ax_main | Gilmore, Vex, Vax, and Percy: Twin Birthday

Gilmore celebrates Vax and Vex's birthday by accepting a dare from Vex, nearly but not quite robbing a cigar store with Vax, and getting Percy to dance with him. Three logs for the click of one!

After a celebratory birthday shot Vex turned to her first potential dance partner. Gilmore was beside her, so she took his hand and requested, "Dance with me, darling?"

Gilmore bowed over her hand. "I would be honored. But I must inquire, do you want your gift now, or after dancing?"

“Gift?” She beamed at him. “Well now I’m curious. First for sure.”

"You know, I had a feeling you were going to say that," Gilmore teased, with a quick wink and a sparkling little gesture of one finger. From one of his pockets he produced a small velvet drawstring bag, and offered it over to Vex. Then he did his best not to look too hopeful, or anticipatory.

Inside was a lightweight, stainless steel charm, easily resting in one's palm, in the shape of two stylized capital letters 'V' intertwined. The forward 'V' took the shape of leaves and vines wrapped around branches, while the 'V' behind seemed formed out of two silvery feathers. The piece was finished off with a little loop on one end, just the right size to hang from a necklace, a keychain, a satchel, or just about anywhere that needed a little shiny decoration.

Vex caressed the metal. “Shaun, this is beautiful.” She leaned and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you. I love it.”

Gilmore accepted that kiss like the blessing it was. He smiled, glancing down at the ground in a private moment of pleasure in the middle of the excess and music and chaos. "You are very welcome. Your brother's is the reflection, of course." His glance slipped briefly toward Vax for a beat or two. Lingered there. Drew back to Vex almost with difficulty.

Nine Hells, he hoped he wasn't too terribly obvious.

Vex smiled fondly. She suspected Gilmore was another lost cause when it came to beautiful boys that were too good to be true for her. He'd make another gentleman extremely happy one day, if she was guessing right. She glanced from Gilmore to her brother and then she slid the gift into the bag at her hip. "I will cherish this forever. And I suspect we will cherish you for just as long." She took Gilmore's hand.

Though Gilmore was a natural showman, honest emotion and warmth took him a little off-guard. His laugh was just on the nervous side of natural, but he squeezed Vex's hand in return. "You... all have been each other's family," he said more sincerely, which meant it was somewhat harder to hear in the noise of the club. "I'm honored to be considered a part of it."

“Just wait until you get the matching tattoo.” She tugged Gilmore closer. “Now dance with me you magnificent man.”

"... there's a tattoo?" Gilmore's laughing question was lost in the sound of the music, and he melted into a grin, letting Vex pull him along. He was here to dance, after all, and it really didn't matter if his partner was a lady or a gentleman. Gilmore just liked to move, to sparkle and shine under the glitter and sweat of a dance floor.

Vex winked. She didn’t have much opportunity to dance in a crowded setting like this, but she loved a good party. It was too crowded to worry about fitting in. When there was no room audible room for conversation, social barriers came down fast. There was only the motion, the light, and the joy of a good partner. Gilmore set the bar high, and Vex loved the challenge.

Dancing in a club wasn't something you had to be particularly good at, as long as you moved vaguely with the beat and didn't flail into anyone. Gilmore was expert at that, at least, and he had an energy and enthusiasm for it that made up for close quarters and simple moves. He grinned at Vex, and offered to spin her a time or two, just to show off.

She laughed and spun close, letting other people move out of their way. On another tight pull in she pressed closer to Gilmore so she could tuck her lips by his ear, saying over the music, “I dare you to dance with Vax like this. Or Percy. One of them will let you spin them.”

"You do know they're seeing each other," Gilmore laughed, very comfortable dancing with Vex close, hand in hand, or otherwise. He was keeping half an eye on the rest of the crowd, to make sure no one that Vex didn't want came too close. "Even if we're all drunk, I respect that. Hells, especially drunk."

“I’m very aware,” Vex answered. Fortunately, she was barely buzzed yet, and the tone came out more amused than wry. “A dance between friends would hardly be amiss.” She squeezed Gilmore’s hands and tugged him this time, pulling him into a less artful spin. “Unless I am poking a sore subject, in which case I apologize.”

Gilmore twirled about, then swept Vex up again. "As if I haven't poked it enough myself. I'm grown enough to manage my feelings on my own. Promise. Now if I'm going to make the boys look fabulous on the dance floor, you have to be watching, agreed?"

Vax slid her arms around his neck and laughed warmly as she swayed close. “Promise I will. This I need to see.”

*****

Dance clubs tended to be loud, but even this place was no match for Shaun Gilmore when he decided to make himself heard. "Daniel Edmund!" he boomed enthusiastically, strolling up to Vax with his arms open wide. (Shaun Gilmore was also a hugger, but he didn't force them.) "Happy goddamned birthday!"

The evening - entire day, really - had been a whirlwind. From the presents from Percy to the club, to the surprises waiting for them there, Vax was having trouble absorbing any of it. At least the music and the club had helped to numb him - dull his emotions just enough so as not to completely lose it at seeing his old friends. That had been a good thing, really. He'd lose it later. Hopefully in some shadow far away from them. There was only so much happiness he thought himself deserving of, and Percy had delivered far more than he could really parse at once.

But, when he turned upon hearing his fake name from lips that could only be Shaun Gilmore's, his grin was real, arms opening to haul the other teen in for a rough hug. (Alcohol helped in that area too.) "You fucker. Were you in on this?"

Gilmore squeezed Vax as tight as he dared, the clapped him on the back and let him go. "Only in so far as I knew about it before you did by being invited. Percy deserves all honors for planning and execution. He has a number of unexpected and highly useful skills, your brilliant man does." There was a touch of envious admiration in his voice, though as per usual, Gilmore didn't know which of the pair he envied more.

"I have something for you," Shaun went on, temptingly. "Do you want it now, or... later?"

Vax detected a brief note of jealousy in Shaun's comment, though he oddly wasn't sure if Gilmore was jealous of him or for him. In either case, he felt like he needed to address it - but in a much more private setting than the loud thrum of the club. "Now," he told his friend, then held out a hand in offer. "Come with me?"

Shaun took Vax's hand readily, but lightly. It was exhausting to calculate every movement for the precise degree of friendly warmth he could exhibit without falling over into creepy territory, but the sum of this equation was something that he wanted. This friendship, this sense of family. Not just Vax and not just Percy, but Vex'ahlia and the entire group that loved these boys he'd decided to sort of adopt. Or, rather, they'd seemingly decided to adopt him. They were worth the small price of squashing a crush on a couple of guys.

Vax squeezed his hand for a moment, and then turned and tugged. Like stepping through a slick, heavy veil, they moved from the club to merge with the darkness surrounding it, slipping and tumbling around corners and beneath doorways, always on the edge of light, until finally the veil parted. There, Vax led him into what seemed to be an abandoned cigar shop nearby, the aroma immediately breaking over both of them as they stepped into the posh, moonlit interior.

Gilmore inhaled deeply and blinked around at their new surroundings. The scent was like heaven and sex and something he shouldn’t be doing. His hand stayed tight around Vax’s.

“Jesus, Vax’ildan,” he breathed, steadying himself. “That was... intense. My mutation does emphatically not feel like... that.”

"What does it feel like, then?" Vax asked curiously, keeping hold of Gilmore until he felt like he was a bit more steady on his feet.
Having never needed to explain it, Gilmore groped for the words at first. “It’s... it’s really new to me, first of all. It really just started this spring. When I look at or touch something, something mechanical or material I mean, it’s like knowing how to breathe or drink water. I know how things go together. It’s so simple I don’t have to think about it.”

He paused, then pointed to one of the cigar cases. “That humidor is electronically locked And connected to a panel under the front register. There’s a number pad so it’s probably a code lock.” After speaking for a minute or so, Shaun looked a good deal more sure of himself again.

"No shit," Vax breathed, letting go of Shaun's hand to drift toward the humidor. Then he glanced over his shoulder. "But you don't know the code used?"

"Somehow I predicted that would be your next question. Maybe I'm psychic, too," Gilmore joked lightly. "No, sorry. If I studied it for awhile, I might be able to tell which keys were pressed more frequently, but not the order. That's wetware -- human knowledge, I mean."

"SMH," Vax lamented, but turned back to his friend with a slight smile. "No cigars, then. Should have brought the alcohol."

Shaun choked on a laugh at Vax's vocalization of the abbreviation, propping a hand on his hip so he didn't actually double over laughing. "Come here and take your present, and you can get us both back to the alcohol before your boyfriend misses us," he suggested. A little velvet bag was produced from one pocket, and offered out to Vax.

Inside was a lightweight, stainless steel charm, easily resting in one's palm, in the shape of two stylized capital letters 'V' intertwined. The forward 'V' took the form of two silvery features, while the 'V' behind seemed shaped from leaves and vines wrapped around branches. The piece was finished off with a little loop on one end, just the right size to hang from a necklace, a keychain, a satchel, or just about anywhere that needed a little shiny decoration. "This," Gilmore explained, "is not something available in my storefront."

Vax stilled at the sight of the charm, staring at all of the details in the center of his palm, wide-eyed with awe. "Shaun," he breathed out quietly, then found himself too stunned to say anything else as he looked up and met his gaze.

Gilmore almost wished Vax wouldn't look at him like that... but not enough to tell him to stop. He clasped his hands behind his back, and grinned crookedly, meeting Vax's eyes in return. "If I had more time, I would have figured out a hidden compartment or... I don't know. I'm used to making things more pretty than useful. I..." He was not exactly babbling, but more like using words to shore up his defenses against Vax's vulnerable eyes. "Vex has the inverse, of course."

Stepping forward, Vax closed the charm in his hand and wrapped his arms around the other teen in a warm hug. "I've never owned anything this gorgeous in my life. Thank you."

That had not been the response Shaun had been expecting. Well, maybe hoping for, but not expecting. A startled little gasp caught in his throat, but he enveloped Vax in his arms and squeezed him tight. It was everything he could do not to bury his face or his hands in Vax's hair. "You are very welcome. Really, this only makes me want to create more gorgeous things to adorn you."

Mental alarm bells went off again, and Vax took a deep breath as he slowly untangled himself. "Not that I would mind that, but maybe we should talk."

"Ah." Gilmore stepped back, glancing down briefly. "Of course. We can talk about whatever you want." But he knew the subject of this conversation already. He hadn't drawn the line between affectionate friend and obvious guy who has a crush on you as well as he'd thought.

"I care about you," Vax told him, no holds barred. "A shit ton. More than I should, I guess. But I. I think I...love Percival."

Gilmore smiled to hear that, an honest and genuine smile. "Seeing the two of you together, I'm not surprised. Vax, if I've made you uncomfortable... that is the last thing I would ever want to do."

"No," Vax told him, sighing out. "No, you are...amazing."

Well, Gilmore didn't really want to argue with that. "Vax, I respect your relationship with Percy. I have from the beginning. If I've been too familiar, I apologize. You're both pretty irresistible, and..." He almost laughed. "I have really poor self-control sometimes."

Vax's eyebrows lifted. "Both?"

"Surely you're not going to argue that point." Shaun spread his hands. "You're in love with Percy for a reason, and you're not the only one who sees those reasons -- no matter what he thinks."

"I feel like I'm supposed to be jealous here," Vax blinked. "But you make a valid point."

Vax looked so stunned that Gilmore couldn't help but laugh -- though he muffled it behind his hand. His eyes were still glittering with amusement, though. "Anyway. I hope you don't mind that I continue to admire the hell out of you and your boyfriend, and trust that I can do it in a way that does not require regular, serious talks. I am abysmal at serious talks."

"Well, I admit, I'm fond of you for other reasons, so we can lay off the talks, hm? Then again, you're clearly not well-versed in breaking into humidors, either," Vax teased.

"Give me five minutes' warning next time, and I'll invent something to get you those cigars," Gilmore promised. Really, it was almost a challenge. He offered out his hand. "Back to the party?"

Vax squeezed his hand and nodded. And, as they slipped into the shadow, he sneaked a quick brush of lips to Gilmore's cheek and a quiet, "Thanks, Shaun."

*****

Shaun Gilmore was having a hell of a good time. He didn't drink often -- he was often too busy and his friends in San Francisco hadn't been that interested -- so he'd never really given thought to the idea that his well-trimmed goatee and general aura of self-confidence made him seem a little older than he actually was. Or, at least, believably older enough under dim club lights. Also, his ID was excellent, and he needed to thank its creator.

With a drink in each hand, held up above the heads of shorter fellow revelers, Gilmore shimmied his way toward Percy. "There you are!" he exclaimed boisterously. "If it isn't my brilliant, clever, and absolutely stunning friend--"

Then he realized he'd completely forgotten the name that Percy had put on his own bogus identification.

Percy looked over at Shaun with a smile. He’d had been watching his friends—His family. Vax, Vex, Keyleth, Grog, and Scanlan… All of them together again and so happy. He’d never thought it possible. But, the interruption was a welcome one. Though new to the group, it was as if he’d been amongst them as long as any of them.

“Freddie,” Percy supplied.

"Freddie!" Gilmore fairly sang, and pressed his extra drink into Percy's hand. "This! This is for you. It's delicious. I forget what it's called. You'll love it." He barely paused for breath as he went on, clapping a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Tonight is glorious, Freddie, thanks to you. I'd like to hug you. Is that a thing? Freddie and Octavio? Do we hug?”

Percy took of the sip of the drink while he considered his answer. Percy was not quite a hugger. He was getting better at casual intimacy, but he still needed a certain degree of comfort for it. Freddie could be a hugger. He could be anything. He, after all, didn’t exist.

“We do, actually,” Percy replied. “Freddy’s parents are embarrassed by how terribly un-English he is.”

“Freddie is a rebel, I see! Come here, you gorgeous genius," Gilmore laughed, and swept Percy up in a hug that very nearly lifted the other young man off his feet. What he lacked in physical strength, he made up for with enthusiasm (like most of his pursuits) and a pure, heartfelt affection.

The enthusiasm of the embrace was unexpected and Percy had to quickly compensate to stop himself from sloshing his drink down Shaun's back. He blushed as he stepped back. "Are you having a good time, Shaun?”

"Absolutely," Gilmore enthused, giving Percy some space once he'd let go. Getting permission for one embrace from someone as reserved as Percy felt like a true gift, and he did not want to make his friend uncomfortable. "I am honored just to be invited, truly, though I must admit I'm desperately curious about the surprise guests. You all were friends back in London?"

"Yes," Percy confirmed and he looked over at his found family with a small smile. "We lived together. Stole together. Got each other out of, and into, scrapes." He let out a quiet laugh. "We called ourselves Vox Machina.”

Gilmore took a swig of his drink, and his smile softened and quirked at one corner. "You weren't friends," he corrected his earlier statement, quickly followed by, "You're family.”

Percy made a small sound of confirmation. “We’re family.” He looked back to Shaun, mouth quirking in a wry, amused smile. “A family of assholes, but a family nonetheless.”

"I guess every family has their quirks," Gilmore teased, "but you aren't actually deterring me at all."

As though to prove his point, he opened one hand to Percy with a flourish, one brow quirked in challenge. A quick new beat had taken over the club's music, and it was arcing through Shaun's blood like lightning -- along with the alcohol. "Freddie, darling, may I have this dance?”

Percy had never danced to this kind of music and, normally, that would be enough to deter him, but he was buzzed on good drinks and Vox Machina being (mostly) back together and dancing sounded like an absolutely brilliant idea. They were, after all, at a party. He put his hand in Shaun’s. “Octavio, I’d be honored.”

For a blazingly brilliant moment, Gilmore felt like he’d won the lottery. He tossed back the rest of his drink, abandoned the glass, and spun Percy about to move them out to the dance floor. “Now make sure your boy is watching,” he confided, his grin growing sly, “because I am going to make you look irresistible.”

Percy reflexively glanced around for Vax. He didn’t see him, but that was no surprise. Vax could disappear as skillfully as a magician when he felt like it. “Isn’t that a bit like saying a dandelion will stand out alongside a rose?” he asked with an arch of his eyebrow.

"Percival. Darling, sweet, adorable Percival, if you're trying to liken yourself to a dandelion, I might have to swat you," Gilmore threatened teasingly. He'd already started a steady rock and sway to the music, and nudged Percy to follow. "If the dandelion is me, I'll have to do it twice.”

Percy smirked, but started to move as directed, arms around Shaun’s neck as he swayed in time to the music. “Then I suppose you’ll have to swat me once.”

Gilmore clucked his tongue, and landed a square but very light smack on Percy's thigh, before letting his hand rest on the other boy's waist to sort of, vaguely, halfway lead. If rocking steadily in a sea of people could really be called leading. More, Gilmore felt like he was keeping Percy safe from the press of lesser humanity who hadn't earned the right to touch him. "You really have no idea, do you," he chuckled warmly. "It's charming, Freddy dear, your absolute cluelessness about how lovely you are. I'm not sure I want to try to convince you otherwise."

Surprised by the compliment, it took Percy, color rising on his neck, a beat to quip, "Genetics have done me a good turn." Then, almost admonishing, added, "Just not as well as they have done others. Take the compliment, Shaun. You spend so much time giving them out; you should spend some receiving them as well."

"Well, if you insist," Gilmore laughed. "But only if you can do it without demeaning yourself in the process. Deal?"

And, as if to make sure he got an honest answer out of his friend, Gilmore slid a hand up his back and dipped Percy back and down, perfectly in time to the music. He really hoped Vex (and her wicked dares) was watching that.

Percy was caught off-guard by the sudden dip, but recovered quickly enough to avoid making a fool of himself. His hands shifted to better, and properly, hold onto Shaun and he looked at his smiling face. "I wasn't demeaning myself.”

At no point was Percy in any danger of losing his balance, because Gilmore had a good firm hold on him. "You called yourself a weed!" he laughed, warm and good-natured. "What am I supposed to think?”

“Weeds are tenacious,” Percy replied as Shaun righted them. “Stubborn. They take hold of something and don’t let go.”

Gilmore threw back his head and laughed with delight at that. He draped his arm around Percy’s waist and twirled them around once or twice, grinning. Percy was right, after all. Gilmore himself was well trapped already. “All right, all right, you win. But I reserve the right to call you ‘dandelion’ whenever I want.”

Percy had walked right into that one. He supposed he could suffer through the nickname though if Shaun got such enjoyment out of it. “Fair.”

Now that Percy realized that Shaun’s idea of dancing was more in line with what he had learned, and not what everyone else on the dance floor was doing, he was able to follow along well enough. He’d only ever led before, but he was a quick study. “What, then, do I get to call you?”

Well, Gilmore wasn't about to take Percy's hand and lead him in a box step, but he also wasn't about to grind on a friend he respected. There was a very comfortable place between ballroom propriety and club-floor obscenity that Gilmore occupied well.

"My standard answer to that is: Call me whatever you want, just don't call me before I have my coffee," he chuckled, though it sounded a little forced. How tempting it was to suggest something inappropriately intimate... but he didn't want to push Percy away. Not when he'd just gotten the fellow to relax with him. "Anything you call me in that accent, though, I'm sure I'll come running."

Percy looked amused. "You know, I thought no one could surpass Vex when it came to flirting, but you've proven me wrong." He spun with Shaun, the two of them slipping past a grinding couple.

Gilmore tossed his hair back, looking insufferably pleased. "Let's not tell her that. She's lovely, but I have the feeling a competition would get started that might not ever end." He paused, edged them away from the others getting exceedingly friendly on the dance floor, and then offered, "I ... should stop. Flirting. With you, I mean. It's not how a respectful friend behaves.”

“That’s never stopped Vex,” Percy pointed out, following where Shaun led. “Don’t worry. It’s alright. You mean nothing by it.” Perhaps he should stop, though. He’d never do anything, he could never and would never do that to Vax, but there was no denying he felt some level of attraction (what was it with him and boys who shone like the sun?) which made his flirting not quite harmless.

I mean more than you think, Gilmore suppressed himself from saying. He thought of Vax, and the way that he and Percy looked at each other, and how they had celebrated the reuniting with their chosen family. That was real. Hells, it was damn near perfect, and Gilmore wanted to protect what they had. Besides, Percy trusted him. That meant the world to him.

"I ought to get you back to your man," Gilmore offered with a smile. "If I've done my work as well as I think, he's going to be absolutely pining for you now.”

Percy smirked. “Perhaps I can steal him away to a dark corner for a little bit.”

"With Vax, that dark corner might end up to be three buildings away." Gilmore grinned back at Percy before releasing him. "Go and get your man, Freddie.”

“Thank you for the dance, Shaun. It was a pleasure.” Too much of one, perhaps. Percy smiled at Shaun, though, then tilted his head in a slight bow and left.