Disclaimer: I do not own Rent or the characters from Flawless
I'm sorry to not have updated much, but finals and blahblah and now my brain is finally getting back into gear. And I'm sorry, Katy, for not updating your story, but I tried the email and pass you told me a million times and even tried different ones and still couldn't get it to work, and you never called : ( Well, there's still hope, since you aren't back yet. Anyway, on with the show!
Angel and Collins finally, after many distractions along the way, pushed open the door to their apartment. Collins immediately collapsed onto the couch, which all but collapsed in turn beneath him. He reached for the handy bottle of aspirin that was on the little TV tray next to the couch. After wondering for a moment who had put the medicine and the little cup of water there, he opted to swallow two pills dry.
Angel, after hanging Giacomo's leash on the plastic hook taped to the door and filling the blue bowl with more kibble, retreated to the bedroom to get more clothes and then down the stairs to the "community laundry room." However, her usual washing machine was already being used by a heavy-set woman wearing a loose-fitting purple sweater and khaki slacks. Her short hair was held back by a white headband.
"Oh my god! Rusty!" Angel squealed, catapulting herself at the woman, who, upon looking closer, was actually a post-op drag queen. "You look GREAT!" Laughing Rusty, squeezed Angel into a bear hug.
"Still as little as ever, I see! You're still as thin as Cha-Cha!" Setting Angel down, she leaned back against the washing machine. "And I feel great too, after the operation. I'm really a woman now. It's wonderful! So, how are you doing? Still single? I'm surprised a pretty little thing like you never picked up a man in those years before I left!"
"Well, actually, I did kinda meet someone…" Angel looked longingly up the stairs. "He's right up there, if you want to meet him…"
"Ooh, a live-in? My my, Miss Angel, you sure have changed! I would be honored to meet someone my Angel found worthy. I just need to finish this load of clothes real quick, then we'll be on our way."
"Okay, I need to get the grass stains off this outfit. Maroon and green are definitely not a match made in heaven."
"Having a little fun at the park, were you?" Rusty winked at her.
A little while later, both loads of clothes were done, and Angel was ready to go, eager to get back to Collins and Giacomo. They linked arms and, belting out a showtune, they made their way up the stairs. They hadn't gone very far before a vision in pink came sliding out of control down the stairs on roller-blades. Rusty and Angel caught her and lifted her up onto the landing.
"Cha-cha! Oh my god, it's like a family reunion!"
"Angel-chica!" Cha-Cha squealed. She was a Latina drag queen with the same caramel skin as Angel's and a very similar upturned nose. Her short bleach-blonde hair was brought back into a pink paisley bandana tied around her head. She wore a purple fuzzy half-jacket over a gray-and-pink halter top and a shiny pink snake-skin skirt. Her feet were clothed in lavender tights and a pair of chunky black roller-blades, which wobbled beneath her. "Oh my god! It's been forever! And Rusty!" She all but jumped into the bigger girl's arms. She was obviously still the same loud, borderline-obnoxious drag queen she had been years ago.
"Guess what, Cha-Cha?" Rusty held up her hand to fake a whisper "Angel-baby's got a man!" The Latina squealed, jumping up and down and clapping, and almost fell over again.
"Ooh, is he cute?"
"Hands OFF, Cha-Cha!" Angel declared loudly. "And yes, very very VERY cute." She smiled and waggled her eyebrows. "But enough talk, I need you guys to meet him!" She dragged her friends up the stairs towards her apartment, then motioned for them to wait silently. "I might want to warn him first." She slid open the apartment door, then shut it quickly, hiding her friends from view. After laying out her clothes on a chair so that they wouldn't wrinkle, she sat lightly on the couch next to where Collins was laying. She gave him a soft kiss to wake him up, and when his eyes opened groggily, she whispered, "Hey, Col, I've got some girlfriends who want to meet you."
"Mmmokaywhateveryeahsure," he mumbled, then curled back up again, squeezing his eyes closed.
Angel slipped back outside again, then slid the door open wide for Rusty and Cha-Cha to come in. "Girls, this is Collins!" It was then that she realized he had stripped down to nothing before sleeping on the couch, and now that he had gotten up, not even the blanket was covering him. "Ack! Collins! Get some clothes on!"
Cha-Cha giggled, looking him over. "You weren't kidding, Ang, he's HOT!"
"Gyaa! Cha-Cha! Eyes off! Collins! Go get clothes!" Angel shoved the still half-conscious philosopher into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Rusty and Cha-Cha were still laughing, exchanging rather lewd comments.
"Does he walk around like that all the time, Angel?" Rusty asked. "In that case, I'm going to have to come back more often."
"Argh! Shut up, both of you!" Angel stormed into the bedroom, dragging out a now fully-clothed yet still half-asleep Collins. "Collins, this is Rusty" Rusty waved, grinning, "And this is…"
"Cha-Cha de los Santos Perez Cueva. But you can call me Cha-Cha." She wrinkled her nose as she grinned a toothy grin, shaking his hand for quite a bit longer than needed.
"Uh, pleased to meet you, Cha-Cha…" Collins was surprised at how similar Cha-Cha and Angel looked; if it weren't for Cha-Cha's lack of wig, he might have had trouble telling the two apart. He wouldn't tell Angel that, of course. Angel gripped Collins' waist, pulling him back towards her into a quick kiss to demonstrate that he was hers.
"Remember, Cha-Cha, I said hands OFF. Does that pizza guy still work here?"
"But of course, Angel-chica. Why else would I have stayed in this rathole so long? May I dare to say I do business with him quite frequently." Cha-Cha wiggled her eyebrows, a dirty look on her face.
"So, did Ivana ever recover from the cufflink incident?"
"Well, she had a scar, but she got an operation anyway, so they got rid of that as well."
"She did? I'm so proud of her!"
"Yeah, I dropped out of the Miss Flawless contest for a year to let her get the prize money, but it was worth it for my Ivana-chica." Cha-Cha smiled.
"Well, Rusty," Angel remarked, "You're not being very talkative."
"It's hard to be with Cha-Cha in the room."
"Alright, I'll give you that, but you're not even trying. What gives? And why do you keep smiling?" Rusty held out her left hand, showing off the diamond that glistened on her ring finger. "Oh my god! Rusty, why didn't you tell me sooner? Who's the lucky man?"
"His name's Luciano. He's Italian." Angel and Cha-Cha let out a combined "Oooh." "We've been together since Christmas."
"That's when I met Collins, isn't that right, Col?" Angel turned to wrap her arm around her lover, but found him on the couch again, sleeping. "Oh well, let him be a lazy, antisocial couch potato. He's a cute couch potato, and he's my couch potato." She smiled, resting on the back of the couch, reaching an arm over to stroke his cheek. "So, Cha-Cha, you seem to be the only one without a man."
"Ang, every man is my man!"
"I guess you're right, chica, you seem to work your charm on every men. But you just can't seem to choose."
"Nothing wrong with that, Angel-chica. It's fun to still be on the market."
Giacomo wandered in from his comfortable spot on the bed in the bedroom, and Angel jumped when he pressed his cold nose against her ankle.
"Oh my god, Angel!" Cha-Cha squealed. "You didn't tell us you got a puppy!" She scooped him up, looking him in the eye. "He's a cutie!" She let him lick her face, squeaking the whole time. "What's his name?"
"Giacomo."
"Yaka-who?"
Angel sighed and explained for the second time that day.
The girls talked long into the night, sharing stories about the men they had met and Cha-Cha's escapades with the pizza guy and reminiscing about the "good old days." By morning, all but Angel and Collins had left, and Angel tangled herself into Collins' arms on the couch.
That was fun to write x3 Anyway, I just watched Flawless, so I figured I'd work my favorite girls into the plot somehow. Expect them to antagonize Collins on and off throughout the year. Oh, and since Katy has Juice Fairies, I gave Angel and Collins Medical Supplies Fairies. Phun x3