Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing and am making no money off of this fic.
AN: Written for the March 13th Cocktail Party prompt found here: gwcocktailfriday . tumblr .com(/)post/611941867596185600/cocktail-friday-post-responses-on-friday-march. (Without the spaces and parentheses.)
########
Who Needs a Cape, Anyway by luvsanime02
########
Someone sits down next to Meilan at the bar, but she doesn't turn to see who's there. She doesn't care. Meilan isn't here to socialize. She never understands why people try to talk to strangers at the bar. Maybe if she was playing pool or at a table with a group of friends, but sitting here alone with a glass of whiskey in front of her?
Meilan is sending out enough 'leave me alone' vibes that she could probably make a mad bear think twice about messing with her, so of course the man who just sat down next to her decides to casually stretch so that his leg knocks into her bar stool.
Meilan glances over. He's not even pretending it was an accident, though, just smirking confidently. "Sorry," he says, his tone smug.
What the fuck is this, second grade? That's about the age when kids are supposed to grow out of thinking that this kind of shit is funny, right? Meilan doesn't really know, because when she was in second grade, she spent all of her time in gymnastics and not paying her fellow classmates much attention.
It really isn't any surprise to Meilan that it took until college before she made some real friends.
Point is, this guy sitting next to her, sprawled out enough for three people, is acting like he should get a fucking cookie or something for knocking into her stool. Meilan downs the last of her drink in one long gulp.
Luckily, the bartender walks over right then. Meilan silently raises her glass in a request for a refill, because she's not going to let some asshole guy chase her out of a bar, and the bartender nods before turning to the guy sitting next to her.
"What can I get you?" she asks him after a pause, when he doesn't immediately speak up. He's too busy trying to make eyes at Meilan, even though she's resolutely ignoring him again.
The guy's head turns towards the bartender at the question, though, and he even winks at her. Ugh. "Give me the girliest drink you have!" he demands, laughing immediately afterwards like he's just told the best joke ever.
Meilan doesn't know why she looks up, but just as she does, the bartender looks her way, and the two of them share a long-suffering glance. Without another word, the bartender walks away. Meilan thinks about doing the same, but she doesn't want to try and find a table now. The guy will probably see that as an invitation and try to sit with her.
The guy's phone pings with a text. Excellent. That keeps him plenty occupied until the bartender comes back with two glasses, sitting one in front of Meilan first before serving the guy next to her. Not that it would have mattered much, Meilan notices with a smirk of her own. The drinks are exactly the same.
The guy stares at his drink blankly before scowling at the bartender. "This is straight whiskey," he says accusingly.
The bartender shrugs. "Most of the women who come in here order the hard stuff, kid," she says. She's officially Meilan's favorite person at the moment. "Maybe you should woman up and drink it."
Meilan laughs, not even bothering to hide her amusement, and takes a sip of her new drink in demonstration.
The guy's at least smart enough to notice the similarities in their drinks. He stares at both her and the bartender like he's expecting a punchline, and when Meilan says nothing and the bartender moves away, he huffs and stands up. He does take his drink with him as he walks over to a table, but Meilan doubts that he'll drink more than a sip or two.
It's a waste of decent whiskey, but absolutely worth it, in Meilan's opinion. Apparently, the bartender agrees, though maybe she gave that guy the cheap stuff. It's not like he'd notice the difference, clearly.
When Meilan's finished with her second drink, she puts a huge tip under the empty glass, thankful that not everyone's like that guy but also that there are women who know how to lend a helping hand when those few guys do decide to crawl out of the woodwork.
All things considered, it was a decent night, Meilan thinks.