A black tie adventure with doesntsing

[allbedestroyed]

For a man whose perfect day involves hiking out into the wilderness alone to track a rare animal, an evening at a fancy party is not something to look forward to. The only consolation is in having good company to share it with. Making sure his friend has a good time is a much better goal than schmoozing the other guests.

After going through the ordeal of renting a tuxedo, and a car, he's around to pick Miriam up at the address she provided. Muldoon is uncomfortable in the unfamiliar clothing, and apprehensive about surviving an upper class dinner, but at least he knows he'll be in some good company. Worst comes to worst, Miriam will have some extra material to work with for her shows.

Ringing the doorbell, Muldoon tries not to look as awkward as he feels.

Comments

[doesntsing]

Midge isn't terribly surprised that Robert doesn't dance. She's sure Hammond knows that, so maybe he's just trying to intercede on her behalf. Little does he know that Midge would try to make him dance with her if she wanted him to. She's not a shrinking violet.

She takes Robert's arm. "He's right. I'll show you."

Thankfully, when they get back into the ballroom, a slow jazz song is just starting. That's much easier to dance to than something upbeat. They pause at the edge of the dance floor and Midge leans in to speak to Robert quietly.

"When we're out there, you need to hold me," she says. "You're not dancing with your sister. You understand?"

If he doesn't, she'll show him that too.

[allbedestroyed]

"Alright." He thinks he understands, but given that he can't remember the last time he danced with a woman he's still making a bit of a guess.

Taking her hand, he leads her out into a space on the dance floor before taking her up in his arms. The hand on her back is a bit on the high side, but at least he doesn't have any problem holding her hand, or holding her close.

None of which stops him from asking, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

[doesntsing]

"It's fine, unless you're really that bad of a dancer." Their bodies are pressed together, which is what she meant. A man wouldn't hold his girlfriend at arm's length. They have to look comfortable with each other. Midge hopes that any discomfort that might be portrayed will be chocked up to Robert's nervousness about dancing.

Their faces are close together, though he's taller than her, so her eyes reach about where his nose is. "Don't worry about steps," Midge says. "Just move with me." She's going to try to subtly lead without it being very noticeable.

[allbedestroyed]

It quickly becomes apparent to the warden that he needs to focus on Midge. Glancing around at the other people around them only manages to make him nervous and distracted, and after a few small stumbles he gets the hang of only looking at Midge.

Well, sort of looking at Midge.

He hadn't quite realised how close she would be, and how inescapable her gaze is with those big blue eyes. Trying to stare at her lips certainly doesn't help, and by the time he settles on keeping his eyes on her shoulder his ears are definitely burning. At least he's not stepping on her toes.

[doesntsing]

"Put your arm around my waist."

When Robert moves his arm, Midge is thrown off her game for the first time all evening. She hadn't thought about the fact that being close to him like this would mean that she could smell his aftershave. She hadn't considered that his arms would feel so strong and secure around her, or that his chest would feel as solid as it does. Her heart is pounding, and she wonders if he can feel that.

She swallows before speaking again, talking quietly into the ear that is nearest to her lips.

"See? You've got the hang of it."

[allbedestroyed]

Lowering his arm seems reasonable enough, since she's the one suggesting it. It's when she speaks again, lips so close to his ear, that it feels like her voice sends electricity down his spine.

"It's not as bad as I thought it would be," he admits. "The dancing, I mean. Mine, not yours. You're a great dancer."

He shuts his mouth then before he starts rambling any more.

[doesntsing]

"Thanks." She's not doing too much, all things considered. They're holding each other and moving slowly across the dance floor. "Just don't ask me to sing."

Gently, Midge rests her head on Robert's shoulder and lets out a slow breath. His arms feel warm and safe and she relaxes a little bit. "This is nice," she says. "You... feel nice."

It's easier to say things when she isn't looking right at him, when her eyes are focused on his lapel and the room beyond.

[allbedestroyed]

This isn't a date, he has to remind himself when she leans against him. This would be a terrible date. He wouldn't be impressing anyone if it were, and she agreed to come as a favour to him, that's all.

It would be so easy to hold her closer, to support her a little better so that she could rest her head on his shoulder for longer.

"It is nice," he agrees, because he's not sure what else to say at first. "Much, much nicer than being here alone. Thank you, again, for coming."

[doesntsing]

They had decided explicitly that this wasn’t going to be a date. It might not be a date, but definitions don’t stop Midge from feeling the way that she does. The thing is that he has impressed her tonight, and not by how he wears a tuxedo or how he dances. She’s impressed by how he’s handling all of this, despite being so far out of his element. She’s impressed by his knowledge and skills when it comes to wildlife. Midge doesn’t expect him to turn into a person that he’s not.

“Of course,” she replies, her head still on his chest. She can feel his heartbeat like this. “I couldn’t leave you to flounder all by yourself, could I?”

[allbedestroyed]

With a song this slow and a dance this gentle, and Midge relaxing against him, Muldoon finally starts to calm down. He could happily spend the evening like this, as long as the tempo doesn't pick up.

"You could have. But you didn't. You wouldn't. You're not that kind of person."

[doesntsing]

“I like to help, if I can,” she says.

Midge notices Hammond watching them, a smile on his face. It seems he’s happy for his friend. Midge hopes that this lie doesn’t cause any hard feelings later. She isn’t trying to hurt anyone. She just wanted Robert to feel more comfortable and confident at this party.

Midge picks her head up so that she can look at him. “You’re doing fine. When we talk to those guys again, just pretend that they’re hyenas or something. Just try to refrain from punching them.”

[allbedestroyed]

The older man has been Muldoon's longest employer, even beating out the warden's own father. They clash, as any long standing companions do, but they look out for each other too. That Midge is a particularly pretty woman certainly doesn't hurt.

"If they were hyenas they'd do whatever you told them," he grumbles before realising he should explain. "Hyenas are matriarchal. Women rule in their society."

Conceding to her advice, however, he sighs and nods his head. "I'll be good. I've had plenty of practice biting my tongue."

[doesntsing]

She raises her eyebrows. “Really? I guess I’ll have to handle them.” Midge doesn’t know a lot about business negotiations. She has Susie, her agent, to do negotiations for what she’s paid for shows.

The song ends and Robert lets go of her. There’s an overwhelming desire to crawl back into his arms where she feels warm, but she resists for the sake of decorum. She puts her hand on his arm again, leaving the dance floor as Hammond approaches them.

“Mr. Dixon would like to discuss his financial contribution with us.”

[allbedestroyed]

Well that puts a damper on things. But they're here for business, and so business takes priority. Muldoon nods to Hammond and turns to Midge to assure her, "I'll be back as soon as I can."

There's no need to doubt it, either. He hates these things. Here's just here for Hammond to show off that he's hired the best of the best. An impressive expert in lieu of a pretty face to distract the investors. Hammond's lucky that Muldoon brought someone to get him the best of both worlds.

For now all Muldoon can do is hope to get through this as smoothly as possible and get back to Midge.

[doesntsing]

Midge squeezes his arm and smiles at him. “You’ll do fine. See you soon.”

After Robert and Hammond leave, Midge goes to the bar and orders another martini. Sure enough, one of the three men from earlier approaches (the weaselly one) and starts to chat Midge up. She indulges him for a few minutes, until he starts to talk about his home in the Hamptons and the Cadillac that he drives.

“I’m taken,” Midge tells him, looking down at his hand. “And so are you.”

They can come to an arrangement, he says. Midge is so beautiful. She deserves to be with a man who can buy her anything that she desires.

“Listen, buddy, are you sure that you want to piss off a man that has punched lions in the face and carries a pistol with him everywhere he goes?”

A slight exaggeration, but it does the trick. Weaselly man looks worried now.

“That’s what I thought. Robert makes me happy and I’m not looking for anyone else right now.”

Midge wonders if someday that could be true.

The weaselly man leaves her alone at the bar.

[allbedestroyed]

Business meetings are excruciating. Usually Muldoon gets left out of these things for the same reason Midge gets into trouble: He often ends up saying something Hammond would rather he didn't. This time, thankfully, their prospective partners manage not to say something stupid enough to prompt Muldoon. That is apart from a brief moment as they start to part ways.

"... you should come over some time." Dixon slaps Muldoon on the back. "You too. But only if you bring that pretty lady of yours."

Muldoon's glare is enough for him to take his hand back as if worried the man might bite it off. Hammond, of course, runs interference and separates the two before anything worse happens. The warden is quick to seek out Midge to make sure she's ok.

[doesntsing]

He’ll find Midge looking at the huge Christmas tree in the ballroom. She’s always liked Christmas trees, even if she doesn’t celebrate the holiday. The white lights make it seem to glow and there must be a hundred glass ornaments on it, all reflecting different colors in the light.

She looks up and smiles when she notices Robert, Hammond not too far behind him. “How did it go?” she asks.

[allbedestroyed]

A lovely lady standing in front of a Christmas tree is a very picturesque sight. Muldoon slips his hands into his pockets, relaxing as he steps up beside her.

"Nobody needed to call any ambulances, so I'd say rather well." After pausing to enjoy the view, of both the tree and Midge, he glances around. "You didn't get ambushed, did you?"

[doesntsing]

“I did,” Midge replies, “by the weaselly one. I told him that you’ve punched lions and that you carry a pistol.” She takes a casual sip of her drink. “He left me alone after that.” Midge could have probably told him to fuck off of her own accord, but it was easier to make the other man think that Robert would kill him.

“He did quite well,” Hammond says as he approaches, “and I feel that I should warn you that the two of you are underneath the mistletoe.”

Midge looks up. Sure enough, hanging high on the tree above their heads is the little parasitic bundle of leaves, wrapped in a red bow.

“I’ll give the two of you a moment,” Hammond says, a sparkle in his eye.

Once Hammond is out of earshot, Midge turns to Robert. “We.. don’t have to. Your deal is done. We don’t have to pretend anymore.”

The two of them are standing close together though and her eyes go instinctively to his lips.

[allbedestroyed]

That is not the answer he expected, but no sooner has he started to get indignant on her behalf than she explains how she got rid of the man. It seems Muldoon managed to be of some use even when he wasn't with her.

Worrying about assholes soon becomes the last thing on his mind as he follows Midge's gaze up to the mistletoe. He hadn't even noticed.

Thankfully Hammond leaves them to it, and Muldoon ends up blinking at Midge as she hastily tries to give him an out. Which is ridiculous. He's not the one who would want and out.

"I suppose that depends," he says, keeping his voice low. "Would you like a kiss?"

[doesntsing]

“I…” Midge bites her lip, feeling her heart start to race. “I wouldn’t say no to one.”

They’re in a rather public place, but nobody’s really looking at them, save possibly Hammond somewhere. Midge briefly wonders if he orchestrated this, but that seems ridiculous.

She moves in closer to Robert and puts a hand on his chest. Midge is a bold woman, but she wants him to make the move.

[allbedestroyed]

That's all he needs.

Muldoon is stressed and anxious about fancy parties and people who would ruin your life in ways he doesn't understand. But this? This he's alright with. This is just him and a smart, beautiful woman who isn't going to be offended if he ties to make a move.

He cups her head with a warm hand and leans in for a kiss. For her he'll try to be gentle. He's not good at gentle, but he'll try. For a moment he gets lost in her lips and the kiss lingers before he pulls away and takes in her reaction.

[doesntsing]

She feels warm all over when he kisses her. He keeps it very gentle, though she wouldn’t have minded if he was a bit more rough. She’s okay with the fact that he’s rough around the edges.

Her eyes meet his when he pulls back, but she says nothing. Instead, after catching her breath, she leans back in to press her lips to his again.

[allbedestroyed]

The hesitation in the first kiss is much fainter in the second. He's firmer, hand pulling her close by the waist. He is more than happy to kiss her properly.

[doesntsing]

She appreciates that he seems less hesitant with the second kiss. Midge kisses him for as long as she dares in public, then releases his lips from hers.

She pulls back a little, just to breathe and to talk to him quietly. “Do you wanna get out of here? Get a drink somewhere?”

Robert’s done what his boss asked him to do. They’re no longer obligated to stay.