Momoko took the last swig of her drink and joined in the rhythmic music, willing herself to let go and dance. She concentrated on the lyrics she knew so well, the swing of her hips, and the energy around her. She could feel herself growing lighter as she lost herself in the music. She swung around, and grinned when she saw Grisla had attached herself to a dark-haired guy with over-sized sunglasses. Her friend gave her a thumbs up, and Momoko continued dancing on her own, shooting Grisla a wink. After a couple more songs, she had utterly lost sight of Grisla, and her throat was dry, so she made her way back to the bar and sank back down into a bar stool.

As she was ordering another drink, a pale blonde head slid into her peripheral vision, and a deep voice cut through her sentence.

"I'll have what she's having, on my tab."

She blinked in surprise as the bartender nodded and bobbed away, and then turned to meet a pair of viridian green eyes twinkling like emeralds from under a cascade of pale blonde bangs.

"Thanks." She swallowed as she took in the sight of a guy about her age. He was very handsome and well dressed, his black mock turtle neck and leather jacket a little out of place with the trendsetters around them. As she stared, a ray of blue light caught his hair, making it look more silver than blonde.

"No need." His smile made her heart do a double take. "I've been looking for a pretty girl to buy a drink for all night."

"Ahaha." She laughed nervously. "Well, lucky me."

"What did you order, anyway?" he gracefully slipped into the chair next to her.

"Something on the menu I can't pronounce." She smiled.

"Ah, a secret delight, then." He extended his hand. "I'm Nicholas Mythos, but my friends call me Nick."

"Momoko." She accepted his hand, and was surprised that it was a little cold. "Momoko Hitsuragi."

"Pleasure to meet you." His smile grew wider. "After our mystery drink, would you like to accompany me to the green room? They've got a live jazz band tonight."

"Sure." She couldn't help but to smile back. "My guardian has a taste for Jazz music."

"But you're more of a B-k fan?" the bartender placed two orange fizzy concoctions in front of them and Nick waved his tag over the bar sensor. "I saw you in the pink room. You looked like you were dancing pretty hard to his 'Lovely, Lovely'."

She felt a blush creep along her cheeks and she took a long sip of her drink. "Well, I like to dance.... And yea, he's pretty good. What about you, you like Jazz and pop music?"

"You could say, I have eclectic tastes." He clinked his glass to hers and took a sip. "All though, to be honest, I'm a hard core death metal fan."

Momoko choked on her drink. "R-really?"

He laughed robustly. "I'm just kidding; Jazz fan, through and through."

He took his drink and stood up. "I promise not to talk your ear off about it, though. Shall we?"

She stood up as well, letting him lead her to the other side of the stadium, where green lights flickered over a full band. Nick waved his hand in front of the door and the air filled with the brass tones of a saxophone.

"Oh good, we're in time for the solo." He grabbed her free hand and pulled her gently into the swaying crowd.

She followed him, and he pulled her in front of him, his hand resting on her shoulder as the saxophone player shifted back and forth as he played, the movement and music almost hypnotizing.

"Isn't it wonderful?" she barely registered the sound of Nick's voice by her ear, but felt his breath tickling her lobe.

She nodded, a blush creeping across her cheeks as the crowd pressed them together. All in all, not a bad way to spend a Friday night. She let the music thrum into her, the beats hollowing her chest as the hypnotic saxophone moved through her body, and she could feel Nick began to move in sync with her. They swayed lazily to the music, and Momoko let herself relax. They stayed that way through the next song, and then she felt Nick's breath against her ear again offering to return to the bar. She nodded, and let him lead her back out of the room.

When they sat down, he smiled and asked if she'd like another drink. She glanced at her mostly-empty glass and decided one more wouldn't be bad.

"I'll have another of these orange things."

His smile widened, and he turned to the bartender to order them another set of drinks, but instead of the same thing, he got something dark green with an olive sticking out of it.

They chatted over the drinks, Nick was impressed that she played Roloquet; and Momoko was equally impressed that he owned a restaurant. It was called Le Chelle, on the first level of the Deluxe Dome.

"Most people say I'm too young for the responsibility." He smiled over his glass. "But I like the challenge of keeping a lot of small parts operating in uniform to create something wonderful."

"You must be passionate about food to pick that as your goal in life. Do you cook, yourself?"

"I do." He admitted coyly. "I would like to cook for you sometime. What do you like?"

"Anything, really." She laughed. "I've hardly come across a meal I didn't like—but if you're in the mood to make pasta, I can always go for that."

" A woman after my own heart." He leaned on the bar, his bangs drifting into his eyes.

Momoko had to resist the urge to brush them away. She focused instead on her drink. "So, do you have any hobbies—other than Jazz appreciation and looking for pretty girls to buy drinks for?"

He chuckled. "Well—"

"Mo!" Grisla's voice called from behind.

Momoko turned to see her friend stumbling towards her, her make-up smeared. She groaned internally. Grisla must've found her own prince charming of the night to buy her drinks, and she had more than a few, by the looks of it.

"Sorry, I think I've lost track of time, I have to go." Momoko stood up.

"Wait." Nick followed her as she made her way to catch Grisla. "Let me help."

"Oh." Momoko gasped as he caught Grisla with one arm before she tripped.

Grisla stared up into his face, blinking slowly as her senses caught up to her. "Thanks, Mr. Hottie. Where's Mo?"

"Right here." Momoko wrapped her arm around Grisla's other side, and together she and Nick helped her drunk friend head for the exit.

"Mo!" Grisla's head lulled to the side so she could make eye contact. "I met B-K, and I got his number."

"That's great." Momoko smiled assuringly.

"Tell me, you got that guy's number?" Grisla's head lulled the other direction to stare and Nick.

Momoko cleared her throat as they met the cool air. "Maybe we should just concentrate on getting you home. Can you call the driver?"

"Sure, sure." Grisla slumped forward. ""just, just put 'er down for a sec."

They gently lowered Grisla to the curb, and she ticked on her M-band.

"Thank you for helping me with Grisla." Momoko glanced at Nick and her heart skipped a beat as the moonlight had turned his pale hair silver, making his eyes even more impossibly green in the semi-dark.

"You're welcome." He pulled his own M-band from his pocket and clicked the on button. "If it's not too much to ask... I really was serious about cooking you dinner sometime?"

For the second time, she felt a blush creep up her cheeks. She fumbled in her purse and pulled out hers, letting him tap his remote, and she did the same with his, swapping their contact information.

"The driver's coming." Grisla interjected.

They glanced at each other, and his gaze held Momoko's as they returned their respective M-bands.

"Well, then." He said softly, and tipped his head. "Let's get her down to the car."

"Okay." Momoko nodded, her heart doing a somersault.

They lifted Grisla and got her to the second gate without incident, though her left ankle seemed rather precarious in her boots. She stumbled a few times on the way down. As soon as she was safely tucked into the backseat, Nick bid Momoko goodbye with a soft kiss on the back of her hand. Heart racing, she watched him disappear through the gate before climbing into the car with her friend.

"How romantic was that?" Grisla guffawed. "Tell me you got his number!"

"I did." Momoko stared at the warm spot on her hand from his lips in disbelief.

Grisla squealed in delight as the car began backtracking through the dome. By the time they made it back to the first level gate, Grisla was sound asleep. Momoko stared out the window, her mind enthralled by Nick Mythos.