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

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.

[ there's a soft exhale of air, something between a scoff and a sigh. It's funny, they've spent ample time alone, here. But all of the sudden the idea of being alone with her is a thrill of a sort. Especially like this, well, dancing. ]

I must have left a good impression, not having stepped on your toes.

[ he manages. As often as you like, she said and doesn't that sound just right. ]

Let's be honest about it -- [ the tone of her voice sounded stripped back. a lot rawer, and a little sentimental. ] If you had, I wouldn't have cared. Not really.

[ if the choice had been between trodden-on toes and an absence of him? the choice was bloody simple. ]

You wouldn't have.

[ he agrees and turns his head to look at her. there is a lot here, in the little space between them, a lot more than can be spoken in one evening. They have time, however and yet, he almost chides himself for falling into this old pattern, of waiting, of taking too long. ]

You'd still poke fun of me, though.

[ said with a bit of a smile. ]

[ they turn -- and she shifts her gaze upwards so she can catch his eye. although they stand closer, now, than they did then...she can't help but recall the day he returned late to camp with a trail of rescued men behind him. on that day, too, she'd barely been able to contain her admiration as it leaped into her expression. ]

Of course, [ she agrees -- stiffly, but happily. ] What good is all this if I can't poke fun, hm? I need my sport.

Sport -

[ he laughs, all fondness and brushes a blonde curl behind her ear. careful happiness turns into something warmer, more free of old restraints. ]

I used to think it was just a hobby.

Once a hobby -- now a sport. It graduated.

[ she turns her head towards his fussing fingers, for once acting more on impulse and instinct than on a carefully calculated pattern of movement. her chin lifts, and she kisses the edge of his palm -- leading towards his thumb. it's about as much embarrassment as she dares court with so many others dancing around them. ]

Or was promoted. Or grew up or -- heavens, I've lost grip on the metaphor.

[ funny, how this evening began with her in doubt about the entire holiday and him more keen on it. By now, he misses the way she usually looks, the dark hair, her own clothes. Her lips leave a soft smudge of red on his palm and he smiles as she trails off, one metaphor leading to another. He'd kiss her properly if it weren't for all that audience. ] I think I understand. [ a quick spin and then she's pulled closer again. ] It's been quite a night, after all. [ enough to justify a metaphor running away on someone, surely ]

[ tonight is a good start. but that, like most of these past two months, is all it is: a start. dancing with steve tonight is like learning how to walk all over again -- having loved, and lost...and loved and lost again.

she thuds gently back against his chest -- pleasantly breathless. ]

And if we're fortunate, there will be many more.

[ it's a dangerous assumption, but one he can't help but humoring at least for tonight; that maybe after their shared grief, the loss of one another, that they've earned this. it doesn't feel like a stolen moment, not by far. ]

Well, the holidays are coming up.

[ something to look forward to, if Halloween is any indication. ]

Now, Christmas? I quite like. [ not least of all due to the last one, but she still stays mum on that point. ] All the cheer and all the spice. I'm looking forward to it.

I'll have to talk to Winn, I think he must have every decoration possible on the Tourist. I bet he has some Christmas things.

[ what a joyous little concept, the thought of another shared holiday. ]

Well, at least we'll have enough pumpkins for about a dozen pies.

[ she leans her chin on his shoulder -- comfortable, and honest. ]

Last year, there was a lovely little gathering held by a young woman named Rogue. [ a beat. ] A mutant, from one of the versions of the X-Men. It wasn't busy like this, and she played all the right music. I'd only been in the fleet about four months.

[ it's a new territory, not only the dance itself but this proximity between them. It makes him just nearly stumble on his feet but thankfully, not quite. he clears his throat. ]

We could try for one.

[ a gathering. ]

It doesn't necessary has to be this big.

And what? Host it ourselves?

[ -- at first, she sounds downright incredulous. but as they sway and turn in their steps, she begins to warm to the idea. ] You and I. Well. There's an idea.

[ after all, it's just about the only way to be certain she won't complain about the music. ]

One way to make sure it's not crowded-

[ it stands to reason, after all. a measure of control over an occasional gathering can only be maintained if one organizes it. ]

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