RP: What happened to this place???

[sly_boots_pansy]

Date: 7 October 2001
Characters:  Pansy, Vicky, Terry, Zach
Status: Public
Summary: Pansy finally drags herself away from her tv addiction to notice that some things have changed at the Leaky.
Completion: Complete

After her encounter with C., Pansy decided she might have been a bit too reclusive of late and that perhaps she should make a few changes.

Comments

[obnoxious_prat]

Zach entered the Leaky and went straight to the bar. It had been a long week, and he felt like getting pissed, though he knew he'd just have a drink or two. Nick was working and his housemates were both off doing whatever it was they did to occupy their days, which meant the house was ridiculously quiet.

He didn't particularly want to be social, but he liked the noise at the pub. Since Tom had redecorated, it always seemed to be pretty crowded, which made people watching more entertaining. He ordered a firewhisky and some chips when he remembered that he'd not eaten anything for lunch. When his drink arrived, he sipped it and scanned the pub for anyone interesting to watch.

[boot_t_licious]

Cigarette hanging loosely from one hand, Terry reached over for an ashtray. His arm managed to knock over what was left of his drink, the liquid dribbling across the wood towards someone else.

"Fuck. Sorry; accident." He offered an apologetic smile, fumbling for his wand to clean up the mess.

[obnoxious_prat]

The pub wasn't too active yet, but it was still pretty early. He wondered if anyone would do karaoke. That was always worth a snicker or two. He turned back to the bar to get his drink just in time to notice the person beside him knock over their drink.

"No harm," he said. He pulled his wand out and cleaned it up since the bloke seemed to be having difficulty getting his. He glanced at the guy and wondered why he hadn't run into guys that looked that good until after he was off the market. Course, loving Nick didn't mean he couldn't look. Didn't have any interest in going beyond the looking anyway.

"Looks like you need a new drink," he said. He caught Tom's eyes and nodded towards the empty glass before he picked up his own. "You're Boot, aren't ya? We were in DA together a million years ago."

[boot_t_licious]

"Ta," Terry said with a grin. He felt a little embarrassed that his wand didn't seem to want to extract itself from the pocket of his robes.

"Yeah, I'm Boot. Terry. And you're Smith, right?" Smith was an easy enough name to remember and it was easier to put the name to the face now that the wizard had spoken. "Merlin, I haven't thought about the DA in ages. Seems like a lifetime ago."

He picked up his glass from where it was lying on its side, frowning slightly and meaning to order another one when he could get Tom's attention. The Leaky certainly seemed to be busy since its makeover, although Terry had only popped in a couple of times since the reopening, thoughts of what he'd got up to with Chambers still vivid enough to make him blush.

[obnoxious_prat]

"Terry, that's right," Zach said with a nod. He always seemed to have trouble with first names. "Yeah, I'm Smith. Zach if you're wanting to be friendlier."

He snorted. "Mate, it was a lifetime ago," he said. "Back when we were wee ickle young 'uns ready to conquer the world." He winked before he took another drink and scanned the pub.

"Tom, get your arse over here and refill his glass," he said, giving Tom his most charming 'you know I'm cute' smile. Tom rolled his eyes and muttered something about blonds as he refilled the glass. Zach turned his chair around to face more of the pub.

[boot_t_licious]

"Mmm. Back when we thought we knew everything and when people who're our age now were old and past it." He laughed, flashing Tom a grin as he refilled his drink.

Terry could quite happily admit that Zach was a good-looking sort of bloke, although he seemed to be sending off a 'I'm taken' kind of vibe. It was muchly unfair - why did the handsome ones have to be taken or, worse than that, straight?

He took a sip of his drink. "Oh, how things change."

[obnoxious_prat]

Zach laughed. "Well, I dunno 'bout you, Boot, but I still think I know everything," he said with a mischievous smile. "As for being old and past it, well, there are some days I feel twice my age, but I'm thinking we were just mental back then regarding age. You're certainly looking too good to be considered old, and I'm not too bad myself."

He glanced at the stage when he heard the music lower. "Oh, great. Someone's gonna attempt to sing," he said with just a hint of malicious glee. "So long as they don't completely ruin anything I like, this could be fun."

"So, what's been keeping your days busy since we left that fine institution and the war ended?" he asked curiously. It was always nice to have something pretty to look at while drinking, so he saw no reason to be reason and ignore the bloke.

[boot_t_licious]

"I know a lot, but some things still surprise me," Terry admitted with a languid shrug, flicking ash from the end of his cigarette into the ashtray and thinking about the fascination that he'd had with Chambers' quasi-feline form. He flushed a little at the compliment, nodding in appreciation. "No, you're definitely not too bad," he said, and winked.

Terry frowned as the music changed. It seemed that karaoke wasn't limited to Friday nights. "Sometimes the karaoke here is just plain scary. It makes you wonder what goes on in some people's heads."

He lifted his glass, swirling the liquid slightly. "I travelled a bit. Worked in new York for a while. Now I'm working for Witch Weekly's fashion pages. What about you?"

[obnoxious_prat]

"Well, there's a lot that I don't know but I figure it's better to think I know it all and learn as I go then faff about," he said. "Course, I never said this philosophy did much for me." He smirked and fluffed out his hair. "Thank you, darling," he drawled before blowing Boot a kiss

[boot_t_licious]

"I've heard far too many appalling versions of Dancing Queen for my liking," Terry admitted with a slight shudder. "Some things are far too precious to get fuck up like that." Unlike Zach, Terry would quite happily admit in public that he liked ABBA, and so didn't even raise an eyebrow at this statement.

"Yeah, I work for Witch Weekly. I get to surround myself with fabulous clothes all day, which suits me just fine." He smiled. "You're starting to sound a little domesticated. And here I am, single and living by myself."

[obnoxious_prat]

"You're into ABBA?" Zach asked curiously. "Man, I took ABBA Gold with me when I went to the Americas and have to admit that I was singing along to Fernando and Waterloo as I was hiking through the jungle more times than I can count."

If he hadn't already thought Boot seemed decent enough, a shared enjoyment of ABBA would have earned his approval.

He shrugged. "Guess I am," he said. "Course, my bloke isn't your typical boy next door, so things are always rather unpredictable. Keeps things exciting, I suppose. So single and shagging around or single and looking?"

[boot_t_licious]

"Of course. My ABBA records are very near and dear to my heart." Terry smiled broadly and took a generous sip of his drink. He felt rather pleased, especially when you considered that you didn't often find anyone who was particularly interested in ABBA.

"The latter," he said with a sigh. "I have a distinct lack of shagging in my life at the moment." Drunken Kitty Conundrum frotting probably didn't count. "But all the good-looking guys seem to be taken."

[obnoxious_prat]

"You've actually got records?" Zach turned his stool and arched a brow. "All I've got are the CDs. Do they sound any better?"

"Ah, so you're into blokes, too?" He finished his drink and ordered another. "Well, I've got two housemates, but one is a bird and the other is a straight boy. Don't really know anyone else, unless you like older rich former Quiddtch stars. In that case, I would know someone who has a thing for pretty young boys."

"You all in for shagging some true love and relationship shite or just looking for random shagging? Can usually find the latter in pubs on weekends if you just wanna get pushed against the wall in the loo and sucked off or fucked, depending on your particular interest," he said, speaking from experience. "Muggle places are especially good for that. Course, if you want more, then, yeah, takes more work."

[boot_t_licious]

"Well, they're decent enough for me to sing along to, and that's the important thing."

He nodded. "Yes, definitely into blokes." Terry took a drag on his cigarette. "Witches really aren't my sort of thing." The idea was almost laughable.

"I think the former." Terry'd had some experience with random shagging in the past, but that just didn't appeal to him so much. Not right now, anyway. If the right bloke came along and he was in the right sort of mood, that would be great. The idea of a solid sort of relationship, just appealed to him a lot more. He raised his eyebrows. "So you call relationships shite even though you're in one?"

[obnoxious_prat]

"What can I say? I'm a man of contradictions," he declared dramatically. Unable to keep a straight face, he grinned and took another drink.

"Nah, relationships aren't bad. Wasn't looking for one and never really thought I wanted one, but now I can't imagine not being in it," he said. "Has some problems, 'specially the last year, but it's nice knowing there's someone who wants you, good and bad, and isn't just after some great sex."

"Not to say that there's anything wrong with great sex," he added. "Everything's gotta time and place, and I was into one night stands for years before I met Gryffy. Bit empty after awhile, though, and I can see why you'd be after something more. You out looking or just waiting for something to find you? Heard the Muggles had started this new five minute dating thing that's hit a few wizarding pubs that you might try."

[boot_t_licious]

"A bit of looking and a bit of I-can't-be-arsed. Almost feels like it's too much effort to go out actively looking for a bloke." He shrugged, stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray.

"Yeah. I think I've heard of that. Swift dating or speed something-or-other. Sounds a bit random, although I suppose it won't be long before the wizarding community picks up on it." Sooner or later, ideas like that always filtered through.