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Walter wasn’t the dumbest bloke around, though he was bloody sure he looked it sometimes. It was true that his first few weeks off Salvo had been a rough transition. Alright, months. Alright, he was still having problems, namely in the dating scene. Salvonian slang didn’t translate well, and folks in his age range were typically either settled down already or so bloody deep in their work that they couldn’t even guess that he was trying to get his flirt on.
Not that it mattered too much. He had his eye on that Caustic bloke. Just needed some practice getting his foot in the door, that’s all. Caustic was a prickly sort, the kind to stare at ya from meters away and not say a bloody word. Sometimes his eyes would narrow, and that’d be the most reaction he’d have. Mattered a bit to him that he not cock it up. Hell, they were technically co-workers of a sort. It’d be bloody awkward to get rejected and then have to see the bloke every day.
Would it be better or worse if it involved blastin’ a hole in his skull?
Walter didn’t want to think on it too much. Instead, he found himself knocking on Loba’s door. She’d been having some trouble of her own from what he’d been hearing. Sounded messy, but it always bloody was when more than one person was involved. ‘Course, his advice for her would likely involve dating both of them at the same time, but she was the sort to only want one, and from how she was going on it sounded like she wanted something serious. Less of a quick fling, more of a holdin’ hands affair.
He grinned up at her when she opened her door. She’d been to his flat all of one time, and after a very brief visit she’d curtly told him that unless he upgraded to a better place, he’d need to go to her apartment. That didn’t bug ol’ Wally one bit. He’d had to get it cheap, and it wasn’t in the best part of Solace. He barely ever was there, and there weren’t many who felt the need to fuck with him. His reputation as being a barely civilized beast kept trouble away.
“Seriously? I thought that I told you to work on your casual outfits.” She sounded annoyed, but the smile on her face gave away that she was anything but.
Walter patted his chest, feigning offense that his combat gear wasn’t good enough. “Well, I was happy to see ya’ tiger, but now I reckon you’ve gone and soiled the mood.” He did his best to mimic flipping his hair and huffing. The way that his mullet slightly wiggled was enough to make them both laugh.
“Get in before you embarrass us both.” She waved him in. Looked like she’d been drinking. She wordlessly grabbed one of his beers from her fridge and tossed it to him, then sat down with a huff at her table.
Hell, it looked like his flat. Food wrappers, empty bottles, letters askew. Even some of the furniture had been moved, as if she’d been frustrated enough to try redecorating. “I’m glad you’ve come over. I needed to vent about this.” Loba waved an arm to gesture at her trashed apartment. “I think that I’m going crazy.”
“Trust me, you’re not.” Walter sat down across from her, popping his beer open with his prosthetic. “This about Kairi? Anita? Both?”
“Both.” Loba pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t know what to do about it.”
Walter took a swig of his beer. “What, ‘cause of Revenant?”
“It’s got nothing to do with him.” She scowled at him. “It’s just…how do I put it.” Her nails tapped against the half-full glass of wine she’d clearly been working on before he showed up. “Kairi has been a lot. I haven’t had a woman approach me so bluntly before. I’m more used to how Anita is.”
Loba paused to take a drink, grimacing. “But I don’t even know if Anita feels anything for me. We’re friends, but I don’t know if she’s even interested in women. Kairi has been very clear that she is, and very clear that she is into me. And we’ve gone out a few times. As friends.” She took another drink, and he followed suit. “I feel as though I’m leading her on.”
“'Cause you are, mate.”
“I know.” She sighed, sinking back in her seat. “It’s been so long since I went on a date, though. It was fun, too. I haven’t felt so alive. But I look at her and…I don’t feel the spark that I feel when I look at Anita.”
Walter shook his head. “I reckon that’s a rough spot, mate. Sounds like Kairi’s givin’ ya what you want, but Anita’s your crush.”
Loba finished off her glass in one go, catching her breath after. She grabbed the bottle and poured more right away. “I threw everything into saving Anita’s life. And she told everyone that we are just friends. We haven’t even spoken since then. She’s buried herself in trying to find her brother. She won’t even ask me to help her, knowing how many contacts I have.”
He stared down at his bottle. Sounded like it was over his pay grade to give any input. Not that it ever stopped him before. “Well. Reckon you need to step back. Kairi’s takin’ you on dates-and you best bloody believe she sees them as dates, mate.” Walter caught her eye, daring her to disagree. “But do you see that happening with Anita? She spends her time looking for her brother, and I reckon until that’s resolved she’s not gonna spend a minny on anything else.”
Loba’s brow furrowed. “What are you saying?”
Walter smiled, crossing his legs under the table. His knee banged the underside, nearly knocking both of their drinks over. “I’m saying you should go with Kairi, mate. ‘Least for the time being. She’s young and fired up, reckon she’d take you out on heaps of dates. Might get a few good roots out of it, ay?” He laughed. “But if you keep leadin’ her on to get some fun, she’ll lose int’rest and likely bloody hate ya for wasting her time. She could be out there staking her claim, bold as she is.” His expression softened. “Anita’s gonna still be there. Doubt she’s gonna be on the prowl to date anybody. And if it don’t work out with Kairi, you can go right back to pining after Anita.”
Loba hummed. Looked like she was giving it some thought. They sat in relative silence after that, occasionally going for another drink. He got up and grabbed another beer for himself, noting how there was only one left. He’d need to bring more the next time he came over.
“What about the not-so-good doctor?”
Walter’s head jerked up to glance back at her. “What was that?”
She rolled her eyes. “Those explosives are doing a number on your ears, beautiful. Dr. Caustic.”
He laughed, kicking her fridge door shut as he came back. He mumbled an apology at the withering glare she cast his way. Bloody reflexive. Walter glanced back at the fridge. There it was, a thin line of dried mud on the gleaming door. “Er, got a rag? Reckon I’d be a tosser if I didn’t clean it off.”
“Under the sink.” She sounded amused at least. “Well? You wanted to talk about him, right? Let me guess, he has started working with Maggie.”
“Yeah, nah, nothin’ like that.” Walter hadn’t even thought of that. He rummaged around under the sink until he found a basket of rags. Well. “Rags”. Neatly folded dish towels, more like. Somehow doubted that she ever made that much of a mess. Her place was always bloody spotless. Had she even used these before? “Wonderin’ how to ask a bloke like him out.”
“Seriously? Him?” There was so much venom to her voice that Walter shrank back. “You know what he did. He wanted to cut your arm off when you first showed up! Why not Makoa? Elliott? Even his adopted brother would be an improvement.”
Walter quietly went to work on cleaning the mark he’d made, glad that she was in his blind spot. It was true that Caustic had been a less than friendly face. He’d been so disgusted by ol’ Wally. Ever since that Gaea trip, though, he’d been different. Quiet and frustrated. Looked like Natalie and Hyeon had been really lighting a fire under his arse, but instead of lashing out, he was hiding away.
“Walter?”
He looked up. From the look on her face, he’d tuned something out. “Er, sorry. Got lost in me head.”
She sighed. “That serious, huh? Well, tell me about him.” Loba took a big, big swig of wine and let out a sigh. “Does he remind you of home?”
Ouch.
Walter’s mouth twitched. “Nah. Maybe. A bit.” He stood up, satisfied that it was clean. Well, the dirt wasn’t on it anymore. He could tell that the area around it was smudged now, likely needed some sort of specialty cleaning chemicals to shine like the rest. And judging from the look on her face, she was expecting him to figure that out. Back to the sink it was.
“I like his eyes.” He blurted it out unthinkingly as he read over the different labels. “He’s intense but indifferent. Like he’s a million miles away, ay? But when I say the right thing, you can see that he’s smilin’ behind that mask, or he gets a proper shock. Reckon I’ve seen the bloke blush once or twice.” Walter smiled to himself. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m lookin’ for a root first and foremost-” Walter paused to let her groan in disgust. He grinned, glancing back at her. She was covering her face with one hand. “-I find meself wanting more with him, though. Makes me bloody day when he talks to me, even if it’s only for a minny.”
Loba sighed. He could hear her pouring more wine. “So. His eyes. And he blushes. Walter, that man caused everyone grief for no good reason. From what Natalie has said, he is a sociopath. He only cares about himself and whatever can enrich him. That’s not someone that you can have a relationship with.”
“Dunno if I buy it.”
“What?”
He scooted back over to the fridge with the spray that he reckoned looked like the right cleaner, then set to work. “What, don’t tell me your ears are goin’, too?” Walter chuckled, listening to the way that the door squeaked as he rubbed it dry with the rag. Already looked better. “I don’t buy that he’s a sociopath. Mags? She might be. Might be worse, reckon. She took me arm and ever since she’s been back she’s been bloody scoldin’ me. And she’s good enough at it that half the time I reckon she’s right, that I was in the wrong the whole time.”
He set the rag and cleaner back under the sink, then stood up. His back cracked horribly, making him groan. Maybe he did need to start doing exercises or something. “He’s prickly, strewth, but he’s not like her. What I reckon? He’s a lonely bastard. If someone tried to reach out without smackin’ him, he might open right up.”
His eye was on Loba. She looked, well, she looked distressed. But not as disgusted as before. That was progress.
“Walter, he is a murderer.”
“Mate, so am I.” He didn’t get why that would be an issue. “I bloody well promise you that me kill count’s higher than his. Syndicate space gets all huffy if one person dies, opens up a whole investigation. Reckon he couldn’t have more than a dozen under his belt, ay?” Walter settled back in his seat, his hand wrapping around his neglected beer. “I’ve done in over a hundred blokes in me time. Half of that was in the bonecage, strewth, where everyone signed up knowin’ if they lose, they’re dead. But before that? I was a merc. Killed Syndicate dogs that were trying to conquer Salvo, killed marks when I was paid for it. Robberies go South and before you know it, you’re snappin’ the neck of some teller who wanted to play hero. What makes him worse than me?”
She sighed again, nudging her wine glass with her finger. “You really need to stop saying all of that. It might have been acceptable on Salvo, but out here it makes you sound like a psychopath.” Loba looked up at him. “But I get your point. Fine. That still doesn’t change the fact that he would use you and toss you out to benefit himself. If Maggie had anything of value to him, he would gift-wrap you to her in a heartbeat.”
Walter grinned. “Good thing she don’t have shite then, ay?” Still, that wasn’t a satisfying response. His grin faded as he started to absentmindedly pick at the beer bottle. “Yeah, nah, I get your point. A user. Thing is, I don’t know if I’d mind it.”
He waved a hand to stop her from immediately shooting that down, averting his gaze. “I’m not a pup, haven’t been for decades. Missed me shot at kids, never wanted them anyway. I’ve been tryin’ to find someone. Plenty of ankle biters that want a shot at old man Fusey, strewth. That’s fun for a quick root without a string in sight to get attached to.” His expression fell, some of his bravado withering. “I wanna come back after a long day of gettin’ bloodied up and have someone I can cozy up to. Play some tunes, maybe take a crack at readin’ some more-mate there’s so many bloody books out there, it feels like I’ve missed out-and have a nice meal. And that’s where I’m in trouble.”
Walter glanced up at Loba, suddenly feeling a bit shy. “Truth of it is, back on Salvo if you found someone you wanted to be with, you’d strut right up to them and ask ‘em out. Maybe you’d have a fight, maybe not, either way you end up together by the arvo. Out here? You’ve gotta find the right words, and there’s bloody cards, and flowers, mate, I went to a flower shop and they told me diff’rent colors to the flowers mean diff’rent things, and of course Caustic would know about that, yeah? He’s a smart bloke.” He sank down until his cheek hit the table, staring up at Loba.
She looked mildly amused. “So, you want advice on how to ask him out? Is that what I’m hearing?”
Walter huffed and, after a moment, nodded his head.
“Alright, beautiful.” Loba set her wine glass aside. “If you want my advice? You need to ask him out exactly how you feel it in your gut. No research, no trying to get it perfect.” She could likely see how much Walter wanted to protest that, especially given the sharp look she shot his way. “If you go up to him with the perfect flowers and the perfect line and he says yes, then what? Now you’ll need to research every move you make forever. It’d be fake. He’d be into the illusion you put up. Do you want that?”
He whined out a heavily accented no that made her laugh. Walter smacked his hand on the table, sitting upright. “But what if he says no to that, mate?”
“Then it isn’t meant to be.” Loba shrugged. “Is this where you’ll give up being yourself? That is beneath you, Walter. Go out there and ask that monster out. And when he breaks your heart, we can crack open that special bottle I’ve been saving for just such an occasion.”
“Appreciate the vote of confidence.” He sighed. Walter stared at his bottle, then held it aloft. “To bad choices.”
“To bad choices.” She clinked her glass of wine against his bottle, and they both finished their drinks. “What about Bloodhound?”
He nearly choked. “What, Houndy?”
She nodded. “They clearly have a crush on you. Hardly a day goes by that they aren’t talking about you.”
“Not me type, mate. They’re great, don’t get me wrong. Bloody love goin’ out hunting with Houndy, and they’re great fun at the bar.” Walter made a face. “But I get the feelin’ I’m stepping all over what matters to them. I’ve been working on learning their language, which they love, but every time I muck up some tradition, they let me do it. No bloody spine, and I can see how much it hurts them. Dunno how Mags made it look so easy, but it breaks me heart to cause that sort of hurt to a friend. Couldn’t imagine doin’ it to someone I was beddin’.”
Loba hummed. “I never would have thought of them as a pushover. Don’t be so sure that Caustic isn’t a pushover.” She smirked. “As much of an asshole as he is, I’ve seen how Natalie bosses him around. For the right person, he’ll take abuse in stride.”
“Aw, no, mate don’t tell me that.” Walter groaned, rubbing at his forehead. “I was hopin’ he’d be bark and bite. Reckon I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it.” He hoped she was wrong, though he had a funny feeling she was right. No bloody way that Natalie was powerful enough to force him to obey. More likely that he was similar to Houndy: crumpling like paper if someone had a hold on him.
“Don’t worry, beautiful.” She snickered. “I doubt that he’ll humor you either way. Do you even know if he’s interested in men?”
Walter sighed. No, he didn’t know. “Gonna be a long day.” He looked up at her. “Tell ya what. I’m gonna go ask him out. You sort out who you’re gonna ask out. We crack that bottle tonight to celebrate or drown, ay?”
“Deal.”