Disclaimer : I don't own ROTG, or Shilelagh Law, or Seamus Kennedy, or Hunter Mountain Irish Festival, or New York, or... I think you get the jist.
Jack Frost was bored. It was the end of Summer in New York, and it was a chilly Saturday day. Jack decided to head up to Hunter Mountain, knowing there was a festival or something. He assumed not many people would be there, considering it was so high in altitude.
He was wrong. People swarmed around the festival, buying things and laughing. Jack perched atop the roof of a hotel lodge and stared.
"What are you doing on the roof?" A boy asked, crouching next to him and scaring him half to death. He had short, fiery ginger hair that was buzzed on the sides. His eyes were greenish blue and twinkled with mirth. He reminded Jack of a Leprechaun with the freckles splattered along his cheekbones and nose. His outfit was simple, black jeans, a dark green shirt, and tap shoes. Then Jack realized something.
"Wait, you can see me?" He said. He chuckled.
"Of course I can. I'm a spirit too, so don't get your hopes up. What are you doing at the Irish Festival?" He asked.
"So that's what it is." Jack muttered. "Who are you?"
"Seamus O'reiley. Nice to meet ya, Jack." Seamus said, extending a hand for him to shake. Jack shook it politely and eyed the other spirit curiously. "So..."
"Ya seem bored. You should stick around. They have an bag pipe rock band at 6:15." Seamus said, pointing to a large white tent. Jack laughed.
"A bag pipe rock band?" Jack repeated.
"They're a funny bunch. So, what do you say? There are fireworks at 10." Seamus said, holding out his hand to pull Jack up. Jack smiled and took his hand.
"Deal."
Thus Jack and Seamus spent the day running around, looking at knickknacks here and there, eating crepes from the stand, and listening to the bands.
"It's 6:15! They're starting!" Seamus exclaimed, grabbing Jack's hand and pulling him towards the main tent. Jack blushed slightly at the contact but ignored the flustered feeling. Seamus pulled him to a clearing towards the back of the open tent and let go of Jack's hand.
They spent the next hour listening to the band, laughing at some of the song selections and bouncing on their heels to se of the songs.
It was the second to last song. They played 'God Bless America'. Seamus closed his eyes and smiled slightly, taking in the powerful sounds of the bag pipe and the drums. Jack watched Seamus sway slightly to the melody, and smiled, leaning against his staff. He felt oddly calm around the light-footed Irish spirit.
Seamus cheered the band as they readied for the next song. Seamus grinned at Jack, who smiled back.
"See? I told you they were awesome!" Seamus laughed.
"They're amazing." Jack chuckled. They looked to the stage as they began the final song.
"Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world! Took the midnight train going anywhere!" the crowd bellowed. Seamus beamed.
"Just a city boy! Born an' raised in South Detroit! Took the midnight train going anywhere!" Seamus sang along, bouncing on the balls of his feet and smiling. Jack had to admit to himself, he had a nice voice. He zoned out slightly, watching the other boy with a small smile.
"Hey, you alright?" Seamus asked, placing a hand on Jack's shoulder and smiling in amusement. Jack snapped out of his trance and shook his head clear of thought.
"Mhmm." Jack said, blinking rapidly to pull himself back. He noticed that the tent had cleared out a lot.
"Alright, the step dancers are next. They go until 8. Interested?" Seamus asked. Jack agreed and they moved closer. They watched with interest as the girls and boys pounded melodies into the ground with elegant, graceful steps. They announced a song that they called the 'Spirit and the Girl'.
"What?" Jack asked Seamus. But Seamus had slipped onto the dance floor and sent Jack a grin before the music started. A girl in gold and black entered and to the watchers, it would look like she was dancing alone. But Jack saw Seamus dance, and he was breathless in amazement.
"Whoa..." He said. Seamus and the girl danced, clacking along the wooden platform with fluid kicks and stomps. Jack could see why it was called the 'Spirit and the Girl'. Without knowing it, the girl matched Seamus's movements exactly. They were imperfect unison.
The dance came to an end and Seamus weaved his way back to Jack, face heated from moving around so much.
"What'd you think?" He asked.
"You were... Wow..." Jack managed to say. Seamus grinned.
"Thanks." he said. "C'mon, Seamus Kennedy is playing in the bar."
"I want to start of with a nice happy Irish song about death." The singer announced, grinning. The crowd, drunk, laughed and cheered. Seamus and Jack stole a window ledge and watched the singer with grins. "A song called Finnegan's Wake. And what I need you to do in this song is, when we come to the chorus, I want you all to clap along in time to the music. Then stop when I stop, 'Kay?
"Tim Finnegan lived in Watling St., a gentleman Irish mighty odd, He had a brogue both rich and sweet, and to rise in the world he carried a hod. Tim had a sort of a tippler's way, with a love for the liquor poor Tim was born To help him on his work each day, he'd a drop of the craytur every morn.
"Whack fol-de-da now, dance to your partners, welt the floor, yer trotters shake, Wasn't it the truth I told ye, lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake.
"Ah! That's when you're supposed to stop!" Stage Seamus chided when the crowd didn't stop in time. "'Kay, what were going' to do to make sure you all stop at the same time, whoever keeps clapping after everybody else has stopped, has to buy a round of drinks for the people he or she is with.
"Okay, and we don't want anybody cheating an' not clapping. This is an Irish pub, not a Scottish one." there were roars of laughter. Seamus looked to Jack and smirked. "Oh, there are Scottish people here! I know why you're here! It's cause ya found out it was free.
"One morning Tim was rather full, his head felt heavy which made him shake, Fell off a ladder and he broke his skull, and they carried him home his corpse to wake, They wrapped him up in a nice clean sheet and laid him out upon the bed, With a barrel of whiskey at his feet and a bucket of porter at his head.
"Whack fol-de-da now, dance to your partners, welt the floor, yer trotters shake, Wasn't it the truth I told ye, lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake.
"Ah!" Stage Seamus exclaimed upon hearing some still clapping. Meanwhile, Seamus Seamus looked to Jack and laughed.
"You kept clapping. Go get me a Guinness." He said. Jack stated at him.
"You're kidding."
"You heard the rules!" Seamus said. Jack rolled his eyes and got up, flying over people and stealing a can of Guinness from the bar fridge. He sat next to Seamus and handed it over, missing a verse in the process. Seamus opened the can and took a swig.
"How old ARE you?" Jack asked.
"About... 293. You?"
"288." Jack said. Seamus took another sip, smirking.
"Then Molly Malone takes up the job; 'Ah Biddy' says she, 'you're wrong I'm sure.' Biddy fetched her a belt in the gob that left her sprawling on the floor. Civil war did then engage, woman to woman and man to man, Shillelagh law was all the rage and a row and a ruction soon began.
"Whack fol-de-da now, dance to your partners, welt the floor, yer trotters shake, Wasn't it the truth I told ye, lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake.
"Then Mickey Murphy ducked his head as a bottle of whiskey flew at him, It missed, and landing on the bed, the liquor scattered over Tim. Bedad, he revives, see how he rises; Timothy risin' in the bed, Saying, 'Whirl yer whiskey round like blazes, Be the thunderin' Jaysus d'ye think I'm dead!'
"Whack fol-de-da now, dance to your partners, welt the floor, yer trotters shake, Wasn't it the truth I told ye, lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake.
"Whack fol-de-da now, dance to your partners, welt the floor, yer trotters shake, Wasn't it the truth I told ye, lots of fun at Finnegan's Wake."
"Woooo!" Seamus cheered, applauding along with the crowd. They listened through 'The Rattlin' Bog', 'The Unicorn' (which Seamus had to teach the dance to Jack), 'The Dunnes' Song', 'Waltzing with Bears', 'The Wild Rover', 'Monkey Farts', and 'Danny Boy'.
It was 'The Black Velvet Band', and only then did Jack realize in what position Seamus and he were in. Seamus was leaning against the wall, and Jack was leaning against Seamus's chest, sitting between his legs. Jack flushed, mentally kicking himself for not realizing sooner. How does someone miss that?! But instead of freaking out and flying away, Jack merely smiled and decided not to give a crap. He rested his ear on Seamus's chest and listened to him hum along. He felt a lump under the cloth of his shirt and poked at it.
"What's that?" Jack asked. Seamus pulled a necklace out from under his shirt and showed it to Jack. It was a celtic knot, intricately woven together. Jack smiled and leaned back against Seamus's chest, closing his eyes. "I like it."
"Thanks."
"So, Shilelagh Law?!" Jack yelled over the music. They were back in the main tent and Jack was half surprised that there wasn't a mosh pit with all the crazed energy zinging around.
"Aren't they great?!" Seamus yelled. Jack laughed. They decided to wander around a bit, being able to hear the music from across the grounds. They could talk normally now since it was much quieter.
"So you just stay around Hunter Mountain?" Jack asked. Seamus shook his head.
"Nah, I usually hang around New Paltz. I wander wherever I want a lot. I have a lot of free time, y'know?" Seamus said, kicking a rock as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. Jack nodded. "Where do you tend to stay?"
"Burgess, Pennsylvania." Jack admitted. Seamus smiled.
"How come?"
"I woke up as a spirit in a lake in Burgess. It's like home to me." Jack said. Seamus nudged Jack with his shoulder with a playful smile.
"Yeah, just stop sounding so sad. You're at a damn Irish Festival!" Seamus said. Jack chuckled and nudged him back. Suddenly, Seamus gasped and shot off to Jack's right. "Ooo! Hats!"
"You're kidding!" Jack laughed, amused at seeing Seamus stuffing a hat on his head. He turned around to Jack with jazz hands and a duck-face.
"How do I look?" He said. Jack lost it and nearly fell over laughing, leaning heavily on his staff. Seamus was almost crying with laughter, leaning on the wall and clutching his stomach. Eventually, they calmed down and Seamus put the hat back with a happy sigh.
"C'mon, let's head back. It's almost 10, and I know the best spot."
"A giant wooden chair?" Jack said, smirking as he leaned against the huge arm rest. Seamus popped a piece of kettle corn into his mouth and shrugged.
"Don't judge me, this is the best you're going to get." He said, standing and leaning on the back of the chair, resting his chin on the edge. The first firework went off and Jack gaped.
"Whoa..."
"Ever seen fireworks before?" Seamus asked. Jack merely remained silent, watching the sky with awe at the loud flashes and bangs. Sure, he had seen them before but not as close or clear as now. Jack moved to stand next to Seamus, resting his chin against the wood and sighing happily. Seamus watched him with a smile.
"The finale." Seamus explained as a cacophony of color and noise took up the sky. Jack nodded, too wonderstruck to answer. The last firework faded of round one, and Jack beamed at Seamus, who smiled before noticing something. "Your staff..."
"Shoot." Jack said. His staff had fallen through the sides and now rested on the ground. He jumped down to get, then stood and gasped. A few kids were running at him. Suddenly, Seamus pulled him out of the way, pressing him against the gargantuan chair. The kids rocketed past, brushing Seamus as they ran past he cringed.
"Watch out!" Seamus chided, still gripping Jack's waist. Their eyes locked and neither could look away.
"I..."
"You could've gotten... Hurt..." The second round of fireworks started up, but even Jack didn't look. Seamus leaned down and met their lips. Jack responded gladly. Jack didn't need to see the fireworks, because he had found his own.