Hannibal's house, Friday evening

[sharp_as_knives]

The bouquet was lovely - dark red roses, glossy dark leaves. Classy, yet sedate. He rather thought Bella would have appreciated them.

He wasn't entirely certain if Jack would, but his duty as a friend hardly ceased simply because they'd had an altercation.

He pulled out a sheet of good cream stationery and pondered what to say. To be eloquent, or simple?



[OOC: For the one who TOTALLY DOESN'T REALLY LIVE HERE, HONEST. And open to phone calls, texts, etc.]

Comments

[sharp_as_knives]

Honestly, Jono? If you never paid attention to the news, how did you know if you were in it?

Hannibal gave him an amused and exasperated look, then pulled up a news site on his tablet. It was currently showing a picture of the White House lit up like a rainbow, over a "MARRIAGE EQUALITY" headline. "This is true for a wide spectrum of worlds, from what I can tell."

[furnaceface]

Jono tried very hard to not know if he was in the news, these days. He had bad enough experiences with the media, he wasn't in any hurry to actually engage with it.

...

//Cor.// He blinked at the tablet. //Well, isn't that one hell of a headline? Good for them.//

Jono. Jono, you lived in America.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded. "I'm in favor of anything that allows people to be more true to themselves. It's only a start, but a good one, I think."

And it meant that if he were ever captured, he could propose to Jono and prevent him testifying against him. It was useful knowledge.

[furnaceface]

... There were probably less elaborate ways to keep from making Jono testify, that still didn't involve murder, Hannibal.

//There's still a long way to go,// he agreed. //Doesn't matter where you go, people are going to find excuses to be utter shite to one another.//

It was exhausting. And now Jono's mood had sort of simmered down to 'pleasant melancholy,' instead. He leaned against Hannibal a little more, and tried again.

//Still, a step like this is a big one. One less thing for bigots to hold over people's heads is generally a good change of pace.//

[sharp_as_knives]

But the elaborate ways were much more fun!

"True. And the atmosphere across the causeway seems quite celebratory." He raised an eyebrow. "Shall I see these flowers to their destination, and then we can go and see what's happening?" It wasn't that far to DC.

[furnaceface]

//Sounds like a good time,// Jono decided, after taking a moment to talk himself out of his usual knee-jerk, 'don't wanna.' He did want to. It was just that sometimes, he needed to remind himself of that fact. //Give me a few minutes to wrap up, and then we can go and take it all in? I imagine there are going to be a lot of happy people out tonight.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Very likely." Hannibal waved the card in the air. "I'll address this and see about a portal to DC."

[furnaceface]

Jono nodded, took a few moments to just rest his head against Hannibal's shoulder, and then grudgingly stood to put his book away and rummage in his pocket for his spare wrappings.

//Sounds like a plan,// he decided. //Let's see how long it takes before my mind implodes because of the weight of all of the revelry.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Or until you've had enough and decide to head for someplace quieter or home," Hannibal countered sensibly.

[furnaceface]

//... Or that.//

But really, if they were going to all the trouble to get out there to take it in, did Jono want to miss a moment of it? He shrugged, and started winding his bandages around himself.

//I am getting better at shielding, at least,// he noted. //Maybe it won't come to that.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Maybe not," Hannibal agreed. "And don't forget, you can use me to help. But if it does become too much, I'm certain there's someplace we can step away to for a moment."

[furnaceface]

//True enough, though I need a little bit more than walls to shield me from hundreds of people feeling very strongly in any one way,// Jono mused, winding the length of leather around and around and around... //We'd need to get actual physical distance from the crowd. Probably easier for me to focus on you, like you said.//

Because he didn't think for an instant that there would be anywhere without people on a night like tonight.

[sharp_as_knives]

"And what would overloading with celebration look like?" Hannibal asked. He penned his simple message to Jack and slipped it into the envelope. "Less stressful than other sorts of emotions, I should imagine."

[furnaceface]

//Hell if I know,// Jono admitted. //Closest I've been is the sort of ambient enjoyment that people give off at music festivals and the like. Even at the end of Glacia's war, I didn't have my powers.//

He shrugged his shoulders.

//Could be one hell of a good evening, I suppose. Or it could go the other way and I could just mentally short out for a while. But I'll be able to tell if it'll come to that once we get fairly close, I think.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"I'll hope for the former." Hannibal chuckled. "I should like to see you drunk."

Well, that weekend they'd been female, he had, but it wasn't the same.

[furnaceface]

//Drunk on second-hand elation?// Jono tucked in the last of his wrappings, and then reached to pull on his jacket again. //I might end up just spending the rest of the weekend hung over, if that's what happens...//

This was not a complaint. Jono hadn't even had a proper hangover in ages.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Don't worry," Hannibal said, grinning. "I promise not to take advantage."

Much.

[furnaceface]

Jono believed that, sure. And maybe he'd ask about that bridge Hannibal had to sell, too.

//I'd say I appreciate that, but generally your ideal of 'take advantage' these days seems to involve making me enjoy myself even more.// A beat. //Which is purely nefarious. Absolutely.//

[sharp_as_knives]

It was better than his idea of "take advantage" with people he didn't respect!

"In that case, I promise to take advantage," Hannibal said, equally solemnly. He tucked the envelope into the roses. And since there didn't seem much point now in calling ahead, picked up the flowers and nodded toward the door. "Shall we?"

[furnaceface]

//Let's,// Jono agreed, heading over to open the door. //Need me to take anything?//

... Not that there was much to take, admittedly.

[sharp_as_knives]

"No, thank you." Hannibal followed him. "So long as Joni doesn't try to sneak out." Beethoven rarely tried; he knew he had it good, and was too old to be very curious.

[furnaceface]

//I'll keep a foot in the doorway, then,// Jono decided, giving a quick glance around for any tiny black-and-white streaks of lightning who knew what 'going outside' looked like. //I suppose I could just tuck her away into my pocket. I haven't done that in a while. But I don't know if it'd be a good idea if there's liable to be a crowd.//

'Trampled' was not a good look on kitties.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Which there is." It was really not a good look, no. Hannibal kept an eye out, too, as he slipped out. And gave the flamingos a stern look, lest they think that the flowers were food.

[furnaceface]

They managed to get the door without alerting the fluffball, at least. And the trip to the Portalocity station was uneventful as well, if somewhat more rainbowy than usual. Really, the trip to D.C. was just as uneventful, to Jonothon's eternal bafflement.

//I still don't get it,// he mused as they stepped through the portal. //Are you bribing them somehow? I won't tell your secret, I promise.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal laughed. "I treat them politely and order the portals. I have no idea why they would treat me any differently," he confessed. "Where shall we go first?"