idea." Miguel began seriously, turning to face Joaquin with a knowing look. "That woman's nothing but trouble."

Joaquin glanced up at his old friend skeptically. "If you recall, you said the same thing about me." He reminded him.

"Yes, and I was right." Miguel retorted.

Joaquin gave him a sour glanced, before shaking his head. "I'll be back." Joaquin explained turning and starting out the door.

"And if you don't come back, we'll know she killed you this time." Miguel called after him before letting out a long sigh of defeat.

"... You don't actually think the Capitan won't come back, do you?" One of the bandidos pipped up.

Miguel took another drag of the cigarette, letting out the smoke in a long breath before shaking his head. "No, if there is one thing to be said for Joaquin, it's that he always comes back. My guess is, no witch is going to change that." He explained, resting his back against the bar.

"Bruja?... You don't really think she's a witch, do you Miguel?"

"No, perhaps not, but she's something more than a gringa and for that reason, it's better to keep your eyes open." Miguel explained as his eye fell to the door that Joaquin had just left, letting out another drag.


Reine hadn't made it far down the street when a far to familiar voice caught her attention. "Wait!... Angel, wait." She hesitated glancing back over her shoulder, before letting out an inner groan. Turning around to face him as he caught up, Reine gave the young man a skeptical look as he approached, clearly cautious of what he was about to do.

"I told you not to call me that." Reine retorted in a low tone. "What'd you want?" She asked hesitantly.

Joaquin came to a halt only a few feet from Reine, although he hesitated to get any close and instinctively held his hands in front of him. "Take it easy, senorita, I'm not here to fight." Joaquin explained reassuringly. "It's just that I... I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier and I really think we got off on the wrong foot, as you gringo's say." He spoke sincerely with a weak smile, not that he could've blamed her for smacking him right now.

Reine watched him for a second before apparently not buying into his apology. "Tch. I'm not a gringo and I'm not interested in an apology." She answered, turning away and giving him a cold shoulder as she started over to a nearby hitch post.

At first, the bandido didn't seem quite sure how to take the answer. He didn't hesitate to follow, however, and managed to keep pace with her as she made her way across the street. "Then, what are you interested in? Most people don't come here out of choice, ang...senorita." Joaquin explained, catching himself before he called her by the wrong name. A faint chuckle escaped him as the neared the hitching post. "You know, it'd be a lot easier to talk to you if I knew your name." He added with a smile. "Joaquin, Joaquin Hidalgo Romero, senorita." Joaquin explained, offering a friendly hand shake.

Reine rested her hands on the hitching post, pausing lightly at the question and contemplating the outcomes. A part of her was reminding herself of the dangers that came with being a bounty hunter, but another was quick to recall that she was no longer a bounty hunter, not anymore. She'd given up the gun, it was over. There was no one to protect and no one to fight. Finally, giving a heaved sigh, Reine answered. "Reine, Reine Gabriel La Roux." She stated, lifting her hand to join his in the gesture.

The second she'd said her name though, a grin spread across Joaquin's face and a laugh escaped him, forgetting that he still had hold of her hand. "Gabriel?" He repeated, clearly in a bit of disbelief.

"Yes, what of it?" Reine questioned, giving him a look that almost dared him to explain his reason.

"It's nothing, it's just... it's very fitting." He explained, leaning down a bit to place a kiss on the top of her hand. "An Angel's name for the beauty of an Angel. Fitting indeed."

Reine hadn't been expecting Joaquin to do such a thing and instantly her cheeks flushed, quickly slipping her hand free from Joaquin's grasp. "Y-yeah, well....I got some matters to attend to." Reine attempted to explain a bit nervously.

"Really?" Joaquin asked skeptically. "Then, I shall accompany you." He decided.

"What?!" Reine asked, surprised at first. She couldn't believe how bold he was and wondering exactly what she had got herself into this time. "N-No, I don't need any-"

"Nonsense, it would be rude for a gentleman to allow a lady to go alone. Besides, it would be my deepest honor, senorita." Joaquin added with a cool smile.

Reine gave him a skeptical look before letting out a sigh. Somehow, after everything that had gone on, he refused to leave her alone and nothing she could do seemed to get the point across. For the time being, she was just going to have to put up with him. Perhaps a little company after such a long time alone, wouldn't be so bad?.....