Need A Light?

Chapter 1

Its 10pm

Peridot and his associates enter a bar inside of the Yellow Diamond territory. The room is hazy with the smoke of cigars and cigarettes. A smell that Peridot is very accustomed to. This is the last tax collection of the night and gladly the last of the week. Peridot usually doesn't go out and do tax collection but some of the Diamond associates have been taking some of the money for themselves so the Boss thought that it would be a good idea to have some supervision.

"You guys go collect the money. If he gives you a hard time, just shake him a little bit."

Peridot walks himself over to the bar to order a drink. He takes a cigarette out of his suit pocket and pats around for a lighter.

"Need a light?" A smooth slender hand is holding a lighter out in front of him.

A muttered thanks is Peridots response. The girl lit her own cigarette before putting the lighter away.

"Didn't know women were into smoking nowadays." Peridot looks at the mysterious girl and immediately becomes captivated by her beauty.

"Not many do. Not since the anti-tobacco movement anyways." The girl took a drag of her cigarette.

"And dyed hair? What's a pretty girl like you doin' with dyed hair?" Peridot asks

"It's natural. And what's a guy like you hanging around a sleezy bar like this anyways?" The girl retorts

"Collecting money. Gotta' pay the boss before the end of the week." Peridot takes a sip of his drink

"Oh, so you are a gangster? I see. So, you wouldn't mind buying me a drink?" She asks

"Quick mover I see. I don't even know your name." Peridot puts his spent cigarette out on the bar counter.

The girl holds out her hand "It's Lapis. Lapis Lazuli."

"Ah." Peridot takes her hand, and turns it over to place a kiss on her knuckles. "Most call me P.D, but you can call me Peridot."

"Peridot. I guess your favorite color must be green then?" Lapis smirked

"How could you tell?" Peridot takes out another cigarette from his pocket.

"Well, with the custom made suit and cigarettes. How could I not?"

"What kind of drink would ya like?"

"Hmm..... maybe a Southside." Lapis says

"A Capone favorite." Peridot turns to the bartender and orders a Southside for the beautiful lady and a Gin Ricky for himself. "Can I get your light again?"

Lapis pulls her lighter out of her purse and gives it to the gangster, he hands it back and mumbles a thanks.

The two talked for a while before one of Peridots associates came up to them.

"Boss, we gotta go." The associates tone sounded a little worried

Peridot sighed. "What did you do this time?" Peridot turned to him

"We might have ran into some trouble outside of the bar..." The associate said.

Not something Peridot wanted to hear. Gunfights aren't Peridots favorite activity.

"God dammit." Peridot liked taking a little break from doing boss work he has been doing all week. Pretty soon the room went quiet when another group of mobsters came into the bar. They are members of the Blue Diamond mob. The Yellow, Blue, White, and Pink Diamond mobs used to be on good terms with one another before the Pinks ruined everything. They caused the separation between the gangs and not many Pinks are left anymore, only small areas outside of Empire City are occupied by the Pink Diamond's.

"C'mon, I know where you guys can go." Lapis pulled on Peridot's coat to get him out of the room before he was seen. They silently pushed their way through groups of different people before exiting out a not so secret back door of the bar. The exit lead to an ally way on the side of the bar.

Everyone sighed a breath of relief once they got outside.

"Are you always running from trouble?" Lapis asks.

"Only when I'm with these goons." Peridot says. "Sorry that we ruined our "date", I wish we could have talked more."

"It's ok. I have experience with these types of situations. Potential love interests running away from a bad guy, nothing new really." Lapis reaches up to push a strand of hair back behind Peridot's ear.

"If you wanted to kiss me you could have just asked." Peridot stared at Lapis with a knowing look

"Ah what the hell." Lapis pulled Peridot down to kiss her.

Peridot placed his hands on Lapis' hips as the kiss grew deeper. He didn't expect his first kiss to be with stranger he barely knew, in an alley way, behind a bar. This kiss lasted only for a few moments though as the pair had to pull away to breath.

Lapis kept her arms wrapped around Peridots neck and looked up at him. "You must have a lot of experience to kiss someone like that."

"This was my first kiss actually. But thank you for the compliment." Peridot pulled out of Lapis' embrace.

"Boss, don't mean to interrupt your, uh, social gathering but we really need to get out of here." One of the associates said.

"I hope we can meet again sometime?" Peridot asks

"Sure, maybe at a different bar though." Lapis smirks. "Oh here, I almost forgot." Lapis hands Peridot her lighter and a piece of paper. "It might come in handy."

Peridot takes the lighter and piece of paper. He puts the lighter in is suit pocket and reads what the paper says.

Call me. Facet 0580, Empire City Apartments, apartment #358

Peridot looks up to thank the girl but she had disappeared. He only smiled and decided, finally, to get out of this old alley way and back to headquarters to hand in the money.