Several Years Earlier
"I'm not sure this is a good idea."
Ramirez rolled his eyes and clapped Adam on the shoulder with his free hand, "it's not a good idea, it's a great idea." He walked Adam forward through a curtain of pulsating red and blue light which spilled down onto the sidewalk before them. A line of people trailed away from the door, their voices raised to be heard over the throbbing beat of music that could be heard emanating from inside.
"I...."
"Look if you don't like it, we never have to do it again, but you should at least try it once." Adam looked at him with some measure of concern red and blue light reflecting off his wide green eyes. The poor kid was out of his element. It was honestly quite adorable, but Ramirez had promised he wouldn't try anything while he was on duty especially not with a superior officer.
It was hard to think of Adam like that, especially at a time like this, but Ramirez wasn't stupid. He knew exactly how to toe the line to avoid getting fired.
Adam paused where the back of the line ended, but Ramirez grabbed him by the arm, "Nuh uh, this is my town baby, and in my town we don't have to wait in lines." Adam glanced around frowning in confusion, "I thought you were from Texas?"
Ramirez rolled his eyes, "Let me be clear, every town is my town, besides." He ran a hand through his hair and rolled his shoulders like a boxer about to enter the ring, "When you're hot like us you don't have to wait in line."
Adam glanced over his shoulder as if looking for the other person Ramirez was talking about.
Cute and stupid, "I'm talking about you Adam."
The poor kid flushed red to his ears. Ok not stupid, but naive was probably a better term. They cut through the fast lane and past most of the line finally making it towards the door where the bouncer was standing guard at the door eyeing everyone who passed in. Ramirez sized him up in a matter of seconds and knew immediately. The bouncer stepped in front of them, and Adam shrunk back behind Ramirez despite being significantly taller than him.
"VIP passes?" The bouncer said referring to the line they had just stepped from, or the absence of a line to be more precise.
Adam shot Ramirez a look, and went to back away, but Ramirez stepped on his foot to hold him in place, and gave his first best smile to the bouncer, "Afraid I must have forgot my pass." He reached down as if to feel at his pockets. The bouncer did not look impressed, at least not until Ramirez flashed him a twenty credit note, which the man took and pocketed with no argument.
"Thanks chief." Ramirez said hauling Adam forward by the arm, but as soon as the bouncer saw Adam he frowned.
"Wait, let me see your ID first.
Adam blanched white then reached into his pockets. The poor kid was so nervous he dropped his card on the ground and then had to go scrambling around to find it before standing back up a bright shade of charry red. The bouncer raised his eyes to heaven and then took Adam's ID, "he did not look convinced." Looking back and forth between Adam and his card with his eyes narrowed. The man reached up to call for someone on his radio.
Adam gave Ramirez a look of panic.
Ramirez sighed, "Quit freaking out dude, it looks suspicious and now he thinks the card is fake."
A man stepped out from just inside the club door, "Hold up your arm."
Adam held up his right arm. The man sighed, "Your other arm."
Adam was as red as a cherry tomato at this point, as a scanner was run over his arm. There was a sharp beep and a flash of green, both bouncers looked almost surprised but stepped aside to let the two of them in. Ramirez grabbed Adam and hauled himself inside and it wasn't long before they were navigating their way through a forest of gyrating bodies. Ramirez let go of Adam for a moment already flexing his pickup abilities. He caught a cute redhead in his gaze and sauntered over to dance with her for a second, before moving on. Adam followed behind him holding his arms in like he expected to get attacked.
Adam caught a smile from a gorgeous woman with dark skin and a halo of short curly hair, and promptly tripped knocking into another woman and causing her to spill her drink all over herself. He was still apologizing when Ramirez retrieved him. Adam refused to look up, but Ramirez certainly caught the girl from earlier cover her mouth to stifle a laugh , large brown eyes still locked on them as Ramirez tugged Adam back into the crowd.
Who knows maybe wing manning Adam wouldn't be so hard. He was dorky and awkward, but some girls went in for that.
Finally they made it to the bar and caught some seats.
Adam had shrunk down to avoid attracting attention. Ramirez on the other hand was already eyeing a pair of people down the bar . Both were very attractive, the man Panasian, tall and lean with spiky dark hair and golden eyes. The girl was blond, short with a cherubic angel face and exceptional curves. He caught the attention of the man and gave him a smile to test the water and was quite pleased when he got a sly smile back.
He watched as the man prodded his friend, and Ramirez did the same.
Adam glanced up the bar just in time as the girl turned to look, He immediately went red and looked away while the girl giggled and said soemthing to her companion.
"Oh I do feel a productive night coming on." Ramirez said watching as the bartender finished her last drink before heading towards them. Ramirez was about to open his mouth when the woman held up a finger looking the two of them over with a critical eye taking in Ramirez's grin and Adam's blush, "let me guess,>" She pointed at Ramirez, "A shot, Doesn't matter, what as long as it has rum and Vodka."
Ramirez grinned, "I like this bar already."
She turned to look at Adam who was still looking down at his hands, "Something fruity for this one."
She turned to grab her ingredients.
Adam frowned, "Should I be offended?"
Ramirez laughed.
Didn't take long to pour Ramirez a few shots, though it took a bit longer to shake up soemthing for Adam. By the end Ramirez was sitting with a few shots in front of him, and Adam was skeptically examining the martini glass sitting on the bar before him, complete with radioactive green liquid inside.
Ramirez took his shot, "bottoms up."
Adam hesitantly took his drink unsure of his first taste of alcohol, "I don't know if my mother would...."
"You're mother isn't here, and if she is good for her."
Ramirez downed his first shot grimacing as was custom and shaking himself as the warmth began to spread out from his stomach and through his body.
Encouraged by Ramirez, Adam took a sip of his own drink eyes widening in surprise.
"Good?" The bartender asked, on her way back from helping another customer.
"I.... that's not what I expected."
She smiled, "Thought you might like it."
Adam took another sip, and then another until the drink was gone. And then Ramirez made the mistake of buying them both two more.
Adam was a big guy, right? So, it was going to take a bit to get him drunk.
Turns out that logic was flawed.
Adam had never drank before and he was a total lightweight, before the hour was out the poor kid was staggering, but even worse Ramirez was a bit to wasted to be making good decisions. It did, however, loosen Adam up a bit and before long the two of them were dancing. Ramirez cackled at Adam who, just as he expected had no idea how to dance.
"What is that?"
"What is what?"
"What are you doing."
"I'm dancing." Adam said looking offended.
"You call that dancing. Where did you learn how to dance?'
Adam pouted at him, "I took ballroom lessons growing up."
"This isn't a ballroom stupid; you've got to move your hips like this." Ramirez did his best to demonstrate more than confident in his own sexiness, and perhaps he was right. Adam looked at him skeptically. Ramirez raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong."
"My hips can't move like that."
Ramirez snorted and waved a hand, "Sure they can if you got that stick out of your ass."
"There is no stick in my ass."
"If you've done ballroom you know how to cha cha right, and you can't do it right if you don't move your hips."
Needless to say Ramirez didn't manage to pick up anyone as he was too busy teaching his friend how to dance properly, and the more drunk Adam got the better a dancer he was, until the two of them were, in Ramirez's opinion, tearing up the dance floor.
Ramirez was rarely wrong in matters like this.
The problems came when the alcohol really hit Adam, and the poor guy lost any and all sense of self preservation, and then Ramirez found himself being the responsible one trying to wrangle Adam like a toddler, who, as it turns out, likes to climb on everything when drunk. It was this disruptive behavior that forced Ramirez to remove him from the bar before they could get kicked out. From there they went stumbling up the street together, Ramirez grabbing Adam by the back of the shirt.
They were almost halfway to the street when they ran into some familiar faces.
Other marines.
They got to talking but unfortunately for them it was right next to the window of a late night tattoo parlor glittering with neon and black lighting on the front façade. Adam stared inside at the artwork on the wall his hands resting against the glass.
"What's wrong with your friend."
Ramirez waved a hand, "His first-time drinking. He's ok."
He probably shouldn't have said that. One of them cackled, "Hey kid, you should get one."
Adam turned looking confused. "What."
"You should get a tatoo." One of them said.
As much as Ramirez might have liked to claim he was in charge of his own senses that night, both of them thought it was a great idea. And together the group of them wobbled inside causing the woman behind the counter to sigh.
"What do you want."
Ramirez slapped Adam on the back, "An ASS tatoo!"
Even drunk, Adam was scandalized, "NO! I don't want one on my ass."
"Ass." Ramirez insisted, or or a tramp stamp!"
Adam shook his head.
"Well what do you want." The woman asked pointing up to the sign above the desk, "No hate symbols, no poor, and no dicks, I'm not tattooing a dick on you, and I won't tattoo your dick either. I also don't do buttholes." She jabbed a finger at Adam, "No hand, neck or face tattoos for you."
Adam fumbled at his implant before returning with a picture he showed to the woman, "Can I get this." She looked it over, expecting something worse but was pleasantly surprised to find a goofy little cartoon.
"Where/'
"Uh.... Um."
Ramirez grabbed adam's arm and twisted it around for a better look, "ASS monster!"
Adam snatched his arm back, "Is Marvin the Martian, from mars stupid."
"Ass." Ramirez insisted.
"Hip." One of the other marines suggested, "That's like not ass but ass adjacent.'
Adam didn't argue with that and the woman gave him a look. If she had second thoughts she dismissed them in favor of cash until she had Adam sitting in he seat with one side of his pants halfway down as she freehanded a stencil of a martian onto his skin. Adam giggled.
"that tickles."
"yeah, it will tickle even worse in a few seconds." She muttered turning on the machine with a soft whirr. Soft blue light emanated from the batter pack of the tattoo machine before putting it to skin. To her surprise he didn't move but mewled a little pathetically as the needle made contact with his skin. Other than that, he was actually a pretty good client. He sat still and didn't complain too much though he demanded his cute friend hold his hand.
She sent them on their drunken stumbling way with a few extra hundred dollars in cash to line her own pockets.
Ramirez and Adam continued their stumbling way up the street. Adam nearly fell into a bush, Ramirez knocked over a garbage can, both of them talked too loudly, until finally and somehow mercifully they managed to make it back to the hotel where they were being housed. Adam couldn't find his own room so they ended up back in Ramirez's room where they both passed out on the bed quite promptly.
***
That's how Adam woke up being spooned by Ramirez. He freaked out almost immediately and fell off the bed with a loud thud. Ramirez bolted upright, "Mugh?"
Adam reached up a hand to his throbbing head, "Damn my head I, what happened." He looked up at Ramirez who was peering at him from over the side of the bed, "We didn't I-"
Ramirez looked down at himself, "nope, still wearing pants, You're clear chief, though I'm down to spoon anytime you like."
Adam groaned and flopped back on the floor, "Why did I let you talk me into that."
"You had fun and you know it."
"I am going to throw up."
"That's the price you pay for a good time." Ramirez said snuggling comfortably into his sheets.
Adam rolled into his hands and knees crawling across the floor towards the bathroom. His head throbbed, and his hip ached too. He wondered how that had happened, but then, "Oh shit." Adam rolled onto his side hoping not to find what he expected pulling down the side of his pants to reveal.
Marvin the martian.
"Oh shit." He groaned, "My mother is going to KILL me."
Ramirez cackled from the bed.
"Screw you."
"Don't threaten me with a good time."
Adam groaned again and continued his crawling way into the bathroom.