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

[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?"

[furnaceface]

Jono gave a bemused little shake of his head.

//Seems like most people are...// He paused a moment. //That way. Something about lights, I think?//

[sharp_as_knives]

"That way it is." There were any number of people about, most of them as uninteresting as the majority of people anywhere, but there was a decided mood of excitement that promised a bit more interest.

[furnaceface]

And Jono was already very much picking up on the mood as they walked, a bit of a spring kicking into his step the closer they got.

//Right, so, even if we can't get to whatever it is through the crowd, I'm glad we came here,// he decided. //Hell, I've never felt so many people this happy in...//

...

//I'll need to think.//

Ever? Probably ever.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal smirked. Not all of the people were happy, of course - and he mentally tagged those who weren't, in case they made a fuss and were rude - but Jono's mood was amusing, and it was quite a festive atmosphere. He checked the street signs as they walked. "The White House, perhaps?"

[furnaceface]

Oh, even Jono noticed those who weren't happy. He was half expecting to see signs complaining about the blight that was the dirty mutie scattered in and around the crowd.

Right. Wrong brand of bigot. Though there was almost certainly some crossover between the two.

In any case, compared to the rest, they were just background noise. Jono wasn't here to pay attention to their ilk, and if they did become a problem, he was more than equipped to make them stop.

//It is that way, isn't it?// He didn't just bounce on his toes in anticipation, no. You were almost certainly completely mistaken. //That's a good sign, right? Happy people. White House?//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Certainly a good sign for the government in charge," Hannibal answered. "And for the happy people." And for the vendors of anything rainbow.

[furnaceface]

Which Jono was already starting to notice coming out in spades. He didn't even know half of the things being sold even came in rainbow.

//... Very happy people,// he agreed, side-eyeing one such vendor. //I think I might give the celebratory rainbow suspenders a pass, though.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Thank you," Hannibal answered, dry but serious. "And I'm fairly certain the island has more than enough glitter."

[furnaceface]

//Suppose I could pick up a flag, though,// Jono added, deciding to bypass the glitter completely, himself. //Seems a bit like the thing to do right now, doesn't it?//

Most people were wearing rainbows. Jonothon was in head-to-toe black. He felt weirdly more conspicuous than usual.