Rory Gets Drunk and Sings Karaoke
Avery: Noa darling, please tell your boyfriend to take some Tylenol and take a nap so he’s ready for tonight. Jack and I are sending him home.
Noa: Uh oh, what’s wrong? I thought you were setting up for the benefit
Avery: We were - he volunteered to help unload the trucks - heat got to him. Made him drink water - called an Uber.
Noa: At a photo shoot; do I need to come home?
Avery: Nope - he’s fine. Probably trying to get out of singing karaoke tonight. Which absolutely will not happen. That man is getting on stage if I have to drag him up there myself.
Noa: I’ll help. He’ll be powerless against both of us
Avery: Love how you think sweetheart
Noa sent a quick text to her boyfriend - drink water and get rest I love you - and got an almost immediate response: yeah yeah mama Morrison lectured me already. ILYSM
She grinned to herself and went back to her photography clients. Noa trusted Avery when he said Rory was fine, but even so it was a relief to finish up and go home to check on him herself.
Rory was lounging on the sofa watching one of the Avengers movies when she walked in. He’d clearly just showered - the hair at his nape left damp patches on the shoulders of his black t-shirt, which was carefully tucked into Noa’s favorite pair of dark jeans. There was a half-full glass of ice water sitting on the coffee table that he pointed to as soon as she walked in.
“I’m drinking, I’m drinking,” he proclaimed, picking it up and taking a sip. “Tell Avery.”
“Later,” Noa promised, kneeling down in front of him and cupping his cheek. His skin was cool and she hummed in satisfaction. “You look hot.”
“I just showered, I’m fine,” Rory protested, grabbing her hand and holding it in place. “See?”
Noa slowly shook her head. “I didn’t say you felt hot,” she said, speaking very deliberately. “I said you look hot. Totally different thing.” Her fingers played with his belt.
Rory reached down and effortlessly pulled her up onto his lap. He nuzzled his face into her neck and breathed in. “I’m not sure the rest of me’s okay though,” he mumbled. “Maybe you’d better check.”
“Hmm.” Noa untucked Rory’s shirt and pressed her hands against his chest. He hissed with appreciation when she arranged herself more purposefully in his lap, his hips buckling against hers. She peered at him critically for a few seconds, and then nodded. “Definitely needs some attention.”
“Definitely.” Rory let his head fall back against the sofa. “Avery n’Jack are gonna yell if we’re late,”
“Worth it,” shrugged Noa, before lowering her mouth to his.
In the end they were right on time. Noa waited patiently, grinning, while Avery carefully examined Rory for any residual effects from the heat before handing him a plastic cup of bourbon.
“Liquid courage; karaoke starts in 30 minutes,” he announced. “I’ve got a whole 80s playlist ready.”
“Of course you do.” Rory took a big gulp of the bourbon and made an appreciative face. “You got the good stuff.”
“Just for a couple of us, and the bartender knows to keep the bottle secure. Everyone else gets crap.” Avery threw an arm around Noa. “For you, dear, I’ll get you the best tequila soda they’ve got, but I suggest you stay sober enough to care for your boyfriend later. Not sure how much bourbon it’s going to take to get him up on stage.”
“I hope you have enough,” said Rory seriously. “You may need a second bottle.”
He nudged Avery out of the way so he could wrap his arm around Noa, and like he had at home, buried his face in her hair and took a deep breath. She recognized it as one of the grounding exercises she’d taught him for the rare times he got stressed, and after a few more inhales his body relaxed against her. It was kind of endearing how nervous Rory was. He actually had a decent voice, and he’d even sung karaoke before - just not for a crowd of his coworkers and various other people he knew. The fundraiser had attracted all kinds - community action groups, the families they served, law enforcement. Even Rory and Gabe’s soccer league was a sponsor, and a bunch of their teammates were coming. Basically it meant there were a lot of people who’d want to give Rory a hard time about his performance later.
Still it was a little unusual for him to care that much about what other people thought. Normally Noa would expect Rory to pretend he was nervous but then lean into the performance anyway, singing his heart out. Especially after a few drinks and if egged on by Jack and Avery.
Maybe it was because they were at a bar, and Noa tended to get hit on at bars. Rory had been a lot more relaxed about that lately, but he couldn’t keep an eye on her tonight. That could be it, Noa supposed. Still, she was the only one who seemed to think that maybe Rory was more uptight about the evening’s activities than he was letting on. So she let it go, confident he’d tell her if something was really wrong.
“You’re looking forward to this, aren’t you?” Rory asked his partner. He drained the rest of his bourbon and Avery poured half of his glass into Rory’s empty one. “Can you even sing, Morrison?”
“After a shot or two you’ll think I’m Jonathan Groff,” Avery promised. He threw an arm around Rory’s neck again.
“Who?” Rory reluctantly allowed Avery to tug him away from Noa, but then grabbed her hand at the last minute and pulled her against him for one more kiss.
Avery ignored the display of affection. “Ask Drew when you see him - he’s a theater kid, right? Noa darling, can I steal your boyfriend for a few minutes? Very important FBI business.” Avery waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Rory gave her a wan smile.
“As long as you don’t break him,” she warned, glad Avery was going to be keeping an eye on Rory. Or getting him wasted, same difference. “At least none of the important parts,” she added. Rory groaned.
“You’re supposed to say all my parts are important,” he protested.
“Some more than others,” she clarified. As she leaned in for a kiss, Rory’s other partner Jack appeared, holding three shot glasses.
“Here - have a Big Bang - Rum, triple sec, orange juice and pineapple,” he explained, handing them to Avery and Rory. “Sorry Noa, I ran out of hands.”
“It’s okay; Noa’s getting a real Big Bang later,” Avery smirked before throwing back his drink and giving a delicate shudder. Noa gave him a high five.
“Remember, you promised not to break my boyfriend; Jack, I’m counting on you to keep an eye on things because I don’t trust Avery at all.” Noa fixed the three men with her best glare, trying to keep the smile hidden.
While Avery was sputtering out an objection, another voice interrupted.
“And why not? I’ve found Morrison to be quite trustworthy, when given the right opportunity.” Adam appeared out of nowhere, as was his habit whenever more than three people he considered interesting had gathered. Noa locked eyes with Rory. The bar was starting to fill up with all kinds of people Adam would consider worthy of his attention - and he’d chosen to come talk to his sister, her boyfriend, Rory’s married partner, and . . . Avery Morrison. Hmmm.
“I’ll have to come up with more of those opportunities then,” Avery said lightly. Unlike the previous times Noa had seen him in the same space as her brother, there was none of the undercurrent of flirty tension or one-upsmanship in his tone this time. Adam had a casual smile on his face, as if he understood something the rest of them did not. Which, given that it was Adam, was probably true. Noa looked back and forth between the two men, trying to figure it out. Usually she had no trouble reading her brother.
“Mira would tell you not to trust me either,” Jack laughed, and the moment broke. Avery linked arms with Rory, a slightly rueful smile on his face, while Jack attached him to Rory’s other side. “We’ll try to keep him in one piece at least until he sings,” Jack promised. “But first I think he needs another shot.” They began ushering Rory away like two sentinels. He gave Noa one last, faintly terrified look and let himself be led off.
Noa watched fondly for a moment until the trio disappeared around a corner. Then she turned back to her brother. “And what was that all about?” she asked bluntly.
Adam didn’t try to pretend he didn’t know what she meant. “We’ve . . . come to an understanding, I suppose,” he shrugged. “Since we’re going to have to keep seeing each other it just made sense.” He signaled a server over and ordered a Manhattan.
Noa wasn’t convinced. “And does this understanding involve sex?” One thing she was certain about was that Adam was attracted to Avery, physically at least and maybe more. But since they’d already slept together twice, Noa wasn’t sure what her brother’s intentions were. There wasn’t a playbook for Adam Calder staying in touch with one of his past flings - at least not one Noa was aware of.
“Come on, Noey, I’m just being practical here.” Adam sipped his drink and gazed expectantly at her. Noa glared right back.
“That didn’t answer my question,” she grumbled. “What if . . .”
“Oh hey, there are Miah and Drew; let’s go say hi!” Adam’s eyes lit up as if he’d been waiting to talk to the couple the entire night. Noa rolled her eyes at the obvious deflection but followed her brother. She had plenty of time to figure out what was going on with him and Avery. And it occurred to her that Jeremiah was the only one of Adam’s former partners he’d stayed friends with. Maybe he had some ideas.
And he seemed particularly friendly tonight. Usually, the doctor’s attitude towards Adam was one of long suffering affection and the subtle reminder that somehow, “padawan Jeremiah” had out-played his master. But today Jeremiah’s eyes lit up the second they saw Adam.
“Calder sweetheart, good to see you again, especially now that neither of us is vomiting.” Jeremiah put his hand on Adam’s arm and then leaned in to slowly kiss his cheek. “Are you all recovered?”
“I am,” Adam confirmed. He glanced quickly at Drew and then back to Jeremiah. “Are you?”
“Working on it,” Jeremiah affirmed. “Glad to be out with all of you; I cannot wait to see Rory on stage. Noa, I saw him sing karaoke in college and he’s actually not bad, but it took a lot of alcohol to get him there.”
“I think Avery and Jack are taking care of that,” she laughed. She gave Jeremiah a kiss too. “There’s a bottle of good bourbon involved.” Then she turned to the nurse, who’d been silently watching Adam and Jeremiah’s exchange.
“Welcome back; we missed you!” Noa gave Drew a one-armed hug. “How was Atlanta? I’m so glad your dad is doing better. You were down there a long time, weren’t you?” Noa hadn’t heard the full story about Drew’s trip down to his childhood home but she could imagine how stressful it must have been. His parents had been less than enthusiastic about him coming out at sixteen, and things had been tense every since. Now she gave him a sympathetic smile.
“Umm it’s good. Atlanta is . . .was . . . good. And yeah. Thank you. My dad’s improving but he’s uhh . . . he’s still got a way to go with his recovery.” Drew took a deep pull of his beer and stared at the stage. There were a couple of bar employees setting up microphones and lowering big screens on either side of the performance area. Noa looked around for Rory but couldn’t find him. She hoped he was okay and nott trying to chicken out, not that Avery or Jack were likely to let him. She knocked hips with Jeremiah.
“So you’re going to watch with me, right? Cause I can’t imagine you singing.” She nodded at the stage. “But Drew, you’re going to get up there, aren’t you? Weren’t you a theater kid? This has to be right up your alley - maybe something from Hamilton?” Noa expected the man to jump at the chance to perform. Instead, he frowned.
“I don’t think so. Not tonight.” he answered, just as Jeremiah muttered “I need another drink.” He pulled away from Noa. “I’ll talk to you later, hon; tell Rory congrats for me.” He turned abruptly to his boyfriend. “Are you coming?”
Drew tossed his empty beer into a nearby trash can. “Hell yeah; let’s go.” He tapped his foot impatiently when Jeremiah didn’t immediately move in the direction of the bar. Instead he leaned in towards Adam.
“And what about you, sweetheart? Can I buy you a drink?”
Adam smiled and shook his head. “Not right now; I’m going to keep my sister company while we wait for Rory to fall off the stage.” He leaned in and gave Jeremiah another kiss. “But let’s catch up later.”
“Come on; I thought you wanted a drink.” Drew tugged on his boyfriend’s arm. “I know I do.”
As soon as the couple disappeared into the crowd, Noa groaned to her brother. “Did I totally stick my foot in my mouth? I thought Drew would definitely want to sing but he didn’t seem into it at all.” She was sure the nurse had talked about how much he liked singing at some point before. But he’d seemed almost . . . cranky tonight. Very unlike his usual sunny and affectionate personality. “I hope I didn’t upset him.”
Adam shook his head thoughtfully, looking in the direction that Jeremiah and Drew had walked off to and then turning back to his sister. “I don’t think Drew’s issue has anything to do with singing.”
“Then what . . .?” Noa began, but then Gabe and Logan walked up. The couple was grinning and looking tousled and all thoughts of Jeremiah and Drew flew out of Noa’s head. She bit back a smirk.
“And where have you two been all this time?” she asked suggestively. “You just missed Drew and Jeremiah.”
“We saw them too . . . at the bar.” Logan got a funny look on her face - one that didn’t have anything to do with whatever activity she and Gabe had just finished. Like she wanted to say something else but wasn’t sure it was appropriate. Noa was having none of it. If Drew hadn’t acted oddly when she suggested singing karaoke, maybe she wouldn’t have questioned it, but he had, and now Noa wanted to know why.
“First Adam, now you,” she pointed out. “Something’s going on with them, isn’t it? So spill it.”
“What? No! It’s nothing. I just meant that . . . we didn’t really get to talk to them. That’s all.” Logan bit her lip and looked around at the stage. “When’s the karaoke starting?”
Logan was a terrible liar, and she was hiding something. By the look on Adam’s face, Noa knew he thought so too. But he wasn’t saying anything, which meant he already knew whatever the news was. And Noa couldn’t ask now because the lights were dimming and Avery - who was on the board of one of the organizations - was getting up to welcome everyone.
And then Rory and Jack and a few other agents joined him, and the first note of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ blared out over the speakers. Rory was laughing. He looked less nervous - and more drunk - than earlier and Noa grinned, watching him. He was looking out at the crowd and as soon as his eyes found hers he pointed at her and started playing an air guitar. The crowd went wild.
“Damn, Rory looks good!” Adam put his mouth close to Noa’s ear and yelled over the noise. “Does he use those moves in bed?”
“Hey now, no hitting on my boyfriend!” Noa shouted back. Up on stage, Avery joined Rory in some complicated, hip-shaking dance they’d clearly planned ahead of time. Noa nudged her brother. “Talk about looking good!”
Adam rolled his eyes. “Like I said, we’ve got an understanding.”
“Right.” Noa nodded. “As in, I understand that you think Avery’s hot.”
“Completely beside the point.” The song ended and Adam suddenly kissed Noa on the cheek. “I need to ask . . . Logan something,” he said quickly, and disappeared into the crowd just as Rory jumped off the stage. Noa snorted at her brother’s obvious excuse and wasn’t surprised to see Avery right behind her boyfriend. He glanced at Adam’s departing back and smirked.
“Wimp; he knew I was going to try to get him on stage.” Both Noa and Rory laughed.
“It would take more alcohol than they have in the bar to get Adam to sing in public,” Rory explained. He pressed himself against Noa’s back and rocked her back and forth as a group of police officers led the crowd in Sweet Caroline. Avery shrugged.
“Well I love a challenge, but right now I think we need to find Jack and practice our next song. Did you like our dance moves?” he asked Noa. The agent grabbed her hand and shook his hips suggestively.
“Fabulous,” Noa proclaimed. “Can’t wait to see the next ones.” Rory gave her a drunken - and thorough - kiss and promised to find her after the next song. Noa listened to Neil Diamond for another minute and then headed back to the tables where she’d last seen Logan and Gabe. Gabe wasn’t there but Logan was - and she was actually talking to Adam. Apparently that hadn’t just been a total excuse of her brother’s after all. Halfway there, Noa changed direction when she saw Jeremiah, standing by a pillar and swaying awkwardly to the music. He gave her a tight-lipped smile when she walked up.
“You don’t dance, do you?” she teased lightly. Jeremiah shook his head.
“Two left feet,” he agreed. “Drew . . . ahem . . . Drew dances though. His parents made him take ballroom when he was a kid.” He frowned for a moment and then shook his head.
Noa saw her opening. “I was afraid I upset him earlier,” she confessed. “When I asked if he was going to sing.” The opening bars of Bohemian Rhapsody started and Rory jogged back onto the stage with a microphone. All the guys were wearing stupid looking sequined headbands this time, hamming it up and doing shots while they danced around the stage. Rory stumbled into Jack and the two of them swayed crazily together while they sang. Jeremiah followed her gaze.
“I hope he doesn’t have to work tomorrow,” he commented dryly. “Let me know if you need help with him later.” He looked down for a second and then back at her. “You didn’t upset Drew. He’s just . . . “ Jeremiah stopped for a second and took a sip of his drink. “. . . tonight’s just not his night,” he finished.
Noa suspected that the man had been about to say something else. But the middle of a crowded bar while her drunk boyfriend was dancing around on stage was not the time or place to get into it. Instead she squeezed his arm. “Let’s talk later, okay?” she asked. “Maybe if you end up helping me babysit Ror.”
Jeremiah nodded and said something about the bathroom, and Noa headed back towards Logan and Adam. But Adam was gone and Gabe was back and Noa spent the next few songs talking to Mira Yu - Jack’s wife. She was tipsy and giggling over the sight of her husband up on the stage, and when the FBI agents finished their song, she lurched off to go find him.
Noa had had exactly one drink so far, and she debated the wisdom of a second, but in the end decided to stick with Diet Coke. When Mira returned with the news that all the FBI agents were doing tequila shots before their next number, she was glad she had stayed sober.
Because when the rest of the agents marched back onto the stage - shirtless this time - Rory wasn’t with them. Avery wasn’t either, and when Jack came rushing over, a worried expression on his face, Noa’s heart sank.
“Is he sick?” she asked, looking around for Jeremiah again. Avery and Jack had been drinking a lot too, and if Rory was already throwing up, she was going to need sober help.
“Not yet,” Jack said tersely. He put a hand on Noa’s arm as if to steady her. “I mean, he’s really drunk, but seemed to be having a good time, you know? But then I guess it was suddenly too much. He asked where you were, and I guess no one knew, and then he ran off to find you.” He bit his lip, and Noa saw as he gave a tiniest shake of his head at Mira.
“Okay,” Noa said, more calmly than she felt. Jack Yu was one of the most unflappable people she knew, and if he was worried, that wasn’t good. “So where is he?”
“We’re not sure . . . oh wait.” Jack pulled out his phone and read the text there. “Apparently he’s on the roof? It’s not as bad as it sounds,” he said quickly, when Noa let out a cry. “There’s a deck up there; it’s part of the bar, but they kept it closed off for the benefit.”
Noa’s heartbeat slowed down now that she knew her boyfriend wasn't in immediate danger. “Take me there,” she ordered.
At the bottom of the staircase, Jack suddenly pulled away from her. “Bathroom,” he muttered, fist against his mouth, and sped off in that direction. Noa sighed. Hopefully the criminals of Boston didn’t know the entire local FBI was wasted tonight.
Avery met her near the top of the steps.
“He wants you,” he told Noa. “I’m getting water and then I’ll be back to help.” His mouth twisted. “I’m sorry - I didn’t realize we’d gotten him so drunk. One minute he was find and then next . . .” He shrugged helplessly.
“I’ve got him,” Noa promised. “But . . . come back soon if you can. Jack’s already off puking.”
Avery nodded quickly. He swayed a bit on the steps and Noa suspected he was about to join his partner in front of a toilet.
The roof was dim, with tables and chairs scattered about. Rory was standing at the far end, looking out over the city. He was swaying like Avery had been, and Noa was relieved to see that the ledge surrounding the deck was more than waist-high.
She could just make out the side of his face reflected in the neon sign from the building next door. Rory’s expression was tense and closed off, very different from how he’d been on stage or he usually was when he was this drunk and all his inhibitions came down. Something was going on with him, and she quickly ran through the night, trying to figure out what had happened in the last hour - had some guy tried to hit on her? - but came up with nothing. But then he rocked unevenly on the balls of his feet and she wondered if he’d had even more to drink than she’d thought.
“Why don’t we go get some water?” She looked towards the stairway she had come up, hoping to see Avery returning with a glass, but no one was there. Jack had made her so panicked, she hadn’t stopped to think before rushing upstairs.
“I’m not drunk.” But his voice wavered and Noa rolled her eyes.
“Sure you’re not,” she said fondly, reaching around to take the glass of bourbon from his hand. “Now let’s back away from the edge of the building, okay?” He gulped quietly and she froze. “Do you think you’re going to throw up?”
“Nope, not sick.” He was still turned away, body trembling. She frowned, and then gently touched his cheek to make him look her in the eye. “Rory?”
He drew in a ragged breath, and then suddenly, the roof was flooded with light. Noa stumbled with surprise and Rory grabbed her upper arms to steady her.
“You okay?” he asked roughly, and there was something in his tone Noa thought she should understand. She blinked, and the brightness resolved into hundreds and hundreds of fairy lights criss-crossing the roof above them. There were flowers too, dozens of tulips and posies and hydrangeas, all wildly out of season.
They were Noa’s favorites though, and she suddenly felt like she couldn’t breathe. She shook her head, trying to make her brain understand. He’d been drinking - Jack was worried and Avery was sorry. But . . . was he?
Rory lifted her chin. His eyes were clear and focused, and he stood solidly in front of her, watching her expression with an intensity that made her knees weak. “I’m not drunk, not even a little bit,” he said again, carefully.
Now she was the one shaking. The drink she’d taken from Rory spilled over her hand and his eyes followed hers there.
“It’s tea.” He inclined his head at the glass tumbler. “Looks like bourbon so no one could tell. Avery kept refilling me. And the shots I did with Jack were pure orange juice.” He took the cup out of her hand and put it on the concrete ledge.
She could barely find her voice. “Rory . . .”
“Shhh.” He touched his fingers to her lips. “If I don’t start talking right now I’m going to start crying so please let me go first.” His eyes were very bright.
Noa gave a watery chuckle. “I already am crying, so go ahead.” She watched, barely moving, while he took a deep breath. And when he smiled at her, Noa’s vision tunneled and the rest of the rooftop fell away.
“I’ve been in love with you since I was sixteen,” he said, voice breaking. “And in all that time, I’ve known. Nothing feels as right, or as whole without you. You make me a better person and I want to spend every day for the rest of our lives loving you and being the best man I can be.” Rory had started crying too, but now he chuckled. “I know everyone jokes we already act like we’re married, and if you’ll have me, I'd like to prove them all right.” He slowly dropped to one knee, and despite knowing it was coming, Noa still gasped.
“Noa Jordan Calder, I can say with absolute certainty that there is nothing I want more in this world than to be your husband. And live with you, and love you, and have babies with you, and get old with you, and sometimes fight with you, and make up with you, and of course have a lot of amazing sex with you.” He smiled again, bigger this time. “Will you marry me?”
There were a million things Noa wanted to say, and would say, to Rory, but at that moment, only one word mattered.
“Yes,” she answered, dropping down to her knees and letting out a whoop when Rory grabbed her into his arms. Several long, wonderful, and private minutes followed.
And then they were sitting on the floor, Noa in Rory’s lap. She was admiring the fourth finger on her left hand, which was now adorned with a stunning emerald-cut diamond ring. And Rory was talking softly.
“I’ve been driving myself crazy, trying to figure out a way to ask you that you wouldn’t be able to guess,” he admitted. His hands roamed - touching her cheek, squeezing her waist, brushing back her hair. He touched his lips to hers again. “Avery and Jack have been helping me plan for weeks.”
“They did a great job.” Some of the adrenaline was fading and now Noa found herself unable to stop smiling. “I was so panicked.”
“Mira knew too but Jack only told her tonight. Rory turned Noa in the circle of his lap so he could look her in the face. “I hope it’s okay that I didn’t tell your brothers.”
Noa barked out a laugh. “Thank you,” she said fervently. “There is no way either of them could have kept the secret.” She leaned in to kiss Rory again. “But I’m glad they’re here now.”
“Me too,” Rory agreed. He held out his hand. “Ready to go tell them? I just need to text Avery and he’ll bring everyone upstairs.” He grinned. “Unless you’d like me to get up on stage and sing “Marry You” by Bruno Mars in front of everyone.”
“I’ve had enough karaoke for a year,” Noa laughed. “Go ahead and text Avery.”