Favor
Noun: approval, support, or liking for someone or something.
Author's Notes: Ever since Battlegrounds came out, I've found myself craving some Lara/Harry goodness. I think the two of them are an interesting couple. However, I also recognize that any chance of them ever thinking of eachother as anything other then Frenemies/cautious allies is basically slim to none. The two are just too jaded, too cautious to ever have a normal relationship.
I found myself thinking of how they could actually end up as a pairing, and came to the conclusion that the only way the two would EVER truly be comfortable together is if the two met earlier. Much, MUCH earlier.
After that, the bug was in my head and wouldn't get out until I pried it out. It has been a long time since I wrote, but I found myself slipping back into old habbits soon enough.
The entire story is completed, and will be released weekly until it's all finished. That's twelve chapters (including this one), which is about three months for me to work on and finish the final two chapters of Beyond the Outer Gate (and maybe release the prefinished interlude that I have had on hand and done for a few years).
So, watch as Lara Raith and Harry Dresden meet... in a completely ordinary and mundane fashion. Well, for them anyway.
Time: Pre-Story
Story Start
Lara Raith suppressed a sigh as she gave a smile to one of her coworkers. The smile was patently false, however, she was skilled enough at giving even false smiles that he didn't realize it. Instead, her fellow porn star took it as encouragement to continue attempting convince her that they should try rehearsing their scenes alone some time. Maybe see if they could improvise some of their own.
Lara was familiar with such approaches. While he even went so far as to term his proposed rendezvous as an 'acting workshop', she had attended enough actual workshops as it is. They had all been more in line with her interest in theater, rather than furthering her career as a porn star. The workshop her coworker was proposing was meant more for indulgence than career advancement.
Part of her wondered at humanity and its devotion to the pleasurable act of procreation. For her it shouldn't be a surprise: she was a vampire of the White Court. She fed on passion and lust, sipping it like a fine wine, tasting it like charcuterie plate as she sampled all the pleasures of the flesh. It was no wonder that her drive would be extensive, able to be called upon at will.
Her coworker on the other hand was simply a young man, human through and through. After having spent hours engaging in intercourse, albeit strenuous and often unsatisfying intercourse as shooting calls for scenes and pauses for close ups and other minutia interrupted the act, yet he still desired more?
Well. Not until after this shoot was completed. Perhaps later, to allow for some more authenticity in his future roles. Once his film career was nearing an end perhaps she might indulge, and shows this young buck what it truly meant to bear the brunt of the passion of Lara Raith.
For now though, she decided to keep the meal selection available in the future, and thus was polite in her decline. She hinted at the possibility later even as she stepped out of the filming set, intent on finding some sustenance before they resumed for the afternoon shooting. Perhaps of either kind.
As a vampire of the White Court, she required the passion and spirit of lust in order to sustain herself, and her Hunger. It was needed, in order to keep her internal demons at bay. However, for her mortal flesh, she also required mortal food. She had just spent an afternoon engaged in coitus (slow, unsatisfying, mechanical coitus) and so should at least theoretically be full up on at least half of her physical needs. However, alas, feeding during a shoot tended to be counterproductive. The need that indulging in her Hunger inspired in her partner was often a detriment to her actual work as a porn star. A porn shoot might produce a fully fleshed work of passion, but its creation was more akin to knitting a story of passion than actual indulgence. If she actually fed on her coworker they would lose their ability to follow instructions, and quickly end up being fired from a production.
It was easy to assume that all porn actors and actress came from her species, but the truth was only the ones most in control of themselves could function in an environment where the call of Hunger was so strong yet couldn't be satisfied.
She supposed that's why her father kept making use of her for these roles. This was perhaps the third time in her centuries where she had been called upon to take the role. Admittedly, it was an entirely different scene, back when she had been working for Kirchner. Dear Albert had never quite summoned the nerve to fully film more than her undressing, but it had been a start. It hadn't been hard a few decades later to simply track down and destroy the remains of her first debut so she could have a second. Things had gotten more enjoyable back when she was working for Marks. Ah, bold Harrison, such good times. While the filming never went quite too far, what happened after the camera was stopped had more than made it worthwhile.
Now though? She supposed that her time with Genosa might end up being her last, for a good long while. This internet thing was picking up quite fiercely, and it was looking harder and harder to ensure that the Court would be able to destroy or prevent her image from being recorded in a widely accessible medium. This modern age was making it increasingly harder for the long lived to prevent themselves from being recorded and potentially recognized several decades later.
Now if only she could make her father understand that. Alas, he was insistent. And Lara knew what happened to those that did not obey.
Lara realized she was starting to wax a bit maudlin, and decided that was as good a sign as any that she was starting to get a bit peckish. It was still only lunch, so it was unlikely she'd be able to feed her Hunger, so she supposed she should feed her flesh a bit to hold her over.
Still, that raised a minor problem. They were currently shooting in a remote industrial park, a bit away from the city of Chicago proper. She supposed she could drive back in; however the lunch break she and the other actors and actress had been promised had been cut into by a slightly long scene. While she supposed she could just grab from whatever had been brought on the company dime, Lara decided she would rather avoid having to spend the next twenty minutes dodging her amorous coworker's attempt to kill himself via suicide by her.
"Well," Lara murmured to herself, glancing over to a few blocks where a Burger King was placed, the only identifiable location to get food surrounded by tall nondescript buildings with few windows and doors that you normally find in parks like these, "I suppose fast food won't kill me every once in a while."
*Scene Break*
"Unless, perhaps, impatience can be lethal," Lara grumbled to herself several minutes later. It had only taken a few minutes for her to arrive at the fast food restaurant. Due to the closeness of the establishment, she had decided to simply walk the two blocks rather than drive, but her arrival had led to an unpleasant discovery: this meager establishment was most likely the only place to acquire food in a good radius, and since it was lunch time just about every worker in the park that hadn't packed their own lunch had decided to come here. Even for just being a Burger King, the place was packed.
Lara was considering just turning around and taking the company provided buffet at the shoot, before she decided she would rather deal with this crowd than her coworkers. Unfortunately, her moment of indecision allowed for yet another incoming diner to get between her and the door.
However the interloper paused as they were about to enter, and apparently judged that she had made the decision to come too. Rather than just brushing by and getting in front of her, they instead hesitated a moment, and then opened the door for her instead.
"After you," he invited politely. Lara could tell from the tone of his voice that it was genuine manners which caused him to make the offer, and she found herself appreciating it. Sure, she might be a centuries old succubus, but he didn't know that and with the rush before the both of them it would mean even longer for him to get his own meal for the offer.
'Well,' Laura decided in the end, 'how old fashioned. And endearing.'
With a gracious smile at the young man holding the door for her, she entered.
"My knight in shining armor. Thank you," she told him politely.
"You're welcome," he answered back just as politely.
'And they say that chivalry is dead,' Laura thought to herself as she passed her 'knight in shining armor'.
*Scene Break*
The line itself was long, however the establishment was apparently used to their midday rush and was operating with full staff. With three registers open and manned by skilled, albeit overworked, clerks, Lara was able to place her order with minimal wait. She did take a little longer to place her order than the others, a fact which she attributed to her unfamiliarity with the menu.
Was there some comparable difference between a 'BK Broiler' and a 'Big King'? If there was, should she attribute enough attention to it to care? With thoughts like these, Lara eventually settled on just randomly selecting a number, and requesting it. It had been so long since she had dined at fast food that she almost didn't know what to do with the empty cup that she was supplied with while she was waiting for her food, but never let it be said that a member of the White Court can do something as simple as observe how drinks were apparently now self-serve.
Frankly, she began to suspect that the Pepsi she poured herself might end up being her favorite part of the meal. How long had it been since she had just plain soft drinks? Yes, they were used in mixers in some of their clubs, but Lara had long drifted to more refined drinks when she indulged.
When she finally received her food she was already frowning as a quick glance showed that of course, there were no empty tables. There were a few that were occupied but with empty seats. Should she just take her meal to go and eat it on the set? Or did she dare risk propositioning one of the more open tables to see if they would be willing to share?
Deciding to risk it, she noticed that her earlier knight in shining armor was apparently one of the ones with an open spot. He appeared to be absentmindedly working his way through his fries while keeping his eyes locked on what looked like a textbook of some kind.
Preparing herself after she decided like he would be the least likely to cause an issue with it, she approached, and cleared her throat once she was standing beside his table. He didn't appear to notice her for a second, before she cleared her throat again and this time he glanced up as though startled.
"I beg your pardon," Lara smiled slightly, preparing herself for the usual. "The restaurant appears a bit full. Would you mind if I shared your table?"
Lara was used to a certain reaction when she addressed a male who wasn't already familiar with her. It usually began with a quick look, followed by a startled much longer look. She took it with patient grace, well aware of the fact that she was attractive. It was almost expected if she was using the Hunger for the purpose of hunting, however she rarely needed to use such gauche methods at this point.
The young man glanced at her, and his eyes widened, but only slightly. She could see him beginning to take a longer look, but surprisingly he appeared to catch himself, and immediately locked his eyes directly on her face rather than other parts of her.
"Oh," he began, apparently catching up with her request and glancing around to confirm the fullness of occupancy of the restaurant. "Sure," he nodded, and then almost absentmindedly stood up, nodding for the seat opposite him.
She chuckled at the courtesy, and half expected he would try to hold her chair for her. Considering how awkward that would be, she decided her curiosity wasn't enough to keep her from simply smiling and taking the offered seat. Sure enough, he waited until she was fully seated before re-sitting himself.
He looked like he wasn't certain what etiquette was required for table shares at busy Burger Kings, and frankly, neither was she. Were you supposed to talk with the random stranger who was thrown into your company by chance and desperation to get started on your meal? Do you ignore them until they finish and go away?
Lara decided to elect for the second. She pulled a battered paperback from her purse, giving the young man an apologetic glance as though asking his permission to read. He nodded easily, eyes already turning back to his own literature.
To her surprise, Lara then proceeded to have an ordinary, uneventful, and peaceful lunch. Maybe it was prideful of her to admit it, but she was used to the men she approached for benign reasons assuming her approach meant more. Simply asking one to pass the sugar at a cafe on the way to her shoot had led to the man in question trying to get her number while propositioning her for far more than the number just this morning. Twice. A side result of her career was that she was often recognized, and the men who recognized her somehow failed to realize that porn logic didn't quite work the way it did in the real world as it did in the videos. No, saying 'pass the sugar' didn't actually mean 'would you like to get it on'. However, good Ser Knight, as she had decided to label him mentally as she observed him from the corner of her eye, simply buckled down and focused on his text book.
'A college kid?' she mused to herself as she ate her French fries with the same grace she would use in a ballroom. 'Perhaps one needing to work to put himself through school? Only someone paying their own way through college puts that much effort into their education. Those who are having it paid for them tend to focus more on the social scene…'
The two minor acts of chivalry and disregard, small though they were, were enough for Lara to find her curiosity perked. Not interest, not something so invested. Just the sort of curiosity when you notice someone you never saw before, and most likely will never see again, do something just a little odd enough for you to wonder why. The sort of thing you maybe spend an afternoon thinking about, amusing yourself as you come up with scenarios both wild and plausible just for your own amusement.
And so Lara finished her meal, and stood to leave without another word passed between the two of them. The young man noticed her leaving and glanced up, wishing her a 'have a good day' with half of his attention still on his study material. In return, she smiled and nodded, before turning to leave.
*Scene Break*
The next day, Lara found herself remembered the odd meeting. When lunch was called, it was with the advisement that it would be a longer one than originally planned. Arturo and Lucille had been getting quietly heated throughout the shoot. Not the good, passionate heated which would mean that the late lunch was being called to allow for a tryst in the office before shooting resumed. This was the vicious, angry cold heat which typically precluded the kinds of fights which would lead Lucille to being the new Ex-Genosa.
It was whimsy, pure and simple, which caused Laura to step out of the shoot, and turn once more to the Burger King two blocks down. A flip of the coin for no other reason than to see whether it would be heads or tails. She had barely given a second thought to good Ser Knight after she returned to the shoot. From there it had been 'penis, enter vagina upstage' until she was finished for the day and returned home. She had gone out to Zero afterwards, partially to unwind and partially to give a quick look at the books, and there it had again been 'penis, enter vagina on stage'. She had just finished this morning's round of 'penis, enter vagina for wage', and was thinking about lunch when she recalled good Ser Knight absentmindedly.
And so, she decided to see if fate had a second encounter in mind. She wouldn't be adverse if it were so. It was rare to find a man who could apparently learn 'saying less is more', especially at a young age.
The Burger King was still crowded, but much less so than yesterday. There were far more open seats this time, though the line was again long. While she was queuing she gave the insides of the dining area a brief search.
She found herself smiling slightly when she saw good Ser Knight. He was in the same seat again, the same textbook in front of him. She could halfway believe that he had never left, and had simply been studying for the last twenty four hours without moving.
"I beg your pardon," she smiled as he startled, glancing up blearily. His eyes looked slightly bloodshot, only reinforcing the image of him having been studying relentlessly. "The restaurant appears a bit full. Would you mind if I shared your table?"
The completely blank look in his eyes as he stared followed by a sudden flash of recognition at her was enough evidence to Lara that just like she had, good Ser Knight had completely forgotten about her and gone on with his day without a second thought once she left yesterday.
'Perhaps I should take that as a challenge,' Lara mused to herself with more amusement than offense. She was not a woman used to being forgotten, but not so petty that she couldn't understand when it happened.
She did find herself just slightly inclined to ensure it wouldn't happen again.
"Huh," he grunted, standing again as she moved to take her seat. He gave her a longer look than he did yesterday, glancing around and taking in the other open seats that Lara had passed up. "Bit less crowded then yesterday."
"True," she acknowledged as she sat. "But I always prefer dealing with a known entity to chancing fate."
"I guess I can get that," he ventured an uncertain smile. Early twenties, Lara finally decided as an estimate for his age. Just past the point of true awkwardness of youth, but not fully settled onto the confidence of experience. An age where experience had begun to shape who you would be, but expectations still held some sway. She smiled back, a flash of dimples and his own smile melted more into grin territory. After they had both seated, he held up his book in imitation of her own unspoken question yesterday, and in response she withdrew her own paperback as well.
His smile had just a trace of impishness as he raised his to her as though in salute, and she let her own smile echo that impishness as she returned the salute with her own.
And like that, the two of them resumed their reading.
*Scene Break*
Good Ser Knight groaned slightly, and Lara took her eyes off her own book to see him closing his own with a heavy thump, leaning back in his chair as he massaged his closed eyes. They both had finished their meals leisurely, taking their time as their attention was focused more on their books than their meal. Even after Lara had finished hers, she had chosen to simply continue reading. She had asked one of the production assistances to call her when filming would resume. Lara had no desire to be around another one of Arturo and Lucille's fights and would honestly prefer sitting in a Burger King than the studio if the choice was presented to her.
"Heavy reading?" she asked, breaking the silence between the two. Good Ser Knight jumped slightly, and Lara realized he had been so focused he had forgotten about her again.
'Twice in as many days? I must be losing my touch,' she mused to herself, slightly amused by the circumstances.
"Sorry," he apologized, glancing at her own book that she held shut with her finger marking her place. "Did I interrupt you?"
"I was in a good stopping place," she reassured him. She glanced at his own tome, face down on the table. "Yours must be quite a page turner, to have you so dedicated to it."
He grunted slightly, lips twitching slightly in annoyance as he glared at the book in front of him as though he wished he could set it on fire. He gave her a quick glance, as though trying to judge if she had any actual interest or was just being polite, and finally flipped the book up, holding it so she could read the title.
"Private Investigator Licensing Requirements and Study Material?" she read, eyebrow quirking at the title. "My, what a… riveting work."
"Well, they can't all be…" he trailed off for a second, squinting at her own book. Helpfully, she held it up so the title was more visible. "… Lebor Na hUidre." He trailed off, though Lara gave him some points for managing the pronunciation. She was surprised that he managed to get the Irish reading mostly correct. "The Book of the Dun Cow?" She blinked again, this time in surprise more pronounced as he not only pronounced but translated the title. He seemed equally surprised, blinking as he glanced back up at her. "From the Ulster cycle?"
"Why yes," Lara admitted, dog earing her current page before setting the book aside. "You know it?"
"I know of it," good Ser Knight admitted, before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Haven't actually read it yet, but I did go over the Cliff Notes. That's some pretty heavy reading," he continued, raising an eyebrow at her. Then he narrowed them and looked sharply at the book. "And how did you manage to find a paperback copy of a translation!?"
"Harvard University Press had a limited release of several classical works back in the seventies," Lara explained, finding herself just a little unsure how to proceed. Good Ser Knight had seemed more astonished at finding the ancient work in paperback than he had in her actually reading the historic piece. "I managed to acquire a copy, and have been indulging in a little genealogical research."
"What used bookstore did you find that treasure in?" he whistled. "And how long a trip from here to there is it?"
Lara decided that she did indeed know how to respond to the situation. She laughed.
"I honestly couldn't recall," she admitted between her chuckles. In truth, she had gotten the entire series on their initial release those thirty years ago. The copy she was reading had a tasteful dedication and signature from the director of the school at the time.
"Damn," he muttered, scowling at the loss of the possibility of identifying a good used book store. Then he glanced up, giving her a thoughtful look. "Genealogical research? You don't exactly look Irish…"
"Slavic, for the most part," Lara admitted. "But some recent findings indicated that there may be some Irish decent, many generations back."
Lara had a personal theory that many of the White Court, specifically the Raiths, might have ancient roots back in the Irish or Welsh regions. She was basing this theory off just how many legends originating from those regions seemed to have noticeable and above average sex drives. Fergus mac Roich was said to be so lustful that he would tire out multiple women every night. Medb, according to legend, could enchant any man she desired with her beauty. Cu Culhainn had even been rumored to settle the ancient blood feud between Scathach and her twin sister Aife through the use of kinky incestual threesomes.
Many such feats attributed to ancient Irish heroes and legends were things which just as easily could be ascribed to her court. She hadn't managed to find much hard evidence, and wasn't quite invested enough in her theory to track down anyone old and powerful enough to confirm it, but she enjoyed gathering evidence to support her purely hypothetical theory.
"And you decided to go right to the roots, I see," he nodded. He gave the book a slightly longing look. "There's nothing quite like a properly beaten in paperback. Makes you want to read it even more. I mean, if someone else read it enough to leave it like that, than there has to be something worth reading in it, right?"
"Oh I agree," Lara let out a sigh of pleasure. "They're so much better than those books meant to be seen and not read."
"Fancy editions?" he offered. "Gold filigree? More space taken up by the name of the publisher than the title?"
"You always find them in the office of someone you can be more than reasonably certain of hasn't actually read them," Lara continued, hand coming up to cover a wicked little grin as she commiserated with this stranger about one of her pet peeves. Honestly, how many times has she seen a ridiculous spread in nouveau rich offices? Lined up to impress behind ornate glass doored shelves, while the owner most likely had never opened something more enriching than a Hustler?
"Sometimes I wish I had a set like that," good Ser Knight grinned conspiratorially at her, "just so I can read them out of spite. Really break the bindings in. Let the world see."
"How scandalous!" Lara gasped theatrically. The two chuckled together for a moment.
Lara blinked, and suddenly found herself giving good Ser Knight an odd glance. He blinked as well, and she found that glance returned.
It was a moment. A rare, random moment, where you find yourself suddenly connecting with a stranger. There was no seduction of her Hunger, no impetuous of her work, no requirement of her Court. Just two random strangers, sharing a laugh in a dingy fast food restaurant over something as simple as books.
She tried to think back for a moment for the last time something like this had happened, and found herself internally frowning as she struggled to recall it. That time in the 1920s? No, that had been Court business with bootlegging. 1810? No, Sansuke was trying to kill her to limit her control in the Shogun's court.
No. 1773, outside of Poland…
She had only spent a brief time with him. She had been younger then, so much younger. Young enough to marry the poor fool. Fool enough to be happy to be married to her…
Until her father caught up with them.
"So," Lara spoke up, partly to move the conversation past their realization, partly to change her train of thoughts. "Private investigator?"
"No," good Ser Knight shook his head, jumping on topic. It looked like he had also been caught off guard by the realization of their good mood and was happy to have the conversation resume without being called on it. "Not yet anyway. Turns out to be a private investigator you need more than a fedora and a good internal monologue."
"Alas. Humphry Bogart has lied to me," she offered.
"Ain't worth a hill of beans," he agreed. "In order to work as a private investigator, turns out you have to pass some big time licensing test and complete an apprenticeship for a couple of years."
"Hence this mighty tome?" Lara asked. She had never considered what requirements would be necessary to become a private investigator. It wasn't something she had any inclination to research, for that matter. However, now that she found herself in the position to learn a little more out of it, she found herself curious. Like if she had been flipping through the channels and accidentally landed on a documentary about cheesemaking or something equally irrelevant that she found herself being drawn into just enough to watch. "What sort of topics do they cover?"
"Well, a lot of it is legalese," good Ser Knight grumbled. "I get it, that it's important to know the laws so you don't end up tampering with evidence if there's a crime, or get arrested for stalking or something. But I swear it's like rubbing sandpaper on your eyes, brain, and patience. Just what the heck is that stupid double 'S' squiggle thing anyway?"
"I believe it's known as the 'Section Sign'," Lara volunteered diligently, and he blinked. "Used when citing sections of legal code."
"And somehow this knowledge does nothing to ease my frustration with its existence," he grumbled, and she smiled winningly at his frustration. She had her fair share of encounters with that symbol herself, but fortunately she had the money to pay someone else to deal with them. "But some of the stuff is interesting. Like how to do a stakeout, or conduct a scene investigation."
"Perhaps if you broke up the legalese with the enjoyable content?" Lara suggested, and he sighed, deflating.
"I've already read it all. I get the fun stuff. It's the legalese that I have to read over and over again to make sure I'm getting it."
"The perils of diligence," she chuckled slightly. Then she started as an electronic tone came from her purse. Pulling it out, a quick glance showed a text from her coworker. Apparently Lucille had retired for the day with somewhat less aplomb than she usually displayed. Arturo had decided to soldier on with the scenes that didn't involve his wife, and thus it was time to assemble the troops.
"Work?" good Ser Knight asked leaning back away from the table slightly. Lara supposed it was due to his unfamiliarity with the electronics. Her connections and money always ensured that she had the cutting edge of fashion and technology in the device. Her current model was using an experimental folding design. She believed the marketers were calling them 'flip-phones'.
"Duty calls," she sighed briefly. Moving to stand. "Well, my chivalrous knight, I must bid you adieu."
"Knight?" the young man muttered, before apparently getting her reference. "I suppose that means I should call you 'Princess'?
"I prefer to be called 'Queen'," she corrected with a smile. It was, after all, what she was frequently called while shooting the more exotic films.
"I'll settle with 'Your Majesty'," he countered.
"Acceptable," she took the compromise with aplomb. And he grinned, and Lara shared a conspiratorial smile. Then he turned to his book, and she left to return to her studio.
*Scene Break*
The next day, Lara deliberately made the choice to return to the Burger King. She was feeling the urge to deal with someone not related to business at all.
The night before, she had received a call from Zero and had to make a business trip down to deal with some interlopers. Some mob family had decided that Zero was too profitable and was volunteering to help relieve them of some of their profits in exchange for protection. Apparently, they were quite generous as they were also offering to assume ownership, allow Zero to service their executives for free, and find employment with their pimps for many of the patrons or staff.
Despite their ever so generous offer, Lara had been forced to decline. Strenuously. So strenuously that she had been forced to find places to dispose of bodies. She wished they had taken her offer to negotiate back at the Raith Manor, as the Deeps made body disposal quite simple. Doing so in Chicago proper always was slightly more complicated, and had kept her up until the early hours of the night. In order to prevent further escalation, she would most likely have to begin the process of relocating the club, which was always a hassle
Afterwards, she had again been recognized in her usual cafe, and again propositioned there. She suspected whoever had recognized her the first time had bragged about it to their friends, and the number of propositions she received had gone up. She would most likely have to find a new cafe to avoid further morning delays.
And to top it off, Mr. and Mrs. Genosa had apparently gone past their cold war era in their relationship and were now active combatants, which made the shoot ridiculously tedious and awkward.
So, yes. Dealing with someone who had absolutely no connection with any of her ongoings issues was definitely an attractive prospect right now.
However, on entering the restaurant, Lara realized that she had errored in her calculation. Seeing that the establishment was nearly dead, Lara did some mental math and realized that it was a Saturday. While shoots didn't usually observe weekends, most of the jobs around here were the nine to five, forty hour work week type.
When a quick glance revealed no good Ser Knight, she seriously considered simply leaving. However, she still would rather eat in the fast food establishment than deal with the relationship drama at the shoot.
She had finished her meal and was focusing on her book, when a voice interrupted her.
"I beg your pardon. The restaurant appears a bit full. Would you mind if I shared your table?"
With a smile, she looked up from her book. Good Ser Knight had a nervous smile, like he wasn't quite sure whether he should be asking her if she minded the company or not. It was the look of a young man who thought they might have read the signs properly, but also was worried they might have read too deeply.
"Well," Lara sighed dramatically. "It is a bit crowded. Go ahead."
His grin widened as he sat himself down.
*Scene Break*
"So what brings you out here on a Saturday, your majesty?" Ser Knight asked her after he had finished eating. Lara had been browsing quietly, allowing him to finish his meal before broaching conversation.
"Work, Ser Knight," she sighed. He raised an eyebrow
"Overtime?" he asked, and she shook her head.
"Unfortunately, no." Payment for the shoot had already been transferred, and she wouldn't see any additional funds until she started making residuals.
"Bummer," he offered, and nodded at the commiseration. "What do you do, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Hmmm," Lara hummed. She didn't actually mind her work, but it tended to have mixed reception when she announced it to a stranger. It unfortunately wasn't something she could keep concealed all too long, and tended to have a polarizing effect on people when it was revealed. "Why don't you use that keen detective instinct you've been working on?"
She decided to make a game of it. If it turned out that her job caused good Ser Knight to wash his hands of her, than it was better to learn now rather than later.
"Hmmm," he raised a hand to his chin, narrowing his eyes as he studied her. He gave her a once over, and was reasonably professional about it, despite her low décolleté.
"Entertainment. An actress," he finally ventured, and she raised an eyebrow. That had been a lot closer than she had anticipated.
"And what brought you to that conclusion?" she asked.
"Well, I sort of cheated," he admitted scratching the back of his head. "I knew that you weren't driving, so you had to be someone who worked in the area. You aren't dressed like you're in warehousing, which is what most of the places around here are. And you look too well dressed to be office personnel for one of them either. I do know that the only other two businesses around here that you might fit into are a legal firm and a movie studio."
She nodded, pursing her lips. "And why did you decide on the movie studio? Why not legal?"
"Well, you knew what the hell a Section Sign was," he reasoned. "So I was going towards that originally. But your outfit just didn't seem to sit right. You look professional, but not as professional as I figured a woman lawyer might. I mean, ladies have an uphill battle in a lot of industries, so I thought that if you were a lawyer you would have to overcompensate on the professionalism."
"Reasonable, and unfortunately correct," she sighed. "It is unfortunately a chauvinistic world."
"Would it help if I apologized on behalf of men?" he offered.
"Are you a duly elected representative of your gender," she asked, and he snorted and shook his head. "Then I'll accept the apology, but only as a personal one." She sipped her Pepsi before encouraging him to continue. "Now what made you decide actress? Why not producer, or director?"
"Because you had the spare time to come out here," he offered. "I don't know much about how the industry works, but I figured if you were some other job on the set, you would be more busy. But if you were an actress, you would have more free time during the times when you're not being filmed."
"Very reasonable," she acknowledged, before smiling slightly and leaning in. "But how do I know you haven't simply recognized me from one of my hypothetical performances, and are only making this up to try and appear more observant, ser knight?"
"A worthy concern, your majesty," he nodded with false aplomb. "However, though I have no way to prove this, I don't have a TV. And I don't really go to movies, unless you count drive throughs."
"A likely alibi," she hummed, though it would be a fair enough reason for him not recognizing her. Or he could simply have tastes different from what she typically starred in. Or he could be a puritan who didn't believe in self-release.
"So?" he asked.
"So what?" she responded, and he rolled his eyes.
"How on were my 'keen detective instincts?"
"Oh? But weren't we just discussing my film career?" she countered.
"You never actually admitted to being an actress," he pointed out. "Just let me continue under the assumption that you were."
"Very astute," she tipped her head to his point. "As a matter of fact, you were quite accurate. Well done, ser Knight."
"Heh," he grunted, grinning in triumph. "So what are you filming? If you're allowed to say, that is?"
"Why this piece is titled, 'The Banging of the Shrew'," she supplied innocently, smiling.
He blinked.
"You don't mean, 'Taming'?" he ventured. She shook her head.
"No, it is 'banging'," she confirmed. "It is a delightful period peace, paying homage to a classical work, detailing how the sexual conquest of an assertive young debutante into gentle servitude to her domineering husband-to-be."
"Er," he said, blinking rapidly as he stared at her. "Um. Are you screwing with me?"
"Still, it's not as much fun as my previous work," she continued on glibly, still smiling innocently. "'Sister Smack', was a fun little number concerning the secret misadventures of a young and nubile convent. Quite fun, that one was."
"Errrrrrr," he managed, his face flushing adorably.
"Now, the upcoming project, 'Blair Bitch Project', promises to be far racier," she continued. "That one will detail how a group of co-eds are captured by dominatrix witch and held in sexual torment until one finally manages to escape and enslave the witch with their…"
"Okay!" ser Knight spoke loudly, interrupting the 'climax' of the movie that she was describing. "You have to be screwing with me. There's no way those titles are real!"
His blush was a shade short of atomic at this point, and Lara laughed openly at his embarrassment.
"The industry tends to be quite creative," she spoke through her laughter, covering her mouth with one hand as she did so. "It seems that parodies are all the rage these days, and capitalizing on big name movies helps sales."
"So then, you're being serious?" he finally asked, still blushing. "You're a… um…"
"Porn star," she supplied, and his blush finally tipped over that final shade it needed to be atomic. "Yes, I'm a veteran of the industry."
"Okay," he got out, still sounding a little unsteady. He swallowed, and looked at her, and she could imagine a tiny hamster running on the mill as he gathered his thoughts.
'Well,' she wondered to herself. 'Let's see how this goes.'
The young man had been entertaining to her, so far. He had been a diversion, a distraction from her day that was mildly enjoyable. However, depending on how he proceeded, she might find that diversion over. If he began acting like others who knew her career, if he started trying to hit on her with the assumption that all porn actresses were ready and willing sluts like so many other men assumed, good Ser Knight would be downgraded from distraction to annoyance. She would make her excuses, and find someplace else to eat and someone else to talk to.
If, on the other hand, he didn't…
"Well, you don't look like you're desperate and being taken advantage of," he began slowly, most likely working through his thought process out loud. "Your clothes have always been high quality so it doesn't look like you need the money or anything. Plus your smart and well read, so it's not like you couldn't find another job if you wanted to. So if you don't have any problem with your job, I don't think I have any kind of standing to have a problem with it either."
"Ah, so you condone my life choices?" Lara pointed out, and he winced.
"No, I mean, I don't have the right to do something like that," he apologized. "Sorry if it came out that way."
"It's fine," she smiled, and it was a genuine one. She decided that he had passed the test suitably in order for her to continue entertaining his company. Perhaps, if he continued to impress her, she might find herself upgrading him at some point in the future.
It had been a while since she had a proper lover, rather than just convenient food. In a few years, perhaps, good Ser Knight might be considerable…
"But, I do have to know," he continued, wincing, and she raised an eyebrow. "The titles… they're not ALL that bad, are they?"
Lara couldn't help her laugh. "Oh, they get so much worse."
*Scene Break*
"How do you even put titles like that onto a resume?" good Ser Knight groaned. The conversation had progressed with acceptable progress in Lara's opinion, and at some point the two had grabbed cheap coffee to sip while they talked. "I mean, what kind of employer would take a title like 'Euro-Gang Bang 6' seriously?"
"I imagine the sort of employers I would be presenting my resume to would have a different definition of embarrassing," Lara pointed out, and good Ser Knight raised his cup to acknowledge her point.
"Still, your majesty," he continued, "are all porn names either ridiculous parodies or the equivalent of a brief description?"
"Mostly," she admitted. "If the name is too oblique, then the average browser might not even realize it is porn and pass it by. The industry is meant to make a profit, after all."
"Marketing isn't my strong point," he acknowledged. So far, good Ser Knight had been treating the entire experience much the same way she had treated his private investigator ambitions: an opportunity to find out all the little things he never knew he never knew about the industry.
Lara found this acceptable, as it also gave her a chance to vent about more of her pet peeves with her job as well.
"Film proposals tend to be quite inventive," she admitted. "Most titles are proposed and settled on during storyboarding. The director usually has the final say, but I've been on sets where the director simply opened the floor to contributions and then chose the proposal that they prefer."
"Huh," he grunted, rubbing his chin. "I guess that makes sense. I mean, it's not like anyone set's out with the ambition that one day they'll film 'Sodomania 5'. Or maybe they did. I suppose some are just born to greatness."
"Some have it thrust upon them," Lara supplied helpfully. It took him a moment to get the double entendre, and his blush which had been steadily receding returned in new force.
"You're evil," he told her, and she flashed him her dimples.
"I've been told so before," she admitted. "So we've discussed my work at length. What is it you do, Ser Knight?"
"Well, besides the studying for the investigator thing, I've been mostly working part time jobs just to make ends meet," he admitted, grimacing. "My current gig is dance instructor assistant."
"Really?" Lara asked, genuinely interested. She hadn't expected good Ser Knight to have the skillset for something like that. "What type?"
"Traditional: waltzes, the foxtrot, some Latin," he listed. "I have another gig with a company that arranges for partners to go to old folks' homes and dance with the tenants."
"I imagine the tenants don't require much practical skill," she ventured, and he nodded with a grimace.
"Most aren't able to get too active, though some of the old ladies can get pretty grabby," he grumbled, and she chuckled at his discomfort.
"It seems we both might have problems with frisky admirers. Would you like to trade tips on how to handle the more persistent molesters?"
"You mean I don't just have to grit my teeth and bear it?" he wondered out loud.
"It only encourages them," she confirmed for him. It was while she was having another small laugh at his expense, that a dark sedan pulled into the parking lot at high speeds before slamming on its breaks. She glanced at it and her eyes widened.
"Get down!" she ordered good Ser Knight loudly as six men bearing semi-automatic weapons piled out of the car at speed. She reached out to pull good Ser Knight to the floor, and found him already halfway there as he responded to her shout immediately.
'A fine reaction,' she noted, surprised at how quickly he had followed her sudden and probably unexpected command. Most people did not act so quickly when unexpected violence occurred. The disbelief that their lives could be in danger so often caused that danger to come true.
Then a volley of automatic fire shattered the glass window they were sitting next to earlier.
"What's going on?" he demanded covering his head with his arm as glass rained down on them. For some reason, he was still clutching his licensing guide, and he had it extended to cover her own head as best it could from the glass.
'Still a gentleman?' she noted in the offhand part of her brain. The majority of her focus was on the hand she had stuffed into her purse for her Ruger 90.
"I don't know," she answered directly. "Six men with weapons."
He swore, and then reached up to the table they had been seated at moments before and flipped it so that it was now between them and the door, providing them cover if the gunmen came through the door.
She found herself approving of his quick action. So Ser Knight had some experience? Well, perhaps it was just the hours he'd been putting into preparing for his licensing.
Either way, she found that kind of quick thinking quite attractive.
Siding up to the wall, she waited until a lull in the shooting came, popped her head up for a quick glance, and then returned fire. She fired three time, and two of the gunmen went down.
She had spent a great deal of time ensuring her accuracy with her chosen weapon. Long experience had shown that heaving a weapon meant precious little if you weren't familiar enough with it to use it.
"Nice shooting!" good Ser Knight cheered for her, and she came down as return fire resumed to find that her purse had spilled out while she had been arming herself. He had recovered the compact she used for touching up her makeup, and had propped the mirror up so he could peer at their assailants without exposing himself.
"Where are they?" she demanded and he indicated roughly over his shoulder. She crawled until she was crouched over his legs, roughly even with where he indicated, and darted her hand over the wall and pulled the trigger three more times.
"Got one," he reported back to her, before frowning fiercely. "One is coming to the entrance."
"Get to the counter," she ordered duck walking at speed to the gap leading to the counter. He followed, swearing fiercely but briefly as he had to brace himself to get to his feet and ran his hand over some glass. She heard him muttering something about never leaving his house without a shield again. She didn't know why he had a shield, but found herself agreeing with the sentiment as she was regretting only having one pistol.
If good Ser Knight wasn't here, she would already have embraced her hunger, but she held back. If things got worse, she would draw on it, but didn't want to have to explain to any witnesses why she was apparently superhuman if she didn't have to.
Normally, she would simply enrapture anyone who saw her like that, and then have them never speak of it. That, or simply kill them herself first. However, with good Ser Knight here, she found herself suppressing her less human reactions.
She made the counter in seconds, and Ser Knight was right behind her, getting behind the cover seconds before more automatic fire came from the front of the restaurant. She prepared to take another look in preparation for another shot when Ser Knight just pulled an entire bin of condiments and threw it over the counter in the direction of the gun fire. Several packets were hit by the fire, showering the two of them in sauce, however there was a pained grunt and a lull in the fire that she took advantage of and fired two more rounds into the fourth gunman.
"Sorry about the ketchup," Ser Knight grunted already duckwalking further back into the store. Lara shrugged.
"I was already prepared to be covered in something sticky and wet today," she acknowledged easily, overtaking him and moving quickly to the back of the restaurant as she understood his intention to find the back exit. "I have some wet naps prepared."
He made a strangled groan at her response.
"Really?" he demanded, and she was pleased to see he was blushing yet again, despite the life and death situation they were in. "Even now?"
"Focus, Ser Knight," she chided him, unable to suppress her grin. Her blood was up and pumping, that high of adrenaline when your life was on the line that she never quite got addicted to, but never regretted having either.
"I'm gonna check the office for a firearm," he told her, scrambling towards the door in the back past the broiler. She nodded, and made towards the exit. It was already open, no doubt the staff having made it first and evacuated that direction. She had only made it half way when a shadow darted across it, and she fired immediately. She had already pulled the trigger when the thought that maybe it was the staff, but her reaction proved true as the fifth gunman went down with a spray of blood from where her bullet found his neck.
She took a step when the voice of Ser Knight came fast and sharp. "Queen!"
She whirled, preparing to throw herself to the side as she saw the final gunman had come through the restaurant and was stepping into the back, weapon already up and training towards her. She began to bring her arms up to protect her head, but there was a very real chance that the high volume of bullets might strike her. She would be able to survive most damage, but if one of them managed to get her in the brain, than even all her stored energy wouldn't be enough to…!
Two things happened almost in sync. First, the gunman's semi-automatic misfired, a dry click that she made out in the razor sharp moment of focus.
Second, good Ser Knight came at the gunman from the side and back, slamming the heavy licensing book he was still carrying down with his full body weight directly into the base of the gunman's neck She heard a sharp crack as the shooter's collar bone and the spine of the book itself both snapped and he went down. Good Ser Knight swung again, forcing the man's head on to the ground with another cracking noise, than Ser Knight kicked the hand holding the weapon hard, forcing the weapon out of the gunman's unconscious grip.
Lara froze, breathing hard. That accounted for the six she had seen arrive, but there might have been more she hadn't seen when she was taking cover. She held her breath, listening for the sound of anyone approaching, and then released her breath as there was none.
She was covered in sweat, ketchup, and glass. She was panting, her hair was disheveled, and she realized at some point her clothing had been damaged and disheveled enough that her brassier was visible.
Good Ser Knight looked about the same. He was breathing hard as well, similarly coated with condiments, his hand was cut, and he had smeared the blood on his face, pants and shirt.
"That is not what 'cracking the books' is supposed to mean," he declared, holding his broken book up and eying it.
Lara couldn't help herself. She threw back her head and laughed.
*Scene Break*
It was several hours later that she found herself standing next to a seated good Ser Knight on the curb outside of the Burger King. It was getting dark, but the number of police lights kept the visibility high.
Honestly, Lara would have preferred to have just left immediately after and avoided involving the law altogether. Sadly, that was untenable in this situation. Her coworkers had known that she was present, she had been seen by the both the staff and the facilities CCTV, her weapon was properly registered, and there were five dead bodies and one injured gunman present.
She had already contacted her legal team. When she arrived home, she would also reach out to some of her contacts in the legal system. This whole incident would most likely be filed, brushed under the table, and then forgotten quickly.
"How are you holding up,? she asked him, offering him a cup of coffee that he took absentmindedly. They had both already been questioned on what happened, though her questioning had gone on quite a bit longer than his. She HAD been the one who had killed five people today, even if it was in self-defense.
"You know, according to traditional gender roles, shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" he complained, scowling a bit. "Then again, I did just watch you shoot five people like some kind of warrior princess. And you even did it in heels." He eyed her stilettos. "That just makes it even more impressive."
"It's alright to feel emasculated," she offered him slyly. "I am, after all, your Queen."
"And why does everyone keep giving me coffee?" he grumbled, eyeing the cup she had brought him. "First the paramedics, than the cops, and now you. Wouldn't the last thing the authorities would want is to have their witnesses bouncing off the walls?"
"After traumatic events, it's not uncommon for witnesses to go into shock," Lara provided for him, taking a seat beside him. "The caffeine helps prevent them from collapsing as the adrenaline wears off. It also makes sure they don't pass out from the lack of adrenaline until they've given their statements."
"Huh." He grunted, and then despite complaining about the drink, took a sip of it. She did as well. "Well, why couldn't I have survived an active shooter environment first thing in the morning, when I need this much coffee to get to work?"
"It is rather inconvenient of them, isn't it?" she commiserated.
"So," he began, giving her a measured look. "You mind if I ask just how is it that you're so good with a gun?"
"Self-defense courses for at-risk targets," she advised him. He raised an eyebrow, and she continued. "My family is quite wealthy, and my career does occasionally make me a target for people attempting to exploit me. I've made certain I'm quite proficient at defending myself."
"I didn't expect the porn industry to be quite this cut-throat," he admitted.
"Unfortunately, this had more to do with my family," she admitted, and when he looked confused she leaned in conspiratorially. "I shouldn't be telling you this. The witnesses aren't supposed to be collaborating as it may affect their testimony. However, my family is in the entertainment industry. Recently, organized crime has been attempting to influence several of our more profitable establishments. This was most likely either an attempted kidnapping, or meant to frighten my family's organization."
"The freaking mob?" he grunted. "Great. You going to be alright? Will they try something like this again?"
"Worried about me?" she teased, but blinked when he just nodded.
"I know it's pretty recent, but I have sort of been thinking of you like a friend, so yeah, I guess I am worried."
"Well," she began, mostly because she had no idea how to respond to that statement. Lara was a centuries old succubus, daughter of the ruler of her species. She didn't have 'friends'. She had subjects, and enemies, rivals and victims. The simple proposition of friendship she had just received was so vastly different from her normal interactions, that she had no real frame of reference for how to proceed.
"Well," she began again, deciding to focus on what she knew. "I fear I have to apologize." He glanced at her, confused, and she frowned, genuinely apologetic. "It looks like I caught you up in the personal issues of my family and I, and as a result you were placed in very real danger."
"Hey," he stuttered, embarrassed. "I mean, it wasn't like you knew this was going to happen. I was just sort of in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"True," she agreed frankly. "However, you did warn me when I was in danger, and put yourself in danger to attack an armed man to protect me. You could have just stayed hidden in the office, but instead you put yourself at risk to assist me." She met his eyes directly, earnestly, and he glanced away in embarrassment. "Thank you."
Lara meant it. She was of the old school. She knew that the by the old laws, a debt had been incurred by her today. Though they had not been in her territory, she had been meeting with good Ser Knight deliberately, and that meant he fell under her protection. It was the results of her actions which had put him in danger, and though she had tried to protect him, had had to rely on his instead.
"I owe you a favor, Ser Knight," she told him voice low and husky, laying a hand on his arm. "Is there some way I can repay you?"
"You don't need to," he mumbled, "not like that anyway." She raised an eyebrow, and he suddenly seemed to realize that maybe he had misread the situation. "I mean, if you were proposing something like… well, if that was what you meant…"
He had not misread the situation. Lara had been making exactly that proposition to him.
When he had just been a slightly chivalrous stranger sharing a seat with her, she had not considered him as anything more than an idle way to pass time. She found him attractive, but there were more attractive out there. He had been decent at conversation, and perhaps she might have considered taking things further with him in time. However, he had shown mettle earlier, contributing actively to the fight despite being unarmed and surprised. He was still young, but there was definitely a hint of the competence and bravery that he would come into on his own with time.
Beyond that, he was also well mannered. She found his efforts at behaving gentlemanly to be charming enough to forgive the errors in their execution.
It had been a while since she had taken anyone to her bed who wasn't food or work. She found her arousal growing as she considered the young man beside her.
Gently, from the arm she was touching, she began to coax, seeking to influence him while tasting his flavor of life…
…before hissing, pulling her hand back unexpectedly. The movement caused her coffee to slosh, spilling onto her.
"You alright?" good Ser Knight asked, and she smiled apologetically.
"Sorry," she apologized. "I spilled some coffee and burnt myself a bit. I didn't get any on you, did I?"
She showed him the light burns on her fingers, and he winced sympathetically.
Protected. She would have laughed at it, if it wasn't so frustrating. She finally decides that she had found someone worth investing her attention into, and it was someone who was touched by true love!
When the White Court fed, they had to push a bit of their own life into the other, mingling it with their target and bringing it all back in. Sort of like how a spider injected venom, and then drank the venom and flesh melted by the venom back. The greater the passion, the greater they could permeate their target, and the easier they could draw it back into themselves. She had attempted only a small brush, more to attempt to rouse good Ser Knight's instincts, so the burns were light.
'So,' Lara mused to herself. 'How to proceed…"
"Well, even if you don't want to use your favor now, you still have it," she told good Ser Knight. "I suppose we better stay in touch until you know what you want to use it for.
"Perhaps we could have coffee in a week or so," she proposed smiling slightly. He grinned, and nodded.
"Sounds like a plan," he agreed.
Lara was patient. She could take action when needed, but sometimes what was needed wasn't action. He had her attention, and she was interested in seeing what this young man grew into. She could be patient. She could wait.
"Well, I suppose I'll need to stop calling you Ser Knight," she mused. She held her hand out as she introduced herself. "My name is Lara Raith."
"Nice to meet you, Lara," he took her hand. "Harry Dresden."
'Dresden,' she mused to herself. She compared the name to a list she always kept internally compiled of potentially dangerous names, and found no match. 'Never heard of him before.'
Lore Check:
So, the names that Lara drops earlier when she's remembering her porn history were historic pioneers in the pornographic industry. Feel free to look them up. I did a lot of research to try and keep the story in early 90s, when its supposed to take place. I think the only anachronistic moment was the 'Blair Bitch' reference (as that was late 90s, but I couldn't resist using it).
Lara not recognizing Harry is perfectly cannon, as she did not actually realize who she was threatening with a gun until he started mouthing off to her after identifying her White Court powers.
Not sure if Elaine and Harry had ever actually made a protection, but I ran with it. It can be disproved, and I think young love is more likely to be actual love (they did soulgaze each other, after all).
Lara not realizing Harry is a wizard is borderline. In White Night, Lara couldn't judge Carlo's power until she touched his hand. I'm running with the idea that the protection kept her from being able to scan Harry for power, inadvertantly leading to neither of them recognizing the others alignment.