Who: Ray Capili and Sophie Dibango What: OHANA AHEAD. (Part two) Where: Ray's apartment! When: This evening! Warnings: Explosions, major cute (WHO KNEW WE COULD MANAGE THIS?), and cross dressing. Kinda.
Through laughter and agreement, Sophie was able to keep up her end. It was funny this feeling of being with him - and she knew it wasn’t an ohana thing specifically as Nani and Lilo had their share of fights and arguments. There was something about this being Stitch and the fact that they did seem to be in-sync so easily that made this easy.
A final nod and Sophie managed to speed off. Going quickly was her aim as she stripped and headed for the shower. Using his shampoo sparked a slight giggle - that Lilo rolled her eyes at - before she simply went with it. Ten minutes later and Sophie was out and dried, pulling on his clothes. Fortunately her underwear had managed to remain dry, so she was able to shrug that on underneath. It hadn’t really been noticed how close she and Ray were in height prior, but it made his clothes fiting pretty nice. The only issue really was the boy cut - and like hell did Sophie have a problem with that.
She tucked her clothes under her arm, shoes kept in one hand as she headed out. Her damp hair stayed down as she put them by the edge of the kitchen - totally safe spot. Eyes caught on the guitar case just before she headed in - ha! “Mostly dry and definitely not stinky,” she said with a grin. While Sophie was getting cleaned off, Ray was working on dinner. The pasta shells were busy boiling and the oven was on it’s way to warming up so Ray set to getting the cookie dough onto the sheet, trying to move as quickly as possible so that he could get them into the oven before she got out and could ruin the surprise for herself. The only problem was that the cookie dough came in a tub, and it was difficult to get just the right amount on the large spoon he was using and then onto the sheet. Eventually he gave up and ended up having to use his bare hands instead (after washing them of course) which while a lot more effective, left him with sticky hands and a mixture of dough and chocolate under his nails and on parts of his fingers. He wanted to wash it away, but that’s when he heard the water turn off. Moving quickly, he shoved the cookie sheet into the oven and hid the now half-full tub in the fridge again.
He had just managed to finish washing off his hands when she re-entered the room. He turned around and smiled broadly at her, giving her a not-very-subtle once over. His clothes fit her pretty well, at least height wise, and he had to admit he kind of liked how she looked in them. “And that is always something to endeavor for,” he told her as he dried off his hands. “Food’s almost done- when the timer goes off just take the pasta off the stove, drain it, and add the cheese. Other then that, we’re pretty much good, I think.” Scooping up his clothes from the ratty old couch where he left them, he made his way towards the bathroom. “Like I said, I’ll only be a couple minutes. You’re free to look around if you want, and so long as you don’t bust it, you can touch stuff too.” With a quick wave, he was gone.
True to his word, his shower was taken with utmost speed and efficiency- they rarely lasted more then four or five minutes. He dried off and dressed, also as quickly as he could so he could stop feeling damp. His hair took the longest to towel off, but he managed to get it mostly dry. Satisfied, he rejoined Sophie in the other room.
“So! How’s dinner looking? I don’t know about you, but I’m starving!” Though she’d noticed a spare box, Sophie grinned with the confirmation of mac and cheese. Simple was often best and heck, who didn’t like Velveeta? Poor sports, that was who. “Absolutely. And I can handle that!” She all but bounced over - missing his look because she wasn’t going to over-think that at all. Nope. Not at all. “And busting things isn’t my job,” she called as he set off. “It’s yours, I’m pretty sure!”
Which did spark a thought. He really didn’t just do things randomly, did he? Suspicions were yes. Oh well. It wasn’t like she and Lilo hadn’t fixed that before. She propped herself up on a counter, jumping up to wait for the water. She let her feet swing, humming absently until her eyes fell on the oven. Had he meant to leave that on? He hadn’t mentioned anything... She scooted off, still humming as she inspected it. Full - a peek inside revealed rising cookie dough. Her grin widened and she shut it. Sweet.
The timer went off and she was able to find a strainer and take care of that with little issue. Cheese got stirred in and the stove shut off, until she was able to dig about for some table settings. Or at least a couple bowls and spoons. She’d just set those on the counter and was about to serve when Ray came back. She gave him a bright smile, holding up her macaroni-covered spoon she’d be using to serve. “Looks done! And yummy. Two good things that go really well together.” “Excellent! And it smells great.” Ray quickly crossed the length of the kitchen to start grabbing napkins and glasses and set them on the table. “Thanks for taking care of that by the way, Soph.” He glanced up and raised his eyebrows hopefully. “Yes or no on the nickname? Also, water or milk to drink? Sorry I don’t really have much other option then that. It’s ah, been a while since I’ve taken a trip to the store.” He scuffed his foot on the floor, rubbing the back of his neck while feeling a little bit embarrassed.
He gave her another once over before plucking the spoon out of her hands and setting on the counter. “Sorry, I promise, last time for at least half an hour.” And without any further warning he pulled her into another hug, this time lifting her a couple inches off the ground despite the fact that they were essentially the same height. “I’m just so glad I found you!” He set her back down gently, still grinning like he had been all day before grabbing the bowls and silverware and setting them at the table as well.
Pulling out her chair for her and gesturing for her to sit down all seemed natural to him- it was just proper manners after all. He may have had a thing for causing chaos and mayhem everywhere he went, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be polite to the select few he liked. “Another very good thing,” she said, with a self-important nod. Trying to be serious seemed really ridiculous. Lips were going to have an indentation from all her bitten back grins. “No problem and that’s totally alright.” Heck, as long as he didn’t cal her Sophia he could call her anything he liked. She scooped out the macaroni into the bowls, making a point of having one larger then the other (because yes, she was starving, but she also knew that boys ate more). “Water’s cool!” She glanced back to catch the awkwardness. Huh. “And it happens. There’s a reason why in my house we go out so much. Everyone’s always wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too busy.” Or she forgot.
She didn’t really know what he was doing as he took the spoon - SHE WAS USING THAT - but didn’t do more then stare at him curiously. What- oh. A slight giggle escaped her and she returned the gesture, feet swinging ever so slightly. “Never knew I’d need hug alerts,” she beamed at him. A squeeze before she was put down, “And me too. Again.” Still grinning, she grabbed the glasses - since he’d taken her bowls - and headed to the table.
It shouldn’t have surprised her, but he got another bright grin for pulling out chair. “Thank you, kind sir!” She slid the glasses across, sitting down. Crossing her ankles, she got comfortable - pretty easy in these clothes and a simple chair. God, she’d hated her parents’ family attempts. It wasn’t like they even really tried. It did cross her mind that her parents might be worrying, but...eh. She’d deal with it later. “Bon appetite?” “Always,” he said, matching that same regal looking nod. He managed to keep his face a bit more serious then she did, but his eyes were still glinting in their usual mischievous way. He did a mental fist pump when she agreed to the quickly thought up nickname. It wasn’t very original, but he’d have plenty of time to come up with something more fitting for her at a later date. “Water it is, then!” Quickly he grabbed the glasses back off of the counter and filled them both up with tap water before replacing them in their previously spots. “Still. I feel bad that whenever I have guests over they have to put up with whatever the hell is remaining in my fridge. I mean, it’s one thing for me to eat it. But it’s a whole other thing when someone else has to.”
Ray laughed at that. “With me? You’re probably going to need them. I’m kind of a hugger.” Okay, a lot of a hugger. It was just who he was, and he wasn’t ever planning on changing that. He was just glad that Sophie didn’t seem to mind it too much. A lot of people got annoyed by his constant desire for physical contact- or at least proximity- and he was praying that Sophie wouldn’t be one of those people.
He gave her a flourishing bow. “But of course, my fair lady.” He pushed the chair in as she sat before taking his own seat next to her. Unlike most people who kept their feet on the floor, he sat cross-legged on his chair just like he always had. He raised his glass to her ‘bon appetite.’ “To delicious food and old friends,” he toasted with a smile. The meal was simple, but delicious. When Ray wasn’t busy shoveling the macaroni into his mouth, he and Sophie asked each other basic questions: how old Ray was, how long they’d had Lilo and Stitch, what their histories were and other such things. They both tended to gloss over their family lives, which Ray didn’t mind at all. He was more of a look-to-the-future kind of guy anyways.
As soon as they were done he whisked the dishes away and to the sink so he could start washing them, and it wasn’t until he was halfway to his elbows in suds that he remembered the cookies. Shit! How long had it been? He glanced at the clock- if they were taken out now, they might be okay. “Uh, so there’s a surprise in the oven, which I forgot about. There’s some hotpads in the drawer next to the sink- could you get it out before it starts burning?” Could she really be blamed for not being able to keep a serious face? Maybe another time she’d do better. But here with Ray? Keeping serious felt impossible. Even Lilo who mainly commented on things dryly and unmoved (unless their beloved King was concerned) had been peppy all evening. She thanked him again when he came with the water, before raising a brow. “And what if they like it?” A hand even went on her hip there.
“Nothing wrong with that,” Sophie said – managing to keep back any awkwardness. “I mean, not that I can really think of right now.” Lilo was quite happy to come up with some absurd, weird examples but Sophie was glad to ignore them. Because really? As long as you weren’t some creeptard, Sophie was quite happy to have hugs from people that mattered. Maybe it was part of her parent problem. The only few good memories she had of them when little was Emmanuel coming in through whoever’s door and scooping her up into a massive, high sky hug.
The glass was raised in turn, before Sophie dug in. She munched happily away, chattering along with him – asking a few questions and giving brief summaries back about herself. It was good to just get the basics down and know more. Slight concern did show up over his age, before she brushed it aside. Pfft. Not like it mattered or anything.
She got up when he did, hoping to follow along and help. A few drawers were banged open until she found some towels, ready for when Ray finished up. His sudden stopping made her realize. Eyes widened – crap she should have remembered too – except not. “Um, no problem.” She tossed the dishrag over her shoulder, hunting for the pads quickly. She cooed appropriately when the well-done cookies came out. See? She could fake it. Somewhat. “Awesome!” Ray blinked with surprise, and then laughed again. “Well, if they like it, I’m sure not going to object!” Hell, how could he object to someone not minding the fact that he mostly lived off of toast, ramen, and mac and cheese? Or that they liked that sort of stuff too? Yeah- they were definitely made to be friends, not even counting their reincarnations. “If you don’t mind, I’m not going to complain about it.”
Ray watched with an anxious expression as she went for the hot pads and then pulled the cookies out of the oven. Shit shit shit. They were probably crisps right now, just because his day had been going so well, and something always had to go wrong. But Sophie’s reaction seemed to be good to the cookies, so maybe not all hope was lost. That, or she was just being nice. He couldn’t honestly tell. He craned his neck to try and see, but from his spot at the sink it was difficult to get a good look at them.
“How are they? Not too burned? Man, I feel like an idiot. Go through all that trouble to surprise you, and then I burn said surprise. Ugh. Way to go, me.” He turned back to the sink so he could finish washing the last dish, set it on a towel with the rest to be dried in a minute, and then wiped off his arms and hands. He joined Sophie and looked down at the cookies. Oh. Well, they weren’t too bad. Kind of dark around the edges, but nothing that couldn’t be salvaged. And at least it was better then his last batch, which had gotten burnt to a crisp.
“Well, it could have been worse?” He ventured. “Hold on, I’ll grab a cooling rack. I’m sure I have one.” If by sure, he meant ‘I have no idea’ that is. But as it turns out, he did, tucked away in the back of a cupboard. He snatched up a spatula too, and laid out all of those on the counter, as another hotpad to put the cookie sheet on. “Just set it on that, and I’ll finish drying the dishes. It’ll only take a minute.” “Works for me!” Sophie said cheerily. Seeing him flabbergasted, even for a moment was funny though. More then it should have been. “I won’t hold it against you at all.”
Cookies maneuvered out, Sophie missed the tail end of Ray’s panic attack. She only glanced up as he started to chatter, brows drawing together. “It’s fine. Totally awesome. And I like my cookies crispy. No toll-house commercial for me!” Okay that was a bit of a lie. Because who didn’t love a nice gooey cookie? She just wasn’t going to admit that right now. Not when he looked like that. “And yeah, it could have been much worse.”
Sophie nodded- “Can do!” She began humming again - unconsciously with the can-do’s half muttered. So she might be a huge Elvis fan, but it didn’t change her love for good old fashioned numbers. Ray scrunched up his face, lips pulling into a small and confused frown. “Seriously? I’m more of a soft-and-hot-cookie guy myself. But to each their own, I guess.” He shrugged. Well, at least it had worked out for Sophie, which was the more important thing. Maybe he could just microwave some of the remaining cookie dough on a plate for himself. That’s what he usually did with it anyways.
While he dried off the dishes with a fresh towel, he listened to her hum with interest. Though he wanted to join in, he was worried that if he did she might stop. And in any case, he was busy plotting and scheming. And when he plotted and schemed, he liked to give his plans as much of his attention as he could. He shoved the newly cleaned dishes back where they belonged before turning back to Sophie. The expression on his face could only be described as devious, or perhaps something akin to one a mad scientist would have upon discovering how to bring their monster to life.
“Do you sing?” His voice was eager and his eyes were glinting just a little. To anyone who knew anything about Ray- or Stitch- it was a warning sign that generally meant, ‘Run for your life, or else something you’re not going to enjoy is about to happen to you.’ Well now she was trapped. Sophie’s face froze - lying wasn’t one of her strong suits - before just shrugging. She went back to inspecting the cookies and move them over. Not a single one looked inedible. Which was frankly, good in her opinion.
The question took her by surprise, stopping the humming - because she figured she should answer, even if right now she was going what the heck? She turned towards him, spatula still in hand from the transport of baked goods. That look, even if she didn’t know him that well set off alarms. If only she knew for what.
“Sorta,” Sophie said. She didn’t see a reason to answer with anything less then the truth - and she didn’t see a reason to exaggerate either. She had a feeling she’d get called on it. “Like in the shower and-” Oh rats, blush. She coughed. “Like, on occasion. Not very good though. Simon Cowell wouldn’t give me a chance.” A beat. “Or even Randy Jackson.” She gave him a long look. “Why?” Ray let out a disbelieving ‘Pfffft!’ at that. “Please. Randy’s a cool guy- he’d probably think you were hot stuff. ‘Yo dawg, yo, I’m lovin’ your style dawg, it’s got a great beat.’” He snickered a little at his own impression of Randy. He didn’t have a TV right now, but he used to, which included watching American Idol just for kicks. He’d thought about trying out a couple times, but decided against it. He’d be too noticeable, and then he wouldn’t be able to cause havoc wherever he went.
“Anyways. I ask becaauuuuseeee,” he quickly half-jogged over to his guitar case and flipped up the latches that held it shut so he could pull out his guitar- a sleek black thing that was so well polished it reflected the room around them. “I want you to sing with me. Not on film or anything, though we totally could if you wanted. Just, you know. For fun.” His expression was bright and eager, though still completely devious. Then again, he rarely didn’t look at least a little mischievous.
To Ray, after causing massive chaos, music was just about everything. When the wold didn’t make sense, he’d drum out a beat with his hands or pluck out chords on his guitar. Things wouldn’t fix themselves or magically go away- but it was easier to think and understand it. And sharing that passion was incredibly important to him- now that he had the idea, he had to play something with Sophie. They were ohana, and best friends after less then a day together. It just needed to happen. It suddenly seemed like an excellent time to have your mouth full. A hot cookie was picked up and munched into. It helped stop her giggles, somewhat. Because Sophie really wasn’t lying. No reason to. Mainly because she was familiar enough with Ray’s music to know he was reallyreallyreally good. She needed to snap out of it. Now.
She watched him go for the guitar, a sudden sinking feeling taking over her. Oh no. She took another bite of her cookie, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Noooooooooooooooooooooooo. She slowly shook her head - it growing a little faster at the mention of on video. Sophie was the photographer she never allowed herself to go on camera. Unfortunately she kept chewing and that meant nothing else in her mouth keeping her from saying anything. Rats.
“Ray...I’m really not good. Nowhere near as you. And I’m not looking for a compliment or anything, like my aunt always thinks I am. Not a good idea.” Her foot went up to scratch at the back of her leg awkwardly, wishing this wasn’t such. Because well, she wouldn’t mind hearing him but she didn’t know how to say that. Beyond what she’s already said. “Oh, come oooonnnn,” he said in a wheedling voice. He made his eyes go big and sad, sticking out his lower lip just a smidgen. “I don’t care about that! I just want you to sing with me! Pleeeease?” And it was true- he didn’t care how good or bad she was. It wasn’t the quality that mattered to him at the moment. It was simply a matter of wanting to share the music with his best friend.
As he spoke, he lifted the guitar strap over his head and settled it on his shoulder, getting prepared to play something. Because she was going to sing with him. “I’ll be your personal Paula Abdul, even!” Grinning wildly in a way that didn’t match the breathy, falsetto voice he started using, he began impersonating the female Idol judge. “You have... Such a beautiful soul. It just... Oh. It shines out of you like the sun. And your outfit is amazing. And your hair. Completely amazing. But anyways, don’t let anything get you down, honey. You just keep WORKIN’ IT.” He lifted his hands into the air in a mimicry of Paula’s so called dancing. “You work it, girlfriend!” Sophie couldn’t say his face had a sad puppy expression, but there was a trace of alien in there. And while she was pretty immune to dogs, she didn’t do so well with alien experiments. Aghhhhhhhh. “You’ll want to cover your ears,” she said, taking a seat next to him. Because as he put the guitar on, she knew this was futile. Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap.
However, once he started off with more American Idol cracks, Sophie’s freaking out was forgotten. She covered her mouth, unable to stop the laughter. As he went on, she had to lean back. It was just so ridiculous and dead on. It erased all of her earlier protests, leaving her about to roll on the floor in laughter. “Stop - I -” she barely managed to get out through the guffaws “Bet you I wooooon’t~” He told her in a sing song voice, doing a mental fist pump in victory as she sat down next to him. Haha! He’d definitely won this round, no mistake. He knew that kind of tone- it was the sweet sound of resigning oneself to the inevitable. If it weren’t for the fact that he was pretty sure it wouldn’t have gone over well, he might have let out another one of his evil chuckles.
Sophie’s laughter only prompted his grin to spread even wider and for him to continue doing exactly what he was doing. “Good for you honey. Getting up on stage like this! It takes COURAGE. And you are just... So brave,” and here he dabbed at imaginary tears, sniffling as he did so for extra effect. You just follow your dream. You grab on tight, and you don’t let go!” He reached over and grabbed one of her hands in both of his, clasping it tightly. “You never let go. Never let go like Rose never let go of Jack. Except for the part where she did.” He dropped his voice back to normal. “Maybe that wasn’t such a good example. BUT! I insist you hold on to those dreams, regardless!” “You will,” she feebly protested. Her argument was just looking weirder. Gah. You’re being a little ridiculous, Lilo sniffed. ‘If I am, I deserve to be. Sorta.’ It was a good thing he wasn’t smirking or laughing at her. She’d be up in an instant. The cookies had been good, crispy and all.
Oh by then she was rolling. Her giggles rose. How the heck was he able to keep a straight face. “Stop! Seriously- Ray, you’re killing me.” And he was fake crying, leading to another round of laughter. She gave his hand an unconscious squeeze, still in the throes of it. “Leo’s not pretty enough to hold on to.” “No I most definitely, with absolute and complete certainty, can tell you that I assuredly will do no such thing.” He had no idea why she was protesting so much, but there was no way he was going to give this one up either. It was an option of victory or victory. Personally, he chose victory.
It was only after he dropped the act that Ray finally let himself laugh with her, his head thrown back and his shoulders shaking with it. He honestly didn’t think his impression was all that amusing- it was more her laughing that was setting him off then anything else. He squeezed her hand back just as tightly as he tried to catch his breath a little. “On that, I do believe we are agreed,” he managed to gasp between his chuckles.
It took him a little more time to catch is breath, but once he had calmed down some he began to tune his guitar by ear. “Sooooo, you like musicals?” He asked her as he plucked on the D string, tweaking at the peg to make it a bit less flat. An eyebrow rose and she somewhat failed in giving him a serious, skeptical look. “You promise?” A pinky went out. She wasn’t quite sure why she was stressing it this much either, but she might as well stress it the whole way. All or nothing.
While there’d been no embarrassment in the eruption of giggles, there was no denying that it felt right to be laughing there with him. Like maybe, this was how it was supposed to be. Well, more then maybe, she thought as she released his hand to wipe at the tears that leaked from her eyes. It was. She couldn’t quite get over that.
Taking a deep breath, Sophie nodded. “Yeah. Generally the older stuff though. Because I can’t keep up with the other stuff.” She tilted her head, watching him continue tuning. “Whyyyyyyyyy?” The corners of Ray’s lips twitched a little with amusement, but otherwise he didn’t act as though the pinky promise was anything unusual. There was no hesitation as he wrapped his pinky around hers, though there was still a somewhat amused smirk on his face. “Promise. Like I said- I’m your Paula today.” He couldn’t help but wonder why she was so insistent that her singing was awful- he seriously doubted she was as bad as she was making herself out to be.
With his hands free again, he let them drift back to rest on his guitar, automatically fitting themselves for the first chord that he intended to play. “Oh good! Because that’s the sort of thing I’ve got in mind.” He plucked out a couple of the first chords, still not really thinking about it. “You wouldn’t happen to know a little diddy called ‘You’re the Top?’” Pluck, pluck pluck, he outlined the chords quietly, one note at a time. It shouldn’t have been useful. Breaking a pinky promise was akin to an oath on the bible. Very serious. Sophie didn’t ask for them willy nilly. “Good,” she said, though she did sound a little unsure still. Not quite able to shake it.
She watched him begin away, lips turning downwards as he went on. The tune didn’t quite register until he mentioned it. Huh. Oh. “I do,” she said, with a hint of delight. “Cole Porter. Good stuff. Fun.” Mainly because a lot of his works went into movies. She waited for the lead in, not really wanting to do the quotes prior. Nah, better to just sing in. Once he reached the proper cue she winced, cleared her throat and leaned forward.
“At words poetic, I'm so pathetic that I always have found it best - instead of getting ‘em off my chest, to let ‘em rest unexpressed.” Her voice was as she said, nothing grand and nothing that was really pleasant either. Untrained and nothing approaching unique. But the realness of the lyrics and irony did help. Emotion was key, even if Sophie wasn’t aware of it as she poked his shoulder. “I hate parading my serenading as I'll probably miss a bar! But if this ditty is not so pretty, but least it'll tell you how great you are...”
She set back, one hand to go on her knee while the other gestured. “You're the top! You're the Colosseum. You're the top! You're the Louvre Museum.” She mimed playing the violin, before going on, “You're a melody from a symphony by Strauss!” And then miming tying a hat in place. “You're a Bendel bonnet-” A hand went to her heart, “A Shakespeare sonnet-” Quickly she mimed the ears. “You're Mickey Mouse!” It was difficult to not laugh there and she went on. “You're the Nile, you're the Tower of Pisa. You're the smile on the Mona Lisa.” Another big breath before she got the last words out in a rush.
“I'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop. But if, baby, I'm the bottom you're the top!” Okay- so he’d admit it- she wasn’t the best singer in the world. But she certainly wasn’t the worst singer he’d ever heard either. Not by a long shot. Besides, they weren’t having some sort of singing contest; it honestly didn’t matter to him right now that she wasn’t some sort of singing protege. It was just the whole having fun part he was really concerned with. He laughed quietly as she did hand gesture after hand gesture, and it made him wish he had the opportunity to do the same. Sadly, his hands were a bit occupied playing the the music. Next time, though, he’d get some karaoke music.
“Your words poetic are not pathetic,” he sang, leaning his head towards her and raising his eyebrows. “On the other hand, babe, you shine! And I can feel after every line a thrill divine down my spine.” He shuffled his shoulders to mime the concept as best he could. “Now gifted humans like Vincent Youmans might think your song is bad.” And here a disgusted face was made to mock such ‘gifted humans.’ “But I got a notion- I’ll second the motion! And this is what I’m going to add;
“You’re the top! You’re Mahatma Gandhi. You’re the top! You’re Napoleon Brandy! You’re the purple light of a summer night in Spain. You’re the National Gallery, you’re Garbo’s salary, you’re cellophane!” Without any hands to use to gesture and emphasise, he decided to kick out his foot, leaning back into the couch to keep from losing balance. “You’re turkey dinner, you’re the time- the time of a Derby winner!”
He pulled a dramatically sad face, tipping back his face in a woeful fashion. “I’m a toy balloon that is fated soon to pop-” and then he turned to her with a smile- “But if, baby, I’m the bottom, you’re the top!” So he didn’t cringe the minute she sang which was good. It was enough to get her to relax, singing easily. When it was his turn though, she was floored. It was one thing to listen to someone through a youtube homemade video. Live? Personally? It was a whole different experience. If she hadn’t been seated, she’d have to sit down - alright, exaggerating a little. But Sophie could only listen at first, so caught up in the sound was she.
By the time it was her turn to sing again, she was fighting back giggles. “You’re the top! You're an arrow collar! You're the top!” Sophie mimed holding up a coin. “You're a Coolidge dollar-” She wiggled her toes, kicking back “You're the nimble tread of the feet of Fred Astaire! You're an O'Neill drama-” Ray hadn’t even noticed Sophie’s admiration- he was too busy singing his heart out and strumming at nylon strings and just having a blast. He’d sung duets before- loads of them, really. But none of them had ever meant so much to him before.
“You’re Whistler’s mama!” he crowed, leaning forward as he tapped his heel on the old wooden floor. They sang on, trading lines like ...something really easily traded. Sophie didn’t really care. They were laughing and singing away and nothing else really mattered. By the time the song finished she had to fall back into the couch’s cushions again. A shared glance was enough before Sophie did the honors. Making sure to dodge his guitar, she launched herself at him giving a giant hug. Everything was going to work out now. Everything was fine. Best birthday, in her opinion, ever.