THE GALA ON ADSUM (Mingle Log)

[serpentis]

Who: Anyone and Everyone!
Broadcast: Nope!
Action: A ballroom on Adsum
When: 2/21, Evening-Night



[And the night has arrived! Dorian put out an open invitation, and anyone who is interested is welcome to dress up and meet up for a night of dancing and fawning over each other. Make sure to wear your best, everyone! It's a very special episode of Drift Fleet!]

((OOC: There was an open invitiation, but even if your character never replied or has had personal contact with Dorian, feel free to assume he's let them come along or be dragged along by someone else! I'll be tagging some threads, but if you want a thread to be closed, please just say so in the header.))

Comments

Tim Drake | OTA

[detectivewonder]

[Well, he did show up in a suit, after all. And it has to be good for his ratings. And it sounded like Cass and Steph were going to be there, which was really the important thing.

He hasn't yet figured out that his augment has overclocked his pheromones, although he's sure by now that something is subtly different, just a little off from usual, and so he stands on the sidelines, surprised by the number of people who approach or even shoot him second glances.]

[hellofist]

[Cass was able to find Tim quickly enough once she showed up, and she's spent the entire time pacing and wringing her hands. Stephanie was going to meet them, and it was going to be the first time they were all together in person. She's nervous, a little scared, kind of feels like she's going to throw up, honestly.

At least she looks nice, though. Her dress is one she saw in a window and took a liking to because of the color scheme, and it hadn't taken long to save enough money from body guard jobs to afford it. It swishes around her legs as she walks back and forth in front of Tim, trying to focus on her nerves and not the way Tim's strange alluring... whatever, hasn't gone away. Things would be easier if that would stop.]

She'll really come, right? We'll... see her, tonight. Right?

[detectivewonder]

We will.

The part of the timeline you came from. If she still... ?

[The nerves on Cass's part are the last thing he would have expected, but in context, if she remembers Stephanie as... as dead, then that makes sense. He watches her pace, eyes flicking back and forth. Her nervousness makes him a little nervous, to be honest. They still have a lot of catching up to do...

Maybe he can distract her, keep her calm.]

Nice dress.

[Great start, Drake.]

[hellofist]

We buried her.

[That answer says everything, in Cass' mind. There's nothing that would across what this means, how fresh it is, better than that. She hardly has room for anything other than loss, but when Tim compliments her it catches her off guard, and she stops and looks down at herself. For a moment, she'd forgotten the dress.]

Oh. It, uh... it matched the suit, so... [A shrug, quick and tense, and she finally takes a moment to look at him closer.] You look nice, too.

[mysunnydisposition]

[ Guess who didn't have the time (or the money, to be honest) to acquire a dress? That's right, it's Steph! She figured her Spoiler costume was a little closer to formal wear than the jumpsuits the ship supplies, so she decided, reluctantly, to wear it even though being in it still makes her skin crawl. She'll get over that, eventually. She hopes.

She stops for a second outside the ballroom, taking in a deep breath and trying to steady herself. Even with everything Tim said, she's nervous - it's hard to forget the way things stood with them back in Gotham, after all, and she can't help but wonder what they really think of her now that the shock of her arrival has worn off. Stupid, careless idiot who never should have...

Stop it, she tells herself firmly. Just go in.

She manages to move before nerves catch up with her again, and momentum carries her well past the door before she stops to look around for them. She's left her hood and cowl down, hair loose around her shoulders, and god she feels out of place here... but that's the least of her concerns when she spots the two of them, attention drawn as much by Cass' pacing as anything else. They're really here. They're real.

She's running toward them before she has time to think better of it. ]

[detectivewonder]

We buried a look-alike. Leslie took her to Africa. Tricked us. Tricked Bruce...

[Then he sees her, and the explanation stops cold. He promised himself he wouldn't lose his restraint, not like last time - no sweeping her off her feet and kissing her. But he can't help running to meet her, wrapping arms around her to grip her tight.]

[hellofist]

[Cass, on the other hand, can't move. Tim's voice is drowned out by what she knows, distantly, is the rushing of her blood sounding too loud because it's quickly leaving her head. That's why she feels lightheaded, and why things seem to blur around the edges until the only thing she sees is Stephanie.

Tim can move, and it's good one of them did. He hugs Stephanie, and she's glad about that too. Someone should, if Cass is rooted to the ground. Tim's the best option, and Cass can wait her turn. Somehow, she can wait.]

[mysunnydisposition]

[ Steph barely slows down as she reaches Tim, crashing right into him and wrapping her arms tight around him, face pressed into his chest. She can't breathe, but that's okay - she's not alone here. That's all that matters right now.

After a minute, she manages to pull away, cheeks flushed and grinning. ] So... you missed me?

[ She turns toward Cass, smile softening a little as she holds an arm out for a hug. She missed you too, you know. ]

[detectivewonder]

Just a little.

[He doesn't let her go, not yet - it doesn't seem appropriate, too standoffish - but he does shift to the side, leaving enough room for Cass.]

[hellofist]

[Before Steph even lifts her hand, Cass can see the intention, the invitation, and she's already moving. There's no way, no possible way she'd say no, reject that, but once she's close enough to touch Stephanie she stops.

Tim should get his time. He got to hug Stephanie on his own, and Cass wants that to. Selfishly, she wants her own private moment with her best friend, and even though there's something almost uncomfortably tempting about being wrapped up in the both of them, she doesn't want that yet.

Her hand drops, and then both her hands fist into the delicate fabric of her dress. She'll wait.]

I can wait. [Somehow. She can hardly hear her own voice, so she tries again.] We can take turns.

[mysunnydisposition]

[ Steph lowers her hand, trying not to look hurt. It's a lost battle from the start with Cass, but she tries anyway. ] ...okay. Yeah.

[ It is really hard not to just grab Cass and hug her anyway, but she can wait until she's ready.

She shifts her weight, leaning in a little more to the contact with Tim, as much for the reassurance of it as anything else. They weren't gone, not for her... but she still hasn't really talked to either of them since Batman fired her, wasn't sure they'd ever really be able to be friends again, and her chest feels warm and full just from being in a room with them again. ]

I'm so glad to see you guys. I was about ready to start climbing the walls back on the ship...

[detectivewonder]

[He shoots Cass a quizzical look. What...?]

After the end of the month, you can both transfer over to the First Breath. Uh, if you want. There might be advantages to saying split up...

[He shrugs, suddenly uncomfortable, and steps back, clearing space both so that Cass can come forward and that he can watch them both, create some intellectual distance, and think.]

[hellofist]

With greeting. Just that part.

[They can just take turns with the first hug, because there's so much between all three of them that it only seems fair to let it be as one on one as possible for the first hug. After that, she doesn't care. As long as Stephanie knows she's loved, that any mistakes she's made are forgotten, they can hug in any combination they want.

Now that it's Cass' turn, she won't wait. As soon as she sees that Tim is letting her go next, she rushes forward and wraps her arms around Stephanie's waist, squeezing as tightly as she dares. There's still a part of her that's sure she needs to be careful, that worries as soon as they touch Cass will wake up, but Stephanie is warm and real and alive in her arms.

She won't cry this time. Instead she lays her head down on Steph's shoulder and lets out a thankful, choked sigh.]

[mysunnydisposition]

[ Steph's spent most of the gala with Cass - she's not been in much of a mood to socialize with people she doesn't know, and Cass didn't seem like she wanted to leave Steph's side, so it all worked out. But she's been keeping an eye on Tim throughout the night, and she's not about to let this end without getting at least one dance out of him.

The next time he comes her way, she moves to intercept him, grinning brightly. ]

Hey, Boy Wonder. You planning to dance with every girl here?

[ She's not jealous. She's curious. Honestly. ]

[detectivewonder]

No. But I did have one or two more in mind...

[His own grin is a little uncertain - at the best of times it's hard to know where he stands with Steph, and here, tangled across time and space, it's harder than ever to be sure. Still, he doesn't hesitate before offering her his hand - he knows a straight line when he hears one. Usually.]

[mysunnydisposition]

[ Steph isn't sure herself - they've been on kind of shaky ground since she became Robin, never mind since she got fired, and how he still feels about her a year and a half out... but it doesn't have to be that complicated now. She takes his hand with a grin and steps a little closer. ]

I was hoping you'd say that.

[detectivewonder]

The last time we did this...

Okay, well, you won't remember it. But there were assassins.

I'm hoping this time we won't get interrupted.

[mysunnydisposition]

...well that's comforting. Let's cross our fingers and hope no one here wants to kill us yet.

[detectivewonder]

I haven't annoyed anyone that much yet.

[mysunnydisposition]

[ She smirks at him, equal parts fond and teasing. ] Then I guess it's just a matter of time...?

[detectivewonder]

I'm trying for better PR.

[mysunnydisposition]

Good luck with that.

[ She swings to face him as they reach a little open space on the dance floor, and arches an eyebrow. ]

Following your lead... should I call you 'Captain' now? Is that a thing we do here?

[detectivewonder]

No. Really no. My own crew usually doesn't.

[His hands settle in their accustomed places, starting the dance smoothly, too focused on the question to think about being nervous.]

[mysunnydisposition]

[ Steph watches his feet for a moment or two, just long enough to be sure of what they're doing, and then steps a little closer as she falls in step. Just close enough to feel lightheaded and a little breathless - she's not sure if that's just happiness and adrenaline at finally being able to see him and Cass, or Tim himself, and it's not something she wants to examine too closely. ]

Do you like them, at least? Or do they like you?

[detectivewonder]

I don't really think about them that way. We're learning to work together, and how not to step on each other's toes.

[Desperately unromantic, but after that distracted moment, there is, at least, the way he looks at her, wide-eyed, solemnly appreciative, breath catching every time it occurs to him.]