Eeeeee! Happy Birthday Rusty. Love the details .

The milkshake for breakfast was great!

“You feel any older?”

“Not when I’m with you.”- Aha, just love that ;)

Oh and the ring, it really was a perfect gift.

Did I thank you enough for this? Somehow, I suspect that's just not possible. Love this story. Not syrup, just perfect happiness.

And yeah. No doubt you are still laughing at me. You so often are. Glad I amuse.

Love the phonecall. Of course, Annie is always going to want there to be a fuss made. It's an important date in her mind. And equally, of course, it isn't in Rusty's and its fantastically in character for it to take him a few moments to work out. Like back in Body and Soul, taking a few moments to place Thanksgiving to November. And the birthday might not matter to him, but the being with the people he loves and having them want him to be happy, having them think its important - oh, that means everything to him. And also, of course, I love the idea that Annie phones him on a regular basis and "You are looking after Danny" is just as important as "You are remembering to eat properly." And the answers are yes, always, and no, never.

Imagining that Danny has been expecting the phone call and the invitation, and has chosen not to make plans to suit. And just like the image of him flicking through the magazine, not listening to the phone call and not reading either.

Smiling for the flowers and the whisky and the fierce hug and yes, of course Rusty has every idea. And love the echo all the way back to the beginning of Body and Soul - or Justice. Yes. Wonderful woman who is entirely accepting and understanding and I love the idea of the four of them. Yes. Life for Rusty just doesn't get much better.

And of course Rusty wouldn't be able to hide the thought of the darker times from Saul. Would need a lot more mental preparation to try that. And can imagine Saul seeing and understanding and the expression, the tightening mouth. And maybe Annie wouldn't notice, and maybe Danny could turn the conversation, but she'd know that there was something Saul wanted to talk to them about, and she'd know that none of them would be willing or able to talk about it with her in the room.

Love the higher authority thing that they might grow out of. Might. But its always going to be there, in some way, when Saul feels the need to use it. No matter how old they get.

Rusty taking the question the wrong way. Easier than lying, just pretending to misunderstand. And no, he'd never want to think about the pain of seeing Danny hurt.

The two times he asks the question. Because he can tell that the first wasn't the real truth. And the second, and there isn't actually an answer given, and there doesn't need to be. Perfect, perfect for the characters. Saul doesn't need the details to be hurt. And love that he asks "Have you learned" and Rusty thinks of the overconfidence that they showed, and yes, they have.

Love the whole conversation anyway, because Saul knows that he can't protect them from everything and he can't stop the past from having happened. He can only hope and ask and expect that they not make the same mistake twice. And that's very Saul-like.

Oh, the careful casualness in Annie's voice. Can hear it perfectly. And it makes me laugh so much. And of course he told her otherwise, but she would never want them to be uncomfortable. And love the discussion about who's irresistable. Have my own opinion, of course.

Pyjamas. Yes. Danny has a point and for once has been the one to think ahead and see the details. Definitely pyjamas. And see, now I'm thinking, Rusty is wearing a pair of boxers and a tight t-shirt, and is that really any better? Possibly not. And love the conversation about who sleeps where and Danny being entirely intractable. And no. They couldn't share. Because they couldn't explain, not in the slightest.

You know, the memory of Rusty at the beginning of Body and Soul, not knowing whether he can trust Saul, thinking that Saul could be like MacAvoy, only offering a little more . . .its still painful. Very painful.

And being Guinness for the ellipses. Very Guiness. I'm less good at it than you are. Though admittedly, I probably have less experience.

Love the knock and the long pause. Time enough to get into their own beds and clothes. If it was necessary. Never quite convinced. And love the joint SaulandAnnie announcement. Especially the milkshake. And smiling for the image of Annie giggling and Saul's arm around her. Wonderful.

“You feel any older?”

“Not when I’m with you.”

Laughing so hard for that exchange. Just so you know.

Cards from Lucy and Marty and Sam are wonderful. (And nothing from Beryl and Millicent, and know that there wouldn't be under any circumstances, but I can't help but hope that its because they are no longer around after the exploding sheep incident.)

Sighing for the card and the words that Rusty will read later and, despite his memory, probably often.

The ring. Love the idea that this is where it came from. Love the idea of the inscription.

"he was standing in a diner and he was full of misery and pride and self-disgust and anger. And a man was looking at him without wanting to use him, without wanting to hurt him, without well-meaning pity that he couldn’t bear."

Ow, for this. Rusty's memories and always a little overwhelming but more than that, such wonderful phrasing, such perfectly painful writing. And hate the what-might-have-beens. Because he might have. Could have. And the "tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor," who might have. Hate the thought of it.

And can imagine Annie and Saul's worry at his reaction, and Danny's understanding and concern and the quick and casual taking him out of it and Rusty's smile of reassurance. Perfect.

Danny watching Rusty being happy. The simple things in life. Just a few select people who make Rusty happy. And of course Danny is always going to have the fury at the past. And the relief that Saul and Annie were there before he could be.

"Twenty-one. And all things bright and beautiful. Immeasurably loyal and immensely skilful and intellectually superb and Danny’s only regret about meeting Rusty was that it hadn’t happened sooner."

Sighing for that. Beautiful, perfect, genius line. Exactly how Danny thinks of Rusty.

Giggling at the pause before Rusty decides that, no, they can't steal the Turner. Definitely not. Think the reaction would be similar to the Faberge egg. Can imagine a certain amount of "Oh! Oh, it's beautiful. Thank you. Now put it back where you found it *right now*!" And love the actual gifts being planned, and the fact that now, Danny can anticipate the Derby. Oh, lovely.

And smiling so much for Europe and all of Rusty's guesses being right, and Rusty knowing which three cities to mention, and the job for there if they get bored, and its all so wonderful. And love the "it would never, never end." Because its not about the where, its about the who and its about the them.

Smile. Thank you so much for this.

“And I’ve made up a little bed alongside, Danny. Thought you boys would like to be in together.”

So true! lol. :D

Milkshake for breakfast! Yay! I love milkshakes. _

And the perfect ending. :D

I just love this 'verse of yours. There's angst and all that "good" (:D) stuff, and there's also the ever wonderful love and fluffy stuff. :D

Aw, such a lovely family moment, with Saul and Annie and Rusty and Danny! I absolutely adore them all. The whole thing with Annie and Saul suspecting and kind of knowing but really not grasping the full size of it all amuses me. The ring made me tear up, because it's really such a perfect gift. And Danny wishing he'd met Rusty sooner? Flashback to otherhawk's The More Things Change. Awesome way to start the day!

Love it. i almost started crying in the middle, perfect gift. thanks

Everyone needs some fluff now and then, right? That was exactly what I would need waking up in the morning, to see and read. Nothing more, nothing less.

Sweet, fluffy, tiny bit of angsty, DannyandRusty-ish... Just perfect.

I really loved DannyandRusty's conversation about sleeping. Not that I don't love all of their conversations, but this one was great. And then, the long pause when Saul's knocking to the door, right? Awesome, just wonderful. Made me laugh.

Great, great fic. I really needed something like this.

the never end thing is brilliant.

You have this wonderful skill of trieing things together in a organized fashion that makes these snippets feel like part of the whole story line. it is a hard to do and you do it wonderfully. I am so impressed with the number a subtle alussions you make the skillfulness with which you wield your "pen"

I eagerly anticipate your next pearl