Between a Stone and a Hard Place

It'd been a bit since his first encounter with the Valkyries. And, after having been shaken down for money in the gym, who'd have thought he might actually end up in bed with one of them? The leader of them, no less. But he'd fought a hell of a battle with her... then a couple more in the bedroom. So he felt he'd earned his place.

He'd been in the neighborhood and decided to stop by to give Mako a visit, though he couldn't help but wonder if she'd had the disaster crew visit her place yet. Seemed the girls partied hard, for sure. He ascended the stairs of the apartment building until he made it to the correct floor and started down the hallway toward Mako's place.... only to find Stone exiting the apartment, just as he was about to enter.

He, for once, chose not to be an ass and mess with her. Especially considering there was already a bit of friction between Stone and Mako already. No sense making it worse, after all. "Hey Stone." He greeted her casually with an upnod.

Stone was already in a bad mood when she left Mako's apartment, and when she saw Adrian coming up the stairs - that little shit - she just knew it wasn't going to get any better. Hell, he was the reason she was there in the first place.

Mako had called her down to discuss working with Adrian in the future. Not as a member of the Valkyries, since he obviously. couldn't join a girl-only motorcycle gang. No, no, he was going to be an 'associate'. Basically, a way for Mako to sneak her new boy toy in without breaking one of the few rules their group had. Deliberately capitalizing on a loophole. Stone was used to putting up with Mako's crap on a daily basis, but she was seriously skating thin ice this, and the former soldier wasn't the only one in the gang who thought so.

Did Mako understand this? Did she see the problem, like a reasonable person would? No, of course not. She was acting like a spoiled brat, as usual, wanting to have things her way. About the only thing of any worth that had been accomplished in their pow-wow was Stone getting a free beer from her fridge.

She was ready to just go home for the night and worry about the headache in the morning - maybe talk with some of the gang, get them to calm down a bit. But before she had the chance, who did she run into but the source of her current problems himself. Adrian. Saying hello like they could have been neighbors.

"You." She stood in his way and folded her arms, looking down on him from the steps above. "Why are you here?"

As he watched her for a response, he couldn't quiet decide if she was in a bad mood... or maybe the scowl on her face was just there no matter what mood she was in. Or both. Probably both.

In truth, he'd only been there to meet up with Mako to see if she wanted to go get a drink. He hadn't even really planned on staying for long. Unless, of course, Mako had other ideas that didn't involve going out. But, it seemed he might not get the chance to find out. Little did he know that Stone and Mako already had the talk and it had going, at best, poorly.

His experience with gangs normally consisted of protecting himself from them, rather than working for them. So, a lot of the rules were left unknown to him. Particularly the one that he and Mako were currently bending to the breaking point.

Sadly, his attempt at being cordial was wasted, it seemed. "I'm here for my own reasons that have nothing to do with you." He said as he continued up the stairs, moving to step around Stone as he reached the top.

"Wrong answer."

She stuck her arm out and grabbed the railing beside her, blocking him before he could pass, then stepped up to make sure she had the highground. Typically, violence wasn't among her first choices for solving problems. But this was hardly a typical situation, now was it?

"You're here for Mako. Mako's my business, which makes you my business." She looked her down from head to toe, sizing him up. He wasn't a scrawny thing, not like many of the Tension guys, but she was sure she could break him. She would love the pleasure, too. She'd snapped respect into many young punks in her time, and Adrian wouldn't be an excpetion. "So I'll ask again - why are you here?"

He paused, mid-step, as her arm shot out to block his path. He glanced down toward the arm, and followed it up to Stone's eyes. That defiant spark lit up in his eyes as she tried to exert her dominance. He didn't bother fighting for the high-ground. Such things only provided an advantage against an opponent who bothered to fight honorably. He'd already formed a plan to turn it into an advantage for himself.

His only apprehension was the clear size advantage the woman had. Simply overpowering her, as he was accustomed to, wasn't exactly an option with this one. Fortunately, he wasn't a one-trick pony, as Mako had learned. "Look, I don't know what the hell your problem with me is, but get over it and get out of my way." He said, shaking his head slowly, affording her one last chance to let him go in peace.

Mako saw that defiant look in his eyes. The tough guy look, with his scars and his attitude and his whole wannabe demeanor. She'd seen the fight with him and Mako, knew he wouldn't be easy to take down, but she was certain she could do. Any bruises she took would be worth it if meant giving him a few more in return. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

Maybe she was going about this the wrong way, though. A calmer tone? Less confrontational? Worth a try. "Look."She softened up a bit, but still blocked his way. Her hand squeezed down hard on the railing. "What do you know about this gang we're running, here? I mean, really know about it."

He watched her curiously, even more-so when that rock-hard visage of hers finally softened a bit. A cordial encounter? Who'd have thought? He smirked as he looked up at her, still at the ready in case she tried to make a move. Clearly, he had no trust for the woman.

"I know you're an all chick, biker gang." He shrugged a bit. "I get the picture. But, I'm not joining your gang. I'm here for Mako, not you or anyone else." He explained, playing nice for the time being. "Now can you get out of the way?"

Stone groaned and rolled her eyes, before she looked back down at him. Part of the problem was that she couldn't seem to get a genuine read off this guy. She usually had a good eye for people, could figure them out quick. The sort of skill that came in handy during her army days. Him? He was blank. A big blank.

"We're really supposed to believe that?" She shook her head and made sure her face showed how irksome she felt about the whole deal. "You show up out of nowhere, get all cuddly with Mako, and now you're what? Dating? It's that simple?"

"No, actually." He replied, matter-of-factly. "You caught me, Stone. You've discovered my clever plot to get a sex change and usurp leadership from Mako after seducing her with my Jon Juan-like charm." His tone was flat, but practically dripped with sarcasm.

"If you're stupid enough to think it's anything other than what it actually is, then I guess I know how you really got your name." He smirked, shaking his head slowly. Though, he expected that his comment would likely bring an end to the semi-civil portion of their conversation. Of course, he knew the conversation wasn't over. In fact, he'd only barely convinced himself not to make the first move. Instead, he waited, ready to counter if she did anything. "Now that we have that out of the way, can you get the hell out of mine so we can get on with our, completely separate, lives?"

.

Great. Sarcasm. If there was one thing she absolutely loathed, it was sarcasm. The lowest form of wit.

"I'd love to, but that's the thing - you're the one butting in on my life, not the other way around." She leaned over, emphasizing the height difference and casting her shadow. "Whether you realize it or not, whether she realizes it or not, you're fucking up her image. Whatever she says, forget it. Gangs are about perception, and it doesn't matter if you're 'officially' joining or not. There is no 'official' with this. It's not like there's some document to sign or anything - if you hang around Mako and do stuff with her, you might as well be a Valkyrie, because that's what we do."

She cocked her head to the side, looking at him from a different angle. "Do you understand the problem with that? Is any of this sinking into that mop head of yours?"