Spillage
The incessant knocking on her bedroom door continued no matter how many times she shouted at them to stop. She pinched her bottle of eyeliner so tightly that she almost feared it would snap in half. Sucking down a deep breath, Wave shook her head and raised her eyeliner wand, continuing to carefully apply her makeup.
"Wave, come on! Are you gonna spend all night in there? You don't wanna keep your date waiting! Rouge might fly back off to her club!"
"Yeah, boss is right! You're the one who yells at us for not sticking to a schedule, but look how the tables have turned!"
"Got that right, Storm!"
The laughing fit ensuing outside of her room brought a growl rising up from the back of her throat. Wave glared at her door from her mirror, gnashing down on her molars and shoved her wand back into the bottle. Chucking the bottle at the door, she snapped that she needed a few more minutes and to leave her alone.
"Eep! Uh, she's getting testy, boss!"
"Of course she is! She's never been the late one ever in her entire life, but I guess there's a first for everything."
Wave bit back a smart comment as she turned around to her mirror, her hip bumping into her metal dresser. Bickering with Jet and Storm was like preaching to a brick wall. They devolved to jeering or running off whenever she tried lecturing them, and she was in no mood to deal with their childish insults. She dug her knuckles into her palm, resisting the urge to chew them out only to catch sight of her watch.
Eight minutes past nine mocked her. The night continued on with minutes seemingly speeding by as she stood slack-jawed because her own mistakes. She knew she should not have been working so hard on modifying their Extreme Gear when she had a date, but she immersed herself so intensely in her work that she completely forgot. Wave became lost in a world of mechanical ingenuity by the time she was dragged back to reality by Jet and Storm knocking on her door.
She flipped her head back to her mirror and took in her appearance. A worn leather jacket and black slacks seemed appropriate for a dinner date and then a night on the town. She wore one of her many white tops and quickly smoothed out any wrinkles. Her black pumps were polished and spotless, matching her gloves as well. Her makeup, liquid glitter eyeshadow and winged eyeliner, had no flaws. Wave sighed and flexed her tense fingers. She straightened her back and smiled at her reflection channeling her inner diva with a dramatic pose and wink.
Even if she was late, her attire was perfectly on point, and her makeup was was flawless. Wave rationalized her lateness further by reminding herself that Rouge had been the tardy one on their last date. She figured it was fine to be late if her partner had a habit for never being on time.
"Fashionably late," Wave whispered, smoothing her jacket, "that's what I am, and that's what Rouge is for the most part. Perfectly, fashionably late so everything is-"
Wave cut herself off, and the teasing voices of Jet and Storm faded as if they were whispering ghosts. A slimy, crawling sensation suddenly ran down her waist and legs, pinning her pants to her shins as if they glued to her. Wave slowly looked down at her lower half, and her beak dropped open.
On her dresser was liquid glitter eyeshadow spreading across the counter. In steady streams, the eyeshadow plummeted over the edge of her dresser and collided with her pants and shoes. The bubblegum color smeared across her attire and created a small puddle by her feet.
When she bumped into the dresser, her uncapped eyeshadow spilled out, surrounding her with bright pink ooze. She blinked, almost expecting to wake up from a bad dream and be tucked in her bed, but the eyeshadow continued dripping onto her clothes.
Her scream echoed throughout the Babylon Rogues' airship, and if her voice could extend across the world, it would have rocked the continents with the force of thrashing tornadoes. Her moves were a flurry like fast-forwarding a video. She dashed into her bathroom, snatching fresh towels off the counter and shooting back to the mess. She inhaled the faint cosmetic scent that swarmed around her head as she alternated between wiping her attire and the dresser.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid! How could I make such an obvious mistake? How do I forget to cap that bottle?" Wave seethed, smacking one the drenched towels onto her dresser.
"Uh, Wave? You good in here?"
She had not heard the door open, and Jet and Storm poked their heads inside with wide-eyed fervor. She jerked her attention back to the glittering eyeshadow coating her shins, groaning as Storm snickered.
"Aw, Wave, ya made a mess!" Storm cackled, pointing at her. "That's like a kindergartener marking themselves all over with a marker!"
"That's a poor analogy, idiot," Wave snapped, tempted to slap him with the soiled towel.
Jet shook his head at Storm, and Storm immediately stopped laughing as Jet asked, "Need help cleaning? Storm and I can take care of the mess. You should take care of yourself."
"And make myself much more late than I already am? Get real, Jet," Wave hissed, stomping over to her bathroom and returned with hand towels. "Besides, I'm the fool who didn't even cap her eyeshadow right and caused this whole puddle to happen. Just go away, and don't even think about laughing again or my wrench will be very friendly with your skulls."
Rolling his eyes at her scowl, Jet remarked, "Chill out, Wave. Just let us help, okay? You really should go in the bathroom, and fix yourself up. Storm and I got this."
The temptation to shout at them for their previous mocking surged in her mind, but she bit her tongue. She had no time to bicker with her cohorts and sighed, nodding and scurrying into her bathroom after gathering an armful of new clothes. Slamming the door shut behind her, she immediately assessed her marred pants and shoes.
Wave tossed the fresh clothes onto the countertop. She fished through jeans and slacks, grumbling when she noticed oiled marks clinging to the fabric. Even though she dutifully did her laundry, the tough stains refused to evaporate and left behind faded drops of oil. She sighed, deciding on a pair of bell bottom jeans, ones she thought were not entirely appropriate for a fancy club.
Glancing down at her shoes, Wave kicked them off and hustled out of her bathroom. Hurrying over to her closet, she spared her cohorts a glance and found them cleaning her mess. She caught Storm's smile and briefly returned it before flinging herself in the closet.
To Jet and Storm, Wave was a purple blur. Each time they looked over to her closet, her arm shot out and flung a rejected shoe. Storm chuckled under his breath, and Jet rolled his eyes. While Jet was more keen on trends, he thought Wave was being a little too meticulous in her fashion choices. Storm, known only for his taste in necklaces, thought the same.
Wave stumbled out of her closet wearing a pair of scarlet high heels. She heaved out a few sharp breaths, wiping sweat off her brow and clutched her hips.
"Well? What do you two think?" she asked, catching her breath and smirking.
Standing by the spotty dresser, Jet and Storm grinned. Jet offered a thumbs-up, saying she looked great, and Storm nodded. Wave grinned, basking in their praise when the door opened.
The Babylon Rogues looked at each other for a moment. Storm pointed at Jet and Wave and then himself before the trio turned their attention to the door.
"Hey, hun! Glad I caught you before you left," Rouge said, waving and leaning against the doorframe. She held her Extreme Gear under her arm, and to Wave's surprise, she wore her regular attire.
"R-Rouge, what are you doing here? Wasn't I-wasn't I supposed to meet you at our regular spot?" Wave spluttered, and Storm quickly stepped in front of Wave's dresser to hide the mess.
Rouge chuckled, a pink tint burning her cheeks. "Oh, yeah, about that! It turns out my mission went on for much longer than I anticipated. When I got to the restaurant, they already gave our table away, and I forgot to call in ahead of time to make sure we'd have it. My bad."
Wave gawked and then promptly pinched the bridge of her beak. A tired groan slipped out of her, and she ignored Jet and Storm laughing behind her.
"Well, I guess being late worked out for ya in the end, Wave! It didn't even matter that you spilled your eyeshadow!" Storm cheered, and Wave's glare pierced through his very soul.
As Storm huddled behind him, Jet snickered. "Aw, it's fine, Wave. Now you can just relax with your girlfriend here or whatever it is you two do on dates."
"Now, now, you boys leave your idle chatter to yourselves," Rouge ordered, waving her finger like a scolding mother and stepped towards the scarlet-faced swallow. She wreathed her arm around Wave's waist, pulling her close. "Why don't we go out for a ride, Wave? I'll do the work, and you can hold on tight."
At Rouge's wink, Wave's shoulders shot up, and she stiffened. Her mind formed an eloquent response, and with the clustering stress from her mishap, she found herself unable to speak. Rouge chuckled, gently taking Wave's hand and tugging her along. Wave managed to stick her tongue out at her fellow Rogues when they hooted behind her, kicking the door as she left.
"Rough night?" Rouge asked, tossing her Extreme Gear on the hallway floor.
"Oh, just a bit," Wave said, stepping on the board with Rouge in front of her. Wrapping her arms around Rouge's waist, she set her chin to Rouge's shoulder and added, "Take me anywhere but here."
Rouge hummed and lightly pecked Wave's temple. "You got it, babe. One starry night flight it is."
Wave listened to the rising hum of the Extreme Gear and grinned. As Rouge raced towards the loading dock, Wave felt right at home.