Feels Like Fate (YaYa)

[connorspaulding]

Connor sat at the bar, flipping and catching a coin absently.

He had to admit, this place was pretty nice. He wasn't usually into the whole nightclub scene, but he'd heard the drinks were good, and he figured what the hell. Everybody had to try new things every now and then, right? And, he figured, the company would be pretty good too, assuming she actually showed.

He'd given YaYa a call an hour or so ago, and she'd sounded pretty excited about coming to see him. Man, there was just something about that girl... She was really somethin' else. Probably the most amazing woman he'd ever met. Connor'd been around long enough to know better than to think he was in love or anything like that. Hell, he didn't even really think that anything serious would come of this whole thing, but still...

The fact was, YaYa was just plain fun to be around. She could handle her liquor like a pro, she seemed to be quite a spitfire, and it even sounded like she knew a little something about "the business." It was hard enough to be a thief, but harder still to be a thief that never lied, so a lot of times the ladies he surrounded himself with tended to take off when they found out what he did for a living. Not YaYa, though. She'd even seemed interested, and had made some comment about a relative having been a thief as well.

And Connor just needed a friend right now, someone to just relax with and have a good time. After all the shit that'd went down in New Orleans a few weeks back, with the James' family and all that weird witchcraft shit they were into, he just needed to have some fun. And, Yaya seemed like just the person to call.

Every so often he'd peek back over his shoulder at the door, ignoring the thrum of the music and the low murmur of conversation all around him. She'd show. He could feel it in his bones. He grinned, thinking about the surprise he had in store for her when she finally turned up.

It might turn out to be an interesting night after all...

[imaya]

Ah, the sounds of music trickling out into the night. It was soothing; almost like river water tapping against the smooth rocks on the bottom bed. The genre was dance, the sounds of laughter was right on its heels, and anyone listening to it would have been hard pressed to think of anything but fun times and sweet booze.

And. according to a Miss Imaya DeVoux, that's all that she was going to have to put up with tonight, dammit, or someone was gonna DIE.

After having almost an hour's worth of a screaming match with her brother about the usual nonsense- she needed a steady job, she needed to stop dating 'losers,' he didn't want to see her lurking outside his motel room until he saw that eye doctor that Jessie had found- she'd practically leapt through the phone when Connor had called. She'd only met the guy once, but he'd definitely made one helluva impression on her rabid brain, as one of the only guys in existance who could take her flirting and lob right back at her.

Most of the time, no one seemed to get her sometimes raunchy sense of humor. She thought grabbing someone's ass was funny; but normal society? Such an act warranted sexual harassment! As if grabbing some random jocks cheeks was any different than a perv in a suit doing the same to a waitress? There really was NO reason why she had to get banned from that really nice frat house! If they could do it, so could she, dammit!

And so the night had dissolved from there. It really was a wonder why she didn't just up and drop her twin, for all the times he'd ruined perfectly good week nights. If it wasn't for a certain phone call, her little apartment would probably have had a nice little 'window' into the one next door, compliments of her favorite swivel chair.

Thank God for small favors.

So, it was in the 'I'm gonna have a good time or die trying' mood that Imaya made her entrance into the bar. With a wave at the night's bartender- a temp that sometimes liked to work down at her mother's place- and some eyebrow wiggles at the leather-bound baddies in the back, she scanned the crowd for a familiar face and did a happy wiggle when she saw it.

Now, the big question was...was it too early to hop into his lap and rub at the bald expanse of his head, or were they friends now? Deciding on the former, Imaya made her way through the crowd and loud "OH MY GOD, WHO LET THE HOTTIES IN?!", she looped an arm around his shoulder and swooped down to give him a smack on the lips.

"Yo, Connor!" She chirped with a grin. As she straightened, she half wondered how patient he would be with her naturally random personality. Most people didn't make it an entire night, but who knew? "You rang?"

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[connorspaulding]

Connor couldn't help but grin.

YaYa's personality was infections, it was true, and the kiss certainly didn't hurt things either. For a second he was actually surprised that she'd shown up, but then he remembered how handsome and charming he was and realized she probably couldn't have resisted. Waving to the bartender to bring over a couple drinks, Connor turned his attention to the young woman, his grin widening.

"I did indeed," he answered, gesturing for her to take a seat next to him. "I was in the area and found myself in need of a stiff drink and a good time. Figured you'd be the best choice for both." He winked at her and chuckled, adding, " 'Course, since you're the only woman in a long time who's actually given me her number, the list was pretty damn short."

God, she was beautiful. And she was here, and talking to him, which was a nice change of pace from a lot of the women he hung around with. The truth was, Connor got bored of women pretty easily. There were very few out there that could actually keep his attention for longer than a couple of days, and he'd found YaYa to be one of them. It'd been weeks since they'd first met, and he found himself thinking about her a lot, and had even been tempted to call her a time or two before tonight, though things hadn't really worked out until now. Work could be a bitch sometimes.

As the bartender brought over a bottle of whiskey and poured them each a shot, Connor gestured for him to leave the bottle. The younger man nodded and went back to his business, leaving Connor and YaYa with the illusion of privacy. Handing YaYa one of the glasses, the thief took one for himself and raised up in a sort of toast.

"To good friends," he said, downing the drink and smacking his lips in satisfaction. "So, how ya been? Sorry it took so long for me to finally get a hold of you, but you know how it is... And," he added with a grin, "I wanted to have something special for you the next time we got together, and it took me a couple weeks to actually get my hands on it..."

[imaya]

((HEHE...so this sounds SO darn random, but I can't help it. YaYa's hyper tonight. XD ))


With a dramatic air, Imaya plopped down into the offered seat. A pair of biker boots were immediately propped on the low rungs of his chair, and she leaned sideways on the table, neon green streaks sparkling in her hair. She’d chosen something low key for the night; a little fuzzy corset-like shirt that she’d gotten at last month’s Goth Fair. Who would’ve known that New York allowed such things? Gah, she loved people.

And she really did like this guy. She made a show of puffing out her chest when he declared she was the only one to call, and ended up leaning forward to give his arm a gentle smack when he turned the compliment into sarcasm. ”I bet you say that to all the ladies, you charmer, you. But a word to the wise, Connor my love; don’t say anything about a ‘list’ when you’re looking for a booty call. It kinda kills the mood.”

A happy sound escaped her when their drinks arrived, and she couldn’t help but blow a kiss after the waiter. In answer to his toast, she chirped out a ‘salud!’ and downed the shot in one gulp. Ah, the sweet burn of booze to wipe out the craziness of the day. A few more of these babies, and she’d be up dancing on the bar, too happy to care that her family was insane! She couldn’t wait.

”Yeah, yeah, I know how it is; the real world sucks ass. Which’s basically a summary of the last few days on my end, so I’d change the subject if I were you. Or you might end up sitting here all night listening to me whine, which’s never pretty.”

When he spoke again, hinting at a present, YaYa leaned forward with a curious glint in her eyes. Like a two year old, she started patting at his chest, even going so far as to move her hands a bit too low to be called ladylike. Nah well; he’d been warned.

”Present?” She said, eyes wide and a grin on her face. ”You got me a present? Where is it? Oh my GOD, I really was joking when I said you’d have to get me a wedding ring! Well…okay, maybe I wasn’t, but…you got me a present? Where is it? Present!” She was practically dancing in her seat at that point, and half-intent to start giving the poor thief a full cavity search.

With a deep, calming breath, she forced herself to remove her hands from his jacket pocket and sit back. Demurely, she placed them in her lap, intent on being as ladylike as possible…but only ended up wiggling in excitement once more. ”Sorry, I get a little crazy when it comes to presents. Damn, I didn’t get you one…you can pick what you want as your present, and I’ll get it. Now…show me before I freaking explode, already!”

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[connorspaulding]

Damn, she was a firecracker.

Connor laughed as she reacted like a kid at Christmas when he spoke of a gift. He found her irresistibly cute, and his eyebrows shot up in surprise as her hands began to roam his body in search of something. Well, a little more attention like that and she'd find something, that was for sure... But Connor pushed those thoughts aside as he grinned at her.

The night was still young.

"Okay, okay," he said, holding up his hands in surrender. "You want your present right now, that's fine. And don't worry about gettin' me somethin' in return. I don't give gifts just to get some for myself, and that's the truth."

Reaching into his jacket pocket, Connor pulled out a small, hinged box, the typical type that one would find jewelry in. Smirking just a little, he handed it to her and leaned back in his seat putting his arms behind his head and watching her in amusement. He didn't really know what her reaction would be, but he genuinely hoped that the spastic young woman would like it.

Connor's grin widened when he thought of the box's contents: a single diamond ring, from the new Tiffany's collection; the very same ring that YaYa had mentioned in passing at their last meeting. Christ, how he hated pulling jobs at jewelry stores... The security was always so damn tight, especially with this particular collection, and Connor'd barely managed to pull the heist off without getting caught... It really had taken him weeks of planning, and he hoped that they hadn't been in vain.

Of course he had no intentions of really marrying YaYa, but he was pretty sure that she knew this for what it really was: an elaborate game, and nothing more. Connor liked the girl a lot, but he had no illusions about there being a future between them. Besides, he was always more of a "live in the moment" kinda guy anyway.

Hiding his ever-expanding grin behind his glass as he took a drink, the thief simply watched, glad that YaYa was so easy on the eyes.

[imaya]

Good freaking GOD in Heaven…if the guy didn’t show her quick, she was liable to leap on him. According to her brother, the Present Syndrome had come with her from the womb, and had made her the pariah of Christmas time. Where most children waited for Santa to deliver their boxes of joy, YaYa was always more interested in capturing the jolly fat man, or planning trips to the North Pole, where she could steal her weight in toys. Chalk it up to impulsiveness, but if there was one thing that drove her completely insane, it was secrets.

And what the hell was more secretive than a papered box that hid the contents inside? She had to know what was in there! She had to know or die!

That was about when she started taking some deep breaths, reminding herself that sane people did not monkey-cling people nice enough to buy her presents. Especially when said people were a Mr. Conner Spaulding; the only man aside from her childhood buddy Jake who actually understood her sense of humor. If she chased him away, she’d be forced to endure crappy dancing with the local ‘bad boys’ and ass slapping. Ugh.

“Yeah, that’s all and good, but you’re still getting a present from me. How do you feel about ass-less chaps? I think you’d look good in ‘em.” She replied, her eyes glued to the hand now reaching into his jacket pocket. Damn, hadn’t she patted him down around there? Or had she just stuck to the lower pockets…hee, hee, she was a horrible girl.

When the small box was finally handed to her, she couldn’t help but stare wide eyed. The color of the box was unmistakable, and the size…good Lord, he hadn’t. She’d only been joking- well…kinda- and he couldn’t have taken her seriously! Opening the tiny box, she realized that he had.

Did most women do the ‘happy giggle’ thing when they got presents like the freakishly beautiful ring now being slid onto her ring finger? Did they offer hugs? Sex? Eternal gratitude?

…Well, either way, she was pretty sure that they didn’t proceeded to hug their hand to their chest and bellow “OH MY FUCKIN’ GOD, I FUCKIN’ LOVE YOUR SEXY ASS!”

Nah well. She’d never excelled at being the most normal girl on the block.

Before she could think on whether or not he’d appreciate it, Imaya was out of her chair and winding her arms around his neck to give him a hug. Hopefully, he wouldn’t mind the fact that her boobs were giving his cheek a special hello, but…ring! Pretty ring! Sparkly ring!

“It’s so beautiful! I can’t believe you really got me a ring!” After giving the top of his head a kiss, she released him. “It’s beautiful…oh my gah, it’s beautiful. Seriously, you keep me in diamonds like this one, and I promise to make you a happy man.”

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[connorspaulding]

Connor chuckled, not at all disturbed by the situation.

"So I'm guessin' you like it then?" he asked, grinning and slipping his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. "Good. I'll be honest, I'm not really so great at the whole gift giving thing. I was sorta worried you'd think I was crazy or somethin'." Loosening his hold on her a bit, he reached out for his drink, downing it in a single gulp.

God, he'd needed this. Needed to just get out and have a little fun. It seemed his life had been completely turned upside down in the past few weeks, his eyes opened to a whole new world of crazy. Magic, seriously? For Christ's sake, if that was real, then what else might be out there? Aliens? Pixies? Ghosts?

It was all just too much.

Still, it seemed a lot easier to push those concerns aside when there was a gorgeous young woman in his lap practically giggling in happiness. Yeah, this had definitely been a good idea. If anyone could take his mind off his problems, he had no doubt that it'd be YaYa.

"Now, I don't want ya to get the wrong idea or anything," he said, still smiling. "I mean, I'm not askin' ya to marry me or anything. Hell, that'd be crazy, right? I just wanted to get you something nice, that's all. And I remembered you saying you were droolin' over this ring in some magazine." Pulling her down into his lap, he laughed and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "I figure we oughta get to know each other a little better before any of that, right?"

[imaya]

Looping an arm around his neck, YaYa made herself comfortable and grinned down at her ring. Gah, she was probably looking like one of those gold diggers who drooled over their presents rather than the guy who gave it to them, wasn’t she? In order to assuage her conscience, she turned to give his cheek another kiss. Only she would meet a guy, have a casual conversation, then end up getting a freaking beautiful ring! Sometimes, she really did love life.

”Baby, you can be as crazy as you want. Good Lord…I didn’t think you were serious when you said you’d buy me one! Where have you been all my life, Connor?”

With a laugh, she leaned back to look at him, finally letting her newly crowned ring finger drop to her lap. She could coo and pet the pretty thing later; she had a guy to spoil and keep entertained.

When talk turned to marriage, she couldn’t help but let out a snort. ”Nah, you don’t have to worry about that, sexy; I’m not the marrying kind. But yeah, getting to know you would help. I already know that you’re a thief, you’re incredibly sexy and you can actually talk to me without twitching, so that’s all good. What else’s hiding behind that handsome exterior, I wonder?”

Making a show of squinting at him, she grinned. ”Ooh, I know; let’s play the Question Game. You ask me one, and I ask you one. I’ll go first; you do any cool jobs lately?”

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[connorspaulding]

Connor scowled playfully.

"You really think I bought you that ring, babe? C'mon, what kinda thief do you think I am, anyway?" He grinned, tousling her hair. "Christ, and I thought you understood me... Way ta break my heart." He pouted theatrically, then took a long drink and emptied his glass.

Yeah, he'd stolen the ring. And truthfully, he didn't really feel bad about it. If he wouldn't have snagged it, then some rich old broad with more money then sense would've ended up with it on her finger, no doubt. And hell, who'd wanna see that, when they could see YaYa's face light up in happiness like that?

When YaYa mentioned the Question Game, Connor's carefree expression faltered for just a moment. The thing was, he didn't lie. Ever. It was just the way he lived his life. It took way too much energy to lie, when you could just tell the truth and put up with the consequences. So, she'd asked him about any interesting jobs he'd pulled lately. The obvious one was the only really interesting one that came to mind.

So, he told her.

"Interesting, huh?" he asked, taking a moment to think about how to really tell her. "Yeah, well, I was down in New Orleans a few weeks back. Had been scoping out this real nice place, ya know the type: obviously belonged to a family that had more money than they knew what to do with? Anyway, I'd been scopin' her out for a couple days before I decided to make my move." He paused, waving to a waitress to bring him another drink. "Funny thing was, while I was makin' my way across the grounds to get to the house, there were no alarms or sensors or anything. Weird, right? Well, when I finally got in the house and started pokin' around, things sorta went to hell..."

Boy, how did he explain the rest of it from there? Christ, she'd think he was crazy, that's for sure... He knew he couldn't lie, but he also knew there was no way he could tell the truth... What a damned conundrum. That left only one option, then, his fall back plan: don't tell anything at all.

"Long story short," he concluded, "I went through a bit of hell for a while, but it all worked out in the end. Didn't get locked up, didn't get shot at or nothin', and ended up with a potential new job all at the same time...." A new drink was set before him, and he wasted no time starting in on it as he thought of a question for YaYa. Hell, when he thought about it, he figured he'd ask her the question that'd been running through his mind ever since his little encounter with the James family, the question he'd been wanting to ask just about anyone, really...

"Alright, think I got one for ya: you believe in any of that crazy shit? You know, like magic and witches and vampires and stuff?"

[imaya]

Holding her hands up in mock surrender, YaYa couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, okay, slip of the tongue. The ring you stole for me...ah my gah, that just makes it even better! You are the best man on the planet, and if you had hair, I'd SO be noogey-ing you!"

Giving him yet another kiss on the cheek, she settled back in his arms with a wide grin. Man, only a few people in her life made her feel so welcome, and they were mostly family. New people, strangers, those were weren't used to her crazy antics...those were the ones who normally kept their distance or call the cops on her. But Connor? Man, if he didn't get her right off the bat, and kept up with her rambling like a pro. Was he her long, lost big brother, maybe? Soul mate?

Whatever he was, she was SO going to get him a return present. Ass-less chaps were too blase; she'd have to go for the whole cowboy package.

Tilting her head, she listened to him describe his latest gig with obvious interest. Given that her mama’s side of the family was made up of thieves, gangsters and all out convicts, she was interested to know how he worked. The fact that he might have a problem talking about himself…well, that was something that never occurred to the little firebrand. She figured that if the question were too personal, he’d just shrug it off and answer her with a sarcastic quip. It’s how she rolled.

Her brows rose as he described the layout. No alarms or defense systems? Really? That really was weird…but as he went on, understanding dawned. Aw, poor Connor had had his first run in with a supernatural, huh? The poor civilian must be having heart palpitations, just thinking about it.

With a sympathetic sound, she gave his arm a little pat. She remembered the first time she’d gotten angry at her twin and had zombie-fied a dead squirrel in the backyard. She’d been TERRIFIED to go outside for weeks!

…Hmm, maybe those were stories to tell to Connor after she let him know that there was a matching tennis bracelet she was really into…

”Well, that doesn’t sound like a bad ending, for all the weirdness,” She couldn’t help but point out. Reaching across the table to steal her own drink, she took a chug, then grinned at him.

”Baby, my Grandmama was an Arapaho shaman and my Ma can see dead people…and I work RenFaires and the Quarter as a psychic. Of course I believe in that ‘stuff!’ Why, don’t you?”

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