1991 began on a Tuesday. Everyone was expected to go back to work on Wednesday, which they all found a bit ridiculous though they wouldn't complain because they had already taken an entire week off. Accepting that fate, they spent much of Tuesday sleeping off the effects of non-stop drinking and smoking, and in the evening, everyone cleared out of Stone's house.

Alex, Charlie, and Jo enjoyed a mostly silent walk home. No one knew what to say or how to even begin a conversation. Alex was dying to ask Charlie and Jo where the hell they'd disappeared to at midnight. Charlie really wanted to ask Jo about Matt and she wanted to ask Alex a lot in general. Jo just wanted to get her friends' opinions on...something. But alas, no one wanted to be the first to talk, so they all stayed quiet. They got to the apartment and started tidying up what Charlie and Jo hadn't before all the parties.

Cleaning had always been kind of weird at Alex and Charlie's. They'd almost been hesitant to explain the Somebody To Love tradition (wherein Alex sang Freddie's part and Charlie handled the backing vocal) to Jo, but had found they had no cause for worry: she enjoyed that so much she had jumped right in and started singing with Charlie. It was now something they did almost every night, and it worked for them. They almost didn't feel the boredom that usually came with cleaning.

✩✩✩

Early the next day, once Charlie had gone to work and Jo had gone to continue the hunt for a job, Alex went to the payphone with the remaining change of the money Rhea had given her and Rhea's card in hand. She took a deep breath and tried to relax before dialing.

"Hello, Rhea King speaking."

Suddenly, Alex found herself forgetting how to speak, which can be a very awkward experience when a conversation is to be had. "Hey, it's Alex. Kinney. Alex Kinney. That's me."

"Oh, hey Alex! How are you?"

"Great, and yourself?"

"Fairly well, thanks. So, how about that coffee, huh?"

It didn't go awkwardly at all after that, and within an hour Alex was sitting in a nearby coffeehouse waiting for Rhea. She wished Rhea would hurry; telling the waiter that she wasn't ordering just yet, if ever, was starting to get old.

She was making a little hill out of sugar when Rhea sat down in the chair across from her. "Hey, have you been waiting long? Sorry I took forever."

"Nah, it hasn't been more than a little while. Although that waiter doesn't seem to have much patience." Alex wanted to make a joke about the irony in a waiter being unable to wait but held back for fear of coming off as a dork.

"Hm. That's funny. A waiter who's bad at waiting--not the job, just...waiting," Rhea said with a chuckle. Alex looked at her in disbelief before laughing. The waiter came around again and Rhea ordered a latte before the attention was shifted to Alex. 

"Oh, I don't want anything," Alex said with what she hoped was a genuine-looking grin.

"What? You sure?"

"Yeah, I don't...you know...have any money."

"Make that one medium latte, a medium hot chocolate, and two chocolate muffins," Rhea said, and the waiter nodded and left. Alex gave her a questioning look (thinking Rhea had ordered it all for herself) to which Rhea said, "a muffin and the hot chocolate are for you."

"But I really don't have any--"

"I'm paying, Alex."

"Really?" Alex suddenly looked like she'd just won the lottery.

"Yeah, it's no big deal. Anyway, what say we talk business now?"

Alex turned out to have great social skills when she wasn't starving. Rhea was convinced she'd found the perfect person to manage her record shop, and even though Alex wasn't really sure she'd be that great at the job, she was in no position to try to turn down work.

"Alright, I got one last question," Rhea said about thirty minutes later. Alex nodded to tell her to ask away and Rhea smiled. "When can you start?"

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah, really."

"Well, any time you want me to! I have nothing else going on, so I can start whenever."

"Alright, how about this Monday? You can meet me at the store at nine and I'll show you around. I just have a few things to finalize and the shop will be good to go."

"That sounds great! I'll be there."

"Sweet, here's the address..." Rhea gave Alex yet another business card. "This is just a prototype. You'll actually be the one to decide the final design of the business cards."

"Me?"

"Yup. Anyway, I gotta go--this is so great, I'm happy I ran into you at the market. See you Monday, yeah?" She patted Alex's arm and was gone as Alex barely began to nod in confirmation.

✩✩✩

"So you got the job? Alex, that's great!" Stone said as Alex wrote another sentence on the large piece of cardboard. "Wow, you're gonna have a lotta fun working there."

"I know, I'm actually really looking forward to it," Alex replied, looking up at him for a moment before going back to writing. "I just hope I don't screw anything up."

"You won't, trust me. You're gonna do great. Are you almost done with that?"

"Yeah, I just have to finish this last sentence. And thanks. I hope you're right."

"I am. And hurry up, he's gonna be here soon."

"Stone, I'm pretty sure I'll finish this sentence before he gets here," Alex said, giving her friend a lame look. He laughed and nodded, patting her shoulder before walking away to get a drink.

It was Saturday, and preparations for Eddie's birthday celebration were in motion. They hadn't thrown him a party on his actual birthday because it had been two days before Christmas and there was no way they'd be able to supply it all and do the holidays. Now they'd had a chance to restock and recharge and were ready to party some more. Only it was going to be a while until the party could start, because Charlie had wanted to bake the cake. It should be noted that Charlie didn't know how to bake, and they'd been forced to commission an actual baker for the task at the last minute and been told that the soonest they could have a cake was at six in the evening.

"Where did he even go? What does he get up so early for?"

"I don't know, why don't you ask him? And it's not even early, you just like getting up late."

"When did you get so salty, Stone? It's only noon." Alex held out the marker and finished cardboard (which was actually the card the friends had all signed) and he took them.

"Says you. Hey, I think that's him." Stone pointed out the window and gave Alex some money. "You ready?"

"Yeah, I got this." Alex rolled her shoulders and stood up, opening the door just as Eddie was raising a fist to knock. "Hey, Eddie! How are you?"

"Um, good," he replied, obviously caught off-guard. "You certainly look happy."

"That's because we're going somewhere today. Just you and me. It's gonna be so much fun, I can't even wait."

"Where...where are we going?" Eddie asked as he stepped inside.

"Some place nice. You ever been to the Space Needle?"

"No. I mean, I go by it a lot, but I've never been up there."

"Well, you will today. Hurry up and get ready 'cause we gotta go."

"I mean...I'm ready now," he said with a shrug. "I don't have to change, do I?"

"Nah, you're good. Alright then, off we go, sorry you didn't get to rest. Later, Stone!" Alex called out, pushing a still somewhat bewildered Eddie out the door.

✩✩✩

"It's a nice day, isn't it? For once, it's not snowing," Alex noted as she looked out the window of the bus.

"Yeah, it's nice. It doesn't snow where I used to live, so I'm still not really used to the weather."

"Oh, right. San Diego, huh? What's it like down there?"

"Hot, I guess. And there are tons of beaches to go to and it's really sunny and nice." He looked down with a little smile.

Alex recognized that look. "Do you miss it?"

"A little. Yeah--maybe more than a little." He blinked and shook his head, looking up to face her. But I love it here. And having you guys makes this place as much a home as San Diego."

Alex grinned, a sudden surge of affection for her soft-spoken friend rushing through her as she took in his words. "I'm glad, you know. I'm glad you came here."

"Yeah, I am too. Already got to meet my future wife..." he trailed off as laughter took over and Alex flicked his knee.

"Shut up. Man, that was a lot of beer we were drinking...although I'm not saying I wouldn't marry you sober."

"Like I'm gonna believe that. Hey, isn't this our stop?"

"Oh shit, yeah it is. Come on." She took his hand and stood up, dragging him off the bus.

The food at SkyCity was great, and Alex and Eddie had a great time talking as they practically inhaled their meals (both were almost constantly hungry, so no one could blame them). They compared their experiences in Chicago and talked about their first impressions of Seattle. It was nice; they'd never really gotten the chance to talk just the two of them, and they were coming to find that they had a lot in common.

Once the desserts were all gone, they took the elevator up to the observatory. Alex was instantly floored by the view, pressing her face against the glass as her eyes found Mt. Rainier. Eddie almost laughed at her antics but found it hard to resist doing the same. It was all just so stunning--it was a short winter day and the sun was already setting, making for an impossibly pretty sky complete with pink clouds hovering over the bustling city.

The moment itself was beautiful. Neither of them wanted it to end; staying there watching the sinking sun add lovely orange hues to the sky forever sounded just perfect to the pair. Then Alex remembered that they had a party they had to get to. She let out a little sigh and grabbed Eddie's hand. "It's time to go--we'll miss the last direct bus and I don't know how the transferring ones work."

He nodded and they went down the elevator together, not saying much but both knowing they were still thinking about the view. The short while they'd spent up there was one of those moments Alex knew she'd remember forever, and she felt happy.

The timing was perfect. Everyone was ready and the cake had been delivered. When they opened the door to Stone's at around six-thirty, they were greeted by a massive shout of surprise! and a lot of confetti raining down on them. Eddie himself laughed and thanked them all so much they almost got tired of it. He later admitted to Alex that while he thoroughly enjoyed the party, his favorite part of the day had been going to the Space Needle with her, and that was enough to make Alex so happy she kissed his nearly shining red cheek and hugged him tight enough to squeeze the poor guy's breath out. Happy birthday Eddie indeed.

 ✩✩✩

happy birthday, Eddie! i can't imagine my life without him and Pearl Jam--i don't even want to try. anyway, i hope you enjoyed and until next time! remember to stay safe and hydrated, have fun, jam to great music, be what you wanna be, and stay sober for Layne :)