![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
om_serenity posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
om_mainPietro and Inara try to wrangle Laura into a private Halloween celebration.
When he wasn't horribly distracted by dancing and/or the idea of how he was going to get all that blue paint off his boyfriend, Pietro kept an eye out for Laura. He suspected she might be lurking, if only because there was no way to keep an eye on the proceedings from outside, tonight. In one flash of particularly bright lights, he glanced upward and saw a shadow moving in the rafters, and a grin broke out.
He darted around the other kids bouncing to peppy music (Well done, me and Wanda!) until he found witchy Inara in the crowd. With one hand, he straightened his Peter Pan hat; with the other, he gently took Inara's elbow in hand and turned her in the right direction. Hat straightened, he pointed upward while the lights were still flashing and said into her ear, "There she is."
Inara followed his line of sight and had to smother a grin. "Oh wonderful. How do we get her down?"
"I don't suppose 'here kitty, kitty' will do it," Pietro mused with a little grin. "Then again, might as well try what I always do."
He looked up and waved, then said, slightly louder--knowing she could pick it out of the crowd noise if she wanted to. "Hey, Laura!" He pointed to Inara, then towards the door to the gym, indicating that they wanted to meet her out there.
Inara waved up to Laura hopefully, then grabbed Pietro's wrist and headed toward the door with him. No use in lingering.
The shadow in the rafters stilled at the call, bright green eyes watching Inara and Pietro quietly, without a hint that she'd understood. As they moved away, she followed their progress with her gaze, and then, slowly, with her feet, pacing silently along the beams toward the door.
They disappeared through the large doors and Laura waited a few beats, watching the other students in the gym for a moment before dropping to the floor to land in a crouch. Then, quietly, she rose and followed.
Docile as a lamb, Pietro went where Inara led them until they were out in the hall. "Outside, or just somewhere a little quieter?"
Yes, yes he was absolutely willing to be led. He doubted this would come as a surprise to either girl involved, after all.
"How about our room?" Inara's pointed black hat tried to escape over the back of her head. "No one will bug us there. Private party?"
Pietro nodded and went with her up the stairs. He grinned, for once not minding having to go slow for someone else. Wasn't just the pheromones; Inara was worth it. "Bets on whether she beats us there or not?"
"That depends on if you're coming along with the slowpoke or not." But Inara already knew the answer to that; she linked her arm with Pietro's and headed back toward the main building. "Though it's nice enough out that it's almost a shame to go inside."
In fact, Laura did not beat them there, but only because she refused to leave them both to their own devices while on their way to the room. Instead, she watched them from a distance, making sure that they remained unmolested in the dark. By the time they entered the room, she paced quietly down the hall behind them, confident in each step.
Pietro was still smiling in agreement with Inara's point when Laura came into view. He waved to her with his free hand. "Happy Halloween."
"It's good to see you," Inara added, her bright expression genuine. "I was hoping we could all catch up a little, maybe celebrate on our own? I have a stash of goodies if you're interested." Really, Laura probably already knew about the ones she'd had to store in their room, but hopefully she could still manage a surprise or two.
Laura knew about the sweets, but hadn't been sure why Inara hid them. She watched the two of them quietly, arms folding over her chest as the door closed behind her. "You created an excuse to see me?"
"I usually do," Pietro practically chirped. "But no, Halloween gave us an excuse."
"And we're hoping you'll want to see us too?" Despite herself, there was an interrogative lilt to Inara's words. "We won't keep you long if you'd rather get back to your surveillance, but we've missed you."
It wasn't necessarily a visible change, but maybe a few of Laura's muscles relaxed. Maybe it was Inara's effect on her, but she did seem to accept the situation more readily. "I enjoy your presence too."
Pietro did himself the favor of including him in that--pain in the ass or not. He knew Laura's tiny changes in stance and expression to realize she wasn't gonna bolt, at least, so he grinned. "So maybe just a few minutes away from the crowd for a mini-celebration?"
Laura watched them for a moment, then gave a small nod, her gaze moving over the room briefly once again to ascertain the best place to sit, before perching on the edge of her bed.
Inara smiled and headed for the door. "I've got trick-or-treat bags under the bed. They're random, so help yourselves. I promise, it's only good stuff, no candy corn." She had a special treat in the kitchen, ordered in optimism and it had paid off. Her smile widened at that thought.
A moment later, she was back upstairs with a bakery box containing three cupcakes, each one having a little fondant face on it -- one for (and of) each of them.
Meanwhile, Pietro had managed to dig out the treat bags (ohhhhh he was gonna take it easy on the sugar rush, really he was, but mmm) and arrayed them on Inara’s bed neatly. “Now, last year, we had a warrior princess,” he said, looking at Laura thoughtfully. “But this year… not so much. Hmm.”
Inara gave Pietro a "really?" look as she handed him his cupcake. "It isn't as if she needs to belabor the obvious."
"True." He delicately peeled the paper off one side of his cupcake. "But sometimes Halloween costumes are more like our insides coming out."
His own, case in point. Okay, no, he had done far too much growing up lately, but he didn't particularly want to.
Laura took the cupcake, glancing mildly between them. "I am a shadow of who I was. I understand that. I am...working on it."
"Being hurt doesn't make you any less than what you were," Inara countered gently. "You're not reduced. You're changed, but not...less."
The other girl glanced away, then actually sighed at the both of them. A real, girl sigh. Neither could understand. Instead, she eyed the cupcake. "People are happy again. The new kids come in and everyone has a reason to forget."
Pietro couldn't help a lopsided smile for the sigh, in spite of the topic. "And yet, some of us have unfailingly long memories." And it'd been a while since he saw her show that kind of--not emotion, but reaction, anyhow. "Anyhow, you're part of our happiness, and that's the point."
He bit into his cupcake, leaving some icing clinging to his upper lip.
When he wasn't horribly distracted by dancing and/or the idea of how he was going to get all that blue paint off his boyfriend, Pietro kept an eye out for Laura. He suspected she might be lurking, if only because there was no way to keep an eye on the proceedings from outside, tonight. In one flash of particularly bright lights, he glanced upward and saw a shadow moving in the rafters, and a grin broke out.
He darted around the other kids bouncing to peppy music (Well done, me and Wanda!) until he found witchy Inara in the crowd. With one hand, he straightened his Peter Pan hat; with the other, he gently took Inara's elbow in hand and turned her in the right direction. Hat straightened, he pointed upward while the lights were still flashing and said into her ear, "There she is."
Inara followed his line of sight and had to smother a grin. "Oh wonderful. How do we get her down?"
"I don't suppose 'here kitty, kitty' will do it," Pietro mused with a little grin. "Then again, might as well try what I always do."
He looked up and waved, then said, slightly louder--knowing she could pick it out of the crowd noise if she wanted to. "Hey, Laura!" He pointed to Inara, then towards the door to the gym, indicating that they wanted to meet her out there.
Inara waved up to Laura hopefully, then grabbed Pietro's wrist and headed toward the door with him. No use in lingering.
The shadow in the rafters stilled at the call, bright green eyes watching Inara and Pietro quietly, without a hint that she'd understood. As they moved away, she followed their progress with her gaze, and then, slowly, with her feet, pacing silently along the beams toward the door.
They disappeared through the large doors and Laura waited a few beats, watching the other students in the gym for a moment before dropping to the floor to land in a crouch. Then, quietly, she rose and followed.
Docile as a lamb, Pietro went where Inara led them until they were out in the hall. "Outside, or just somewhere a little quieter?"
Yes, yes he was absolutely willing to be led. He doubted this would come as a surprise to either girl involved, after all.
"How about our room?" Inara's pointed black hat tried to escape over the back of her head. "No one will bug us there. Private party?"
Pietro nodded and went with her up the stairs. He grinned, for once not minding having to go slow for someone else. Wasn't just the pheromones; Inara was worth it. "Bets on whether she beats us there or not?"
"That depends on if you're coming along with the slowpoke or not." But Inara already knew the answer to that; she linked her arm with Pietro's and headed back toward the main building. "Though it's nice enough out that it's almost a shame to go inside."
In fact, Laura did not beat them there, but only because she refused to leave them both to their own devices while on their way to the room. Instead, she watched them from a distance, making sure that they remained unmolested in the dark. By the time they entered the room, she paced quietly down the hall behind them, confident in each step.
Pietro was still smiling in agreement with Inara's point when Laura came into view. He waved to her with his free hand. "Happy Halloween."
"It's good to see you," Inara added, her bright expression genuine. "I was hoping we could all catch up a little, maybe celebrate on our own? I have a stash of goodies if you're interested." Really, Laura probably already knew about the ones she'd had to store in their room, but hopefully she could still manage a surprise or two.
Laura knew about the sweets, but hadn't been sure why Inara hid them. She watched the two of them quietly, arms folding over her chest as the door closed behind her. "You created an excuse to see me?"
"I usually do," Pietro practically chirped. "But no, Halloween gave us an excuse."
"And we're hoping you'll want to see us too?" Despite herself, there was an interrogative lilt to Inara's words. "We won't keep you long if you'd rather get back to your surveillance, but we've missed you."
It wasn't necessarily a visible change, but maybe a few of Laura's muscles relaxed. Maybe it was Inara's effect on her, but she did seem to accept the situation more readily. "I enjoy your presence too."
Pietro did himself the favor of including him in that--pain in the ass or not. He knew Laura's tiny changes in stance and expression to realize she wasn't gonna bolt, at least, so he grinned. "So maybe just a few minutes away from the crowd for a mini-celebration?"
Laura watched them for a moment, then gave a small nod, her gaze moving over the room briefly once again to ascertain the best place to sit, before perching on the edge of her bed.
Inara smiled and headed for the door. "I've got trick-or-treat bags under the bed. They're random, so help yourselves. I promise, it's only good stuff, no candy corn." She had a special treat in the kitchen, ordered in optimism and it had paid off. Her smile widened at that thought.
A moment later, she was back upstairs with a bakery box containing three cupcakes, each one having a little fondant face on it -- one for (and of) each of them.
Meanwhile, Pietro had managed to dig out the treat bags (ohhhhh he was gonna take it easy on the sugar rush, really he was, but mmm) and arrayed them on Inara’s bed neatly. “Now, last year, we had a warrior princess,” he said, looking at Laura thoughtfully. “But this year… not so much. Hmm.”
Inara gave Pietro a "really?" look as she handed him his cupcake. "It isn't as if she needs to belabor the obvious."
"True." He delicately peeled the paper off one side of his cupcake. "But sometimes Halloween costumes are more like our insides coming out."
His own, case in point. Okay, no, he had done far too much growing up lately, but he didn't particularly want to.
Laura took the cupcake, glancing mildly between them. "I am a shadow of who I was. I understand that. I am...working on it."
"Being hurt doesn't make you any less than what you were," Inara countered gently. "You're not reduced. You're changed, but not...less."
The other girl glanced away, then actually sighed at the both of them. A real, girl sigh. Neither could understand. Instead, she eyed the cupcake. "People are happy again. The new kids come in and everyone has a reason to forget."
Pietro couldn't help a lopsided smile for the sigh, in spite of the topic. "And yet, some of us have unfailingly long memories." And it'd been a while since he saw her show that kind of--not emotion, but reaction, anyhow. "Anyhow, you're part of our happiness, and that's the point."
He bit into his cupcake, leaving some icing clinging to his upper lip.
