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Shen, Duo, and Monica - NYE Party
Shen does a bit of flirting with Duo and a lot more flirting with Monica.
Duo had dug deep into their wardrobe for something to wear to the New Year's Eve party. They had an odd collection of clothing they'd managed to collect in the weeks spent traveling and an ever odder assortment scrounged from local thrift stores since from the small amount of money they'd had left from their journey. Maybe clothes was an odd fixation, but after years in a home where what you wore was almost always restricted to something that looked very much like what everyone else wore, Duo was ready for excess.
The outfit was, predictably, odd and a little reminiscent of priest's cassock with the overly long black dress shirt with the black and white collar of their t-shirt peeking out. The 'cassock' would probably be ditched early in the evening because really, they looked too good in the tight tee not to, but it was December and Duo had learned that up here they could never go wrong with an extra layer against the cold. Yeah, that's why they were wearing it. Sure.
Regardless, they were standing in the middle of a party that was unlike any party Duo had attended, wearing clothes they never would have dared just a couple of months ago, and scanning the faces for someone familiar to talk with. TJ should be here, shouldn't she? Quatre? Trowa? Who on earth could miss Warren who almost glowed in whatever room he was in? It was a list of people they only just barely knew, but they hoped one of them would appear to make this whole party thing just a tad less awkward.
Shen smiled when she noticed the... person? Standing there so awkwardly. It wasn't the awkward that made her smile, but the fact that they were there at all. She'd kept meaning to talk to them, but she'd been way too busy lately. Now was the perfect time, though! She walked over, mindful of not hitting anyone with her wings. She was dressed in a cute sequined, and very short dress, and for once, she was even wearing shoes. Flats, but they were cute, and they worked well with her outfit.
"Hey!" Shen greeted them with a bright smile. "Duo, right? We haven't really met yet. I'm Shen."
Duo returned her smile, watt for watt, glad for someone to talk to. She was one of the angels of the school with wings in shades of brown and, for tonight at least, dressed up in shifting sparkles. "I've seen you around, just never had the chance to say hello before this."
"That's what parties are good for," Shen stated, still smiling. "Do you want a drink? Or a snack? We've got tables set up over there."
"I think I do." Duo pushed their glasses up onto their head - they were only for show anyway - and glanced over at the tables. They raised an eyebrow. "I suppose it's all soda and juice to drink?
"Unless you ask the right person for a little extra?" Shen offered, unsure whether they wanted to make sure it was all alcohol-free, or they wanted alcohol.
"Maybe a mission for later then." Duo knew very well that they were falling right into a stereotype for kids raised in Catholic schools, but what could they say? A bit of alcohol would make the night a whole lot less awkward. "But right now I have good company, so a soda is more than fine."
"I can spot you a splash of tequila, if you'd like?" Shen offered, smiling at the compliment. "No need to wait, no matter what the company's like." She didn't have the tequila on her, obviously - where would she be hiding it? - but she had a bottle squared away in a bag, in a corner of the gym. Hey, if Xavier had let them drink before, when the parties were outside, he wasn't going to come down on them now, or so she hoped.
"That would be wonderful." Everything about Duo's expression relaxed into appreciation. It wasn't that Duo was a wallflower, but it was a crowd of people they'd mostly only met in passing and a drink to smooth out the evening was welcome.
"Come on," Shen gestured for them to follow, and headed for the drink table to pour some OJ into a couple of red cups. Then she led them to where she'd stashed her bag and spiked their drinks. "Here you go. A totally late welcome to Xavier's drink."
Duo took their drink and held it up. "Communion, mutant style." They took a drink and savoured the small spark of warmth it triggered. Probably more placebo at this point then the alcohol, but it felt good. "I've needed that for several months now. Thank you."
"Several months?" Shen echoed in surprise. That sounded like a long time wanting to have a drink.
"Well, I haven't had one here, and then before that I was traveling. Long boring story there." Duo took another sip. "Someone suggested I attend mass here, and I should have. At least they'd have wine!" The comment was accompanied by a sudden longing and Duo, even being the heretic that they were, wondered if the longing about having a drink was more about the familiarity of communion. A very odd thought.
Shen laughed. "They serve wine at mass? The - communion thing?" She somehow hadn't expected them to give every parishioner a drink, but she had no idea. Maybe she should go to mass with Jeanne-Marie someday, to have a better idea what it was all about.
"Only if you're Catholic, sadly. No free booze for the pretenders and atheists." Duo held up their cup. "So you're already more inclusive than that church."
"That's not very difficult," Shen pointed out with a wry smile. Thankfully all of its followers weren't like that. Jeanne-Marie and Kurt were proof enough. "But speaking of! What's your preferred pronoun? I don't wanna get it wrong, and you're not presenting as any one gender..."
They needed a t-shirt, or a pin, because Duo kept forgetting to mention pronouns, and having to stop every conversation when the inevitable question came up was a tad tiresome. "I really don't mind any, but 'they' is the one I tend to use for myself."
"Thanks," Shen answered with a nod, and moved right back to their conversation. "So are you Catholic?"
"Nope!" Duo answered cheerfully. "I was just raised in a Catholic home run by a Jesuit priest and a Dominican nuns. As far as the Church is concerned I'm baptized and confirmed so I'm one of theirs, but I'm not much for a Christian god."
Confirmed? That was one Shen didn't know about. She'd ask Jeanne-Marie about it later. "What kind of god are you much for, then?" She gave them an apologetic smile. "Pretty heavy conversation for a new year party. We can totally switch to how are your classes and how have your holidays gone if you'd like."
"The classes are going well, much easier than I expected, and the holidays have been nice too." Best to skip over the god thing. It was a little awkward to explain that the only god you believed in was yourself. "Very quiet though."
Message received, definitely too heavy a topic. Their last words made her twist her lips in a brief grimace - for you, maybe, but if gods were too heavy a topic, what had just happened to Nick was even worse. "Quiet can be a good thing."
"Agreed," said Duo. "I'm just not so used to it. They gave me a room to myself and the novelty of it is starting to wear off. A party seems like a decent solution to that!"
"Parties are a great solution for a lot of things," Shen agreed. "Kind of like tea. And alcohol, but that just goes hand in hand with parties."
"These sorts anyway." As if they'd ever been to one like this where people dressed up in glitter and heels and everyone looked like they belonged on a soap. It was a beautiful crowd.
"These sorts are the best sorts, but I'm biased," Shen admitted, with a small shrug and an impish smile. "I helped set it up. No way we weren't having a New Year's Eve party."
Duo held up his cup for a toast. "Then thank you for the work you did, because this is beautiful."
"You're welcome," Shen grinned, and raised her cup before taking another sip. "It was a bunch of us, though." She wasn't going to take all the credit.
"You're the only one I know, even if I've only just met you, so you can take all my thanks and distribute them to the rest. You're also giving me tequila so I have extra warm feelings for you right now." Duo grinned and followed her lead.
Shen laughed at their conclusion. "I can live with that."
"Good, now," Duo peered around the room. "Who should I make a point of meeting tonight?"
Shen hummed thoughtfully as she looked around the room, taking a few steps back towards the crowd so they wouldn't be in the corner of the gym as much. "Well, there's Warren, of course, with the white wings? He's amazing. Jeanne-Marie, with the pointy ears, over there, and Kurt, the blue guy who's dancing with her. They're the best. Kitty and Bobby, over there, that cute girl and taller guy?"
"I see them. I've only really met Warren - he was the first person I met when I got here." Duo turned back to Shen and raised an eyebrow. "Anyone to avoid?"
"Not really," Shen answered with a shake of her head. She didn't get along with everyone, but she wasn't going to warn people off of other people. Lil was the only one she hesitated about, given the possible biphobic thing going on there? Shen had no idea what the girl would make of an enby. But she might as well make it a general warning. "Not everybody's super progressive about gender and sexual orientation stuff, though, just so you know. We're trying to change that, but, yeah. It's still miles better here than out there in the real world? We haven't had any bullying."
Duo appreciated the response, fair and careful while still giving him a warning. They shrugged. "I imagine a mix like this brings all sorts of things to the surface that people aren't super progressive about. I, for one, am really not progressive at all about the snow and ice."
Shen laughed. "Watch out, Bobby might take offense." She nodded in the direction of him and Kitty again. "Codename, Iceman."
"Oh no," Duo groaned. "There goes any thought of flirting with him"
"I have no idea whether Kitty gets jealous," Shen said, mostly to herself, because she'd never thought about it.
"Well, if he's taken, I don't have to bother. And the angel is taken, right? Twice over?" Which was a weird thought Duo couldn't quite get his head around. Not yet anyway.
"Flirting can be fun even without intent, if that's your thing," Shen replied with a shrug. She hadn't known that it wasn't Duo's, pretty much. "But yeah, War's got two boyfriends." And he was definitely great to flirt with, taken or not.
"I'm mostly joking," Duo admitted. "It would take more than one of these-" They held up their drink- "to get me flirting. Otherwise I'd probably be flirting with you." There was just a touch of a blush as they said that, after all, she was very pretty.
"Well, I definitely wouldn't object," Shen told them with a smile. "Sober or not."
Duo smiled at her, looked away, looked at her again. "I can joke about flirting with boys, and it's fine. I can, as someone who's quite obviously a little odd, admit I wouldn't mind flirting with you, and it's fine." They sighed, taking a pause to enjoy the moment. There had been a lot that they'd learned was accepted here that wouldn't be at home. Heck, when could they have ever indulged in trying to do a bit of matchmaking between Quatre and Trowa, two boys, at home? "I really do love this school."
Shen laughed. "I know, right? It's kind of amazing that way. Though I wouldn't say the thought of you flirting with me's fine, exactly. More like totally welcome." That was definitely flirting, yes. "But we can get around to that whenever you feel comfortable doing it." No pressure, that was the idea as far as Shen was concerned. "You wanna dance?"
"Oh, I do, but best not to. Touching people is how I use my power, and I'm still a little uncertain of my control." They could drink more, let the alcohol take the small act of concentration that seemed to be required to make it work, but by the time they were that far in the drink, they'd have nixed flirting for safety's sake anyway.
"I would love to dance!" Duo turned to see who had spoken and saw a tall black girl, nearly six feet in pink heels and almost (almost) as glittery as Shen in a shiny silver dress. She winked at Duo. "Sorry for stepping in, but pretty girls who want to have fun are my weakness."
She turned to Shen and grinned. "I'm Monica. You can both tell me to screw off if you want. I promise not to guilt you into letting me hang around you even though I'm new and haven't had a chance to make a lot of friends yet and feel a bit like I've stepped through the looking glass. I absolutely will not do that."
Shen was laughing by the end of that little speech. "Hey, Monica, I'm Shen, and this is Duo. Who's also new, so you might want to rethink that guilt trip approach you're not at all going for." The truth was, though, she didn't need much to go and dance with the (much) taller girl, as her grin as she spoke hinted. Just to make sure Duo was cool with her going off to do just that, so she turned to them. "Cool if I abandon you for a bit? Do you want me to introduce you to someone first?"
"No," Duo smiled and shook their head. "I think I'm fine now. I'll float around and make a general nuisance of myself."
Monica lifted a foot and unbuckled her shoe. The heels made her a giant and if she was going to dance then she was darn well going to be something closer to eye level for this lovely girl. "If you want some help with that, I stashed a 6-pack of vodka coolers back in the corner behind the drinks table. There are only two left, but you can have those."
"Then I will. That's fair payment for stealing my company." They laughed and waved at Shen before turning away.
"I had the other four already," Monica whispered as she tossed both shoes under a chair. "Which explains why I'm butting in to other people's conversations. I'm usually much better behaved."
"You're lucky I share a weakness for pretty people who want to have fun," Shen teased Monica after setting her drink down, and she offered her hand out to her with a smile. "And that I've had my share of tequila." She appreciated the chucking of the shoes, although it just made her itch to take off her own. It wasn't like the flats added anything to her height, and while she'd been doing fine wearing shoes for a change, now? Now they were on her mind. But hopefully not for long.
Monica took her hand and led her out to the middle of the dance floor. "Good, then I won't be too embarrassed when I'm back to my normal self. By the way, your wings are incredible."
"Wait 'til you see them in action," Shen shot back with a grin, starting to move to the music, happy to keep Monica's hand in hers. For now, they were sadly out of commission, tucked in close behind her back so they wouldn't bump into anyone as she danced.
"Oh, I seriously can't wait now. We'll have to go fly together sometime - once I get a little better at it." Dancing she could do, directing energy to keep her stable in the air, that was proving to be a little trickier, at least if Monica wanted to travel in any way other than a straight line.
"You fly as well?" Shen all but beamed at Monica, which really couldn't be blamed on the tequila. Flying was that awesome. ...okay, maybe the wattage of her beam could be blamed on the tequila a little.
"Yup! I actually shoot energy at things - all different kinds - but if I direct it right, I can fly. At least I think that's how it works. I need practice though."
"That sounds amazing," Shen stated with a grin. "You should talk to JM - Jeanne-Marie. The cute pointy-eared girl over there," she nodded in the direction of her roommate. "She flies thanks to her speed somehow. Maybe she can give you pointers."
Monica glanced over and made a mental note to talk to the girl later. "Got it. I've been a little put out by the whole being-a-mutant-thing, but flying almost makes up for it. Be nice to get that working a little better."
New Year's Eve party, dancing with a hot, flirtatious girl, was really, seriously not the time to ask, but - "Put out?" Shen did anyway, the words out of her mouth before she could hold them back.
"I had other plans," Monica said softly. She stepped closer to Shen, not that there was much space between them to begin with, but the intimacy was a bit of a bulwark against sadness. "I was going to join the harbor patrol back home. I mean, on the scale of bad things that could have happened to me when I found out what I was, it's probably pretty small, but I was already working hard towards that and then... boom!" Quite literally for someone who could blow things up with a raised hand and a bit of will.
"I'm sorry," Shen told her, dancing closer to her and trailing fingertips down Monica's arm with the hand that wasn't holding hers. It really wasn't the time for a conversation about broken dreams. "I shouldn't have asked." She squeezed her hand as an idea hit. "What song would you like to dance to next?" She was sure she could get Terry to put it on. "Any song that can be found online. And that would make you smile."
Shen's fingers sent a pleasant tingle up Monica's arm. "You're sweet. I think Everybody Plays the Fool, Aaron Neville? It's a little older and a little slower, but it's wonderful."
"I'll be right back," Shen assured her with a grin, never mind that she didn't know that song. She jumped above the crowd of dancers before spreading her wings to glide over to Terry and Remy, as usual wearing black booty shorts under her dress in order not to flash the student body. It didn't take long to talk the redhead into it, and soon enough, Shen was making her way back to Monica the normal, grounded way, wings tucked back behind her back again. "Terry'll put it on next," she told her with a smile.
Monica was already smiling, awed by Shen's leap above the crowd. The wings had looked impressive tucked behind her back but that was nothing compared to the full glory of watching her spread them out in the air. "You're amazing," she said.
Cute girl looking at her like that? Shen liked it. She liked it a lot. "Hey, wait until Terry puts that song on and it's not an awful techno remix. Then you can tell me how amazing I am."
"Or I could just keep telling you. There's no quota, is there?" Thank God for the coolers because Monica wasn't sure she'd even have approached Shen if she was completely sober, let alone flirt with her. Hopefully the song would be on soon; it was light enough not to make things to heavy between them, but slow enough that she might get Shen into her arms.
"Well, there's the creepy quota, but you've got a while to go before you get there," Shen told her with a grin. She was not going to be turning down compliments from Monica, thank you.
Monica held up a solemn hand. "I promise not to get creepy. There's no way am I going to ruin this evening now." She lowered the hand so she could take Shen's again, just in time too because Aaron Neville's unmistakable voice started crooning over the speakers.
Shen was completely taken by surprise by the music, and couldn't help but laugh. "Not what I expected. Not that I know what I was expecting." She did step closer to Monica, because the only kind of dancing you could do to music that corny was up close, and slower, a whole lot more personal.
Monica smiled and put a cautious hand on Shen's waist. "He's from my hometown, New Orleans. I'd have picked something a little newer but most of the bands I like are local and small time. It would have taken forever to find some music by them."
Shen chuckled; that explained Remy's reaction at the request. "Are you saying YouTube is fallible? No." The good thing about this song? It was way easier to hold a conversation when dancing like this than it had been earlier.
Well, that, and the proximity itself.
"Oh, I suppose she might have been able to find some almost okay video from a club, but that's not how I'd want people to hear that music. Besides, a slow dance is nice every once in awhile."
"With the right person," Shen confirmed with a smile, eyes sparkling. She felt alive with the flirting in a way she hadn't in a while, and she'd missed it.
"Yes," said Monica. She resisted the urge to pull Shen closer. There were four coolers and an unknown quantity of tequila between them and she had no intention of tempting herself too much with all that alcohol at work. "I lucked out there."
"We both did," Shen confirmed without missing a beat, wrapping her arm loosely around Monica's waist and resisting the urge to shift her wings so they would cocoon them.
Duo had dug deep into their wardrobe for something to wear to the New Year's Eve party. They had an odd collection of clothing they'd managed to collect in the weeks spent traveling and an ever odder assortment scrounged from local thrift stores since from the small amount of money they'd had left from their journey. Maybe clothes was an odd fixation, but after years in a home where what you wore was almost always restricted to something that looked very much like what everyone else wore, Duo was ready for excess.
The outfit was, predictably, odd and a little reminiscent of priest's cassock with the overly long black dress shirt with the black and white collar of their t-shirt peeking out. The 'cassock' would probably be ditched early in the evening because really, they looked too good in the tight tee not to, but it was December and Duo had learned that up here they could never go wrong with an extra layer against the cold. Yeah, that's why they were wearing it. Sure.
Regardless, they were standing in the middle of a party that was unlike any party Duo had attended, wearing clothes they never would have dared just a couple of months ago, and scanning the faces for someone familiar to talk with. TJ should be here, shouldn't she? Quatre? Trowa? Who on earth could miss Warren who almost glowed in whatever room he was in? It was a list of people they only just barely knew, but they hoped one of them would appear to make this whole party thing just a tad less awkward.
Shen smiled when she noticed the... person? Standing there so awkwardly. It wasn't the awkward that made her smile, but the fact that they were there at all. She'd kept meaning to talk to them, but she'd been way too busy lately. Now was the perfect time, though! She walked over, mindful of not hitting anyone with her wings. She was dressed in a cute sequined, and very short dress, and for once, she was even wearing shoes. Flats, but they were cute, and they worked well with her outfit.
"Hey!" Shen greeted them with a bright smile. "Duo, right? We haven't really met yet. I'm Shen."
Duo returned her smile, watt for watt, glad for someone to talk to. She was one of the angels of the school with wings in shades of brown and, for tonight at least, dressed up in shifting sparkles. "I've seen you around, just never had the chance to say hello before this."
"That's what parties are good for," Shen stated, still smiling. "Do you want a drink? Or a snack? We've got tables set up over there."
"I think I do." Duo pushed their glasses up onto their head - they were only for show anyway - and glanced over at the tables. They raised an eyebrow. "I suppose it's all soda and juice to drink?
"Unless you ask the right person for a little extra?" Shen offered, unsure whether they wanted to make sure it was all alcohol-free, or they wanted alcohol.
"Maybe a mission for later then." Duo knew very well that they were falling right into a stereotype for kids raised in Catholic schools, but what could they say? A bit of alcohol would make the night a whole lot less awkward. "But right now I have good company, so a soda is more than fine."
"I can spot you a splash of tequila, if you'd like?" Shen offered, smiling at the compliment. "No need to wait, no matter what the company's like." She didn't have the tequila on her, obviously - where would she be hiding it? - but she had a bottle squared away in a bag, in a corner of the gym. Hey, if Xavier had let them drink before, when the parties were outside, he wasn't going to come down on them now, or so she hoped.
"That would be wonderful." Everything about Duo's expression relaxed into appreciation. It wasn't that Duo was a wallflower, but it was a crowd of people they'd mostly only met in passing and a drink to smooth out the evening was welcome.
"Come on," Shen gestured for them to follow, and headed for the drink table to pour some OJ into a couple of red cups. Then she led them to where she'd stashed her bag and spiked their drinks. "Here you go. A totally late welcome to Xavier's drink."
Duo took their drink and held it up. "Communion, mutant style." They took a drink and savoured the small spark of warmth it triggered. Probably more placebo at this point then the alcohol, but it felt good. "I've needed that for several months now. Thank you."
"Several months?" Shen echoed in surprise. That sounded like a long time wanting to have a drink.
"Well, I haven't had one here, and then before that I was traveling. Long boring story there." Duo took another sip. "Someone suggested I attend mass here, and I should have. At least they'd have wine!" The comment was accompanied by a sudden longing and Duo, even being the heretic that they were, wondered if the longing about having a drink was more about the familiarity of communion. A very odd thought.
Shen laughed. "They serve wine at mass? The - communion thing?" She somehow hadn't expected them to give every parishioner a drink, but she had no idea. Maybe she should go to mass with Jeanne-Marie someday, to have a better idea what it was all about.
"Only if you're Catholic, sadly. No free booze for the pretenders and atheists." Duo held up their cup. "So you're already more inclusive than that church."
"That's not very difficult," Shen pointed out with a wry smile. Thankfully all of its followers weren't like that. Jeanne-Marie and Kurt were proof enough. "But speaking of! What's your preferred pronoun? I don't wanna get it wrong, and you're not presenting as any one gender..."
They needed a t-shirt, or a pin, because Duo kept forgetting to mention pronouns, and having to stop every conversation when the inevitable question came up was a tad tiresome. "I really don't mind any, but 'they' is the one I tend to use for myself."
"Thanks," Shen answered with a nod, and moved right back to their conversation. "So are you Catholic?"
"Nope!" Duo answered cheerfully. "I was just raised in a Catholic home run by a Jesuit priest and a Dominican nuns. As far as the Church is concerned I'm baptized and confirmed so I'm one of theirs, but I'm not much for a Christian god."
Confirmed? That was one Shen didn't know about. She'd ask Jeanne-Marie about it later. "What kind of god are you much for, then?" She gave them an apologetic smile. "Pretty heavy conversation for a new year party. We can totally switch to how are your classes and how have your holidays gone if you'd like."
"The classes are going well, much easier than I expected, and the holidays have been nice too." Best to skip over the god thing. It was a little awkward to explain that the only god you believed in was yourself. "Very quiet though."
Message received, definitely too heavy a topic. Their last words made her twist her lips in a brief grimace - for you, maybe, but if gods were too heavy a topic, what had just happened to Nick was even worse. "Quiet can be a good thing."
"Agreed," said Duo. "I'm just not so used to it. They gave me a room to myself and the novelty of it is starting to wear off. A party seems like a decent solution to that!"
"Parties are a great solution for a lot of things," Shen agreed. "Kind of like tea. And alcohol, but that just goes hand in hand with parties."
"These sorts anyway." As if they'd ever been to one like this where people dressed up in glitter and heels and everyone looked like they belonged on a soap. It was a beautiful crowd.
"These sorts are the best sorts, but I'm biased," Shen admitted, with a small shrug and an impish smile. "I helped set it up. No way we weren't having a New Year's Eve party."
Duo held up his cup for a toast. "Then thank you for the work you did, because this is beautiful."
"You're welcome," Shen grinned, and raised her cup before taking another sip. "It was a bunch of us, though." She wasn't going to take all the credit.
"You're the only one I know, even if I've only just met you, so you can take all my thanks and distribute them to the rest. You're also giving me tequila so I have extra warm feelings for you right now." Duo grinned and followed her lead.
Shen laughed at their conclusion. "I can live with that."
"Good, now," Duo peered around the room. "Who should I make a point of meeting tonight?"
Shen hummed thoughtfully as she looked around the room, taking a few steps back towards the crowd so they wouldn't be in the corner of the gym as much. "Well, there's Warren, of course, with the white wings? He's amazing. Jeanne-Marie, with the pointy ears, over there, and Kurt, the blue guy who's dancing with her. They're the best. Kitty and Bobby, over there, that cute girl and taller guy?"
"I see them. I've only really met Warren - he was the first person I met when I got here." Duo turned back to Shen and raised an eyebrow. "Anyone to avoid?"
"Not really," Shen answered with a shake of her head. She didn't get along with everyone, but she wasn't going to warn people off of other people. Lil was the only one she hesitated about, given the possible biphobic thing going on there? Shen had no idea what the girl would make of an enby. But she might as well make it a general warning. "Not everybody's super progressive about gender and sexual orientation stuff, though, just so you know. We're trying to change that, but, yeah. It's still miles better here than out there in the real world? We haven't had any bullying."
Duo appreciated the response, fair and careful while still giving him a warning. They shrugged. "I imagine a mix like this brings all sorts of things to the surface that people aren't super progressive about. I, for one, am really not progressive at all about the snow and ice."
Shen laughed. "Watch out, Bobby might take offense." She nodded in the direction of him and Kitty again. "Codename, Iceman."
"Oh no," Duo groaned. "There goes any thought of flirting with him"
"I have no idea whether Kitty gets jealous," Shen said, mostly to herself, because she'd never thought about it.
"Well, if he's taken, I don't have to bother. And the angel is taken, right? Twice over?" Which was a weird thought Duo couldn't quite get his head around. Not yet anyway.
"Flirting can be fun even without intent, if that's your thing," Shen replied with a shrug. She hadn't known that it wasn't Duo's, pretty much. "But yeah, War's got two boyfriends." And he was definitely great to flirt with, taken or not.
"I'm mostly joking," Duo admitted. "It would take more than one of these-" They held up their drink- "to get me flirting. Otherwise I'd probably be flirting with you." There was just a touch of a blush as they said that, after all, she was very pretty.
"Well, I definitely wouldn't object," Shen told them with a smile. "Sober or not."
Duo smiled at her, looked away, looked at her again. "I can joke about flirting with boys, and it's fine. I can, as someone who's quite obviously a little odd, admit I wouldn't mind flirting with you, and it's fine." They sighed, taking a pause to enjoy the moment. There had been a lot that they'd learned was accepted here that wouldn't be at home. Heck, when could they have ever indulged in trying to do a bit of matchmaking between Quatre and Trowa, two boys, at home? "I really do love this school."
Shen laughed. "I know, right? It's kind of amazing that way. Though I wouldn't say the thought of you flirting with me's fine, exactly. More like totally welcome." That was definitely flirting, yes. "But we can get around to that whenever you feel comfortable doing it." No pressure, that was the idea as far as Shen was concerned. "You wanna dance?"
"Oh, I do, but best not to. Touching people is how I use my power, and I'm still a little uncertain of my control." They could drink more, let the alcohol take the small act of concentration that seemed to be required to make it work, but by the time they were that far in the drink, they'd have nixed flirting for safety's sake anyway.
"I would love to dance!" Duo turned to see who had spoken and saw a tall black girl, nearly six feet in pink heels and almost (almost) as glittery as Shen in a shiny silver dress. She winked at Duo. "Sorry for stepping in, but pretty girls who want to have fun are my weakness."
She turned to Shen and grinned. "I'm Monica. You can both tell me to screw off if you want. I promise not to guilt you into letting me hang around you even though I'm new and haven't had a chance to make a lot of friends yet and feel a bit like I've stepped through the looking glass. I absolutely will not do that."
Shen was laughing by the end of that little speech. "Hey, Monica, I'm Shen, and this is Duo. Who's also new, so you might want to rethink that guilt trip approach you're not at all going for." The truth was, though, she didn't need much to go and dance with the (much) taller girl, as her grin as she spoke hinted. Just to make sure Duo was cool with her going off to do just that, so she turned to them. "Cool if I abandon you for a bit? Do you want me to introduce you to someone first?"
"No," Duo smiled and shook their head. "I think I'm fine now. I'll float around and make a general nuisance of myself."
Monica lifted a foot and unbuckled her shoe. The heels made her a giant and if she was going to dance then she was darn well going to be something closer to eye level for this lovely girl. "If you want some help with that, I stashed a 6-pack of vodka coolers back in the corner behind the drinks table. There are only two left, but you can have those."
"Then I will. That's fair payment for stealing my company." They laughed and waved at Shen before turning away.
"I had the other four already," Monica whispered as she tossed both shoes under a chair. "Which explains why I'm butting in to other people's conversations. I'm usually much better behaved."
"You're lucky I share a weakness for pretty people who want to have fun," Shen teased Monica after setting her drink down, and she offered her hand out to her with a smile. "And that I've had my share of tequila." She appreciated the chucking of the shoes, although it just made her itch to take off her own. It wasn't like the flats added anything to her height, and while she'd been doing fine wearing shoes for a change, now? Now they were on her mind. But hopefully not for long.
Monica took her hand and led her out to the middle of the dance floor. "Good, then I won't be too embarrassed when I'm back to my normal self. By the way, your wings are incredible."
"Wait 'til you see them in action," Shen shot back with a grin, starting to move to the music, happy to keep Monica's hand in hers. For now, they were sadly out of commission, tucked in close behind her back so they wouldn't bump into anyone as she danced.
"Oh, I seriously can't wait now. We'll have to go fly together sometime - once I get a little better at it." Dancing she could do, directing energy to keep her stable in the air, that was proving to be a little trickier, at least if Monica wanted to travel in any way other than a straight line.
"You fly as well?" Shen all but beamed at Monica, which really couldn't be blamed on the tequila. Flying was that awesome. ...okay, maybe the wattage of her beam could be blamed on the tequila a little.
"Yup! I actually shoot energy at things - all different kinds - but if I direct it right, I can fly. At least I think that's how it works. I need practice though."
"That sounds amazing," Shen stated with a grin. "You should talk to JM - Jeanne-Marie. The cute pointy-eared girl over there," she nodded in the direction of her roommate. "She flies thanks to her speed somehow. Maybe she can give you pointers."
Monica glanced over and made a mental note to talk to the girl later. "Got it. I've been a little put out by the whole being-a-mutant-thing, but flying almost makes up for it. Be nice to get that working a little better."
New Year's Eve party, dancing with a hot, flirtatious girl, was really, seriously not the time to ask, but - "Put out?" Shen did anyway, the words out of her mouth before she could hold them back.
"I had other plans," Monica said softly. She stepped closer to Shen, not that there was much space between them to begin with, but the intimacy was a bit of a bulwark against sadness. "I was going to join the harbor patrol back home. I mean, on the scale of bad things that could have happened to me when I found out what I was, it's probably pretty small, but I was already working hard towards that and then... boom!" Quite literally for someone who could blow things up with a raised hand and a bit of will.
"I'm sorry," Shen told her, dancing closer to her and trailing fingertips down Monica's arm with the hand that wasn't holding hers. It really wasn't the time for a conversation about broken dreams. "I shouldn't have asked." She squeezed her hand as an idea hit. "What song would you like to dance to next?" She was sure she could get Terry to put it on. "Any song that can be found online. And that would make you smile."
Shen's fingers sent a pleasant tingle up Monica's arm. "You're sweet. I think Everybody Plays the Fool, Aaron Neville? It's a little older and a little slower, but it's wonderful."
"I'll be right back," Shen assured her with a grin, never mind that she didn't know that song. She jumped above the crowd of dancers before spreading her wings to glide over to Terry and Remy, as usual wearing black booty shorts under her dress in order not to flash the student body. It didn't take long to talk the redhead into it, and soon enough, Shen was making her way back to Monica the normal, grounded way, wings tucked back behind her back again. "Terry'll put it on next," she told her with a smile.
Monica was already smiling, awed by Shen's leap above the crowd. The wings had looked impressive tucked behind her back but that was nothing compared to the full glory of watching her spread them out in the air. "You're amazing," she said.
Cute girl looking at her like that? Shen liked it. She liked it a lot. "Hey, wait until Terry puts that song on and it's not an awful techno remix. Then you can tell me how amazing I am."
"Or I could just keep telling you. There's no quota, is there?" Thank God for the coolers because Monica wasn't sure she'd even have approached Shen if she was completely sober, let alone flirt with her. Hopefully the song would be on soon; it was light enough not to make things to heavy between them, but slow enough that she might get Shen into her arms.
"Well, there's the creepy quota, but you've got a while to go before you get there," Shen told her with a grin. She was not going to be turning down compliments from Monica, thank you.
Monica held up a solemn hand. "I promise not to get creepy. There's no way am I going to ruin this evening now." She lowered the hand so she could take Shen's again, just in time too because Aaron Neville's unmistakable voice started crooning over the speakers.
Shen was completely taken by surprise by the music, and couldn't help but laugh. "Not what I expected. Not that I know what I was expecting." She did step closer to Monica, because the only kind of dancing you could do to music that corny was up close, and slower, a whole lot more personal.
Monica smiled and put a cautious hand on Shen's waist. "He's from my hometown, New Orleans. I'd have picked something a little newer but most of the bands I like are local and small time. It would have taken forever to find some music by them."
Shen chuckled; that explained Remy's reaction at the request. "Are you saying YouTube is fallible? No." The good thing about this song? It was way easier to hold a conversation when dancing like this than it had been earlier.
Well, that, and the proximity itself.
"Oh, I suppose she might have been able to find some almost okay video from a club, but that's not how I'd want people to hear that music. Besides, a slow dance is nice every once in awhile."
"With the right person," Shen confirmed with a smile, eyes sparkling. She felt alive with the flirting in a way she hadn't in a while, and she'd missed it.
"Yes," said Monica. She resisted the urge to pull Shen closer. There were four coolers and an unknown quantity of tequila between them and she had no intention of tempting herself too much with all that alcohol at work. "I lucked out there."
"We both did," Shen confirmed without missing a beat, wrapping her arm loosely around Monica's waist and resisting the urge to shift her wings so they would cocoon them.