chaper ten
The cheap perfume wreathed Au Co like a second skin, the reek of vodka sweet on her lips. She was seated at the bar, legs surreptitiously tucked underneath the rather low bar counter. The wood was sticky, and from what Au Co didn’t want to know.
She knocked back the whisky in the shotglass before her. It wasn’t half bad here, at the Fat Buddha. She’d had better, down the street at the Jade Empress, which was also undoubtedly a far more classy, though just as disreputable, place. Some big-name mobsters actually owned and ran the Jade Empress, but the Fat Buddha was probably owned by some sleazy no-name, hence the rather questionably furnished venue.
The few single light bulbs that dangled from the ceiling blinked wearily, and the bartender, what with his balding hair and weathered face, didn’t look any better either. He silently refilled her shotglass and she saluted him. Grunting noncommittal, he went back to cleaning some horrifically smudged glasses.
Patrons lingered around the background, the cigarette smoke repugnant in the air as they murmured over their cards. The small com in her ear crackled static to life, and My Nuong’s voice came through. “Is she here yet?”
Under the table, Au Co’s fingers pressed on the button on her holocom that would activate the mic on the intercom stuck in her ear. “Not yet.”
My Nuong hummed. “Sung Lam and Hanh said they saw her five minutes ago entering the street. She should be there any minute.”
Au Co’s gaze roved over the sorry looking patrons that littered the venue, their faces drawn and showing a life much harder than the glitz and glam outsiders knew Lac Viet City for. “Well, how hard can it be hard to miss- oh.”
And then the most beautiful woman Au Co had ever laid her eyes upon walked into the bar.
Her silken black hair was cropped short into a sleek bob that framed the angles of her pale face. Full, rouge-tinted lips pursed in distaste as she glanced around the bar, round but angled onyx eyes narrowing. Her skin was pale and flawless, and she was feminine in ways Au Co could only dream about. Her svelte figure was slipped into a crimson qipao, the high collar accenting the swan-like white curve of her neck. The whole ensemble was completed by a rather lethal looking pistol at her hip, its sleek lines pulsating with a turquoise blue light.
She cooly appraised the rest of the bar, eyes sweeping over the patrons. A few of them raised their heads from their glasses, but upon meeting her icy gaze, they went immediately back to their business. She strode confidently, hips swaying, to the bar and sat down at a stool only a few away from Au Co.
Her voice was soft, surprisingly girlish. “I’ll have a whiskey, clean, over ice.”
Ah, a woman after Au Co’s own heart. Au Co cleared her throat. “Put it on my tab.”
Those intense onyx eyes zeroed in on Au Co, appraising her. From the slicked back pink hair, the black leather jacket, the old band shirt she threw over tucked into her high-waisted jeans, the studded combat boots. Tam smirked, swirling the glass the bartender placed in front of her. She tilted her head inquisitively, beckoning to Au Co.
The tien scooted over to sit next to Tam. She propped an elbow up on the counter, and flashed her a winning smile.
“Hi.”
The half-tien quirked a brow. Then scoffed. “That’s your grand entrance? Hi?”
Au Co shrugged, walking her fingers across the counter top. “It was either that, or ‘Hey, beautiful, what are you doing tonight?’ Which sounds as douchey as possible.”
Tam snorted. “Fair enough. So what do you want? A job? Sex? Drugs?”
Au Co pressed a hand to her chest, feigning affronted indignation. “Can’t a girl buy another pretty lady a drink, phu nu cho phu nu?”
The woman brushed back a sleek strand of black hair, her nails painted an immaculate crimson. “This is the undercity, love. Everyone wants something for something. Quid pro quo, all that jazz.”
“Alright, yeah, so you got me. I do need something from you. But I’m coming from an old friend- Lumine Caomhanach.”
Surprise flitted over Tam’s fine features. “That’s-that’s a name I haven’t heard in a while.” Her expression softened. “How is she nowadays?”
Au Co shrugged. “Fine. She’s teaching at the university. She’s my professor. I told her I needed help, and she referred me to you.”
Tam studied Au Co with those beautiful, black eyes. Just like someone else’s- Au Co shook the thought away.
“Alright, what do you need? For free. If you are who you say you are, it would be a pleasure to help.”
Au Co played with the empty glass in her hands, seeing the dim shards of light reflect on the last dregs of whisky. “There’s a man. A bad one. We need intel on him.”
Tam’s face twisted into something ugly. “It was a man too, that was hurting Lumine.”
Au Co wondered if she dared press further. “Her father? I… I’ve heard a little. But I never wanted to push it.”
“Yeah.” Tam fingered the gun holstered by her side. “I told myself if I could do something to help this girl, at least it would have made my miserable existence worth it.”
“And did it?”
Tam’s eyes glowed, crimson bleeding into the irises of her eyes. With a flash, it vanished. “Yeah. It did.”
Au Co fell silent for a heartbeat. Then spoke. “I was 15 when a boy hurt me too. I thought I loved him and he loved me, but when I told him no, it wasn’t enough.”
“Did he get what he deserved?”
Her chest ached. “He’s still around.”
Tam’s face screwed up further. “He shouldn’t be.” Her gaze softened. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”
“I’m sorry that people hurt you, too.”
They fell into an amiable silence. The whiskey swirled in Au Co’s head. She was about to do something stupid. Really stupid.
“Look, I know we’ve only just met…” She met Tam's eyes, seeing the longing in the other woman’s eyes too. “But-”
Something flashed in Tam’s eyes. She pressed a finger to the pink-haired tien’s lips. “I have a room upstairs. Let’s go there.”
Au Co let Tam take her hand and guide her away from the bar.
She was never good at making smart decisions, anyway.
….
Their lips met in a clash, teeth clacking together in their desperate need. Neither of them seemed to care. Tam groaned into Au Co’s mouth, the feeling reverberating down in her chest. The black-haired woman palmed greedily at Au Co’s breasts, and the other woman keened in response, arching into her touch.
Au Co traced the fine lines of Tam’s body; the sweep of her collarbone, the arched angle of her jaw, the flaring of her neat hips. She allowed the woman to press her down into the bed, the cheap sheets smelling like starch and the bed frame creaking beneath their combined weights.
Tam pressed kisses down Au Co’s neck, and the other woman purred in response.
“How far are you willing to go,” Tam said breathlessly through the kisses she traced down the length of Au Co’s body. She slid her hand under the pink-haired woman’s shirt, feeling the planes of her abs flex under her touch.
“As far as you are, cupcake,” Au Co groaned, eyes shuttering. She gripped Tam’s black hair in her fist, twisting her fingers around her soft black hair as Tam pushed Au Co’s shirt up.
“Less talking,” Au Co growled, shrugging out of her black t-shirt, leaving her only in her bra and jeans. “More kissing.”
Tam smirked as her arms caged Au Co in. The dim city lights from the dingy window framed the slender woman’s face, wreathing her in light like an angel Au Co had heard preached about the handful of times she wandered into a church.
There was something unspeakably tender in Tam’s eyes. Something that bore pain, the weathering of a woman who knew just how unfair the world could be. Au Co met her gaze. Slowly, she reached up and cupped Tam’s face.
“Hey, it’s okay.”
The woman nuzzled Au Co’s hand, and Au Co breathed in Tam’s heady vanilla scent.
“I know.”
They didn’t talk after that. They didn’t need to. Tam shucked her qipao, tossing it unceremoniously in a corner. Her underthings were black and lacy, framing her figure in the most flattering way possible.
Au Co let out a low growl of approval, grasping the other woman’s shoulders and flipping her over. Tam gasped as Au Co pinned her to the bed, knees framing her hips and hands grasping her wrists above her head. Au Co nudged one bra strap off Tam’s shoulder, and took the other woman’s pink nipple into her mouth. She relished the soft mews that came from Tam’s mouth as her tongue swirled over the soft pink nub, her own want low and hot in her stomach.
She relinquished Tam’s hands, slipping one hand down the woman’s body. Tam gasped, greedily, fisting her hands in Au Co’s short locks. The pink-haired fairy slipped her fingers down to Tam’s core, feeling the wetness moisten her fingers over the woman’s lacy panties.
Tam growled in frustration, releasing one of her own hands to meet Au Co’s hands down at her core, hissing as her fingers swirled the sensitive nub under her panties. “Is that- is that all you got?” she panted into Au Co’s ear.
Au Co smirked, dipping her head to deepen a kiss. “Needy, aren’t we?”
Her fingers slipped aside Tam’s panties, and the half-fairy hissed as Au Co drew her fingers down her wet slit.
“Gods, I can’t wait-”
And then the door blew open.