driftfleet | 🎃 HALLOWEEN MINGLE 🎃

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🎃 HALLOWEEN MINGLE 🎃

You are cordially invited to Cisco and Winn's Not-Too-Terrifying Halloween Costume Party!

Who: everyone ( yes, you too!)
Broadcast: N/A
Action: aboard the Iskaulit!
When: current

[ on the night of the 28th, the lecture hall will open its gates though it'll look remarkably different. Winn and Cisco would have decorated the corridors leading to it with Jack-o'-lanterns made from the pumpkins gathered at the little patch on the planet. The hall itself will be similarly decorated, along with other traditional scary Halloween decorations made from paper and fabric ( don't ruin the little paper spiders, they took hours to make! ). There will be music from various times of Earth-1 and Earth-3, so don't be surprised to find Lady Gaga playing alongside the Spice Girls! Feel free to make requests or otherwise, just show your skills on the dance floor!

There will be a bar run by Nami offering free sodas, though you'll have to pay for your own alcohol ( remember, don't drink and fly! ). Alongside the bar, characters will find a few tables offering candy from Earth-1 won by Cisco at the game room with a little sign reading TAKE ONE, LEAVE SOME FOR OTHERS and quite a lot of space chips and protein dips as well as various candy from all over the different planets ( cleverly hoarded by Winn! ) and a large selection of pumpkin pies and pumpkin treats. Characters will also find a line leading to Cisco's trusty ice cream machine, though it'll only offer peanut butter flavored sorbet.

At the corner of the hall there will be a karaoke machine with a little sign-up sheet. Characters could sign up solo or in groups and list the song they'd like to sing. Keep in mind though, the entire hall will be able to hear your rendition of Sexy and I Know it!

Adventure-seeking characters will be able to follow signs reading HAUNTED HOUSE and reach a large hall that was turned into a maze by large cardboard blocks painted black or covered by dark fabrics. Making it out of the maze won't be too hard and the maze itself won't be too frightening but will be mildly startling. It'll include some nifty engineered animatronics of witches, scarecrows, scary clowns and skeletons as well as holograms of ghosts! The song featured in the invitation will also be heard here, on repeat. It's a good break from the dancing and for some private conversations and moments.

Remember, costume are mandatory! you don't want to be caught by tonight's pumpkin kings, do you? ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ heavens. she's dating a nerd. peggy chews her way through a first bite of muffin -- and continues to chew thoughtfully while she considers her response. ]

Sounds a bit dangerous. [ peggy doesn't disparage the talent -- it's more an idle comment than anything else. the idea of traveling through objects? well, she is reminded of zero matter. of jason wilkes. ]

I think that for her it's a stroll through the woods, it's her power. She's a mutant. They're enchanced human beings, kinda like Wanda and Pietro.

[ but born with their powers or so he learned ]

They have their own Avengers, she's part of them. They're called the X-Men.

[ mutant. another word for the ledgers. alongside x-men. every day, there are more and more 'enhanced human beings' to consider. ]

Another team in 2015? [ after all, kitty seems to know the captain america story from more than just this fleet. ]

I'm not sure. I mean, she knows about me but I'm pretty sure I've never heard of the X-Men until I came here. Could be the uh -

[ what was the term now ]

alternate universe thing.

[ it would explain some of the confusion here. kitty might know a captain America, simply not the version of Steve Rogers that is present here. Confusing, but not entirely unreasonable. ]

[ peggy nods -- and makes short work of another bite of pumpkin muffin. pumpkins, it would turn out, are terribly delicious. ]

Tricky, that. [ although she can't help but wonder about the range of steve rogers the multiverse might offer. was there a world, maybe, where he never crashed? where he survived? it's a maudlin thought, and she tries to banish it as soon as it occurs to her. ]

You know, I mentioned the USO shows. [ ... ] And she asked me if I'd been one of your dancers.

[ AHEM. ]

Yeah, I don't really get the science of it. I should have Winn write it down for me one day.

[ he steals a bite off the muffin but ends up doing something between a cough and a clearing of the throat. ]

She did - ?

[ oh, this could be one of those don't-laugh situations but it's too late for that. ]

That's going to stay with me for a while.

[ highly likely forever. ]

[ peggy suppresses her smile. biting down on her bottom lip, and happily transferring a bit of her embarrassment to him. ]

A bit bold of you to admit. [ she leans her chin on a palm. elbow on the table. there's an impish look to her, as though she was genuinely channeling a bit of ginger rogers. ]

[ he huffs another chuckle. he wouldn't it call it bold, really. it's simply that, well. ]

Some things are not really meant to be denied.

[ who would believe him even if he bothered to try? ]

I'm not complaining. [ her reassurance is wolfish. peggy might be enjoying the chance to swerve through these more traditional flirtations. it's been rare. ] I don't mind boldness.

[ it's funny, the way their dynamic changes from one moment to another. some days, he can hold his own in this flirting match. other days, he's as graceless around her as he was during his first day here. it comes and goes, the flashes of understanding she's right there, even after months. perhaps it's the change of scenery. he had missed a celebration of some sort when he arrived so this is their first, really. he gets to have it here, going with her, sitting here with a pumpkin flavored muffin of all things. ]

Maybe next year.

[ and it's bold not only because of the USO dancer costume but also because of the concept of next year. ]

I'd save us thinking about another costume.

Next year!

[ -- she isn't wholly indignant. after all, she'd only just praised his boldness. it wouldn't be fair to immediately slap him on the wrist for exhibiting more of the same. peggy reaches for her whiskey. ]

Is that a request? Or a wish?

[ she watches him carefully as she sips. maybe it's the whiskey talking, 'cause if she agrees to dress up as a uso dancer tonight she is certainly going to regret that agreement a week from now, let alone a year from now.

a year from now. the concept hits her like a bag of bricks. nearly steals her breath away. ]

[ the concept of next year is perhaps the most daring thing he would say all night. there were days he was willing to give quite a lot for another hour, let alone a day. time has mended some of those wounds, making it easier to humor the entire matter. ]

Maybe a bit of both.

[ -- what mixed feelings. hope, weaving between managed expectations. she harbours admiration for his boldness, certainly. both the costume and the timeline were daring propositions.

but she's always lived a daring life. so peggy leans in, just close enough to suggest: ] Here's to a year. [ peggy raises her glass. ] And to wishes fulfilled.

[ he doesn't know what to call this, what they're doing. it's somewhere between making up for lost time and reclaiming something - what? Halloween parties and toasts and what ought to be the weirdest sense of normalcy.

whatever it might be, it ignites the same sort of warmth the alcohol would, if it had any effect on him at all and he's entirely committed to it, reaching for his bottle, he clinks it against her glass. ]

to those.

[ there are several disadvantages to the concept of never feeling the effects of alcohol; one of them which now presents itself is that one is never quite in reach of liquid courage, so to speak.

it means, he has to get himself together and gather his infamous captain america trademark boldness and bravery to be able to utter the seemingly calm, ]

May I have this dance?

[ the music has slowed, thankfully. ]

[ she takes advantage of her own liquid courage: a long and burning sip of alien whiskey, settling comfortably in her gut and giving her the boldness she didn't truly need. not when it came to him.

after abandoning her glass, she carefully removes first one glove and then the other. peggy decides she doesn't want to dance with him with those little black gloves between them. so she's all too happy to abandon them to the table besides the muffin crumbs and empty glasses. ]

You most certainly may. [ she pushes back her chair, standing again. ] I won't even hold it against you if you step on my toes.

I'll try my best not to -

[ he promises, a bit sheepish, as he takes her hand in his, banishes the nervousness away. he doesn't know the song but it hardly seems to matter. they danced once, during his first week on the starstruck, he had asked her to even though there was no music and it was just them, in her room. this, here, is different. not because of the others; he once thought dancing in front of other people would be nerve-wrecking but now, he hardly notices them. months after he made good on his promise for a dance, he wraps an arm around her waist and it feels right, far easier that it was before. once uncertain, there is a sense of knowing now. it's still very much dreamlike but more solid, somehow. ]

I think slow-dancing might be the same everywhere.

Close enough, at least.

[ she curls her fingers against his palm. and although the silhouette they strike together is altogether classical, the meandering rhythm is a compromising nod towards modernity. peggy slides her hand up the back of his spine -- letting her fingertips rest just so between his shoulder blades.

she lets him lead. not merely because of tradition or because it's the done thing, but because she has faith that he can -- and because there are so few people in which she feels confidence enough to follow. even while dancing.

it's hard not to wear her romance on her face when she tilts her head and watches his eyes. this dance -- with the swell of music in the air and the company of others around them -- is years overdue. a little more so for him than for her, having had the advantage of reuniting with him once before in the fleet. it had been just before christmas. and they'd danced like this, then, too. and that iteration of steve had stolen her heart away the minute with a bold tapping of his fingers. she copies that action, now. an ardent homage to what had come before.

against the middle of his back the taps out an unmistakable chain of morse code, knowing he'll know it. three small words: i love you. ]

[ he doesn't count his steps, doesn't abide the rules of classic nor modern dance. He takes care with her toes, however, manages not to step on them at all. it may not be as graceful as he would have liked but it is something else, instead, both sincere and intimate. when he draws her close, she fits against him just as he knew she would and for a few moments, there's just that, a slow song and her in his arms and feels right, like a puzzle that's been completed after years and years of searching for the one piece he only got to hold for a moment before it slipped through his fingers.

and then her fingers move and it takes him a split second to understand, for it all to click into place and when it does, he almost forgets to breathe. when he closes the remaining distance between them, it's not to kiss her outright; it's to press their foreheads together, noses bumping. his hand moves from her waist to the small of her back and it's there where he taps, i love you too. ]

[ the roots of this romance might have taken ground weeks, or months, ago -- nurtured by friends and allies -- but it didn't truly blossom until this moment. they'd come full circle: a promise made and a promise kept. peggy smiles when their noses bump. what a an innocent moment. she could almost forget there are strings attached and eyes watching -- and not simply the eyes of bored or curious party-goers.

her shoulders roll with the music, and the curve of her spine soon follows. for all her belly-aching, she does just fine finding her own way to move to the modern music. because either natasha gave her some pointers earlier in the night, or because she was never all that intimidated by the sounds to begin with. tonight, she feels bulletproof. and it isn't the costume the lends her that invincible feeling, but rather the tight-knit understanding between the pair of them.

they're in love. caution and patience both, suddenly, feel more like shackles than virtues. ]

Perhaps Halloween isn't so bad, then.

Edited 2016-11-03 00:48 (UTC)

[ there is a sort of relief that settles in his bones. This dance has been in his mind for years, since he woke up seventy years after promising it. It was more than itself, a symbol of a lost life, of missed opportunities, of things he wanted to tell her but waited far too long and then it was too late. This here, is more than finally being able to have this, her in his arms, a swirl of music at the background; it's a chance to do something else, to remedy the part of their love which is so heavily marked by grief and to simply live a life, odd as it may be. For a moment, for all that he is fond of Halloween, he wishes they could do away with those costumes and simply be themselves and that is the moment when Halloween is finally redeemed for her. ]

I had a feeling it might grow on you.

[ or at the very least, he hoped. ]

[ maybe, if she shuts her eyes and lets his steps lead, she can imagine all the orange and black trappings melting away from the hall. she thinks about bunting, instead: red, white, and blue. and peggy turns her head so her cheek meets his -- warm skin on warmer. deep down, she understands the science of it all -- a superior metabolism burning fuel all the faster -- but for now, she simply relishes his warmth. ]

Don't mistake me, [ she answers archly even as her touch stays tender. ] It's all still unbelievably gaudy. And gluttonous, to boot. But -- [ she likes games of pretend. she likes dodging the hard truths for just a little longer ] -- I'll celebrate whatever days I need to in order to do this again and again and again.

[ dancing. ]

Dancing?

[ he breathes the word against her cheek, low and quiet, something to be kept between them. he can still feel the place where she tapped her message to him, a tingle that remains even after her fingers have moved. ]

I'll dance with you every day, celebration or not.

[ her palm still braces against his spine -- like almost threatening to tap out a second 'secret' for only the pair of them to share. but instead of hiding behind old code, she reacts audibly: a sigh, breathed past a smile. when she speaks, she speaks against his jaw. close, and certainly intimate, but the posture of the dance stays above reproach. ]

Daily dancing? [ hm! ] Sounds better than calisthenics. But I'll settle, I think, for dancing often.

Well, it'll give me time to practice.

[ to maybe become a little more graceful on his feet, less self conscious. ]

I might still get the hang of this.

[ even though he's more focused on the details of it, her proximity, her voice in his ear than on the dance itself. ]

-- Come and practice as often as you like, then, [ she half-challenges and half-invites. in some moments, there's no use for playing coy. if they've reached this goal-post, then it's safe to say a certain level of partnership is easily assumed. it opens doors: to joy; to flirtation; to normalization. ]

I'll be more than happy to help.

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