#[DW Ludger's that way with his big bro.]

[ofstarsandskies]

"--But what if I do come here just for that?" Ludger asked, his smirk dripping into his voice as well. "If I wanted to quietly drink the night away, I could easily buy a few cases to have at home. Yet here I am: risking tabloids hounding me off-hours just so I can keep visiting a bar without my personnel. Quite a lot of work for a few cheap glasses, isn't it?"

Before Yuri came, Ludger visited Film Noir on rare occasions as a toast to Rideaux's memory. He certainly didn't like the guy, but the life Ludger lived now wouldn't have happened if Rideaux hadn't slapped him with that ridiculous debt. Thus, while he couldn't thank the man himself, he could at least support the one thing he did know Rideaux liked.

Now though... when Ludger met this mysterious stranger who spoke to him like an equal, everything changed. Now he came at least once per week, always around the same time (unless his job needed him to stay longer), so he could maybe see that same person again. However Yuri felt about him, Ludger felt he made a true friend. Any table scraps that let him get the tiniest peek into Yuri's life were highlights of his day.

Well... unless that evening was quality time with Julius. He is Julius' little baby brother who loves being spoiled.

"I do understand wanting to avoid burdening someone with your problems though," Since he didn't want to invade Yuri's personal space, Ludger opts for gently clinking his glass against Yuri's as a metaphorical pat on the back. "Just know that people are more willing to listen than you'd think."

Ah, cards. That brought back memories... Actually, he still had the special gambler outfit he'd won from Mr. Tengu in his closet. Maybe if he ever serious gambled, he'd finally get the nerve to put that bold statement on. But maybe that'd cheer Yuri up sometime? It'd be a fun surprise if Yuri wasn't busy coughing his lungs up from laughing too much.

"Just talking with you is enough for me. I get all the stimulation I need and more at home. N-Not that I'm complaining-- actually, maybe I am a little bit. But anyway, I'm willing to do anything you'd like to take your mind off things."

Not that he would say being soft and kind was the issue... but he wasn't sure how he felt about being led to a secluded place. At the same time, he understood it. This was probably something that needed privacy, just... he might not have picked a place like that; especially given that he didn't know how Ludger would react to hearing that his employer was someone he knew and was family.

Yuri blinked at Ludger's response to his apology. "I... well, I don't think you came here to talk about my work and all its miseries." Of course it made sense to tell him ultimately, since in this case Ludger was the target... but Ludger didn't know that. As far as he could be aware, this could just be any old work moaning. It wasn't like Yuri hadn't talked about work in a less than positive way before. He just... supposed he didn't want their relationship to exist off of nothing but Yuri's job... especially when it was what it was.

Save a life... Yeah, literally. He wasn't sure how literal that surprise cliff dive comment was, but it sure would have been figurative if Yuri had tried to go through with this. Still, Yuri wasn't used to the idea of Ludger being... not necessarily not a social butterfly, since he didn't necessarily know him well enough to say he was now, but... he couldn't really imagine him not being polite, friendly and trying to be in someone's good graces as much as possible. He'd been able to get to know Ludger and lure him into this attempted trap because he'd been willing to talk to a total stranger.

While it wasn't right away, Yuri did start to have doubts somewhat quickly. He considered himself fairly good at reading people and who he was dealing with. Felt like he could see a genuine person from someone trying to use him for something. Maybe it came from knowing the types of people that he did, and having grown up in the Lower Quarter while seeing how... shallow people from the Noble Quarter were. How people with money always wanted something from other people. They didn't mingle for happiness and fun. They mingled for connections and wealth. At the very least, he could tell the difference between false pleasantries and a genuine search for connection.

"Plus, I'd rather not be known as like... the guy who bothers you about my job when you probably come to a bar to wind down. I know I'm not always like that, so I don't want it to get too common for one particular person." It didn't start that way, but once he realized he didn't want to finish the job, it became a lot of... nearly moping. For the most part, that moping was out of realization of his own shortcoming. That he hadn't done his research before taking the job and had assumed the worst about someone without properly understanding the situation. How much could he say he'd grown after all this time if he was still doing that?

He returned to his drink, waste unwanted as another part of him from his childhood lodged itself into his present actions. I'd offer you a card game or something, but I might be a bit distracted. The good news is I could probably play poker completely normal... since normally my poker face is laughing at everything so that nothing in my hand seems suspicious. If I'm distracted, I might be more sullen the whole time instead, but I'd be too distracted and mopey to give my hand away. Might work out."