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Ludwig is trying to enjoy a beer when there’s suddenly a woman in his lap. He’d heard the scuffle of course, but he’d barely had time to look up before a very drunk, very gorgeous woman is on top of him. The mug hits the floor, beer sloshing over his carefully shined shoes, and irritation and anger hit him hard. Before he can even get a word in edgewise, the flapper girl in his lap starts to speak.
“Whoopsy~” She says, her short hair flying around her face as she loses her small feathered cap. “Well, hi there darling~” She smiles with rouge red lips, and she taps his nose. “My dance partner got a bit handsy, you see, and didn’t expect a bird like me to fight back~”
Ludwig’s ire shifts to the man standing a few feet away, clutching at his nose. There was blood running between his fingers and down his wrist. After a moment, Ludwig helps the young woman up, and he unfolds, standing up behind her.
Sure, this woman was full figured and apparently rather muscular for her size, but she was still much shorter than him. His height and his broad chest makes him look even bigger in comparison. He narrows his eyes at the man and in a show of solidarity, he puts his hand at the small of the young woman’s back.
“Is there a problem?” he asks in his quiet serious voice.
“Oh dear me,” the woman says, and she takes the hand on her back as an invitation. She presses against his side, cuddling as though they knew each other. “Don’t be too harsh on him, love, sweet sweet love~ You know he’ll never take your place in my heart.”
A ruse- and an obvious one that makes the man hesitate again. Even still, it makes Ludwig blush a bit. The man gives him a once over, and for a long moment it’s simply a tense stillness.Then he holds his hands up in a sign of surrender. He mumbles something that Ludwig doesn’t catch, and then he’s storming out of the bar. Ludwig just sighs and gently guides her away from him.
“Are you alright?” he asks softly.
She doesn’t seem to enjoy the distance, but she’s almost instantly looking much more sober, straightening her clothes and hair. When she speaks, the cool amused tone actually surprises him.
“Oh, of course,” she says, her hand still on his arm. “But if someone didn’t cause a scene, he was going to find a girl eventually to sneak away with, and I wasn’t about to watch it happen. I was hoping he’d start a fight, so we could call the authorities," And here she glances back at the other off-duty policemen sitting at Ludwig's booth, throwing them a wink. "But alas he did not…” She shrugs and she’s pressing close against him again.
Ludwig blushes and tries to figure this woman out. He’s realizing that she had not landed on his lap accidentally- she’d definitely considered who would be the most intimidating. But he hadn’t suspected that she had initiated the conflict from the top to the bottom. He hadn’t even noticed the man being predatory. He’d barely noticed anything about the bar. In fact, he’d only come because he was trying to build rapport with the other men from the station. Now he glances back at his co-workers to find Antonio watching the situation with a smile, and Francis giving him a thumbs up.
He sighs and looks back at the stunning young lady in front of him. “You’ve done rather enough, I think,” he says then, admittedly impressed. “In a small way you’ve definitely helped out, but you shouldn’t pick fights in bars.”
“Oh piffle,” she replies breezily. “I’m fine. Now, I’m going to be buying you a drink. The least I can do.” Then she’s taking his arm, and she’s just about to lead him off. Then she adds, distractedly, “Oh, I’ve lost my hat– Why thank you, Antonio.”
“Not a problem, Miss Amelia. Is our Ludwig treating you right?”
Ludwig glances at him in surprise. So the other members of the police force knew this little trouble maker.
“Oh yes, quite so~ In fact he’s treating me so well, I’m going to treat him.”
Antonio is easy smiles and unaffected charm. “You never treat the rest of us. Are you playing favorites with the new guy?”
“I most certainly am, Antonio darling," she says, sending him a red lipped smirk. "I wouldn't mind if you treated me though~"
Antonio's laughter follows them as Amelia turns on her heel with a toss of her pretty short hair. Ludwig is red now, and the conversation so teasing and smooth that he doesn’t quite even know what to say in response to it. All he knows is that he’s being swept through the crowd by a short flapper girl to a booth in the back.
Perhaps he doesn’t quite mind… he is quite curious about her in any case.
She slides into the booth, already sending a waitress for a beer. She leans over the table and she focuses her shining blue eyes on him. Coupled with her beauty and her charming smile, he feels his heart skip a beat.
“Now then,” she says softly, words clearly just for him. “I’ve been noticing you across the bar, and it’s rare when I’m not noticed in return.”
Ludwig’s brows raise at the audacity of such a statement, and he responds, sounding wry yet amused. “Well, you have my full attention now.”
“Indeed,” she replies as she reaches over to gently touch his hand. “Tell me about yourself.”
For a long moment, Ludwig watches her, sizing her up just as the man they’d chased off had done to him. Then he relents and he introduces himself to the impetuous Miss Amelia Jones.