Everyone raise your glasses!

[thenormalsquint]

When; Evening of Tuesday, August 13th
Rating; PG-13, at best. Angela's on her best behavior tonight.
Characters; It's Ginny's birthday party and everybody Ginny knows was invited. Let's handwave that and just show up. BTW, IT'S BLACK TIE. PUT ON YOUR SUITS, BOYS.
Summary; There's no legal drinking age in the City, but who says we can't party like there was one anyway?
Log;

This party was four years coming. The restaurant has set aside a large room just for this event and on short notice too. The food is plentiful and of various cuisines, with even a large selection of vegetarian options for those who prefer that. But of course, there is more alcohol than one has ever seen because Angela knows the people she invited and knows quite a few of them have liquor in their veins instead of blood. Rule of thumb: more liquid than solids every time.

Everything's set and ready for the birthday girl to make her appearance, so for the time being, Angela's flitting around the place dressed in more subdued colors than usual, choosing black because no one gets to stand out more than Ginny tonight, and socializing with the few guests that have shown up already.

Sadly, there are no strippers. Ginny nixed that one hard.

Comments

[hexuality]

What does he do? Does he like sports?

[She beams. She's glad to be of service, Pavel.]

Sounds like mine. I reckon that's why we get on so well.

[candothat]

He is a shipyard mechanic. [Which is great, but doesn't involve going into space.] And yes, he loves them--anything that involves fighting someone for the possession of a ball.

The most significant difference, I think, is that your family has gingers and mine doesn't.

[hexuality]

Then we'll get along just fine. What's his name?

[She pauses at that, amused, then surveys him with narrowed, thoughtful eyes.]

Yeah, well, I'm not sure if ginger would suit your complexion, mate. Though with the curl... [She reaches out to brush her fingers lightly over his hair, grinning.] It's a bit like Percy's hair.

[candothat]

Andrei Viktorovich.

[WHAT WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT HIM LIKE--oh. Ginny is allowed to touch his hair. (The captain isn't. He likes to pull on the longer curls and watch them spring back. Rude.)]

Which one is Percy?

[hexuality]

Andrei Viktorovich.

[Look at her nail that accent down after a moment's consideration. She likes doing impressions, copying accents. It isn't a stretch, especially after speaking with Krum briefly. It's close enough.]

Percy was here with me a for a while. He wears glasses and neckties all the time. Worked at City Solutions for a bit.

[candothat]

I remember Percy now. [The secret word was "neckties."

Aaand his eyebrows inch up when Ginny mimics the accent. He's terrible with accents, as anyone who has been subjected to his English might guess.]

That was good. Use it again?

[hexuality]

[She laughs again, and obliges.]

Andrei Viktorovich? Was I close?

[candothat]

You were, yes. I would think that you were from home if I didn't know better.

[hexuality]

No way I'd pass if I went home with you. [She smiles.] I just like copying accents, voices—you know?

[candothat]

Maybe with practice? [He returns the smile and shakes his head.] I don't know--I'm bad at it. It is a good trick.

[hexuality]

One of the things I can do without magic.

[candothat]

Did you use magic to convince the doctor to dress the way he is?

[hexuality]

Why's everyone so surprised by Dr McCoy tonight?

[SHE DOESN'T GET IT. Well, she does a little, because she knew him before and she knows how he can be, but apparently she's lucked out, somehow. Found some good side hidden under the cranky. Merlin knows.]

I didn't use magic. [The very thought!] He actually... well, he implied a bit that I ought to ask him as an escort and I did. Simple as that.

[candothat]

Nothing! No, it's unusual for the doctor to be affectionate, but that is not what I meant. What I mean to say is that that's something that you accomplished without magic. You can add it to making accents.

[hexuality]

Is it that amazing?

[candothat]

It isn't commonplace.

[Hardly a beat after the words have left his mouth, his eyes widen and he begins searching his suit pockets.]

I forgot that I brought you a present! If I can--ah, here.

[Pavel presents Ginny with a lumpy manila envelope. When she opens it, Ginny will find two pendants suspended from a black satin cord, accompanied by a piece of paper with directions on it.]

I hope that you don't have these already.

[hexuality]

Pavel!

[She sounds SO DELIGHTED. She turns the pendants over in her hands, recognising what they are after a moment's inspection, and she'll glance at the instructions later but for now she just throws herself at him with a hug, laughing.]

They're beautiful, I love them!

[candothat]

[He's pleased that she's pleased and gives her a quick hug.]

I'm glad that you like them. I have a star dial for as long as I can remember... it doesn't work off of Earth, but I take it with me everywhere I go.

[hexuality]

Was it a gift as well?

[candothat]

Yes, from my mother. I like the idea that, on Earth, I can navigate using the stars, even without technology.

[hexuality]

They're more constant than most things, yeah. They're wonderful, Pavel.

[She wishes she could take them home with her, if she ever did go back. She'd want to take a lot with her—people to visit, now that the war is over. She doesn't know what she'd do if faced with the option of going home, anymore, and that's... well.]

Remind me when your birthday comes along, alright? I'd like the time to think of something half as clever for you.

[candothat]

I hope that they might be useful, also.

[Because getting lost somewhere without a way to tell time or directions? Totally a thing that can happen in the City.]

September nineteenth--not such a long time. [And now Ginny is the first person in the City who knows Chekov's birthday. Well done.]

[hexuality]

Even in a place like this? The stars are all wrong.

[She's not Starfleet but she knows her sky, day or night. Astronomy was always a fascinating class to her.]

Perfect, a month. Thank you. You'll be—nineteen?

[candothat]

Yes, even here! I have been studying the movement of the stars, and at first I thought that it was random, but there's enough of a pattern to make navigation possible with an error margin of maybe five degrees. Sometime I will show you where this planet's pole star is.

[Birthdays are harder than navigating. Thank you, City.]

More or less. I only turned eighteen three months ago at home.

[hexuality]

I'd like that. And we can include it in the guide we'll write someday.

[She means that.]

Mm, so you get to choose if you want to celebrate it now or not, then?