InsaneJournal

I know a place that serves bear. Wanna try it?
Who: Belle Boudreaux and Tyra Shepard
Where: a random pool hall
What: chatting, angst
When: late afternoon
Warnings/Rating: pg-13 for language and vague references to violence
Status complete

Belle shook her head as she eyed Shepard. She figured a game of pool would be nice and relaxing, and give them something to do while they talked. She was wearing a short skirt and a tight t-shirt. It amused her that she dressed sexier for a night out with Shepard than a night in with Wolfwood. She had the table racked already, and was nursing a beer while she waited for Tyra to show up.

Shepard had come home from oil wrestling to find her wife packed and ready to go. It had been a jarring downer from an otherwise enjoyable evening. She hadn’t slept well - or at all, but she wasn’t going to admit that. So pool and drinks were high on the agenda of things she wanted to do. She hit the gun range first, then showered before coming down to the bar.

She gave Belle a smile, not willing to betray the turmoil inside her head. She’d worn tight jeans and a tighter shirt. “Hey, already drinking?”

Belle wondered if something was off about Shepard, but she didn’t want to say anything. Instead she nodded and took another sip. “Can’t play pool sober. State dependent skill. Can’t plan or write without coffee, and I can’t play bar games without a beer. You should see me try t’ gamble without a cigarette, I’m terrible.” She smiled brightly. “I’ll buy the first round. Whacha want?”

“you just mean you can’t win without a beer.” Shepard grinned at her. “Something hard and fast. Like sex.”

Belle’s eyebrows shot up. “Sounds like there’s a story behind that request. I’ll getcha a couple shots, what liquor you favor anymore?”

“Give me whiskey straight up.” Shepard picked out a pool stick.

Belle nodded and went to the bar. She ordered three shots of whiskey and another beer for herself. She figured Shepard couldn’t drive any worse with some booze in her, but she wanted to stay sober-ish. She carried it all back carefully and lined up Shepard’s shots for her. “Got a coin t’ flip?”

She nodded and pulled out a gold coin. One side was a topless woman. The other side was her butt. “Heads or tails?”

“Tails, of course.” Belle said with a laugh. “I’m always chasin’ tails of one kind or another.” Her own, usually. She hated how many brick walls she was running into with this assignment.

Laughing, Shepard flipped the coin, and it spin through the air. When it landed, it was mooning them. “Everything okay on that front?”

Belle laughed and went over to break. “Ugh, now that I don’t have a penis. No thanks to you.” Belle made a face at her. “Why’d you tell him about us workin’ together? If he was a curious man I’d be out another fuck buddy.” She didn’t think she could handle breaking off another physical relationship so close to ending things with Vanille.

Shepard grinned at her. “Or maybe I was trying to vet him for you. DId you think about that?” Shepard tilted her head, raising her eyebrows. “And are you sure that’s all he wants?”

“I did, but I’m still allowed t’ be annoyed.” She eyed what was left after her break. “Crap, I got one of each in. You’re up.” She was still thinking about Shepard’s question. “If he wants more he ain’t sayin’ so. Think we’re just warmin’ each other up at night.” After her partial breakdown in front of Vanille she felt like she needed it.

Shepard twirled her stick, then leaned over the table, lining up a shot. She sunk in two stripes, before missing the third. “I get the impression he likes you more than that. But I’m probably not the best person to ask right now.”

Belle's smile vanished. "I hope not." She took a drink of her beer. "What's goin' on,Tyra?"

“Nothing important.” She knocked back half her drink.

"I'm not an idiot." Belle noted as she lined up her shot.

Tyra timed her answer with Belle starting her shot. “Jane left me.”

Well, at least it wasn’t some kind of deadly disease. Belle was used to having distractions when she did things, so she still sank one of her balls. “The fuck? Why’d she leave?” She leaned her cue on the table and turned to face Shepard.

“We’d been having some communication issues, but I thought we were working through that,” Shepard admitted, leaning on her stick as she watched Belle be very good with balls. “She couldn’t...get over the fact that she’s not this woman I dream about. I couldn’t convince her that didn’t matter. I’m beginning to wonder if it did.”

Belle sighed. “Damn dreams. I’m so sorry, Tyra. That’s pretty shitty all around.” She wondered what it was like to love someone from the dreams enough that you couldn’t commit to anyone else. She definitely didn’t feel that way about Remy, though her dream self was nearly obsessed with him.

She folded her arms and shrugged. “Maybe she was right. I could have fought harder. I hate losing a battle.” She’d held out longer for Liara.

“Do you wanna fix it? If she’s upset and thinks you don’t love her enough maybe you could do some kind of display of your undyin’ devotion and get her back.” Belle shrugged. This wasn’t her area of expertise.

Shepard scratched the back of her head. “Yeah. Tried something like that a few weeks ago. Then we had a small crisis I had to deal with.”

Belle nodded. “I’m sorry, chere. You wanna come t’ my place and have somethin’ to eat? You look a mess and I bet you ain’t eaten nothin’ good all day.”

“Some food might be good.” Though Shepard decided to regulate her intake of alcohol a bit. She didn’t want to step into Wolfwood’s territory and that was sorely tempting right now.

Belle nodded. “Wanna finish the game or are y’ hungry now?” After the week she’d had she wasn’t about to touch the emotional hot mess that was Tyra right now. Maybe later, if things went the way she thought they would with Nicholas.

“Lets finish the game, I’d like to win something this week.” She smiled wryly at Belle.

Belle snorted. “Better whip out the chess board, then. Your ass gonna have my name on it by the end of the night.” She winked at Shepard. The best thing she could do for any of them right now was to pretend everything was fine.

“Chess Is your weakness huh?” Shepard flashed her a smile. “Good to know.”

“Chess is stupid and borin’.” Belle said with a laugh, before picking her cue up and returning her attention to the table. “If y’ can’t drink or smoke while playin’ it, and a computer can beat you at it, it’s not a game.” Granted, a computer could beat her at poker, but that was different. The computer was probably cheating in that case, so there was no shame in losing.

Shepard snorted. “Chess has it’s advantages. The problem is it’s too...” She waved a hand. “Rigid. I’ve been playing an ongoing game of Go with Summers. I’m pretty sure I’m going to lose.”

Belle shook her head. “That man’s part machine, I swear t’ God.” Becuase he beat her at pool every single time. It was getting on her nerves. “I need t’ drag his ass out for a beer at some point. Him and Wrex, actually.”

“That might be fun. Try to get into a bar brawl, then video tape it.” Seeing those three in action beating up some poor bystanders would cheer her up.

Belle snorted. “Heh, you shoulda seen the last time I went out with Scott.” She took another shot, then went to drink her beer. “Was a lot of fun, if not necessarily super productive.” Which was the most infuriating thing about the whole Cerebus mess.

“What did you guys do? Don’t usually see Summers go out and do things that aren’t business.”

Belle put a finger to her lips, smirking widely. “Shhh, it’s a secret. I’ll tell y’ over dinner.”

“Well, I’m good at keeping secrets,” she replied, sinking another ball before scratching. “Damn it. I hate balls.”

Belle snorted. “I could go either way.” She grabbed the cue ball out of its pocket and put it in position. “If I get any new information I’ll ask you in on the next one.”

“I might enjoy it.” Shepard finished her drink, and her stomach rumbled. “If it involves shooting things, even better.”

“You know me.” Belle said with a laugh. There would almost certainly be shooting.

Shepard was looking and feeling a lot better than she had before. She’d needed the game, and the drink, and the food would help too. She hated being mopey. “Good.”

Belle smiled and bumped Shepard with her hip as she passed. “So, next week we’ll meet at Eve. You’ll have all kinds of pretty ladies draped all over you by the end of the night.”

“Deal.” Shepard gave Belle a smile. “I’m sorry. Lets pretend my day didn’t suck and have some more fun.”

“Of course. But if you need t’ say somethin’ I’m all ears. We gotta stick together, after all. I don’t know any ladies who could kick my ass beside you.” She winked at Shepard and finally missed a shot.

Shepard laughed, and finished the game. “Eight ball, that pocket.” She gave Belle a fist bump.

Belle snorted, fist bumping her back. “Cheater.” She winked at Tyra to show she was teasing. “Dinner now? I could eat a fuckin’ bear.”

“I know a place that serves bear. Wanna try it?”

“I know places that serve bears too, but I didn’t think that was your thing.” Belle grinned and winked. “I haven’t tried anything new recently, and I’m cookin’ dinner for someone else tomorrow, so why not?”

“Someone else, huh?” Shepard smirked at her, and pulled out some money to cover the tab. “Tell me about it while we eat.”

Belle laughed. “Nu uh. My datin’ life is none of your business, Tyra.” She let Shepard play for the pool table rental. It wasn’t too much. “I’ll follow you in my SUV, please don’t crash.”