Bound to Happen Sooner or Later
Title: Bound to Happen Sooner or Later
Character: Dewey Ceinion
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 1780
Prompt: itsproductivity 4/3: Write about a party.
Predictability was boring. Unfortunately, Will's bachelor party was entirely predictable. At least the strip club wasn't too skeezy; it was moderately classy and the dancers were very pretty. Ieuen established himself by the stage early on with a stack of dollar bills, taking advantage of the one reason his girlfriend would allow him to see strippers. Arthur was less impressed, but then he went to strip clubs fairly regularly. Dewey also saw the inside of strip clubs often, but always in the course of duty, not for fun.
One thing all the brothers could agree on was doing shots, and the groom and his friends were all about that. They started with mixed shots but devolved to straight tequila within half an hour, and Dewey knew he'd be regretting it in the morning, but not as much as Will would. The groom didn't seem too concerned about the massive hangover he'd probably be nursing on Saturday, though, and his friends-- especially the best man, a blond named Peter-- kept refilling his shot glass with equally little concern.
are you keeping an eye on him for me? Nerys texted Dewey around 10 o'clock. Dewey rolled his eyes, then glanced around to figure out where Will was. He'd gotten more than a little distracted by the lovely caramel-skinned dancer who was currently teasing Ieuen from her place on the stage.
He's fine. Shouldn't you be enjoying your bachelorette party? he texted back, spotting Will at the center of a cluster of his friends on the other side of the stage.
don't you worry about me she responded promptly. I'm having plenty of fun.
"Who're you texting?" Arthur asked as he sat down next to Dewey bearing two more shots of tequila. The look on his face was tense; Dewey knew his brother well enough to tell when Arthur was spoiling for a fight, and he was in no mood to oblige him at the moment.
"Just Nerys," he answered, taking the shot Arthur handed him and tipping it back. "She's concerned about Will's virtue."
"I thought the point of a bachelor party was to get rid of whatever virtue you might have left," Arthur said, "and anyways Will's too well-behaved to get up to much." They both looked over at Will to catch Peter nudging him up toward the stage, dollar bill in hand, and Arthur snickered.
"I think she's more concerned about what his friends might get him into," Dewey said. "And possibly for a good reason." Will's friends cheered raucously as he tucked the bill into the dancer's g-string and stumbled back to his seat. Dewey shook his head. "He'll be all right."
"As long as he's got the upstanding one looking after him," Arthur teased, nudging Dewey none-too-gently. "The one person willing to be responsible on a bender."
"It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it." Dewey shrugged. "It's nothing more complicated than being the one to call for a cab at the end of the night. I'm not about to try and stop him if he's determined to get alcohol poisoning tonight."
"Too right. If he's going to throw up on anyone, it should be his best man." For a moment they sat quietly, watching the dancer; Dewey started to wonder whether Arthur was going to bring the fight tonight, or if he was going to wait and cause a scene at the rehearsal dinner. He made the executive decision that if Arthur wanted to argue, he could take the trouble to follow him outside to do it, because Dewey needed a cigarette.
He walked away from the door of the strip club out into the parking lot, fishing for his lighter, and he barely had time to light up before he heard steps following him out onto the asphalt. He took a long drag before sighing it out and turning to face his brother. Arthur was swaying slightly-- he'd had a few more shots of tequila than Dewey had-- and that hint of a stormy look Dewey had caught earlier had developed into a full-blown glower.
"You brought your boyfriend for the wedding," Arthur said, spitting the word boyfriend like it was something dirty.
"Yes," Dewey agreed. "You brought your girlfriend, didn't you?"
"That's different," Arthur growled, and Dewey closed his eyes briefly to keep Arthur from seeing them rolling, flicking ash into the wind.
"Yes, it is different. I've been with Parker the better part of a year. How long have you been with Jenna? Two months? Were you even dating her when you got the wedding invitation?"
"That's none of your business," Arthur said, which was as good as a no. "There's nothing disgraceful about me bringing a woman to the wedding."
"Disgraceful? You're the only person who has a problem, Arthur, everyone else sees that there's nothing disgraceful about it. I didn't even bring him as a plus-one, Nerys specifically invited him. More than you can say about Jenna." Even under the orange sodium glare of the parking lot lights, Dewey could see Arthur's face getting redder, and Dewey knew he shouldn't twit his brother about his girlfriend, but he'd be fucked if he'd just stand there and let Arthur demean him and the man he loved.
"You're an embarrassment to the family," Arthur spat, clenching his fists. Dewey eyed him and shifted his stance slightly, resigning himself to the fact that he was going to get hit tonight-- but only once. He took a last drag off his cigarette and flicked it away, watching it bounce when it hit the ground.
"You know what, I'm dead certain Mam and Tad would disagree with you, I know Nerys would, and I'm pretty sure Ieuen would too. They're all fine with me being who I am, you're the only one whose mind is too narrow to accept any sort of difference. And in my mind, that makes you the embarrassment."
Arthur was slow and sloppy with alcohol, but the fist that crashed into Dewey's cheek still hurt like a son of a bitch. He rocked with the punch but still tasted blood, so when he knocked Arthur's legs out from under him it didn't grieve him too badly to hear the sound Arthur's head made when it came in contact with the asphalt. Mam will consider me an embarrassment if I rough him up too badly for the family photos, Dewey thought as he pinned Arthur with a knee between his shoulder blades.
"Get the fuck off me!" Arthur shouted.
"Not unless you promise to stop being an asshole and at least pretend to civility for Nerys's wedding. I don't particularly want to talk to you for the rest of the weekend, but I'll put up with you for our sister's sake, unless you insist on being a homophobic prick and ruining things."
"I'm fine with not talking to you. Just don't do any gay shit where I can see it."
"Oh no, I fully intend on dancing with Parker at the reception. If you can't deal with it, don't look at us, but if you get in my face again I can and will fuck you up, and believe me, you don't want to test that." When Arthur didn't respond, Dewey gave him a shake. "Well? Will you be civil?"
"Yes, fine, all right," Arthur said. Dewey stood up and offered Arthur a hand to help him stand; Arthur ignored it. "Just don't talk to me any more."
"That I can do, and gladly." Arthur stalked back into the strip club, and Dewey sighed and lit another cigarette.
That could have gone worse. Could have gone better, maybe, but a promise of civility was more than Dewey had ten minutes ago, and at least it happened out of anyone else's sight. Undoubtedly Arthur was in there telling tales to Ieuen, making Dewey out to be the villain, but Ieuen was a reasonable man who wasn't likely to take Arthur's side in this, and Dewey already knew he had the support of his parents and Nerys. Honestly, if he couldn't have the support of his entire family, those were the ones he'd choose anyways. Speaking of whom...
Guess who just punched me in the face? he texted Nerys, smiling a little and then wincing when that made his cheek hurt.
I really hope you're going to say Arthur and not Will she texts back as he's stepping on the butt of his cigarette, ready to head back into the strip club.
Yes, Arthur. He's promised to be civil through your wedding now.
did you hit him back?
I knocked him down and kept him there until he promised to leave me alone. Dewey found the scene much as he left it-- a different girl on the stage, but Will and his friends in the same place, Ieuen still holding down the spot right in front of the dancer. He located Arthur at the bar and proceeded to ignore him.
good for you. I'm glad this happened tonight and not tomorrow night, if it was bound to happen sooner or later
You and me both. I'll talk to you tomorrow, enjoy the rest of your bachelorette party. He wound his way through the club to check in with the bachelor and his buddies. Will was about three drinks from passing out, completely wasted, and his friends ranged from moderately drunk to as plastered as Will. "Ten more minutes," Dewey told them, and called the cab service that ferried them there to request the van back. "Get ready to leave," he told Ieuen, who turned a mournful look on him.
"One more dancer?"
"If you're not out there when the taxi gets here, I'm leaving you behind," Dewey joked. "Go and tell Arthur we're about to go." Ieuen glanced back at the dancer, and then turned his full attention on Dewey, keen-eyed and perceptive.
"There a reason you can't tell him yourself?"
"We're no longer on speaking terms," Dewey said, and Ieuen nodded.
"Because he's a homophobic jackass?"
"Got it in one."
"Need me to beat him up for you?" Ieuen said, only half-jokingly. Dewey smirked at him.
"Because a restaurateur will be better in a dust-up than a police officer? I took care of it myself. Thank you, though."
"Any time, brawd bach. We'll be out front. Can you manage Will and his pals?"
"I think so." Ieuen nodded again and headed for Arthur. Dewey looked back over at Will and his friends and judged that he'd probably be needed as a steady shoulder for someone to stumble along with. That was all right. He'd promised Nerys he'd take care of it, after all.
Character: Dewey Ceinion
Rating: PG-13
Word count: 1780
Prompt: itsproductivity 4/3: Write about a party.
Predictability was boring. Unfortunately, Will's bachelor party was entirely predictable. At least the strip club wasn't too skeezy; it was moderately classy and the dancers were very pretty. Ieuen established himself by the stage early on with a stack of dollar bills, taking advantage of the one reason his girlfriend would allow him to see strippers. Arthur was less impressed, but then he went to strip clubs fairly regularly. Dewey also saw the inside of strip clubs often, but always in the course of duty, not for fun.
One thing all the brothers could agree on was doing shots, and the groom and his friends were all about that. They started with mixed shots but devolved to straight tequila within half an hour, and Dewey knew he'd be regretting it in the morning, but not as much as Will would. The groom didn't seem too concerned about the massive hangover he'd probably be nursing on Saturday, though, and his friends-- especially the best man, a blond named Peter-- kept refilling his shot glass with equally little concern.
are you keeping an eye on him for me? Nerys texted Dewey around 10 o'clock. Dewey rolled his eyes, then glanced around to figure out where Will was. He'd gotten more than a little distracted by the lovely caramel-skinned dancer who was currently teasing Ieuen from her place on the stage.
He's fine. Shouldn't you be enjoying your bachelorette party? he texted back, spotting Will at the center of a cluster of his friends on the other side of the stage.
don't you worry about me she responded promptly. I'm having plenty of fun.
"Who're you texting?" Arthur asked as he sat down next to Dewey bearing two more shots of tequila. The look on his face was tense; Dewey knew his brother well enough to tell when Arthur was spoiling for a fight, and he was in no mood to oblige him at the moment.
"Just Nerys," he answered, taking the shot Arthur handed him and tipping it back. "She's concerned about Will's virtue."
"I thought the point of a bachelor party was to get rid of whatever virtue you might have left," Arthur said, "and anyways Will's too well-behaved to get up to much." They both looked over at Will to catch Peter nudging him up toward the stage, dollar bill in hand, and Arthur snickered.
"I think she's more concerned about what his friends might get him into," Dewey said. "And possibly for a good reason." Will's friends cheered raucously as he tucked the bill into the dancer's g-string and stumbled back to his seat. Dewey shook his head. "He'll be all right."
"As long as he's got the upstanding one looking after him," Arthur teased, nudging Dewey none-too-gently. "The one person willing to be responsible on a bender."
"It's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it." Dewey shrugged. "It's nothing more complicated than being the one to call for a cab at the end of the night. I'm not about to try and stop him if he's determined to get alcohol poisoning tonight."
"Too right. If he's going to throw up on anyone, it should be his best man." For a moment they sat quietly, watching the dancer; Dewey started to wonder whether Arthur was going to bring the fight tonight, or if he was going to wait and cause a scene at the rehearsal dinner. He made the executive decision that if Arthur wanted to argue, he could take the trouble to follow him outside to do it, because Dewey needed a cigarette.
He walked away from the door of the strip club out into the parking lot, fishing for his lighter, and he barely had time to light up before he heard steps following him out onto the asphalt. He took a long drag before sighing it out and turning to face his brother. Arthur was swaying slightly-- he'd had a few more shots of tequila than Dewey had-- and that hint of a stormy look Dewey had caught earlier had developed into a full-blown glower.
"You brought your boyfriend for the wedding," Arthur said, spitting the word boyfriend like it was something dirty.
"Yes," Dewey agreed. "You brought your girlfriend, didn't you?"
"That's different," Arthur growled, and Dewey closed his eyes briefly to keep Arthur from seeing them rolling, flicking ash into the wind.
"Yes, it is different. I've been with Parker the better part of a year. How long have you been with Jenna? Two months? Were you even dating her when you got the wedding invitation?"
"That's none of your business," Arthur said, which was as good as a no. "There's nothing disgraceful about me bringing a woman to the wedding."
"Disgraceful? You're the only person who has a problem, Arthur, everyone else sees that there's nothing disgraceful about it. I didn't even bring him as a plus-one, Nerys specifically invited him. More than you can say about Jenna." Even under the orange sodium glare of the parking lot lights, Dewey could see Arthur's face getting redder, and Dewey knew he shouldn't twit his brother about his girlfriend, but he'd be fucked if he'd just stand there and let Arthur demean him and the man he loved.
"You're an embarrassment to the family," Arthur spat, clenching his fists. Dewey eyed him and shifted his stance slightly, resigning himself to the fact that he was going to get hit tonight-- but only once. He took a last drag off his cigarette and flicked it away, watching it bounce when it hit the ground.
"You know what, I'm dead certain Mam and Tad would disagree with you, I know Nerys would, and I'm pretty sure Ieuen would too. They're all fine with me being who I am, you're the only one whose mind is too narrow to accept any sort of difference. And in my mind, that makes you the embarrassment."
Arthur was slow and sloppy with alcohol, but the fist that crashed into Dewey's cheek still hurt like a son of a bitch. He rocked with the punch but still tasted blood, so when he knocked Arthur's legs out from under him it didn't grieve him too badly to hear the sound Arthur's head made when it came in contact with the asphalt. Mam will consider me an embarrassment if I rough him up too badly for the family photos, Dewey thought as he pinned Arthur with a knee between his shoulder blades.
"Get the fuck off me!" Arthur shouted.
"Not unless you promise to stop being an asshole and at least pretend to civility for Nerys's wedding. I don't particularly want to talk to you for the rest of the weekend, but I'll put up with you for our sister's sake, unless you insist on being a homophobic prick and ruining things."
"I'm fine with not talking to you. Just don't do any gay shit where I can see it."
"Oh no, I fully intend on dancing with Parker at the reception. If you can't deal with it, don't look at us, but if you get in my face again I can and will fuck you up, and believe me, you don't want to test that." When Arthur didn't respond, Dewey gave him a shake. "Well? Will you be civil?"
"Yes, fine, all right," Arthur said. Dewey stood up and offered Arthur a hand to help him stand; Arthur ignored it. "Just don't talk to me any more."
"That I can do, and gladly." Arthur stalked back into the strip club, and Dewey sighed and lit another cigarette.
That could have gone worse. Could have gone better, maybe, but a promise of civility was more than Dewey had ten minutes ago, and at least it happened out of anyone else's sight. Undoubtedly Arthur was in there telling tales to Ieuen, making Dewey out to be the villain, but Ieuen was a reasonable man who wasn't likely to take Arthur's side in this, and Dewey already knew he had the support of his parents and Nerys. Honestly, if he couldn't have the support of his entire family, those were the ones he'd choose anyways. Speaking of whom...
Guess who just punched me in the face? he texted Nerys, smiling a little and then wincing when that made his cheek hurt.
I really hope you're going to say Arthur and not Will she texts back as he's stepping on the butt of his cigarette, ready to head back into the strip club.
Yes, Arthur. He's promised to be civil through your wedding now.
did you hit him back?
I knocked him down and kept him there until he promised to leave me alone. Dewey found the scene much as he left it-- a different girl on the stage, but Will and his friends in the same place, Ieuen still holding down the spot right in front of the dancer. He located Arthur at the bar and proceeded to ignore him.
good for you. I'm glad this happened tonight and not tomorrow night, if it was bound to happen sooner or later
You and me both. I'll talk to you tomorrow, enjoy the rest of your bachelorette party. He wound his way through the club to check in with the bachelor and his buddies. Will was about three drinks from passing out, completely wasted, and his friends ranged from moderately drunk to as plastered as Will. "Ten more minutes," Dewey told them, and called the cab service that ferried them there to request the van back. "Get ready to leave," he told Ieuen, who turned a mournful look on him.
"One more dancer?"
"If you're not out there when the taxi gets here, I'm leaving you behind," Dewey joked. "Go and tell Arthur we're about to go." Ieuen glanced back at the dancer, and then turned his full attention on Dewey, keen-eyed and perceptive.
"There a reason you can't tell him yourself?"
"We're no longer on speaking terms," Dewey said, and Ieuen nodded.
"Because he's a homophobic jackass?"
"Got it in one."
"Need me to beat him up for you?" Ieuen said, only half-jokingly. Dewey smirked at him.
"Because a restaurateur will be better in a dust-up than a police officer? I took care of it myself. Thank you, though."
"Any time, brawd bach. We'll be out front. Can you manage Will and his pals?"
"I think so." Ieuen nodded again and headed for Arthur. Dewey looked back over at Will and his friends and judged that he'd probably be needed as a steady shoulder for someone to stumble along with. That was all right. He'd promised Nerys he'd take care of it, after all.