A Bar On The Mainland | Saturday Evening

[nottrivial]

Alec had no idea that there was any kind of weirdness going on this weekend. He'd gone about his business like usual -- some training in the morning followed by some heavy hiding-in-his-room throughout the afternoon -- and then he'd set off on, well, it was kind of an adventure, actually.

Or if you asked Jace, it was a date. Which meant that if you asked Alec, it was a date, because he was pretty sure Jace knew about these things.

The fact that it was taking place at a gay bar might have been a clue that it wasn't quite that simple, but for all Alec knew, that was just how dates worked. Loud music, glitter, dancing... by the Angel, that was a lot of glitter. He was going to be picking it off his sweater for weeks.

Sigh.

Alec cleared his throat and turned to his companion. "So," he said, doing his best to be audible over the music, "is this the part where we get drinks?"

[[for one, up early for SP, and NFB for distance, yo!]]

Comments

[myownface]

"I like the glitter," Sparkle decided, looking around the bar and then flagging the bartender down. "It adds pizazz."

Yeah, he totally just used that word.

"What part of it's unnerving? The bar part? The gay part? The gay bar part? Something else?"

[nottrivial]

"The crowd, mostly," Alec admitted. Which it felt loud to almost-yell, but, you know, music. "Normally this is the kind of place Jace and Isabelle and I would find a, a Croucher demon in the supply closet or something, with everyone all distracted."

[myownface]

"A croucher demon."

Sometimes he forgot that the awkward guy in front of him also happened to kill demons.

"Okay, so maybe I find a quieter bar next time. Just kinda figured if we came here, at least we'd get a few free drinks out of the deal."

Because, look, they were at least moderately attractive. It was a gay bar. Sparkle had a strategy, here.

[nottrivial]

"No, it's okay, I think they're all mostly like this," Alec assured him. "Wait, the drinks are free?"

Oh, sweetie.

[myownface]

Sparkle just smirked faintly and slid a beer down the bar toward Alec. This drink was on him.

"They're free if you catch someone's eye and they're hoping you'll give them your number," he clarified. "You really don't do this sort of thing often, do you?"

[nottrivial]

"Never," Alec confirmed. "Wasn't that the point?"

[myownface]

"Completely and totally the point," Sparkle replied, nodding a little. "Okay, so, if people buy you drinks, you don't have to go home and sleep with 'em or anything, but odds are they're really hoping you do. You can turn them down, if you want, and send your apologies with the bartender. Or you can pass 'em my way if you really don't want them, but the guy who bought them for you is probably going to take it personally if you do that."

Helpful, wasn't he? He smirked as he reached into his pocket for his smokes.

"That said, I know I totally won't protest if you forward some unwanted booze my way."

[nottrivial]

"Oh." Well, then. "I mean, I probably won't get any, but. If I do, you can definitely have it."

Alec drummed his fingers on the bar awkwardly, then leaned forward and tried to call a bartender over. Unsurprisingly, he failed to be loud enough, and leaned back, a little deflated.

"Or that," he added.

[myownface]

Sparkle couldn't help but grin a little at that. Poor Alec.

"Not loud enough?" He pulled a twenty from his pocket and gave it a wave. "Hey, handsome! My partner in crime here wants to talk to you!"

It was hard to ignore money being waved in the air, no matter the reason. Sparkle just sat back and looked pleased with himself.

[nottrivial]

Alec blushed a little, even as he found the phrasing of that a little strange -- 'handsome' for the bartender and 'partner in crime' for him, didn't that seem a little... un-date-ly?

In any event, he gave the bartender a sheepish smile and put in a request for "a beer, I guess."

His first-timer vibes were so, so apparent.

"And do you want anything?" he asked, glancing back over to Sparkle.

[myownface]

Aww, first-timey Alec. You were adorable.

"Yeah, a beer," he decided. "And I'll spring for the next one."

Which wouldn't take long, since he'd probably have this one downed within minutes.

[nottrivial]

"You don't have t-- I mean, okay, yeah." See? He was learning!

When the beers were placed down in front of them, Alec picked his up, albeit with a bit of a suspicious expression. "To... expanding horizons?" he offered.

Worst. Toast. Ever.

[myownface]

There were worse things to toast to, at least.

"And to gay bars," Sparkle laughed, clinking his bottle against Alec's and then taking a swing.

Mmmm, beer was better when you weren't supposed to be drinking it.

[nottrivial]

There might have been a dirty joke in there somewhere. Alec sure as hell wasn't going to find it, though.

"This is... I don't hate this," Alec announced after his first sip.

And then he eyed the bottle suspiciously, because what the hell? He was supposed to hate this.

[myownface]

"Were you expecting to? Man, if everyone hated it, people wouldn't drink it, you know."

See Sparkle, using that logic again?

[nottrivial]

"No, I'm just picky, I guess," Alec clarified. "And I just guess I didn't see myself being the kind of person who likes alcohol."
Weird.

"How long have you been, you know, drinking? Is that a... thing people ask?"

Nope!

[myownface]

"Nope," Sparkle replied, laughing and shaking his head. "But I'll answer anyhow, how does that sound? I've been drinking since forever ago. I mean, like, I used to steal my old man's booze when he wasn't looking. If I drank it, he couldn't, and then he'd run out and there were nights here and there that he'd leave our mom alone."

It was sound logic for a kid. Possibly even the truth. It was difficult to say with Sparkle.

"Or I just started when I moved into the group home. The other kids offered me some and I went for it. I can't remember which story I was going with tonight, so here, you can have both and I'll let you choose your favourite."

[nottrivial]

"I think my favorite would be the second one," Alec said slowly, but at least he wasn't offering an apology this time. Because Sparkle was the Canadian at this bar, thank you. "I, uh, my only real experience with this stuff is when my roommate called me from a bar a few months ago and asked if he could buy a goat."

[myownface]

"Your roommate has a goat?"

Why yes! Yes, that was a conversation starter if ever there was one!

"What in the world does he do with it?"

Actually, Sparks, it was currently running wild in suburbia, California. Terrorizing vampires.

[nottrivial]

Poor, Harmony Kendall had probably suffered a terrifying goat attack by now, for one. It just seemed inevitable.

"No, he didn't actually," Alec clarified. "I sort of put my foot down. Our room is really not that big."

[myownface]

Nothing was quite as fearsome as a miniature goat. This one had survived the Savage Land, after all.

"Well, yeah. I mean, they're comfortable enough dorm rooms, but I wouldn't go keeping livestock in there. It's an okay size for a cat, though."

[nottrivial]

"Oh, right, your cat from that weekend stuck around," Alec recalled with a nod after he took another sip from his beer. Which it was still weird to be enjoying, FYI. "Velcro, right? That's... yeah, I'd rather live with a cat over a goat too."

[myownface]

"Velcro, right," Sparkle cackled, pleased that Alec had remembered his kitten's name. "Cats are pretty good company, you know. You should get one."

Because it was way better than a goat.

"And then your cat and mine can have like little kitten playdates or something. That's a thing cats do, right?"

No, Sparkle. Cats generally didn't.

[nottrivial]

"They... might just end up glaring at each other," Alec hedged. "Cats."

Yep. Cats.

[myownface]

"Well, either way," Sparkle replied, waving that off. "You aren't so comfortable around people, but maybe a pet would be good for you. You can babysit Velcro for me sometime, if you want."

And of course he'd want to!