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Even while wearing such a wide-brimmed hat, the spotlights at this party were becoming much too bright for Mint Choco.
He wasn’t quite sure how long he had been here. At the very least, he knew he had left the house at around 5pm and had arrived promptly at 5:20 to get ready for his guest performance. The performance itself started at 6 and ran for one and a half hours on the dot — not to mention standing up on that stage in front of all the guests the entire time — until he took his ending bow and retreated from the stage to hopefully enjoy the rest of the night. And now, glancing at the large clock adorning one wall of the ballroom, it was, well…
It was already half past 9.
Mint had been away from home at this party for about four and a half hours already, dressed up in his fancy black vest and white dress pants and that one long, fur-trimmed cape he saved for only the flashiest of gatherings. And of course, who could forget the hat with the large feather sticking out of it? Though as extremely well-dressed as he was and and honored as Mint felt to be here, he was already feeling the fatigue of standing and meeting so many cookies, both familiar and unfamiliar to him. The idea of just going home to take a much-needed break sounded heavenly at this point.
A sudden and all-too-familiar sound of gossiping laughter rang out nearby, even with the sounds of other chattering and the loud background music. Mint looked over and spotted a rather exquisitely-dressed group of cookies talking amongst themselves. In the mix was none other than Cheesecake Cookie. Of course, it was never a party without her input.
“Hey, Cheesecake!”
He called to the hostess of the event, glammed up in her massive black and white fur boa that could perhaps be spotted even from across the ballroom. Cheesecake perked up when she noticed her dear friend beckoning her, and excused herself to come investigate.
“Hello, dear! Enjoying yourself? Is something the matter?” She inquired while looking Mint up and down. A vague look of realization crossed her face then. “Goodness, Minty, seems like something *is* the matter. You look absolutely exhausted.”
Mint grimaced. “Is it that obvious…?”
“Well, to me it is, I think. You know I adore your costume but it’s only doing so much for you right now.”
A sigh. Mint gazed around from underneath the rim of his hat at the other guests around them. “I was about to tell you actually that I think I’m going to retire for the night, but I feel like I already know your answer to that.”
Cheesecake’s smile appeared on her face as she tapped an edge of her black-and-white mask upon her chin. “A shame, really. You know you do so much for the atmosphere just by being here. Ahh, but it can’t be helped…”
Mint rolled his eyes playfully. “It’s not like this is the last party of yours I’m ever going to attend.”
“Hehe! I knowww, I’m just messing with you, dear. Go on then. Get some rest, I’ll see you again another time!”
“Thank you so much, Cheesecake.”
After exchanging that pleasant goodbye, Mint began to make his way back through the crowd towards the stage. All the way he was making a valiant attempt to avoid conversations, just so he could gather his belongings and get home as quickly as possible. He even took the few less-crowded routes in hopes that the chattier guests would leave him be. His ambitious personal quest led him to parts of the ballroom that he hadn’t been to that night, since he had been so preoccupied with being in the center of the room playing his music.
Admittedly, Mint had to pause a few times to admire the architecture of the setting — the building was a new place that Cheesecake had rented out for the event. It was a large party hall that he hadn’t gotten the chance to see the inside of yet, so being here was a bit of a new experience. It seemed easy to get lost, with so many unmarked doors leading to various rooms. But Mint’s poor aching arms reminded him quickly of his mission, so he couldn’t stop to stare at anything for too long.
He was so much in a rush that he almost blew past a strangely well-hidden alcove next to a set of large bookcases. In his haste, Mint only spared a single glance inside. Yet an unmistakable flash of bright gold caused Mint to halt immediately in his tracks.
For a moment, he stood there. The area he had ended up in was sparse with people he noticed, and after that moment was over, he backtracked to gaze properly inside the alcove. There, sitting with his legs crossed upon a red velvet sofa was a very familiar man with bubbly yellow hair.
He was alone in the alcove, his gaze appearing unfocused and in a far away mental land. Who knew what he was thinking. And for Mint, who knew how he even ended up in this section of the place.
“…Sparkling?”
Sparkling was only halfway into his next sip of champagne when he heard his name being called. In surprise, he very quickly looked towards the entrance of his quiet space.
“Mint!”
“You’re here? I…didn’t even see you in the main room.” Mint glanced all around the room Sparkling was in. It was barely furnished, save for a curtain, a window, and a few seats. “Heck, I didn’t see you the entire time I was here.”
Sparkling answered with a wistful smile. “Really? I thought your performance tonight was immaculate, as always.” He gestured to one of the other cushioned seats. “Don’t just stand there, by the way. You look like you could fall asleep just standing up.”
Mint frowned. “I was just about to go home, actually…”
“O-oh, really? Err, then nevermind. You can go—“
“Buuut, I can spare a few minutes for you.”
That elicited a somewhat surprised look from Sparkling, who then simply gestured once again to the seats. Mint gladly steps into the room, taking his hat off as he all but collapses into one of the chairs. The plush cushion underneath him was really soft and pleasant.
“Were you in here the entire time?”
“No. I did say I watched your performance. I was just here most of the time.”
Mint gave Sparkling a sort of look. Though, as he first noticed, Sparkling wasn’t in his usual “work” clothes…he, too, seemed dressed up for the occasion, complete with a light golden mask that fitted nicely over his left eye.
“One would think you’d be more…out there. You know. Socializing. Instead of being here by yourself.”
Sparkling offered a one-armed shrug. “Like you, I was invited as a guest here tonight. I don’t have to be out there.”
Well. Sparkling did have a point, Mint thought. But given Sparkling’s job as an entertainer, and most of all his esteemed status as Cheesecake’s most favorite bartender, he sort of figured Sparkling would want to be where the people are. But it’s been recently that Mint’s begun to figure out that Sparkling actually really, truly appreciates his alone time. At least whenever he can get it.
“Then either way. I’m glad I ran into you before I departed. I was actually wondering why you weren’t catering for this party in particular, given that, you know. Cheesecake is hosting it.”
Thoughtfully, Sparkling took a delicate sip from his glass. “You know me enough. If I work too much, I’ll lose my marbles. Besides…I never really get to see you perform as a guest myself. I suppose you could say it’s…”
“…For the experience?”
“Yes. For the experience. And besides. Talking to snooty rich people I don’t know can get kind of dull sometimes. Especially when you already know what they’re going to say.”
There then was a brief moment of silence between them, with nothing but the music playing and the voices of guests from the main hall filling it up. The two of them took up gazing out the half-curtained window next to them, at the many lights and decorative flowers adorning the lawn’s edge just beyond the closest driveway. It was getting late, so a few cars and taxis were pulling in to take some groups of cookies home. One of them would have been Mint if he hadn’t stopped here to chat. But as tired as he was, he didn’t have any regrets about that.
“Did you come with anyone?” Mint didn’t break his gaze from the outside.
“Just me, myself, and I. Did you?”
“I would usually bring Cocoa and match outfits. But she had something planned for tonight with her girlfriend, which I didn’t mind, so it’s also just me.”
Sparkling could barely hold back a laugh. “You became the third wheel over the course of a day, so you had to attend an expensive party to make yourself feel better.”
“Oh, please .” Mint grinned back at him. “I was invited too, remember? But now that I know you’re here, I suppose I can’t say I’m feeling bad about arriving alone anymore.”
A small flutter made itself known in Sparkling’s chest right then. Oh, curses. To be completely outclassed in his retorting game by the great Mint Choco Cookie himself. Maybe Sparkling is just getting rusty. “Implying you want to make me your ‘plus one’ instead?”
Mint shrugged nonchalantly at the idea. “Why not?”
“Weren’t you about to go home? If you hadn’t come here specifically, this probably wouldn’t have happened, you know.”
“Oh, of course. I forgot.” Mint straightened his posture completely, shifting his sitting position to mimic the way Sparkling was sitting at that very moment and holding his arm up as if to hold an imaginary martini glass. “My name is Sparkling and I like to be mysterious and alone at parties—“
His lighthearted mocking didn’t get any further than that when Sparkling picked up one of the velvet pillows next to him and threw it at Mint’s face, who fumbled to catch the pillow before it hit the floor. It earned a giggle from the both of them, as much as Sparkling attempted to show how utterly offended he was at Mint’s impression.
“I do not sound like that and you know it!”
“Oh come on! It was accurate. Just admit it.”
“Never in a million years. In fact, I’m charging you 10% more on your drinks the next time you come in just for bruising my poor ego.”
Mint only laughed at that. “If I apologize, will you remove the charge?”
“The apology better be good or the charge becomes double.”
It was still late, and the time wasn’t getting any earlier, but Mint took his hat and put it back on before standing up from his seat. It earned Mint a quizzical look, but Sparkling’s brief confusion was quickly replaced with pleasant surprise when Mint bowed slightly and offered him his hand.
“Then, if it will suffice, may I apologize with this dance?”
Sparkling looked down at Mint’s hand for a moment. Gingerly, he set down his martini glass safely by the windowsill and took that waiting hand, where he was firmly pulled up to his feet.
The music was nice this time around, calm and perfect for a waltz. Both of them were glad that there weren’t many people hanging out around this part of the building, so they didn’t have to worry too much about being stared at. Mint led the dance, of course, holding onto Sparkling’s waist with one hand and onto Sparkling’s hand with the other. The two of them waltzed to the echoing tune beyond the hallway, one with the hopes of abolishing his personal 10% cocktail tax. Sparkling complied and followed the steps smoothly, clearly not minding Mint’s “ulterior motive”.
“It’s a miracle we’re not tripping on each other’s clothing right now,” Mint stated as they were both spinning gracefully along their personal dance floor. He glanced down at the length of his cape, as well as Sparkling’s long and fluffy robe.
Sparkling smiled bemusedly. “Yes. Truly a miracle. But I must say, you really went all out on the costume tonight. How many capes do you own again?”
“Just two. I think.”
“You don’t keep track?”
“Listen, I’m sure there’s a third hidden in the back of my closet, but I can’t be sure.” Mint softly smiled back up at him. “I could say a similar thing about your outfit, Champagne. It’s a little nicer than what you usually wear.”
The way Mint spoke his other name made Sparkling’s heart skip. Oh, how he will never get tired of that…
“I always did look better in gold.”
“You look better in nearly everything. You… are pretty good-looking. In general.”
Sparkling was extremely grateful his mask was hiding at least half of his flushed cheeks right now. It probably actually didn’t help as much as he thought, but he was banking on the fact that it was helping. “Flatterer. Could say the same thing about you, Minty.”
While they danced, Mint really took the time to admire Sparkling while they were in this setting. He fascinated Mint with his manners especially, though Mint began to suspect for a while that those manners were more for a public display. The times he hung out with Sparkling were usually at Sparkling’s bar, since both their schedules were often packed with work and business-related affairs and concerts especially, and a quick drink with a friend was sometimes all the two of them could manage. And Mint’s seen plenty of Sparkling’s theatrics while he’s there. Pleasing the crowd with his flair was just something Sparkling was good at.
But this moment, almost privately, is like seeing a different side. More loose. Relaxed. Something Sparkling only felt comfortable sharing with someone close to him.
Just for that, Mint felt glad he had stopped to meet him here.
The wonderful song drifting from the main ballroom began to transition, and the two of them took it as their cue to wrap up the dance. After the final spin, Sparkling let go of Mint’s hand.
“Okay, okay, I think that was an acceptable apology. I’ve kept you long enough now, I don’t want to—“
“Champagne, h-hold on.”
Sparkling stopped, the sudden interruption startling him. “What’s wrong? Did I step on your cape after all?”
“Huh? Oh— No, silly! My cape is fine. I was just wondering, did you have something planned for tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow? Not really. I mean, I have work but not until later.” Sparkling tossed Mint a suspicious side-eye. “Why…?”
Mint nodded, his gaze turning downwards to the floor, causing the wide brim of his hat to hide his face. He took a deep breath. “I wanted to ask if you maybe…wanted to come home with me?”
There was a brief pause. Mint continued to stare at the floor almost in embarrassment, not wanting to even look at what kind of face Sparkling might be making. He was thoroughly prepared for rejection, given that their meeting here was by absolute chance. Besides, they really were only friends—
“I’d love to.”
Mint looked up with mild shock. “Really?”
Sparkling folded his arms. “Well, you asked nicely. And besides. You made my night…s-so I’d love to come home with you.”
It was like a confetti cannon going off in Mint’s stomach. He smiled brightly, suddenly unable to contain his glee. “Y-yes, that’s perfect! Wait here and I’ll go get my violin — It will just be a moment!”
Sparkling only smiled as he watched Mint turn with a flip of his cape to fetch his belongings from the main hall. With a sigh, he sat back down on his velvet sofa with his drink in his hand. Silently he watched as the cars rolled by on the driveway outside one by one, all with cookies departing elegantly in groups and pairs.
Finally, he thought. Finally, it was a party he could enjoy with someone else.