MCA #4, Monday Morning

[myownface]

It was probably worth noting that Sparkle wasn't cleaning the apartment from top to bottom today. Sure, he'd gotten a lot of that out of his system yesterday over at Casa del Leverage, and between that and the whole thing with the explosives, mostly he was kind of just feeling numb, now.

So instead of scrubbing the bathroom from top to bottom until his lungs hurt, he had kind of oozed into the living room and was hugging his stuffed cat, ignoring a box of Chocolate-Frosted Sugar Bombs, and staring at whatever fluffy kids' show happened to be on Netflix. Peppa Pig or something. He wasn't actually paying attention, he was just... tired. Maybe later he'd try to figure out where to go from here, but this morning? This morning was for cartoons and moping.

At least he wasn't sitting in the bathtub hugging the fish tank again. This was kind of like forward progress.

[OOC: Open for phone calls or that roomie or whatever, though I'll be pinging around work like the freewheeling rebel I am.]

Comments

[suitably_heroic]

"I'm not buying all kinds of ice cream unless you're pitching in," Atton said, setting down the sixpack and the ice cream in front of Sparkle. "I'm not made of credits, you know."

[myownface]

"... See, for all the ice cream, I am willing to make a monetary contribution," Sparkle decided. "What good is teaching and running a business if I can't buy all the ice cream?"

He was briefly actually tempted to shove his bank card at Atton and send him back out the door. But realized that that... would probably be stupid.

[suitably_heroic]

"You're also probably not going to be able to eat all the ice cream. Your skinny ass can't handle it," Atton said. He flopped down on the sofa. "...And what are you watching? Some kind of butchery commercial?"

[myownface]

"... I think it's a kids' show," Sparkle shared. "I've decided this is the favourite show of the nieces and/or nephews I'm never gonna meet. I am watching it with them in spirit."

No. He was sulking and zoning out on it while hugging a plush cat. But he figured that was a good way to touch on why he was doing just that.

[suitably_heroic]

"Okay," Atton said slowly.

He squinted at the back of Sparkle's hair. "So... definitely that bad."

[myownface]

Sparkle made a little groaning sound and kind of oozed further into the ball he'd made of himself on the couch, mashing his face into the stuffed cat toy.

"Found my sister," he said, voice muffled. "She's doing great. I'm never going to Toronto again. Toronto is stupid and I hate it."

[suitably_heroic]

"Found your sister but... she doesn't want to talk to you?" Atton guessed.

He leaned forward. To unscrew the lid from the first ice cream container, because that was the level of comforting he was comfortable with.

[myownface]

"Should've seen it coming," Sparkle muttered. Still into the cat. At least he threw a nod in for good measure. "I mean, she hasn't seen me since we were kids, and now she has kids, and her little brother grew up to be a dangerous offender."

[suitably_heroic]

"Yeah, really dangerous," Atton said, getting up to go get Sparkle a spoon. "I'm shaking in my boots every time I see you, the criminal mastermind."

[myownface]

"Well, it isn't like she knows any better," Sparkle pointed out. "She knows what the news said, and what the cops said, and, I mean, 'wanted for assault and arson and drug possession and breaking and entering' all sound worse without context."

They... were all still pretty bad, Sparkle.

[suitably_heroic]

"Could also sound like you had one really bad party," Atton said, putting the newly-procured spoon down beside the ice cream. "But okay, fine, it doesn't sound that good, I'll give you that."

[myownface]

"What she knows is that I act out in big ways when something goes badly," Sparkle sighed, finally peering up and the reaching out for the ice cream and the spoon. Atton was his hero. "She... us... our, you know, like, family... we have a history with that sort of thing. I don't blame her for wanting to avoid it."

And then he shook his head and broke out into a harsh bark of a laugh.

"Oh god, Parker and I made it worse."

Lil'bit.

[suitably_heroic]

It was generally Not Good when Sparkle started making noises like that. Atton squinted at him as he sat back down on the sofa.

"Did you set anything on fire?" he said. "Please tell me you didn't set something on fire."

[myownface]

"... There might have been fire involved."

It was so much worse.

[suitably_heroic]

"Haven't we had this talk?" Atton wondered. "I think I remember us having the talk about how setting things on fire is bad unless it's trying to kill you."

He'd devoted an entire class to the subject!

[myownface]

Sparkle buried his face into his arms again.

"Parker bought C-4."

Yeeeep. Much worse than just arson.

[suitably_heroic]

"Are you kidding me."

He'd have to devote an entirely new class to this, Sparkle.

[myownface]

Sparkle's reply to that was another one of those weird sounds of his. A kind of whiny noise followed by a giggle, all smothered by a plush cat.

So, no, not kidding.

[suitably_heroic]

"What, you thought another arson charge wasn't enough?" Atton said, snagging the six pack off the table.

Sparkle wasn't the only one who needed a drink.

[myownface]

"It was a shitty abandoned building," Sparkle managed. Into the cat. "Nobody living there nobody even owns it I probably did the city a favour."

The city probably did not think of it that way.

[suitably_heroic]

"Nobody lived in the house either," Atton pointed out, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You've got to come up with some better coping strategies here, Sparks. And that's coming from me."

The guy known for his occasional murder sprees.

[myownface]

"I was gonna just break a few windows in," Sparkle muttered. "The explosives weren't my idea."

Though he'd rolled with it when it had become an option, so...

[suitably_heroic]

"So you protested loudly when Parker coughed them up?"

Atton didn't believe that, funnily enough.

[myownface]

Good call, Atton. Good call.

"... No."

Sparkle wasn't even going to pretend he hadn't done something stupid, now. So at least there was that?

[suitably_heroic]

Atton sighed.

He picked up another can of beer, opened it, and set it down in front of Sparkle. "Next time, just high tail it back here instead of adding to your rap sheet, all right? We'll blow up bottles in the parking lot or something."