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(no subject)

To be perfectly honest the only reason why Alec turned up in Ruby's club was to avoid Sander Cohen. His father's friend was rather irate about a review one of Alec's reviewers wrote about his latest installation. The artist had been trying to corner him all week to politely ask, in his own definition of politely, why Alec had dared allow such filth to be printed. Because clearly the reviewer was wrong.

Sometimes it amazed Alec how Sander could speak in italics.

He'd been looking for an excuse to visit the club and avoiding Sander was always a good excuse to do anything. So a rather frazzled looking Alec Ryan, son of the totally not king of Rapture, dropped into one of the seats near the stage to watch the show. He was a rather distinctive looking individual with hair that just never seemed to stay neat and a scar that went over his left eye and down his cheek he got from the war.

Drink in hand he settled down to just completely hide and enjoy himself.

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Ruby laughs in relief, instantly relaxing. "Well, that's exactly the sort of business I welcome here."

"I would hope so. Otherwise you would be doing yourself a disservice."

He's glad she's relaxing. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"May I ask what your usual haunts are?"

"Cohen's far more often than I'd like." He feels obligated to go as Cohen is a friend of his father's. And he gets all weird if he doesn't show up. Weird is bad. "The gardens."

He names a couple of other places someone of his status would go but I'm not familiar with.

"Places like that."

Ruby lights up. "Oh, Mr Cohen's just wonderful, isn't he? I followed him back in New York, too, and then he just disappeared. It was such a surprise to find him here, when I arrived in Rapture." Her face falls a little. "...He doesn't think too much of me, though."

Alec thinks about this one for a moment.

"Mr. Cohen is... something," he will allow. "As for why he doesn't think enough about your stuff... probably because you don't electrocute them..."

"There is that," she admits, her face something between distaste at Cohen's methods at admiration at the scope of his vision. "I think my sort of thing is a little too simple for his tastes." Too common, even though the word galls her to think it. Not pretentious enough, others might say. There's also the fact that she'd seemed to be the one person in Rapture who was naive and oblivious enough to Cohen's sexuality to think that it would be appropriate for her, as a pretty young woman, to try hitting on him when she'd finally set herself up in Olympus Heights and began to view herself as part of the upper-crust.

There was one night when he and Cohen were both drunk and they will never speak of it again but they had a very nice kiss. Fortunately Andrew walked in in time so it didn't go anywhere else. Drunk kissing someone who was sort of like that crazy uncle of yours was not... yeah.

"Everything is simple for his tastes. I honestly wouldn't worry too much about that. My own music is far to ... folksie for his taste."

Alec's put out one or two things, nothing really mind blowing or revolutionizing, but not horrible either. They're familiar sort of songs with a hint of Russian.

Ruby looks utterly enchanted at the idea of meeting another musician, especially one who appreciates her work. "What sort of music do you do?"

Alec leaned back in his chair for a moment and lit up his own cigarette before answering. "Mostly folk tunes. I've always liked the old Russian music. Comfortable things from back h... above." He almost says home before reminding himself that this is supposed to be home. "Father hates it but he's not the one doing the writing so I don't give a shit."

"Oh." She's not too much of a fan of folk music herself, associating it mostly with the left wing movements that her parents had sacrificed themselves to. "Well, each to his own, I guess. I bet you're good at it, at least."

Her response makes Alec laugh. It's a friendly, amused laugh, not a mocking one.

"I know. It's horribly unfashionable. But it reminds me of my godfather and biological parents," he says. "I don't know if I'm any good. I made it into the music program at New York university, but we came here before I finished off my first year."

It's one of his big regrets in life. Not being able to finish his music studies. Or, to be more exact, not to be able to finish college. No one ever thought he'd be able to get into one but he did.

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