Work Text:
After journeying to the nearby city close to your village for a night of fun, you stumble upon a brightly lit establishment glowing in the distance of the road. As you walk towards it, you read a big sign identifying the establishment as the town’s Casino. You step into the place, the loud noise of people arguing and chatting with music playing on the record player immediately hits your ear drums while you navigate the crowded place over to the bar, you didn’t come with quite enough money to gamble with the other patrons but thought it’d be a nice time to pick up someone interesting at the Casino’s bar.
A bartender approaches the counter and prompts you with a choice of drinks, you order a simple glass of strawberry wine. While waiting for your drink to be delivered, you give a scope around the bar to see any interesting patrons that fit your type.
You look towards a poker table after hearing a loud slam reverberate through the casino. You see the source of the sound, a pale and sickly looking man, at minimum 6 feet tall, he could easily tower over you. His hair was insanely long and thick, easily have the tips of the hair reaching the back of the stool he sat on. You feel like he certainly be someone interesting to interact with.
The bartender returns with you drink and slides it over the countertop towards your hands.
“Thank you Sir.” You give the worker your thanks for the drink.
“Do you happen to know anything about the man over at the poker table there?” You point towards the table where you still see the man that caught your eye earlier, the man now has an irritated look on his face after seeing the hand he was dealt, you can tell he was probably on a losing streak.
“Oh him? I don’t know much about the guy personally, except he comes here pretty much every few days, never seems to win at the poker tables, the poor guy. Also heard he’s some sort of famous musician for the Royal’s.” The man explained while cleaning out a previous customer´s mug.
You look back over at the table he sat at, he had folded with a bad hand, no more chips on the table. You see him get out of the stool quickly, anger pooling in his face. He strides over across the floor towards the bar you were at, he didn’t sit very close to where you were but you figured you could move just a little for him.
You finish your drink quickly and slide off the stool you were on, heading over to where the man sat. He doesn’t notice you immediately, not until you take your place on the stool right next to him. He turns his head towards you and you can finally get a good look at his face.
His cheeks were sunken in, his hair covered both of his eyes but you could notice large eyebags settling underneath them, his hair an unruly mess with strands swirling around his shoulders, his skin was deathly pale but incredibly smooth for his age, his lips were thin, and when he finally spoke, you could hear the most calming voice imaginable emerge from his lips.
“Do you need anything?” He asked you.
The question broke you out of your reverie.
“Hm? Ah.. no I didn’t need anything in particular, I just saw you from the Bar and you looked like a very interesting man to get to know.” You explained with a smile.
He looked at you incredulously then ordered something from the bartender, a simple glass of red wine for himself. Before the worker went away you told him something.
“I’ll pay for the gentleman’s drink, it’s on me.” You looked at the man next to you and smiled. He looked at you questioningly.
“Are you trying to start something here Miss?” He asked blatantly about your intentions with him.
“Not unless you’d want to start something with me, Sir.” You give him a giddy laugh.
He gives a slight smirk at that. The bartender had returned with his choice of wine and the man immediately took a sip of it.
“Would you allow me to know your name, Sir?” You asked while he was sipping down the wine laid in front of him only a few moments earlier.
“It’s Antonio, I come here a lot when I want to take a break from my work with the royal family. I’ve never seen your face around here though, I’m sure I would’ve noticed someone as pretty as you.” He gave a smirk as your face starts to redden not only because of the alcohol though.
“Very smooth, Antonio.. and yes, I haven’t visited this town before, I live kind of out of the way of the town, with my family and their business. I had just saved up enough of my own savings to have a nice night out by myself, made infinitely better by meeting you here.” You explained with a wink, you can tell his face is also starting to redden as well, again, not because of the alcohol you’ve consumed tonight.
You both resume drinking the wine you ordered, soon reaching the last drops in the glass, you place down the glass onto the coaster and swivel back to face Antonio once again.
“So handsome, I noticed you weren’t exactly on a winning streak at the poker table, does that happen every time you come here?”
“Pretty much, I’m not a very lucky guy in terms of gambling, I just like doing it, and the atmosphere here. Also helps me not feel trapped in the Palace.”
Trapped? What an interesting word to use for not liking your job.
“I heard that you’re a musician, mostly for the royal family, do you like doing it?”
“Well, music itself is my life, just spending time with my violin in hand is a perfect day for me. Not so much doing it as a job for the royal family, they have insanely high expectations and want me to play in such a specific way that I would not like to do.” He explained with a heavy sigh leaving his mouth.
“I’m sorry to hear that you have to go through that, I can relate in a way. I also feel trapped in my family’s home, nothing around for miles, only me and my mom, no siblings. That’s why I feel so happy to finally be able to visit the town, you know?”
“I can definitely understand how you feel, these trips to this place are my only amount of free time in a day. Maybe one of these days I could bring my violin to you and play something on it for you.” He gave a soft smile.
“Already planning a date huh big shot?” You give him a small giggle.
His face goes up in flames, a shocked expression dawning on it.
“I-I guess you could say something like that..”
“Well I’d be happy to meet you again after this night. Just make sure you don’t alert my Mother, she is.. a very angry woman sometimes..” You give him a sullen look after mentioning your family situation.
“Ah.. sorry about that..”
“It’s not your fault about something like that, no need to apologize for something like that, I appreciate the sympathy’s though.” You offer a small smile.
“Hey, wanna get out of here?” You ask him.
“Ah, sure.”
You stand up and pay the bill for the drinks you and Antonio shared together and bid the bartender a farewell as you both exit the bar together, arms interlocked like a couple as you open the doors to the night sky.
You stop in front of the establishment, move a few steps away from the door so other patrons could enter, and share an in the moment kiss with one another.
You hook your arms around his neck as you stand up on the tips of your toes, still barely able to reach his lips, he also holds both hands on your waist as a lifeline, in a strong grip, like if he let go even a bit, you’d simply disappear in front of him. Both of your eyes are closed in the peaceful and serene moment of your kiss under the night sky. It becomes a bit for intense, your lips interlocking with more intense feelings, soundless breaths and noises coming out of both your mouths. After a whole minute of your intense kiss, you both break away with heavy breaths in each others faces, eyes hooded over with desire as you stare into each other, you slowly pry your bodies away from each other, and reset back into a standing position, you both look away from each other in embarrassment.
“Well that was very nice..” He says to break the silence.
“Yes it was.” You said with a smile on your face.
“I would so love to be able to see you again after this, maybe same time next week?”
“I would love to.”
You both part ways with each other and head back to where you both came from.