Housewarming Party At Wes' New Digs

[demonologist]

Who: Wesley Wyndam-Pryce and Guests
What: A housewarming BBQ at Wes' new townhouse apartment.
When: June 18th
Where: Wes' place
Rating: PG for now, will update if there are shenanigans
Notes: Backtags are love. Gatecrashers are love. Multiple threadjacks, own threads etc are fine. Have fun with it! Just getting up the location tags then we are good

Comments

Arrivals

[demonologist]

For greeting, the receiving of coats, housewarming presents etc.

[mr_stealthypnts]

[Well then. Have a Xander arriving. He doesn't have a coat or a housewarming present.....he should have brought a present.

Crap.

He's just....gonna try and back out the door now to...do so.]

[demonologist]

[Too late, he's spotted you. He comes forward with a welcoming smile and extended hand.]

Xander! Good to see you again. You're the first guest, actually. Come on in.

[mr_stealthypnts]

[Welp, he was caught. Oh well.

He inches back in and reaches to shake Wes' hand]

Hey wow am I? So much for that whole fashionable entrance thing, right?

Living Room

[demonologist]

A place to mingle, chat, peruse Wes' bookcase. There's a drinks table for people to pour themselves a glass of whatever they fancy.

[whichswan]

She finds it uncomfortable, awkward, to be handing a present to another person, even a friend. She thought to do it when she first came in but the moment passed and now she doesn't think leaving an unidentified wrapped package in his house wull be a good idea.

So she has unwrapped it and placed her housewarming gift on his bookshelf. Owls because he is wise like them and bookends because, well. Pleased with herself, she gathers all the wrapping and tries to leave as discreetly as possible.

[demonologist]

Wes just happened to be standing in the doorway of the living room when he catches sight of Nina leaving her gift. He comes up behind her just in time for her to start to walk away. He's not going to let her get away with it, sorry.

"They're perfect. Thank you, Nina."

[whichswan]

She jumps in place at the sound of his voice and fumbles with the paper wrappings that tumble out of her arms. She turns over her shoulder to see him, like she expects some scolding.

"I'm sorry--I meant to give it to you earlier but--" but what, exactly? She bites her lip and manages a smile. "Not as perfect as your house, but I hope they'll do."

Kitchen

[demonologist]

Fred is probably bustling in and out. The kitchen is huge and boasts a very nice central wine rack/counter.

[_fredless]

Tugging open the oven, Fred reaches for the potholders and pulls out the last of the apple pies. A step and a turn and it's cooling on a small rack in the corner. With the back of her wrist she reaches up to brush a bit of the dampness from her face.

Her hair's tugged back into a haphazard bun and her features are still leaning towards the softer side of pink from the heat. There still might even be a bit of flour on her cheek.

It's not occurred to her to mind. Instead she makes her way to the sink, dampens a sponge and starts to wipe the counters down.

[lawyerlarry]

Larry left his date in the living room for a bit, because he knew where to find the cook, and he wanted to pop in and see her.

He walked into the kitchen and tilted his head to watch her work, a small smirk playing on his lips. He thought about saying something but decided to just keep quiet and wait for her to notice him.

He was also dressed up nicely for the occasion. He's good at that.

[_fredless]

There's something immensely satisfying is the chore of wiping down the counters. Fred goes about it methodically, working from one end to the other in quadrants. And she's clearly lost in her own thoughts -- because for all that she's usually got a solid sense of her surroundings? She isn't aware of the figure in the corner until she's practically on top of him.

"...Larry."

Dropping the sponge in favor of a smile she pulls him into a quick hug.

"You decided to come after all?"

Bathroom

[demonologist]

In case anyone wants to use this for private conversation or just plain snooping.

[_fredless]

It's well into the evening now, Fred long having left the kitchen to mingle with the guests. Partially at Wesley's encouragement, but mostly because after Lilah's appearance there it had lost a great deal of its appeal. The lingering warmth of a day's worth of cooking had simply fled.

Still, for the most part Fred enjoyed herself. She enjoying spending time with her friends, and even meeting those that only knew Wesley. But she'd never really thrived with groups and after a while she finds herself meandering upstairs, enjoying the relative quiet that can be found there. She notes that Wesley's unpacked even more than we he first showed her around, her eyes lingering over the changes.

Until the bathroom, when she catches sight of her own reflection. There's an unpleasant jolt of recognition as she reaches over to turn on the light. Fred's aware that after a day of cooking and setting up, she was bound not to be overly put together. But somehow she hadn't realized she was such a mess. Her hair is just as much out of the bun as in it

[demonologist]

Wes isn't exactly sure why, but it's getting a little late in the evening, and it occurs to him that he hasn't seen Fred for a bit. So he goes searching for her, first on the lower floor and then climbing the stairs to check his bedroom and bathroom.

He finds her there, freshening up, and leans against the doorway, watching for a moment.

"I wondered where you'd gone."

[_fredless]

Fred jumps slightly at the sound of a voice echoing through the bathroom. With the water running it's all to easy to not hear anyone coming up on her. At least that's the reason she gives herself as her gaze flickers past her own reflection to find Wesley in the mirror. It's just perfect.

In the sense that it's not.

Using the back of her hand she tries to wipe away any lingering water from her face, somehow leaving the faucet on in the meantime. While she's spent the better part of a day making herself at home in Wesley's kitchen? The bathroom suddenly feels like something else. And smaller. It feels smaller.

"I was just taking a break from downstairs."

Bedroom

[demonologist]

Same as above. Private conversations/encounters. Want to see what Wes keeps in his drawers?

[leon]

Angel's managed to slip in with relatively little fanfare--which was exactly his goal. He's here to make an appearance, drop off his gift (a small potted plant, nothing too fancy), and then make a stealthy exit after laying low. Which is exactly what he was doing in Wesley's bedroom when most people were out in the backyard. Plus, no need to eat made for no real draw to the actual barbeque. He's a lot more content just ... showing himself around.

[demonologist]

Wes is just coming into the bedroom to drop off someone's coat when he finds Angel in there. It startles him. Partly because he hadn't seen him arrive and partly because, well, it's his bedroom.

"Oh. Um, hello. I-- hello."

He's both pleased and ill at ease at having him here. Without meaning to, Wes' gaze flicks over to where his pillows sit harmlessly on his bed. Not wanting his mind to go to that awful place, he forces himself to look back at Angel again. Then he notices the plant.

"Is that for me?"

Redundant question.

[leon]

Angel turns when Wesley enters, slightly less caught up guard but still surprised that anyone had wandered in here. It wasn't how he pictured this going down, but running into Wesley in private made his exit strategy that much easier to accomplish. He really hadn't been in the mood to socialize much lately. It was a wonder he decided to show up to this housewarming thing at all.

"It's customary, right?" At least, he thought it was. People usually gave plants at these sort of things, didn't they? Admittedly, he didn't have a lot of experience in this area. Either way, he crosses the distance between them so that he can hand off the plant to its new owner, before glancing back in the direction of whatever seemed to grab Wesley's attention. Nothing stood out that Angel could see.

"This is a nice place."