if she'd been covered with glitter

[maleficum]

Comments

[blackstarred]

Oh, knowing her there will probably be shots.

[Mia did not request them but Zoe will bring them, so Mickey can have hers. She leans back on the couch and inches over, giving him room to sit so he doesn't feel like he has to hover by the door.]

I'm glad you came. I know this isn't your favorite place.

[pumping]

( He doesn't mind if he does, joining her, setting his glass down, holding it in both hands. He'll take those odds. He goes to say something, a smile cracking, like he's holding in a secret he hasn't told anyone, because he hasn't. He did mention it to one person who is outside of all of this, one wife who caught him coming back late one night. Laurel was nice about it. She has an edge to her that he likes, the unpredictability of a soldier.

His not liking Verdant the first time around came down to sounds and colors and senses in overdrive. But, yeah, he's not a nightclub guy. He's Texas. He's dank and dark and peanuts on the ground.

But, he also slips in anywhere pretty well, even if he doesn't feel like it. )

It's not not my favorite place.

( He doesn't have a favorite place, he's not from here. No, that's not true. He did find a smaller bar he liked, one open during the day for when he had a craving, one that felt like the salt lick he needed. And he likes the backyard of the Queen mansion, and the pool.

He saw William's place once. Swank penthouse. You'd never know William has money, and then you walk into the place his best friend has been shacking up in. But, the days pass and feels less about that. And happier for him. )

Is it yours?

( The VIP treatment she gets? Unreal. )

[blackstarred]

[She pauses then shrugs because it's complicated, as most things are.]

I feel safer here than most places. I can feel relatively confident that Uncle Tommy isn't going to sell me out to the paparazzi.

[She can't say she's been that lucky anywhere else.]

[pumping]

( He supposes that's a perk for her. He doesn't get high profile. He's always fit in or faded into the background, and usually on purpose. )

You know any of the other staff, or just the top of the food chain?

[blackstarred]

It's been a while since I've been around.

[And clubs like this can have a high turnover.]

But I know some of them. Tommy tends to hire good people.

[pumping]

( He'd have to agree, though he's still keeping his personal connection close to the vest. He's not the personal guy. As close as he and Cooper had been in the trenches, it was more about camaraderie than anything personal.

Until he was compelled and floating in a river. )

Yeah, a couple of the bartenders, they're - ( they're... ) good.

( In trying not to say too much, he barely says anything. He wonders if that's speaking volumes as he considers what to say next. )

Thanks for inviting me.

[canarying]

[Her head tips to the side, curious and trying to read in between the lines, but before she can press the issue, Zoe emerges with a tray of shots as well as the cocktail that Mia actually ordered.]

Finally, things are crazy down there tonight.

[She takes in the new face, before extending a hand to him with a smile.]

You must be Mickey. I'm Zoe.

[pumping]

( He meets her hand with his, giving her a firm shake his father would be proud of before shoving himself further around the booth to give her the room. )

Mia said there'd be shots.

( He rubs his hands together, helping himself. )

Mia has friends in high places.

[canarying]

Mia is the friend in high places.

[She's not ashamed to say it, but when you're running around with the Queens, it opens all kinds of doors.]

And I'm glad she knows me well enough to know that where I go, shots usually follow.

[pumping]

Shots should always follow.

( Zoe gets the all clear as far as he's concerned. )

Bar downstair's being swarmed?

( If he's right about the schedule, Wes' second in still has an hour. It wouldn't be the time to keep him company, but he hopes Wes is holding it down enough. He doesn't know if vampire reflexes translate to mixology and mojitos. )

[canarying]

Yeah, apparently the return of the Queens has got the occupancy up.

[Zoe's mostly teasing as Mia rolls her eyes.]

People love the hot goss. Or want to try and shoot their shot now that Mia's single.

["Unfortunately none of them are capable of grasping the level to which I am not interested."]

[pumping]

And upstairs.

( That should make all the difference. There's a part of him that settles. His bartender beau isn't being swarmed because he's attractive, he's being swarmed because the Queen Bee is back in the nest. )

I haven't seen William here since the night you brought us all.

( To escape the uncomfortable late lunch. In admitting this, he realizes he's making it clear he's been since and William hasn't. Well. Hunters have haunts. Maybe it will slide by. )

[canarying]

Yeah, from what I've heard Cooper doesn't really like crowds that much.

[Which isn't said to slander his name, she knows that if he wasn't good people, Mia would have punched him in the face already. It's mostly teasing a not-present William because she hasn't been properly introduced to the new boyfriend yet.]

But also he might just be growing out of his clubbing phase.

[Mia, teasing, can jab right back: "Maybe some people should take the hint."

Zoe mock gasps, one hand covering her chest:]

Are you calling me old, pipsqueak?

[Mia shrugs. "If the shoe fits ..."

Zoe reaches for a shot.]

You Queens know how to hit where it hurts.

[pumping]

( Don't ask Mickey to give Cooper a bad name. )

I never had a clubbing phase.

( But, he's growing into one, anyway, thanking present company downstairs. )

To hitting where it hurts.

( It's as a good a cheers as any as he downs the shot. )

[canarying]

To hitting where it hurts.

[They've had worse toasts. Zoe knocks her shot back before leaning back to look over at Mickey.]

So how have you been enjoying Star City?

[pumping]

( It's not fair to let an entire city live up to one person, but it kind of does, here, since he and Cooper are on different pages. And Cooper is entitled. He's found his guy. Mickey's not saying he's done the same. Life isn't that convenient, life isn't TV. But, life seems to be shaking out pretty good right about now.

With a roll of (13), he tries to conceal just how much he's liked it so far, always one for playing it closer to the vest. )

It's not Texas. ( In the good and the bad ways. ) You two grew up here?

[canarying]

[Zoe is sharp as a tack (18), and she doesn't miss much. But she's also William's best friend and knows that sometimes, it's not worth pushing people on the personal stuff until they're ready.

She doesn't know Mickey, so she's going to let him divert the conversation.]

Not here, exactly. I grew up in the Glades - which is not as shitty as it used to be thanks to my dad cleaning things up.

[Mia supplies: "Her dad is the mayor."]

[pumping]

Fancy.

( He's great at diverting. Thank you, Zoe. )

So, heiress and the mayor's daughter. Forget running in circles, pretty sure you are the circle, Mia.

( He's in fancy company. And to think, it's by in-law, if they go into technicalities. )

[blackstarred]

Hey, this is a very selective kid-of-superhero circle.

[Which is to say he's not wrong, but they're not letting just any heiresses into this particular club.]

That has been curated through years of realizing that most other people in this usual circle suck.

[pumping]

Well, I'm the kid of a blue collar worker and a teacher.

( He's been selective of his own circle ever since high school. Until the military. And then until Cooper. Cooper and his brother were his unit. He liked it that way - liked it more than he ever knew until it was too late, but he liked it. )

All this -- it's a far cry from small town Texas.

( All of it. Fighting. Hunting. Turning. )

[blackstarred]

Nothing wrong with that. My grandmother was a casino waitress for years.

[Donna Smoak is as much of an everyday person as it gets. And Mia is quite fond of her favorite grandmother. She also taught her to walk in heels and do her makeup, much to her father's chagrin.]

But yeah. This probably is a pretty big change. You've honestly had a lot of change recently.

[And she gets that, more than probably anyone else.]

Sometimes when everything is changing you need to be somewhere where there aren't really any expectations.

[pumping]

Or anyone with expectations.

( As groundless and rootless as he feels, it's the first time someone has given him permission to be. )

You're speaking with experience, underneath all the Mia Queen of it all.

[blackstarred]

I did just pull a pretty epic disappearing act.

[Mickey saw the tail end of it, and probably doesn't know many of the details, but at least she knows how freeing it can be.]

When your entire worldview shifts, there's nothing wrong with needing a minute to adjust. Though ... you can probably still take a minute without going radio silent.

[pumping]

Come back to me when my world tilts back on its' axis.

( He's counted three-times now his world view's changed. It has nothing to do with freezing out his family, or their mutual indifference. )

[blackstarred]

Fair enough.

[She finishes off the last of her shots before getting to her feet.]

I want to dance. You guys coming?

["I'm game," Zoe smirks before glancing back to Mickey. "What about you?"]