driftfleet | MINGLE — NYE & Winn's Birthday PARTY!

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MINGLE — NYE & Winn's Birthday PARTY!

Who: Everyone!
Broadcast: Broadcast — Earlier than now for planning
Action: Hotel Corona — Winn's birthday / NYE party!
When: Action — Dec. 31 / New Year's Eve

[Broadcast (open to everyone but Winn)]
At the risk for earning a reputation as a party planner, I have a thing for everyone to attend again. Don't worry, lots of other people are helping pull it together. It's going to be on New Year's Eve, but the real event is the countdown to Winn's birthday which is also on the first. It's going to be in a club we rented out for this in the red shift district. Starts around seven-ish. Ends when you pass out?

It's kind of a surprise maybe? At least the part where it's for his birthday. And if you don't know Winn but you still want to come that's fine too. You can trade a gift for Winn for a free drink at the bar. Otherwise, bring some money. Cake's on us though.

[Birthday/New Year's Party]
[The space is well decorated and so glittered you can probably tell Wrath was part of the team putting this together. Lots of Winn's friends came out to help whether it was getting decorations up, managing food, music, or chipping in to buy out the space and a drink for anyone bringing a gift. Not to mention drinks for the birthday boy all night.

There's a table for presents and another one with a spread of openly available food though the bar has appetizers you can buy too. There's a big cake at one end because of course there is and some punch that didn't start the night spiked at least. There's space for dancing and a karaoke machine set up on a small raised platform for those who want to try their hand at entertainment.

The night really kicks off when Winn walks in and instead of a balloon drop there's a fluffy blue stuffed bear drop. Feel free to take one of those home. There are a lot.

When midnight comes closer some people will file out to one of the observation areas to get a good view of the nebula for the big countdown. Bring your own person to kiss!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I think I can safely say there isn't any chance of that ever happening. Question in, can you sit still long enough?

[ he adds 'draw Peggy' onto the list with a bit of a grin. ]

[ a bit of bluster. she snags him by the elbow, laughing. ]

Why -- how bloody long do you expect to take?

[ she can be patient! probably. ]

An hour or three.

[ is he serious? Is he joking? It's actually hard to tell. ]

Three! [ hours! ] How much of me are angling to sketch? Hell, at that rate --

[ well. she doesn't finish her sentence. instead, she drinks. ]

At that rate?

[ he he settles back, pours a bit more of the superbrew ( clear as water and rather innocent-looking ) into his glass. he watches her for another moment before adding, ]

these things take time - what's three hours of sitting still?

[ but it's said with a little grin that clearly implies that he knows it'll be very difficult. ]

But it's not three hours of sitting still, is it? [ she observes him. his smile, specifically. something about it twists in her heart in an awfully lovely way. like the moment before he jumped out of stark's plane. ] It's three hours of sitting still and being watched.

[ well. 'watched' isn't the best word. she bites her bottom lip and narrows her gaze before she clarifies: ] Studied.

[ and she doesn't need to explain to him why that might make her a little fidgety. ]

Well,

[ it seems as if he can sympathize, that he's about to say he understands but in the end it's another shrug and a supposedly innocent - ]

It was your idea.

[ in a way. ]

[ her eyes drop. she bites down on a smile -- and drums her fingers mock-testily against his arm. ] I don't recall me volunteering myself as your muse.

[ indeed, she didn't volunteer herself for anything. that's not to say she couldn't be (happily) persuaded to reconsider the stresses of posing for him. so long as it didn't become habit; she's a busy woman! ]

But you're the one who said I needed a resolution. Can't tempt fate, now can I?

[ it's very logical, really. ]

Besides, you're not bothered now and we've been here for an over an hour.

[ and lord only knows he's been watching her the whole time, cataloging smiles and expressions, memorizing the lines of her dress and the way her hair curls. finally and rather tragically, the magnitude of his mistake at the hotel makes itself clear. that alone merits another glass of superbrew. ]

Don't lay this at my feet, Rogers. [ she doesn't often slip into his surname. and when she does, it's more for effect than anything else. the whiskey makes her humour more pliable, if nothing else. ] You're the one suggesting you want me posing. For three hours. I can get a lot done in three hours.

[ she isn't arguing. not exactly. it's hard to protest at all as she digests the implication that he's been studying her all night. she can't help but be pleased. she didn't exactly wear this dress so that he'd look beyond it. ]

Things that won't get done if I'm -- wait, how will I be posing? Will it be like a royal portrait?

[ once again, she teases him. almost without mercy. ]

Have I told you lately you're hilarious?

[ dry but not without an accompanying smile. he had made peace with the fact that she will never let this go and that he probably earned it. still, with Peggy, he learned one must give as good as one gets. ]

Dunno, guess we'll have to figure that one out. See, that's why we need those three hours. Research.

[ that's what it is, research. ]

Research.

[ she exhales the word -- it dovetails into laughter. the napkin with its scribbles and resolutions is all but forgotten at her elbow while she delves deeper into this conversation. pulls at one thread while contemplating another. ]

I didn't know there was so much science to your art, Steve. What will we be researching? Which way to hold my arm? Like this, [ she perches her palm on her waist for a moment, ] or like this? [ and then she raises her hand as if holding an invisible scepter. royal portrait, indeed. ]

The more you learn, really.

[ it's all a rather creative excuse, of course, meant to make her laugh as well as snag a few hours off her schedule. his scoff turns into laughter, shaking his head, he insists: ]

Maybe we will, and it won't be,

[ no, this is far too distracting, he reaches for that hand, lowers it slowly to her lap ]

either of these two.

[ it could be someone and she would have twisted her hand free. but not when it's him. her instinct is to settle, just a bit, and lace her fingers with his. it's a stupid and sentimental sort of instinct, but it's easier to follow with whiskey in her blood. ]

No? Neither? You're certain? [ her spirit, however, is anything but settled. ] Sounds as though you've already done some research.

[ she's not wrong and he suspects she may not guess exactly how right she actually is. it's a habit, really, formed on his first days in 2012, sitting in coffee places or on the subway, watching the people around him, trying to understand. it has always been a tad different with Peggy. she has a keen sense of familiarity about her, a sense of home. ]

Maybe.

[ though the way he says it, a perfect oxymoron of confidence and shyness, suggests a rather keen 'absolutely'. ]

[ his telling reaction leaves her with an advantage. but peggy doesn't drive it home. love doesn't grow where there's only conflict with no comfort. at least, not a love worth holding onto. and when peggy sees his vulnerability? she doesn't want to exploit it and tease him any further. instead, she sets her glass aside and takes his hand in both of hers.

she smiles. ]

Alright. [ the game slips away. there's only sincerity left. ] I'll help you with your resolution. If it takes an hour, or three, or more.

[ peggy's not convinced she's prepared to be the object of anyone's obvious and pointed concentration for so long. but she's convinced that she's prepared to try, at least. ]

Pretty fair if we consider that yours is beating me down to the mat.

[ not that he minds in the least. he takes a moments to simply sit there with her, one hand between both of hers. he leans his free elbow on the bar, smiles at the little napkin and shifts his attention back to her. ]

you look beautiful.

[ he should have said it earlier, somewhere after the stunned 'hey'. ]

[ she bites back a rather wry that was the point, yes and settles instead on something heartfelt. ] Thank you. It's a bit off-decade, but it isn't so bad.

[ she wishes she could articulate the swell of sweetness she feels. something like had to match the figure you cut or something equally flattering, but instead she distills it all down to a kiss. peggy keeps his hand folded against hers -- pinning it, briefly, against her stomach while she tugs on his wrist. leaning forward (and drawing him in) she presses her lips briefly to his cheek. this isn't the starstruck, after all. ]

[ it's an intimate little moment, for all its simplicity. a slight pull, his hand held against her ( he can just about tell the fabric's texture, a rich sort of softness ) and a soft press of lips. he tucks a curl behind her ear. ]

'not so bad' is one way of putting it.

[ if one is fond of understatements, that is. ]

It's only a dress, [ she explains. ] Believe me, I've worn ones more -- dramatic than this.

[ not the most helpful claim. not while they're drinking and there's just enough distraction in the space around them that they've found their own little bubble of personal space by the bar. ]

dramatic.

[ he echoes with a bit of a scoff. not helpful, indeed but he suddenly remembers a marketplace on one of the planets they have visited and a golden haired woman who spoke like one of Hollywood's star. ]

Was it really you or was it Angie?

[ a crinkle of her nose. entertained, this time, and not scornful. ]

Ah -- she didn't have a name, I don't think. But 'she' was blonde and 'she' borrowed her flatmate's silver gown to go and steal something back from a high-level fence. [ peggy pauses a moment. ordinarily, she wouldn't be this blunt with steve. at least not when it came to matters of subterfuge and the lengths she'd happily go to for a mission. but she's buzzing and the room houses such inviting warmth. ]

Didn't really need a name. The point, really, was that no one was going to bother asking.

[ that much charm? and that much cleavage? she got all the way to the boss's office without needing to so much as think of a false name. ]

[ he can imagine that rather easily - he barely recognized her as a blonde and the accent threw him off even more. It was as if she had changed into an entirely different person. It's this talent, he assumes, that allowed her to hide in plain sight. ]

What did she steal?

A bomb.

[ it wasn't quite meant to be a bomb. but it was -- and that was harrowing as all get out. the rest of the night had played out tragically, but she'll side-step that truth so long as they're sitting so close and chatting so warmly. ]

Nitramene. I thought I was only stealing back the formula used to make it -- but it had already been weaponized.

[ it's a good thing he isn't sipping his drink at that moment, choking on distilled alcohol can't be a pleasant experience. ]

Heavy explosives?

[ torn between being surprised and awe-struck, clearly. ]

How did you sneak it out?

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