Happy Birthday, Francis

[patriotqueen]

If anyone asked Anthony Blunt, he had had nothing to do with any of the childish attributes that adorned this party. He was not the one who had made the festive paper decorations with '30' painted on them. It was Mrs. Bell who had paint on her hands, so to speak. 'He teases you horribly', had been her argument. Anthony would never respond to such

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[patriotqueen]

Despite what appearances and colourful decoration might tell one, Guy was here to celebrate his twenty-sixth birthday. The argument went as following: The island was a pause in ones life. He had arrived here at twenty-six and he would leave here at twenty-six. All time in-between did not count, so he did not age here.

Thirty. It meant it was 1941 in his world. Somewhere there was a war on, and he wasn't part of it. His life had turned into farce sooner than he imagined it would and he didn't like it at all. Things changed and there was nothing he could do about it. Age might not pass, but everything else changed. He didn't want to remember England as a happy time of the past. He didn't want to see his life any differently than he always had.

Whatever the case, he was determined to get very drunk in a very short period of time. None of it would matter. So he grinned. "To you," he said, lifting his drink in a toast. "My farce friends!"

[1000_cranes]

"Oh, well, thankyou."

Charlie's still feeling a little...delicate is not the word. Dazed. Dazed might be a better way of putting it. She's sipping a glass of juice, and she's glad to be here, glad to have turned out for her friend, and glad to have ar eason not to think about her body the miracle for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry I bought you anythin' now."

[patriotqueen]

"Don't be!" Guy said, thirty years but thirteen when it came to gifts. "It was merely a general remark. Terrible of me, of course, for which I apologise. You're my sunshine every day." A brilliant smile was added to this statement.

[1000_cranes]

"Don't go getting exciting now," says Charlie, holding out a small wrapped present to him. "It's nothin'."

What it is is a small canvas, a painting of the Island in a style that Charlie's found as her own.

"I thought about the school, but I figure we both spend enough time there."

[loveintriangles]

Vanessa liked Guy. She found it quite hard not to. Deep down she was even starting to like Anthony, despite all the man had caused. The two men had a certain kind of charm about them that was impossible to shield oneself against. Guy more overtly, more forcefully - Anthony a hidden quality, that shone through sometimes, surprising her always.

She had in any case gladly decorated the club, and had painted for the thirty year old birthday boy a landscape of the green and pleasant land he so missed. She had in return been given a drunk but thankful kiss on the cheek and a praise that would have made a shyer woman blush. It was very hard not to be charmed by the man.

"It is largely drawn by heart," she explained to the one observing the painting. "But I suppose that makes it an accurate representation of how we remember England's landscapes."

[unit_girl]

Given that she'd crashed Guy's birthday party in the past, Jo saw no reason not to do so again. She'd mostly kept to one side and had come across the painting. She smiled as she looked it at. It reminded her of drives with the Doctor around the country in Bessie. They'd usually been on the way to deal with some sort of alien invasion (or the Master), but she missed those times all the same.

"It is just like I remember," she said to Nessa, smiling at her. "As nice as it is here sometimes it would be nice to be back in England with all the pretty countryside. And the cities."

[loveintriangles]

"That's what Guy said - be it using very different words," Nessa said, with a pleasant smile. "And I agree. I find myself missing the small wonders of spring. There is so little of it here."

[unit_girl]

She nodded. "I miss how the seasons change gradually instead of just being sunny one day and snowy the next." Although she was sure she would be back to complaining about the cold and the rain after a week at home.

"But we shouldn't be talking about sad things at a party. We should be grateful that we have our health and weather that's liveable in and the people that are still here." And, she thought, raising her glass, she was grateful for the wine too.

[realnicetrip]

Harry wouldn't have missed this for the world. He tended to drop in on island parties whether he knew the host or not and see how they went, but if Guy was the host, he felt sure that he was guaranteed good company, good music and vast quantities of alcohol. Guy's flirting was also guaranteed, mind you, but it was a small price to pay.

He'd even tried to dress up a bit, knowing how Guy criticised his clothing. That didn't amount to much more than finding a shirt and pants that actually fit, putting on a tie and running a comb through his hair, but it was an improvement on most days. No doubt, if this party was anything like he expected it to be, he'd end up just as scruffy as usual by the time he staggered home.

[wanttosmashitup]

While Kim hadn't really been inclined to attend many island gatherings lately, he dreaded the consequences if he didn't dare show up to one of Guy's parties. Plus it was Guy's birthday and he did owe it to his friend to show up. So here he was, drinking whatever alcohol Guy had managed to scrounge up and doing a fair imitation of socializing.

Oh how he'd fallen. From socializing with a purpose to just a mere imitation to keep Guy happy. The island was truly boring him to death.

[alittleofboth]

Anthony supposed that, in its own way, Guy's birthday party had become a minor island event, nothing as grand as New Year's or Mardi Gras, but a certain sure part of the calendar all the same. It was one of those traditions they had clung to from home, even as so much (including, at times, friendship itself) had fallen to the wayside. And now that Guy was all of thirty - well. How could he not throw together a celebration in his honor.

Guy might continue to tell everyone that he was twenty-six, but Anthony had no intention of letting him forget that he was getting on in years rather more than that. He approached his friend with a hint of a smirk at his lips. "Well, old man. How are you faring?"

[patriotqueen]

"Ever younger than you, ducky," Guy smirked back, usually drunk at a usual time for his birthday and gave his best friend a kiss.