Tommy and Shen - Halloween Party
Oct. 31st, 2018 10:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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ax_mainShen and Tommy catch up at the party. It leads to an unexpected offer.
Shen pushed her hair back from her face as she walked back into the gym, and dropped the spared top half of her costume in a corner. She hadn't wanted to subject it to the purple bubbles, so it was mostly dry, unlike the pants she still had on, her sports bra, and the rest of her.
It had been fun, playing in there with Kiki, and it would've been easy to fall back into their semi-usual thing, and disappear together for a make-out session. But Shen hadn't really been in the mood, since Monica had only just left. So they'd had fun, and then Shen had kissed Kiki's cheek and headed back here. A few people had ignored the pandemonium outside and were still in the gym, and she headed for the drinks table, bare feet leaving wet tracks on the floor.
The goop had been fun, if weird, but it was the kind of weird that Tommy was taking in his stride these days. After teleporters, fire-breathing dragons and actual-facts aliens, what was a little purple bubble bath? At least the colour hadn't stuck in his hair, not after zipping back to the boys' dorm for a 1-second shower to get the crud off. The cheap spandex of his costume was wet and clinging to him, but it would dry soon enough. Hopefully before he had to try and peel it off.
He'd only intended to make a quick run past the drinks table for a refill on his way back in, but slowed down when he saw who else was making the same pit stop. "Pour you something?" he asked, slowing to real-time and grabbing a couple of cups from the shrinking stack.
Live at Mutant High long enough; stop starting every time a speedster or a teleporter or whatever suddenly appears beside you. Shen smiled at Tommy. "Sure. OJ. Thanks."
That was easy -- boring, but easy. Tommy didn't bother splashing the vodka into his either; it didn't taste good enough to make it worth anything. "Costume change?" he joked as he handed the cup over. "What is it now - spin class celebutante?"
"Got it in one!" Shen mock-confirmed. It was even weirder to be wing-free now that there was no reason to be, but she didn't tend to grow them around people; it was pretty gore for a couple of seconds there. "Thanks," she added, for the drink, and took a sip. "At least I'm way more comfortable than you look, Flash."
Tommy looked down at himself, the damp spandex clinging in some awkward places. He pinched the fabric at his chest and stretched it out in front of him, half-distracted and wondering how far it would actually go, before letting it go again to thwap against his skin with a splorch kind of sound. "What can I say? Beauty hurts."
"I bet," Shen agreed, amused. "You having a good evening?"
"Not too bad, all things considered." Something was nagging at him and he stole a second to figure out what it was. He was supposed to be concerned for something around Shen - what had it been? Oh yeah, now he had it. Monica had bailed out, back to Louisiana or wherever the hell she'd been from. He should probably feel worse about it than he did. He let time snap back to itself and raised an eyebrow. "How about you?"
"Oh, I'm loving it," Shen replied with a bright smile. She enjoyed parties, dammit; it was what she did. She sipped her juice, ignoring the fact that she'd left Kiki to enjoy the bubbles without her. "I did not expect the foam party, but unexpected fun is the stuff of the best parties. Gilmore is the best." He'd organized the party, and the foam had been purple. The math was simple.
"Too bad there aren't confetti cannons this time too," Tommy snickered at the thought. "That plus the foam would make one hell of a mess."
"We're also missing glitter," Shen remarked with a grin. "Then it would be perfect."
Tommy nodded approvingly. "You've missed your true calling as a supervillain. Devious, yet classy."
"I'm gonna have to work on my evil laugh," Shen stated with a purse of her lips. "I'm not sure it's up to scratch."
He grinned and huffed a small laugh. "I have faith."
Shen wrinkled her nose skeptically, but then only shrugged. "We had sparkles, but where's our glitter-producing mutant? The X-gene is not living up to its potential."
"I met her," Tommy replied, holding up a finger while he remembered. "She had a kid, I met them when the short dude chased Pita into my room. She sparkled all over the place, like fairy lights or some shit. She seemed okay. But I haven't seen her in a while." He tried to remember how long it had been, but they hadn't had classes together, so he shrugged after a second and gave up. "Maybe she went home."
"She did," Shen confirmed. "Lot of that going around lately." She wasn't even just thinking about Monica, although... her too, obviously.
A little more subdued, Tommy shrugged. "All that bullshit with the Right this summer probably spooked some folks. Can't say as I blame them."
"Yeah," Shen agreed, although now she was thinking about Monica for sure, and how her reasons hadn't been those at all. Maybe the others. But not her. She pursed her lips in a small smile, and confirmed, "Can't blame them either."
And now she wanted to hug Tommy again. And sure, it was because the Right stuff had been totally fucked up, but there was also the fact that she wanted to hug him because he was Tommy, and she was buzzed, and why wouldn't she want to hug him? She reached for the label-free bottle of had-to-be-vodka on the table, sniffed it, then added it to her drink. "Where's Wynonna at, anyway? Don't tell me you left her in the bubbles."
Tommy glanced around, didn't spot her immediately, and shrugged. "She's here somewhere. Hanging out with Terry, probably. She's not leaving the school, if that's what you mean." Like him, she didn't exactly have anywhere else to go. "Is Monica coming back any time soon?"
That had definitely not been what Shen meant, and especially not the way it backfired on her. She wrinkled her nose briefly. "I don't think so, no. She's pretty determined to make it work in New Orleans."
"Sucks," Tommy commiserated, with as much sympathy as he could manage. And really, despite everything, it did suck to find out that you weren't enough to make someone want to stick around. But that way led brooding, and he'd already told Alex off for exactly that tonight. "If you're in the market for a new partner for the heroing thing, we should combine forces. Speed and Swift," he grinned. "It's practically fate right there."
Shen looked at him with a curious frown. "Are you serious?" It was an odd option to consider, maybe because she'd always been convinced Tommy was happier doing his thing on his own. Not to mention the fact that his thing was a lot less publicized than theirs. They tended to make the news whenever they helped out.
He shot back the drink in his hand--a lot less impressive when there wasn't any alcohol involved--and shrugged like he didn't care one way or the other. "I could be. I bounce around with Jack sometimes, but it's not like he can keep up with me. Outside of the other speedsters, you're like the only one who can come close."
That was true enough, by now - although she only came close, and only when she was up in the air. But that wasn't what stuck with Shen. She mostly wanted to make sure Tommy knew what he was offering to sign up for. "We mostly do -" She stopped, and grimaced. "Did. Support for first responders, when they needed a little extra help."
"Cool." But he looked at her sharply before the feigned indifference came back on. "I'm not offering to just follow you around and take her place, you know. I've got priorities too. But if the issue is the whole blood-and-guts thing, I'm not squeamish enough to get freaked out by a car crash or two." Much.
"She wasn't just following me around," Shen replied with a small frown. No, Monica had been so much cooler than that. "I just meant it's a different gig from what you've been doing. Although - I wouldn't be against branching out. If, I mean. You'd like that." What was it about Tommy that made her stumble over her own words so much? "I should probably think about it when I haven't been drinking," she added before he could answer. This was definitely sober decision material, for all that she wasn't more than buzzed, she didn't think. She could use some time to figure it out, anyway. There were so many things to think about.
Tommy shrugged like it wasn't at all important. "Take your time. It was just a thought." He did have them, occasionally. When he couldn't avoid it.
"I'll think about it," Shen assured him, like it really was important. It was! And he should think about it, too, but she knew better than to try and tell Tommy Shepherd what he should do. Or make him acknowledge the seriousness of something.
"No sweat," he brushed it off cheerfully. If she did, he'd be pleasantly surprised. It was a lot better than expecting it and being disappointed when she didn't. "In the meantime, places to go, hot cowgirls to find," Tommy added, grabbing a second cup for Wynonna and refilling his own. "Catch you later."
"See you around," Shen confirmed with a nod, and he was gone in a flash. She took a long drink from her screwdriver, instinctively tried to ruffle her wings (before remembering they weren't there right now), then decided to check out who was on the dancefloor.
Shen pushed her hair back from her face as she walked back into the gym, and dropped the spared top half of her costume in a corner. She hadn't wanted to subject it to the purple bubbles, so it was mostly dry, unlike the pants she still had on, her sports bra, and the rest of her.
It had been fun, playing in there with Kiki, and it would've been easy to fall back into their semi-usual thing, and disappear together for a make-out session. But Shen hadn't really been in the mood, since Monica had only just left. So they'd had fun, and then Shen had kissed Kiki's cheek and headed back here. A few people had ignored the pandemonium outside and were still in the gym, and she headed for the drinks table, bare feet leaving wet tracks on the floor.
The goop had been fun, if weird, but it was the kind of weird that Tommy was taking in his stride these days. After teleporters, fire-breathing dragons and actual-facts aliens, what was a little purple bubble bath? At least the colour hadn't stuck in his hair, not after zipping back to the boys' dorm for a 1-second shower to get the crud off. The cheap spandex of his costume was wet and clinging to him, but it would dry soon enough. Hopefully before he had to try and peel it off.
He'd only intended to make a quick run past the drinks table for a refill on his way back in, but slowed down when he saw who else was making the same pit stop. "Pour you something?" he asked, slowing to real-time and grabbing a couple of cups from the shrinking stack.
Live at Mutant High long enough; stop starting every time a speedster or a teleporter or whatever suddenly appears beside you. Shen smiled at Tommy. "Sure. OJ. Thanks."
That was easy -- boring, but easy. Tommy didn't bother splashing the vodka into his either; it didn't taste good enough to make it worth anything. "Costume change?" he joked as he handed the cup over. "What is it now - spin class celebutante?"
"Got it in one!" Shen mock-confirmed. It was even weirder to be wing-free now that there was no reason to be, but she didn't tend to grow them around people; it was pretty gore for a couple of seconds there. "Thanks," she added, for the drink, and took a sip. "At least I'm way more comfortable than you look, Flash."
Tommy looked down at himself, the damp spandex clinging in some awkward places. He pinched the fabric at his chest and stretched it out in front of him, half-distracted and wondering how far it would actually go, before letting it go again to thwap against his skin with a splorch kind of sound. "What can I say? Beauty hurts."
"I bet," Shen agreed, amused. "You having a good evening?"
"Not too bad, all things considered." Something was nagging at him and he stole a second to figure out what it was. He was supposed to be concerned for something around Shen - what had it been? Oh yeah, now he had it. Monica had bailed out, back to Louisiana or wherever the hell she'd been from. He should probably feel worse about it than he did. He let time snap back to itself and raised an eyebrow. "How about you?"
"Oh, I'm loving it," Shen replied with a bright smile. She enjoyed parties, dammit; it was what she did. She sipped her juice, ignoring the fact that she'd left Kiki to enjoy the bubbles without her. "I did not expect the foam party, but unexpected fun is the stuff of the best parties. Gilmore is the best." He'd organized the party, and the foam had been purple. The math was simple.
"Too bad there aren't confetti cannons this time too," Tommy snickered at the thought. "That plus the foam would make one hell of a mess."
"We're also missing glitter," Shen remarked with a grin. "Then it would be perfect."
Tommy nodded approvingly. "You've missed your true calling as a supervillain. Devious, yet classy."
"I'm gonna have to work on my evil laugh," Shen stated with a purse of her lips. "I'm not sure it's up to scratch."
He grinned and huffed a small laugh. "I have faith."
Shen wrinkled her nose skeptically, but then only shrugged. "We had sparkles, but where's our glitter-producing mutant? The X-gene is not living up to its potential."
"I met her," Tommy replied, holding up a finger while he remembered. "She had a kid, I met them when the short dude chased Pita into my room. She sparkled all over the place, like fairy lights or some shit. She seemed okay. But I haven't seen her in a while." He tried to remember how long it had been, but they hadn't had classes together, so he shrugged after a second and gave up. "Maybe she went home."
"She did," Shen confirmed. "Lot of that going around lately." She wasn't even just thinking about Monica, although... her too, obviously.
A little more subdued, Tommy shrugged. "All that bullshit with the Right this summer probably spooked some folks. Can't say as I blame them."
"Yeah," Shen agreed, although now she was thinking about Monica for sure, and how her reasons hadn't been those at all. Maybe the others. But not her. She pursed her lips in a small smile, and confirmed, "Can't blame them either."
And now she wanted to hug Tommy again. And sure, it was because the Right stuff had been totally fucked up, but there was also the fact that she wanted to hug him because he was Tommy, and she was buzzed, and why wouldn't she want to hug him? She reached for the label-free bottle of had-to-be-vodka on the table, sniffed it, then added it to her drink. "Where's Wynonna at, anyway? Don't tell me you left her in the bubbles."
Tommy glanced around, didn't spot her immediately, and shrugged. "She's here somewhere. Hanging out with Terry, probably. She's not leaving the school, if that's what you mean." Like him, she didn't exactly have anywhere else to go. "Is Monica coming back any time soon?"
That had definitely not been what Shen meant, and especially not the way it backfired on her. She wrinkled her nose briefly. "I don't think so, no. She's pretty determined to make it work in New Orleans."
"Sucks," Tommy commiserated, with as much sympathy as he could manage. And really, despite everything, it did suck to find out that you weren't enough to make someone want to stick around. But that way led brooding, and he'd already told Alex off for exactly that tonight. "If you're in the market for a new partner for the heroing thing, we should combine forces. Speed and Swift," he grinned. "It's practically fate right there."
Shen looked at him with a curious frown. "Are you serious?" It was an odd option to consider, maybe because she'd always been convinced Tommy was happier doing his thing on his own. Not to mention the fact that his thing was a lot less publicized than theirs. They tended to make the news whenever they helped out.
He shot back the drink in his hand--a lot less impressive when there wasn't any alcohol involved--and shrugged like he didn't care one way or the other. "I could be. I bounce around with Jack sometimes, but it's not like he can keep up with me. Outside of the other speedsters, you're like the only one who can come close."
That was true enough, by now - although she only came close, and only when she was up in the air. But that wasn't what stuck with Shen. She mostly wanted to make sure Tommy knew what he was offering to sign up for. "We mostly do -" She stopped, and grimaced. "Did. Support for first responders, when they needed a little extra help."
"Cool." But he looked at her sharply before the feigned indifference came back on. "I'm not offering to just follow you around and take her place, you know. I've got priorities too. But if the issue is the whole blood-and-guts thing, I'm not squeamish enough to get freaked out by a car crash or two." Much.
"She wasn't just following me around," Shen replied with a small frown. No, Monica had been so much cooler than that. "I just meant it's a different gig from what you've been doing. Although - I wouldn't be against branching out. If, I mean. You'd like that." What was it about Tommy that made her stumble over her own words so much? "I should probably think about it when I haven't been drinking," she added before he could answer. This was definitely sober decision material, for all that she wasn't more than buzzed, she didn't think. She could use some time to figure it out, anyway. There were so many things to think about.
Tommy shrugged like it wasn't at all important. "Take your time. It was just a thought." He did have them, occasionally. When he couldn't avoid it.
"I'll think about it," Shen assured him, like it really was important. It was! And he should think about it, too, but she knew better than to try and tell Tommy Shepherd what he should do. Or make him acknowledge the seriousness of something.
"No sweat," he brushed it off cheerfully. If she did, he'd be pleasantly surprised. It was a lot better than expecting it and being disappointed when she didn't. "In the meantime, places to go, hot cowgirls to find," Tommy added, grabbing a second cup for Wynonna and refilling his own. "Catch you later."
"See you around," Shen confirmed with a nod, and he was gone in a flash. She took a long drink from her screwdriver, instinctively tried to ruffle her wings (before remembering they weren't there right now), then decided to check out who was on the dancefloor.
