#dyn. gus ranger.

[notladylikes]

it's raining, of fucking course it is. the brunette hunkers down underneath the hood of her jacket and races inside after tucking the newspaper clipping into her pocket for safe keeping.

once she's inside the bar, she lets the hood down and shakes out her hair, watching as droplets fly and begin to cling to random surfaces.

woops.

that was not what she intended, but as she shrugs her shoulders she pulls dries her hand on a few napkins before retrieving the tattered piece of paper from her pocket.

it's the same man, the one she seeks, currently behind the bar on the opposite end serving drinks. she takes a breath, flagging him down shortly after. she's had this pitch on her brain all evening, worked up the courage in the mirror to speak to him.

god almighty she needed this to go well.

tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, the brunette orders a vodka cranberry, a little liquid courage might only help the situation. when it's placed in front of her on a napkin, she slides the piece of paper towards him.

"this you?"

she says, although she knows it is - unless he's got like an evil twin or something out there in the wilderness. then she's made the biggest ass out of herself. he huffs out a breath and snatches up the paper, a simple 'yeah' leaving his lips.

"mr. ranger, i heard all 'bout how you fixed up that drive thru down south, and i was wonderin' if you'd have it in your heart to help me with mine." this time she pulls a different photo up - on her phone no less, and shifts it towards him.

it's definitely in need of some sort of tlc, but the bones are pretty solid, at least - that's what she was told by various inspectors who were looking to demolish the place.

"this was my granddaddy's legacy. he used to love hangin' out there and putting on a good show, but he died a couple years back and i ain't had the time to give it the love that it deserves. i can't let it get turned into another shoppin' center, there are already a buncha those poppin' up in the outskirts and we don't need another. but i could use the revenue stream, and i figure a movie theater is always a nice place to visit, 'specially one that's out there in the country where you can watch somethin' underneath the stars."

she gets a wistful look in her eyes, remembering the times in her youth when she either was brought to the theater by her granddad, or snuck in under false pretenses with her friends. sitting high on a hill eating too much candy and drinking soda pop - smoking cigarettes and going on dates with boys, it was the place of her childhood.

the sound of him clearing his throat is enough to snap her out of her reminiscing, and she glances up towards him with wide eyes, not afraid to go the route of the whole 'batting her eyelashes' thing if it should come to that.

"i can pay you, a'course. got some money saved up for the place. few donations taken and things like that to keep it functional. but if you're willing, maybe we could be.....partners?"

she's pulling out the big guns, dimples and all to try and win this man over. he hadn't spoken more than a few words to her before she was shoving this information down his throat, but she had a tendency to spew out word vomit when nervous.

"don't....don't answer yet. here's my number, call anytime. just...take a few days an' consider."

she places a business card down in front of him, pays for her drink and leaves a large tip. three days pass and she's wondering if she made a stupid decision trying to seek out this gus ranger fella.

is her grandpappy's legacy going to just fade away into the dust, or is she going to be forced to sell and call it a day?

another two days pass by and nothing. at least, not until shortly after lunch. her phone starts to ring with an unknown number, and she gives a minute to talk herself up before answering. before she can get a word out there's three thrown in her direction, and she's damn near squealing at the response.

"i'll do it."

"thank you, thank you, thank you!"

she says, shouting into the phone with an overly excited demeanor. the brunette can't stand to sit still, starts pacing back and forth in her apartment. she finally takes a breath when she reaches the kitchen, glancing out the back window towards the street.

"so what time should we meet?"

the next few months are nothing short of hard work, but eventually, they completely reconstruct the beauty that was her grandfather's vision. the starlight theater is now back in action, with all new gadgets and gizmos that weren't part of her old man's time, but are bound to bring in new customers by the dozen, she hopes.

she walks over to him with a smile on her face, placing a series of lifetime passes in his hand.

"i couldn't have done this without you. thank you, gus. you don't know what this means to me."

she sees the hint of a smile on his lips when he speaks the words in return.

"it was my pleasure."