shake your bones out if you wanna ride

Mateo

"Good comes in all shapes, I have found," Mateo says with a wink; he's quite the morally grey man himself, after all, but he wouldn't consider himself a villain by any stretch of the imagination. "So sainthood? Maybe not. Good enough, though? I will allow it." Grinning - he's only met the captain a handful of times but as Flora's brother he feels fully entitled to pass judgement on him - Mateo is content to drop that line of conversation and sets his glass down beside Vesper's.

Like a dance, the botanist follows suit and leans himself in a little closer, huffing out a laugh to hear the perils of going back to the other man's place. "Glitter is a cardinal sin in my book - for the exact reasons you mention - so I appreciate the warning," he says. Cocking his head to the side to hear the Halenani mentioned, Mateo is pleasantly surprised by the offer; he of course frequents Stormbreak's brothels practically as often as the people who work there, but not many people share his familiarity with those sorts of places. His respect (and desire) for the bewitching young man before him grows.

Then, like a game of kiss-chase, Vesper is sitting back again and Mateo straightens up to smoothly knock back another few fingers of liquor. "I cannot say that I have," he says. "Sounds wet. Lucky for you, I have no plans for the morning, or the rest of the day after that. So lead the way, if that is your pick."

I'm a scholar and a gentleman
And I don't usually fall when I try to stand

// I got this feeling, yeah, you know where I'm losing all control //

Vesper leans back against the bar, letting the low light catch the glint of his ringed fingers as he taps his glass in a steady, unhurried rhythm, before offering the botanist a wry and conspiratorial look. "A word of warning then—if you see a platinum bombshell blonde comin' your way, you might want to steer clear. Nova has a penchant for glitter, so if you want to avoid that particular sin.." Tilting his head slightly, the demigod lets Mateo's mind fill in the details.

Glancing lazily over his shoulder, the demigod eyes the perpetual twilight within the bar before trying to measure it against the fading light outside. "I gotta say," he drawls, voice smooth and measured, not unlike their rapidly diminishing bottle of whiskey. "I know it was my idea and all, but it’s still a good ten hours ‘til sunrise, and neither one of us is exactly dressed for a swim tonight." He points out, gaze softening as he shrugs, shifting his weight slightly as he leans forward again a touch.

A playful glimmer dances in his ice-blue eyes as he adds, "Not to say I ain't game if you are." The invitation lingers, though the demigod isn't convinced his counterpart will be up for it. Not because he doesn't think Mateo would have any problems shucking his clothes and skinny dipping at midnight, but because the chill in the air and the long walk ahead to reach the pool don't seem to be the sort of bells likely to ring inside the botanist's drenched mind.

Vesper

//Go ahead and throw your stones, 'cause there's magic in my bones //

Mateo

"Warning accepted, but I will confess that I missed almost everything beyond platinum bombshell blonde." Inclining his head apologetically - it is Vesper's sister, after all - whilst Mateo does not make a habit of wearing glitter himself, if he runs into someone covered in it who is worth finding it in sensitive places for weeks? Well. Everyone's a hypocrite once in a while, no?

Vesper glances over his shoulder and the botanist's eyes remain on him, head tilting softly as the slow pulse of snapdragon begins to fade into something warm and hazy, spurred on by the liquor they've just consumed in short order. He doesn't expect the other man to make quite such a sharp U-turn in the plan he assumes they've been making, Mateo raising a playful brow and rising to his feet.

"I will astound you with the sort of things I am game for doing," he purrs, accent lilting around the words as he starts to weave his way towards the doors out into Haulani. "Lead the way." He gestures. "And if we get distracted as we walk, as you said, it is still a good ten hours 'til sunrise..."

~FIN

I'm a scholar and a gentleman
And I don't usually fall when I try to stand