Na zdravje! [Marko]

[Deleted]

Oh did it feel good to have a break!

The show was on hiatus for a week while the equipment was getting cleaned and repaired. It wouldn’t be very good if her lines broke while she was in mid air. The show didn’t need bad publicity like that. Of course Vesna missed the horses but it was good to get some ‘me’ time in once and awhile. And she couldn’t think of anything better than having a drink with her friends at her favourite bar. It wasn’t the nicest bar but it was in her neighbourhood and full of people from her part of the world. Granted there weren’t that many Macedonians there, mostly Croatians and Bulgarians, but it was nice to talk to people who had at least grown up like she had and be able to speak her native tongue, to a degree.

The bar was owned by a bear of a Bulgarian named Kiril, who, despite his scary appearance, was a good guy and dependable friend. He liked a good bar fight like everyone else but if you started damaging things he wouldn’t think twice about bashing your head against the wall and throwing you out. Vesna was a regular, after coming here for four straight years, so the time she cracked a pool stick over a guy’s skull she only got a warning.

She ordered a beer, smiling pleasantly and saying hello back to the other regulars she knew. Vesna was like the kid sister of the bar, since she was the youngest of the regulars and usually the only female. It had been a few weeks since she had been in, so some of the guys filled her in on what she had missed, things like fights, break ups, new things they had purchased. She laughed at their stories and patted an arm sympathetically when due until someone decided to start a game of darts. She respectfully declined and decided to enjoy her beer and watch instead. One beer turned to two rather quickly. Vesna didn’t worry though. She could stumble back to her place if she got drunk, it wasn’t that far or someone would walk her. Everyone watched out for each other here, so it was hard for her to believe the rumors that she lived in the bad end of the city. Hardly!

There were some new people in the bar that she didn’t recognize, which caught her interest. People talked to them, because everyone was friendly here, but it was easy to tell they were not regulars here. Vesna paid them no mind since no one seemed upset by their presence, deciding to listen to the music instead. It was a nice tune, folk music of course. She tapped her fingers on the bar in time with the music.

Maybe she should have played darts; she was feeling a bit antisocial right now. Kiril was busy at the moment so she couldn’t chat with him. Oh well, he did have to work after all. She signaled to Kiril that she wanted another. A familiar tune came onto the jukebox and everyone started singing this Bulgarian folk tune that she vaguely remembered. Vesna was yanked off her seat suddenly to be spun around a bit, laughing loudly at the guys’ antics. She made her way back to her seat, nearly crying from how hard she was laughing. Waiting for her was her beer, and she blew a kiss at a winking Kiril.

Her beer was nearly knocked out of her hands when two gentlemen bear hugged her, singing the lyrics merrily. She joined in of course, probably butchering the song but they didn’t seem to mind. When they left she tried to drink her beer, still chuckling away. Oh how she had missed it here. It reminded her of her family back in Macedonia. Next time they had a month break she would go back home for a visit. She continued to hum the song under her breath absentmindedly as she smiled, starting to day dream of back home.

When times are hard we’ll smile and say we’re not afraid of anything

LAIKA OF BTN!

[Deleted]

	Marko had never purposefully separated himself from the 'Eastern European Community of London'. In fact, he'd never really become separate from it at all, but his job entailed a certain allegiance to Britain and, well, that spoke for itself, even if he was never open about his career in general. 'I'm a doctor, I work in medical research', that was about the extent of it, if anyone were to ask. The problem with mentioning either 'doctor' or 'medical' to anyone within the aforementioned community was that they would usually think him to be some kind of all-knowing miracle worker... Either that, or they'd laugh off that he was some kind of quack (the latter was normally the elder generation, that still believed rakija could cure anything and everything). The only colleague he had in Q division of a similar ethnicity to his own was the Russian chemist, Anya Braginskaya, and hell if he knew if she faced similar problems. It was somewhat lucky, then, that no one had approached him that evening with any queries... Just the occasional 'oh I know you'. He wasn't even in the bar to drink... Well, okay – yes, he was – but that was only half of the reason. He was mostly there to meet with someone he hadn't seen for a couple of years, a friend of a friend of a friend, who went by the name of Endrit. He was an Albanian brick layer, his knowledge of English was fairly hit and miss, and there was something cold and slimy about him that reminded Marko of several of his other acquaintances that were in illegal trades, and so he could only assume that about him, as well. They'd met at one of the back tables half an hour earlier to discuss a job Marko needed doing – one of the front windows of his house had been shot through with a brick and needed replacing, and Endrit knew a guy that could do it for a quarter of the price of mainstream retailers. Was it legal? Probably not, but the banks had all been so fickle about giving him a loan for the replacement that he honestly didn't give a damn; if Endrit's acquaintance could fit a new window in the next couple of days, that was better than having to wait. But the deal had been done and Endrit had slipped away into the night again, leaving Marko hunched over an almost-empty glass of beer at the bar, a lit cigarette between his teeth. He planned to leave once he'd finished both, but he'd managed to forget about that plan, primarily because the whole place had gotten more rowdy all of a sudden and it was amusing enough to watch a room full of middle-aged men singing along to an old Bulgarian folk song. He shook his head to himself, before tapping the ash off his cigarette and calling for the owner to refill his glass.
Words: 495	Notes: -
Tagged: Vesna	Credits: Aquarius of BTN

[Deleted]

The bump came out of nowhere, shocking her into almost dropping her beer on the floor. Her fast reflexes had her catching it just as it slipped from her fingers. With a sigh of relief she looked up to apologize, even though she was sure she was not in the wrong. It was just the type of person Vesna was after all. However, her smile wavered as she looked at the person who bumped into her. It was some guy that had come in with two friends, young looking fellow and from the smell of him, clearly drunk. She had never seen him before, not even in the neighbourhood. Maybe a college student? Definitely not under aged, Kiril had no patience for that and he looked older than her anyways. Clearly wasn’t that great at holding his liquor though, he had wet beer stains on his shirt.

“I’m sorry, can I help you?” She asked, still pleasant. Even though he looked a little rough it would be rude of her to judge him so fast. He was probably a very nice person, maybe he was going through a hard time? Vesna’s smile turned slightly sympathetic in nature.

“We were just noticing how pretty you were.” He said, pointing at his friends as he sat down next to her at the bar. There was an odd jolt in her but she paid it no mind, continuing to smile at him. “Come join us.”

“I thank you for the compliment but I’m alright. If you’ll excuse me, my beer is warming.” Vesna replied, going back to her beer. She felt uncomfortable by compliments. It made her feel awkward. Not that she wasn’t grateful, she was, but she didn’t come here to be hit on. Kiril gave her a look and she waved him off, as he left to go bring a beer to a guy in the back. She picked up her beer, going back to thinking about all the things she was going to do when she got home. She had a new nephew that she had yet to meet and she felt like spoiling the babe.

The tug on her scalp was completely unexpected. No sound slipped from her mouth though, as she looked up angrily at the man next to her. His face was red now, and she realized that perhaps it came off as her rejecting him. He had a firm grip on her hair as he tugged her face closer to his. “I wasn’t asking.” He hissed at her. Vesna’s mouth set into a hard line as she swung her fist up into his stomach. How dare he? She had refused very politely; it was not her fault that he could not take a hint.

The man groaned but didn’t release her hair so both on them fell onto the floor, with her on top. She was vaguely aware that everyone had stopped singing and were now watching the fight, hollering to get them going. She head butted him hard as they fell, hoping to end it right there. Finally he released her hair to punch her in the nose. She could barely hear the profanities and names he was calling her. Vesna heard the crunch but knew it wasn’t broken and responded with a blow of her own to his mouth, that disgusting mouth that got spittle on her when he talked to her. He hit her nose again, probably intending to break it, but he wasn’t hitting it right to do that. More blood spewed out though and she knew her nice white shirt was a lost cause. It was something her mother had made her for too, so she hit him hard enough to knock a tooth out. Well that must have really pissed him off because he decided to hit her hard in the throat, a cheap shot.

It sent her sputtering off him, trying to breathe. She tried vainly to wipe the blood from her nose so she could get air in that way but it was like a pipe had burst. For a second she felt woozy, but she held it together. If looks could kill that man would be dead as his friends helped him up and away from her. She stumbled to her feet, cupping her nose to try to contain some of the blood. Vesna felt horrible, Kiril would be here late cleaning up the mess she made.

When times are hard we’ll smile and say we’re not afraid of anything

LAIKA OF BTN!

[Deleted]

	The singing began to die down, and that was what brought him out of his daze again. For a split second, there was silence, and then it was filled in with abrasive yelling. The fight – or whatever was going on – was at the other end of the huddle of people. He could've ignored it; hell, he wanted to, it'd probably be over in less than ten seconds anyway, but he didn't. He pressed the stub of his cigarette into the ash tray in front of him, pushed his seat back and stood up. If he'd wanted a quiet night, he thought, he should have made Endrit meet him in that Goddamn jazz club instead. But no, it had to be Aylesbury. He shouldn't have gotten his hopes up that maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't have needed a doctor for some reason or another there. He weaved his way (uncomfortably) through the mesh of bodies to the front area. There was blood, quite a lot of blood, but only one visible injury – a woman. Collateral damage? Those who had actually been fighting must've left already. Or maybe she'd been involved but... Well, whatever, he could figure that out later. “Here, come into the light.” He muttered, hoping she would hear him, and knowing she had her face covered with her hands, he nudged on her shoulder to pull her in said direction. There was no use beating around the bush, no use asking 'are you okay?' because she definitely wasn't okay. And then he wondered if he was being too off-hand... 'Bedside manner, Marko, bedside manner...' Perhaps his mood wasn't great because he'd been at work all day and he'd just had to discuss his broken windows with an Albanian. Bearing this in mind, he let go of her shoulder and turned towards her, to see if she'd react to his actions, or at the very least uncover her face.
Words: 322	Notes: -
Tagged: Vesna	Credits: Aquarius of BTN

[Deleted]

With hazy eyes she watched as her assailant was dragged out of the bar by his friends, and most likely to safety. Even if she couldn’t continue the fight she knew many men in here would for her. Damn it all, she really liked this shirt. Vesna staggered to her feet, muttering every curse word she knew in between the apologies to Kiril. She’d stay back and clean this mess up for him; he already had so much to do. Why did she have to go and snap like that? She wasn’t even having a bad day, but for some reason she snapped to quickly. Ahh, after she fixed up here she would go for a run, to calm down. Vesna was still shaking a little, from a mix of rage and pain.

A nudge to her shoulder brought her attention towards the man in front of her. It took her a second to recall what he just asked, something about the light so she moved towards it without hesitation. Vesna had the feeling he intended to help and felt a little thankful. The situation was just a little overwhelming, especially the amount of blood. Had she ever lost this much blood from a nose bleed before? Perhaps he did break it? In any case she was going to bruise badly soon. Good thing she had a bit of a wait until the next show so it won’t look as bad. Stage make-up could do wonders but she left it back in her locker at the stadium. Ahh, in the light she got to see how much of a loss cause the shirt was now and no amount of bleach would fix this. She really liked the shirt too. It was a gift for her last birthday. Vesna had especially loved the little rose embroidery around the neckline..

Oh not again! Vesna cursed herself for getting lost in her head and focused her attention to the person trying to aid her. He seemed nice, but she really didn’t want to be a damper on anyone’s evening. Although he probably wouldn’t have came over if he didn’t want to help. Did she know him? No, he didn’t look familiar. “Ahh, watch out, I wouldn’t want to get blood on you.” She moved her hands slightly to show him her nose, blood still seeping through her fingers.“I’m sure it’s not that bad, right?” Vesna gave him a smile, not quite sure who she was trying to reassure with that.

When times are hard we’ll smile and say we’re not afraid of anything

LAIKA OF BTN!

[Deleted]

	“Ahh, watch out, I wouldn't want to get blood on you.” He dismissed her words; frankly, he didn't care if she got blood on him or not (it could have been worse – it could have been vomit, but hell, he'd learnt not to care about that either). And it was just as well he didn't care, because there was a lot of blood. He squinted, moving her hands out of the way and lifting her chin slightly. There may well have been a fracture, that was, if the entire nose hadn't have been broken or at the very least dislocated. Whatever it was, there wasn't much he could do for her. “I'm sure it's not that bad, right?” At least she was trying to be optimistic about it. He came across this sort of thing happening often, but not normally to women. He'd been at the scene of a girl getting hit by a bus the other month, and not long after that, he'd found a woman stabbed in a back alley not far from work... And then there had been the casino worker that had fallen into that fountain... Part of him was, with contempt, wondering what the hell the universe was doing. “The good news is it could be worse and you could be unconscious and I could be pulling you off the floor right now.” He said, being entirely honest. There was no way he could sugar coat it; hell, even if she was trying to look on the bright side, as it were, an injury like that must've hurt like a bitch. “The bad news is it's still pretty bad.” At that moment, someone handed him a wad of tissues over his shoulder. Not paying much mind to said someone, he took them and held them at her nose. The very least that could be done was to not let her bleed everywhere.
Words: 318	Notes: -
Tagged: Vesna	Credits: Aquarius of BTN

[Deleted]

Ahh, this is familiar, she thought, as the man inspected her nose. She had broken it pretty bad when she tried standing on her hands on horseback the first time. Except this was not her brother Alek so hopefully she wouldn't be lectured either. At that time he set her nose back, one of the most painful experiences of her life, and really didn't want to relive that pain again. Maybe it was just a bad nosebleed? It hurt like hell but she just grit her teeth and bared it, crying wouldn't make it hurt any less after all. At least the pain in her throat was starting to become just a dull ache. That was something!

“The good news is it could be worse and you could be unconscious and I could be pulling you off the floor right now. The bad news is it's still pretty bad.”

Vesna was expecting that. The amount of blood was disconcerting to her, so it really had to be bad. Oh well, the blood had to stop some time, right? She'd go home and put some ice on it, it wasn't the end of the world. He had to be a doctor, the way he held the napkins without putting pressure on her nose. That was a bit of a relief, having an actual medical professional look at her. With a smile she brought her hand up, to take hold of the napkins for him.

“If he had hit me any harder in the throat you probably would have had to. I guess I'm glad his punch was weak. Blagodaram, thank you, for looking at my nose. I was hoping it looked worse than it was.” No such luck huh? It was just some blood, she didn't really want to bother anyone at the hospital if she could take care of this herself. Besides, she didn't really want to make the trip at this hour.

But where were her manners?! “I'm really sorry you had to take time time out of your evening to look after me. I wasn't thinking clearly when I hit him, he just-” Remembering it just made her feel angry and lousy again, she would dwell on it later. Vesna shrugged it off, smiling again. “Can I buy you a beer before I head out? I'm just going to go home and put some ice on it, I'm sure the blood will stop some time!"

When times are hard we’ll smile and say we’re not afraid of anything

LAIKA OF BTN!

[Deleted]

	To tell the truth, he was only partly listening to what she was saying; his mind was preoccupied with thoughts of what he should have been doing, and what he shouldn't have been doing, and in a room full of people who had yet to fully calm down after what had happened, it wasn't an easy thing to do. Marko let the girl hold the tissues herself and looked around, his head snapping from side to side a couple of times until he found an empty seat not too far away. He took her by the shoulders and guided her in that direction. “Can't say I know how bad it is until I've looked at it properly. You didn't hear anything crunch, did you?” Marko dealt with nosebleeds on a regular basis; in fact, of all the injuries the agents sustained, nosebleeds were the most common, simply because one or two of them would occasionally overdo it in the practise room (the newest recruits were particularly guilty of at least causing those kinds of injuries to their comrades, if they weren't managing to inflict them on themselves). In those cases, though, he had assistants and medical supplies and the like on hand... This wasn't the SIS building, where he could just shove a couple of tampons up the patient's nose and send them back on their way – this was a pub in Aylesbury, one where the only acceptable cure for anything, really, was copious amounts of alcohol. At least she was being optimistic about it. “Nah, I'm fine, thanks.” He'd really just wanted to check again to make sure her nose was completely in-tact; hopefully it was, but only then could she just do as she said she was going to and head home. He didn't need another beer after the one he'd ordered just before he'd left the bar or he'd end up driving into a lamppost on his way home. “So long as nothing's broken, ice is probably all you can do to keep the swelling down... Painkillers'll help, too.”
Words: 343	Notes: -
Tagged: Vesna	Credits: Aquarius of BTN

[Deleted]

Oh whoa, they were going somewhere else now. Not that she minded him guiding her over towards the table, she just didn't realize how unstable she was until she started moving. Thankfully her legs decided to remember how they worked on their own and she made it over to the seat with just a little bit of stumbling. Wait, what about a crunch? Think Vesna, think, there was a lot of things crunching. Like the crunching when her fist cracked his too- no, he was talking about her specifically right now. Focus!

“I think so, but it wasn't same same crunch that my nose made when I broke it before. I remember that quite clearly. He kept hitting at the side of my nose, he never hit me dead centre. I think he was just trying to get me off him.” Could he still break it like that? When the napkins started to get soaked she switched them with some on the table, wincing when she hit her nose a little. “I guess I'm not as good at this as you are.”

If it was broken he wouldn't make her go to the hospital right? Could he even do that if he was a doctor or a paramedic? It just didn't sound appealing to her, sitting in the hospital for hours. She could be here drinking or at home drinking or watching a movie or even sleeping sounded more appealing than a hospital visit. Ice and painkillers and vodka would do the trick!

“If it's broken what can you do? You're not going to put it back into place right?” Oh anything but that, she'll live with a crooked nose! It would be a great conversation piece and just look interesting! Who was she kidding, she didn't need a crooked nose, she had to stop being a big baby! With a small groan she nearly put her head on the table but caught herself in time. “I should have just gone over there and talked with them, I just didn't think he'd get so mad.”

This was silly, it was just a broken nose, if it was broken. At least it wasn't her arm or she wasn't impaled by a stick again, compared to that this was a walk in the park. Vesna scooted her chair closer to him so he could get a better look at it. With a small sigh she looked up at him and smiled, time to be a grown-up. “Okay doctor, tell me your prognosis, how bad is it? I think my heart can handle it now.”

When times are hard we’ll smile and say we’re not afraid of anything

LAIKA OF BTN!

[Deleted]

	Well, he could gather one thing from what she was telling him – it hadn't been collateral damage at all... Rather, it sounded like that guy who'd started the fight had started the fight with... Well, her. Marko thought the guy, whoever he was, pretty fucking lucky to have gotten away with it. Assaulting a woman? How low could the bastard have gotten? Even when she explained why it had happened (“I should have just gone over there and talked with them, I just didn't think he'd get so mad”), he didn't find that a good enough reason. There was no use getting worked up, though. He – whoever he was – was long gone. Marko had to keep his expression and tone of voice neutral, serious, and focus on the task at hand. “I can't know for sure if it's broken, unless I...” He leant down towards the girl; squinting. It was difficult enough in poor lighting, but there was blood in the way as well and he couldn't tell it was broken just by looking at it. “Eh, worst case scenario is that it'll be fractured badly and you'll need medical attention at a hospital. That's pretty uncommon, though... Just depends on how bad you got hit, really.” Cautiously, and as gently as he could (because however he did it, it was going to hurt), he pressed his index finger to the side of her nose. “Does that hurt much? Can you feel it cracking at all?” Her nose didn't feel right at all, but that was to be expected... He was pretty certain it was mostly just swelling. “And... Does your head hurt as well? Or your neck?” He brought his other hand up, pressing on the opposite side of her nose. “Either of those and you'll need to go to the emergency room.”
Words: 307	Notes: -
Tagged: Vesna	Credits: Aquarius of BTN

[Deleted]

As soon as she saw his hand moving towards her nose she knew what was coming. What could she do, not let him look at it? Truly she didn't want to go home if it was in that bad of shape and just let it get worse. Besides, she didn't need a crooked nose adding onto the reasons why she couldn't find a boyfriend or husband. With a deep breath she clamped her teeth together, preparing herself for the pain. The napkins were set aside so she could grab onto the bottom of the chair., just in case it was really bad.

Son of a bitch, that hurt! Honestly though, it wasn't that bad compared to some of the injuries she got, and she was truly expecting it to hurt worse than he did. Tears filled her eyes involuntarily, but she didn't start crying. Just deep breaths and it was easy enough to deal with. Cracking, what did he mean by that? “No, it just feels, ahh, really mushy. From the blood I think. It doesn't hurt as bad as I thought, it's feels more... tender, I think is the right word. Like punching a bruise.” Didn't that mean it wasn't so bad? No hospital trip after all!

Despite the pain, she laughed a little. “My head hurts from hitting him with it and my neck, he hit me in the throat. I don't think that's what you meant though, right? I think they're okay, just sore.” One of her hands went back to her head, and she sighed in relief when she found that none of her hair had been yanked out. That would have been horrible. Her fist was a little skinned from punching him, but that was easy enough to fix with bandages at home.

Vesna just realized she had never introduced herself, or got his name. Hell, she wasn't sure he was even a doctor. It would be good to get his name though, in case she did need to go to the hospital. “I'm Vesna by the way. Thank you again for helping me. I hope I'm not keeping you from anything. I can just call one of my neighbour to come collect me if I am.” One of them had to be up anyways. If not, she could always stumble on back home by herself.

When times are hard we’ll smile and say we’re not afraid of anything

LAIKA OF BTN!

[Deleted]

	He spent a good minute prodding her nose either way, until he was absolutely certain nothing was wrong... Well, he could probably trust her to go to the emergency room if anything was up with her neck or head. Otherwise... He didn't think anything was broken. Which was lucky, because normally a direct punch to the end of a nose was a sure way to at least splinter it. “Nah. I doubt there's anything wrong.” He told her. “Apart from the swelling, obviously. And there's not much you can do for that, other than to compress it.” Marko took his hands away, straightening his back again with a sigh. “It's fine.” He said. “I'm not busy.” He paused, then; she had introduced herself, and the polite thing to do was do the same in return, but... He wasn't really sure how. “Eh...” He began. “I'm Marko. Better known as Dr. Iliev.” Another pause. He frowned awkwardly. “Although... Not really.” 'Smooth, Marko, smooth...' “But, er... I am a doctor. Really.” He added, not entirely sure how convincing that sounded. It might well have been easier for her to believe him were he in a suit and a white coat, but hell, there wasn't a lot he could do about that right now. He dug into his pocket for his wallet. In this, he found a few pieces of notepaper and a small pen he kept in there. As quickly as he could, he scribbled down his phone number (his personal line, not his work line; though he would have used the latter if he could, that was reserved for his official patients as well as other SIS enquiries and it wasn't one he could distribute otherwise). “Ah... Here.” He tore off the strip of paper with the number on it, holding it out to her. “If the pain doesn't go, or the bleeding doesn't stop, you should call the emergency line but... Otherwise, this is my number, if you need it.”
Words: 330	Notes: -
Tagged: Vesna	Credits: Aquarius of BTN

[Deleted]

Wow, that was a relief, he was actually a doctor! It would have been funny though if she had let this complete stranger poke at her nose and he wasn't even medically qualified. What a story that would have been! Now she could rest easy knowing that a doctor said everything was okay, and she wouldn't need to go to the hospital. Ice and some pain kil- wait, did she even have any at home? Shit. They were probably in her locker at work. Oh well, Toris would probably have some, she would ask him.

“Marko..” She said with a smile, testing it out. “It's a nice name. You're Bulgarian, right? Ah, I'm from Macedonia! We're neighbours.. sorta. I guess not anymore though..” That was a bit awkward but she laughed it off; maybe the both of them weren't the greatest at introductions. “My last name is Kitanovska, but I'm not a doctor or anything fancy like that. Just Vesna is good. And don't worry, I trust that you're a doctor! Do you prefer to be called Dr. Iliev instead of Marko?” She was going a mile a minute now, but it was an honest question. Her own brother preferred Dr. Alek, although most called him Dr. Sashko since the majority of his clients were family and neighbours. Deep breath Vesna, slow down.

When he handed her the piece of paper Vesna just blinked at the offering but accepted it. “Thank you, but you sure it wouldn't be bothering you? I wouldn't want to call if it wasn't a real emergency and just me worrying about something silly. The last thing I'd want to do is waste your time.” The blood would eventually stop, so she didn't really need his number. Did she give it back to him? No, that would be rude. “Do I give you my number now, do you need it? I've never been in a situation like this before so I'm not quite sure what to do.” Why would he need her number though, that didn't make sense. Damn it, what was she doing? Stumbling all over her words and making herself look weird, that's what.

You know what she needed? A nice drink to take the throbbing away, it was starting to give her a headache. Tequila, this was a tequila moment. It might even be a two tequila moment but she'd start off with one. She signaled to Kiril, tapping her wrist so he would know what she meant. “You sure you don't want something? It's on me, I'm coming back to wash dishes for my own tab, another drink won't hurt. Even a coffee?” It wouldn't be that big of deal, she was already paying off her monthly tab tomorrow, it wouldn't be that much of a bother.

When times are hard we’ll smile and say we’re not afraid of anything

LAIKA OF BTN!

[Deleted]

	“I am.” He answered plainly, off-hand, in response to her asking if he was Bulgarian. Of course, her being Macedonian, which was the next thing she told him, was probably the reason why she could tell where he was from. Just Vesna, then. “Marko is fine. This is hardly a professional situation, is it?” Hell, it was rare that anyone even called him Dr. Iliev within his place of work – he was usually considered a colleague rather than a figure of authority, which he supposed made enough sense and had never really questioned. Retracting his hands after giving her the note, he placed them in his pockets. “It's fine, really. Just call that number if anything else is wrong and tell me who you are if you have to. I don't need your number too, if you don't want to give me it.” Marko watched her for a moment, as she tapped her wrist at the man behind the bar. He realised he'd asked for another beer... Ah, the guy probably hadn't poured it out; well, he was back on his feet now... He really didn't need to drink any more. A couple of smokes after getting home and he'd need to sleep... His alarm would sound at five in the morning, as per the norm, and he'd get up and drive all the way back to work for seven and he'd probably forget until much later in the morning that he'd encountered anyone with a broken nose the evening before. He did unfortunately have a lot of commitments to his work nowadays... Had he been younger, his answer to staying and drinking with a pretty (he could assume that, if he took out the big red swelling on her nose) young girl might've been different. “Nah – thank you.” He said, quickly. “But I should get going.”
Words: 309	Notes: -
Tagged: Vesna	Credits: Aquarius of BTN

[Deleted]

Vesna grinned at herself, happy that she got it on the first try. “Your last name gave it away. You can tell by the endings but I'm sure you already know that. I cheated a little bit though, one of my brother in laws is Bulgarian.” She was glad he was kind of informal, her other brother was a bit of an ass with his PhD.

Ah what a shame. It would have been nice to talk to the man that helped her out a bit more. Did she even thank him properly? Hastily she brought the napkins back up to her nose with one hand when she noticed blood dripping onto her pants. The other put the piece of paper into her pocket for safe keeping. He said it would be fine to call him, although if it kept bleeding that long wouldn't she eventually die? Maybe she'd stay at Alexei's place tonight, so he could wake her up if she kept bleeding. That was a reasonable request right? Watch my body so I don't bleed to death in my sleep. Friends looked out for one another right?

“Wait!” She said grabbing a napkin out of the dispenser. Pen, pen, pen. When Kiril came by to put her shot on the table she snagged the pen out of his pocket. What great timing! Quickly Vesna scribbled her number and her name onto the napkin and held it out to him.

“You got my blood on your shirt. I feel kind of bad, since you were just trying to have a nice night out and you had to deal with all this. If it doesn't come out call me and I'll pay for it to be dry cleaned or I'll just buy you a new shirt. It's the least I can do for the trouble I caused. I'll buy you that coffee then too since you have to go now. Please do call, or I'll just end up calling you to ask if it came out.” She put on her best serious face, meaning ever word she said. If he didn't call she'd call him asking about the status of his shirt. It was just proper, right?

When times are hard we’ll smile and say we’re not afraid of anything

LAIKA OF BTN!