retravel: it makes you feel safe!!!! (EVERYONE LIKES TO BE THE LITTLE SPOON)
oh, fitz. ([personal profile] retravel) wrote in [community profile] meadowlarklogs2019-01-02 10:43 am

I CAN'T IMAGINE THERE'S A WAY —

WHO: Fitz, SHIELD, and you!
WHERE: New Amsterdam's medium-est bar: Refraction
WHEN: 01 September
WHAT: Leo's turning 31 100
NOTES OR WARNINGS: TBA

[ On his actual birthday, Fitz celebrates with his two closest friends (the people who’ve kept him together, despite wobbles along the way). Bobbi and Daisy, however, know that when Fitz says I hate people and don’t want to celebrate in the middle of a secret war he means I hate being alone, even on days without symbolic meaning. Daisy and Bobbi send out the mass evite, and Bobbi uses her powers of persuasion to find a more upscale venue for a discounted rate. Due to the flipped schedules in the height of New Amsterdam’s summer, Fitz’s party happens in the morning (the new night for anyone working a 9-5 gig), sun rising high over the city as it begins.

Welcome to REFRACTION, a classy bar tens of floors off the ground, with a stellar view of the city, not far from the river. Beams of light weave across the back area of the venue, well-lit by various glowing fixtures. Something about the place has an old world flair, with its dark colour scheme and minimalist decor. Maybe today’s an acceptable excuse to dress smart, celebrate with a friend, and drink up:

— enjoy the food (which might have had British roots at one point, but it’s hard to tell given the variety of fusions on display in bite-size portions) and initial round of free fizz, compliments of the host (and the host’s super stem friends)
— buy drinks at the bar and get wankered (as the birthday boy will be, around the new midnight)
— people watch from the tables and sofas
— dance to NA’s top synth pop hits (coming through hidden speakers above and holograms of the singers at some tables, activated by the proximity of nearby implant viewers)
— try a piece of cake, reading Happy 100th Birthday, Fitz! and looking a bit like it came from the same space-themed, child's birthday do as the evite. If your piece of cake has a wee star inside it, it means you’re one of the lucky winners and get a freebie at the bar.

As a nice establishment, rowdiness will only get you tossed on your arse by the bouncers, so everybody be cool.

At one point, someone nudges Fitz forward to say something. Dressed in his finest blues, he cuts a smarter figure than the usual corporate cut-out. ]


Right. [ said in the tight voice of someone who is definitely on the verge of crushing the flute in his hand. ] I never know what to say, and I didn't have time to prepare because, ah. Surprise. [ he splays out his free hand. ] So I will just say that — that there's someone I wish was here, despite all the horrible happenings, but that I am so so grateful that you're all here despite them, too. It's not for — forever, but it's pretty nice. Right now. [ As another SHIELD agent said: We have what we have when we have it. That's it. ] Thank you. Cheers!

( if you don't think the SHIELD losers would have invited your character, please feel free to come up with a semi-plausible reason for attending. gatecrashing, plus ones, hearing the commotion and wanting to be nosy. all are welcome! )
kgbs: (PVdaiZY)

[personal profile] kgbs 2019-01-10 04:18 pm (UTC)(link)
During my first day here, at the safehouse. He filled me in on a few things that I would have otherwise not been aware of.

[ like the technology. like the way the city worked. like the different gangs that ran the place. ]

I have been working with him a bit to get information.

[ he'd been fighting and making money was actually what he'd been doing. but, he'd gotten eyes on him and that meant more people trusting him into at least betting on him. ]
mechanisch: (pic#12789297)

[personal profile] mechanisch 2019-01-11 02:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Good.

[ It's more of a comfort than she expected to discover that Illya had encountered those who had been willing to share that kind of information for him, same as she'd had when she'd arrived later. Her understanding of Leo has only been limited to the one previous encounter, but he'd left an impression as someone helpful. ]

That still may be our best option.

[ Working with others, sharing what they know. She's still reluctant to fully trust anyone else apart from the man standing next to her but she's starting to come around to the idea that she may need to extend that sphere outward. ]
kgbs: (T H I R T E E N)

[personal profile] kgbs 2019-01-11 03:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ he hums and decides not to tell her how he is getting this information. he's been focusing on the petrovs mostly since he knows they are his best hope of ingratiating with anyone with information that is needed. ]

I have nothing yet. But, I am getting there.

[ by beating the hell out of people. ]

How do you know Fitz, then?
Edited 2019-01-11 15:39 (UTC)
mechanisch: (pic#12789266)

[personal profile] mechanisch 2019-01-12 03:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She won't pretend to remain ignorant of his comings and goings, especially at certain late hours; it's still not her place to inquire about what he's doing with his time yet, but eventually her curiosity might get the best of her. It depends on just how much she wants to know about how he's choosing to garner certain information.

Or who he's asking for it. ]


Good. [ As long as progress is being made, can she afford to ask too many questions? ]

We met at the ball. He bought me a drink. [ After she'd marched up to him and told him to, that is, but her directness had paid off. ]
kgbs: (F O R T Y F I V E)

[personal profile] kgbs 2019-01-12 05:47 pm (UTC)(link)
Did he?

[ his expression doesn't change but there is interest in his tone. he does not know if fitz knows of the connection between them but he's gotten the feeling that fitz is just nice and would buy a pretty girl a drink if given the chance. ]

Sounds like you know him better than I do. [ it's a question in the form of the statement. he wants to know just how well they know each other. ]
mechanisch: (pic#12678114)

[personal profile] mechanisch 2019-01-12 06:09 pm (UTC)(link)
He did.

[ Their conversation had really only lasted the duration of that drink and a little besides, but they'd at least established the common ground of being in the same position here, plucked from their respective times and places with no knowledge of why they'd been chosen specifically.

But he'd clearly left an impression if the way she lets a smile linger against the rim of her glass signals anything. ]


After one meeting? [ Because this is the first instance she's had to encounter him again since that night, but she gets the sense that Illya's trying to suss that out for himself. ] You've had more of an opportunity, I think.
kgbs: (F I V E)

[personal profile] kgbs 2019-01-12 11:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Our meetings have mostly been business.

[ that wasn't completely true. the first meeting had been more to help illya understand what happened but after that, they'd been business mixed with some pleasure. fighting was pleasurable to him, all right. ]

What impression did he leave you with?
mechanisch: (pic#12789278)

[personal profile] mechanisch 2019-01-13 05:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Enough to leave you with an impression?

[ What goes unsaid is the fact that their meeting had not been in the professional sense, but surely even in a serious setting he's been able to garner some type of feeling about the man, one way or another. ]

He's... smart. Observant. He could be a help to us as long as our goals are in line with each other.
kgbs: (8FR3472)

[personal profile] kgbs 2019-01-13 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
I think they do.

[ fitz's behavior at the club for fighting had told him as much. he'd been open with the information on the various gangs and encouraging while illya had been fighting. ]

I don't know all that he can do but I do know that he's been here longer and knows more. I learned quite a bit the last time I was with him.
mechanisch: (pic#12583314)

[personal profile] mechanisch 2019-01-13 10:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Good.

[ This is one of those times when, shocker, she's actually not opposed to deferring to Illya's judgment on the subject. If this is a relationship worth building on both their ends, then she'll do what she can to foster it. That being said, it's not as if she plans to only use Leo as a source of potential information.

But if given the choice between gathering more intel and growing connections, she'll see what she can do to accomplish both simultaneously. She likes to think she's not so heartless as to sacrifice one for the other.

She gives Illya a sidelong glance, idly tilting her glass between her fingertips. ]


How's the cake?
kgbs: (E L E V E N)

[personal profile] kgbs 2019-01-14 04:20 am (UTC)(link)
It's good.

[ and then, illya ha a dilemma. she has asked about the cake which he takes to mean that perhaps she hasn't tried it. does he offer her some of his? does he pass her the plate? does he say he'll go get her a slice? ]

Sweet. You have not tried it yet?

[ that does not help the dilemma. ]
mechanisch: (pic#12679549)

[personal profile] mechanisch 2019-01-14 02:47 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It's not that she's looking at him expectantly; her expression is closer to amusement, because he does paint a picture standing there with that tiny plate in one hand and the slice of half-eaten cake resting on it, but she can't help the feeling that she senses, like he's convinced she's baited him into a trap somehow. ]

No.

[ On impulse, she reaches up to clasp fingers around his fork, cutting herself off a small bite with a generous amount of icing and popping it in her mouth. ]

You don't think it's too sweet? [ Voiced around her chewing, as she covers her mouth with her fingers. ]
kgbs: (6yryJsm)

[personal profile] kgbs 2019-01-14 04:43 pm (UTC)(link)
[ why are you doing this, gaby? he is a strong man but there are certain things that can make him...weak. this is one of them. he stares at her and then blatantly stares at her lips for a second before shaking his head and looking down at his feet. ]

I don't.

[ he clears his throat. ]

Do you?
mechanisch: (pic#12789270)

[personal profile] mechanisch 2019-01-14 09:24 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Either she's painfully unaware of the reaction he's having to her or she's simply ignoring it, but based on the relative neutrality with which she's enjoying the cake, trying to suss out whether it is, in fact, worth going over to grab a piece for herself, she hasn't picked up on being the subject of his fixation. ]

Mm.

[ She finishes chewing and — oops, she's accidentally smeared a bit on the edge of her mouth, carefully swiping it away with her thumb. ]

Maybe a little too much icing.
kgbs: (T E N)

[personal profile] kgbs 2019-01-15 12:02 am (UTC)(link)
Yes, maybe.

[ he stares at her for a moment longer before clearing his throat and shaking his head. you were a menace, gaby. ]

If we are still here for your birthday, I'll make sure the cake has no icing at all.

[ that...might actually be a joke. don't be too surprised now. ]
mechanisch: (pic#12678053)

[personal profile] mechanisch 2019-01-15 02:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She has absolutely no idea what you're talking about, Illya. Realizing she's yet to give him his fork back, she gently returns it to his plate, trying to estimate the position he'd left it in. No one can say she's not thoughtful when she attempts it. ]

Well, that won't be very long from now, will it?

[ Two weeks from tonight, in fact; somehow she doubts they'll be back home in time by then, so he might have to make good on that joke cake after all. For all the information that had been redacted in his file, she'd seen his birthdate; she can only wonder if he's aware of that similar detail about her. ]
kgbs: (T W E N T Y T W O)

[personal profile] kgbs 2019-01-15 03:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[ he had absolutely seen her birthdate in her file but, between his sudden appearance here, he hadn't really given it much thought. now that she reminds him, he finds himself frowing. ]

Do you want a party?

[ illya kuryakin: party planner extraordinaire could become a thing. ]
mechanisch: (pic#12789282)

[personal profile] mechanisch 2019-01-15 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Truthfully, it's something that had slipped her mind as well in all the chaos, confusion and general sense of unease that had permeated the beginnings of her time here; she'd anticipated it being a day that would pass without celebration or even acknowledgment, but his mentioning of it had prompted the slip.

Well, that's certainly not the question she'd expected him to ask. ]


Are you offering to host one?

[ Because she's almost tempted to say yes just to see how that turns out. ]
kgbs: (T H I R T Y)

[personal profile] kgbs 2019-01-15 05:21 pm (UTC)(link)
I...could.

[ does he know how? absolutely not. but it cannot be that hard. ]

Do you want a party?
mechanisch: (pic#12678114)

[personal profile] mechanisch 2019-01-15 05:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Well, that's settled, then. He's offered and she can't pass up this opportunity in the slightest, so she narrows her eyes at him and allows a subtle smirk to curve up the corner of her mouth. ]

Absolutely.

[ Has a mistake been made tonight? Guess she'll just have to wait and see. ]
kgbs: (T H I R T E E N)

[personal profile] kgbs 2019-01-15 05:34 pm (UTC)(link)
[ well. ]

All right. Then, I will see to it that you get one.

[ rip gaby's party. ]