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It seemed as though the group's cumulative morale had skyrocketed as they grew closer to Vegas than Los Angeles, and Aleks was no exception.

Las Vegas was one of his favorite cities on Earth. It was like Valhalla to him - the casinos, the food, the boxing, the [i]MMA,[/i] the roller coasters, the little "driving experience" companies in the desert where you could drop a few stacks and put a harem of Italian fucking rocket ships through their paces on the dirt tracks. After AJ had deigned to let Chris drive the RV on the first leg of their journey, Aleks had sat still and contemplative, revealing nothing - all while frantically Googling several such potential tracks on his phone, wondering who would complain if he and AJ turned up at 2:30 AM with the keys to the garage and a few thousand dollars. He would talk to AJ about it later; by now he had a good idea of who would and wouldn't be amenable to eleventh hour requests from rich douchebags.

His initial sojourn in Las Vegas two years ago had only been for a painfully short week; last year he had made sure to extend that time a few days at a time, always finding something else he wanted to do or make plans around, to the point where he spent almost the entire damn summer in Nevada. Eventually Chloé had grown fed up of waiting for him to return home and gone seeking out the prodigal son in Vegas for herself. [i]That[/i] had only doubled the fun. By the time school rolled around, they had been semi-seriously considering their first fucking casino robbery. He was in charge of the getaway car, and she was the gun plug. It was the first time in Aleks' life he thought he knew what it was to be in love.

Then school had resumed, Los Angeles dug her fingers into Aleks, and he and Chloé had returned to the status quo. From his perch on the couch in the Bellagio lobby, Aleks found his gaze drifting over to her briefly. She was standing at the edge of the seating melee, practicing her best Transcendental Meditation while the smell of blood grew thicker in the air. Aleks could not have given a fuck about the sleeping situation if he tried; he had been playing musical chairs with mattresses for so long, and slept so rarely on them, that he wasn't even positive he could discern them apart by sizes. If the hotel said they were king size, he would just take them at their word.

Nate plopped down on the couch too, clearly eager to avoid any of the ritual murder about to take place if Val didn't get her way. Aleks raised his eyebrows at him in silent understanding, mouth tightening into a stifled smile, and winked briefly at his too-nice-by-half friend. He understood the retreat impulse. He had been planning an escape route of his own if this trip went down in flames before Colorado. He could go to Montreal, maybe. Or Shinjuku, spending the summer on a pub crawl of love hotels with the cast of fucking Sailor Moon in tow. [i]Anywhere[/i] but near this catastrophe. 

It seemed like they'd come to a decision on how rooms would be assigned, at least. When it came time for mint selection, Aleks merely stuck his hand up in the air for whatever color mint AJ wanted to throw at him; he assumed that he and Chris were already a package deal when it came to room assignments. Sure enough, AJ tossed him the appropriately colored mint, and he popped it into his mouth contemplatively. 

[color=ff4500]"Alright losers. I don't know about you but I'm [i]hungry[/i]."[/color] 

[color=a0410d][i]You were nauseous for half the ride, that's no shock.[/i][/color]

[color=ff4500]"I'mma throw my bags on the bed nearest to the balcony - DIBS - and take my boys—"[/color] Aleks blinked as his name as implicitly called, looking up from his Apple Music [color=ff4500]"—out on a date.”[/color]

[color=a0410d][i]Oh, we're friends again.[/i][/color] Aleks smiled and nodded before looking back down to Janet Jackson.

[color=ff4500]"Feel free to do whatever you want until like seven...ish. [sub]Then we'll get ready and make the night our bitch.[/sub] We got two keys per room, so if you want to be a keeper of a key, you [sub]best keep your phone charged at all times because I don't want to have to call poor Miss...[/sub]"[/color]

He had begun selectively tuning AJ in and out for relevant information, leaning against the railing in the very back of the crowded elevator and lip reading as best as he could. The bridge was coming up, and he hated having to rewind songs.

[color=a0410d][right][sub][i]I'm not a prude, I just want some respect
So close the door if you want me to respond
Cause privacy is my middle name
My last name is control
No my first name ain't baby, it's Janet--[/i][/sub][/right][/color]

[color=ff4500]"We totally got this."[/color]

[sub][color=a0410d]"Miss Jackson if you're [i]nasty.[/i]"[/color][/sub]

Aleks smiled innocently. He was listening. They [i]totally[/i] got this.

Their suite seemed like it had been prepared for them personally. He hadn't been keeping track of who kept what mint, but he saw Chloé, Katie, and Reyna drift off to explore it, which meant that it would likely be him to bridge the peace between the lads and the ladies if someone got too belligerently shit-faced tonight. That would be manageable. Aleks, for his part, drifted off to the kitchen to explore the dishes and what was in the fridge, opening one cabinet after another and gliding on his feet to Miss Jackson. When he was done, he nudged the fridge door closed with a knee and hopped up on the counter.

[color=a0410d]"We'll need to stop at the store when we're done with lunch, [i]bratan,[/i]"[/color] Aleks called out. [color=a0410d]"No chocolate syrup in here. The best White Russians use chocolate syrup. Chocolate tastes better. At that point, of course, it would not be truly white, and the drink itself is not truly Russian. Is [i]actually[/i] cocktail created by American Karen whores to mock proud culture in the first place, so fuck its faithfulness to the source material. You'll like it with chocolate."[/color]