Sidestory:
Going Out With Style

by Angie, Jennie~Pie, Lexi, Sky, Skysong, and Tami

"She goes mambo in Istanbul. She plays cello in Istanbul. There's no mangoes in Istanbul and everybody's having fun!"

Dennis Veritas smiled at the sweet alto bellowing the nonsense words through the house. It is so nice to have Rayya home again, he thought. "Honey?" he called down the hall. "I'm going out now and I probably won't be back until late, okay?" He paused then, considering. Finally, he added, "Maybe it'll be one of those all-night poker games that you like me to have when you're planning a party."

Rayya poked her head out of her bedroom door, hair down in a damp tangle, one eye outlined in kohl. "Really, Daddy?" she beamed. "That would be wonderful!" Quickly, she skipped out of her room and down the hall to hug her father.

Raising an eyebrow, Dennis observed his daughter's half-completed ensemble. "Just tell me you're wearing more than bells around your ankles and a bathrobe and I'll go happy."

"Of course! That would just be tacky." Rayya giggled and trotted back to her room after kissing her father goodbye. "See you later, dad!"

Dennis shook his head. That's my girl, he thought fondly. Then he left to the sound of her strong voice lifted once more in song. "I wanna see you bellydance. I wanna see you go in trance. I wanna see you bellydance..."

“Gina! Aren’t ya done yet?” Eva’s whipish voice carried easily thought the cottagish one story house.

“Almost!” Regina shouted back, before almost smudging her face with black lipstick for her inattention. Turning her attention back to the mirror, she viewed her costume with a certain amount of pride, though she had nothing to do with its creation. The black velvet cape, the bodice like top and webby undershirt as well as the long black skirt and leather boots that closely resembled the boots she wore as Sailor Urania.  Quickly pushing the last thought aside, she completed the look with the black lipstick and stick-on jewels before pulling her hair out of its normal pony tail. She stepped back briefly to admire herself before going out into her living room.

Waiting in said living room was a tall girl carrying a long leather whip, wearing leather boots with three-inch heels, a leather thong, strapless bra and little else.

“Well?” Regina asked, twirling a bit and letting the cape and skirt billow. “How do I look, Evs?”

“Damn sexy.” Eva said, nodding her approval. “I was right, black’s definitely your color.”

Regina’s smile twisted into a wry grin. “Anyway, let’s go before-”

“Regina!” Teresa’s voice boomed. “Don’t forget to take out the trash, and vacuum and-” It was a little late though, as soon as her mother had boomed “Regina!”, she had grabbed Eva’s arm the two girls were out the door.

As soon as Wade took one look at himself in the mirror, he blanched and shook his head firmly, causing his waves of long loose hair to shiver down his back. "Nuh-uh. You can see my chest'n everything. I'm not wearin' this."

"Well, it's -sort- of covered," Simon protested, vaguely gesturing to the two strips of black cloth that ran in a cross down the middle of his brother's front. "And anyway, it's cool. That's what you get for not having a Halloween costume and havin' to ask your brothers the week before, okay?"

"S'not cool. S'embarrassing. Who am I?"

The other twin clambered across to adjust Wade's black trench coat as the former irritably tucked a strand of loose bright-blue hair behind his ear. "If anyone asks, say you're Sephiroth."

"Who?"

Danny sighed. "Failing that, a psycho killer, or a vampire, or you dressed up with more black... it doesn't matter! It's a costume party! At least it's cooler than your other ideas!"

Wade sighed, putting his hands into the pockets of his open trench coat. He wasn't used to having most of his chest on display when he wasn't submerged in the water, but at least the pants were decently long and black. The boots gave him another inch that he didn't need, though. Black boots, black pants, black fingerless gloves, black chest-strip-thingies, black leather trench coat. He felt uncomfortably like a swimmer who had somehow wandered into a goth's wardrobe.

"You look neat," Simon assured him confidently.

"Really, y'know?" Wade-slash-evil-death-killer-favoring-black-beamed.

"... Just don't open your mouth. It ruins the effect."

"…Besides, it would have been social death to let you outside dressed as Frosty the Snowman," Danny reasoned.

"Never seen another Frosty out there," he said stoutly before his car keys were flung at his head. "You guys got enough to eat?"

"Yup," they reassured him. "Just gonna order pizza. Make prank calls. That kind of thing."

"Don't burn the house down," he called out and moved off down the stairs, hoping that when Rayya saw him, she wouldn't laugh too hard.

"You're not going," Theresa said again, her voice remaining soft but gaining a little more steel around the edges.

"I am," Trajan whisper-hissed from his ceiling perch. It was supposed to be intimidating, but seeing the body the voice came out of ruined the effect every time. "The other guardians will probably..."

"Tough," Theresa said, sliding the oversized hood of her cowl over her head. She posed briefly in the full length mirror in her hallway, swirling once to make certain face, hands and feet were safely hidden. The folds of black robe dragged along the floor and did their job; the eerie visage of the Grim Reaper stared at her from the mirror. She leaned to one side and grabbed the rest of her costume, hefting it in both hands and taking care not to scrape the ceiling with it.

"There's one garage sale I'm glad I went to," she mumbled, shaking the notched, weather-beaten scythe. It was heavy, and she'd have to be careful with the rusted blade, but she had to admit it lent more credence to the costume than some plastic thing from Party Universe.

"If you won't listen to reason," Trajan said, "then I will merely say...You’re the Grim Reaper and I'm a bat."

Theresa laughed. "Would you like a tiny little costume, foo-foo? Maybe tiny little devil horns, a little cape...aw, you wanted me to go as a vampire, didn't you!"

Trajan *harrumphed* and swung away so that his back was turned to her.

Theresa sighed and folded her hood back. "I hope I don't get pulled over with this scythe in the car...could have a problem there." She waited for a response, and when she got none, she sighed again. "All right," she said. "Get in my hood. But stay the hell out of the punch, you got it?"

Traj leapt from his perch and glided into the hallway, dropping into her hood without a word.

The Grim Reaper and the bat locked up the house and headed for Rayya's.

Lissie had jumped the moment she heard Rayya was having a party. Gwyn would bring the booze, the pig would get wasted, and all around, special group therapy bonding would occur.

But that wasn't why she was going. She was going just to hear the latest gossip about a certain Graikos senshi with a southern drawl and cowboy hat nifty enough to make even Garth Brooks look cool if he wore it. She Who Has No Crushes finally had a crush, and to celebrate, her mother and several theater tech friends had come down from New York to completely transform her into Scarlett O'Hara in a makeover that could rival anything seen on Ricki Lake.

Sam and Blaine, a couple who her mother and step-mom, Beebee, often double dated with, were there together fitting Lissie into a chestnut brown wig with curls identical to Vivien Leigh's. Hanna Chow, a close family friend and two-time Tony awarded costumer had created a gossamer confection similar to the dress Scarlett wore to the Wilkes' Barbeque, where she first met Rhett. Beebee, jack of all trades, master of only soprano singing, being a prima donna, and being a good live-in life partner stepmom, had magically changed Lissie's usual retro throwback make-up into a convincing Southern Belle facade. With everybody's combined efforts, not only had Lissie turned into the perfect Scarlett, but everybody else had a cheap thrill from talking in deep Southern accents the whole afternoon. Jeff, Lissie's father, had left the house hours earlier after mumbling something about "annoying theater types."

Once finished, Lissie stood and posed with her make-over crew while Sam, an amateur photographer, did the best Austin Powers impression this side of Hollywood. Three rolls of film, thirty assorted poses and a total of 74 "do I make you horny?"s later, Lissie stuffed the flounced skirt and crinoline into the compact driver's seat of the Beetle, and prayed no cops would pull her over on her way to Rayya's and see that putting on a safety belt with all those petticoats was next to impossible.

Humming to herself, Rayya again adjusted the placement of the bowl of punch on the dining room table. Then she glanced up at the wall clock. Where were they? Oh, well. No one had ever ditched a Rayya-party. They were just running a bit late. Grinning, Rayya wandered over to the mirror above the fireplace in the front room and studied herself critically. She grinned wider when she imagined what her father would have had to say about her rather revealing belly dancer costume. With a light touch, she smoothed the sheer purple fabric of her trousers and then adjusted the sequined and tassled bra-style top. The movement set of the bells at her ankles and waist and she giggled. They'll hear me coming a mile away.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Rayya hesitated for only a second longer in front of the mirror, reaching up to pat a loose strand of hair into her updo and straighten the jewel hanging across her forehead by a slender gold chain. Then she skipped towards the door, bells jingling, bare feet making no sound at all. Throwing it open, she beamed. "Welcome to the party, handsome!"

Wade looked down at Rayya and then looked as if he wished he hadn't, his tanned face going into a nuclear-level blush as he surveyed what she was wearing - or at least, what she wasn't wearing. He put his hands behind his back and smiled at her blushingly, which was an incongruous action for somebody wearing an indecent amount of black leather with his torso bare.

"H-hey," he managed, sounding a bit strange, his bass voice trying to hide a squeak. "Nice... outfit, u-um, y'know?"

Meanwhile, as Wade's mind slowly began dribbling out of his ears, Rayya was performing her own once over of him. "Mmm, you, too," she finally replied, big eyes sparkling mischievously up at him. Then she suddenly grabbed his arm and dragged him inside. "Can't leave you out there, right?" she explained. Then a deliberately innocent smile blossomed on her face. "Can I take your coat?"

He stared at her dazedly before realizing what coat-taking-offness would mean, and his face went a charming burgundy. "Um," Wade said intelligently, slumping slightly so that blue waves fell over his cheeks. "Um. I'm not wearing anythin' on my arms," he said intelligently. "Or my chest. Well, not that I could wear somethin' on my arms unless I was wearin' somethin' on my chest, sooo... um..."

Rayya giggled brightly and shrugged, setting of another tiny avalanche of bell-ringing. "I'm not wearing anything on my arms either," she argued. "And..."

"The same could be said about the chest area," a sour voice echoed from the hall. It was quickly followed by the appearance of everyone's favorite little black pig. "And just what are you supposed to be, boy?" Julius asked with a sniff.

Due finally to the heat - and not just that emanating from his face - Wade shrugged the coat off his shoulders, revealing an expanse of tanned chest and arms, pretending to be covered by the black strips and gloves. He draped the coat over his shoulder and blushed more for emphasis. "I dunno," he said honestly. "My brothers dressed me. I'm s'posed to be Sephy-somebody, but I'm callin' myself Horrible Cow-Murderin' Man."   He then beamed at the little pig. "Or, I could always be pretendin' to be you, eh, Jules? Lotta black!"

Julius' withering glare was accompanied by a short grunt. Then he turned back to Rayya. The appreciative smile on her face as she took in Wade's suddenly more revealing costume produced another grunt. "If you're done drooling, Rayya," he muttered, "Can I have something to drink?" Not waiting for an answer, he turned and trotted back towards Rayya's room. "Just put some punch in the dish, eh? I need to do something before the others arrive."

Rayya sighed. "Oh, dear. What could he be plotting?" Then she shrugged and slid an arm through Wade's and led him further into the apartment. "I -do- like that outfit, handsome," she teased. "And so... Can I get you anything while we wait for the others?"

He shook his head, a goofy smile cemented to his face. "Nah, 'ayya. I'm just fine. I'll have a drink or somethin' later. Wonder who'll show up next, eh?"

"No idea," Rayya answered with another miniature peal of bells accompanying her efforts towards dragging Wade towards the punch bowl. "Your guess is as good as mine but it's a shame that we had so many people claim no-show status. I have yet to meet Asa, y'know."

"I know." Wade's face fell slightly. "I don' think Asa likes bein' a senshi very much, y'know? Tries to ignore it? Poor guy. He's nice, though, wish you could've met him."

"Mmm, okay." Gently, she shoved the cup she had filled while he was answering into his hand. "Drink and enjoy," she beamed. Then she cocked her head to one side, listening. "Door!" she suddenly caroled and set off across the apartment merrily. Throwing it open, she smiled hugely at the new arrivals, posing provocatively, mischief in her eyes. "Welcome to the harem, ladies," she giggled.

Regina gave Rayya a polite smile and a "hello", and had enough time to shout "Eva!" as she was shoved out of the doorframe and a much taller girl who was wearing considerable less than what Regina had been.

"Where's the fuckin' booze?"

"Eva…." Regina dragged her best friend out of the doorway and back into the hall. "We had this conversation before. You are –not- getting drunk tonight."

"And why the hell not?"

"I believe we discussed that as well: because I don't want to drag your inert body twelve blocks after you've knocked yourself out."

"You can hire a damn cab then."

"I didn't bring money."

Smiling, Rayya reached out and grabbed the two bickering girls by their arms. "In you come," she announced. "Right now." Then, with a gentle yet no-nonsense tug, she had pulled both of them into the apartment. "We can debate alcohol later, huh?" She paused then as her violet eyes raked quickly over both costumes and she giggled. "Goth and dominatrix, I see. Kinda makes me wish I had gone with my original costume choice."

Eva gave Rayya a grin – something that caused most normal people to run screaming. "Pht. Thanks bitch, made `em myself." She said proudly, before catching sight of Wade near the refreshment table. A different kind of grin – her predatory one. complete with rather large canines – took it's place as she sauntered past her hostess and draped one around Wade's torso. "And what's a fine lookin' sona bitch like you doin' here?" she purred.

Wade's big blue eyes got even bigger as he looked down at Eva, another flush suffusing his cheeks. It was a pity; he'd only just gotten over the last one. "Uhh, hi," he managed, giving a mental whimper. "I'm W-Wade. Um, you... must be Evie, right, y'know?"

By then, Regina – who had been quietly snickering near the doorway – decided enough was enough and went to keep Eva from traumatizing Wade further. Firmly grabbing Eva by the arm, she forcefully dragged her friend off the furiously blushing Wade. "I apologize for my friends… advances." Regina released Eva's arm and gave her a meaningful look. When no apology came fourth she elbowed Eva.

"Fine fine! Look, I'm really fuckin' sorry I tried ta get ya ta have sex with me ok?" Eva gave Wade a look that said she'd still like to try him out. "But the offer still stands so if ya wanna-" and Regina's elbow once again found it's way to Eva's stomach. "Ok ok! I'm goin'!" Eva grumbled slightly before taking a look at the refreshment table, her eyes lighting up slightly before she started eating – well, inhaling – most of what was within her reach.

Regina rolled her eyes. "Once again, I'm sorry about that. I'm Regina" she stuck one hand out for a handshake.

Seeing that no reply was going to be directly forthcoming from the shell-shocked Wade, Rayya attempted to bite back the giggles and answer for him. Unfortunately, this resulted in an odd, breathless introduction accompanied by faintly tinkling bells as her petite frame shook from the effort of -not- laughing. "And this is Wade, Gina," she grinned. Dropping her voice, she added, "Neptune, too, actually."

"Hi, Gina," he stumbled. "Um. You can call me Wade. 'Cause, y'know, that's my name. And, you usually call... people... by their names." Pondering that as he also stuck his hand out to shake, he added, "Um. I think I messed that up."

Regina chuckled slightly. "You did just fine Wade, but it's `because that's my name', not `'cause y'know that's my name.'" She corrected.

Leaning over her friend, Rayya stage-whispered in Regina's ear, "If you keep correcting his adorable slurring, it will be a very, very long night."

"Me? Slur?" he teased, putting his hands on his hips. "That's a horrid thing t'say. Don't I speak perfect English, y'know?"

Rayya giggled. "Oh, of course, sweetie. Very comprehensive." Encouragingly, she patted his hand closest to her, momentarily brushing his hip. "Now I'm going to go check on Eva and the food," she announced as she walked towards the taller girl.

The blue-haired boy went a charming shade of magenta. "Um," he said wisely, then turned around, looking ashamed of himself. "Sorry, 'gina, scuse me for a moment - " he managed before fleeing to the kitchen.

Rayya watched Wade rush toward the kitchen out of the corner of her eye, half of her mind occupied with what Eva was telling her. That was strange, she thought. Then something Eva said filtered through completely and she smiled. "Pardon?"

Eva gave an irritated grunt. "I said `where the hell is everybody else?' I'm here for the booze, the sex, and the belly dancin' and the only people here are you, Gina," Eva's eyes flickered in her friends direction, watching as Regina went into the kitchen, probably to talk to Wade some more, "the blushin' water-boy and me. So where the fuck is everyone else?"

Suddenly outside was the sound of a motorcycle roaring down the street at about seventy miles an hour. Eva and Rayya blinked at the sound of a bottle crashing and someone's cursing fading away as they drove off.

Shrugging, Rayya turned back to the younger girl.  "Don't hear many motorcycles around here," she commented. "Love 'em." Then she tilted her head, focusing entirely back on Eva and grinning mischievously. "Booze? Well, aren't you underage? Sex? I'm afraid Wade would get all worn out with all of us ladies. Belly dancing? Well, that I can do." Experimentally, she swiveled her hips seductively. Then the doorbell rang, saving Eva from any further display of dipping and weaving. "Ooo, your wish has been answered," she announced. Immediately, she skipped over and threw open the door for the third time that night. "Why, hello, there! Here to play a game of chess, O Dark One?"

The figure of the Grim Reaper stood there, brandishing a menacing-looking and all too authentic scythe. A faceless, droning voice emanated from the dark cowl.  "If I win, do I get your soul?"

”Now why would you want such a tarnished soul like mine? Wouldn't you prefer a virginal sort?" Directing the cowl's gaze towards the kitchen with a fluent twitch of her hip, Rayya continued with a chuckle, "Wade's in the kitchen at the moment."

The Grim Reaper giggled with Theresa's voice. "Rayya, you should know that bellydancers never die - they just sashay away."

"In that case, classes will be held directly," the brunette returned. "We'll all avoid the end by dancing the night away! Now get on in here, girl. Time's a-wasting."

The black cowl centered carefully on Rayya as the Reaper stepped inside, minding the doorframe and ceiling so's not to scrape either with the scythe. "Eh, I brought an unintended guest with me," Theresa said. "A certain someone pulled a big sad face on me and got his way, so...well, I hope everyone here is bat-friendly tonight."

Rayya nodded. "Should be," she murmured. "If not, he could always go to my bedroom and help Julius with whatever he's plotting." Seeing Eva approach, she raised her voice. "Ah, Theresa, meet Regina's guest and mine, Eva."

Eva peered at Teresa, trying to see under the black cowl. "Yo, who the hell are you and where's the beer?"

Theresa wiggled her black-gloved fingers at the foul-mouthed and yet peculiarly charming Eva. "Nice to meet you too. I think Gwyn just tried to run us down...she better hurry up. We should already be drunk so we can jump on Wade."

A mischievous smile lit Rayya's face and she placed her balled fists on her hips. "Hey, now," she replied lightly. "It's my house so I should get first dibs on that."

Eva gave a large grin, showing off a pair of (real) canines that would make a werewolf fall in love. "Can I have second dibs on that? He has a nice ass."

Trajan chose then to clamber out from inside the cowl with the intent of jumping on Rayya's shoulder so he could berate Theresa from that safe perch. He'd been in the dark cowl too long, however, and failed to realize that the closest figure was the unfamiliar Eva. By the time he realized he was jumping for the wrong person, it was too late, and he zigged when he should have zagged.

He landed directly in Eva's hair.

"Eh? What the fuck…?" Eva reached up, successfully snagging the bat out of her hair. "Hey, this thing yours?" she asked, holding Trajan out to Theresa.

Theresa pulled her cowl back and held out a gloved hand to take the struggling bat, grateful he wasn't loudly complaining beyond a few angry squeaks. At least he was smart enough to keep quiet when strangers were around.

"Yeah, thanks," she said. "Some people keep...interesting pets, these days."

That brought a distinctly outraged squeak. The word 'pet' would cost her dearly in the car on the way home. She'd give him a couple of Jujubes, and hopefully he'd forget soon after. She plopped him on her shoulder and propped the scythe in the corner. "So, who's all here and what are we up to?" she said.

Rayya reached out and affectionately ran a light finger over Trajan's head as she replied, "Well, us three are standing right here, Julius is sulking in my bedroom, and Wade and Regina are doing heaven knows what in the kitchen." With a smile, then, she spun towards the kitchen and called, "Hey, you two! Theresa's here! Come play nice!"

A blue-haired head poked out of the door, and then beamed widely at Theresa as Wade moved out of the kitchen. "Heyas, 'Resa! Nice outfit. Scarier than mine. Not that you're scary or nothin', but my outfit isn't very scary anyway, unless you don' wanna see my chest, but I find that scary so... y'know."

Theresa grinned widely. "Don't worry...my chest can be pretty scary too, Wade," she said.

"I'm sure it is," Regina said, appearing from behind Wade, "but let’s not traumatize him any more than he needs to be-" Eva gave Wade a lusty wink at that remark. "-and lets try to keep Eva away from the beer."

"Aww, but Gina-"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

Rayya giggled and slung one arm around Regina's shoulders and the other around Eva's. "No fighting, ladies," she gently admonished. "Anyway, the alcohol can't come out until Lissie and Gwyn show up. You never want to see an Irish gal denied her booze, sweeties." Then she beamed at Theresa and Wade. "You guys have requests?"

Just then the doorbell rang, just as everyone was beginning to get settled. Not giving a damn about manners, politeness, or the fact that for all she knew, Rayya and Wade could be alone in there tearin' up the sheets, Lissie pushed the front door open, letting herself waltz in as if she owned the place. But she didn't feel like waltzing.

She now looked bedraggled, with limp chestnut curls sticking to her head only by the talent of bobby pins. Her mascara, carefully applied with love by one of the New York stage's premier prima donna make-up artists, was smudged, and the once pristine southern bell dress now looked like ripped up prom dresses circa 1960 thrown haphazardly over a crinoline with more than one wire hoop smashed and bent beneath it's muslin encasing.

Lissie looked like an angry, disheveled antebellum throwback who got attacked by one too many fire hoses and police dogs.

Which pretty much was the truth.

Gasping in dismay at the sight, Rayya immediately released Eva and Regina and rushed forward, pausing only to grab a napkin. "Oh, geez, Lissie," she breathed, her huge eyes shining with worry. "What happened? Are you okay?" She handed the napkin to her friend. Then, gently, she began tucking curls behind Lissie's ears and smoothing down the dress, barely refraining from clucking over its state. She glanced up again. "Do you want to sit down, hon?"

"Not particularly," she replied, her melancholy sarcasm not even acknowledging her friend's concern. "All I want is some hard lemonade, a gallon of orange sherbet, and the head of this pathetic Dudley Do-right cop on a silver platter."

She began stripping down to her chemise, corset, pantalettes, and petticoats in the doorway, trying not to get any of her completely sodden clothes dripping on Rayya's floor. She flung the ruined antebellum dress over a tree outside the house, stating bluntly, "Hey, look! It's now a fuckin' ghost!", then went in to explain her disheveled state away.

"I met up with Deputy Dudley Do-Right. That bastard didn't exactly understand the fact that when you're wearing a fucking crinoline and corset, you can't exactly get the seatbelt in the driver's side of an itty-bitty beetle on without contorting your body like you're in Cirque du Soliel. So Dudley and I got into a fight, then I got out of the car, gave him a Zsa Zsa Gabor slap, and then his bloodthirsty German Shepherd police dog decided that the many flounces in my skirt would make a great meal. He and I got into a game of tug-o-war, eventually ripping the whole fricken' skirt off, and landing on the lawn of some very anal old people who didn't give a flying fuck about anyone. They thought I was an obnoxious brat and decided to turn the sprinkler system on to try and scare me away. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason I look like the creature from the black lagoon."

She walked over to the couch, deciding that a civil war whore was a good enough costume, and looked over at Eva. "Hey, who's the dominatrix?"

Eva beamed with pride at her accomplishment, twirling about briefly so everyone – including Wade – could get a good look at her ensemble –or rather, her lack there of.

Regina rolled her eyes and gave a long-suffering sigh. "That's my best friend Evs – Eva Fellowes – careful, she bites."

As if to emphasize the statement, Eva flashed her unnaturally sharp canines as she clicked her teeth together and gave Wade a long sultry look only to be elbowed by Regina.

"Cut it out Evs."

"Ah, Gina, let her go," Rayya smiled gently. "She lightens a room in her own special, special way." Then she turned her smile back on Lissie. "I hope Jello shots are a good enough replacement for hard lemonade and vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and whipped cream for the orange sherbert... Wade? Wanna help me in the kitchen?"

Before anyone could volunteer up some helping hands, the front door swung open again. The sour-sweet smell of Southern Comfort proceeded the half stumbling steps of Gwyn Kelly, dressed in the guise of an old school Fortune teller.  Attached to her arm, and laughing just a little louder, was a tall, dark, and handsome man downed in leather like a pop star. They waltzed in, leaving the door open behind them, grinning madly. Gwyn swung herself to a stop in the middle of the living room, looked at her friends adoringly, and began speaking in a cross between an Irish brogue and Transylvanian.

"Well, girls and boys," She drawled. "Happy party time!" She motioned to the item.. eh.. person on her left with a wink. "This is Enrique. I met him down at the bar. He, um, doesn't really speak English, and I can't really figure out his name, but I think he looks like Enrique Iglesias, so go with it." Finishing breathlessly, she turned to her date. "Say hi!" She motioned with a wave, indicating hello.

The foreign guy looked at the others, smiled, and slid his arms around Gwyn's waist, kissing her neck.

"That means hi where he comes from." Gwyn snickered.

Eyeing the new arrivals as if calculating their alcoholic intake for the past hour, Rayya finally smiled and nodded. She had decided that they were just this side of decent. "No one's given me a 'hi' like that in a while," she giggled. "Miss it." Slyly, she sent a playful wink in the direction of the only unattached guy in the room, poor blushing Wade Salter. "Makes a girl feel ungreeted." Then she moved over to Gwyn and her siamese twin, reaching out to hug her friend. "Glad you could make it, hon."

Gwyn escaped the embrace of her date swiftly and threw her arms around her friend. "Me miss a party by Rayya? Not bloody likely." With another slight giggle she spun around, picking up her bag and holding it up for all to see.  "And what kind of a friend would I be if I didn't bring any goodies to share?"  She turned and handed the bag to "Enrique" so she could get out what she needed. First she pulled out a rather industrial sized bottle of white wine.  "For our lovely hostess, a small homage." she chirped, plunking the bottle in her hands. Then taking back the bag, she proceeded around the room.

"For Batgirl, trick or treat. Bring a costume to a costume party..." She handed the grim reaper a bottle of Goldschlager, then moved over to Lissie. "And for our future beloved Dictator, with the awesome Madonna costume..." The fortune teller whipped out a bottle of Southern Comfort. "And let’s not forget the kids!" With a spin of shiny fabric, Gwyn stood in front of Eva and Regina with a bottle of After Shock. "There you go. Later I'll show you how to melt the rock candy at the bottom. It's the best part, gets ya real messed up."

With a slow sly glance in Wade's direction, she drew herself up to full height. "Oh and I've got something really special for you, mister." Grinning as the boy gulped fearfully, she strode over and threw the bag in his hands. Not taking her eyes off his, she reached in and began to shuffle stuff around. "Wade Salter, we all know how you feel about this drinking thing, but.. it is a party and I won't allow you to not participate." Shushing him with a finger before he could even think to argue, she felt her hand hit on what she was searching for. "Aha!" She withdrew her hand quickly, causing the boy to close his eyes in fear.

"Hey!" she said bossily, tapping him on the shoulder. "I got you a Ouija board, calm down." She turned and winked to Rayya. "Does he need to relax or what?"

"God bless you, Gwyn!" Lissie interrupted, eagerly pulling open her drink like a kid with a Christmas present. "To Officer Dudley Do-Right, his goddamn German shepherd, and to . . . Enrique, wasn't it?" As usual, she didn't wait for anyone to reply. "Oh, hell, to Enrique!" She finished the toast, swallowed a swig straight from the bottle, then gazed back at Rayya and everyone's favorite blue-haired guy who usually is color-coordinated with a face of blushing pink when around the Romanus girls.

Rayya giggled at Lissie's fervently heart-felt toast. "Hear, hear," she asserted as she sauntered over to the snack table and moved two plastic cups to the edge. Then she unwrapped the neck of the wine bottle, grabbed a cork-puller from the table, and gripped the bottle between her knees. "Still cool," she commented lightly as she efficiently yanked the cork from the bottle. "Thanks again, Gwyn.  This'll be lovely." Delicately, she poured half measures into the two cups and then handed one to Wade with a sweet smile. "I know you don't drink but just this once. For a toast."

"Um," he said dubiously, but took the glass from her. It didn't look enough to make him go drunk and murder a busload of small children or something and he trusted Rayya implicitly. "Uh - hokay, I guess."  He looked at the liquid suspiciously.

"Hey! If you don' want it I'll take it!" Eva quipped hopefully, only to be dragged away by Regina.

"Don't give it to her, it'll only make her worse."

Gwyn smiled at the slight anarchy in the room, trying to imagine how much worse it will be if some of these characters get tipsy. The gypsy glanced around, seeing nothing really fragile, discounting Wade, and decided nothing *that* bad could happen. So, with a gentle smile, she took a flask of Jack Daniels from her date and raised her drink to the others.

"How about this," she said licking her lips. "We toast to our friends,... to each other. The people in our lives who are always there to support and protect one another. We who are dedicated to keeping this world a safe place, and we who recognize that without each other, some of us might not be here."

Lissie gave a worried glance to Enrique. Gwyn obviously had reached the limit a long time ago, otherwise she wouldn't be so . . . serious. "You're good for her, Enrique," she muttered to the gypsy's guest. "I haven't seen her get so sentimental since she found out people had snuck booze in everywhere during prohibition."

Eva frowned at Gywn's speech, `…we who are dedicated to keeping this world a safe place…'

Regina took note of Eva's reaction to Gywn's speech; to those who didn't know what Gwyn meant, it was certainly an odd way to start off a bout of drinking. Regina quickly jabbed at Eva's stomach with her elbow in what seemed to be becoming a pattern for the rest of the night. "Evs, what do you think she's on?" Regina asked, wincing internally at having to instigate that Gwyn was "on something" when she really didn't know Gwyn all that well to begin with.

Eva shrugged. "Dunno, could be anythin' and I really don' give a fuck anyway."

Quickly, Rayya raised her glass high. "To us, the future, and correcting this planet," she covered. "Let's all do our part." With a brilliant smile, she raised her cup to her lips, simultaneously reaching out to guide Wade's cup-holding hand towards his mouth gently. "Just a sip," she whispered out the corner of her mouth. "Eva doesn't know."

Wade flushed pinkly again, eyes downcast, and trustingly took a sip of the liquid under her instruction. After all, it was only fermented fruit juice and, if Rayya was encouraging him, it couldn't be that bad because she wouldn't do anything that might have a bad effect. He coughed momentarily after his first sip but then bravely took another. "S'not that bad," he admitted. "Just... not used to it."

"Then you'd better go easy, handsome," Rayya cautioned gently. Then she raised herself up on the balls of her bare feet and murmured huskily, "You're too big to shift about if you're out of it and I don't know how my dad would react to you in my bed." Slipping back down onto her flat feet, she beamed around at everyone else. "And now that we're all here," she announced, "the party may truly begin!"

The room was filled with the sounds of laughter and clinking glasses as the evening got into swing. Those who weren't already acquainted put in the extra effort to become friends, and all seemed to be working out very well at Rayya's self-proclaimed Phooey To School party. Gwyn hummed happily to herself as she worked the blender in the kitchen. With a cheerful click, pop, and twist she released the pitcher from its mechanical seat and swayed back into the living room.

"Mudslides!" She announced in a merry sing-song way. She began pouring the liquid into cups. Cups which were next to more cups. Which were in the proximity of yet more cups. Gwyn's idea of decorating for a party was making "festive" drinks. Lots of ‘em. She looked over her work with a pride not unlike that of a mother watching her child’s first steps. Plucking a cup of her own and one for her guest, she turned to the group. Her guest was currently, and unwittingly, the object of a game of "Guess where the foreign guy is from".   And from the thoughtful looks on her friends faces he was, at least, winning.

"C'mon guys," she beckoned across the room, leaning against the table behind her. "You're going to spoil all my fun by taking away the mystique. Let's play something different."

Rayya looked up from where she was perched on the arm of an overstuffed chair and beamed. "Great!" she giggled. "Party games!"  Gently, she nudged Wade who had sunk deep in the chair, still nursing the same glass of wine. "Sound like fun, handsome?"

He grinned at her. "Sure thing. As long as it isn't pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey."

"I never did like that particular game much." Regina commented, appearing apparently from nowhere as she sank into a nearby couch, not really bothering to look for her friend Eva, as she knew where Eva was anyway, and had bowed to the inevitability of trying to keep Eva way from the alcoholic beverages.

"Well, then leave it to me!" Gwyn ordered as she pushed off the table with a Stevie Nicks-like flourish. She swirled her way across the room and eventually knelt before the coffee table in front of the couch with her trademark grin of mischief. "I feel the spirits compelling me in celebration of no more homework… For some of us," she drawled in her odd wannabe fortune teller accent. Reaching behind her, she snatched up the cardboard box she'd given Wade earlier and showed it off. "They demand we have a little chat with them. They think we're drunk enough for it."

"Drunk enough?" Rayya giggled as she stood from her seat by Wade and crossed to her friend. "Only some of us, sweetie. The rest are so sober it almost makes you join them." Gracefully, she flowed down into a cross-legged seat next to Gwyn. "Y'know, I've never been able to get these things to work."

"Do you really expect them to?" Regina asked, trailing behind Rayya before taking a seat and eyeing the oujia board skeptically.

Rayya shrugged. "Why shouldn't they?" she asked. "I'd think they'd work like tarot cards. You see what you expect to see. Consciously or subconsciously." She suddenly giggled. "Guess my mind is truly and completely blank as one old beau said during the break-up process. Not even a stray thought to power the board." Picking up the plastic pointer, she studied it thoughtfully for a moment before handing it back to Gwyn with another shrug.

"That's a dreadful thing t'say," Wade commented ominously as he sat down beside the girls, the mention of any unchivalrous comment by another member of the male race riling him up. "He must have been awful."

Rayya shrugged, smiling good-naturedly. "He was pretty awful. Good thing I never fell for him, huh?" She reached over to squeeze Wade's hand quickly. "And I'm not mentioning names for fear of an avenging knight."

Regina noted the way Rayya and Wade were interacting and drew some probable conclusions, most of which she kept to herself. The only sign that she had noticed at all were that her eyebrows rose fractionally, before she turned her eyes back to the oujia board.

Theresa had been listening attentively up until then without interjecting anything, but as she watched Rayya hand the board back to Gwyn, she held a hand out for it. "Yo, Gwynny, over here, babe."

Picking the board up with a little wobble, the blonde took the indicator from Rayya and placed it on top. Holding it up over her head, she then moved to hand them both over a little to quickly. The sudden jolt of inertia causing the pointer to slide right off, and into one of Gwyn's drinks.

"Okay," Gwyn said peering in the cup guiltily. "No one saw that." She plucked the plastic out, gave it a little shake, and handed it and the board over successfully. "Didn't think you'd go for this sort of thing." She added, licking her fingertips.

A small smile touched the corners of Theresa's mouth as she put her drink down and sat down with the board. "Who better than Death to summon a few old friends?" she muttered. "Y'know, I could summon my first boyfriend on this thing, maybe... oh wait, he's not dead, I just wanted him to be. Oh well."

Nestled down in the hood of the cloak - which was thrown back on her shoulders by then - Trajan made a muffled sound of dread.

"Mmm," Gwyn replied, sucking the last bit of screwdriver off her pinky.  "Okay, 'nuff moping about ex-boyfriends, otherwise we'll be here till Christmas. We need to get some candles." She simultaneously nudged Rayya with her elbow and sipped her drink.

"Gee, sweetie, is that a hint?" Giggling faintly, Rayya handed her glass off to Wade and then quickly crawled to the small end table on the young man's other side. "Hope white works for you," she commented as she withdrew four silver candle sticks complete with the mentioned white candles. Crawling back, she set them on the low coffee table in the center of the room. "Okay, so who's got a lighter so I don't have to crawl all the way to the kitchen?" she asked with a mischievous grin.

"I saw where your matches are when I was gettin' my drink," Rayya's devoted blue-haired slave immediately volunteered, handing her glass back to her as he stood up. "I'll go get 'em for you."

Lissie, still nursing the beloved Southern Comfort and cursing Depudy Do-Right's stupid german shepherd for ruining her dress and making her look like a Moulin Rouge reject (something very hard to do), glanced over at Gwyn, making a loud lashing sound similar to that of a cracking whip. She hoped the point was taken.

Theresa, watching Wade get up, suddenly dug beneath her robe and into one of the pockets in her jeans, ignoring a cranky bat-squeak at the sudden motion. "Hold on!" she said. "I must have something flammable under here somewhere."

Lissie, talking in the obnoxious Scarlett O'Hara accent that seemed to come when she's drunk, gave Theresa a sideways look. "Y'know, they have twelve step support groups for people like you."

"Yeah, yeah," Theresa said. "Your mother." She found a small Bic(tm) lighter and held it out toward Rayya with a grin. "I'm assuming you've changed the battery in the smoke detector lately?"

Giggling, Rayya accepted the lighter. "Hell, hon, I took them out for tonight. I'm going to put it back before the end of the party." She grinned. "Why do you think I'm staying as sober as I am?" Carefully, she lit the candles and then sat back on her heels. "Next step?"

"What!?!" Gwyn exclaimed, slamming her hands on the table. "What is all this talk of staying sober? Even Wade and the other kiddies are drinking. I demand we postpone the dead communications until we are all in the right state of mind." She popped the board behind her back, and leapt up to her feet, tugging Enrique out of the recliner. Then the blonde struck a pose of utter determination. "What we need now is cider shots!"

"I'm not drinkin'," Wade said immediately, guiltily, putting down the glass he'd been cautiously sipping from. "An' Livia says she thinks your liver is gonna conk out in a couple of years an' they'll have to sell your body to science 'cause it won't rot." He scratched his head lightly. "Uh, -I- like your liver, though," he attempted to comfort her.

Patting Wade's arm reassuringly, Rayya grinned up at Gwyn. "Okay, then, hon," she agreed amiably. "Shots and what else? No one can just drink when there's so many other options available."

"You have a point." Gwyn said, pushing Enrique back into the recliner and perching herself on his lap. "How about Truth or Dare? There's no better way to get to know each other than to drag all their thoughts and secrets out by force!"

Rayya laughed. "Better make a promise that none of it leaves this room, though, Gwyny," she teased. "Unless you want the uninitiated to know all of your little, ahem, quirks.”

Regina shook her head slightly. "I've never played this before... I think I'll just sit out and watch."

"Aw, c'mon, 'Gina," Wade said cheerfully. "We won't bite. I haven't played before either, y'know?"

Regina eyed her best friend, who had decided to sit next to her. "I wouldn't say that…" Eva tried to look innocent and failed miserably.

Beaming mischievously, Rayya added, "Believe me, sweetie. We only bite if asked very, very nicely. Right, Gwyn? Theresa?"

"Yeah, so don't be afraid to ask." Gwyn said smoothly with an ultra-toothy smile. "Besides, if you don't wanna play this game, I'm just gonna make us play drunken twister."

Theresa snorted. "Mm hm. I've had my teeth filed down recently, everything should be okay." She laughed.

Lissie took charge of the situation, somehow managing to bounce around to a choice seat on the couch. "Okay, everyone's playing, everyone's gonna keep the secrets or, um, they'll get pig-sitting duty.  And, Wadey," Lissie turned gravely towards the as-yet still relatively sober boy, "If ya don't answer, you gotta take a vodka shot. We'll get you hammered by the end of tonight, dammit! Theresa, since your fangs are currently nonexistent and incapable of biting anyone, we'll let you take a stab at the first question, 'kay?"

Theresa grinned even wider, and a decidedly evil gleam was visible in her eyes. She winked at Lissie, took a swig of beer, then said, "All right, then. Wade, you know I think you're all that and a bag of chips and that you can trust me."

The blue-haired teen looked doubtful at this sentiment, but gave her a shy smile anyway, the sort of one you give mental patients. "O'course."

Theresa smiled a little as if reconsidering something, then shrugged and cast her gaze ceiling-ward. "May the Gods of all party games forgive me for being cliche'." Then she looked at Wade with a disarming smile and said, "So, are you a virgin?"

Wade went from tan to purple in an alarming display of speed, choking on that one for a bit. Eventually the purple settled into a pretty deep pink colour that went to the tips of his ears, embarrassed enough to go into cardiac arrest. "No!" he said immediately, possibly in regards to answering the question, then realized what he'd said and backtracked quicker than light speed. "I mean, yeah! I mean... completely... yes... y'know... and... uhh... oh dear..."

Biting back her automatic urge to giggle manically, Rayya managed to content herself with a smile big enough to put an Osmond to shame as she reached out and patted Wade's hand encouragingly. "That would be a 'yes, I am.' Right, handsome?"

Wade looked at her and practically died of shame all over again, so much blood going to his cheeks that he was starved of it elsewhere. "Yes, you are," he repeated miserably, then the blood flowed out again and he went white. "I mean, -yes I am-."

Eva had been snickering up to this point gave up and burst out laughing raucously, until Regina elbowed her hard in the ribs and hissed something at her about her being rude.

Lissie glanced, somewhat alarmed, at the faces either laughing hysterically or turning varying shades from beet red to a subtle burgundy to a red similar to fire engines. "Am I the only one slightly disturbed that Rayya could have expertly answered that question since Wade's ego and motor skills were currently down for the count?"

"You’re only slightly disturbed?" Gwyn asked with big sad eyes. For a moment, she blinked and pondered the difference between hers and everyone else's level of sanity. "Whatever. Wade, it’s your turn."

Wade attempted to get his composure back, face on fire. "Oh. Oh, man, I don' know what to ask. Ummmm." Looking up at the ceiling, which was a safe target as it wasn't the smirking faces of a lot of teenage girls, he then looked back down. Rayya's face was the first in view, and without his mouth bothering to catch up with his brain, he asked, "So, 'Ayya - how many, um, y'know, boyfriends have you, um, had? Um... dated? Um... y'know?"

Rayya was silent for a long moment, mouth moving slightly and glancing down at her fingers. Finally, she looked up and smiled. "Okay, not counting single dates that either turned out miserably or just never got interesting, I'd say it's been... Twenty?"

"-Twenty-?" Wade's blue eyes went huge. "Oh. Um. Wow," he added, unnecessarily. "I know you're older'n me so you've had more time but I've never had a boyfriend before. -Girlfriend-." A red blush arose on his face and he was afraid it would stay there the rest of the night as he stared down at his feet. "Um, your turn."

Again resisting the urge to giggle at the poor young man, Rayya instead scanned the other faces in the room. "Okay, then. Starting simple." She smiled. "Theresa? How long have you and Mr. Wonderful been together?"

Theresa blinked. "Hmm...since my sophomore year, so, not to date myself, but about 5 or 6 years. Neither of us keep track of all that sappy anniversary stuff." She paused, then grinned evilly. "Of course, unless you meant *together*, together. Or unless you're talking about Traj, who considers himself Mr. Wonderful."

"Your honey, of course." Rayya grinned and stretched to rub the top of Trajan's head with a thin finger. "Even thought Traj is understandably full of himself." Giggling, she then sat back and beamed at Theresa. "Your turn."

"Okay, then," Theresa said with a wink at Rayya. "Gwyn, darling, if the world should end tonight, leaving only the people in this very room, who do you think you would you find yourself pairing off with?"

Trajan made a snuffling noise that could have been a sneeze to the uninformed, but Theresa knew a snort of annoyance when she heard one. He snuggled back down into her hood, but not before getting close enough to her ear to hiss, "I see this is worth sleeping through."

"Lissie!" Gwyn stated without batting an eyelash. Then there was the sound of half a dozen jaws hitting the ground.

An innocent grin bloomed on Rayya's face after the first few seconds of shock and she batted her eyelashes lightly. "How lovely. The kids'll be adorable!"

"Uh, right Ray." Gwyn said. "They usually turn out that way when you ADOPT them."

Wade's eyes were absolutely huge as he stared at Gwyn, cheeks red. "Um," he hazarded. "We'll babysit?"

Rayya reached over to squeeze Wade's hand quickly. Then she beamed at Gwyn as she stood. "Of course. You have a roomful of babysitters right here, hon." Carefully, her bare feet moving quickly, she maneuvered her way through the people on her floor. After a moment, she reached the snack table and began mixing herself another drink. "Just forewarn us so we can lock the liquor cabinet, huh?" she added with a giggle.

Gwyn plastered a big fake grin on and nodded while the others toddled on about babysitting. Inwardly, the suddenly conscious inhibition section of her brain was berating its drunken subconscious counterpart for divulging such sensitive information. So far she had been very careful to hide her attraction for the younger girl. Even though it was becoming harder as the long nights of patrolling grew to be more intense and frequent, she had been sure she could keep it under control. Now, she could barely force herself to look in Lissie's remote direction. Why wouldn't she say anything? If Lissie didn't return her feelings, would their friendship also be nullified? Could she herself stand to be apart from the other Senshi?

"I think Batgirl is further on the road to kids than any of us!" Gwyn announced, forcibly taking the heat off of her.

Lissie, pondering the startling turn of events, looked at Gwyn, deadpan. "We can't adopt in Florida but my mom can probably get Nathan Lane to be the dad . . . y'know, I've always been the straight one clubbing with gay friends, but some sort of new, completely twisted version of the latter-day nuclear family could be kinda interesting . . . maybe we can even get Enrique a greencard somehow! Say, Enrique, do you wanna fuck convention and marry Gwyn and me? That is, as long as you aren't Cuban and a Communist . . . that could ruin future world domination plans."

"Oh, he's... not... um... Cuban." Gwyn said dumbly, with a slight waver in her voice.

"Greencard?" Enrique questioned, pointing to Lissie.

"No!" Gwyn said adamantly, placing her Jack and Coke next to Wade's soda and standing up. With a single swift motion, she lifted a cigarette and lighter from Enrique's front shirt pocket. "Ray," She said, showing the objects in hand. "I'm assuming that this is a non-smoking area, right? So I'm just gonna step outside for a minute. I'll be back." With that said, the blonde gypsy swooped out the door with a slightly dismal flurry.

Blithely unaware as only the truly un-sober are, Lissie turned to Enrique. "So . . . you don't have anything to do with a fascist dictatorship yet? Wanna join one?

Wade's brow furrowed as he looked out after Gwyn, picking up what he thought was his soda and then making a face when he took a mouthful of something that definitely wasn't his. "'Scuse me," he muttered, standing up and lumbering off the direction the blonde had fled. "Jus' gonna go take Gwyn her drink."

In a flash, Rayya scrambled her feet and managed to grab at his arm gently as he reached the front door. "Wade, hon," she whispered. "She really doesn't need her drink. Sometimes people need a little alone time and..." She smiled faintly. "Alcohol is not a good mixer for alone time." Squeezing his forearm affectionately, she added, "And she's already got more liquor in her than my booze table."

"Sure she's okay?" Wade looked down at Rayya, peering out at the door, and then shaking his head. "You know what's best for her, 'Ayya."

"No, sweetie, I know what I -think- is best for her." Gently, she drew him away from the door. "If she's not back soon, I'll go after her."

Lissie watched the discourse between Barbie and Ken, immediately sobering.  "How come I have the feeling that I screwed something up with my answer? I was just joking . . . I mean, I really am straight even though you guys are really my only completely straight friends. All my pals in New York are gay, and I go clubbing with them at drag shows. But I'm just not gay . . . and I have a pathetic crush on that cowboy hat wearing Graikos guy . . . surely Gwyn wasn't really serious?"

Theresa cleared her throat lightly. "From what I just saw, I think maybe it'd be best to say that subject needs a light tread," she said. "And we're all friends here...." she glanced at the non-Romanus visitors in the room with a raised eyebrow, then continued. "So let's invoke the four-wall confidentiality rule. Maybe you ought to have a chat with the Gwynster when the spirits have worn off."

"Rayya!" Lissie whined, turning pink. "You're the mommy figure! You go fix things, because I don't know when Gwyn is ever sober and willing to have group therapy!"

"Lissie, hon." Rayya slid past Wade, edging him out of her way with a gentle hand on his hip and a quick smile. Gracefully, she settled down beside her pink-haired friend and hugged her reassuringly. "I'll talk to her later, okay, sweetie?" she murmured. "If you promise to talk to me later, too... But I'm going to give her a mo first, okay?"

Lissie nodded, reaching for an abandoned bottle of Smirnoff. She certainly was going to need some more alcohol if she was going to get through this night.

There was an uncomfortable silence; in an attempt to break it, Wade cleared his throat demurely. "Um," he managed. "While we're waitin' for Gwyn - " A look was shot at Lissie, one that, if it were not for the fact that it was Wade, was almost disapproving - "Whose go was it, y'know?"

"Uh, I just inserted my foot in my giant mouth, so, definitely not mine," Theresa said with a sigh. She rose to head to the kitchen to get another beer. "Maybe we shouldn't play this game anymore. Let's go TP someone's house."

Rayya shook her head, standing up again after patting Lissie's shoulder reassuringly one more time. "Sorry, hon, no can do." She smiled innocently, determined to retrieve the earlier festive spirit. "Dad counts the rolls before my parties now." She rolled her eyes heavenwards, hands clasped demurely in front of her, a blatant contrast to the cleavage that appeared at the attempted pose of purity. "He just doesn't trust me anymore," she sighed.

The room gave a sigh in unison, and remained silent for a moment as everyone seemed to have some serious thinking going on. After a few moments they started to notice the odd 'thwack' or 'thud' sound coming from the front of the house. They had time enough to exchange a few questioning glances before the front door flew open and Gwyn, followed by a shitload of eggs and a flying roll of toilet paper, rushed inside and slammed the door shut, leaning against it as more eggs and balloons full of shaving cream pummeled the other side.

She looked over at the others with a helpless grin and shrugged her shoulders. "There's a -slight- situation outside... "

Rayya's eyes widened to cartoon proportions, even as she sped to her friend's side with a handful of napkins, crouching down with a grimace. "Oh, shit," she hissed, efficiently beginning to remove the stains on Gwyn's skirt. "I thought they'd miss our block this year." Rocking back on her heels, she sighed. "Dad's gonna be -pissed-."

Theresa ran to the window to get a look at the perpetrators, then gave an unintelligible shout of outrage. "Sonsobitches!" she yelled, running for her scythe and then the door. Before anyone could say anything or try and stop her, she was outside with her hood back over her head, brandishing the scythe and yelling, "THAT'S MY CAR! MY -CAR-! DEATH IS COMING FOR YOU WITH BIG, POINTY TEETH!"

They couldn't hear Trajan shrieking in panic over the noise.

Gwyn looked over her shoulder as the untransformed Senshi of Vengeance tried in vain to stop the kids who were egging her car. "Ha, who knew that the grim reaper drove a Jetta?"

Unable to help herself, Rayya giggled, even as she moved towards the door. "Never knew but I'll be right back, okay?" she called over her shoulder, halfway through already. "Just gonna play wrangler." With that, she disappeared completely from view, her sweet alto drifting back, surprising everyone with her wide knowledge of creative curses.

Wade was slipping his coat on and out the door behind her in less than half a second, eyes wide. "Y'know, I don' want you two gettin' -hurt-," he rumbled, disappearing behind Rayya.

Glancing heavenwards and thanking whatever benevolent spirit created a distraction from the awkward moments, Lissie quickly ran after Wade, knowing that as a protector in non-senshi form, he was a gentleman but still very uneffective.

Recalling several bottles of soda water and several cans of whipped cream, Lissie ran into Rayya's kitchen, snatching the loaded weapons and stuffing them down her pantalettes, finding they actually made quite good pockets. Racing back towards the door, she nimbly scurried to the top of Theresa's aforementioned Jetta, and proudly displayed her armament of contents under pressure.

"Okay, everyone being a pain in the ass, listen up! This has been one hell of a day for me, and you aren't making it any better. First I got a complete beauty treatment from gay theater types ruined, then yelled at by some self-righteous prick of a cop, then got the grand slam of an awkward moment which will probably end up with me crying on the Maury Povich show. Now, why don't you all shut the fuck up before Wade goes White Knight on you, and all you'll have to suffer is the wrath of fatty whipped dairy products and carbonated water!" Thus saying what could probably traced bak to her first semi-dictatorial speech, Lissie shook up the already fizzing seltzer and whipped cream, finally firing off her weapons on the group of rowdy kiddies surrounding the Jetta.

Gwyn smiled in the doorway, watching the pink haired girl go off on another illogical, yet utterly compelling tangent. She skipped back inside a bit and reached for Rayya's stereo, flipping a few switches and turning the volume knob all the way up. Winking at Eva and Regina, she bounded out the back door as AC/DC's kick-ass anthem "If you want blood (you got it)" blasted from the speakers. Moving swiftly around the side of the house, turning an old rusted handle and picking up a long rubber hose, Gwyn came around to the front, heading off any and all youths trying to run out of Lissie's line of fire. She laughed a bit madly as the kids sprawled back from the watery blast, right back into her teammates' waiting clutches.

With shrieks and assorted remarks regarding the girls' ancestral lineage, the kids broke up and ran off into the dark, dripping wet.

Theresa was laughing, exchanging high-fives with Rayya, Lissie and Gwyn. It was even funnier that there were two faces staring out the front windows at them - Eva and Enrique'.

"Ah," Theresa said. "On that note, I better go. If I can just get Gwyn to hose all that shaving cream and shit off my poor car, I won't have to scrape it off in the morning." She hugged Rayya, ignoring Trajan when he fluttered out of her hood in annoyance and circled away in the dark. "Good times."

Hugging her back fiercely, Rayya grinned. "It was, wasn't it? Sorry it didn't quite go the way I'd planned." She giggled and released the other girl. "But then again it was a Rayya party so it's expect the unexpected... Thank you so much for showing, hon. We really need to spend more time together."

"No kidding, doll," Theresa said. "I'll take a Rayya party over most things, any day." She tossed a smartass salute at the others and shook her robe out with a wry grin. "Seizure later! Our feet are the same!"  She unlocked the Vengeance Mobile and wiped shaving cream - and who knew what else - on her robe with an exaggerated eye-roll, then drove off.

Gwyn would have taken the time to hose off Theresa's car and say farewell, but she was currently busy spraying Wade with the water hose, as if she could drown the Senshi of the sea if she tried hard enough.

Wade, thank goodness, was laughing, making an attempt to wave at Theresa as he attempted to wrest control of the hose, now soaked but at least looking like he was enjoying it. "C'mon, give me that," he mock-ordered Gwyn, but it mostly came out slightly bubbly and disconnected from laughing.

With her own broken giggles, Rayya skipped over to the two and slipped her small hands around the hose about a foot behind the nozzle they were struggling over. Neatly, she tugged backwards, surprising them enough to allow it to slip from their fingers and hit the ground. Unfortunately, it fell on its switch and water continued spraying, blasting up to soak Rayya to the lower thighs, making her translucent harem pants cling to her uncomfortably. "Shit," she squealed, the giggles in her voice giving lie to the curse. "Now we're -all- wet!"

Wade immediately looked as if he wanted to nosebleed or at least go hide somewhere dark and private, staring at Rayya in a slightly dazed way before pulling his eyes away and going magenta. "You're gonna catch your death of cold," he scolded very carefully to her face.

At that sweet and yet very obviously yearning statement, Gwyn threw down the hose and raised her hands.  “I quit, no retaliation, the hose has gotten too dangerous.  Let’s make love and not war.”

Rayya mock-gasped, brushing ineffectually at her sodden clothing before going to shut off the water. "Not on my front lawn, you don't, Gwyn Kelly!" Then she broke down in another round of giggles and reached out for Wade and Gwyn, neatly looping her arms through theirs, not noticing the absolute shade of pink Wade immediately turned at the skin to skin contact. "Come on, you two," she added. "We'd better get inside and towel off or the others will start wondering about us." Glancing over her shoulder, she beamed. "Come on, Lissie, hon, the vengeance has been served."

*Gwyn didn't look over her shoulder at the other girl, instead letting herself release an almost wearied sigh. "I think I'm gonna be heading out," she mumbled to Rayya. "Just gotta go collect 'Enrique'. It was a great party, Ray."

"One of the best, hon." Rayya hugged her to her side briefly, her smile bright but her eyes sympathetic. "How about we do coffee later this week, hmm? We'll play catch-up and reminisce." She paused, a brief hesitation, then continued, "Maybe even patrol."

The blonde stared ahead as if only half aware of what her friend was saying, gazing enigmatically at Enrique through the front window. At the mention of Rayya wanting to patrol, however, one could catch an almost imperceptible lift of her eyebrows in surprise. "Sure," She agreed separating from Rayya and Wade. Stepping first through the door, she walked over to the three who had remained indoors during the scuffle.

Wade, just slightly soaked, grinned at Rayya damply. "Let's get inside 'fore you get cold," he suggested. "I'll help you clean up, huh?"

"You're a complete angel, handsome." Raising on tip-toe, Rayya planted a quick kiss on his cheek before dragging him behind her towards the house. "C'mon, Lissie, hon."

"Oh, wow. I didn't know if they were ever going to leave." Rayya leaned against the couch's back, smiling to show she meant no harm. "I'm just glad we called a cab for Gwyn and Enrique. Poor thing had too much on her mind, too little in her stomach, and too much booze all around."

"All that drinkin' -can't- be good for her. I get really worried 'bout Gwyn sometimes, y'know." Wade grinned at Rayya warmly.  "She's gonna have such a headache in the morning."

"Which is why I'll be over there first thing to check on her." Stooping, Rayya gathered a few empty cups. Then she glanced up at Wade, violet eyes warm and head jewel askew. "Thanks for hanging around, handsome, and helping. You're an angel."

Wade went his usually toasty red color, straightening the couch out of its skew position as he blushed at her in self-defense. "Hey, who wouldn', y'know? It's not that big a job."

"No but not everyone is willing to help. You always are." She stood, carefully balancing the cups. A piece of chestnut hair fell into her face, escaping the careful bun, and she froze, attempting to blow it out of her eyes with a few quick puffs from the corner of her mouth. "Drat."

Wade reached across a long arm and tucked the lock carefully behind her ear, grinning and quiet. "Don't waste your lungs."

She giggled. "Ah, handsome, don't worry about -my- lungs. You wouldn't believe the capacity of these suckers." She inhaled dramatically to demonstrate. Unfortunately, what ended up being put on display was less her lung capacity and more her ample cleavage.

The blush turned nuclear and he very carefully went back to straightening things out, packing the remnants away and trying not to think of round things. "I won't."

"Good boy." With another brilliant smile, Rayya disappeared into the kitchen with her load of cups.

Wade gave a quavery little sigh, which with his deep voice sounded more like a cat purr. Watching her out the corner of his eye in the distance, he busied himself with setting her living room to rights, coat having been shrugged off long ago with favor towards moving.

A few minutes passed and the petite brunette reappeared at his elbow, a gentle hand reaching up to rest on his shoulder.

He turned towards her, eyes unmistakeably soft, mouth arching in a grin as he finally moved his finger forward to straighten the jewel at her forehead. "You had a cute costume."

"Thank you. And yours," she touched a light finger where the black straps crossed over his chest, "was the most surprising of the night. I liked."

"The twins' fault -completely-, y'know? They were just glad to be rid of me for the night." He grinned. "This is embarrassin', anyway."

"Well, I think it looks -great-."

"It's even worse than my fuku."

"Oh, hush." Lightly, she went on tiptoe to press two fingers against his mouth, grinning. "We all dress like lunatics with no sense of shame."

Wade laughed, dipping his head obediently so that she didn't have to stretch too much. "Well, we all look as bad as each other, I s'pose."

"That might just be the plan. Prevent fighting by keeping us too busy laughing at each other." Impulsively, Rayya hugged him. "But tonight's been just too -good- to even think about that stuff. So no more. You hear me?"

"Cross my heart." He grinned at her, arms moving down to tentatively hug her back. "No bad stuff."

"No way." She snuggled against his chest for a moment and then pulled away, turning to refold a blanket.

He turned around abruptly to hide the look on his face, snagging a bowl of chips to take back to the kitchen. "Your dad coming home tonight for you?"

"Not sure. He mentioned turning his poker game into an all night one for me." She chuckled. "Why? Wanna crash here?"

Wade's face went burgundy at the very thought. "No! I mean, no, I didn' even have anythin' to drink, right? I don't -look- intoxicated, do I? Aw, man!"

"Relax, handsome! It was just an offer. We have a spare room and I don't much like the idea of you wandering home alone at this hour." She regarded him professionally. "And you did drink some, remember? But, no, you're sober as the day is long now."

"It would've gone through my system by now, right?" He looked so anxious it was comical. "I've never drunken anythin' in my life, 'Ayya! ... well, you know, not alcohol."

"I know, Wade, I know." A small sigh escaped her as she reached up to tuck a piece of his silky hair behind his ear. "You're kosher."

An unexpected smile came to his face. "I know, I know. I'm a boring eighteen-goin'-on-forty high school student who's too prudey to drink or do anything remotely interestin'."

"Eh, it's part of your unending charm." Rayya returned the smile tenfold.

"Now you're just kiddin' me again," he said severely.

"I am not. Wade, hon, you're a complete sweetheart. We all love you."

"I know." He grinned. "Couldn't live without friends like you'n Gwyn and Lissie and Theresa and 'Gina."

"Indeed... Wade? Thank you." Stepping back, she found the arm of the couch and sat down, eyes locked on the tall young man. "Thank you muchly."

With his free hand, he reached forward to chuck her gently under the chin, going back to the kitchen again. "Whatever I did, you know you're always welcome, 'Ayya."

The brunette smiled, eyes closing slightly as she listened to him moving about the kitchen. To her dismay, though, she discovered that closing her eyes at all was not a good idea. She stifled a huge yawn.

Wade moved out just in enough time to catch the tail-end of the look, immediately giving her a glare. "Y'know, you should be in bed."

"So should you," she returned easily as she pushed off the arm and stood again.

"I'm used to stayin' up late, Miss Veritas." He gave her a glare. "Don't make me drag you to your room and put you over my lap."

Raising an eyebrow, Rayya somehow managed to keep back her giggles as she looked down, clasping her hands demurely in front of her. One foot started tracing a pattern in the carpet. "'M sorry," she lisped teasingly.

"Teasing me again, huh?" He stuck his tongue out at her. "I warn y', I'm armed, legged and dangerous. So get to -bed-. Or I'll go tell Jules on you."

"I'm not going to bed until I know you're safe, Wade, so there." She grinned, folding her arms triumphantly. How could he argue with that? "Unless you have this idea of tucking me in? Hmm?"

"You know I can drive," he said coaxingly. "'Sides, I don't want to go home 'till I know -you're- safely in bed, y'know?"

She giggled. "But I -live- here, Wade. There's nothing to see except for my bedroom and me in bed as proof."

"Well, here we are at'n..." Wade frowned, then remembered the word, grinning. "impasse."

"But I can break it." Rayya's eyes lit up mischievously. "If you don't go home safe and sound, this instant, you're going to have to suffer my P.J.'s."

Wade folded his arms and contemplated this decision. Eventually deciding she could -not- wear skimpy pajamas, he shook his head. "I'm sufferin'."

"Fine. Suit yourself." With a parting grin, bright and teasing, she disappeared down the hall. Only a few, worried minutes later, she was back again, whatever her true pajamas were obscured by the paisley patterned silky dressing gown belted around her waist. "I warned you," she reminded him as she stood there, posed slightly and unconsciously.

"That's your P.J's?" he queried innocently, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Don' see what there is to -suffer- about, 'Ayya."

Rolling her eyes, she undid the belt and held open the robe to treat Wade to a sight unseen by all but her close female friends - Rayya Veritas standing in her living room displaying a pair of blue silk tap shorts and a crushed velvet tank top. "-This- is what I wear to bed," she giggled. "-Now- will you go home safe and sound?"

Wade's eyes practically fell out as he gawped, cheeks flushing a hue not seen before in human anatomy as he took her in. When he realized what he was doing, he tore his eyes away and kept them firmly on her face, resisting the urge to gibber. "Hokay," he said immediately. "I'm done. You go to bed. I'm, um, jus' gonna get into the car." Picking up his jacket, he walked over to deposit a swift kiss on her forehead, labeling hugging as getting close to too much skin. "It was a great party, okay? I, um, uh - Night, 'Ayya!"

He made a hasty retreat.

She couldn't help it; she giggled. The look on his face had been far too precious to resist. A part of her mind immediately whispered, though, that she really shouldn't have done that. He was too good a friend, too sweet a guy, to tease like that. The rest of her, however, pointed out that he was on his way home now and that was what the goal was. To have him safe.

Slightly sober now, and not sure why, Rayya pulled her robe tightly around her, checked that the door was locked, and trotted off to bed with a sigh. She'd need her sleep if she was going to check up on Gwyn first thing the next morning. Now -there- was a potential love-mess...

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