Chapter Text
The new voice completely threw her off guard, and for a moment Lucy was convinced God was personally watching over her. To the empty space on her right now leaned a tall but incredibly slim figure, all points and sharp angles in both their features and their clothing. Clad in all black, it would’ve been easy to have mistaken them for a shadow at first. But those eyes..those upturned eyes were fierce, with almost slit like pupils sending a glare that Lucy was grateful not to be at the receiving end of. Those eyes made this shadow of a person real, and those eyes made the saying ‘if looks could kill’ a reality.
‘What part of piss off are you struggling to understand here?’ Their voice was much more level, but still dripping with venom. With fists clenched, all the my had to do was tip their head to the side slightly with a raised eyebrow to get a reaction.
The man seemed to literally cower in fear, recognition maybe? But regardless, he muttered something halfhearted about Lucy ‘probably being an std ridden prozzy anyway’ as he turned and all but ran back into the crowd of dancers. Only then, did Lucy all but heave a sigh of relief.
‘Thank you, so so much—-‘ she shot the stranger a genuine smile as she shakily reached for her drink. But instead of feeling cool glass, she instead felt fabric. Actually looking at the scene, she realised the stranger had reached for her glass and beat her to it, and now she was just awkwardly holding their hand. She was quick to snatch hers away, but her confusion must’ve been evident.
‘It’s spiked. You drink that now, you’re fucked.’
Oh. She pinched the bridge of her nose with frustration, ‘Oh for goodness sake, of course..sorry.’
‘Don’t apologise,’ they waved her off with a small laugh, ‘you’re the one that just got perved on. I’ll buy you a new drink.’
‘What?! Nonono, I can’t possibly—-‘ she tried, but was interrupted by a sudden coughing fit, the smog and cigarette smoke piling back into her lungs. She must’ve looked pathetic taking out her inhaler then, and she didn’t miss the way the strangers eyebrows raised in amusement.
‘Not from here, are you?’
‘..You couldn’t possibly tell from just that—‘
‘Meh, it was more the nail in the coffin. If you got breathing problems down here, you’re either dead or locked away in the cleanest room of your house. But your walk and talk also gave it away,’ they hummed as they led her to the bar, a hand resting on her shoulder like some kind of shield against the sea of patrons.
‘Well..now that you’ve pointed it out—‘ Lucy frowned.
‘Aww, don’t get self conscious on me now~’ They almost cooed, ‘Now, what do you want?’
‘I couldn’t possibly—-‘
‘You ‘‘couldn’t possibly’’ do a lot of things, hm?’ They hummed with amusement. ‘Pay me with your name and a snippet of your story, if it makes you feel any better. Mik!’ They called, knocking their fist against the wood of the bar twice. The bartender in question, a large and scruffy looking man but with much softer features, seemed not to notice as he cleaned the glasses. After a beat of awkward silence, they gave a sheepish smile at Lucy and cleared their throat. ‘Mik!’ They tried again, then after another pause, made a face that was a cross of an eye roll and a pout before leaning over the counter an unsafe amount. ‘Oi, Mik! Deafhead!’ They grabbed the closest rubber coaster and frisbee’d it directly at the man, almost falling flat onto the counter as they did so. They laughed when it hit his shoulder, and so did the bartender. Only then did he pretend to take notice of them, and sauntered his way over.
‘You do my proper nut in sometimes, you know that right?’ He tried to sigh, but could only chuckle.
‘Maybe if you weren’t so plastered on your own booze, I wouldn’t have to resort to elderly abuse.’ They grinned, before their eyes widened slightly, ‘ooh, that rhymed!-‘
‘Well maybe if you started showing more respect to said elder, he might get to you quicker. Now- hang on a minute. She with you?’ He glanced at Lucy, nodding his head towards her with a raised eyebrow.
‘Aye sir~’ they hummed, looking rather pleased, ‘Drinks on me.’
Mik seemed to turn his full attention to Lucy, as if he was studying her. Initially he seemed to do it just to embarrass the stranger, but then his brow furrowed. A strange look suddenly glazed over his eyes as he muttered a small ‘Blummin’ hell..’
Suddenly, Lucy broke out into a cold sweat. He was the owner of the bar, an illegal distributor of alcohol. If anyone here knew what she looked like, it would probably be him. Was the makeup not enough? Was her cover blown? She glanced between the man, the stranger, and the nearest exit. If she ran now, she could probably loose them if she took a sharp left—-
‘Take one word of advice from me love, milk them for every penny they’ve got and then don’t look back.’ He tried to deadpan, but burst into laughter after glancing over at the person in question and seeing them slump onto the bar in defeat.
‘Do you have to do this every time..?’ They groaned, which only made Mik cackle harder.
‘I’m joking, I’m joking..’ he finally managed to calm down. ‘Now, what does the lovely lady want?’ He turned his attention back to Lucy.
‘Oh!’ She laughed nervously, ‘Um..just a raspberry punch, please-‘
‘Of course—-‘
‘And a raspberry vodka!’ The stranger suddenly piped up.
‘Shame, last I checked I only asked for orders from a lovely lady, not a scamp.’ The bartender grinned.
‘ Meh meh meh meh ,’ they mocked rather childishly, ‘Get moving before the arthritis kicks in old man.’ They waved him off with a smile.
He only laughed in response, turning away to go make their drinks. As he left them, Lucy looked between the two before hesitantly asking, ‘You two know each other then?’
‘Unfortunately so.’ Was all they offered as they leaned against the bar, stretching their arms. Lucy couldn’t help but notice the groaning noise they made, and then it dawned on her how their posture looked hunchbacked or deformed. Pity must’ve flashed on her face, because they glanced at her and were quick to try and right their position. Mik had slid them their drinks, and had given a knowing nod to them both before moving to serve other customers.
‘I’ll be taking my payment now, if you’d be so kind~’ they jokingly put their hand out, revealing black nails that looked as sharp as talons. Lucy would’ve been disturbed if she weren’t still overwhelmed with gratitude for this stranger. But now she panicked, fearing their would take offence to her pity, causing her to stuttering over something as simple as name. She coughed, took another puff from her inhaler, and cleared her throat.
‘Gabby. My names Gabby.’ She lied through her teeth.
‘Pfft, that’s a shit name!’ They threw their head back in laughter.
‘..Pardon?’ She blinked blankly.
‘I mean come on, Gabby? With a face like yours? You’re too sweet to be a Gabby.’
‘Is that supposed to be a compliment, or?—‘
‘Ima call you dove.’
She sputtered at that, trying to think of something to say. A moment of silence passed between them where the figure grinned rather smugly and she could only avoid their gaze as her face grew warm. She sipped her drink, suddenly wishing there was just a hint of alcohol to take the edge away.
‘Well, what can I call you then?’ She found herself asking after a beat of quiet.
They took a swig of their drink. ‘Ray.’
‘You don’t look like a Ray.’ It was a sad excuse of a comeback, but she tried anyway.
‘Eh, you’re kinda right.’ Ray shrugged, swirling the red liquid around their glass. ‘What about the next part of my payment, I wonder?’
‘Oh! Right—-‘ one would think that a detective would be good at making up stories on the spot, having faked so many identities and deduced so many lives as part of her job. But under the gaze of this so called Ray, Lucy’s brain was reduced to mush it seemed. Maybe she had actually manifested that drop of alcohol into her drink, or whatever that last drink was spiked with had somehow managed to reach her system after all. ‘It’s a bit stupid..’ she started hesitantly.
‘Aren’t most things?’ They raised an eyebrow.
‘It’s just a standard family pressure thing, you know? I got sick of my parents always bossing me about, telling me what to do and what they expect from me, and long story short.. I’m here.’
‘Ain’t much here for you dove, I’ll tell you that now.’ A thoughtful hum. ‘But, if I wanted to prove myself in your shoes? There’s some ruins on the outskirts that them Angels cornered off and the city never bothered to fix. An old posho dress factory that Raven blew up some years back. Roll around in some dirt there, steal some fabric covered in as much rat shit as possible, sew a scarf or something fancy like that and leave it at their door. That’ll send a message!’ They couldn’t help but laugh. This was perfect, Lucy thought, they’ve walked right where she needed them.
‘The Raven?’ She feigned apprehension. ‘But they’re dangerous, wouldn’t that be dangerous?’
‘Oooohoho sweetheart, everything down heres dangerous~’ They grinned, a sly smirk as they tapped their fingers against their glass, ‘But if you don’t fancy that? Then I say run away and elope with the ugliest bloke you can get wrapped around your pretty little finger. That’ll do it.’
‘..I don’t understand how you guys do it.’ She suddenly started, surprised at her own honesty.
‘Do what?’ They tipped their head slightly with confusion.
‘Live so..normally, I suppose. No one knows which buildings going to go up in flames next, and no one knows who’s going to end up dead because of it. There’s a murderer on these streets pretending to be a hero—‘ she cut herself off rather suddenly. She was getting too opinionated, speaking too freely. Why was she speaking so freely to someone she just met? She needed to hear them speak.
And for what felt like forever, they didn’t. Not a single word. Ray drank in contemplative silence, their grip on the glass much tighter than before.
‘I’ll be honest with you, dove.’ They suddenly began as Lucy had just started thinking about changing the topic. ‘Nothing about our lives should be considered normal here. You’re from the west, you’re on a completely different planet to us out there. You don’t see or think things the way we do. You wouldn’t understand. I wouldn’t expect you to..’ They muttered with a sigh.
‘..But I want to.’
Ray’s head snapped to look at her then, their expression slightly bewildered. Those upturned eyes with those sharp pupils looked at her, but this time they weren’t fiercely glaring. They were soft, almost vulnerable she’d dare to say. For the first time, it felt like they were actually looking at her. That they actually saw her. Not just as another face from the west looking for petty rebellion, but as someone who wanted to listen, to learn. Someone worth talking to.
For the first time, Ray genuinely smiled that night. And for the first time, Lucy saw that there was something actually worth fighting for in the east side. That these people could be more to these people than drunkards, brutes and thieves. Lucy smiled too.
Ray then suddenly laughed, throwing their head back in laughter that made their shoulders shake. ‘You’re right weird. I like it!’
‘Wh- how is that weird?!’ Lucy felt herself growing flustered, but she couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her too. That laugh was really starting to become infectious.
‘Dunno.’ They pretended to wipe a tear as their giggles subsided, ‘Weird hearing those words from a posho, I suppose ~’ They mocked lightheartedly.
‘Is that all I am to you, then? Just a posho ?’ She tried to joke, but her tone didn’t quite match her intention.
‘Not anymore, you’re not.’ They simply stated as they drank. When they next glanced at her, something about her expression must’ve made them crack up again, almost choking on their drink. ‘Don’t overthink it, dove.’ They waved her off.
‘You’re weird yourself, you know.’ Lucy managed to feign a sigh, sipping her drink to mask her smile.
‘I do try my best~’ They stretched again, and Lucy couldn’t help but think how much pain that hunchback must be causing them. But they didn’t show it at all whilst they chatted, something that she couldn’t decide if it was something to be commended or concerned about.
‘Hey,’ their voice drew her gently from her thoughts. ‘Look, when you left home, I know some manky pub in the middle of smog central probably weren’t the sort of adventure you were looking for..but here? At least here, shitty parents, expectations..even the Raven, and all those other worries that I can see running through your pretty head, they’re out there. And we’re in here. A perfect little hell of escapism for all of us..’ They muttered, so quietly to the point where Lucy had to lean in close to make out their words.
‘..Do you come here often?’ She couldn’t stop herself asking quietly.
Ray looked at her and smiled. ‘Often enough.’
As she necked the rest of her juice, she couldn’t help but take a moment to stare at left over droplets deep in thought. Why was she here again? Oh right, the case. Of course. A sample size of 2 people and a few eavesdropped conversations weren’t exactly indicative of anything. People like them had died, yet non of them seemed to care. And if they did, they didn’t want to talk about it. Life went on, people kept drinking, people kept dancing, people kept singing. And as she considered Ray’s words, turning them over in her mind like a precious gold coin, she may finally be able to begin understanding why.
She watched Ray tell a story of some event that happened to a friend some years back. They talked with their hands, surprisingly animated for someone who dressed like they didn’t want to be seen. Her eyes briefly flickered to the nearest clock face. Approximately 2:15am. The only people left here now were the drunkest of patrons. She didn’t know when the upbeat music had ended and switched to a smooth jazz to fill the silence instead. She didn’t care either. She sighed contently and leant back in her seat, going back to watching Ray talk with a soft smile.
Wait.
2:15am.
She got here at 10pm.
She’d been here for approximately 4 hours and 15 minutes.
Panic begin to set in, panic that didn’t go unnoticed.
‘Hey dove, you ok? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost—‘ the concern on their face was evident as they leant close, studying her expression carefully.
‘I have work at 5.’ Was all she could mutter grimly.
‘ Oh. ’ Ray looked horrified on her behalf.
‘Yeah, I should um, I should probably get going—‘ Lucy wanted nothing more than to slam her head against the nearest wall at her own stupidity. But even in her haste, she still paused to turn back and look at them, smiling softly. ‘Thank you for everything tonight..Ray.’
‘Don’t mention it. Til next time’ They gave a slight wave as they rested their head against their other hand. They sounded so sure they’d see each other again. Deep down, Lucy hoped they were right. ‘Try not to climb back onto too high of a horse, dove.’