vanillafluffy: (Bobby heartbreak)
[personal profile] vanillafluffy
Title: For Auld Lang Syne
Authored by: vanillafluffy
Pairing: None
Rating/Work-safeness: PG for language
Approximate word count: 550
Disclaimer: I own only the neurons and electrons I composed it with
Summary: Set one year in the future and assumes Dean didn't break the deal.



For Auld Lang Syne



If you want to spend a festive New Year's Eve, this isn't the bar to do it in. The jukebox is broken, so the radio is tuned to a station that's counting down the year's greatest hits in between commercials for car dealerships and vinyl siding. There are a few regulars drooling into their beers, a couple of good old boys playing pool on a table that's off plumb and mended with duct tape.

2009 is only a few minutes away when a tall blonde pushes the door open and strides into the room. What the hell is a woman like her doing in a dump like this, the bartender wonders. She looks like a fashion model---expensive clothes, perfectly groomed, and when she gets closer, she brings with her the scent of parfum that's $150 an ounce.

"Bombay gin, neat, wedge of lime, no ice cubes," she instructs, lounging against the bar.

Bombay gin? In a dive like this? Silently, the bartender holds up the two house varieties of gin, which are, respectively, cheap and cheaper.

"You've got to be joking." The newcomer has an accent that sounds like something from Dr Who---English, kind of classy. Slumming, here.

"Is there a wine list?"

Yeah, right. Bought in bulk, the choices are, big bottle and even bigger bottle. Miss Posh makes a face. "Champagne?" There's exactly one bottle of the stuff in the building, and it's been in the back of the cooler since the bartender started work there.

"That'll do."

"Fifty dollars, pay in advance."

"For that plonk? You've got to be joking!"

"Take it or leave it."

"Oh, all right, all right." She rummages through a little envelope of a handbag that probably cost more than the bartender's car. Good grief. And grief does have something to do with it, since Miss Posh says, "I lost someone this year, and I promised I'd drink a toast to him on New Year's Eve." She flings a hundred-dollar bill on the bar. "Get on with it, will you? It's nearly midnight."

Times are tough all over, the bartender wants to say, uncorking the bottle. There aren't any flutes, but there are wine glasses that are good enough, even for a snob like this.

"Have one with me," the blonde tells her. "We may as well get my money's worth."

What's wrong with Jack and Coke? But what the hell, Miss Posh isn't the only one who's had a bad year, who's lost someone...a second glass of bubbly, then, and some bittersweet thoughts of what might have been. The DJ is making a big production of announcing the number one hit of 2008, and as the opening chords of the song ring from the tinny speakers, the Englishwoman says, "I'm going to miss you, you bastard." and drinks from her glass.

"Oh, God, that's dreadful!" she sputters, and laughs.

She's not wrong. The bartender pours both glasses into the sink and sets up two rounds of Jack and Coke. "Here's to bastards."

"Cheers," her customer says, knocking it back. "Keep the change."

"Thanks. Happy New Year."

"Somehow, I doubt it." She's gone as swiftly as she came, and behind her in the run-down bar, Jo Harvelle rinses out her dirty glass.



***


Happy New Year, y'all! Comments are shiny.

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 03:47 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pwcorgigirl.livejournal.com
*is gobsmacked*

It's JO! Fabulous! And oh, the significance of the missing bastard they're drinking over breaks my heart just a little bit.

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 03:59 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vanillafluffy.livejournal.com
*is gobsmacked*

It was a calculated sucker-punch. Shameless. ;>

(But we know it's not going to happen that way, right--?! There's a loophole, or Ragnar, or something!)

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 04:07 am (UTC)
theladyscribe: Etta Place and Butch Cassidy laughing. (jo and dean)
From: [personal profile] theladyscribe
OH MY GOD!

JO! And BELA! Together! Drinking for Dean Winchester! Perfection.

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 04:25 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vanillafluffy.livejournal.com
JO! And BELA! Together! Drinking for Dean Winchester!

...without a clue that they're thinking of the same bastard. Gotta love that irony!

Thanks for dropping by, and Happy New Year!

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 05:13 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] yasminke.livejournal.com
Nice twist. Should've seen it, what with the recognition of parfum and all, but nope. Slid right past me.

Well done and happy New Year.

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 05:28 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vanillafluffy.livejournal.com
Thank you kindly! And a good 2008 to you also!

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 05:39 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jdsgirlbev.livejournal.com
Oooo! Sneaky!

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 05:45 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vanillafluffy.livejournal.com
It must be all those O. Henry stories I read when I was a kid!

Happy New Year! (Which I'm going to be typing all day long, I can tell!)

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 08:54 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ewanspotter.livejournal.com
Hah! You got me. Great job. ;D

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 03:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vanillafluffy.livejournal.com
Thanks! Happy New Year!

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 12:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rivers-bend.livejournal.com
Awesome, in that may this never be canon sort of way *g*

Except that I'd love it if they brought back Jo.

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 03:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vanillafluffy.livejournal.com
I'm reasonably sure it wouldn't happen in canon, but geez, can you imagine those two trying to work together? End times for sure!

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 02:35 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] starhawk2005.livejournal.com
Ah, Bella and Jo. Nice to see them again. And it's nice to see Bella cared about Dean (as much as she's capable of caring about anyone) after all.

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 03:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vanillafluffy.livejournal.com
I think B would miss such a good snark partner. Plus the fact that Sam isn't going to be as easily distracted.

Glad you enjoyed it. Happy New Year!


(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 03:29 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] starhawk2005.livejournal.com
Happy New Year to you, too! *hugs*

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 06:06 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] valderman74.livejournal.com
Very nice. Now where do I go to read about the bastard they are drinking to?

Spoilers for AHBL, BD@BR

Date: 2008-01-01 10:44 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vanillafluffy.livejournal.com
The bastard's name is Dean Winchester. Are you familiar with the series "Supernatural"? CW, Thursday night at 9? Last season, Dean's brother Sam was killed and Dean made a deal to bring him back. Save Sam, and Dean dies a year later. (The whole fandom is biting their nails to see how it gets resolved, especially with the writer's strike taking a big bite out of the season.) Miss Posh, a/k/a Bella, is an antiquities dealer Dean has a lust/hate relationship with. Jo/The Bartender is a friend of the Winchester family. Bella and Jo don't know each other in character, which makes the irony tastier.

I've written a ton of stuff for Supernatural, which can be found here: http://www.fanfiction.net/~vanillafluffy

(Now you know what I was writing on the church steps during all those lunch breaks!)

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 11:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] openmydoors.livejournal.com
This was just perfect in so many ways.. *kampai!*

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-01 11:58 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vanillafluffy.livejournal.com
Thanks! I'm not perfect, but parts of me are excellent!

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-06 04:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] miconic.livejournal.com
Ah, I like it when characters crossed over themselves. I good what-if that works.

Thanks for the read.

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-06 06:11 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vanillafluffy.livejournal.com
Yeah, I'm pretty sure it won't really happen this way---they CAN'T kill off Dean! *bites nails*

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-06 06:25 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] miconic.livejournal.com
You know, a part of me wants Dean to die, especially if the show's ending at Season 3 [touchwood!]. I don't want Sam to give up his life for Dean's, hence continuing this debt-of-life round robin. I don't really know how they're going to go at it, but that's cool too; at least I won't be underwhelmed by the resolution. Well, not that much I hope (: TPTB can be rather flighty plot-wise.

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-07 05:30 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vanillafluffy.livejournal.com
My theory, assuming that we get renewed for next year, is that Sam is going to tilt toward the dark side to save Dean, and next season will be about trying to redeem him. I *hope* they're going to do something with the demon virus from last season---it doesn't make sense to introduce something like that and not follow up with it.

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-08 10:11 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] miconic.livejournal.com
You're right, there are a few other things that they didn't follow up on yet; the FBI guys, Dean's Bloody Mary (because that boy can hurt), and yeah, what happens to Missouri? If they do continue as your theory for next season, it's not going to be one long seasonful of chasing Sam, is it? I like the standalones actually, sometimes I think they're cornering themselves the more they they dealt into; there are only an infinite number of ways they could go from there. I really hope they have some idea about Dean's deal.

(no subject)

Date: 2008-01-08 04:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vanillafluffy.livejournal.com
If they do continue as your theory for next season, it's not going to be one long seasonful of chasing Sam, is it?

Not necessarily, but a lot more conflict. (Sam as devil's advocate literally, perhaps?) One thing I've noticed this season is that they don't spend quite as much time together. Sam does research, Dean bonds with Ben, Sam breaks into crime boss's office, Dean gets trapped in cellar, Dean goes to party with Bela...you get the idea. For practical reasons, they may be doing it so J & J get an extra day off every once in a while, but on a more subtle level, it comes across to me as a kind of alienation.

I really hope they have some idea about Dean's deal.

That's easy: they should read fan-fic---we have LOTS of ideas!

(no subject)

Date: 2008-06-18 06:41 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com
Well done!

*hugs*

(no subject)

Date: 2008-06-18 06:44 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vanillafluffy.livejournal.com
Thanks! (At least I was half right. Maybe.)

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