couldbebeautiful | maskormenace inbox

[ The Big Picture™ in its entirety here might eventually make itself clear, but until then Reggie is more than happy not to volunteer any more information than is absolutely necessary. It'd be a little awkward telling her the truth at this point, if only because 1) she's from, like, the 60s or something, and he's not keen on wrecking his chances at getting some on the possibility she might get weird about him liking chicks and dudes, and 2) Archie and Veronica were actually friends, even if Reggie and Veronica are decidedly not.

But who knows how this will end up going, really... ]

yeah, of course! its called "moving on"
which for the record is the healthiest thing anybody can do, so jot that down
dont worry tho I've got condoms here
but feel free to bring along whatever else if u want

I'm not sure if this is you moving on or you coping, but I honestly can't bring myself to care.

Any alcohol in your fridge? If not, I'll bring some over. I've got a couple of beers here.

[Rude, she's from the 80s.

But yeah—if she'd known Archie and Reggie were A Thing, she'd be a little more wary of accepting right off the bat, simply because. Well. Archie. And she's well aware that she's something of a downgrade from that, because Archie is—was better, as a person who hasn't murdered anyone (that she knows of).

But hey, Reggie's an upgrade from her first boyfriend. Says a lot, she thinks, about her taste in guys.]

oh yeah u caught me, its totally heartbreak city over here
but no, we can leave it at "not caring"
thats actually my favorite thing u've said so far

[ 60s, 80s, like he can keep track...! Okay, he definitely could if he actually bothered, but that isn't the point. Veronica, ironically, feels much more Reggie's speed to him than Archie did-- even he still doesn't understand how he managed to get a guy as, well, good as Archie, which is why something like this now just seems to make sense. Reggie might not know the extent of Veronica's life or what kind of person she is, but just going by what he does know she's kind of an edgy, angry hot mess... which is perfect, because at least neither of them have to make any effort to seem like better people for each other.

There's a certain freedom in that; dissociating from emotional attachment is exactly what he needs. Maybe what they both need? He wouldn't know. ]

hell yeah bring some over
I mean theres ALWAYS some in my fridge but still
varietys the spice of life

["An edgy, angry hot mess" is, in fact, a pretty good summary of Veronica's whole personality and her life so far, exacerbated by all the losses she's had to go through lately. And, god—for a little while, she just doesn't want to feel so lonely anymore.]

You poor, poor soul.

[The next message is a picture of a six-pack of beer hidden away in a bag and a fake ID. It's cheap beer, by the way, the kind you end up buying at 2 AM in a convenience store while wearing a hoodie and listening to depressing music, thinking about loss and grief and trying to ignore the ghosts dogging your heels.

What do you mean that's an oddly specific situation to buy beer in?]

👍🏽👌🏽

[ Cheap beer is a-okay in Reggie's book; after all, he can always booze it up more with his power if they want (or need) to... or use it to chase something already boozier from his fridge. So many options. ]

u good to get here on ur own or are u gonna need a ride?
... also just checking but ur not allergic to dogs right

I've been to your parties enough times that I can find my way to your place drunk.

No, I'm not allergic. [She's really more of a cat person herself, but dogs are good too.] Did you pick up a dog? Does he bite if people try to pet him? Asking for Reasons.

Edited 2018-02-23 14:11 (UTC)

good to know
tho this time at least I would recommend getting here first and THEN getting drunk
pre-gaming a booty call is just kinda weird, u know?

[ Because turn-of-phrase or not, it's never fun being the most sober one in a room. Getting wasted together, however, sounds like a great idea. ]

yeah I did
actually he was meant as a gift but now I guess I'm stuck with him
barks sometimes but he doesnt bite, mostly he's pretty dumb and over affectionate

Of course I'm not coming there drunk. Do I look like a lush to you? (Don't answer that.)

[Just no one ask her why she's just got some beer around, if she doesn't have a budding problem. She thinks she does, but she doesn't want to look at it.]

Has he got a name? I claim naming rights if he's still nameless.

lol well
maybe u do and maybe u dont but hey
lushes can be hot too so is it rly that big a deal regardless 🥂

[ Oh... same...?? Reggie's power means he pretty much constantly has lots of booze in the house, or more accurately, in his hand. But they're sixteen, no way it could possibly count as an actual problem at this point. (Right? Right.) ]

yeah of course he's got a name! I call him moose

So he's a very big dog?

[That doesn't sound too bad! She makes a mental note to herself to visit Reggie's place more often, since, apparently, there's a dog named Moose now. That's a pretty good reason by itself.

She doesn't answer after that initial message, but about fifteen minutes later:]

In Heropa now. On my way.

he wishes
hes a bulldog/pitbull mix so he barely even comes up to my knees
tho then again I've got pretty long legs so maybe thats not fair

[ But Moose is still just not that big of a dog... despite the name. ]

door should be unlocked btw

[To her credit, Veronica knocks first before she lets herself in, calls out:] Hey! [This action is not for Reggie's benefit, but Moose's, because the moment she spies the dog she'll slip her hands out of her pockets. See? She means no harm.

She's brought along the jacket, too, the one he gave her for Christmas while she was having probably one of the worst months of her life, barring September of 1989. It's probably a good thing, because under the jacket is the most offensively eighties thing she's ever worn. It's so retro that there's no way she didn't do it on purpose just to get a rise out of him, because even Veronica's usual sense of style is subtler than this.

She lifts her chin a little when she sees him, as if daring him to say something about her clothes.]

He's a pretty cute dog. You must've bribed him with some incredible treats.

[ Moose practically trips over himself running toward the door to see who's just stopped by, barking twice but then simply letting his tongue hang out of his mouth, enthusiastically scoping Veronica out by walking around her in a circle.

It's a few more seconds before Reggie shows his face, coming around the corner from the hallway into the main room after finishing up a last minute sweep of his room to hide anything that might merit hiding, or to just kick some of his shit out of the way-- Archie had been the tidier of the two of them, Reggie on the other hand more often just letting things lay wherever they might fall. ]

Nah, he's just like that-- the cute and dumb thing just comes naturally, same as with his namesake.

[ Then Reggie actually looks at her and his eyebrows raise-- he just stands there without saying anything further for a few long seconds, putting his hands on his hips like he's sizing her up. Her look, more specifically. The jacket is actually the last thing he clocks, too distracted by the rest of her outfit, but when he does finally notice that she's wearing it, he smirks. ]

Nice jacket. Y'know, you really oughta wear that thing more often.

This old thing?

[She gestures to the rest of the outfit, pretending she doesn't know damn well he was referring to the jacket and not the outfit. It's not old, she bought some of this stuff a few days ago on a whim. She hadn't thought to throw them all together like this before today, but hey, if it annoys the hell out of Reggie then she'll wear this outfit every day and get her hair permed, a la Farrah Fawcett. She smirks a little up at him, daring and even a little bit flirty.]

I dug it out from the back of my closet. I don't get to wear it often, it's pretty easily ripped. [Is that a line? She steps closer, pokes his chest with her finger.]

You really ought to be nicer more often. Although—I'm pretty sure trying to bottle up your bitchiness might be bad for your health.

[ Now it's only one of Reggie's eyebrows that's quirked sharply upward, as if he can't quite believe what he's hearing. What that a line? From--

His smirk broadens as he cocks his head slightly to one side in appraisal. This is getting fun already. ]

No, obviously that old thing you should be wearing as infrequently as possible. As in you probably shouldn't even be wearing it now.

[ Speaking of lines.

The outfit is definitely one that Reggie does find absolutely horrible and tacky, but Veronica herself is another story; she's pretty, actually, which is a hard observation for Reggie to ignore when she's this close to him. The only other time they've been close like this was a few months back at one of his parties, when they'd made out (or did they almost make out? Reggie was too drunk at the time to still remember much of what happened) during the candy bracelet game.

(That time Reggie had been the one wearing something stupid, although he'd still argue it was less so than Veronica's current ensemble.)

He coaxes her chin to tilt a bit further upward with his finger, before his hand moves back from there to cup the side of her face, to give her hair a couple of experimental strokes. ]

And let's be honest, Veronica-- there's a big difference between doing something the nice way and doing it the right way. I think we both know that.

[ Which is apparently his cue to put his free hand on her ass. ]

[It's—

Listen, it's been a while. Months, in fact, mostly because Veronica had been sorting her own shit out and dodging her ghosts. They're not here now, which is good, because nothing kills the mood faster than a couple of hallucinations keeping up a running commentary. Her breath catches in her throat as he tilts her head up, and almost without thought her hand drifts up to his bicep. Just to touch.

And then his hand is on her ass and okay, fine, she's just going to roll with this! One hand fists into his shirt, the other one on his bicep turns appreciative, into something she uses to pull herself up a little more so she can just crash her lips against his, messy and hot and wet and maybe she hasn't been pre-gaming that much, but there's a little bit of alcohol on her breath. And mint toothpaste.

She breaks away, says:] You wanna do this the right way, Mantle? Take my clothes off. [Who knew such a small girl could be bossy?]

[ For Reggie it's only been weeks, but it has been months since he's done anything like this with someone else-- something that Reggie had actually not minded as much as he'd thought he would when he and Archie had first started "dating," but now...

But now, this feels good, it feels so good, touching someone different, someone new. He wasn't bored, before, he wasn't desperate for anything like this, but now that he's alone again he can remember how nice it can also be having that variety, new and/or meaningless experiences, mindless fun with people he has no obligation to actually care about beyond having a good time together.

Reggie's hand grips Veronica's ass a bit more firmly, his other other digging itself into her thick hair, and he catches her mouth in another aggressive kiss that on his side also has undertones of alcohol (and Red Bull) flavoring it. He makes an appreciate but combative noise against her mouth, not a groan so much as it's almost a growl.

Her bossiness is obnoxiously hot, but it comes as no surprise; that's something he usually finds hot in girls, so this could actually work out. Reggie likes that she's small, too-- it's easy to herd her backwards, press her to the wall as his hand travels from her ass down her thigh. He pulls back from the kiss, watching her expression. ]

What was that? You want me to rip 'em off? That's not the worst idea you've had.

[His hand digs into her hair and wow, okay, she's into that. She's known she's been into that since JD, it's just, shit. God—she moans, a little, into his mouth, at the tug on her hair and the grip on her ass. A keening noise rises in her throat when he backs her into a wall and breaks the kiss, but she strangles that because she has to have a little bit of dignity here.

There's a touch of defiant haughtiness in her look, when she looks up at him. The hand that had fisted itself in his shirt now wanders downward so she can also cop a feel of his ass. You know, just to make things fair.]

I'm full of good ideas. [There's a touch of irony in those words. She's well aware she isn't, and that this one is probably not the best idea, but like? Fuck it.] I'm surprised it took you this long to figure it out, what do I have to do, say it a third time? Rip my fucking clothes off—

[ Normally Reggie would try to say something clever right about now, meet her sass with even more of his own, but all he manages when his lips part again is a more proper groan this time. If he was a different kind of person he might feel more guilty for being as into this as he is, how much he missed this-- the rough, aggressive passion and freedom that only a no (or at least low) stakes hook-up can really provide.

It's just different.

He rocks his hips backwards against her squeezing hand -- does he like that? Yes, yes he does -- and, for lack of an immediate witty rejoinder, simply smirks at her before he puts a hand on her shirt, bracing his weight against hers and the wall with his other hand so that he doesn't need both to tear her shirt open; just one, and his teeth. ]

Now usually I might say "bill me for 'em," but this is definitely already a major improvement.

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lmk if this isn't okay cries

IT'S VERY OKAY dw dw (but also likewise lmk??)

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