Night Of The Lucky Clover [ Shouhei x Gabe rank 3]

The lucky clover was going through one of its busy nights as Gabe continued to work the floor with a glass of wine in his hands. After a bit of a strenuous meeting in regards to funding with a few of his foster fathers shareholders, having to speak to them under his father's orders was quite strenuous. However, it was over, and Gabe was able to do what he did best,

"Mingling and making good impressions.."

It was apart of the gob to be a certain way, he kept his energy up and remained charming and considerate. Gabe also kept an eye on the casino tables as well, there was always the unruly bunch that didn't quite agree with the idea of losing. But in the meantime, Gabe was also keeping his eye out for a particular performer, or potential performer. The invitation to show up was tonight, making Gabe wonder if he would attend?

As if to answer Gabe’s inner thoughts, Shouhei Kagawa stepped into the Lucky Clover Casino.  To be honest he was surprising himself for showing up to this scheduled performance, and for multiple reasons.  Right now he was a mess a nerves, an uncomfortable bundle of emotion trapped in a fancy suit and tie.  Each step felt unsteady as he walked the grounds of the casino and towards the area for live entertainment.

While a server passed by with a tray of alcohol, Shouhei nabbed one of the drinks in an effort to calm himself.  Brown in color and on the rocks in a half glass, he sniffed it.  Whiskey.  Not bad to smooth out the frayed nerves as he slammed the entirety of its contents down in several gulps.  The all too familiar taste burned through him and ended at a nice little fire at the bottom of his stomach.

Once he tilted his head back and brought the glass down, he saw Gabe.  An almost sheepish expression came from him as he was caught drinking, and he headed towards his possible future employer.

“...I’m kinda nervous, if ya can’t tell,” were all the words Shouhei could offer as an apology.

"Ah, so you made it!"

Gabe would say as he walked over and raised his glass at Shouhei.  He also made a gesture to join him around the round bar table the circled the middle of the casino.  It was a little less loud over there, and Gabe wanted to have a chat with the fellow.

"The nervousness always comes first, but the confidence comes after you find out the "why" of what you are trying to accomplish. To be honest with you, you aren't performing today. It's exposure,  you are going to create a little bit of a presence here,  chatting with me gets more eye on you because i'm always moving about. The thing that people have in their heads is that if someone as busy as me is around another for more than five minutes, they must be pretty important to my standards.  And you are...."

Looking him up and down, Gabe gave out a small whistle.

"Pretty sharp, I like the outfit. I didn't even have to tell you about the dress code. See, you pick up on it pretty quickly."

Looking ahead, Gabe took in the lucky clover establishment as he looked around the floors and the hall of his business.

"So, what do you think of the place? "

“I… damn,” Shouhei simply said, once again almost out of words to say.  For starters he felt the heavy boulder of anxiety lift off him when Gabe mentioned he didn’t need to sing and dance tonight.  Instead it was replaced with a smaller, almost as dense weight as he needed to perform in another manner.  To impress others.  That was something Shouhei was hard-pressed to do on a natural basis.  He tipped the empty glass up to his lips again in a pitiful attempt to eke out any remaining alcohol.

“...Ya got a damn nice establishment, I’ll give ya that,” he finally responded properly to Gabe, and now that he didn’t need to worry as much, he could actually take in the sights of the casino.  Bright, vivid, eye catching.  Those were some of the words used to describe the place.  Grandiose.  Lucrative.  Not like Shouhei could properly express it in those terms, but he was definitely full of awe.

“But don’t ya feel… I dunno… burdened by all of this?  It’s a ton of responsibility,” he said bluntly and was genuinely curious.  After all he was overwhelmed by just taking in the sights, the surface- what about the inner workings of the casino?

"Well, it's more or less the same as anyone else's burdens and responsibilities. Maybe not exactly the same, but the nature of the premises is that we are all put into a situation of responsibility, one way or another. How do we approach that? What's the best choices to make or the actions to take? Sure, there are bumps along the road, but I feel as if that everything that's in place is a preordained script with an improvised set of chances. Chance, the odds of changing such outcomes even negative ones, I'm fond of it, which is why I like this place. There is a chance this place can fail or succeed like the other branches my father has, and I gambled on it. "

Gabe took a sip of his drink before continuing.

"Long story short, how I handle it is by believing in the chance of it being successful in my involvement. I live my life by gambling on the state of my own optimism. "

It was a strange way to live, but that's how Gabe went about it at times.

" Even for you, you have the burden for being responsible for your own destiny. Could have said no to come here, and even the Susie Q performance tomorrow. "

...In other words, ya got a gambling problem and like to apply it to the real world? Shouhei replied mentally, daring not to say it aloud.  Well, if it let Gabe function as a productive member of society it worked, apparently.  Who was Shouhei to judge.

“I sure as hell couldn’t deal with all of this- runnin’ a casino I mean.  A performance ain’t nothin’ in comparison,” he said earnestly.  “And trust me, I thought about sayin’ ‘no’ a ton of times.  My body’s still sayin’ ‘no.’   The main reason I’m still here is ‘cause I made a promise to a friend a long time ago to do my best.”

"Your body? Is there something wrong with you? Are you sick or something like that?"

The reason for what he does is based on a promise? Gabe felt like he heard something like that before, but he couldn't recall off the top of his head what it was about exactly.

"Promises seemed to be soul binding these days, a strong bond with a close friend or loved one. It's admirable that you have something like that to keep you going. That is what some people lack these days, a lifechanging oath that you can't afford to go back on."

However, Shouhei saying that made Gabe curious.

"Who was the promise to?"

“Haha, my body’s all jacked up ‘cause of the anxiety and stress of performin’, and worryin’ about landin’ a gig.  There’s nothin’ wrong with my body in particular.  I appreciate your concern though Gabe,” a light chuckle came from Shouhei.  Although when asked about his promise, a long pause settled between them.

“...Y’know, a childhood friend.  The girl next door kinda thing.  If it weren’t for her I wouldn’t be here right now,” a soft smile lit his features as he thought of her.  He then locked eyes with Gabe.  “Kinda like how you’re obligated to run this casino ‘cause of your adopted father, yeah?”

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....I like stories like this. Sounds like an old girlfriend or something of the sort. Good romance always brings a smile to my face."

Gabe nodded his head in approval.

"Yep yep, this is how a man should live from time to time. Very machismo like.. Mr. Shouhei."

He wondered what happened to her, but Gabe didn't want to press further. Maybe he would hear about it another time?

"Tomorrow's worries and today's obstacles, want to hear a secret method of getting through all of that? You take it one step at a time, like a lego block. Heck, even your choice of breakfast plays a role. I heard tea with lemon and honey is good for the throat, would you like me to have some of that made for you right now?"

Shouhei’s cheeks reddened when Gabe commented about his love life.  Hell, he’d always get flustered whenever that subject was brought up around him.  Thankfully Gabe shifted the topic.

“...I thought you said I didn’t hafta sing today,” a furtive eyebrow raised on Shouhei’s face.  “But I appreciate the offer.  If anything I could use more whiskey.  Or a beer, to be honest.”

"Ah.... you are a draft man, whiskey as well. Alright, I have something special for you then."

Swinging around, Gabriel would whistle at one of the bartenders, who just so happened to stand erect at the sight of Gabriel calling his attention.

"It's ok Miguel, I want you to get a drink for me. His pallet seems to be stuck between whiskey and beer so keeping that in mind, bring out the Bourbon County Series...."

Gabe finished his champagne and place it on the table.

"Two glasses if you will. ..."

Turning to Shouhei, Gabe gave him an acknowledging nod.

"I'll share a drink with you. "

As the drink was prepared and brought over to them, Gabe would give a little bit of info about the drink they were having.

"You see, in my establishment, exceeding the expectations of my guests is the forefront of this business. For instance, the middle ground of compromises to both of your alluring tastes all fits into that drink in your hand. It's a 13.8%-alcohol-by-volume (ABV) stout aged in a vanilla rye whiskey barrel. It's a limited edition... sold only in 22-ounce bottles at a seasonal rate. Give it a taste..."

Shouhei’s eyes nearly began to swirl upon hearing the information about the alcohol being served to him.  Being the simple sort he was, most of these details were hardly a priority to learn about- after all he drank to get drunk.  However he tried his best to remember and take note… if he was going to schmooze with folks in the entertainment industry he should learn these kinds of things.  Gabe was a man of culture after all.

As if handling the most fragile object in the world Shouhei slowly brought the glass up.  He sniffed it, swirled the alcohol inside the cup, heard the ice clink against the glass.  To him it looked and smelled not much different from the other drink he had earlier.  However, when he took a sip, he could tell immediately by taste.  

“...Hot damn, that’s smooth as fuck,” he nearly shouted in response.  Now this is what it felt like to be a part of the upper class- he was used to drinking the bottom shelf liquor.  “I feel like I should owe ya a couple hundred bucks or somethin’ now… ya sure you wanna be wastin’ this rare good shit on me?”

"I concur, this drink does go down rather smoothly with each sip. The texture, the slight difference from the smell that puts it apart from an average beer. The alcohol content that's appropriated for the sake of suiting the desire for wanting something hard like whiskey. However, keeping in mind of tomorrows performance, the best of both worlds is quite adequate."

But he thought nothing of it by sharing this glass with him.

"I'm sure I said this before, it's an investment. Heck, a taste of things to come or even something to spring on a woman that you fancy with a little bit of knowledge of a drink you order. There is a takeaway from everything that I do, i'm quite curious as to how it'll affect you later down the line, but I don't consider our budding friendship as cheap."

“I’d… never consider this cheap,” Shouhei set his glass down and looked away as one of his fists balled up tightly.  Gabe was almost like an older brother that he never had, or even like the father that was missing entirely from his life.  He could feel aggravation set within himself, at his inability to offer Gabe anything in return.  

“But how… do I make all this up to you?  You say it’s an investment… but I can’t… I don’t see myself makin’ you that much cash.  I hate owin’ people anything.  I wanna make it up to you, you hear me?  How do I give back to the guy who’s got everything?”

"How to make it up to me.....hm.... well... I lost my family during the great divide. Even with me being adopted, I always sought strong bonds as a sense of fulfillment for myself. There is never going to be an equal exchange, some things are greater than others. Which is why I never look at it in such a way, mainly, I take care of my friends. I want to see you do great, I feel as if I sense a rebellious and yet...kindred spirit in you. Often misunderstood at times but your actions mean well. It's just a guess, I could be wrong, but that's what I think."

Gabe then smiled at the younger.


"It would be selfish of me to ask for loyalty. Being friends with a future superstar, or heck, even if you wanted to do something else down the line...is enough for me. I might not be a miracle worker, but I'll do what I can to help you out Shouhei."