Just My Luck

Suoh stuttered "Th-the President believes they are very good Lindt-San"

Ava was still smiling, but there was something predatory about it. "Of course. After all, if you pushed them this hard at the start of their careers and they failed, it would ruin you. You'd never work again. I know you and the president would never take such a chance with an unproven band. They must have greatly impressed you before you even took them on." She knew from the rumor mill that Suoh had never even met them before being assigned their management. She so enjoyed pushing buttons.

Suoh cleared his throat and said "I-I am sorry, but I must get back to work" He hurriedly walked passed Ava, suddenly feeling slightly light headed.

No Compromise had recorded a couple of songs and were taking a break; they had to be very careful that Diego didn't strain his voice before their debut. Kenzie was sitting in the lounge reading a comic book. She'd sent Diego to check on his outfit, hoping to give the guys some time alone. At first she'd just planned to tease Aldo about his attraction, but now she thought it would be more fun to play matchmaker. Now she just had to hope Diego was actually gay...
Diego knocked politely on the door before letting himself in. "I've come to check on my clothes."

Aldo sighed contently as he finished Diego's pants. The design was simple, white cargo pants with a Star of David above the left knee, but Aldo was still proud. When he heard the door open and Diego's voice he jumped, nearly getting his hand caught in his sewing machine. He whirled around as he got up to see him, causing the chair to fall over, and said "Diego! H-hi, I just finished your pants so you can try it on if you like" Suddenly he remembered Diego stripping earlier and quickly added "I-I'll be working on your shirt now so... u-uh... I-I'll go so you can try the pants on"

Diego shrugged and accepted the pants. "No need. If you are uncomfortable, I can step behind this." He pulled a rack of old outfits in front of him and tried on the pants, stepping out so Aldo could see.

Aldo stepped forward, checking how the pants fit, and said "okay, stand still please" The leg length was fine, as was the waist, but when he knelled to check the waist he noticed the crotch of the pants were a little too small. He quickly stood up and said "right, well, I-I'll need to make a few adjustments to the size"

Diego stepped behind the rack again and changed back into his own pants. He handed the new ones back to Aldo. "Shall I stay while you work?"

Aldo smiled and said "if you ain't busy, then why not?" He set up his desk, carefully placing his sewing machine aside, and set to work resizing the pants. Aldo's usually playful gaze turned to intense concentration as he focused on his work.

Diego's normally intense eyes softened as he watched, fascinated by Aldo's skill and focus. He pulled a chair up and watched for a while, but he had noticed that for some reason Aldo had acted weird before when he got close. Worried that he would make Aldo uncomfortable again, he backed off. He found some loose paper and some black and blue pens and began sketching instead. He ended up with an abstract tribal phoenix design, which he held up for Aldo to see. "Do you think this is good?"
((Bored Diego = doodles))

Aldo looked over at the picture and said "it's perfect!" He quickly grabbed some sketching paper and went to designing. He glanced over at the picture every once in a while, humming happily to himself. He held up the final design for Diego to see: it was a button-up long sleeve shirt with the same tribal flame at the bottom, the phoenix was placed just above the heart with a trail leading around the back to the middle of the flames in front. "Is this good for you? I haven't gotten the collor for the shirt settled yet, but I'm gonna keep the flames blue and the phoenix black" Aldo said as he smiled warmly.

Diego was unsure how to react. "My design? You want to use it? It was not much, only a doodle... I do like what you've done with it though." Those few short sentences were an unusually long speech, for him.

Aldo was surprised to hear Diego speak more than a few words, but it was a happy surprise. He smiled even brighter as he said "yeah, I like your design. I hope I can get this design right"

Diego smiled slightly in response. "I can help, if you would like."

Aldo tilted his head to the side and asked "can you sew?"

"I can design, and do some embroidery." Diego stared awkwardly at his hands, fiddling with a pen. "You could teach me the rest."

Aldo went back to resizing the pants and said "I'll do my best!"

Kenzie bounced into the room. She looked back and forth between Diego and Aldo and seemed pleased, to judge by her smile. "Break time's over. We've got to get back to recording. Say goodbye, boys." Diego nodded to Aldo. "I'll return later."

Aldo waved goodbye and said under his breath "I'll be waiting"

Not long after Kenzie and Diego left, Ava and Lenore came in. Lenore smiled genuinely at Aldo. She admired his skill. Ava smiled as well, with less warmth. "I know you have to prepare the new band for their debut, but I hope you're not neglecting Lenore's preparations. The spotlight will be on her after all."

"Oh, of course not your Highness. I wouldn't dare disappoint you" He replied as he tried not to glare at Ava, Suoh had told Aldo of her antics before and none of them pleased him. Lenore was usually okay when Ava wasn't around. He turned to Lenore with a bright smile and asked "So Lenore, what song are ya gonna perform?"

Ava decided to let his attitude go for now. Direct conflict wasn't her style. She merely nodded when Lenore looked at her questioningly. "I'll need two outfits for the concert. My new album has an international flavor. The first few songs are Japanese inspired, so I wanted an outfit to suit that theme. The rest are more South American influenced."

Aldo went straight to sketching as he asked "alright, and how do you feel about a dragon design? Do you like the idea or want something else? Perhaps more unique?"

"Unique," replied Lenore immediately. "I need to stand out. I can't capture people's attention with the same old classics."

Aldo thought for a moment mumbling "hmm... maybe a tengu design? It's unique, but not very 'pop star-ish'... perhaps Kitsune?" He glanced over at Lenore "yeah, a red-- no, a silver and white Kitsune... with ears and tail to match... foxes are linked with high energy and playfulness" He started sketching again and said "this may take a while, but I'll get something for ya Lenore"