to Berlin with love.

[runningred]

 From here

Jay opens the door into a quiet back alley that could belong to any city - the lingering scent of garbage and the miss-matched colours where graffiti has been washed off or painted over. In the mid-afternoon chill of early spring, he takes Emcee's hand and leads him out into the street, pocketing the key. The sunlight is thin but warm and picks out the green swell of buds in the branches. The tree lined avenue is quiet this time of day. Not lacking in people but without rush, a lazy Saturday afternoon.

Comments

[i_am_your_host]

This statement throws Emcee off guard and his eyes widen a bit. Jay will feel his breath catch slightly.

"Do we have plans, Jay?"

He just...wants to make sure.

[runningred]

"I don't believe so." Jay manages to keep his voice even, reaching back to touch Emcee's hip.

[i_am_your_host]

"Then we should be free," Emcee answers for them.

"What time do you usually close?"

[runningred]

"Not for another hour or so." She taps her crop on her thigh. "Think you can entertain yourselves till then?"

[i_am_your_host]

"As long as there's music playing to the end, I would be happy to keep Jay out of trouble," he says with a grin and a light squeeze to Jay's nether regions.

[runningred]

"Good." She purrs. "A party like this should be enjoyed." She grins that wicked grin, looking them up and down before turning back to the bar.

Jay shakes his head. "Trouble maker." He growls, turning to kiss Emcee meaningfully.

[i_am_your_host]

"I am not the one who dragged us into the restroom," he protests, all innocence and purity. Except for the smirk that Jay has not successfully kissed off his face.

[runningred]

Jay growls softly, more relaxed now he has had his terrible way with Emcee. The last hour or so of the party, which turns out to be more like two is marked by more good music and dancing.

They get more than a few invitations to move on to other parties, some very openly private parties of the orgy variety but Jay politely turns them all down, letting Emcee decide for himself.

The result is an awful lot of phone numbers slipped into the waistband and very tight pockets of his jeans. Emcee's too!

[i_am_your_host]

Not only does Emcee end up with invitations and phone numbers (which he all keeps for future reference), but someone's plastic sunglasses shaped like hearts, a couple of glowing, neon-colored necklaces, a lipstick print on his cheek, and a fruity cocktail.

At some point during the festivities, Emcee, bedecked with these colorful accoutrements, goes up to Jay and says into his ear, "If this is what parties in the future are like, I think I'm going to adjust quite well."

[runningred]

The plastic heart glasses look great on him and Jay can't help but grin. "I think you'll do just fine here."

Jared comes over to join them as the crowd starts to thin and move on. "So... Alice tells me she's um-" He blushes a little, "made arrangements with you for this evening?"

[i_am_your_host]

As Emcee sips his hundredth drink, he wonders why is the crowd thinning? What time is it? The party isn't over until the sun comes up!

And then there's Jared.

"Jared, darling! Yes! Arrangements, of a sort," he says, grinning up at him. "And I do believe that she has included you in them."

[runningred]

It is getting pretty close to dawn and more than a few after-parties people are moving on to, including the staff who are starting the nightly clean-up.

Jared returns Emcee's grin with a small, shy smile. "So she told me. If... if that's okay with both of you?"

[i_am_your_host]

Well, darn. It looks like the party is over and it's well past last call.

"If it wasn't okay, I would have made it utterly clear that it wasn't," he chuckles, charmed by Jared's shyness. "Needless to say, it certainly is okay."

He turns to Jay, peering at him over the sunglasses.

"Isn't it, darling?"

[runningred]

This party, anyway.

Jared looks to Jay too, biting his lip in an enduring sweet expression.

"Of course, Jared." Jay nods, giving the young man a relaxing smile. "I'm sure you guys have a lot to do. Do you want to join us in the penthouse when you're ready."

[i_am_your_host]

Emcee is...a little more than tipsy. Almost drunk. He can handle his liquor, though, and he's still mostly coherent and functional, if just a bit forgetful. And overly cheerful.

"The penthouse!" he sings out. "Yes, the penthouse! Oh, it's a marvelous penthouse, Jared, with so much space, and the bed is huge."

A very important feature.

He turns back to Jay.

"Are we leaving now?"

[runningred]

Jay chuckles and threads his arms around Emcee's waist, kissing his neck. "If you're ready?"

A plain, lanky man comes over to join them, his sandy hair damp. "Hey, thanks for tonight." He beams at Emcee and Jay, flashes of Kitty's flamboyance shining through. "I love it when people get into the show." He holds a hand out to them. "I'm Simon, at least when I'm not on stage. We're going on to Devil's Ducky for the after party if you guys want to join us."

[i_am_your_host]

Emcee is about to reply to Jay when the plain but still cute man comes up to them. And it takes a moment of staring at him before he realizes who he is.

Eyes wide, Emcee takes his hand and clasps it between his own.

"Oh my god, darling, I didn't even recognize you without your tits on," he gushes with a laugh. "And there's an after party? Devil's Ducky??"

He glances at Jay, still clutching Simon's hand, then back at Simon.

"Will Alice and Jared be there? We made plans with them. Rather, Alice made plans with us and its probably imperative that we stick to them."

[runningred]

Simon chuckles, far lower and softer than Kitty's giggle. "So we've heard. Alice can be like that."

He glances to Jared. "Couple of drinks at the Ducky before Alice drags you off?"

Jared shrugs, addressing Emcee and Jay. "If you don't mind. The Ducky is where club staff go to drink after work. It's nothing like this. Just a little bar with a silly name. The owners are Korean. They wanted it to have a Germanic sounding name so they picked a couple of words out of a book that looked right to them. It came out as Satanic Mallard so it's been Devil's Ducky ever since."

[i_am_your_host]

"That is fucking hilarious," Emcee snorts laughingly, "but I love it."

He turns to Jay again, and slips his hand around his arm.

"What do you think, darling? One more round with these lovely people?"

[runningred]

"Sounds good to me." Jay smiles.

Simon smiles as well as the little bunny girl, his wife Lara, joins them. "Jared and Alice will follow along as soon as they lock up, no doubt. They take looking after this place very seriously."

Outside the sun is rising and the staff of Wonderland share cigarettes and casual insults as they walk towards the Devil's Ducky. There's an easy feeling of family here, relaxed and open.

Simon lets Lara skip on ahead with some of the other girls and drops back to talk with Jay and Emcee. "So, Alice tells me you're moving into the penthouse? I hope that means we'll see more of you? I'd love someone to work on new material with."

[i_am_your_host]

Emcee bums a cigarette off one of the band members before everyone splits into loose groups as they proceed down the empty street. A smoke is perfect right about now.

He smiles as Simon joins him and Jay. But his questions leave him a little flustered.

"Oh, um--"

He chuckles airily, glancing up at Jay, as he tries to pull words together through the haze of alcohol.

"Well, you know, I'm between places at the moment. I don't know when I can move in yet. But as soon as it happens, I would most definitely like to work with you. I think that could be quite exciting."

[runningred]

"No hurries." Jay gives Emcee a little squeeze. "Things'll sort themselves out when you're ready."

Simon smiles. "Well, when you do, it'd be great to have someone to bounce ideas with." He gives Emcee a warm little bump. "Another showman."

One of the bar staff at the head of the group calls back something about Karaoke Combat. The reaction is split between cheers and groans as they turn into a narrow lane.

Satanic Mallard is a low roofed place with stained dark wood counters and a garish karaoke stage in one corner and a dance machine in the other. The high scores on the board are the names of local bars and the teams. Wonderland - Kitchen holds the top spot.

A tired looking Korean woman starts pouring drinks as they all stumble in, clearly accustomed to this crowd.

[i_am_your_host]

The thought is of course sobering. Emcee can almost feel the alcohol dissipating in his bloodstream.

But he continues to smile and chuckle, appreciating Jay's support and Simon's camaraderie.

"I may already have several ideas for shows, but we'll save them for later," he tells Simon with a grin.

As they follow the rest of the group into the pub, Emcee looks around with amusement. He's never seen a dance machine before, but doesn't want to ask what it is in case it's a common future thing. But thanks to Milliways, he definitely knows what karaoke is.

Overall, the place has a quirky, local vibe that he likes.

"Oh my god, that poor woman," he mumbles under his breath with a faint smirk when he sees the bartender. It's a familiar look on the bartenders at the Kit Kat Klub.

[runningred]

"She's use to us." Simon chuckles, accepting a tray of shots from the lady as she mutters complaints in Korean that make Jay snort.

He passes the shots around as the kitchen staff make a bee-line for the dance machine, offering shots to Jay and Emcee's. "Happy Pride Week, everyone!"

Much cheering answers him.

[i_am_your_host]

Emcee takes his glass and raises it with the others.

"May all your days and nights forever be gay," he declares before downing the shot.

While he is enthusiastic, he still must contain his wonderment at the existence of such a thing as Pride Week. Again, it might seem out of place.

His attention is then drawn to the group headed for the dance machine. Mostly he just wants to see what it is and what they're going to do with it.