Emmett clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "Listen up, people!" he shouted over the increasingly loud crescendo; the closer the event was nearing, the louder everyone's voices were getting. He was grateful that from their location, the water pouring from the fountain and the non-participants mingling around the plaza were serving as an effective insulation against his voice issuing instructions; he knew that Justin would definitely recognize it if he could hear it. "We're about to get started! Everyone needs to get in place! Where's our leadoff hitter?"
He waited impatiently but there was no reply. After a few seconds, he slapped his hand to his forehead in a 'duh' sort of moment, realizing their 'star' was probably acting out his part. "Has anyone seen the main mime?" he enunciated succinctly, not quite sure why he was doing that but somehow feeling like he needed to do it; after all, the man wasn't really deaf and actually now that he thought about it, he wasn't speechless, either – it was all an act.
Finally to his relief, he heard someone say near the back of the crowd, "He's coming!" and a tall, black-haired man came walking up wearing white face paint, black suspenders and a white-and-black striped shirt underneath a long-tailed matching coat and top hat; in his right hand was a shiny black cane with a white tip, and his mouth and eyes were framed in black like the classic version. He was wearing some pungent, cheap type of cologne that Emmett thought he recognized as one you could pick up at the local dollar store. Emmett burst out laughing at the unexpected sight, but immediately placed his hand over his mouth in an attempt to stifle his reaction when he noticed the mime narrowing his brows at him in obvious anger.
"Oh, my God!" he cried, his eyes dancing and his hands coming up in a clasp of delight. "Kiki did a wonderful job on you! Oh, this is going to be so good!" He frowned suddenly, thinking something was amiss but he wasn't quite sure what. Finally, it hit him. "Where're the flowers?" he scolded the painted man as he placed his hands on his hips and stared back at him as if he were speaking to a little, impertinent child. He nodded, satisfied though, as the mime glared at him and whipped out a bouquet of silk flowers from behind his back to bring it up to his nose and take a melodramatic sniff as he bowed slightly.
Emmett smiled at the antics. "You just might turn out to be a decent mime after all," he observed. "Shame the condition can't last forever," he added dryly, grinning as he received a look of disdain in return. "Well, go get into position, tall, dark, and silent. We're about ready to get this show on the road." He watched as the mime nodded and walked back toward the rear of the quickly-spreading crowd. Emmett urgently picked up his cell and punched in a designated number.
"Cal!" He had to speak loudly now to be heard over the rising din; he glanced over at Justin's spot near the fountain, making sure his friend was unaware of all the drama taking place so close by. He was relieved to notice that the blond was busily sketching away on some scene in front of him, still oblivious to all the planning going on practically under his nose. He smiled, excited to see his friend's reaction. He crossed his fingers in his imagination, praying that everything went according to plan, as he spoke to his boyfriend. "Hey, Baby! It's me…is the music all set up back there? What about the signs? Have you seen Gus?" He listened intently, nodding periodically as his partner advised him that everything was all set. He breathed a sigh of relief, still realizing, though, that it would be a miracle if all the components of this over-the-top scheme went off as planned. If it did, though, Justin was definitely going to have a birthday to end all birthdays.
He glanced down at his watch, noticing it was nearly 1:00 – almost show time. He let out a calming breath, taking a look over at the plaza as he recognized several people that would be taking part in the celebration. To a casual observer, they were merely people either enjoying the warm, late-spring day or vendors hawking their wares; little did Justin – or the other sun worshippers near the fountain – know that they were actually unaware co-conspirators in a huge, outlandish celebration party about to occur just for him.
He continued to listen to Cal rattle off all the players' positions in this incredible event, nodding in satisfaction. "Okay, Sweetie, keep the group under control back there, I'm counting on you. We'll be starting soon. I'm going to send our mime out and then when the music starts, the rest will need to follow. Will you keep an eye on all the equipment in the meantime and make sure everyone has what they need? Michael will help you pass everything out. I'd say we need to be ready in about five minutes – that should give our mime enough time to do his part first, okay?" He looked around, scanning the crowd until he spotted the black-clad man standing nearby, lightly balancing back on forth on each foot in restless anticipation. He smiled at the man's nervousness, which was no doubt even more than his; he knew this man was even more anxious to make sure their production went off without a hitch.
He returned to his conversation. "Thanks, Baby; as my Aunt Lula used to say – you're the cat's meow!" He snapped his phone shut and took a deep breath, feeling the adrenalin rushing nervously through his system. He harrumphed; and he thought catering was a big job. If he managed to live through this, and it actually went off as planned, he was definitely going to raise his party planning rates when he got back home….He had to take care of first things first, though. He could distinctly feel a sense of nervous electricity suddenly in the air, as if everyone realized the big moment was finally at hand for a totally unsuspecting birthday boy. Okay, Mr. Black and White and in Dread all Over…..time to do your magic, he thought to himself. Taking one more deep breath, he caught the eye of their most important component and nodded, gesturing with his hand frantically to get a move on. The mime glared at him and rolled his painted-up eyes before turning and walking over to the plaza where their target was located.
"Here goes nothing," Emmett murmured in trepidation as he watched the man slowly meandering over casually toward the fountain area as if he were merely putting on a show for an audience. In a way, that was right – and what a show it was going to be….. "Good luck," he whispered. "Give Baby one he'll never forget."
"Fuck," Justin muttered, as he grasped his right hand with his left and massaged it. He should have known better than to keep drawing without taking a break, but a wizened, elderly couple sitting across from him on another bench, holding hands as they gazed in wonder at a flock of pigeons, had entranced him and he just had to get them down on paper. He had spent the past thirty minutes quickly sketching them for fear they would get up and leave before he was finished, and now he was paying the price. Thankfully, he had managed to complete at least a preliminary sketch and could take a rest. He put his pencil and sketchpad down on the bench's seat next to him and gazed around the plaza. Since he had first arrived, the number of people had been increasing rapidly; there were all sorts of park goers gathered around now, from mothers pushing their babies in strollers, to joggers, to vendors hawking everything from New York City souvenirs and hot dogs. He knew, in fact, if he hadn't stopped to pick up a hamburger already, he would be sitting here munching away on one of the hot dogs that he could smell from nearby. Perhaps for dinner later….after all, it wasn't as if he had anything in particular planned for today – it was just his birthday.
He sighed; trying hard not to think about it. He had been able to put that fact out of his mind for a little while, but now that he was finished with his sketch, his mind was wandering back to the significance of the day and how much he missed Brian, aka the 'unromantic' one. Although perhaps that wasn't being fair to his partner; after all, it wasn't every man who purchased a mansion 'for his prince,' as he had put it. He thought he would die of shock when Brian had said that; it was so totally uncharacteristic of the man. But Brian never did do anything predictable; he had to admit – he was anything but dull. He just wished he would make a little more effort to at least acknowledge special occasions, especially his birthday, and not with his typical, Brian Kinney flair. A simple card and a 'Happy Birthday' would suffice for him. But he knew that was not going to be the case; he might as well suck it up and move on with his day.
He supposed he should be thinking about returning to the gallery to work on his current, unfinished work, but the day was so beautiful and warm it was difficult to leave this picturesque location. He savored not only using the park for art inspiration but also enjoyed simply sitting on one of the benches doing some simple people-watching, and today the crowd seemed to be more colorful than usual.
Deciding he should give his hand a rest anyway but reluctant to move back indoors, he leaned back and closed his eyes, relishing in the warmth of the sun on his face and the sounds of this sanctuary in the midst of such a teeming, big city. The delighted cries of children playing and the rush of the fountain, along with the voices of people conversing nearby, almost lulled him to sleep as he continued to sit there with his eyes closed, his hands spread out along the back of the bench.
A sudden tapping on his shoulder a few seconds later startled him and made his eyes fly open in momentary fear. He turned his head anxiously to see what was going on and his face relaxed as his mouth broke out into an amused smile. It was a mime, dressed in a traditional black-and-white striped shirt, black suspenders, and black pants; only this one was a little more elegantly dressed than most. This performer had a matching long-tailed coat and a top hat, ala Charlie Chaplin, and a sleek, black walking stick with a white tip on the end that he had apparently used to get his attention with. As he watched the man stare at him intently with expressive, dark blue eyes, Justin was unaware that he was the object of many more stares from several interested people in the crowd who were trying to appear nonchalant but were watching him secretly out of the corner of their eyes. He gazed into the other man's eyes, feeling like somehow he knew this man but deciding he couldn't possibly, at least not in that garb. Perhaps he was a visitor to the art gallery, or someone who frequented the park like he did (sans his makeup, of course), but he couldn't be sure.
Justin watched entranced as the mime sauntered out from behind the bench and, taking his hat off briefly, he gave him a slight bow; he stood back up and with a flourish, produced a small bouquet of sunshine-yellow daffodils with orange centers from around his back and extended them out for Justin to take. It was the kind of cheesy-looking flowers a clown might carry around in his pocket to whip out for an unsuspecting circus-goer, but Justin was delighted with the mime's quaint routine as he giggled softly. "Why, aren't you just the little charmer," he cooed, smiling warmly as he accepted the flowers; the mime couldn't help smiling back at him as he wagged his eyebrows coquettishly. While Justin watched from the bench, the mime leaned over and pressed a couple of long fingers to Justin's upper arm and then promptly jumped back as if he had been burnt, bringing his hand up to his mouth and blowing on his fingers as he winked back at him.
Justin laughed, totally captivated by this amusing show.
"So you think I'm hot, do you?" he asked as the man smiled back silently and nodded. "Well, I'm sure to another mime, you would be, too," he quipped diplomatically as the man stuck his thumbs in his label buttonholes and promptly jutted his chin out proudly, causing Justin to giggle in delight.
As the man looked at Justin, standing there for a few seconds as if he was memorizing every feature of the blond's face, he smiled again softly and slowly brought his right hand up to his lips to pretend to blow Justin a kiss; with one more bow, he reluctantly turned and walked away, eventually being swallowed up by the burgeoning crowd. Justin smiled over the man's charming antics as he watched him leave, his heart feeling just a little lighter now until his mind returned to his previous plight and he sighed softly; scanning the crowd, he noticed it was quickly getting larger and larger. Even now, after all these years, he still felt just a twinge of uneasiness in such a large gathering; he decided he'd best be getting back to the art gallery anyway, as much as he hated the idea of being cooped up on such a glorious spring day.
He started to gather up his art supplies when a song began to blast seemingly out of nowhere; he recognized the beginning piano strains as an up-tempo ballad - "When Love Takes Over" sung by Kelly Rowland – that was frequently played at Babylon – and it made him a little nostalgic in recollection, especially in light of what day it was; it made him think of home – of Brian – and how much he missed him. The song began to get even louder now as he started to rise from his seat, and a very odd thing happened; the hot dog vendor situated directly across from him near the fountain began to sway back and forth in time with the music, raising his hands above his head as he did so while he held a metal spatula in his hand. Then two patrons who had been standing in front of the portable vendor cart turned around and began to do the same thing. Then four more people – two women who had been pushing baby strollers around and two men wearing business suits that were sitting on a nearby bench – began to stop what they were doing and dance along, too, all in perfect synchrony with each other as if it had been choreographed.
Justin looked at them in puzzlement, and his eyes widened as even more people began to dance along with them; there were two men wearing jeans and tee-shirts, one with short-cropped, dark blond hair and a brunet with a long ponytail in back, gyrating away to the music in step with all the others. Then more and then more joined in – women, men, even children – until there must have been thirty of them dancing together in step with the lively tune.
It wasn't exactly unusual to see such weird goings-on in the park, but still, Justin had to smile in amusement, wondering why in the world they were performing and what the reason was for it. He continued to watch, captivated, as the dancing crowd parted like an flowing, undulating sea and a parade of more mimes appeared from behind the first curtain of people. Justin laughed softly at the unexpected, almost macabre site of an ocean of black-and-white, noticing they each had an object in their hands: flower bouquets similar to the one the first mime had given him. He idly thought they must all be part of some dance troupe or entertainment association with the first mime and were performing to publicize some show they must be getting ready to put on; it wasn't unusual to see such displays here in the park.
The 'normal-looking' dancing group stood to the side of the prancing mimes as they kept perfect time with them from the sidelines; the mimes began to march together, dancing in a sort of goofy, Snoopy-type dance with the beat as they held the bouquet in one fisted hand and clapped their hands together in time with the beat of the music as they continued to move forward, away from the fountain and seemingly heading directly toward him.
As they continued to prance in his direction, he decided it had to merely be a coincidence, as he watched them with ever-widening blue eyes just like all the other non-participating spectators. The mass of people continued to approach like they were coming over to him specifically. He noticed other non-dancers eyeing him with the same thought as they continued to advance, dancing in perfect time with the music; they were doing waves with their hands now over their heads and marching in time with the tune, the cheery-hued bouquets providing the park with a splash of spring color.
As they came within a few feet of him, Justin glanced behind him, expecting to see the object of their attention that would explain what was going on, but all he saw were other park visitors, staring gaga at the mimes just like he was. Nothing appeared out of place, except for this odd parade seemingly heading straight toward him. He stared at them as they approached, somehow realizing that all these people had to be here for him. He bit his lip nervously as they came closer and closer while the music continued to blare from above.
As the first mime reached Justin – a woman with long blond hair wearing a black cap jauntily on her head – she silently extended to him a silk bouquet of yellow peonies and smiled. He held out his hand, which was now trembling with jumpiness over being the center of attention, and accepted the bouquet as the woman reached over and kissed him briefly on the cheek before gyrating away toward the side, still flowing in time with the music.
The next mime, a dark-haired woman with short hair, repeated the same action, but this time handed him a bouquet of yellow carnations; he could see other park patrons furiously snapping photos with their camera phones held high as the procession continued and what must have been at least fifty other people dancing in perfect choreography with the dance tune around the fountain's perimeter.
As the dark-haired woman skirted away, the mime after her – a dark-haired man holding onto the hand of a little boy mime – danced up a little less fluidly and held out a bouquet of yellow daisies. Justin stared at the man, trying to figure out why he seemed so familiar, before he leaned down to peer at the child whose hand the other man was holding and a rush of realization struck him.
The little boy thrust the flowers out at Justin – a bouquet of yellow Black-Eyed Susans – and quickly darted off, still holding onto the dark-haired man's hand as the music continued to blare and the dancing crowd got larger and larger. As the little boy ran off, though, it all finally began to coalesce into place, and he knew for certain. This whole spectacle WAS for him…..that little boy was Gus! And the two women dressed up so identically in black and white were Mel and Lindsey. And the dark-haired man holding Gus' hand had to be Michael….He sat there in stunned awe, his eyes drinking in the whole thing – the hypnotic music, the colorful dancing mimes, and the swelling crowd dancing in time to the music:
When love takes over, yeah
You know you can't deny
When love takes over, yeah
'Cause something's here tonight
Give me a reason, I gotta know
Do you feel it too?
Can't you see me here on overload?
And this time I blame you
Oh, looking out for you to hold my hand
It feels like I could fall
Now love me right like I know you can
We could lose it all
A couple more mimes he didn't recognize presented him with more flowers – one a bouquet of yellow zinnias and another one a stalk of yellow dahlias, before one more mime came dancing up like a pleasingly-plump whirlwind; even though the woman was trying hard to disguise her real identity behind an ill-fitting, coal-black, curly wig, it was hard pretending not to recognize the woman who came rushing up with tears in her eyes and strands of red hair poking out; the multi-colored vest was also a dead giveaway.
Even if he hadn't instantly recognized Debbie from her fiery hair and appearance, he would have known who she was by the tears in her eyes and the expression on her face. She clasped one hand to her breast, overcome with emotion, as she smiled through her glistening blue eyes and presented Justin with a long-stemmed bouquet of sunflowers. She reached over to give him a red-lipsticked kiss on his cheek, taking a corner of her multi-colored vest to his face to try and wipe off the residue. "Thanks, Deb," Justin couldn't help whispering, smiling warmly at her as she looked at him and huffed. "Little asshole," she said affectionately, sniffling in choked reply as she walked away to join the rest of the mime group. Justin laughed softly in delight as he watched her go and accepted yet some other bouquets before the initial wave finally came to an end.
Once the mimes had finished gifting him with a virtual flower shop of blooms – all sunshine yellow in color – another group of dancers came strutting by. This time the dancers were holding artist's palettes in one of their hands and twirled, gyrated and held them high over their heads as dance props while they danced by him and the music continued to pound:
Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight
Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight
Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight
Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight
I'll be loving all the time, it's true
'Cause I want to make it right with you
Justin sat there in shock as the scene continued forever, his hand over his mouth in a combination of amazement and anticipation; the flowers he had been presented with were cascading over the edge of the bench. His heart that had been previously empty with self-pity was now threatening to overflow with gratitude for the genuine outpouring of love and support he felt from his friends. But there was one vital piece of the puzzle missing; he knew there could only be one man capable of supervising such an incredible spectacle – Brian. But where was he? He wanted to see him, hold him, and talk to him so badly. As the dancing continued, the crowd growing larger and larger, he stood up uncertainly, hoping the one man he wanted to see so terribly was somewhere nearby.
"Hurry up, Honeycutt! Get me out of this fucking makeup!" Brian growled as he stood behind a grove of trees nearby and hurriedly took off everything except his black pants from the mime's outfit while the dancers kept Justin distracted. He quickly squeezed the corners of his eyes to eject the blue contact lenses from his eyes and tore the black wig off his head as Ted, standing nearby, hurriedly handed him his shirt and Emmett stood over him scowling with the makeup remover.
The music continued to blare as Emmett groused, "You're going to have to stand still for a minute, Brian, unless you want to look like the Phantom of the Opera when you see him! Hold on!" he cautioned as the restless, fidgety brunet finally huffed impatiently but nonetheless stood still long enough for Emmett to remove his face paint. The Cher wannabe quickly picked up another wet hand towel he had hanging from a low-lying tree branch and wiped any remaining residue from Brian's face before quickly running a hairbrush through the auburn locks and nodding. "Okay, go!" he instructed Brian. "They're about done now and the song's about to end!"
Brian began to rush away, only to be grabbed on the arm by Emmett. "Don't forget this!" he told the man, retrieving an object Ted held in his hand for safekeeping. "Now go give Baby the surprise of his life!" he added as Brian ran off to get into place.
The parade of dancers continued their movements, some swaying and spinning in place in a huge circle around the fountain while others marched around the perimeter. Finally, the dancers parted once more to reveal four of the mimes again – this time each one holding up a large segment of a yellow board; Justin immediately recognized Mel, Lindsey, Michael now, along with another person who had to be Ben; he could see Gus holding onto Lindsey's hand as he pounded on a small drum held up around his waist by a sash with an object that looked suspiciously like a medium-sized paintbrush. They stood facing Justin, smiling as they swayed in time to the music, swinging the board to the right and left with the beat as, finally, one by one, each friend flipped their part of the sign over to reveal a message on the other side: Happy – Birthday – Sunshine – with the last, fourth part containing a large, yellow sun with a smiley face on it.
As the music slowly died down to the end, Justin's eyes filled with tears of happiness as he realized his friends hadn't forgotten him at all; he clapped in hands in appreciation for the incredible over-the-top celebration display for his birthday, but his heart absolutely exploded with joy when his friends parted their sign in the middle at last to reveal Brian standing there, wearing a black wifebeater shirt and black pants, one perfect, long-stemmed yellow rose in his hand and a tender smile on his face as he stared into the delighted face of the man he loved so deeply.
A/N: The name and artist for the song is "When Love Takes Over" by Kelly Rowland.