dirtdevil | noctium inbox

[ Alex had heard about the bar from other patrons enough times to be curious, especially knowing it was owned by a fellow gem bonded. So she finds herself visiting it after working at a different bar, just to relax and be a customer for once. She failed to notice, however, that a rather drunk customer from the bar she came from was also there.

Having recognized her, he starts to make a request for a song, to which she declines and explains that she’s off the clock and not working. But he pays no mind to that, raising his voice, grabbing her arm demanding she sing his damn song, or else what kind of good for nothing entertainer was she? ]

Sir, please! You’re making a scene!

[ oh no no no. that just won't do.

the thing about being deceptively small is that people—large, drunk people especially—don't tend to take you seriously. unlike others in his position, Levi can't just glower menacingly at would-be troublemakers from the shadows and expect it to be enough. nine times out of ten they won't even see him in the first place, and then when he does have to approach someone, they tend to look down on him in more ways than one, drunk or sober. this guy seems no different.

what he can count on is being underestimated and thus having the upper hand, even against people easily twice his size. just as expected, this one doesn't see him as a threat at all when he issues a final (read: only) warning: what's a shrimp like him gonna do about it?

the answer to that question, as it turns out, is that he's going to grab the guy by his dumb ugly shirt, drag him bodily all the way across the bar, and then quite literally throw him out the door.

so much for not making a scene.

there's a bit of a hush in the room as guests watch it all unfold, and at the end of it, Levi instructs the guy never to come back and shuts the door. turning around to see half the bar looking at him doesn't exactly please him either, which he communicates with a scowl; it's enough to get people to stop staring, at least.

finally, he heads back to Alex, rolling his eyes at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. ]

Sorry. We don't get assholes like that very often. Are you alright?

Edited 2021-10-19 07:29 (UTC)

[ The unexpected hero makes quick work of troublemaker, and had Alex not known him already, she would have been a lot more surprised at the fact that this was his job. She’s not as tense when he returns, a more apologetic look on her face. ]

I am…thank you. Sorry about that, I think he came from one of our bars…

[ So she might have brought trouble there? ]

You’re um…not gonna get in trouble for that, are you?

[ She cants her head towards the bar that was already being cleaned up by workers that looked a little too used to this. ]

Trouble? [ there's just a little bit of a lilt in his voice, like he's trying to act surprised. ] I was just doing my job.

[ he flicks a bit of dust (or possibly nothing) off his jacket. who knows where that dude had been? apparently another bar. what an idiot. ]

That's not something you need to apologize for. He probably got kicked out of that one, too. As long as he's not following you around.

Oh, no! I don’t think that’s it at all.

[ He might’ve been rude, but he wasn’t that terrible of a drunk at least. ]

He probably just wanted to check this place out. I’d been hearing about it myself so I wanted to take a look.

[ And in the end she sort of made a mess… ]

Is this what you’ve been up to?

Well, he's welcome to check it out from the outside.

[ he's not really expecting the dude to try to come back in, but he glances back over his shoulder briefly anyway. it's busy enough tonight that it might be slightly easier to sneak in than usual, but he's relatively confident about his handling of the situation.

he's still gonna keep an eye out either way. ]

A few nights a week, yeah. Figured I might as well make myself useful at least part of the time.

[ he's not terribly well-suited for a lot of the work in this place, but he's pretty good at throwing people out doors. it's a valuable skill. sort of. ]

And you're what, singing? Or was that guy so trashed he was just making shit up?

[ She’s pretty sure the bar found him plenty useful if they had to deal with people like that on the daily. ]

I am, though not here. I just finished, so I came by for fun.

[ Though…maybe going to a bar by yourself doesn’t exactly sound like ‘fun’. ]

How…how’ve you been?

[ Since that time of forced vulnerability. Was it okay to ask that here? ]

Oh wait—I’m sorry, you’re still on the job right? I don’t mean to take up your time or get you in trouble…

It's fine. I'm not gonna get in trouble.

[ aside from having a pretty good perspective on what's going in here most of the time, he also takes a moment to socialize with patrons approximately... uh, never, so he's not exactly worried about it. ]

I'm doing well. [ damn, it's pretty nice being able to say that. it sounds odd coming out of his own mouth. ] I'd hope your days usually go better than this.

I’m glad.

[ What with how distraught he looked, it’s great that he was doing well. ]

And yes! It’s not always like this. [ Her laugh is a bit embarrassed, hoping she didn’t come off as some kind of trouble magnet. ]

There are a few people like that. It is what it is.

[ it certainly made it hard to sleep that night, but it could have been a lot worse, and he knows it. actually, come to think of it... ]

Eh, I'm not too worried about it. I happen to know you can throw a pretty good punch when you need to.

[ She should take that as a compliment, even if she knows it wasn’t an actual punch that she demonstrated. She has been practicing, though! ]

Thanks, [ An awkward chuckle precedes her gratitude, but she thinks that sounds better than trying to play her actions down. ]

Still, I would like to show my appreciation. You’re on the clock now so maybe…if you’re free earlier in the day I could get you a coffee or tea sometime? Ah, unless you prefer food, that’s fine too.

[ ordinarily he would turn down an offer like this, but the fact is he still feels indebted to Alex for ~~punching~~ headbutting him that night and rescuing him from having to relive one of the worst moments of his life.

which is saying a lot, because his life has totally sucked.

anyway, that aside, Alex also just said the magic word, so how could he possibly say no? ]

If you really want to, I guess. I do like tea.

[ massive understatement, but it's fine. people don't need to know how into tea he is. ]

[ His response might be subdued, but Alex still took it positively. It wasn’t a no. ]

Great!

[ Reaching into her pocket she pulls out her phone. ]

Can I have your contact information then?

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Action (Early October)

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