[NYE Party] happy new year and lots of fun

[nascensibility]

Who: EVERYONE, but especially you!
Where: Wonderland Ballroom
When: New Year's Eve
Rating: PG - PG13 (will change if applicable)
Summary: New Year's Eve Party
The Story:

[ Previously in the month all residents received an invitation to a formal event: a black tie affair to ring in the New Year. The ballroom and adjacent areas are decked out for the party starting at eight o'clock sharp, meticulously planned and executed, glittering décor to match the no doubt glittering attire as music pours into the halls from the dance floor.

Bars flank each side, service for all manner of alcohol unless a minor requests something, and the primary setting stage features an enormous clock for the countdown. ]




[ Where will you be when the clock strikes midnight? ]

Comments

[mucked]

...To absent colleagues.

[ thoughtful, but far from soft. there are broader toasts that can be made but all of them would only pay lip service to the kinds of troubles endured here in wonderland. familiar faces now gone, however, is one of the less delicate qualities the two of them still have in common.

still fairly damned delicate, however. ]

[outstandingbalance]

[More delicate than Natasha expected—though it's not a bad choice. Not sensitive, exactly, but still personal.

Personal enough that Natasha means it when she tips her glass toward Peggy.]

To absent colleagues.

[It is a delicate way to word it, though.

Natasha has to wonder if that balance says something about how many toasts Peggy has already made that night. Enough to let a little sentiment color her choice, but not enough to go beyond that.]

So how are you doing? Enjoying the chance to get cleaned up and mingle?

[mucked]

Oh, I'm always cleaned up.

[ it's said like a lie. because (of course) it is one. she finds plenty of excuses to trudge through the muck, either literally or figuratively, but it remains at least mostly accurate that when she's striding around the mansion she appears polished. ]

-- Not always prepared to mingle, however. [ and to that she'll admit to readily. but peggy takes a drink and offers up that kind of smile that does well at functions like these, even if they aren't quite the same as being honest. ]

Although it's getting easier and easier with every fresh month. I suppose because more faces become familiar the more time passes.

[outstandingbalance]

I've seen you around, Agent Carter, you're rarely quite this clean.

[Raising her hand in a gesture to her own hair, implying Peggy's, and the rest of her get up by extension.

Natasha matches Peggy's smile, a different version of it maybe, perhaps, more modern and a different kind of reserved.]

Does this mean you're making friends?

[Her tone is light enough to play off, leaving a wide opening for Peggy to evade the question. Courtesy between spies.]

[mucked]

[ oh, she's good. perhaps there's nothing intrinsically clever or insightful within the observation -- it is, after all, a fairly simple one to make. but the beauty lies in how natasha commits her observation to words. as articulations go, it's precisely the sort of thing that leaves peggy with a suspicious itch just below her skin but no concrete evidence to explain why.

luckily, there's nothing that obligates her to respond to the earlier accusation -- rarely quite this clean -- and instead she can trade in equal good faith with natasha's question instead.

it's a little fun, actually. ]

If not friends, then at least an impression. [ this time her smile does indeed reach her eyes. ] And I don't doubt you're doing the same. I don't want to think about how much scaffolding goes into a dress like that.

[outstandingbalance]

I had an idea what I was up against. And maybe it was time to turn a few heads?

[Even perched on a bar stool in a stiff and revealing dress, wearing four inch heels, Natasha still projects the impression that she'd be more than up to a challenge if one presented itself.

Showing some skin, painting her face, those things still don't make her vulnerable. It's not a power move, or a display of confidence. Just a fact.]

But I'd like to say I'm making... let's call them contacts.

[mucked]

Alright. [ she concedes. ] Let's call them contacts.

[ at which point, peggy gives a casual glance over her shoulder -- eyeing the crowd, nearly off them dressed to the nines. primped and preened. ]

Any of them you've found particularly helpful or worthwhile? [ it's a crapshoot of a question. relying on simply having allies alike and a world in common doesn't add up to much. but nothing ventured, nothing gained. and she'd sooner ask someone who'd worked alongside steve than a true stranger. ]

[outstandingbalance]

That depends what you're looking for. Some of them, maybe. Others...

[Natasha glances over he room, but her eyes don't linger on anyone too pointedly.

Her lips twitch.]

More like there's a few people I wouldn't rule out.

[mucked]

[ depends on what she's looking for, hm? peggy holds court in her own thoughts for a moment. ]

Let's say -- for the time being -- what I'm looking for is merely someone interesting to speak to. [ a nod of her head towards the rest of the room. ] Who would you suggest?

[ and yet she doesn't hide the fact that even asking the question betrays more of an interest in natasha than in the rest of the assembled group. ]

[outstandingbalance]

If you're just looking for an interesting conversation, I could point you to just about anyone. Apparently Wonderland likes keeping things interesting.

Met Castle yet? Interesting is a word for it.

[Interesting, and a headache.]

You're not looking for a new conversation partner already, are you?

[mucked]

[ she nods at the man in uniform as if to say -- yes, indeed, we've met. but before she can comment on what other words she might use for the man, natasha asks her a question.

and peggy smiles. ]

Merely considering contingencies. [ a tip of her head. ] For now, I'm still all yours.

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha bets she can guess what one or two of those words are. She also wonders if Peggy's deduced Castle is from the same world they are—or one very like it.]

Well. I have it from a reasonably good source that he can dance, if you find yourself following up on this contingencies.

[She smiles at that.]

But not as well as I do.

[mucked]

Oh, I don't think so. [ is she turning away the possibility of dancing with castle, or of dancing with romanoff? both, it seems, because she's rather quick to follow: ] I'm not here to dance.

[ it's first utter and unmitigated lie she's told all night. it's possible that natasha has already seen her dancing with someone else -- but it's a big party, so either peggy gets to continue with her lie intact or maybe she gets to witness what natasha does when she finds a blatant contradiction.

or maybe she'll let peggy get away with it. either way, peg finds herself rather keen to learn which. ]

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha's brow twitches up, but it's the only sign she might know Peggy's lying to her. Whether she has or not, she doesn't call Peggy out on the story.

Natasha hadn't meant her comment entirely literally anyway.]

That's a shame. I'm sure you're a terrific dancer.

[mucked]

-- I do alright.

[ it's that kind of modesty that isn't much modest at all. and why should she be? dancing is a skill just like punching, just like kicking, just like pulling a trigger. it's got all sorts of uses. ]

[outstandingbalance]

[A hum, as though confirming it was as she suspected rather than draw out the compliment further.]

So if you're not dancing tonight, is whiskey and conversation the whole agenda? Not that I'm judging if it is.

[mucked]

-- Just about. Although I've added in a bit of observation. [ she nods to the dance floor once more. ] It's rather a treat to see who can and who can't keep up to these tunes.

[ this ain't no drum'n'bass club remix. ]

[outstandingbalance]

Hardly fair, is it? Watching everyone else out on the floor and not giving them the same chance.

[Teasing, dryly but not maliciously.]

But you do approve of the music then?

[mucked]

[ peggy refrains from making any comments on what's fair or whether fairness matters. even teasing, she fears she might come off a bit overtly cynical. so, instead, she allows herself a genuine piece of laughter. ]

Oh, yes. Largely in part because it's good music. For a change.

[ no quarter given. ]

[outstandingbalance]

There's a lot of good music out there, Agent Carter.

[there's an air of humor in the way Natasha deploys the title.]

There's always good music. Always bad music too.

[mucked]

Explain that to Tony Stark. [ a beat. ] All he plays is rubbish. And I haven't liked much of what I've heard at other events, except...

[ oh, hell, why not. if anyone is a good sounding board for her adapting tastes, it might as well be another spy. ]

Elton John's not bad.

[ -- not that she heard that particular recording artist playing through stark's speakers. ]

[outstandingbalance]

The future holds more than just AC/DC and the Clash. I promise.

Not saying it's all Sinatra, but I imagine we could find you a few more recent artists you like.

[mucked]

I imagine you could. [ she won't deny it. ] I've listened a decade or two beyond mine. Similar genres, but I suppose with a bit of 'modern progress' tossed into the mix.

[ -- the record collection she pulls from on wednesday nights is rather curated. filled with treasures and treats, but nothing too radically different from what she's got a chance at enjoying. ]

[outstandingbalance]

Did you get as far as David Bowie? [You know, modern progress. Natasha's not exactly of the opinion Peggy would like it. Depends on what she was exposed to. There was a lot of ground there.

But it's a particular kind of milestone.]

I have to wonder what Elton John you've heard.

[mucked]

[ -- peggy shakes her head to answer. no bowie, not yet. although doubtless she's squirreling the name away with designs to return to it when she's keeping the sort of company around which she can stomach a vulnerability or two. because apparently first impressions and new experiences count as vulnerabilities, these days.

as for the second question, the one that natasha doesn't exactly ask, peggy hems and haws a little. ]

Too Low for Zero.

[ this lie is better told than the last one. peggy has flipped past that record so often in mister hunter's collection that she could almost believe she's listened to it. ]