video 001 (open)

[kelvins]

un: burninate

[fade into a middle aged bald man, sporting a very serious face as he pours himself a healthy double of whiskey over ice. behind him is a healthy assortment of bottles of all shapes and sizes, various shades ranging from clear to amber to dark almost black.

he takes a deliberate swill before clearing his throat. this little display? mick rory coming to you live from criminales.]

Name's Mick. I figure since the city was nice enough to let me have this bar, the least I could do was let all of you have something nice too.

So for the next month, we've got half price drinks at CriminALES. Don't get used to it though.

Oh and if you're looking for a job, I could use a hand. Benefits include a paycheck. You still have to pay for your drinks and no you can't have 'em on the clock.

Comments

[advena]

If you ruin my —

( dress, she's about to repeat, but the heat gun propels a wide stream of red hot flame directly at her middle. if she'd been expecting it, kara may have paid enough attention to dodge, but distracted, she only manages to avoid the center of the blast at the last possible second, flames licking at her side as she jumps over.

hands stamping out the fire coursing along her ribs and leg, kara can't help but let out a few choice exclamations of frustration as she discovers the patchy, sprawling holes in the fabric, burned through from the heat gun's attack. it's not quite enough to fall off, thanks to the neckline remaining intact, but she's certainly exposed from the side, singed practical underthings peeking through the holes.

well, there goes that dress. )

Mick!

[kelvins]

[he's fully expecting her to dodge the flames outright. when he actually manages to hit her side, his mouth falls open, and he drops the heat gun as if it were a hot potato.

shit.

kara's dress now sports a couple of interestingly placed holes. don't mind mick if he stares for a moment. he's always wondered if librarian chic extends to her undergarment choice as well. the short answer? most definitely.

he files away that tidbit and swears he's gonna send her something better in the mail. oliver can thank him later.]

Not my fault you were too slow. You getting rusty from boredom or something?

[advena]

( her reply comes from between gritted teeth as hands attempt in vain to cover the patchy holes. when that doesn't work, kara tries to pinch the fabric together, which only serves to pull up her hem beyond acceptable heights. that won't do either. without a cardigan or a sweater to cover her, she's left simply exposed, and increasingly annoyed by it. )

You weren't supposed to actually hit me. ( a huff, a hand coming up to adjust her glasses from the corners; her arms cross over her chest in a pose that almost makes her look like an angry dad getting ready to deliver a speech. ) You owe me new clothes.

And free club soda for life, or... ( or what. she can't just beat him up, as much as she'd like to, without having to do a significant amount of community service in the process. not that kara's fundamentally opposed to volunteerism, but she'd rather not have to do it just to get out of the metaphorical red. an alternative punishment comes to mind as the ash of burned cotton begins to itch at her ribcage. ) Or I'll tell Oliver you tried to get me naked for your bar buddies.

( she's not really the kind of girl to hide behind her boyfriend, and mick knows it. it's a last resort, ace-in-the-sleeve sort of threat, only employed when absolutely necessary. )

[kelvins]

What kind of fight doesn't involve hitting? [the expression that mick adopts is somewhere between disbelief and mildly intrigued. a beat passes as he observes her fruitless efforts to cover up before she adjusts her glasses in a manner that can only be described as cute. maybe if she wasn't standing there in a half burned dress he might be mildly intimidated.]

Right. You'll tell your boyfriend and then hothead Robin Hood will come stomping down here and try to fill me with arrows. You realize that'll be a one way ticket back to Star City right? You really want to send him packing so soon?

[he doesn't believe for a second she'd have anyone else fight her battles for her. doesn't seem like her at all. she's more than capable of holding her own.] I'll get you a new outfit though. Won't be the first time we've gone shopping.

[advena]

... no. ( begrudgingly admitted, though her arms don't move from their firm expression of disapproval as she does. sending oliver to play angry overprotective boyfriend on her behalf is really the last thing she wants to do, especially if it means his early departure from this place. maybe if she hid his arrows, though... but then he'd just make more. or use his fists. or a makeshift weapon.

really, it's just better not to even go there.

but her clothing is a problem, one she needs to resolve, and she has zero problem insisting that mick replace what his heat gun has destroyed. after all... ) I meant with your fists, not the heat gun! I wasn't going to laser eyes you.

( not that it wasn't tempting now. )

You're not picking out my dress, either, by the way.

[kelvins]

[mick can see the cogs turning in her head even if she doesn't say anything more than a gruff 'no' to his question about oliver. he knows she's considering the validity of his statement, meant to caution her because he understands that lack of impulse control very well himself and because he cares about her. and kara cares about oliver. so by the transitive, mick cares about oliver even if the guy rubs him the wrong way.

he's glad that she ultimately drops the angry boyfriend route in favor of fighting her own battles. she's certainly more than capable and has proven herself of that on more than one occasion already. a shake of his head and he continues.]

You're bulletproof. Would my fist have done anything other than hurt where it hit you? It wouldn't be the first time someone's shot at me. I may be big but I'm not that slow.

[more softly though, and maybe with a hint of mischief in his voice]

Just trust me. Your boyfriend will thank me too. I swear.

[advena]

Fine. Fine. ( oliver might be hotheaded robin hood, but kara's no less stubborn and bull-headed about things when she wants to be. the fact that she listens to mick, that she acknowledges his contributions enough to admit she might be changing her mind, is evidence of just how close they'd become over the last eight months. it's a testament to how important he is in her adoptive family circle.

so, while kara's not exactly thrilled by the idea of giving someone the freedom to dress her, she has to concede the point that dressing to impress someone for reasons beyond abject professionalism is a little outside her wheelhouse. and, to be fair, when they'd gone shopping for swimsuits for sara, he hadn't been entirely crass about it. he'd been respectful of kara's opinions, and they'd wound up choosing something only moderately revealing by her standards. it was practically tame in mick's eyes, but at least they'd compromised.

after all, she realizes, if she winds up completely hating it, she can always take it back. or hide it in her closet. it's not like she has to wear it home. ) I can't go anywhere in this, though, and you can't leave the bar unattended, so maybe not right now.

I'll meet you, though. Just tell me where.

[kelvins]

Glad you're finally seeing things my way.

[the grin that crosses his face is borderline obscene. he's been dying to offer up his fashion advice since that day he dragged her to find swimwear for sara. it'd been a fun afternoon, with only mild embarrassment on her end and minimal teasing on his. being given the opportunity to repeat the experience sounds like a win in his mind.]

Let's head back in. I've got a shirt you can borrow. We can go shopping tomorrow before the bar opens.