Noventa - A Star Wars Story

There was always work to be done around the bar. Or sometimes behind it.

In this case, Cal was in the back room. He was always trying to change things around back there, moving things here and there, fiddling with the arrangement of the crates, moving things around on the desk. He never seemed to make much progress, though.

Cal paused, wiping one arm across his brow. He was dressed down, which for him meant no vest. Still a neckcloth, though. And it was somewhat hot work, even if not much progress was being made.

Runi headed down, and, being relatively new to the bar, was surprised to find Cal downstairs... doing... something. Shifting boxes around for some reason. "Cal... what're you doing?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Cal turned. "Oh." He smiled, warmly, perhaps just a touch playfully. "Hey, you." He paused a moment, looking at her.

Turning back to the bulk of the room, he sighed. "I don't know. Just moving some things around. Everytime I come back here, I'm surprised how much stuff we've got. I don't even know what's in some of these crates." He scratched at his chin. "So, I was just trying to sort things out a bit. Wasn't making much progress." He glanced back at her, smirking. "Don't suppose you wanna help me sort it out?"

"Well, let's see..." She came over, looking at what he'd done so far. "Let's start opening things up and sorting them into groups first. Then we can figure out where everything can go in the end."

So far, it looked as though Cal had mostly shuffled things around.

"Well..." He rubbed his chin. "Mostly it's whisky of different sorts. I'd say I didn't know there were so many different kinds, but, well..." He smirked. "I do actually know that."

He walked over, finding an unmarked crate. "But then there's this one, right in the middle. Don't know what it is. Suppose we could open it up, have a look."

"Let's do it," she said, walking over and lifting the lid of the crate.

"I like that attitude." Cal said, smirking.

Inside was, it appeared, mostly packing. But some digging found a number of bottles of clear liquid. Entirely unmarked.

His eyebrows going up, Cal took one of the bottles out of the box. "I don't think I've ever seen this before." He said. "I'm guessing it's alcohol. I mean, this is a bar." Smoothly, he uncorked it, lifting it to his nose. "Yeah, that's alcohol alright." He passed it to Runi.

She accepted and bottle, sniffing a bit at it, then taking a small sip. Her eyes went wide. "Whoah, damn. Who owned this place before you?"

Cal grinned at her reaction. "Okay, now I have to try it."

He let out a breath. "Owned... technically speaking, I've been the owner since I was sixteen." A pensive look flickered over his features.

He shook his head, giving her a smirk. "But before I recovered it, well... it was an establishment called The Pit. It was for the sort of people that think that Providencetown just isn't debauched enough."

"Yeah, I can tell," she said, handing him the bottle back. "I'm not 100% sure this is legal."

"Well," Cal smiled, "-that's the thing about Noventa. What's legal and what isn't is a little flexible." Still, he looked a little doubtful as he took the bottle, and even more doubtful as he lifted it to his lips. And even more doubtful than that when he took his first sip.

"Wow." He said, his voice rough as he lowered the bottle. "You weren't kidding, huh." He shook his head.

Then he held the bottle out to her, smirking. "Want another hit?"

"Nope. Got a hell of a kick, but I suspect it's laced with something, too. Nothing too bad, I think," she said, trying to somewhat reassure him as she took back the bottle and took another sip.

"Laced...?" Cal echoed. He looked down at the bottle, his lips thinning. "Well, in that case, there's no way I'm gonna serve it. We should..." He watched, blinking, as she took another sip.

"Runi..." After a moment, he shook his head with a laugh. "You always were a bold one, weren't you? Well, I happen to like that." He leaned forward a little, narrowing his eyes as he tried to find hers. "Here, let me see your pupils. Make sure they're not pulsing or anything like that." Actually, in the dim light of the room, his looked a little big, making his brown eyes darker than usual.

She shrugged and looked up at his eyes. They weren't pulsing, just a little larger in the dark... though with her slightly predatory features and bright eyes, it looked more like the eyes of a cat about to pounce than anything.

The comparison seemed like an apt one to Cal. He studied her eyes, first in medical concern, then more in just aesthetic appreciation. After a few moments, he smiled.

"Don't seem to be anything wrong with them. Far from it." The light was dim, but that didn't stop his brown eyes from seeming to sparkle. "You know, the way you look right now puts me in mind of a cat about to pounce. If I was prey, I might start to feel nervous."

She grinned, showing her teeth. "Who says you're not?"

The flashing of teeth made the comparison even stronger. Of course, it also reminded Cal of how she liked to bite.

Smirking playfully, he stepped forward, drawing close enough that they were almost touching. "Well then, there must be something wrong with me. What prey would get this close to its predator? Maybe one with a death wish?" He lowered his head, just a little, the smirk growing. "One that wanted to get eaten?"

She grinned wider and raised her eyebrows. "Careful. You never know when I could snap and swallow you whole."

From the sudden heat in Cal's eyes, as well as the deep breath he took, it was clear that statement had an effect. "Well." He said. A half-step closer, and his body brushed against hers. "Maybe you and I should have a talk about that. But first, maybe we should finish that conversation we started the other day."

His hands slid around her waist as he leaned forward. His lips sought hers, hot and hungry. And smiling, even as he kissed her; something about Runi just made him like that.

She backed into one of the crates, pulling him forward to follow the contact with her lips. Once she was perched, she pulled him against her with arms around his shoulders and legs around his hips. Her kisses were eager and forceful, with the teasing hint of sharp teeth. "Mmm..." She hummed happily. "Not bad, law man."