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Saiga adjusted his blazer, pulling the seams straight as he leaned against the hood of the car, all the while keeping an eye out. This might normally be considered grunt work but with his father inside attending to business, guarding the get away car was a job that required unquestionable loyalty.
Even so, he couldn’t help but grin. It was a beautiful night out, everything else aside. The breeze was warm and the sky was clear. For once he could see the stars.
A movement near rooftop level caught his eye. Someone climbing out of an apartment window, then down the fire escape. Someone in pale acid wash jeans and a white, flowing sweater. It must have been thin with the way it kept getting caught in the breeze. They were about as easy to spot as if there were a searchlight on them. Not a burglar then. Or at least not a smart one.
The stranger made it to the bottom, jumping the last few feet lightly to the ground. Unbelievably, they caught his eye and started approaching.
“Nice night, isn’t it?” The stranger asked with a wave and a smile, voice warm and soft. They had long, light brunette hair, half woven back in a braid. Even now they were running pale hands through the ends of it, setting it back in order from the breeze that kept threatening to carry it away.
Saiga raised an eyebrow and let his hand fall away from the gun he'd been ready to pull. What the hell? Didn’t this person realize the type of neighborhood they lived in? He let all appropriate dry scorn bleed into his voice. “You must be new here.”
The stranger smiled, hitching themselves up onto the hood of the car next to him, casual as anything. “Is it that obvious?” They asked.
Saiga didn’t really have a response to that beside a long stare.
But the smile he got in return was just sweet. “It's only been a few weeks so far." The stranger laced their hands together and placed them demurely on their knees. "I’ve always wanted to live in a big city like this.”
"Yeah?"
"Oh definitely. The only question was which one."
“Why LA?”
They relaxed onto their perch, arms spread out behind them, taking in the view. It was mostly parking lot, but there were lights all the way to the ocean. Nothing special, but to someone who wasn't used to it... The brunette must have thought it worth looking at, if their expression was anything to go by.
“It has such a beautiful name, don’t you think?”
Yeah well, it turned out to be a bit of a misnomer. Saiga chuckled a little darkly at the fragile-looking waif of naivete that had fallen into his clutches. “This city is gonna tear you apart.”
The stranger just smiled to themselves. “It can try.”
The response caught him off guard.
Strands of brunette fell away from their neck as they gathered their hair in their hands and shifted forward again, intent on the skyline. Saiga had been wrong before. The sweater falling ever so slightly to the left was ivory, not white.
If the city didn't get the job done, he wouldn't mind a go himself.
They glanced back, catching his eye and Saiga looked away.
“Look, you should get going.” He checked his watch. “You’re not going to want to be here in five minutes.”
“Why not?” They leaned in a little, gently teasing. “Don’t think Daddy would approve?”
Instantly, the adrenaline hit his system. Saiga caught their wrist in a tight hold, and pivoted around to face the stranger, ready to restrain. But they weren’t going anywhere, still just serenely smiling down at him. “How do you know who I am?” he hissed.
“You keep standing outside of my window in the moonlight like this. It’s such a romantic image. How am I supposed to not get curious?” Coquettish wasn't an affect Saiga was used to dealing with.
If this was a distraction, it was working, but his family’s men were in the shadows, backing him up. He could trust them to fend off an ambush, and it was his job to figure out if the unknown on the don’s car was a threat or not. “Which family are you working for?”
They raised a delicate eyebrow, amused. “You really think I look like someone from the underworld?”
Saiga took in that sweet smile. Those gentle hazel-green eyes.
And, no. No, he didn’t.
“Police?”
They laughed, eyes bright with it for a moment. The sound was light and musical. “Really?”
Saiga knew in this light, no one could see past his sunglasses, so why was he feeling so exposed?
“Who are you?”
“What an interesting question.” They said, slipping off the car with ease and sliding much further into his personal than was strictly necessary. “If you’d like to find out more,” slender fingers ghosted across the back of Saiga’s hand and for a moment they were so close. Then, like a comet, the stranger’s trajectory changed, retreating back into the night. “Well, I suppose you know where I live now, don’t you?”
Saiga didn’t move, just watched them retreat into the night, looking one last time over a shoulder before passing back into the darkness.