Light stung Lucia's eyes as it pierced through the windows of her hotel room. Rolling over, she pulled the covers over her head. "It's too early" she groaned, scolding the morning. A few seconds later the phone on the nightstand began ringing. "You have to be kidding me". She reached an arm out and picked up the phone and slammed it back down, silencing it. Nuzzling into one of the many pillows scattered on the bed, she closed her eyes.
It had been a long night. After her soirée with Hope, she returned to the dinner only to consume a few more rounds of whatever alcohol was being ordered. Then they wandered back to the hotel along with someone else, but at the moment she couldn't remember. But he or she was nice; and Lucia had promised to go to lunch with them today. Beyond that, it was really just a blur of maniacal laughs and awkward dancing, along with a few pissed off hotel employees.
The phone rang again, but this time she just unplugged it. After all it was probably just a call from the front desk, or something. And at the moment the only thing she cared about was sleeping for a little while longer before the day started.
DING. DING. TEN O'CLOCK. DING. DING. TEN O'CLOCK.
"An alarm too?" she exclaimed, throwing her covers off in frustration and violently pressing the buttons on the alarm clock until it stopped ringing. "Wait" she thought, "Ten o'clock? Holy shit, it's late".
Scrambling out of bed, she ran into the bathroom and threw her hair into a quick bun and buttoned up her uniform. Shoving her COM device and room key in her pocket, she remembered that there was nothing to do. Of course there was lunch, but would that person even remember? They were pretty wasted as well. Sighing, she decided to go out anyways. After all, there was an entire city outside just waiting to be explored.
Stepping out of the hotel, the first thing to hit her was the noise. All sorts of vehicles hummed past up above, and down on the street, tourists and shop owners chatted and bustled about. It was so different from where Lucia came from, a place that was practically invisible in the grand scheme of Cocoon. Speaking of which, she felt invisible. As the hordes of people passed by, she wasn't acknowledged once. It wasn't like before when she'd known everyone in town and they'd always want to talk. That's all they did, was talk. There was no beauty in their lives, in her life; there was only gossip and secrets. She wondered if they knew about Fraus, about what he did to her, what he did without her. They probably did, but it didn't matter anymore, they were gone, he was gone. But most importantly, she was gone.
'Yeah, she began strolling down the street, I'm gone'.
"Those are fabulous" Lucia pointed to a pair of shoes on the shelf.
The sales lady frowned as she was in the middle of showing her a different pair. "Oh, yes" she sighed, "I don't sell many of those, but I suppose it you like them, feel free to try them on".
"Thanks" she pulled off her knee high combat boots and slid her rather delicate foot into the heeled shoe. It was a black platform stiletto that made her legs look miles long. So obviously, only a few seconds after getting one on she burst, "I'll take 'em".
The sales lady looked at her oddly, the shoes were very 'out of fashion'. But she simply shrugged her shoulders and mumbled "The customer's always right".
Leaving the store, Lucia was beyond ecstatic; she finally had shoes to wear with the dress Hope got her. It was lucky that no one noticed her combat boots the previous night. In fact, when she got back to the hotel she did a happy dance. Although that was probably due to the alcohol.
"Miss Adrien!" someone called her name, "Hey, Lieutenant!"
"Admiral!" she called back, spotting Hope pushing his way through a group of tourists carrying giant stuffed chocobos. Once he finally got pass them, he approached her with a huge smile plastered on his face. "You've recovered well from last night" Lucia chuckled and got up on her tip toes to fix a bit of hair that had fallen over his eyes.
"Thanks" he laughed, "Yeah, I tried calling you this morning to see how you were doing, but couldn't get through. Also, your second lieutenant wanted to meet you, but it's fine; there'll be plenty of time for that next week when we get to New Eden".
"Oh no" Lucia gasped, covering her mouth, "That was you? I'm so sorry, I thought it was the front desk or- I don't know but, argh, I feel so bad. Is he mad at me?"
"I think she'll get over it. Like I said, you have the rest of the week and however long to meet her" he said, putting emphasis on the 'she'.
"Oh- she, haha, well-" she giggled uncomfortably, "I still feel bad".
"Hopefully your lunch this afternoon with Admiral Storm will help you feel better" he stated dully.
"Actually" Lucia frowned, "I don't know about that. Do you think the Admiral even remembers our plans?"
"It seemed like it, the way he was talking about you this morning" He tried his hardest not to sneer at this. Admiral Storm was a womanizer to say the least. And Hope knew exactly what his intentions were with Lucia. It bothered him to a large degree because he didn't want Lucia getting hurt, she was so delicate.
But more importantly, he didn't need Storm messing around with his Lieutenant.
"He?" she asked, scrunching her nose, "So is it like… a date?"
Hope grinned at her distaste, "I'd say so".
"Well", she hesitated for a moment and shrugged, "A friend is, a friend. I guess I'll just wait for the call".
"It'll be coming" Hope scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"What does that mean?" she asked, picking up on Hopes attitude towards the guy.
"Nothing" he recovered quickly, "Gotta go Lieutenant, see you around".
Before Lucia could grab him or question him any further, he hurried off into the crowd and disappeared in seconds. "Well, damn".
Heading back to the hotel, she bought a dress and a new pair of boots for her lunch 'date'. Considering that she only had work clothes and a gown, it seemed appropriate.
Once back in the room, she dropped the pumps from earlier in the closet and changed into her new outfit. The dress was tight and reached a few inches inches past her ass. It was covered in an intricate pattern and had straps down the front of it. Her boots pulled up past her knees and laced up in the back. And unlike her combat boots, they had a six inch heel and were extremely tight, made of a material she didn't even know how to explain. Perhaps that's why she bought them.
Looking in the mirror, Lucia felt uncomfortable. She liked the look, a lot; and the store clerk told her it was the latest fashion. But she had never worn anything like it. Fraus wouldn't let her; he always said that he didn't want other guys looking at her. She always thought it was cute. Now she knew he was really just full of shit.
In the pocket of her uniform, which sat in a pile on the floor, a buzz came from her COM Device. Instantly, she jumped over and dug through the pockets before answering it.
"Lucia Adrien, who is this" she asked as if it wasn't blatantly obvious.
"Hello Miss Adrien, its Admiral Storm" a husky voice spoke at the other end.
"Of course" she sat on the bed, "I believe we have plans".
"And I almost thought you forgot" he chuckled.
"So, where are we meeting?" she questioned in a girly voice that made her cringe a bit. It reminded her of how she used to talk around Fraus when they first met. She was eighteen and dumb, he was twenty-something and hot, what more could be said.
"I'll meet you in the lobby in five" he said coolly.
"See you then".
The doors slid open on the elevator and Lucia stuck her head out, looking around. She couldn't remember for the life of her what this 'Admiral Storm' looked like. After all, she thought it was a woman before Hope told her otherwise. Stepping out, she gazed across the lobby which was relatively busy and saw no one familiar. It was like a blind date but worse.
"Lucia" the same husky voice from the phone spoke behind her, "You beat me".
She turned around to see the Admiral coming out of the elevator in a simple modern suit. He looked sharp. A strong jawline and perfectly slicked back hair completed the facade. He was a generic sort of perfection. Yeah, he was older, about thirty, but what did it matter, with a face like that.
"So I did" she affirmed, "I almost thought you stood me up".
"Now why would I do that to such a pretty girl" he gave her a mischievous grin and hooked his arm in hers.
"You flatter me Admiral" Lucia batted her lashes subtly, looking into his steely grey eyes.
He chuckled lightly, guiding her through the lobby, "My soldiers call me Admiral".
"Well, I'm no soldier" she mused playfully, "So what shall I call you?"
"Storm", he said lightheartedly, "Just Storm".
They continued an upbeat chat as they strolled down the streets of Palumpolum, heading to the restaurant Storm had made reservations at. He spared nothing in trying to impress Lucia. And although it wasn't very hard for a man as important as him, he had a special interest in her. Of course he knew she wasn't marriage material, but she'd be fun to toy around with for a while. She was cute; and the previous night, when she walked into dinner, he knew he had to have her. The way she was delicate but strong, the flame flickering in her eyes, it sent shocks down his spine. Nonetheless, she was just a girl, and would never be anything more to him.
"Here we are" Storm spoke. They abruptly stopped in front of a towering building, even taller than the Rivera Towers, and he opened the door for Lucia. The inside had a far colder appearance than the other places Lucia had visited. It was mostly white, with the exception of a few silver accents. Off to the left there was a cluster of couches that screamed 'don't sit'. And to the right, a giant sculpture rested on a pedestal. It looked like a dick with thorns in it. Lucia thought it was amusing, but the crown jewel of the place was the glass elevator in the middle of the room that was in the shape of a fist. She watched as someone got on, and it shot straight up through a sphincter-looking hole in the ceiling.
"Wow" Lucia deadpanned, crossing her legs and remembering the time that Fraus… never mind.
"Yeah" he sighed, "It's my favorite tower in the city. The artistry is incredible".
"Mhmhmmh" Lucia nodded in agreement, on the verge of laughing. Personally, she thought it was fucking horrendous. But it's not like she was going to bash him for his shitty taste in design.
"Well" he took a deep breath, "We can't stand around forever".
Together they boarded the elevator and took it all the way to the top floor. Apparently PSICOM guys have a thing for high places, Lucia laughed to herself. As the door opened on their floor, she couldn't help but frown. Instead of there being a view of the city, the walls were completely white along with the furniture. And frankly, she was getting sick of all the artsy shit.
"Two" Fraus spoke to the hologram maître d that appeared before them.
"Reservations?"
"Storm" he smiled at Lucia and put an arm on her back as the hologram processed.
"Follow me" it spoke after a minute.
After being seated at a tiny table, Lucia shifted uncomfortably in her stool, which (coincidentally) was in the shape of a fist. "I'm sensing a running theme here" she joked hesitantly.
Storm looked at her sternly as she wriggled about in the chair, "It's a symbol of strength, this building was destroyed in the Fall".
Internally, she rolled her eyes, weren't they all?
"Oh" she nodded, "Well, it's a very interesting interpretation".
"I understand it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I think that's what gives it charm" he softened his gaze, "Sure, it's a little bit pretentious, but the thought that went into it and the message behind it all, it's close to- I think- all of our hearts".
"Well, when you put it that way" she trailed off, suddenly regretting ever saying a word. "Anyways", she abruptly changed the topic, "What's your favorite dish here?"
"I've never eaten here actually". She looked at him questioningly, so he explained, "It's nearly impossible to get a table, takes a year for most people. But, the owner owed me a favor, so I called it in".
Lucia looked at him in disbelief and glanced around at the few tables around them, they were all full. First she wondered why the hell the place was so popular (yeah, the message, blah blah), and then she blurted, "You wasted this on me?"
"I definitely wouldn't call it 'waste'", he reassured and observed her from across the table. Her brow was furrowed and her eyes had dulled. The way they changed so drastically in a split second confused him, it was something he had never seen before.
"You must have an entire list of people, far more important, that would kill to come here with you" she tried, in an attempt to end the flow of flattery.
"Yeah" he shrugged, "But I'm not trying to impress them".
Lucia looked at him for a second and gave him a big, fake smile, "Thanks".
Luckily, the rest of the lunch date went on flawlessly. He told her war stories and she talked about fashion. Not that she knew anything about it; she just reiterated everything the store clerk told her earlier. The food was another story though. After leaving the restaurant, they went and got sandwiches and ice cream. They both agreed it was way better.
"So I will be seeing you again, Miss Adrien?" he asked as they walked down the hall to her hotel room.
"Only if you want, Admiral Storm" she leaned forward and pecked his cheek once they reached the door.
He grinned and lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it gently, "Of course".