Happy Birthday to Meeerrrrrreeeeeeeeee [Open Mingle]

[abrightboy]

Who: The residents of ADI Apt B1 and YOU.
When: January 18th, from early evening onward.
Where: Apartment B1 at the ADI complex.
Summary: Tim Drake discovered Meredith Idlewild's birthday is today (by snooping in her stuff) and her boys decided to throw her a little surprise celebration since she, you know, looks after them and shit. Ofc neither of them knows how to do that, really, so Malcolm has recruited Neal Caffrey as Party Planner.
Warnings: To be added as necessary but none to start.


Thanks to Neal's intervention, the party Malcolm and Tim are throwing for Meredith is very nice, with tasteful decorations and good wine, alongside fancy finger foods and even fancier cocktails. Neal mans the 'bar' personally, mixing drinks for anyone who'd like to try one.

Malcolm and Tim will try to be social. It's for Meredith.

They did use Tim's connections, too. He recruited Jeff to slip invites onto people's desks if they work at ADI and take some over to Bonnie's. Meredith deserves maximum appreciation. The invites instructed everyone not to say anything to Meredith. When she comes home, it's meant to surprise her.

Early evening: SURPRISE!
When Meredith gets home, get ready to shout!

Mid-evening
Mix, mingle, eat and drink.

Late-evening
Your hosts will arrange a cab if you can't make it home; they already have a police lieutenant sleeping on their couch and tonight has been a lot of peopling for them. If they need to carry you down there... they're more capable of it than their slight frames would suggest.

Comments

[worthallthis]

He considers this for a beat, then admits, "I don't have a birthday." He's not even sure he was born, instead of just made in some HYDRA lab.

[henchgal]

"Even if you had one, I would not try to surprise you with a party. I think that would be a Very Bad Idea."

And ineffective, too. She doesn't think she could hide one from him, even if Kate and Yelena were to help.

[worthallthis]

She's probably right. Though he probably wouldn't assume "birthday" he would assume "violent intentions or trap". So. Not a good idea.

He even almost smiles with the promise. Not quite, but close. "It really would. So. Thanks. I'll just crash everyone else's for the desserts." She would recognize by now that this is his way of making a joke. His sense of humor does exist, it's just subtle.

[henchgal]

Subtle and dry, but still appreciated. "I'll have to make sure there's brownies at all of them, for you. Or maybe fudge sometime."

She's paid enough attention to mark his preferences. To believe in him having preferences.

[worthallthis]

Winter looks down at his plate, where he's down to the last bite of brownie, and has the grace to look the tiniest bit sheepish. Especially since he somehow sounds actually hopeful when he repeats: "Fudge?"

Look at how badly his programming has degraded! He's amazed no one has tried to discipline him yet, Jesus. But he's grateful, anyway. Being able to hope for fudge at someone else's birthday party is actually pretty nice.

"I'll help," he offers, to make it worth her while.

[henchgal]

"Well, if I've got help in the kitchen, I might make it sooner than a birthday. It'll be easier with a second set of hands." Nevermind what her boys' reaction might be to finding Mere and Winter doing fudge together.

[worthallthis]

Malcolm, at least, already knows some of Winter's weirdness, and probably wouldn't assume anything untoward.

He finishes off the brownie, and says, "Any time you want. Besides work hours. Or early evenings. I am pretty busy training people." Just about every night after work he's got somebody, these days. It's kind of nice.

[henchgal]

"Weekends or later evenings, it is." She nods eagerly. "It'll be fun."

Fudge is like giving someone a hug from the inside that won't incite a panic attack. Right? Right.

[worthallthis]

Fudge is like all the hugs. He nods, fiddling with the plate a little, now that it's free of brownie. "Are you enjoying your party."

[henchgal]

"I am. I wasn't expecting anything like this--I didn't tell them when my birthday is." But she knows she lives with the snoopingest of snoops, so she's not really upset by that.

[worthallthis]

"It's probably on record with ADI," Winter suggests. "If you gave it to them when you hired on." There'd been a space for it when he transferred ownership, himself, but he'd left it blank. Obviously. "So the surprise made it better. For you."

[henchgal]

"Yes. But I would never try to surprise Tim or Malcolm back. Or you, or Jaeger. Neal, maybe. Abby, almost certainly. Jeff, definitely."

It is a weird list to try to make in her head: 'who would probably assume a surprise party is an attack?'

[worthallthis]

"Maybe not Belova, either," Winter suggests. "Though she is not as." He pauses, searching for the word. "Jumpy. As me."