MCA #4, Wednesday Morning

[myownface]

Sparkle had spent yesterday on a mission. A sort of home-base mission that had involved interspersing half-assed attempts at going through his usual daily routine with actual research, and now he had three destinations picked out; Nar Shaddaa was the obvious one. Something familiar where they could just go and get lost for a while, maybe do some drinking, make some bad life choices. The second, some mostly aquatic Outer Rim resort world, one that Sparkle had admittedly just chosen by closing his eyes and pointing at a list of resort planets. And the third? Just... empty space somewhere Mid Rim, not necessarily near anything in particular, but near enough to something in general that they could theoretically just pick a direction, go, and find something to do once they got there.

Armed with those three destinations, he was making his way to Atton's bedroom door, raising a fist, and knocking. Hard.

"Hey, Atton! Get your ass out of bed! Tomorrow's another stupid family and togetherness holiday and I fully intend to drag you up to your fucking ship and make you fly it somewhere before anybody thinks to invite us to dinner!"

Also, he was worried about you, Atton. Also that.

[OOC: For the one!]

Comments

[suitably_heroic]

"I mean, sure," Atton said slowly. "Fine. Let's do that."

[myownface]

Sparkle tilted his head at him, looking thoughtful.

"That's the one you want?" Well, he wouldn't complain about a few days on a resort world, nah. "Sure, then. You get an hour to pack, that's when we get our portal."

Because damn right, he was going to push for them taking off as soon as possible.

[suitably_heroic]

It was the one that would take him the least effort. Atton was nothing if not predictable right now.

"Fine, fine, slave driver," Atton muttered. "I'll be out in an hour."

He shut the door.

[myownface]

"Good," Sparkle muttered at the door behind him.

And then he sighed and slumped up against the wall. Okay. Good. Maybe Atton would spend the whole time moping in his room there, too, but at least it would be a different room.

[suitably_heroic]

Atton kept to his word, at least: he was out in an hour unlike the mun who had one hell of a Friday with a bag in hand and wearing something approximating normal day clothing.

"Fine," he said again. "Let's get away from these people."

[myownface]

Sparkle, meanwhile, had already been packed.

Was always packed, really, if you squinted. He had his ever-present backpack sitting on the floor near where he'd deposited himself on the couch to wait, and was poking at his phone to kill time when Atton came out of his room.

He gave Atton a little, kind of crooked smile, and pulled himself to his feet, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he went.

"There's room service," he offered, as if that would somehow improve on this experience. "We can get nerf cooked by somebody who knows what they're doing." A beat. "Or, um, seafood, probably."

Pick an aquatic resort world, eat aquatic food, Sparks.

[suitably_heroic]

"Should've picked a farming world if you wanted nerf," Atton muttered, flinging his backpack over his shoulder. "But I bet the food is fine."

[myownface]

"Yeah, I bet it is." Sparkle stood there quietly for a moment, and then nodded toward the door. "Up to the Hawk and then out of here, then? If you think I'm not making you fly there, you're so wrong."

Because DO SOMETHING, GODDAMMIT.

[suitably_heroic]

"Space, couldn't even spring for a personal portal? I could've done something about that," said Atton, though he had a feeling that was by design, yeah. "Fine, move."

[myownface]

"You could've," Sparkle agreed, but he was already making his way to the door, yes.

Doing something about that would have also required doing something. Sparkle would have been cool with a personal portal if it had come to that. But for now? He was just holding the door and grinning Atton's way.

"Eh, it'll be good to get up in the Hawk anyway, right? My butt-groove in the copilot seat needs working on."

[suitably_heroic]

"Just don't touch any of the buttons," Atton warned him. "She gets finnicky."

He stepped out the door into the hallway.

[myownface]

"Nooo buttons," Sparkle promised. "My button-pushing fingers will occupy themselves some other way."

He paused long enough to lock the door behind himself, and then took a few half-skipped steps down the hallway.

"Maybe I'll poke you all the way there instead."

He enjoyed having fingers. He would not.

[suitably_heroic]

"Do you have a death wish today?" Atton wondered. "Because it's starting to feel like you have a death wish today."

[myownface]

"I might have a death wish today," Sparkle replied brightly. He started up toward the roof, taking the stairs backwards as he went. "Or maybe this is actually an elaborate trap for my very own personal Thanksgiving, where I'm actually giving thanks to not be stuck on this shithole for the holiday, and I'm just really excited about that."

Or maybe he was going to wait until the ship took off before poking Atton with words instead of fingers and hope he didn't get blown out an airlock for it.

[suitably_heroic]

"I don't trust it," Atton informed him, but he was speeding up the stairs anyway. Decision made, he just wanted to get out of here, and being up on the roof with the Hawk at least felt like they were making some progress.

[myownface]

"Well, we both know I am not to be trusted," Sparkle replied, grinning. Hey, being up on the roof with the Hawk felt like progress to him, too. Every fucking time Atton made the smallest bit of progress, the island went and shoved his past down his throat? Well. Then they'd get the fuck away from the island.

It wasn't a solution, but maybe it could be a start.

"I could have wicked plans to have my horrible way once we get up there."

[suitably_heroic]

"Yeah, your horrible way ordering a ton of room service and putting it on my card," Atton said, unlocking the Hawk with a motion. "I'm on to you."

[myownface]

Sparkle smiled and batted his eyelashes at Atton at that.

"I mean, yeah," he said easily, "but I'm paying for the room."

ONE ROOM, RAND. ONE.

Which was possibly the other reason Sparkle had insisted on bringing the Hawk. In case Sparkle... Sparkled too much or something and Atton needed somewhere familiar to retreat to.

[suitably_heroic]

DAMMIT SPARKLE.

Atton glared at him, but he slunk into the Hawk anyway, stomping straight through to the cockpit. "Space, I'm going to be stuck with you in one room for days, there are going to be vegetables in my bedroom..."

[myownface]

"Yup!" Sparkle wasn't quite bouncing along behind him, but there was a spring in his step as he followed along, and then, yes, planted his ass in that copilot's seat, true to his threat. "All kinds of weird vegetables I've never even heard of before. Every five minutes I'll be like, 'Hey, Atton, this space-broccoli totally looks like a brain YOU GOTTA EAT IT."

Maybe just once.

Just for the look on his face.

[suitably_heroic]

"Someone has been punching you in the head too much," Atton told him, starting launch procedures with a few presses of the buttons. "I'm going to find out who."

The ship jerked as it came loose from the roof.

[myownface]

"Would you believe," Sparkle said, bracing himself at that jerk and then settling in comfortably again like he had been placed in that seat by the hand of God, "that nobody's been punching me in the head? Which, like, might or might not be a good sign, like either I'm getting better at not getting hit, or not enough people are trying and I'm gonna get rusty."

[suitably_heroic]

"My vote's for rusty, then," Atton said. He glanced over at Sparks. "Coordinates?"

[myownface]

Sparkle was absolutely taking a moment to stick out his tongue at Atton before looking at his phone and rattling off the coordinates, yes.

"I mean, like, it isn't for lack of trying," he added. "Maybe I'll join, like, a sparring club somewhere. That's a thing, right?"

[suitably_heroic]

"Sure, that's a thing," Atton said, inputting the coordinates. "Of course if I taught you well enough, people shouldn't be able to hit you in the head too much, and if I didn't, you'll probably die."

The ship pulled up through the atmosphere, speeding towards space.