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"Brother figure's not at risk of any onii-chan/imouto I love you situations, is he?" Again, Terry wasn't jealous at all but he just wanted to be prepared emotionally because he still couldn't believe how he lucked out. What did it say about him that the only time he was ever in the dating pool was once he got on the island? Actually, no, don't answer that, Terry's self-esteem issues did not need to crop up at a party of all places.

He entered the pen with her and while he didn't join his girlfriend in playing with the minipets, he shook his head at her suggestion to mingle with the others. "What kind of Season One Sasuke would I be if I were to suddenly be in a group who weren't my Ninja Team?"

"Classic mad scientist, I can't do the Dexter voice," Jordan said cheerfully to Gabby. "Your costume's classic in its own way, I'd say."

He glanced over to where Cee was still out cold. "Be right back," he said to the people he was chatting with, put his clipboard aside for the moment, and headed over to rescue the sleeping beauty, since nobody had yet followed the instructions on the note and she'd be sorry to miss the party. He knelt down next to her and lifted her hand to kiss it gallantly; that should be sufficient, he figured.

Gabby straightened herself out, finally letting her friend go when she did as she considered Joy's words and compared it to her outfit. "If that's not into Halloween I'm curious how you'd dress for something you are interested in, 'te."

She giggled a little bit, hooking her arms with Joy's to keep herself from getting swept away--it was a risk sometimes because she was of the vertically challenged sort--before turning to Jason. "Classic Mad Scientist is always a great choice. As for me, nah, not totally classic," she then replied to Jason with a little shrug. "Classic would be me in a full baseball getup, complete with either a Louisville slugger or a glove. But I tri--'kay, bye!"

She blinked, following him make his way through the crowd curiously before turning to Joy again. "Interesting guy. Friend?" she asked, then narrowed her eyes, smile teasing despite her not actually making any verbal suggestions about who he really was.

Kim was petting a particularly cute winged mini as she sat on the floor, and she looked up at Terry with her lips twitching. "Oh geeze, Vayne? That would never happen. It has been years, I would have to meet him again, and we are forbidden. I miss him but.. " She sighed, hiding her face a moment. "Terry, he is gone. He made a clean break and I envy him for that. All the s**t he went through, to have escaped before it killed him. He gave more than he ever could. He protected all of us and he was only a couple years older than me while doing it. It made me who I am, it taught me to fight for people weaker than me."

She grit her teeth to keep from crying. "That kid..we were both kids but.. he was stronger than he should ever have had to be. Picture an eight year old hugging a dying boy, soothing him as he passed on. Vayne did that, and It broke his heart but the whole time he kept telling him it was going to be okay. Making sure that he knew he was loved."

Kim wiped her eyes with an impatient hand. "You would have liked him I think, but.. like I said, he made a clean break from the hell we lived. I don't fault him for a second for doing it. "

She took a deep breath and went back to petting the little pet. "Terry, Sasuke didn't follow the rules well, remember he WAS the team and knew it. If you want to see your friends you would not be doing something bad. I am the one that should be following you around like a stalker."

Lin's cheeks were somewhat flushed from the evening chill, or, at least, that was the excuse she was going to use. She looped her arm into Britt's and offered her a smile that was almost shy. "Sounds good," she agreed, and headed inside with her friend.



---

"You didn't miss a lot," Jordan told Cee, and accepted the hug with equanimity before moving to help her up. "A few more sexy whatevers arriving, and a fight not starting. I think I'll avoid whatever that was you had," he added cheerfully.

"That's what she said?" Jordan smirked.

"A long minute," he agreed. "I'm doing pretty good. Keeping busy, dealing with the weird s**t that happens around here. How've you been holding up?" He seemed happy, the lingering melancholy he'd been carrying around lifted.

Jordan returned the shove with a gentle elbow, grinning. It was good to be cheerful and horse around with a friend, an uncomplicated joy.

"I was wondering where you got off to," he nodded. "I hear it rains there even more than it did here a while. Did you get back after all that, or did you catch the end of it?"

"Glad you're settling in all right. Always good, or at least high quality," he teased.