5962/Teatime at the Trisk

Teatime at the Trisk
Date of Scene:	10 December 2018
Location:	Triskelion, New York City
Synopsis:	Social in the break room. May, Clint and Skye plan a party.
Cast of Characters:	Hawkeye (Barton), Melinda May, Quake

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Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
It was a quiet evening at the Trisk, even with the word out about Bucky, things were so far business as usual. Or well, mostly business as usual, Barton was in the break room. The archer had been scarce of late, either in the rooms he shared with Skye, or, out and about chasing down leads on Cal or more recently Christmas shopping and visiting friends.

Back from one of those trips, Clint has pulled off his winter jacket and gloves and is warming his hands around a cup of coffee. He'd sent word to Skye he was back, but who knows who else might wander in.

Melinda May has posed:
Agent May walks into the break room wearing exersise gear but not appearing to have really done any kind of serious workout yet. "You're going to keep complaining, aren't you?" She's addressing someone who must be following her in as she's looking back over one shoulder.

Apparently not bothering to wait for an answer, she heads straight for the corner of the coffee counter that's been set aside for those who actually don't drink coffee and prefer caffeine in a different configuration. Reaching up into the overhead cubboard, she pulls down the simple and utilitarian teapot kept there along with a tin bearing a handwritten label. Handwritten in Mandarin.

She starts preparing the teapot, then goes to get a clean mug.

Quake has posed:
Skye follows in on May's heels. "I thought I was supposed to be taking it easy. Not exciting myself. How was that not exciting myself?" Okay, Skye was in phase two of feeling sorry for herself. This whole changeling thing was an up and down process, and the fact that their trip up North had been delayed *again* wasn't helping. On the plus side, Skye had been able to plan some Christmas gifts. She wasn't sure they'd all be Matt Murdock level gifts, but she hoped they'd be received well.

"And you hit hard."

Because May. And because Skye was getting sloppy - and that just wouldnt do (she knew this herself, and frankly, this little training session had driven home the point that she needed to stay on track with her training /especially/ because of what had happened to her).

"You know, I'm starting to miss the days when everyone thought I was just the rotating I.T. girl and asked me to find lost passwords." (totally a lie).

She hadn't even seen her text from Clint yet.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint looks up when the ladies walk in.

"Hey, can someone help me with my password?" he calls out with a smirk. "I think it might have been 12345."

He is so going to get it.

Though he adds, his expression becoming several degrees more innocent, "Good training session?"

Melinda May has posed:
Based on Clint's comments, May figures he's not addressing her, so she keeps her attention on her tea, pouring herself a cup as soon as it's done steeping. Then, as Skye hasn't even tried to get a drink for herself, May gets a bottle of water from the fridge and lobs it at the younger woman's head. Either she'll catch it, or she'll say ow.

She then moves to claim a place to sit with her tea. Because. She doesn't speak up about the training session, mostly because she's not going to berate Skye for something she clearly has already figured out for herself.

Quake has posed:
Skye isn't prepared for the bottle throw, but girl has reflexes after more than a year in SHIELD, and she catches it before the bottle either hit her, or craches to the floor. But it's Clint she comments to. "Ha. Ha. Smartass. People like you are asking to have your personal data stolen."

No. Really they were. Skye had hacked more accounts than a person might believe with exactly that password, or similar enough that they may as well have been the same.

She meanders over and gives him a kiss on the cheek. "I really do kind of miss it sometimes. Nobody knew me then. I got away with a whole lot more." She says like she still isn't the queen of getting away with things, especially when it came to Director Fury. "How'd shopping go? And Any coffee over there, May?"

Because coffee.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint continues the dumb routine, staring blankly, "What's Data? Isn't he the robot guy on Star Wars?" he can't quite keep a straight face though, even the fake dumb is painful.

Returning the kiss on the cheek Clint says. "I think May and I can both understand that. What with my whole Avenger thing and well May being..." he lets that trail off so as not to use the C-word. No! The other one, cavalry. "Anyhow, anonymity can be nice, but end of the day we're in the spotlight now and there's not much we can do about it."

"Shopping went so-so, damned if I know what to get people. Unfortunately most people just don't like archery stuff like we do. Well, except for Kate."

Then to the deputy director. "How's your holidays, May?"

Melinda May has posed:
May doesn't answer Skye's question about coffee aloud. She just stands again and goes over to check and then, yes, pour a cup of coffee for Skye. No idea how old it is, though, so drink at your own risk.

And then, she actually replies to Clint. "Same as every other day, but busier because more people are taking vacation time." Yeah, she'd likely not truly appreciate archery stuff, but she also never actually expects gifts, so there's really no way to disappoint her with a gift. That someone put thought into something is usually enough for her.

"I take it you two have plans for the end of the year."

Quake has posed:
Skye is likely going to regret that cup of coffee. Then, again, this is Skye, and her record for *finishing* coffees is very small. She's really rather more a 'I like to own a cup of coffee for a time'. And frankly, the girl isn't a connoiseur. Witness: her penchant for Cup'O'Ramen. Though, (and she'd likely deny this), she has been known to (a single time) declare the things revolting.

I know, right? Will wonders never cease?

Then again, maybe it will be okay. It's coffee, how badly can they butcher the stuff?

"Ugh. Glad I'm not that famous." Though there are still a few people who recognize the young Agent. Especially since her face was plastered on international news. "Can we just give everyone, I don't know, a bottle of something? Is that rude?" Skye, it should be noted, actually picked decent gifts for people, but it was a time consuming and energy draining process for someone who didn't actually have a tradition of celebrating this particular holiday, and she's got other issues to deal with.

Still, she did want to give her friends things that told them she liked them, and how much. How much *they* liked them.

"Uh, Darcy threatened to fly everyone to wherever Fury is stashing me the next while, so we're coming back for a few days and having Christmas here...." Skye's voice trails off. "Unless you're willing to sign off on security for the Greenwich house, and we can invite folks to come there? You know we have a guest room." Totally bribing May here.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint makes a face at the state of May's holidays. "Remind me not to get promoted," he says before taking a sip of his coffee.

As to Skye's fame, he remarks, "Give it time," I mean she had powers now. That tended to get noticed, even in the SHIELD family. "And sure, bottles could work," Clint says with a grin. Though he knows damn well most of their shopping was done. It was tiring though, even for him.

"Yeah, those are the options so far," Clint says of their holiday plans.

Melinda May has posed:
The state of May's holidays has far more to do with her own decisions than her current pay grade, but she doesn't tell Clint that. And, actually unlike her, she has actually gone and chosen gifts for a few select people herself.

"No, the Greenwich house hasn't been cleared yet." She waits about ten seconds to let them both droop a bit before adding. "So you'll doing whatever plans you have at my place."

Her place. With the ficus.

Quake has posed:
Skye's already making a face of resignation at the 'No', muttering, "Yeah, well, figured that. Guess it'll be here at the Trisk. Which kind of sucks. The place is so.." Impersonal is the word Skye is looking for. While the Greenwich house had become home, and decorated in chez geeksquad, Skye's quarters at the Trisk had never really absorbed any personality from their residents, and their latest (enforced) sojourn back in them hadn't changed that any. Especially as both Skye and Clint felt a little bit like they were living out of suitcases and hadn't made any moves to change that - likely in the hopes they'd be let go home again soon.

Only things kept happening...

"Wait, what? Your place?" Skye blinks at May, and totally doesn't get as far as making rude hand signs at Clint for his comment about giving it time, and she, too, would be 'famous'.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Wait? Your place?" Clint says gaping at May. He vaugely rememebred the place for the day after Skye went undercover, he'd been pretty hammered. Had Tony been there too?

"Huh, sure, that works, but you going to be okay with all those people knowing where it is?" I mean of course she would or why would she offer? Still it took Clint by surprise.

He shoots a look to Skye for her take on the news.

Melinda May has posed:
"I'll chloroform them all and drive them there in the back of a windowless panel van." May says that calmly and clandly enough that it's entirely possible she's being serious. Besides, Tony knows where the place is. And if he knows, it's not really a secret, is it?

"Consider it a gift if your brains are melting otherwise." She returns to her chosen seat, as both of them appear to be satisfied with their current beverage choices. "There's not much by way of easy parking, though, so the panel van might be less of an exaggeration than you think."

Quake has posed:
"You wouldn't," Skye begins, laughing, even if she should be aghast. Then again, it was May. "How about some designated drivers - on SHIELD's tab?" Hopefully. "And uh.. wow. That's pretty generous."

And it is. May opening her doors to all their friends. Voluntarily. So that Skye and Clint could have a home to hold it in, and a quiet place to retreat to afterwards, without having to kick folks out and clean up first.

She looks over to Clint, who is looking over at her, and she shrugs. ~Could we?~ She signs, even though May is totally fluent in ASL (or at least conversant enough). ~Our friends are pretty loud and.. ~

Their friends were a bunch of misfits who were all just looking to be accepted. Just like them. And, besides, May had met all of them. Well, almost all of them. Ostensibly, May even liked most of them.

Skye nods at Clint, but leaves the final decision in his hands.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"She totally would," Clint deadpans, not entirely sure himself if he's joking or not. "Though ICERs are quicker, just make sure there's asprin waiting when we get to your place," he says with a grin. Not that Clint has ever been shot with an ICER before... Skye....

"Well, if you drug them or not a shared ride might work," he says of the parking.

Then to Skye he signs, ~I think so~ then follows it up with. ~Hi May, you know what you're getting into right?~

He says the rest with his voice and not his hands. "Your place would be great, May. Brain's definitley melting but don't get me wrong, I totally appreciate it." He looks to Skye, "I think we both do."

Melinda May has posed:
"I know what I'm offering," May replies, proving that she has indeed understood every bit of ASL used. "And designated drivers will most likely be the way to go." It's not that she doesn't trust their friends to keep her residence's location a secret. It's that she REALLY doesn't want to have to move the ficus. The terracotta pot alone weighs over a hundred pounds.

"How many people are you planning on for your get-together?" she asks as she takes a seemingly non-chalant sip of tea.

Quake has posed:
Skye considers May's question. "That's... Darcy threatened us, so knowing her, it could be any number. But if it's just us.. kinda like the barbecue we had at our place?" Because even if they didn't invite folks like Tony and Wade, they had a bad habit of showing up anyway. Which meant it was really just best for all involved if they were invited.

Really, the only possible additions were a few that Skye wasn't sure would want to reveal themselves to openly as people she knew. Those some few Skye would likely drop around to see before they headed back to Canada, Matt included - even if he had already gotten his gift.

"Sound doable?"

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
~Sounds good~ Clint signs to May with a grin.

She knew what they were saying may as well lean into it.

As to how many people might show up, that was indeed the question, with Darcy involved who could say? "Uh, barbeque levels sound about right to me. I mean we don't want this thing to turn into a rager or anything, right?" he looks between the two women.

"And definitely good if we've got designated drivers, most of the folks are with SHIELD so they can just drop them off here for the most part. Or the Mansion." A beat. "Which is back now, by the way. Not sure how they fixed it." He /really/ needed to keep better track of his Avengers colleagues.

Then he waits for May's answer along with Skye.

Melinda May has posed:
"I can work with that, then," May says. And, she knows she has enough spare rooms for a few people besides Clint and Skye to sleep over if necessary. The place WAS originally a safehouse, after all.

"Start letting people you'd like to be there know, and pick a place for everyone to meet the designated drivers." She's thinking some place like the Pho restaurant not far from the Triskelion's main entrance.

Quake has posed:
Skye snickers and signs at Clint, ~You know it defeats the purpose if you sign at her, right?~ But hey, she'd started it.

And, as it happens, May's thoughts on where are totally up Skye's alley, even if she doesn't know that's where May is thinking - it just so happens it's a reasonable landmark, and PHO!, so Skye's thinking it too.

"We can do that," she grins. "And what should we bring or make arrangements to show up with." Because it wans't like they were going to be around to plan this thing to any significant detail once they'd left for Canada. Now was the time to do it.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint abandons sign language for his reply to Slye and simply sticks out his tounge.

"That works," he says of picking a meeting spot. "Like that Pho place across from the bridge?" he asks pronouncing pho like foe.

"And yeah, let us know what to bring, if nothing else we can order a crap load of pizza to take to the party," he says. "Though if there might be potstickers at the party we adjust just how much of a crap load we order," he says hopefully.

Melinda May has posed:
May nods her acceptance of the Pho place as the meeting spot, since Clint actually seemed to hear that thought and speak it aloud. "No one will refuse potstickers, but other than that, just make sure you arrive ready to work in the kitchen."

Does that mean May plans to cook?

"And think about what sort of entertainments you'll want. Board games and the like."

She's about to say something more when the comlink in her ear pipes up. She quickly finishes her tea. "Break time's over for me. You two keep thinking about it and let me know before you leave."

Quake has posed:
"We've all seen me in the kitchen, right?" Skye shakes her head. She's not unwilling, she just knows where her skills don't lie. Even if she can make a reliable ramen these days. From scratch, even.

"You got it. And we can arrange for money for ingredients and stuff to be left." Because they certainly wouldn't be able to do the shopping. "Oh! and Sing Star. We'll bring that."

Skye and Clint had two full sets of their gaming consoles - long story that basically boils down to one for his house, one for hers.. only he never really returned home after those first nights...

"Thanks, May. And we'll let you know before the wheels go up." Tomorrow, she thought. At least that was the plan. Barring any more delays.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint makes no comment about Skye's cooking skills and wisely lets that pass.

"Definitely Sing Star," Clint says, it was their karaoke game. "And there's some boardgames too, ooh, man if Darcy's there, then we're definitely going to need Cards Against Humanity.

"Anyhow, yeah, we'll need to report in anyhow before we get going, so we can talk party as well as, you know all the official stuff."

A grin there. "Have a good one May."