Iowa | Monday FT

[pursuedthestars]

It was Jim's birthday.

"And on January 4th, my mother birthed the beautiful, gifted, charming, amazing man you see before you!" Jim shouted while standing on the counter of some bar he'd found. In his hand, he held a drink high, looking out over the patrons of the bar. He knew none of them but he didn't care. "So, on this illustrious day, I say we drink. To me!"

Any excuse to drink seemed to satisfy the denizens of the bar so Jim knocked his shot back and everyone else did too. He raised his fist up in victory before jumping down and getting another drink. He grinned and leaned against the bar, chatting up the nearest pretty girl.

"I think you should sing to me," he told her breezily. "The birthday song. You know it?"

She did and so she sang it. A few people around her joined in, some in drunken, slurring voices and some a little clearer. Jim loved it either way!

"Best birthday ever!"

Spent around strangers. Yeah, he was faking it but he was still having fun.

[NFB but open for all the usual things. Slowing time down a bit in Jim's world to get this post in since I missed it on the exact date. Yay canonical birthdays.]

Comments

[whenshewasnice]

"I'm sorry," Natalie drawled as she pushed herself off her couch, "did my lack of introducing myself throw you off and make you mistake me for someone else? This is Natalie."

[pursuedthestars]

"Oh come on, I know Natalie has an evil streak inside her," Jim told her. "Let it out!"

[whenshewasnice]

"It's Monday evening at the Hegemon's complex," she pointed out. "There's only so much evil that can happen here."

[pursuedthestars]

"You're making excuses," Jim pointed out. "Stop that."

[whenshewasnice]

"I'm being myself." He couldn't argue with that, could he? She padded to her desk. "I've put the notes away," she added, once she had. "Happy?"

[pursuedthestars]

Jim paused and took a drink from his newest glass of whatever colorful liquid someone had bought him.

"You happy?" he asked possibly somewhat out of the blue.

[whenshewasnice]

'Somewhat' out of the blue, yes. Natalie stopped.

"What?"

[pursuedthestars]

"You heard me," Jim said because he knew she had. "Are you?"

[whenshewasnice]

"I don't know." And she was wrinkling her nose at the question, even if her surprise possibly got him something of a more honest answer that might have happened otherwise. "I guess."

[pursuedthestars]

"I guess?" he repeated, frowning. "What's up?"

[whenshewasnice]

The surprise was beginning to wear off. "'Happy' has never been a top choice for a word to describe myself with, Jim," she replied. "There doesn't have to be anything up."

[pursuedthestars]

"Natalie, I'm asking after you," he said patiently. "I still care."

[whenshewasnice]

"I appreciate the sentiment but have no plans to go further on this topic at the present time."

It was Natalie speak for 'please, drop it'.

[pursuedthestars]

"Wow, thanks for that diplomatic non response," Jim said, rolling his eyes. "Whatever, Natalie. You can get your notes back out."

[whenshewasnice]

"Don't be an asshole, Jim," she replied, mildly.

[pursuedthestars]

"I'm not being anything," Jim retorted. "It's what you want to be doing. I'm just letting you get back to it."

[whenshewasnice]

"I hate you." Her petty tone suggested that wasn't entirely – or at all – accurate. "You could've asked me to come over, you know. Instead of this stupidity."

[pursuedthestars]

"You don't get to put this on me," Jim told her, shaking his head. "I'm not taking any blame for caring and asking after your happiness."

[whenshewasnice]

"Can you take some blame for not taking 'there's nothing up' for an answer?" Natalie retorted. "This can't all be on me, either. But I guess not being a happy person is a character flaw."

[pursuedthestars]

"Natalie, goddamn, I was asking about your life, about things that are going on," he told her, rubbing his forehead. "Not just about happiness. But you shut me down so never mind."

[whenshewasnice]

"Jim, what's going on in my life is quite literally what you told me to throw in the trash," she returned, evenly. "You know that. I work. That's the majority of what I do. That's my life. You asked about happiness."

[pursuedthestars]

Jim sighed and just shook his head. "Then, go back to work. Never mind."

[whenshewasnice]

"I don't understand what you want."

What a familiar feeling. It was making her pretty sad, not that she'd acknowledge or admit that.

[pursuedthestars]

"I was trying to talk to you about stuff but you don't wanna do that," Jim told her. "And then you put this stupidity on me for not inviting you here. I'm not a fan of that."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie's tone was a little dry. "Or I was suggesting I miss you and would rather be around you than far away and dealing with sudden personal questions." She wasn't a fan on those. But, ugh. She knew she'd been stupid. She sighed, and her tone shifted to something... vaguely, mildly softer. "Is your night thoroughly ruined yet? Maybe you should get back to it."

Because she hadn't called to ruin anything, promise.