Papa's Got a Brand New...Bling (Late July 2008)

[nomorekaraoke]

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life--

Wrong theme song, even though the theme certainly applies. It's a new day in Lorne's life. He quite enjoys dawn, thank you very much. He's found a new place to live - another penthouse in the middle of Youdon'tneedtoknow-ville. And recently, he's been indulging more and more in taking breathers at Milliways.

In short: good times all around.

Comments

[stilljustandrew]

And hey, there's Andrew at the bar.

He glances up when the front door opens, and brightens slightly at the sight of Lorne.

[nomorekaraoke]

Ooh, he could pick that head of goldilocks out of a crowd any time of day. Those pretty eyes definitely help, too. Unknowingly, his demeanor brightens as well as he ambles up to his friend-in-the-making.

"Hey there, cutie pie. How's it hangin'?"

[stilljustandrew]

"Hey, Lorne." He raises his glass. "Not too bad. How's things with you?"

[nomorekaraoke]

"Things are looking up." He leans against Bar rather than taking a seat, and is suddenly overcome with a stray thought. An impulse, if you will.

"In fact..." His eyes turn into impish, red slits as he looks this way and that before settling once again on Andrew's face. "There's something I need to show you."

[stilljustandrew]

"Oh?" Slightly cautious, but considerably more intrigued.

[nomorekaraoke]

"It's... Well, I guess you could call it a book in the sense you shouldn't judge it by its cover." The imp expands to cover the beginnings of a grin, and in complete disrespect for social faux pas...-es, Lorne reaches for Andrew's hand.

"Bring your choice of poison, Samwise, papa's got a brand new bag."

[stilljustandrew]

"Somebody's in a good mood," Andrew observes, starting to grin and picking up his drink in his free hand. "So what is this thing that isn't a book and isn't a bag?"

[nomorekaraoke]

He doesn't reply straight away, choosing instead to pull Andrew along on a ride of ever so slight suspense.

"It's a ring."

[stilljustandrew]

He follows willingly enough. "It's not a Ring of One Wish, is it?"

[nomorekaraoke]

"Nope. Not a One Ring to Rule anyone, either. World domination is so not my style." Up the stairs they go, and down one of the many hallways to his room. "It's a charm. You'll see."

[stilljustandrew]

"Now I'm all curious," Andrew complains, good-naturedly.

[nomorekaraoke]

He unlocks the door, showing Andrew inside with a grand sweep of his arm. "After you, kind Sir, after you. Now... This may be somewhat...unsettling. Goodness knows it was for me, so I might as well lay all my cards on the table, in style."

He closes the door behind him, bracing for some, unnameable impact. "I've got myself a glamour. Custom made. --to look, for all intents and purposes, as human as possible."

[stilljustandrew]

"...Oh cool," says Andrew, looking delighted.

[nomorekaraoke]

That's worlds apart from the reaction he expected, but in retrospect, he really should've known better. He smiles, self-consciously relieved. "That's what I think."

He steps inside, moving to the bedside table and reaches into the uppermost drawer. He fishes out a ring, turns it over in his hand, and shoots a thoughtful little look Andrew's way.

"Only problem is... It's stupid, but I just can't find anything to wear that doesn't clash with the faux face."

[stilljustandrew]

"...seriously?" Andrew looks dubious. "What's wrong with the kind of thing you always wear?"

[nomorekaraoke]

"Why don't I just show you instead of standing here yapping?"

He shrugs good-naturedly. Slides the plain little ring onto his left thumb, and--

It really would be nice if it happened with a flair or some sort of spark of drama, but it doesn't. He's just suddenly a lot less green, and a whole lot more mundane.

But his clothes aren't. Therein lies the dilemma.

[stilljustandrew]

"Oh," he says involuntarily, blinking.

[nomorekaraoke]

"That very eloquently sums it up, peaches," Lorne says, and if you look closely, it almost looks a whole lot like his verdant, usual self.

Except for the fact he's very...Caucasian, indeed.

[stilljustandrew]

He is.

Andrew tilts his head to one side as though to get a better view.

"You still look like you," he says in a tone of faint wonder, "only ... human."

[nomorekaraoke]

He ducks his head, surprise written all over his face, though if it comes from the sudden smile tugging at his mouth or the compliment, he isn't sure.

"Yeah, that's sort of the point." It seems so silly now. Why didn't he go for something completely different?

[stilljustandrew]

"That's kind of amazing."

Andrew's starting to grin.

[nomorekaraoke]

"Well, between you and me, I paid a lot of money for the Real Life factor, so it'd better be fantastic."

That? That's the hint of a grin in the making, right there. "Now if I could only figure out an outfit, 'cause the peachy complexion? It's screwing with my fashion sense."

[stilljustandrew]

He looks as though he's muffling a laugh. "So basically what we need here is Queer Eye for the Used-To-Be-Green Guy?"

[nomorekaraoke]

If Andrew's muffling a laugh, Lorne's not much better off. "Yeah. Something like that."

[stilljustandrew]

"I don't know if Geek Eye is what you're looking for, though." Rueful.