Companions; Assemble!

[Cecil Wathen]

[OOC Note: This thread is open to Ferris, Josef, Damien, Sean, Josh, Idalia, Angie, Stefan and anyone else Cecil considers a friend. There is no posting order and of course no obligation to post if you do not wish to.]


Cecil didn't want any real kind of 'thing' to mark the occasion. In truth, forty was a milestone he had been dreading reaching for the past year. He'd never really been bothered about it before, but since the divorce the passing of time had been weighing heavier on him. He didn't miss Aaron and certainly didn't regret ending their marriage, but he did intensely pine for the close companionship of another person and he knew that, with each passing year, the chances of him being able to have that again were getting smaller and smaller.

That being said, the thought of passing the end of another decade of life shut away alone in his apartment above the bar had been a depressing one. Even though he did spend his birthday itself working to distraction and phoning Carys, he had no plans to not do something on the weekend. Even if that something was just inviting around a group of friends for good food, plentiful drinks and movies.

Having told all the regulars that the Churchkey would be closed this Friday evening, Cecil had wired a Blu-ray player up to the TV so that movies could be watched on the huge screen in the bar instead of the sporting events that it normally displayed. Mephit was enjoying having free rein of the main room for a change, but she knew to stay away from the bar itself which contained a mass of homemade pizzas, sandwiches and cheese twists, popcorn, chips, mini-cakes and other tasty snacks. There was far more than would likely be necessary, but he figured it was always better to be over-prepared.

Of course, Cecil hadn't exactly been open and honest about the reason for this little shindig. He knew some of them would likely be able to figure it out, but in truth he just wanted a night of relaxing and socialising with a few people he considered friends. It wasn't so often he got to go out and have a proper social life; so why not bring the social life here instead?

Wearing jeans and the new shirt he bought himself as a present, Cecil had The Avengers on the screen as he finished checking over the bar, making sure there would be enough snacks for everyone and that the drinks were all stocked up and ready. Mephit, who had been playing with a chew toy under one of the tables, barked excitedly in greeting as someone entered the room. Giving a bright smile to the first to arrive, Cecil approached them with his hand out. “Hey, good to see you! Glad you could make it; thanks for coming!”

[Stefan Spencer]

Stefan had no clue as to the reason why Cecil had invited him to the bar for a private party. Of course, he mind at immediately jumped to the conclusion that the younger man had liked what he saw on the day they first met in the bathroom. Still he didn't have enough alcohol in his system to feel convicted of that fact, something he was sure to remedy in about a half hour. Still he had swung by his house after work to pretty himself up. Of course, had he known it was a birthday party he would have brought presents. Or at least a coupon for some Stefan loving.

Still whatever the reason, Stefan was looking forward to the evening. Drinks and friends were always a great combinations, no matter the occasion.

"Hey there girl," Stefan said, leaning to pet the dog as he entered. Surely she would smell his cat on him, even though he had made sure there were not cat hairs clinging to his suit. "And hello there handsome," he added when he looked up to see Cecil.

"Big man in a suit of armor, take that away and what are ya?" he asked, when he saw what Cecil was wearing. "Stark naked." He couldn't help but chuckle at his own joke.

After greeting his friend, he helped himself to a seat at his usual bar stool. "So handsome, what's the occasion?"

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh and Sean were not the type of people to be fashionably late. Unless he was too drunk to notice, Josh was generally very punctual, and Sean was unsurprisingly the same. As such they arrived to Cecil's party promptly, and only not armed with gifts due to the fact that the Welsh man had so pointedly abstained from mentioning birthday anywhere in his invitation. There was a gift. A solitary, surreptitious one left in the car, the only acknowledgement either man would give towards the occasion.

"Cecil!" Josh began divesting himself of his coat as soon as he stepped through the door, refraining from any sort of birthday greeting with great difficulty. Sean had informed him of the real reason behind this party, but had warned him not to speak of it.

Not speaking was not one of Josh's talents.

Another familiar figure was there before him, which elicited a second greeting. "Stefan! And how are you? Mind if we join you at the bar?"

Much like his friend, the attorney felt the need to stop and scratch Mephit behind the ears. "And how are you? I should've thought to bring treats." He sighed in regret. Oh, well; maybe next time.

[Ferris Macklin]

Ferris and Devon were the next to arrive, Ferris having driven them both. He'd leave before his neighbor, but Dev would likely need a taxi anyway. Ferris hadn't had time to have a nap before he went, but that was alright, he'd drink a Coke or two and not stay too late. With his jeans and boots he wore his own dorky shirt, and arrived carrying a brown grocery bag. It clinked. Though he didn't know the occasion, he still had an overabundance of jars and was not shy about sharing. There were two jars of pickled mini sweet peppers, three jars of various jams, one of marinara, and two more he'd just tossed in without checking to see what they were. Probably more pickled things. He had a lot of pickled things. Enough pickled things that Abe Milton's eyes had gone a little starry.

Hanging his coat on the back of a chair, Ferris didn't know the guy in the suit, but he knew Sean and Josh. Giving a smile and a wave to both, he held up his grocery sack to Cecil. "Host present! Or. That's what I'm claiming instead of saying I'm trying to get rid of the evidence of my obsessive canning. You win either way, right?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

It was difficult to hide a birthday from Sean Neville. The telepathy made him privy to such knowledge, because people thought about this birthdays (or their birthdates) occasionally. Most people did nothing to hide them, and so it was a moot point.

And then there was Cecil.

The telepath was sympathetic to the younger man’s feelings about his birthday. Forty was a milestone (even if Sean, from his current age, might laugh at the thought of it making one old). He didn’t make a big deal for his own birthday these days, and he was the last person to force another into an unwanted production.

Still, when he and Josh had received the invitation, Sean considered that tacit permission to buy a present. He wouldn’t announce it as a birthday present, and he would make sure that Cecil received it privately rather than in front of the other party guests.

It wasn’t liquor. Cecil was the one friend (aside from Stefan) for whom alcohol was an unnecessary purchase.

The telepath had informed Josh of the true reason for the party, because he considered it part of partner privilege. Josh had promised not to say anything, and they had left it at that.

Upon arriving, he offered Stefan a smile and a wave before going up to Cecil. “Thank you for having us.” That, too, was all that he would say on the subject of it being the younger man’s birthday.

When Ferris and Devon arrived, he offered the younger men smiles as well.

[Devon Wentsworth]

It was Devon's first actual night out since he had gotten back from his trip home and he was most definitely feeling up for it. Even though he knew it was unlikely to be an action-packed night of the kind of chaos he leaned towards, it was still a damn site better than another night of sitting in his house getting glared at by that miserable sodding cat. He had popped into the bar shortly after his return and dropped off a few bits and pieces from back home for the owner, one Brit to another, but he hadn't stayed long. The jet lag had been evil. However, tonight his mood was a vast improvement to how it had been over the past two weeks and he had been practically bouncing as he had showered and changed before meeting Ferris for a ride over.

Even though he had no clue what the actual occasion was, Devon was thrilled to be out and his grin was unfaltering as he entered the bar after thanking Ferris for the lift. “Heeeey everyone!” He gave a wave to Stefan and Josh in greeting before nodding to Cecil. “Thanks for the invite, mate. Much appreciated.” To Sean he offered a bright smile, finally much more at ease in the ridiculously tall man's presence. They'd had a rather awkward start, sure, but Devon had come to realise that Sean was a good guy and despite the chaos of his first week at the school, the Brit had nothing to worry about from the psychiatrist. “Sean! Long time no see. How's things?”

[Cecil Wathen]

It hadn't surprised Cecil in the slightest when Stefan had been the first to arrive. Ever since their first meeting the older man had always managed to make one hell of an impression, and the Welshman had possessed little doubt about his friend turning up. Mephit bounded over to him with her tail wagging furiously, another excited bark leaving her as she nuzzled against his hands. Cecil would of course make sure he thoroughly cleaned everywhere later, once she was back upstairs, but it was his night to spend with his friends and it simply wouldn't have felt right without his closest companion there too.

Cecil smiled easily at the compliment from Stefan, a soft laugh leaving his lips. “Hello gorgeous, glad you could make it.” A bit of light-hearted banter never hurt anyone and Cecil was happy enough to play along with it; it was all harmless after all. “Wouldn't have been a party without you here.”

As Josh and Sean arrived Cecil greeted them with bright smiles and handshakes, motioning to the bar area in general. “Please, come in, get comfy! Thank you both for coming.” Mephit was quite clearly thrilled with all the attention and skittered excitedly as Josh greeted her, tail wagging so hard her torso was rocking.
To Stefan Cecil offered a small smile and a vague shrug. “No occasion. Just felt like getting a few friends together, you know? Bit of a catch-up after the holidays and such.”

Ferris and Devon were welcomed equally merrily, and after thanking Devon again for the Brit goods the Welshman's attention was captured by Ferris and the very intriguing bag he was offering out. “You didn't need to bring anything, my friend. Your company's always gift enough.” After peeking in the bag, however, Cecil gave Ferris a soft smile and chuckled softly, resting a hand on Ferris' shoulder warmly. “I'm certainly not going to complain though, that's an amazingly epic win. Thank you so much.” The bag full of no-doubt delicious offerings was tucked safely behind the bar for retrieval later, and Cecil sent a private thought in Ferris' direction. 'Seriously, thank you. That's incredibly kind and much appreciated.'

Taking his oh-so familiar place behind the bar, Cecil smiled brightly towards his gathered friends. “Right, what does everyone fancy? Usual's all round? Please, dig in. There's plates and forks and stuff on the end of the bar over there.”

[Ferris Macklin]

Ferris grinned back. "If you could see my place you'd say different. You'd start out by saying 'the first step is admitting you have a problem' and then take more jars for my personal safety and wellbeing."

And as jovially as he said this, it was not a lie. "You're very welcome. I wish I could've brought more, but Abe won't tell me where he's spontaneously getting shopping baskets to appear from."

Perusing the long line of awesome looking food, if it wasn't immediately obvious that Ferris never received what Cecil sent into his head, it was when he started speaking before the message was completely over, expression clearly saying nothing out of the ordinary was going on. "This all looks great. Did you make all of it yourself?"

For a drink, instead of his 'usual', Ferris sighed a little, smiling. "I'll take a Coke please."

Before it was up, he took a plate and a few slices of pizza. Nom nom nom. While the others got their food, he leaned over to say hello to Mephit. He hadn't been ignoring her, but waiting till not everyone was petting her. "Evening Meph," he said. "You lucked out, getting a bunch of people to play with tonight."

[Stefan Spencer]

"The party doesn't start til I arrive," Stefan replied grinning. It was so nice to have friends that went along with his playful flirting. And it was playful...for the most part. Sure if anyone ever took it serious and enjoyed it, then Stefan would be more than happy to go along with that too. But when people couldn't even handle him calling them gorgeous, it was hard to understand why. After all what was so wrong about pointing out the obvious?

Speaking of which, here came Sean and Josh. "Come on in, the water's fine. Just like you," Stefan said, hoping that was okay enough for Sean. Still he knew that by the end of the night this was going to be hard. (That's what she said.)

He smiled at the two others who arrived, although he didn't know them by name, he was sure he'd seen them at parties before. Then again, Stefan felt like most of the citizens of Pilot Ridge looked familiar.

"Cecil, you never told me all your friends are male models. Shame on you," Stefan said, grinning. "And any occasion is a good enough occasion for me." Something told Stefan that his friend was holding something back, but he was too busy having fun and gearing up for a night of (more) drinking that he didn't want to be bothered by what his power was trying to tell him.

There was no need to tell Cecil what his "usual". If the bartender didn't know to pour him a scotch, there was something wrong with the young man's memory.

Drink in hand, he turned towards Josh and Sean. "So how are you two love birds doing?"

[Angie Flores]

Angie was late due to interrogating Marcus's friend's mom.

Unfortunately, this was not an exaggeration.

Angie was generally a friendly person. Those who knew her personally were always surprised when they saw her in court, when she became bossy, confrontational and, if the situation called for it, downright rude. But generally she liked making good impressions on the voting population of Pilot Ridge and Vermont.

Except when it came to Marcus's friends. Her son had good tastes. She liked them and their parents. But when the woman who had come to the door looked just a little too young and she saw shot glasses on the table, Angie pulled her aside for a lecture on the Dangers of Underage Drinking, charges for providing alcohol to a minor, and then had left the woman to think about it and had put Marcus and his friend under an EXCEPTIONALLY well-paid babysitter.

Still, Angie was still in a good mood when she arrived to Cecil's party, even if it was late, and she promptly marched over in her high heels and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her lips to his cheek in a friendly kiss.

"Cecil! Thanks for inviting me." She pulled back to grin at him. "Sorry Marcus couldn't come. Homework. These are for you." She pushed a package to him--filled with video games of course, then leaned in to whisper "Happy Birthday." She'd looked into a file. Well, she was nosy. Her smile was a bit softer now, then she walked around the bar to wave to everyone else. "Sean, Josh. Ferris, right? And of course, Uncle Stefan." She settled on a stool and motioned for them to continue. Because God, she was tired. Still, this should be good.

[Josef Muller]

Josef was, on the other hand, just late because if there was one trait he'd picked up from William, it was the art of being fashionably late.

He was looking forward to Cecil's party. Unlike Angie, he did not know it was for a birthday. He should've--it was on Cecil's form he'd had to fill out for lessons and insurance. But Josef could be a bit clueless and tended to respect privacy.

Mostly the former, though.

Had Cecil decided to tell him, however, he would've offered sympathy, teases and support. He'd been there. Forty years old, transplanted into a new town and a new career and newly single. That had not been the best birthday but he'd survived. But Cecil had friends, a thriving business and a large party. Things were better.

He arrived slightly late and offered a sheepish wave to everyone, then settled at the counter with everyone else.

"Beer, please," he said, then grinned. "You serving when it's your party? If you feel comfortable, let someone else have a turn." He could do it, although it had been a long time since he'd tended bar.

[Damien Tremblay]

Damien was also arriving late, though most of that was Josef's fault. He had told him multiple times that they were supposed to be leaving, but all he'd gotten was responses like 'five more minutes' and 'I'm coming.' He had just about considered trying to physically drag his boyfriend from the house when Josef finally got himself to the door. The reason for their delays?

Neil Patrick Harris.

Damien had promised that the puppy would be fine for a few hours. He had already been outside, and he had both Gypsy and Charlie for company. Nothing would happen to him. The house was puppy proofed as much as it could be, and barring an incident with a cranky cat, things would be fine.

... He hadn't voiced the risk of Charlie swatting the overeager puppy for certain reasons. Like keeping Josef relatively sane.

At least they'd arrived, albeit late, but in one piece. NPH was at home, and they were going to have fun.

Damien followed behind Josef, equally as clueless as to the real reason behind the party. He still had a good three and a half years before he had to worry about forty, but he could at least offer support if he knew.

As he had no idea, he instead stooped to offer his hand to Mephit, brushing his fingers over her ears. "Hey, Mephs," he greeted softly before joining Josef back at the bar. He was glad to see he knew most of the people at the bar, and was fairly relaxed. "Thanks for inviting us, Cecil. And I'll have red wine." Even living with Josef hadn't really turned him into much of a beer drinker, though he did have one now and again at home, if Josef was.

He might have been content to stay put, but when he spotted Angie, he gently touched Josef's shoulder before moving to greet her. "Hey, Ang. You look exhausted. Everything okay?" She was a good friend, and he hoped nothing was going on.

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil chuckled softly at Ferris' comment regarding his jarred deliciousness collection. “Hey, you know I'm more than happy to help reduce your burden. That's what friend's are for, right?” Even though he spoke in jest there was an earnest note to Cecil's words. All of the jars Ferris had gifted to him so far had been amazing, and certainly helped liven up some what would have otherwise been very ordinary recipes. If he brought any more though Cecil would start insisting on some form of payment; he'd never been one to take advantage of the generosity of another.

When Ferris interrupted the silent message that Cecil had been sending him a faint frown furrowed Cecil's brow. It only lasted a moment before he brushed it back, but that was... odd. Either Ferris was being quietly dismissive of Cecil's thanks or he was being rude and interrupting. It didn't really occur to Cecil that he might not have heard it, even though most people tended to react in some way to the first time they heard a disembodied Welsh voice speaking in their mind. Cecil chose to believe that Ferris was merely being subtly dismissive and shook off the strange feeling, giving a small nod of his head in answer. “Most of it, yeah. I cheated and bought the popcorn and chips, but the rest of it got made either today or last night.” He breathed a quiet laugh. “There's no laver in any of it, I promise.”

“Wow, a coke? You're really getting adventurous!” It was good-humoured jest and the smile was bright on Cecil's lips as he started fixing drinks for everyone, eyebrow raising slightly at Stefan's observation. His general real world opinion of models (male or otherwise) tended to be a not very good one, but he kept his humour high. “Some of them are female too, but they don't seem to have made it yet.”

As if on cue Angie arrived then, and Cecil's smile was wide and genuine as he returned the hug with a warm one of his own. “I'm so glad you could make it! Wouldn't have been the same without you here.” He took the package with an arched eyebrow, a faint frown discolouring his features for a moment. He hadn't wanted anyone to know and he certainly hadn't told her, which means she had cheated and looked it up, but... he couldn't really be mad at her. He just hoped no-one had overheard her wishing him a happy birthday. Giving her another hug, Cecil did eventually smile and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “You are mean, but thank you. Really, I do appreciate it. Oh! You and Marcus should come round for a games night some time. We can play board and video games and order pizza, make an evening of it.”

The smile was still bright as Damien and Josef arrived, and Cecil warmly shook hands with both as he started to pour Josef's pint. “Yeah well, I have to get everyone started, don't I? I'd be willing to bet money that Stefan would be back here in a heartbeat if I let him.” Cecil chuckled softly, turning to Damien. “No problem, thanks for coming. It's always great to see you.”

Mephit was merry as could be, wandering from person to person and greeting them with snuffles, a furiously wagging tail and bright affection, though she knew well enough to steer away from the people that had food. She had been well trained to know that if a person has a plate, they are not for loving on.

Cecil realised then that not everyone would know everyone else. Jesus, it was tough playing a party host instead of just the person who owns the place where the party is being held. He quickly ran through the names of everyone present, making sure that at the very least everyone knew one another's names. Then he had an idea. “Hey, if anyone wants a go back here they're more than welcome to it. It's an open bar tonight, go for whatever takes your fancy. Though, I've got some bottles of PB&J vodka and I challenge you all to try to come up with a cocktail centred on it that doesn't taste like diabetes in drink form. If any of them are actually drinkable, I'll add it to the menu and let you name it.”