Meljay microfic prompt Temptation mixed with MerMay:
Jayce is looking away from the bartender to the figure in the white cloak and hood sitting, once again, somewhat in the corner out of the way but in plain sight of the guitar player. He can tell she’s looking that way by the way her hood is angled. Her drink is mostly full still as she’s caught up by her fascination with the musician.
It brings a small smile to his lips.
“You gonna take the drink or not?”
Jayce snaps his head back to the bartender. “Yeah, here.”
He drops some coins, taking a sip of his tepid ale. He grimaces at the warmth and sourness but honestly what else did he expect from a tavern at the port of Noxus Prime? He was just lucky the cup was clean - mostly.
“Hey, does she come here a lot?”
“The woman in the white hood.”
The bartender gives him an impatient huff. “How should I know? Ask her yourself, dumbass.”
Rude but also true. “Always a pleasure.”
Jayce takes his cup and approaches her table. For a second he wonders whether he should go back and shave first, clean up. He’s been out at the beach all day. He must be a mess. But then he wonders what the odds are of him seeing her again and he just goes for it.
She cocks her head a little. “By the tavern, I would think.”
He sees her hooded head tilt downwards a little, the brace on his leg catching her attention. He rubs the back of his head a little. “Broke my leg last month out at sea. Terrible storm.” He sighs and shifts his weight. “Got knocked off the boat and broke my leg against some rocks I guess. But then…”
But then he could have sworn someone grabbed him up from the waters and next thing he was clearly aware of was the sandy shore. But no one believed him. Who could be swimming out in the middle of the ocean during a storm to save him and also not be struggling to stay afloat themselves? It was clearly a hallucination. And yet…
But Jayce learned better to keep telling people.
“…Then the waves took me to shore.”
She lifted her head up enough for him to see her pretty hazel eyes and the gold beads in her twists.
“How fortunate you are then,” she murmured in a low voice. “The waves can have a mind of their own.”
She has a lovely voice. He wants to keep her talking even if it’s to read the menu.
“You’re telling me,” he chuckles. Her eyes drift back to the guitarist and Jayce blurts out, in a burst of something like fear at losing her attention, “I play the guitar too.”
She looks back at him. “Is that so?”
He thinks he should probably lead with technicalities, being an inventor and all, but he was always more sentimental.
“Tone, mood.” He puts a hand on the back of the chair. “Can I-?”
“You may,” she inclines her head.
For a second he feels like he’s been given permission by a Queen. Maybe he’s just lucky she was even talking to him. That’s probably it.
“Do you play any instruments?”
She shakes her head. “But I admire it.”
“Well there’s a festival coming up I think you’d really like then. There’s going to be food, music, dancing- Ah, well, hobbling for me until this heals properly.”
“Are you asking me to hobble with you?”
“Well, I mean. Not hobbling per se but yeah. I’d like to go with you. We can compare instrumental notes.”
“Hm. Perhaps. I need to think about it some more.” She drinks elegantly from her cup. “You’re not from around here are you?”
“Many things, everything.”
“Maybe.” He turns his cup in his hands as he looks at it. “Haven’t you ever felt like escaping to somewhere else, even for just a while?”
He can feel her eyes on him so he looks up. Her eyes are a little wider as if in surprise but she schools herself quickly, her expression changing based on whatever assessment she was making of him. He hoped it was a good one.
Kino’s voice drifted from his hiding spot.
“Sneaking off again, dear sister?”
She sighed loudly. Her brother shifted so he was leaning in front of the smooth rocks rather than behind them.
“I’m not judging. I had my fair share of escapades during my time on the surface.” He was messing with something tangled in his hands - a necklace? - as he talked to her, but paused long enough to say, “I only caution to space it out more, if you don’t want mother knowing about it.”
“She’s too busy deciding where next to invade.”
“You know, just because she can’t hold her form long like we can doesn’t mean she won’t come looking for you.”
“Why would she waste time with me when she has you?”
She sighed. “I returned. Isn’t that enough?” She rubbed her temples and then continued walking, “I need to rest. Or is there something else you want to scold me for?”
“Only to warn that temptations are just that- temptations!”
She paused by the archway of the garden and then continued up the steps leading further to the estate of the Medardas.