capeandcowllogs | when I awoke today suddenly nothing happened

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when I awoke today suddenly nothing happened

WHO: NELSON GARDNER, GILBERT NIGHTRAY, and HOODED JUSTICE
WHERE: A very nice suit shop.
WHEN: Wednesday the 3rd.
WARNINGS: Uhhh. Doubtful but will edit if necessary.
SUMMARY: It's time to SUIT UP. For the auction.
FORMAT: Prose to start, then whatever.

The week of the auction had Nelson's nerves running wild; though he was normally a very organized, if not somewhat manic person, the past couple of days he had been even more frantic as he tried to juggle work, patrolling, and last minute preparations for the hero charity auction all at once. When, on Wednesday, he realized he hadn't even gotten himself a suit for the event he nearly had a nervous breakdown, but managed to keep himself together enough to 1) call up his friend, Gilbert, and invite him along to get fitted, and 2) pester Hooded Justice into coming along. Nelson was determined to get Hooded Justice into some normal clothes at least part of the time, even if he refused refused to ever take off the hood and even if he didn't end up agreeing to appear at the auction.

Nelson wanted to at least be able to go out in public with him without feeling ridiculous.

He told Gilbert the address of the shop he'd picked out, and that he'd meet up with him there. So it was now, walking closely beside Hooded Justice, Nelson had to remind his close friend to be on his best behavior.

"--And it'd be very nice if you would come to this event. It's for our benefit, you know. Maybe you could even do some signings." Nelson patted Hooded Justice's arm, before pointing up ahead to the shop. "There we are. I expect he'll be there already, or if not he should be showing up soon."

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Now why Hooded Justice had even agreed to this was beyond him. It was likely some combination of annoyance, boredom, and listening to nagging that eventually persuaded him into at least humoring Nelson for a short period of time. He expected it to be short, at least, until he started talking about a friend showing up as well.

He hadn't necessarily made the best impression on Nelson's friends, of which he was fully aware (and didn't really care that much about them) but he did think it prudent to keep a wide berth.

And yet, here he was. Walking alongside Nelson, and if his eyes (mostly obscured behind the folds of his hood) tipped just a hair too high, it wasn't like he could be blamed for that one. He did, however, hold open the door when they were finally to the shop, hanging back slightly. It wasn't necessarily trepidation that made him enter behind Nelson, but maybe it was a touch of something that could be similar.

Gil had nearly dropped the phone in absolute horror when Nelson had called him to inform him he needed to get fitted for a suit for an auction. Not just any auction -- a date auction. He could feel his windpipes closing in on him at the thought of women lining up to get a chance to even speak to him and he wanted to beg Nelson to have himself removed from the event entirely.

He thought maybe it would work better in person. He would have to explain (in other words: lie) he could not make it, unaware at this point it was too late to avoid the commitment. (He never made any commitment, though!)

As he made his way down the street to the promised meeting place and entered, he noticed something -- no -- someone big, bulky, and quite hooded standing in the middle of the room.

The colour from his face drained fast.

"T-T-That guy?! Why is he here?!"

"Come now, HJ. There has to be something in here you like. See, isn't this nice?" Nelson tugged the sleeve of a dark grey double-breasted style, measuring in his head how it would need to be tailored to fit Hooded Justice. "I've never seen you in-- oh!"

He heard Gil before he saw him, and immediately flew from Hooded Justice's side to greet his friend, taking his arm in hand to lead Gil further into the shop. "Gilbert! It's so nice to see you. I've already seen some styles I think you really suit you -- what colors do you like?" He was excited, yes, enthusiastic, definitely, but mostly Nelson was still running on that rush of overwhelmed adrenaline. There was a lot to do and he had to be sure it all got done before he exhausted himself.

Mostly, at the moment, he was pleased he could help his friend out a bit. Gil was very handsome but terminally shy, it seemed. He could use the help. Nelson averted his gaze a little sheepishly and continued in a lower voice: "Well -- he needs clothing," he said. "I just thought it... would make most sense if we did all the fitting at once time... it's quite all right, he'll behave himself."

Nelson looked over at HJ again as he pulled Gil along with him.

"Isn't that right?" He added, a bit louder.

Hooded Justice had been mostly passively letting Nelson do his thing. The point had been to let him keep going until he'd been satisfied, and the tactic normally worked wonders, but the third party complicated things. Actually, the voice was more familiar than the face. Hooded Justice remembered the voice, and calling him out?

Well, he'd taken to crossing his arms from his place, silently staring him down. HJ was very good at intimidating people, after all. Besides, he wasn't the one who believed in the impossible, but the boy was so young...perhaps he was only misled.

Of course, being told he'd behave...might have grated a bit. He didn't see any reason that he wouldn't, but what he considered "appropriate" was perhaps not Nelson's definition of the word. He only muttered a low affirmation, before I crossing his arms when the swung nearer. The boy already looked rather properly terrified. "I have no intention to make things unbearable."

For Hooded Justice, that was practically a peace treaty.

Edited 2013-04-03 07:42 (UTC)

Before he could even take two steps back, he found himself being tugged further into the shop and farther away from the exit he so badly wanted to run out. His shoulders quake, tense and nervous. He can't tear his eyes off Hooded Justice. He can't even believe that guy roams around in daylight with that mask! He morbidly wondered if he ever even removed the mask or washed it.

"Mr. Nelson, wait... I didn't--" he stammered, trying to pull away from Nelson as politely as he could.

Nelson smiled at Hooded Justice's agreement, stroking his arm affectionately -- but briefly -- the moment he was close enough. "I knew I could count on you, HJ. Though I don't want to have to do all the work; don't you see anything you like so far?"

With some concern, he turned back to Gil. "You didn't want? What's the matter? Don't worry, I've gotten plenty of suits before, I know just how it's all done. No need to be worried." He smiled in a way he hoped was reassuring, despite the way he stepped back and sort of hung awkwardly in between the two of them. The tension was already heavy and Nelson wasn't too high on his own enthusiasm not to wonder briefly how he was going to juggle these two.

He could have looked at some of the suits, sure, and complied with what Nelson was really asking for, but this kid was...well, more of a distraction. He honestly didn't have much of an opinion on the clothing anyway. He much preferred what he was wearing. Then again, he didn't have an entire closet full of his same costume here, and it was proving difficult to get it together again.

Mostly because of money. There were some things he was still adjusting to. "I think any of them will do."

He didn't really move much at Nelson's prodding, either, opting to stare down at Gil like he was daring him to say another word of protest. If he was going to go through with this, then it was almost satisfying that someone else would be here that wasn't as thrilled to be here either.

Gil swallowed hard under Hooded Justice's scrutinizing gaze -- or what he thought was a scrutinizing gaze; it was difficult to tell with the mask over his face, which made it all the more nerve wracking. A bead of sweat hung against his neck and he quickly looked away from the hooded vigilante, trying to regain focus on Nelson and what he had come here to do.

"J-Just one second, I need to have a word..." But when it had become clear Nelson was blissfully ignoring the (hooded) elephant in the room, he raised his voice, albeit reluctantly.

"I never signed up for an auction!"

With some frustration, Nelson swatted (very gently, and carefully) Hooded Justice's arm, beseeching he "At least tell me what color. What about black? Or red? Maybe grey, that much red might be too garish on you..."

When he turned back to Gil his eyes rolled a little in conspiratorial exasperation, as if to communicate to Gil that even Nelson understood how much of a pain Hooded Justice's stoicness could be. Communicating in a way that Hooded Justice couldn't see, that was. Then his eyebrows furrowed, taking in what Gil just said to him.

"You didn't? But then--" He looked a little troubled and bit his lower lip. "You didn't? Are you sure? Your name was-- but it's too late to change it now," he said, with some distress. Oh, no. Less than a week until the auction and here was a problem on top of everything else. He touched his hands to his cheeks, though tried very hard not to lose composure in front of Gil. Hooded Justice, at least, knew how to handle that. "I don't think there's anything I can do."

Nelson looked at him, still frowning and half muttering to himself. "At least let me buy you your suit. Maybe... no, I'm not sure..."

Oh, the signs were there already, from the get-go. As soon as the words were spilled and Nelson's mild traces of-- perhaps not panic-- but something close enough to it. He didn't necessarily get too close, but like some monstrous, lingering shadow, he seemed to gravitate just a hair closer. Most people wouldn't find it so reassuring, he knew. His size meant the motion ended with something that could almost be a nudge, even while he crossed his arms.

He didn't cut in, though. He'd much prefer black, it was true, if he had to. Although he hardly thought red was too garish, considering his clothing choices at this very moment.

But he did level a look at Gil again after a moment, perhaps with an unfair accusation. He knew if he'd been signed up for something so ridiculous, he would make sure he wasn't on the list, but he had a feeling that not everyone would be able to do so. He was honestly more concerned with the pressing matter, keeping Nelson from potentially having a heart attack.

"What do you mean?" Gil leaned in too close to Nelson suddenly, eyes wide in panic. "I can't be in it! I'm... busy!"

A blatant lie that wouldn't fly and even Gil knew it. He pulled back from Nelson, stepping to the side so he Hooded Justice wasn't in close proximity anymore. He couldn't focus like this and not with some suspicious man looming over him.

He tugged at his hair, pacing back and forth in the shop. "I-I'm not selling my body!"

He didn't actually understand the concept of a date auction.

Hooded Justice's looming presence did calm Nelson down somewhat; he pursed his lips and leaned back against Hooded Justice very slightly, though kept his attention to Gil.

"I-it's for a good cause, Gilbert," he said a little quickly. "It's only offering a few hours or an evening of your time to a good cause. Even I'm doing it -- it isn't prostitution or anything." His tone was very adamant on that fact. Still a little huffily he whisked away from the two of them for a moment before he returned carrying two suits and wordlessly shoved one at each of them. He added, after a moment:

"At least try something on, i-if you can't make it I understand, but--" He sighed, still trying to keep calm. "You could use something nice regardless, couldn't you? You both."

At first, he didn't take the suit. Hooded Justice wasn't necessarily pleased by the entire idea of course, but if he was concerned about it, he didn't show it. Then again, a man hiding behind a hood like his wasn't exactly going to show displeasure either way. He did, however, wordlessly take the hanger.

It looked, well, dwarfed in his large hand. He looked down at it, and then back at Nelson, like it was an asp. It wasn't that he was incapable of wearing clothing, but it had been a long, long time. But either way, he was getting backed into a stall.

Which meant this was actually happening, even as he somewhat grunted something that might have been an affirmation, although it may have also been a little annoyed. At least he wasn't offering as much screeching protest as the boy, at least in his mind.

He took the suit, if only because reflex told him to. However, he took a moment to gloss over it blankly and then carry on with his fretting. So, the bright was that he wasn't whoring his body out to complete strangers.

It was a small, vague light that didn't really do much to hamper his anxiety.

"There's definitely no way I can do this!" he cried and buried his face into the suit, much to the shopkeeper's annoyance. Gil didn't notice, trying to hide how red his cheeks were now. "I'm sorry! You'll have to find someone else!"

Once Hooded Justice disappeared to try on his suit -- Nelson was a little surprised, but relieved, that he was cooperating, and wondered if he could tell Nelson was getting a bit upset -- Nelson put his hand on Gil's shoulder, trying to reassure him in some way or another. They wouldn't have too long alone, but he might as well take advantage of the moment -- anyway, he felt guilty Gil was stuck being a part of this and he supposed he couldn't blame Gil too much if he didn't end up showing up. The idea of the roster being out of alignment with the auction still bothered him.

"Gilbert, it'll be fine," he said, a little frantically. "I promise you. I wouldn't participate in something dishonorable myself, let alone have helped organize it. There's no need to be shy. And don't--" He pulled the suit away just a bit to tug it away from Gil's face, lest he be made to pay for something they didn't even end up buying.

"Even Hooded Justice might be going, it'll... do you good to get out and be around people..."

The conversation filtering into his ears was enough for Hooded Justice to take his time. Sure, he was humoring Nelson because he was upset, but more than that, he felt like more protest was just going to exacerbate the entire thing. Inside the dressing room, he first took careful scope of the environment, paying particularly careful attention to the ceiling, just in case.

And then he was changing, although it's probably a good thing that he's behind a door, because who ever heard of trying on clothes with a mask on still? Apparently Hooded Justice did. His head did snap to the door, when Nelson shared that he might be going.

Might being there'd been something of a non-committal grunt. He'd been planning on getting into a fight out on the streets, or something to keep him from having to go. That was looking less and less likely now.

Although when he caught sight of himself in the mirror, he frowned beneath his mask. This was ridiculous. Of course, for a man who wore a costume nearly all the time, he recognized he had a warped sense of what was normal. He suppressed the urge to utter a low, annoyed curse, before he stepped out of the dressing room. He had a feeling Nelson at the very least wouldn't have any complaints.

Unfortunately, in the other clothing, with his head obscured, and the noose around his neck hanging awkwardly over the outfit, he still cut a rather imposing figure.

"I get out enough!" Gil continued to protest and for a moment, froze entirely when he thought he heard something in the changing booth where Hooded Justice was. "What is he doing in there...?" he questioned, his voice dropping out of fear the masked man would hear him.

He knew all too well how ballroom events went and he had high suspicions this, save for this date auction part of it, was going to be exactly like it. He remembered going to the one last fall with Donna, but he hadn't paid too much attention to what else was going on, too busy doing his best to be a wallflower.

Knowing that there were going to be groups of women with their eyes on him...

He wanted to crumble on the spot.

"I hardly know what a date is in this world!"

Nelson glanced toward the changing booth as well, biting his lower lip. Hopefully Hooded Justice was doing all right in there; even if he was behaving now, if he got angry enough Nelson just knew it wouldn't be a very pleasant rest of the evening. (But really, that's part of why he picked the clothes he had -- the suit was similar enough, he'd felt.)

"He's probably just-- maybe it doesn't fit right," he murmured, cheeks reddening slightly. "It's only dinner... or even lunch, or a simple walk through the park, it doesn't have to be romantic. It's merely time spent, they're, uh... they're not really dates," he added a little hastily, in case Hooded Justice was listening still. Pursing his lips, he held out his hands a little helplessly.

"At least try it on. You'd look nice."

He hovered for a few more moments, crossing his arms over his chest, and then uncrossing them. The moments passing didn't make it feel any more natural, and he looked disparagingly back to the rumpled costume sitting in a pile on the small bench that didn't look big enough to even fit Hooded Justice. If he could get back in that he would be a lot happier with the entire day.

As it was, he heard the filter of voices, Gil asking about him like he was creating a scene, Nelson talking about the ridiculous auction, although while he wasn't happy with it, Nelson's reassurances at least didn't fall on deaf ears.

After a while, he finally actually stepped out. All-too huge in the suit, although it didn't mean that he didn't fit, but more that it was tight in places, and he still looked huge in the damn thing. The only difference was that this wasn't functional. He still crossed his arms after he stepped out, tipping his head in the hood like he was asking if he could get out of it already.

Gil opened his mouth to protest some more, but when Hooded Justice emerged from the changing booth his expression fell flat instantly.

He was still wearing the hood. In a suit. Why had he left on the hood? Gil had wondered if that had meant Hooded Justice was going to attend the auction the way he was dressed now.

There were too many things wrongs with this picture.

After the door opened, Nelson, on the other hand, smiled and rushed right over to where Hooded Justice was, reaching up to feel how the suit fit his shoulders. "Splendid," he said, clearly delighted. At least for the moment his anxieties left him, and he stepped back a bit to examine it more objectively.

"Oh, you look so nice, HJ. I'm pleased at how well it fits. Very pleased. It'll only need a little bit of tailoring, I think..." Actually, Hooded Justice looked better in a real suit than Nelson had anticipated, and he stepped back a bit more, mildly flustered. He looked back at Gil and clapped his hands a little enthusiastically.

"All right, who's next?"

Hooded Justice looked between the two of them. Well, mostly Gil, who looked, well, like he couldn't figure out something about the outfit. It took him a few, turning back to Nelson before he realized it was probably the hood. Well, he could wonder about that all he wanted. Nelson was the one he needed to worry about at this moment. He had a feeling he wasn't going to get away with getting back into his actual clothes anytime soon.

He inched back toward the dressing room either way, eager to get his clothes, but he hovered, because he knew there was more that went into this, like how he was already talking about tailoring.

"Let me change back, first." It wasn't necessarily an order, and he hovered, waiting for a protest.

He shrank back a little, holding up both his arms as if to say no. He understood Nelson was only thinking in his best interests and he was grateful for such kindness again, but it was a heavy obligation for someone like him.

And yet Nelson was hardly listening to him!

"B-But I've never--" It was a lie, though. Gil had spent time at the movies with Kenzi and even Ellie.

"You at least like it, don't you?" Nelson asked carefully, his eyebrows raised. "We can tailor it at home, I suppose, but only if there isn't another one here that you like better."

Nelson, however, was very fond of this suit. So much so that he had to force himself to stay focused. "Fine, you can change back," he added with a huff. He had a feeling arguing otherwise would do no good, except to possibly cause a scene.

With a sigh, he put his hand on Gil's shoulder.

"What's the worst that can happen, Gilbert? You might make a new friend, that's all. Look at it in a more positive light!"

He hovered for a moment longer, before nodding. He leaned a little closer, just to lower his voice for Nelson's benefit. Gil was still throwing a fit, or what he considered a fit. Maybe he was just more used to being tossed into situations where he wasn't necessarily meant to be. Or maybe Gil was just that drugged.

He hadn't ruled out the second option yet.

"I think this one will do," he mentioned. It was practically a glowing seal of approval, if it were wrapped in resignation. He had a feeling he wasn't going to get out of this either way, and if Nelson was going to have his way, he'd rather not raise his annoyance in public. And, if they tailored at home, Nelson would get another opportunity later to take it in again. Hooded Justice didn't say anything, but his eyes followed Nelson's, before he was quickly backing off and slipping back into the changing room.

"Is there a way to find out who signed my name?" he suddenly asked.

He had been so focused on the having to go part of the auction, it had slipped his mind to inquire about whose writing was really on the form. All he needed was one look to determine if it was a woman or man's handwriting or not.

He suspected April at that moment.

Hooded Justice spoke again and he looked over before watching him disappear back into the changing room. Even a big guy like that can be pushed around by Nelson, he realized. There must have been something about Nelson one didn't dare cross.

It always pleased Nelson to some extent when Hooded Justice listened, especially when they were in public; he didn't know if it was more out of loyalty to Nelson's ex-leadership or if it was simply respect, but it was considerably less stressful to deal with than Hooded Justice's stubbornness. Between the two of them, one of them always gave in when it came to disagreements, and that person nearly always ended up being Nelson.

He had something of an upper hand here, though. Being the more informed of the two. He watched HJ disappear again with a faint sigh, shaking his head.

"I couldn't say. It's anonymous -- some people are shier about putting down their name to things, we wanted to make sure everyone had a chance." He rubbed his neck, looking concerned again. "I don't want you to be uncomfortable, Gilbert, I'll do my best to make things right. One way or the other."

Hooded Justice didn't take nearly as long in the changing room as before. In fact, it was downright quick, before everything was back to the way it should be. Out of the ridiculous suit and back to his real clothes. If Nelson expected him to wear this...well, often he was going to have a talk with him. "Talk".

Of course, it wasn't his money that was being spent, and he even took sight of the price tag before being hit with another wave of disgust. Things were too expensive here, not that HJ did much shopping, but he'd purchased things over the years, and costumes cost money-- Apparently all clothes cost more than they should.

He stepped out holding onto the suit, although even so, he held it like an adder more than an article of clothing. "There," he said with a finality. He wasn't trying on any other clothing, is what his voice said. One was enough.

Gil was easily persuaded, especially when guilted and/or pressured. A combination of both would surely get him to give in, not wanting to disappoint Nelson whom he liked enough to want some sort of approval from him.

"I..." he turned his head away, an uneasy look on his face and his cheeks tinted a slight pinkish shade. "I don't mean to blame you, Mr. Nelson. It's all just so sudden for me, but..."

He had to swallow his (little) pride.

"I suppose... for one night..."

"Wonderful," Nelson said, though it was unclear to whom he was speaking (it was both of them). He wanted, after all, for them both to attend, so this was really the best possible scenario he could have hoped for.

"It'll be a good time, Gilbert, I promise you. And you, Justice. You could both stand to be a little more social. Now, what are you waiting for -- I want to see how your suit fits. Do you like the style? We could find another one..." Though Nelson thought rather highly of his own tastes. As such, he was excited to pick something out for himself, as well.

He glanced around the shop, and looked back at Gil. "Or I could go try something on next, if you'd like to find a different one."

Justice, now finally free of the suit, and the changing, and all of this useless noise and nonsense, was more than happy to take a few steps back from the entire thing. Oh, he was well aware Nelson wanted him to go to this...thing. Whatever it was. Something that involved selling their bodies for charity. Yes, yes, it was just time spent, or whatever Nelson said it was, but the fact of the matter was, he wasn't going to be sold on some kind of stage.

And neither did he particularly want to be more social. If anything, with so many people inside, his place would be out on the streets, making sure that nobody acted up. Not that he had seen that many other vigilantes. The way they made it sound was that he wouldn't be able to take a step without running into another.

He crossed his arms, eventually settling somewhere behind Nelson, but once he found a spot, he didn't really seem to move. He looked at Gil like he should be the one to get into the dressing room. Maybe through sheer intimidation, he could speed this along.

It worked like a charm.

Gil grimaced, unable to look into the mask and he shook his head quickly, his eyes sneaking a peek at the other suits around them. There were various colours, styles, and other accessories, but Gil had always preferred solid blacks. Blue was alright, too. White was only alright in small dosages.

"I can look for something on my own..."

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when I awoke today suddenly nothing happened

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