A Touristy Bar Somewhere In Central Baltimore, Friday Evening-ish

[suitably_heroic]

Yesterday had wound up being a heavy day of drinking and carousing and... a lot of crying. Atton wasn't great with crying people. He'd done his damnedest to be there for the squad, but he'd be lying if he said it hadn't worn on him.

Especially with all their feelings seeping in through the Force.

So he texted Sparkle to meet up with him well over an hour after he'd already gotten to this bar, some tourist trap that was guaranteed not to want any trouble or have any crappy links with anybody who'd want to ruin their day. He needed the time. Ordered some food, had some soda.

Let out a few sighs.

At least this way, he'd feel like a normal person by the time Sparkle showed up. Or as close as he ever got, anyway.

[[ open, mostly for that guy ]]

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[suitably_heroic]

Atton's mouth curved. Just a little.

No caveats right now, remember. He took a breath, glanced at the bar. "I don't say this often enough, because, well, you've met me," he said.

Okay. A little caveat. Just one. He looked back at Sparkle. "I love you, Sparks." Space, he wanted to bombard that one with caveats, but he held back. "You're the best family I could've asked for. You deserve better than this poodoo, and what little faith I've got left, you've got."

[myownface]

Sparkle glanced up at Atton at that, biting the inside of his cheek a little. Processing that.

Clinging to it.

"I love you too, Atton," he replied, no caveats, no hesitation. "You're the first family I ever really had, you know. The first family that counted. And you're stuck with me."

No matter how squirrelly his head got or how many directions it felt like he was stumbling in at once. Sparkle knew family was something he could want for himself, because Atton had, whether he'd intended to or not, proven to him that it was real.

There was a pause, and then, deciding that was a note on which to set Atton free from what had to be a whole hell of a lot more open honesty than he was used to, he added, "And if you make me cry I swear to god you're buying me another drink."

[suitably_heroic]

"I'm buying you another drink anyway," Atton sighed, a grump in his voice as much as there was something grateful in his eyes, that You're stuck with me the exact kind of stick he needed to beat his own damage over the head with before it tried to turn this back into something ugly. "And if the island is still up to its old tricks next week, I'll crash your fancy AirBnB-pad and you can serve me drinks as I ignore your boyfriend trying his damnedest to be polite to me with his eye twitching."

[myownface]

Sparkle's face went through a fascinating series of expressions as he pictured that.

And then he snorted. And ducked his head. And then he was laughing, and oh god, he'd needed that laugh.

"He's good people," he settled on, "in over his head, a little." He wasn't going to say anything trite about how he wished they'd come to some understanding or something. He really had no idea how they interacted, only that they both seemed to tolerate one another, mostly for his sake, and he appreciated that. "Could be worse," he added. "Could be Alec?"

... Granted, he could be dating a gundark and he'd still be able to say that line. Alec had set a very, very low bar.

[suitably_heroic]

"Yeah, you'd have to try very hard to get the trifecta of gundark droppings that was that guy," Atton said, finishing his scotch with less fanfare than he'd honestly expected to use when he'd ordered it. "I'm at least way less likely to take a swing at this one."

[myownface]

"But if you ever get a chance to take a swing at Alec, I wanna spectate that, too," Sparkle offered. "I mean, hell, ideally we could just line people up and let you have a pop at each one of them one after the other. I'd set that as my phone wallpaper, just you taking a swing at the last person in a line with everyone who came before all laid flat on the ground."

He dreamed big, that Sparkle.

And it was still a step up from making a list and handing it to Hannibal, so...

[suitably_heroic]

"Hey, if you make the list, I'll make it happen," Atton said brightly. "Space knows it'll be nice to do something productive around here."

[myownface]

"It's not even that long a list," Sparkle noted. "It might have a little old lady or two on there. I'm absolutely hateful enough to go after little old ladies."

Some of them might be old and saggy but still needed a good punching.

[suitably_heroic]

"I mean, I've met some really terrible old ladies in my time," Atton mused. "Atris definitely counts."

[myownface]

"Yeah, but all of mine are, like, the entitled rich bitch kind," Sparkle sighed, leaning his head back and making faces at the ceiling. "They probably wouldn't even know what a punch was if it came flying at them."

Sparkle still wanted to lay them flat. Go figure.

[suitably_heroic]

"Atris owned an entire planet's polar cap and she was entitled as all hell," Atton returned. "Yeah, I'll punch an old lady. Several, even."

[myownface]

See Sparkle. See Sparkle mime out a pleased little sigh, rest his chin on his hands, and bat his eyelashes, entirely to be a little shit.

"And this," he replied, "is just proof that you're the best, man."

How many people out there would punch a little old lady for Sparkle's sake? Huh?

[suitably_heroic]

... Leto might, which was why he was still Atton's favorite among all of Sparkle's boyfriends past and present.

"I try," he said, nodding. "So, what's your poison next?"

[myownface]

Leto was pretty amazing when it came to his complete lack of filter when it came to people who deserved a good punching, it was true!

"The beer was nice," Sparkle mused. "I mean, for like American beer. But I could totally go for something mixed and fruity right about now. Maybe with an obscene name..."