Author's Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to Burst Angel. The concept of the a/u fic is not mine either. Just wanted to write one.

Author's Note: Ah, alternation universe. If done well, is like mixing fantasy with reality. You never know what you're gonna get. I've seen it done badly, I've seen it done well. Partially dedicated to Inugrrl as she's a master of the a/u fic. All the other way dedicated to Inuskye for her kicks in the ass :P

"Working the Grind"

Chapter one: "Working Gunslinger"

A Burst Angel a/u fic

By penpaninu

"Thank you, have a good day!" Meg smiled cheerfully and clinked the handful of change into her customer's hand. The old man grinned lasciviously and tried to wink as if they shared a secret. Meg swept a handful of long red hair over her shoulder and nodded politely, reaching for the next customer's items to scan. Aloof politeness was the best route to getting rid of the overly friendly men, and she hoped it would work as usual. She hated feeling trapped behind her little register by a lingering male presence that just could not take a hint….

Finally, a woof of exhaled frustration and heavy footsteps receding with the other patrons. Meg glanced over her shoulder as her clever hands scanned a carton of milk, a loaf of bread, coffee. Her eyes went back to the items as she scanned. Forty-five minutes left to go on her shift…. She'd have barely enough time to cram some crackers into her mouth and make it to the 5:30 bus….

"Plastic okay?" she asked absently, glancing toward her bag dispenser. She'd have to fill it soon… Maybe after this customer, if she could hurry them along…

"Sure. That's okay," a smooth voice intoned. Meg shivered and glanced up from her work. Deep, promising….female? Red eyes were what she noticed first, framed by silver bangs, tousled as if an errant hand had just passed through them. A ball cap was pulled low over the woman's brow, and wisps of silver hair brushed past the nape of her neck in semi-long strands. And she was watching her with an amused aloof look.

"Uh…." Meg's mouth went dry and she coughed into a wrist, as she tallied up the remaining items; eggs, fruit, sweetener. "That'll be $23.12. Plastic, that's okay?" A nervous hand raked a bag toward her and it split as if on command. Dammit. Three more bags before refilling the dispenser.

"Yes," The woman raked a wallet out of her jeans pocket and looked down, a small smile on her lips. Her hands were smooth, the fingers long; though she was dressed plainly, maybe even abit boyish by today's standards, she was obviously comfortable in her own skin. Meg's eyes fell over those fingers and she went back to bagging quickly. Damn, her cheeks felt warm. She hoped to god she wasn't blushing too badly.

Her luck, she was as red as her hair.

"Are you hiring any positions?" The woman inquired as she clinked bills and a few coins into Meg's open palm. Meg dinged the register open and tried to think. She had heard her manager complaining about Dennis, and it was only a matter of time before the slot was filled….

"I think we are on stock room. Just fill out an application and….go up front," Meg grasped a paper form and one of her many pens on her stand, and held them out like an offering to the attractive customer. The red-eyed woman smiled and took the pro-offered items and her bags. Her gaze swept low under the rim of her ball cap again.

"Thanks, I will…" Smooth clips of her boots took her away out of sight and Meg tried not to gaze too obviously over her shoulder.

Wow! Luck never deigned to smile upon her. Meg needed the money and while her two jobs put her in touch with a majority of the city's public, not many were more than fleeting glimpses into the busy lives of the many and annoying. Only a handful of patrons smiled back and exchanged a kind word toward Meg's service; the other majority either leered at her or ignored her. Standing in one place behind her little stand, hand held out for money, the other entangled in the paper or plastic… working for a living royally sucked.

"Meg! Hey, Meg, come on!" the clerk at the stand next to her reached out and tapped her shoulder gently. Meg blinked and turned toward the round woman next in line, a red-faced infant squalling in her arms.

"Sorry, Kyohei," Meg apologized to him and the skinny young man grinned sheepishly as he began ringing up his own items. "Will that be paper or plastic, ma'am?"

"Plastic! Who uses paper anymore, I'd like to know…" the woman pooched her round cheeks out, and juggled her infant along with a purse as big as a knapsack into one arm as she jousted with an expensive looking cell phone with the other. "Yeah, hello. I know, I'm at the store. I'll be home as soon as I can…."

"MYAAAAH!" the infant protested, hands and feet extended in anger. Meg winced internally as the cries pierced her ears and she and Kyohei simultaneously hunched their shoulders as they tried to hurry their work. The loud bleeps of the items scanning echoed in a cacophony of absurdity with the child's screams. Meg reached for a bag, her last…. And a handful of cans broke the bottom of the plastic seam, scattering on the tile at her feet. Dammit!

As Kyohei rushed to help her pick up the cans, the woman screeched displeasure. Meg blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and shared a grimace with her friend. Straightening, she offered a placid smile and apologized on reflex.

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"Glad that's over, huh?" Kyohei asked. He pulled his jacket closed with one fist and ducked out of the biting wind. Meg pulled a ski cap over her head, the loose strands of her long hair blowing over her shoulder. She grinned weakly at Kyohei.

"Seven hours register-jockeying while we piddle our freedom as adults down the drain. All in a day's work!" Meg laughed. Kyohei smiled tenderly toward her and looked shyly away.

"I didn't see many attractive women today" he offered. Meg sighed and nodded.

"Me neither. Well, there was this one…" she murmured. Eyes as red as her hair… Kyohei watched her curiously, feeling his heart twinge.

"Really? Who was it?" he asked politely. The two stepped off the sidewalk and moved toward a bus stop down the street. They both took the 5:30 toward the east side of town for their evening jobs and usually rode together once they got out of the grocery store. Meg was glad for the company and even though Kyohei knew she was gay, she knew he had a bit of a thing for her. Her heart turned over as she sighed.

"She filled out an application before the queen bee gave us all those cans to pick up off the floor," Meg said, thinking. "Do you really think Dennis will get fired from the stock area?"

Kyohei nodded, his eyes earnest. "Boss man caught him sleeping in the back room yesterday. I heard him yelling when I was going to the rest room!"

Meg smiled softly. Kyohei really had no chance with her, but she still liked him. She hoped his heart wouldn't get in the way of their friendship though he was obviously pining for her.

"Either way, it should work out… Are we going to make money tonight?" Meg asked. In the sea of cabs and residential cars careening down the city streets, she could make out the large hulking shape of the bus coming their way. She and Kyohei hurriedly stepped up to the bus stop and hunched into their coats against the freezing wind. Meg's hopped from one leg to the other, her thin stockings little protection against the cold.

Kyohei answered back over the screech of the bus' approach. "I'll serve a million and one drinks tonight if I have to, and you just turn on the charm! At least you have your feminine wiles… I have to try a little bit harder!"

Meg laughed and climbed onto the bus behind him, backpack swaying over her shoulder. The two young adults showed the rotund driver their laminated bus passes and clambered toward the middle next to the second pair of doors. That way they could exit easily instead of having to make their way to a door. Meg collapsed onto the beat up seat with a sigh, and crossed her ankles together so her skirt wouldn't flash anything. Kyohei lounged beside her, slinging his shoulder bag onto his lap.

"How's your bartender at your job?" Meg asked, referring to their night jobs. Kyohei shrugged. He worked in a bar called Keep Em Comin' down the street from Meg's other job, and he didn't like the hairy gruff man who slung out drinks for the servers because he never communicated aptly with them.

"Delightful as always. If I have a request from a customer, I get ignored, and less tip for me," Kyohei said, pushing dark bangs out of his eyes. "How about you? Is your bartender fair to you?"

Meg shrugged. "I think so. Big Rick's not much for words, but he's not mean."

Her bar job had the delightful name of Hot Cowgirls and she had to dress a bit sexier, but the apparel wasn't more revealing than a Hooter Girl's uniform. Meg had had to plunk down extra money for her own cowboy hat, though, and considering she could only find one western wear store in the concrete jungle of her eastern city, she had had to give up quite a pretty penny in savings. The bartender, the man in question called Big Rick, was an older man, but he wasn't lecherous or cruel. He was pretty fair to the young women who worked for him and his bouncers were always ready if they ran into a pinch.

Kyohei smiled and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his dress shirt. He basically wore the same slacks from their grocery job to his bar job, and didn't need to do much in the way of primping. 'Another difference between the sexes,' he thought, as he watched Meg pull out a compact from her backpack and scrutinize her make-up.

Meg applied lipstick and ruffled her red hair aptly. She would dress down in the back room once she got there, but she could do this much at least.

"How do I look?" she asked Kyohei. He smiled widely and nodded. The bus chugged and clambered to a stop and Meg stood up, Kyohei on her heels. They filed off the bus with other late afternoon commuters and office types getting off of work.

"Well, this is where I go. See you at work tomorrow," Kyohei said. Meg waved, ducking into her coat.

"Yeah, see ya!" Meg took off down the road to a string of clubs and bars. Kyohei ducked into one of the first, his place of work, and she continued on toward Sexy Cowgirls. Pushing into the front door, she made out a couple of young women wearing cowboy hats and small tops, and a massively hairy man behind the bar wiping glasses.

"There you are, Meg. Just on time," he growled. Meg simpered a smile toward him and rushed toward the back room, exchanging smiles with the other waitresses.

"Hi, Big Rick. Let me just put my skirt on and I'm up front," she offered. The bell above the door rang and a gaggle of college boys ambled in, joking amongst themselves. The two other women in the room leaned off the bar and made their way toward them.

"Hurry up, Meg," Big Rick rumbled. A small smile pulled beneath his full beard and Meg grinned back in response. She pushed to the employee backroom and hung her bag up, shaking her hair loose as she unzipped her coat. After changing into a skimpier top and jean skirt, Meg set her cowboy hat on her head and checked out her appearance. Her lips were as red as her loose hair, her legs clad in yellow stockings looked killer, and her smile was cocky. Her belly quaked and Meg spread a hand over it. Stupid cramps. She hoped she wouldn't start her period tonight. She had a few more hours of work and then a bus and the train home. Home was so far off, and her bed even farther.

With a smile, Meg turned to go back up front.

"Meg! Take these drinks to table four," Big Rick pushed a tray toward her. Meg grasped it and went off.

"Yes, sir!"

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"Ah, shit!" Meg gaped at the red stain on her striped sheets and punched her pillow. She hadn't been feeling well last night and had bowed out of getting a midnight snack with Kyohei after work. She didn't know she was going to have a shitty day with her Aunt Flo!

"Fuck! Gotta be kidding me!" Meg grabbed the sheets off her mattress and stood hurriedly, almost falling back down from the sudden shift of vertigo as her belly panged. Tremors ran up and down her body, originating just above her mound. Meg cursed her femininity and dropped the reddened sheets, opting to stumble for the bathroom. Turning on the shower head, she fell into a steaming spray of blessed release and groaned. Her belly ached and she turned backward and forward, letting the spray wash over her back and then her belly. One trembling hand scraped her long hair back from the water as she didn't have time to dry and style it properly today.

"Shit!" Meg cursed again as she eyed the clock radio she had in her bathroom, usually set to a hard rock station to relax to after work. She had slept through her alarm and had about twenty minutes to make the bus to the subway. Biting her lip, she turned off blessed wet heat and scrubbed a dingy gray towel over herself. Her breasts bobbed as she leaned down and scrubbed her legs. Some days she yearned to have a woman over to shower with in the morning. Now she felt quite lucky about her loneliness!

"They'd probably be put off by the towels." They were faded and dingy, but clean.

Meg kicked aside a small pile of clothes in the hallway and stalked naked to her small bedroom. Her sole mattress with heaped reddened sheets sat inconspicuously in the corner. An overturned crate served as a bedside table, with her hairbrush, cell phone and miscellaneous make-up compacts strewn on top.

A poster of a savage rock girl was pinned up on the closet door. Meg opened this door and rooted through her clean clothing, hanging up and ready. She grabbed up jeans and her work shirt for the grocery store while pulling skimpier clothing out for her bar job. Her cowboy hat sat waiting on top of her backpack.

Meg pulled on underwear and her stockings, then her jeans. She buttoned the garish green work shirt and tucked it in. She couldn't help admiring her sleek flanks in her mirror, then picked up the hat and laid it low over her brow. With two fingers, she adjusted the brim in a mock salute and tossed her loose hair over one shoulder.

It was times like this, she wished she could have lived 150 years ago in the Wild West. The hat DID look good on her.

Another glance at her watch and Meg cursed time and its invention. She grabbed a handful of cereal and stuffed a few chocolates from the fridge for the bus. Her belly growled for it!

Another glance at her small apartment and Meg locked up. No dog. No cat. No one to hurry home to, nor take care of. No one to worry for, no one to feed or walk. She longed to hear a soft voice calling her in to open arms. Dreams and more dreams. She had no time for that right now. Not if she wanted her job to keep her small space!

Meg pulled on the doorknob once, twice, and hurried off, backpack swinging.

"Ulp!" She reached a hand up to ruffle her red hair back and her fingers met the brim of her hat. Juggling her backpack with one hand, she scraped it off her head and zipped it out of view. Her boots slapped against the pavement as she hurried off to the street's bus stop.

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"Damn! Sweet bike!" Kyohei whistled. He and Meg met on the sidewalk outside the grocery store's front doors and gaped at the motorcycle parked precariously against the side of the building. Apparently the owner didn't care about tickets; there were two already proudly decorating the handlebars. The city's parking division was probably very proud of their meter maids this day.

"I'll say. Wonder which customer was ballsy enough to leave it right here?" Meg wondered. She and Kyohei pushed inside and walked down the side hallway to the employee's area. They hung up their packs and took off winter coats.

"Someone who doesn't care about a ticket," Kyohei shrugged and turned to the manager's assistant counting out tills. "I'm ready, Myrtle."

The round frizzy-haired woman blinked behind spectacles as round as owl's eyes. She had the complexion of a really down and out Lucille Ball and talked just as nasally.

"Alright, Kyohei. Here ya go, go ahead and clock in." Two plump hands handed over a till of counted down money and the young man accepted it. Meg waited her turn then she and Kyohei walked out to the floor and slid their tills into registers beside each other. If she couldn't smile and crack jokes with her friend, Meg would hate this job a whole lot more.

Meg slid the drawer of the register closed and made sure her scanner was working. She tidied up her stand a little, feeling a customer close in even with her eyes lowered. Okay, girl, get going now….

Lifting her eyes with a smile, Meg asked "Hi, how are you doing? Paper or plastic?"

MEEP! Red eyes twinkled beneath white bangs. A sly grin slid the woman's lips half up the side of her face.

"I believe you already handled that. How's it going…." The woman scanned her eyes deliberately to Meg's abundant breasts, visible even beneath the horrid work shirt. "Meg?"

"Why you…" Meg scanned her own eyes over the tall lanky woman and noted her shirt was tucked in today, and she looked good in work boots. A name tag proclaiming Jo was pinned high up on her shoulder. "You work here now?"

Jo, apparently, nodded and set her mouth in a pensive look. "Guess I do. Need the extra money an' all…."

Meg's hands fluttered and she clasped them on her stand tightly. "Great! I mean…I didn't know they'd fill the slot in so quickly."

Jo flicked her red eyes to Meg, the orbs serious. "Your boss told me not to sleep in the storage room. I take it that's why the other stock boy was fired?"

Meg nodded, feeling her cheeks burn in a slow blush. God, not now, not in front of this slim, beautiful woman! Wait, beautiful? Keep it in your head, girl, first woman comes along that's not coming off as 100% straight, and you're ready to swoon!

"Dennis…. He liked to slack…." Meg's eyes roamed to Jo's long fingers, her green work shirt tucked in half hazardly into her jeans. "Off…."

"Yeah… well, I better get going back…to work," Jo said neutrally, nodding her head to a lounging Kyohei who watched the exchange with a bit of mild interest. He WAS a guy, but he didn't seem to be trying to butt in. Good. "Hi, I'm your colleague too."

"I'm Kyohei!" The young man extended a hand to shake and Jo looked at it. Hesitantly, she accepted and shook. Kyohei winced and grinned uneasily. Damn, what a grip! "Working in the back, huh?"

"Yeah… keep her in line, Kyohei. Looks like she needs a lot of looking after," Jo murmured, eyes flicking to Meg. She had tripped behind her stand, having misplaced her footing. Kyohei smiled ruefully.

"Ok. Well, see ya, Jo," Kyohei said. Jo smiled and pushed off to a cart laden with boxes and crates and pushed it back out of view into the aisles.

Meg's eyes followed her and Kyohei coughed. "Oh….geez, sorry, Kyohei."

"Don't worry about it," Kyohei laughed. "Ready to start?"

"Do I have a choice?"

The two turned at the carts squeaking their way.

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Jo leaned out the front double doors of the grocery store, a jolly rancher sucker hanging out of the corner of her mouth as she stared like an inquisitive cat at the motorcycle propped against the side of the store. The bike was hers of course, named Django and he was her pride and joy. Sei had helped her pay it off with her illegal side work in her Bai Lan gang, but Jo retained good standing with her old friend even if she didn't officially run smuggling jobs for her anymore. She wanted to go straight, or as straight as she was willing to get, and Sei had not begrudged her for it.

"Take the bike, Jo. Django belongs to you," she had smiled. Jo had accepted with her usual stoic expression.

Her baby now sported four parking tickets and looked to be attracting more. It couldn't be helped, Jo needed to park it somewhere. And she had almost been late that morning. With a grunt, Jo shifted the sucker to the other side of her mouth and sucked down as she flipped her cell phone out of her jeans pocket. Scanning through her contact list, she hit 'Leo.'

"Sergeant Leo's desk, how can I help you?" a gruff voice intoned. Jo pushed the sucker to the corner of her mouth and pulled it out with a pop.

"Hi, Leo. I got a favor to ask you," Jo murmured. The voice on the other end coughed and she could hear the squeak of leather as the man on the other end shifted in his chair.

"That you, Jo? What kind of trouble you in this time?" he growled.

"Nothing too bad. I got a new job," Jo offered. She zipped up her coat against the cold with one hand.

"Huh. A new job. Sei wouldn't be involved somehow, would she?" Leo asked.

"No, nothing like that and you know it. I work at a grocery store now. And I got four tickets I need lifted off my record," Jo said. She swiped the offending yellow papers off the handlebar of her motorcycle and stuffed them into a pocket.

Leo sighed." It's always something with you, Jo! But I'll help you out again."

"Thanks, Leo," Jo said softly. And she knew he'd do it, griping or not. She had saved his life when he'd been investigating Bai Lan's enemies and had been attacked. The last time she had used her gun, it had been to save a friend. She said the proper pleasantries and hung up, sliding the cell phone into her coat pocket, squinting through the cold.

She hadn't held a gun since Leo had been shot; that wasn't her fault. It was thanks to her he wasn't killed in the line of duty. But remembering his screams had made her seek an out with Sei's gang. She was lucky her old friend was so accommodating. Many gang leaders were not.

Biting the candy off the end of the sucker's stick, Jo flicked the white stalk toward a trash can and walked back inside. Passing by Meg's stand, she flicked a glance over at the voluptuous redhead. She hadn't been known to chase many girls as they always flocked to her…but Meg was exceptionally beautiful.

"ARrrrrgh! I can't believe it!..." Meg cursed under her breath as she emptied her bag of trash and the bag promptly split.

And fiery to boot. She sure could speak her mind when needed. Jo chuckled and walked to the back room to check the inventory clipboard. Pushing back down the long aisles of boxes, she picked up a few crates easily and moved backward to her cart.

She couldn't help wondering what Meg looked like beneath those clothes.

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Meg fished for a Hershey kiss from her jeans pocket and popped it into her mouth quickly after another customer pushed their cart away. She breathed a sigh of relief as she could feel the chocolate's endorphins work its magic on her cramps as she gummed the candy. Blessed sweetness exploded in her mouth and coated her tongue before she swallowed.

'Sweet merciful gods…' Meg thought as her eyes almost rolled back in the moment of ecstasy. Kyohei grinned and held out a handful of M&M's.

"Want some?" he asked. Meg gratefully accepted the handful of chocolates and sucked on a few.

"Thanks, Kyohei," she said, mouth full. Her belly growled around the cramps and she laid a hand over it. "Stupid period…."

Kyohei blushed. "You want to take your lunch break first?"

Meg scanned the crowds of people going to and fro between the aisles. "Okay, thanks, Kyo. Are you going to be alright?"

Kyohei shrugged his slim shoulders. "There's four of us on. Go ahead! Grab your twenty minutes."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Meg grinned and turned the light off above her register. She grabbed her purse and stepped away before a last-second turn of a cart could stall her opportunity. Trotting away to a safe distance, she halted her movements and pushed into the side hallway toward the employee break room.

Jo watched her go and felt her chest seize up. She hadn't felt this….concerned?...for a girl since Sei. But despite Sei's one offer to share more than friendship, Jo had refused. She had slept with a number of nameless girls over her time in the gang, but none of them inspired any ideals of loyalty from her. They were twisting writhing memories of sweating in the sheets.

Jo pushed her cart down the small hallway and peeked into the door's mirror. Meg, unconscious of being watched, scratched the side of her nose and dug another chocolate out of her jeans pocket. She unwrapped and popped the Hershey's kiss into her mouth, then pulled a wrapped sandwich out of her purse and sat down at the worn table. Jo smiled slightly as the table wobbled on uneven legs and Meg had to grab her sandwich from sliding to the floor. She watched the younger girl sweep long red hair over one shoulder and turned to push her cart away. Long silver bangs fell into her eyes and her cell buzzed a message.

Meg glanced up at the door after Jo had left. Funny, she felt like she had been watched. Well, it wouldn't be the first time when she was back there. Meg shrugged and took a huge bite of her lunch.

Ducking into the storage room, Jo propped the phone open and hit send on one of the contacts.

"Jo. How are you these days?" a rich feminine voice seemed to smile over the satellite's connection. Jo leaned against a stack of boxes, propping one boot up.

"Just fine, Sei. How's tricks with everyone?" She meant Bai Lan of course, but once out, it was never good to mention things fully. Sei at least understood and chuckled.

"The boys are fine. I'm more worried about you. Do you still have your weapons?" she asked. Jo nodded and said yes. Twin Desert Eagle handguns had been an early gift from the leader of Bai Lan and she hadn't used them since Leo had been put in the hospital with a shattered leg.

"Yes….but you know my feelings on the matter," Jo murmured. Sei sighed.

"I know Leo's involvement messed you up. You can't hide all your talents even if they're no longer for me. You have to protect yourself, Jo," Sei urged gently. Jo leaned her head back against a box and clasped a hand to her brow. She hadn't touched them in so long….

"I know…but you'd be surprised what a good fist can do," she said softly. Sei laughed. Jo's strength was legendary in her group.

"I know, Jo. Can't an old friend check-up once in a while?" she asked sweetly. Jo smiled slightly.

"We can meet up in person sometime if you want. Just in a restaurant is fine," Jo offered.

Sei laughed. "Of course, Jo. Well, I won't keep you. Good luck with your job."

"Thanks."

Sei hung up and reclined back in a large leather chair. Her bedchambers were large and ornate, tinged with the scent of her expensive perfume. Only once had any of her gang been back here, and it was to pursue a reckless thought. Jo had always been striking, as handsome as a young boy. While she knew she liked men, Sei couldn't help wondering what Jo's hands would feel like on her.

Sei stood up and trailed a finger along the silk sheets on her large bed. She had dressed down in stockings and lingerie and Jo's eyes HAD trailed to the line of her cleavage. While she was feeling pretty good about where they'd go next, Jo had refused a drink and bowed out. Literally backwards out the door.

"No, Sei. Not with you…" she had murmured. It was a blatant refusal. But from the nominally reserved gunslinger, it wasn't an insult, just affirmation.

"Of course, Jo…" Sei had been left alone, dressed to the nines for a kinky evening. That had been the first time she had offered Leo a little bit more than her cooperation into his investigations.

The evening that began dismal did end well, as she felt her heart leaning toward the bearded police man. Waking in tangled sheets with the smiling man hadn't been a bad moment. And she did have Jo to thank for it.

"I'll always be there for you, Jo," Sei smiled. She flipped a ledger open and ran a white finger down the characters. Grandfather would be coming to town tonight. And she wanted to ease his knowledge of Leo slowly.

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"Where do you think Jo went to?" Meg asked Kyohei as they handed Myrtle their tills. She proceeded to count down their money. Kyohei rummaged for his coat and shrugged into it.

"I don't know, but I thought she got off at this time. I wanted to ask her to one of our bars for a drink! Maybe one of us could have a break and we could all sit together," he suggested. Meg grinned. Kyohei was rather thoughtful. It would be like him to plan something like this all day.

"That's a great idea, Kyo," Meg said, pulling her coat on. She tapped one boot on the floor, waiting for Myrtle's fast hands to stop shifting bills and clinking coins. She couldn't help glancing toward the hallway. "Myrtle, what time does Jo get off, do you know?"

"Couldn't tell you," the older woman grunted, puffing a strand of stringy red hair out of her eyes. "But I thought I saw her head out the door twenty minutes ago."

"Awww…" Meg groaned. "Oh well, there went that idea."

"Think of it this way, Meg….at least you know where she works!" Kyohei tried to laugh it off for Meg's sake.

Meg waved a hand at him as Myrtle shut the money drawer with a decisive bang. "Okay, you're both good!" she whined.

Meg zipped up her coat and walked out with Kyohei. They ducked simultaneously into their collars at the sting of the icy wind right outside. Through her dismal thoughts, Meg barely noticed the bike or lack of it outside.

"Hey, guess the owner came for it," Kyohei said, reading her thoughts. Meg shrugged.

"Well, let's go catch our bus. How late are you working tonight?"

"My hours go to midnight. Are you off at 12:30? I'll wait for you if you want," Kyohei offered.

Meg smiled. "You're a good friend. Come on to my work and have a drink on me if you're waiting."

"I will," Kyohei said. His mind went in circles of thought. He had read about an uprising of rapes and muggings in the news online, and while he got off of work earlier than Meg, she couldn't tell him not to wait for her.

He might not be much strength, but he hoped the image of a man by her side would deter a possible attacker.

Silver bangs fell into red eyes as the figure leaned low on the motorcycle. Work boots touched the sidewalk as the rider kept the bike motionless as the two young adults walked past. Small clicking noises then a small slurp filled the air as the rider sucked on a jolly rancher pop. Jo lifted her head, peering through her helmet's visor as Meg walked past with the skinny young man from their work.

They didn't seem to be going out, just travelling together and she gauged the friendly but none too close interaction. Their body language screamed they were Just Friends and Jo couldn't help feeling content at the thought.

Meg's eyes had been interested as she had greeted her that morning. Maybe she was that way too…

Jo revved Django's engine and kicked off the sidewalk.

End for now

Penpaninu 11/25/11