A Bar in Baltimore, Saturday Evening

[myownface]

If anybody were to ask Sparkle, he'd happily tell them that the last person he ever figured he'd be going for drinks with was Seivarden. Like. Ever. He'd also admit that he'd put more time than he had ever figured he would into picking a bar they could both probably enjoy, something with live blues music on Saturdays that still didn't get too rowdy. He had no idea what kind of music Seivarden liked if she even did, admittedly. Mostly he just wanted some sort of guaranteed background noise, in case whatever drunken conversation they had turned into something weird.

They lived on Fandom Island. That was always a pretty good possibility.

"Huh," he said as he stepped in and looked around for an empty table. "Cozy."

It was that sort of bar that always kind of felt like it was being lit by the streetlights outside, with the occasional neon sign or dim lamp doing the rest of the work, though the light on the singer at the stage was doing wonders to brighten it up the slightest bit, too.

"What do you think, Seivarden? How's this for tonight's drinking establishment?"

All the other places Sparkle knew were gay bars and dance clubs. So.

[OOC: For one!]

Comments

[1000yearstoolate]

Here we go again.

"The question surprised me, that's all," Seivarden said, making an effort not to turn this into an argument.

"My family had servants, and I've spent most of my live serving as an officer on a ship. I haven't had much opportunity."

She took another drink from her bottle.

[myownface]

Sparkle just raised an eyebrow, but let it slide.

"Well, it's a good skill to have," he noted. "Especially in a small town like Fandom."

And sort of just in general.

[1000yearstoolate]

"I... see your point."

And she had noticed Hannibal Lecter cooked his own food, which was also delicious. It had surprised her at first that he did, considering that he was obviously wealthy.

"You cook then, I take it?"

[myownface]

"Sure do," Sparkle confirmed, shrugging. "Heck, that was pretty much my rent for the first little while when I moved here."

[1000yearstoolate]

Paying that kind of rent wouldn't work for Seivarden, for more reasons than her cooking skills.

"It's a good thing to know for several reasons, then," she said, amused, then added: "Do you want me to get you another one of those?"

She gestured at the beer. She wasn't going to let Sparkle pay for all the drinks, after all.

[myownface]

"Hey, sure, thanks," Sparkle replied with a little grin. "You have any interest in learning to cook, then?"

Not that he was necessarily volunteering, but it was something to talk about.

[1000yearstoolate]

"I suppose I should," Seivarden said. "Since I'm stuck on the island."

Which wasn't the same as being interested.

She left to get the beers and returned a short while later with two bottles each for them.

"Perhaps I should ask you to teach me," she said lightly as she sat down again, not quite sure if she was being serious.

[myownface]

"I mean, I could," Sparkle noted, blinking at her as she sat. "It isn't like I have so much to do with myself that I can't manage a few cooking lessons, you know?"

[1000yearstoolate]

Seivarden could hardly turn him down now, and really, she didn't want to. She knew some knowledge of cooking would be necessary eventually, and there were worse things than awkward conversation with Sparkle.

"That is very kind of you," she said. "I have figured out how to boil water but not much else." She added with a laugh: "I'm thinking about finding somewhere else to stay, so maybe I should try to make it pay the rent too."

Seivarden knew that wasn't going to happen.

[myownface]

"Well, the first step there is to move in with somebody that you've been friends with for years," Sparkle noted, grinning. "But hey, even if you can't pay rent with food, it's still good to know, right? If there's an afternoon sometime that works for you, let me know."

[1000yearstoolate]

Seivarden looked at Sparkle: "I haven't been friends with anyone for... oh, you meant to pay rent by cooking."

The thought that Sparkle would be the perfect person to share an apartment with did strike her, although she then reminded herself that they were only recently on speaking terms.

"Then I'm sure we can find a time that suits us both. I'm not terribly busy."

She reached for one of the new bottles. The getting drunk part wasn't going very well.

"Is there anything stronger than beer or the mixed drinks?"

[myownface]

"Sure," Sparkle replied, reaching for the drink list. "They've got stuff like whiskey, if that's your sort of thing. All that good stuff that burns going down, you know?"

[1000yearstoolate]

"I haven't heard of it, but it sounds good. Should we order a bottle of that?"

Seivarden knew Sparkle had said he didn't want a hangover, but why go out drinking if you didn't? She should at least try to persuade him. Hopefully Sparkle when drunk wasn't going to start a fight and leave here here. She wasn't sure how to get home even when sober.

[myownface]

"A bottle of whiskey?" Sparkle blinked. "I mean, sure, if you want to spend the night drinking straight paint thinner. We should at least get something to mix that with. Coke or Sprite or something."

Because holy hell, a whole bottle of that between the two of them? They'd have to get a hotel room and make their way back to the island on, like, Monday, once they eventually sobered up.

[1000yearstoolate]

Seivarden noted that Sparkle hadn't said no.

"Isn't it easier to get a bottle than to have to order new drinks all the time?" she asked, as someone who had never had to worry much about the cost of that bottle, or if she ended up leaving half of it behind.

"And can't you get good whiskey? But if it's better to mix it, then sure, we'll do that."

Now they were getting somewhere.

[myownface]

"I mean, sure, you can get good whiskey, too. I just like to make it last longer."

And also to not drink himself blind. Drinking straight spirits never turned out well for him. Especially in the company of people he didn't particularly trust.

"But hey, this is your outing as much as mine. Let's get some, you can see how you like it, and we can go from there?"

[1000yearstoolate]

"I like that plan."

Seivarden got to her feet, grinning. "You will have to decide what to order."

Not waiting for Sparkle, she headed towards the bar again.

[myownface]

At this rate, Sparkle was going to order the fruitiest, most colourful drink he could possibly get in a place like this. He wasn't completely certain they'd be getting home tonight, if Seivarden was ordering a whole damn bottle of whiskey.

"I, uh," he watched her head for the bar, and then heaved a sigh and shrugged his shoulders. "Okay."

Tonight was going to be interesting, wasn't it?

[1000yearstoolate]

The bartender looked a little surprised, as did Seivarden when she was told the cost of the bottle. She didn't say anything about it though, just paid, then looked at Sparkle.

"What else did you say we needed?"

This was going to be so much better than awkward conversation!

[myownface]

"Something to mix with," Sparkle said, scratching the back of his neck. "I'd try some first, though. I mean, decide if you want to mix it with anything, first. Most bars only keep soda on tap, but they might have something in cans, too."

He was seriously just facepalming, internally.

[1000yearstoolate]

The bartender had clearly overheard that and placed two bottles of soda on the counter. "On the house."

They had just bought a whole bottle after all.

"Thank you," Seivarden said politely with a nod. She picked up the bottles and headed back to their table, again not waiting for Sparkle.

[myownface]

Sparkle lingered for a moment just to mouth a slightly more desperate 'thank you' to the bartender, and then shrugged and followed along behind again.

How was this his life?

"So, uh," he glanced at the whole damn bottle of whiskey, and then back to Seivarden. "Rough week, huh?"

Call it a hunch.

[1000yearstoolate]

"I don't want to talk about it," Seivarden said firmly. She filled Sparkle's glass and then her own, and then downed it. Blinking, she coughed a little.

"Not bad, although I've had better arrack."

[myownface]

Sparkle was sort of going to just pace himself with his whiskey, thanks. He picked up his glass and took a sip.

Hey, it was damn good, compared to some of the crap he used to drink.

"Sounds like it gave you a good kick, though," he observed. "I figured that was what you were looking for."

[1000yearstoolate]

Seivarden filled up her glass again, but sipped too this time.

"Yes. Good choice."

She looked into her glass for a moment, then raised her gaze, smiling. "So where do you usually go out for drinks?"