18631/Snikt & Sake

Snikt & Sake
Date of Scene:	20 July 2024
Location:	Level 4 - Recreation - The Roost
Synopsis:	Tim puts Laura into one of the worst positions known to man: Birthday Girl.
Cast of Characters:	Tim Drake, Rose Wilson, Laura Kinney, Conner Kent, Harper Row

---

Tim Drake has posed:
Birthdays happen quick around here in the world of the Outsiders. Even when they are Inside. And right now there's a Birthday Party for the Laura of Kinney, the 23rd X and it is in full swing in the rec area of The Roost. It's the least Tim could do after spending his own birthday staking out villains and punching criminals and pretty much doing anything but being celebrated. There are more important things at stake (and that need to be staked) than him celebrating getting older.

The message was sent to everybody's communication device and there's a good chance that it was an automated message because the place is fully catered with delicious foods for all to enjoy and also befitting of religious and personal choices as well as allergies and so forth. Tim Drake has enough files and intel on everyone invited that he can make sure that nothing goes wrong on that front.

With all that done, there's also a table where the gifts are to be set down and it is clearly labeled as such. There may also be a drone hovering above it and watching the gift table just in case anybody gets any funny ideas. There's a good chance that particular drone isn't surveillance only. It has pincers.

For his own purposes, Tim is bouncing around through the crowd to make sure that everybody is okay and having a good enough time. He's rocking some jeans and a Squirrel Jam band tee underneath his larger overshirt. A little casual preppy vibe for the party. He's got a red solo cup full of nature's juice (aka Water) and takes a sip while making the rounds.

The holographic banner 'hanging' from the ceiling promotes the reason for this shindig: HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURA! while the music playing in the background is directly from Laura's Spotify or Apple Music. Whichever one is more hackable.

Rose Wilson has posed:
It's a time for joy, for celebration, for honoring one of their own! Which is exactly why when Rose shows up the first thing she does is get up behind Tim and grab his non-cup bearing hand to twist it around behind his back in that 'just shy of having to stand on toes' sort of way.

"You -really- thought you could get away with this?" she hisses into his ear. "You set all of this up for the girl who doesn't like to be the center of attention and were 'conveniently' on call during your own?"

Rose still isn't doing all that great with the whole vampire bite which she hasn't told anyone about. If Tim hadn't already found out on his own, the nosy jerk... Her hair's a bit matted. Her skin a bit clammy. Her eyes a bit red. Notably she has the collar of her denim jacket turned up to cover most of her neck. But she still seems like Rose, in her usual being mean sense.

Leaning in to whisper into Tim's ear, she says "Happy birthday, Tim" in a voice which ...well, let's face it. Conner and Laura both have super hearing, they probably hear her say it anyway. But she -tries- to keep it between Tim and her.

Not that she releases his arm. Not yet. He's not getting off THAT easy.

Laura Kinney has posed:
There have only been two days in her entire time with the team when Laura was around for her birthday. The first of which she arranged an off books mission and tricked everyone into getting shot at. The second of which is today. And honestly? She's only around the Roost because she didn't even remember her birthday was today.

When you were grown in a tank it's not really something you celebrate in the same way. Her fond memories of past birthdays are... That time the team took down an attack helicopter and... uh.... No that's it.

She's brought her own drink. Because it was what she was going to consume before any party planning kicked off. It's a bottle of sake she got on one of her infrequent trips to Japan. The sort which usually involve an honour debt and fighting a seemingly endless parade of Yakuza wearing smart business suits.

Laura's music preferences. Well. It's probably not a case of hacking an online account. Her online activity extends to leaving cryptic messages on otherwise abandoned forums about cats. The only 'music' station on her computer just plays a list of numbers in a flat monotone.

Her room has literally 2 CDs in it. Part 1 and 2 from the Jeff Wayne - The War Of The Worlds. Is this because she /likes/ the songs? Or because she wanted to see if there were any suggestions for what to do in the event of a Martian invasion?

You decide.

Clearly not expecting a party she's dressed for a quiet day off. Leggings and a t-shirt. Not even bothering with shoes or socks. Silently padding around barefooted.

She sniffs the air suspiciously. X-23 doesn't know what's up with Rose specifically. But she's been smelling /weird/ for a while now. "Try not to break Tim. He's probably the only one who knows how to turn these banners off." She doesn't quite pout at all the fuss. But she's certainly not /thrilled/ about it.

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner has a special relationships with birthdays. Namely: he doesn't have one. Like a proper clone! Somehow Laura managed to have a normal birth, despite being a clone. Maybe he should be a little jealous. In any case, he noted her birthday since last year she did this little rescue operation in a train as celebration. Which was odd, but Laura is odd. At least she tried, some people had fun.

So, today he brought her a present. In the form of an Age of Sailing black powder handgun he found in a shipwreck near Greenland. Don't ask what he was doing there. Instead of donating it to a museum, he had it restored. He figured Laura wouldn't really appreciate much anything that can't be used to kill. Black powder handguns can do it, if poorly.

He didn't expect Tim to get a regular party going. That... might backfire. Like Rose arm-twisting is not the worst that could happen. "Hey folks... I see I am not the only one that remembered. But Tim, this might be too mu... hi, Laura."

Tim Drake has posed:
"Retina enabled." comes from the grimacing features of Tim as he tries to balance his water cup while being arm-twisted by Rose.

"... thanks." is almost whispered back at the arm-twister even though it's kind of hard to whisper while in light pain such as this. He's also attempting to finish his water at the moment and it's all a big mess that's happening at the same time as Laura's arrival!

The music is actually on shuffle so there's probably going to be a bunch of bad algorithm'd music because even through Tim's deep searching and hackering all he could find was cat stuff. Now he enjoys cats but dang.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURA!" Tim probably knows this is too much but he's also willing to risk his life to make sure that his teammates and friends are given the attention he believes they deserve. Even if they don't particularly seem like they are going to be the types to be okay with such things.

Some things are worth the risk.

"Too much? I know!" Tim sends these words in Conner's direction. "I managed to /not/ make it a surprise. For everyone's safety." There's a playful grin that comes with a wince because twisty arms be like that.

Harper Row has posed:
Harper Row ventures into the Roost dressed down and a bit strung up. She hasn't been bit by anything vampiric, but she looks like she's been staying up a lot of nights. A bunch of sleep debt perhaps. However, as its a party for an ally, she's not a total savage and has showered and changed her clothes. Some Tee of an Indie music group in Gotham that's too short to tuck into her denim shorts, and superfluous suspenders with buttons of flare. Like she's ready for an interview for a job at some chicken shack.

Hair still a little damp from her shower, smelling of coconut, she hauls a large present that's been too hastily wrapped up onto the gift table. It has a very obvious rip-cord dangling from a hole in the celebratory wrapping.

The drone gets a wry grin from her, and she pulls out a compact frankenMcGuyver drone of her own. Sets it into passive mode. Just to keep Tim's company. Or pincher it to pieces and pick up what's left to drag back to her workbench afterwards.

"Heeeeeeeeey. Where's the good stuff..." she drawls, making a b-line towards the copious amount of carefully collated refreshments and getting something into a red cup that has some bite.

Rose Wilson has posed:
'Try not to break Tim' Laura says.

"He's tough" Rose replies. "He'll be fine." Having said this she does partly lower her guard to turn and flash a grin at Laura, not at all surprised to see the other girl hadn't dressed up for her party. Rose wouldn't have, either.

"How'd you like the guy responsible as a gift?" she asks. "To do with as you will." Yeah, she's trying to gift her ex. To the girl Rose currently fancies, nonetheless!

Completing the 'set' is one Conner Kent. For a fan of chaos it all seems like a wonderful combination of elements. All it needs is a strong drink or twelve.

With a grin cast over one of Tim's shoulders and a pat-pat to the other she finally lets the guy go. Out of the four of them, if anyone's able to pull this event together and keep it on the rails it would be him. Laura deserves her moment, even if she maybe doesn't want it (especially if she doesn't want it.)

"Who retina-locks the decorations, anyway?" she wonders aloud as Harper comes in carrying a substantial sized present. And another drone? "Hey nobody told me we were doing Battlebots today" she says with some interest.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura wasn't actually born normally. But Gabby sort of insisted she have a birthday and the day they declared she was 'created' seemed as good as any. Much easier to pick something than to fight the inevitable losing battle of trying to say no to her sister. Besides she was kind of hoping everyone would forget about it anyway.

Especially after the train incident where everyone got shot at.

Perhaps operation 'throw her own party' has backfired now it's been long enough for the peril to fade into memory.

Age of sail blackpowder weapons do /look/ cool. But for the full effect you really want a whole brace of pistols. And then she can tie some fuses into her hair and... Well okay Rose already has the eyepatch. Maybe they can go into the piracy business together? (Laura is driving the ship if they do though. Given what happened to the last nautical vessel Rose was in charge of driving!) Of course she's trying to give up the whole killing people business. So her gifts don't really need to be lethal (technically everything is a lethal weapon in her hands anyway). A promise to do less catastrophic physical damage to people about as close as Tim got to a gift from X-23.

"How do people take their sake? Warm or cold?" She wonders. Giving Conner a nod in greeting. "Cold for a more fruity and floral taste. Hot for a deep, full-bodied flavour." She gives Tim and his water a look. A slight raise of her eyebrow. As if to say. No exceptions. You throw the party you be prepared for the consequences.

Besides it's not like there is enough to get Laura drunk. Let alone splitting it multiple ways.

When Rose makes her offer Laura pauses. Looks at Conner's gift. Sniffs the air. "I can't smell any black powder and I'm /definitely/ out of lead shot so I'll pass for now." Of course if people start turning down drinks she may rethink the decision....

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner's gift was properly wrapped up. In a glass case and all. Sadly, there is no black powder included. Or lead bullets. But he is quite sure Laura could manufacture some. If she goes around shooting people with an ancient handgun, her body count is actually going to go down a bit. Bonus!

Mostly, he just though she would like it more than a... videogame, or a box of chocolates. It is tough to find a good present for her, okay?

"You know, Tim. You didn't even show up for your own birthday party. So, I am not going to save you from Rose or Laura's bullying, you deserve it all," comments Conner. "Harper, nice to see you. Did you build a jetpack for Laura, I think she could use one. She tends to fall down from planes with alarming frequency."

Tim Drake has posed:
Somewhere in the middle of all this, Tim has time to check on his drone as it may or may not be being stalked by Harper's drone. It's a dronetastic birthday bash! Tim's drone tries to keep a little space between itself and Harper's. Just in case.

"Hey Harper!" Tim feels so much more able to move now that Rose has allowed his arm to move around. He checks his arm a few times to make sure that it still works. "No battlebots! I just fixed this thing!" Tim is really trying hard not to flail. He wants to flail so much right now. He's feeling quite Kermit-y at the moment.

The look from Laura gives him a moment to show that his cup is now empty. He turns the red solo cup over to show that he's finished his water. "Either or?" Tim may or may not have actually ever had sake. But since he started this madness he's in for the consequences.

Conner gets a glance from Tim and a shrug of his shoulders. "I was protecting Gotham?" That's about as much of an excuse as he can give for ditching his own party. "Gotham is very needy! Especially on my birthday..." Tim waves a dismissive hand. "But this is Laura's party so let's focus up! And get Sake'd!" Never let Tim Drake try to coin a phrase again. Oy.

Harper Row has posed:
Harper obscures her face with the cup, but only long enough to drain that sucker dry. "Oh...yeah, ice. Must remember the ice." she mumbles, licking at her lips and offers a cheeky wink to those gathered. And then it's time to go back to the well to top her drink. "Sorry, I'm a bit late, but I promise to catch up."

"Battlebots, Rollerderby, Club, Patrol, Club, and the rest...Dark Knight willing." she stifles a small urp. Regulating liquid, respiration and voice box must be carefully managed when there is a backlog of things to multi-task.

"Oh, a jetpack? Nothing so grand, Conner. Just a very dependable way to leave a perfectly good aircraft and land without making a crater shaped like a person. The music hits just the right change of tune, by dint of good luck only, so when Harper pantomimes the letter H with her body, it might appear like she's seeking to raise some roofs. "Hell yeah, let's get sakked. Sacked like a medieval castle by heavily accented Europeans. Catapult me one of those donut holes. Embrace your day off, one more trip around the sun. Barring evil gravitational devices and schemes!"

Rose Wilson has posed:
How do people take their sake? "Wet" Rose answers, not at all picky so long as it has some bite. With the 'offer' that was Tim being turned down for the moment she changes tactics enough to say "Then I'll owe you something later." Preferably once she's kicked this stupid virus thing out of her system.

Laura may be her usual stoic self with regards to ...well, everything, but Conner's gift catches the one-eyed scrapper's attention. Booze first, then she's going to go have herself a closer look. "Huh. That's cool" she remarks while 'subtly' dabbing her face with a jacket sleeve. "Looks legit. Where'd you find this, Conner?"

She might even feel bad for the guy. Trying to find Laura a gift is an uphill battle on the best of days. Rose didn't even try! And Kent, he's not even human.

What a crazy little group they have up here.

"Oh come on, Tim. How many Bats are there now? There's more vigilantes in this city than there are cabs on the street, you can take some time off. Like you are right now" she points out with what seems to be a sadistic grin.

Whurf. She needs to sit down, and not because of the drinks. "Yes, for Laura's Sake" she jokes. Good ol' deflection. She might have learned that one from Tim.

Harper's declaration quickly gathers some interest, "There's a catapult?" Then to herself, "Nobody tells me these things..."

Knowing this group someone's already made a donut hole trebuchet.

Laura Kinney has posed:
"Well we're either heating the bottle or not," Laura explains. "Usually there's a water bath restaurants use but we can improvise by putting boiling water in a pan." Probably they have ways to rapidly heat water. There are too many coffee addicts for the Roost not to have boiling hot water on demand.

"But no ice." She's not sure if Harper is talking about the sake or not. But she errs on the side of caution. "It'll be a parachute." She doesn't need to open it. The mission in question was memorable even for X-23. Generally even Laura knows she's going skydiving before hand. It's pretty rare to be so... improvised.

Her head tilts to one side. "I'll hold you to that," she says, raising an eyebrow at Rose. "Not that people have to get me anything. I don't really /need/ gifts. I have everything I need really."

Thankfully she also has cups to go with the bottle. So she doesn't have to run off and find them. And, given a lack of preference so far. Well may as well service it as is. Unless Conner is going to zap the bottle with some sort of alien heat ray.

"Technically I can't die from a fall," she notes as an afterthought. "I hope you made /yourself/ a parachute too..."

Conner Kent has posed:
Hey, Conner is 50% human, he is the clone of Superman and Lois' son. And he can find birthday presents even for Laura. Laura is a tough one, but just to find on a good present for Superman. Take a whole year to think one, if you want.

"The Arctic," he replies to Rose's question. "Stuff is melting, and I saw a defrosting ship while I was, hmm..." going to a secret and probably illegal Kryptonian building Superman has there... no, better not to mention that.

"Doing unrelated stuff. So, I reported to the authorities, but kept this one piece and had it restored. It was well-preserved; seems ice prevented most rusting and wood doesn't get damage by freezing." He looks a little proud of himself, too.

And to Laura, "it is not usually about what you need, it might about what you like," he points at the sake. Seriously, who needs it? Well, Conner will try anything once. Maybe twice if it is sweet.

Harper Row has posed:
"I try to never be more than a few floors above street level. Not a few miles up. Gliding is where it's at, baby." Harper raspily chirps, and swallows more alcohol. The more she gets in her, the more chipper she gets. The less the bruises of misadventure can interfere with the merry making.

To soften her future landings on a couch or lap, she goes for the snacks next. "There are fates worse than death." she quips with good nature and ribbing.

Harper comes back around, still munching, interested in this Sake stuff, hot or cold. "Hey, I'll try anything once, or twice on Sundays." She clears her throat. "Yeah, what Conner said. Nevermind what you need, get what you want. The spices of life are optional but make things have zing."

Rose Wilson has posed:
Perhaps having no idea of what she just signed herself up for, Rose grins at Laura. She probably would have winked if she were able to, though regardless there's a little something lost given her ill complexion. It's hard to be suggestive when you're looking under the weather.

Conner on the other hand gets an arched brow and a slow shift in her posture when he mentions the Arctic while being cagey about -why- he was in the Arctic. "Uh huh" she flatly replies, though the matter isn't pressed.

As the others have pointed out, this is all about Laura. "They have a point. What DO you want?" she asks, curious but never opposed to taking the opportunity for a question to be delivered as a challenge. Think fast, Laura!

Laura Kinney has posed:
"Falling is fine," Laura assures. "It's when you stop falling things get tricky."

She does have a collection of vintage weapons. Mostly Japanese swords. Because who doesn't like a nice katana collection? Classy and lethal. Art that you can use in your day to day life.

She pours everyone a cup of sake. People do need beverages to survive. And it's not like alcohol does much to her. It's basically just fancy water. A connoisseur would note her correct pouring techniques. Someone has clearly shown her the 'right' way to do things. And the information seems to have stuck.

If anything is 'not needed' it's probably all the ceremony. It's not like they're entertaining a visiting samurai.

"Want? I guess 'revenge' isn't an acceptable answer," there's a beats pause. "Okay okay I meant to say 'justice'." Totally not rolling her eyes. Honest. "But that trip to Hawaii also sounded like it might be enjoyable." She can think fast. Even if by doing so she's come up with a nebulous concept and a very expensive & awkward to plan trip. Given she legally doesn't exist and sets off the metal detectors in airports even when she does travel unarmed..

Conner Kent has posed:
"A week vacations in Hawaii is absolutely necessary," protests Conner. "For everyone," he points at 'I-am-to-busy-for-my-birthday' Tim. "I'll get the ice," he adds, heading for the nearby kitchen. No, he has no idea of sake is drank hot or cold. But he will try both ways. Also, there are soda cans around.

And back, because he is fast, with a bucket full of ice cubes. "You also look like you could use a trip to Hawaii, Rose. You have been looking under the weather for weeks now. Did you catch a bug in Mexico or something?"

Harper Row has posed:
Harper is ready to cheer for Revenge, but thankfully Laura covers and corrects. And now it's all very heroically acceptable. She raises her cup of sake for an experimental sniff, but waits for a toast or everyone else to start drinking. Don't want to appear a complete barbarian.

"Just treat the trip like you can let go of all the responsibilities and to-do's. Like you can leave it at the airport, along with instructions to feed the cat. And when you get off the plane you're in a new place with new customs and you can invite the new stuff to happen. What happens in tropics, stays in the tropics. You get a hall pass to let loose and get lost."

Harper's eyes sweep over towards Rose and she buttons her lip by chewing on the inside of her cheek. Fidgeting with her cup by swirling around the dark liquid.

Rose Wilson has posed:
Alriiight, now they're gettin' fancy with their drinks! Rose isn't real big on tradition or ceremony but she's a very good study of how other people move. The way which Laura carries out the act doesn't escape her attention, even if the precise reasons behind them aren't known.

What interests her more is the fellow scrapper's response. "Hawaii? That's it? I can get us a plane if Tim doesn't have one to pull out of his Bat-butt" she offers.

Gosh, that's just...so surprisingly doable. Mundane, even! They might have to take turns flying, but it's all entirely possible!

While Harper is being polite in waiting for a toast Rose has already taken a sip. She might have had more but the idea is abruptly halted when Conner calls out her condition. Of course he'd notice, trying to keep secrets from people around here is hard! But if he's going to give her an easy out like he did then she's darn well going to take it.

"Drank the water" she lies.

Laura Kinney has posed:
"Please don't put ice in the sake," Laura says solemnly. "It's just not done. You wouldn't put ice in a glass of wine would you?"

Okay okay. Harper and Rose totally would. Ice and maybe a shot of vodka.

"I don't have a cat," she informs Harper solemnly. As if that was her key takeaway. She never leaves her responsibilities behind. Not given she's on a SHIELD watch list. It's just unwise to pretend like you're not a wanted fugitive!

At least assuming you want to /stay/ a fugitive and not downgrade to 'captive'.

"Technically you're supposed to take a sip before you put the cup down," she explains as if reminded she's the only one who drinks it often. "Not a surprise you drank the water. Not with how you drive a speedboat." Another beats pause. "Or was this the water they sprayed on you in the strip club?"

Because honestly that strip clubs water was probably worse than the ocean.

"It's just a wine made from rice. Slightly sweet. Drink it and get drunk. If we're ever actually on a mission in Japan then I'll explain all the etiquette." And precisely no-one will listen. Except Tim who probably will have researched the subject just in case he ever /does/ have cause to do a mission in Japan. Hypothetically at some point in the future.

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner sighs and glances at Rose for a few seconds. But he doesn't press the issue further. Wait, "sprayed water in a strip club? I missed that from the after action report," he snickers.

Add Conner to the list of barbarians that will add ice to wine, or sake. On the other hand, he would also listen to Laura's explanations on Japanese etiquette. He is not sixteen anymore! Foreign cultures are interesting. It is probably far more interesting than Baseball.

Sake is slightly sweet, so he will keep drinking it, despite not being able to get drunk.

Harper Row has posed:
Harper tips her cup of sake back and nearly coughs it out in a spew. Her throat makes small hiccups as she fights to keep everything internal and not add to the decor. She blinks rapidly, eyes watering, using her free hand to pat at her sternum, as if this will help to knee-jerk shock-spew her fancy drink.

Harper gets herself under control, holding up a hand and waving away assistance. Her throat is a bit raspier. "I'm okay. Down the wrong way. Tickled a little something is all." The funny bone probably. She grins and dabs at the corner of an eye with the back of her wrist.

Rose Wilson has posed:
It's not the first time Laura's given Rose a hard time about the boating incident. "You're just jealous I got to do it first" she counters in defiance. "And it would have worked a lot better if the yacht -was- a yacht and not a yacht-shaped hat on top of a sub."

The bit about the strip club just has the one-eyed girl making a goofy mocking face with a slight head-wobble. Looking back on it now? No regrets. The bartender lady was pretty darn cute, too. Great smile. Lots to, uh. Appreciate.

Conner joins in and that one eye of Rose's begins to roll with ALL of the drama, "Oh come ON... It was -refreshing.-" Nevermind how she had squealed in shock at the time.

"Yes. Drunk, and the getting of." In her case the sake won't ever get a chance to be set down. She may well end up on the floor before the cup does.

Harper's coughing fit is given a quick look but no offer to help or ask if she's okay. Not while Rose is grinning like a fiend. C'mon now, that's just funny!

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura gives people a hard time about most things. She's kind of a killjoy really. Unless you like planes exploding and people trying to kill you.

"I know how we can settle it though," she says with an innocent smile. "Jet ski race. Just you and me. No guns. No other rules." Presumably she's talking about Hawaii because there is no way either of them will want to try jet ski racing around Gotham. Despite the best efforts of the 'Keep Gothams shores clean' campaign there is enough Joker venom and Scarecrow fear gas in there it's probably made the seafood inedible. No-one wants to buy Joker fish.

Anyone who has already finishing round one gets a top up. Requested or otherwise. Except for Harper who seems more in need of air than liquids. There's probably not enough in the bottle to get anyone black out drunk. But Rose is inventive and there is almost certainly something else she can drink after.

Her own after action report clearly states they 'Didn't burn down a church' and 'Didn't injure any local gang members'. The word permanently in very small letters. As if hoping no-one would notice it...

Tim Drake has posed:
So it totally wasn't an excuse to hide from the conversation of taking a break or a vacation but it was actually a thing that the rest of the Gotham Knights needed him to respond to. Honest. Which is why the re-arrival of Tim Drake comes with little to no fanfare. He just kind of stealths back into the room as though he was never really gone. Or away for just enough time that the surveillance feed from his drone had picked up on enough topic changes that he can come back in with ease.

"What I miss?"

Tim's goofy grin is worn to try and keep everything as calm as it is right now and maybe he's even missed having to taint his soberness with sake. There's a good chance that those with the super or enhanced hearing knows the call wasn't as important as his abrupt exit made it seem before but he's hoping they won't dime him out.

"Did we do presents yet? I hope we didn't do presents yet. Mine doesn't fit on the table..."

Rose Wilson has posed:
Brows rise as Laura mentions knowing how the matter can be settled. Rose is not disappointed by what is suggested. No guns but no other rules? So sword-jousting is still in? A slow grin takes form, one which ultimately shows off nearly all of her teeth. "Challenge accepted."

Aaaand there's Tim wandering back in. What'd he miss? "The party" she flatly jokes. "It was great. You should have been there."

She's clearly being a brat. She hasn't stopped grinning yet. Though as the sake warms her and the vampiric voodoo still battling it out with her immune system her partying energy seems to be quickly waning.

If she passes out it's because of over-indulgence. Honest.

Conner Kent has posed:
Aww, they are almost out of sake. The probability of Tim having brought alcoholic beverages to Laura's birthday party is very low, so if they want to go on drinking they will have to draw from Rose's stash.

And Tim returns just as the sake bottle is empty. Coincidence? Unlikely! "We did presents. Except Rose's, she is was too lazy to think about one. We will make her pay for the jet skies or something."

Laura Kinney has posed:
"I really don't expect people to get me things," Laura re-iterates. Although perhaps a little late for those who took the time to get her stuff! Probably Rose has, unwittingly, volunteered for some sort of Kinney based mayhem by saying she'll owe Laura one for later. The jet ski's are another matter entirely. You could even call it an attempt at post mission banter! See Laura can joke around too.

Once a year anyway.

As for Tim's drink. He got a glass poured. And he better gosh darn drink it. Or leave it somewhere Rose can down it in one while Laura isn't watching at the very least.

One of these things is much harder than the other.

"If you're trying to get me to use a smart phone I will have to decline though Tim. Those things are more tracking software than telecoms."

Tim Drake has posed:
"Not the ones I gift. But fair enough."

Tim still keeps a smile on his face because he's way too busy trying to make sure that he's doing whatever he can to not get alcohol in his system at this late stage of the party.

"Well, since it's going to take me another year to convince you about the smart phone-- WayneTech makes such a good one but whatever-- then I guess you'll just have to settle for this."

Sleight of hand has a motorcycle key landing on the table next to the glass of poured sake.

"I designed it myself." He doesn't say that to brag but he does sound like he's on the edge of humility with that statement. He doesn't want to be that dude but he's kind of that dude.

"It's in the garage. I tricked it out with standard Bat Cycle stuff but I added a few personalized bells and whistle to make it your own. I didn't name it, figured you'd want the honors. But I thought maybe having your own kick ass bike would be a nice addition to your arsenal."

Tim holds his hands up. "I made it special. Even I can't track it." That might be the best part of the present right there.

Or maybe the fact that it can also operate as a jet ski if needed. Ahem.