The Nerf Nest, Two Levels Below The Surface, Coruscant, Saturday Afternoon

[suitably_heroic]

Not every dining establishment on Coruscant had the privilege of being housed on the top level; the Nerf Nest was hidden away in a street some two levels down. It was nice, though. Sunlight still reached this place. Also, the slightly longer walk was good for Sparkle, considering Atton had slightly toned down the workout today.

He had to make up for that somehow.

He felt a little lighter, being back here. It was weird. This week had felt like he was sliding back into whatever hole he'd been in last year, with an extra dose of weird paranoia. Kinda like the island was tired, and it was taking it out on Atton, or something.

Whatever. It was good to be out of that for a minute. He was having a hard enough time repressing the fact he was turning thirty today without the island messing with his head.

"I like this place," he said, as he stepped into the restaurant properly. "Doesn't get all pretentious about the layout or the music, but the food's great."

[[ for the kid. ]]

Comments

[myownface]

"... That works too," Sparkle decided with a shrug, reaching for his spoon. "I mean, I don't want people to get the wrong idea about me picking your lock all the time, anyway."

Though it was kind of fun, trying to do it without getting caught.

[suitably_heroic]

"Hey, if you're into getting caught now, you can just keep breaking into the place until my bushy-eyebrowed brooder of a landlord finds out," Atton said.

Derek probably wouldn't rough Sparkle up too bad, if he cared at all?

[myownface]

"Think he'd let me off the hook if I offered to tweeze those for him?"

Sparkle wanted nothing more in this world than to help people with their hopeless eyebrows.

[suitably_heroic]

People with hopeless eyebrows were tragic. It was true. Atton could even agree with that because his eyebrows were remarkably unscruffy for a guy who was, well, scruffy.

"Think he'd kick your ass and launch you out of the building," Atton mused. "And then the groceries would get stuck outside in the hall and start rotting. Nobody needs that."

[myownface]

"Yeah, but then they'd be his problem, and it serves him right for kicking me out when I'm clearly breaking in to deliver shit," Sparkle reasoned. "And anyway, free eyebrow tweezing."

[suitably_heroic]

"Hey, maybe the eyebrows are a point of pride," Atton said. "Or an old family shame. You don't know what you're walking into, there."

See, this kind of shit ping-pong was the distraction he needed.

[myownface]

You and Sparkle both, really, Atton.

"Yeah, I guess. Though if they're a family shame, that's all the more reason to do something about them, right? Like, last I checked, eyebrows weren't actually difficult to tweeze."

Also, did you know that saying the word 'tweeze' a lot made it lose all meaning pretty quickly?

[suitably_heroic]

"I don't know, never had to do it."

He'd just been born with freakishly neat eyebrows. It happened.

"Though I'd pay good credits to see you running after the guy with a pair of tweezers."

[myownface]

"Of course you would," Sparkle laughed. "It would be hilarious."

Not just because Sparkle was, comparatively, a scrawny little runt of a punk kid.

[suitably_heroic]

"Hey, if you hopped, I'm pretty sure you could at least make it onto his shoulders and, like, try a headlock or something," Atton mused.

[myownface]

"Yeah, but then I wouldn't have any hands free for the tweezing," Sparkle reasoned, waving his spoon around a bit for emphasis. "I might have to call in backup for something like that."

[suitably_heroic]

"You're going to be out at least one hand just to keep the guy's head steady either way," Atton reasoned. "I mean, headlock, wrestle him to the ground, maybe kick him in the groin if he won't sit still..."

You were going down a dark path, Atton.

[myownface]

This conversation about Derek's eyebrows had certainly escalated quickly.

"... I can kick pretty good."

That was one of the few things Sparkle took pride in! It helped that the groin was pretty sensitive in the first place, perhaps.

[suitably_heroic]

"...Oh, that reminds me, I should've told you this like a week ago," Atton mused, snagging his glass for another quick drink. "So, Skywalker and I were sparring the other day. He was kicking my ass, as per usual. Then suddenly he misinterprets something I said and gets all angsty on me, so I tell him to either cough up the problem, or keep fighting. Being Skywalker, he doesn't do either of these things. He just stands there and shouts for a while..."

[myownface]

Sparkle's eyes went wide, and yes, he was so leaning forward, here.

"Please tell me you kicked him."

MAKE HIS DAY, ATTON. MAKE IT.

[suitably_heroic]

"Sparks," Atton said solemnly, "When I die, I expect you to make sure my tombstone reads 'He who kicked Anakin Skywalker in the balls and lived'."

[myownface]

The sound that Sparkle made after that announcement was vocalized on a register that was reserved for dogs to hear, and had a few patrons of the restaurant blinking over their way in time to see him drop his spoon and clap his hands in glee.

You just made his day, Atton. Made. His. Day.

[suitably_heroic]

See, that reaction made it worth it! ... He'd been too baffled that he'd gotten away with it at all, when it'd happened.

"...After which he slammed me against the wall and I think I bruised a couple of my ribs, but whatever, that's nothing."

The Atton hanging around an energy cage a year ago would have been appalled about that statement, but the Atton of now had kind of adjusted his scale of significant injuries.

[myownface]

Fortunately, Sparkle was still too busy losing his shit over the mental image that Atton had conjured up to be properly appalled, himself.

"How the hell are you still alive after that, man? Oh my god, that's beautiful. That's beautiful. Oh my god oh my god."

[suitably_heroic]

That's why he just casually snuck that in there while Sparkle was still celebrating. Don't tell.

"Would've been a worthwhile way to avoid turning thirty if I'd died over that one," Atton mused, "But nah, wasn't going to give him the satisfaction."

Also Anakin still thought of him as a friend.

Atton was a bad, bad friend.

[myownface]

Atton was Sparkle's favourite friend.

Please hold. Sparkle was doing more cackling and clapping, now.

"Oh shit, you are my hero."

[suitably_heroic]

"Ah, you know," Atton said sagely, smirking, "All in a day's work."