chanson triste, c

Honestly, this wasn't usually Kieran's style. Especially not these days. The man hadn't been to a place this fancy since he'd left Florida, and that seemed like it was ages ago. Thinking of those days just made him a little pissed off, so he usually didn't think about that. But the familiarity of this posh bar definitely brought up the memories. Thankfully, the top shelf of alcohol was calling his name to help him forget about it.

This was a far cry from the sweaty nightclubs he usually frequented. And for once, there probably wasn't much of any drug coursing through his system. He wasn't perpetually high, after all, though it might seem like it. While he definitely could go for another few pills right now, that would definitely be out of place for somewhere as upscale as this. He had to have manners, after all.

Supposedly this woman was supposed to meet him at the bar, but there was just one sole person sitting there. She was a lady, of course, but nowhere near the person he was looking for. Nevermind the fact that Kieran had showed up nearly an hour late. If this woman had wanted a date, she would have waited.

But he wasn't going to let this nice suit and a clean evening go to waste. If he couldn't have one of his drugs of choice, he could definitely have number two. And since the pretty thing sitting at the bar looked lonely enough, maybe another part of the evening could be salvaged.

Sliding into the barstool beside her, he ordered a whiskey on the rocks and turned his glance to the woman besides him. She was more than just a pretty thing, upon further inspection. Not a hair out of place, it seemed.

"Good evening," he murmured, nodding at the bartender when his drink was slid in front of him. Taking a slow drink, he sighed as he set the glass back down onto the polished wood counter.

"I couldn't help but notice you were sitting here all alone, and now I can see you look awfully sad, darling." Kieran's voice was a syrupy drawl, trying to be as comforting as possible. While he was definitely a sleaze with mostly just one thing on his mind, seeing a lady so distressed was not something that made him happy.

@noemi

Kieran could almost feel the air become chilly. Seems like he'd stumbled upon some kind of an ice queen, though she didn't seem to be frozen solid. He should have known better, honestly, but he was feeling good about himself tonight — besides, y'know, being stood up.

"Sometimes actions betray words," he shrugged. "But we're the ones who get to decide our own fate, right?" Her cool demeanor didn't seem to have much of an effect on him, though he certainly felt the icy blast. "Not to blast that philosophical bullshit at you, though."

She took a break to sip her drink and he followed suit, flicking his head to the side to brush his damn unruly hair out of his face, tilting the glass up to his lips. This evening was certainly going to be interesting, even if he couldn't decipher how exactly the night was going to end up.

"Uncomfortable?" he responded with an almost laugh. "Well, you caught me. This isn't really my 'norm' but I have — well. I had a date, but it appears the lady I was to be meetin' didn't show up," he explained. "I put on one of my nice suits and everything. What a waste."

The redhead was about to take another drink, not one for pacing, when the woman finally uttered a single word without any prompting. Maybe she wasn't as frigid as she'd seemed to be at first.

"Kieran," he responded likewise. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Noémi." He could be polite when he wanted, after all.

@noemi

She didn't seem overly enthralled with his ramblings, so he decided to occupy his mouth with drinking other than talking. Finishing off his glass, which had been much too small for his tastes, he ordered another as the woman beside him looked contemplative.

Since he had a moment to think, he gave her a once over just as she had given him one. There was no doubt that she was a beautiful woman. No wonder she was so seemingly uninterested in him. He was a scrappy tramp next to her, a lady, and life wasn't Disney, after all.

But he was a little surprised when she suddenly emptied her martini glass and looked up at him, requesting that they go somewhere else, saying that she was bored. While it wasn't exactly exhilarating, it wasn't boring to him (there was nice alcohol involved, after all) but he wasn't about to turn this woman down.

"Sounds good to me, dar—" he began, about to revert back to the name she didn't seem to enjoy so much, as it was a force of habit, but corrected himself. "Noémi."

With a few drinks he finished the second glass of whiskey, coughed a little against the harsh burn, and paid for both of their drinks before the woman had a chance to stop him. When he got his card back he slipped it into his wallet and got off the barstool, almost as quickly as he had gotten on it seemed.

"Where would you like to go, Miss Noémi?" he asked with a smirk, waiting for her to gather her things and get up so they could leave this place.

@noemi

If Kieran knew how easily he was getting off, he'd probably say a prayer of thanks despite being horribly unreligious. Not that he minded the teasing and banter that came with sexual tension, but these days that was the opposite of what he wanted. In fact, Kieran didn't even know what he wanted anymore. It was a confused mess in his head and quite frankly, it was so much easier to ignore.

Soon enough they were outside and the breeze blew through both of their hair; Noémi fixed her hair almost immediately but Kieran just let it tousle his orangey, ginger locks. He didn't really have any particular style to it, anyways, besides just brushing it and maybe tying it back if he got too warm.

When she asked about his home he was a little taken aback. So she was going to cut right to the chase, huh? Not that he really minded, after all. It wasn't like he was really in the mood to play cat and mouse.

"It's not bad," he admitted with a sly smile. "Kind of small, but definitely big enough for two people."

@noemi

They stood for a moment while she looked pensive, and he waited, wondering only slightly what was going on in that pretty little head of hers. Damn, she was good-looking, though. Girls like this didn't usually go for guys like him, which was probably why he was stood up. Not the fact that he was late to their date, of course. If she really liked him she would've stayed, right? Right. That's what the redhead told himself anyways.

Noémi took a few steps forward, bringing him back to his senses with the clicking of her heels against the sidewalk. They were about a mile high and made her legs look like they went on forever until they disappeared under the skirt of her black dress. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her, although he tried his best to make it look nonchalant. He was probably failing.

"Follow me," he said, taking the lead and walking down the sidewalk, not too fast so she could keep up. "It's just down a little ways, in that apartment building there."

Lifting his arm a bit he pointed out the building, a tall one with a neat and modern-looking facade. Hopefully it was up to her standards, though now he was cursing the fact that he hadn't cleaned up a bit better the night before.

@noemi

He brought her up the elevator and down the hall before they reached his door. Fishing in his pocket for his keys he finally extracted them, the key jangling in the lock before the door easily swung open, not making a noise. The apartments were new and well-kept, even if Kieran's place wasn't as spic and span as others may have desired.

Really, there were just some clothes laying in a laundry basket and some dishes left over from dinner the other night. Well, the table was cluttered with papers that he needed to go through from the mail and a few forgotten shopping bags sat on a chair. It was an open-concept living space, with the kitchen, living and dining room all connected as one big room. But he hoped they wouldn't be spending much time out there.

Just as he was about to lead her to his bedroom, she mumbled something, almost incomprehensible. "What doesn't bother you?" he simply asked, looking back at the woman in his doorway. Now that he got a chance to get a good look at her, Kieran was thanking his lucky stars more and more by the moment.

@noemi

Kieran got the slight feeling that maybe Noemi wasn't entirely happy with the situation. Maybe she regretted coming to a stranger's apartment, but it had been her idea. That didn't mean she couldn't regret it, he supposed. Now feeling a little awkward, and not wanting to scare her off, he moved to say something more but she was soon closer, impossibly closer, and smoothing out a seam on his suit jacket's shoulder.

"Well, hello," he murmured under his breath, his voice barely audible but warm and dark all at the same time. She looked up at him, an expectant look in her eyes, and slowly he leaned down to envelope her lips with his, tilting his head so they locked together tightly.

After a few moments, which felt like forever, he pulled away and glanced at her through his flaxen eyelashes. A slightly more genuine smile toyed at his lips.

@noemi