A Day in the Life
Collection of drabbles.
l l l Part 10 l l l
Staring raptly at the glass in front him, Reno watched the condensation fall steadily down the side, pooling on the wood, bound to leave a white ring in its wake. He was mesmerized. With glazed eyes, he tried to focus but ended up staring through the glass and into the amber liquid within.
"You going to finish that?" Vaguely startled, Reno inclined his head toward his partner and shook his head.
"Nah, man—I think I'm done. I gotta take a piss." He went to stand up, leaning heavily on the bar. His hands held tightly to the wood as he gained his balance, before he turned and headed toward the stairs off to the side.
Rude shook his head and grabbed Reno's glass, downing the burning liquid appreciatively. His eyes trailed Tifa as she served another customer at the far end of the bar some form of clear alcohol. When she was done, she looked toward Rude, eyed his glass, and raised a questioning eyebrow. He shook his head, and tried to make it look like he wasn't just openly staring at her.
After a few moments of staring idly down at his empty glass, he noticed the volume in the bar pick up, and turned his head to watch a commotion brew toward the back—a nightly occurrence, he presumed, as he glanced at Tifa who was shaking her head but keeping a watchful eye trained on the group.
"Fuck! Don't start with me man—I said I didn't touch that skanky bitch of yours."
"'Bitch?!' Who're you callin' a bitch?"
Rude didn't have to look to know someone was going to get one hell of a beating rather soon. As the sound of chairs being pushed back and glass being thrown carelessly reached his ears, Rude pushed up from his position at the bar and made to head toward the back, but Tifa was already a step ahead of him.
"Break it up or I'll break both of you in half." He had to admit, she did sound quite intimidating as she pushed herself between the two troublemakers.
"Out of my way—fucker deserves what's coming." The taller brute practically snarled, but it was aimed at the said fucker opposite the brunette bartender.
"She said break it up. I say get the hell out of here." Rude was standing tall, a few feet from the overturned table, his dark blue suit a prominent and unmistakable warning to the both of them.
The smaller of the two men nodded his head and eyed the entrance, but he noticed he'd have to pass by the other man in order to leave. Rude noticed his expression and turned to the taller man.
"Move. Now."
He wasn't at all surprised to see a fist flying in his direction, but Rude caught it easily, throwing his own punch square in the other man's face, who went down without so much of a sound. Rude sighed, irritated that he'd now have to haul the man out into the street.
Immediately, the other man made for the exit after throwing a few bills onto a nearby table to cover his own drinks. He gave Tifa a semi-apologetic look before disappearing out the door.
"What'd I miss?"
Rude turned to see his partner standing behind him, his left hand running through his wild, red hair. Reno then tried to straighten out his jacket, which had been hanging haphazardly on his lanky frame, yet didn't seem to notice the suspicious tear that decorated the left shoulder. His button up was currently only half-way buttoned and his pants looked liked they'd been trampled quite a few times.
Rude only raised an eyebrow at him, eyeing him skeptically.
Reno shrugged halfheartedly, "What?"
Rude slowly put his sunglasses on, never taking his gaze off the young Turk. "Where're your goggles?"
l l l
to be continued.