Old Soldiers...Sort Of

[v_harkryder]

Virgil had been in a bit of a mood since Dean's funeral service. Not angry so much as a little blue. He went to work the next day and taught classes, which lifted his spirits somewhat, then decided to treat himself to dinner out that night. He showered, then shaved carefully before putting on some fresh clothes.

He lived in a convenient area to get to shopping and places to eat on foot, so he left the car behind and walked. His neighborhood was made up of young families and people who'd just graduated from college, so he was almost the only single man on the block. Sparse grass was beginning to sprout as the season warmed up.

He should call Mattie tomorrow. She knew his moods, having dealt with them first-hand when he first got back. They'd come to a comfortable understanding since the divorce. He was just glad there'd been no kids to get caught in the middle when they split up.

A dog was barking crazily in a back yard where he couldn't see it. Virgil crossed the street, using the pedestrian crossing. There was a buffet place he liked to frequent four blocks down. He was looking forward to shredded pork.

Comments

[valerie_vause]

Valerie resisted the urge to laugh but winked as she said lightly, “Keep telling yourself that.” As if she spent the majority of her life sneaking food into theaters the same way spies smuggled information across state lines. Well, maybe she’d have to try it now, zip-lock bags included. Though, she doubted that chocolate bars would get anywhere near her underwear. Melted was not the way to go for confectionery. Especially not in those places.

Even though she knew the answer Valerie couldn’t stop the way she looked around, as if mentally confirming it first. “Nope. I mean, not really, sort of?” The blonde shook her head then rolled her eyes at herself. “I stay on campus at UNLV, I just like to wander and get a feel for the areas and stuff since I’ll be here for a few years, you know?”

If it made sense to her hopefully it would make sense to him. Besides, it was as reasonable as she could manage. While true, the other purpose held darker reasons, such as exploring territory and getting a feel for the area so she didn’t end up lost on patrol. Nothing good ever came from being unaware of spaces. One wrong detour could be the death of her if she unwittingly chased something into a dead end.

“What about you, you live around here or just enjoying the newness of it all like me?” The blonde questioned with a bemused smile, his own quite infectious and she felt compelled to return it. Today, she felt, was going to be a good day.

[v_harkryder]

If Virgil had been a mind-reader, he'd have agreed with her on the importance of knowing your surroundings. Las Vegas wasn't the jungles of Vietnam by any stretch, and subconsciously he might have chosen to settle here for that precise reason, but on the occasional sleepless night he'd wandered his neighborhood watching every passing car and random passerby as if he was still in-country. Dry heat was preferable to the suffocating humidity of the trees.

"I live up there," he said, waving his hand in the direction of his one-story house. He'd dipped into his savings to buy the house, then fixed it up a little. Being handy was important when you lived alone. He'd thought she was too young to be a student, but that might have been her lack of height.

"I was just taking a walk to get some dinner. They've got a good buffet up the street a little ways."

[valerie_vause]

Green eyes shifted from him to the general area where he waved and she found herself nodding. Vegas might never feel like home but, home itself hadn’t been home since the second her mother had been killed. Valerie made a conscious decision that home for her would never be a place so much as simply being in her own skin. It didn’t matter where she ended up, providing she was still herself. That, she could handle. It had also meant that over the years she had adopted the lifestyle of never really possessing many things. So much easier to go somewhere else when you only had a few bags of belongings to take with you at the drop of a hat.

“Ooo…” Valerie’s smile turned crooked and she absently brought one hand up to her stomach. She could eat. Probably better to do so now than later anyway, now that she thought about it. “Would you mind if I followed you? I haven’t been to the place but you sold me on it with the words ‘good buffet’. My stomach would never forgive me if I walked away without at least trying what it has on offer.” She confessed somewhat bashfully. Thank heaven she had the stamina to burn it all off. Then again, for someone her size, she had a much larger apitite due to what she was anyway.

There were downsides to being one of the Chosen but getting to eat whatever she felt like and putting the energy to use really wasn’t one of them. In fact, it was a perk, one she actually enjoyed indulging. “That probably came out weird, I’m not a stalker or anything. Although I guess that’s exactly what a stalker would say.” Valerie cringed, “Okay, even I know that didn’t help.” The blonde shook her head with a lopsided grin. “Let me start over like a sane person. Hi, I’m Valerie, could you point me in the right direction to the buffet place, please?”

[v_harkryder]

Virgil laughed without realizing he'd intended to, the sound working its way up from his gut and out of his mouth before he could rope it in. It wasn't a mocking sound, though. One big hand reached out to offer a shake.

"Hi, Valerie," he said, the amusement in his voice lingering. "My name's Virgil. And provided they haven't put up a 'Do Not Serve' sign with my picture attached to it, I'd be glad to walk with you."

In Chicago, he probably would have turned down her offer. Home training aside, he was taught to be courteous rather than really conversational with some people. But the west was different. And these were the eighties.

"You like to put food away too? You got a hollow leg or something?"

[valerie_vause]

“Hi Virgil, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Valerie took his hand in her much smaller one and shook it firmly, a wry grin curved her lips. “I doubt they’d do that. You’re probably the guy they’d want on the poster advertising it. What with you being so healthy and built entirely of muscle.” Valerie motioned from his head to his toes once she took her hand back, and although her tone was laced with amusement, she meant every word. Virgil was fit with a capital F. Anybody with eyes could see that.

“Yes sir.” The blonde nodded enthusiastically, then laughed. “No hollow leg, I just have a very…” Valerie paused, her smile turned cryptic as if she were making some sort of inside joke. “Extensive workout regimen that I take very seriously. One of the perks is getting to eat my body weight in food.” Yeah, if only he knew the half of it.

Valerie shifted to stand by his side as they walked down the street. It might have been odd for someone else, striking up a conversation with a complete stranger, but the blonde couldn’t help it. She received only good vibes from Virgil, and that was enough for her. “So what do you recommend, or is everything worth sampling at least once?”

[v_harkryder]

"Everything's worth trying. As long as they haven't left it out for too long, I mean."

Virgil had tried to stand in a more appealing way when Valerie complimented him, avoiding flexing by a hair. Sure, he was probably twice her age, but he had eyes, and that meant he could see the blonde was a very pretty girl. He tamped down his grin as they started to walk again.

"I gotta work hard to keep the weight off," he said. "Got into the habit in the army, never grew out of it. Plus I eat too much starchy food, so when hit the gym I have to hit it hard."

They reached a crosswalk, and the veteran waited while a station wagon with fake wood paneling rattled past before stepping off the curb. "Are you over at the college?"