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[songsofelisa]

“No, you don’t,” agreed Elisa. “Besides, is it a resolution if you already do something as part of your normal routine?” she asked, giving him a look. “New year is a chance to do something new.” She took the drink from Lee and took a deep gulp from it. “Yes, I think you would suit pink and I think you could do all of those things if you don’t lose any steam.” 

She gave him a look. “Me what? My resolutions?” She frowned. “I don’t know.”

[leepackett]

"I think I could too." However, it was the losing steam thing that would be the crutch for Lee. How often had he started something with excitement and not finished? Hand went through curls that had never had any colour through them other than their natural black and the occasional blonde. Knowing Lee, they'd be pink by tomorrow. "Yeah. Yours. What were they this year?"

[leepackett]

Date: 31st December 2024 Where: Carynthia NYE Bonfire Who: @songsofelisa

"Resolutions are meant to be fun. I don't need to go to the gym more," he probably should go less, honestly. For a man with no routine, Lee stuck to that one like it was air. He took a swig of his drink. "I think I'm going to climb a mountain. Learn how to DJ. Maybe I'll dye my hair. Do you think I'd suit pink?" He grinned, handing Elisa a drink of her own. "Your turn."

[leepackett]

A smile tugs Lee's lips upwards as he closes the gap between them, a hand going to cup Elisa's face. "Finally she gets it," he murmurs, tone teasing, before ducking down and meeting his lips with hers. Had this been where he thought they’d end up at the start of the night? No. But was he glad they were - absolutely.

[songsofelisa]

Had she been sober, she might have been surprised. Had she been sober, she also might have spent more time teasing him for the way he asked. Had she been sober, she probably would have caught on. 

However, she was feeling light and fuzzy, and happy, and didn’t think anything of it, instead immersing herself in the moment, hands around him as they kissed.

the end.

[songsofelisa]

Elisa blinked. She couldn’t help but laugh, mostly because she had never had anyone ask her before. Not like this. Most people just went for it. However, she appreciated the sweet sentiment behind it. 

“Yes.”

[leepackett]

A smile tugs Lee's lips upwards as he closes the gap between them, a hand going to cup Elisa's face. "Finally she gets it," he murmurs, tone teasing, before ducking down and meeting his lips with hers. Had this been where he thought they’d end up at the start of the night? No. But was he glad they were - absolutely.

[songsofelisa]

“What?” asked Elisa looking amused. She felt like she was missing some joke or another. It was comical that someone who dedicated their life and spare time to trying to find the hidden details that could be important to a mystery was missing all of the signs, though Elisa was hit or miss with certain social cues, anyway. Certainly the alcohol that had settled in her body didn’t help matters either. 

“Then what do you think we should do?”

[leepackett]

"Elisa," he couldn't help but laugh again, softer this time as he said her name. Lee felt a warm buzz, content. His hand was still on her hip, and this was probably the easiest mystery she would ever have to solve, and yet -- "Can I kiss you?"

[songsofelisa]

Elisa looked at Lee as he looked amused. “What?” she asked, as if she might have missed some big joke. “You can’t just smile like that and not explain why,” she said and poked him gently in the chest. 

Elisa laughed. “You want to play Guess Who?” she asked, but she didn’t seem against the idea. “Okay! You know, there’s this trend where you ask questions that aren’t related to their physical appearance. None of those ‘do they wear glasses?’ or ‘do they have black hair?’ kind of questions. Get really creative. We should do that.”

[leepackett]

"'Lisa," Lee couldn't help but laugh. Of course Elisa would've loved the idea of Guess Who. He'd seen the trend, and normally -- yeah. He'd be down to get drunker and play Guess Who. Heck, he still would be if that's what she decided she wanted to do with the rest of the night. His optimistic outlook meant he handled rejection a lot easier than most, like water off his back -- a good thing, given how often he shot his shot.

But shooting his shot was what he did best, and something in him was leading him there that night. An action that was rare for him when it came to a girl he considered his friend. And yet there he was, tequila warming him from the inside out, reaching up to brush a loose strand of hair from Elisa's face as he answered, "I don't think we should play Guess Who."

[songsofelisa]

Elisa looked over at Lee as he mentioned going out. She tilted her head at him. “No, we definitely don’t,” she agreed. She smiled serenely as she looked up at him, not even paying any mind to the hand that rested on her hip. Elisa, at least for now, didn’t think anything of it. Lee wasn’t exactly shy when it came to physical contact. 

She did raise an eyebrow, as if prompting him to go on. “Sure, we could stay here, but what would we do?” she asked. She had enough alcohol swimming her mind that she didn’t quite put the pieces together. “Do you have something in mind?”

[leepackett]

It was amusement that broke out over Lee's face, an expression and feeling that many might not have in the moment. But Lee was Lee - easy going to the fault, even if what he put down was not immediately picked up. Besides, he had just as much alcohol in his own system, working more off of feeling than any thought. And he felt, well -- he felt like it could be fun.

He had a look over his shoulder towards an overpacked bookshelf (which had about three books on it, if that). "I reckon I might have an old game of Guess Who lying around," he suggested unseriously, turning back to meet her gaze with a raised brow of his own.

[songsofelisa]

Elisa let Lee fill up her glass and raised it up for the toast. “To me!” she said as she then tipped it back and drank it all without even flinching. She felt the way the alcohol went down. There was some bite to it, but it was the point in the night where it didn’t taste nearly as strong as it might have were she completely sober. 

“Okay, okay,” she said, putting the glass down. “Now what are we doing?” she asked. “The night is still young after all.”

[leepackett]

The shot burned as Lee threw his back, in the way that tequila always would, no matter how fancy it was and no matter how drunk he already was when taking it. Not that that would stop him drinking it. Especially if it was free. ”Y’know,” he set his glass down, glancing at the time reflecting from a rarely used oven. It was late, but not by their standards. The night was still young. “We don’t have to go out.”

Lee had always been affectionate with his friends. The casual way he draped his self over them more often than not, the ease in which he offered a hug, or a clap on the shoulder. But the way his hand moved to rest on Elisa’s hip was more intentional than that. It was a question. One that he wasn't entirely sure where it had come from, it certainly hadn't been his intention when suggesting the come back to his, yet in the moment -- "Could stay here. If you want."

[songsofelisa]

As they reached his apartment. The woof of the sleepy dog didn’t escape Elisa’s inebriated notice, and so she was quick to find the canine, dropping to her knees to coo at her. “Oh, aren’t you such a sweet girl?” she cooed as she pet the dog, allowing herself to be distracted while Lee looked around in his cupboards. “Such a beautiful girl, look at you, so sleepy.” 

Elisa looked back as Lee found what he was looking for and stood back up, grinning. “Yay!” she said, clapping her hands. She took one of the glasses from him. "Pour me some."

[leepackett]

Daisy lapped up the attention, like owner like dog, a tail softly wagging and hitting her bed as she did so. As soon as Elisa stood though, she was back to sleep, not a care in the world. She would be waking Lee at seven am though, guaranteed.

Lee popped open the bottle, moving around to stand in front of Elisa as he filled her glass, then his, then set the bottle down. "A toast," he declared, knocking their glasses together in an cheers and surprisingly not spilling a drop. "To the birthday girl."

[leepackett]

"Oh shit I got it," he clicked his fingers and pointed at Elisa, just as the bored looking waiter-murderer returned as they were about to leave, offering the pair their congratulatory shots. "My boss gave me this fancy as fuck bottle of tequila. Should we go get that then go to the club? See where the night takes us?" Howl At The Moon was the best place Lee could work. Between that and the mines he got everything he needed, plus the perks were pretty good. It was a simple suggestion, but they'd never not had a fun night there. And, y'know, perks.

[songsofelisa]

Elisa sat up as Lee snapped his fingers. She took the shot that they were offered by their waiter and was quick to take it, as Lee unveiled his plan. “Yes!” she said enthusiastically. “Definitely see where the night takes us. Night is still young and we’ve got a lot of it to still get through.” She went ahead and adjusted her dress. “How do I look? Club worthy?” she asked.

[leepackett]

Lee looked for a moment, not unappreciatively, and nodded. "Ten outta ten, 'Lisa," he answered, slinging one arm over her shoulders as they left the club, using the other to fish his phone out of his pocket to call them an Uber back to his.

It was a short ride, or at least the drinks in their system and their animated discussion about how well they'd solved that crime made it one, and before long they were back in Carynthia, and Lee was pushing open the door to his apartment. A soft woof was the only sound from Dais who, upon realising it was Lee, went straight back to sleep. It was too late for her.

"Alright. It's here somewhere." He pulled open the cupboard full of all the drinks he'd been given, or taken, from work. It didn't take much rummaging before he let out a celebratory noise, turning around the the tequila and two glasses.

[songsofelisa]

Elisa looked at Lee. “And where else could we possibly go to celebrate solving this real murder.” She was drinking the most recent drink she had brought at lightning speed. It was easy when the drinks were sweet and she was already nice and buzzed, so the idea of taking it slow or easy felt foreign. 

“Yes, though, we should go out-out to celebrate!” she added, as if her enthusiasm wasn’t clear enough. “This has been such a rush,” she grinned. “I can’t even imagine what could be better than this to celebrate.” She hooked her arm in his.

[leepackett]

"Oh shit I got it," he clicked his fingers and pointed at Elisa, just as the bored looking waiter-murderer returned as they were about to leave, offering the pair their congratulatory shots. "My boss gave me this fancy as fuck bottle of tequila. Should we go get that then go to the club? See where the night takes us?" Howl At The Moon was the best place Lee could work. Between that and the mines he got everything he needed, plus the perks were pretty good. It was a simple suggestion, but they'd never not had a fun night there. And, y'know, perks.

[songsofelisa]

Elisa gave him a look. “No, you didn’t,” she said. Because yes, she was going to call him out on it, but in a teasing way. 

She took the drink that had just been brought to her. She gasped dramatically, in part because it was fun to be overdramatic, but also because she was buzzed enough. “You’re right! The waiter did it! Of course, such an obvious solution,” she said as she joined in pointing the metaphorical finger. “Hey, do we get something for figuring it out?”

[leepackett]

Lee just shot her a wink in response, because of course he didn't. He knew it, she knew it, hell, even the waiter-murderer knew it.

He was grinning, flying high off the fact that he solved it. Sure, it was easy to solve. And sure, they probably always send the ginger waiter over right when the people investigating found the ginger hair. It'd be more obvious from the way the waiter-murderer rolled his eyes and answered I'll be back with some shots if Lee was paying more attention.

"We have to go out out now, right? Celebrate the fact we solved a real murder?"

[songsofelisa]

Elisa gave Lee a look, as if she knew that he had no idea what that meant. “It means when someone kills their wife,” she offered to him not unkindly.

She let her attention shift, though, following Lee to where he had moved and crouched down. Elisa looked at the tuft of hair that he pointed out. “Oh!” she said, eyes wide. “I think we have our killer,” she said. If this were a real scenario she would have, of course, grabbed some rubber gloves or at least not reached out her bare hand to take whatever it was to examine it more closely. Besides, she was already on her second drink of the night.

[leepackett]

"I knew that," he replied confidently, even though they both knew he didn't.

Lee turned his eye to look at Elisa, grinning at her excitement. "Fuck yeah we do." He peered closer, however, grin fading slightly (albeit not by much. He was having too much fun). "A ginger. None of the bodies out there were ginger." Just then, the waiter returned with their drinks and Lee let out a gasp of his own as he looked up at him, then to Elisa, then back to the waiter. "He's ginger!" He still took the drink, even though he'd just accused the man of murder.

[leepackett]

[peterpfeiffer]

Laughing, Peter swatted the airborne hay away before it could hit him. One stray straw made a home out of his hair, but their colors were so similar it was almost impossible to tell.

"Dude, I wasn't weird last time..." Peter insisted, but the trailing off of his voice said otherwise. "You'd've done the same thing if it was your first time eating artichoke. Right there in the name! Artichoke. How was I supposed to know you didn't swallow it whole, huh? And I only kissed your mom two times too many too near the mouth once after she saved my life, because the second time was an accident on account of the wonky chair leg and you know it, since I was only stuck in that seat because you won the coin toss."

[leepackett]

"Look, I don't care if you're into older chicks, but Nancy's off limits." He was joking, obviously. A continuous game of poking and poking at his friend. Because it wound Peter up to the point that he did end up stuck in a chair, or he carried on. Besides, it was completely mutual. "You can sit next to dad. But don't go kissing him either." He stood, shooting off a text to his mum, unknowingly (ok a little knowingly) sending the woman into a spin, making sure Lee's favourite food was cooked.

"Rob's full game, though." His dad's weird best friend, married to his mum's best friend - they all had one.

[songsofelisa]

“Yes, of course it happens all the time. It’s one of the more common reasons for uxoricide,” said Elisa with a knowledgeable nod. “However, I think there’s a lot more going on here that we just haven’t put together yet,” said she thoughtfully. “Oh, yes,” she said as he ordered another round, handing over her empty glass before they could move away. 

“I think there’s something we’re missing,” she said as she began to look around the room, trying to look past what was obviously laid out for them. “Something about this feels staged, you know?” Of course, it could be that it felt that way because it was technically staged by the bar, but still.

[leepackett]

Lee nodded solemnly. "Yes. The uxoricide. Exactly." He had zero idea was uxoricide was. It sounded like some sort of poison or cleaning chemical, looking around for a trash can with a bottle of the stuff buried in it. Staged, yes. But you had to look past the obvious staged to see where the killer may have faked some clues.

"You're right." He stepped over the dead husband and into the third room. "Way too obvious, right?" He crouched down, the last room being a bathroom. It didn't look like there was much in there. The sink, still wet as if it had recently been used. The fake window was slightly cracked, the smallest tuft of something caught on the latch. "Hey, look at this."

[songsofelisa]

Elisa followed Lee, sipping at her drink as they moved around. She took in the rest of the place in, stopping only when Lee nearly tripped over the dummy. She crouched down. “Look, head was caved in, so it looks like his death may have been the result of some sort of blunt force trauma.” She pointed to the flattened side of the dummy’s head. “We should find the murder weapon,” she said. “Maybe it’s still here. Crime of passion.” 

[leepackett]

Lee bent over to get a good look as well, arch raising slightly as he turned to look at Elisa. "Maybe he's not the husband. Affair gone wrong? Two of them caught in the act?" You heard of it happening all the time, maybe it was too simple. Then again, the simplest answer was usually the closest to the truth. He waved down one of the "Detectives" to order another round of margaritas as he straightened up.

He had a look around, there was the way to obvious baseball bat by the front door. The book, the candle. Whilst it seemed the place was leaning into the stereotypes he was sure they wouldn't be that predictable. Besides, there was still one more room to check.