Bargainers and Market Stalls [Alex]

[Solomon "Solly" Lance]

Standing in front of the full length mirror, Solomon Lance adjusted the wig on her head. It never felt quite right when she first put it on in the morning, it was like her head got so used to not having it on during the night that it couldn't understand why she was putting the itchy thing on again. She adjusted her bra strap then, pulled at her top and slipped her hands into the pockets of her jeans to make sure they sat properly. She recognised the person who looked back at her from the mirror, the feminine facial features but the short hair with a guy's cut, the clothing that hid the feminine curves she knew were there. She didn't look like the most convincing guy but then no one ever seemed to question the act, she guessed they thought she'd been unlucky with getting more female looking features or something similar to that. Maybe no one even cared.

Usually, if she were to wear a bag, it would be a backpack but she didn't trust carrying one around the markets. She couldn't continually watch a backpack and she knew there would be people waiting for such an easy chance to get some money. She picked up an old messenger bag, it was black and closed with loud plastic buckles. It worked well, there was no way to actually get into the bag without opening the buckles and there was no way she was miss the clicking sound of them. It felt too much like a handbag as she swung it over her shoulder but she knew that was just her being paranoid, she was always just a little bit paranoid. To be truthful, she was more than normal whenever she was with Alex in public, as if that might tell people that she were a woman.

The thought of seeing Alex always put a smile on Solly's face though and she wasn't going let a little paranoia destroy that. With her shoes on she was out the door and walking to the Saipan Markets. She didn't mind walking places, she actually preferred it, saying that cars hated her was being nice. And she'd never really liked them anyway. There was a slight breeze and she could smell the salt water of the sea as she walked. The temperature seemed almost perfect, not too hot and not too cold, no need for a jacket. As she got closer to the markets she could hear the waves less and the bargainers, workers at the stalls and the shoppers in general more.

That was what told her she was near the markets before she was even there, the way there seemed almost silent compared the noise of the markets. It was a busy day, a Saturday morning with nice weather, she didn't expect it to be even slightly quiet. She walked through the markets, looking at the various stalls as she did, you could buy just about anything there and the sheer amount of stalls and stuff to buy still surprised her a bit. She kept one hand on her bag as she walked, slightly worried that someone might try to open the buckles and that it may be too loud for her to hear. She kept her eyes open as well, watching out for Alex whom she was meeting here.


Word Count; 561 words.
Tags; Alex!<3
Notes; Random starting post seems kind random-ish. Also, the title makes me sad. xD

[Alexander R. Lyons]

Alexander Lyons could not tell someone when his last vacation had been or when exactly he had taken more than a few hours of what anyone would consider 'break time' at any given moment. As the hunter leader, he was in charge of everything, and though he could easily tell his higher ranked subordinates to just do what they thought was for the best in most situations, Alex was a perfectionist when it came down to it, and he had to make sure that everything was up to his standards. This led to an unnecessary amount of stress on his part to say the very least of it.

It was a wonder the man hadn't gotten an entire head of grey hair when it came down to it- though when he did find a few strands here and there he was quick to pluck them out or in some cases even dye them. A part of Alex was aware that he was aging, and the other part was more than a little paranoid about the resources of it. The third part was more focused on work than anything else and kept assuring him that somehow in some way he still had time. However, by the time in his life he was at now, his father had already married and already had him or at least Alex had been on the way. It was a precarious thought that often worried him. Who would take over if he were to die.

That would be Solly, of course. Solomon Lance was not only head of the prestigious Sector 12 but also his second in command, as it was supposed to be or so his father had said. The Solomons of the past had been the second in commands of nearly every Lyons head there had been in the history of the Hunter group, and it was their inheritance to take over in times of emergency. There was no doubt in Alex's mind that Solly would be up to the challenge of taking over if he did die, yet something else was working in Alex as the years went by. Technically if he died, she would inherit his last name- Lyons- when she became the head of the hunters. However, Alex didn't want that, he wanted her to have his last name ... when he was still alive.

To some it was probably very silly that the head of the hunters- a man to be feared and respected- was wishing to start a family with his second in command. Some would have even claimed it was more than a little cliche. However, very few knew the actual secret of Solomon Lance when it came down to it. Alex would probably have to pronounce himself gay before he could actually even take the step forwards to make her his. And of course she could easily refuse him- as seemed to be the stalemate of their relationship over the years. Every time he tried to step forwards, she would step back in one form or another. At times it frustrated him, at others he understood exactly what she meant. It would be unprofessional to say the least and borderline dangerous at most. However, time and time again, it came back to the front of his mind.

A sigh escaped into the air as Alex leaned over the mirror and examined a few hairs that were protruding from his skin at his cheek. He'd been fending off a beard now for a few weeks and was coming to the conclusion that it would probably just be easier to let it grow out-- but then it would be so damn itchy through the entire process, sigh. Leaning back past the mirror, Alex shook his head before leaning forwards again and examining the dark spots under his eyes. He looked tired, and he was rightfully so. However, Alex didn't care right then and there. He would skip the nap that he had been pondering on for a while and go out shopping with Solly for a few hours. She had requested it, after all.

After a moment, Alex gave up on worrying about what little he felt towards his own appearance and started out of the bathroom. Changing clothes relatively quickly and picking up a wallet on his way out, he headed forwards off into the market not too far from the HQ. It was a convenient spectral of sorts providing a place of relaxation and of wonder as people brought austere and complex things there. Weaving through the crowds with ease, Alex looked from one stall to another before stopping just as he was about to cut across to another one. Catching sight of the thin muscular back that was Solly, Alex couldn't help but grin a little. Walking up as silently as he could and with the noise of the crowd acting as his cover, Alex made his way over. Leaning forwards, he stared at whatever it was she was looking at. "Any interesting things today?" he asked looking sideways after a moment.

[Solomon "Solly" Lance]

Being one who could get over stressed without breaks, Solly was usually one to try and make sure she organised some time for her to relax. Even if it was an hour walk, she liked to just get away from the amount of work she had for time and be able to let herself just relax. She could cope with the work she had to do but she wasn't too sure how she would without chances to take breaks from it. She didn't always get the chance to take those breaks though and she had been a little more busy than normal lately, meaning she was really happy to be out and not having to worry about much now. She'd invited Alex out for the shopping trip because she knew he was worse than her, she wasn't even sure if he ever really got a rest from his work. It looked like that a lot of the time, that he was always working and it did worry her.

She was keeping to one small area of the markets, attracted by the jewellery stall but looking at the sweets one knowing it wouldn't look right to be checking out the jewellery. She could say she was picking something out for her girlfriend, sister, even mother but she just looked at it for a couple of moments before moving her attention to the sweets that were almost exactly opposite. She wasn't actually too sure what the sweets were, they obviously weren't something she had tried before and she was tempted to buy some. She liked trying foods she hadn't before, it didn't always turn out well, a good amount of the time actually it turned out horribly wrong but occasionally it turned out worth it. They were only sweets here anyway, what harm could sweets bring? They weren't meat or bugs or one of the other things she'd come across before, she didn't see much reason against buying something.

Turning away from the stall, she searched to see if Alex were here yet but she couldn't seem him in the crowds of people that were either moving through the markets or crowding around the numerous stalls. She turned back around and brought her attention back to the sweets, trying to decide which she might buy. With her hand still resting on her messenger bag, she walked over to the other side of the stand and to see what else they had. It was busy enough that both of the people working at the stall were busy with other customers, she was waiting for one of them when Alex arrived.

It was easy to sneak up on Solly and scare her, sometimes even when she expected someone they still managed to make her jump. Alex's voice came unexpectedly, she hadn't heard him walk over, not that she would have been able to anyway with the amount of noise around, and she hadn't been watching out for him then. She jumped and stuck her lips together to stop herself from screaming. Her head shot around to the side and her eyes narrowed for a moment but then her face relaxed into a smile. "That wasn't funny," she said. She had no idea if he had meant to sneak up on her or not but he had and she hated it when people did. It did make her feel like a a kid in a way because she'd been easy to sneak up on since she'd been a kid and her siblings had found it fun to scare her. Not that she should have been complaining about something that made her feel like a kid, she should have been happy about feeling younger with the fact that she was getting older.

"These sweets, I was just thinking of getting some, I don't think I've had anything from here before." she said, answering his question. There was also the jewellery but then she hadn't been able to get a good enough look at it to even know if it was interesting.


Word Count; 676 words.
Tags; Alex!<3
Notes; Hmm and I don't have anything to say here. xD

[Alexander R. Lyons]

As Solly jumped just a little, Alex had to fight down the Cheshire Cat grin that was threatening to creep up onto his features. Oh that had been too good, and he knew it. Managing to keep his features somber and more organized than not, he came off as more dryly amused than anything as Solly looked back at him and her eyes narrowed. Alex might as well have been a kid in a candy store scaring the worker with his terrible pranks right then and there instead of the Hunter Leader and commander of thousands of men across the world. Then again, Alexander had never really had a childhood when it came down to it. Why not have one now? Of course he was already past his prime, and some would consider him too old, but Alex never considered himself too old- or at least he hoped he wasn't too old.

As she relaxed into a smile, Alex found himself smiling a little more genuinely after a moment. "What wasn't?" he asked tilting his head to one side and raising his eyebrow in inquiry as though he genuinely didn't know what she was talking about. Solly probably knew better, though, especially with the tone Alex had taken up in that moment. He was amused, and it was hard to hide sometimes- especially when he happened to be around someone he was around consistently. Solly fit the category, heh.

As she answered his question, Alex's head turned once more, and blue eyes focused in on the sweets that were being displayed in carefully wrapped bags just waiting to be bought up at a moment's notice. That seemed to be how the market was- so fast paced and moving. One could find just about anything there including some sweets. "Huh," was Alex's immediate reply as he leaned forwards to examine the sweets. Meanwhile, the seller was eying him carefully as if he were going to suddenly scoop them off and make a run for it. Alex wasn't fond of stealing and wouldn't have even thought of the idea on his own. However, to the seller, one could never be too careful. After a moment, Alex straightened again and looked sideways. "Haven't had sweets in the base in a while," he mused dropping his voice just a little at the word 'base' out of habit more than anything. "Maybe snag a few dozen," he grinned briefly at the thought.

Just then something shiny caught Alex's eyes, and his head turned briefly to refocus on the jewelry that was being sold at the other stall. There seemed to be various designs and patterns all brought out in either silver or gold and twisted up in various intricate patterns. To Alex jewelry wasn't something quite all together interesting, but in that moment, he remembered he was with Solly and... "You been over here yet?" he asked jutting his thumb towards the jewelry briefly and nonchalantly as if any straight man could at least take notice of something like that with a straight face.

Solly never really let him buy her anything, sigh. In one form or another she would thwart Alex's plans here and there always diffusing something as either too expensive or just not worth it in some form or fashion, especially when it came to this. However, maybe that day would be different. Maybe he could get her to look over something and see what caught her eye, heh... He doubted there was anything that wasn't overpriced there- especially with the tourist season in full swing despite it or possibly because of it being cold elsewhere. It was a nice vacationing spot, after all, and not the type of place one would expect a Hunter base to be. However, it was this inconspicuous setting that Alex had chosen to move it.

[Solomon "Solly" Lance]

Solly hated how easy it was to sneak up on her and scare her, it was something that really wouldn't be any kind of help when Hunting. If she were, for example, going after a werewolf and there was another behind her, she wasn't likely to hear it until it was too late. She'd actually had her fair share of times when werewolves had managed to pin her to the ground. They all seemed to make the same mistake of not pinning her arms though. It always made her laugh when she thought back on it, smart enough to sneak up on her but dumb enough to give her full use of her arms, anything with a bit of brains would know to try and stop the use of a Hunter's arms when pinning them to the ground. Solly could easily have her lance through a wolf in only seconds. She still hated having that weakness though, even if the monsters still managed to fail after they snuck up on her.

Alex's grin and the tone of his voice gave away that he hadn't scared her by accident and she almost wanted to hit him on the arm for doing that. Maybe she should have been watching out for him, not looking at the sweets but then she hadn't expected that he would try to scare her, she hadn't even really known if he'd had any idea about how easy it could be to sneak up on her. "Nothing, Alex, nothing," she said with a sarcastic tone. She was thinking about maybe planning on getting him back in some way even if it did seem like a childish thing to do. He's been childish in trying to scare her so why could she be in trying to get him back? She'd get him back during their shopping trip if she could or maybe another day if she couldn't while they were at the markets.

Solly looked up to see one of the sellers was free and as Alex examined the sweets, she watched how carefully he was being watched, as if he were a thief waiting to snatch them. She knew she had probably been watched the same way when she had been looking at the sweets earlier and she knew the sellers wouldn't be happy if she kept standing there looking at them without actually buying any of them. "I was thinking of getting some, too," she said, looking up at the free seller to ask about the price. She knew they wouldn't be cheap, nothing would be cheap in the markets but she didn't mind it that much, it wasn't as if she were going to the markets very often.

Alex spoke before she could get the seller to come over so she could ask about the price. She looked over in the direction that Alex had pointed in and saw that it was the jewellery stall that had originally attracted her to this area of the markets. "I saw it but no, not really." She kept her voice low, she didn't want to show any interest in the jewellery, she couldn't. Really, who would see or care? Would there even be any other Hunters around? She shook the thought away, she didn't want to be looking at it, she was with Alex and even if he had pointed it out, why would he want to be looking at it? He wasn't going to be buying it for himself and she couldn't think of anyone he would buy something for. Well, apart from maybe her... She would never let him though, everything was too complicated and she just wouldn't let him.


Word Count; 613 words.
Tags; Alex<3
Notes; This took me way too long, I'm sorry!

[Alexander R. Lyons]

As she dismissed his question, Alexander Lyons just gave a brief shrug of his shoulders in return. He would leave it like that considering it had all been initially made in fun anyways. The thought that Solly would consider getting him back so to speak did cross Alexander's mind, but it didn't bother him too much. He was careful with his senses thus making hm harder to sneak up on when it came down it. It saved his life time and time again even when he wasn't the strongest of fighters.

Eyes had dropped down to examine the sweets, yet Alex was aware of the eyes on him. Though it drew a brief paranoid feeling through him, he reminded himself that he was in public meaning that of course there would be eyes on him in some form or fashion. As long as they didn't persist for longer than necessary, he would leave it be as it was. At her comment on getting some as well, Alex looked over to Solly briefly before looking forwards to the seller looking back at him. However, distraction had happened, and instead of ordering what he had come to believe he wanted, Alex's attention had turned again to the jewelry.

He questioned it, and she answered. Looking back towards Solly briefly, he mentally went over what color he could imagine her with. Considering her dark hair and the like, he could imagine her with something crisp and dark blue. A small smile came to Alex's face before being whisked away again. "We should check it out then, maybe for your girlfriend," he mused after a moment as sharp blue eyes considered the area they were in. Despite the chaos, or possibly because of it, someone could easily be listening in on the conversation, and there was still a reputation to guard to say the very least of things.

Alexander stopped a moment as he remembered that he was about to order something and looked back at the seller who had busied himself briefly with another customer before turning back again expectantly. "I'll have one of each of those," Alex ordered aloud making a directional point to the various sweets that caught his eye- one of them being what appeared to be some sort of chocolate bread swirl of sorts. Nothing in Saipan could technically be considered as sweet as some desserts elsewhere in the world, but it looked pretty sweet in that moment in time and had caught Alex particularly. Call it a natural sweet tooth he supposed.

[Solomon "Solly" Lance]

The comment brought a smile to face, only for a fraction of a second before she frowned. Even though the jewellery had been the thing to attract her to the area of the markets that they were in, she didn't want to be looking at it, the part of her that had originally made Solly into a guy and caused this whole big acting part was making sure she wasn't comfortable anywhere near anything that could be considered girly. "Sally" was always there though, catching glimpses of jewellery and dresses, being too much of a girl to be safe. As she looked up at Alex, she took the frown from her face. "I guess I could look but I don't know if there'd be anything she would like." There was no real harm in looking, she guessed, not since Alex had said "hey girlfriend" and the fact that it might be more odd if she just shot down the comment. There would be no chance of anything being bought from that stall for her though, not by her and especially not by Alex if that was what he was thinking. He had tried it before but she would never let him buy her anything, everything was too confusing to allow for things like gifts.

She was definitely going to be buying something from the sweets stall though, it was a nice thought to have something different, a treat. As Alex ordered his own bunch of sweets, she quickly worked out what she would get. She ordered what looked like it would easily last a couple of days in her office. There was always a lot of work to be done, always a little bit too much paperwork and such for anyone to enjoy so having sweets around for a couple of days would make a difference in how easily she got through work and how good her mood was about it all. The little things made a difference. Once she had paid and gotten her sweets, she turned her eyes to the stall opposite. She weaved through the crowds of people walking along the markets and ended up standing in front of the stand, looking at a bunch of necklaces with small gem charms.

Looking at the jewellery, trying to hide any expression that came from seeing something she liked, she did have to wonder if any of it was actually real. She almost laughed at herself as she thought it but they were being sold at markets after all, there was no way of knowing if any of it was real. It was like there was no sure way of knowing if what they said the sweets were was actually true, they could call raisin cookies "choc chip cookies" and you really wouldn't know until you looked at it really closely or took a bite out of it. You did have to just trust that things were what they were said to be or check them to the best of your ability before buying. It wouldn't exactly be the best thing if you payed a lot for fake jewellery. And you would be paying a lot. It was a busy day and tourist season which meant prices would be very high. There was more than one reason that told Solly not to buy anything from the stall. "See anything you like?" she joked to Alex.


Word Count; 566
Tags; Alex<3
Notes; I don't even know. It looks so crappy to me but it was the best I could do.

[Alexander R. Lyons]

Alex couldn't help but smile. Solly had that natural effect on him whether she realized it or not. Just talking with her on any occasion was enough to make him feel happy and at ease- even when the topic of discussion was less than desired. Alex mentally sighed thinking on the various reports from Hunters that he had read recently. It seemed there was quite a lot going on in Europe, and a part of him wished he had not moved the base so far. However, it had been for safety precautions that he had done so, and the safety of the Hunter HQ outweighed other things at least for now anyways. Depending on how things progressed, it could change. As she said that it was alright, Alex grinned sideways at her before looking back and watching as his order for the sweets was filled and bagged up as desired. As Solly got what she wanted as well, Alex slung the tasty things under one arm and then started towards the stall that had caught his eye- or rather had caught Solly's eye and then his, heh.

Crisp sea eyes stared down at the various jewelry that were now before them taking in what there was. It appeared to be a large assortment when everything was said and done- everything from handmade necklaces to what could easily pass for store bought in the more developed portions of the world. There were gems of various sizes and cuts- some of which he was sure were fake simply because their prices were below average or had some reference to 'child' on this display. However, as for the others, he wasn't sure. He was far from a gem collector- far from an archeologist that may have even had the faintest idea. He was a businessman and a Hunter- the leader of the Hunters, in fact, and thus he didn't have time to really consider the finer things in life all the time despite what money he had. There was always more work to be done- more goals to be filled, and if it wasn't for Solly having him go out on certain days, he was sure he would have already worked himself to an early grave.

Briefly Alex's eyes slid sideways trying to decipher and judge Solly's emotions based on facial expressions. Though she repressed things- he could catch a bit of the subtle changes in demeanor if only for a moment. Mentally sighing, he stated down at the jewelry and looked thoughtful at it, his eyes scaling over what there was again. The question brought a haphazard smile to his face. "That one is rather unique," he replied making a gesture to one of the handmade ones. It was a bracelet whose string was completely sheathed in what appeared to be light turquoise rocks. It was, like the others, rather expensive, but there was something about it that caught Alex's eye. Imagining Solly in a dress wearing it brought a brief smile to Alex's face. "What do you think?" he asked trying to judge Solly's expression thereafter. If he saw no change, he would move on to another one. However, even the smallest hint that she liked it would probably cause a compulsive buy on Alex's part. He couldn't help it.

[Solomon "Solly" Lance]

In a way, Alex had just a much of an effect on Solly as she did on him. She liked to say that she took breaks often enough, went out for a walk or out shopping at the markets like she was now and she did but often times when she was out alone her mind would still be in "hunter mode" thinking about some issue happening with someone in the sector or watching out for monsters that might be around. She took breaks, she just had a bad habit of thinking about work in her breaks. With Alex it was different though, she could switch off the "hunter mode" and just enjoy his company. Why was it though that both her and Alex had trouble getting their minds away from work? Solly would put it down to their positions, the leader and the second in command, they controlled so much and there was never a lack of work to be done. Solly would never say anything out loud about this though, about her breaks never really being breaks and about how Alex was the one who helped her to really relax. She liked being the one how knew when to take a break from work and who would even help Alex take breaks.

As Alex pointed out a bracelet Solly moved her attention to it. It was one of the handmade items but one of the more expensive ones. The rocks were a light turquoise and had a more natural look to them compared to some of the other items at the stall. It wouldn't have caught her attention if Alex hadn't pointed it out but it was nice and she might want to buy it, if it weren't for the price and her deciding already not to buy anything from the jewellery stall she may have bought it for her "girlfriend". She smiled and looked over at Alex then back to the bracelet. "It's a nice colour, you've got the right idea but I really think a darker blue might work better in bringing out your eyes." She scanned the items on display and caught sight of a necklace with a small deep blue gem on a thin silver chain. She pointed to it and tried not to laugh. "See this blue would work so much better for you, I think it would really bring out the blue of your eyes." She couldn't help joking around, it was better than allowing her smile to give away that she liked the bracelet.

A woman pushed past Solly to get to the stall, jabbing her elbow into Solly's arm as she did. With a scowl, Solly stepped to the side towards Alex to give the woman a bit of space and avoid getting elbowed again. Of all the times she had come to the markets since the base had moved to Saipan, she had noticed that it was mainly the women that pushed through crowds and left people with bruises as they did. It had surprised her at first, how they could be so determined to get to a stall that they would push past men and elbow them on the way past without hesitation. Now all it did was annoy her. She shook her head slightly and brought her attention back to the stall and Alex. "But if you really have your heart set on having the bracelet around your wrist," she shrugged and laughed. "I won't be one to judge your choice."


Word Count; 584
Tags; Alex<3
Notes; Shorty short short post due to attempts to not be miss repetitive.