A/N: A companion piece to "Dinner Can Wait." You don't have to read that before you read this, but they're both relatively short, so I would recommend it. (The title is taken from that piece.) Hope you enjoy :)
Disclaimer: The lyrics below don't belong to me. All Pat Benatar.
Diane, Will, Alicia, and Cary stand in front of the room, and begin tapping their forks against the champagne flutes to get everyone's attention.
"We wanted to bring everyone together tonight to say thank you," Diane begins. "It's been a great year so far at Lockhart, Gardner, Cavanaugh, and Agos, and we are grateful to all of you for your hard work and dedication to our firm."
"And, you know, we also wanted an excuse to drink," Will adds, which draws a laugh from the room. "But Diane's right. We don't get to celebrate our successes as much as we should. So, please, have fun, enjoy some food, drinks, stay as long as you like."
"Let's raise a glass," Alicia adds. "To each and every member of our team."
"Cheers!" Cary adds, and clinks his glass with Alicia's.
The sounds of "cheers!" and clinking glasses echo throughout the room as everyone returns to eating and socializing. As she finishes the last sip of her champagne, Alicia walks over to the bar and smiles at the bartender. "One beer, please, a Great Lakes pilsner if you have it, and a vodka cranberry. With pineapple juice."
"Sure thing," he says, smiling at her. When he returns, he sets in front of her a light-colored beer and a shorter glass filled with a light pink liquid. "I threw in a cherry, just for fun."
Alicia grins. "Perfect. Thank you."
She finds Will among the sea of people and hands him the beer. "Cheers," he says, clinking his glass with hers. He smiles appreciatively at her drink. "The first of many, I hope."
"We'll see."
Will raises his eyebrows, and Alicia just smiles.
A few hours later, only a handful of people still remain along with Diane, Cary, Will, and Alicia.
The bartender has dutifully kept Alicia's glass full of sweet, fruity liquid, and Will can't help but notice that his beloved is becoming gigglier with each minute that passes.
Alicia hands Will her nearly-empty glass. "I think I promised I would sing, didn't I?"
Will grins. "I think you did."
"Perfect. I'm ready. Let's do this!" she declares. As she heads over to request the song, Will leans against the bar. The bartender brings him a fresh beer. "Is that your wife?" he asks, nodding toward Alicia.
"Not yet, but hopefully soon," Will replies, smiling.
"Congrats," he tells Will. "I take it the vodka cranberries were the liquid courage she needed to sing karaoke?"
Will chuckles. "Something like that. I don't know what it is about that drink, but it really makes her think she's Pat Benatar in a way that wine or beer never could."
The bartender smiles. "I think you two are going to be together for a long time. You take care of each other. And you're very supportive of her."
"That's really nice of you to say. Thanks," Will says, taking a drink of his beer. "It's been a long time coming. We were best friends in law school, then we were apart for fifteen years. She married a jackass."
It's the bartender's turn to chuckle as he begins to dry pint glasses with a dish towel. "Glad she finally saw the light."
Their conversation is interrupted as Alicia gets up to sing. "We are young," she starts, speaking in a breathy voice. "Heartache to heartache, we stand. No promises, no demands. Love is a battlefield."
Will cheers as she starts to sing. "We are strong!" she sings, pumping her first in the air. "No one can tell us we're wrong! Searchin' our hearts for so loooong. Both of us knowing…love is a battlefield."
Cary walks over to join Will. "You know, if I remember correctly, Alicia isn't that great of a singer when she's sober," he says, which makes Will laugh.
"Yeah. You're right about that. But those vodka cranberries…" he says, shrugging.
"Oh, wait for it—Diane Lockhart, everybody!" Cary exclaims, cheering as Diane goes up to join Alicia.
"What was Diane drinking?" Will asks. "She wouldn't usually…"
Cary shrugs. "White wine, I think. Probably…" And then he stops to look at Will. "Moscato," they say in unison.
"That'll do it," Will comments. "That'll definitely do it."
As Diane and Alicia finish singing, the room erupts in cheers. "Encore!" Cary insists.
"Will?" Alicia asks, grinning with the microphone in her hand. "I need you for this next song."
He sets his beer glass on the bar, and the bartender nods. "Good luck up there."
"Oh, I don't think I'm singing," Will adds. "I think I'm going to be serenaded."
And he's right. He recognizes the opening notes of "We Belong" and smiles as he takes a seat on the stool across from Alicia.
"We belong to the light, we belong to the thunnnnnder. We belong to the sound of the words we've both fallen unnnnnder. Whatever we deny or embrace, for worse or for better! We belong, we belong, we belong togetheeerrrr," she sings.
When the song is over and they've stepped off stage, Will puts his hand on Alicia's waist and pulls her close for a kiss. "You were great up there."
"Thanks!" she replies cheerfully, sauntering back to the bar. The bartender passes her another drink, and by the time Will picks up his unfinished beer, Alicia's halfway to the dance floor.
Alicia wakes and immediately groans, pulling the covers over her head. She has no idea what time it is, but even with the curtains covering the windows, it's already too bright in the bedroom for her liking.
"Good morning, sunshine," Will teases, and she groans again, mumbling something he can't quite understand. "What did you say?"
She rolls over and just barely peeks out from under the blankets. "I'm too old to be this hungover."
He wants to laugh, mostly because she looks adorable in this moment, but he knows he'll get shoved out of bed if he does so—not just for laughing at her, but for the volume of the laugh.
"I made coffee," he says quietly, and Alicia nods, her eyes still shut tight.
"Food," she says, more of a statement than a question.
Will chuckles at her inability to string together enough words for a sentence. "I made you a breakfast sandwich. I just need to warm it up to melt the cheese."
"Mkay," Alicia responds, burrowing herself further down into the comforter. "What time…?"
"It's a little after nine."
"And when…?"
"We got home a little after one."
"And did we…?"
Will chuckles again. "You don't remember?"
"I remember," she answers. "Just wanted to make sure that actually happened."
"Oh, it did. When you get up, you'll notice how each article of clothing we wore last night is very artfully strewn on the floor between the front door and here. I had to stop you from undressing me in the elevator."
Alicia smiles. "Yeah. I definitely remember that."
"Hey, there's my girl. Putting together full sentences and everything."
She rolls her eyes. "Just barely. It's a struggle."
"How about I warm up that breakfast sandwich for you? Come get some coffee. It'll help."
"Okay," she agrees, and Will leans over to place a kiss on her forehead before he gets out of bed. "I should probably put some clothes on."
Will shrugs from the doorway. "You can, but don't bother putting too much on. I'm just going to take it all off again."
