Chapter Text
It was Friday afternoon on a sunny San Diego day and the crowd was thick and full of excitement. Casey wove her way through the horde, smiling at the costumes and occasionally stopping someone to ask for a photo if they were dressed as a character she recognized.
Her friend Elaine pulled her arm. "Look!" she said. "There are the art vendors!"
The girls meandered the tables. Some of the art was quite stunning, and Casey decided she wanted to buy something. She always looked at the art when she went to these conventions but never treated herself to anything. She could hang it on her spare room. Suddenly, she knew exactly what she wanted. She began rifling through a book with a purpose.
The vendor saw her focus. "Hey," he said, offering his hand. "I'm Adam. You look pretty intense there. Looking for something in particular? Maybe I can save you some time."
Casey shook his hand and smiled. "I'm Casey, hi! Yeah, I'm looking for something with the Boondock Saints boys. Do you have anything?"
"Yeah, in this book here," replied Adam, handing her a different book. "You looking for both boys together, or do you have a preference?"
"Thanks," Casey said as she started flipping through the pages. "No preference, but I'd like something with both boys and Romeo."
"Hmm. I don't have much with the sidekicks, but there are a few."
Casey stopped flipping. She'd found a composite of the brothers and Romeo, with Romeo at the far right. It was close-ups of their faces, but only the left-hand sides were lit. The right sides faded into shadows. Their expressions were cold and serious, and the half-faces were tightly pressed together to fill the frame, each one encroaching into the shadow of its neighbor. The word "NAOMH" came vertically down the left side of the frame in the shadow of Connor's face, and the letter O was the heads side of a penny. The whole design was in black and white with "naomh" written in cracked, charcoal gray Old English letters.
"This one," said Casey. "This is fantastic."
Adam smiled. "Thanks," he said. "I have another one like it with Rocco's face instead of Romeo's. Do you want to see that one?"
Casey pondered for a moment before answering. "Nah," she decided. "I like Rocco too, but I'm kind of partial to Romeo."
Elaine came over and peeked over Casey's shoulder. "Whatcha got?" she asked.
"Look at this," said Casey.
"Oh, that's amazing!"
"I was thinking of hanging something in my spare room. I like this a lot."
"So you're going to buy a copy?"
"I think so." Casey turned to Adam. "What sizes do you have?"
"I only have that one as an eleven by fourteen," he answered.
"Do you have a tube I can keep it in until I get it mounted?"
"Absolutely."
They completed their transaction and Casey took a business card, promising to check out his website. Casey and Elaine continued to peruse the floor, stopping at a few other vendors that had trinkets, shirts and novelties. Elaine bought a tank top with the MacManus family prayer on the back and Casey bought a bracelet that had Boondock Saints charms. She bought the bracelet in a bigger size so she could wear it on her ankle, and she put it on right away.
They eventually made their way to the autograph tables. The crowds were predictably heavy there. They made their way slowly through the area, looking and gawking at the celebrities that were smiling and shaking hands with excited fans. They took their time looking around, geeking out over all the familiar faces they never thought they'd see in person. They wove their way around lineups, and excused themselves as they had to pass through a few to get by.
"Wow, some of these lineups are crazy," said Elaine.
"Yeah, I kind of feel bad for the people whose lineups are short," Casey replied.
"Do you want to meet anyone?"
"Uh, I want to meet everyone."
Laughing, Elaine took her arm and pulled her. "Well, I know we absolutely can't leave here without meeting at least one MacManus brother, no matter how long the lines are. Let's go!"
They went to the tables where the stars of “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” were set up and took a few moments to stare. In order from left to right, they saw Norman Reedus, Sean Patrick Flanery and Clifton Collins Jr.
"There they are!" said Elaine, grabbing Casey's arm and pointing.
Casey followed Elaine's finger. As soon as she saw them, her inner geek reared its head.
"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, grabbing Elaine's wrist and covering her mouth. Elaine grabbed her back and started bouncing. The girls giggled together and stared, excited that their all-time favorite movie characters were sitting fifty feet away from them.
"Wow," Casey said as she gawked. "They're so much better looking in person!"
"I know! As if that's even possible!" Elaine took a breath and exhaled slowly. "Ok, so if we're gonna go meet these guys we need to calm down so we don't look like crazy fangirls."
Casey laughed. "Yeah, that's definitely not the impression I want to give. I mean, maybe we both are deep down, but they don't need to know that."
"Where should we go first?"
The lineups were longest Sean and Norman's tables. Clifton's wasn't short, but it was shorter. Casey glanced at Clifton, trying to gauge his face. He was smiling and seemed to be engaging the fans he was meeting.
"Do you want to see Clifton first?" she asked Elaine.
"Are you sure? We don't know how long these lines are going to take. What if there's no time to meet Sean or Norman after?"
"I think we'll be ok.”
“Of course you do. You and your little crush.” She poked Casey’s arm.
Casey stuck her tongue out and poked her back. “There's still another hour for the signings, there's no way the lines can take that long."
"Ok, but if I miss out on meeting a MacManus, you're dead."
"Deal."
They got in Clifton's lineup and waited. They passed the time people-watching and smiling as they overheard excited fans geeking out around them. They eventually struck up a conversation with the couple standing in front of them. The couple had their 4-year-old son with them. Their names were Eric and Ramona, and their son's name was Alex.
"Wow, you guys came all the way from Montreal?" Ramona asked.
"Yeah," answered Elaine. "We’ve wanted to come to this con forever."
"That’s cool. We’ve been coming for years."
“Yeah, even before this little guy was around," Eric chimed in. Alex was hanging onto his leg, and Eric was trying to keep from falling over.
"That’s cool. You guys are lucky to live so close to it."
"Alex, can you please stop that?" she said, turning to her son. "You're going to pull Daddy's pants down."
Alex pouted at her. "I wanna go!" he said. "I wanna see Spider-Man!"
"I'm sorry about him," Eric apologized. "He loves Spider-Man, and there's someone wandering around in costume that’s doing a really good impression. He's getting bored waiting in line."
"That's ok, it's almost your turn," said Casey.
Sure enough, Eric and Ramona were next in line. Ramona squatted down to Alex's level and took his hand, speaking to him calmly.
"Ok Alex, it's almost over. Look, we're next! If you can be good for a few more minutes, we'll try to go find Spider-Man!"
Still pouting, Alex whined "But it's taking so long!"
"Alex, please? Can you be good for two minutes so we can say hello to the movie star?"
"He's not a movie star. I don't know him. Spider-Man is a movie star."
Getting an idea, Casey started shuffling through the music on her phone. "Hey Alex," she said, "how about we do a dance together? By the time the dance is over, I bet Mommy and Daddy will be ready to go find Spider-Man."
Ramona looked at her. "Would you really do that?"
"Sure, as long as you're ok with trusting a stranger to look after your son for a couple of minutes."
Ramona looked to Eric. "Sure," he nodded. "We'll only be a few feet away."
Casey finally found what she was looking for just as Eric and Ramona walked off to Clifton's table. "Land of 1000 Dances" began to play. She handed her backpack to Elaine and started to shimmy her shoulders.
"Are you ready to dance?" she asked Alex.
"I'm so recording this," said Elaine as she pulled out her phone.
Alex stared at Casey. She could tell he was fighting a smile, so she turned up the volume and reached for his hand.
"Come on Alex, dance with me! This is the best song ever!"
Reflexively, he brought his hands up to hers. Before he could change his mind, she took them and started to sing along. Unable to help himself, Alex started to giggle. He let her move his arms and started rocking his head.
"Yeah, get jiggy!" said Casey.
"Did he say mashed potato?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, dude! Look, this is how you do it." Casey let go of his hands and started stepping to the beat. "Try it with me!"
Alex clumsily threw his feet from side to side, trying to copy her. "That's it!" she encouraged. "And look, this is how you do the alligator!"
She began scissoring her arms in front of her and Alex immediately copied her. "Look, I can do it!" he cried.
The surrounding crowd had turned their attention to the woman and boy dancing at the front of the line. Even Eric, Ramona and Clifton were watching, unbeknownst to Casey. She didn't realize the attention she'd garnered until she heard people in the crowd sing along to the chorus:
"Na, na na na na,
Na na na na, na na na, na na na,
Na na na na!"
She looked around quickly and saw smiling faces everywhere. She smiled back and put her attention back to Alex. The pair lost themselves in the rhythm of the saxophone, dancing until the song ended. Now bubbly and grinning from ear to ear, Alex bounced at Casey's feet.
Casey heard applause. Looking around, Casey saw that Elaine wasn't the only one who had recorded her. People in the line behind them as well as those in neighboring lines all had their phones aimed at her. Realizing she was probably going to end up on YouTube, Casey laughed, but she stopped when she looked over to Eric and Ramona.
They were clapping too, and so was Clifton. All three of them were smiling, and Eric and Clifton also had their phones out. As it sunk in that Clifton might have just recorded her, she blushed hard.
"Can we dance again?" asked Alex.
"I think I'm tired now, buddy," she replied, "and your mom and dad are almost done. Maybe another time? But you can practice if you want. Do you remember how to do the alligator?"
Alex started dancing to music in his head as Casey turned to Elaine. "Oh my god, I think Clifton recorded me," she said.
Elaine laughed. "Of course he did! So did practically everyone! You're going to go viral on social media!"
"Hah, sure I will. 15 minutes of fame, here I come!"
"Maybe more than that if Clifton posts his video," smirked Elaine.
Casey thought about that for a moment. "You think he would?"
"Why not?"
"I'm pretty sure he sees other things that are way more interesting. Especially at a Comic Con."
"Hey, you never know! Wouldn't it be cool if he did, though?"
Casey smiled, glancing over at Clifton. "Yeah, I guess it would be."
As she glanced over, she saw Eric shaking Clifton's hand. Ramona turned to them and called for Alex, who bounded over to his mother. She picked him up and Casey heard her introduce him to Clifton, who shook the boy's hand and struck up a quick conversation with him.
Elaine became squirmish. "It's our turn!"
Watching Clifton interact with Alex, Casey felt butterflies form in her stomach. It was sweet to see him so engaged with a child.
Suddenly, Clifton turned and looked directly at her. Their eyes met, and his mouth turned up in a slow smile. She stared in disbelief. Is he really looking right at me? she thought. Is he smiling at me?
She then realized that Eric and Ramona had moved away. Clifton was waiting for them to approach his table, and Elaine was suddenly pulling her arm.
"Come on!" Elaine said through clenched teeth. "Don't just stare like a creeper!"
Snapping out of it, Casey was suddenly extremely nervous. She let Elaine lead her to the table. Once they were there, she looked up at him and felt a jolt.
Up close, he was somehow even more handsome. The photos of him she'd seen didn't do his features enough justice. His large, soft, brown eyes were the type she could lose herself in. His lips were wide and full, and as he smiled at them in greeting, she could see just how perfect his teeth were. His Mexican heritage had blessed him with a tanned complexion and dark hair. He had a look that was exotic and warm and very sexy.
"Hi!" said Elaine, putting Casey’s backpack at her feet. "I'm Elaine."
Clifton shook her outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you, Elaine." He turned to Casey. "And you are...?"
"Casey," she said. As he shook her hand, she took in how his hand felt. It was warm and firm. Her hand didn't disappear in his, but his was noticeably larger.
"Nice to meet you too, Casey," he said. "Eric told me you were keeping his son company for him? That was real cool of you."
Casey gave a small shrug. "It was better all around, really. They got to meet you without being embarrassed by a screaming kid, the rest of the crowd didn't have to deal with a screaming kid, and the kid's in a better mood now. Everybody wins."
"Yeah, and we all got videos of a fun girl dancing like no one was watching," he smirked.
Casey chuckled nervously. "Yeah. I guess I'll end up on someone's social media somewhere."
Clifton wiggled his eyebrows. "You're already there, sweetheart."
Elaine gasped, then burst out laughing. Casey blushed under his gaze. Her hand came up to hide her face.
"Oh my god," she mumbled.
Clifton laughed. "Aw, don't be embarrassed. You weren't embarrassed while you were dancing, were you?"
When she chuckled, he reached out and gently took her hand. "Hah, see? It was awesome! C'mon, don't hide your face." She allowed him to pull her hand away. He adjusted his grip so that he was holding just her fingers.
"There, that's better," he said as he lowered their hands to rest them on the table. Not letting go, he turned his attention to Elaine. "So where are you two from?"
"Canada," Elaine replied. "Montreal."
"Montreal? Oh yeah, that's in the French area, right? Are you guys French?"
"No, but we speak it."
"Yeah? Say something."
Elaine thought for a second before speaking. "Je suis très contente d'avoir eu la chance de vous rencontrer."
"Nice! What did you say?"
"I said I'm very happy that I got to meet you."
He smiled. "Thanks. I'm glad too, you girls are chill."
Just then, the man sitting with Clifton leaned over and said something quietly in his ear. Clifton's eyes dropped and he nodded quickly. He looked back up at the girls apologetically.
"I gotta move on, I'm sorry. I gotta limit my time so I can meet everyone, you know?"
"Oh that's ok," said Elaine. "Can you sign something for us quick?"
"Sure, what have you got?"
"Casey, where's that art piece you bought? Do you mind if he signs it?"
Casey had been standing silently, listening to Elaine and Clifton's conversation, trying not to stare at her fingers that were still wrapped in Clifton's. When she heard her name, she snapped back to attention.
"Oh yeah, that works. It's in my bag," she said.
Excited, Elaine hunched over to unzip the backpack. Clifton smiled at Casey and gave her fingers a gentle squeeze.
"You're quiet," he said. "You're not still embarrassed, are you? Do you want me to delete the post?"
"No," she smiled, returning the squeeze. "I wasn't really embarrassed, I was more just surprised. I wasn't expecting to have a celebrity post about me on his social media, you know?"
He chuckled. "Ok, good. I don't want to make you feel bad and go home telling everyone about what an asshole I was."
Casey laughed. " No worries. From the impression of you I get from your Instagram, you're a far cry from an asshole."
"Oh, you follow me?"
"Yeah."
He smiled. "That's where I posted you. Wanna see?"
She smiled in return. "Sure, why not?"
Clifton reached to his back pocket, finally letting go of Casey's hand. As he pulled his phone out, Elaine reappeared with the tube from Casey's backpack.
"Here it is!" she said as she handed it to Casey.
Casey opened the tube and carefully slid the print out. She unrolled it on the table in front of Clifton. He put his phone down so he could look at it properly.
His eyebrows shot up, impressed. "Hey, this is cool. You got this here?"
"Yeah. He said he also had one of the brothers with Rocco, but I liked this one better."
"Yeah, me too." He winked, making her blush again.
He signed the print and handed it back. "I kept it to the side so you have room to get those two bozos to sign it too," he said endearingly, thumbing towards Sean and Norman's tables.
"Thanks," she said, looking over her shoulder. "We'd better go before we get in trouble for taking up your time."
"You won't. I will. But I don't really care. I like talking to people."
Casey rolled the print back up and slid it back inside the tube. As she knelt to put it in her backpack, she heard Elaine ask "Can I have a hug?"
"Sure thing," he answered. When Casey stood back up, Clifton had met Elaine beside the table and had her engulfed in a hug. As he let her go, he met Casey's eyes.
"C'mere, sweetheart," he said, opening his arms for her and looking at her softly. His eyes were driving her crazy, and she blushed for what felt like the hundredth time as she walked into his waiting embrace.
She thought she was going to melt. He held her firmly, his arms swallowing her up. They were cheek-to-cheek, and his beard tickled her face. She could also smell his cologne. She didn't know which one it was, but it blended perfectly with is body chemistry and made him smell amazing. She quickly inhaled the scent, allowing a prickly wave to pass through her body before letting go.
As he stepped back behind his table, he picked his phone up to put it away but then remembered why he'd taken it out in the first place. "Oh, hey, I meant to show you the video."
"It's ok," Casey said as she walked to the front of the table to get her backpack. "I'll find it later. I don’t want you to get in trouble. I'll leave a comment."
"All right, cool. I'll look for it. What's your username? Here, write it down so I don't forget." He held his phone out. There was a notepad app open on the screen.
Elaine was still standing beside him, so she reached out. "I'll do it so she can grab her bag. I think we're getting the stink eye from your friend there."
Clifton glanced over his shoulder. The man sitting with him tapped his watch. "Yup, we are." He handed his phone to Elaine, who typed as Casey swung her backpack onto her back.
"There you go," Elaine grinned as she handed Clifton's phone back.
Clifton glanced quickly at the screen as he lowered his hand to put the phone away. His hand slowed and he smiled for a moment before the phone disappeared into his back pocket.
"Hey, don't laugh at my username, Mr Wupass," Casey joked.
Clifton grinned at her. "Wouldn't dream of it. Take care!" He raised his hand in salute before turning his attention to the next person in line.
As Elaine and Casey walked away, Elaine grabbed Casey's arm. "Oh my god, that was amazing!" she said.
"I know! He was so nice!" Casey felt her body start to relax. She hadn't realized she'd been so tense.
"Pff," Elaine huffed. "He was beyond nice! Did you smell him when he hugged you?"
Casey laughed. "Yeah, it was pretty hard not to. He smelled so good!"
They decided to get in line for Sean Patrick Flanery next. It moved faster than they thought it would. When it was their turn, Casey thankfully felt less anxious than before.
"Hey, you're the girl who was dancing over at Cliff's table!" exclaimed Sean.
Casey hung her head and chuckled. "Jesus, I'm never going to live this down."
"No way, darlin'. That was the best thing I've seen at the con so far!"
They all shared a laugh and chatted for another minute. Sean signed the print for Casey, leaving room for Norman Reedus in the middle.
"Shit, I don't think we'll have time to meet Norman," said Casey, looking at her watch.
"He'll be meeting people again tomorrow," said Sean.
"Ok cool. Thanks for the signature. It was great to meet you!"
"You too, darlin'! Enjoy the con!"
The girls walked away regretfully, looking over at the people in line for Norman Reedus. The autographs were going to wrap up very soon.
"Do you want to come back tomorrow to try and meet Norman?" Elaine asked.
"I don't know," replied Casey. "I mean, I'd like to meet him, but we'd have to buy a ticket for tomorrow. And really, that's the only thing we'd be coming for, since we've seen everything today. But we'd get to meet Norman and I'd have all three signatures on my print..." she trailed off.
"Dude, the admission price would totally be worth it."
"Yeah," Casey smiled. "Let's do it. Tomorrow was a free day anyway."