singillatim | Hot Potato (party log)

Who: Chloe Frazer & any and all party people!!
What: Harvest Celebrations/Halloween Party/Ruby’s Birthday/Rat Marriage/Big Communal Cooking Party so Chloe doesn't burn down her house
When: October 12
Where: At Chloe’s house on Greene Street

Content Warnings: Food descriptions, probably.
Other Notes: Feel free to make this a mingle and reply to other characters!

Chloe had wondered whether to go through with the harvest party once Lalo had disappeared, but as they say, the show must go on. There's still a lot worth celebrating, and people need something hopeful after the mess last month. Luckily her house had made it through everything all right.

The poster had said to wear a costume, so she's hoping to see a lot of those, and she’d recruited some people to help her put together the menu exactly to Lalo’s specifications, so unfortunately no one is safe from British Potatoes. There are even candles for the birthday cake.

Chloe herself is dressed as a sexy lumberjack, with one of Lalo’s old flannels tied in a knot under her breasts and denim cutoffs made from the jeans Kostya had gotten blood on (shh). She's got a fire roaring, because otherwise she’d freeze.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Considering that some of the other people in town absolutely suck, Hickey isn't going to judge or rebut Billy's assessment. Because other people are a problem. Other people include those who dislike him for completely unjustifiable reasons, like the time the Darkwalker got into his brain and he killed a guy.

"I've already found a few new arrivals I can charm to my good side," Hickey muses, with a little nod. Michonne. Zane. "But you're right. More people who aren't aware of our story, the better."

Hickey has justifications a mile long. That being said, he is also aware that things like 'cannibalism' and 'doing a mutiny' and 'a little bit of murder' don't exactly look great.

"You have?"

He isn't entirely too sure how he has to feel about Hickey's talk of charm to his good side. Sure, Billy won't deny Hickey has some charm. Otherwise he wouldn't be attracted to the other in the first place. But he also knows that Hickey can lay it on kind of thick.

"Who?" Might as well know who in town happens to be more or less alright with the other.

"That woman with the sword, Michonne. She's got a good head on her shoulders. And then there's Zane. He's...interesting."

It's obvious that Hickey is being as diplomatic as humanly possible when saying 'interesting.' That word is doing a lot of heavy lifting.

"Borderline mad at times, but in a way that we can work with."

Even though he definitely is picking up what Hickey is putting down with the use of that particular word, Billy still pulls a face so quickly after the other man says that name. Sometimes Billy can pretend to be polite and hide his judgement, but apparently he isn't even bothering to do so right now.

Whether it's because he figures most people likely aren't paying too much attention to the two of them at a busy party or because Zane left that strong of an impression is anyone's guess.

"He touched me," Billy grumbles. "And then practically called me an eccentric."

It doesn't sound like outright hatred like when he talks about Rorschach. It's something closer to more regular annoyance.

It does sound like regular annoyance. Which is why Hickey says what he does next, knowing full well that Billy can be just as petty as Hickey is when the situation calls for it.

"I punched him in the face," Hickey muses. "Accidentally, of course. But he took me by surprise—came up right behind me, catching me off guard. And of course I'd retaliate when shocked like that. So, I punched him."

He has absolutely no regrets. Zane's a friend, Hickey enjoys his company, but also buddy. Please. Back the fuck off.

"Good," he simply replies.

Apparently this is one action of Hickey's Billy absolutely does not mind in the slightest. Especially since he adds, a moment later: "He deserved it."

Maybe not for simply startling Hickey, but when he combines all the sheer weirdness he's seen from Zane so far, then Billy definitely thinks he deserved it. Besides, Zane is so weird that maybe he wouldn't even really have minded it. Weirdo.

"How did he react?"

"Oddly well? He was annoyed that I hit him, of course." Honestly, Hickey would be annoyed if anybody punched him, friend or not. Someone like Billy or Kieren or Chloe would be forgiven, of course, but that wouldn't stop Hickey from being a big drama queen about it all.

"But I apologized and we got along well after that. Chatted about my upcoming nuptials, gossipped a bit about you, friendly-like things."

Cornelius 'I will die on this stupid hill' Hickey sure breezed past that admission that he actually apologized for a mistake.

Usually that last part would be a problem for Hickey, considering that Billy never lets things like that slide so easily. He definitely would have pointed out that it's not like Hickey to apologize.

Fortunately for Hickey though, he mentioned something else that draws Billy's attention so much more that he is letting it slide this once.

He even looks outright surprised when he echoes back: "Gossiped?"

Billy isn't sure how much he likes the sound of that..

"What did you tell him?"

"Nothing he didn't already know!" Hickey responds, with a light little chuckle. Sometimes it's nice to throw Billy for a loop, to introduce a little chaos or give him something to worry about. Because at his core, Billy's husband is a bit of a shit.

"He called you private. Said you didn't like people draping over you."

At which point, Hickey leans against Billy and drapes an arm over his shoulder, once again, simply to be a bit of a shit.

"Most people are," he retorts.

You know, like Billy isn't particularly introverted. In a way that doesn't even necessarily have to do with him being Victorian and all, though that sure helps. Judging by the way he doesn't shove Hickey off him when the other proceeds to drape himself over him like that, maybe he's a little bit more like a cat who only allows very specific people to touch him, and only when he feels like it..

"You are one of the strangest people I know," he says, so casually that it almost doesn't even sound like he's intending for it to be an insult, "and yet even you don't drape yourself over everyone like this. He is the only one who does that."

"One, I'm hardly strange," says the man who is aggressively strange and isn't admitting it. "But two, you're right about Zane. Everybody else is mindful of people's space. Him? I dunno what happened with him, but he isn't."

Hickey shrugs. At the end of the day, it's weird? But he's dealt with weirder things than a man who doesn't know what personal space is.

"I can't be the only one who's accidentally retaliated when he surprised them."

He won't reply to the first part - though maybe Billy's look is saying everything all by itself, honestly. Even if he isn't saying anything out loud, the gaze in his eyes has the most intense 'sure, Jan' vibe about them.

But he's quiet instead. Thinking for a moment. And then--

"Do you think I could get away with punching him then?"

He says it kind of dryly, making it hard to determine whether that's a joke on Billy's end or if he's serious about this one.

Without any hesistation, eyes shining with excitement at this possibility, Hickey answers,

"Absolutely."

Please punch Zane. Please punch him. It would be very fun and Hickey would love to see that.

Hot Potato (party log)

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