all_inclusive | Gathering: Summer Party

Outside of the Nexus Hotel, waiters and hotel staff had begun to set up the umbrellas and the tables in the middle of the day. Soon, it became clear that something was happening in the shadow of the Nexus. White tablecloths were draped on the tables and drinks and food were brought out with the help of several waiters and servers, staffing tables with hot and cold foods beside bartending stations. Summery drinks in bright, neon colors are laid out one by one and soon, the afternoon light casts a radiant look on the scene.

Music plays faintly in the background and a note at the front desk invites all the Nexus guests to head outside and join in on the summer party, which promises to continue going as long as there are people to stay and continue keeping the warm atmosphere rolling.

On the lawn, social games had been set out -- lawn bowling, croquet, and tables were set up with chairs for anyone who didn't quite have the will or the spirit to get into such games. Soon, a small number of people had begun to mill around, but as with all parties, there's always room for more.

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"There and back again, to borrow a turn of phrase," said Martha, looking sheepish. "My stays lately have been kind of short--I'm really sorry." Brow furrowing, she pursed her lips around the straw in her drink, because she'd never got used to this kind of thing, not like the Doctor was--going in and out of people's lives, barely a blink or an apology.

"No offense, but hobbit is absolutely the last word I'd think of when you come to mind," Nick grinned back. "Don't worry about shit you can't control, Martha. I've heard a lot of people mentioning trips home that seem to last months but no time here seems to have passed, some that are gone home as long as they're gone from here. Just another slice of fucked up with place offers like cake at a party."

"One thing I've learned is to never underestimate the free cake," Martha drawled with a wink. "But...yeah. I should have come looking for you, when I was here before. But when I did, I didn't seem to get very far." She kicked out her legs a little, kicking off her shoes so she could scrunch her toes up in the grass.

"No one should. Free cake is free cake," Nick agreed with a sober nod. "It's fine, really. I still haven't managed to find my way back through to a home that's anything but a shell of the one I normally live in, and to be honest, I'm not sure that's such a bad thing. I don't think I'm ready for it yet."

"Definitely. Though always ask why you're getting it," said Martha with a wink, though she was pretty serious about that. She always looked in the horse's mouth. "I'm really sorry, Nick. But you're right, home is sometimes...bigger and harder than it should be."

Sometimes she wished she could end up off travelling again just to avoid the expectations.

"Home for me is dangerous with it," Nick nodded in agreement. "If I find myself back there, I'm not sure if I'd be able to come back to the Nexus, and there's a good chance I wouldn't be fit to be around humans if I did."

It was the fear that kept him up nights; well, the night's Melanie wasn't staying with him, anyway. Her solid presence had a way of keeping the dark-of-night worry at the door.

"You'd probably be tougher than you think," said Martha. She cocked her head in consideration, slurped a little with lips pursed around the straw in her glass. "I take it you'd definitely want to come back here, then, if you did?"

"I'd want to, yes, but that want would be shelved if I turn into what I'm meant to be," Nick said, with only a trace of regret. "If that's what it would take to keep everyone here safe, then I would do everything I could to stay away, even if it meant leaving behind those I care about."

Especially then, he vowed to himself.

"By that you mean a demon," Martha asked, or maybe it was less asking and more a statement. "I...it's rubbish that you can't really go home, Nick, that that's the choice you'd have to make even if you did. I know, life's not fair, but that seems a pretty raw deal."

She turned, smiled at him, softly--not pity, just concern.

"I'm always a demon. But if I came back, I'm afraid the demon would be in control and that would be all kinds of not good for any human, especially humans close to me." He leaned over and gave her hand a little squeeze. "I've been handling so many raw deals, I should be a sushi chef." He smiled a little. "I can cope with it."

"More like 'superdemon', then, maybe?" said Martha with a small wink and a wry crook of her lips. She squeezed Nick's hand back and cocked her head a little. "You can, but you shouldn't. It's rubbish--though can I also confess you've made me want sushi?"

That pulled his mood from borderline brood to full on laugh with his head thrown back. "I have to say, that is the first time I've ever inspired anyone to fish and seaweed."

Martha laughed as well, unable to keep from doing so at the sound of Nick's amusement. "Only the first time?" she asked. "Well, I blame you for using the wrong kind of metaphors. Or maybe the right kind."

"I'd say it depends on whether or not you're hungry when the metaphor is used, or if you like sushi. Lots of variables in there," NIck quipped back, smirk still on his face.

"I'm hungry and I do like sushi," Martha replied, and winked. She reached over and squeezed Nick's hand once more. "I take it you don't play croquet or lawn bowling or whatever sort of Alice in Wonderland stuff that's going on?"

"Considering I hadn't been anywhere near sunlight the last three years I lived in a place where this kind of thing happened? No. Definitely not my thing. I only drifted in here out of curiosity. You? Aren't these kind of games a thing in England?"

"Oh, yeah, if you're a rich sort of poncy person who dresses up for your afternoon tea," Martha replies, smirking. "I'm here being curious as well, to be honest. Definitely not my thing usually."

"So what do you do for fun back home?" Nick asked, truly curious. "Club scene?"

Somehow, he didn't think so, but he thought it was worth a guess.

"Not so much," said Martha, laughing at the idea. "Occasionally I'll go to one, but not really these days, working weird shifts. Just tend to go down the pub with friends or family, talk a lot of rubbish. Not a very exciting or sexy existence."

Gathering: Summer Party

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