Chapter 1: Comfort
Night Salvage.
That was the name of the club.
Low beats of a loud bass jittered across the black outside wall of the multistory building. Female and male alike dressed up and formed the queue that led to two doormen double the size of body wrestlers.
The air was brimming with overused pick up lines, witty conversations, phone leds and the scent of make up. Cigarettes were tossed into the gutter and baggies containing coke exchanged hands quicker than women in a speed dating area.
Sidestepping the queue that was longer than the club's opening hours, Shizuo forced his way forward.
It had changed over the years.
The club.
People of all ages leaned on the walls and posed for selfies before entering the wild market of potential lovers. Or for some, clients.
Drug dealing had and would always be part of the main reason this destination was so heavily flooded with customers.
The typical shady guy waiting in a dark alley selling questionable substances of even more questionable quality was non-existent in this area. Instead they were the main attraction.
Moving up to the doormen at the front Shizuo quickly showed his freshly printed ID before receiving the approving nod needed to pass through. A heavy crimson rope streaked with gold hung at the front door and was only undone once the doormen were done checking the guests.
Only high class materials made up the floor, walls and ceiling. Mirrors were implemented everywhere, and marble replaced the average concrete making up most club's interior. Only the floor was covered in a dark red velvet.
Shizuo wasn't sure what kind of material they used, he just noticed it provided an impressively good grip while still swallowing up unnecessary sounds like the heels of shoes clacking across.
A group of women moving in front of Shizuo seemed to prove the floor's good quality as one of them laughingly pushed the other into her side without her moving even a millimeter.
"Excuse me." Quick glances were cast across their shoulders as they scanned the foreign man from head to toe.
Shizuo was a good looking man. Always had been. Some said suits suited him best. He was of a different opinion.
Wearing a simple black linen shirt with emerald handcuffs on each side, shoved up to his elbows and paired with equally black pants was his favorite go to look.
And it seemed the ladies agreed as they suddenly were very void of words in order to take in Shizuo's appearance.
Careful not to hurt any of them, Shizuo brushed one of the women aside before slipping past.
His destination laid elsewhere.
Away from the air brimming with life and music too loud to his tastes.
Just as any other club this labyrinth of rooms also owned an area to relax.
A flight of stairs descending even lower into the ground swallowed some of the action and added a comforting dim to the music coming from above as Shizuo went down.
Compared to the people and stuffed air above, this was much more to his liking.
Circling around themselves the stairs flowed into an oval shaped room.
Lights of magenta and turquoise distorted vision and a set of luxurious couches settled in the walls surrounded the entire area. There was still room to dance with a dance floor in the middle, just as packed as the one on the floor above, but the music was dimmed and conversing was actually possible without screaming each other's ears off.
Necklaces glittered and earrings shifted as gorgeous women received flattery by their equally astonishing partners. These were guests of importance.
CEO's, daughters of rich fathers, proficient liars and most importantly- dealers.
Like a king's jewelry in a crown a couple men of varying statues sat by the tables joining the luxurious couches. Each owned a bodyguard for themselves and a year's supply of your drugs of choice. Sitting down meant you were either going for a drink and potential sugar daddy, or simply a customer paying more than well to receive quality and discretion.
"Ah, you must be Shizuo!" Tearing his stare away from a deal taking place right before his eyes on a nearby table, Shizuo diverted his direction back to the right of the oval-shaped room.
Golden light enhanced by the natural amber color of whisky illuminated a sophisticated bar.
Mirrors behind the shelves and across the room at the height of most people's heads created the illusion of an infinite room.
Glasses of various shapes, colors and quantities hung from the ceiling too high to prove a hassle, but low enough to reach.
A young woman, probably in her twenties still, quickly moved forth from the bar by lifting the bar plate on one side.
Vibrant green eyes matched the same emerald handcuffs that Shizuo wore on a similarly black linen short. The jewels were the real deal, provided by their new boss. Her hair was a dark hazelnut brown, mixed with low cut strands of dyed blonde at the tips of her generously large curls. Their attire varied only in the degree that their chest differed as she had clearly been blessed by her genes.
Pressing her hands to her chest she showed a beaming smile, "I was waiting for you, I hope you got in here without any problems?" she asked quickly and Shizuo showed his ID with a shake of his head.
"No worries, everything went fine." An immediate smile blossomed on the woman's lips and she clapped her hands.
"Good! Then if you would follow me," gesturing towards the bar, she returned the same way she came from while signing for Shizuo to join.
The woman's talents were quickly pinned down as Shizuo entered what appeared to be an extraordinarily well kept bar area.
No sticky area was to be found, all liquors were kept in neat designated orders and not a single empty glass was left standing unattended. Light illuminated not only the top of the bar with elegance and grace, but also the cupboards and floor. Like a golden shimmer accompanying a holy entity, the light straps had been attached in a way that created not a single opportunity for darkness.
It was undeniably pretty, but also extremely practical while working.
"This is where we keep the ice, just ring this bell here in case you are ever running out of it. The supplies for the cocktails are here, cream, syrups, fruits, everything we have has been freshly delivered, as for the spoons- did you see the glasses?"
Pointing to various cupboards, corners and hidden sockets the woman quickly showed him around. A certain air of nervosity, mixed with happiness and knowledge of her profession surrounded her and Shizuo quickly memorized what she taught.
The used glasses were being cleaned at the back by specific personnel, therefore their job consisted solely of the mixture of their guests' desired drinks.
Alcohol, creams, decorations and everything needed to impress their customers was easily accessible and their arrangement self-explanatory.
Pulling down a particularly well crafted glass from the ceiling the woman quickly explained its designated use for specific guests. Only halfway down her rant about how cherry syrup was under no circumstances to be used with said clients did she pause in her gush of flowing words.
"You know how to mix, right?" a hint of horror grazed her expression for just a moment and Shizuo showed a quick relieving smile.
"Don't worry I'm confident there is no cocktail I can't do."
Beaming with delight the woman released the breath she had shortly held, "That's good," she sighed while nodding to herself, "I have been serving drinks alone for the past week. The last one quit after I just finished teaching him every single drink on our card."
"What an asshole."
"Right?" she chuckled, but hesitated anew as she noticed another important matter that she had forgotten to address. "Ah, my name is Evelyn," she quickly announced, offering to shake Shizuo's hand as a quick greeting. "Sorry, I forgot earlier, sometimes my head is all over the place," she apologized and Shizuo smiled while taking her hand.
"Nice to meet you." Apparently she was european. The handshake, her skin tone, overall politeness and dedication to details only enforced the idea as she bowed to a new client entering the oval bar.
Perfectionism was written all across her attitude and her apology about having her heads in the clouds seemed more like a harsh opinion she had about herself than an actual issue.
"Hey, this isn't what we agreed on-"
A voice louder than expected rose above the beats for a second and Evelyn's eyes discreetly glanced towards one of the tables. Shizuo did the same, in a similar fashion as he looked towards the corner he had seen the transaction take place earlier.
Whether they had been selling drugs or merely stocking them had been unclear from that glimpse alone.
Unhinged madness was written all across the young italian that had jumped to his feet and his dark brows furrowed.
Had he been fired? From his duties? From the looks of it he appeared to be a dealer. A minor one. Selling a few hundred baggies a week perhaps.
But not even a shred of movement displayed in his counterpart's mimic as he peacefully counted a bundle of money. Tossing it towards the raging italian he merely cocked his head sideways, towards the entrance of the bar.
He was signing for him to leave.
Shizuo had already seen it before, this kind of interaction.
His superior was telling him to take the money and leave as long as he could.
Chest rising and anger spiking, the Italian seemed anything but pleased by this turn of events, but was quickly shut down when his superior's bodyguard moved.
A giant of a man. Russian perhaps. His jawline was as hard cut as his stare and only enhanced by his set of clear blue, unforgiving eyes.
Omnipresent pressure seemed to fill the area for a second and even the people on the dancefloor started whispering to each other and slowed down.
Turning his head the italian seemed to realize the very few options he had and so he took the one that was most beneficial.
He left.
No word was said, no more commotion caused and within a few seconds the guy was gone and the giant back in his seat. The music that had appeared to dim down picked back up with the pace of the guest's dancing.
It was only now that Shizuo realized their odd conformity.
There were a lot of dealers in this area, he had noticed that immediately upon entering, but now that he had a chance to look at them for longer than a few seconds he noticed their similarity.
The same suits. The same jewelry, same hairstyle, attire- even the brand of cigars they smoked seemed to be the same as he watched the bodyguard's client cut the end of one of his own.
Trailing back towards the bar area, Shizuo quickly followed his new instructor.
"What's up with them?" Shizuo asked quietly after making sure that no one eavesdropped on him.
Glass at hand and attention focused on the area before them Evelyn leant just a tad closer, "They are special. They have never caused a scene so far and they leave a lot of money," she whispered discreetly. "Just make sure not to offend them."
So his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, these were not a bunch of drug dealers, this was an entire ring. A unity.
Reserved only for this area most probably.
Picking a new glass from the ceiling Evelyn grasped a bottle of vodka and kaluha syrup. The bodyguard that had defended his client earlier had given not more than a simple nod for her to understand the signal and she quickly reached into a generously sized fridge below the mahogany counter to fetch a bottle of heavy cream.
Shizuo didn't need to think twice to know that she was mixing a white russian and gallantly took the cream from her hands.
"Are they hard to deal with?" he asked quietly and poured the cream into a shaker with a set of ice cubes.
Pleased by the help Evelyn showed a quick appreciative smile before measuring the correct ratio of the remaining two ingredients.
"No, the opposite," she whispered in between the violent shakes Shizuo used to turn the heavy cream into actual substance. "They are exceptionally polite."
Sliding a gorgeously crafted tumbler across the counter Shizuo quickly poured the freshly whisked cream onto the caffeinated drink.
"Then why should I be wary?" he asked while Evelyn added a rose colored spoon to the now slowly merging drink.
"Because someone spending their nights in clubs like these with more bodyguards than money being spent usually means they are dangerous," she winked, and with that she whipped the drink off the table and steered towards the bodyguard.
Following the women's movement Shizuo shortly leant against the counter.
After just five minutes in here he had already gotten the gist of the current time.
Not much had changed.
Bars were bars, and this one was better than most when it came to security at least and having a single drug ring lead all distribution at least ensured that there would be no gang fights taking place anytime soon.
The lights were pleasant. The music wasn't exactly his taste, but Evelyn was nice. The bar was well kept too.
And the customers-
Nostalgia heavily influenced his decision making as he rolled up his sleeves to his elbows.
Multiple guests at once, mostly women in high heels and cocktail dresses but also a set of well situated men, entered the oval bar and Evelyn quickly accelerated her pace, as she slipped behind the counter.
Clothes were adjusted, her hair quickly tied back by a large emerald crunchy and she straightened her back as she readied herself for her shift.
A certain type of hectic, but also passion glimmered in her eyes as she nodded politely towards the first few guests steering towards the bar.
"By the way, I never asked, when can you start?" she quickly asked with a professional smile, and somehow the question brought more comfort than Shizuo had expected.
"Now?"
to be continued~
Yo guys~ So this is the new story xD I hope you are as hyped for it as me haha You have a lot of flirting ahead, dangerous business and of course, lots of cocktails xD
Just as with "Impostor" I am experimenting a bit with a more dedicated and detailed approach regarding settings, metaphors and descriptions above the heaps of dialogue, so I can already tell you this will be a slow burn story xD But I promise it will burn well C; xD
Next up is Izaya haha Now how will he fit into this setting?
Just to clarify, this is an AU where Shizuo and Izaya don't know each other yet haha
Well then, with that being said, see you next Saturday C: