[OTA] Give me the peace and joy in your mind

[expluribus]

New Year's Day found Lasse a little bit tired, a little bit hungover, possibly still a little bit drunk. But in spite of all that, he seemed mostly content, happiness humming quietly under his skin, as he wandered around outside. The crisp winter air didn't bother him that much. Actually it was quite refreshing after being holed up all day in his

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[wherethewild]

Nothing cured a hangover. This was a scientific fact, probably, no matter how many times someone told him all he needed was a Pellegrino and an omelet. Peter had had both already today and was now resorting to that thing that solved all of his problems.

Coffee. So much coffee.

"It's New Year, at least," he grumbled around his paper cup as he just. Held up a building. New Year's resolution: no more gin. It'd probably last at least four days.

[expluribus]

There were a few things you could do to counter a hangover. Drinking lots of water before sleeping, provided you hadn't passed out already. Drinking more booze until it drowned. And, the classic, parents-know-better but ultimately boring because so unfun method: not drinking at all.

"I'm sorry what?" Kids these days - didn't anybody tell them that mumbling was so terribly rude?

[wherethewild]

Oh, hey, the oldies could have their hearing obscured by too much alcohol. Either's possible.

"I said," Peter enunciated, "that it's the New Year at least."

[expluribus]

It was quite marvellous that, at Lasse's age, one had a huge range of excuses for all the less than appropriate things one might or might not be doing on purpose. Not that he'd been more restrained in his younger days...

"You're a real ray of sunshine, aren't you?"

[i_machiavellian]

Michael groaned and rolled over, slipping his arm around Lasse's waist just as he was about to get up out of the bed. It's been years since he's had that much to drink and the splitting headache was disorienting.

He didn't manage to forget that he was wrapped up in tangled sheets in Lasse's bed despite that.

"Don't get up," he murmured, sounding a little hoarse. He leaned over and pressed his lips against Lasse's neck, brushing his cheek against the Dane's stubble.

"Not yet."

[expluribus]

Mind-splitting headaches - if they were corporeal - would be part of Lasse's family; the good-for-nothing uncle or good-for-nothing cousin or good-for-nothing whatever who dropped by every weekend to make sure he remained intimately acquainted with the lightness of being. Heavens forbid he become a boring old fart.

When Lasse emerged from the land of dreams, the first thought to cross his mind was that perhaps they'd gone a little bit too far last night. He hadn't meant to get Michael so utterly shitfaced but sometimes drinking felt just too damn good to stop. Last night had been one of those nights and he regretted absolutely nothing. Not even the giggling fit that nearly killed him.

"Mmh, okay." Moving was too much of a hassle anyway. Still he rolled over, wrapping himself around Michael, and buried his nose in a tuft of dark hair.

"Should do this more often."

[i_machiavellian]

"Yeah." It was a cold winter morning and he could feel the chilly morning air resting on the scarred skin on his exposed back. He'd been just as scarred and broken the first time he rest his head against Lasse's bare chest, but it'd been decades since his fellow Spades had tried to hurt him and he seeks warmth and intimacy now more so than comfort and respite from the suffering.

"Except maybe... cut back on the pints." His speech was still slurred, but he was in that space between being awake and passing out again, and he wasn't sure if he'd remember exchanging these few words if he did fall asleep.

"...what time is it anyway." Not time to get up yet, surely.

[expluribus]

Laughter rumbled in Lasse's chest as he dropped a kiss on the top of Michael's head. Cut back on the pints when they bought them lazy mornings in bed together? Unlikely.

"Still early, love. The sun hasn't even come up, yet." Not that the sun did rise that often during this time of year. Grey in grey was the predominant theme which made Lasse want to pack his things and run off to a tropical island - or stay in bed all day. The latter worked perfectly right now.

"'m surprised we made it into bed," he mumbled, fingers tracing idle patterns on scarred skin. "Last thing I remember is sitting on Lime-Beanie and not being able to get up."

[ishineon]

If he's not looking at her long enough, he probably won't see her rolling her eyes a little as she drawls, "And to you. Had a wild night, I suppose?"

Her fatigue, on the other hand, was less to do with a hangover and more to do with the effects of that hangover finally hitting combined with early rising for her traditional sunrise watch.

[expluribus]

Even though Lasse hadn't caught a proper glimpse of the face - had merely acknowledged a human-shaped object walking past - he stopped because the somewhat familiar sounding voice had dropped a conversation starter.

Glancing up, he put on a smile for the human-shaped object who turned out to be a young woman whom his brain belatedly identified as the Lady of the Diamonds.

"Not as wild as some of the young ones. I'd be dead in a ditch somewhere if I tried partying like them. But it was a good way to slide into a new year," he replied with a soft chuckle, tacking on a 'my lady' almost as an afterthought. Give him credit for remembering that and for remembering to omit all the expletives that tended to slip into his speech.

[ishineon]

"Oh, now we wouldn't want that, would we," she clucked her tongue, returning the smile. "Things would absolutely fall apart without you to manage your underlings, and we'd all suffer the knock-on effect, mm? The new year is preserved by your self-restraint."

[expluribus]

"If the year actually relied on my self-restraint, it'd be utterly done for."

Deadly serious or simply deadpan? It was hard to tell. The Rasmussens were known for a lot of things but self-restraint had never been a strength of theirs.

[likemarilynsaid]

"It most certainly is, yes," she agrees with a laugh, not sounding hungover in the slightest. "And I hope you're finding it that way yourself." Hard not to look forward to this day, after all.

Eden had always been a fan of beginnings. A good beginning could mean so many things. One of the reasons she liked mornings so much, especially clear, crisp winter mornings, which was why she was still out and about on this one, taking a stroll through town and soaking in that feeling of limitless potential.

[expluribus]

Laughter - there was something utterly charming and irresistible, addictive and contagious about the sound of a genuine, happy laugh. Smile's little sister, Lasse called it sometimes, and little sisters could be so much more interesting than the big ones.

"As a matter of fact, I do," he replied, not going as far as to throw in a laugh himself - wasn't sure his head would agree with that - but he did reach for laughter's big sister and the upturned curve of his mouth chased some of the tiredness off his face.

"Albeit less energetically than you but surely you won't hold that against an old man."

[likemarilynsaid]

Eden had never heard laughter and smiles referred to in such a way, but if she had, she'd agree entirely. The smile on his face, at least, is reassuring. Far too many frowns around this morning.

"You're not the only one greeting the morning less enthusiastically than me, darling, and I hardly think age has much to do with it." The words are teasing. More likely a little too much overindulgence was to blame.

[expluribus]

If she ever happened to be around him after he'd had three pints too many, she might hear other nonsensical comparisons and similes. The Jolly Viking and his poetic delusions of epic proportions could be rather entertaining - if they were still intelligible that was.

"You're too kind. What brings you out here, then?"

[fiddlerjohnny]

"Happy New Year to you too," Johnny smiled slightly.

Then a pause before, "do you even know who you're wishing a happy new year to, Lasse?"

Sorry this is late!

[expluribus]

"Hm?"

No. No, Lasse really didn't, not until he heard his name and lifted his gaze to actually look at the person talking to him.

"Johnny!" There, more cheerful, more alive. "I haven't seen you in a while. Everything good with you?"

No problem!

[fiddlerjohnny]

"Bout as good as can be expected, I guess. Ready for summer already, myself but what can you do? Right?"

He smiles at Lasse. "You?"

[expluribus]

"Ready for summer? Winter's just started."

If Lasse was honest, however, he could do with a bit more of sunlight. This grey in grey theme got old really fast.

"I'm good. This whole being isolated from the world issue is starting to become inconvenient but we'll manage. You should drop by sometime before we're down to canned sardines and cress."