Actually, it's pretty decent, but still... Gah!
Seifer stared at the drink, trying to get his hand to close around it. It was horrible stuff, only single-distilled and very cheap. Perfect to drink, if you wanted to get blasted on a small amount of cash.
But why couldn't he seem to grab the glass. Then he saw a pair of female hands pulling on his arm. He looked at the hands, then followed up the curve of the arm with his eyes, to a small pair of breasts in a tank top, then on up until his eyes recognized a familiar eyepatch.
Fujin. She had come to the bar to take him home.
"Wha What're y'doing, Fujin? This's my las' glass, n' then I'll c'm home, I shwear"
She turned to the bartender, and slapped a fifty-gil note down on the bar. "KEEP THE CHANGE" she said, and then pulled on Seifer's arm some more.
Seifer knew it was useless. Once she started, Fujin didn't stop. He stood up, and Fujin slipped an arm around him. Irritably, Seifer shook it off. "I c'n walk perf'cly good on m'own," he said, and then proved his words a lie as he stumbled off into a pool table.
Fujin reached down, and picked him up off the floor. Manhandling him out the door, she dragged Seifer over to a waiting bus. She managed to get him through the door, and ino a bus seat, before he passed out.
It had been like this for the past two years. Fujin and Siefer had been living together, after Raijin went off to Timber. Every night, after finishing the day work he managed to pick up every morning at the employment service, Siefer went to the bar with his day's earnings and blew half of it, drinking himself into a stupor. Every night, Fujin went to the bar, the whole way swearing she was going to leave him. Every night, she dragged him out of the bar, and back home. And every morning, Seifer begged her forgiveness, and when Fujin forgave him, he left for the employment service, swearing that this time he would find a real job and save some money up to get married and move away from Deling City.
Across town, Fujin pulled Seifer to his feet, and half supported, half dragged him out of the bus and into their apartment. Setting him down on the bed, she reaached down and pulled his boots off. It always went like this. She pulled his coat off, the infamous white coat he was known for. Then, she pushed him on into bed, and pulled the cover over him.
A knock came at the door. Fujin walked over and looked out the peephole. It was the landlord, probbly by to see if they had the money for rent.
She opened the door. The landlord just looked at her, and asked the usual question.
"Do you have the rent today?"
Fujin just shook her head. The usual answer.
However, the landlord's reply was different. Instead of "I Expect it tomorrow, then," it was far, far worse.
"Listen, if you don't have the rent tomorrow, I'm going to evict you. You're a month behind. And to tell you the truth, I don't like having a traitor like Almsey in my house, anyways. Tomorrow."
Fujin just nodded. She closed the door, as the landlord walked away. Walking over to the dresser, Fujin pulled out a small canister from the bottom drawer. She emptied it on the kitchen table. Gil notes poured out on the table. Lighting a cigarrette, Fujin sat down and counted the money. It was every gil they had, gil she had hidden form Seifer. If he had known about it, Seifer would have taken it and went to the bar.
She counted quickly. Two hundred and thrty-five gil. Rent was two-twenty five. That left ten gil. Not enough for groceries this week. Or for the water bill. Fujin would have to make ends meet herself, because Seifer could never seem to come home with any money.
She hated herself for it, but it was the only way she could make sure they would have food to eat and water to drink. And men really didn't mind the eyepatch. SeeD training had cost her that eye, but the men didn't care about that. Or the size of her breasts. Or anything, except that she was there, and perfectly willing, for a little bit of money.
She always did it after Seifer was asleep. She would slip into a pair of tight shorts, and a halter top, and some cheap makeup. And on the corner, men would always choose the other whores first, but there was always at least one who didn't mind a too-loud voice, or an eyepatch, or inexpertly applied makeup. Or a lousy lay, as long as it was a lay. And she hated herself for it, for selling herself like this.
But what else could she do?
Tonight, though, she was going to bed. She stepped into the bedroom. She stripped, and laid down beside Seifer under the cover. Pulling his shirt off, she lay by his side, her body pressed against his warm chest. And she pretended that she was rich, and he hadn't been drunk, and they were a normal couple.
In the quiet of the night, Fujin cried herself to sleep.
