Fic: All Because of You 1/?
Title: All Because of You 1/?
Author: Kris Ice AKA Waking Nightmare (wknightmare)
Rating: G
Pairing: pre-Piper/Tricks
Warnings: None
Summery: An unsigned note takes him to a karaoke bar on a rainy Friday night. He’s sure there’s a joke in there somewhere.
A/N: finally had a moment to write. Prompt 15: Love Karaoke. Should be a two parter.
He wasn’t sure why he showed up. There had been no signature on the note, and a karaoke bar wasn’t exactly his idea of a good time. And yet, here he was, in a small out of the way karaoke joint on a rainy Friday night. He didn’t bother hiding a smirk. There had to be some kind of joke in that.
“Sir?”
A quiet voice caused him to blink in surprise and look down. A young girl in jeans and a T-shirt stood in front of him, twirling a strand of red hair around her finger. “Um, yeah?”
“You James Jesse?”
Ok, this was either a bad joke, or the start of some kind of weird nightmare, the blond man thought, regarding the young woman with suspicion.
When he didn’t reply right away, the girl sighed. “I’m Rose, the owner’s daughter. A man left a message earlier. He said to give it to a tall blond man wearing blue and yellow stripes named James Jesse.” She looked him up and down. “You’re the first man I’ve seen in blue and yellow stripes.”
James grinned, looking down at his stripped shirt. “What can I say? I’m a man of unique taste.”
Rose grinned. “Yeah, real unique.” She ignored the odd look he gave her. “Come on, he reserved a table for you up front.”
James frowned but followed when the girl just smiled and turned away. What the hell, it wasn’t as if the night could get any weirder, right? He raised an eyebrow when Rose led him to a table against the middle of the wall. Who knew him well enough to know he always preferred a table like that? It was an old can man trick. When a person walked into a room the first tables they looked at were the ones up front and the ones in dark corners, often overlooking anyone sitting in the middle.
“You want anything to drink while you wait?” she asked, watching him sit in the chair against the wall.
“Sure, how about a Coke?”
Rose grinned. “Coming right up!” She started to turn away, but paused looking back. “Oh, don’t worry about paying for anything; he said he’d cover everything.” Before the bewildered blond man could respond, she hurried off, grin growing wider. The poor man had no idea what he was in for.
Three Cokes later, James was about ready to leave. He’d endured three horrible singers, a couple two drunk to get the words out, and a woman wailing out some old blues song and hitting all the wrong notes. However, the crowd was keeping him intrigued enough to stay. There was a pattern to the people. Some just drifted in, sat for a few drinks, and then drifted out. Others came to sing and get drunk, but there were a few that just came and stayed. Some drank, but none got drunk and they were all respectful to the perky red-head waitress, something that had gotten more than one drunk thrown out by the staying patrons. By listening to the conversations around him, he figured out those coming and staying lived or worked in the area. He leaned back in his chair. They were all waiting for something, or rather, someone.
Suddenly, the lights dimmed slightly and someone new stepped out onto the stage. James paused, drink almost to his lips as Piper stepped out into the spotlight. The sudden hush of most of the patrons told him this was who they were waiting for. So, the note and reservation had to be from the musical Rogue, but why? Ok, so the shorter man was one of the few people he’d call friends and they did tend to hang out a lot, but that didn’t explain this. He leaned forward, watching the red-head browsing through the songbook. Maybe it did, actually. Piper may have thought he was being subtle, but James Jessie wasn’t like most people. He’d made a living out of reading people long before he’d left the circus. Maybe the other Rouge had finely decided to stop beating around the bush.
Piper stepped over to the mic, adjusting it for his height, glancing nervously over at the blond man watching him intently. Let this be the right thing to do, he thought, chewing on his bottom lip. He’d been testing the waters for awhile and James hadn’t freaked on him, but hadn’t made any real positive moves either. It was time to stop testing and just jump in. Rock music filled the karaoke bar and the green eyes met blue.
“I was born a child of grace, nothing else about the place,” he sang, letting his eyes roam over the gathered people. He’d come to know the people of this area pretty well over the last few months. The bar had become a place he could come to distress, a place that had once been big business, but now had fallen on hard times.
“Everything was ugly but your beautiful face, and it left me no illusion,” he pulled the mic from the stand, swaying on the stage as he lost himself in the music, trying to say with music what he just couldn’t seem to say with words.
“I saw you in the curve of the moon, in the shadow cast across my room, you heard me in my tune, when I heard just confusion…”
Oh. Oh, damn. This was more than he’d expected. James sat back, eyes wide with surprise. He’d known Piper’d been flirting with him, but he hadn’t realized the depth of what the other man had been trying to say.
“All be cause of you, all because of you, all because of you, I am, I am…” Please, please, don’t let this chase him away, Hart pled with a god he wasn’t sure he believed in anymore. Without even realizing it what he’d done, the blond con man had stolen his cracked heart.
“I like the sound of my own voice; I didn’t give anyone a choice, an intellectual tortoise racing with your bullet train…” He might be good at long term plans and complex sonic masterpieces, but when it came to spur of the moment solutions, he’d turn to the Trickster every time.
“Some people get squashed, crossing the tracks…” James blinked; a soft laugh escaping. Yeah, he did have a way of running over anyone who got in his way, but he was always tried to make sure no one got hurt.
“Some people got high rises on their backs…” The weight of his life bore down on him, causing his voice to crack slightly. He glanced toward the bar to find Rose; the sweet girl he’d met saving her from would be rapists, giving him a thumbs-up and a wide smile of encouragement. He smiled back, turning back toward James.
“I’m not broke but you can see the cracks, you can make me perfect again.” Part of him hated to admit that he needed the other man’s acceptance, that he needed James to feel whole. The greater part of him had simply accepted it. He needed the Trickster to make him laugh and feel carefree, to feel he was perfect just the way he was.
The blond swallowed as his friend bared his heart onstage. This, this was far more than he could ever have anticipated and yet, he couldn’t turn away.
“All because of you, all because of you, all because of you, I am, I am…” Piper closed his eyes, not wanting to see James’ expression. He had the feeling that if he looked, he’d never have the courage to finish. He put his heart into his song and hoped.
“I’m alive, I’m being born, I just arrived, I’m at the door of the place I started out from and I want back inside.” He wanted to have the feeling again, the feeling that he was safe and protected, and that everything was right in his world. The way he’d felt when he’d been tiny, back when his mother had actually held him, back before they’d began to see him as defective. He’d tried convincing himself that he had that feeling with the Rogues, that he’d felt it with Fury or his other boyfriends, but it was something he’d only felt with a man who loved to leave people twisting in the wind.
“All because of you, all because of you, all because of you…” he let his voice trail off and opened his eyes to find James smiling at him. “I am,” he finished, feeling weak in his knees as the blond lifted his glass in a salute.
Author: Kris Ice AKA Waking Nightmare (wknightmare)
Rating: G
Pairing: pre-Piper/Tricks
Warnings: None
Summery: An unsigned note takes him to a karaoke bar on a rainy Friday night. He’s sure there’s a joke in there somewhere.
A/N: finally had a moment to write. Prompt 15: Love Karaoke. Should be a two parter.
He wasn’t sure why he showed up. There had been no signature on the note, and a karaoke bar wasn’t exactly his idea of a good time. And yet, here he was, in a small out of the way karaoke joint on a rainy Friday night. He didn’t bother hiding a smirk. There had to be some kind of joke in that.
“Sir?”
A quiet voice caused him to blink in surprise and look down. A young girl in jeans and a T-shirt stood in front of him, twirling a strand of red hair around her finger. “Um, yeah?”
“You James Jesse?”
Ok, this was either a bad joke, or the start of some kind of weird nightmare, the blond man thought, regarding the young woman with suspicion.
When he didn’t reply right away, the girl sighed. “I’m Rose, the owner’s daughter. A man left a message earlier. He said to give it to a tall blond man wearing blue and yellow stripes named James Jesse.” She looked him up and down. “You’re the first man I’ve seen in blue and yellow stripes.”
James grinned, looking down at his stripped shirt. “What can I say? I’m a man of unique taste.”
Rose grinned. “Yeah, real unique.” She ignored the odd look he gave her. “Come on, he reserved a table for you up front.”
James frowned but followed when the girl just smiled and turned away. What the hell, it wasn’t as if the night could get any weirder, right? He raised an eyebrow when Rose led him to a table against the middle of the wall. Who knew him well enough to know he always preferred a table like that? It was an old can man trick. When a person walked into a room the first tables they looked at were the ones up front and the ones in dark corners, often overlooking anyone sitting in the middle.
“You want anything to drink while you wait?” she asked, watching him sit in the chair against the wall.
“Sure, how about a Coke?”
Rose grinned. “Coming right up!” She started to turn away, but paused looking back. “Oh, don’t worry about paying for anything; he said he’d cover everything.” Before the bewildered blond man could respond, she hurried off, grin growing wider. The poor man had no idea what he was in for.
Three Cokes later, James was about ready to leave. He’d endured three horrible singers, a couple two drunk to get the words out, and a woman wailing out some old blues song and hitting all the wrong notes. However, the crowd was keeping him intrigued enough to stay. There was a pattern to the people. Some just drifted in, sat for a few drinks, and then drifted out. Others came to sing and get drunk, but there were a few that just came and stayed. Some drank, but none got drunk and they were all respectful to the perky red-head waitress, something that had gotten more than one drunk thrown out by the staying patrons. By listening to the conversations around him, he figured out those coming and staying lived or worked in the area. He leaned back in his chair. They were all waiting for something, or rather, someone.
Suddenly, the lights dimmed slightly and someone new stepped out onto the stage. James paused, drink almost to his lips as Piper stepped out into the spotlight. The sudden hush of most of the patrons told him this was who they were waiting for. So, the note and reservation had to be from the musical Rogue, but why? Ok, so the shorter man was one of the few people he’d call friends and they did tend to hang out a lot, but that didn’t explain this. He leaned forward, watching the red-head browsing through the songbook. Maybe it did, actually. Piper may have thought he was being subtle, but James Jessie wasn’t like most people. He’d made a living out of reading people long before he’d left the circus. Maybe the other Rouge had finely decided to stop beating around the bush.
Piper stepped over to the mic, adjusting it for his height, glancing nervously over at the blond man watching him intently. Let this be the right thing to do, he thought, chewing on his bottom lip. He’d been testing the waters for awhile and James hadn’t freaked on him, but hadn’t made any real positive moves either. It was time to stop testing and just jump in. Rock music filled the karaoke bar and the green eyes met blue.
“I was born a child of grace, nothing else about the place,” he sang, letting his eyes roam over the gathered people. He’d come to know the people of this area pretty well over the last few months. The bar had become a place he could come to distress, a place that had once been big business, but now had fallen on hard times.
“Everything was ugly but your beautiful face, and it left me no illusion,” he pulled the mic from the stand, swaying on the stage as he lost himself in the music, trying to say with music what he just couldn’t seem to say with words.
“I saw you in the curve of the moon, in the shadow cast across my room, you heard me in my tune, when I heard just confusion…”
Oh. Oh, damn. This was more than he’d expected. James sat back, eyes wide with surprise. He’d known Piper’d been flirting with him, but he hadn’t realized the depth of what the other man had been trying to say.
“All be cause of you, all because of you, all because of you, I am, I am…” Please, please, don’t let this chase him away, Hart pled with a god he wasn’t sure he believed in anymore. Without even realizing it what he’d done, the blond con man had stolen his cracked heart.
“I like the sound of my own voice; I didn’t give anyone a choice, an intellectual tortoise racing with your bullet train…” He might be good at long term plans and complex sonic masterpieces, but when it came to spur of the moment solutions, he’d turn to the Trickster every time.
“Some people get squashed, crossing the tracks…” James blinked; a soft laugh escaping. Yeah, he did have a way of running over anyone who got in his way, but he was always tried to make sure no one got hurt.
“Some people got high rises on their backs…” The weight of his life bore down on him, causing his voice to crack slightly. He glanced toward the bar to find Rose; the sweet girl he’d met saving her from would be rapists, giving him a thumbs-up and a wide smile of encouragement. He smiled back, turning back toward James.
“I’m not broke but you can see the cracks, you can make me perfect again.” Part of him hated to admit that he needed the other man’s acceptance, that he needed James to feel whole. The greater part of him had simply accepted it. He needed the Trickster to make him laugh and feel carefree, to feel he was perfect just the way he was.
The blond swallowed as his friend bared his heart onstage. This, this was far more than he could ever have anticipated and yet, he couldn’t turn away.
“All because of you, all because of you, all because of you, I am, I am…” Piper closed his eyes, not wanting to see James’ expression. He had the feeling that if he looked, he’d never have the courage to finish. He put his heart into his song and hoped.
“I’m alive, I’m being born, I just arrived, I’m at the door of the place I started out from and I want back inside.” He wanted to have the feeling again, the feeling that he was safe and protected, and that everything was right in his world. The way he’d felt when he’d been tiny, back when his mother had actually held him, back before they’d began to see him as defective. He’d tried convincing himself that he had that feeling with the Rogues, that he’d felt it with Fury or his other boyfriends, but it was something he’d only felt with a man who loved to leave people twisting in the wind.
“All because of you, all because of you, all because of you…” he let his voice trail off and opened his eyes to find James smiling at him. “I am,” he finished, feeling weak in his knees as the blond lifted his glass in a salute.