Baracci, 2 Rodeo, Los Angeles, California, Late Morning, Valentine's Day
After a morning of Valentine's Day-inspired snuggling, Karla and Warren had headed to LA to meet up with Wesley and his friends/coworkers before their evening entertainment. The polite getting-to-know-you chatter had been cut short when Karla had asked what the dress code for the evening should be. She was thinking about choosing between several of the outfits she'd vanished away for the occasion, but her innocent question had snowballed into a decision that the ladies were going to leave the gentlemen behind for a few hours while they went off to find something appropriate for the evening.
Fred"Are you certain this is the place for us?" Fred asked anxiously, eyeing some of the price tags on the dresses on the rack.
Cordelia"Well, we could always get our outfits at 'Cave-Girl's House of Burlap,' but that's just so last season," Cordelia replied breezily. "The guys are all renting tuxes. Or... wearing the ones they've owned for years." Warren looked like a guy who owned his own tux, but she couldn't be sure. Sigh. "We've got to step it up."
Karla"I don't know if Warren would be capable of handling a rented tux," Karla said, eyeing some of the dresses on the rack. None of them were outrageously short, which was a blessing, at least. "If he hadn't brought his anyway, he would have just gone out and gotten one, then spent a ridiculous amount of money getting it properly tailored in time."
Karla had met her boyfriend. The words 'off the rack' and 'rental' were almost as dirty as 'mutie' and 'cure.'
CordeliaCordy looked up from the rack she'd been perusing, holding up a hand and inquiring, "Now, does Warren have an older brother, or...?"
No, Cordy.
Karla"Only child," Karla said lightly, flipping through some of the dresses next to Fred.
Look at her not adding a 'mine' to that. Gold star for Karla!
"Has Wesley not talked about Warren much? I know they were close in high school."
CordeliaIt was a pretty impressive show of restraint, that was for sure. If Cordy had a rich boyfriend, she'd be dropping "Mine"s all over the place.
"Wes keeps most of his high school memories on the down-low," she replied. "I've always assumed he was either really unpopular or had a terrible yearbook picture."
Fred batted her on the shoulder for that. "Cordy," she chided. "Be nice."
Karla"Neither," Karla said softly, looking down at the dress in her hands but not seeing it. "He had a lot of friends. People who care about him. Things were...tough, but not because of that."
Panem. Katniss. Ouch.
But if Wesley hadn't told them about that, Karla wasn't going to say anything either.
"He spent a lot of time doing stupidly heroic things. So, I'm guessing...not much has changed?"
Fred"He's still real heroic," Fred agreed before Cordy could chime in with a snarky comment. Actually, as she was speaking, Cordy stuck behind her and pointed to Fred behind her back, nodding in a manner that perhaps Karla might recognize as the 'I think she and Wes should totally bang' nod. "But he ain't stupid. He's the brains of our whole operation, really. Well. Him and Angel."
"Oh, yeah, like Angel's such a genius," Cordy drawled. "This morning he asked me again if I could show him how to text."
KarlaKarla quirked an eyebrow at Cordelia. She hadn't spent much time with Fred and Wesley together, but she wasn't sure she was picking up those kind of vibes between them.
Well, maybe on Wesley's end. But she wasn't so sure about Fred.
"Maybe he's the more pragmatic of the two?" Karla volunteered, picking up a deep red dress and holding it up to her chin. Nah, didn't really work with her complexion. "Wesley can sometimes get lost in his books."
Cordelia"This'll look great on you," Cordelia informed Karla, passing her a dark green dress that she'd just rejected for herself. "Ugh, what I'd give to be blonde again. Just less than the cost of the dye, obviously. Not that I could even wear that kind of neckline and be decent without somehow shrinking my boobs."
Cordelia Chase, ladies and... ladies.
"Anyway, yeah, we all know Wes is a big ol' bookworm. Just like Fred. It's perfect."
Fred"Oh, stop," Fred giggled, swatting Cordy's arm again. "Anyway, it's hardly appropriate. We work in an office every day, it's not like I can just go around dating a colleague... right?"
Cordelia"It's not weird!" Cordy said breezily. "Why would that be weird? Karla, tell her it wouldn't be weird."
Cordy had appointed herself Wesley's official wingman.
Karla"It wouldn't be weird so long as you were both adults about it," Karla said, also willing to pitch in and help if it would make Wesley happy. And now that it had been brought up, Fred did seem a lot...well, gigglier and swattier. Those were good signs, right?
"You'd just have to agree that your relationship doesn't get to affect certain things. I mean, Warren-my-Consort is going to have to accept some stuff that Warren-my-boyfriend isn't going to like, you know? And you trust him to keep treating you the same way if you did start dating, right?"
Wesley had hated everything Katniss had had to do, but he hadn't stood in the way of her doing them. And that was important.
FredConsort? That was a funny word...
"Oh, of course," Fred agreed with a vigorous nod. "And it -- it's not like we've said anything or... but he's so sweet... and commanding, and I feel so comfortable around him..."
Oops, she'd forgotten to mention that she was talking about Gunn, hadn't she? Whoopsies.
She glanced down, turning her attention toward a deep maroon dress. "I mean, I don't even know if he feels..."
Cordelia"Oh, he feels," Cordy interrupted her, putting a hand on the dress to get Fred's attention. "There is definite feelings." She quirked an eyebrow. "We find the right outfit for tonight, there may be actual feeling."
KarlaKarla was a funny kind of girl, Fred. Don't worry. You'd see.
"There'd better be feeling," Karla said, holding up a black number with a plunging neckline for Cordy to see. "The only reason for wearing the fancy underwear that dresses like this require is to have someone take it off of you later."
Fred"She's right," Cordy agreed as she swiped the dress from Karla. "Ooh, good catch. Very sophisticated."
"How are you gonna pay for that?" Fred wanted to know. "Aren't we, you know, poor?"
Cordy rolled her eyes. "There is a custom among my people," she said in her most teacher-esque tone. "It's called 'buying a dress, wearing it once, and returning it the next day.' It's all about hiding the tags while it's on."
Oh yeah. Cordy was the most sophisticated ever.
KarlaKarla sighed, looking at the dress again. "My friend Emma would love it. But at least you can wear it," she added, pointed looking down at her own chest. "I'm going to have to find something a little more..."
Appropriate for bee-stings?
"And--don't worry about the dresses." She didn't think Warren would mind springing for them. Or possibly notice. "I brought a perfectly good dress along with me, but when he heard that there was a shopping trip planned for the ladies..." She shrugged, then pulled out Warren's credit card. It was black. Of course. "Consider this a thank you for inviting me along."
CordeliaSee that? That was Cordelia's jaw dropping. That was a black card. She hadn't seen one of those in a while, but one didn't just forget what a black card looked like, okay.
"Anytime," she said with all the sincerity in the world as soon as she regained the ability to speak. "You just come on over and visit Wes wheneeever you want. Actually, what do you say we go check out some shoes? I know a great little boutique not far from here. It's called Christian Louboutin..."
[NFI, NFB, OOC welcome, preplayed with wesleynotponcy taking all the NPCs! Taken and adapted from Angel S03E13 "Waiting in the Wings"]
Fred"Are you certain this is the place for us?" Fred asked anxiously, eyeing some of the price tags on the dresses on the rack.
Cordelia"Well, we could always get our outfits at 'Cave-Girl's House of Burlap,' but that's just so last season," Cordelia replied breezily. "The guys are all renting tuxes. Or... wearing the ones they've owned for years." Warren looked like a guy who owned his own tux, but she couldn't be sure. Sigh. "We've got to step it up."
Karla"I don't know if Warren would be capable of handling a rented tux," Karla said, eyeing some of the dresses on the rack. None of them were outrageously short, which was a blessing, at least. "If he hadn't brought his anyway, he would have just gone out and gotten one, then spent a ridiculous amount of money getting it properly tailored in time."
Karla had met her boyfriend. The words 'off the rack' and 'rental' were almost as dirty as 'mutie' and 'cure.'
CordeliaCordy looked up from the rack she'd been perusing, holding up a hand and inquiring, "Now, does Warren have an older brother, or...?"
No, Cordy.
Karla"Only child," Karla said lightly, flipping through some of the dresses next to Fred.
Look at her not adding a 'mine' to that. Gold star for Karla!
"Has Wesley not talked about Warren much? I know they were close in high school."
CordeliaIt was a pretty impressive show of restraint, that was for sure. If Cordy had a rich boyfriend, she'd be dropping "Mine"s all over the place.
"Wes keeps most of his high school memories on the down-low," she replied. "I've always assumed he was either really unpopular or had a terrible yearbook picture."
Fred batted her on the shoulder for that. "Cordy," she chided. "Be nice."
Karla"Neither," Karla said softly, looking down at the dress in her hands but not seeing it. "He had a lot of friends. People who care about him. Things were...tough, but not because of that."
Panem. Katniss. Ouch.
But if Wesley hadn't told them about that, Karla wasn't going to say anything either.
"He spent a lot of time doing stupidly heroic things. So, I'm guessing...not much has changed?"
Fred"He's still real heroic," Fred agreed before Cordy could chime in with a snarky comment. Actually, as she was speaking, Cordy stuck behind her and pointed to Fred behind her back, nodding in a manner that perhaps Karla might recognize as the 'I think she and Wes should totally bang' nod. "But he ain't stupid. He's the brains of our whole operation, really. Well. Him and Angel."
"Oh, yeah, like Angel's such a genius," Cordy drawled. "This morning he asked me again if I could show him how to text."
KarlaKarla quirked an eyebrow at Cordelia. She hadn't spent much time with Fred and Wesley together, but she wasn't sure she was picking up those kind of vibes between them.
Well, maybe on Wesley's end. But she wasn't so sure about Fred.
"Maybe he's the more pragmatic of the two?" Karla volunteered, picking up a deep red dress and holding it up to her chin. Nah, didn't really work with her complexion. "Wesley can sometimes get lost in his books."
Cordelia"This'll look great on you," Cordelia informed Karla, passing her a dark green dress that she'd just rejected for herself. "Ugh, what I'd give to be blonde again. Just less than the cost of the dye, obviously. Not that I could even wear that kind of neckline and be decent without somehow shrinking my boobs."
Cordelia Chase, ladies and... ladies.
"Anyway, yeah, we all know Wes is a big ol' bookworm. Just like Fred. It's perfect."
Fred"Oh, stop," Fred giggled, swatting Cordy's arm again. "Anyway, it's hardly appropriate. We work in an office every day, it's not like I can just go around dating a colleague... right?"
Cordelia"It's not weird!" Cordy said breezily. "Why would that be weird? Karla, tell her it wouldn't be weird."
Cordy had appointed herself Wesley's official wingman.
Karla"It wouldn't be weird so long as you were both adults about it," Karla said, also willing to pitch in and help if it would make Wesley happy. And now that it had been brought up, Fred did seem a lot...well, gigglier and swattier. Those were good signs, right?
"You'd just have to agree that your relationship doesn't get to affect certain things. I mean, Warren-my-Consort is going to have to accept some stuff that Warren-my-boyfriend isn't going to like, you know? And you trust him to keep treating you the same way if you did start dating, right?"
Wesley had hated everything Katniss had had to do, but he hadn't stood in the way of her doing them. And that was important.
FredConsort? That was a funny word...
"Oh, of course," Fred agreed with a vigorous nod. "And it -- it's not like we've said anything or... but he's so sweet... and commanding, and I feel so comfortable around him..."
Oops, she'd forgotten to mention that she was talking about Gunn, hadn't she? Whoopsies.
She glanced down, turning her attention toward a deep maroon dress. "I mean, I don't even know if he feels..."
Cordelia"Oh, he feels," Cordy interrupted her, putting a hand on the dress to get Fred's attention. "There is definite feelings." She quirked an eyebrow. "We find the right outfit for tonight, there may be actual feeling."
KarlaKarla was a funny kind of girl, Fred. Don't worry. You'd see.
"There'd better be feeling," Karla said, holding up a black number with a plunging neckline for Cordy to see. "The only reason for wearing the fancy underwear that dresses like this require is to have someone take it off of you later."
Fred"She's right," Cordy agreed as she swiped the dress from Karla. "Ooh, good catch. Very sophisticated."
"How are you gonna pay for that?" Fred wanted to know. "Aren't we, you know, poor?"
Cordy rolled her eyes. "There is a custom among my people," she said in her most teacher-esque tone. "It's called 'buying a dress, wearing it once, and returning it the next day.' It's all about hiding the tags while it's on."
Oh yeah. Cordy was the most sophisticated ever.
KarlaKarla sighed, looking at the dress again. "My friend Emma would love it. But at least you can wear it," she added, pointed looking down at her own chest. "I'm going to have to find something a little more..."
Appropriate for bee-stings?
"And--don't worry about the dresses." She didn't think Warren would mind springing for them. Or possibly notice. "I brought a perfectly good dress along with me, but when he heard that there was a shopping trip planned for the ladies..." She shrugged, then pulled out Warren's credit card. It was black. Of course. "Consider this a thank you for inviting me along."
CordeliaSee that? That was Cordelia's jaw dropping. That was a black card. She hadn't seen one of those in a while, but one didn't just forget what a black card looked like, okay.
"Anytime," she said with all the sincerity in the world as soon as she regained the ability to speak. "You just come on over and visit Wes wheneeever you want. Actually, what do you say we go check out some shoes? I know a great little boutique not far from here. It's called Christian Louboutin..."
[NFI, NFB, OOC welcome, preplayed with wesleynotponcy taking all the NPCs! Taken and adapted from Angel S03E13 "Waiting in the Wings"]