I don't own Black Lagoon.
Please let me know what you think.
A Real Man takes Rum.
Rock followed the rest of the Lagoon company - actually he was walking alongside Revy, but he felt as if he were following them since he was right behind Dutch - into the Yellow Flag. The moment Dutch parked the car, the night air next to the rundown pub was filled with the stench of burnt petrol and diesel oil, many brands of cigarettes and cigars mixed with the stench of booze.
The stench of the Yellow Flag made Rock wonder, not for the first time, what kind of deals Bao actually had to get the place built up so quickly; he knew the former soldier had deserted for Roanapur, why he didn't know and didn't want to know about, and he had likely made a number of connections.
Rock guessed he had gone into smuggling or something like that, but he had known the surly bartender long enough to know he had made dozens of connections. People in Roanapur who earned their living in that way usually went far. Personally, Rock believed Bao was part of a smuggling ring, but he knew better than to ask since it didn't bother him.
"C'mon Rock, we haven't had a drinking contest in a long time," Revy was saying as they stepped inside.
Rock grimaced at the thought of a drinking contest. He wasn't really in the mood for a contest with Revy, for he had a nasty headache. He was regretting not taking a few aspirins earlier on their way back to the dock, but he had been going over everything the Lagoon Company had gotten from their last job. They'd received a larger collection of orders and things to take back to Roanapur, and Rock had been logging it all. When he'd finished the job, Rock had allowed himself the chance to have some sleep for an hour before the Lagoon docked at the Lagoon company HQ.
Or warehouse dump.
Rock had never been sure what to call the place. It was more of a cross between a game room and an office.
He had been with the Lagoon Company long enough to know when something was urgent since Chang and Balalaika had both been at the dock, waiting for them. Waiting for their orders, but whatever it was they'd ordered, Rock had learnt a long time ago to not only keep his questions and observations to himself unless he wanted one of Balalaika's men to kill him before Revy or Dutch could even react but also not to care. It was easier not to care.
"Okay, Revy," Rock sighed, not really in any kind of mood to argue with Revy despite his headache but he was too tired to protest.
Revy frowned as she sensed his mood. "What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.
Rock smiled at her as he heard her concern. After the mess with the Bloodhound, she and Rock had settled the problems that had come from his manipulations, and their relationship had become far better, and even something more… Much to his surprise Rock somehow revealed a side of Revy that he had seen occasionally, a more vulnerable, softer side although he knew better than to say something like that to her unless he wanted his balls to be ripped off.
"Ah, just tired," Rock waved off, although Revy quirked a brow. She wasn't really convinced but she decided to humour him.
"Aw, okay," Revy said as they walked in.
Rock grimaced as he looked ahead at the bar. "Bao's not happy to see us," he noted.
Revy waved mockingly at the bartender; the surly ex-soldier and bartender who had somehow proven more resilient than a cockroach who'd been trapped in a burning house before the remains of the place were smashed by a wrecking ball had indeed noticed their arrival, and he wasn't happy to see them. Revy could in a way understand why, since his precious bar always became a battleground and it usually found itself blown up or burnt to the ground while they were there. Bao couldn't stop them from frequenting the place, they paid too well. He just didn't like the thought of his precious bar being destroyed again.
Sometimes Revy did ask what kind of pies the surly fuck had his fingers in, it didn't take him long to rebuild the place but since this was Roanapur where the lines between the decent and the indecent were so blurred you could barely see them, it was best not to ask. In any case, she knew Bao did sometimes have several deals.
"Aw, fuck him, let's drink," Revy said, sending Rock a smirk. To Rock, the smirk was the challenging growl of a crocodile, but he
Rock grinned back despite his headache, he was now looking forwards to the contest. "Bartender! Bring us all the Barcadi's you've got right now!" The two lovers quickly set up the table while Bao walked over carrying a tray and two bottles of rum with a number of shot glasses. Rock could tell just by looking at them they were brand new, and judging from Bao's even surlier disposition he did not want them out here.
"Okay, I don't want any trouble with you tonight, I mean it Revy!" Bao glared at Revy.
"Yeah, yeah, just pour," Revy sneered.
Rock didn't bother stopping Revy from antagonising Bao. The bartender might be good with a gun, but he knew better than to go up against 'Two-Hands.' Revy was more vicious at gunfighting than most of the best fighters in Roanapur, and with her hair-trigger temper although he knew underneath it all Revy was very logical minded when it came to fighting, and Bao knew it.
With a scowl on his face which would likely have turned Revy into a decomposing corpse, Bao set the tray on the table and he did as he was told. Soon Rock and Revy, ignoring the sounds of the audience were attracted to the drinking game.
Revy lifted her first shot glass. "Ready to lose, Rocky-boy?" She smirked.
Rock lifted his own first glass. "Bring it on, Two-Hands."
Throwing his head back and mentally saying sorry to his aching head, Rock started the game. Instantly his throat burned as the fiery liquid passed through his mouth and down into his stomach. Ever since his arrival in Roanapur, rum had become one of Rock's staple alcohols although he was fairly flexible and depended on his mood. But rum was always the drink Revy preferred over things like whiskey. In her own words "a real man takes rum."
Revy smirked as she downed her own drink, and after she swallowed she hissed at the fiery sensation in her mouth and throat and smacked her lips before she reached for her second glass, but she kept her eyes fixed on him while he raised his own glass to drink from.
But Rock was busy admiring Revy, and he sat and watched the woman for a moment while he held onto his glass, but it was also so he could take a quick breather from hitting his system too hard with booze.
"Hurry up, Rock!" Revy lost her patience really quickly, and he realised he had sat too long. The rest of the patrons yelled their agreement and demanded he hurry up, or they'd lose their bets.
Wincing at the pounding in his headache - he wished he had refused this contest, but he had been looking forwards to it.
"SHUT UP!" Rock yelled to the crowd. "Shut up!"
He drank from the glass.
On and on it went, with each glass drunk from the two contestants, their faces became more ruddy in the light of the bar. With each glass Revy drank from, Rock only drank from his when he was sure just how long his contestant's alcohol consumption was going to last. Revy had been drinking for a long time, so her tolerance was quite high.
But he had a secret weapon.
Rock always drank slowly and after he had taken a good look at her body language, while Revy just slugged it down in one go. He knew whenever Revy was on the point of collapsing in a drunken mess, she would look at him blankly and then she would slow down.
As Marion Ravenwood did in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Rock slowly drank from his glass when he finally saw Revy begin to slow down. Yes, a couple more shot glasses her way should do it. He took a couple of sips, and he rested his forehead against the glass wearily for a second. The patrons in the bar grumbled and muttered angrily at the thought of losing their betting money, but Rock recovered.
"Give me a chance!" He said.
He drank the rest of the rum and gently, but firmly, slapped it against the table.
"Y're doin' well, Rocky baby!" Revy cooed and then laughed drunkenly before she picked up her glass. Rock watched her without saying a word, and then she keeled over and slammed her head on the table. Rock chuckled, and then he followed suit as his body, already worn down by a long day, and a headache, followed suit.