apocalypsehowcomm | Happy Birthday to Meeerrrrrreeeeeeeeee [Open Mingle]

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Jaeger chuckles quietly at that.

"It's enough to give you whiplash, but if we waited for a good time for everything, it would never happen. Better to take the time we can." A few minutes, hours, or days carved out for something like a regular life. Jaeger has found that it's far more important to him than he realized, and being able to see someone else enjoying those hard-earned moments? That helps. That makes things better.

The box is of decent size, something like a shirt box, and ribbons drip artfully off it. Jaeger doesn't keep Meredith waiting, especially with that glitter in her eye, and he offers it out to her after just a moment, that small and somewhat shy smile still playing on his face.

"For you. I hope I made a good choice, but it seemed like it." He's not going to give away what it is, of course. She'll have to open it for that.

"Right. At some point when we're talking work, I'll pass along what I learned, properly. In the meantime..."

Some people are violent about wrapping paper. Meredith, however, is meticulous, picking the knots in the ribbon undone and pulling them off (though one particularly cute ribbon with polka dots gets tied around her ponytail before she continues). The scotch tape is gently peeled off, the paper removed in one piece with surgical precision.

"Of course. That can wait."

The urge to follow through on work-related things is a mild itch in the back of his brain, but he nods, shoving it down ruthlessly. This is time to relax, and work will be there waiting when they're ready to pick it up again.

He watches her open the present with clear amusement, not least of all because he's meticulous too when it comes to unwrapping things. (Though he did cheat and have the lady at the department store wrap the present for him) Edged with just a bit of anticipation, waiting to see her reaction.

Inside the box is a thick, fluffy bathrobe. Simple, good quality, modest and cozy, the kind of gift meant to bring warmth and comfort during some of the worst weather of the year.

Her face lights up as she lifts it out of the box and puts it on over her work clothes, clearly enamored with it. And then she just opens her arms for a hug. "This is absolutely perfect! I've needed something like this for a while."

Relief rushes through Jaeger. Boundaries can be tough, but he likes Meredith and giving her something comfortable and meaningful, well, that means a lot to him.

He actually freezes for a moment at the offer of a hug, as unexpected as it is, before carefully, almost gingerly returning the gesture. It's been a while since he's been shown any sort of physical affection, and it seems very strange now. Combined with his own careful awareness of his size...

Strange, but not unwelcome. It's just going to take him a while to get used to the idea again.

"It gets cold here, so I thought it might be nice to have." Simple explanation of his reasoning, nothing complicated. He finds himself rubbing the back of his neck, almost sheepishly. "I'm glad you like it. Use it in good health."

"Only in good health? Then I'll never get to use it." But she's not serious about it, the grin lingering. "Mostly, I'm expecting to curl up in it on the days when everything aches. It'll go with the couch blanket."

"That sounds like a very good plan," he says after he has a second to get over the tease. He really does wish the best for Meredith, and, hell, if things were different, if he was in his own world...

He could make things easier for her, heal away some of her hurts and problems with his magic. It wouldn't be a cure but it would be better, and that stings.

Which is why he'll never mention it to her, but at least he can do these small things.

"I've had some time to get used to the cold, but it still doesn't agree with me, either," he confides quietly, after a moment. She's seen his scars, one of the only people in town outside of medical staff who has.

He's not going to linger on the topic, but it feels like something helpful to share. That he understands.

She nods, catching on quickly. "Gets all stiff and awful, yeah?"

If she thought there was a chance in hell he'd accept, she'd make a quip about offering to cuddle. But with how he reacted to that hug? She's going to hold back.

He nods, glad that she gets it. He hadn't thought far enough ahead to the possibility of needing to explain, and talking about scars was sort of something he just didn't do.

And probably better not to mention cuddling, unless she wants to see Jaeger blush. He's still a little too fragile, a little too flinchy, to really properly enjoy it. Spending intimate face-to-face time with a psychopath really hasn't done the already-touch-shy man any good.

Maybe one day, he'll start to open up again. But in the meantime, he's trying, at least.

"The pool at ADI headquarters is indoor and heated. It's a big relief to be able to swim when I want to," he says, continuing the topic without actually continuing the topic.

"I should swim more. It's low-impact on my joints, and would probably be good conditioning for the training I've been getting from Winter. And Katrina wants to do training with me, too. Apparently, spear is her primary weapon."

Meredith hesitates, but not too long.

"When do you normally swim? Mornings, evenings?"

"It's very good for you, and very relaxing. I'm getting to where I need to watch my joints as well." He's getting to the age where men his size start to develop knee issues, and he's very mindful of that. Swimming has become a favorite low-stress exercise, and there's something very freeing about just floating for a while. "I usually swim after my shift, when it's mostly empty. A little more privacy. It was nice to swim at night at the apartments, but it's gotten too cold for an outdoor pool."

He cocks his head at her mention of Katrina, and then nods, clear interest in his experience. "Spears, you don't see that very often. I haven't met Katrina yet, though I know Winter a bit."

"Katrina's a strange one. Her English isn't good, even after seeing the page, but I can tell she's one of those who'd protect me fiercely if I needed it. I seem to attract the attention of dangerous people."

Present company included, clearly.

Jaeger definitely counts as dangerous people, though it stings a bit to have to acknowledge that. Once, it had been a point of pride: now, it was a mixed bag.

But in context, it's okay. Because he is doing best to be the useful sort of dangerous, the kind that's good to have around. If all he's been through has led him to this point, well, at least he's got a purpose.

"I'll have to make it a point to meet her sometime soon. This place does seem to bring in some very interesting people, and quite a variety." He smiles just a little. "And there's a lot to be said for being willing to take care of each other, even if it's in strange ways."

Happy Birthday to Meeerrrrrreeeeeeeeee [Open Mingle]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject