The Charity Benefit (9) : A number of the local businesses in the area have come together to organize a charity benefit. In addition to a silent auction, there is also an evening charity ball. The community has been wanting to raise funds to fix up a few public areas for some time now and in the spirit of the Star Festival, these businesses have donated several prizes to the event to encourage people to attend. Some old warehouses and estates have been cleared out by the city, so there’s a wide variety of strange antiques and hidden treasures. As one of the local residents you have been kindly invited to attend! Formal attire is encouraged but only required if you plan to attend the Ball. It’s a good opportunity to dress up, meet new people, and maybe go home with something neat. Who knows what you can find to trade with Almadel, anyway? And, he’s always back in town for the Star Festival.
Just because the Star Festival’s charity ball wasn’t really the sort of function that would book drag queens as the entertainment was not, in Reiki’s opinion, a free excuse to show up as anything less than a spectacle—especially not when he was supposed to be meeting Levi. Of course, it was just an objective fact that Levi was too good for him and deserved so much better than someone like Reiki, a senshi in his twenties playing catch-up with literal twelve-year-olds and their annoying Girl Scout troops of spectral geese (never mind Reiki being a nasty slut who had more than once considered cheating on his ex-fiancé with Levi or heard Greg saying some kind of bullshit and felt like Levi would never treat me this way). Still, though, was it Reiki’s fault if he enjoyed attention from the boy he fancied?
Cinching outside of a performance wasn’t something Reiki did too often, but this dress demanded a more exaggerated silhouette. Black and form-fitting, Reiki had modeled it after Audrey Hepburn’s iconic black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, albeit with a train (nothing too crazy; Reiki had no desire to deal with any irksome children, dragged along by their parents, stomping all over his handiwork), thicker tank-top straps around the shoulders (with Reiki’s shoulders, that was practically necessary) and the slit cut slightly higher (not so high as to be completely indecent, but enough to show a peek of his thigh-high stockings). Fixed to his shoulders, he had a capelet with a high, decorative collar modeled after Maleficent’s. Black opera gloves provided a base for dramatic, swishy bell-sleeves to come down, while a thick necklace of Fierce Drag Jewels glittered around his neck. After some debate, Reiki had also opted to wear a headband with horns like Maleficent’s as well; life was, after all, too short to wear boring clothes.
Only his hair didn’t fit his two obvious inspirations: Reiki had styled it in the same thick braid that he usually did for his blonde, Disney Elsa wigs. He’d considered doing other things with it, but as he milled around the tables full of silent auction lots, he just felt right with his hair in this kind of braid.
Noir Songbird_
Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2022 11:29 pm
Levi wasn't exactly lazy about his appearance--his regular cycle of hair colors required attention and upkeep, especially the white ends he'd bleached in of late. And he knew very well exactly how much appearance mattered in the type of business he was in.
Also, when one went to a charity gala with the beautiful boy one was head over heels for, one definitely went the extra mile. It wasn't like Reiki was unfamiliar with how Levi cleaned up; they'd met throguh Levi's work in politics, and that work required him to dress respectably and pretend that he wasn't a punk shithead who preferred to fight everything rather than talk s**t out. But still: no excuse not to put in the effort. So, his hair was in a high ponytail, with a pair of crown braids down each side, and he'd pulled together one of his nicest tailored suits, black jacket and pants with an ice-blue button-up underneath. Warm, for a summer gala, sure, but he looked amazing in it and he knew it. His shoes were black and polished and had just a little bit of heel, straddling the line neatly between femme and masc.
And yet, even knowing that he had taken plenty of care, when he spotted Reiki over the crowd, he felt terribly underdressed.
Probably that was because Reiki was gorgeous, as always, and Levi always felt a little out of his depth with him.
Carefully, he wound his way throguh the crowd, sliding up next to him.
"Hi," he said, quietly, flashing his best and most charming smile.
Reiki probably should’ve taken more care to look out for Levi, rather than looking more so at the auction lots and checking for Levi only periodically. It made him feel quite rude when he gasped at the sound of Levi’s voice—but at the same time, Levi had said that he would meet Reiki here. When he’d held out his hand, that night in the alley by Scandals, maybe Levi had only meant to ask if Reiki trusted him in that moment specifically, with a smile on his lips and the promise of being a magical boy on his tongue……but Reiki’s answer held true now as well, regardless of the circumstances.
(In the back of his mind, Levi’s attempt at starting a Serious Conversation with Reiki weighed on him.… Apparently, Haruhi had told Levi something or other about how Reiki had ridden to the hospital with Raymond Callahan[’s corpse] after Arsenolite had murdered the man. And Reiki probably owed Levi that conversation sooner rather than later—but thankfully, he’d accepted a stay until after Pride Season, because if Reiki stopped to fall apart about everything now, he didn’t entirely trust his ability to put himself back together in a way that would leave him capable of honoring all the obligations he’d booked for himself, most of them months in advance, before he knew anything about senshi and youma and everything.)
But—that was, he decided, Future Reiki’s problem. Present Reiki, right here and now, was going to just appreciate the sight of Levi, turning to him with a smile. “Hi yourself,” he said, softly, warmly. Then, with a playful smirk, he added, “Y’know, you didn’t have to shame everyone else by showing up here, looking like that. You’d be the best looking guy here without even trying.”
Strictly speaking, Levi was far from the most opulently dressed person here. But he didn’t need to rely on his clothes when he had that certain, irrepressible something about him.
Noir Songbird
Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2023 4:03 am
Levi felt his cheeks heat up, at the flattery. He was worried about Reiki, of late, but that didn't mean that he didn't also enjoy just being in his presence, and compliments form the most gorgeous boy he knew were certainly enough to make his heart do the fluttery thing that it hadn't done in a long time.
"Oh, please, you say that like you're not also here," he said, lightly, like ti was jsut a little bit of charm. "I know I clean up nice, but you look amazing."
'You always look amazing,' Levi thought, but kept to himself, 'and I can only dream of starting to compare.'
"So, found anything interesting? Or is it all just cheesy antiques and chintz people are trying to get rid of?"
