undergrounds | merry & bright (christmas, closed to dodger & cooper)

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merry & bright (christmas, closed to dodger & cooper)

Christmas day had gone the way it always did. Nancy had woken up early and gone over to the den with the multitude of Christmas presents she had for the boys. They'd gotten up, played games, opened gifts and ate more than they could recall eating within the last year. Along with all of that, of course, came the drinks, and by the time they'd lit the menorah that night, Nancy was drunk.

Most Christmases, whenever Nancy got too drunk, Bill wasted no time in carrying her off to bed and patiently putting her down. But this Christmas, as with so many others, he wasn't here. So the job of putting Nancy to bed- or at least making sure she got back to Cooper's house- was placed on the next logical choice.

The Artful Dodger.

Somehow, the two of them had managed to trip their way up from Saffron Hill to Cooper's flat, arm in arm. The two of them laughed freely, Nancy occasionally slipping Dodger her flask, from which they both had been drinking liberally.

The laughter continued until they approached the door, at which point, Nancy turned to her brother. "Shh, shh!" She tells him, putting her hand in front of her lips. The result is messy, and she leans against the boy already much taller than her. "We have to be quiet! Shh!"

Naturally, when a drunk woman tries to be quiet, she tends to make more noise than is necessary, and this was true for Nancy as well. She struggles to open the door, and gestures for Dodger to come in. "Come in," she says, even if he's already been in before.

The second she closes the door behind her, however, and she's dissolved into a pile of giggles.

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It had been a nice day, all things considered. Christmas generally was a nice day. Even though Fagin didn't actually celebrate the holiday himself, he made sure that the day was good for all his boys. Sikes - before he was thrown inside - use to steal the gifts. The Dodger didn't know who Fagin got to do it now. That wasn't to say he didn't go lifting his own lot of gifts for the lads, and for Nance, and the ol' crook, but he meant the main lot. Eh, wasn't like it bothered him.

Nancy always had good stuff in her flask, and it never seemed to run out, even with the amount they had drunk on the way back to her place. He snorted at her attempts to quieten him, laughing in response to her own giggles.

"You're the one makin' all the noise," he said, between laughs.

Cooper spent Christmas as he usually did: sulking and wandering around the city until he didn't feel nearly so mopey as before. What could he say? The holiday always brought up bittersweet memories of days when he'd been human and had a family. He'd been back at his apartment for a few hours now, watching Christmas movies bundled up in a blanket.

He heard Nancy's giggle as she came in. It sounded like she was well and goodly snockered. He went to the front door. "Hey, sweet--" Then he noticed the very distinctive hat standing beside her and the thief it belonged to beneath it. He immediately frowned. "What is this little miscreant doing in my house?" Cooper made a mental note to stash the valuables. Lord, if he got his hands on the autographed Elvis albums...

"No, I am so so quiet," she says, "the quietest." There's more giggling between her words, which only come in harder waves when she turns to see- "Cooper!" There's no ado as she throws her arms around her boyfriend.

She kisses him briefly on the lips, sloppy and happy.

"Cooper!" She continues, unaware exactly that he's called Dodger a miscreant (which is totally an accurate description of their whole lot.) "Cooper- you have to meet- this is my brother!" She gestures to the other teenager in the room, physically only a few years younger than Cooper.

"Known to his friends and acquaintances as the Artful Dodger! Dodger- Dodge, this is Cooper and I love him lots." She kisses Cooper's cheek, leaving him with the exact same lipstick mark that's on Dodger's cheek.

Yay, everyone's met, no one's dead!

The Dodger snorts - not quietly - at Nancy's stating she was the quietest because clearly she wasn't. He blinks and gives a cheery wave to the newcomer into the room, doffing his hat in the general direction.

"Cooper? Wha's a cooper then?"

Nancy was such a cute affectionate drunk. He'd be tickled pink if he wasn't so annoyed with Dodger. "I'm Cooper. Thrilled to meet you." The expression on his face says he's anything but.

Then Nancy's words catch up to him. He glances between his girlfriend and the top-hat teenager. "Wait, this is your brother? Nancy, he pick-pocketed me! Nearly took my motorcycle 'n got away clean with my watch." He's pointing at Dodger now with one finger, sounding indignant about the whole thing.

Cooper may be indignant, but Nancy is indifferent. She puts her hand on Cooper's arm, lowering it so he can't really point at him.

"And he's really good!" She finds herself telling Cooper. "S'what we do. Dodger's the best of us." We. Us. Because she was still part of them, no matter what.

Hopefully with Cooper a little more cooled down, she turns back to Dodger. "Oi- stop stealin' from me friends, you. First Caroline, now Cooper? I'll have his watch back, too, if you please." She knows he doesn't have it anymore. Fagin has it, if he hasn't fenced it already. But it's for show, for Cooper.

"Artful is what I am," the Dodger chips in cheerfully, grinning widely as Nancy's praise of his skill. It was one thing for the ol' crook to say it - he was just wanting more brought in - but for Nancy to say it was another thing entirely, and it made him feel proud - just for a little bit - of himself.

"...What one was Caroline?" He knows he's been told - he's managed to find the wallet again, and is working on trying to remember how much was in it - but he genuinely cannot remember who the girl is that Nancy is speaking on. He pauses when she mentions the watch, and scratches the back of his neck as he thinks.

"Think Fagin's flogged it."

Cooper internally fumes. He can't very well toss Dodger out onto the street on his ear as much as he'd like to. Nancy would probably object to that and it would spoil the holiday mood. "Remind me to hide the good silverware then." He's not joking, he's got some nice pieces put away that would fetch a fair price. Hell, the whole apartment is filled with pieces that would be considered antiques, Cooper having the luxury to have hoarded things over the last two centuries.

He eyes Dodger suspiciously. "As for you, you little slip-gibbet, you're gettin' a pat down before you leave."

"Fuck," she swears low, and turns back to Cooper. "I'll get you a new one, promise. Belated Christmas present." She smiles at him like there's nothing wrong in the world, other than she's explaining that she's basically going to steal him a nice watch, too.

"Caroline's the right pretty one- American, blonde, you took her wallet." She gives Dodger a careful eye. He knew better than to steal from her boyfriend, now. Or at least she hoped. He may not have been a thief like them, as others had been, but it was just bad form, and Fagin had raised them all to be nothing if not polite.

"He won't touch anything," she assures Cooper, but still looking at Dodger with her lipstick mark on his cheek. It was cute, Dodger was cute. What a cute, with his hat, and lopsided grin.

Then she looks back at Cooper, and ruffles his hair because she liked his hair, and she liked touching him. "I wanted you two to have a nice first meeting. You can't tell the others, but Dodger's always been my favorite." No, Cooper wouldn't tell the others. She couldn't really tell the others, could she? Not for Cooper's safety.

"Gettin' a pat down... should I feel special?" The Dodger can't help the cheek, even when he's drunk. He's used to that type of treatment from people, so it's no surprise that Nancy's new bloke would be one of those people. As long as he don't treat Nance like that, then there's no problem.

"Oh right. Yeah. Workin' on that one," he nodded, trying to reassure Nancy that he knew not to rob from her people - once he knew who her people were. Not knowing them made them just another mark. She would be acting the same with his people. If he had any people. Which he don't. Except her, really. Huh. Interestin' that.

"Awh, knew you liked me best," the Dodger laughed, hiccuping once as he did so. It happned, on occasion, if he got drunk. It wouldn't last long.

Cooper finally cracks a smile when she ruffles his hair. He can't very well stay annoyed for too long with her when she's a happy little drunk. "You're lucky you're cute." He kisses her and then tips his head towards Dodger. "'N you're lucky you're her brother." He'll just be keeping an eye on him the whole time he's there in the apartment.

He heads back towards the kitchen. "C'mon. If you two are this tipsy, I might as well pull out the eggnog and join in." It was best not to ask what Cooper had put into the nog. Needless to say, the top of it could probably be lit on fire.

"You won't get a pat-down," Nancy says. "I trust you." There was no honor amongst thieves, but they were as thick as could be. The trust came naturally to her, where someone like Dodger was concerned.

"Yes please! Merry Christmas, drink some nog!" She follows Cooper, still holding on to him, because he's Cooper and she knows how terrible it was of her to not spend the day with him. She should have. But she had to be with the boys, and introducing him to Fagin was a surefire way to get him killed. A surefire way to ruin their relationship.

"Did you make it yourself?" She asks stupidly. "Because I think Dodge n' I deserve a cup, braving the cold t'get me home nice n' safe." Her accent is ridiculously cockney, the more she drinks. Being around the boys brought it out of her, and the alcohol only worsened it.

"I got one when gettin' your Christmas present," he says, conversationally. "Bloke was rubbish at his job." The grin returns brightly to his face as he laughs, remembering how he had easily hidden the watch and they couldn't find it. Oh, shop security, they had met their match when the Artful Dodger went shopping.

"C'n I get some nog? NOG FOR ALL!" Because he had to make a scene. It was just who he was.

Cooper just shakes his head at the exuberance of the pair. He'll be soon to join them as soon as he's properly tipsy. He goes to the kitchen and pulls out three glasses, two small and one tall. If he gives them too much, they're liable to pass out on the floor. That tile can be awful cold sleeping on it.

He lifts his glass up towards them. "Here's to you too. Bravin' cold on Christmas 'n whatnot to get Nancy back home."

She hoped that, should she pass out on the floor, Cooper would have the good sense to carry her to bed. Maybe put Dodger on the couch, but she wouldn't hold her breath for that.

Nancy gives Dodger a look as Cooper gets them the drinks. "Well I thank you kindly for the gift, Dodge. it's right nice it is." He had wonderful taste, and if he would believe it, she had never had one.

Nancy grabs the glass, and raises it. "And t'you! 'm sorry I couldn' bring you, but I wanted t'!"

"Ah, anythin' fer you, Nance! the Dodger replies cheerfully. He takes the glass, raising it in the toast before drinking half of it down in one go.

"Ah, cold ain't nothin' compared to what we'd get if he found out we'd let Nance out on her own," he said without much thought to it. Nancy was home and safe now, and the drink was surprisingly nice. He preferred gin, maybe beer, but this stuff weren't half bad.

"Never you mind, sweet-pea. I found something t'occupy my time with all day." Cooper was used to dealing with Christmas by now. It was refreshing to see it all through a pair of young eyes.

Cooper drains one glass at a gulp and immediately pours again. He's got a while to go if he hopes to catch up to Nancy and Dodger's level of drunken happiness. He tops off both of their glasses. They're both stuck here tonight now. For a moment, he wonders if he should really be encouraging underage drinking. Dodger definitely doesn't look old enough. Oh well. They're all headed for hell anyway.

"Damn straight!" She held her glass out to Dodger in a gesture, before drinking some of hers. It was thicker than she'd been drinking all night, taking her a bit by surprise because hey, liquid is hard sometimes.

"Good! I was worried about you." She ruffles his hair a bit, leaning heavily against him. "At least we had last night. Aaaaaand tonight!" Dodger was probably going to hear a lot of noises he didn't want to tonight, if Nancy had her way.

"All day worried. Dodger, what about my booooooy," the Dodger laughs, making to jokingly shove at Nancy. "Can't be lettin' the ol' crook know about the boooooy." He takes around drink from the glass, coughing once and looking over at Cooper.

"So, c'n I have a go of yer bike?"

"Nancy, not in front of the child." Cooper jokingly tuts. Physically, he was only a few years older than Dodger was anyway, and it looks like whatever innocence the kid had had was lost a long time ago.

He scowls at the little nuisance when he asked about his motorcycle. "Nobody touches my bike but me. Not nobody and not nohow."

"Shut up!" She scolds the two of them, wrinkling her nose at Dodger, and putting her hand on Cooper's chest. Seriously though, Dodger, you be quiet. She doesn't want to have a discussion about Fagin right now.

"He's seen worse," Nancy tells Cooper, leaning her head on his chest. He may be relatively short, but Nancy's still a good six inches shorter than him at least.

Nancy laughs- Cooper and his bike. She shakes her head, "Oi, I've been on it. Nearly run over by it, too."

"Seen worse, done worse," the Dodger gives a shrug. Life is ... interesting, if you live the way he does. Not that he's got anything wrong with that/ Well, maybe once or twice.

"Oi, you nearly runnin' over our Nance?"

Cooper tips back his glass, slinging an arm across Nancy's back that threatens to slip a little lower. "How do you think we met? I nearly ran her over, she flattened one of my tires, 'n things just went on from there." Not the best meet cute story of all time, but it worked for them.

Nancy moves in closer to Cooper. The more cuddly he is tonight, the better.

"I did! Can't believe I forgot about that!" She laughs, her nose wrinkling up at the tip. "I was so mad at you!"

Then they were at the Redbright party, and found each other in the sea of people dancing.

"...Yeah, sounds like how it would happen." The Dodger nods. Of course Nancy would fall for someone who almost ran her over. Of course. Only makes sense.

"What can I say? I'm just that charming." He cackles because, let's face it, it was he who ended up being the one who fell head over heels for Nancy. It had never been a question of if, just of when. He might have still been sitting on his heels and wondering when she'd notice him if it hadn't been for his jealousy finally getting the better of him.

"A charming jerk," Nancy reminds him. The weight of Dodger's words goes unheeded. Normally, she'd know exactly what he was thinking, and would demand he put a stop to it immediately- Cooper had only seemed likely to hurt her once. And that was because she'd just witness him break a man's hand.

"He's the beeeest," she sighs, leaning against Cooper a bit more. "Oh! more drinks! So many more drinks!" She reaches for the egg nog, determined to pour everyone more.

"More drinks!" It's a yell of agreement, nodding so hard his hat slips down over his eyes. But he laughs and jerks it back into the correct spot.

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merry & bright (christmas, closed to dodger & cooper)

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