Setzer and Daryl - Fight
Title: After the World Was Won
Theme + Number: Fight # 9
Claim: Setzer+Daryl
Characters/Pairings included: Setzer, Daryl
Rating: Mature
Warnings: None here.
Summary: An after-game reunion between two jaded lovers.
Chapter Two: Setzer helps Daryl get back on her feet financially, but perhaps this maiden does not want to be rescued by a prince.
“I can’t believe you dragged me here,” Daryl whispered.
“And I can’t believe you think you’re too bohemian for this. I never thought you’d be one to spring for the starving artist gig,” Setzer muttered back to her.
“Starving scholar.”
“Well then, my starving scholar, do me a favor and let me do the talking. I don’t want to be here all day.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a swine of a human being?”
Setzer and Daryl stood side by side in the lobby of the headquarters of Nikeah’s largest bank. Setzer had immediately been greeted and attended to when he first strode through the doors of the building, and his sudden demand for a meeting with the bank’s president had been quickly met with a polite request to wait for just a moment. Setzer stood tall in his elegant and finely tailored clothing, and he seemed completely at home in the lavishly appointed lobby. Daryl cut an almost pathetic figure beside him in her cheap coat and secondhand boots. She wore no makeup or jewelry, and her hair had been tousled in a rather unromantic way over the course of the afternoon’s adventures. Nevertheless, she too seemed unimpressed by the building’s interior.
The bank’s president came out to greet them himself. As he strode across the lobby floor, his eyes quickly moved from Setzer to Daryl, and a look of unease crossed his face in the briefest of instants.
“My fine sir, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit? Surely nothing has changed since our meeting earlier this afternoon?”
“On the contrary, I am in forever in your debt,” Setzer said, shaking the man’s hand. “I simply need to speak to you a moment in private. The matter concerns my friend here.”
“But of course,” the president said unctuously, gesturing towards his office. His extra flesh jiggled slightly as he lead them across the lobby, and his bald spot was visible to the pair as they walked behind him.
Once in his office, he closed the door as they settled into chairs in front of his massive desk.
“Now then, may I have the pleasure of serving you?” he asked, folding his hands in front of him.
Setzer began with no preamble. “This woman beside me is Daryl Highwind. Since five years have not yet passed since she was declared missing, I believe you still have an account open in her name.”
“We certainly do,” the president said smoothly. “However, it is no simple matter to hand over the passbook to someone with no proof of identity.”
“So you’ve met before,” Setzer mused. He took a sheet of stationary and a pen from the desk in front of him. “Daryl, you’ve always been good with numbers. Surely you remember your account number and pass code.” He handed the paper and pen to her, and she quickly scribbled down the information before handing them back to him. “Certainly this is proof enough,” Setzer remarked, forcefully sliding the sheet across the desk.
“But you must understand, sir, that with no validification -”
Setzer cut him off. “Does my word not qualify as valid?” he asked, quietly.
“Certainly, sir, but there are dozens of forms -”
“Which Ms. Highwind will deal with at her convenience. The purpose of this meeting is to ensure that the proper ownership of the account is restored to your client and my friend. Do we understand each other?”
Setzer glared at the bank president. Gone was the amiable gambler who drank too much at parties and tended towards high-cut bets and low-cut dresses. What replaced him was the man who had been scarred in countless battles and survived the horrors inside Kefka’s tower. His eyes flashed.
The president’s smile vanished like a match extinguished in water.
“As you wish. I will return immediately,” he said woodenly, brushing past the pair and out of the office.
After the president nervously closed the door behind him, Setzer sat back in his chair. “I do believe that man has known who you are for a long time,” he remarked.
“Ah. So it seems that a lifetime of reading poker faces has finally proven itself useful to you,” Daryl replied, unimpressed. “Anything else?”
“Judging from the way he looked at you, I would be willing to bet that he was the patron who paid off your contract.”
Daryl said nothing.
“Perhaps it’s time that this bank came under new management.”
Daryl sighed. “Money talks.”
A junior manager entered the room and presented Daryl with a set of papers and a new passbook and official seal, apologizing profusely all the while. After being escorted from the office with a sizable withdrawal and promises of remuneration, the pair was approached by numerous apologetic managers on their way out. Finally they found themselves standing in the plaza in front of the building. The sun was low in the sky behind them.
Daryl faced Setzer. “So it seems you saved me. What a prince in shining armor,” she said, frowning. “I don’t imagine you know how shitty it feels to have some hero suddenly swoop down into your life and make major changes in your financial situation. I suppose I should thank you, but I’m a little turned off by this sort of macho bullshit.”
“I think your macho hero is going to start drinking right now, and he’s not going to stop until he’s convinced that everything that happened today is real. Or passes out. Whichever comes first.”
“That sounds about right, doesn’t it?”
“Unless I can persuade you to join me for dinner?”
Daryl met his eyes. “You know, I really appreciate what you did for me today. But the past five years have been rough. Perhaps you’ll understand when I tell you that I’m really not up for going out to dinner with any man these days.”
“Even me?”
“Even you.”
“So.”
“So.”
“I guess this is it then.”
“Yes. It is.”
“You know, it doesn’t have to be dinner. Maybe we could get lunch sometime?” Only a slight twinge in Setzer’s voice betrayed his quiet desperation.
“Good bye, Setzer.”
With that, Daryl turned and walked away. Setzer stood and watched her until she vanished into the crowd, unable to find the will to run after her.
Theme + Number: Fight # 9
Claim: Setzer+Daryl
Characters/Pairings included: Setzer, Daryl
Rating: Mature
Warnings: None here.
Summary: An after-game reunion between two jaded lovers.
Chapter Two: Setzer helps Daryl get back on her feet financially, but perhaps this maiden does not want to be rescued by a prince.
“I can’t believe you dragged me here,” Daryl whispered.
“And I can’t believe you think you’re too bohemian for this. I never thought you’d be one to spring for the starving artist gig,” Setzer muttered back to her.
“Starving scholar.”
“Well then, my starving scholar, do me a favor and let me do the talking. I don’t want to be here all day.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a swine of a human being?”
Setzer and Daryl stood side by side in the lobby of the headquarters of Nikeah’s largest bank. Setzer had immediately been greeted and attended to when he first strode through the doors of the building, and his sudden demand for a meeting with the bank’s president had been quickly met with a polite request to wait for just a moment. Setzer stood tall in his elegant and finely tailored clothing, and he seemed completely at home in the lavishly appointed lobby. Daryl cut an almost pathetic figure beside him in her cheap coat and secondhand boots. She wore no makeup or jewelry, and her hair had been tousled in a rather unromantic way over the course of the afternoon’s adventures. Nevertheless, she too seemed unimpressed by the building’s interior.
The bank’s president came out to greet them himself. As he strode across the lobby floor, his eyes quickly moved from Setzer to Daryl, and a look of unease crossed his face in the briefest of instants.
“My fine sir, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit? Surely nothing has changed since our meeting earlier this afternoon?”
“On the contrary, I am in forever in your debt,” Setzer said, shaking the man’s hand. “I simply need to speak to you a moment in private. The matter concerns my friend here.”
“But of course,” the president said unctuously, gesturing towards his office. His extra flesh jiggled slightly as he lead them across the lobby, and his bald spot was visible to the pair as they walked behind him.
Once in his office, he closed the door as they settled into chairs in front of his massive desk.
“Now then, may I have the pleasure of serving you?” he asked, folding his hands in front of him.
Setzer began with no preamble. “This woman beside me is Daryl Highwind. Since five years have not yet passed since she was declared missing, I believe you still have an account open in her name.”
“We certainly do,” the president said smoothly. “However, it is no simple matter to hand over the passbook to someone with no proof of identity.”
“So you’ve met before,” Setzer mused. He took a sheet of stationary and a pen from the desk in front of him. “Daryl, you’ve always been good with numbers. Surely you remember your account number and pass code.” He handed the paper and pen to her, and she quickly scribbled down the information before handing them back to him. “Certainly this is proof enough,” Setzer remarked, forcefully sliding the sheet across the desk.
“But you must understand, sir, that with no validification -”
Setzer cut him off. “Does my word not qualify as valid?” he asked, quietly.
“Certainly, sir, but there are dozens of forms -”
“Which Ms. Highwind will deal with at her convenience. The purpose of this meeting is to ensure that the proper ownership of the account is restored to your client and my friend. Do we understand each other?”
Setzer glared at the bank president. Gone was the amiable gambler who drank too much at parties and tended towards high-cut bets and low-cut dresses. What replaced him was the man who had been scarred in countless battles and survived the horrors inside Kefka’s tower. His eyes flashed.
The president’s smile vanished like a match extinguished in water.
“As you wish. I will return immediately,” he said woodenly, brushing past the pair and out of the office.
After the president nervously closed the door behind him, Setzer sat back in his chair. “I do believe that man has known who you are for a long time,” he remarked.
“Ah. So it seems that a lifetime of reading poker faces has finally proven itself useful to you,” Daryl replied, unimpressed. “Anything else?”
“Judging from the way he looked at you, I would be willing to bet that he was the patron who paid off your contract.”
Daryl said nothing.
“Perhaps it’s time that this bank came under new management.”
Daryl sighed. “Money talks.”
A junior manager entered the room and presented Daryl with a set of papers and a new passbook and official seal, apologizing profusely all the while. After being escorted from the office with a sizable withdrawal and promises of remuneration, the pair was approached by numerous apologetic managers on their way out. Finally they found themselves standing in the plaza in front of the building. The sun was low in the sky behind them.
Daryl faced Setzer. “So it seems you saved me. What a prince in shining armor,” she said, frowning. “I don’t imagine you know how shitty it feels to have some hero suddenly swoop down into your life and make major changes in your financial situation. I suppose I should thank you, but I’m a little turned off by this sort of macho bullshit.”
“I think your macho hero is going to start drinking right now, and he’s not going to stop until he’s convinced that everything that happened today is real. Or passes out. Whichever comes first.”
“That sounds about right, doesn’t it?”
“Unless I can persuade you to join me for dinner?”
Daryl met his eyes. “You know, I really appreciate what you did for me today. But the past five years have been rough. Perhaps you’ll understand when I tell you that I’m really not up for going out to dinner with any man these days.”
“Even me?”
“Even you.”
“So.”
“So.”
“I guess this is it then.”
“Yes. It is.”
“You know, it doesn’t have to be dinner. Maybe we could get lunch sometime?” Only a slight twinge in Setzer’s voice betrayed his quiet desperation.
“Good bye, Setzer.”
With that, Daryl turned and walked away. Setzer stood and watched her until she vanished into the crowd, unable to find the will to run after her.