Drinking Buddies

Merry hopped out of the taxi after paying the driver, quickly adjusting the dress she was wearing as she headed into the Wonderland Casino.

She didn't typically wear clothes in her bun form beyond the varied ribbons she used to tie her ears, but tonight she had on a stormy black dress covered in a pattern resembling lighting which was being partially obscured by a leather jacket she had gotten as a gift from Astro just a week ago. On the topic of her clumsy friend, he was the one who invited her out tonight, the casino not being her typical first choice for a night out. Not that she had anything inherently against high-class establishments, she was friends with Citron for hell's sake and that lady owned enough bars and casinos to rival Angora, but she preferred trashy places that look like and usually are a safety hazard.
It was just much more difficult to get into brawls at fancy establishments since the bouncers actually did their job and threw you out rather than taking bets on who will win. Absolutely infuriating and unacceptable.

But tonight she wasn't here to get into a fight (unfortunately) but to finally meet Hops, Astro's drinking buddy and fellow debtee. The gluttony horned succubun had predicted that it was going to be a slow night so Merry agreed to show up, but stipulated that if the prediction was incorrect she was leaving immediately. Astro in his infinite confidence had just rolled his eyes and told Merry to dress nicely, alongside the vague threat of what he'd do if she ended up making Hops cry, even though he had been the one to insist that they should meet each other. Their friendship was such a wondrous thing.

Passing the various slot machines and roulette tables arranged around the casino floor, she had to grudgingly admit upon crossing the threshold over into the Rabbit Hole that Astro had been correct- the only clientele was a group of buns in a corner booth, the only others in the bar being herself and the two bartenders in doll form currently sharing a couple drinks, which left the space surprisingly quiet beyond the occasional shout or raucous laughter from the small party of four in the corner.

Clambering up onto one of the barstools, Merry waited for Hops to finish whatever she was saying to Astro before butting in. "And here I had thought the drinks were for the customers"

Hops startled slightly, the way she was lightly swaying suggesting she was already a couple drinks in and at least buzzed. Astro just laughed and took another sip of his own drink. Setting down his round glass of pink liquor, he smiled down at Merry. "I can afford the fee"

"Ha, says the debtor- thought I guess that's true, with your demon daddy. Everything's just a price to you. Anyway, this place serve beer?"

Usually Astro would protest the demon that raised (and still financially supported) him being referred to that way, but this time he ignored the comment and just gave Merry a flat look. "No. You're at the Rabbit Hole, get a cocktail"

"You think I know your fancy drinks? You got an ale or sm'thn?"
The freckled succubun in front of her sighed. "Yeah, sure, one of the seasonal drinks right now is a Scale Ale. You dehydrated bitch" Astro stepped away from where he was leaning on the counter to grab a bottle further down the shelves as well as reach for a glass to pour the drink into as he continued in a flat tone, "So. Merry, this is Hops, my super awesome drinking buddy and BFF. Hops, this is my friend Merry. She's an asshole"
Hops snorted out a laugh at Astro's feigned annoyance. "I've heard him talk about you before. Did you really get into a fight with four guys at the same time?"

Merry leaned forward, smirking up at the bartender. "Like that's special? Yeah I've done that a couple times. Technically the most I've ever gotten into a fight with at once is around sixteen if you count the entire bar going at each other"

Astro returned with the drink he had poured, setting it down a little harder than he needed to in front of Merry. "That doesn't count, you barely even knew half of them were there"

"But they were part of the fight that I was in"

"That was a free for all bar brawl, that shit isn't hard to start when you're somewhere named The Hellpit. The one v four is still more impressive, especially since you didn't even start the bar fight"

"Well I sure ended it"

"Congrats, you beat up a bunch of drunk idiots with your circus acrobatics. Get that smirk off your face"

Merry did get that smirk off her face, but only to grab and chug down her Scale Ale, Hops giving an appreciative whistle once she set the empty glass back down, then reaching under the counter to hand over a bottle of water.

Unscrewing the lid and taking a couple gulps to rehydrate herself, Merry nodded in thanks. "So, you guys just don't really care enough about the debt to stop drinking, huh?"

Hops at least looked a little shameful, while Astro just shrugged. "With the way Angora looks at Hops I wouldn't be surprised if she came up with enough excuses to keep her here anyway, legitimate debt or not. It's not like the job sucks or anything either way"

Hops spluttered and tried to wave off the remark- Merry couldn't comment on Angora since she hadn't met the woman, but trusted that Astro could be a surprisingly insightful son of a bitch when he wanted to and decided that he was correct. Should probably change the topic though. "Right, well miss bartender who can appreciate my chugging skills, as this is your not sucky job as well, if you could pour me another drink that'd be great. Just get me whatever you like, I don't know shit about cocktails"

A glass of whiskey was set down in front of her soon enough, the three of them falling into pleasant enough conversation. Sometimes another customer would come in and order something which forced one of Merry's conversation partners to slip away, typically Astro as the reason he'd asked Merry out here in the first place was to meet Hops, so it wouldn't make sense if he kept making one of them leave when he could instead do his job.

They got along well enough, Merry filing down some of her sharper edges as to not scare the other off, which isn't something she'd usually do, but this was her friend's buddy so she at least tried to leave a good impression. By the end of the night Merry had officially decided Hops was her friend, finding that she does make for a great drinking buddy. The lavender haired bun had held up like a champ through the drinking contest they had once the two were close to getting off shift, Merry impressed by the other's alcohol tolerance and being sure the gluttony horned bun would've likely won if it weren't for Astro stepping in to call off the contest as he didn't want to clean up bile as the only one working that was even close to sober.

By the time the two got off shift, Merry was drunk enough that Astro asked Hops to look after her while he got changed, the two trying their best to have a conversation even through slurred words and fuzzy minds until Astro came back, taking one look at their disorientated states before declaring that it's a sleepover at his place tonight and guiding Hops to the back door of the bar, the drunken bartender clutching Merry to her chest as if she were a plushie in order to not drop her when they were unceremoniously shoved into a cab.

---

Merry groaned as a beam of light shone directly onto her eyelids. Originally planning to try going back to sleep to not have to deal with the bitch of a hangover she had, she instead ended up rolling directly off the couch she'd been laying on which irrevocably woke her up.

Rubbing at her eyes to get rid of the crustiness that came with a night of sleep, she noticed an absolutely delicious smell, following it to the kitchen to discover Hops in bun form sitting on the counter, looking just as shitty and dead to the world as Merry probably did while Astro, in his doll form and seemingly only wearing an oversized t-shirt, turned to his friend when she entered the room.

"Morning, dumbass. I'm making fried tofu balls and eggs. Get over here so I can lift you onto the counter"

The greasy food was probably the best thing Merry had ever eaten once the plates were set down, the three of them not talking for a while to fill their suffering bodies with tofu, eggs and a truly obnoxious amount of ketchup and cheese dip.

Eventually, Astro spoke up. "It was a mistake introducing you too. Fucking drunkards"

Hops joined Merry in reminding him how exactly he got his job as a bartender in the first place, which he rebutted by letting them know that he'd spent a good chunk of time last night cleaning up after they threw up all over him and his floor.

Hops seemed to feel bad enough to stop making fun of him. Merry did not.