Title: Old Time Rock and Roll
Pairing: Joseph & Clarisse
Archive: tayryn’s tower
Disclaimer:
Joseph and Clarisse belong to Disney and Meg Cabot. I am simply borrowing them for a short
romp. They will be returned unharmed.
Summary:
A Saturday afternoon interlude
Notes:
Old Time Rock and Roll sung by Bob Seger
A
little something for my Chelle for her birthday!
~*~
Joseph
sighed quietly as he propped his body up against the doorframe and stared at his
ladylove.
Clarisse
sat at the dining table in the hotel suite, surrounded by stacks of folders and
papers. Not an inch of the table’s
surface could be seen. Her hair was tousled
from constantly running her fingers through it and her reading glasses were
perched on the end of her nose. She
scribbled endlessly on a yellow legal pad, looking up occasionally to glance through
one folder or another.
When
Clarisse dropped her head to rest on her hand, her pen falling to the table,
Joseph pushed away from the door, crossed the room and stepped up behind her.
“Clarisse,
my darling… come on, you need a break.
You’ve been at this for three days with only a few hours sleep.” His hands fell to her shoulders, his fingers
gently massaging the tense muscles there.
A
low moan escaped Clarisse’s lips as her head fell back against Joseph’s
stomach. “Oh God, that feels so good.”
“Mia
has gone off with Lilly and Michael… and will be spending the night with them,
so we have the suite to ourselves. Why
don’t you go lie down on the bed and I’ll give you a proper massage?”
Clarisse
gave a small, unladylike snort. “I wish
that I could but this damned funding proposal has to be presented to Parliament
first thing upon our return to Genovia, Tuesday morning.”
“I
read your original proposal. It was
great.”
“Great
isn’t good enough. If I’m to go ahead
with this project I must get Parliament’s approval. This is important…”
“But
it isn’t worth your health, my darling.
You need some rest or you will fall apart during your presentation.”
“I
don’t have that much more to do. I’m
almost finished with the rewrites.
Another day and…”
“Another
day and you will collapse from exhaustion.
You are obsessed with this, Clarisse.
We’re supposed to be on vacation… visiting with Mia and you’ve done
nothing for over a week but work on this proposal, night and day.”
“Because it is important to me. Dammit, Joseph! I’m
the queen! It’s my duty to look after
the people of my country!”
Joseph’s
hands flew up and he stepped back from his angry queen. He realized quickly that Clarisse wasn’t in a
mood to be reasoned with.
“I’ll
leave you to your work then, Your Majesty.”
He told her stiltedly then left the room without looking back.
Clarisse
scowled after him for a moment then hit her fist against the table in
frustration.
~^~
Joseph
tugged his shoes off and crept silently past the dining room, intent on not
disturbing Clarisse. He absently noted
that her head was lowered in her hands as he went but he didn’t realize she was
crying until he was out of sight and heard her sobs.
‘Oh, my love. You are so burned out on all of
this. What can I do to help you?’ Joseph leaned against the wall, his sock
covered feet sliding absently over the polished wood floor as he listened to
Clarisse cry.
He
stared down absently at his foot as he thought, gradually coming to focus on
the thick cotton sock moving easily over the surface beneath. ‘That might…’ he thought, his mind pulling
back a memory from about twenty years ago.
‘If nothing else she’s sure to get a laugh out of it…’ He moved
resolutely toward the back to his room to gather the items he needed to
implement his plan.
~^~
Clarisse
scribbled one last line on the notepad and threw the pencil down. Joseph’s words had been playing over and over
in her mind, finally convincing her that he was right. Her preoccupation with this presentation was
driving her crazy detracting precious
time from a rare opportunity to spend time with her granddaughter, as well
as time alone with Joseph. It was
time to go find her lover and try to salvage the rest of the
evening. Tomorrow she would make things right with Mia as well.
At
that instant music rang through the suite, one long chord… ‘bum
bum ba da da dum’… then nothing. Clarisse’s eyes grew wide as the sound was
followed by an instant of silence then the same chord repeating. Her mouth fell open as she stared at the
scene before her.
With
the onset of the second chorus Joseph slid into view, his back to Clarisse and
his black socks gliding effortlessly on the polished wood flooring. His long-sleeve black button up shirt hung
open, the collar turned up around his neck. One hand held a two foot black
rod. The end of the rod closest to
Joseph’s face was covered by a spongy red ball that Clarisse a clown nose that Mia had purchased for fun
at the carnival they’d attended earlier in the week.
But
what surprised Clarisse most was that Joseph’s legs were completely bare, the
tail of his shirt covering his bottom and the top of his thighs. At that instant the song started again.
Just take those old
records off the shelf
I’ll sit and listen to ’em by myself
Today’s music ain’t got the same soul
I like that old time rock ’n’ roll
Joseph’s knees began to lift and the bottom beneath the shirt began to shake as he danced to the music and whirled around to face Clarisse. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes and his chest was covered by the usual black tee-shirt he wore beneath his button-down shirt. His tight black boxer briefs were visible beneath. He lifted the red nose to his mouth and continued to sing at the top of his lungs.
Don’t try to take me to a disco
You’ll never even get me out on the floor
In ten minutes I’ll be late for the door
I like that old time rock ’n’ roll
Clarisse couldn’t hold back the laughter that bubbled up
from deep in the pit of her stomach as she watched Joseph twirl and dance
toward the table. Her hands clapped
together in time with the music as she beamed at Joseph.
Still like that old time rock ’n’ roll
That kind of music just soothes the soul
I reminisce about the days of old
With that old time rock ’n’ roll
Won’t go to hear them play a tango
I’d rather hear some blues or funky old soul
There’s only one sure way to get me to go
Start playing old time rock ’n’ roll
As
the words of the chorus finished, Joseph executed a particularly stunning spin
then fell to his knees, twisting the rod around until it swung sideways so that
he was now playing air guitar in time with the music.
“Joseph! Your knees!” Clarisse gasped through her laughter; tears
running down her cheeks.
Call me a relic, call me what you will
Say I’m old-fashioned, say I’m over the hill
Today’s music ain’t got the same soul
I like that old time rock ’n’ roll
Joseph
had the music turned up to maximum volume so that the sound filled the suite to
the exclusion of everything else. Had it
been a bit lower one of them might have noticed the door slamming. As
it was, neither Joseph nor Clarisse realized that they were no longer alone in
the hotel suite until a very stunned seventeen year old girl appeared in
the entryway, her eyes round with surprise.
Still like that old
time rock ’n’ roll
That kind of music just soo…
Joseph’s
voice trailed off as the song lyrics continued to blare. The dark glasses slid down his nose as he
peered at the stunned princess over the top of the lenses, a sheepish smile on
his face.
Mia held
up her hands and shook her head. “I
don’t wanna know… I SO don’t wanna
know. I forgot my MP3 player... I’m
going to go grab it and disappear.”
The young girl turned and fled.
The
shades slid a bit further as Joseph turned back to stare at Clarisse. She returned the stare in kind, her lips
twitching frantically as she struggled to hold back her mirth.
“Don’t
do it!” Joseph held up his hand, one finger pointed at Clarisse in
warning. It was her undoing. She burst out laughing again.
Joseph
stood slowly and turned to leave the lounge.
Clarisse was on her feet in an instant, running to his side. As she rounded the table she remembered that
she had kicked her shoes off but it was too late. Her momentum carried her forward as the silk
of her nylons slid across the floor.
“Jose…!”
She called the instant before she crashed into him. Joseph turned his torso in time to receive
the full impact of Clarisse’s blow and they both tumbled to the floor in a
heap.
“I’m
sorry I laughed. Please don’t be angry!”
Clarisse begged as she struggled to untangle her limbs from Joseph’s.
Joseph
grinned as he rolled Clarisse to her back beneath him. “I’m not angry. I was just going to turn the music down. The whole point of this exercise was to make
you laugh. You’ve been entirely too
serious this past week.”
“And
you and Mia have been angels for putting up with me. Not two seconds before you slid in here I had
decided to quit working on the damned proposal today and go with what I already
have.”
The
brilliance of Joseph’s smile was reward enough for Clarisse but then he lowered
his face to hers, lips brushing lips gently in thank you.
“Why
don’t you go take a nice long nap? You
need some rest. I’ll run out, take care of a few errands then
return in time to order us a sumptuous dinner in, tonight.” Joseph
murmured against Clarisse’s ear as he nuzzled her auburn locks.
“Why
don’t you join me for that nap instead?” Clarisse’s hands slid down Joseph’s
back to cup his bottom suggestively.
“Because
I doubt you would get any of the sleep that you need.” Joseph replied but didn’t protest when
Clarisse turned to face him, her mouth seeking his.
Their
second kiss was anything but chaste, their legs entangling while their tongues
did the same.
“GRAMMA! JOE!! SHUT UP!!
Joseph
and Clarisse broke apart, their heads turning in unison Amelia feeling her
way across the opening with one hand.
The other hand was locked firmly over her eyes.
“Princess…”
Joseph started.
“I
knew you two were close… but I didn’t realize you were… wow! I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt
you. Don’t stop on my account. I’m sure that I won’t be scarred for
life. Maybe for a few years
but… OUCH!!” Mia stopped speaking
as she ran into the doorframe. “No…
don’t get up… I’m all right…” Her hand still groping the wall,
Mia disappeared again. “Have a nice
weekend!” She yelled out as she opened the door then, laughter evident in
her voice, “By the way, Joe… nice legs!”
The
door slammed shut.
Joseph
rolled to his back beside Clarisse, both of their bodies shaking with laughter
as the final chords of the song sounded and the repeat button started it
again.
“We’re going to need
to have a talk with her…” Joseph gasped between chuckles as he slowly rocked to his
feet then stood, holding his hand out to Clarisse.
She
took hold and let him pull her to her feet then moved smoothly into his
arms. Joseph gave her a wink then grasped
her hand as he spun her body away from him.
“You
are a nut, Joseph,” Clarisse told him on her return spin. “But I love you more than I have ever loved
anyone in my entire life.”
“The
feeling is entirely mutual, my queen.” Joseph answered with a smile as he
danced her around the room and down the hallway.
~finis
Back to The Queen and Her Knight