Seattle Summer Showoff

[basic_powers]

As they exist from the narrow door of the linen closet for his apartment, Dinah will see two doors down the hallway to her left. One has a biohazard sign hanging from it, and the other is part-way open, enough that one can see the window and bed inside. There's a couple of photos hanging from the wall, one of Beauford and a blonde young woman laughing with the lights of a carnival in the twilight background, and one with Beauford and a reddish-brown haired man in a repurposed tan flightsuit, grinning in front of a college graduation ceremony.

To her right, she'll see that Beauford was infact not exaggerating at all about the shoebox size of his apartment's kitchen, as there is only a tiny island seperating it from the small living room. There's a well-used black futon and coffee table with a little black laptop on top of magazines and comic books. Against the wall there's a shelf with a flatscreen tv, several videogame consoles and a dvd/bluray player. Light filters through the curtain outside and Dinah can likely see the door out of the apartment with three bicycles hanging from hooks beside it on the wall, and pannier bags for the bikes hung with coats and hats from the coat rack.

It doesn't take much guessing to figure out that the blue and gunmetal bike is Beauford's from the homemade welds and adjustments given to it.

"Welcome to my humble bachelor pad...I'd give you the tour but this is pretty much it."

Comments

[raptorcanaria]

Dinah fingers a couple of bills in her pocket (even as a Gothamite, she still pays attention), but decides that the serial number is probably out of date and will mess with interdimensional economics, so she keeps pace with Beauford.

"I'mm not surprised," she says. "If I were on vacation, I'd rather come here in the summer than the winter."

Gotham, on the other hand, doesn't get many tourists.

[basic_powers]

That is because Gotham is a termite mound of scum and villans under all the good people there.

You couldn't pay Beauford to go on a vacation there.

One of the two kids panhandling gives Dinah a very rude gesture as she and Beauford pass by, with Beauford starting into a light jog.

"I'd rather go see Uncle Ray in New York during the summer, could see Nico, and maybe a Mets game," He says, taking a moment to do a warm-up wall handspin. "But summer is when I really make a lot of money at Q57."

[raptorcanaria]

"Has that got something to do with you bartending without a shirt?"

Dinah totally supports anything that results in getting more tips. She follows him into the jog, then ups her own pace before lightly vaulting a fire hydrant.

[basic_powers]

"No, but don't think Jasil hasn't suggested that before..." He's grinning, kong vaulting over a set of concrete bike posts. "I don't think anyone really wants to see my scars anyways, really. It's just busier because more people are working the tourist industry, and after so many hours working..well. Let's just say they tip REALLY well for getting tasty, tasty drinks."

[raptorcanaria]

"Hey, scars work on girls, I'm assuming they work on boys too."

As a wall appears on the side of the sidewalk, Dinah leaps lightly on top of that and runs along the top.

"Still, gettiing paid for being a great bartender is preferable."

[basic_powers]

"I'd rather get paid for skill than for being just another pretty face..." Beauford grins, jump flipping over someone's bike before using a light post to make a quick right.

"I mean, the bar has enough pretty pretty brainless cage dancers. Talented as heck at dancing but there's one that has trouble with any word with more than 3 syllables..."

[raptorcanaria]

"Maybe that's what they want you to think," says Dinah, following him and leaping far off the wall when it comes to an end.

"I know how valuable underestimating a pretty face can be."

[basic_powers]

"True...true...I'm just not comfortable showing those things off to a crowd of people." A tree closer to the street gets grabbed around the trunk and swung on like a slingshot. "Only so many times you can explain where they came from before you start wanting to make up a different story each time, just to mess with people."

[raptorcanaria]

Dinah giggles when she somersaults over the leash of a dog using the wall to relieve itself, to the shock of its owner.

"That's true. I forget how much people think they're entitled to answers like that."

[basic_powers]

"'Well, ye see here now, I had this one wicked nasty farming accident when I was helping dad harvest tha corn down in Kansas..'" Beauford drawls, faking a horrible country accent before running up the side of the wall ahead of Dinah to clear a group of passing chatting young people.

[raptorcanaria]

"Oh my god," Dinah says, folloing his path to avoid the same group. "That was a terrible accent."

She swtiches to the street side of the sidewalk, using a street lamp to vault over a pile of the week's trash.

[basic_powers]

"I know, it had too much Texan in it." Beauford chuckles, swinging from the support bars of some overhanging awning monker-bar style. "But people hear I'm from Kansas and that's the first thing they think I should be like."

"....and it's horrible and mean probably, but it's just so much FUN-" He's somersaulting just for the heck of it now, "To play on and off of their expectations sometimes."

[raptorcanaria]

"You're telling me," Dinah says, laughing when he somersaults and spinning around another street lamp.

"I'm all about playing of people's expectations."

[basic_powers]

"That reminds me, Jasil's been pushing for me to volunteer for the comedy drag night at the bar in a month..."

[raptorcanaria]

"Oh yeah?"

She bites back on a laugh, and gives him a thorough look up and down. "You think you're man enough for heels?"

[basic_powers]

"I really can't decide, I mean, part of me wants to use waterballoons to stuff the bra and dance around to 'Cherry Lips' dressed as Dolly Parton..." He replies, jogging backwards to look Dinah in the eye with a straight face as he says this.

"...do you think I'm man enough for heels and fishnets?"

[raptorcanaria]

"I don't know," replies Dinah, watching him jog with a critical eye. "It takes someone who is extra tought ot pull off fishnets, you know."

[basic_powers]

"True, true, you're a lady who can and will kick my ass if necessary, which I profoundly hope it never comes to." Beauford grins, knowing the chances of accidentally making Dinah want to deck him are low.

If he's careful.

"Got any other suggestions?" He's still jogging backwards, almost right into a trashcan someone left out, before back flipping on it and twisting so he's facing forward again.

[raptorcanaria]

Dinah follows him over the trashcna with a kong vault that closes the gap between them so she's mmore to his side than behind him.

And giving him another look.

"You've got pretty good legs," she decides. "I bet you could pull off a ballgown with a high slit."

[basic_powers]

"...maybe some baby blue pantyhose. No way am I shaving my legs for this." It's a one-night gig to raise up some cash for a friend, and while it is noble to sacrifice for a cause...

Beauford ain't dealing with a month of 'dem gams' jokes.

"Dark blue dress, with sequins?"

[raptorcanaria]

"No commitment to your art."
Dinah disapproves.

"Baby blue with dark blue? Go with black."

[basic_powers]

"For the dress?" He's smirking a little at the commitment comment. "It's a comedy thing, I volunteered to be part of the act. Either I pick my own outfit, or Jasil will pick it for me."

"...and while that peh has lovely taste...He was grinning waaay too much when peh said that."

[raptorcanaria]

Dinah snorts, almost choking on her own laughter.

"If you're not going to shave, then tights are your only option."

[basic_powers]

"I think you'll have no trouble picturing me in tights," He grins, trying to suppress a cackle.

After all, her co-workers tend to wear the same fare on duty!

And with that, he's turning to head towards a circular ramp, leading to a path above the busier streets for pedestrians. Every shortcut to their goal should be used, after all.

Including the buildings, which leaves little room for conversation other than Beauford pointing out the odd landmark before they arrive on the roof of a building just a block from the aquarium.

[raptorcanaria]

Dinah lands on the rooftop at the end of a sky vault and stops, brushing her hair out of a face that's covered in sweat from the humidity. Then, using her hand to shade her eyes, she turns a full 360 around, admiring the view.

"Cities always look weird from above," she says.