Who: Greer, Rost and Dev When: Evening, Sunday, December 31st Where: The marina/fireworks Status: Complete
Despite the events of the past few days, Greer was having a good time. She had nearly forgotten it was her birthday, but Dev had remembered and the three of them had spent most of the day stoned and making love. It was the ideal day for her. Greer had never been one for fancy dinners, or huge celebrations. She would rather just spend time with the people she cared about, and Dev and Rost had given that to her. Her arm felt a bit itchy, but she had noticed that afternoon in the shower that it was healing rather quickly. Given what had attacked her, it wasn’t that surprising. That creature hadn’t been… normal. So maybe the injury itself wasn’t normal either. The sooner it healed completely, the better.
After dinner they had decided to go to the marina to watch the fireworks. Greer was bundled up against the cold and she was feeling much better than she had the day before. She knew she had been… grumpy was probably an understatement. Manic and irritable was more accurate. Greer harbored a lot of guilt for how she had treated Dev and Rost, and she was clear headed enough now to know that it had been out of character for her. But trauma affected people differently, and she had to assume it had just been the stress from the last few days getting to her. Her boys seemed to have already forgiven her, so Greer opted not to dwell terribly long on any of it. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy the evening, the fireworks and ringing in the new year with the two people she loved.
It was getting closer to midnight now as they wandered through the crowd, occasionally stopping so Greer could check out some of the vendors, or buy roasted pecans and hot chocolate. Her face was pink from the cold, but she didn’t mind it. Everything inside of her felt floaty and warm and she had trouble resisting the urge to grab strangers and plant kisses on their lips. Thankfully Dev and Rost didn’t mind it when she grabbed them instead.
“We should go out onto the pier for the fireworks,” she suggested, popping another pecan into her mouth. “They’ll probably look beautiful reflecting off the water.”
Dev knew very well that something wasn't right with Greer and it took a lot of effort to not keep fretting about it. At first he was keeping a brave face for Greer and Rost but then the drugs kicked in and it became easier to not care. He could care later when things inevitably turned sour again, but right now they needed to be happy, to take every crumb of happiness they could get while they could get it.
"I used to make my own fireworks when I was little," he told them dreamily as they walked. "Lucky I didn't blow off my tiny fingers. God I was a wanker. Me and my friends just wanted bigger explosions, you know? Given the political climate that was a little - a little - insane." Whether it was easier to laugh about it now because so much time had passed or because he was high as fuck didn't really matter. He could laugh about it and that was a gift.
Rost didn’t think he’d ever been so relieved about anything as he had when Greer had woken up that morning. His and Dev’s cuddling love magic had worked. Or there had been nothing wrong with her to start with. It didn’t really matter to him at the moment, drunk and high as he was. He felt like his feet were barely touching the boardwalk as they went along, and he was grateful that his spiked hot cocoa had a lid on it. He’d shouted boisterous hellos to several people and introduced Dev and Greer to most of them and just felt on top of the world. He knew from experience that probably wouldn’t last, there was a crash coming, but it wasn’t happening yet, so he wasn’t worried about it. “I did not see proper fireworks until New York,” he said, since they were sharing fireworks stories. “Always too poor for our own.”
"Oh no," Greer said, looking aghast at the thought that Rost hadn't been able to see fireworks as a kid. "That's just horrible. Everywhere I've gone, the communities would put them on, at least for the fourth." She reached out to slip one arm through Rost's, pulling it close to her in a comforting arm hug, as if he needed it. "I hope the ones tonight are loud. Dev and I had to drive out to the beach to see the fireworks in July," she explained. "Los Angeles is so congested, it was hard to enjoy anything there except each other." Gods, there were so many people she wanted to stop on the boardwalk and talk to. Palms she wanted to read. But their hands were all covered in gloves and it was too cold to tug them off right now. "What's the summer like here?" she asked Rost before trying to dig into her pecan bag with her arm still curled around his. "Do you get tourists?"
It was a little surreal to think of still being here come summer and Dev laughed as new ideas of the future formed in his head - a little warped thanks to the drugs in his system so they were for the most part delightful. "Of course they do!" he exclaimed. "Look at this place. There'll be a slew of sweet summer babes for us to corrupt, come for the ocean view, stay for the hot lovin', am I right?" He nudged Rost playfully. "Like we did. Oh lord, this trio could turn into an army of lovers. Wait, wasn't that a band back in the day?"
Rost laughed heartily at that, face up to the dark cold sky for a moment. “You two beauties draw them in,” he said jovially, leaning over to kiss Greer’s head through her hat. “I will come in once the blindfolds are on.” He was kidding, at least halfway -- to him, Dev and Greer were way more attractive than he was, especially to ‘sweet summer babes.’ “We do get tourists, yes. Summer here is beautiful, some come for ocean and forest, some come for bloody history and spooks. None come for my bed, unfortunately, so far. You two have made me very lucky.” He beamed at both of them and took another nip from his cocoa.
Greer wondered if they would still be there when the snow began to thaw. She did love this town, even if it sometimes felt dark and ominous. But it had light to it too. Rost was proof of that. Looking up at him, Greer paused just long enough to push up and press a kiss to his cheek. "Don't say things like that. You're magnetic, and handsome and your cock is amazing. Anyone in this town would be lucky beyond measure to get to see it." She offered the bag of pecans to him, in case he wanted some. "I think I'll like it here, in the summer. We can drive to one of the bigger beaches and swim naked. And we can come here to watch fireworks without wearing eighty layers."
"What she said!" Dev exclaimed. "You are a beautiful man, are you insinuating that we have poor taste?" He tsk'ed, then grinned at Rost and slipped his hand around to pat his ass. "I'll have none of that from you." He knew there were plenty of people who wouldn't be attracted to Rost or him, that was just the nature of the game. Out of the three of them, Greer was always going to be more likely to find new partners. If someone however thought Rost was outright ugly? That was most likely not the sort of person Dev would be attracted to. He was imagining beach bunnies and gym rats, the type of people who focused too much on their muscle-building and tan to work much on what was inside their skulls. Those sorts of people would find Dev terribly unappealing too, a pasty, skinny guy with shaggy hair didn't do much to appeal to people who liked tanned and buff bodies. He couldn't imagine those people not finding Greer attractive though, likely in a curious way like trying exotic food. No, it was best to steer clear of them altogether.
Rost gave a happy little laugh and plucked some pecans out of Greer’s bag. He was content with being a skinny ugly weirdo to most folks -- those weren’t his people. And sometimes beautiful souls came along and saw through all that shallow nonsense. Greer and Dev were his people, and he was beyond thrilled to have found them. Or be found by them, since that was more what had happened. “It will be a brilliant spring and summer,” he told them, as if saying so out loud would definitely bring it into being. Maybe it would, it was a magical night. “And perhaps we will be elsewhere next winter.” Rost was definitely attached to Point Pleasant in a lot of ways, but now he had much more compelling motivation to leave some day. There was more of the world to see and companions to travel with, and that was when he felt the best.
"Maybe next winter we'll be in Ireland," Greer said, though that was more of a wistful thing. She was worried if they tried to leave the country it would be found out that Dev had long overstayed his visa and bad things would happen. Not that she cared if they had to leave America and never come back. There were so many other places to see. But she didn't want Dev to deal with any legal trouble. "Or maybe we'll be here, in a bigger home." She liked sharing a bed with the two of them, but if they all stayed together, a bigger place might be a good idea. The trailer home at Seaview was cozy, but she knew eventually it could start to feel cramped.
"How about California instead," Dev said with a wrinkling of his nose. "I love my country, sure, love it, that bastard. I'm just not eager to go back. California in the winter though, that sounds a delight." They didn't have a whole lot of money to burn and their income was always shaky at best so he wasn't all that certain they'd ever get a bigger home but dreaming was free and it was especially easy when he was high. "If we stay here then yeah, we'll get a big place with a big fireplace and we can all cuddle in front of it when it's cold out." It was plenty cold out right now but they were dressed appropriately and had drugs in their system so he didn't feel it too keenly.
It was easier not to be cold when you had two other people to huddle in close to, and you were pretty drunk and filled with happiness. Rost felt full of all kinds of warmth at the moment, but California did sound really good. “I have never been to west coast,” he said with a grin. “Would be fun. I would go anywhere with you.” He beamed at both of them for a second. Even if he had to do some busking in cities they passed through to get the money to keep going, he would do it. Money was stupid and evil, but Rost knew it was unfortunately necessary to make it through the world. But all that was just daydreaming -- night dreaming? -- at the moment. “But that is future! This is now, and it is a new year and a new age for Greer, and fireworks ...” Rost paused to check his watch, squinting at it with his nose wrinkled. “Soon.”
Sometimes Greer felt the desire to just travel and find the means to do it by reading palms or just stealing. She knew that wasn't morally sound, but she felt it was unfair for so much in life to be dependent on money. It didn't matter where they were, or where they lived... not really. Greer just wanted to be with Dev and Rost, and she knew they could make it work. A part of her wanted to strip down and go jump in the water, despite how cold it was. Or maybe she could drag them both to an isolated place and get them naked. No, that would be dangerous too, given the weather. There were just so many people here. Not that Greer minded it. In fact, it felt a bit invigorating. Like everyone else was somehow fueling her with their energy. She loved it. "When it's the right time to leave, we'll know," Greer said, wishing she had more arms to curl around them. "But I feel like we still have a lot to do here. I'm not sure it's ready to let us go just yet."
Dev lived in a very morally gray area. He'd say he had good morals, he made sure never to hurt people, never to take anything that might mean a lot to them. Only take money from people who could afford to lose it. He didn't steal often, but he lied and exaggerated his gifts and people were oh so gullible. Having a semi-steady income in the way of rent was honestly a little weird for him, but it was also all very unofficial and fluctuating as he and his tenant had an understanding. "It'll let us go when we're good and ready to leave," he scoffed at Greer's words, even if he knew somewhere deep down that she was right. For all he knew this town might never let them go and maybe he would never be ready to let go of it either. There were so many mysteries, even when he felt concerned that evil was afoot, he was too fascinated to really run away. "Do you think we'll ever want to leave?" he added and laughed, though he wasn't really sure why he was laughing other than the fact he was high and happy.
Rost had spent enough years in Point Pleasant to know that it did get its claws into people. He’d heard so many stories about residents who had tried to leave and kept getting pulled back, things that kept happening to keep them locked into the town. He’d had murmurings of disquiet in himself already about the dream of eventually leaving with Dev and Greer, like it wouldn’t be That Easy. He wasn’t just a resident of the town, he was intimately involved in one of the more haunted places in it. Would Point Pleasant ever let him go? Rost didn’t know. His partners sounded lighthearted about it, but it scared Rost to think about too much, and he didn’t want to be scared tonight. This was a night for happiness and joy and celebrating one of his loves and new beginnings. “Let us talk of something else, yes?” he suggested, glancing between them, his smile gone for the moment. “This town knows when you speak of it, do not invite it into the new year so openly.”
Greer wrinkled her nose as she looked around the marina, and then out toward the water. Rost had a point. And she didn't want to upset him on a night when they were supposed to be having fun. "You're right," she agreed before pushing up to press a quick kiss to his cheek in step. "No more talk about this place. But if it can hear me when I talk about it, then I'll say thank you to the earth and the water and the soil, as damaged and cursed as it might be." She held her arm out in front of her dramatically, the other still curled around Rost's. "Thank you for giving us this man, with his beautiful voice and his exquisite cock!" They got some looks at that, but Greer kept walking, taking out another pecan from her bag to pop into her mouth. "What should we do until the fireworks? What time is it? Do you want to try and ice skate?"
Dev let out a bark of a laugh at Greer's exclamation, delighted even if people around them didn't all appreciate it. "Damaged and cursed and beautiful," he declared. "It may take away but it giveth. Oh lord doth it giveth." He snickered as he tip-toed and stretched to kiss Rost's cheek. He had no idea what time it was and that was fine. They'd float along in a blissful cloud until they heard the new roar approach in its usual roar. It never arrived quietly, not when there were people around to count and cheer. Some of them would be frantically running around, finding the person they meant to kiss at the stroke of midnight, the ones who were still and quiet would get that special spark in their eyes as they waited for just the right moment for their magical kiss. This was the first time Dev would get two of them and he was certain that it was also the first time those kisses meant this much. "You want to spend the last hours or minutes of this year gliding on the ice gracefully while I fall on my arse? I won't say no to that."
It was difficult to feel gloomy when he had kisses from both sides and his lovers announcing to the world how great his cock was. Rost tittered and flushed red, but he was grinning from ear to ear too. Just like that, the world felt light and airy again. It was incredible what love -- and copious amounts of booze and weed -- could do. “Far too drunk for ice,” he laughed, leaning over to kiss Greer’s temple and then Dev’s. It would be no fun to break his neck right before the year changed. “But I will hold drinks if you want to try.” They only had about forty minutes before midnight, so he knew there was no way in hell he was going to sober up enough to ice skate effectively. He would definitely laugh at his loves making the attempt, though. As long as they came back in close once it was time to kiss. “Anything you want for your birthday though, my love,” he added, gazing adoringly at Greer.
"I can do it on my own if you want to wait for me," Greer told Dev and Rost. She ate another pecan, wishing she had bought another bag for later. "I'm not a great skater, but it might be fun to glide." Especially feeling as high as she was right then. Maybe she would fall but Greer wasn't sure she would feel it. If she had Dev with her, they could hold onto each other and see how long they could stay upright before collapsing in a pile onto the ice. It would be fun to try, at least. But Greer felt like anything suggested would be fun. She just wanted to be with her men, even if they found a bench to sit and cuddle together on until the fireworks started.
"Glide," Dev echoed dreamily and when she put it like that, there was no way he was giving it up. He just wished they didn't have to deal with all the petty things first, renting skates and putting them on. He just wanted to glide right out onto the ice, as if it was a dream. "I'll come with you, love. We'll stay close to Rost so we don't have to rush back when the time comes." He turned to grin up at Rost. "And you can have a giggle at how majestic we think we are when we probably aren't." He had a feeling that gliding would make him want to pose - if he even got his balance on the ice. If he did, he'd have to at least spread his arm and look regal for the few seconds he succeeded, there was no way around it when gliding.
Gliding did sound appealing, but Rost knew his own lanky body well enough to know it wouldn’t stay upright on the ice for any length of time right now. He could barely feel his legs, much less control them for difficult balancing. So he could just stay on the sidelines and watch his favorite people with unrepentant glee. “You are both majestic as fuck!” he declared happily. “Peacocks, the both of you.” Since being on the ice rink meant having to get skates, Rost turned them in that direction -- or at least approximately that direction -- so they could get the boring part out of the way and move on to the fun part.
Greer let Rost lead her because she really had no idea where the ice skates would be. She was still chewing her pecans, her gaze drifting out toward the skating rink. It looked fun and she was having a great time. Being around more people, being able to hang onto Dev as they tried to skate around. It felt like the perfect lead up to the fireworks. Once they found the skate rentals, Greer and Dev switched out their boots for the skates and gave Rost their things before heading out onto the ice. Greer took Dev's hand, gasping with pleasure when she nearly slipped. She grabbed Dev's arm to keep herself upright.
It was something of a miracle that they didn't go sprawling out on the ice when Greer slipped because Dev's balance wasn't the best at the moment either but maybe their respective clumsiness cancelled the other out because somehow they stayed upright, very slowly inching out onto the ice. "We're glidin'," Dev said with unveiled delight, craning his neck to look back at Rost. "Glidin'!" He couldn't seem to stop saying that word, it just felt so nice in his mouth, like it had a nice texture and taste to it. Then again everything felt good now, from the way Greer was hanging onto him, to the way Rost was beaming at them from outside of the rink.
Rost took their drinks before they ventured out onto the ice, finding a spot along the pressboard wall to lean and watch his two favorite people. He leaned forward on his forearms, grinning as Dev and Greer glided around on the ice. He laughed a bit as they almost fell, and shouted out a ‘woo!’ when it didn’t happen. It did look like fun, but he was still pretty sure he would fall and hurt himself if he tried to get out there with them.
Gliding was definitely not a word for what they were doing but it felt right! She was having fun, and it felt like she was flying, at least when she and Dev got going. They might be coordinated and graceful elsewhere, but not on ice, and certainly not on skates. Greer laughed and smacked a kiss on Dev's lips before turning toward Rost. She wanted him out there with them. It felt like she was missing a limb. "Let's go get him," Greer told Dev, gripping his hand tight as she started to skate awkwardly toward where Rost was waiting.
Dev might not have thought to drag Rost out on the ice but he was more than happy to go along with the idea, hollering loudly as they approached him. In his mind they were swooping in like eagles but the reality was far from it. He almost fell a couple of times, his hollering turning into laughing. "We're gonna get you!" he warned Rost as he grabbed onto the rail to balance himself. "Watch out!" How long was it until midnight, he wondered? Even if it was still far away it just felt wrong not to be close to him.
Rost looked surprised and pleased when they started closing in on him, laughing along with them as they got closer. He straightened up and reached out toward his lovers to help steady both of them as they bumped into the wooden wall surrounding the ice. “I am gotten!” he exclaimed with another belly laugh, grinning widely at the both of them. “You are both graceful swans, I am impressed. Ten out of ten, however it goes.” He wished he had a scorecard to hold up to show them how awesome they were, even if they were wobbly and ridiculous. He loved them both so much.
"Come out here with us," Greer told him, taking hold of his hand tightly. "Or we'll have to drag you out." She didn't care that he didn't have skates on, she wanted to wrap her arms around both of her boys at that moment before the fireworks went off. Maybe even during the fireworks. It would be fun and colorful, and romantic. The perfect ending to this night.
Dev tugged on him too, still laughing. "We should all be together," he insisted. "We won't let you fall. We won't ever let you fall." It went a lot deeper than just a promise for the ice tonight, it was a promise that made his chest swell with emotion and feelings that felt old and noble, love and honor, something deep and profound that people had felt throughout the ages and yet it was so rare and so poignant, he felt blessed just getting a small sense of it. At this point he didn't even think it was the drugs making his mind go in that direction, he felt connected to the universe and to these two beautiful souls he was physically clinging to tonight.
How could Rost say no to that? Grinning, he put down their cups and then swung one long leg over the barrier to climb onto the ice with them. He wasn’t wearing the proper footwear in the slightest, but that didn’t seem to matter anymore. Maybe he could stay upright better on flat soles instead of blades, and with both of his loves there to hold him up. He wobbled a bit once he had both boots on the ice, but between the wall being nearby and two sets of hands on him, he recovered. “Okay, I am here,” he said, tittering and grinning at both of them. Rost got a hold of each of their hands and started to venture out away from the wall with them.
Greer clung to Rost's hand, pulling him out onto the ice with Dev. They might get yelled at, but she didn't care. Everyone seemed so happy and carefree and that's how it should always be. She was careful, not wanting to rush Rost and make him fall because she was sure they would all collapse together if one of them went down. But when they a good enough distance from the wall, Greer paused and slipped her arm around Rost, reaching over with her other to pull Dev in for a close, cuddly hug. This was how it should always be. She had found Dev, and now they found Rost, it was finally like she had all of her limbs. They were a part of her as much as anything and it would always stay that way. Greer was about to tell them that she loved them both when something exploded in the sky. Color and fire. The fireworks had begun and she lifted her face up to watch them, still holding onto both men as best she could on her ice skates.
"Oh wow," Dev drawled as he looked up at the sky and the drugs only made it all look so much prettier, like the colors were stretching out and staying in the sky longer. He held onto Rost tightly, finding Greer's hand somewhere on his back and hooking their fingers together. This was what happiness felt like, the real thing - drugs or not. "What an end to a year," Dev murmured, leaning his head against Rost's shoulder. "A rollercoaster of emotions, even all the bad just reminds us we're alive."
Rost felt whole with the two of them there with him, and completely happy when the beautiful colors started to light up the sky. “Amen to this,” he murmured to Dev, his arms tightening around both of them. He carefully shuffled in closer, only distantly aware of people cheering and celebrating as they could finally shout that ‘one!’ and welcome in the new year. He tore his gaze from the light show above and gazed at Greer and then Dev, their faces lit up green and then red and then gold. His heart felt full to bursting. “Happy New Year, my loves,” he said, and leaned in to kiss them each in turn.