[GP] Réveillon & New Year's Eve & Check-In

[st_rangepalette]

Emma had said, during Winter's Crest, that she missed a tradition from home called réveillon. She seemed also to miss her cousin, as Lillith missed hers. Since she wished both to learn to cook and to be of comfort to her friend, it had been decided they would make a réveillon dinner for New Year's Eve.

Yet when Emma began to lay out the courses -- oyster soup and potato & leek soup, salad, a gumbo, venison roast, cheeses, and creme brulee, plus several hors d'ouevres not yet decided -- Lillith quailed at the size of the undertaking. Surely she would wish someone to assist who could contribute more than roasted rabbit, wheat or potato flour dumplings, and koláč.

Since Sunny likewise missed her family and would certainly wish a distraction, when she entered the cafe where they were planning, the other two seized upon her almost at once. Sunny could hardly resist their dual entreaty, even had she wished to, and Lillith thought she seemed even more ready for company than previously. Of course Sunny had offerings of her own: jolloff rice, peppered chicken, and fried plantain.

Between they three, the planning and the cooking were very nearly merry, and Lillith kept them liberally supplied with champagne (her personal favorite), too. By late afternoon of the eve of the new year, they had begun lining tables with dishes, and enlisted the help of other friends to make the evening event widely known.

Of course, in addition to the réveillon feast that took over the steakhouse, alcohol flowed freely, lights sparkled brightly, the nightclub had music for dancing. And at some point the Inn or Caroline or Regina hung mistletoe from several of the primary entrances and exits so that unless one wished to or was unaware of the tradition, no one (not even any new arrivals) need greet the new year unkissed.

Comments

At the Party

[st_arkintern]

There are times where Peter Parker wishes he was wearing his Spidey suit, and this is one of them. With very few exceptions, he hadn't removed his costume from the bag where he kept it ever since he arrived about five months ago. And unfortunately, he had little reason to believe that he might need it tonight.

He was no good at big events like this. At Liz's party, if Bad Guys hadn't intervened, he's sure he would have stood around awkwardly with Ned until they both agreed this was a Very Bad Decision.

But somehow, Peter always felt less awkward with the Spider-Man suit on. He felt more confident. And right now, he felt he needed confidence.

Peter needed to be wearing something, and somehow, as if by magic, the boutique had a suit in his size. He wasn't sure what exactly adults wore to New Year's parties (he and Ned usually got together and had pizza and watched bad movies on New Year's), but he thought that a suit would be appropriate.

Now, looking around at the others, he was beginning to have second thoughts. Looking around the room, he lifts his cup of punch to his mouth and tries to rouse some confidence.

Re: At the Party

[st_oneswidow]

This adult was in her usual ratty jeans and too-big shirt with no shoes and entirely, shamelessly comfortable doing it. The poor thing looked like he half expected to be eaten alive and like he didn't know who to talk to besides. So she took it upon herself to do something about the latter.

"You doin' all right?" she asked. He looked like he was only a little older than her baby cousin Page, only Page wasn't one for shrinking. If she were here, she'd have her fiddle and have jumped up to play for this crowd in a heartbeat. She grinned at him. "I don't bite. And even if I did, I'm too full to bother."

Re: At the Party

[st_arkintern]

Peter didn't notice when she approached. If he had, he might have adjusted his tie, because it's a little crooked, and a little tight.

"H-Hey," Peter stammers out. Say something, he silently urges himself.

"Y-yeah," he says, and then he manages to steady himself with a second more firm, more confident: "Yeah", before continuing. "I'm fine."

It feels Very Obvious (to Peter, at least) that he isn't in his element... and as much as he hopes that it's not obvious to the pretty woman in front of him, he's pretty sure it is.

He tries to ignore that particular thought and raises his drink to his lips. "C-cool party, huh? Almost everyone living here seems to be here."

Say something else, he urges himself.

"I'm Peter Parker," he says, extending a hand to the mystery woman. "I don't think we met before."

Better, he tells himself. That's a lot better.

Re: At the Party

[st_oneswidow]

"Seen you around," Curnen answered easily, like he wasn't stammering and had put his tie on right. Of course, most men in Needsville would have made a similar mistake. People there, you had only one suit and it was for funerals.

She briefly showed him her hand before she shook his, because he was nervous enough that he'd likely jump if he learned about her extra fingers by feeling them first. "Curnen Overbay. Nice to meet you, Peter." And while it may be obvious to her that he was out of his element, she imagined it was just as obvious to him that she was as well, in different ways. Aside from being poorly dressed, her accent spoke louder than any words could about her backwoods upbringing. The difference was, it didn't bother her.

Re: At the Party

[st_arkintern]

Peter regards the extra finger with a curious look, though he doesn't hesitate to take it into hand.

"N-Nice to meet you too." Though he started out with another stammer, the rest of the words came out far more smoothly. He relinquishes his hold on her hand, then still looking at it asks.

"Are you human?" He turns his gaze back to Curnen, and then, as if suddenly realizing the potential impoliteness of his question, scrambles to reassure.

"I mean, not that it matters," he says very quickly. "I have lots of friends who aren't human. Well, I don't know if they're really technically friends because we fought against one another -- or," he quickly adds, because he realizes suddenly that the last thing he wants Curnen to think is that he's some sort of guy who wails on non-humans, "Or with one another," he says. "I mean, we didn't really talk much, but everything ended up working out in the end, for the most part."

And then Peter realizes what he said. And then he immediately snaps his mouth shut.

"I... shouldn't have said that."

Re: At the Party

[st_oneswidow]

Curnen blinked at that flood of babble for a moment, not sure what exactly to say. Then she smiled. "Didja know it's actually a dominant trait in humans? Rare, though. And most people don't keep 'em." These were all things she'd learned from Bliss. Bliss always had a fascination with bodies and how they worked.

Re: At the Party

[st_arkintern]

"Really?" That was one thing Peter hadn't learned in biology class. "What made you decide to keep yours?"

And before Curnen can answer the question, Peter has another: "Does it work just like a normal finger?"

Re: At the Party

[st_hotflashes]

Liz wasn't used to going to parties for New Year's Eve. Usually she spent it with her parents, Maria, and Alex playing board games or watching a movie and then counting down. A sleepover happened after with some sugary treats and that was it. Liz liked it that way too. It made for good memories.

She found herself at the party and wasn't sure if she was underdressed in her jeans and t-shirt. She felt like maybe she should have asked someone, especially when she found herself standing next to a guy around her age - a rare thing it seemed in the Inn - and he was wearing a suit. She offered him a sheepish smile. "I think, um. Maybe I should have tried to find a dress or something."

Re: At the Party

[st_arkintern]

"No," Peter says, shaking his head. He really wish he had shown up dressed up like Liz. This jacket was starchy and uncomfortable, and most of the people here appeared to have elected for the more casual route. So much for seeming like an adult; all he really seemed like now was the odd boy out.

"I think you look good," he tells her, and then he realizes exactly how that might be construed. "...in that," he finishes, awkwardly.

Desperate to recover, Peter wipes his sweaty palm off on his pants, then extends it to Liz. "I'm... I'm Peter Parker."

Re: At the Party

[st_hotflashes]

At the compliment, Liz's sheepish smile remained but intensified a little before she ducked her head slightly. When he presented his hand, she looked back up and went to shake it with her own.

"Oh, I'm. I'm Liz. Parker, actually." A bit of a flushed went through her cheeks. "Probably not related though since, um." Since they would know already, Liz realized belatedly. She cleared her throat. "I'm from Roswell. New Mexico." In case he didn't know where Roswell was.

Re: At the Party

[st_arkintern]

Liz Parker. It was as if an entire name had been crafted specifically to make Peter had been unnerved. Liz... well, Liz just reminded him of Liz Toomes, the girl he liked back at home, but had to move cross-country after he foiled her father's plans and left him bound up in spiderweb to be found by the police.

And Parker... well, Parker was his surname. And sure, that was probably less uncomfortable for him than the whole Liz thing, but it was still plenty weird.

"Oh," Peter says, relinquishing his grasp on her hand. Did he hold it too long? He's not sure. If he did, he hopes that she didn't notice. "Yeah, I'm from Queens. I don't think I have any family all the way out there."

He swallows. "So," he says, his voice cracking a little, the way it does whenever he feels nervous. "How long have you been here?"

Re: At the Party

[st_hotflashes]

"New York?" New York always seemed like one of those really cool cities she was never going to see in her lifetime, but wanted to. Most cities were big compared to Roswell, but New York always seemed up there with Hollywood.

"Yeah. I just got here the start of this month, actually. I've been... It's kind of lame I guess, but I've, um, been studying?" There was a slight flush at the admittance. "With some people who know a lot more than probably even my teachers and I've been trying not to feel awkward working at the restaurant." She was failing at that part.

"How long, uh, have you been here?"

Re: At the Party

[st_arkintern]

"Yeah," Peter says, nodding, and he's glad he managed not to stutter for once.

"Really? You've been studying, too?" Peter feels a jolt of excitement at that particular admission. There's not many people he could think of that would end up transported to an alternate reality that would spend a lot of time focusing on their studies. Sure, he would, but it never occurred to him that someone else might actually feel the same way.

"I've been studying, too. I mean, I've basically gone through all the books I had in my backpack by now, but I'm sure that the Boutique will have something new sooner or later." It certainly made sure that he had this suit today. "I've been here about... four or five months now." Wow, was it really that long? "So I guess it's not really a surprise I've gone through everything that I own."

The conversation lapses into the briefest of silences, which Peter quickly races in to fill. "You, uh, work at the restaurant?"

Immediately, Peter is mentally facepalming. Of course she does -- she just said that.

"I mean, uh, yeah... what do you do there?"

Re: At the Party

[st_rongheart]

Sora liked parties. Plenty of people around, lots of food. Sometimes there was music! Or other things. And New Year's, well - on the Destiny Islands it had been a lot like any other night where he and Riku and Kairi did something fun. And the last New Year he'd had was... probably a couple years ago at least, at this point.

That was almost distressing for a second, but then he found the fried kinda-bananas and everything was awesome again. And once he had some of those, he wandered until he ended up near the only other person about his age in the area. Who was wearing a suit for some reason. Classy! "Hi, I'm Sora! Want one of these fried banana things? They're really good."

Re: At the Party

[st_arkintern]

Peter Parker looks relieved when Sora approaches. There were so few people around his age, and even fewer of them were boys.

"Yeah, sure," Peter says, taking one of the fried bananas from Sora. He'd had fried plantains a few times before (Aunt Mae cooked almost everything), but not fried bananas. He takes a bite. Sora's right -- these are good.

"I'm Peter," he says, taking the given-name-only approach established by the other boy. He takes another bite of banana. "Did you find anything else good? The only other thing I've had is this drink."

Peter raises his glass of punch slightly.

"I think it might be the only non-alcoholic drink in this place."

Re: At the Party

[st_rongheart]

"Yeah, I usually just drink water," Sora agreed. Water was something that he could be sure was just water. "But I'm a bad person to ask about food, sorry. I'm a vegetarian so most of this stuff I'm not gonna eat. There's cut vegetables that are good? And I think a pudding thing with a sugar top."

Re: At the Party

[st_arkintern]

"That's all they got for you?" Peter asks. "I'd think they'd have more vegetarian options. Neither one of was vegetarian, but my Aunt May used to use tempeh and tofu in stuff all the time."

Peter tilts his head slightly to one side. "I can't believe we haven't met until now. I probably should get out more often. There's not a lot of people our age, and you're the only other teenage boy I've met since I showed up here."

Re: At the Party

[st_rongheart]

"I'm pretty sure I'm the only vegetarian here." Sora shrugged. "An' I don't need special treatment, you know? There's vegetables and these awesome banana things, and if I need something else I'll just go get it. No big deal." Probably a sandwich. Grilled cheese or peanut butter or something.

Sora grinned at Peter. "Right? I spend a lot of time running all over the place - room service stuff - or fighting rocks in the desert. I probably haven't been talking as much as I could either."

Re: At the Party

[st_arkintern]

"Fighting rocks? Doing room service?" There's an edge of excitement in Peter's voice. Sure, the latter might not have sparked this level of excitement from Peter Parker back home, but given how infrequently the portal opened, even being a delivery boy somehow seemed more exciting than laying in bed and idly shooting web at the ceiling of his room.

"Why are you fighting rocks? Are the rocks people?"

Re: At the Party

[st_alksthroughwalls]

"You look nice," Kitty said as she slid up next to Peter. She'd seen him talking to Liz, and since she was teaching both of them, she was curious. Maybe a little nosy. Especially since she'd been planning to introduce them at some point if they didn't meet up on their own.

Re: At the Party

[st_arkintern]

Peter only half-hears what Kitty's saying when he watches Liz from where he stands on the other side of the room. Just like with the other Liz, he's starting to feel like he should stop staring before it gets creepy.

Fortunately, the arrival of Kitty Pryde provides Peter with just that opportunity.

"Yeah," Peter says dreamily as Kitty slides up neatly beside him. "She is nice, isn't she?"

And then, finally, Peter's able to direct his attention back to Kitty -- though it takes considerable effort.

Re: At the Party

[st_alksthroughwalls]

Eyes flashing, Kitty lifted her hand to cover her mouth to hide and suppress the laughter that bubbled up at his dream sighs and totally unsubtle stares. She was doing all right until he said, she was nice, but then she almost dissolved into giggle-fits.

"Yes, very. I've been teaching her a little. Did she tell you that?" Since he was all dreamy, she thought she might be able to get some details he wouldn't give away otherwise without really prying.

Re: At the Party

[st_arkintern]

Peter's head turns at this sudden revelation.

"No, no, she didn't," he says, shaking his head a little. It doesn't really surprise him that Kitty'd be teaching anyone. She was one of the smartest people he knew here. "I mean... it really didn't come up."

He swallows.

"We talked about maybe studying together sometime, and uh, well... it seems like that's something we're going to do." His voice cracks a little as he concludes with one final syllable: "...maybe."

Re: At the Party

[st_alksthroughwalls]

"Seems like a good idea."

Liz definitely needed company her own age and a cute boy who would take her mind off Max was a great idea. Peter also needed company his own age. She didn't care that Tony and the Avengers treated him like an adult. He wasn't one. What he was, was a kid who had experienced way too much already, and was insanely responsible and a hero because of it. But he was still a kid and deserved to be able to enjoy it.

It didn't make it any less hilarious or adorable, but Kitty did a pretty good job of keeping herself to a general smile.

"If you want, I can teach you guys together."

Re: At the Party

[st_arkintern]

Peter's head spins to face Kitty at the suggestion.

"Wait, really?"

His face lights up at the suggestion.

"I mean, are you sure it's not going to be any trouble?" And before Kitty can answer, he's already on his next question: "Do you think Liz will be okay with it? I don't want to keep her from having private tutoring sessions if she prefers it that way."