the drinking never stops because the drinks absolve our sins

[not_cocked]

Who| De and Venus, Punchy, Bucky, Chris and/or Spike.
What| De trying to avoid thinking about the upcoming arena.
Where| The Speakeasy and the roof.
When| The few days before the arena. Separate days for each prompt.
Warnings/Notes| Drinking, hooking up.

Bar; evening

So this place wasn't a dive, but it was becoming a comfort to De. It was the closest thing to homey she had found outside the training center. She didn't feel like she was on parade here, a performer with no backstage to escape to. This was a place a girl could have a whiskey, and not feel eyes crawling all over her.

And to think De had once considered running away to Hollywood.

It was obviously people recognized the tributes here, but whatever unspoken rules stopped them from whispering and tittering was an unspoken rule De was going to take advantage of to hell and back.

Sitting at the bar, she stared into the amber liquid in her glass, considering the light in it, and trying to keep her mind empty. It wouldn't stay that way, not yet, but the alcohol was already starting to do the trick. The tension was seeping out of her, drink by drink, and she was starting to feel like a real human being again.

Standing, she took her drink with her, shooting a grin to anyone who's eyes she caught, and searched out some bar flavored entertainments. Pool, darts...she wasn't feeling too picky. A bit rusty maybe, but not picky.

Roof; night

Tonight De knew drinking wouldn't settle her mind.

Sure, she could call up for a bottle and knock herself out. But this close to the arena she didn't want to pull that shit.

And she wasn't 100% sure it would work anyway. Which was an even worse thought. Insomnia was better than waking up half drunk and disoriented at 4 am.

Then again, with the way things were going, she might be seeing 4 am from the other side. Leaning against the edge of the roof, she tucked the small blanket she'd hooked around her shoulders tighter, working to keep out the cold. The days in the Rockies were getting warmed (and she was 95% sure they were somewhere in the middle of Colorado) but the night were still a tad bit nippy. Luckily she'd ditched Victory's idea of PJs and found a t-shirt and boxers, plus some horribly ugly but stupidly comfortable boot slipper things. Even with all that thought, she could feel the chill edging in around her blanket.

The Capitol wasn't quiet the city that never slept, but she could still see plenty of traces of night life. From her, it was almost possible to pretend she was just back home, in some crowded city.

Almost.

Comments

[celebrityskinned]

"But more action-packed. A Winchester's a kind of gun, right? You could be in my line of work and just go last-name only." She uses her straw to knock some sugar off the rim of her glass into the drink. She pulls the lime wedge out and sets it aside. 'Sour' isn't a taste that she's really acclimated to yet.

"I like Venus. Dee feels too personal. I don't know, I don't usually like to do personal."

[not_cocked]

"Yeah, it's pretty fitting."

She grins, before plucking up the lime set next to Venus' drink, lifting it up for permission.

"You mind?" Sugared limes were always a favorite of hers.

"I know what you mean. I've given up on trying to lay low here, but everyone knowing my name before I say it? I'd rather be running around naked."

[celebrityskinned]

"If it was a peach or an orange, I'd be throwing down for that lime, but I don't like anything that hurts me to eat it." She pulls a face, wrinkling her nose for comical effect.

"You get used to it after a while. Them knowing all your business is a bit rougher." Even a seasoned spinmaster like Venus has been thrown for a loop with how little power she has over her own image. "This was my line of work back in the day. I was a televised mercenary."

It's more honest than 'professional superhero'. It builds fewer expectations.

[not_cocked]

"...televised mercenary?" She's way past disbelief at this point with just about anything anyone could say, but that's intriguing enough she wants to hear more. Bad 80's sci-fi movies are already flashing through her head, and she has to keep from smirking at the image.

The sour sweet bite of the lime helps as she pushes it into her mouth whole, her face twisting up at the burst of sour. After a few unlady like expressions, she pulled the rind from her lips.

[celebrityskinned]

"You know. Teleport to Afghanistan, kill some terrorists, get a nice big check from the US government and my producers, then hit the red carpet a few hours later?"

She flashes her toothpaste smile, then poses with a hand on her hip like she's modeling the world's most expensive couture gown and not a t-shirt and short-shorts. Her comfort with the role shows.

[not_cocked]

"So you're a super hero?"

She sounded like a super hero. There might be a spark of fangirling in her eyes. Just a little.

"Damn girl, you've got that Miss America shit down." She nodded with approval. Even when she was playing glam, she couldn't fake it that well. It was impressive.

[celebrityskinned]

"I used to call myself that, then I realized people thought that I was actually, like, heroic." Fact is, she used to be pretty damn pleased with herself too. She faked it until she believed it.

True fact in Hollywood - faking it never actually makes it.

She puts that flashy smile away. "I'd say it came natural, but god damn, I went through so much coaching. I had someone teaching me the most attractive way to sneeze."

[not_cocked]

"Oh yeah? Any pointers? That's a vulnerable time for a woman's looks."

She grins, hoping the joke comes across. This is still tender territory, and she knows it, but she's hoping to talk out of here with an ally. Because Venus would be a damn good ally.

A little more heroic than she seemed to give herself credit for.

"So were you a spandex suit superhero, or a gritty reboot one?"

[celebrityskinned]

"Lift your tongue when you sneeze. It'll make it higher pitched and more feminine."

She folds her arms and rests again against the bar.

"Spandex. I'm in bright red and yellow with a big X on my chest, like I'm making a target out of my rack." She gestures to her breasts like but really, though, who wouldn't drag attention to these?