Driving Metal Pt. 02

Brianna pondered, "Hey, Master. If she's house hunting, why not offer to let her buy your old place?"

He shrugged, "Sure. Not like I'm going to need it anymore. Hell, I haven't been there in over two weeks."

"Do you want me to go ask her?" Brianna asked looking up at him, "We've got a short break."

"Sure. Feel free. If she wants, she can even stay there for free until she decides to either buy it or find another place," he offered.

She kissed his lips, then turned and bounded out to go talk to Rosemarie. Willow watched her go, then while Kyp was distracted by James walked over, "You alright, Hank? Are you uncomfortable having Rose around? I could tell her to stay out of the studio."

He looked up at her for a moment, then shook his head. "No. It's not like that...," he trailed off, before staring back down at the drums.

"You didn't Hank at her," Willow murmured. "What can I do to help?"

He chuckled with a wry smile, "Got a magic wand somewhere that will turn me into a different person?"

"Why would you want to be a different person?" Willow asked, "You're a good friend to James and Kyp and Brian. You're a good drummer, sure you've got a few flaws, but you're human. We all are."

He glanced up and looked across the room. "Every one of you is figuring your lives out. And I'm happy. Honest to God I am. Just...," he trailed off for a moment, then muttered, "You know me, Willow. Ain't nobody gonna want me. Not like this... Nobody worth havin' anyway. So... magic wand."

Willow moved to stand beside him, "Well, you haven't dipped into the hard drugs, and while you drink and booze it up, I don't recall ever reading about you taking unasked-for liberties."

He shrugged, "No... they were all asked for..."

"You know, James had this exact conversation with BB, and look at him now," she gestured at James who had his arm around Jasmine. "You won't know unless you try. The worst she could do is say 'No'." She paused, then an impish smirk played around her lips, "However if you're talking about the lovely Rose... She won't say no." Willow patted his arm and strode away to tuck herself under Kyp's arm.

He stared at her as she did and when she looked over her shoulder at him, she grinned and gave him an innocent look. Hank's eyes turned back to the door she had gone out of and he slowly stood only to blink in shock when Rosemarie and Brianna walked back through the door. "Brian? Are you sure about that? I wouldn't want to put you out..."

Brian waved absently. "Don't even worry about it. Glad to help."

"Can I go take a look now?" she asked.

Brian winced. "I... we... have some things we were going to go do...," he started. "But if you want to go yourself, I'll let the guard know to let you in, and... here's the key." He pulled out his keys and handed her a small keyring with a single key on it.

Willow turned and looked meaningfully at Hank and after a couple of moments, his mind caught up. "If you want, I can take you over and show you around. I'm pretty familiar with the place," he said softly.

When Brian nodded, Rosemarie smiled at Hank, "I'm down with that," she winked, "I'll even buy you dinner and a beer after."

He paused, and then murmured something that caused everyone in the room to stop and look at him. "I'll let you buy dinner, but no beer. I need to cut back anyway...," he said softly.

"As you wish," she smiled, taking the key from Brian, "After you guys get finished, I'll come back here and meet you." She walked out, humming to herself.

Hank nodded and sat back down. The rest of the group was still looking at him. Finally, he said testily, "What? It's true..."

"Yes, Hank," Jasmine murmured. "And we're very proud of you," her voice was soft and soothing, and James just kind of melted into her.

"Oh. Thanks... I guess," he said. "So... we still going?" he held up his drumsticks.

Kyp nodded, "We're still going." The band stepped back and began to play some of the new stuff they worked on for James and Jasmine. It was a bit of a different sound than they had been, and the difference in playing styles between Brianna and James along with the opening up of a bit of freedom to Brian and Hank had changed it for the better.