😎

“ easy. bit too early in the fuckin’ night to find out what we like, init? ” but apparently not early enough for her little nose scrunch to make him pause, frown and take a second to figure out whether he liked it or not. features pinch with a hint of surprise all the same, kind of like when you realise you’ve gotten used to a bad smell. “ so, ya don’t get asked out either? ” since that’s the only way the count would be at zero, but he doesn’t trust anyone at gallagher to make any good decisions. exhibit a: he made it to the bar. “ and the fuckin’ pricks you pay to carry your books around don’t fuckin’ count. ” he scoffs in a way he usually does whenever she says something funny, in replace of a laugh and trying to hide his smirk. “ don’t worry, i’ll secure a fourth and send you an invite. make sure you catch that bouquet and all since ya need all the fuckin’ luck you can get. ” little does he know she’s going to have twenty odd men publicly putting themselves forward to be her potential husband. horrifying. eyes on the bartender, he grumbles, “ not really used to bartenders who don’t tend the fuckin’ bar. ” he hears the smile in her voice before he sees it, though his face takes the first hit. the surprise spreads and twists his features with confusion, though the deep grimace makes him look disturbed more than anything. he had the same look on his face when devon played him that disney girl’s version of smells like teen spirit -- a bad cover of a good song. a few seconds pass. the dickhead, who practically ran over, now stands in front of them and tigs is threatening him with a glare that’s too rude to be put into words. then she speaks again, and this time it makes his head turn slowly, almost cautiously, towards her. just in time to catch her calling him woo-hoo. unfortunately, he breaks out into laughter at that, hanging his head in defeat as she talks to him. guy? mother doesn’t love him. cunt. “ and a rum and coke -- triple -- and your cheapest scotch for this one, ” he adds, nodding towards trinity. guy doesn’t look impressed, and starts pouring the shots in front of them. since guy doesn’t want to leave, tigs turns to trinity, deadpan as he picks up one of the shots. “ wait- you allowed to drink with your haemorrhoids meds? ”

tigs never thought ruby had it in her. the slow quirk of the lips is only because he doesn’t mind being wrong if he gets to enjoy it. how could he not? when the way she holds onto his gaze feels like she’s digging her claws into him. “ snappy -- i like it. ” this isn’t the ruby he’s used to, but he’s used to these kind of conversations, so he’ll meet her gaze with ease, even if that means he’ll end up bleeding out, in a half-hearted attempt to match her energy. “ didn’t realise you liked the sound of my voice so much. ” he doesn’t think she’s entitled to his confession, never mind the details. if they were friends, he’d consider it. but they’re not, so he’ll enjoy his cigarette. he takes a long drag, one that burns a little, before slowly casting his eyes heavenward and blowing the smoke towards the clouds. “ god, ” he offers an answer to her first question, landing his eyes onto her again, “ my laptop and ... sometime after one direction split up. ” he shrugs, then glances over at hughes. “ what’s the plan, mate? you gonna shoot me or arrest me? ain’t got all day, you see. ”

good? there’s an imperceptible twitch of the brows. where there’s disappointment, there’s also ... well, he doesn’t want to flip that coin onto it’s head. she hasn’t disappointed him. he knows he hasn’t disappointed her either. yet. someone has to walk away with the belts, though disappointment doesn’t fall under pretty or not-dumb. if they keep adding belts, where does it end? “ still plenty of time to send ya off with ya tail between ya legs. ” considering this might be the last time they talk, he is planning on returning the tail to it’s rightful owner. just waiting for the right moment. not because he has morals or anything. there’s a light scoff of amusement as he arrives at the bar. maybe he borrowed paul’s notes after all. “ get stood up a lot, don’t ya? ” he retorts after a beat. she pouts, he frowns. shifts his weight onto his forearm leaning against the bar, other hand in his pocket, slightly hunched over, but turned towards her. can never stand normally, unable to tell whether he’s staying or leaving. “ life’s fuckin’ hard when you’re three marriages in and your wife’s fuckin’ the pool boy. ” the bartender’s taking a stupidly long time, considering the only other two people at the bar just left, one of them double parked. briefly looks over his shoulder, didn’t realise bash was seeing someone. they look cosy. only notices how close he’s standing to her until he looks at her again, which isn’t anything new, but the night’s still young, so he’ll use waving the bartender down as a way to create some distance. “ oi-- ” he calls out to the bartender, who apparently refuses to serve this side of the bar, “ --some time tonight would be nice. ”

he grimaces. “ if they ever stop fuckin’ cryin’, yeah. ” 

maybe he’ll allow it in their final year, if they both make it. a knowing smirk comes before he relents and places a hand on her waist. “ what are you talkin’ about, ” he mutters under a low chuckle, which sounds half like a groan, in an attempt to brush past it. doesn’t think he’s done anything worthy of her gratitude, especially one that sounds so sincere. “ too much to drink? ”

“ fallon’s gonna see what she can do, ” he repeats with a slow nod. no idea what that means but it’s not important. “ didn’t fancy includin’ ai in your little deal? ”

“ who, me? never. blackmail’s a serious fuckin’ matter, mate, ” he deadpans, pausing to place his hands on the edge of the sink as the tap continues to run. “ you’re the joke tonight, aren’t ya? saint -- very funny. ” 

“ don’t need it. ” doesn’t care to be the main character, no interest in reaching the ending credits. his, hers, or anyone else’s. she gives the impression that she needs her name popping up in the corner every time she’s on screen, like a reality tv show. he likes to think he’ll change the channel, but something seems to be wrong with the remote. “ and i don’t mix business with, ” he thinks for a moment, then finally decides on, “ displeasure. ” he’d ignored it the first time, and it’s harder to do when she does it again, the way she says abuelita and how it touches on his curiosity. there’s a light crease in his brows, unable to separate the person from the outfit, so his lips curl into a smirk. “ think it’s missin’ a tigger’s tail. ” it’s sitting in his jacket pocket for undisclosed reasons. when she turns around, she’s met with a growing smirk, knowing she was going to say something but being a second or two off, and it remains even as she walks away again. but she’s still unpredictable enough to force him to reconsider his moves. thinks it’d be funny if he left her there, but there’s the risk of not catching her before the night’s over and it wouldn’t be as satisfying if he missed her reaction. as if it’d be a disserve to the both of them to leave things unfinished. he joins her by the bar, looking like a couple of besties, but at least they didn’t walk over together. “ got here in the end -- what’s your poison? ”

“ no point -- you’re not pullin’ either way. ”

“ not just nice but very nice, must be special, ” he says maybe a little too sarcastically but that’s only because he doesn’t really care about ricky in driver’s ed and esther in ae and r&d. especially since they’re not coming back next year. “ nate might not be comin’ back either, but he ain’t that nice. ” features pinch with amusement at her words. “ what does that mean? very tigs. ” doesn’t think he’s ever been used as an adjective before, especially not in regards to something as flashy as this watch that he’s planning on selling when he goes back to dc. “ did ya make ‘em? ” he could probably give a bit of a fuck about the drinks and the snacks if she did, but if he’s being honest he doesn’t understand why a party planning committee is necessary. there are better things to do with a budget like that. “ not even a sprinkle? could jazz it up a bit -- some red, some blue, ” he teases, mirroring the tone she uses when she starts banging on about colours of the rainbow. he thinks about her answer for a moment -- it hasn’t been something he’d thought about for a long time. trying to fit in had only gotten him into trouble. “ does it really matter? as long as your yourself, who fuckin’ cares. ”

“ yeah, they’d bring out the colour of my ... eyes, ” he says flatly, unsure of why people actually wear heels in the first place. lifts his gaze to meet hers, but notes there’s a lot of leg on show. nice. “ graduatin’ tomorrow? ”

there’s only one person in the world that can make him flinch. besides that, nothing else rattles him. he’ll look straight down the barrel of a gun with the same jaded expression and challenge them to pull the trigger. ruby’s not a gun, but she is a gallagher girl. the laughter comes easily regardless. “ i think she’s angry, ” he drawls as he steps past hughes ( rip legend ). once he’s outside, he takes his time lighting his cigarette before answering her question. “ does it matter? i don’t do refunds. ” he thinks this is information she could get from her father since they’re being honest with each other now. “ alright, look, i’ll cut to the fuckin’ chase, yeah? not sure what you were fuckin’ hopin’ to get out of this, but i’m not sorry for what i did and i’d probably do it again. ”

marifer being so forward will never not make him grin. “ she would be the perfect voyeur. ” because she’s a ghost so no one will ever catch her. what a little pervert. “ should at least make it hard for her to find us. ”

“ see this. ” he points to a tiny drop of alcohol on the bar, turns to her with a blank expression, eyes glazed over. “ could easily give more of a fuck about this than you. ”

“ didn’t fuckin’ catch that-- ” he points to his ear, “ --you’re gettin’ yourself a drink? i’ll have a rum and coke, then. cheers. ”

“ decent stuff. we gettin’ those fancy burgers? ” what her mum has planned is probably very different to the kind of pool parties he’s used to, and he can count on one hand when he’s been on his best behaviour. this will just have to be one of those times. “ you speak to him? ” cole, he means. and he’s still walking, albeit barely, which means she probably hasn’t done anything more than that. tigs is waiting patiently for his turn, but he’ll go after yara. “ you can say that ‘cause you’ve got fuckin’ nandos in dc. ”