Archive of Our Own

Tatsu paced silently on her porch as she checked her phone for the seventh time that half hour before she let out a sigh. No new messages. She shook her head. Digger should be here by now, right? What was taking him so long? Why did she even agree to go to this ridiculous party? She liked staying at home and practicing fencing. Socializing was so unnecessary.
Tatsu was about to turn around and walk inside when a pickup truck turned into her driveway rather quickly. The driver honked a couple times before he stuck his head out the window. “Tatsu? That you?” She squinted at the car before she recognized the man - Digger. He had a gold chain dangling around his neck with a dri fit black top. He even kept his dark blonde hair messy. It almost covered his one diamond earring in his left ear. He looked a lot more laid back than her, who had on a black and white, sleeveless, mid-thigh length dress. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun. She even had a little bit of makeup on. Slowly, Tatsu approached the car and jumped up into the passenger’s seat.
“Hello, George.”
“Please, luv, it's Digger.” He looked over her and let out a low whistle. “Damn, you're lookin’ good.”
“Thank you,” she mumbled as she glanced around the car. It was very messy, laced with trash and miscellaneous objects. Oddly enough, not much was near her or her seat.
“No, really, you're a smoker.”
“I do not partake in any type of drug, for your information.” He howled with laughter as he pulled out of the driveway and headed down and off the street.
“No, not like that, darl! I'm saying you're quite the hot one.” Tatsu raised an eyebrow before she touched her forehead. He was simply confusing her now.
“My skin is rather cold, I do not understand where you got the idea of a higher temperature.” Digger cackled at her response before he turned a corner.
“You're so funny! Ah, that's right. You're a gal from Japan, not ‘ere. Not familiar with the phrase?”
“It has never been spoken to me.” He gaped at her as his eyes locked onto the road.
“Aye, that's total bullshit. Surely a man has complimented ya before. Called you a beaut, and all.” Her eyes wandered out the window and towards the ground. She thought a minute before she spoke.
“One man...he is gone, now.”
“Japan bloke, Imma guess?”
“He rests there, now, yes…” She hugged her arms around her chest and avoided looking towards Digger. She didn’t want to go into detail, and hoped he would pick up the message.
“Rests? You mean lives, right?” Apparently not. “Didn’t immigrate witcha, or-”
“He died here. They brought him back to Japan with his family.” She didn’t look upset, or annoyed as she spoke. She wore an emotionless face, giving away absolutely no feeling. She stared down at her ankle black boots. There was silence for a long while.
“Oh…” He cleared his throat. “Wait, how? You’re only 15. He was your age, ain’t he? Was it one of those car crashes, bar fight-”
“Drug overdose.” Digger’s eyes widened.
“Shit...that’s...damn-”
“Is that the house?” She lifted up her head and pointed towards a house with lights flashing from inside. It pulsed with energy towards the end of the street.
“Um...yeah, yeah it is. Good eye, darl.” He drove up behind another car before he parked in front of the place and pulled the keys out of the ignition. Tatsu glanced towards him once last time before she opened the car door and jumped onto the sidewalk. She tried to balance herself carefully but hands were already steadying her. “You good?”
“Yes. Come.” She gestured for Digger to follow her as they headed towards the house. They walked down the stone path together, watching out for anything (or anyone) flying through windows. Tatsu kept her arms tight at her side, not allowing him to hold her hand or hook his arm around hers. Instead, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She pressed her lips together and attempted to move away, only to have him hug her tighter.
“Lordy, you’re a tense one, ay? What’s the problem, Tats?”
“Nothing,” she lied.
“Aw, c’mon, something’s botherin’ ya. What’s up?”
“I am always tense, this is not unusual.” Her eyes scanned over the house. She heard about these parties, about how everyone got drunk, girls got raped, and there was smoke clouding the air with powder on the tables. People got hurt, or arrested. This was just like one of those parties where her late boyfriend overdosed. Everyone had been laughing, thinking he just passed out. If anyone was not actually drunk or high, they would have called 9-1-1 after checking his pulse, which was non-existent. No one did, though. They let him “sleep” into the night, and realized he was dead the next morning. She never went out after that, nor spoke to anyone who attended that shindig and did absolutely nothing to help her partner. She didn’t trust people, didn’t like socializing, and didn’t want to risk being in a vulnerable position like that again.
Not until she got forced into this by a blonde girl with a high pitched laugh.
“Mm, right, sure. Just, relax. It’s gonna be fun! You know what fun is, right?” She glared up at him, which resulted in his hearty laugh. “Ah, even when you’re mad, you’re adorable.” They walked up to the front door. He loudly knocked on the door, only to have it swing open a second later. A football player, about Digger’s height, stood there with a big grin and a red cup in his hand.
“Aye, Digger! Hey, man, finally, you made it. Get yer ass in here, uh...mate? That’s what you ‘Stralies say, right?” He sounded like he already had a couple drinks.
“Yeah, mate, you got it.” He led Tatsu into the house. She looked around everywhere, her eyes scanning over everyone. They were mostly jocks, cheerleaders, and people who had seen the inside of Juvy at least once. It made her uncomfortable. A couple of them were checking her out, making her tense up even more. Digger felt her stiffen and looked around. “What?”
“...huh? I did not say anything.”
“You went all rigid, like a doll, heh.”
“...It is nothing, I’m just...imagining things.”
“What did you see?”
“...some eyes just seem to be wandering, that is all.” Her dark brown eyes locked with a blonde who had bright green ones. He grinned sleazily and nudged his friend. He looked over as well and made a noise towards her. She frowned and looked away annoyedly. Boys could be such creeps.
Digger looked down at her before he looked towards the two boys on the couch in the living room. He caught on. “Oi, Jimmy, is that you?”
“D-Digger! Hey, w-what’s up?” Digger walked away from Tatsu for a moment to approach the two. Out of uncomfortableness, and not knowing anyone else here, she trailed behind the one person she knew. He towered over the two gents with a deadly look in his blue eyes.
“What’s all this, then? You hollering at Tatsu, ‘ere?”
“N-no, that was Eric!” The other boy with brown hair and golden eyes looked alarmed.
“What?! No I wasn’t! You were staring at her!”
“You were whistling!”
“You pointed her out-”
“Hey!” The two shut up at Digger’s yelling. “Both of ye, knock it off. And quit looking at her.” The two exchanged a glance before the one named Eric straightened up.
“Oh really? Why not?” The blonde punched his friend.
“Eric, you idiot!”
“Oh please, quit being a pussy, Jimmy.” Digger let out a loud breath through his nose before spoke again.
“Because you’re checking out my girl,” he hissed. Eric looked like he had a heart attack.
“O-Oh jeez, Digger I-I’m so sor-”
“Oh, shove it up yer ass, ratbag.” Tatsu raised her eyebrows at the boys. They seemed genuinely scared, but she couldn’t understand why. She could, and had, take down Digger very easily. He was not that hard of an opponent. Why did they look like he was going to kill them in their sleep?
“In all fairness, I do not belong to any male,” she interrupted. The boys didn’t even glance towards her, they just nodded. “...what is wrong with them?” she said quietly to Digger. He grinned widely before he led her away deeper into the room.
“I broke Jim’s leg in eighth grade, and threw Eric up the stairs in ninth.”
“You mean down?”
“I know what I said.” He had a deranged look on his face. It didn’t scare her, though. He looked kind of funny, actually. His eyes were scanning over the room before he walked through another doorway and walked up to a table of people with drinks and ping pong balls. She reluctantly followed, but stayed behind him.
‘Do not drink, do not drink, do not.’ She pressed herself up against Digger as someone moved past her. He chuckled at the movement and patted her on the head, to which she ignored. She looked around the table to see people attempt to throw the white ball into one of those cups. They kept missing, although she wasn’t sure how.
“Hey, you should try that!”
“Do I have to drink anything?”
“Uh, if you miss, yeah. But it’s you, after all! Oi, guys, Tatsu can beat all of ye at this!”
“What? No way!”
“She can’t beat Mark, I’ll tell you that much.”
“Prove it!” Digger gestured towards the end of the table where a couple of the ping pong balls laid. She stared at him for a moment before she sighed and walked over. She grabbed one of the balls and bent down to study the angles. She stared at the cups, trying to figure out where to bounce them in the correct spot, and which one she should aim for. After a minute of careful concentration, she stood back up and casually bounced the ball on top of another, which then bounced onto the rim of the first cup, then the second, third, and finally plunked into the fourth. Everyone stared at her in disbelief. No one spoke. She tensed up slightly. She didn’t like to be stared at, nor be surrounded by silence. It made her so uncomfortable.
Digger saved her with his obnoxious clapping and yelling. “Aye, atta girl! That was fuckin’ amazing, darl!” After a couple of seconds, everyone joined in with his clapping. She stared with a little of confusion before she gave a tiny smile. It quickly disappeared as a hand shoved her out of the way, towards the other side of the table. She almost fell, but a hand caught her. It belonged to a redhead, who had several layers of makeup on that she didn’t need.
“Thank you,” Tatsu mumbled. The other girl grinned before looking towards the guy who shoved away her new pal. It was a tall, thin boy who had hazy, gray eyes and spiky black hair.
“Please, that was nothing. Don’t know why you’re all applauding a sophomore.” She stiffened at the words. They sounded hostile towards her. For what, being younger but in some junior classes? Not her fault she was smarter than him.
“Not like you can do better, Marky,” Digger retorted.
“Oh yeah? Watch me.” The clearly dazed junior picked up one of the balls and rolled his wrist back and forth before he chucked it at the table. It bounced towards Tatsu, who narrowly dodged it. She stared at him and noticed his eyes. He had dilated pupils, and his veins were bloodshot within the white space. She frowned slightly at him. He must be on something.
“Ooooooh, yeah, that's definitely muuucchh better.” Digger laughed, and everyone around the table joined in. “I could do better with my eyes covered, mate!” he sneered at him.
Bad idea.
Mark glared towards the Aussie before he drew back his fist. Tatsu immediately grabbed his arm and twisted it back. He let out a yell and started to squirm. She kept it in place, enough to make him feel pain, but not quite the same to snap the bone. He made odd noises and swore, but she ignored them.
“That was not a wise idea, Marcus.” She heard him swear some more at her before she threw him to the ground and brushed off her hands. To her dismay, two boys came up behind her. Being only 5’1”, they towered over her. Most people did.
“Wha the helll do you tink yer doin?” His speech was absolutely wretched. She felt bad for his English teacher, they must be embarrassed.
“He started it,” she replied calmly as she started to back away. One of the boys moved to grab her, but she was quick. Tatsu smacked his hand away harshly and managed to bend back a couple of his fingers before she was hidden behind Digger. The older boy gripped his hand in pain and moved to attack again when Digger grabbed him by the collar.
“And who might you be, tryin to start shit?” The boy looked terrified.
“Harkness...f-fuck, don’t kill me, man! S-she was d-doing shit.”
“Yeah, shit you deserved. Fuck off, Cathers.” He looked like he was about to add something, but instead let go. The boy scrambled away and his friend followed after him. They looked like rats. Digger shook his head before he put an arm around Tatsu, who had to force herself not to grab it and throw him over her. Her fighting senses were on, touching her was not a good idea. “C’mon, then, you proved yourself. Let’s get it drink, eh?”
“I do not partake in alcohol.”
“Fine, fine, get a water or somethin, just come with me.” He gently grabbed her arm and led her towards the next room, which had a long table of food and drinks towards the front. Couches and tables were pushed to the edges of the room as the middle was filled with people dancing. There was another table towards the back, with someone working on a couple of iPhones and speakers, blasting music throughout the room. Lights blared from the corners, creating flashing lights of color. It was somewhat pretty, if you ignored some of the jocks grinding against the cheerleaders. “You looking to dance, luv?”
“Mm...I probably would not. I don’t even have a partner.” Digger looked down at her, appearing somewhat offended. The look made her press her lips together in attempt not to laugh.
“I’m sorry, do I not exist?! Am I a void in the Earth?” Tatsu covered her mouth as she quietly snorted. It was hard not to laugh at him, he made good jokes. The small noise made Digger grin. “Oi, ya laughed! See, I knew you’d ‘ave fun!” He brought her into a one armed bear hug, which she attempted to resist against but failed. As much as she hated to admit he, he was a good hugger.
“I suppose, yes.”
“Good! See, I’m not that bad, ye?”
“Mmm...that can still be debated.” He rolled his eyes but still wore a bright smile. The dark blonde led her down the table towards the drinks. He grabbed a vodka bottle and poured some into a red cup, followed by a spoonful of gin, and a lot of brandy. Her eyes widened as she watched him mix the alcohol. “Digger, you can’t drink that.”
“Ah, why not?”
“You are sixteen. The legal drinking age is twenty-one-”
“Pilots? Ah, yeah, I love that band. I think their song is on now.” Tatsu glared at him. She hated when he did things like that.
“Digger-”
“Hey, maybe we could go dance to it-”
“Digger.”
“I think there’s a slow part too-”
“George!” He jumped as she raised her voice. Even Tatsu surprised herself. She took a deep breath before she said, “Digger, please, do not do anything stupid. Look at all of these teenagers, drunk and high. They are so disoriented and unorderly. They will forget all about this day, they will get hangovers, and most likely fail any test or exam on Monday. Do you want that?” He stared down at her like she was speaking in Japanese. He didn’t seem to care, or didn’t understand what the big deal was. She looked over him before she decided to try a different method. “Digger, listen.” He straightened up. “I clearly do not go to parties often. The only person I know here is you. I have no idea what I’m doing, who to be friendly with, and what is the wisest decision would be. The only person I trust and like here is you. You are not the same when you are drunk. Please, do not drink any alcohol. I want to stay safe and by your sober side during this occasion.” She had to tap into the deepest part of her mind in order to think it up, but the words seemed to work. Digger had a longing look on his face, as if he was really thinking. He stared at her before he glanced at his drink. Begrudgingly, he set it back down on the table. It made Tatsu smile, just the smallest bit. She didn’t know why she should care if he got drunk or not. It’s not like it mattered. If he overdoses, or gets alcohol poisoning, it’s not her problem. It’s his own fault. Yet, she didn’t want to see him like that, didn’t want to take the chance. Even her words had some truth to them; she didn’t want him to leave her side tonight. For safety reasons only, of course
“Alright, fine. Water only, I guess.”
“I would not recommend drinking that either.”
“Oh, why’s that? Germs?!” His voice was laced with sarcasm.
“No, actually, I saw someone pour vodka and various other liquids in it.”
“...other liquids?”
“Let us just say that water does not tend to have brown or yellow tints to it.” Digger glanced down at the cups of water before he gagged into his hand.
“Fuckin’ christ. Alright, let's just dance. Sound good, luv?”
“Better than anything else.” He hooked his arm around hers and led her to the dance floor. A lot of teens were moving around them, making a racket and jerking around. A couple of them brushed against Tatsu, who felt like she was in the tightest space possible. It made her tense.
“Hey, Tats, look at me, yeah? Just you and me,” he said loud enough for her to hear. She stared up at him and watched him. He grabbed her hands and started to pull her in movements, trying to get her to dance. After a minute, she managed to pick up on his rhythm and follow him fairly well. He twirled her with a big grin, and even got her to do something similar to a tango. “Can I dip you?”
“Can I break your nose?”
“Eh, I’ll risk it.” Digger looped his arms around her waist as he swung her down and hung there for a moment. Their eyes locked together, their faces inches apart. She was tempted to follow through with her promise, but she got lost in his eyes. They were bright and full of wonder.
“...wow,” was all she was able to muster. It made a huge smile spread across his ragged face. He hesitated a moment before he puckered his lips and leaned in for a kiss. Tatsu broke from her trance and turned her head. He awkwardly kissed her ear, which resulted in her laughing. True laughter, as well. She hadn’t made that noise in a long time, maybe even a year.
“Is that all I have to do, kiss ye? Perfect!” Her laugh was just dying down as he started to smother her face with kisses, everywhere. Even the lips, that daring man.
“S-stop it! Hah!” She weakly clawed at his chest. He didn’t stop, though, he was relentless.
“Neva!”
“Y-you ass!” she hissed with a big grin. She managed a kick to his legs, which only resulted in a wince. He picked her up completely off the ground to stop her from doing anything else. She punched him in the chest and felt him laughing against her. He planted a kiss on her lips, and she lightly smacked him upside the head. She could’ve hit him harder, but she decided against it.
“Aw, c’mon, what do you have ‘gainst kisses?!”
“Because it is yours,” she said with a smirk.
“Oh, that ain’t fair!” Tatsu laughed a little, but buried her face into his shoulder. She didn’t like her laugh, or the face she made. She thought she looked silly. To her surprise, Digger forced her to look up at him as he moved her face. At first, she held onto her stone expression, but it cracked as soon as Digger bounced his eyebrows at her.
“You are not fair!”
“Neither’s life, luv. Ah, it makes sense now! Life isn’t fair, so neither is the love of your life, eh?” She stared at him for a long moment before she snorted and ruffled his blonde mess of hair. His face lit up before he planted a kiss on her forehead. This time, she didn’t reprimand him.

Later in the evening, after hours of dancing and talking, Tatsu was sitting on one of the couches off to the side of the main dance floor. A mashup of several songs were playing around her, including Melannie Martinez’s “Soap”, Twenty One Pilot’s “Heathens” and P!atd’s “Miss Jackson”. She loved the song, they music blended together beautifully, but her nerves were shot. Digger said he would be right back, he was just going to use the lavatory.
‘It’s been twenty minutes, how long does it take for someone to take a piss?’
She looked around the room before she spotted the redhead from earlier. Tatsu carefully stood up and walked over, feeling tight and anxious. Whenever she was with Digger, she felt calm and secure. Now...she didn’t want to address it.
“Miss?” The redhead looked up in surprise. She had a green drink in her hand. It matched the color of her tight dress and high heels. Her ginger hair was wrapped up in a messy bun, with more green pins and flowers in it. She really liked green, huh?
“Oh, hey there. Tat...Tatsi?”
“Tatsu.”
“Right, right, knew that. I’m Pamela, but you can call me Pam.”
“Nice to meet you...Pam. Have you seen George?”
“Who da fuck is George?”
“Um...Digger? Harkness?”
“Mmm...Ohhhh! Aussie boy! Oh yeah, that dude. Think I saw him in the smoker parlour.”
“...what?” Pam waved her hand in a gesture to show to follow her before she headed out of the room. Tatsu hesitated before she briskly walked after the girl. What was she talking about? Smoking parlour? Why would he be in there? If it was what she could guess, he shouldn't be there. Sure, she knew he drank. She could smell it on his breath, most of the time. He seemed to favor brandy over everything, but she didn’t mind too much. She had gotten used to it, even started to like it. The scent told her he was nearby, that he was coming to say hi. The one scent she hadn’t yet to catch from him was smoke, of any kind. It was probably one of the few reasons she could stand to be around him - he was one of the few jocks that didn’t hide under the bleachers to smoke.
“Here. This is it,” she mumbled as she walked up to a set of glass doors. She held it open for Tatsu, who cringed as a wave of smoke hit her.
“What is that?” She covered her nose and watched a small path of thick clouds drift out into the hall. Her brown eyes went wide in disgust.
“Hmm…” Pam sniffed the air. “...a mix of Marijuana and Vapes, I would say.”
“Vapes?”
“It’s like an E-cig, but it’s got water vapor in it. And it’s way more addictive. People think it’s better, but they’re idiots. Any smoking is bad.” Tatsu nodded in agreement. She covered her nose before she stepped closer to the door. The smell was close to choking her.
“Jesus Christ,” she mumbled as she stepped inside with the ginger. They looked around the room and saw all the people strung about. Two boys were on the floor together. One was taking a large puff of a oddly shaped box before he blew out a thick cloud of smoke into the air. The other boy laughed and took the instrument from his friend. He took a deep breath before he blew it right in the boy’s face, who cackled. Tatsu thought she was going to be sick.
“Gross. I hope that vape is scented,” Pam muttered. Tatsu looked at her, confused.
“Scented?”
“I meant flavored.”
“What?”
“Honey, you could take a huge whiff of that thing and your breath can smell like bubble gum. They have flavors in those things, so they’re ‘better’ than cigs. That’s what I’ve been told, at least.” Tatsu shuddered before she looked around the room. To her surprise, the vapes actually didn’t smell bad. It reminded her of the more feminine perfumes she would see Macy’s. No, the choking scent was coming from the back of the room.
“Is that…”
“Pot? You bet. That’s what all the football players light, I swear. I can’t really see Harkness as a Vaper, so...good luck, girlie.” She smacked Tatsu on the back before turning towards the door.
“You are not accompanying me?”
“Sorry, I really can’t stand Weed. The idea of burning plants...just terrible. Don’t smoke any, or I’m coming back to bitch slap you.” Before Tatsu could even reply, Pam was gone. She pressed her lips together before she looked at the back again.
‘Don’t be here, do not be here.’ Her eyes saddened as she heard a familiar laugh. Her shoulders lowered before she took a deep breath and headed over in the direction. The smell grew stronger, and more putrid, but she took it well. Her gaze locked on a broad shouldered figure with something in their hand. She did a double take before she sprinted across the room. She rushed up to the figure sitting down on the couch and immediately grabbed his wrist.
“Gah! Hey, what the- ...Tatsu? Hey, what are you doin’ ‘ere?” The Japenese teen scrunched up her nose.
“I should be asking you that.” She started to back up when he grabbed her arm.
“Hey, wait, wait, it’s not what it looks like!”
“You are smoking. You disappoint me, George.” The scent reminded her of some terrible nostalgia, and she wanted out of there.
“Wait, Tats-” She turned on her heels and was ready to walk out the door when muscular arms wrapped around her. “Tatsu, listen! C’mon, luv!”
“What?” she asked bitterly.
“I wasn’t lighting a joint, darl!” She tilted her head in confusion.
“Why would you ignite one of your joints? Would that not hurt?” Digger stared at her before he grinned. She could faintly see it in the dark light.
“Gosh, you’re cute. No, no it means to light one of em rolls of pot. And no, not the thingy you put plants in-”
“I know.”
“Just checkin, heh.”
“What were you holding?” Her eyes ran over him. He could be lying…
“Pocket knife, always carry it around.” He let go of her to pull out the object he had earlier. He pressed into the side of it, and sure enough, a thin knife popped out.
“What were you taking that out for?”
“Some twit was talking shit, that’s all.” Tatsu scoffed quietly.
“You lied,” she said dryly.
“What?! I did not!”
“Just taking a piss, huh?” The Australian pressed his lips together.
“Okay, I got distracted. I’ll admit that. But you know me, I don’t smoke!” She stared right into him. She wanted to argue with him, considering he hadn’t explained why he was here, but he really didn’t smoke. She never saw it or smelled it. At least, she never had before.
Her eyes narrowed before she walked up to him and sniffed the air. She scrunched up her nose as the smell of weed hit her, but it was airy. It was just from everyone else around her. Tatsu hesitated before she buried her face in his shoulder and took a breath in. It was practically heaven compared to the rest of the air. He had the smell of Axe cologne and maybe some alcohol. He must’ve had some this morning, he wasn’t drunk when he was driving. Hopefully.
“What are you doin’, darl? Awe, need a hug?” He gave her a big embrace, and she got her face flattened into his chest. As much as she wanted to slap him, she was relieved to breathe in air that didn’t make her feel light headed.
“Digger, let’s go,” she said muffedly. He let go of her to look down.
“Aw c’mon, this place ain’t that bad. Sit down for a minute!”
“I really don’t-” He pulled her back towards the couch he was previously on and sat down, placing her on his lap. She stumbled to hold onto him, and awkwardly stilled herself against him. He laughed and kept an arm around her. Another jock sat down next to them and started to chat with Digger. Her nose scrunched up as she smelled the pot on his breath. She rested her head against Digger’s shoulder and took in a deep breath. Tatsu smiled as his cologne floated around her. She stared around the room and watched everyone. They were acting silly, laughing hysterically and saying odd words. Digger and Tatsu seemed to be the only ones in the room who weren’t delusional. She was proud of him for it, actually. He seemed like the kind of guy to do drugs, honestly, just to throw reality away from him, but he didn’t.
“Aye, Tatsu,” he said after about ten minutes.
“Yes?”
“You really don’t like drug takers, eh?”
“I do not.”
“So if I smoked…?”
“I would probably never speak to you again, or acknowledge your presence,” she spoke honestly. He furrowed his brow slightly before he smiled again.
“And if I never did?”
“...I think I could tolerate you.” She smirked up at him. He held her gaze before he laughed. It was a hearty laugh as well, a deep voiced one. It was nice to hear against all the maniacal cackling around her.
“In that case, I never will.” Tatsu was about to ask why when he placed a kiss on her cheek. She stiffened and glared up at him, but she slowly smiled at seeing the look on his face.
Someone’s smitten.
“Let’s get the fuck outta here.” Digger picked up Tatsu and placed her on her feet before he offered an arm out to her. She stared at it carefully before she sighed and hooked her arm around his. He gave a huge grin to her before he led her out of the smoking parlour. “See? A little party never hurt nobody.”
“That can be argued from the evidence we’ll probably see tomorrow morning.” The two snickered in unison as they walked out the door together.
Let’s see how long Tatsu can stick around with her new Aussie.