double dating } closed

[beautifullies]

Who: Claire & Jamie Fraser, Bree Randall, Steve Rogers, Juliet O'Hara
Where: The Fraser Residence
When: 4-5
Rating: D for dinner party??? It shouldn't get that crazy.
Summary: Jamie and Claire host a dinner date.
The Story:

When Juliet and Steve arrive, they'll be ushered into Jamie and Claire's room that magically looks as close to Lallybroch (minus the second story) as she and Jamie could get it. There's electricity of course, but they rarely use it save in the bathroom and in Brianna's connected room. Introductions are made before Claire leads everyone to the dining room.

She doesn't cook, not well save for a few things, so the supper this evening - pot roast with potatoes and carrots, dinner rolls, a salad and good wine (and whisky) - is all Wonderland provided but homey and comforting.

After supper is done, Claire serves dessert in the parlor (a pound cake with light lemon frosting and coffee or tea--or more whisky) and they mingle and talk, sometimes as a group, and sometimes in smaller one-on-one conversations.

[ ooc: instead of all of us going one at a time, set up your own top levels at will and tag around! ]

Comments

ota }

[holyshihtzu]

When it comes to sharing a meal with people who are so important to Steve, Juliet isn't taking any chances on first impressions. Granted, she's already met the Fraser clan, but not exactly in these specific circumstances, so she dresses up a little and is on her best behavior - though that isn't exactly a difficult task for her.

At dinner, she takes a seat next to Steve, relaxing a bit over time as she slips into more casual conversation with all of them. By the time they've moved to the parlor, she is (with the help of the whisky) more relaxed and animated as she carries on, having gone on a tangent about her work in Santa Barbara.

"I did get to go undercover during my first year with the SBPD," she explains. "Infiltrating a sorority is not as easy as it sounds."

[givingback]

"Infiltrating a sorority?" Bree asks in complete interest.

"Why? I mean, you don't have to tell me if you can't, but I can definitely see you as a pledge," she says with a soft laugh. "In a good way. You seem like the type to turn into house mom. Taking care of everyone. Like it's an instinct, almost," she comments with a smile. "You have a...I don't know. A presence that's comforting."

She's had more than one glass of wine, but that's still true. She's hoping to make a friend after tonight, and she likes Juliet.

[holyshihtzu]

"You really think so?" Juliet practically glows at the compliment, relaxing back into her chair. Although she'd like to be regarded as a badass, being comforting isn't mutually exclusive from her point of view, and it's flattering nonetheless. "And I'm willing to answer any questions, really. I don't think confidentiality regarding my undercover identity is really an issue in Wonderland."

If she didn't broadcast it herself, it would come out some other way. Wonderland wasn't the best place to try to keep secrets.

"I never considered joining a sorority when I was in college," she admits. "And this one didn't really change the image. I mean, two people did end up dead."

[givingback]

"I didn't either. I never even looked into it," she says with a shrug. "I got involved a lot in some of the protesting and marching and made friends that way. I even found a roommate that way, but never went the sorority route."

And maybe that's a good thing considering what Juliet says next. "Death tends to taint the happy-college-milestone moment image. What happened? I mean, was it a crime of passion situation?"

[holyshihtzu]

"If you really think about it, meeting people through any organized common interest is similar to a sorority in a lot of ways, just without the houses and fancy Greek names."

It hadn't been Juliet's speed, either, but she wasn't the best at sticking to any one hobby or interest, besides her goal to join the police. Besides, her short stint in cheerleading camp had been enough teenage girl-bonding for her.

"Sort of. Everyone thought the first death was suicide, but it didn't sit right with me. It turned out she was killed in a hazing accident, and her best friend took it upon herself to get revenge. She ended up coming after me..." Juliet pauses, offering a shrug. "It was a little scary, if I have to be honest."

[givingback]

"And without having to beg my mother for money to pay for all of the sorority expenses. Scholarships for school are one thing. Asking for hundreds just for a social group to be a part of? Seems like overkill for the college experience."

She made plenty of friends, and once she transferred to MIT it didn't matter much anyway.

The story though, that's more interesting than thinking about what it would have been like to pledge somewhere.

"So you knew. Like a...gut feeling?" That put her directly in danger.

Sounds like mama.

[holyshihtzu]

Juliet wrinkles her nose. She never put much thought into what had exactly driven her to investigate the case, or why Chief Vick even entertained it. As a matter of fact, everyone, including Gus and Shawn, had gone along with her, no questions asked, because they trusted her judgment. And she did end up being right.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. It was her family that swayed me, though. They were convinced there was no way Doreen could have killed herself, and something told me I had to trust them." She leans forward a little, tilting her head. "When I was at the academy, I was really good at learning the rules, memorizing the regulations. I had to figure out pretty quickly that the real world is a lot more complicated than that. The things that people do to each other--or do for each other--they don't always make a lot of sense."

Taking that case hadn't made a lot of sense, either, given the evidence. But they all managed to take that leap together.

[givingback]

"The world isn't so black and white, the more you learn about it," Bree agrees with a small smile.

"You sound like a really great detective. And you care about people, a lot. I mean, the Christmas party, the bowling alley. You care about how people are doing in general. It's really nice to see," Bree says genuinely.

[holyshihtzu]

"Thanks, Bree." She smiles, equally genuine. She does care about people, sometimes to a fault, but she'd rather funnel all of her energy into putting good in the world than the opposite.

Besides, Wonderland is quickly becoming her home. She cares about it.

"How about you? What did you study while you were at college?"

[givingback]

"Well," she breathes out. "I started at Harvard because the man who raised me taught there and I thought I'd follow in his footsteps, major in history. But after...well."

Bree gestures toward her parents.

"After finding out history is more in my blood than I thought, I decided to switch gears. I switched my degree to mechanical engineering and graduated from MIT a few months ago. It'll come in handy in the 18th century, I hope. Indoor plumbing may be a century away but I bet I can figure something out just for my parent's cabin."

[holyshihtzu]

"Harvard? That's impressive."

There isn't any sarcasm at all in her tone. Bree seems like a clever girl and if she is anything like Claire, it tickles Juliet to think she was probably running circles around any men who thought they were better than women in that field. Coming from a heavily male-dominated field herself, that isn't lost on Juliet in the least.

"Maybe it turns out you invented indoor plumbing after all," Juliet jokes. "Are you planning on staying in the 18th century with your parents?"

[givingback]

"And then a man took credit, because that's how history always goes for women," she says with a smirk before taking a bite of her dessert and nodding as she chews and swallows.

"I think so. I mean, my time is easier but...it takes so much to travel from Scotland to American in the 18th century. Unless they make me go back for some reason, I plan on staying. I missed my mother too much, anyway."

[holyshihtzu]

"Yeah, you couldn't really just jump a Delta flight back then, could you?"

She offers a soft smile. Being across the country from her family had been hard enough, but even that didn't hold a candle to being completely cut off from them in Wonderland. Juliet isn't sure she wouldn't give up all the creatures comforts of the modern world if it meant being near her family, either.

"I'd miss my mom, too. We have always been really close."

Super late but I bring a Steve so

[captain_america]

As the evening is winding down Steve makes his way back over to Juliet, they sat next to each other at dinner and he’s made a point to filter in and out of her conversations, but he also wants to let his friends get to know her without standing over her shoulder the whole night. Still, whenever they are in touching distance he finds himself making excuses to touch her- a hand on her knee, an arm over her shoulders, hand on the small of her back. It’s novel being able to do that and not worry, knowing that she’s here with him and he’s here with her.

He wraps an arm around her shoulders, happily tucking her against him. It’s getting late and he doesn’t want to over stay his welcome (and he might also want to spend a little time with his girlfriend). “Do you want to head out soon?”

acceptable

[holyshihtzu]

Juliet has had a good time. She's a social creature, and getting the chance to really get to know everyone better has been a lot of fun. Perhaps, more importantly, she is thrilled to get to know people that Steve is close to. Getting let into his inner circle makes her feel closer to him, like their relationship is real, and it's an alternative since she knows she will never meet his family or any of his friends back home, besides the ones that end up in Wonderland.

She leans her head on his shoulder. It's getting late, and she's getting tired, which means it's time to wrap things up no matter how much she's been enjoying herself.

"Yeah, I think it's a good time." Overstaying their welcome is definitely not something she wants to do either. "You wanna head back to your place or mine?"

Saying goodbye to the Frasers doesn't mean she has to say goodbye to him, after all.

[captain_america]

They say their goodbyes, thanking their hosts for a lovely evening before making their way out and into the hallway.

“I was thinking mine.” Mostly because he was looking forward to making her breakfast in the morning. “I’ll make pancakes in the morning.” He wiggles his eyebrows playfully at her as if she needed the incentive of pancakes to say yes.

[holyshihtzu]

"Oh, well, I guess if you promise pancakes I can deal with it."

She giggles and grabs his hand, looping her arm around his to keep him close as they walk to his room.

"It was really nice of you to invite me along for dinner. I can tell you and Claire are really close."

[captain_america]

“I know you only keep me around for the breakfast foods.” It was starting to become something of a tradition and he really enjoyed cooking her breakfast, especially when she lounged around in his rooms in one of his shirts. It wasn’t anything he ever thought would be comforting, but it was- it was home. She was beginning to feel like home to him.

“Of course, I wanted them to get to know you, so they could see why I think you’re so amazing.” Claire was one of his best friends in Wonderland and he wanted Juliet to get to know his friends.

[holyshihtzu]

She likes lounging around in his shirts. They're big, and soft, and they smell like him. But most importantly, when she's wearing them, it means he's nearby.

"Oh no, you're onto me," she teases, squeezing his arm affectionately as they head towards his room. "Really, though, it was so nice to meet them. Now it's my turn to show off how amazing you are. We could go on a double date with Gren and Misty."

[captain_america]

He smiled down at her. "Whatever you want to do is good with me, I don't think I've met them yet." Which means he needs to if they are important to Juliet.

[holyshihtzu]

"They definitely want to meet you. I have mentioned you once or twice."

And by that, she means pretty much constantly since the moment they met, but she's not going to admit to that.

"I'll give them a call. We could all go bowling together."

Gren will hate it but he can deal.

[captain_america]

“Just once or twice?” His voice is teasing and he leans down to press a kiss again her hair. “I’d love to meet them. Whenever you want. Bowling sounds fun. I’ll go easy on you this time.”

[holyshihtzu]

"Easy on me?" Her voice is equally as teasing, and softly tightens her grip on his arm. "You conveniently didn't mention you were a super soldier at the time. Steve, that's practically cheating."

[captain_america]

He mock gasps, looking down at her in shock and offense.

"Juliet O'hara are you suggesting Captain America cheats?"

He can't seem to keep the smile off his face though.

[holyshihtzu]

"I'm not suggesting. I'm outright saying it. Captain America is a giant, super soldier-y, cheating cheater."

She grins up at him, clearly proud of this accusation.

"But he's also pretty cute, so I'll forgive it."