trashchildren | For Joan

"Biggest mystery," she says, considering that. "There's not a lot of cases we haven't solved. We're pretty good at what we do. I think one of the craziest cases I was part of was the one with the severed ear." She pauses for a moment to allow a reaction to that before going forward. "There was a man whose wife disappeared about ten years before. He had been suspected of killing her, but he insisted that he had been contacted by kidnappers and had paid them, but she hadn't been returned. No one believed him. Then he got a package containing an ear and another ransom note."

Both Ted and Keeley react with exclamations to the severed ear. Ted's a pretty good audience, but Keeley is even better, big gasps and everything, while also looking excitedly horrified. They're probably pretty similar in how they actually feel about this sort of thing; exciting to hear about when told like this, properly detached from reality -- would be absolutely horrified to be anywhere remotely involved. Ted really admires the fortitude required for a job like that.

"Oh my God, that's-- Oh, there's Rebecca!" Keeley cuts herself off, sitting up straight to wave at Rebecca entering the club, who starts heading towards the couch when Keeley flags her down.

Ted doesn't realise until she's actually reached them that she's trailed by another tall woman (slightly taller than Ted, and therefore very much taller than Joan, even if it's not as noticeable while they're seated).

"Marlboro Man," she greets Ted with what can only be described as a knowing smile.

"Hey, Sassy Smurf," Ted answers with a surprised smile, that's maybe a touch on the awkward side compared to his usual greetings.

Rebecca seems mildly surprised to see Joan there, but steps in with introductions right away. "Oh, this is Joan Watson. This is my best friend, Flo Collins," she says, though she doesn't add any descriptions to who Joan is.

"Hi. You can call me Flo or Sassy, I don't care which," she says with a friendly smile, offering a handshake to Joan. Keeley seems very excited to have Sassy there too.

Joan smiles when she sees Rebecca. She admires the woman for her independence and fortitude, and she had been grateful for her help in the case, if not quite as much as Ted. Then again, Ted's gratitude is hard for anyone to beat.

Then she sees the woman accompanying Rebecca, and notices the way she looks at Ted. One glance at Ted's awkward smile paints a pretty clear picture for Joan. Ted had told her that he had a one night stand right after his divorce. The sort of awkward energy between them has Joan guessing this is the woman. Joan isn't one to be jealous of past lovers...god knows she has many herself. So she smiles at the woman and shakes her hand.

"Sassy. I like it. It's nice to meet you, Sassy."

"You're singing tonight, right?" Sassy asks, giving Joan an expectant look. "We have far too many dedicated spectators." She points two fingers at her eyes, then at Roy's eyes, who proceeds to roll his. "That goes for you too, Ted," she adds, looking at him.

"Oh yeah, I promise," he answers cheerfully, doing a better job at hiding his awkwardness now he's not so surprised.

He does shoot Joan a quick look, meaning something along the lines of 'I'll explain later', though he wouldn't be terribly surprised if she's already made some deductions, given how observant she is.

"I've said I will participate, yes," Joan says with a self-deprecating smile, knowing she's terrible but being a good sport about it anyway. She catches that look and gives him a slight nod. It might not be enough to convey that she's figured out the relationship, but it definitely conveys that she gets that something's going on and it's okay.

"So, how does this work?" she asks the group. "Do we sign up for slots or something?"

"Uh yeah, there's a list over by the machine," Ted says, gesturing towards it.

"Oh, Boss!" he adds excitedly, gesturing at Rebecca. "'Shallow'? Yes?"

He's giving her such a hopeful look that Rebecca can't deny him. She resists for a moment, then gives up with a "Oh, fine," and a reluctant smile. "But not until I've had a drink."

Ted claps his hands together excitedly. They're spared from being the first ones to perform though, as Sam has apparently already made his way over there, already slightly drunk, and spurred on by Dani, starting strong with 'Wonderwall' to encouraging cheers, as Rebecca and Sassy walk off to get drinks.

It's interesting seeing Ted interact with Rebecca. If she didn't know better, she might have guessed that there was something going on there. But knowing Ted and sort of knowing Rebecca, she's pretty sure it's just Ted being an amazing friend and coaxing Rebecca out of her shell.

That said, there is a slight twinge of jealousy when Ted convinces her to sing a romantic song with him.

Joan signs up for "Material Girl" and returns to the couch.

In Ted's defense, most of the amazing karaoke songs are romantic ones, and Shallow is relatively mild. And Ted is definitely going to sing an equally (if not more) romantic one with Beard, though that one will definitely be more amusing than actually stirring.

When it does come time for Ted and Rebecca to sing, Ted can't help himself, and ends up looking right at Joan as he sings the line "I'm falling." There's only so much subtlety he's capable of, though for most of it they're just playing up the drama of the song. And Rebecca is, of course, amazing.

However, there is definitely a fairly equal amount of decent singers and not-so-great singers, so Joan shouldn't feel alone in that regard. The audience is equally encouraging regarding of skill level, everyone cheering and hooting. And Ted is cheering loudest of all when it's Joan's turn.

Their eyes meet as he sings the line, and for just that split second there's nothing else. No one else. Just this man, those words. And Joan knows, in that moment, that those words are true for her, too. She's fallen for him, completely.

Then the moment is over, and Joan takes a breath, shaking herself a little, and starts clapping and cheering with everyone else.

When it's her turn up there, she's obviously a little nervous. But the crowd is so wonderful and supportive, cheering her on, Ted most of all. She smiles at him, takes a breath, and gives it her absolute all, playing up the lyrics, dancing around the stage. Her voice leaves much to be desired, but by the end she is beaming, and the crowd cheers.

Ted is of course absolutely delighted. Even if she doesn't have the strongest voice, her actual stage presence is impeccable, which is honestly the only thing that matters in karaoke.

He's still beaming right back at her as she returns to the couch, and it takes some extreme willpower for Ted to not reach out for her or physically show his affection. Keeley excitedly offers a high five for Joan as well.

"Holy smokes, lady, you absolutely rocked it," he says excitedly as she sits down next to him.

She enthusiastically gives Keeley a high five, and blows some Marilyn Monroe-style kisses to a few of the players who are still hooting at her. They cheer in response. She sits next to Ted and beams at him, having to keep herself from kissing him. She wants to, so much, but he's been trying so hard to keep the extent of their relationship a secret and she doesn't want to ruin it.

"The crowd definitely helped," she responds. "Especially you."

Ted looks so pleased to hear that he helped her feel comfortable while performing. That's basically his whole ambition in life - encouraging and helping people be their best. And when he gets to do that for someone he really cares about, it's even better.

"I'm glad," he answers, though he probably wouldn't have needed to say anything. He just looks happily at her, until he has to look away and focus on the next performer, just so he won't give in and just kiss her.

"Want another drink?" he offers after a moment, to do something with himself. He leans forward a bit to look past Joan as well. "Keeley? Roy? Drinks?"

They look happily at each other, and Joan is so close to just leaning in and kissing him that she winds up looking away at the same time, just to keep from giving in. She's a little out of breath, her heart fluttering, her cheeks flushed. Good thing the lighting is dim and people are focused on the stage.

When he offers to get drinks she smiles and nods. "That would be great." It would give both of them a moment to catch their breath, steel their resolve.

Edited 2021-06-26 04:34 (UTC)

Ted gets drink orders from Roy and Keeley as well, and heads off to the bar to order.

He does not expect to be joined there by Sassy, though at least he's less awkward about it now. They make some casual banter - she is still a very funny lady, and very easy to talk to.

At least until she casually put a hand on his arm and asks him if he's seeing anyone. He flounders for a moment before telling her that no, he isn't. Then immediately after, he thinks he probably should've said that he was, just not that it was Joan.

She leans in and whispers something in his ear, which makes him blush and flounder even more. Thankfully then the bartender hands him four drinks, and Ted can excuse himself to bring them back to the group.

Joan is cheering and grooving on the next person's rendition of "Don't Stop Believing" when she glances over at the bar in time to see Sassy whispering into Ted's ear, and Ted's awkward reaction. What is she saying to him? What is he saying to her? If she had to guess she'd say the other woman is proposing an encore to the one night stand. And Ted wouldn't say yes, would he? Of course not...but he'd want to be polite, and he wouldn't want to let on that he's seeing Joan, so he might say something non-committal, that won't make it clear that he's not interested in a second go around.

"You all right?"

Keeley's voice breaks Joan out of her reverie, and she realizes she's been sitting there staring. "Yeah. I just...thought I saw someone I knew. It's not him."

"Oh, I hate when that happens," Keeley says sympathetically. "Have I seen this bloke before? Has he seen my tits?"

Joan laughs, grateful for Keeley being Keeley. When Ted returns, Joan takes her drink and pointedly glances toward the bar, then looks back at him and raises her eyebrows.

Ted wishes desperately he could actually have a spoken conversation about this, but as it is, he ends up giving Joan an expression and gesture that's meant to mean something like 'Yeah, I know, don't worry about it'. It's hard to really convey much more than that. And Ted is definitely kind of uncomfortable, but trying not to let anyone else notice that.

It's possible that Ted's discomfort is getting past other people, but Joan definitely notices. Once he's sitting beside her again Joan leans toward him, just a little, pressing her shoulder to his for just a moment.

The guy singing Journey finishes and Joan joins in with the crowd, clapping and cheering.

Ted's applauding and whistling a bit, but it's definitely a little bit muted compared to earlier. He likes Sassy a lot, not romantically but just as a person, so he doesn't like misleading her. And he just really wishes he could talk about this with Joan. And touch her without it being a secret thing, even as he finds her small gesture reassuring.

"You wanna get some air?" he asks her when it's a bit more quiet in between songs.

She can tell all this is bothering him, and she's wondering what they can do to make this better. She doesn't want him to be sad. So when he asks if she wants to get some air she immediately answers in the affirmative. She tells Keeley she'll be right back, and stands, moving to the side of the room and waiting for Ted to join her.

Ted takes a solid drink of the Jack Daniels he ordered for himself, and sets it down before heading over himself. Once he gets outside he takes a nice deep breath of fresh air.

Then he turns to her, and he looks around to make sure no one they know is outside. And then he leans down and gives her a kiss, because he just can't help himself.

Getting some fresh air isn't just a euphemism...it actually is really nice to get a breath of the cooler outside air, and to have the roar of the crowd be barely audible behind the door. But the best thing is definitely being alone at last with Ted and not having to keep herself from touching him, or kissing him.

When he kisses her she sighs against his lips in pleasured relief and wraps her arms around him, holding him tight, kissing him back. When the kiss ends she stays close, arms still around his neck.

"This is hard," she murmurs.

Ted nods in definite agreement at that. He does at least feel immediately better, getting to hold her.

"Yeah, I'm not very good at this sneaking around," he admits sheepishly. Ted doesn't think he could ever cheat on someone from an emotional or moral standpoint, but he also definitely couldn't do it just from the sneakiness and lying that would be involved either.

She feels immediately better, too. She shifts her arms so that they're around his waist instead of his neck, and lays her head against his shoulder.

"I'm not sure I want to keep sneaking around," she says.

Ted smiles. "Well, I just told Sassy that I wasn't seeing anyone, so do you think it'll be awkward if we walk inside holding hands?" he asks jokingly, giving a little chuckle.

Awkwardness or not, he'd actually prefer that. He'll just tell her the truth that they were trying to keep it secret, and she'll understand. Then at least he doesn't have to fend off advances.

She smiles. That's how that went. No wonder he was so uncomfortable. Lying has to be some serious cognitive dissonance for Ted. "It would definitely be awkward," she agrees.

She lifts her head and kisses him again, then pulls back to meet his eyes.

"I want to be with you," she says softly. "Officially. Publicly. Let's do it. Let's be awkward."

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