DEF: After a year long hiatus, I finally managed to get off my lazy ass and write this chapter. SORRY FOR THE WAIT!

"Oh. My. God. What the fuck? Do you know who that fucking was? Do you think he'd mind if I asked for an autograph?" Alois muttered all but pressing his face against the office glass, trying his damnest to see just who the shit was leading the dancer away. Tess rolled her eyes at him but didn't argue against any of it, she knew better than to be wrong. She'd been on the scene almost as long as him, that being six years this November, and anyone that's anyone knew what gold ornaments and bronze skin meant, or rather, who it meant.

"I thought he quit though," she murmured, taking the time to carefully inspect her nails, a bad habit of hers that she really should break because anyone could tell she was trying to avoid the subject. Tough shit, he wasn't going to just let her drop it, not something this big.

"Everyone thought the same of Frost but look who's laughing his arse off with Kirk over there now," he pointed out snidely, resting one elbow on her shoulder, not even needing to point in their direction. The two had never met each other, Frost stepping out of the scene an entire year before Kirk got into it but there they were, talking about God knows what as though they'd been the best of friends all their lives. He almost hates them, almost wants to gauge their eyes out in a fit of jealous rage but almost is never quite enough and besides, Tessie darling is still here so what's the problem?

"You know what I mean Trancy, no one even knows where he went after he quit and you know how hard that is. You should stay out of it," she advised, shifting weight from one leg to the next and forcing him to lean that much more.

"You know better," she hissed, lips right by his ear, close enough that no one else could possible hear them, just the way she'd wanted. He scowled at her, of course she'd pull the whole 'you know better' crap but knowing and doing were two completely different things and he had one hell of a curiosity.

"Curiosity may have killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back," he replied, eyes narrowing of their own accord. Tessie might be one of his dearest friends but sometimes friends were the last thing you needed. You could just ask Ciel about that his mind supplied bitterly before common sense killed it. The blonde stared at him for another few seconds, weighing the pros and cons of arguing with him and stepped away.

"Bitch," he gasped out, slipping forward dangerously before he caught his balance and raised a hand to smack the woman who danced away from him.

"You'll do fine Marcie, now get out on that stage and shake your fucking ass." Oh how adorable, Tessie poo was comforting little Marcie, if he didn't know better, he'd think the slut was trying to get in the girl's pants. Unfortunately for all parties concerned, he did know better and was only slightly annoyed when the brunette kissed both Tessie's plump cheeks before prancing away to perform the first real singles of the night. Nothing the other guy had done would count, at least not in the eyes of the crowd.

He didn't bother finding a space next to Tess on the balcony to watch the next dance, preferring to sit his ass down on the perfectly sturdy desk. Yami and Yugi had disappeared to who knows where and he could care less what they said when they came back and saw him on their desk. Their fault for leaving the lot of them in there, could've stolen all sorts of shit, not that he'd ever take any of the tacky ass paintings but still.

He inspected his nails as the crowd's attention was drawn to the stage, soft red lights playing across, although the main attraction wasn't anywhere to be seen. The song the brunette had chosen was vaguely familiar, something new, appropriately peppy and had the crowd positively buzzing with enthusiasm.

The girl was stalking across the stage, making a point of shifting weight from one leg to the other to get that delicious hip sway, her stupid top hat wobbling dangerously as she moved. He knew she was probably going along to the lyrics but honestly, staring at the steel stripper pole as though there was something written there was just plain doltish.

Snatching off the top hat, she threw a hand behind herself, a dismissive gesture if he did say so himself, before grabbing the pole with one hand, hooking one knee around it and spinning slowly. He could already tell this was the downer, after the sex packed display just before, Marceline was here to bring the hormones down and he had to admit, she was the perfect choice for it.

Her style was a chaotic mix of rock and laid back carelessness. She was the badass that just couldn't be bothered, the cold shower after the burning flame gilded in gold and sex. Her slow, languid motions would calm the crowd, take them down from the dangerous highs they were riding and make them lust for more, fucking genius. As such, he didn't really care for her performance, it wasn't anything too over the top…except maybe the backwards flip into a complete split but then of course the Game King knew exactly how to push and prod his pieces.

Anyone could see that the girl was dancing to a song she knew well, telling a story with her body that she'd never have the courage to tell with her lips and voice. The pure, unadulterated longing in her eyes was more than enough for him to understand. The way her fingers would linger just a second too long on the deliciously cold metal, the way her attention never seemed to stay in one place.

His gaze automatically slipped from the dancer onstage to the teeming crowd below, trying his damnest to pick out the most likely person to hold the brunette's attention. Not that it was going to be easy but then Alois never did like easy, not even in bed. So while Tessie-darling tossed around opinions with Kirk and the delicious raven haired man from the big apple, what Alo wouldn't do to take a bite outta that, he focused on the crowd.

There were probably a hundred people in the club, give or take a dozen or so but that didn't mean they were all on the dance floor which the brunette was decidedly not looking at. Well at least that narrowed it down, there had to be at least sixty people on the dance floor proper, not including the outskirts where you could just sway side to side and get away with calling that dancing. Already the VIP section was out of the running seeing as that was a room directly over the stage and maybe the four booths on either side of the stage, he was guessing Marcie couldn't see into those very well.

That left the other sixteen enclosed booths, the bar which spanned an entire wall and maybe the half dozen free tables. He started with the booths first, picking out silhouettes rather than colours but even those were enough, the first four on either side were filled with men and he would put money on it that Marcie wasn't on the hunt for dick. The next four were all coupled off, boring, oh well except for that one with the foursome, two guys, two girls, you go bitches!

Hmm, there was one or two girls in the last two booths, one with brilliant blonde hair that caught the multi-coloured lights beautifully and the other in shiny black armour, suit, what? The blonde looked promising enough, well proportioned, a facial tattoo that he caught as she turned toward the bar, not too bad. She was dressed as a Viking, fur boots, fake leather vest, hell the girl even had an axe strapped to her back, maybe Marcie had thing for butch lesbians?

The other girl was in the last booth, mostly black hair with two streaks of electric blue to the front, she was nursing something that smoked and laughing with a black man. Clearly they were some type of family judging by the absolutely sappy looks on their faces, it was almost old lover but not quite, he was betting the black guy had adopted the girl at some point. Either that or he was once her teacher because there was no way in hell the clearly Asian girl was his daughter and he wasn't even going to entertain lovers.

Her costume was strange to say the least, shiny black, almost as though she was wearing a black iron man suit, only without the glowing bit in the middle. The thing looked well-made and complimented her petite frame perfectly, giving her more pronounced curves and lending a sense of 'Don't fuck with me'. Yeah, machine girl could definitely hang around with vampire rocker and then some, he really wondered who was top in that relationship.

Right now he just had to wait until Marcie was finished with her set and he could ask her-shit. There Viking chick went with some auburn haired boy dressed as her matching Viking man and fuck, there Machine girl went disappearing with a dirty blond in the white version of her suit. At least they both looked good with their respective partners,which was always important, and the search continued.

Not in the booths and no one had moved off the dance floor, if anything, more people had moved onto it so less people to check now. The random as fuck tables were mostly deserted, only one or two couples sharing a low chair as the rest either got some in a booth or on the dance floor, or even just plain left. So that only place left was the bar…beneath them.

Getting off his ass, he skipped through the glass doors and lean half his body over the balcony railing, not caring that Tessie-love was staring at him like he'd lost the last of his marbles or that Kirk and Frost had stopped snarking back and forth to simultaneously raise a brow at him. Thankfully the office didn't jut out over the bar like the VIP lounge did with the stage so he could barely make out the blond working the bar, tossing and flipping the bottles as she gave her own performance.

There were maybe fifteen people on barstools with others talking to them or getting refill, he didn't bother with those. He didn't even bother with the people that had their backs to the bar to watch the dance, what was the point if Marcie was telling the story he thought she was. He'd heard that damn song enough times to know whoever the recipient was, they wouldn't want to be, so that just left…a clearly drunk guy and a head of bright pink? He was going with pink.

Oh yeah, most definitely pink, the way the woman clutched at her drink said it all, but the way Marcie slid up and down the pole helped. He was putting money on a messy break-up, probably engineered by Bubblegum princess down there, with her white lab coat and round glasses. Who exactly was she trying to fool anyway? Midnight Mysteries was so obviously not her scene because fuck it, MM was one of the hottest clubs in the country right now, the Halloween Bash had been advertised for months, just getting in would be Hell unless you were rich, dressed to kill, or knew someone. Bubblegum princess down there was firmly fixed in the latter and didn't that just raise a whole bunch of questions?

Such as, why was she here if it whatever they'd had was broken off? What was the point of coming if she wasn't even gonna enjoy the show? Why the hell did she decide 'Scientist' was the sexiest thing on the planet? But, probably most important, how did she like the little kiss between Frosty and Marcie?

"Oi, fucker, unstick your face, your pimp's looking for you." Sighing dramatically, he let his palms soak up the coolness of the glass before twirling away. The night was young enough and he was a curious little shit, this was going to be so much fun!

Richard hadn't been doing this for long, well okay, he'd been at the whole stripper thing for about six months without Bruce suspecting a thing but still, that wasn't very long. In fact, this was his first time dancing outside of Gotham and he had to say, it was surreal. A complete one eighty if he was being honest but he liked switching things up. He only hoped no one recognised him because although he'd done his best to keep this shit on the down low, there was always the wild off chance.

-does daddy kno?

He rolled his eyes at the text, he'd been getting them since he'd come offstage and didn't doubt they'd continue coming through until he actually got his ass across to the VIP section and dragged Jason back to the hotel room he was renting for the weekend. He also knew Jason might be somewhere in the crowd rather than vip but there were a damn lot of people down there, way too many for him to pick out a single person from to go find him, to make sure he was actually here and not just blowing smoke. Not like it would be the first time Jace had bluffed his way through blackmail and sure as fuck wouldn't be the last time. A good fight and a good fuck was what they needed to clear the air, no matter how disgusted Bruce would be with them afterwards. It would be worth it to get work off the after work tension, sexual and otherwise.

-tink he'd believe me if i told him?

-after all ur the golden boy.

He was so very tempted to just fling the phone away, he didn't care if it broke or if it broke something, he had more than enough money to pay for whatever damages there were. Seriously, he wasn't doing this job for the money, he had more than enough of Bruce's for that, nah he was doing it for the hell of it, plus it was damn fun to fuck anything with a pulse. Not having to play the good, straight laced adopted son was refreshing, especially when his estrange 'brother' popped in every once in a while to fuck with his head.

"Hey, Jim's up, you gonna watch or just try to set your phone on fire whole night?" If the person hadn't mentioned Jim, he would have sworn that that was the man speaking. He glanced up from the offending piece of plastic to the white haired 'sprite', wooden crook thrown casually over his shoulder as he sauntered up to him. It was only then he realised the office area was mostly deserted, the two blonds were gone and Marceline hadn't come up yet, it was just them on the balcony.

Not that he was worried about his safety or anything, too many years with martial arts tutors and street fights but it was still unnerving, being alone with Jack Frost he meant. Dick had no doubt the guy was his age, maybe a little older than his own twenty two sure but definitely not more than twenty six, which wasn't the point. Frost just had this creepy timelessness about him, it was like he was freaking Peter Pan or something. The original wild child who seriously didn't know how to give a shit about anything and would rather soak a house with gasoline then go play with matches than wash behind his ears. But that could just be his paranoia acting up again.

"Which is fine but you'd have lots more fun just chucking it over the railing on the way down. Might hit somebody and start a fight, those are always fun," Frost suggested, and maybe it wasn't his paranoia, or just his paranoia at least. If Bruce ever met Frost, he'd probably say he had a fixation with death or some such bull, same thing as Jason and write him off as trash.

"Yea but if I start a fight, I at least want to be able to end it," he shrugged, shoving the phone deep in a pocket and turning his attention back to the stage that was flooded with fog and bathed in all different shades of purple, from lilac to Russian violet to lavender and back. He would have thought yellow seeing as the guy wore that ugly as fuck canary yellow thing he dared call a shirt but eh, whatever got the crowd going. The purple did suit him though, just a teeny bit, especially when he wasn't wearing the ugly fuck canary thing, yeah, black skinnies and nothing else suited James well.

There was a small sound of agreement from Frost, who was leaning over the railing, not as much as Trancy had been but enough that his ass was sticking out in all the right ways. No, bad Dick, no perving on the other dancers, turning sharply away, he focused on the music filtering through the speakers, letting the beat wash over him and stared intently at the lone dancer.

James wasn't one for spectacular flips or even much pole dancing, in fact, he wasn't much of a dancer but he had one hell of a body and just enough rhythm to fool people into thinking he was the best stripper they'd ever seen. As it was, the words were fast paced, just enough to throw off the crowd as James got away with a lazy as all hell opener. Nothing more than hooking a leg around the pole and leaning as far back as he possible could without falling off the thing. Oh and he was flexible, another perk.

The music was also working his favour, as it was meant to be, one hand was playing with the edge of his pants. Fingers slipping in and out of the material while the other traced a curious little path down his sternum.

~A better kiss, a better touch, a better fuck~

You could trust people to pick up on the naughty bits of anything, at that line James slithered away from the pole, kissing his hand hard and cupping his cheek with it while the other palmed his crotch, thrusting out at the crowd. Before he'd started dancing, he'd always wondered how people could be so overtly sexual in front of a crowd without losing their shit but now he knew. They just used the rush of hormones, of everything, the high of performing and being wanted to make their dancing better than it ever could be in practice.

He smirked at the glass as the dancer looked out at the crowd, chest heaving though he hadn't really done anything to cause it, before flinging an arm out at them. Fingers rigid as he grabbed at them, joints locking as he put more meaning in that on action than most would have thought possible, the guy should have taken up acting, would've made a helluva lot more than this.

When he reached down, fingers running over the muscled thighs and taunt calves, bending in half, he knew what the bitch was going to do. Although he couldn't hear anything that was going onstage, his mind supplied the lush sound of ripping Velcro well enough. The black material flew over the heads of the crowd and landed God knows where, not like they were expensive anyway.

"Oh fuck no," Frost muttered in disbelief, the smirk broke into a full out grin as he reached behind himself to drag the man to the front, next to him to get a much better look.

"Oh fuck yes," he answered, biting the skin between thumb and index finger to stop from snorting, he barely did it at home as Richard much less as Dick.

Glow in the dark underwear was one thing, it was actually a pretty cool trend for strippers, the lights go off, the music comes on and you pop up in fluorescent green lingerie, sexy as fuck. However, Jim Kirk out there just had to take it the extra mile with his ever so lovely galaxy themed underpants, glow in the dark planets and stars, mhmm, cut him a slice of that. I mean, come on who wouldn't want the dick hiding behind Saturn?

"They actually like it? People are so fucking weird," Frost laughed and the childish sound was highly infectious but he was right, the crowd was going nuts for the cheesy underwear.

Turning his attention to the stage, Kirk was back on the pole, leaning against it with one hand resting on his hip while the other fiddled around behind him. The quick spins around the pole distracted Dick from that though, if he had to guess, he would have said Kirk took ballroom classes, his leg work far to elegant for anything but. There was also the fact the man didn't do anything with his hands, well yeah, he was teasing the audience to hell and back but that didn't really count.

~Beating faster, faster~

And just to be fucking contrary, he slowed down, one languid, back breaking stretch, chest pushed out to the crowd as he practically collapsed against the pole. Glancing down at the people in the crowd, Dick could tell Kirk was hyping them back up, getting the slow burn going again just as Marcie brought it down to a delicious simmer. Back to Kirk who was repeating that kiss, touch, thrust combo only far more aggressively, against the pole before languidly stepping away.

What came next surprised him, he had to admit that bit, because there went the fucker, hands held as though he had some sort of waltz partner as he strutted across the stage like it was a freaking ballroom. Now that took skill, perfect form and posture despite the fact there was no other partner to take any sort of cue from and fuck did he just dip his invisible partner? Looks like years of ballroom dancing finally paid off for Kirk over there and Dick had to give him props for that ending.

He couldn't exactly see it from where he was but he was pretty sure someone had thrown the skinnies back on stage but Kirk had already disappeared backstage, probably making his way back up as the fog cleared from the stage.

"Never seen anyone waltz before but it looked damn good," Frost commented idly, adjusting the crook over his shoulder before calmly walking out of the office. Dick raised an eyebrow at the man's retreating back but didn't say anything, smirking slightly at the vibrations along his leg. He was going to find Jason after all this was over and fuck some common sense into that boy's head, Bruce be damned, and make him get over what the hell kind of complex he had.

"That was great, really took 'em back up," Tess praised, grinning widely at him and he had to return that smile, his conscience wouldn't let him do anything else. Jim'd met Tess a few months back, she was a blonde bombshell of a woman, all smiles and giggles but she had a mean streak a mile long that had earned a reputation as a dancer not to be fucked with. He didn't blame her, stripping was sometimes dangerous work, especially when some people didn't know how to take no for an answer.

"And you're gonna make sure they have a heart attack, right?" he joked, folding his arms across his chest, he should probably put on another pair of pants which were in the car, which was in the parking lot, he didn't want pants that bad just yet. Although, knowing himself, he probably wouldn't want pants until he actually had to go about his regular, daylight business so pants weren't exactly a priority, ever.

"You know me too well Captain," the woman giggled, winking once before prancing on stage, the fog had finally cleared off and the music for Tess's dance was already filtering through the club. He knew the song of course, it was a new one that the radio people wouldn't stop playing and he really didn't want to miss this, so who gave a fuck if he was half naked, more than half really. He slipped out from backstage and pushed his way through the crowd until he was just on the edge of the cluster fuck in the middle of the dance floor, just far enough away to see everything, perfect.

~It's going down, I'm yelling timber!~

Tess's performances were always so energetic and hyper, it made absolute sense for this to be her song, there she went jumping and clapping as she stalked her way across the stage. Anyone would swear she was having the time of her life up there, blue eyes lit up with something that embodied both the Halloween spirit and the club vibe, curvaceous body moving in all the right ways to get your blood racing. As the singer vocalised, Tess hooked one knee around the pole, the other crooked so she was holding herself up by a careless hand alone with both feet clear off the ground, practically straddling the slim metal pole and grinning at the crowd.

She threw her head back as she laughed, snapping back up as the second singer came on, letting her legs drop back to the ground so she could dance away from the pole. He's sure there was some subtle cue in the song but when the people nearest to him gasp or moan, he can't help but react a little as Tess revives his move from the paired dance. Down on all fours, she's got her ass to the crowd, looking back at them over her shoulder with her hips still swaying in a damningly tantalizing way.

He frowned as someone palmed his ass, and grabbed the wrist before they could pull away, squeezing tight enough to bruise before letting them go. He's pretty sure most of the people around him are looking around for someone to spend the rest of the night with, or share a quickie in the bathroom, but that doesn't mean he's forgiving of any shit. He hated when people felt entitled to something, just because he was nearly naked in a club, on the dance floor, didn't mean anyone was allowed to touch and if they tried that bullshit about dressing like a whore, he would most definitely deck them. They were just lucky he was in such a good mood from Tess's dancing and his own set, otherwise things would've gotten bloody.

By the time he looked back at the stage there was another person there, a lanky red headed man that was dancing with Tess. When he'd done the fake waltz, he'd held his hands aloft, much higher than he would've if he had an actual partner but that was all just for dramatics. He isn't an actual pole dancer, nowhere near the amount of upper body strength necessary, but he can give a good show without all that, dramatics were all he had. Tess and her assistant had both hands clasped with each others, no formal placement here, and were dancing in an almost circle, both laughing and generally embodying the song in the most perfect way possible.

If there's one thing he can say about Tess, it's that the girl is a natural born entertainer, the way she moves is always on the playful side of sexy and her expressions only ever add to that image. Even the man she has up there with her, probably pre-rehearsed and okayed by the owners, seems captivated by her and her performance. This really is what the crowd needs after his sensual performance, something upbeat and bouncy to remind them that this was a party too and not just a fuck fest.

The rest of the performance follows as more of the same, each couple dance, each spin on the pole greeted by cheers and leers from the crowd that only gets louder with each passing second. The finale is what really gets them though, because it's more of what you'd expect from a dance competition, like his on ballroom dancing, something that doesn't belong up on a strip club stage.

They're dancing around each other again when the man swings her out with one hand, grin wide as he does, and she executes a perfect twirl when he tugs her back in, hips swaying temptingly, blue eyes alight with joy and mischief. There's a split second change of positioning of hands and Tess slips between her partner's legs, sliding on her knees and popping up behind him, facing the crowd as she does. He has to admit that leaning over just enough for full frontal cleavage and blowing a kiss at the crowd is a nice touch, very nice, before her partner turns back to her and they're dancing again.

He laughed along with the rest of the crowd as the pair bowed and it's a high, elated thing that's quite nearly drunk, but it feels good, oh so good. He loves this, he really does, being able to go up on that stage and perform, to please so many people just by showing a little skin and moving like he does in the bedroom. There's something almost addicting about it, the buzz it gives you, makes such a nice change from regular life where he's always doing the wrong thing. Where he's just another high school drop out with a mess of a home life and life in general.

"I thought you might like these," a voice murmured in his ear, a slim fingered hand resting on his hip and rubbing small circles there. He didn't have to turn around to know who it was, there really isn't anyone else it could be seeing as no one else here knows him and no one else would care enough to come find him in the crowd with a pair of pants.

"How'd you like the show?" he asked, reaching behind himself for the second hand and tugging on it to make the other man move, the middle of a teeming, hyped crowd really wasn't really the place for conversation. Spock followed without protest, the two of them weaving through people, elbowing those too drunk to get out of the way and laughing at some of the 'costumes' as they passed by. He still wasn't sure just what about Halloween made people want to release their inner sex God/Goddess and go all out in clothes that were barely strips of cloth held together by angel tears and the dreams of small children.

"It was sublime and you looked stunning," Spock answered promptly, never let it be said the man didn't speak his mind, he just did it a lot more eloquently than most people.

"Thanks, and thanks for bringing the pants. You wanna stay a little longer or leave now?" he offered, slipping into one of the empty booths, pulling on his pants underneath the table, it was almost sad how used he was to this. At least this time they were his pants and he wasn't coming off a spectacular drug high, oh and he wasn't wondering where the fuck he was either, that was great.

"Don't you have any other obligations?" Spock murmured, leaning down just enough to press his face into the crook of Jim's neck, whispered words dancing across his skin in the most delicious ways.

"Fuck no, I'm done for the night," he moaned, smirking when he caught a flash of pink on bone white hair, raising one hand high and flipping the man the bird when he finally looked over. When two people that shared the same dirty secret met and found out that they had more than just that secret in common, example they both got along great with kids, there is a strange, unshakeable bond formed. A bond which dictates flipping someone off was an appropriate way of saying hello and good bye, the mouthed 'fucker' he got in return was just validation of their 'friendship'.

"Let's get the hell outta here," he prompted, pushing lightly against his fiancé's side to tell him 'move', it was barely one o'clock, if they wanted to go to another club, they could. He just wanted to get out of this one, people here'd seen him dance up on stage and probably wouldn't leave him alone if they saw him on the dance floor. Plus, he was horny.

"I don't know why I'm here Marceline, it's really not fair to anyone," her ex-girlfriend, ex god damnit, muttered, refusing to meet her eyes over the extremely fruity drink she'd ordered. Marcie really doesn't know where things went wrong with them, seriously she doesn't, because Bonnie is the most beautiful, intelligent, all around amazing person Marcie's ever met and she loved that girl so much but somehow, they're here. They're in a sleazy club, okay high end as shit, dressed like a scientist and a vampire, trying to move into the 'just friends' part of all break-ups but they can't.

"Then forget the just friends thing Bonnie cause we obviously still have something here," she murmured, reaching across the table for the other's hand but was promptly shut down when those hands slid under the table. Sniffing loudly, she swirled her own drink, something dark and incredibly alcoholic, thank god tomorrow as Saturday otherwise she would never make it to class, not that she really cared. Her roommate, Pip, was an angel, always giving her whatever notes she'd missed and making sure she actually got up for some classes, all because of the wifi router she'd snuck in and the open invite to her off campus apartment she was paying for with her stripping money.

"Marceline, I told you, I can't focus on a relationship and school. Besides, unlike some people, I don't have a rich dad willing to pay just for me to party," ouch that one hurt and Bonnie knew it. So what if her dad was rich? She never asked him to be and she never asked to be sent to college, she was perfectly fine with her café and her step-dad and her extracurricular stripping, she didn't need to have a masters or a PhD in anything just because it would make her father look better. She didn't care about college and Bonnie knew that, or at least she thought the girl did.

"Bon, you know I don't care about college, my dad's just being his usual jerkass self. Plus, we wouldn't have to do the whole long distance thing, I can drive out to you every day if you want. Who cares about class?" she laughed but it sounded desperate, which she was. She and Bonnie had a really long history, they'd known each other nearly all their lives, Marcie's adoptive dad and Bonnie's mom were best friends in college and loved nothing better than having kiddie playdates. Bonnie was the only girl for Marceline, the only one she could see herself with and the only one she wanted to be with.

"Marcie, we're over and…I have a boyfriend now. His name's Benjamin and he's very sweet, we like a lot of the same things and he's a chemistry major just like me," Bonnebelle sighed, face scrunched up in the same way it did when she was trying to work through a particularly hard problem. Marceline had seen that face dozens of times and knew exactly what it meant, knew exactly what she'd been reduced to.

"Is that all I am to you now? Just your problem? Is that why you agreed to come tonight, to tell me about prefect Benjie?" she cried, half wanting to reach across for Bonnie's hand again and half wanting to chuck her glass at the wall. Okay, so maybe she and Bonnie had been on the rocks this summer, both of them going to different colleges and all, and maybe Bonnie had tried to break it off as gently as possible but up until now Marceline hadn't actually believed her. She thought it was just some thing that would pass, like a phase, Bonnie was all about phases though certain key factors remained the same, her science, her pets and Marcie. Or at least she'd thought she was permanent, looks like she was wrong.

"Marceline, we broke up two months ago, I only came here because you wouldn't stop pestering me about it," the pink haired girl replied, exasperated, and not in the fun way it used to be but as though Marcie actually annoyed the ever loving shit out of her. And the scary thing about it was, she didn't sound different at all, as if Marcie had always been frustrating but Bonnie had been putting up with her all those years.

"Yeah well I thought we had something special, Princess, guess I was wrong huh," she sneered, knocking back the rest of her drink and pushing herself out of the booth. She needed a shit ton more alcohol and to lose herself in the toothache inducing colours, thank god she was already in a club.

By the time she'd shoved her way through the ever thickening crowd, the next set was up and her dance partner was practically shining in the middle of the stage. She ordered another brain cell killing drink and swivelled around to watch the show, smirking at the cute blond that took the barstool next to hers. In the flashing lights and with the poison pumping through her veins, she could barely tell if the cute blond was a boy or a girl but she didn't really care, either way she'd probably get laid and she really needed that by the end of tonight.

She let her gaze wander back to the stage as the first dregs of music started up, the thumping of the base beating in her throat, and Frost did something with his hand, she was too far away to see what exactly. Although when he took off his signature blue hoodie, using the definition lightly here, and threw it somewhere behind him to run his impossibly pale hands down an equally white torso, she didn't miss a beat. There was just the slightest swaying from side to side until the song picked up again at which point the man twirled around his ever present staff.

Marcie vaguely wondered how he managed to work around the damn thing all the time while sipping at yet another drink as the lighting kicked in every shade of blue imaginable and the chorus hit. One hand held over his head, a fist then fingers to the count of three, banging his staff on the floor in time with the song, the over exaggerated full body roll only adding to the cock tease performance. Though she herself was a stripper and a damn sexy lady, she never could pull off the 'curl up in a ball cause you'll never have me' cocktease, there was just something in the expression and the posture and the attitude she couldn't get. Granted, you didn't have a to be a performer to have the look, case in point Pip, the girl had the look in spades but then that might just run in the family.

By the time she refocused, Frost had ended up on the pole and half the song was already gone with the dancer holding his back flush to the shining metal as he humped the air, the hand holding the crook twisted around the pole until the staff itself was hooked around the pole. She understood the need for a brace a second later when the chorus hit again and Frost did a stationary flip so he was on the opposite side of the pole with his chest against the metal.

Why he didn't just swing around the pole like any other stripper was beyond her, way too much effort, but she supposed it had to do with crowd appeal and reputation. Want to gain a rep, make people notice you, stand out by doing the extraordinary, make their dicks hard and their pussies wet. Slow humping the pole though, now that she could understand it was a classic, the staff lay abandoned behind him as he practically fucked the silver rod, very sensible.

The lights caught snow white hair perfectly as Frost threw back his head, letting arctic blues and sapphire hues play across the delicious expanse of his well-toned chest and stomach. She should have expected the second flip though, it was never enough to have just one, actually kind of cruel to your audience when she thought about it good and proper. Just how he landed perfectly on both feet with the staff back in his hand would forever escape her, even if she wasn't half drunk, she probably wouldn't have known how the man did it.

He was staring out at the crowd now, full frontal view, and she guessed he was smirking, again too far away, as he pointed at himself before bringing the hand back to his mouth. She supposed he had licked his fingers, or maybe just kissed them before making his way back to the pole. This time she was braced for another breath catching flip and wasn't disappointed, though the staff stayed on the floor this time, she wasn't quite prepared for the flip to end half way with Frost upside down.

She knew the man had been a gymnast at some point but she didn't figure gymnastics taught you things that could be applied to stripping, looks like she was wrong. As the music built to its climax, Frost spun around upside down making his legs look positively deliciously and earning a few whistles from the crowd.

"That's amazing," the cute blond sighed and she let her eyes slip from the stage where Frost was doing some incredibly complex things that she would need at least another sixteen stripping classes to master, like that one move where you suspended yourself with just your knee, upside down-ish. Now she noticed that the blond was female and dressed in an adorably sexy piñata dress, the pastel colours darkening with the strobe lights, that did marvellous things for the girl's legs. She had a thing for legs okay.

She also wasn't sure if it was the performance or the alcohol or some combination of the two but her blood was racing, the adrenaline pumping and things were starting to look great. Who gave a flying fuck about Princess Bonnebelle and her nerdy boyfriend? Marceline was hot as shit, a great dancer and in one of the hottest clubs where she had danced with the hottest guy. Her night was going great, and it was only about to get better, it only ever could.

"Yeah Frost's great, six hours practicing with the guy and I still don't know how he does it," she admitted, smiling slyly as recognition slowly dawned on the pastel blonde.

"You were the one dancing with him from before?" the girl asked, probably just for confirmation because Marceline isn't exactly a forgettable person, between her body, her face and her attitude, people tended to notice her. Thankfully pastel blonde wasn't an exception to the rule.

"Yeah, I'm Marceline by the way," she added with a grin which the girl immediately reciprocated.

"Fiona," pastel blonde replied with a coy smile, scooting just a bit closer on her barstool and practically sealing the deal.

She waited for the last of the song to die out, a smirk playing on her lips as Frost got off the pole to stroll to the front of the stage and blow a kiss to the audience. As the last notes faded, he slipped right off the stage into the crowd and there was a general increase in noise, the Halloween Spectacular was going swimmingly.

"Hey Fee, you wanna get outta here? I've got a hotel room close by," she offered although it was mainly formality at this point, they both already knew how this would play out.

"Sounds great Marcie," the pastel blonde giggled, tapping another orange and white haired woman on the shoulder as they made their way out of the club. Marceline made sure to wink at the bartender as she left, the busty blonde lady dressed as a ringleader and called out some garbled nonsense about telling the owners she was out.

By the time his set was finished, he was hyped through the roof. The rush of dancing for so many people, of the colours and the ambiance had him wanting to run until he dropped dead.

"Hey Frost, not bad." Both eyebrows shot up into his hairline as he spun around searching for the voice, he was pretty sure he'd never heard it before but he was feeling drunk as hell, so who knew. He was almost to the edge of the dance floor but that didn't mean any less people so it took a while before he recognised anyone.

"Oh thanks, you're awesome by the way," he laughed, grinning wide and holding out his hand to the dark skinned man. He was pretty sure he'd heard Alois and Tess talking about him, Marik or Marid or something, he was supposed to have been a pretty big deal a few years ago and then he just dropped off the scene. Jack didn't have any doubts about just how big this guy had been, just one dance and he was already wondering how many years more training he'd need to come anywhere close.

"Thank you, this was just a favour to Yami though," the older man explained, waving him over and together they pushed and shoved through the crowd all the way to the staircase for the VIP section. It wasn't exactly hard to follow the guy, he was wearing more gold, fake possibly, ornaments than anyone Jack had ever seen and they continually glinted in the multicoloured lights. He wasn't exactly sure what was going on, after all, he didn't even know this man, Marik or Marid or whatever, but he didn't really care. Caring had kind of taken a backseat as soon as Pitch pulled up to the club; he'd pecked the man on the lips then slipped in through the stage entrance, completely focused on earning that three thousand for one night.

"Oh...kay?" he answered when they stopped just outside the VIP lounge, standing on the little landing at the top of the stairs where no one could see them.

"You have potential Frost and Yugi loves having the best in his club," Marik, he was betting it was Marik, stated, raising an eyebrow at him as though the rest should be obvious. He cocked his head and waved a hand in the universal 'and?' gesture which earned him a long, drawn out sigh.

"...And Yami's a very accomplished manipulator, he'll do anything for his brother," Marik finished, entire posture suggestive as though waiting for the other shoe to drop...

"Oh, oh! You mean he probably wants me for MM?" he asked, half joking as he said it, that was just stupid. Millennium Mysteries wasn't even a strip joint, it was a high end club that only occasionally hired dancers, they didn't even have regulars just whoever was popular that week. Besides, why would MM want Jack Frost? It didn't fit in with the whole, new age Egyptian vibe they had going, his colours didn't even match!

"Yes. Yugi likes puzzles, especially ones with mismatched pieces, he says they look prettier," another voice, which was really just a deeper version of Marik's chimed in. Jack backed up hastily as another man, joined them on the little landing which was getting really crowded. He didn't have to look hard to see the resemblance between the two, the same bronzed skin, the same sharp features, it was almost surreal.

"Just watch yourself Frost," Marik repeated before the two dark skinned men slipped back down the stairs just as the next set was starting up, music muffled by the walls. He stared after them curiously; maybe it was something in the air tonight? Everyone he'd met so far had been...weird, even Marceline who he'd practiced with for hours and Kirk who he knew through reputation. Shaking his head, Jack decided the best thing to do was just forget all about Marik and this club. Getting home was sounding heavenly just about now, a nice fluffy bed and a sexy as fuck bed partner were just what he needed and he knew exactly where to get both.

He hadn't been up to the VIP section, only heard about it through Kirk, but damn had the guy undersold the place. There was a completely glass bar to the far wall, directly across from you as you walked in, a sliding glass door leading to a balcony to the right of that and various booths lining the other walls.

The atmosphere up here was completely different from the rest of the club, here the lights stayed with one colour spectrum, keeping the room cool and surreal with deep blues and cold purples, maybe straying into underwater green sometimes. Each booth is closed off and he can't see whoever's in them, good thing Pitch's out in the open. He can't see the eyes on him but he can feel them, following his every move as he makes his way to the bar, crook in hand.

"Happy Halloween, Jack," he says by way of greeting, tapping the older man on the shoulder and leaning in for a quick peck on the cheek when Pitch turned his way. He grinned at the bemused look that quickly faded into obvious affection, as much as he liked to put on the big and bad for his board of directors, he really was such a softie.

"and merry Christmas," Pitch murmured, motioning to the bartender who was all smirks and sneers as he prepared something dark. Jack had no doubt whatever it was the thing was for him and was trying to remember North's little lessons on alcohol, the darker it is the stronger, or the more colours the better the floor tastes? Something like that anyway, not that it mattered as this drink was smoking and had at least two different coloured layers, it looked very intoxicating.

The red head next to Pitch snorted at their attempts at flirting, and he could admit it was sad but Pitch made a great Jack Skellington and he was already Jack Frost most of the time, it was perfect! He mostly ignored her as he took the glass the bartender was pushing forward, one eyebrow raised in almost a challenge and never let it be said that Jack Frost was one to back down from a challenge. Too bad Jack Overland would have to deal with the hangover but that was just how these things went. Bottoms up, as it were.

He drained half of the stuff and let that sit for a bit, letting the fuzziness and general happiness rush through his veins, there wasn't a taste per say but a suggestion of it. He got the idea of apples, maybe, something fruity definitely and a sweet, sweet burn that made him want to cough, but he didn't.

The other half of the drink, whatever the hell it was, had him giggling for no reason and then he remembered why he didn't drink. No brain to mouth filter.

"Hey Pitch, can we fuck in the car?"