Just One Yesterday
Series: Bayonetta/Worm
Pairing: Danny Hebert x Bayonetta (yes, that's right)
So yah, basically this is backstory for my Bayonetta's-Daughter!Taylor Wormfic that I'm doing over on SB and SV.
A bit different from my usual works, but I thought I might as well experiment with this. Hope it worked out.
[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMwK8AicNGE[/video]
JOY
Danny Hebert is twenty-one when he first sees the most beautiful woman in the world.
Mind blank, he lies in the shade out of the moonlight with his back against the massive willow tree that serves as the centre of the cemetery that had been on Captain's Hill since the city had been founded. A few rows in front of him fresh soil covers the graves of his parents. The funeral had been hours earlier, back when the sun had still been up, not that anyone would have noticed, given how few had come.
In his state of my mind he doesn't even pay much heed to the sister as she walks through the aisles of graves, pausing to lay down a few flowers here and there atop the headstones. He's so lost, both in his own mind and in life, that he only distantly notes that she looks and moves like no sister he'd ever seen.
It is only as she comes to the last and most recent graves that he notices her presence. There's something about the way she moves that catches his eye even as she simply kneels to lay a flower and offer prayer.
The sky opens up to the sound of trumpets and bells and great golden light that fills every inch of space with blinding intensity. Despite the bright light Danny can make out winged figures descending from on high, Angels come to greet his parents and usher them into heaven. He stares enraptured at the vindication of the beliefs of man before him.
The moment is broken with a resounding clap of thunder that shatters an Angel. The sister is balanced impossibly atop a cross shaped headstone, a pair of pistols in her hand, and a waft of smoke drifting from their barrels. She crouches as a golden spear passes over her then she launches herself into the sky, dancing between the winged figures.
He wants to rail at her, scream and demand she explain why she would strike the heavenly procession that had clearly come to greet his parents. But then the light is no longer blinding and he sees the Angels as they really are, the twisted monsters hiding underneath the porcelain-like shells as the sister shatters them.
One manages to get around the sister and heads to his parent's graves. There's no hesitation as he charges it, his flying tackle catching it midair. He knows that he's no match for it in a fair fight, so fights dirty, the small knife he always keeps in his back pocket slicing into the beast's wrists and hamstrings. It barely penetrates through the hard shell and the metal bends and finally breaks as he tries to gouge out the monster's eyes.
Bereft of his only weapon Danny struggles to keep himself alive as the monster bowls him over and drops its weight on top of him. One of his hands holds the Angel's head back and away from his face while the other attempts to push the beast off Danny's chest.
The Angel abruptly shatters in a spray of golden light and Danny finds himself grasping at empty air and staring up at the moon on his back. The sister lowers her smoking pistol and studies him carefully. Behind her Danny notices one of the winged monsters silently drifting through the air. He opens his mouth but before he can speak she turns and shoots the Angel without diverting her gaze.
Without a doubt in his mind Danny knows he'll never meet any woman who could hold a candle next to goddess before him. His tongue darts out nervously to lick achingly dry lips as he shakes himself from the last lingering traces of the fog that had gripped his mind.
She gives him a smile and his heart stops a moment long enough for her to disappear, leaving behind the sound of her laughter on the wind.
JOY
Danny Hebert is twenty-two when he next sees the most irritating woman in the world.
He returned to the cemetery everyday at first, then every couple of days, every week, and finally every month or two, hoping to catch another glimpse of that woman.
Another funeral had come and gone while he lays flowers down for the anniversary of his parents' own burial. He lingers in the shade under the willow tree as the crowd came and went, unwilling to disturb them in their mourning.
The hours pass and the day slowly turns to night once again.
Sleep nearly secrets him away to dreamland when he is roused by the blowing of trumpets and ringing of bells. Once again the heavenly host descends from above, though the sister is nowhere to be seen.
Danny is prepared this time. One of the winged figures escapes the blinding glow and sets itself on the ground, wandering between the tombstones in search of the most recent burial. Danny pulls his hand out of his pocket and takes in a deep breath as he tracks his target.
His grandfather's revolver bucks in his hand and the Angel shrieks as the .460 caliber bullet punches through its eye and out the back of its head.
The sound of the revolver firing thunders through the air and brings the choir to a screeching stop. Like a referee's signal, the rest of the host begins to descend upon Danny. He trembles a little as he stands his ground before them.
The revolver thunders repeatedly as he brings it to bear on the closest attackers. The bullets pierce through open mouths and joints, crippling those that aren't killed outright. The Angels reel back and Danny takes the moment of respite to reload, dumping out the spent cartridges and sliding new bullets quickly into place. He's just in time as the Angels rally for another charge.
Once again his aim is true and he thins out the host to a fraction of its original strength. He pulls the trigger and curses as the hammer clicks against a spent cap. This time the Angels don't retreat and keep up their pursuit of Danny. He turns and runs, weaving through the graves as he hastily reloads the revolver. He slides the last bullet into the chamber and flicks it closed as he stops and wheels around to face his pursuers. His other hand fans the hammer into a rolling cascade of thunder that leaves him alone in the cemetery.
Except for the pair of Angels that had lingered above and just out of sight until they dove to the ground to knock the revolver from Danny's hand and the breath from his lungs. As he recovers he barely avoids losing his head to one Angel, failing to dodge the follow up from the second of the pair and getting knocked onto his back and a gash across his chest for his miscalculation.
He scrambles backwards on hands and feet as the Angels brings their weapons down again and again, each time closer to hitting Danny. Danny's back collides with the trunk of the tree and he freezes. The Angels seems to sense their impending victory, relishing it and drawing back their weapons with sadistic slowness.
Danny suddenly grins as he reaches around the tree and grabs the shotgun he'd left prepared earlier. The Angels' heads disappear into mist before the rest of their bodies explodes into golden shards of light.
He eyes the cemetery warily for a few minutes before finally letting himself to relax and drop to ground. Danny lets his head fall back against the tree trunk.
A slow clap and soft laughter in the silence startle him and make him to jump to his feet and search wildly for the source of the sound. He relaxes slightly as he finds what he's looking for. The sister is balanced impossibly on the thinnest branch of the tree above his head, a smile on her face and pistols nowhere to be seen.
Danny offers her a shaky bow and a forced grin as the adrenaline starts to leave him. When he lifts his head she's gone once again. He sighs, but before he moves he notices a flash of movement. A single flower, a white one but of which type he doesn't know, lies on the ground before him.
His grin softens and becomes unforced as he picks it up and slips it into his jacket's breast pocket.
JOY
Danny Hebert is twenty-three when he first meets with the most interesting woman in the world.
Alan, one of the few friends who'd stuck with Danny through his parents death and ensuing eccentric behaviour, drags him to a mixer at the local college, partly out of worry over the increasing distance between the two friends, and partly because he needed a wingman.
And despite what he may claim, Danny was a damn good wingman, especially with the way he'd gotten toughened, and roughened, up lately. It wasn't too long before he was helping insist that Alan was worth dating despite the fact that he wants to be a lawyer, and really who used that as a pick up line, and from the look on the rather short blonde's face it looks like she was going for it.
Seeing his chance, Danny excuses himself and looks for a clear spot to relax a bit. The crowd was getting to him a bit more than he'd expected, and the loud music was definitely not to his taste or preference in volume. He slips through a gap in the crowd and found himself in a relatively abandoned corner of the room, except for one person who made him do a double take.
Despite her current clothes he recognizes her instantly. The mystery woman he'd chased past the point of sanity. He'd seen her every few weeks, mostly in the cemetery and almost always in the middle of a fight, and despite his best efforts he had yet to actually have a conversation with her.
Neither had any of the other men at the mixer given the circle of space around her and the mixed looks she was receiving. Danny looks around, finding Alan still distracted with the blonde, who'd been joined by her redheaded friend. He shakes his head and fixes up his nerve as he walks over and sits on the couch next to the mystery woman.
She doesn't seem to notice him as she turns the page of her book. Danny doesn't mind much, lost for words as he is. When he doesn't leave after a minute or so of silence she finally pauses in her reading.
She glances up with a slight scowl that is replaced by surprise as she recognizes who he is. She pulls out a bookmark and gently closes it on her page before turning and giving him her full attention. He smiles sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck before finally opening up by asking, of all things, what brought such a beautiful woman to this kind of event.
It doesn't take long to figure out that they both had been dragged to the mixer against their will, Danny for his friend, and to keep the faculty happy with her otherwise downright anti-social behaviour, since she needed to look like she did in fact exist outside of the classroom. Which, as she made quite clear, was hardly the case as she had much more important things to do and preferred to attend parties with a little more class.
Danny turns his laughter into a cough as she says the latter loud enough to still be heard over the music by those closest to the pair. More than a few glares get sent their way, but Danny doesn’t mind. They exchange names, Danny noting that somehow Anne-Rose doesn't quite seem to suit her, and then begin talking about things, such as their firearms of choice for certain situations.
It's an enlightening conversation, and somehow Danny ends up arranging to partner up with her for the next nights funeral service. The topic drifts from there to other matters, like how she's attending in the hopes of earning an English degree, partially on a bet, or to the growing number of unusual people in the world.
Despite everything else about the night, it's the look on Alan's face when he sees Danny chatting amiably with one of the most stunning women in the room that Danny will cherish for years to come.
JOY
Danny Hebert is twenty-four when he gets to know some of secrets behind the most incredible woman in his life.
Another long day at work and and even longer night had left him exhausted, but when his girlfriend, and boy isn't that a surprise, asks him to come down to their favorite hangout he doesn't refuse. She's nowhere to be seen when he arrives, so Danny moves through the bubbling crowd of drinkers and pool players and sits down at the bar.
He pulls a small gold ring from his pocket and slides across to the bartender. The big black man already has his usual drink in hand and sets it down on the counter for him. He doesn't say anything and neither does Danny, by this point it's become routine after a busy night.
He knocks his drink back and pulls out another pair of rings. The bartender gives him a look before refilling his glass and pulling out a box of ammunition that Danny slides into his pocket. He knocks back his glass again and tosses more rings onto the counter. After the night he had he needs the drinks.
He's partway through his fourth glass when she walks in. Without looking he knows she's arrived by the hush that sweeps through the bar.
He finishes his glass and tries to fix his hair in the bar counter's polished finish. It's not perfect, he doesn't quite have his girlfriend's tolerance for alcohol, but it's better than the mess it was when he'd come in.
She sits down next to him, a fallen angel in a black dress, and God what a dress, amusement dancing in her eyes as she regards him with her favorite little smirk. She has her hair down this time, the long black locks spilling over her shoulders and tumbling down her back like a midnight waterfall. Her beauty is a trial for his tongue to work through as he manages to order her favorite drink properly after the third attempt.
They talk a little between drinks, although she's the one who does more of the actual talking. Danny stumbles over the words, fully aware of how much a fool he's making himself out to be, before finally getting out a softly muttered thanks as he turns away in self-defeat.
He jumps at a soft pressure on his arm, the look of concern on her face is one he sees rarely, and he cherishes it. She tells him about herself, some things he already knew and some he didn't, and at the end she's quiet as she takes a drink of her own. Danny looks into his glass before he tells her about his parents, about how she had changed his life even before they'd properly met, and how she had continued to make his life interesting in the Chinese sense of the word. She gives him a long look before launching into a story so incredible, including time travel, a goddess, and a Cheshire Cat, the latter of which confused him a little.
She finishes and gives him another one of her familiar grins, this time the smug one that she has when she knows she has Danny beat. He shakes his head and starts to tell her a story of one of his adventures, from one of the few times he'd left the city, and of course the nudist monks, different dimension, and the platypus it had involved. He never really understood the last bit, or the first to be honest.
At the end of it they're both laughing as she tells him to shut up and takes him by the arm. He tosses one last ring into the counter just to make sure he's paid up before she pulls him onto the dance floor.
His steps are unsure, but with her quiet advice he's soon moving with confidence, his smile brighter than any light in the bar. His laughter joins hers as they spin and twirl across the floor. The lights and sound begins to blur, but the woman remained sharp and clear, until she was the only thing he could see.
He doesn't quite remember how they made it from the bar to her hotel room. He does remember what happens after they make it through the door though. And after they got into bed. And then out of it again.
It's not until late in the morning that they fall asleep in each other's arms.
JOY
Danny Hebert is twenty-seven when he first sees the second most incredible person in his world.
His daughter is so small in his arms, and even now he can see hints of the woman she'll grow to become. He hands her to his wife and they both silently wonder at the marvel in her arms.
He hadn't expected to find find love through sacrilege and blasphemy. He wasn't complaining, even if the constants fights for his life and hers had lost some of their charm. It was one of those things that was simply part of the woman he'd married and he long ago accepted that. His parents were probably rolling in their graves though, and all things hopeful, hers were too.
From Devils to Dragons, to Angels and even a couple AntiChrists, they'd shared more adventures and experiences than Danny could have ever imagined having. Despite having feared for his life more than once, it hadn't changed their love, and if anything it had made it stronger, fighting back to back, day after day, until they knew each other almost as well as they knew themselves.
Danny looked down at his daughter, his wife's features strong in her face, although he did see a hint of his nose in hers, and her hair no doubt took after her mother, and he smiled. Raising a child would be a whole new adventure for the both of them, and he looked forward to it and dreaded it with equal measure.
No matter what might come though, they'd be ready for it, together.
JOY
Danny Hebert is thirty-nine when he last saw the most important woman in his life.
He can't even remember how it started, nor how it went so far, he can't even remember what it was about, but he remembers what he can of the fight with nothing but shame. He was better than that, she deserved better than that, and he'd never forgive himself for driving her away that day. Many are the nights that he'd lay awake silently offering anything for the chance to relive just one yesterday, to make just one change, to unsay that which he'd never thought of saying before.
The fight ignites the subtle tensions between the two, the secrets kept from their daughter once again close in mind. Words that he's never thought before about his wife jump from his lips before he knows what is coming across his tongue. The next thing he hears is the door slamming closed. All alone he drops into the chair by the door and holds his head in his hands. Only much later does he realize that something had manipulated them both, made them volatile, slipped words across their tongues that didn't belong.
He sees the lights in the sky, the flashes of darkness and brilliant explosions filling the air, and he runs towards them. Even as his surroundings begin to blur he knows he's too late.
He buries her next to his parents at the top of Captain's Hill in the shade of the willow tree.
His daughter now refuses to cry even as she rubs at the wetness in her eyes and clutches at his side in the confusion of youth. Alan is there, with his wife and children, and Danny's friends from the Union and Anne's friends from the college are there too, but not all of them. He can't blame them, and he's thankful, for there are still more than when he buried his parents. He's glad Alan came, since he'd been the one to bring Danny's daughter, after the week she'd spent letting her tears flow on her friend's shoulder.
Annette's closest friends, the ones he calls friend too, each have their own words to say for her. Even Enzo, the punk that he is, is remarkably reserved when it comes time for his turn to say something. But their presence reminds Danny of another piece of unfinished business.
He leaves his daughter with his best friend. He still has a task of his own to complete. He returns home and grabs his tools, the special ones his wife had given him and the ones his daughter would hopefully never have to see, and heads back to the cemetery. He lays a rose on the fresh soil and says a silent prayer.
He waits past midnight in the shade under the old willow tree and watches the sky. There are no trumpets, no bells and lights, no grand reception waiting in the wings. The moon shines through the night without interruption and suffuses the cemetery.
Laughter filled the air.
Series: Bayonetta/Worm
Pairing: Danny Hebert x Bayonetta (yes, that's right)
So yah, basically this is backstory for my Bayonetta's-Daughter!Taylor Wormfic that I'm doing over on SB and SV.
A bit different from my usual works, but I thought I might as well experiment with this. Hope it worked out.
[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMwK8AicNGE[/video]
JOY
Danny Hebert is twenty-one when he first sees the most beautiful woman in the world.
Mind blank, he lies in the shade out of the moonlight with his back against the massive willow tree that serves as the centre of the cemetery that had been on Captain's Hill since the city had been founded. A few rows in front of him fresh soil covers the graves of his parents. The funeral had been hours earlier, back when the sun had still been up, not that anyone would have noticed, given how few had come.
In his state of my mind he doesn't even pay much heed to the sister as she walks through the aisles of graves, pausing to lay down a few flowers here and there atop the headstones. He's so lost, both in his own mind and in life, that he only distantly notes that she looks and moves like no sister he'd ever seen.
It is only as she comes to the last and most recent graves that he notices her presence. There's something about the way she moves that catches his eye even as she simply kneels to lay a flower and offer prayer.
The sky opens up to the sound of trumpets and bells and great golden light that fills every inch of space with blinding intensity. Despite the bright light Danny can make out winged figures descending from on high, Angels come to greet his parents and usher them into heaven. He stares enraptured at the vindication of the beliefs of man before him.
The moment is broken with a resounding clap of thunder that shatters an Angel. The sister is balanced impossibly atop a cross shaped headstone, a pair of pistols in her hand, and a waft of smoke drifting from their barrels. She crouches as a golden spear passes over her then she launches herself into the sky, dancing between the winged figures.
He wants to rail at her, scream and demand she explain why she would strike the heavenly procession that had clearly come to greet his parents. But then the light is no longer blinding and he sees the Angels as they really are, the twisted monsters hiding underneath the porcelain-like shells as the sister shatters them.
One manages to get around the sister and heads to his parent's graves. There's no hesitation as he charges it, his flying tackle catching it midair. He knows that he's no match for it in a fair fight, so fights dirty, the small knife he always keeps in his back pocket slicing into the beast's wrists and hamstrings. It barely penetrates through the hard shell and the metal bends and finally breaks as he tries to gouge out the monster's eyes.
Bereft of his only weapon Danny struggles to keep himself alive as the monster bowls him over and drops its weight on top of him. One of his hands holds the Angel's head back and away from his face while the other attempts to push the beast off Danny's chest.
The Angel abruptly shatters in a spray of golden light and Danny finds himself grasping at empty air and staring up at the moon on his back. The sister lowers her smoking pistol and studies him carefully. Behind her Danny notices one of the winged monsters silently drifting through the air. He opens his mouth but before he can speak she turns and shoots the Angel without diverting her gaze.
Without a doubt in his mind Danny knows he'll never meet any woman who could hold a candle next to goddess before him. His tongue darts out nervously to lick achingly dry lips as he shakes himself from the last lingering traces of the fog that had gripped his mind.
She gives him a smile and his heart stops a moment long enough for her to disappear, leaving behind the sound of her laughter on the wind.
JOY
Danny Hebert is twenty-two when he next sees the most irritating woman in the world.
He returned to the cemetery everyday at first, then every couple of days, every week, and finally every month or two, hoping to catch another glimpse of that woman.
Another funeral had come and gone while he lays flowers down for the anniversary of his parents' own burial. He lingers in the shade under the willow tree as the crowd came and went, unwilling to disturb them in their mourning.
The hours pass and the day slowly turns to night once again.
Sleep nearly secrets him away to dreamland when he is roused by the blowing of trumpets and ringing of bells. Once again the heavenly host descends from above, though the sister is nowhere to be seen.
Danny is prepared this time. One of the winged figures escapes the blinding glow and sets itself on the ground, wandering between the tombstones in search of the most recent burial. Danny pulls his hand out of his pocket and takes in a deep breath as he tracks his target.
His grandfather's revolver bucks in his hand and the Angel shrieks as the .460 caliber bullet punches through its eye and out the back of its head.
The sound of the revolver firing thunders through the air and brings the choir to a screeching stop. Like a referee's signal, the rest of the host begins to descend upon Danny. He trembles a little as he stands his ground before them.
The revolver thunders repeatedly as he brings it to bear on the closest attackers. The bullets pierce through open mouths and joints, crippling those that aren't killed outright. The Angels reel back and Danny takes the moment of respite to reload, dumping out the spent cartridges and sliding new bullets quickly into place. He's just in time as the Angels rally for another charge.
Once again his aim is true and he thins out the host to a fraction of its original strength. He pulls the trigger and curses as the hammer clicks against a spent cap. This time the Angels don't retreat and keep up their pursuit of Danny. He turns and runs, weaving through the graves as he hastily reloads the revolver. He slides the last bullet into the chamber and flicks it closed as he stops and wheels around to face his pursuers. His other hand fans the hammer into a rolling cascade of thunder that leaves him alone in the cemetery.
Except for the pair of Angels that had lingered above and just out of sight until they dove to the ground to knock the revolver from Danny's hand and the breath from his lungs. As he recovers he barely avoids losing his head to one Angel, failing to dodge the follow up from the second of the pair and getting knocked onto his back and a gash across his chest for his miscalculation.
He scrambles backwards on hands and feet as the Angels brings their weapons down again and again, each time closer to hitting Danny. Danny's back collides with the trunk of the tree and he freezes. The Angels seems to sense their impending victory, relishing it and drawing back their weapons with sadistic slowness.
Danny suddenly grins as he reaches around the tree and grabs the shotgun he'd left prepared earlier. The Angels' heads disappear into mist before the rest of their bodies explodes into golden shards of light.
He eyes the cemetery warily for a few minutes before finally letting himself to relax and drop to ground. Danny lets his head fall back against the tree trunk.
A slow clap and soft laughter in the silence startle him and make him to jump to his feet and search wildly for the source of the sound. He relaxes slightly as he finds what he's looking for. The sister is balanced impossibly on the thinnest branch of the tree above his head, a smile on her face and pistols nowhere to be seen.
Danny offers her a shaky bow and a forced grin as the adrenaline starts to leave him. When he lifts his head she's gone once again. He sighs, but before he moves he notices a flash of movement. A single flower, a white one but of which type he doesn't know, lies on the ground before him.
His grin softens and becomes unforced as he picks it up and slips it into his jacket's breast pocket.
JOY
Danny Hebert is twenty-three when he first meets with the most interesting woman in the world.
Alan, one of the few friends who'd stuck with Danny through his parents death and ensuing eccentric behaviour, drags him to a mixer at the local college, partly out of worry over the increasing distance between the two friends, and partly because he needed a wingman.
And despite what he may claim, Danny was a damn good wingman, especially with the way he'd gotten toughened, and roughened, up lately. It wasn't too long before he was helping insist that Alan was worth dating despite the fact that he wants to be a lawyer, and really who used that as a pick up line, and from the look on the rather short blonde's face it looks like she was going for it.
Seeing his chance, Danny excuses himself and looks for a clear spot to relax a bit. The crowd was getting to him a bit more than he'd expected, and the loud music was definitely not to his taste or preference in volume. He slips through a gap in the crowd and found himself in a relatively abandoned corner of the room, except for one person who made him do a double take.
Despite her current clothes he recognizes her instantly. The mystery woman he'd chased past the point of sanity. He'd seen her every few weeks, mostly in the cemetery and almost always in the middle of a fight, and despite his best efforts he had yet to actually have a conversation with her.
Neither had any of the other men at the mixer given the circle of space around her and the mixed looks she was receiving. Danny looks around, finding Alan still distracted with the blonde, who'd been joined by her redheaded friend. He shakes his head and fixes up his nerve as he walks over and sits on the couch next to the mystery woman.
She doesn't seem to notice him as she turns the page of her book. Danny doesn't mind much, lost for words as he is. When he doesn't leave after a minute or so of silence she finally pauses in her reading.
She glances up with a slight scowl that is replaced by surprise as she recognizes who he is. She pulls out a bookmark and gently closes it on her page before turning and giving him her full attention. He smiles sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck before finally opening up by asking, of all things, what brought such a beautiful woman to this kind of event.
It doesn't take long to figure out that they both had been dragged to the mixer against their will, Danny for his friend, and to keep the faculty happy with her otherwise downright anti-social behaviour, since she needed to look like she did in fact exist outside of the classroom. Which, as she made quite clear, was hardly the case as she had much more important things to do and preferred to attend parties with a little more class.
Danny turns his laughter into a cough as she says the latter loud enough to still be heard over the music by those closest to the pair. More than a few glares get sent their way, but Danny doesn’t mind. They exchange names, Danny noting that somehow Anne-Rose doesn't quite seem to suit her, and then begin talking about things, such as their firearms of choice for certain situations.
It's an enlightening conversation, and somehow Danny ends up arranging to partner up with her for the next nights funeral service. The topic drifts from there to other matters, like how she's attending in the hopes of earning an English degree, partially on a bet, or to the growing number of unusual people in the world.
Despite everything else about the night, it's the look on Alan's face when he sees Danny chatting amiably with one of the most stunning women in the room that Danny will cherish for years to come.
JOY
Danny Hebert is twenty-four when he gets to know some of secrets behind the most incredible woman in his life.
Another long day at work and and even longer night had left him exhausted, but when his girlfriend, and boy isn't that a surprise, asks him to come down to their favorite hangout he doesn't refuse. She's nowhere to be seen when he arrives, so Danny moves through the bubbling crowd of drinkers and pool players and sits down at the bar.
He pulls a small gold ring from his pocket and slides across to the bartender. The big black man already has his usual drink in hand and sets it down on the counter for him. He doesn't say anything and neither does Danny, by this point it's become routine after a busy night.
He knocks his drink back and pulls out another pair of rings. The bartender gives him a look before refilling his glass and pulling out a box of ammunition that Danny slides into his pocket. He knocks back his glass again and tosses more rings onto the counter. After the night he had he needs the drinks.
He's partway through his fourth glass when she walks in. Without looking he knows she's arrived by the hush that sweeps through the bar.
He finishes his glass and tries to fix his hair in the bar counter's polished finish. It's not perfect, he doesn't quite have his girlfriend's tolerance for alcohol, but it's better than the mess it was when he'd come in.
She sits down next to him, a fallen angel in a black dress, and God what a dress, amusement dancing in her eyes as she regards him with her favorite little smirk. She has her hair down this time, the long black locks spilling over her shoulders and tumbling down her back like a midnight waterfall. Her beauty is a trial for his tongue to work through as he manages to order her favorite drink properly after the third attempt.
They talk a little between drinks, although she's the one who does more of the actual talking. Danny stumbles over the words, fully aware of how much a fool he's making himself out to be, before finally getting out a softly muttered thanks as he turns away in self-defeat.
He jumps at a soft pressure on his arm, the look of concern on her face is one he sees rarely, and he cherishes it. She tells him about herself, some things he already knew and some he didn't, and at the end she's quiet as she takes a drink of her own. Danny looks into his glass before he tells her about his parents, about how she had changed his life even before they'd properly met, and how she had continued to make his life interesting in the Chinese sense of the word. She gives him a long look before launching into a story so incredible, including time travel, a goddess, and a Cheshire Cat, the latter of which confused him a little.
She finishes and gives him another one of her familiar grins, this time the smug one that she has when she knows she has Danny beat. He shakes his head and starts to tell her a story of one of his adventures, from one of the few times he'd left the city, and of course the nudist monks, different dimension, and the platypus it had involved. He never really understood the last bit, or the first to be honest.
At the end of it they're both laughing as she tells him to shut up and takes him by the arm. He tosses one last ring into the counter just to make sure he's paid up before she pulls him onto the dance floor.
His steps are unsure, but with her quiet advice he's soon moving with confidence, his smile brighter than any light in the bar. His laughter joins hers as they spin and twirl across the floor. The lights and sound begins to blur, but the woman remained sharp and clear, until she was the only thing he could see.
He doesn't quite remember how they made it from the bar to her hotel room. He does remember what happens after they make it through the door though. And after they got into bed. And then out of it again.
It's not until late in the morning that they fall asleep in each other's arms.
JOY
Danny Hebert is twenty-seven when he first sees the second most incredible person in his world.
His daughter is so small in his arms, and even now he can see hints of the woman she'll grow to become. He hands her to his wife and they both silently wonder at the marvel in her arms.
He hadn't expected to find find love through sacrilege and blasphemy. He wasn't complaining, even if the constants fights for his life and hers had lost some of their charm. It was one of those things that was simply part of the woman he'd married and he long ago accepted that. His parents were probably rolling in their graves though, and all things hopeful, hers were too.
From Devils to Dragons, to Angels and even a couple AntiChrists, they'd shared more adventures and experiences than Danny could have ever imagined having. Despite having feared for his life more than once, it hadn't changed their love, and if anything it had made it stronger, fighting back to back, day after day, until they knew each other almost as well as they knew themselves.
Danny looked down at his daughter, his wife's features strong in her face, although he did see a hint of his nose in hers, and her hair no doubt took after her mother, and he smiled. Raising a child would be a whole new adventure for the both of them, and he looked forward to it and dreaded it with equal measure.
No matter what might come though, they'd be ready for it, together.
JOY
Danny Hebert is thirty-nine when he last saw the most important woman in his life.
He can't even remember how it started, nor how it went so far, he can't even remember what it was about, but he remembers what he can of the fight with nothing but shame. He was better than that, she deserved better than that, and he'd never forgive himself for driving her away that day. Many are the nights that he'd lay awake silently offering anything for the chance to relive just one yesterday, to make just one change, to unsay that which he'd never thought of saying before.
The fight ignites the subtle tensions between the two, the secrets kept from their daughter once again close in mind. Words that he's never thought before about his wife jump from his lips before he knows what is coming across his tongue. The next thing he hears is the door slamming closed. All alone he drops into the chair by the door and holds his head in his hands. Only much later does he realize that something had manipulated them both, made them volatile, slipped words across their tongues that didn't belong.
He sees the lights in the sky, the flashes of darkness and brilliant explosions filling the air, and he runs towards them. Even as his surroundings begin to blur he knows he's too late.
He buries her next to his parents at the top of Captain's Hill in the shade of the willow tree.
His daughter now refuses to cry even as she rubs at the wetness in her eyes and clutches at his side in the confusion of youth. Alan is there, with his wife and children, and Danny's friends from the Union and Anne's friends from the college are there too, but not all of them. He can't blame them, and he's thankful, for there are still more than when he buried his parents. He's glad Alan came, since he'd been the one to bring Danny's daughter, after the week she'd spent letting her tears flow on her friend's shoulder.
Annette's closest friends, the ones he calls friend too, each have their own words to say for her. Even Enzo, the punk that he is, is remarkably reserved when it comes time for his turn to say something. But their presence reminds Danny of another piece of unfinished business.
He leaves his daughter with his best friend. He still has a task of his own to complete. He returns home and grabs his tools, the special ones his wife had given him and the ones his daughter would hopefully never have to see, and heads back to the cemetery. He lays a rose on the fresh soil and says a silent prayer.
He waits past midnight in the shade under the old willow tree and watches the sky. There are no trumpets, no bells and lights, no grand reception waiting in the wings. The moon shines through the night without interruption and suffuses the cemetery.
Laughter filled the air.
