Gathering: Halloween Gala

[concierge]

A large, decorative sign situated prominantly in the lobby reads:

The Nexus Hotel
proudly presents its
ANNUAL HALLOWEEN GALA

Formal Reception
Nexus Dining Hall
6 PM - Midnight

Monster Mixer
Nexus Basement
8 PM - 2 AM

Masquerade attire recommended for all guests

Most of the chairs have been removed from the Dining Hall to allow for ballroom-style dancing to the orchestra set up on the far end of the room. A polished cherry wood open bar is aligned along one wall. The adjacent Bistro is open for the duration of the formal reception, serving gourmet hors d'oeuvres.

Downstairs, the basement's largest storeroom has been converted into a spooky nightclub, complete with DJ, dance floor and cocktails.

Comments

[malachai]

He decided to think about that wink, the way her body looked shifting around in all that leather, and the reactions he had to both...later. Much later. Now, he just settled on the seat next to her , half turning to face her. "'Peter bloody Pan, is it? Something tells me there's a story in there somewhere. Maybe even several of them."

[legendthatwas]

"There's a goddamn novel in there, Nick," Martha said, gently pointing a finger at him to emphasise her point. "Possibly a television series. And to be fair, I don't even know a fraction of it. He's around here sometimes, you could ask him his take and see if you get a straight story."

[malachai]

Nick's eyes narrowed because that didn't sound familiar at all. "Please tell me his name isn't Acheron?"

[legendthatwas]

The name sounded familiar--mythology, perhaps? Even so, that wasn't who Martha meant, and she shook her head. "The Doctor. And yeah, that's his name, don't ask. I never did get a straight answer."

[malachai]

Nick's back went a little less rigid than it had been seconds before. "I know the type. My former best friend could answer ten questions and all you'd come away with are twenty more questions. Normally I didn't give a shit about it. Untill he decided to completely alter my fate over one of his little secrets. Then I stopped being a so easy going about it. How did you end up with this doctor? Circumstances or was it deliberate?"

[legendthatwas]

Martha's eyes narrowed slightly at 'former', not certain what that could mean, but she wasn't sure she was close enough with Nick to ask, beyond what he'd clearly told her. "The Doctor? Long story involving the hospital I was doing a rotation in, some aliens, and being transported to the moon," she said, figuring he could cope with the weirdness of the narrative. "I got a trip out of it, and we travelled...a while, actually. But things got fucked up, a little, I'm not going to lie to you."

[malachai]

"Aliens, the moon and travelling with an eternal Peter Pan," Nick counted off and then gave her another grin as well as a heavy dose of sarcasm. "Can't imagine how any of that could possibly result in general fucked-upness. How long were you with him?"

[legendthatwas]

"About a year." Martha paused, then added, after a moment, with a faint frown, "and another year when I wasn't with him, but was, sort of. That's a very long story, though." One she wasn't sure she was ready to tell to anyone.

"Things got to the point, in the end, where I walked away."

[malachai]

He wasn't about to start prying into what he could sense were memories with some punch behind them. She'd given him that courtesy, the least he could do was return the favor. "And after that? Back to pre-alien rounds and being a doctor again?"

[legendthatwas]

"Yeah, pretty much. Except for the...uh, special consulting work," replied Martha with a faint wry grin. "That's the thing about the world. Once you know the weird shit is there, you can't ever, ever really go back to the mundane life. Not entirely."

[malachai]

"'Every time I think I'm out, they pull me back in'," Nick laughed again then waved a hand. "Line from a movie about mobsters, but the sentiment's the same. What's been seen can't be unseen, and once you've seen it you're forever on the hook to help clean up the messes, right?"

[legendthatwas]

It was a quote from somewhere, but Martha couldn't quite place it. The implications were clear, though, and she laughed, shaking her head as she did. "It's true," she admitted. "Once you've done weird you can never go back again. Particularly if you've proved yourself useful."

Which had, she thought, possibly been a mistake. But it was either useful or dead, and she preferred the former.

[malachai]

"Sounds like we've traveled a few of the same roads, if for very different reasons. I almost wish I'd met you before everything went completely around the utter fuckery bend." He said it with the finality of a truth he hadn't wanted to face but knew he had to anyway. The Nick he had been once upon a time, still mostly human, still in possession of his soul, untouched by god powers or demon powers, would have had a lot in common with the doctor.

The mess he was didn't stand a chance.

[legendthatwas]

"I figure this place and the relatively clean start sorta makes up for some of the, uh, fuckery," Martha supplied, gently. "Though obviously, if you don't feel comfortable hanging out...I mean, I'd understand."

[malachai]

Nick turned to her before he could get the look of shock out of his eyes. He worked to blank it away, but was pretty sure he didn't get there in time. "Me? Are you kidding? After what happened in there," he said and waved a hand in the direction of the ballroom, "I was pretty sure I'd seen the last of you or would once you'd had some time to process everything."

[legendthatwas]

"I take calculated risks," Martha said, and her gaze settled firmly on Nick's, didn't budge. "I mean, I reserve the right to change my mind if something really goes to hell--sorry, didn't mean that as a joke--but I've seen worse and still gotten to know people before."

[malachai]

"That may very well be the best news I've had in a very long time." The smile that bloomed across Nick's face was one he hadn't felt years. He held out his hand to her, "still friends?"

[legendthatwas]

The smile made Martha smile too, and she laughed softly as she reached out and shook Nick's hand, firmly. "Definitely still friends," she agreed.

[malachai]

Nick kept her hand for a few moments longer than required for a simple handshake and his thumb brushed the back, just above her knuckles. There was a jolt in his gut, a small spike to his pulse, but not a whisper of the darkness that had reared its head during their dance. "Friends it is. And I still owe you a dance."

[legendthatwas]

Martha's eyes crinkled in amusement--pleasure, perhaps--at the corners, at the brush of his thumb. "I'd say we could hold fire on it for a bit, seeing as you're all--"

She gestured up and down at Nick, who was a bit sweaty and disheveled from all the punching. "But I don't really mind if we do."

[malachai]

"Seeing as I'm going to start smelling like the worst part of a back alley any minute now?" Nick finished for her, eyes twinkling with the smile.

He kept his hand in hers since she made no move to pull it away and decided to really go for the reckless thing. He brought her hand up and brushed a feather light kiss above her knuckles. "I'd rather wait until I'm not borderline offensive. Might even score a second dance if I do."

[legendthatwas]

"You haven't seen some of the back alleys I've known. I doubt you'd smell quite that rank." Martha grinned wryly, then winked at Nick as he pulled up from the kiss--a bit of Southern American gentleman, she supposed, and let him do it, though she let go a moment or two after. "Sounds like a plan. Plenty of holidays out there for galas."