RP: Ring In the New Year

[shh_terry]

Date: 31 Dec 2004
Characters: Terry, Ben & Bob, various party-goers
Status: Public
Summary: Pirates, champagne & 2005
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[shh_gilderoy]

"We got here first, and that means we're the bestest, right daddy?" Ella exclaimed, jumping up and down. "That means that I'm his bestest friend an' I gets first choice on the sweets!"

Ella tore her hand out of Gilderoy's and hugged Ben. "Myffles sleeped on my bed last night. An' Bunny daddy dis-peerd the wall so's I didn't get scared at night."

Gilderoy suffered through the jab to his ribs from Julian as they stood in the doorway. "Thanks for inviting us, Ben," he said, extending his hand to the young man.

[shh_terry]

"Hi! Hi Ella! Welcome to my home," Ben said politely, just like he and Daddy had practiced. "Can Bob take your coat?"

He looked up at Ella's bunny Daddy, and grinned. "Hi Bunny-man! Hi Mr. Muffin! Bob can take your coats too!"

Terry stepped up and shuffled Ben to the side, so that Gilderoy, Avery and Ella could step inside.

"Thanks for coming," he said to the adults. "Ben's been able to talk of nothing else all day."

[shh_avery]

"Hello there, Ben. Thank you for inviting us to your party." Julian grinned as he too shook the small hand, winking to Terry. He then took off his cloak and shrank it so it was manageable for the small boy, thanking him again.

"Well, it's nice to be thought of with anticipation," Julian offered his hand to Terry next. "Happy New Year's Eve. How was your holiday?"

[shh_terry]

"Welcome," Ben said, distracted by another knock at the door. "LIAM!" he shouted, running off to greet his friend.

Terry grinned after him, and shook Avery's hand. "Happy New Years! The holiday was...hectic, as usual. Can I get either of you anything to drink?" he asked, just as Romilda and Liam walked in.

[shh_romilda]

Romilda blew a stray strand of hair from her face as she tried to juggle two plates of fairy bread and other treats whilst trying to knock on the door. Liam wasn't being much help, as he was too busy playing with the 'light wands' that he had made out of old cardboard rolls

[shh_terry]

Ben grinned widely as Liam rushed into the room and bounced on his heels. "Wot's this?" he asked waving the thing Liam shoved at him. "And you and Ella gotta have hats! It's a party!" Ben rushed over and grabbed two hats and handed them to his friends.

"And what are space pirates? Do they fly? Can Bob be their leader? Let's go check Daddy's room first! We can help Bob drop off the coats, but we gotta wait for Violet to do the treasure hunt! I pwomised her!"

Terry watched as the three children tore down the hall toward the bedroom, before turning to Romilda and taking one of the plates she held.

"You didn't have to bring all this," he said. "But thank you. Let's just put it with the other food."

"And I'm actually suprised the children didn't drag you here sooner," he said looking at Gildreoy and Avery as well. "None of them are the patient type."

[shh_romilda]

"'Lo, Ella," Liam said as his other friend leapt into view

[shh_terry]

"Who's Luke Piewalker?" Ben asked, taking Ella's jacket off of Bob and throwing it on his bed. "And why does a sidekick haveta be rusty?"

He peered under the bed, but didn't see any space pirates. "They're not here. We should check the cupboard. Come on!"

He raced out into the hall, Bob close at his heels, holding the light sword in front of him.

"We can use these," Ben waved the light-sword Liam had given him, "to pertect Princess Ella and Princess Violet if we meet space pirates! And then we can marry 'em! That's what princesses do when they're rescued! I'll marry Violet and you can marry Ella, right?" He blinked. "If that's okay with you, Ella," he added generously.

Terry watched in amusement as the children raced past, high on the tail of inivisble space pirates, before joining Romilda and the others.

"Yes, where is Millicent? Is she feeling alright?" he asked in concern.

[shh_terry]

There was a knock at the door, so Terry excused himself from the others and got to the door a hair before Ben and Bob.

He stepped aside and allowed Ben to open the door, revealing Blaise.

"Mr. 'Laise! Hi! Did you get a kitty for Kwissmiss?" he asked, dancing. "Bob can take your coat, you know!"

Terry grinned at Blaise over Ben's head, and as soon as the little boy had disappeared with Blaise's coat, stepped back to let the othe wizard in.

"Happy New Year," he whispered. "I'm glad you could make it."

[shh_blaise]

“No, I haven’t found one just yet.” Blaise answered to the quickly retreating child before stepping inside. He winced slightly at the sight of the dog and Ben trailing his coat across the floor. He’d been a little overwhelmed by the appearance of the excited bundle that had opened the door and hadn’t had chance to say no before his coat had been pulled from his arms.

With a final glance at the fate of his coat Blaise turned to Terry. “I told you I couldn’t resist you tipsy,” he replied with a half smile as he let his gaze roam down over Terry’s torso.

[shh_terry]

Terry watched Ben and Bob take off and smiled apologetically at Blaise. "I'm sorry. He's a bit excited about being host tonight. I'm sure your coat will be fine."

Terry grinned up at Blaise. "I haven't even had a drink yet," he said. "I'm no where near tipsy."

He wondered if he could sneak a kiss, but Ben and Bob came running back in the room and he didn't want to risk upsetting his son.

"So, can I get you anything?" he asked. "Or you can help yourself. The refreshments are in the kitchen."

[shh_blaise]

Still wincing slightly, Blaise nodded his head, but waved Terry’s apologies off with an, “It’s okay.”

He looked around the room and casually noted the people that had already arrived. Other than Terry and Ben there was one child and three adults, but no one really of interest to Blaise yet. He spotted a corner that had a good view of the door where he could monitor arrivals, but still keep an eye on the rest of the main room.

“Well, that’s no good. You get such a delightful flush to your face when you’ve been drinking,” Blaise said with a smirk as he looked back at Terry. He dropped his voice and leant in slightly before he spoke again. “It reminds me of how you look when you come,” he continued, not risking touching the other man just yet. The room wasn’t crowded enough for such an action to be overlooked.

Blaise caught sight of Ben re-entering the room and a slight change in Terry’s demeanour. With a touch of frustration and reluctance he stepped back. “Perhaps later.”

[shh_tracey]

"Come on mummy! We're gonna be late and I'm all pretty now!" Violet screamed, tugging on her mother's arms and making Tracey cast her glamour wrong. She was a little worse for wear after her drink with Adrian.. Tipsy would probably be the right word. Still, Violet hadn't noticed. The little girl had had a great time with her father and now she wanted to play with her friends.

"Alright, alright! I'm done - Have you got the presents?" she asked, talking about the bottles of champagne and the chocolate cake she'd gotten from Socks.

"Yes. Got it! Come on!" Violet tutted impatiently.

Going down two floors in the lift, Tracey knocked loudly on the door, backed up by Violet yelling "Oi Ben and Bob! Let me in! Wanna play!" through the door.

[shh_terry]

Ben, who had been battling Broom Monsters with Liam and Ella, shouted when he heard his name being called from the other side of the door.

"VIOLET'S HERE!" he screamed, running to the door and throwing it open. "'Lo Violet," he said, suddenly feeling shy. "We're playing space pirates, and you get to be a princess and have a blaster!"

"Okay!" she cried. "Gimme! Please."

Ben grinned and handed over a light wand. "Come on! Ella and Liam need our help! The broom pirates are attacking! ARGH!"

Terry headed over and took the cake and champagne from Tracey. "Hi, Tracey. How're you? I'm glad you could make it!"

[shh_tracey]

Tracey watched the children run off, shaking her head as they mentioned pirates, space and blasters. Sometimes, it was better not to question them; Tracey was sure they'd only confuse her further.

"I'm fine thanks, Terry," she said, passing the refreshments to him. "I hope they're okay.. I wasn't sure what to bring. I'm sure we'll enjoy the cake if the kids don't get to it first."

Smiling slightly, she looked around at the people in the flat. "Looks like it's going to be a good party. Do you need any help with anything?" she asked, surprised at herself. Before the war, she'd never have offered to help with anything. There were house elves to do that after all. Tracey was once again reminded at how much things had changed and she smiled a little brighter, only just refraining from laughing.

[shh_mandy]

Mandy approached Terry's door with Zach in tow behind her. He was following several steps behind as if he would rather people didn't get the assumption that he was with her. She rolled her eyes and grinned as she knocked and waited for someone to answer. Looking down at the white dress she was wearing, Mandy reflected that it probably wasn't the wisest choice in clothes to wear to a party. It was pretty and flattering though...it was just a chance that it happened to be the first thing her hands grabbed hold of when she reached into her wardrobe.

The door swung open and there was Terry. Mandy banished the refreshments she had bought to the table before she kissed his cheek. "Great to see you again. I told you we'd be able to make it," she greeted as Zach stepped inside too. A quick glance of the room meant she was aware of everyone present and Mandy noticed Blaise off to one side. She smiled and waved to him.

[shh_romilda]

Liam spotted the new people who had arrived at the party, and stopped dead in his tracks. "Look Ben!" he said, pointing to the woman wearing the white dress.

"She's a real princess - she looks just like the one on the movie! And that man there must be her bodyguard - Han Slow. He's probably got a blaster to shoot the space pirates." He was looking at the blond man who was a couple of steps behind her.

He looked over at Ella and Violet and grinned. "With all these princesses here, there's definitely gonna be some space pirates."

Looking around the room he saw another man that the princess waved to. Liam turned and huddled with his friends.

"We have to keep a close eye on that man," he pointed at the dark skinned man. "I think he could be a space pirate."

Grabbing Ella's and Violet's hands they raced up to the woman in white. "'Lo Princess. We're here to pertect you from the Space Pirates!" he said in a loud and clear voice. She really was very pretty, and Liam giggled as she smiled at him.

[shh_terry]

Ben's eyes widened when he saw his Aunt Mandy come in, all dressed in white like a real princess.

"WOW!" he whispered. "I didn't know she was a princess!" He wanted to go ask Daddy why he hadn't been told, when he saw the man who came with Auntie. "IT'S THE FUNNY MAN LIAM! He's pertecting Princess Aunt Mandy!"

He grabbed Violet's hand and followed Liam and Ella over to say hello.

His gaze travelled over to Mr. 'Laise, and he frowned. "He's a space pirate? Really? He's daddy's friend! We gotta 'tect Daddy too then!" he whispered, before turning a brilliant smile to Aunt Mandy and the Funny Man.

"Hi hi!" he shouted, throwing himself at Aunt Mandy's legs to hug her quickly, before launching himself at the Funny Man, whom he hadn't seen in AGES.

"Yeah! We gotta 'tect you! The space pirates are ALL OVER THE PLACE!"

[shh_mandy]

Almost before Mandy had a chance to register being called a princess by the little boy she recognised from the 5 Alarm, Ben had thrown himself at her and wrapped his arms around her legs in a hug. She ruffled Ben's hair and smiled at his bubbling enthusiasm.

"Space pirates you say, Ben?" Mandy glanced over at Terry out of the corner of her eye and wondered what on earth was happening. "Well I'm glad you and your friends are here to protect us, those space pirates are bad!"