[Phase 4]
Four-o' three in the AM. Murdoc sets the emptied beer can on the table, albeit shakily. He's downed seven at least, just in the past two hours. It's his birthday, after all, no one has the rights to tell him not to drink. Hell, no one ever does. So, here he is, drinking to his fifty-first birthday.
Russel's birthday had gone unnoticed by the world, much to the drummer's delight. He'd never been a big fan of birthdays, not since Del had gone all those years ago. Murdoc doesn't even think Russ himself had noticed. He's been caught up in the news about the recent stabbing and run-over that had taken place in London. Really, everyone had been, but Murdoc can't be serious all the time, it goes against everything he stands for.
Of course, it's awfully dull drinking alone. There's only so much fucking around one can do by himself, so Murdoc's decided he'll head upstairs and see if anyone else is still awake. Lighting a fag, he gets up and somehow manages to walk straight for most of the way. The lift is broken again due to a little mishap with some dish soap and rice, (blame Noodle), so he's forced to crawl up the stairs. Why was this a good idea, again?
Ten minutes later, he's made it to the top floor. Usually, it'll take him three at the worst to make it there. He opens the door to the den; there's light flooding through the cracks. Stepping in, the intoxicated man blinks his eyes slowly to adjust to the change in brightness. It takes a good thirty seconds to adjust, but he eventually does.
He's greeted by the sight of Noodle sleeping on the worn leather couch with her cat sitting on her back, looking rather annoyed at this interruption of silence. Murdoc knows that Katsu is more nocturnal than anything, (he'd learned that term back in grade school, how he still remembers it is beside him), so the cat hadn't actually been sleeping.
His gaze rests on Noodle's sleeping figure. There's those dark circles 'round her eyes, the same ones so prevalent on the rest of the band's faces. She's a very pretty little thing, yes, despite this. Murdoc is still in disbelief about the fact that she's twenty-six. It seems only yesterday she had burst from that FedEx crate and played that famous guitar solo, that little ten-year-old. She's still little, physically, but no one had much expected her to get very tall. Either way, she was what the band had needed, for sure. She'd been a looker even then, always very cute, nevermind that positively hideous bird Paula.. Paula.. Saltine? Whatever her last name was. No matter.
Murdoc notices the pile of papers thrown about. He's not sure what for; there's random sketches on some of them, others are filled with improvised sheet music. That's the thing about Noodle; even when she was a girl she'd been filled to the brim with countless song lyrics and melodies, and there's still no shortage of them coming from her. An absolute musical mastermind, that's for sure. Of course, nowhere close to the musical genius Murdoc himself is, no. No one will ever come close, not even Noodle.
Still, he takes the comforter from the recliner at the back wall and pulls it over the young woman, pressing a sloppy kiss to the top of her head. Noodle mutters something in Japanese, peeking an eye open to look at Murdoc momentarily. "Happy birthday, you ugly bastard." She mumbles groggily before closing it again, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"Hush, dove. Back to sleep." He replies, though he's still feeling a bit sentimental. It's not often he feels that way, only when he's so drunk he shouldn't be able to stand. That does happen rather often, yes, but usually when he's this drunk he either gets violent or just goes completely quiet.
Noodle grins slightly. "Shouldn't you be sleeping, though? It's late as all hell can be." That brown eye opens again.
"Hmm, no. I'd rather not, erm, rather not be. You, however.. Good night." Murdoc dims the den lights, knowing well how she can't sleep with them all the way off. She'd never been able to.
"..Oyasumai." Noodle yawns, turning over to face the couch. Within moments, her breathing slows again, and Katsu has repositioned himself on his owner.
Murdoc silently slides from the room, chuckling under his breath. That's one down, and he'll definitely not disturb her again if he values his life. Definitely not a morning person, Noodle. Then again, neither is he. He just happens to be awake right now.
He finds it funny how Noodle still likes to sit on Russel's lap, even now. When she's upset about something, Russ is always sure to spoil her in every way, and no one ever questions it. In return, or vice versa, she'll sit there and just hug Russel, especially when he's getting angry about politics or something of the like, (which happens on a daily basis, considering who the president is). They've got a good relationship, that's for sure, Lards and Noodle. They always have; Russel's been her father figure since the very beginning .
Walking, or slightly stumbling, rather, through the corridor, Murdoc notices the lights in the office are on. That's where Stuart spends his time when he's not playing around with Noodle in the den or sleeping. Really, it appears as if Stuart's becoming an insomniac again; he never seems to sleep anymore. Noodle had gotten him an abacus for his birthday, (one of those ancient Chinese counting things with the beads on it; Murdoc hadn't ever heard of one until only recently), and Stu has been counting on it non-stop since he'd gotten it. He enjoys counting, oddly enough, and he's got a thing for thatching, too. Not that the faceache is any good at it; he'd only learned to thatch recently. But he's improving on counting, just learned to count by threes. Stu likes to show off, so everyone feigns being impressed every time he debuts a new counting skill. Everyone but Noodle; she's always genuinely proud of her best friend's progress.
Opening the office, Murdoc sticks his head inside. Stuart's sitting in the spinny chair doing things with his abacus. "Faceache, it's late! Get to bed." Murdoc directs.
Stuart jumps with surprise. "Wha-- Oh, hello, Murdoc. I don't want to go to bed, I'm not tired." He protests.
"Do this one thing for my birthday. One thing! Without complaining!"
The bluenette processes this. "But it's not your birthday, um. Till tomorrow."
"Au contraire. Look at the bloody time, paper-brain," Murdoc nods to the clock sitting on the desk.
Stu does so. "Blimey, is that really the time?" His tar-black eyes widen.
"Yes. So I suggest you get your lanky arse to that bed before I make you." Murdoc cracks his knuckles meaningfully.
"Oh! Oh dear. Okay, then, um. Good night, Murdoc-- say, why are you still awake?"
"Got things on my mind, is all--Bed!" Murdoc yells, and Stuart rushes away quickly, sure to avoid being in arm's reach of the Satanist.
Once Stuart has gone to his bedroom, Murdoc shakes his head. That dullard needs all the sleep he can get; it's not good to look so tired constantly, makes the fans nervous. Not to mention it makes one painfully groggy all day, like hangover that doesn't go away until the next night.
Murdoc shuts the lights off. He's a bit tired, himself. The alcohol seems to be catching up. He's sure that he'll be asleep most of the day at this rate.
He heads back down the corridor, making a stop in front of Russel's door. He cracks it open a bit, glancing inside. Russ looks oddly peaceful, despite all the anxiety he has regarding the world's current state. Then again, he's spent countless nights awake worrying about current events, and the whole band knows it. Murdoc's sure that the only reason he's asleep is because Noodle made him promise to.
Murdoc carefully closes the door again, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He supposes that the trip upstairs wasn't much worth the effort of the actual stairs part, but at least his body is tired out. Who knows, maybe he'll sleep well for once.
He wakes up the next morning.. Well, afternoon.. To the sight of a handmade birthday card on the pillow next to his aching head and a hot cup of coffee on his nightstand.
..Maybe today won't be so bad, yeah?
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Hello, all!
This was written the day of Murdoc's birthday. It's very late, due to my posting schedule, but it's a thing. Hope you enjoyed it!
Leave a review; let me know what you think on this fanfiction! I also still need more prompts, so be sure to let me know if you've got any ideas floating round in that head of yours. :-)
Until next time,
Liz
