catalists:

plasmoduck:

Preview/WIP for my collab with the amazing @catalists for @yoiscifizine! Pre-orders open next week! 👀

“Three vodka on the rocks.”

“Make that four,” said a man standing beside him. Viktor turned to look, faintly startled to realize he hadn’t heard him approach. The man was Japanese and dressed in all black, a utilitarian mix of leather and some sort of polyester for shielding and movement. It could have looked tacky on someone else, but on this man it just looked deadly. His hair was slicked back, leaving Viktor staring directly into his large brown eyes.

His mouth went dry. He was temporarily spared from coming up with a response when the man said, “Come here often?”

“Now and again,” Viktor said, with no idea whether it was a lie or not. “What about you?”

“Not often enough, if I haven’t seen you here before,” he said. His expression made Viktor a little bit nervous. It was a little too certain for a man flirting with a virtual stranger. He thought he knew what he was doing, which could have made him your garden-variety man who fancied himself a player, but could also make him very, very dangerous.

Viktor’s first guess based on his attire was street samurai, somebody’s gun for hire, and it wasn’t a good sign to attract someone like that at a bar.  Even if the man was hot as hell. He opted to play it safe. “Guess we’ve just missed each other,” Viktor said. “It’s a shame.”

“Truly,” the probable assassin said. “I have some business to take care of, but maybe after this we go somewhere quieter and make up for lost time?”

“Maybe,” Viktor said carefully. The bartender set the four glasses down on the counter with a click.

“Put it on my tab,” the man told her.

“That’s not necessary,” Viktor said flatly. The man opened his mouth, but they were interrupted by Yuri stomping over.

“Stop fucking with him, Katsudon,” Yuri said. “He doesn’t remember shit.”

from can’t erase and can’t undo

I’m so excited to be collabing with @plasmoduck for @yoiscifizine!