#also i totally stole that surname from shawshank

[wingsy-keeper-of-songs]

a good time

I had Dusan’s dumb ass in mind for when I wrote this. And here you are, my lovelies. I promised Dusan fic, you will get Dusan fic. Enjoy! Downsizing is the property of Alexander Payne

Tim Curry once said "it's not easy having a good time," and Sara Dufresne, recently downsized and unceremoniously dumped afterwards, could very much relate. She stood in front of the rows of colors, trying to decide on which color she could use. She wasn't really paying much attention to her surroundings, so lost in her own little world, that she very well would have jumped out of her skin when someone asked her a question.

               "Er, I'm sorry?" She asked once her heart ceased trying to break out of her ribcage.

               "I was asking if you were all right," the man said sheepishly. "You looked kinda lost." Sara shrugged, stuffing her hands into her oversized olive green jacket.

               "I'm good," she replied, though not looking good at all. She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

               "Are you new? I don't think we've seen you around here." The man continued awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, have you recently downsized?"

               "I've been here about four months," she said with a shrug. "My story's kind of a boring one."

               "I've got time. My wife is off looking at produce, she usually takes about twenty minutes judging the groceries before she buys anything." He said with a small chuckle. Sara gave him a sideways glance. He didn't seem all that intimidating. He was relatively average-looking and he seemed pretty normal. Nothing seemed off about him. Sara decided to put her trust in this painfully average person.

               "Well, my boyfriend and I were trying to raise enough money to get married." She started. "We agreed that downsizing would be the best way to go, so we got everything together, said our goodbyes to everyone and went through the process. At least, I thought he did until the prick called me and told me he wanted to see other people. And that he was still big." She sighed bitterly. The man raised his eyebrows, looking as if he'd heard this story before.

               "Sounds like me and my ex," he said sympathetically. "She backed out at the last minute too, though I never thought she'd be seeing someone else." Sara laughed, but there was no humor in her expression.

               "Yeah, turns out the asshole was dating some other girl while we were together anyways." She said as she picked up a color and examined it. "I mean, I went completely straight for this guy. I stopped with the partying, took out my piercings, settled down, that sort of thing. I gave up a life of fun for him because I thought I loved him and that he deserved better. Guess I was wrong."

               "How long were you two dating for?"

               "Two years," she sighed. "And it's two years of my life that I will never get back." He made a face.

               "Shit."

               "Yeah." There was a bit of a pause in the conversation as she put the dye back and took down another. "I've decided to just live life," she said. "I can do things I used to and don't have to worry about being judged for them. Like dying my hair blue." She turned to grin at him. "So, carpe diem." There was something about her grin that reminded the man of something or someone and he smiled back.

               "You know," he began. "Um, I'm not meaning to freak you out or anything, but a friend of mine is hosting a party later. Maybe you should go and meet some new people?" Sara raised an eyebrow.

               "Are you inviting me, or am I going to be crashing?" She asked. He laughed nervously.

               "I guess I'm inviting you," he said. "I don't really go to them anymore. Not after last time."

               "What happened last time?" Sara asked, interested.

               "Never mind that," he said hastily. "The point is, I think you might have some genuine fun there. And my friend is really accommodating. He's a pretty nice guy all things standing. I think he might be able to cheer you up. Here, I'll give you the address." He took out a little notebook and scribbled something on it before handing it to her. Sara thanked him and pocketed the little slip of paper.

               "Cool," she smiled. "Well, I should buy my dye now. I think I've stared at nothing and wallowed in self pity long enough. By the way, I never got your name. I'm Sara."

               "Paul," he smiled and shook her hand. "It was really nice to meet you, Sara."

               "Yeah, likewise." She said pleasantly. "I guess I'll see you around?" Paul nodded and headed to the produce aisle.

               "Sure, I'll see you." He replied with a wave. Sara beamed and headed for checkout while Paul caught up with his wife who was busy judging tomatoes.

               "What take so long?" She asked, eying him curiously. Paul shrugged.

               "I was just chatting with a newly shrunk," he replied. "She seemed kinda down, so I thought she could use a bit of cheering up. I invited her to Dusan's." Ngoc Lan raised an eyebrow.

               "You try to get her high?" She asked. Paul shook his head.

               "Well, no. But I think Dusan could cheer her up a little. She was recently dumped." He explained. "She's had it rough for the past few months, so I thought she might need a bit of fun." Ngoc Lan placed the tomatoes in the cart.

               "You invite her to Mister Dusan's, you set her up for more heartbreak." She replied sagely. "She gonna need Jesus." Paul laughed, but he couldn't help but disagree with her. Dusan was a bit wild, yes, but he had a pretty decent heart. As long as he didn't destroy it with narcotics.

xxxx

Sara stared at the door for a solid two minutes. She'd had an internal discussion with her feet about just heading in and pretending like she knew what she was doing, but it seemed as if she were frozen to the spot.

               "Ugh, this is such bullshit." She said to herself. "I mean, it's just a party. It's not like a ritual sacrifice or anything. There is no need to be this frickin' nervous." She stared at the door and took a deep breath. "Okay, I just need to knock and introduce myself as a friend of Paul's. Or acquaintance. Or whatever it is you call it when two people have a moment in a grocery store." She raised her fist. "Just knock." She kept telling herself. "Just knock." And she did. She was petrified beyond belief, but she did it. The door swung open and a very inebriated girl was standing in the doorway, looking confused and most likely high.

               "Uh," Sara started and smiled a bit awkwardly. "Hi there. Are you a friend of Dusan?" The girl stared at her for a moment before smiling syrupy sweet and pulling her in.

               "Ohmigawd, are you new here?" She asked, slurring her words all over the place. Sara could smell the fruity drinks on her breath.

               "Kinda. I'm a friend of Paul's." The girl didn't seem like she knew what she was talking about, but she was sweet enough and showed Sara around.

               "Ohmigawd, you have to tell me who did your hair!" She said, petting the blue strands carefully. "It's so vibrant!"

               "Uh, thanks. I did it myself." Sara said a little nervously.

               "Dusan is usually at the bar or on the dance floor." The girl continued. "I don't know, he's everywhere and nowhere. But you should totally meet him. He's like, super chill and cute." She giggled again. "Here, I'll get you a drink and you can like socialize or dance or whatever." Sara really wanted to know the drunk girl's name, but she slipped away before she could say anything.

               "Okay," she said to herself. "Welp, that was a bust. Now, where's the food?" She started looking around, trying not to bump into people until she inevitably did. "Oh fuck a duck!" She blurted out. "I'm sorry about that, man." The man she'd bumped into waved it off and grinned at her.

               "It's no problem," he replied in an accent that sounded Russian. "Hi there! You look new." She nodded.

               "Yeah, kinda. I mean, I was sort of invited here, I think? Guy's name was Paul." His eyes lit up.

               "Ah, you mean my neighbor!" He said with a grin. "Yeah, Paul told me he invited someone here. Failed to tell me she had blue fuckin' hair though." Sara smiled a little self-consciously.

               "Paul's your neighbor?" She asked. He nodded.

               "Yeah, nice guy. Funny, too." He shook his head. "Anyways, I'm Dusan." So this was the person Paul had mentioned, Sara thought. Well, he certainly seemed like a decent human being.

               "Sara," she replied. "So, this is your place?" He grinned wolfishly and nodded.

               "Sure is. Come on, we can get a drink. You look like you're about to pass out and not in the good way." She followed him through a throng of people greeting him rapidly. He seemed relatively cheerful and good-natured, and Sara found herself rather liking him a little. He got her a drink and they sat at the bar.

               "You were the one with relationship issues, right?" He asked bluntly. Sra blinked.

               "Uh, yeah." She replied, somewhat offended. It wasn't exactly her fault the relationship soured now, was it. "Yeah, you could say that."

               "American boys have no idea how to treat a lady," he said through a huff. "It's ridiculous." She shrugged.

               "I dunno, I mean I guess he was all right at first." She sipped her drink, feeling the burn. "Shit that's strong."

               "Pure Serbia, darling. That shit's the good shit." Dusan said, grinning wolfishly. "So, he just up and left you tiny, did he? What a dick."

               "Yeah, he was." Sara agreed. "So, you're Serbian, huh?" Dusan nodded.

               "Have been all my life."

               "Yeah, I was kinda wondering what the accent was." Sara said. "The more ya know. And knowing is half the battle." Dusan laughed and she found herself drawn to the line of his throat. Though that was most likely the vodka speaking.

               "So, why did you get small?" Dusan asked. She nearly choked on her shot.

               "Well, at first I wanted to get married to the prick who left me. Now I just live day to day, doing shit, getting paid to do shit, meandering through life like a slug." She shrugged. "Not exactly living, is it?"

               "I couldn't say," he replied. "But yeah, it sounds fuckin' terrible." She knocked back her shot.

               "It is. It's the worst." She sighed and put her chin on her arms. "Man, I need to get laid big time." Dusan tilted his head a little.

               "Yeah? Is that an invitation?" He asked, looking her over. Sara looked up at him. He was a good-looking son-of-a-bitch, she'd give him that. And he looked like he might be a good time. And he was being pretty chill with her and letting her vent her shit at him. Honestly, it wasn't a bad idea despite having just met the guy.

               "Maybe," she said with what she hoped was a flirtatious smile. "Or it could be the alcohol talking, I dunno." He shrugged.

               "Drunken words are sober thoughts," he pointed out with a bounce of his eyebrows and she had to laugh. "And you're pretty fuckin' cute, so that's a bonus." She felt color rush to her cheeks.

               "Haven't been called cute in a while," she said. "You wanna dance or something? Maybe we could see where the night goes afterwards?" He nodded and stood from the bar.

               "I think I could live with that."

xxx

That was the last thing Sara remembered. The next morning, she found herself in an unfamiliar room, still dressed and with a pounding headache. Her brain screamed at her for her stupidity and all she wanted was for the room to stop spinning. Someone knocked on the door and she groaned and hid under the pillows.

               "Why do you hate me, God?" She groaned softly.

               "You okay in there?" Dusan's voice came from the outside. He sounded pretty hungover himself. "I'm coming in. If you're naked, don't throw shit at me. I'm not awake enough to deflect it yet." He opened the door and gave her a tired smile. "Hi." He greeted. She groaned in response.

               "Fuck my life," she moaned into the pillows. "I am never drinking again."

               "I said the same thing a few months ago, it never stuck." He said as he sat next to her. "You, uh, you remember anything?" She shook her head. "Well, you drank me under the table." He said. "And, uh, you challenged me to a dance-off." She groaned.

               "Drunk Sara thinks she can dance," she said. "I bet she embarrassed the shit out of herself." He shook his head.

               "From what I can remember, you weren't half bad." He replied with a smile. "But you passed out halfway through and I had to carry you here."

               "Thanks for letting me stay the night," she said with a grateful, hungover smile. "It was really sweet of you." Dusan shrugged and ran a hand through his hair.

               "Friends don't let friends drink and drive," he replied. She finally sat up and rubbed at her eyes.

               "I'll be out of your hair in a minute," she informed him. "You know, until after the sunlight stops trying to kill me."

               "Understandable. If you can stomach it, I could make you breakfast." Dusan offered. At the look on her face, he laughed. "Only if you want though." She stood up a little shakily and ran a hand through her shock of blue hair.

               "Nah, it's all good son." She said with a wry grin. "I'll probably see you at your next party or whatever. Right now, I just need to go home and die a little." He nodded.

               "I'll show you out." He said as he headed out the door with her. It took her a little bit to process that he wasn't wearing very much outside of the blue robe...which he'd deliberately left open. 'Was he always that hot, or am I still drunk?' Sara wondered. She followed him to the door and they stood there for a second.

               "So...see you, I guess?" She ventured. He nodded, running a hand through his hair again.

               "Yeah, I guess." They were awkwardly quiet for a minute as Sara's feet refused to carry her out the door again. She seemed to be making her mind up about something as she stared at Dusan for a solid ten seconds. Looking a little pale, she stood on her toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek before pulling back and blushing like she was 18 goddamn years old.

               "Thanks for letting me crash, and for the good time." She said a little shyly. He looked somewhat surprised, but before she could leave, he took her wrist and crashed his lips against hers. Sara's eyes went wide, but she definitely welcomed it. She grabbed hold of his robe and kissed him back eagerly. He pulled back to wink at her.

               "Until next time?" He asked. She nodded, head reeling a little.

               "Yeah...next time." She said, dazed. He waved at her as she turned and left with something of a bounce in her step that Paul would later ask her about the next time he saw her.