Athbhliain faoi mhaise duit / Happy New Year - (RP with <lj site="livejournal.com" user="half_whole_

[fey_fire]

Takes place after this prompt and this post.

Rory got to The Columns a little later than he'd planned, mostly due to his determined efforts to pack away anything of Pippa's left in his apartment. Maybe later tripping over traces of her would no longer feel so cutting, but right now he was still far too raw.

He also took a break in the middle of the day to pick up small gifts for the rest of Breaker Street. Nothing flashy, just small silver charms of various Chinese symbols, easy to dangle off chains, earrings or zipper pulls as the wearer chose. He chose symbols that in his mind represented each of his fellow band members, courage for Nil, happiness for Sascha, strength for Kreske, awesome for Junie, peace for Dave and intellect for Morrie. To each of these he added a symbol for success, a wish for the New Year. After a moment's thought, he bought another success charm for Peter along with the symbol for friendship. Then, remembering that Cait might show up if she could cut loose from her publisher's office party, he went back for a prayer box he thought she'd like.

But he was here now, with the one indisputable advantage of riding a motorcycle in the city: parking wasn't a problem even when late. Nor was gaining access to the already-crowded club, the guys on the door remembered him from the many times Breaker Street played here and waved him in with grins and the news that his band has already arrived. The Columns took up a large piece of a converted warehouse; he could feel the music throbbing through the cavernous airspace as he walked in. Sister Mystere had the stage tonight, and they'd pulled in a good crowd already.

"Ro-RY! Over here!" For such a slim little thing, Sascha had quite a set of lungs on her. Rory waved in answer and threaded his way over to the table where his friends were waiting. Jaye sitting next to Nil meant that the Camerons must have gotten lucky with a sitter, and Junie was on the arm of a man she introduced as Felipe, but Morrie, Dave, Sascha and Kreske were solo. Good, he wouldn't feel like the odd man out then.

"What are you having, Rory?" Dave asked as he waved over a waitress. "Fruit juice as usual?"

Fruit juice. Seven hells, did even something as mundane as a drink order have to call up memories of Pippa, smiling as she presented him with one of her juice concoctions at Last Call? Rory bit back a particularly vile Gaeilge curse and kept his smile on his face. He was determined to enjoy himself tonight no matter what. "I'll have a Guinness," he told the waitress. A púca like himself couldn't get drunk on New Years Eve, but what the hell. It would be symbolic, like the charms.

"Cait and Peter Webster might show up a bit later. You all remember Peter, right?" A chorus of affirmation from the band was followed by Sascha crowing, "Excellent! More people to dance with." His beer showed up, the waitress gave him a smile, and Rory started to relax. He could do this. No problem.

Comments

[breaker-street.livejournal.com]

Sascha whispered back, "If blonde and crazy tries anything else, I'll defend your honor." She added a wink and a pat to his knee.

Junie ruffled Rory's hair before retreating to her seat at the other end of the table. "Honestly, the comment wasn't really the problem. He was already annoyed that we weren't spending enough time together." She spread her hands. "What can I do? It's not like our free time is going to magically improve, especially with the release coming up. So I can understand some frustration, but the insinuations he just made ... dating me for a month doesn't give a guy the right to get all territorial."

She sighed and offered Rory a wry, sympathetic smile. "And here I thought getting into show biz was supposed to improve your social life."

Rory's return smile was equally wry. "You up for that dance then?"

Junie drained her bellini before saluting him with the glass. "You know, I think I am."

[half-whole-pw.livejournal.com]

"Oh, my hero..." Peter gave the petite thing in his lap an overly dramatic sigh and then rolled his eyes. "Not so sure there's much honor to defend, to be honest."

Yeah, he knew he was a total dog in the situation with the Congreves. He wasn't proud of it.

The other conversation going on had Peter giving Rory a sidelong glance. Was time the reason his girlfriend left him?

[breaker-street.livejournal.com]

Sascha nibbled her lower lip thoughtfully. Petey-cutie was getting a little bummed, which really shouldn't be allowed. Shame she'd have to move to do something about it; his thighs made for a very comfortable seat ... but duty called.

As Junie rounded the table to take Rory's arm, Sasch bounced up and took a grip on Peter's. "C'mon then, sugar-toots, let's get out there with the old folks and show 'em how it's done!"

Rory glanced back with a laugh and a grin for the both of them. Junie had a welcoming smile on her face too, so clearly neither of them minded. Sascha bounced a little on her toes, waiting for Peter to stand up.

[half-whole-pw.livejournal.com]

"Sugar-toots?" Peter gave her a boggled-yet-amused look as he stood up. He enjoyed dancing with Sascha, she had a good sense of rhythm and wasn't afraid to have fun on the dance floor. If it hadn't been for Adele, Peter was fairly certain they'd still be out there having fun.

Letting the girl drag him back out into the crowd, he laughed, "They won't be able to keep up with us."

[fey-fire.livejournal.com]

"Hah!" Rory laughed again himself at Peter's declaration, his smile pure charm and tease. "Dream on, sugar-toots. We 'old folks' are about to run you into the ground."

"You'll be begging for mercy," Junie tossed cheerfully over her shoulder as she led the way back onto the floor. The four of them wound up packed together a little snugly by the crowd, Junie across from him, Peter beside him and even Sascha on the opposite corner, but Rory didn't mind. The contact heightened his awareness, his thrumming connection with the emotions of people who wanted to tune in to good music and have a good time.

And it was good music. Dacia and her crew were changing up their usual playlist by throwing in a few rock standards. Spotting Rory's tall self on the floor, she tossed him a cheerful salute before launching into a duet version of Bad Case of Loving You with her bass player.

Listening to her husky voice belt out the Robert Palmer lyrics, Rory let himself go into the rhythm. Movement, sound, the heat and scent of the bodies around him, they all touched him at a primal level, deep at the core of who he was.

What he was.

Angling a bit toward Peter, Rory found himself moving with all three of his friends, not Junie alone. It felt good. It felt right.

[half-whole-pw.livejournal.com]

"What is it with you people and 'sugar-toots'?" Peter was laughing quite a bit by the time the new song started up and while he found the tune in question a bit ironic considering who's hip he just bumped against, he decided to cut loose and just dance. Silly phrases forgotten in exchange for trying to work his body in time to the music amidst a crowd and still prove that he was capable of some more complicated steps, Peter ignored anything that didn't make him happy.

He also wasn't paying much attention to just which body he was rocking against and swaying with until he placed his hand against the small of Rory's back to keep his balance. Peter and his friends might know how to dance in a crowd, but there were plenty of folks around them with two left feet and no idea that you were supposed to move with the beat.

Realizing that he should put some space between himself and his taller dance partner, Peter turned around and reached for one of Sascha's hands, giving her a playful look as he pulled her in close and sang along with the song. Anyone casually watching the group might think he did indeed have it bad for the girl.

[fey-fire.livejournal.com]

The sound of Peter singing brought Rory partway back from his near-trance in time to see Sascha wrinkle her nose in a cute little moue and mouth the words you tease, you. He chuckled as he slid an arm around Junie and pulled her into a position that mirrored that of their younger friends, his feet still moving with a relaxed, unconscious grace.

Right about then Peter's excellent singing voice must have finally gotten through to the girls, because they both suddenly wore smiles of surprised delight. Rory had heard his friend sing, even if only through an online recording, but apparently they had not.

One shared glance between the three bandmates was all it took before they all started singing along. Every member of Breaker Street could sing and sing well, so three voices soon harmonized sweetly with Peter's tenor. No pill's gonna cure my ill, I got a bad case of looooooving yoooouuu ...

[half-whole-pw.livejournal.com]

"You think I'm cute, a little bit shy, Sascha, I ain't that kind of guy." Peter obviously knew the song well enough to play with the lyrics as he continued to dance, he also played at seeing the sorts of vocal gymnastics he could lead the soon to be professionals in--he's at least familiar enough with Rory and Junie's singing to know what they were capable of and he enjoyed the slight advantage he had simple because they'd not had a chance to really scrutinize him in the same way.

People dancing near them soon picked up on the fact that there were four showboaters in their midst and cleared a space around them accordingly, just enjoying the floor show. Peter almost immediately took advantage of having more room to move, swinging Sascha out in a controlled spin before pulling her back again.

"Hey, Rory...switch?" Peter didn't bother to check with the women, he only wanted to make sure he and the other man were on the same page before trading Sascha for Junie in a bit of a rhythmic shuffle.

[fey-fire.livejournal.com]

Rory caught a laughing Sascha smoothly by the waist, dipping her sylph-like slenderness to one side and then the other before spinning them both in a tight circle. He thought he heard a smattering of applause from the other dancers under the surface of the music. You want a show? You've got one.

Not to be outdone, Junie struck a sultry pose as she faced Peter, dark eyes sparkling with mischievous challenge. Okay, sweetie. Show me what you've got. Tossing her dark curls, she matched his steps with a swivel-hipped, stiletto-heeled strut as she kept singing. I know you like it, you like it on top. Tell me sugar, are you gonna stop?

On that last word she reached up to run her fingers through Peter's dark hair, leaning forward as he leaned back, smile blazing. What do you plan to do about it, sugar-toots? her laughing eyes asked.

[half-whole-pw.livejournal.com]

What was he going to do, indeed. Peter flashed Junie his dimpled grin,jerks his head to the side to free her fingers from his hair and as he stood, he pulled the older woman tight against his body. The look he gave her was a challenging one, young and not all that interested in her type, he could still be convincing to the contrary.

Peter's hands ran up Junie's back, finger's fanned possessively until they reached her shoulders. He gripped her firmly, turned her one way and then the other,laughing as she ducked under his arm--they were doing a modified salsa as they moved together, their steps measured and tight, their bodies held smartly. Precision even as they played, more for the effect it had on the audience than anything else.