Everybody Wants to Party with You [Open/Mingle]

[hallelujahjunction]

Who: Dan and everyone – feel free to mingle with each other!
What: Dan’s turning forty and it’s party-time.
Where: The Pole
When: After Shitty Little Town, before Halloween
Warnings/Notes: Drug and alcohol use, general Dan warnings.

I. Let’s Get It Started, No More Hesitation

Dan didn’t expect to get this far. He really didn’t. He was supposed to be dead by twenty-three, and then when that milestone came and actually passed, he just assumed that the lethal profession he threw himself into would snatch him into the dark sooner rather than later. It’s only in the last few years, partnered up and with his creature needs stably met, that the horrifying possibility of a death by natural causes has entered his consciousness. It dogs him throughout the week leading up to his birthday, this looming sense that he may need to make peace with getting older, with losing his looks and physical capacity, of turning from an asset in the field to a liability.

He doesn’t want to become a burden. He knows his loved ones would rather he become a burden than prematurely become a memory, but he thinks that must be much easier to think from the other side of things. Everyone he’s close with is imbued with myth powers for now, possibility forever, and in Bunny’s case is stewarding god-like powers. Meanwhile, doing what he can to hide his heartburn and his back pain and the way his right shoulder cracks when he raises his arm above his head, Dan finds it very easy to conceive of how he’s going to be less pleasant and less fun and less capable as the decades shuffle by, and how all this time with the people he cares about will eventually become less enjoyable all around.

It would be easier to just be dead, and it bothers him all week, so he does what he does best, which is to distract himself. In this case, he’s planning a party.

He considers doing something tasteful and subdued, a nice night in with close friends and a bottle of wine and a charcuterie plate or something, then decides that those sorts of mannered engagements can be relegated to his forties. Today, he’s thirty-nine and three hundred and sixty-four days.

The yetis and Dan are quite tight at this point, and they assist with decorating the communal relaxation room with non-denominational décor, everything from paper lanterns to an inflatable bouncy castle. Dan doesn’t seem to have themed this party at all, instead just wishlisting every indulgent thing he could come up with, from a chocolate fountain to a pin-the-nose-on-the-snowman game. There’s cornhole with red and green sparkly hacky sacks, a table loaded with all sorts of cheap sugary snacks and drinks of various proofs, a photo strip booth, a karaoke machine, a bunch of Polaroid cameras, and even some fireworks for later in the evening. Technically, it’s a Halloween party, so there are cheap costumes available for those who haven’t brought their own. Phil the yeti has DJ powers.

Everyone’s invited.


II. Anybody Just Won’t Do [Closed to Bunny]

Dan knew Bunny wouldn’t be particularly keen on a rowdy party, so he set aside two days after the party for their own little date – he needed the day after the party to sleep off the hangover, and Bunny was doing a milk run in Mongolia.

He sleeps in, occasionally peeking at Bunny doing his t’ai chi but mostly just enjoying his warm bed and the smell of the tea Bunny brews, figuring he’s going to let Bunny do what Bunny does best and take control and boss him around a little. When Bunny’s talking over him, it bothers Dan, but when Bunny’s ordering Dan to have a good time and taking him out on a date and surprising him with things to do and places to see, there’s nothing he likes more. So he lets Bunny wake him up.

Comments

[bringinghopewithme]

Bunny knows just the words to say to get Dan out of bed with the maximum enthusiasm, minimum regret for the nice warm bed he's leaving.

"Got some people that need your help with something."

He also has a hot chocolate sweetened with extra maple syrup, to cover up the espresso. He holds it out as a temptation towards Dan to sit up and enjoy his birthday.

[hallelujahjunction]

Dan's actually been fully awake for nearly forty minutes by now, just enjoying a slow morning that's starting to approach afternoon, trying to guess by smell and the sound of spoons stirring and bottles being placed what concoction Bunny's making for him.

Then Bunny says the magic words, and Dan sits up with a grin to cuddle up to Bunny and investigate the offering, taking a sip of the hot cocoa with a wince and a pleased moan. "You don't say."

He rests his head on Bunny's shoulder, pulling the blanket around both of their shoulders as if they're in cahoots. He can tell by the color more than the taste that there's caffeine in it, because the chocolate and maple delightfully overpower his muted sense of taste. "This is delicious. Tell me what we're doing today. Tell me who needs our assistance."

He knows that going out and finding an adventure for him is part of the birthday treat, and he loves that Bunny knows that that was exactly what he wanted: a chance to have a good time and do a little good together while they're at it.

[bringinghopewithme]

"If I tell you, where's the surprise? Eat up and bring your horse," Bunny chuckles, producing a cinnamon roll drowning in icing from behind his back. There is twice as much icing on this cinnamon roll as is legally advisable. It has a candle on it, somehow already lit. It's still warm from whatever mall kiosk he lifted it from.

"I hope you didn't have anything planned today. I went and filled it up."

[hallelujahjunction]

"Oh, Blondie's in on this too?" The morning just keeps getting better and better, and Dan isn't a fan of most mornings. Any time he gets to take his horse out for an adventure, rather than just routine exercise, is a treat.

He takes the cinnamon roll, giving Bunny an appreciative squeeze and blowing out the candle. He plans on eating nothing but indulgent sugary treats all day. Eventually, he'll have to reckon with the idea of managing rather than ignoring his health, and it feels like the death rattle of his thirties isn't quite time for that.

"I left today a blank slate just for you," he says, giving Bunny a kiss on the cheek, the preferred method of kissing in their disparate forms. Human lips to cleft rabbit palate and elongated incisors is just too awkward. He shovels Cinnabon in his face. "You know better than anyone how to fill my time."

[bringinghopewithme]

"You got a lot of runners to keep up with." Bunny nuzzles Dan's forehead, his version of returning a human kiss, showering Dan with affection through snuggles as Dan finishes his breakfast.

When Dan's done and dressed, Bunny opens up the tunnel to a wide dusty field in some vast desert. The blue sky is whipped with cirrus clouds, and the mountains are striated with red and dun, cut through with canyons.

"See that one with the green grown on it?" Bunny points into the very far distance. "You'll see it when we get closer," he assures Dan, as he waves Dan over to a canyon that is oddly silver compared to the others around it.

As they stand overlooking the canyon, the first unicorn trots out. It bravely sniffs the air, as two others emerge from the silvery canyon behind it, and the gleaming white unicorns begin to whinny with glee.

A greater herd begins to emerge, not from deep within the canyon but from some portal that is stretched between the two walls. Infectious joy spreads among the herd as they gambol, gleaming and so much more beautiful than they have any need to be.

"They, uh, do this migration twice a year," Bunny says to Dan, as the first bold members of the herd begin to run, the rest picking up a trot behind it. "I asked them to bump it up a week so it could be your birthday present. They're smart, but when they run they go a bit crazy with joy and they're liable to get lost in the wrong canyons. They need someone to keep a level head and herd them."

He smiles smugly at Dan, well aware this is the best present Dan couldn't even think to ask for.

[hallelujahjunction]

Even before Dan gets a chance to see what they're up to, he can tell he's about to have a good time. The desert has always been his home, and the crackle of dry air on his skin feels like being kissed by the sun after so many weeks cooped up at the Pole, which has entered the time of year where there aren't days so much as a few hours of dusk between pitch-black night.

He gets up on Concrete Blonde and follows Bunny at a gallop, always enjoying when they get to race around, even if Bunny can easily outpace even a magical horse. The sight at the end blows him over.

"Honey!" he says once he gets his breath back, snatched as it was by the gorgeous creatures frolicking. "I had no idea..."

He can't stop grinning. What a perfect activity. Dan didn't realize how much he wanted to feel useful today when he feels like he's staring down the reality that eventually, if he doesn't die first, he'll need to be taken care of and won't be able to go out and do things like this.

"Are you going to take the left flank and I'll take the right?"

[bringinghopewithme]

"And we'll do a sweep back after to check for strays," Bunny adds, accepting Dan's plan by finishing it. "I think you'll like talking to them. Use your heart, not your words."

He bounds off to the left as the herd picks up speed, the unicorns horns and hooves flashing like prisms, like gleaming gold, purest silver - there's every kind of build of unicorn in the herd, from the daintiest most doe-eyed little girl dreams to powerful chargers that look ready to fight lions; except that nobody on this run is ready to fight, each runner suffused withe the joy of the journey, like partiers at a festival or children cut loose in a theme park; like college kids on spring break, or retirees on that long awaited cruise to Mexico.

Their hooves strike up chimes of music when they strike the sand, which turns to diamonds beneath them. Three frolicking young mares on the right side of the herd make a wrong turn down a canyon in front of Dan, too distracted by their chatter to realize they're getting lost.

Their chatter is a wordless sense of projected emotion, as they share their happiness at being together, their interest in seeing what's at the end of this canyon, their delight in running.

[hallelujahjunction]

"My heart's got a better voice than my vocal cords anyhow," Dan says before putting his sunglasses on and urging Concrete Blonde back into a gallop, racing along the right side of the herd. The joy from the unicorns is infectious. His own joy is infectious. He can feel the ease and lightness and energy in Concrete Blonde and can tell how happy she is, too.

He sees the trio of mares zooming down the wrong canyon arterial, sounding like jinglebells and throwing glittering lights around like a disco ball. Concrete Blonde keeps up easily, and he can sense that she's giving off some sort of maternal guidance from the way the mares respond to her, with a sort of rueful appreciation for her concern, a sort of mommmmmm whine that isn't actually a complaint.

He tries to project a sense of happiness for them at how excited they are, a sense of desire for them to not let the rest of their herd worry. He wants them to know that they can completely cut loose because they have someone making sure they don't go astray.

The mares turn around, leaping over each other and doing little spins in the air, whinnying and nickering as they get back on track. Concrete Blonde circles, and she and Dan continue to shepherd as some small ponies trail off, then as some of the big broncos nearly get left behind trying to show off which of them can jump higher in front of a canyon wall that has striations that can be used a measuring stick.

He and Bunny cross paths as the herd slows when they encounter a river, not a barrier but just an impediment. The larger unicorns start to ford it, turning the water into thick, beautiful stained glass beneath their hooves.

"Looks like this is the halfway point. Let's sweep the back."

[bringinghopewithme]

"Yeah, let's," Bunny agrees. He doesn't have to ask, seeing Dan's smile, but he still does. "Having a good time?"

He starts the sweep at a slow lope, for Concrete Blonde to catch up with, fast enough to get the work done but slow enough to hold a conversation.

[hallelujahjunction]

"The best." Dan's had a lot of fun birthdays, and he and Bunny have gone out on dates for the last few, but this is superlative.

They find some young colts doing kickflips on their sweep, and then it's back to the river, where the deep blue and green glass is plenty thick to ride across. The back half of the journey is even more intensive, as the unicorns have worked themselves up into a gleeful frenzy and keep going in circles or down the wrong paths.

By the time they're done, Dan's happily exhausted from riding for hours, short of breath and flushed and grinning. He watches the last unicorn leap through the portal and gets off Concrete Blonde, who follows said unicorn through. She'll come back to him later.

"Have fun, sweetheart," he tells her as she vanishes and the portal closes. He finds a rock on the mesa with a gorgeous view and lights a cigarette, luxuriating in a job well done.

"You know, if you wanted to make this my birthday present every year, I ain't gonna complain."

[bringinghopewithme]

Happy in his smug pride, Bunny grins. "You know I love setting a new bar." He nuzzles Dan's forehead before jetting back off to finish the rear sweep.

At the end of the day, with the equines all off in their winter pasture a dimension away, the desert glittering with sand transformed into grains of diamonds, he sits down and pulls Dan down to lean against his lap while the wind blows Dan's cigarette smoke downwind.

"I'll talk to the elders, see if they wouldn't mind keeping the date," he says, stroking Dan's hair, rooting through his pack for the rest of Dan's gift. Down in a canyon, visible to him at this distance but barely, a gleaming-eyed oil-slick black coyotelike creature licks its chops and looks resentfully at him and Dan, who robbed them of a meal of lost unicorn, so much more delicious than all the magic-free mundane creatures that thrive in the desert. Bunny doesn't call attention to it, pulling out a flask of more mocha maple hot chocolate and a parcel of painted paper tied up with a raffia string.

"I tried to get the taste right," he says, giving Dan his next present. It was truly hard for him to get the marshmallow tasting plasticky and low-quality enough, hard technically and emotionally, but Peeps are what Dan misses from the mortal world of candy, and whether those are objectively bad candies or not, it's what Dan misses, so it's what he's made.

[hallelujahjunction]

Dan kills his cigarette and looks out at the coyote, giving it a little wink as if it could see and understand him from up here. He feels a bit sheepish at its expense, sitting up here enjoying maple mocha while it has to return to eating ground squirrels and quail.

He lets Bunny shield him against the wind at the top of the mesa and opens up the package. "What did I do to deserve getting spoiled like this?"

He knows the answer: he's irreplaceable.

"Honey..." He turns a Peep over in his hand, looking at the little beady eyes and the bright coloring, and then shoves it into his mouth, groaning with satisfaction at how nostalgic it is. He remembers taking Bunny out to that beach to work through his feelings on the Peeps ban that weren't actually about the Peeps ban. He thought Bunny forgot it.

"It tastes perfect," he says with his mouth full.

[bringinghopewithme]

"What did you do?" Bunny says, "just went and picked the best possible person to marry, didn't you?"

All the nostalgic happiness on Dan's face warms Bunny's heart, and as hard as it was to make objectively bad candy, the happiness it brings Dan makes it worth it.

Maybe this is enough to sweep Peeps Fight behind them forever. Maybe Dan will taste the I'd do anything for you in the cheap-tasting marshmallow and carry that with him the way Bunny assumed he did after Bunny messed with time and space to save Dan's family, and save Dan from erasing himself from existence.

In any case, it's still a good birthday, and Bunny pulls Dan closer into the windshield of his body to watch the sunset turn vibrant. The diamond sand down below throws off the same rainbow iridescence the unicorns that transformed it cast.

"I spent a long time getting the formula right," Bunny preens, because if nothing else he can he proud of how accurate he got the terrible concoction. "I'll make you some again next Easter."

[ninjavampire]

Coming to the costume party in very normal clothing is exactly the kind of dry joke that would fit with Miguel’s sense of ‘humor’. He was in costume every other day of the year, after all. So, boring office/Colin Robinson (energy vampire) getup it was, with shades hooked on the collar for when the fireworks started.

As much as the celebrations seemed rather out of place for a 40th birthday, it was Dan’s to indulge. Given the time of year, it was a bit difficult to muster the energy to be any peppier than he usually is. But he’s there.

And he’s come bearing a gift, if the wrapped box under his arm is any indication.

“Have you actually tried the bouncy castle, or is that mostly to keep the elves distracted?”

[hallelujahjunction]

Dan laughs out loud when he sees Miguel rolling up in extremely normal clothing. He was taking bets with one of the yetis on the likelihood of that scenario, and now he's out forty dollars, though he has no idea what the yeti wants the money for.

"I tried it for about twenty seconds before I realized I was on my way to herniating a disc," he says with a chuckle, sidling up next to Miguel. "I was hoping you'd make it. I tried not to make it too noisy for you."

DJ Phil's been asked to keep the music to a dull thump specifically for those with heightened hearing.

"Your gift ain't ready yet, though."

[ninjavampire]

"My gift?"

The noise level seems to be okay, because Dan genuinely throws him off with just those few words. This was Dan's celebration, after all.

"Someone told you? How?"

Miguel is stumped - he hadn't made a peep about his own day. He'd rather not remind himself of getting a year older and being no closer to unlocking the mysteries of the multiverse. Ok, maybe a little closer, but not close enough.

[hallelujahjunction]

"You reckon someone with my name don't know a thing or two about astrology?" That's not any part of how Dan found out, but Dan doesn't like to reveal his sources as a general rule; part of embedding himself into a community so thoroughly, and thus being privy to every last scrap of gossip, is discretion.

He and Miguel have known each other for a little over a year now, and Dan's paid attention to the rhythms of Miguel's moods. The times they've shared working at whittling and carving for their ofrendas is still fresh in his mind.

"Besides, making something for you took my mind off the fact that I'm on my way to being elderly and ineffectual and regretful of my youthful indiscretions." There it is, there, the insecurity Dan's obviously using this party to try and counteract.

[ninjavampire]

His nose wrinkles a little at the word ‘astrology’, but Miguel can’t complain when he’s been living in a world of pure myth for a year now. It’s the harmless flavor of cantankerous mood from him.

He’s silent for a moment, deliberating on his response. His instinctual reaction is ‘You didn’t need to’, but Dan’s heard that from him enough times to start to feel repetitive. So his expression finally settles into a softened gratefulness that Dan somehow managed to worm his way around his own self-isolating secrecy. And he doesn’t need a lecture about his own insecurities.

“Thank you. I look forward to seeing it.”

He presents the box. It’s compact enough to be held in the large palm of Miguel’s hand - or two, for Dan’s. If he jostles it, there will be the dull rustle of a well-secured interior with nothing loose to rattle. There is enough weight to it to seem like a substantial amount of metal, or crystal, or some other dense material makes up most of what’s beneath the colorful wrapping.

“This is for you. You should wait after the party is over to open it. All this excitement may be a bit much for it.”

[hallelujahjunction]

"Oh!" Dan takes the box, grinning. He doesn't rattle it, but he does tilt it slowly side to side to feel if anything moves around in there. "It ain't a kitten, is it? Bunny might could kill me if I brought a kitten home."

He pulls it to his chest. "Thank you, Miguel. I'll do my best not to let me curiosity call the party to a close too early."

He pats Miguel's arm to guide him to cornhole. "Now come on, I got bets I can keep up to you with hand-eye coordination."

[ninjavampire]

"No. Not a kitten." he reveals the clue so that Dan would not wonder too much.

Though, maybe it isn't the worst thing in the world for Dan to get used to having something to look forward to in his future. Even if that future was just a few hours from now.

He follows along to the game, already wondering how to play this so that they both enjoy it and don't trip on Dan's worries. The man could do quite well with a lasso, he's certain this will be easy enough. Picking up a red hacky sack from the pile, Miguel notices some of the sparkle coming off on his palms. So it goes.

"Did you play this often back home?"

Maybe questions will avoid too much attention being paid to score-counting and comparisons.

[hallelujahjunction]

He sets the box down where it'll be safe from getting stepped on or investigated by roaming elves.

"Whenever we had downtime at the farm," Dan says, idly tossing the blue hacky-sack hand to hand without seeming to even pay attention, an early indication that Dan's actually quite good at these sorts of things. Hustling people with bets over coordination games - pool, ring toss, darts - is one of his favorite means of putting cash in his pocket. It's not his fault if people don't realize that he and his siblings frequently had nothing to do in their bunker besides entertain themselves with simple games.

He isn't trying to hustle Miguel, but he makes a show of eyeballing the distance to the hole, testing the weight of the hacky-sack, biting his lip, all as if this is more challenging than it is. He throws the hacky sack and hits the board and tumbles upwards into the hole with a sandy plapp sound.

"Beginner's luck," he says, taking a sip of his drink.

[ninjavampire]

He notices the playfulness with which Dan handles the hacky-sack and figures that the answer to his question is ‘Yes’ before the reply comes.

Fair enough. Can’t make the game too easy for him, then.

Miguel has spent the better part of a decade making sure he doesn’t push the gamut of ‘normal’ when he attempted to live his ordinary life. He can restrain himself well enough. But that doesn’t mean he has no sense of competition.

The red hacky-sack is tossed into the hole with the sort of effortless agility he did all things with.

“Do you have more of those?” He points to Dan’s drink.

[hallelujahjunction]

Dan whistles when he sees Miguel make the shot, which is unsurprisingly precise. Dan expected nothing less from Miguel.

"Cornhole pong?" He says, laughing. "I do. Rum again?"

While talking, he casually tosses another blue hacky-sack into the hole, barely looking as he does it. He winks and grabs Miguel a drink, returning to hopefully see Miguel tie up the score.

[ninjavampire]

"With something sweet, in honor of the day."

Maybe tipsy hacky sack is the sort of entertainment they'll find here. The second toss seems more indicative of Dan's skill level. Good! He'll tie the score for good measure.

"Was that last one a warm up round?" he asks, suspicious of the antics from before.

[hallelujahjunction]

“Painkiller,” Dan says, putting a cocktail into Miguel’s hand. Dan’s been putting his bartending skills to use tonight.

He takes another blue hacky-sack. “It went in the hole, didn’t it? Don’t matter how it gets there so long as it gets there. But let’s throw some complications in, make it interesting. Every shot you miss, you drink, every shot you nail, you add in another complication. And you drink.”

He swaps the hacky-sack to his left. “I’ll start. Non-dominant hand.”

Dan’s as adept with his left, and the hacky-sack sails in. How nice to just be goofing around with Miguel instead of trying to swap wisdom about dead daughters or focusing on a mission.