Name: Kat and Nikki
Story: Second Genesis and In the Heart
Summary: Noah and Joy meet Chloe and Jax while they are back in Georgia..
Colors: Amaranth 2. unicorn and Spring Green 6. you're not innocent, I'm not innocent for Nikki, Sphene 1 (Providence) for Kat
Supplies and Styles: Mosaic, Collage, Eraser (OT4 AU)
Word Count: 3,895
Rating: Pg-13

Noah was surprised they were able to leave before the parking lot in front of the bar filled. It couldn't say it was all Joy's fault; for as long as she took getting ready, he maybe took as long kissing her for how good she looked afterward. But the important part was that they eventually left, Joy was dressed up, she managed to dress him up, and he was thinking he might dance more than once.

He obviously appreciated her legs when he helped her out of his truck. "Have I said you look gorgeous in that dress?"

"Several times," she said, dimpling, "but I always appreciate hearing it again. You're looking pretty sharp yourself." She smoothed a hand over his collar, then ruffled his hair. "Definitely making me look good."

He grinned and smoothed his hair back down. "Think it's the other way 'round, darlin'." He bent down to kiss her cheek and wrapped his arm around her waist in the same motion to walk towards the door. "If anyone even notices me with you nearby."

Joy giggled, and snaked her arm under his to pinch his ass sharply before she rested her hand on his hip. "All the girls are going to be killing me with their minds." She considered a moment, and added, "All the ones who like men, anyway."

"The others will be wanting to kill me instead. Though if you want to dance with them, I wouldn't object it." He gave her a teasing grin as he opened the door for her. In truth, he didn't care who Joy danced with. A dance was a dance. She always went home with him. "Maybe we can both dance with her."

"Hmmm," she purred, and went through the door, pivoting to face him as she did. "Saucy. I like it. Maybe soon we can get to the chapter of your education entitled threesomes." She winked at him, then turned again towards the bar. "But not tonight. You want a drink? First round's on me. I had a good night last night."

"I'm fine with whatever's on tap." He followed her, totally not at all staring at her ass. After a few moments of not unabashedly staring, he finally glanced around the place, not immediately recognizing anybody. They had been away for a year, so he wasn't sure if there was anything socially planned or not, but the bar looked packed enough.

He moved closer to Joy once they approached the crowd to help her through it, though like always, the press of bodies parted like the Red Sea for her. They found themselves at the bar in no time.

Joy leaned on the bar, one arm under her breasts, the other up to catch the bartender's eye. The man gave her a quick, appreciative once-over before he went back to a professional face-- which Noah appreciated. It wasn't really smart to punch the guy giving you drinks.

"What can I get you, beautiful?" the bartender asked.

Joy smiled at him, and said, "Pink musketeer for me, and my man here will have a glass of whatever's on tap."

The bartender nodded at Noah, friendly, and said, "Sure thing, coming right up."

He nodded back, not unfriendly, before looking back at Joy. He didn't know if he would ever be used to that, Joy calling him 'my'. Of course he belonged to her, but it was different that she actually wanted him Mine, he thought with pride, that primal feeling travelling up his spine like it always did in odd moments. He took his beer and used his first drink to help him look away and look around the place again, focusing more on the people around the bar.

A flash of bright, and somehow familiar, blue caught his attention at the corner of his eye, and he turned to search for it, stopping still when he found it. "I know him," he heard himself say. How?

"Who?" Joy turned around as well, her red-pink cocktail in one hand. She slipped her free hand around his waist again, resting it casually in his back pocket. "Which guy?"

Noah did his best to non-obviously point the man out. "With blue hair," he added which should make it much easier. There was only one man in the bar with blue hair, bright enough to remind Noah of blue jays, and it was almost infuriating that Noah couldn't say how he knew him. It should be ringing a million bells because how many men in this part of Georgia had hair that blue, or blue hair at all, wore makeup, had that many earrings, had that pretty of a smile?

Noah realized he was staring and tore his eyes away to look back to Joy. "Do you know him?"

Joy glanced over, and grinned. "Ooh, he's cute. I don't know him though." She sipped her drink, then pinched his ass through his jeans. "Why don't you go over and say hi?"

Noah shrugged, taking a drink of beer to try and hide his blush. "Few reasons. I'm here with you, mainly." He glanced over again at the man with blue hair, seeing he was talking to someone now. Noah tore his eyes away before he could see who. "And he's here with someone too. See?"

Joy looked at him for a moment, unexpectedly solemn. "So why does that mean you can't go and talk to him?" she asked, after a pause. "I trust you, baby. You're not going to run off and screw the first person you see. You're allowed to go talk to cute boys in bars." She smiled then, and tugged on his ear. "So go. I'll even come with you if you want."

Noah silently fidgeted for a moment, staring down into his beer. "I know," he said as he looked hesitantly up at her. "But I think... I want you to lead the way."

"Okay." She finished her drink, set it on the counter, and took his hand. "Follow me, then, gorgeous. You realize this means we're cutting across the dance floor."

"Hell," he muttered, not really meaning it and showing it. He intertwined their fingers and let her lead him along, staying a step behind her.

Joy giggled, and spun herself under his arm, then shoved him in front of her and danced him backwards toward the blue-haired boy. "So what's your opening gambit? Staring longingly worked with me, but that was a statistical fluke."

Something about that struck him and he tilted his head in question. "Longingly?" That wasn't the part he should focus on, but he did. "Did I?" He asked, curious. "I knew I was staring, but."

"Yup." Joy popped the "p," and tweaked his nose. "There was definitely some longing in there. So what are you going to say?"

He looked down, watching their feet for a moment. He wasn't stalling. Nope. "Dunno," he finally said, worriedly glancing back up at Joy. "Hi?"

She laughed, not mean but pleased. "That's a good start, but let's try adding on. How about, 'Hi, my name is Noah and I like your hair?'"

"Guess that'll work," he answered. It would have to. Before he realized it, she had spun him around again, and they had somehow made it through the dance floor and were at the other end of the bar. Now that they were closer, he could see more of their mystery man, in dark jeans and a tight t-shirt that was bright colored. His hair seemed bluer than ever, and Noah could tell from here that it matched his eyes.

Joy gave him a gentle little push, and he stumbled a bit, catching the man's attention as he ended up beside him. "Ilikeyourhair," he blurted out very fast, a blush covering his face. "Um. Hi."

The blue haired man beamed, making Noah blush more. "Hi."

Joy set her chin on Noah's shoulder and said, "His name is Noah and he's bad at talking to people he thinks is cute." She beamed while Noah sputtered, and added, "I'm Joy, by the way, and I like your hair too."

"Thank you, miss. That's awful kind," he answered, beaming even wider somehow. His eyes practically twinkled at Noah, before he leaned into whisper, like they were sharing a secret. "If it helps, you're cute too."

Noah felt his face on fire while Joy laughed. "How do I know you?" he asked before he could stop himself, and immediately felt embarrassed. How rude. "I'm sorry. You look so familiar."

Somehow, the other man laughed too, a sound like bells from church on Sunday. "Well, that's odd. I can't say I've ever met anyone that looks like me." He extended his hand. "I'm Jackson. Jax for short. Jax Holland."

Noah was rude again, and stared. Of course. He felt so stupid. "Your parents are Isaac and June. I worked for them. I knew I had seen you before, in pictures."

Joy, evidently giving up on him for the moment, elbowed Noah slightly to the side and shook Jax's hand. "Don't mind him," she said, brightly. "He takes a minute to get up to speed. So you're Jax, huh? Your mamma brags about you."

"I'm sorry," Noah apologized again, feeling like his face would never go back to normal color. "I don't mean to be rude. I--" He ducked his head, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I do apologize. Please forgive me."

"Of course. You're just shy, it's fine," Jax said, waving a hand simply, and Noah found himself amazed. "And yes, Mama has a habit of doing that. I just like to paint, is all. Don't see what's so special about it, except that it came from the Lord."

"Oh, stop it," a new voice said, and a woman with dark hair appeared at Jax's side, her light blue eyes striking against her pale skin, contrast compared to Jax's tan and deep blue. "You're amazing. Don't listen to him, he's got wonderful talent." She said to both Noah and Joy, smiling a smile that seemed to radiate. "Hi. I'm Chloe."

She turned her smile Jax's way, making the bar seem less bright all of a sudden, and asked, "Who are your friends?" She put an odd emphasis on friends, but Noah didn't understand what she meant by it.

"This is Noah and Miss Joy," Jax answered, and for some reason, the dark haired woman's smile widened what seemed an impossible amount. Miss Joy. Noah liked that. "Miss Joy, Noah--" And Noah liked how he said that too. Oh dear. "This is my best friend, Miss Chloe."

"You don't have to call me Miss," she said, reaching to shake Noah's outstretched hand. "Chloe is just fine."

"S"nice to meet you," Noah said, doing his best not to shyly mumble. "You're not from 'round here?" God. Not only was it a dumb question - Chloe had no Southern drawl to speak of - it was a rude one. One day, he would get his manners back.

"Nope," she answered, popping the p. "I met Jax in New York City when we were sixteen, and he brought me to Georgia to meet his family."

"How are you liking the state so far?" Noah asked.

"It's lovely. And everyone is so nice so far, but Jax only knows nice people."

There had been an unnatural stillness next to him since Chloe had showed up, and Noah realized it was because Joy had practically frozen in place. He frowned worriedly and trailed fingers down her cheek. "Darlin'? Are you okay?"

Joy did something he had never seen, something he didn't think she was capable of. She turned red and let out an embarrassed squeak.

"I'm sorry," Chloe apologized for some reason. "I think that's my fault." She turned back to Jax, excitedly bouncing up and down. "I have fans in Georgia!" If she was trying to whisper, she didn't do a good job.

Noah didn't take his eyes off of Joy. "Joy?" He asked again.

Abruptly she came to life again and clapped both hands over her mouth. "Oh my God, oh my God, you're her! You're Cherry!" She turned suddenly and grabbed Noah's arm and said, "It's Cherry, Noah! Remember Dirty Word? Remember how much you liked that? That was her song!"

He blinked, amazed at her turn around. "Was it?" Noah glanced to the still beaming Chloe, and now Jax again. "Very nice to meet you, ma'am. Again, I suppose. You have a good voice and Joy loves dancing with you. To you, I mean. She's amazing."

"I wouldn't mind dancing with her," Chloe answered, smiling at Joy. "If it's alright."

"Oh my God," Joy said, still unnaturally high-pitched. She pressed both hands over her mouth, as if to stop herself from talking, then dropped them. Beet-red by then, she said, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to go all fangirl on you. You just... I really, really love your music, and, um." She went even redder. "I would love to dance with you. If that's okay with you, babe?" she added, turning to look at Noah.

"I don't mind," Chloe answered, smiling as wide as Joy was red. "Truly, I don't. If the music makes you do that, I'm obviously doing something right." She suddenly turned her smile on Noah. "Do you mind if I steal her? I'll bring her back as good as new. Better than."

"I suppose I can share," he answered, not hearing how it sounded. He leaned down to press a kiss against Joy's cheek. "Have fun, love."

"That leaves just you and me," Jax spoke up, still smiling, and Noah realized he was talking to him. Oh. Oh boy.

Joy squeaked happily, kissed Noah's cheek right back, and offered a hand to Chloe. "Shall we?"

"We shall," Chloe giggled, taking Joy's hand and leading her toward the dance floor. Noah watched them walk off and seem to steal the attention of the entire place. Except for Jax. He was still looking at Noah.

That made him nervous. "Hi."

"Hi," Jax answered. He took a drink of beer and moved a little closer as the music got louder. "How did you like the farm?"

Oh, that he could talk about. "I loved it. Always loved the outdoors. Always will. I never thought I'd walk away from a farm life but," he glanced to Joy. "She makes it easy."

"You love her," Jax said, sounding pleased.

"More than even I know somedays."

"How long have you two known each other?"

"A year, just about. We met in this bar actually. Miss June convinced me to get out of the house, and Joy was dancin'. For some reason, she came up and talked to me."

"For some reason," Jax repeated, his eyes sparkling. And it was more than the glitter eyeshadow.

Noah found himself blushing. He shrugged and looked down, surprised that he wasn't dragging his foot on the floor. How much more bashful could he be? "I ain't nothin' special."

"We're going to disagree about that, Noah."

He hoped Joy came back soon. He liked how Jax said his name far too much.

"Do you dance?" Jax asked, his eyes still sparkling.

Christ, Joy, somebody, come save him. "Sometimes," he answered, unable to lie. "With Joy."

"What about with me?"

"Yes," Noah answered, unable to lie. He was doomed.

Jax's smile grew, and Noah had to swallow nervously past a dry mouth.

Doomed.

-----

Chloe tried to dim her smile a bit as she spun to face Joy, not wanting to be creepy. "I'm glad to have met you."

Chloe tried not to focus fully on the softness of the hand in hers, how it contrasted so well with the large and rough and strong hand's of Joy's man. Right now, she really just wanted to focus on Joy. She looked at her like more than a fan, in a way that made Chloe happy and almost forget about her stormy mental times.

"Me too," Joy said. She already seemed to be regaining her poise, because the grin she gave Chloe was only a little bit flirtatious. "Will you sign my boobs?"

Okay, that was considerably more flirtatious.

Chloe glanced down with a grin as she started to move to the beat. "Maybe. They're so nice, I'd hate to do anything to mar them." She batted her eyes at Joy in a joking but flirty way. "So, how long have you known Noah?"

Joy giggled, and began to match her movements, apparently without thinking about it. "About a year. We actually met in this bar. He was sitting--" She caught Chloe's wrist, and turned her gently to face the bar. "Right there. Perilously close to dropping his beer, too."

Chloe laughed, a sound like wind chimes. "And who was it that was distracting them? I say them because he couldn't have been the only one." She twirled and found Joy's hand, their fingers linking. "You two seem close."

Joy dimpled. "They might have been admiring me a little," she said, and then, "But Noah was actually looking at me, you know, not just staring. And yes, we're very close." She looked a little puzzled for a moment, then shrugged, and said, "He's my soulmate, basically."

Oddly, that seemed to elate Chloe even more. "Then we've both found ours! Jax is mine." She giggled. "He's my bestest best friend in the entire universe and that will never change. He's a Godsend, really, he is."

"So's Noah," Joy said, smiling more broadly. "I don't think I've ever dated somebody who was so... who got me, you know? So much."

"Yeah, I do know. The first time I met Jax, it was more like I was running into someone I hadn't seen in a long time." Chloe moved closer to Joy and looked away from her for the first time, glancing over Joy's shoulder at Noah and Jax. "They certainly seem to be getting along." Noah still had that dazed, precious look on his face. "Does he look at everyone beautiful like that?"

Joy spun quickly on one heel, and spun back when she'd had a look. "No, just people he... it's kind of hard to define, but people he likes. People he thinks are special."

"Jax is special," Chloe agreed, and smiled, fully at Joy. "So are you, I think. I know."

"Nah," Joy said, but she was blushing, and smiling, kind of shyly. "Not like you are. Not like Noah is. I'm just a girl who dances for a living."

Chloe stepped closer and lightly rested her hands on Joy's hips, easily moving in time with her. "And I'm just a girl that sings." She leaned in, their noses almost touching. "It's how you see me that makes me better. And you're a lot more than a girl that can dance from what I can tell."

Joy blushed a little harder, but put her own hands on Chloe's hips, almost tentative. "Thanks, I guess."

"Am I bothering you?" Chloe asked, voice soft but audible. "It's honestly not my intention if I am."

"No," Joy said, quickly. "No, no, I just... don't usually hang out with people like you. Er."

"You don't have to be nervous or anything. I like you. You like me. You like my music. I like that. We both like to dance." Chloe smiled. "We both agree that your man is smoking hot, and so are you."

Oddly enough, that seemed to make her more comfortable. "He is," she said. "And I am. And you are, and so is your friend."

"I think Noah would agree with you about Jax," Chloe giggled. Her amusement turned serious for a moment as she chewed on her bottom lip and thoughtfully looked at Joy. "Hm. I wonder, I wonder..."

Joy cocked her head, obviously trying not to stare at Chloe's mouth. "Wonder what?"

"I wonder if," and Chloe paused, obviously weighing her next words, "you and Noah... would want to get a room. With me, and Jax." For the first time, she looked a bit insecure.

Joy actually froze, wide-eyed, a still figure in a sea of dancers for two heartbeats. Then she said, "Uh. Wow. I... I have to ask Noah but. Um. There are no objections from me. At all."

Chloe smiled and leaned forward to kiss Joy's bottom lip for a split second. "Okay. You can ask him and I can talk to Jax?" She would sound confident, like she had done this before, if it weren't for the question mark at the end.

"Absolutely," Joy said. She hesitated herself for a moment, and then said, "Um, just so you know, I'm poly. I don't know about Noah, but... I am."

"I... don't know about me," Chloe said, blushing as she bit her lip. "You'd..." She leaned in close to Joy, speaking quietly. "You would be my first woman."

"That's okay," Joy said, and looked--relieved wasn't the right word, maybe confident?--for the first time in the conversation. "You won't be mine. I'm good at this, don't worry." She pivoted on one foot, pirouetted, and winked. "I'm almost as good at sex as I am at dancing."

Chloe's blush deepened, a pretty pink across her cheeks and nose. "I hope so," she said quietly. She reached out and took Joy's hand lightly, so Joy could pull away if she wanted. "Do you want to go talk to them?"

"Yeah," Joy said, and smiled, little and pleased. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "But... could we finish the dance first?"

Chloe smiled brilliantly and only danced closer, skin occasionally brushing against skin. "Of course."

Joy's smile grew and spread until she was nearly shining. She rocked her hips forward, and let her whole body follow in a sinuous wave that brought her closer. "You know I used to daydream about dancing with you? I mean really dancing, not a euphanism."

Although she'd dreamed about that too.
"Yeah?" Chloe asked, almost shyly. She looked at Joy from under her lashes and very lightly rested her hands on Joy's hips. "How do I hold up your expectations?"

"Better," Joy answered, and meant it. Well, it wasn't as if Chloe did a lot of dancing, as Cherry-- she had to save her breath for singing. The backup dancers did the majority of the work. "It's... this is perfect."

Chloe opened her mouth before she seemed to think and swallow her words, though her eyes sparkled. It only took a moment for her to think of something else to say. "Thank you. You're wonderful yourself."

There was a slight pause before she continued. "Perfect, even."

Joy went a brilliant red. "Oh," she said, and couldn't figure out what to say next. "Um. Thank you."

Chloe grinned, hoping to clear any awkwardness. "You're welcome." She looked up, her grin fading a bit at the corners as the song faded out into another one. "Oh. I guess we're finished dancing," she said, sounding sad underneath.

"We don't have to be," Joy said, and tilted her head to the side. "I mean, there's another song. Or another kind of dancing…?"

Chloe looked at her again in a flash, a pretty blush on her cheeks. "If you still want to," she answered, sounding shy again.

"Definitely," Joy said, and beamed.