genessia | [action] Well it's a big, big city and the lights are all out

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[action] Well it's a big, big city and the lights are all out

WHO: Graverobber, Faye Valentine
WHAT: Graverobber and Faye go on a date after Graverobber answered Gren's personal ad for her
WHEN: October 9th
WHERE: Jack's Bar

Graverobber hasn't been to Jack's Bar before, so he stands outside the front of it feeling mildly out of place and idly just scrolling through his device while he waits. He's dressed somewhat nicer than usual -- his hair's been brushed and he's wearing non-ratty versions of his normal clothes -- but he's still identifiable himself. Which in this case means a black shirt, long coat, and jeans that haven't been ripped anywhere.

He'd heard of Faye before the personal ad, but only in passing and really just in the context of her working at Fortuna Palace. Apart from that, he doesn't know much, including why she has a friend (?) scouting dates for her. But, hey, a night out can't hurt. Besides, only way to know more about someone was to talk, so some drinks and chatter didn't seem like a bad way to spend time.

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The questions earn a thoughtful 'hmm' out of him as he sips off of his beer glass, since, in all truthfulness, neither of them was exactly the case. "I wasn't doing it out of boredom," he says first, figuring that was probably the more important point to address. "I dunno. I don't know a whole ton of people here and most of the women I know are already paired up. And you sounded like the type of woman I usually like spending time around, at least based on the profile."

"Wouldn't say I really loved dating, exactly," he says, hedging a little more as he talks. "Back home, I had relationships, but it wasn't exactly like how dating works for most people. Kind of difficult to take someone out for dinner when you all live in the gutter."

That sounded all fair play to Faye - all the men she knew were paired, hopelessly in love with someone else, or else gay. She did smile again when he said that he liked her profile. That was nice to say, even if she thought Gren had been a bit generous with it.

Faye leaned forward a little as he spoke about home and rested her head on her hand while she listened. She wasn't sure if he meant the gutter literally or not, but she nodded to show she understood, at least to some degree. "Yeah. And it's not exactly top of anyone's agenda, is it, when you're just trying to hustle your next meal?" Then she glanced at her empty glass. "You want another drink?"

He chuckles wryly at that. "Exactly," he says. "Not exactly something people worry about when their wallets and bellies are empty. Or when they're jonesing, as the case may be."

At the offer, he finishes off his beer with a long swig before nodding. "Sure. I wouldn't be opposed to another beer."

"Shit. No. I bet that doesn't leave you feeling too hot." While gambling was her own particular vice, she's seen plenty suffer from other addictions, and she isn't one for judging.

"Alright. Back in a sec." Faye gets up from the table and heads to the bar. She doesn't have to wait long at all to get served, the bar tender finding her pretty quickly. Then she walks back to the table with their drinks, leaning down to put them carefully on the table before taking her seat again. "There we go."

"Thanks," he says with a small smile, clinking his glass against hers before taking another sip. "So what about you, then? You real into dating, or are you just looking to see what's available around here? I mean, I know your friend set up the profile, I'm just curious why you agreed to go along with it."

What to say about herself? It's always more tempting for her to lie, to make up some stories about her situation. But he seems like a decent person, and she is trying to be good... Still, her eyes are more on the table and on his beer because truth telling is hard for her. "Gren figures that there's a distinct lack of...romance in my life. He isn't wrong... So. Why not?"

Faye shakes her head at herself, but finally looks back up at him, "Never know if you don't try. And I figure dating must be the same." She smiles and shrugs as she takes another sip from her wine. Well, if he figures she's a loser for her lack of luck in love or dating then at least she knows she hasn't lied about herself.

Graverobber just sort of watches curiously, catching the embarrassment in her tone and the way she seems to shift from insecurity to boldness. It doesn't bother him, and he responds to her shrug with one of his own to match.

"Sounds fair to me. After all, can't hurt to try, right?" he says with another sip off of his drink. "How many guys did your friend wind up setting you up with, anyway, if that's okay to ask?"

"Three others. They've been in touch, but nothing has been arranged yet." Faye smiles at this, amused as she thinks of those Gren has set her up with, how probably incompatible they are. "I haven't had even the tiniest bit of interest in a date since I arrived, and I'm not expecting to wind up in some kind of love triangle. Or square. Or whatever. But if they've been nice enough to get in touch then who am I to say no." Faye laughs quietly, "But if it means I might get a meal or two out of it then I'm not gonna complain." She grins, but she hopes he can tell that she's teasing about that. Kind of.

He huffs out a small laugh at that. "No judgement on that. Food is food," he says with a small grin, before teasing: "So even if they suck, you can still get dinner out of it. Personally, I saw through your clever ruse for free dinners and just went in for alcohol instead."

Graverobber had done no such thing. He just liked alcohol.

Faye raises her brows archly at that, "Oh really?" Then she narrows her eyes with a smirk as she leans across the table toward him. "It's your round next, and suddenly I feel very much in the mood for the best champagne the bar has to offer..." However expensive, or not, that may turn out to be. Sure, Faye has done that exact very thing several times before, but for the moment...is this flirting?

He chuckles a little at that. "Oh, hadn't you heard?" he says with a tone dripping with faux-innocence. "They're out of their finest champagne. And their second-finest, for that matter. All of their champagne, really. Someone came in earlier and drank them out of house and home."

Taking another sip off his beer, he adds, "I overheard them say that one the cheapest well wine is left, so I'll only be able to get you their lowest-cost pinot grigrio. We'll be lucky if it doesn't come in a box."

"Oh really? Did they, now? Well, sounds like the man on that date really wanted to impress his woman, buying the finest the bar has to offer..." Faye gives a mock pout and leans back in her chair, glancing around the room. She notices a bartender visiting tables to clear up empty glasses. "So if I called this bartender over, he'd say the exact same thing, would he? Only the lowest cost pinot grigio?" She tilts her head at him as she teases, a dare in her eyes as she holds his gaze.

"He absolutely would," he says, keeping his eyes level and his grin at a minimum, trying not to chuckle at the clear tease. "And I, for one, am deeply hurt by the distrust you seem to be displaying, as if I had said something wild and unbelievable."

When he mentions being 'deeply hurt', Faye puts on the sweetest fake pout, "Aww. Poor you." Then she looks pointedly at the bartender, who moves from what he was doing and straight over to their table. Meanwhile, Faye glances at Graverobber shyly, "Should I double check with him? About the champagne? Just in case?"

He grins slightly at the pout, shrugging slightly at the challenge with his hands out. "It's your call. I mean, you can call him over and ask him whatever you want, assuming you don't trust me at all..."

The bartender stops at the table and picks up the empty glasses, looking at them expectantly. Faye smiles up at him, "So my date here, he's real nice. He wants to really treat me. So he's asking if we could have," and here she pauses to tap gently at one of Graverobber's hands with one of her own, "Two of your very best most premium cocktails. He's going to pay for them too. Isn't that sweet?" See? She doesn't ask about the champagne after all.

He admittedly waits for her to talk with a tense look, though when she speaks, he's all smiles at the waiter. "What the lady said," he answers with a shrug, and the waiter nods and walks off.

"If you'd actually ordered some really rich champagne I may or may not have pretended I suddenly desperately needed to go to the men's room." he says with a laugh when the waiter leaves.

That tense look is rather satisfying; it tells her she's done a good job at teasing him and stringing him along. How fun! But she does mean it as just a bit of fun.

When he laughs, Faye grins and sits up even straighter like she's very pleased with herself. Yet when she speaks, it's like butter wouldn't melt, "Oh? But I thought you said there was no champagne..." She flutters her eyelashes, oh so coy and innocent.

He lets out a small snort of a laugh, before pitching his voice full of faux-innocence. "Well, golly gee, my mistake," he says, laughing slightly again. "So it's good that you ordered those cocktails or else we would have had a real dilemma on our hands, now wouldn't we?"

"We sure would." Faye smiles at him sweetly for a moment before laughing as the bar tender brings over two lavish pink cocktails, complete with umbrellas. "Thank you." Faye winks at the waiter, who blushes before he shuffles away. "Well. Look at this. So kind of you to offer to pay for these." Faye lifts her glass and holds it out over the table, "Cheers."

He huffs another small laugh. "Cheers," he says, lifting his glass. And then, before sipping, "Do you know what exactly it is we're drinking, or are we just going on blind faith that this is the best they've got?"

Faye settles back slightly, but she's still leaning into the table, taking a small sip. In doing so, her eyebrows raise slightly. "No idea, but it definitely has alcohol in it." Which she doesn't seem to mind as she takes another slow sip, savouring the taste a bit more. "It's not bad, I guess. What do you think?"

Graverobber takes a sip off of his own drink, rolling it over his tongue for a bit before swallowing. "It's not bad," he says. "Kinda sweet. But it's definitely got alcohol in it and they ain't skimping on it, and that's what matters, ain't it?"

"And what makes it even more delicious is that you're paying." Faye grins at him with a wink - after two large glasses of wine she is feeling far more relaxed than she did earlier in the evening. It helps that he has made this less formal and terrifying than it might have been. She takes the tiny umbrella out, twirling it in her fingers as she takes another drink. "So, when you're not taking pretty women out drinking, what else do you do for fun?"

He huffs another laugh. "That would add to the flavor, wouldn't it," he jokes, before taking another swig.

Graverobber thinks on that and shrugs. "Kind of still figuring that out," he says, "The city is not, exactly, the type of circumstances I had back home. So I'm still sorting it out a bit. I watch movies sometimes and listen to rock music and chat with people on my device. I spend a lot of time trying out mixing drinks for the bar at work, so I have new stuff for people. Things like that. How 'bout you?"

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