Shake your groove thing.

[broken_brushes]

Make no mistake: Disco was super cheesy. That doesn't mean that it wasn't also super fun. The whole point of the movement was being free and ridiculous, and even after living through the backlash in the Eighties when everyone conveniently forgot they'd been disco fiends, I had to give all those dancing queens credit for knowing how to have a good

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[realnicetrip]

The island sometimes had a way of making Harry feel thoroughly out of the loop, and when he'd seen 'roller disco' on the poster he'd not had a clue what it meant. The words were readable, but they might as well have been a foreign language for all they made sense to him. Still, he liked parties, and he liked Shari, so despite his trepidation he'd decided to attend.

And he was glad he had, because when he saw the roller skates lined up at the side of the gym, his face lit up. For one glorious summer in his childhood he'd owned a pair of skates and had a fine time speeding through the streets on them like a tiny curly-haired cannonball, until at last he'd startled one passer-by too many and he was marched home by a policeman who told his parents in no uncertain terms to keep a closer watch on their child. He'd got a hiding, and the skates were donated to the church orphanage, with express rules that he was never to own a pair again.

He gleefully sat down, removed his sneakers, and strapped on a pair of skates. He was a little unsteady on his feet as he stood up, but he hadn't forgotten the knack of it, and was soon looping around the gym at increasing speed, wearing a huge goofy grin. He'd not had so much fun on the island for months.

[1000_cranes]

Standing on the sidelines, much too pregnant to skate, Charlie bounces a little on her heels and applauds. Harry had looked kinda shaky at first, but he's really getting to it now, and Charlie figures that the best she can do is support him. The clothes box gifted her with an adorable maternity dress that fits the theme and she'd done her eyeliner especially.

"That's it!" she calls. "Lookin' good, honey!"

[realnicetrip]

Gliding past, Harry overheard Charlie's compliment and bowed, then rounded a corner and slid to a stop a few feet past her. He clumsily clumped back in her direction, grinning.

"What can I say? I have natural grace," he said. Which was, in a weird way, sort of true. People didn't expect it from a little scrappy-looking man, but between diving, dancing, and all the stuff he'd learned in the army, he'd learned excellent coordination. As long as he was sober, of course.

"Not skating?" he said, glancing down at her feet. Gaze scanning back at her very rounded belly, he recalled why. "Oh, yeah, of course. Shame. It must be a real pain having to be extra cautious about everything for a whole nine months - I don't think I could do it. I'd be a terrible woman."

[1000_cranes]

"That is one of the myriad reasons you'd be a terrible woman, Harry," says Charlie, smiling sweetly as she reaches up to pat his cheek. "You are pretty good on those, though."

[realnicetrip]

Harry felt his face heat a little at the touch, and mentally cursed his body for being so understimulated that the slightest bit of affection made it get the wrong ideas.

"Thanks for saying so," he said. "I just always had a knack for things like that - the secret is that you've got to go for it rather than being over-cautious. As long as you don't mind a few bumps, it's fine." Which he didn't; he couldn't remember a point during his childhood when he didn't have bruised shins.

"You ever skate, when you're not otherwise incapacitated?"

[1000_cranes]

"I skated when I was younger," says Charlie, smoothing her dress a little. "We used to have these sorta things all the time." She sighs forlornly. "Feelin' a little tiny bit left out."

[realnicetrip]

"Yeah, I bet," Harry nodded, glancing down at the bump and trying to imagine how it'd feel carrying that around. He'd been piled down with equipment in the field, but at least he got to take it off at the end of the day.

"How far along are you now? It can't be long," he said. "Of course, then the real fun starts - but at least you'll be able to let someone else look after the kid every now and then so you can do your own thing."

[1000_cranes]

"I'm just coming up to the beginning of the seventh month," says Charlie, brushing her hair back form her face. "So she'll be born when the snow comes. You volunteering to babysit, hon?"

[realnicetrip]

"Yeah, if you don't mind leaving your kid in the custody of a guy who smokes, drinks, swears and sometimes blows things up," Harry laughed. Admittedly, all of those qualities had applied to his father, who he didn't think had done that bad a job, but it was a different matter when the child wasn't your own.

"Still, the offer's out there. I don't do much with my evenings, and maybe I could do with the practice."

[1000_cranes]

"Well, aside from the smoking, it doesn't sound entirely unlike her Uncle Jack, so..." Charlie folds her arms, pretending to study him for a long moment.

"I think you'll do, Harry Welsh."

[realnicetrip]

Harry laughed. "You know, that's exactly what Mary O'Neill said when I asked her to prom. I just hope I don't disappoint you as much as I did her." Of course, he was a very different person from the scrawny youth he'd been back then, but still, he knew about as much about childcare now as he did about romance back then.

"Ah well, if the worst comes to the worst, I'll just ask Lipton to lend a hand. You can't get much more responsible than him."

[thewordofweb]

There are some things I have never expected to see in my life. Lieutenant Welsh on a pair of skates is one of those things and I admit that I'm staring slack-jawed as he comes around in a turn. It's...well, it's sort of terrifying. I'm sure if any of the others could see this now, they would probably be more amused than I am, but it's not the first thing you expect to see. Anywhere.

[realnicetrip]

Harry snickered at the sight of Webster's expression and changed direction, gliding past, circling around him, and finally coming to a halt.

"What's up, Webster, catching flies?" he said, and nudged the underside of his jaw. "You look like you've never seen an officer on skates before."

[thewordofweb]

"Because I haven't," I all but sputter out, in utter disbelief still, taking my eyes away from the skates because they might make me slightly wary of my reality. "I mean, it's not like this is how we invaded Normandy," I wryly add.

[realnicetrip]

"But only because the terrain was unfavourable," Harry pointed out. "If we'd only had the foresight to concrete over France first, we could've rolled straight to Berlin." He shook his head. "For a writer, sometimes you don't have much imagination. C'mon, go grab a pair and join in. It's fun."

Of course, fun and Webster was about as usual a combination as a ham and creosote sandwich, but Harry had yet to give up hope of encouraging him to loosen up a bit.

[thewordofweb]

Okay, so I can't exactly help the snort of bemused laughter that gets drawn from me at the image of the entire paratroops rollerblading into Normandy. It would have been a fucking sight, that's for sure. "I'm not exactly graceful on wheels," I offer mildly. "I'll stay flat-footed. I'll break less feet that way, but don't let me stop you, sir. What...what's so fun about this anyway?"