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Jeremiah Hamilton: The Green Room is a cafe tucked into the center of the Spring Gardens neighborhood, done up in warm woods and a paint job to match the name. Tables are set up both inside and out, with the interior also hosting a wooden stage where a young woman was playing guitar and singing along and a counter near the front with a view into the kitchen beyond it.
The master of the house was on site this particular afternoon, having laid claim to a table near the front door that allowed for a proper view of the room without having to use any mojo to do so. Jeremiah looked dashing as always in dark jeans, a grey t-shirt with the name of a performance space in Los Angeles and the chunky black glasses that he sported instead of contacts now and again, watching the woman on stage with a small but proud smile.
Polly Romantic: Even when Polly isn't trying to make an entrance, she makes an entrance. The bright psychedelic broomstick skirt she's wearing, matched with layered pastel tank tops and a single billowy chambray oxford quite possibly nicked from Jeremiah's closet all conspire to make her stand out in a crowd. She hauls her own guitar in, strapped across her back, and aims for Jeremiah's table where she circles around behind his chair and bends over to plant a smooch on his cheek from behind. "Afternoon, beautiful." She unslings her guitar and sets it down, propped against a chair, then settles down beside Jeremiah with a great deal of well-earned presumption.
Mei Lee: Mei comes in wearing a denim vest over a white tank top, black jeans, and sparkly gold athletic shoes. She's wearing sunglasses, has her hair spiked up, and has a warmer coat slung over her shoulder like she's not cold without it, but has it just in case. When she steps inside she takes her aviator sunglasses off, hangs them from the collar of her shirt, and looks around.
Kayla Sockum: It takes a few minutes more for Kayla to arrive at the Green Room, their entrance significantly less colorful and vibrant as the previous one, there's a dark blue streak in her hair, which is sleek and shiny and loose. Their black t-shirt features many little heart with the gender-fluid flag scheme on them. A pair of jeans and running shoes join the look, along with a folded hoodie on their arm.
She stands near Mei, basically scouting the place in smiliar manner. "Oh hey!" greeting the other Magi with a smile. "I think I see Jay and his girlfriend over there." they point over at the table where the two other can be spotted.
Jeremiah Hamilton: Jeremiah smiled warmly as Polly snuck around him for that kiss, leaning over to plant one of his own on her cheek as she got settled beside him. "Hey there. How are you doing?"
Spotting Mei and Kayla by the door he smiled and gave the girls a quick salute. "You good with more company?" He asked Polly as he looked back to the Lost with a small smile. "Have a feeling Kay may be heading over."
Polly Romantic: "I've never shied away from company before, don't see why I should start now!" Polly offers a bright wave over to Kayla, and by extension Mei. But of course, Kayla's the one she's actually familiar with of the two. She doesn't spend much time sitting down, and promptly stands back up when her burdens are all set down so that she can meet and greet, share smiles, and offer handshakes.
Mei Lee: When Kayla comes in shortly behind her Mei turns, her expression lights up, and then she catches sight of the heart and her smile grows wider. She points at it with fingerguns, arches a brow at Kay inquisitively, and doesn't ask about it out loud. "Hey, Kay!" she says instead. "I haven't seen you in a bit, how're you doing?" And the finger-guns go away as she offers a hug. "Should we go crash their date?"
Kayla Sockum: "We totally should, I have something to ask out of Jay anyway." Kay respond to Mei brightening up by matching it, almost involuntarily, she hugs and squeezes tightly when the hug is offered. "I'm doing complicated, but it's heavily leaning on the good!" Kay looks at their hand for a short moment after the hugs end. "I hope you're doing well too!"
As they reach the table, she shakes the offered hand, hugs Jay, if it's any practical given the positioning. "It's good to see you again, Polly!" a quick glance to Jay "Hey you too!"
Jeremiah Hamilton: "Me 'too', huh?" Jeremiah replied with a smile, hopping up from his seat to properly return the hug from his cadremate. "I see how it is..."
"Good seeing you again, Mei. This is Polly, my decidedly better half." He looked to the Torrent with a smile. "Polly, Mei."
Polly Romantic: "Familiarity breeds contempt, Jay. I remain the illusive and mysterious Girlfriend. This is what comes of walking to the fridge in your underwear at 2 AM. You have only yourself to blame." Polly gives his rear end an affectionate swat before releasing him to the predations of his cadremate. In the meantime she offers Mei a handshake, similarly, "Hello. I'm Polly. It's good to meet you, Mei."
Mei Lee: "Let's do it," Mei says, joining Kay in a trek across the room toward Jay and Polly, once hugging and all of that important business is done. As they get near she calls "Jeremiah! How have you been, my friend? I haven't seen you in a while, which is probably all my fault. Hi Polly, it's nice to meet you." She reaches out to offer a pleasant handshake, along with an upnod. "I love your--" she stops and squints her eyes. "Wait a second. Flout?"
Kayla Sockum: "I was doing it for the joke of it." She reassures Jay with a squeeze on his arm. "I might need the basement for a few hours soon, do you have anything planned there in the near future?" They asks with a warm smile.
Her attention moves to Polly then. "How have you been? Did you make any progress on the album I heard you were working on?"
Then they looks to Mei, curiousity in her eyes about the question she asked.
Jeremiah Hamilton: A quiet unbidden 'yipe' hit the air at that unexpected butt swat, with Jeremiah giving Polly a playful You... look before chuckling. "I think we've both been pretty busy, so no harm no foul." He replied to Mei with a smirk that shifted to a proper smile as recognition struck the Obrimos.
He shook his head at Kay's question. "I don't have anything planned, no. Have at it."
Polly Romantic: Polly plays it cool. She just smiles brightly and nods her head in confirmation. "Mmmhmm! That's us." There's a see-saw wishy-washy sort of gesture made to Kay at the question, "It's going. We filled in for some tour dates the past few months, an opening act had a guitarist with a broken arm. So. That pulled me out of the studio for a bit, but we're making progress." Polly slides back over to Jay's side and slips her arm about his waist to make nice after the ass-slapping. "Do you play, Mei? Or are you just a fan of obscure synth acts?"
Mei Lee: "Me? No, I don't play. I don't have much musical talent. My parents tried to make me learn piano, and then violin, but I just don't have a talent for it, even if I love music." Mei grins at Polly. "I do enjoy karaoke, though. It doesn't matter if I'm ferociously mediocre at karaoke. I've seen you play a couple of times, though." She looks over at Kay. "Uh oh. What's in the basement? Sex dungeon?" Her smile turns into a grin. "Do you have a date?"
Kayla Sockum: "Thanks Jay, I promise it won't make a mess. It's a lot less complicated thing than when we did the big group work I led a few months back."
"No, I feel like no one would like turning the group's special place into that." Kay grins, amused at the joking assumption "And Heather would definitely object to it." They laugh a little as they imagine the face the woman would make at them. "I'm planning on the final touch and report on a special project I've been working on, I'm excited to share it."
"As for a date, I might need to plan one out with Mary soon, but that's not what's happening in the basement though."
"Oh, that's very nice of you to help out another band!" They say to Polly. "Did they play the same kind of music?"
Jeremiah Hamilton: Jeremiah looped an arm around Polly in kind, resting against her contently as the conversation continued. The sex dungeon comment did earn a quiet snerk, though, with the Mastigos looking to Kay for her reaction. The same image of Heather's face seemed to cross his mind as well judging by the expression that formed, shaking his head with a smirk. "Yeah, that definitely wouldn't go over well."
Polly Romantic: "Besides, I'd just let you all borrow mine, anyway," Polly says with a perfect deadpan and big, wide, guileless eyes. She plays is straight for a few moments before tickling her fingers into Jay's side and leaning in against him more firmly to let him out of the teasing unharmed. "They didn't, no. It was the Foo Fighters. And just a few dates." She's downplaying the whole thing, obviously. But also justifiably. "Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the shows you saw, Mei. Thanks for coming out! I really appreciate it." On account of it's how she eats and pays rent.
Mei Lee: "I guess I'm not surprised," Mei says, feigning disappointment. She's not a very good actress. "Come to think of it, in my little group of friends I'm probably the closest thing we have to a Heather. In my case I'm mostly just indifferent to the notion, I just wanted to tease. Nothing wrong with a sex dungeon, just..." she shrugs. "Anyway. Wait. You're covering for the Foo Fighters?"
Polly Romantic: Polly is quick to correct, "No no no no! We're covering for an act that was OPENING for the Foo Fighters." She then adds, "But that would be so cool."
Kayla Sockum: Kayla seems impressed, even after the corrected assumption of covering for the opening act of the Foo Fighters. "That's a big band to open for, wow."
"Nothing wrong with it, no, of course, just I think specifically the special place in the basement being one and it... really doesn't vibe correctly for it." She explains, still amused.
"We'd probably eat Mind-gif cookies of disapproving animals for a few weeks too." she mumbles.
Jeremiah Hamilton: "You've been holding out on me..." Jeremiah replied with a smirk, leaning over to kiss Polly's cheek lightly as she leaned into him in kind. "Probably, knowing her. No baked good would be safe..."
Mei Lee: "In a way isn't this kind of better? You probably get to actually meet them, now," Mei points out enthusiastically. "There's some bragging rights to the other, but if you're covering for them then they also aren't there, probably." She goes back to the other segment of the conversation, has a thought, and suddenly has to stifle a giggle. "I just remembered..." she says, looking at Kay and Jay. "That thing with Ecgberht..."
Polly Romantic: "Oh, we've totally met them. Dave's great. Sweet guy. Exactly what it looks like on the tin, that guy." Polly is quick to provide praise for one Dave Grohl, but really who wouldn't be? Polly then looks aside at Jeremiah and arches her eyebrows a little. "I wasn't aware you were into that sort of business, Jay. But if you'd like to add some picante to the mix, you're welcome to suggest some seasoning." Now the Spring is playing chicken with the Mastigos. And this will surely end well.
Kayla Sockum: "I think she had help from Peach, on that one." She use her friendly moniker for the Warmaker. A look between Jay and Polly, makes them smile brighter. No further comment on that and then turn toward Mei.
"Yeah definitely some bragging rights there. I'm glad to hear he's a good guy." Kay smiles and leans back into her seat. "Oh yeah, since last we met, Mei, I learned how to cook acceptably too."
Jeremiah Hamilton: "That was amazing...I still have the video saved from it." Jeremiah replied to the giggle with a grin, looking over to Polly. "Remind me to show it to you later; Heather pulled a prank on one of our higher ups and it was phenomenal. He got a kick out of it, too, which made it all the better."
His eyebrow arched in kind as Polly continued, though, a sly smirk settling into place. "I just might."
Mei Lee: "I'd love to meet him, he seems like a genuinely nice guy. It always makes me happy when famous people are still nice," Mei responds with an understanding nod. "If you ever think he needs a private eye, just have him get in touch with me." To say that Mei sounds dubious about that actually ever happening is an understatement, but you miss every shot you don't take.
"Did you?" she asks Kay. "That's good! I can still manage not to starve myself, but cooking's definitely not my specialty. I make some badass fried rice, though."
Polly Romantic: "Cooking is a survival skill when you tour. Especially with what you can grab from a bodega or truck stop. We should do a pot luck dinner one of these nights, since we have so many good hands at making grub. We could do some singing, relax around a fire. It could be really pleasant!" Polly rests her head against Jay's shoulder as she speaks of this imagined evening, clearly sincere about the intention. "Then we can make Jay cook. And I think that would be fun to watch."
Kayla Sockum: "Yeah I could like, make some food, but I wasn't any good." Kay explains "But Heather could probably trounce 5 stars restaurant and when I almost burnt something, she banned me, officially from cooking. Unless someone taught me." they grin "I asked Maddy to help me out. I baked some cookies."
"Oh, a potluck sounds fun, I can drop some kind of named fish into the stew and the governor's going to love it. Or like, a really fancy cauliflower." she jokes.
Jeremiah Hamilton: "That would be fun, yeah." Jeremiah smiled as Polly rested against him, although the look shifted to one of playful indignation as she continued. "Hey...I'm not that bad in the kitchen..."
Mei Lee: Mei laughs. "I'm used to eating on a steady diet of whatever I can find that I'm in the mood for at Wawa and fast food drive thru," she admits. "Sometimes that's all I had time for, driving around town working on a case. Or when I only wanted to take a break of a couple of minutes from a stakeout, because I do still have to eat sometimes." She scratches one cheek with a couple of finger tips. "I could do a pot-lock, just don't expect greatness out of me. Although I can actually make pretty good dumplings, too."
Polly Romantic: "That's the great thing about potlucks! If you only have one or two great dishes, you can still look like a champ because you only BRING one or two dishes. That's why white people are so protective of their mom's chili recipe. It's literally the one thing she had to her name. Anyway." Polly gestures her jest away with a flip of her hand. "Maybe I just think you'd look cute in an apron, Jay."
Kayla Sockum: "I can think of a few nice aprons I've seen, something with a kiss the cook print on it or something similar." Kay says, looking at her phone quickly, reviewing some of said aprons.
"I used to let other people cook and then clean the dishes instead of having a turn at cooking. People usually hate doing the dishes and I always enjoyed the quiet moment away from the crowd while I did it. So, I rarely had to cook for myself? Then again, I wasn't exactly brought up in what people would call normal circumstances."
"And no, Jay isn't bad in the kitchen, he's helped me around the cooking ban a few times."
Jeremiah Hamilton: "Touche. I probably would, yeah..." He replied with a smirk, letting that particular thought percolate for a bit. "I didn't really learn how to cook until I was in college, but I can handle myself in a pinch."
Mei Lee: "I wasn't taught to cook by my family growing up. I'm a trans woman, and in my family cooking's not something that boys are expected to learn, so I never got taught. Definitely did me a disservice," Mei says with a shrug, but she doesn't sound particularly angry about it. She can't change it now. "Honestly, learning to cook at least a little is a useful skill for anyone."
Polly Romantic: "Cool!" Polly chirps brightly at Mei's admission. "Thank you for trusting me with that information! If you ever want help learning your way around the kitchen, I'm sure we've got enough people around that could get you up to speed. I love to cook, as Jay's tummy will attest." Polly reaches over to pat said tummy affectionately. "He can scramble a good pair of eggs, I will admit."
Kayla Sockum: Kayla goes quiet for just a moment, squeezing Mei's arm for a moment. Their gaze goes a little unfocused for a moment and a smile grows. "I should probably go see my dad this week, it's been a little bit." She comment mostly to their own intention.
"Sorry, my mind went some places."
Jeremiah Hamilton: "I can indeed confirm. Some of the best food I've had in a while." He smiled to Polly, then looked to Kay as she went quiet. He nodded when she explained, waving off the apology. "No worries, you're good."
Mei Lee: Mei looks a little surprised by Polly's statement, but waves it away with an unconcerned gesture. "Oh, I don't really make a secret about it. I probably should be more worried about who I say what to, but with that information, I'm really not? It's complicated, though. I guess thanks for being cool, and recognizing that for a lot of people that would be significant." She smiles at Kayla. "I haven't talked to my parents in a bit. Less than usual since I got arrested for punching a cop on camera."
Polly Romantic: "That's how I was told to handle that sort of information being shared with me. And every trans person I've responded to that way has had a pretty positive response to it." Polly shrugs her shoulders in response to Mei's overall take on her reaction. "I'm glad you're living out, though! That's the best way to be, I've found. Being authentic is so rewarding once you get used to the bruising. I'm so much happier this way, though." Polly looks back Kay's way with a sympathetic little smile. "It's all good."
Kayla Sockum: "Thank you." They make a little heart-shape gesture with their hands."I'm going to grab something, anyone else wants something to drink?" she asks slowly standing back up to start the trip
Jeremiah Hamilton: "I'm good, thanks." Jeremiah replied to Kay before nodding in agreement with Polly. "Here here. Being true to that part of myself led to having to cut some people out of my life, but I've gained much more from it than I've lost."
Mei Lee: Mei pause to take a mental step back. "That's absolutely a good way to handle that information being shared with you," she agrees, giving Polly an apologetic smile. "I have some really complicated feelings about a bunch of things that are hard to explain. Sorry if my response was a little weird." She answers Kay, "I'd love a drink. A cider or something? Thanks." She glances between Jay and Polly. "I have to agree that being your authentic self is pretty rewarding. It was a hard thing to learn, but I'm a lot happier now that I've figured that out."
Polly Romantic: "Ooh, me too. Make that two," Polly offers quick on Mei's heels. At least the order will be a simple one. Polly gives Jay another squeeze when he speaks of being happier. She looks up to him with a big smile before leaning up to reward him with a smooch. "You're much sexier when you're happy, too. But I am biased, of course. Just know that I vote for continued happiness for you, if it ever comes up." Polly gives another, briefer squeeze, then goes ahead and slides into her chair at long last. "I think that is always a hard learned lesson, though. I don't think anyone is born with that awareness."
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