"Oh, come on, Juno! It'll be fun!"
"Your definition of 'fun' is from a completely different universe than mine."
And yet, somehow, Nureyev managed to drag me in here anyways. Music too loud, lights too bright and drinks too weak. Even without a hangover this place seemed to be tearing my brain apart. I gulped down another glass of some fancy pink cocktail he'd ordered for me. Tasted like water. Did look kind of nice though. I raised my hand and ordered some rum, hoping that'd taste less like water and more like gasoline. The waiter came back with a glass filled halfway with some brown, glittery liquid I could only hope was what I'd ordered.. The brand on the glass said "Phoenix Tears". Sounded….fiery. I swished it around in the glass a bit, watching the glitters move like tiny clouds in the sky. I tasted it. Spicy. Nice.
Before I managed to wallow in tears, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Fingers long and slender like meandering rivers. Only, more straight. So really not meandering at all. Peter. I hadn't even noticed he'd left. He sat down on the chair opposite me, movements serpent-like. A smile that called for the stars. His fingers were now wound around neck of a martini glass. When I first met him, I said his face looked like he was happy to see me and like he'd be just as happy to kill me. It still does. It's also still just as pleasant.
"So, Juno, have you chosen a song already? Is it romantic? Are you going to sing about how much you love me? I do hope it's more than four minutes long in that case, otherwise I might be offended."
"No, Peter, I haven't chosen yet," I sighed. I flicked through the list of songs on the built-in screen on our table. I didn't recognise most of them. I suddenly realised why I didn't recognise most of them.
"Did you seriously take me to a karaoke bar specialised in old Earth songs?"
"Oh, is that what this is?" A flash of a smile and a glint in his eyes. I like him, but sometimes. Geez.
Anyway, that cut my list of potential songs down massively. By which I mean, it left four songs that I hoped some dusty part of my brain still knew. All of them equally terrible. Well, I mean I enjoy them, but god are they terrible. I could tell Peter was staring at me. Smiling, probably.
"Have you found a song yet, Juno?" he asked in a sing-songy tone. Before I could answer, he said: "You know what, I'll go first. I have been on stage before." At that, he stood up, graceful as ever. A smile cast at me and his finger pressing a button on the screen. Hell if I knew how he did it that quickly. I watched him walk to the stage. The world slowed down, the lights dimmed and the music quieted. And, in that moment, I felt- nevermind I'm not doing this whole speech. I sat back and, well, enjoyed the show, I guess.
"I can dim the lights and sing you songs full of sad things"
We can do the tango just for two
I can serenade and gently play on your heart strings
Be your Valentino just for you"
"That's because I'm a good old-fashioned loverboy"
Trust me, I've been stunned by a well-aimed laserblast before, but that was nothing compared to this. Couldn't even clap. I just...sat there. In awe, I guess. I don't really know. All I know is that I thawed like an ice cube in hot cocoa when he joined me back at our table.
"So, Juno, what did you think? I noticed you didn't clap." It wasn't noticeable in his voice, definitely, but I could see it in his eyes. A hint of concern, worry, however infinitesimal it might be, but it was there. I smiled, which must've looked very out of place, and told him I loved it. And him. And hey, what'd ya know, the sparkles returned to his eyes like fireflies to a...swamp. I did not think this analogy through.
Realising it was my turn now, I chugged my glass of whiskey and ordered a new one. Repeat that process three, maybe four times and you'll have the actual turn of events. I only stopped because my stomach felt, and probably looked, like a disco ball. And also because Peter was currently pushing me towards the stage. But really, the real reason was all the waiters had started to ignore me. Why do I get the feeling Peter had something to do with that?
Anyways, I stumbled on stage. I must've told Peter what song I was gonna choose, because that's the one that started playing. Clinging on to the mic for dear life- the stage was high, okay - I looked at the crowd. Was that...Oh god no.. No way.
"MISTAH STEEL!"
Flashback. Peter's song ended. People clapped. One person yelled. I didn't process it at the time, but that someone was Rita. I'm a PI goddamnit, processing is my job. Couldn't process the one thing that would've saved me from so much teasing from my own secretary for the next eon.
End flashback. Microphone. Elevated podium. Rita yelling at me. And then, music. So loud it could've drowned out the sound of a thousand imploding stars. If sound could travel through space, that is. It was now or never. To be honest, never was a better option. It was also an option I didn't have.
"I hear the drums echoing tonight"
I was wrong. The music wasn't capable of drowning everything out. Then again, I've never seen anything that could drown out Rita's voice.
"MISTAH STEEL YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG" tack tack tack tack tack tack
Or her high heels, apparently. Aaaand there she was, next to me on stage. Battling me for the microphone? I gestured to the other microphone. You know, the one for duets? Yeah, that one. I guess that was what it was now. A duet.
"It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you"
Not gonna lie, this did sound a lot better. I looked at Rita. Heh, she looked so excited. A bit disoriented, I searched the crowd for Peter. Took me a whole verse, but I did spot him. I hadn't realised our table was so far from the stage. Like usually, he was smiling. But it was a different smile. I don't know how or in what way, but it was definitely different.
Damnit, I love him.
"Gonna take some time to do the things we never had"
Rita and I looked at each other, winded from holding the last note so long, and...we laughed. Laughed until we had tears streaming down our faces and were being dragged off the stage by security guards. And subsequently thrown out of the bar. It didn't take long for Peter to join us outside and he succumbed to laughter too.
The stars were like a thousand eyes watching us.. The moons spotlights in the sky, controlled by some overworked, tired stage crew. And Hyperion City? Hyperion City was the only stage I ever wanted to be on.