Atomica was loud, crazy, busy and packed with people as usual. Walking from the bar, Arthur carried two different glasses towards a table where Alfred and Matthew stood. "Alright, one margarita for Alfred and one glass of water for Matthew," Arthur said. He slid each glass to their rightful owners.
"Why you gotta be lame, Matt? It's our last night in London! Get turnt!" Alfred shouted over the loud music.
Matthew cringed. "Okay, first of all, no one says that," he replied, shouting as well. "Second, the last time I was here, I had that very same drink and it messed me up good. I'm not looking to be miserable again! Besides, we have a flight tomorrow afternoon. I'm not flying with a hangover."
"Wimp!" Alfred mocked. He lifted up the large margarita glass and took a sip. He grinned. "Ah fuck yeah! This is good!"
"Alright, I need the both of you to be on your best behavior. Got it?" Arthur chimed in.
"This is a club, dude, why would I need to behave?" Alfred asked.
Arthur sighed. "Scratch that. Matthew, can you sure Alfred doesn't do anything insensitive, tonight?"
Matthew smirked. "Yeah, I think I can handle that."
"Good, because I actually want to enjoy the show tonight. Francis told me that I have to watch the first performance especially." He began sliding into the chair next to Matthew. "He and Feliks have been working hard the past week to put their performance together. If I don't watch it, I think Francis'll kill me."
Alfred took another sip of his cocktail. "Feliks...why does that name sound familiar?"
"He called you Alfonso," Matthew commented.
Alfred's eyes lit up in recognition as he set his drink down and swallowed. "Oh yeah! He's weird. I legit thought he was a girl."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "He's nonbinary, I think," he said. "He's actually really nice once you get past his loud personality."
"Nonbinary, what's that mean?" Alfred looked at Arthur confused. "That's not the attracted to both genders thing, right?"
Arthur smirked; at least his cousin was trying. "Nonbinary is when someone doesn't really fit into a masculine category or a feminine category; so Feliks is just...Feliks."
"Okay...I think I understand…" Alfred hesitated. "And Feliks is performing tonight? As a drag queen?"
"Yes, Roksana Pierogi," Matthew jumped in. "I saw her the last time I was here; she's quite good." This was the first time Arthur realized that Matthew had picked up a bit of an accent. Both he and Alfred had noticed and had started laughing.
"Dude, did you pick up a British accent?" Alfred teased. "Maybe I should just leave you here to be with your people!"
Matthew's face turned a bit red. "Shut up, Al," he grumbled.
"I'm so proud, Matthew," said Arthur, patting him fondly on the shoulder. "It sounds both charming and authentic." Matthew gave him a slightly embarrassed smile in return.
Alfred continued laughing, picking up his drink again. "So, is this show like RuPaul's Drag Race or what?"
"What?" Arthur replied, confused.
Matthew sighed. "It's a really popular reality show where drag queens compete and stuff."
"Yeah, man. What kind of ga-"
Matthew leaned over and put his hand over Alfred's mouth, immediately silencing him. "Remember when we talked about thinking before speaking? It was only an hour ago, so search your brain."
"I wasn't going to say anything insensitive!" Alfred said, moving Matthew's hand away from him. "I was just going to say that a lot of people like Arthur watch-oh you're right, that isn't very nice to say."
"Good. You're learning." Matthew smiled.
"I'm sorry, Arthur-" Alfred began.
"No need," Arthur held his hand up. "You didn't actually say it, so I'm not going to be offended by it." He paused. "How's your margarita?"
Alfred took another sip and grinned. "Awesome, dude. It's like, so good."
Arthur patted his cousin on the shoulder and began to walk away. "Glad you like it, but pace yourself. Matthew's not kidding when he says it really messed him up."
"Where are you going?!" Alfred hollered.
"I need to wish Mirage good luck!" Arthur called back over his shoulder. He walked over to the backstage doorway where, as always, Ludwig stood with his handy clipboard. When Ludwig glanced up, he caught Arthur's eye and sighed.
"Let me guess, wishing Mirage good luck?" he asked with a smirk.
"Yes, if it's allowed."
Ludwig nodded and stepped aside. "Be quick, however. The show starts in ten."
Arthur eagerly walked through the backstage, weaving through the groups of dancers walking past until he reached Mirage's dressing room. Before he knocked on the door, he took a deep breath, remembering the first time he stood in front of the door was only a couple of months ago. Exhaling, Arthur then knocked on the door, smiling.
The door quickly opened by Francis, who was holding a pair of tweezers with an eyelash stuck in between them. He smirked. "You caught me with one eyelash on," he mused. He leaned against the doorframe and gently blew on the eyelash to help the glue dry a little. "I have to apologize, my services are usually offered after the show."
Arthur laughed and felt his cheeks grow warm. "No, no...I came by to wish you good luck, love."
Francis wrapped his arms around Arthur's neck and chuckled. "Aw, thank you, mon chou." He then lightly pressed his index finger on Arthur's nose. "Now, hurry up. I want you to have a front row seat to the first number, okay? No one will know, but I'm dedicating the first song to you."
"That's really unnecessary, Francis." Arthur sighed. He already had a feeling as to what the song was going to be. Francis had been listening to a song over and over for the past week, listening to the point where it had begun to get on Arthur's nerves. But at the same time, Arthur thought it was sweet that Francis had been thinking of him, and it had been endearing to watch Francis prepare for a show.
"I know, but I wanted to," Francis concluded. "Seriously, you need to go get your seat."
"Don't you want a good luck kiss?"
Francis' eyes lit up. "Oh! I've always wanted a good luck kiss! All this time I've been jealous that Feli always got one and all he does is shake his ass."
The two leaned in for a kiss, both of them enjoying the moment. However, the moment was quickly ruined when there was a sudden, loud crash behind them. Francis immediately pulled away and turned around to see that his jewelry box was on the floor, along with various pieces of jewelry. He looked up to see Feliks standing frozen in place, holding onto a pair of sparkly earrings.
"Feliks! What did you do?!" Francis shouted.
Feliks looked away, pretending he hadn't seen anything. "Was not Feliks, was Roksana..." he answered, hiding his hands behind his back.
"That has to be the stupidest excuse I've ever heard!" Francis continued. "You're still blaming yourself!"
"Okay, fine. Was Tolys then!" Feliks lied.
"Tolys is not even in this room!" Francis stepped back into the room and let go of the door, which slowly began to close on its own. "And we've talked about this! You cannot use those earrings! They're mine!"
"Okay, but I just want to borrow them one time. I promise to give them back!"
The door clicked shut, muffling the arguing that continued in the room. Arthur couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity he had just witnessed. Soon, he made his way back through the groups of people to the entrance way into the ground floor. He caught Matthew's and Alfred's attention and waved them over to follow him to stand right by the stage.
The lights in the club dimmed and the music faded away. "I hope everyone is ready for a fantastic show tonight! We're trying something new, and we hope to get some positive feedback," Gilbert announced. "Both Mirage Voilà and Roksana Pierogi have worked hard together to put at least one performance together. Afterwards, we have another surprise, so please, keep your drinks close and your wigs glued to your head!"
Arthur hoped that Mirage and Roksana would be able to put their argument aside for the time being so they could put on their best performance together. After all, he had never seen them share a stage simultaneously before. This could either be an extraordinary performance or a complete mess.
The club went completely dark for a few seconds until a spot line shone on the center of the curtain. Mirage stepped out, wearing a long, robe-like dress. It was fairly subtle, but Arthur already knew that it was a tear-away to reveal a more beautiful, sparkly dress. As she continued to lip sync, the music continued to build and build, driving one's emotions along with the lyrics.
When the chorus hit, Mirage spun around, taking the tear away off and tossing it as far as she could to the left side of the stage. She slowly began to walk to the center of the stage, making sure the light caught every sparkle on the dress. Mirage gave every word meaning as the song continued, and it could be sensed throughout the club that people were immediately moved and awestruck.
Arthur had to stop himself from singing along with the song; it was indeed that song Francis had been listening to over and over again. All this time, Arthur had grown to dislike the song because of it repetitive nature, but in the moment, Arthur was happy to hear it.
There was a call and response after the first chorus, Mirage held out her right arm as she gave the call, encouraging the audience to chime in. Thankfully, the audience did their part in the response, eagerly singing the line back. Most people probably already knew the song well; it was a motivating song, after all. Mirage came around to the other end of the stage where Arthur and his cousins stood, giving the next call. Everyone in the immediate area responded, including a tipsy Alfred, who somehow managed to be louder than everyone else in the club. Arthur glared at his younger cousin briefly, annoyed, but quickly drew his attention back to the show.
When the call and responses were over, it was Roksana's turn to take the next verse. She shot out from the backstage with the energy of a firecracker, changing the energy in the room in an instant. The nature of the second verse suited Roksana more in character, though it still required her to be more tame in comparison to her other show. Roksana was a nice contrast to Mirage's more contemplative verse.
The audience began clapping along as the second verse led into the chorus once again as Mirage joined Roksana in a semi-duck walk to the edge of the stage. The whole club was now singing along with the song, nearly drowning out the original female vocals. Alfred took it upon himself to start dancing like a complete fool. His rigid movements cause his drink to slosh and spill all over the place. Matthew acted quickly, taking the margarita away from his brother before he spilled the entire thing.
The song reached its bridge, and Mirage made eye contact with Arthur and began to make her way over towards him, still mouthing along to the words. She slow knelt down to the floor as the music seemed to disappear just for a moment as Arthur froze. The singer continued to sing, their voice in a hushed whisper and Mirage gently cradled his jaw. She leaned in closer and closer to him. The hair from her wig fell over her shoulder, acting as a curtain to block out the crowd from the intimate moment.
At this point, Mirage had stopped moving her lips completely as she giggled at Arthur's beet red face. In the split second before the music's energy kicked back in, Mirage planted a soft kiss on Arthur's forehead, leaving a lipstick mark.
As Mirage rose back to her feet to finish the song, Arthur noticed that Roksana was going all out, attempting to steal the show. Can you at least share the stage? Arthur thought to himself, rolling his eyes as Roksana did several cartwheels across the stage. Mirage focused more on showing the meaning of the words as the song came to a close. It was clear to Arthur that she was trying to stay with the planned choreography, despite Roksana not following directions well.
When the song ended, the whole crowd cheered as Roksana and Mirage put one arm around each other and bowed. Arthur smiled; when he had first come to Atomica, he was slightly embarrassed that he and Mirage had taken a liking to each other in an instant. Now, he was proud of the show Mirage had put on, and he couldn't stop himself from smiling more and more.
"Let's give Mirage and Roksana another round of applause, everyone!" Erzsébet announced as she walked onto the stage. The crowd gave one final cheer. "Alright, we promised something new, so allow me to explain what's going to happen! How many of you live for RuPaul's Drag Race?!"
Everyone in the crowd cheered, Alfred joined the cheers by jumping around and screaming. Arthur laughed, not surprised his cousin didn't care that he was being ridiculous.
"Fantastic! That's what we thought! Well, we took a little inspiration from the show and we're going to have a little competition between Mirage and Roksana. Sound good?" Erzsébet waited for the crowd to calm down once again. "For those of you who don't know me, my name's Erzsébet, I do a lot of organizing behind the scenes. Mainly helping your beloved DJ, Gilbert, who's now my," She paused and held up her left hand to show off her new ring. "Fiancé!"
Arthur, along with everyone else, turned to see the DJ booth in the back of the club where Gilbert was to give their congratulatory whoops and hollers. Gilbert, suddenly put on the spot, put on his best cheesy smile and tried to ham up the moment.
"Anyway!" Erzsébet continued. "I will be the host of this new little competition. This is how it will all work: both queens will have to perform three different songs by themselves. While they are performing, they will be doing everything they can to steal the show. Each opponent has prepared their own three songs; neither know which songs they will be performing. Only I know that. However, if, and only if, a queen is no longer feeling the song, she can tag the other queen which will result in her giving the song to her opponent surprisingly. This is a way to sabotage the other. Does that all make sense?"
The crowd agreed.
"Okay, when everything is said and done, we will calculate the winner by your applause. I will put my hand near Mirage or Roksana, and you guys will have to cheer for the queen you're rooting for. Whoever gets the loudest response, wins!" Erzsébet concluded. "Is everyone ready?"
"Yes!" the crowd shouted, simultaneously.
"Mirage Voilà, you're up first! Are you ready?" Erzsébet asked.
Mirage nodded and put her hands on her hips, giving Roksana the side-eye as she walked past to the back of the stage. Erzsébet and Roksana stood to the very back corner of the stage, as the stage lights dimmed and Mirage stood still waiting for the music to begin. She struck a pose, with her left arm wrapped around her waist, supporting her right arm as she rested her fingers over her lips.
The music began with a bit of distant spoken word as the main motif of the song was played throughout. Soon the beat came in, bring the song's true start. Mirage took on an incredibly sensual role as she performed. Her touch on her arms and legs would linger for a split second longer than she should have, with looks that would make anyone go mad with sexual desire.
Alfred snickered next to Arthur. "Looks like we all know what you two are doing tonight."
Arthur responded with a swift punch to Alfred's shoulder in embarrassed aggravation.
"Didn't hurt," Alfred mocked, laughing again. "You two are totally gonna fuck after this."
Arthur grumbled under his breath and crossed his arms; he hated that his cousin was right.
When the song reached its chorus, Mirage walked backwards, soon reaching the back of the stage. It looked like she was ready to tap out of the song, and Arthur quickly felt disappointed. You've only done one verse, what are you doing? He thought to himself.
Mirage held out her hand, ready to tap Roksana in for the song. But as Roksana went to reach out, Mirage pulled her hand away. There was a minor chuckle in the crowd as Mirage repeated the same encounter. She was about to do it a third time, but as Roksana was ready to just grab her arm, Mirage spun away from her, ripping off her dress, revealing another shorter dress covered in sequins. She tossed it over Roksana's head and walked down the runway as if nothing had happened while the crowd cheered on.
Roksana was stunned by the encounter, tugging the dress off of her head and setting it aside. She smirked, accepting the challenge ahead of her.
The song came to its climax, and Mirage had death dropped to the floor. Alfred flinched and gasped at the move. "Dude, doesn't that hurt or something? God…" he muttered under his breath to his brother.
As the bridge of the song continued, she sat up and curled her legs up to the side. She ran her hands over her legs as she laid back down on her side, the hair of her wig resting on the floor. Soon, it was time for the final chorus, and Mirage was back on her feet, giving her all before the song finished. When the music stopped, there was no chance of enjoying a second of silence because the crowd was going wild.
Arthur was smiling from ear to ear as he watched Mirage take a quick bow. Mirage turned to Roksana in a taunting manner.
"Try me, bitch," she said before stepping off of the stage to change her outfit.
Roksana rubbed her hands together as she turned to face the audience with a smug smile.
"Roksana Pierogi, are you ready?" Erzsébet asked.
Roksana glanced over to Erzsébet and gave a small nod. She was ready to truly give the audience a show.
"I can't believe Roksana won," Arthur mumbled, disappointed. He and Francis were standing by the bar, waiting for their drinks. "You were phenomenal."
"Well, she's a trained dancer after all. I'm just a humble psychology professor who does drag for fun," Francis replied. He picked up the drink Antonio slid towards him and took a sip. "But, I'm happy to have support from my number one fan. Glad you enjoyed the show, mon chou."
Arthur smiled and leaned on the bar counter. "If I'm honest, I could watch you perform anytime, anywhere."
Francis raised his eyebrows and smirked. "Ah, are you saying you'd like to see me dance in my underwear?"
"Oh, come on! Why is everything about sex with you?" Arthur laughed. He picked up his drink as well and murmured into the cup, "But yes, I wouldn't mind you dancing in your underwear."
Francis leaned closer to him, grinning. "What was that?"
"Nothing!"
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. Did you say you'd like to see me dancing around in my underwear?"
"Francis!"
"Alright, let's dance then!" Francis began pulling Arthur to the dance floor. He then paused and looked around. "Where're your cousins?"
Arthur scanned the room. Matthew was wondering back from the bathroom, his hands in his pockets. He then looked up to find Alfred over near the DJ booth, talking to Gilbert and Erzsébet. "Looks like Alfred's up there. Probably trying to change the music, as always," he answered. When Matthew climbed onto the bar stool, Arthur turned to him. "Hey, when did Al get up there?"
"Well, he drunkenly hit on Erzsébet and I think she thought it was funny? So they kept talking and I guess eventually she took him up to the DJ booth," Matthew explained, shrugging.
Francis made a face like he was trying not to laugh. "Well, he's either in for a wonderful surprise or a rude awakening."
"What do you mean?" Arthur questioned.
"Um...Erzsébet and Gilbert like to be experimental in their relationship," Francis clarified, scratching his neck. "I think that's the politest way I can put that."
Matthew's eyes widened as he urgently slid off of the bar stool. "Oh my God, they're going to ask him to join a threesome," he said, running away to rescue his brother.
Arthur started to laugh. "That's not what they're going to do right?" he asked Francis.
Francis kept quiet.
"Oh no." Arthur gasped. "Really? A threesome? They're engaged now!"
"Yeah, well, they have an interesting relationship. It's hard to explain," Francis sighed. He set his empty glass down on the counter. "Anyways, while Matthew's handling that situation, can we dance for a little bit?"
Arthur set his glass on the counter as well. "Of course," he replied. "It wouldn't be a Saturday night if we didn't dance together."
Francis took Arthur's hand and the two of them wandered into the crowd on the dancefloor, soon to be lost in the night.
Pulling up to the busy curb of the airport, Arthur put the car in park and let out a sigh. It was time for the twins to get on a plane and fly back across the pond home. Arthur didn't want to admit it, but the moment was bittersweet. At first, having the twins was chaotic due to their contrasting natures. But eventually, Arthur learned to appreciate their company, and he didn't want them to leave.
Turning the ignition off, Arthur opened the door and climbed out of the car. On the opposite side, Matthew climbed out of the car as well. He glanced at Arthur as he went over to the trunk and opened it.
"It was a great summer, Arthur," he stated with a sad smile. There was still a trace of a British accent in his soft voice. "I actually really don't want to leave."
"Well, you're welcome back any time, Matt," Arthur replied. He helped Matthew with pulling the two hardshell suitcases out of the trunk. "Tell your parents I said hello."
"Will do." Matthew nodded. He knocked on the back window. "Alfred, wake up. It's time to go."
There was no response, and both men groaned. Arthur opened the door, where Alfred had been sleeping against, which resulted in Alfred falling directly on the concrete ground. Alfred groaned loudly, picking himself up.
"What the fuck was in that drink?" Alfred grumbled. He adjusted his hoodie so that it would shield his eyes from the sunlight.
"You could've stopped at one," Matthew commented. He handed his brother his respected suitcase. "Either way, you gotta find a way to look well enough. We're about to get on a plane."
"I feel like I'm gonna hurl…" Alfred added. His stance was wobbly.
"Just get through security and then drink some ginger ale while you're waiting to board the plane," Arthur instructed him, giving Alfred a hug. "Take care of yourself, Al. Both of you let me know when you've landed in New York."
"Got it," Alfred replied, returning the hug. "Gonna miss you, man."
Alfred stepped aside so Matthew could give a hug to Arthur. "I'll miss you, Arthur. Take care of yourself." When he stepped back, he laughed. "Well, Francis will, at least."
Arthur chuckled. "See you soon, Matthew. Make sure Alfred doesn't throw up on anyone, please."
Matthew gave a thumbs up as he and his brother walked away. The automatic doors were wide open as they approached the entrance. But Alfred was a bit too far to the left, and ran smack into the window beside the door. Arthur flinched sympathetically; it probably didn't hurt as much as it looked, but it couldn't have been fun. Matthew, trying not to laugh, grabbed Alfred's arm and pulled him along with him.
The brothers disappeared amongst the crowd and Arthur got back into his car to drive back home.
Francis, though hungover, wanted to surprise Arthur when he returned from the airport. It was a little bit past noon, and though it was technically lunchtime, Francis wanted breakfast foods.
And so Francis gave his best effort to cook some brunch. He used to do so much cooking when he was a kid and in college. But as he had gotten older and his life became busier, he didn't cook as much as he wanted. He hoped his cooking skills hadn't faded too much.
After making some crêpes, Francis heard the door open as he pulled out raspberry and blackberry jams out of the refrigerator. Arthur closed the door behind him, leaned against it and sighed. "I didn't think I'd be so sad, honestly."
"The twins are charming," Francis said. "Their presence will be missed greatly." He pulled out a chair and sat down. "Then again, now we have the apartment to ourselves."
"Last night wasn't enough?" Arthur asked, sitting beside his beloved.
"Hm? I meant that we get to eat these crêpes by ourselves."
"Liar."
Francis grabbed a plate and handed it to Arthur, chuckling. "I'm serious; we don't have Alfred here to eat all of the food."
"True," Arthur agreed. "But now we'll have leftovers.
They both laugh, filling their crêpes with jam. They ate in silence, simply enjoying each other's company. The meal did not last long, and Arthur collected the plates and silverware to clean up.
"What do you think about a movie day?" Arthur asked. He placed a clean plate onto the drying rack.
"Today?" Francis replied.
"Yeah." Arthur dried his hands with a cloth and placed it on the counter. "We could put on Netflix or something, order take out for dinner, curl up under some blankets and watch a bunch of movies." He then frowned. "Unless, you have something else today. I know classes a new semester starts up tomorrow and you have things to do."
Francis smiled and cradled Arthur's jaw. He wanted nothing more than to spend time with Arthur, even if it was over something simple like a movie day. "I love the idea. I'll go grab the blanket from your room," he said. He began to walk away. "You have popcorn, don't you?"
"I think so, but it might be old…" Arthur opened several cabinets and the pantry in hopes of finding some popcorn while Francis wrestled with the comforter in the bedroom. A half an hour passed before they settled into the couch, with Arthur flipping through the different movie selections on the online streaming service.
"Any preferences?" he asked.
Francis thought for a moment. "You like documentaries?"
"Sure,"
"Well, since you're still new to understanding drag history and such, want to watch Paris is Burning?"
"What's it about?" Arthur adjust the blanket so that it could drape over their legs equally.
"Drag queens living New York City; it talks about their culture, their lives, their friends, terms, slang. Everything." Francis put his arm around Arthur. "It's humbling."
"I'll give it a go," Arthur agreed. "Paris is Burning, you said?"
Francis nodded, stuffing a handful of popcorn in his mouth. It took several minutes, but Arthur eventually found the documentary. He put the movie on in an instant and reached over to turn the light off. The two of them sat quietly throughout the film, wrapped in each other's arms. In a point where the film was halfway through, Francis caught himself watching Arthur slowly start to nod off, his head resting on Francis' shoulder. Francis put his head against Arthur's and smiled.
"I'm glad I met you, Francis," Arthur mumbled, half asleep.
Francis kissed his forehead. "I'm glad I met you," he replied. "I love you, Arthur Kirkland."
Arthur looked up at returned a smile. "I love you too, Francis Bonnefoy."