A/N: Alrighty. In honor of the New Year, I have written this oneshot (that is really more of a long shot as it is over 6,000 words). So yeah, read on! I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I asked Santa for the rights to Total Drama Island and you know what I got? A fucking laptop to write my fanfiction on. I knew that fat bastard wasn't real. XD
Courtney was warm.
It was the kind of warm that traveled through your very bones, making your limbs lax and heavy. The kind of warm that made you smile lazily at everything. The kind of warm that made you giggle randomly and fall right back down the minute you tried to stand up. It was the fluid warmth of a drunk.
Courtney watched listlessly as the others at the party swarmed around the cramped apartment. While she could appreciate all of the effort Geoff put into his parties, in her groggy state of mind she hoped that maybe next time he'd opt for a larger space to hold it in. She laid her head on the arm of the worn beige sofa she had flopped onto about a half an hour ago. Shifting her eyes to an area she had sensed some movement in, she was unsurprised to see the party himself making out with his girlfriend and roommate Bridgette. As usual. There was hardly ever a moment when the two weren't swapping spit.
Courtney giggled drunkenly at her childish analogy. Moving her head on the leathery material of the sofa's arm, she looked at the blocky wooden coffee table her drink rested on. She really wasn't sure what was in it if she was being honest. Of course by now, she didn't really think it mattered. By the time she'd been informed that every drink at the New Year's party was spiked, she'd already downed seven very large glasses of punch. She'd figured then that since she was already well on her way to being tanked, there was really no reason to stop. And hell, at least she was twenty-one now! Remembering that fact, Courtney grinned languidly to herself and reached out with an unsteady hand to grab her glass. It was nearly overflowing with what she now believed to be bourbon. Successfully getting a grip on the side of the thin glass, she slid it across the table towards her.
Due to her position laying down across the sofa, Courtney lifted the glass off of the table at an angle that caused some of it to slosh over the edge. A little disgruntled over losing the liquor, she set the glass back down and wiped her hands on the sofa to dry them off. Determined not to lose anymore of her sweet intoxication she shifted until she was sitting properly on the sofa, the coffee table a few inches away from her knees. She grabbed her glass once more from off of the table but lost her grip due to the alcohol making it slick. Almost immediately after she lifted it the damn glass slipped from her hand. It smashed against the table, shattering with a sharp cracking sound that drew the attention of everyone in the room. The liquid from the destroyed glass formed a shallow pool on the coffee table as Courtney stared dumbly at the mess she'd made.
From the crowd of curious onlookers, three people broke through to approach Courtney. She didn't notice. In her drunken state of mind, the only thing she could focus on were the tiny glass shards glittering around her. It was only when a face suddenly blocked her view of the mess that she was knocked out of her stupor.
Despite having been startled into leaning away at the abruptness, she stared back at the person nonetheless. In the back of her mind, she knew that she should have had a different reaction to what she saw. But as she gazed into the anxious and yet somehow still lethargic looking teal eyes, the only feeling she could muster up was confusion. But then the person spoke, and recognition hit her like a ton of bricks.
"Duncan."
The man under Courtney's gaze grinned at hearing his name fall from her lips. "Damn, Princess," he said softly as Geoff tried to disperse the crowd and Bridgette started to clean up the glass and alcohol, "I only just get here and you're already causing a scene?"
Now normally she would've given him a death glare to raze the very foundation of hell at such a comment, but he wasn't all that surprised when she didn't. It was obvious to someone as experienced as him that she was drunk. About a drink or so away from being completely shit-faced by the look of it.
"I missed you," the former CIT said with a genuinely joyful smile on her face. Still drunk, she hadn't heard a single word that Duncan had just said to her. Her fingers danced lightly all over his face, playing absentmindedly with his nose and eyebrow piercings. They were about to do the same with the piercings adorning his ears when she stopped and leaned back a little to look at him curiously. "Why did you leave, again?"
Duncan chuckled in response to her question. "I had to go and get the rest of my stuff from my parents' house."
"Oh... and why didn't I go with you?"
"Because you didn't know that I was moving to live near you. It was a secret," he ended in a whisper.
"Well, that makes sense."
He couldn't help but chuckle again at her response. He'd been keeping the reasons behind his sudden "trip" from her for days. He had wanted it to be a surprise for her. They had been dating ever since that godforsaken reality show had ended and as they had only lived about two hours driving away from each other it had been relatively easy for them to spend time together. But when Courtney had moved to live at the dorms of her university, that two hours had quadrupled to eight. For almost three years now they'd made due with scattered one week- two if they were lucky- visits with one another. So when he'd heard of a small home a few blocks away from her coming up for rent, he'd jumped at the opportunity to move closer to her. It had been hell keeping it all a secret too. It was just ironic that now that he'd finally told her, she was too drunk to even realize the import of it. He smirked inwardly to himself at the thought.
Her fingers began moving to thread through his hair, breaking him from his mental ruminations. She ruffled the black hairs that had grown longer during his absence so some of them mixed with the spiked green of his faux hawk. "You let it grow out," she commented, smiling.
"Yeah," he replied, gently removing her hands from his hair. He kissed both of them softly before placing them in her lap. "You know, Princess," he said as he stood up again, "I'd love to continue this conversation with you, but with everyone still staring... well, we should probably split."
Much to his amusement, Courtney definitely heard what he'd said then. Her eyes grew wide as she took in the curious stares of the other party goers. A blush of embarrassment darkened the flush that the alcohol had given her high cheekbones. She averted their eyes and instead looked down to see Bridgette still trying to pick all of the tiny glass shards up off of the wooden floor.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry Bridgette!" she apologized in a horrified tone. She tried to slide off of the sofa and onto the couch to help her but as her limbs were still lax from being inebriated, she fell forward and almost banged her head on the coffee table. Luckily, Duncan had managed to grab her by the shoulders before she could come into contact with the potentially brain damaging wood.
"You're really in no state to try and help out here, Princess," he said as he carefully pulled her up onto her feet.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled dejectedly.
Duncan could've sworn that he heard her sniffle after speaking and his eyes widened in horror. 'Oh god,' he thought worriedly, 'please don't let her be an emotional drunk!'
Having had more than enough experience concerning alcohol and its effects, Duncan knew that just about anything could set the waterworks of an emotional drunk to flowing. Not really looking forward to that happening, he grabbed Courtney by one of her wrists and started pulling her towards the door. It was harder than he would've originally thought seeing as her gait was completely off kilter. After shoving through the crowd of people who were only now starting to go back to what they'd been doing before the all the ruckus, Duncan almost tripped on an empty bottle of vodka just lying on the floor. Cursing vehemently, he turned to make sure that his loss of balance hadn't affected his intoxicated princess. And of course, because he was the one who'd almost fallen on his ass she was fine. Shaking his head, he continued to pull her towards the door. His lip curled in mild disgust as he carefully made his way through all of the party debris littering the floor of Geoff and Bridgette's now crumby looking apartment. He was really glad he wouldn't be sticking around to help in the intensive clean-up that would be needed after this New Year's bash.
Duncan stopped in front of the door to the room Geoff and Bridgette had designated for coats. Swinging Courtney forward so that she stood facing him, he warily leaned her against the door before wrapping his free arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. This way she be able to lean against him for support while he looked for their coats. Opening the door he walked in with her and was immediately able to spot his own atop the pile on the bed and grabbed it. He almost screamed in aggravation when his cell phone fell out of the pocket and landed with clunked on the carpet of the bedroom. After setting a mumbling Courtney on a part of the bed that wasn't the resting place for a coat, he bent down and picked the the tiny piece of technology up off the floor.
"Goddamn waste of my money," he muttered angrily, checking the phone for any obvious damage. This was really the last thing he needed. He didn't even have a way to get Courtney back to his place for the night. He'd walked to the party, and it was clear that she was in no state to be walking anywhere except the bathroom to throw up. What a week for his car to be at the shop! But in the midst of slipping his phone back into his coat pocket, he remembered something and suddenly the phone wasn't as useless as it had been a second ago. He grinned to himself before shooting a glance at Courtney. And the grin only grew wider as he thought of how she probably wouldn't remember anything about how she'd gotten to her dorm when she woke up in the morning. Especially not through a hangover. Flipping open the cell phone, he rapidly dialed a number and waited impatiently as it rung one... two... three times before being answered.
"Hey man," he said into the phone, "I'm calling in that favor you owe me."
"Shit," Duncan hissed as he fought to regain his balance once more on the stairs. Of course, the whole venture would've been a hell of a lot easier if the goddamn stairwell to Geoff's second floor apartment had been wider. He'd almost fallen a multitude of times as he carried the still inebriated and murmuring Courtney down the stairs from the party. Bridal style.
'When I finally decide to tell her about this little stunt she had best be damn grateful that I didn't drop her," the delinquent thought with half-hearted anger.
He leaned against the stair railing drilled to the wall as he stumbled on the third stair from the bottom landing. Huffing with mild strain, Duncan made his way down the last few perilous steps without any injury to himself or his princess. Once he was firmly on the worn and stained carpet lining the entrance to the multi-family home he let out a huge sigh of relief. He set Courtney on her feet but gripped her waist tightly when her knees buckled beneath her. Swearing again, he dragged her towards the door, knowing that he needed to get her home as soon as possible.
"Steve better fucking be here," he whispered warningly under his breath. "I swear I'll ki-" he continued as he opened the front door. He cut himself off though when his face broke out into a satisfied smile.
"Steve!"he yelled, waving in mock enthusiasm, "Digging the top hat, dude! And are those spats?"
"Shut the fuck up, Duncan."
Duncan grinned at his friend on the driver's seat of the red horse-drawn sleigh. Said friend then flipped him the bird. Chuckling to himself, he turned and gently pulled a drowsy looking Courtney out into the cold by her waist. The temperature seemed to shock her into gaining a bit of sobriety as she gasped and widened her ebony eyes in surprise.
"Why the fuck is it so cold?"
He threw his head back and gave a shout of laughter at her question. It always struck him as hilarious whenever his "innocent" little girlfriend cussed. "It's because you're outside, Princess," he laughed, "Now come on, we're going for a sleigh ride!"
"A what?!"
"A sleigh ride!" he repeated, grabbing her once more by the waist and dragging her over where Steve and his shiny red "vehicle" awaited them. He was surprised that it didn't look more out of place in the rather rundown part of town that they were in.
"How in the world did you get a sleigh?" she asked incredulously.
"I know a guy," he said, smirking in the direction of his rather pissed off looking friend.
"Would you just get in the goddamn sleigh already? I want to get back in time to see the ball drop," Steve finally said after a few more of Courtney's alcohol fueled questions, many of them the same, only worded differently.
Courtney looked deeply wounded by his words and harsh tone of voice. She looked down at the pavement and sniffled, the liquor in her coursing throughout her circulatory system causing her to overreact once more.
"Way to go, dickweed," Duncan bit out angrily. He hit Steve on the back of the head after he'd finished helping the now demure Courtney up onto the sleigh and got on himself.
"Hey!" The driver shouted indignantly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Just fucking go."
Duncan slumped back against the sleigh's seat and wrapped an arm around his girlfriend. In response she curled her legs up underneath her on her side of the seat and snuggled up to him, one hand and a cheek pressed against his chest.
"Where am I taking you?" Steve called from the driver's seat.
"My place," Duncan called back sharply, still peeved.
"What?! That's like, fucking eight hours away!"
He sighed and palmed his face with his free hand. "I swear Steve, you're as dumb as that idiot Ezekiel..." he murmured before audibly saying, "My new place Steve. You know, the one near the college? Dumb ass."
Steve mumbled something as he snapped the reins of the sleigh to get horses moving, but Duncan ignored him. The sleigh gave lurch and Courtney looked up at him with wide eyes,her face still pillowed against him. He chuckled and lightly stroked her exposed cheek with the back of his hand. She smiled at him before nuzzling his chest.
"Where are we going?" she asked so quietly that Duncan had to strain to hear over the steady rhythm of the horses' trotting.
"You'll see."
She frowned, but it quickly disappeared from her face as she took a look around her. The sleigh was just turning off of Geoff's street and heading toward the center of town, where Duncan's new home was located. And even though she could barely be considered functional or even conscious, he couldn't wait to see her reaction to his place. And for once, someone's opinion was actually going to mean something to him.
His musings were once again interrupted by Courtney when she started humming. Not that he minded. He smiled as she started tapping her finger on his chest along to the tempo of the song she was humming. A loud laugh escaped him when he realized that she was humming "Sleigh Ride" to herself. Steve turned to give him a curious look.
"Hey, watch the damn road, dude," he snapped.
Steve turned back around and snapped the reins once more, setting the horses to a faster pace. The snow covered buildings and homes of the city rushed by at the sleigh's new speed. The dim light emanating from the wrought iron lampposts illuminated the snow in a way that made it look like a billion little crystals scattered on the ground. And in the late night dark, the crystals seemed to make anything its sparkle reached glow. The wind whipped thin tendrils of Courtney's hair around although she didn't seem to notice. She simply kept humming away, letting out the occasional drunken giggle whenever something struck her fogged mind as amusing. He lowered his arm from around her shoulders to her waist. She stopped her humming briefly to smile brightly up at him. Duncan began stroking her hair as she settled back against him and looked out at the wintry city scenery. A sudden shiver ran through her body and he tucked the exposed flap of her coat between them so that no more cold air could get to her.
"Better?" he asked.
She stopped her humming once more. "Yeah!" she said and giggled when he shook his head in amusement.
"Good."
"... Hey Duncan?"
"What is it, Princess?"
"Not that this isn't fu-" she hiccuped suddenly, cutting herself of for a moment before continuing, "-n... but are we there yet?"
He looked around to see where they were. He was a little embarrassed to find that he really couldn't place where they were exactly. The feeling left him though when the sleigh turned a street corner and he saw the sign marking the boundary of the university campus.
"Yeah," he said to her, "We're only a few blocks away."
"'Kay."
As the sleigh got closer to its destination, the homes lining the streets grew more cottage-like in appearance. Pristinely white snow enveloped the land around each home and the entire just seemed to have a fresher air about it. Duncan took a deep breath, as if to draw the crisp and pure feeling into himself. The two snuggled closer together as the horses pulling the sleigh picked up speed once more, trotting effortlessly over the slushy pavement of the plowed roads. Absentmindedly, Duncan himself began humming the catchy tune Courtney had been amusing him with not even a minute earlier. She giggled childishly and poked the stud on the side of his nose. He grinned and continued his humming, really getting into it. He even started bobbing his head to the beat. And suddenly,shocking him for a moment, Courtney just started straight out singing the song.
"Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring-ting-tingling, too
Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you!"
He looked at her in mild surprise. Even when drunk she had a very nice voice; better than your average person. He listened to her sing the next verse, grinning when Steve couldn't help but join in when the 'Yoohoo!' came along. The grin also appeared whenever she chose to act out the lyrics and poke him in the chest when she sang the word 'you'. And after the verse Duncan decided to add his own voice to the din of the chorus, just for the hell of it.
"Giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up, let's go
Let's look at the show
We're riding in a wonderland of snow
Giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up, it's grand
Just holding your hand
We're gliding along with a song of a wintry fairyland!"
Courtney laughed after the last line of the chorus as Duncan had stumbled over the words.
"What the hell did you just sing?" she asked.
"The words."
"Yeah, okay."
Duncan smirked. "Was that sarcasm, Princess?"
"Maybe," she said, smirking right back at him.
He raised his eyebrows and was about to give a retort that would probably get him smacked even with her being drunk, get the sleigh suddenly stopped, lurching both of them off of the seat. Duncan's head hit the bottom of the sleigh with a painful clunk and he quickly reached to cover the spot that had been hit with his hands. He pulled one hand away and was relieved not to see any blood. Quickly getting up on his knees he looked to see if Courtney was fine and helped her up after finding nothing except a slightly reddened palm.
"Hey jackass," he said to Steve as he hopped out of the sleigh and onto the sidewalk, "How about a fucking warning next time?"
He turned and lifted Courtney out of the sleigh so that she wouldn't slip on the thin layer of ice sheeting the gray curb on the sidewalk. He wrapped his arm around her waist once more and leaned to the side slightly to slap the chocolate brown flank of one of the horses. The horse reared slightly and whinnied before urging its companion into a rather fast pace away from where Duncan and Courtney stood watching. They both laughed when the wild thrashing of Steve's arms on the reins almost made the sleigh crash into a stop sign.
"Stupid bastard," Duncan remarked laughingly, "He's lucky I wasn't feeling murderous enough to do more than that!"
After watching the Steve regain control of his vehicle and turn the corner of the street, Duncan carefully spun himself and Courtney around so that they were facing the most recent boost to his ego. His own home. He turned his head slightly to look down at the head of mocha locks currently resting against his shoulder. 'Our own home,' he amended in his mind with an affectionate smile. It was a quaint little cottage styled house situated on about a quarter of an acre of white picket-fenced land. The new wooden siding was painted a soft mint green that cohered perfectly with the white trim. The snow covering the lawn and roof only served to enhance the fresh colors of everything. At the end of the paver stone walkway was an adequately wide set of white steps that led onto the open porch. The whole place had a very New England feel to it; much like what you'd get visiting a home on the coast of Cape Cod.
Duncan tightened his arm around Courtney's waist to get her attention. She turned her head to the side and looked up at him with slightly glazed eyes.
"So what do you think?" he asked, gesturing proudly to the building.
"I think it's adorable, Duncan! It totally suits you." she said, a drunken giggle emanating from her mouth once more.
"Again with the sarcasm?" he questioned.
She nodded with a loopy grin on her face while he shook his head in mock wonderment.
"Uh, Duncan?" she said suddenly.
"Yeah?"
"Are we going in anytime soon? 'Cause I'm really cold."
"Oh, right! Come on, I'll carry you inside."
"I can walk!" she exclaimed indignantly.
"Yeah, you won't be saying that when you slip and fall on your ass. So just cooperate, okay?" he said in an authoritative voice.
"No." she said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance.
He sighed and ran a hand over his face. Then he bent down slightly and hefted her over his shoulder, effectively causing his damsel a bit of distress.
"Why the hell do you always do this to me, you ogre!?"
The ogre in question just laughed and made his way up to the front door. Once there, he used the hand not holding Courtney to get his keys from his pocket. Jingling them, he grinned in satisfaction and opened the door. He carried her inside and set her back on her feet before turning to close and lock the door. While he did that, Courtney turned to look at the room behind her as she took off her coat dropped it on the floor. What she saw in the room behind her made her gasp. In what she was positive was the living room there was a beautiful faux marble fireplace that jutted out slightly from its spot on the wall and sent off a soft and warming light all throughout the room. The light also softened the calming beige color of the walls and gave a shine to the walnut stained hardwood floors. Two brown leather love seats were placed in front of the fireplace at angles opposite one another. They were in the perfect positions for viewing the moderately sized plasma screen television hung over the fireplace. Stretched across one wall was a large built-in bookshelf that had a surprising amount of books on it along with a whole bunch of DVDs, CDs, and video games. She walked- or rather, stumbled- to the bookshelf and slid a random book out of its spot. When she finally recognized the title through the haze the alcohol had fogged her mind with, she was shocked that he would even have a copy of it.
"The Catcher in the Rye?" she asked nobody in particular, opening the noticeably worn paperback.
"It's one my favorites."
Courtney spun around to find a smiling Duncan. He gently grabbed the book out of her hands and reached around her to put it back in place. The fingers of his hand then moved to dance tantalizingly across her stomach, making her muscles clench and her breathing quicken. He grinned and pressed his body up against hers, making his own desire as obvious to her as hers was to him. She arched into him when one of his hands moved to cup the nape of her neck and the other slid along her waistline and under the material of her shirt to rest on her lower back. His breath caught and he lowered his head to kiss her. Their lips were almost touching when she suddenly yawned and the burst of warm air from her breath caused him to pull back.
"Sorry," she mumbled, a blush staining her cheeks with an undertone of red.
He sighed and rested his forehead against hers. "Don't worry about, Princess. We should probably get you to bed though." And with that he stepped away from her, letting go of everything but one of her hands as he started to pull her towards a hallway that branched off of the living room.
"But..." she trailed off softly, pulling futilely against his hold.
"What is it, Princess?" he asked, stopping and turning to face her.
"I didn't get to dance at the party," she said,her voice upset and disappointed, "Nobody asked me to..."
Then much to his extreme horror, she started crying. And not that obnoxious eardrum shattering wailing either; he could've handled that. No, instead it was that quiet and heartbreaking kind of crying where the person just stood there looking at you helplessly as the tears streamed down their face. Suddenly feeling frantic at his loss of what to do, he quickly wrapped her in his arms and held her, hoping that if she'd just cried it out she'd get over it faster. But as the minutes passed and she kept crying into his chest, he knew that he'd have to do something other then just stand there hugging her like an idiot. So he moved his hand and began rubbing random spots on her back to further soothe her.
"It's alright, love," he crooned as lifted her chin up so that he could see her face, "I'll dance with you."
She sniffled but looked up at him hopefully. "Really?"
He smiled and wiped a stray tear from her face, "Of course."
"Now?" she asked, giving him a small watery smile.
"Sure thing," he told her, relieved that she wasn't crying anymore, "Just go and take a seat on the couch while I get some music, okay?"
She nodded and made her way over to one of the couches with only a few stumbles. He was surprised by how only her walking seemed to be affected by the alcohol. Sure her mind wasn't exactly at its most functional, but if you didn't know her all that well enough to have had experience with her usual level of intellect, you would've thought that she was completely sober. It was pretty impressive, if he did say so himself. His thoughts were broken when he heard a sound come from where she stood, leaning slightly against the couch. He looked at her curiously when she frowned down at the the rug spread over the empty space between the couches and the fireplace.
"This isn't real fur, is it?" she asked him concernedly, still looking at the rug.
He grinned. Bridgette must have been rubbing off of her. "No, Princess," he replied as started down the hallway to find what he was looking for, "it's faux."
Courtney sighed in relief as she leaned against the couch to take her socks and shoes off. When she stepped on the plush material of the rug she felt much better knowing that it was fake. She bent down to run her fingers through the simulated wolf fur and marveled at the softness. When she sat down on it, she was surprised to find that it was very comfortable and was so thick that she couldn't even feel the floor underneath it. She wiped the back of her hand over her cheeks to get rid of the residue her tears had left. She jump when she suddenly heard something scrape against the floor and turned her head around so fast she almost got whiplash. She rubbed her neck as she scowled at Duncan who was grinning abashedly while he tried get a better grip on the bulky object he was carrying. It wasn't easy seeing as the object was covered by a white sheet that his fingers kept slipping on.
"What is that?" Courtney asked curiously.
Finally getting a hold on it, Duncan hurried forward set the object down at the edge of the rug and grabbed a fistful of the sheet. "You're about to find out!" he said enthusiastically. And with a flourish, he yanked the sheet off of the object revealing it to his intrigued girlfriend. When her brain finally registered what she was staring at her jaw dropped in astonishment.
"Oh wow, Duncan!" she exclaimed excitedly, moving forward on her knees to get a closer look.
"So you like it?" he questioned.
She looked at him with a huge smile on her face. "Duncan, I love it! I've never seen this model before, though. What is it?"
Duncan wiped a little dust off of the bell of the Victrola. "It's an Auxetophone,"he said proudly, "I found it at an antique shop a few blocks from here."
"Wow," she repeated as her fingers traced along the wood inlay of the cabinet that housed the phonograph's soundbox. The entire thing was in fabulous condition, from the bell to the legs of the cabinet. Duncan watched as she surveyed every inch of the phonograph, delighting in the fact that she actually had an interest in it. So few people held the fascination he did with things like it and he loved that she could share in his appreciation of the antique. It made her all the more attractive to him, if he was being honest. He smiled at the thought and then coughed to get his Princess' attention.
She looked up at him expectantly after reluctantly ending her inspection. He held his hand out to her. "Do you still want to dance?"
She grabbed his hand and he helped her to stand up. "I'll take that as a 'yes'," he said, grinning.
She laughed and waited while he opened the cabinet and grabbed one of the records stored in between the workings of the soundbox. He slipped the RPM out of its cover and put it back before she could see the artist or the title of the album. He closed the cabinet once more and placed it gently on the turntable. Then, after turning the crank on the side of the cabinet and waiting for the turntable to revolve, he placed the needle on the record and smiled in satisfaction as the record itself started to spin. He turned and quickly wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her against him as the phonograph emitted a crackling sound. She smiled up at him and placed a hand on his chest as he grabbed her other hand with his own, effectively putting them into a waltz position. And then when the music finally came pouring out of the bell, Courtney smiled at the familiar and classic tune. She began singing the female part as Duncan twirled her onto the soft plushness of the rug, laughing when he started singing along as well.
"I really can't stay
But, baby, it's cold outside
I got to go 'way
But, baby, it's cold outside
This evening has been
Been hoping that you'd drop in
So very nice
I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice..."
Courtney giggled when Duncan attempted to make his voice go all gravelly and deep like Louie Armstrong's was in the recording. He failed miserably, his voice sounding more like a monkey than anything.
"Well," he said in mock insult as he twirled her around again, "we can't all sound as lovely as you, Ella."
She beamed at him and was about to reply when she yawned again. Duncan laughed and gave her a small peck on the lips. "Maybe you should go to sleep now," he said softly.
"After the song? Please?"
"Sure," he chuckled.
She rested her head on his chest and sighed contentedly. For the rest of the song the two simply swayed to the beat, enjoying one another's company. And when the only sound coming from the Victrola was scratchy static, Duncan was amused to find that Courtney had fallen asleep sometime during their dancing. With a grin he gently laid her down on the rug and went to the Victrola to stop the record and remove the steel needle now that it had been used. After disposing of it in the kitchen and reentering the living room where Courtney lay asleep, he was startled by a sharp if faint sound of cheering coming from the direction of his neighbor's homes. He checked his watch and was mildly surprised by the time. Shrugging it off, he smiled and walked over to his princess, sitting down in front of her slumbering form. Reaching a hand out, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and echoed a softer version of the phrase that had been prevalent in the midst of the cheering.
"Happy New Year, babe."
… He added on that last part though.
A/N: So there you go! I'd like to know what you think if you don't mind taking the time to review. You don't have to though.
Alright, some things about this long/oneshot: The version of "Sleigh Ride" I was thinking of when writing this was the Ella Fitzgerald version. The version of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (in case you didn't get it) was the Ella Fitzgerald and Louie Armstrong version. The lyriccs that Duncan sang, I put in bold and italics whereas Courtney's were simply in italics. Also if you'd like to see a picture of the Victrola I integrated into this story then there is a link on my profile. Don't hate on it either, Victrolas are fucking awesome. And finally, if you think it's weird that Duncan and Courtney went for a sleigh ride on New Year's Eve, I can honestly tell you that I've seen it before. So yeah, not that weird. Okay, that's it then. I hope you enjoyed it and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Tchau!