Outside a Metal Bar and Beyond, Baltimore, Thursday Evening

[suitably_heroic]

"Okay," Atton said, staring back at the door he'd just been thrown out through. "Okay, that could have gone better."

One of these days he was going to charm his way back into Linda's good graces. Damn it all. She'd yelled at him some more about being a jackass when he and Sparkle'd tried to come in acting like nothing had ever happened (what? It worked with Sia), but that clearly hadn't worked out for him all that well.

And okay, he did have some more aces up his sleeves if he wanted to use them, but he was... kind of trying not to do that.

"But hey, the night's still young, right?" Right.

The night was young! And cold. Very, very cold.

[[ for sparkle and misadventure. ]]

Comments

[suitably_heroic]

Atton would actually quibble less with the hairspray, because in a pinch, that made for a decent weapon. "You treat people at the clothing store like this?" he asked.

[myownface]

"Nope. You paying me for this?"

It seemed like a fair enough question to Sparkle, anyhow, as he attacked Atton's hair with spray and a comb.

[suitably_heroic]

"I was going to buy you a drink later," Atton said, "But I'm reconsidering it-- ow."

[myownface]

"Oh, did that pull?" Sparkle was gonna do it again, just to make sure he got that snarl out. "Probably wouldn't have that problem if you like ever took a comb to this hair. Oh my god Atton your hair is great and this is what you give me to work with?"

Take that from Sparkle however you will.

[suitably_heroic]

"My hair is just there to keep my head warm!" Atton said. Ow ow ow ow ow ow Sparkle was some kind of maniac, wasn't he? "Space!"

[myownface]

... It took Atton this long to figure out that Sparks was a maniac? Really?

"Don't you space me," he scolded with a quick whap of the comb to the top of Atton's head. "I'm halfway there, you know. Which is like some sort of miracle you have no idea considering you like don't seem to give a shit about how you look."

And another good spritz of hairspray, a few adjustments here and there, and Sparkle nodded to the mirror.

"Presto."

[suitably_heroic]

Atton knew a lot of crazy people, okay? He had a different way of scaling!

... and also a six pack and several other muscle groups that kind of went in against that 'don't give a shit' theory, but he'd stripped quick and turned-around for a reason. Not everyone needed to know he didn't actually sleep in until one every morning, then binged on snack food, thanks.

"Hey, hey, I look fine," Atton retorted. "At least I did-- seriously, we're done?"

It had been such an Olympian ordeal, he could hardly believe it. (Or he was exaggerating. Or both. Probably both.)

[myownface]

"You're done," Sparkle replied, leaning back and having a good long look, smirking a little as he did so.

Yeah. Yeah, he'd just invented eye candy.

"I'll be a minute yet."

And then he was more or less sticking his face in the sink, trying to get most of his eye make-up off and getting his hair slicked down.

[suitably_heroic]

"Fine, whatever," Atton said, pushing away from the damned wall. "...McDonalds doesn't sell drinks, do they?"

Damn it.

[myownface]

"That depends entirely on how badly you're dying for a milkshake," Sparkle replied, using some of the foam soap to make sure his face was good and clean before straightening up and fixing his hair in the mirror. "Nothing like getting all prettied up for the club, just to settle for a shamrock shake and a big mac?"

[suitably_heroic]

"I mean drinks with a kick," Atton said, rolling his eyes and poking at his hair.

With the amount of... whatever... Sparkle had put in it, he wasn't completely sure he couldn't kill a man just by headbutting him right now. "Whatever. Let's try out this stupid idea of yours before the fumes of whatever you put in here knock me on my ass."

[myownface]

"Yeah, yeah. Don't breathe deeply or anything," Sparkle replied, pulling another t-shirt from his bag and turning his jacket inside-out. "Let's find a place to stash my backpack and go get ourselves good and smashed, huh?"

[suitably_heroic]

"There's an alley not too far from the bar," Atton said. "If you don't mind shoving your backpack in a garbage container, anyway."

It was sheer force of will that kept him from poking at his hair as he exited the McDonalds.

[myownface]

"Wouldn't be the first time," Sparkle replied with a shrug as he followed Atton out. "So long as I remember it before someone else finds it, it'll be fine. They don't collect the trash at this time of night, anyhow."

Every now and again, he got a weird look on his face as he looked at Atton.

"But seriously, you have any clue how hot you look right now?"

Not that he was going to jump his bones in an alley or something, but... Shit, man.

[suitably_heroic]

"If you keep staring at me like that, they're definitely not going to figure out who we are," Atton said casually. "Keep it up."

His ego appreciated it, sure. But right now his head felt like a helmet, and while usually it didn't take him much effort to shake off the knowledge he could easily turn this into a weapon if he wanted to, it... was weird for about thirty seconds longer than it usually was.

Screw it. He started counting pebbles skittering across the ground in his head and it cleared right up. "You can pat yourself on the back later."

[myownface]

Sparkle sighed and rolled his eyes skyward.

"Just saying," he grumbled, ducking into the alley near the club and making his way to the deepest trash bin he could find. A quick check to make sure there weren't any rats hiding out on top of the trash, and in went his bag. "Ready to finally enjoy the damn club?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Yeah, yeah. You go first. The bouncers actually like you."

Or at least they used to back when Sparkle looked a lot more like he did now.

Atton threw a glance towards the door and the guys standing outside, snorted, and began to walk.

[myownface]

"And they'll keep liking me so long as they don't find out I won't be legal for like years," Sparkle replied, smirking as he made his way toward the door. "Fake IDs are awesome."

And Sparkle, being Sparkle, had brought his along for this outing. Of course.

[suitably_heroic]

"If I didn't have one, I wouldn't be able to get anywhere in this town." Actually he had like three. No such thing as overkill if you didn't have an actual identity around here.

Atton followed right behind, hands shoved in his pockets, shifting his body language - or rather, he just suddenly felt like his arms weighed more and he didn't want to take in quite as much space and Sparkle took such big steps compared to his all of a sudden, wonder what that was.

[myownface]

Sparkle wasn't exactly hugely aware of that shift in manner, since his back was turned, but it was hardly his first time playing up a different role, or even sneaking back into a bar he'd been chased out of. His strides were a little more confident, his own posture was a little better. And he was giving the bouncers an easy smile like he belonged there.

Which, you know, he did. He wasn't the one that had gotten his dumb ass kicked out of the club, Atton.

"Hey guys. Having a good evening?"

The bouncers gave noncommittal grunts as they checked the ID he handed to them, and waved him by.

Your turn, Atton.

[suitably_heroic]

"Hey," Atton muttered, shoving his second fake ID their way.

He made very skittish eye contact with one of the bouncers.

The bouncer gave a similar grunt and shoved his ID back at him. He walked on.

[myownface]

"So." Sparkle was waiting just inside the door, a smirk on his face and his hands shoved into his pockets. "Worth the makeover?"

They hadn't been ID'd by the guys that had just chucked them out the door, after all. Sparkle was calling that one a win.

[suitably_heroic]

"Depends on whether Linda is going to have me thrown out on my ass the moment I say word one to her," Atton said. "...I should've brought something. Flowers? Do Earth girls like flowers?"

That was his special way of saying thank you, Sparkle.

[myownface]

Sparkle would take it.

"Flowers, chocolate, puppies - Don't get her a puppy, Atton - drinks. Buy her a drink. Maybe throw an apology in along with it. What the hell did you do to piss her off so bad, anyhow?"

[suitably_heroic]

"She offered a pity fuck, I said no," Atton said.

And then it kind of snowballed from there in the way only Atton could really accomplish. "Don't know why she's still upset about it." ... and snowballed again, and snowballed again.

Gave him this weird feeling in his stomach--

Actually, wait, scratch that. His eyes shot away from the bar and the pretty girl tending it to the shape of some burly man-thing vanishing through a door in the back.