barbecued.

Delia hopped out of the crowd watching the band, pulling her hair up to let the cool air hit her skin and dry the soft lines of sweat that had formed as she danced around. Her mother had forced her out that night, told her to get out and have a good time and stop working, and she had to admit, she was right. A bit of fun had been needed, and she waved herself and smiled as she made her way to a line to get something to drink. “Next drink on me?” She offers forward. “I’m feeling friendly.”

        tonight was a rare occasion where daniela’s good mood was unshakable. she knew how hard frankie and his band had been working for this show, their energy on stage infectious as she beamed with pride and sang along. this might have all been for davu’s birthday - but she was here for the band and the band only. she’d say it, too.

        she weaved her way through the crowd in between sets, making a bee line for the bar before it got too crowded to get served. hopping up on the closest empty stool to the bartender, she turned to a familiar voice. while it shouldn’t have been a surprise to see delia there ( she was often at the center of events in the city ), the possibility of running into her hadn’t crossed dani’s mind ... for once. she smiled softly at her words - if delia wanted to be nice, she could be too. at least today. “ won’t argue with that, ” she said. “ that is - if you can remember my usual. ”

“is that an always thing, or just a birthday special?” savannah asked, eyeing the contraption he indicated. her head had a curious tilt to it, and her eyes were alight with eagerness even as she mentally filed the whole idea away. maybe she could use it in a story one day. right now, it saved her the effort of having to actually think of what she wanted a tattoo of. she’d pretty much gotten to ‘i should get a tattoo’ and gone ahead with that impulse. “what are the options? i mean, obviously i’m gonna do it but word on the street is you should ‘look before you leap’ or whatever.”

        “ both, kind of, ” frankie said with a ¯shrug. “ shit’s been around a few months but old boy got a discount out of me ... it’s usually a hundred. ” honestly, said promotion did not come easy -  but after davu spent an excruciating amount of time explaining how it would make more in the long run, frankie agreed. while the birthday boy had yet to be proven correct, here they were. frankie wrapped around the counter and crossed the room where savannah stood with the machine and picked up a photo album lying next to it to hand to her. “ every time i add a design, i put a copy in here. you get what you get - but for an added fee i’ll change or add to it. if you want. ”

🦊⠀  ⠀ ⠀  ⠀ ───────────    his   head   tilted   to   the   side   as   piercing   blue   eyes   looked   straight   ahead   at   the   man   before   him.   fox   left   out   a   small   scoff   of   a   laugh   as   his   eyes   trailed   the   other   up   and   down   for   a   moment.      “   do   you   peg   me   for   an   idiot   ?   ”      he   finally   asked.   one   brow   raised   as   his   arms   crossed   over   his   chest.      “   eighty   bucks   for   a   mere   coin.   are   they   stolen   from   the   queen   of   england   herself   ?   ”      he   added,   trying   to   remain   compose   in   public   but   given   the   sour   state   fox   had   found   himself   in   recently   it   felt   almost   impossible   to   keep   the   nice   charade   up.      “   i   have   a   better   idea.   ”      he   began   leaning   back   on   the   counter.   he   feigned   a   look   of   innocence,   eyes   big   a   doe   eyed   as   if   he   hadn’t   come   to   this   shop   to   ruin   his   temple   body   with   ink.   something   he   never   thought   he’d   do   but   when   on   the   path   of   self   destruction   anything   went.   “   i   let   you   pick   whatever   tattoo   you   think   seems   fit.   no   need   for   the   stupid   gumball   machine.   ”   if   all   else   fails   he   could   get   his   ex’s   name   tattooed   somewhere.   

        frankie stared blankly at the other man, eyes narrowing as he spoke ill of what was, objectively, one of the shop’s most popular specials. so he was one of those guys, huh? put a gimmick behind it and suddenly we’re too good for flash. too bad that wasn’t how this worked. “ sorry boss, just doin’ the promotion this weekend for my buddy’s birthday. ” there wasn’t much time for traditional walk-ins when that 25% off sign was staring at you through the window. tattoo roulette might not have been for everyone, but it was for enough people he had to block out the time. he offered a shrug as he pulled out his book and opened to the first empty week. “ but - if you’re dead set on that douchebag on your forehead, i’m booking out to august. ” bold of the kid to come in here, insult his operation, and then request something based on what frankie thought was fitting for him based on ... this interaction alone. maybe he was an idiot.

       “ alright, here’s the deal, ” frankie began, voice soft as he leaned over the counter. “ eighty bucks gets you a coin to that machine. ” his hand pointed in the direction of a contraption in the corner of the room that mimicked a gumball machine. “ whatever comes out is what you get. no exceptions. what do you think ? ”

─────────── 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙚 𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙘𝙤 𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙯 ♡

─────────── 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙚𝙡𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙯 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙤 ♡

tw: mention of parental death

she held her hand to her chest, trying to steady her voice before she spoke – she knew it would sound panicked even with the happy ending of the mannequin being saved. 

“ thank you — thank you so much, i’m serena, ” she smiled. “ no, no, i’m not a designer at all. but i am a tailor — assistant tailor — and when i bring work home it does help having this around,” she placed her hands on the mannequin, patting it gently like an old friend. “ you wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find one like this without it being a hundred dollars or more … it’s a steal. ” the smile froze on her face as she realised how that sounded. “ but it’s, um, not. ” she added quickly, recoiling.

        the woman’s expression froze and alejandro offered a knowing smirk before miming a zipper to his lips. “ of course it’s not, ” he agreed without question. if someone was about to blow a lady’s cover, it sure as shit wouldn’t be him. not his business. however - he did look around to make sure they weren’t in front of daisy’s shop ( mainly out of curiosity ). if he was going to need to cover his own ass over a missing mannequin at nala’s place of work, he needed to know ahead of time. 

        but they weren’t. and he didn’t. this looked to be like some random thrift store instead - one where he had no moral obligations or friendships on the line. so now what was left was somebody ceasing an opportunity - and he’d gladly assist. “ you need help ? where’re you taking this thing ? ” it wasn’t like he had much else to do at the moment besides grabbing a pack of cigarettes and a monster. 

          honestly  varian  was  just  trying  to  explore  all  of  elias  before  he  had  to  leave.   it  meant  going  places  that  he  probably  wouldn’t  have  gone  back  at  home.   like  a  casino.   it  sounded  like  it  ought  to  be  a  lot  of  fun.   but  it  probably  wasn’t  going  to  be  a  place  he  went  that  often.   “ oh,   well  that  does  not  sound  pleasant  at  all. ”   varian  was  curious.   “ about  how  often  does  that  happen  here? ”   he  asked,   raising  an  eyebrow.   “  a  lighter ?   no,   sorry.   do  most  people  carry  those  around ?   i  have  something  on  me  that  can  create  fire  on  me. ” 

        alejandro offered a ¯shrug at his question - how often people got rowdy at the casino depended on the day and how strong the drink pours were. “ nah, not too often, ” he was still able to say truthfully - for now. “ just some asshole gettin’ mad cause he lost his money. no big deal. ”

        admittedly, what the kid said next made him pause for a moment. no lighter, but - something else? like matches? seemed a little ominous for matches, but ... “ listen, if it’ll light my fuckin’ cigarette, i’ll take it. ”

🦁 ⠀  ⠀ ⠀  ⠀ ───────────   “   according   to   a   woman   in   some   mothers-help-soon-to-be-mothers   site,   Simba   would   be   a   good   name   for   a   kitten,   preferably   a   ginger   one,   and   not   for   a   boy.   I   don’t   know   how   I’m   supposed   to   feel   about   this.   ”   simba   spoke   loud   as   he   took   a   sip   from   his   soda.   

        there were many things to unpack here, alejandro realized as he raised his head and shot the man a confused look. for example, why was he looking up his own name on a baby site ? didn’t matter. “ she said you got a pussy ass name, ” he said with a cackle after simba read the comment. “ that’s fucked up, man. ”

༶ ⋆  where: along a line of shops somewhere

serena took a long hard look at the mannequin she’d taken from the alley. it was perfect – adjustable torso, made for forming dresses – and it was just standing there right next to a pile of broken plastic mannequins, plastic bags and old shoe boxes. her tote bag was already full with clothes she’d also found in the other bin. surely they were all bound for the rubbish…at least that’s what serena hoped they were doing there. she’d seen it stand there for 3 days, the pile only getting smellier, and she thought…well, what was the harm? embarrassingly, she thought to herself: finders keepers…?

caught in her thoughts, she didn’t realise that she’d wandered onto the middle of the walkway, on a collision course to the people walking in the opposite direction. when the rolling mannequin skipped over a crack on the pavement, she tried to catch it but ended up pushing it further away from her.

“ oh my gosh, NO, please catch it !! ” she exclaimed.

        alejandro had decided to take a stroll along main street on his smoke break this morning, needing to step a little further away from the casino than the courtyard outside. things were in shambles with the lose of orion and now sadie. he at least thought he’d get more of a warning with the last one.

        but, now wasn’t the time to think about that. about stepping into his role even further at running this place or about finding a new waitress that was as good at conning people as she was. he just needed a cigarette.

        his thoughts were interrupted by - admittedly not the strangest thing he had seen today, but close. it took a second of watching the mannequin roll passed for him to register that he should catch it, quickly snapping out of his daze at her words to do just that. “ uh, yeah. here you go, miss, ” he said, tone laced with confusion as he pushed it gently back to her. he hadn’t seen her before - which, at the point, felt strange. “ i’m al. ” might as well introduce himself. “ you like a designer or somethin’ ? ”      

Georgette’s thoughts swirled in her brain as she looked over the jewelry - the first question, of course, was that she had never even looked at a necklace that only cost 30 dollars before. The second then was about who was actually buying jewelry with animals or bugs on the end. She certainly owned zero pieces - and the whole scene was wholly unfamiliar -

And then Alejandro’s voice broke through her thoughts. 

The setting had been his idea, and she had been happy to (tentatively) go along with it. The reality was that the woman was just happy to be out with him, to be shown off by him, to explore the world through his eyes for a bit instead of simply hearing about it and trying to envision what bits she was given as they hid out at her house. She had fallen so hard so quickly and so stealthily in those long days and nights of conversation that it still took her off guard. All disparaging thoughts about the necklaces seemed to flutter away themselves as she lifted up the butterfly to hold to her neck. “What do we think? Does it suit me?” She laughed, a joke since they both knew everything suited her. 

He stood in the back of the reflection as she studied herself in the mirror, smiling as she leaned back against him and checked them out. “It should be a crime for a couple to be this attractive.”

        things with georgette happened unexpectedly and all at once. there was a chance ir wouldn’t have happened at all had they had not been locked away together during the monster attacks. the intention was always casual - and yet here they were on the pier doing coupley shit. not that he was complaining, of course - alejandro would be lying if he were to say he wasn’t enjoying her company. it was nice to still have a piece of home here in elias. one day, when things had settled down a bit more, he’d invite her back with him - but he didn’t think introducing dani was appropriate yet. besides, george didn’t even know about her yet. 

        that would change soon. they were almost serious enough to where keeping it from her would cause problems - but, to be fair, he was still trying to figure it all out for himself. it was still new for him, too. while he had been waiting for the right time, he was starting to think there wouldn’t be one. he was going to have to bite the bullet and just ... tell her. today. ...just not yet.

        for now, he was focused on her. it had been awhile since they were able to hang out with work and all. and honestly it was the first time they had done anything like this, typically spending most of their time together at her place. he looked over at the necklace she was referring to, a laugh passing his lips when he saw it. of course it would look good on her, but he couldn’t say he thought it was something she would wear. he picked up a similar one. but blue.

        “ this color looks nice with your eyes, ” he said sincerely, setting it down as she pulled them to the mirror. “ my ugly mug ? nah. that’s all you. ” he smirked.

        midday traffic at snake eyes casino, especially on a tuesday of all days, consisted almost entirely of regulars - individuals who definitely had some odd obsession with losing their money instead of making it at a real job. with that said, an unfamiliar face would stick out like a sore thumb to alejandro right about now. he headed over to the bar where he spotted a stranger waiting for a drink. a stranger - in his casino ? “ aye man, you new around here ? ” he was appreciative of a midday drinker type - easier to snatch their money. he hopped up on a stool next to the guy before signaling for beck to get him a coke. “ name’s alejandro - al if you want. i kinda run this place. ” @wittyjarrah​

✖✖✖

“Why not?” Hades asked, pausing briefly in his steps. He was hardly afraid, and found the turmoil and chaos that mortals could wreak on each other amusing to an extent. “You ought to get some watch dogs. It’ll save you some time. I have 3 guarding my home - and they’re quite good at their jobs,” he said, referring to Cerberus. Of course, their duty was to prevent anyone from leaving, not getting back in. The god responded to the request for a lighter, half grinning. He always appreciated a fellow smoker. He reached into his inner coat pocket, pulling out a lighter from his jacket. A quick flick of his wrist snapped it open to ignite the soft blue flame and offering it to the man.

          while he had been fully prepared to answer this question, ready to gossip about the irate old man who caused a scene for some arbitrary reason - alejandro was distracted by this dude’s suggestion. “ respectfully, man - what the fuck would i look like with dogs runnin’ around the casino ? ” he laughed at the thought. surely, if it was a good idea, he’d be able to pull it off ... but when has anyone ever done that ? he’d be better off with another bouncer.

        he leaned in when he was offered and stuck the tip of his cigarette in the flame, inhaling slowly until it caught and pulling away with an exhale. “ thank you, ” he said with a step back. 

        “ you come in here before ? ” he asked, pointing at the building behind him. “ haven’t seen you around. i’m al. ”

        this was one of the first times alejandro and georgette had gone out to just ... chill. before they sort of got together, there was some ulterior motive - a ride that was needed here or there that he had been paid for - but this time was a chance of pace most welcome at the current moment, the situation back home being enough to keep his head spinning if he thought about it too long. he was going to have to tell her eventually - especially because daniela could possibly be here for a week come april. 

        would she want to meet her ? would the idea of him being a dad freak her out ? or, worst case scenario: would she be fuckin’ pissed that he didn’t tell her sooner ?

        that was what he was thinking about now as they wanted through this beachfront shop, hand in hand as they looked at jewelry and other trinkets across card tables, all made by the woman sitting behind them. while he’d probably have to catch her up on everything like ... today, he was still holding out for the right moment. this wasn’t it.

        “ i think you should get this one, ” he said with a smirk, carefully pointing out a pendant in the middle of the table that had a giant badger - entirely out of her taste and, of course, a joke. “ nah, but seriously - this butterfly one is kinda dope. ”

Adora wasn’t in Elias. She had been, at one point, however briefly. But she’d clearly moved on, to who knows where? Shadow Weaver certainly didn’t seem to have any clue, and now Katalina was being told to stay put where she was and wait for further instruction. But for how long? Did other Force Captains get jobs this stupid? Was she going to be stuck in Elias forever? 

It was hard to keep her emotions in check, even at work. Someone spilled a drink on Kat’s table and she’d told him with a smile how incompetent he was. Which… was probably why Al wanted to talk to her now, huh? Swallowing thickly as she met him in the back, she crossed her arms over herself. “I don’t really do apologies. So…”

        the energy at the casino seemed a little off tonight all around, customers a little less joyous and staff a little more irritated. maybe it was the shift - the midday middle of the week crown was a disgrace compared to saturday nights - but alejandro just chalked it up to an off day. he didn’t necessarily think it was anything to worry about, but when he overheard the new girl mouthing off to one of the regulars, he had to intervene. he didn’t like the other guy either but, fuck - customer service was customer service no matter how dirty the game was.

        “ i mean, sayin’ that kinda recognizes you were fuckin’ out of pocket, which is good enough for me if it don’t happen again. ” he was pretty good at spotting an isolated incident, he’d say. at least, he’d like to give her the benefit of a doubt. he may not have known the girl for very long, but he knew she wasn’t typically running her mouth at work - and people don’t start acting up without cause.  “ are you good ? ”

“… It kinda sounds like the danger might be out here then…” Dani pointed out as the man’s words pulled her to a stop. “But you’re the boss. Might as well help out - what’s this dickhead look like? I’m imagining tall, blonde… is his name Derek by any chance? I bet it’s a Derek. Ol’ Drunk Dick Derek…” She muttered beneath her breath as she dug a lighter and her own pack from her purse. “Here you are.” There was a moment of quiet before she added in, “His name could also be Mark. Mark is a real dickhead name.”

        alejandro let out a laugh. “ yeah you might be right. now stay the fuck over there before drunk dick derek comes and pulls a hannibal on your ass. ” it was a joke, of course - but you never knew what these crazy dudes were into these days. there was a beat of silence as he looked to her and then to the bic in her hand. “ thanks, ” he mumbled as he reluctantly took the lighter from her and sparked up. she seemed a little too young to be pulling a pack of cigarettes out of her bag, but who was he to judge ? 

        regardless, he had to ask. “ so... what are you, like twelve ? ”