A/N: Thank you for reviewing! Enjoy the next chapter!
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"Vince, what are you wearing? You're supposed to be going incognito - you look ridiculous!"
"What do you mean?! I'm completely concealed!"
"You look like a walnut whip!" Howard exclaimed, one hand on his hip and the other running through his hair impatiently.
Vince huffed and stared at his reflection in the mirror again. He thought the full length, chocolate brown faux fur coat, large sunglasses and cream floppy hat made him look like a mysterious film star. Howard told him he was missing the point.
"I mean, look at me -"
"You're wearing a suit," Vince cut in, "a sand coloured suit with deck shoes." He looked disgusted.
"Exactly! Inconspicuous. Crisp white shirt, open at the collar – I could be a patron of the theatre, nobody will look twice at me."
"Give you a cigar and you'll look like a middle-aged Cuban drug dealer."
Howard glared at him. "And you think going out dressed like a pimp isn't going to get us noticed?"
"Us?"
"I'll be right next to you, you berk!"
Vince chuckled. "Oh, yeah. Still, if everyone's looking at me then no one will notice when you..."
Howard eyed him suspiciously. "When I what?"
"Whenyouputthecoatbackinthedressingroom," he said quickly, his voice muffled by his hand over his mouth.
"What?" Howard said, advancing towards him, a look coming over his face that made Vince back away quickly.
"Well, no one's gonna notice you, are they?!"
"Thanks a lot!"
"Oh, you know what I mean."
"Yeah, I do." Howard stormed out of the room, plonked himself down at the kitchen table and picked up the newspaper.
Vince crept in, rolling his eyes when he saw Howard's face buried in the paper.
"Howard..."
An irritable flick of the page was all he got in reply.
"Howard! Howard? HowardHowardHowardHowardHoward, Howard!"
"WHAT?!"
Vince looked down at the floor.
"You coming?"
"No!"
Vince pulled one of the chairs at the table round to where Howard was sitting and sat down next to him.
"Come on, Howard. I was only trying to give you your dues – you're a man of action, remember? I thought you'd like to be in the thick of it. I was thinking of you, that's all."
Howard scoffed at him. "No, you weren't. You were hoping I'd do it so if someone did see, I'd get the blame and you could swan off in a meringue haze."
"No, I wasn't!"
"You were, Vince. I mean, why do you always automatically think that I'll do these things for you? What about me? What about my feelings? Why are you always so selfish? I've never met anyone as self involved as you are." He put the paper back up to his face, only pretending to read this time.
Vince put his elbow on the table, chin resting in his hand, his other coming down over the top of the paper to pull it away from Howard's face. To his surprise, Howard didn't resist, but he didn't look at him either. He placed the paper on the table and tried to catch his gaze.
"Hey," he said, softly.
Howard ignored him, although, secretly, he was amazed that Vince hadn't stomped off when he'd had a go at him.
Vince tried a different tactic and put a hand on his arm, shaking it gently, eventually earning him a weary look from his friend. He gave him a small smile.
"Come on, come with me. You know I'll mess things up if I'm left on my own. I need you, Howard. Please?"
Howard just stared at him, an unreadable expression on his face.
Vince quickly thought about what he could do to set about replacing that look with a smile, and he got up and planted himself on Howard's lap, arms going round his neck.
"Vince!"
"I'm sorry," he mumbled into his neck.
"Vince, get off!" Howard tried to push him away, but he clung on tightly and eventually he gave up.
Vince looked him right in the eyes. "I am sorry, Howard."
Howard looked away.
"Please, come with me. Please? Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease..." he head-butted Howard gently in the side of his face. "Pleasepleasepleaseplease -" He stopped when he heard a small laugh escape Howard's lips. "Was that a laugh? Are you smiling?" Vince grinned and tried to look at his face, eventually grabbing hold of his chin to stop him from turning his head away.
Howard bit down on his lip, trying, and failing, to remove the smile that was forcing its way through, and shook his head, getting up and forcing Vince onto his feet.
"You owe me," he said, grabbing his keys.
Vince grinned. "A night out on me."
Howard paused at the top of the stairs. "To the jazz club?"
"Oh, do we have... yeah, okay," he sighed, as Howard narrowed his small eyes at him.
Satisfied, Howard led the way down the stairs, Vince following behind, not entirely happy at the thought of having to spend an entire evening listening to jazz, but knowing that he really didn't have a choice and, come to think of it, he was also now slightly upset about being called selfish and self-involved, so he decided he would have to find a way to prove Howard wrong.
Howard suddenly stopped, causing Vince to crash into the back of him.
"Oof!"
"Vince, did you pick up the coat?"
"Oh... no."