#pls go easy on me this is my first fic uwu

Chapter 1

coney island queen

Why Sol didn’t just walk out of the cineplex after Murray asked her to choose what ‘movie’ to star in was beyond her. Not taking part of all this madness was the smart, rational thing to do– and then she saw tawny eyes across a smoky room, and suddenly she forgot what it meant to be rational.

Nicky Valentino. It was obvious that he was a gangster. There was something in the way he looked across the room that spoke of a man protecting his spot at the top. Then there was his cousin, Ralph della Rosa, who was acting much too cautious to just be ordinary family. And finally, Floyd Capo; he stunk so much of tobacco that Sol’s late grandfather, who himself smoked cigars, would have blanched.

“You gotta get your arms around this lifestyle and embrace it.”

Sol snorted. Only a person with one and a half braincells wouldn’t figure out what lifestyle Floyd was talking about. If Sol was smart, she would run to the nearest church and beg to enter a convent.

But she was still stunned by the roses in her room and the gorgeous breakfast. It was embarrassing to realise just how easily she was won over by opulence. These were things that she didn’t let herself enjoy in the twenty-first century; her bed was way too soft to be comfortable, and the housekeeping staff was suspiciously polite. Sol remembered her old room fondly; a cheap mattress on the floor for a bed, a threadbare blanket to fight the heat of tropical nights, and instant coffee to go with a piece of pan de sal, her favorite bread.

“Miss Diaz? Mr. Valentino is on the line.”

Sol looked up from the cup of coffee she was drinking. The bellhop, standing as though he were a statue, gestured at the old-fashioned telephone. “He wishes to speak to you.”

Nodding, Sol took the telephone receiver from the bellhop. 

“Good morning, love. Hope I didn’t wake you.”

Sol didn’t notice the smile on her face when she heard Nicky’s voice. “Don’t worry about it; I’ve been up since five.”

“Oh?” Nicky’s voice was smooth like scotch. “Had a hard time sleeping?”

Sol rolled her eyes. “Force of habit,” she replied. “I rise with the sun.”

“A man would reckon that a broad like you got a lot of beauty sleep.”

She couldn’t help but snort. “Yeah, and I bet you’ll find my eye bags realattractive.” Soledad took another sip of her coffee. “Anyways, thanks so much for the breakfast. I don’t think I’ll be able to walk today.”

“That good, huh?”

“I usually have a piece of bread in the morning, so this was really… a lot. Makes me wonder if someone has ulterior motives for the food and flowers.”

“Maybe someone was trottin’ around like a horse’s ass last night, and wanted to apologize.”

Sol laughed, a deep sound from her belly. “Don’t worry about it, Nicky. I understand.”

“Well. I just wanted you to know when I tell you ‘I’m sorry,’ I really mean it. I know I was out of line leaving you in the cold like that, but it couldn’t be avoided.”

The grin on her face couldn’t be helped, and Sol felt her face heat up.

“Thanks, Nick,” she said. “But really, I know that men like Floyd can be difficult. Besides, Ralph set me up in a really fancy place. Sorta makes me wonder if a certain someone would need to rob a bakery after he sees my bill.”

Nicky laughed at the other end of the line. “Don’t worry about it, kid.”

“Are you sure?” Sol smiled. “I’m pretty great at worrying.”

“And I’m pretty great at making money.” Sol could practically hear the smirk in his voice. “How about the flowers? I was dreaming about you all night, so I woke up at the crack of dawn to pick each one.”

“Nicky,” she said. “I don’t think I have a heart anymore. It just melted.”

He laughed again, and Soledad imagined him– the brunette hair in a razor cut, tawny eyes crinkling at the corners and sparkling in dim lights. The way he tilted his head back to let out a laugh. She wanted to make him laugh again.

“I’m afraid that I’ll have to let you go for now, toots,” Nicky said. The smile in his voice was still there. “Enjoy your breakfast and meet me outside in an hour. Capisce?”

Soledad suddenly realised that she had no clothes, and only a small makeup bag that she had in the purse she was carrying to the cineplex. She sighed. 

“Capisce.”

She handed the telephone over to the bellhop, mind still running. The majority of the hotel staff were still in the room, trying to look like they weren’t eavesdropping. Oh, well– it couldn’t be helped.

“Mr…”

“Jonathan Smith, at your service,” the bellhop said.

“Mr. Smith, I have a few requests,” Soledad said. “First, I was wondering if you could procure me a fresh set of clothing– in yellow, if available. Please charge it to the room. And if I could have a fresh cup of coffee, that would be wonderful.”

Jonathan Smith, the bellhop, did a small bow. “Of course, Miss Diaz. And how would you like your coffee?”

“Black, Mr. Smith.”

“No sugar or cream, Miss Diaz?”

“Have you broken up with a lover before, Mr. Smith?”

“Yes, madam,” he said in a straight face. Sol nodded in approval at his professionalism.

“I want the coffee to be as black as your ex’s soul.”

Jonathan Smith’s stoic demeanor broke into a grin. “I see, Miss Diaz. Your clothes and coffee will be brought to you right away.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Smith. And do take a croissant. If I try to eat everything, perhaps the bed will become too small for me.”

Even when the bellhop left, Soledad chatted a bit with the remaining staff. By the end of it, two other busboys got their own shares of roses to give their wives, and the maids had a sample of some of the food. As Sol went to the bathroom to take a quick shower, she felt a little bit confident that maybe her telephone call with Nicky wouldn’t be the talk of the Waldorf Astoria’s help that afternoon. Or at the very least, they wouldn’t say that she was a bitch.

***

Ralph didn’t expect Soledad to be chatting his head off about the Rolls Royce’s specs, and he didn’t expect her to clean up so well. She was in a yellow dress with long sleeves and a sailor style collar, curly black hair brushed neatly, framing her long face. The kid wasn’t Ralph’s style in any stretch of the imagination– she had a face that could have been a man’s– but he could see how Nicky would fall for her. She was sun touched and radiant. When the kid walked, it was as if she had already conquered the world.

The plan had been to let the kid in, and to drive off to Nicky’s surprise, but the girl had been talking his head off about the car for a minute already.

“Listen, Sol,” Ralph said, cutting off another of her questions. “The Royce is a sweet ride, and the sooner you get in the back seat, the sooner you can see how she drives.”

Jesus,he thought to himself. And I thought I liked cars.

Sol slipped into the backseat, and the sudden luxury of the car’s interiors flooded her senses. The seats were in a plush camel colored leather, with intricate flower embroidery. She ran her hand on the seat, looking up to see a certain someone looking at her with warm eyes.

“There she is,” Nicky Valentino said. “The sweetest of the sweet.”

Soledad did her best not to blush. She failed. “Hello to you, too.”

She settled into her seat, trying not to notice how close she was to Nicky. It was a bit crazy; she had hung around good looking men in bespoke suits before, and never had she felt as woozy as she did now.

“You sure did take your time out there with Ralph, didn’t ya, toots? Made me sorta feel like you were a bit sore about last night and was tryna not see me.”
Soledad rolled her eyes. “Your car is beautiful, Nicky. And frankly, I’d kill to take her for a spin.”

“Oh, yeah? You’re only finding the car beautiful?”

There was a challenge in his eyes, and Soledad couldn’t help her raised brow. Nicky was smirking at her, a blush on his face, and it was obvious that he was fishing for compliments. She wouldn’t give him any.

“Well, Ralph looks better in the daylight.”

The two men broke into laughter, with Soledad joining them after a beat. The mischief in Nicky’s eyes only became more pronounced.

“Hey,” Nicky said. “Just so that things are clear– I really do feel bad for leavin’ ya on your lonesome last night. So what’d ya say? Would you let this sorry sap do something nice for you?”

“If you’re talking about lettin’ me have a spin, then absolutely,” she laughed. “But it’s still a yes for me with anything else. I’m not mad, Nicky. I’m really not.”

“Thank God,” he replied. “I’d drink to that. Hey, how about that? Care for a drink, sugar? They call these things mimosas.”

Soledad shook her head. “I would, Nicky, but I’m running on four cups of coffee. Liquor is the last thing I need. Besides, isn’t that illegal?”

“It’s illegal to drink. Period.” Nicky winked at her. “But you wouldn’t be here if it was, would you?”

“If it was legal to drink? What are you talking about?”

Nicky’s smile stretched to a Cheshire cat grin, the entirety of his focus on Soledad. If she felt lightheaded before, now Sol felt like she could faint.

“You think that guys like me are a dice roll away from getting bumped off or going to the big house. And I think there’s a part of you that likes that. Otherwise you wouldn’t have decided to be in this movie or whatever you think this is.”

The smile from Soledad’s face faded, and she couldn’t help but reach for Nicky’s hand. His eyes met hers, surprised by her sudden seriousness.

“Nicky, remember what you told me last night, when I gave you my hand?”

“I do,” he said. “You feel like home.”

Soledad nodded, lost in thought and looking at their now entwined fingers. “I’m in this for you, Nicky. I’m not here for the money, the power, or the thrill of it. If I wanted that, I would have stayed back home in the Philippines. But for some reason, I went back here to the past and met an amazing man that I feel I’ve known all my life. If anything, you being a gangster worries me more than it excites me.”

Nicky brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “There ain’t no reason for you to worry ‘bout me, sweet thing. I got ya by my side, and you’re my lucky charm.”

The ride continued on, with Nicky teasing her with his ‘surprise’, and the pair of them almost getting a poor puppy off the street. Soledad almost wanted to get it, before thinking that it might actually belong to someone else. Nicky had been a bit distraught at the thought of leaving the little thing by itself, but they continued on with their banter, with Ralph sometimes chiming in.

“Hey, Nicky,” she said, eyes flickering to his. “I was hoping that you’ll help me get something.”

“Alright,” he replied, without missing a beat. “What is it?”

“A job.”

“A job?” He raised his eyebrows at her. “Why would you want that?”

“Well,” Sol said. “I’m practically destitute–”

“No, you’re not.”

“Look, I’ve got no job, no home, and no money to buy my own food. I amdestitute.”

Nicky frowned, clearly not liking the idea.

“Hey, Nick. It’s alright. I’ve got a wide skill set. I’ve got a degree in financial management and law– I mean, it’s Filipino law, and the constitution I know is the 1987 version, but I’ve needed to do more readings anyway.”

“I don’t really think that you need to work, toots. Trust me, I’m more than capable of providing for you.”

Sol laughed, a sound that came deep from her belly. “A hotshot gangster like you. Of course you can.”

Nicky exchanged a look with Ralph, their mood sobering. Sol noticed the pair, snorting at their surprise.

“I ain’t no gangster, toots.”

Soledad shot him a dirty look, only a bit annoyed that he wasn’t coming clean. “I know a lie when I hear it, Nicky.”

He raised an eyebrow at her in response, but the mood got heavier anyway. “Look,” he said, voice dropping a few octaves lower. “I’m from a town with rules that cutthroats invented four hundred years ago in the old country. And I still got friends who think that’s the only way to live. But I ain’t one of them. I never broke the bank by breaking someone’s bones.”

“And Floyd Capo is one of those friends.”

“Yeah,” Nicky sighed. “Ya know, toots, before you showed up, I was a wheeler dealer who made his money in real estate and spent it faster than he could count it. I ain’t no gangster.”

“That was a weak close,” Soledad sighed. “You’re not exactly subtle. Anybody that knows what a mobster is could tell, Nicky.”

“Huh. You wasn’t so prickly last night.”

“I was boozed out, confused and touch starved.”

“And now?

She smiled. “Caffeinated, confused, and touch starved.”

“And why is a pretty lady like you so prickly?”

Sol snorted, looking out the window. “You don’t get to be single for twenty-nine years without a bit of paranoia.”

Nicky was going to say something until he caught her reflection in the mirror. Her eyebrows were drawn tight, and her mouth was set in a thin flat line. There was something that was bothering her, and he wanted to know what it was. He squeezed her hand. 

“Hey,” Nicky said as she looked up at him. “You got me, kid. Before you waltzed into that speakeasy, I was a mobster with the world at my feet. And now I’m something completely different, ‘cos of you.”

“And what are you now?”

Nicky smiled at her and it put all the stars in the world to shame. “Now, I’m a romantic.”

***

When they got to Coney Island, Soledad’s face lit up like the Hollywood sign. Nicky smiled down at her; the kid was so small she didn’t reach his shoulders. He could pick her up easy, like a child.

“Omigod, Nicky,” she squealed. “We have to ride everything.”

“I’m not quite sure I can handle the carousel, toots.”

Sol snorted. “‘Cos those horses are gonna take a bite off your ass.”

“Haha,” Nicky said, offering his arm. “You’re a riot, ya know that?”

She slipped her hand into his instead, and when he looked down at her in surprise, he caught her blushing. Nicky could feel his own ears heat up.

“I know,” Sol said. “I know.”

They spent the rest of the day going to the rides. Nicky liked the way Sol’s eyebrows raised when she noticed him bribing the ticketmasters. He had asked her about it, and with a shrug she replied that he grandfather would bribe his way out of speeding tickets all the time. Nicky had laughed, noticing the way Soledad would preen at the sound. By the looks of it, she enjoyed making him laugh. The thought made Nicky want to go to the nearest stranger and tell them that he was crazy for his little lady.

They went and rode the Ferris Wheel, with Sol still tucked under his arm. Her short black hair tickled, and he couldn’t help but smile at the feel of it.

Nicky thought that telling Sol about his sister would be a hard thing to do, but the doll was patient and understanding, giving him none of her pity and all of her empathy. She was quiet while he told her how they’d slip over to the rides, and how his sister spent a night in jail.

“My pops cleaned my clock fierce that night,” Nicky said. From their height in the Ferris Wheel, he could see the whole of Coney Island. “But that wasn’t what got me. It was that I abandoned my sister when she needed me the most.”

Nicky did his best to crack a smile. “But to save you from seeing a grown man get all misty eyes, I’m gonna save that story for another day.”

He threw his arms around Sol’s shoulder as the gondola swayed. She leaned into him. 

“You know,” she said, “I don’t have any siblings. Sort of wish I do, but I had this little cousin, Micky, who was three years younger than I was, and at the time we lived close to each other. One day I saw him at an empty lot crying his eyes out, and he told me that his friends bullied him, telling him that he was a nobody and couldn’t do anything right. They told him that his family had no money, which was stupid because we’re were old money rich.”

Sol was looking at him, a fond smile on her face. “I took a stick and went to the kid’s house. Tampered with their water line. The next day, their house flooded. Man, my grandfather was so angry at me, I think I spent a good ten minutes under the belt. My tito was mad at me too. He never let me see Micky again.”

Nicky drew her closer to him. “I guess we’re really written in the stars, toots.”

She laughed, high in his embrace. “Yeah,” she said. “I guess so.”

The rest of the day was filled with banter. Nicky kept her under his arm, and she kept him laughing. They were strolling on the boardwalk, and he couldn’t help but notice the way her hair curled under her ears. She was blushing and fumbling over her explanation of how the bracelet was lost, but Nicky couldn’t care less. He used to think that the bracelet was important, but seeing her in the daylight and in his arms was worth fifty of those bracelets. 

“Hey,” Nicky said. “I noticed that you ain’t wearing those rags you had on last night.”

Soledad blushed. “Oh, uh. Well, I figured that a hotel as swanky as the Waldorf had some clothes lying around.”

“And let me guess,” Nicky said in a deadpan. “I’m paying for it.”

She answered with a shrug. “What can I say? I don’t have a job, so you’ll have to be my keeper.”

“Then I guess you won’t be prickly when I tell you that ya don’t have to ask a hotel for new clothes no more.”

“Nicky,” she said, eyes wide. “Don’t tell me you bought me clothes.”

Nicky leaned against the railing in a knowingly devious pose, winking at her as the noon time sun made his tawny eyes look like molten gold.

“Let’s just say that your wardrobe is gonna be full of designer dresses, stilettos from France, diamonds, minks–”

Sol dropped her head on his solar plexus hard enough for it to almost hurt. On reflex, he put his arms around her. She hugged him back.

“Why are you spoiling me so much,” she mumbled into his shirt. “I just met you last night.”

“You don’t have to know someone to know that you want them.”

There was a true heat in his voice and gaze. Soledad swallowed hard as he pulled her close. They were just a few inches away from each other, and she could see the small mole under his left eyes and his beet red ears.

“‘Cause I know what I want.”

Soledad thought that they were going to kiss, until Ralph came up to them, coughing into his hand awkwardly.

“Sorry to break you two lovebirds apart,” he said. “But there’s some coppers by the docks.”

“There’s always going to be some flatfoots in this town,” was Nick’s answer. He sighed in frustration. Soledad took a few steps away from him to catch her own breath.

“They’re looking for you, Nick.”

In a few quick heartbeats, Nicky spilled out orders to Ralph, and the two of them were on the run. They were able to get past a few officers, but a big man in the blue uniform saw them and gave chase. 

“Meet me at the alley, toots,” Nicky said, before sprinting away from the police officer. Soledad looked at the man grimly. She could outrun him, or she could buy Nicky some time.

“Hello, officer,” she said, as the burly man took a pair of handcuffs out.

“You’re under arrest.” His voice was gruff, and his moustache was severe. Soledad almost wanted to laugh; he looked like a caricature of a policeman.

“I want my rights read to me,” Sol replied. “Mainly because I have no idea what you’re arresting me for.”

“Nobody is reading anyone’s rights,” he said, handcuffing her. “Besides, I saw you with Valentino on the dock.”

“Then it’s your word against mine, Detective.”
The man huffed. “I ain’t no detective. Just an honest officer doin’ his job, and you’re a no one, kid.”

“Then,” Sol said, “I’m really sorry that I have to do this.”

There were three things that she did in quick succession. First, she spun around and kicked him square in the jaw. He fumbled back, surprised. Then she kicked him again in the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of his lungs. Finally, she kicked the back of his knees, sending him to the ground in a loud thud. The policeman groaned in pain, and when he tried to get up, she kicked him in the stomach again.

“I’m a twenty-nine year old captain of the Philippine Commonwealth’s army, not some kid,” Sol said, foot on his chest. “And between you and me, there’s no such thing as an honest officer these days.”

She could see a familiar black beauty roll into the street– it was Nicky’s Rolls Royce. Sol took her foot off the officer’s chest.

“Just for the record,” she said. “I’m retired. And we both know what retired army captains are asked to do by their governments.”

The officer’s eyes widened, and Sol resisted the urge to smirk. She was a professional, after all.

“I’m not on the wrong side of the law.” She stepped away from the police officer. “Anyway, if you want to get promoted, remember this: have as many good friends in high places. Stray dogs turn into hungry wolves very quickly.”

The officer groaned, trying to sit up. “Is that a threat, or a warning?”

“It’s advice,” she replied. Sol bit her lip as she looked at the officer’s broken nose. “I’m really sorry that I had to hit you,” she said, voice soft, “but circumstances called for it, Officer…”

“Marquez,” he replied. Soledad nodded.

“If I ever see you again, I hope you won’t try to handcuff me,” she said.

The older man grunted. “Try not to hang around shady characters, Captain, and then we’ll see.”

She gave a quick nod before jogging to the Rolls Royce. Ralphie opened the door for her, and Nicky gave her a look that turned her knees to jell-o. But this was a look that was heated for all the wrong reasons.

“So,” he said conversationally. “What doesthe government ask retired army captains to do?”