Cappie was becoming a bit of a regular fixture in the Saturday Open Mic line ups at Lightning Brew. Since coming back to Atlantis, he’d thrown himself back into his music as one of the few ways he knew how to express himself. At first he hadn’t been sure about performing in front of other people - a lot of his songs felt very personal and some weren’t even finished properly yet - but now it was one of the things he lived for. Being on stage, all eyes on him, felt incredible. The cheers and applause after he was done felt even better. On top of that, the positive reaction people seemed to have to the songs that he’d written gave him a boost of confidence like nothing else. He’d never been good at talking about his feelings but, somehow, singing about them was so much easier.
He hadn’t long been off of the stage when he noticed a group of people making their way from the bar to a table nearby. Among them was a familiar face - very familiar after the night before. A cheeky smile spread across his lips as he darted through the crowded pub to head Harley off.
“Well fancy seeing you here,” he said, artfully draping himself against the edge of an empty booth in front of her, blocking her way.
Harley was planning to make Claire forget all about McCoy that night, whether it was by having fun, getting incredibly drunk, or both. Preferably both. Harley wasn’t a fan of depressive drinking. She wanted to have fun and she wanted to help her best friend.
She told Claire and the others she was getting their drinks while they find a place to sit and headed to the bar. Only to be blocked by a very handsome guy she had got to know very intimately the previous night. Her lips curled in a smirk and she twirled her blue ends with a finger. “Well hello there, sexy.”
“Sexy?” Cappie repeated, raising an eyebrow. “I could get used to being called that.” He paused then licked his lips, feeling a delicious squirming sensation in his stomach as he remembered some of what she’d treated him to the night before.
“Actually, there’s a lot I could get used to about you.” He grinned and straightened up so he could stand a little closer to her.
She let out a small giggle and bit her bottom lip. “Do you now?” She took a step closer and ran her finger down his chest. “I think the feeling is mutual,” she teased lightly.
Cappie wasn’t like any guy she had met before. And she liked it. Being different was a good thing.
Cappie lowered his chin, watching as Harley’s finger ran down his chest. The sensation made a little shiver run through him. He found he loved how intense she was, how full on, how spontaneous, how… crazy. She was like a whirlwind and he was enjoying getting swept up in it.
Cappie took a breath, trying to get a hold of himself, and glanced over his shoulder at the group Harley had been with.
“Is this, er, something you’re needed for?” he asked, sounding hopeful that she wasn’t.
She looked back at her friends and then back at Cappie, sighing sadly. “Unfortunately yes. Claire’s man left and we need to cheer her up.” There was nothing she wouldn’t like more than disappear into the back room with the man in front of her and repeat what happened the night before. But she had duties as Claire’s best friend.
Cappie wrinkled his nose but he didn’t complain. He knew all too well what it was like when someone you loved left Atlantis.
“However... I could disappear for like 10 minutes or so,” she offered playfully.
The grin quickly returned to Cappie’s face and he moved closer to her, lifting a hand to brush a loose strand of blue/blonde hair away from her face.
“It can take a really long time to get served at the bar on Open Mic nights,” he justified, nodding solemnly. “It could take you at least fifteen minutes to get back to your friends.”
His eyes sparkled excitedly as he let his hand run down her arm until he could lace his fingers through hers.
“Shall we?”
“Exactly,” she said with a mischievous smile. “So many people, very few bartenders.” She felt what she could only describe as butterflies in her stomach when he ran his hand down her arm and laced his fingers with hers.
“Let’s,” she grinned, licking her lower lip in anticipation of what was to come.
Coincidentally, it really was almost exactly ten minutes later when Cappie stumbled out of the cleaning cupboard into the back corridor, followed closely by Harley. His short hair was a mess and Harley’s make-up was smeared across his chin, cheek and mouth, which was arranged in a very wide grin. Luckily, her make-up hadn’t been all that perfect to begin with so she didn’t look much different.
“See, right on time,” he said, glancing back towards the main room of the pub and noticing that the line at the bar had barely shifted. “Who said Cappie’s not punctual?”
Turning, he pulled Harley to him, nuzzling his face into her neck. Her skin was warm and slightly clammy and she smelled amazing. He was reluctant to let her go. Still, he knew she needed to get back to her friends.
“Go now,” he said, lifting his head so he could look her in the eye again. “Be a good friend. And maybe don’t mention running into me...” he added, wrinkling his nose. He could imagine how that would go down with someone who’d just lost the person they cared for and it wasn’t good. Jesus, he was a terrible person sometimes.