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

[ 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. ]

Invite the Starstruck. The others from -- [ she can't quite say home. the time discrepancy is a little odd. ] The Avengers. Our Rip Van Winkles might be awake by then.

[ though she's not convinced either tony or bucky would make good guests. ]

I was almost tempted to draw whiskers on his face last time I've been there.

[ he checks on bucky from time to time, makes sure all is stable, even when he's asleep. he doesn't like this one bit but at least they can still keep an eye on him. his thoughts flow in the same direction her own do, it seems that Christmas is his deadline. there are things to be fixed, to be amended before than. ]

Hank, Raven, Kara, Winn, Kitty.

[ except for the avengers, that seems to be his list. ]

[ they are cheek-to-cheek, and dancing without proscribed steps but instead letting the music dictate their movements. her conversation is hushed, and light. just for the pair of them. ]

Provided Winn doesn't take it as a personal affront against his party-planning, [ because she might have cast some light aspersions against the concept of a winn-planned christmas party down the line.

whoops. ]

Why would he think that?

[ he smiles, an odd thing for her to say, after all. but then, he sighs, angles his head, his next words are spoken, low and amused against her ear. ]

Peg - why would he think that?

[ it's damned tough to be tactful about all this with his words skating the edge of her ear. peggy smiles, realizes it's tasteless to smile, and does everything in her power to stop. ]

Christmas came up in our conversation. He asked me what I'd want to see served at his holiday party and I -- [ pragmatic realist that she is ] -- I may have explained to him I wouldn't necessarily preference his party over others. It was all very fine and honest at the time.

[ here's the kicker: ] Only it looks a little hinky if we now go and hold our own. [ not to say they shouldn't. she's very tempted by the thought of doing something as a couple. ]

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