8719/A Little Holiday Spirit

A Little Holiday Spirit
Date of Scene:	18 November 2021
Location:	Rockefeller Center
Synopsis:	Skating in Rockefeller and dinner out on the town.
Cast of Characters:	Stephanie Brown, Dick Grayson

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Stephanie Brown has posed:
The evening had been one without plans. Stephanie and Dick had discussed that morning doing something, but hadn't been able to come up with anything in particular. She went off to her classes, and Dick to work.

At work that afternoon, one of the patrolmen stops by Dick's desk. "This was left for you at the front desk, Detective," he says, dropping off a medium-sized cardboard box.

Within are Dick's ice skates, and a change of warm clothes including a sweater, wool hat and some gloves. There's also a flyer for Rockefeller Center in New York, announcing the opening of the skating rink there.

The final touch is a hand written note:

    See you at 7pm at the steps down to the ice rink. Dress warm!

    Love you,

    Steph

Dick Grayson has posed:
    After reading the note, Dick smiles and moves the box to the corner of his desk, hoping nothing comes up. With the two of them being who they are, far too many dates had been ruined by a call for one or both of them to suit up. Today, time seems to go slower than usual, but finally it's time to go. Dick collects the box, pulls on the sweater and heads for the car.

    A short while later he's approaching the steps, clad in sweater, hat and gloves. Spotting Steph through the crowd, he heads over to her, carrying his skates in one hand. "Hello love, this was a nice surprise. How did your day go?" He gives her a kiss, then takes her hand to lead her down to the edge of the rink.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown is waiting over by the steps. She's wearing a sweater with bands of white, grey, black and blue, and a jacket overtop which is unzipped at the moment. Blond hair spills out of the wool knit cap she has on, a deep blue that brings out the color of her eyes as they light up at the sight of Dick Grayson.

Her figure skates are over her shoulder, and Stephanie takes a few hurried steps to meet Dick halfway. She leans into the kiss, and returns it, before slipping her hand down into his.

"The day was good. But so much better now," she says with a bright smile. Her eyes sparkle happily as she looks over to Dick and walks with him down to the edge of the rink, where they can change into their skates and stow their belongings in a locker.

The day is a bit chilly, that pleasingly cold nip that makes a bit of exercise in it welcome. The rink not very crowded as it has only recently opened for the year. Stephanie gets into her skates and walks with Dick over to the opening and steps out onto the ice, skating backwards as she keeps her eyes on him. "Let's see how much my rollerblading has translated over to ice skates," she says with a smile.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    After changing into his skates, Dick joins Steph at the edge of the rink. Watching the skaters go by for a moment, he looks to Steph and chuckles. "I think you'll be fine, love. And if you have any problems, I'll be there to catch you."

    Taking her hand in his, he steps out onto the ice and urges her to join him. He looks perfectly at home on skates, and waits for her to get onto the ice to see how steady she is.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
The young woman steps onto the ice and glides along with Dick. Though she has a great sense of balance, when she does fall it tends to be rather spectacular. "As Stephanie stepped onto the ice, she knew her amazing boyfriend would keep her nemesis, Gravity, at bay for at least one night," she might be heard to mumble under her breath as she joins Dick and they begin to make their way around the rink.

The spot for the towering Christmas tree is being prepared nearby, though it won't go up and be lit for awhile still. It is still a beautiful night though, with the clouds just making it feel a bit more wintry as the wind swirls about the skaters as they make their way about the rink.

"So I don't have any classes tomorrow," Stephanie reminds Dick of her schedule. "I was thinking, if there aren't any, you know. 'Emergencies' that summon us back to Gotham tonight, maybe we could find a nice restaurant here for dinner. Get a room somewhere and enjoy a night away?" she suggests. She laces her fingers with Dick's as they skate.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Watching her for a moment, Dick decides that Steph will probably be mostly ok on the ice, but that doesn't mean he's letting go of her. Fingers entwined with hers, they make a slow circuit of the rink.

    "Looks like the rollerblading is doing pretty well for you. This is nice."

    On the second lap around the rink, he slips his arm around her waist, keeping her close to him as they skate along. He gently guides her around a grinning little kid who keeps falling down and trying to get up unsuccessfully, but still looks like he's having the time of his life.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie watches the kid's feet scrambling as if running in place, before he goes down again. She can't help a small grin though she does her best to hide it as they drift past.

She does seem to be skating quite a bit better than last year. Evidenced when she turns around, skating backwards and standing in front of Dick so she can face him. She takes hold of his hands for extra balance, then lets herself drift closer until their bodies are brushing against each other.

She looks up into the taller man's eyes, her own soft blue eyes sparkling so brightly. "Have I told you today that I love you, Dick Grayson?" she asks him. Stephanie lets go of one hand to reach up and softly brush her fingers over his cheek. He's so handsome. They've been together for months now, and she still finds her heart races when she looks at him up close like this. She's long ago accepted this isn't just a wonderful dream. Though it took a lot of pinching.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Smiling at her, he teases "Well, I'm not sure if that sleepy "mmm hmm mmrgh" when I got up this morning counts, but other than that, just in the note you sent. And I love you too, Steph."

    He slips both arms around her and kisses her as they drift along the ice. Once the kiss ends, he hugs her, then urges her to turn so that her back is against his chest, holding her close to him as they skate. There are a number of other couples skating as well, in various stages of hanging onto each other like Dick and Steph are.

    "As for the night, that sounds perfect. A little time for just us, a nice meal and night out sound good." He chuckles, then adds, "Careful, you might turn us into regular people, at least for a little while."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
With Dick's arms around her and his lips against her own, gliding over the ice is about as near to flying as Stephanie can imagine. Hopefully he's paying attention to where they are going, because she's too caught up in the moment to avoid little kids. Or walls.

Her fingers slide gently down his jawline before they part. Her big, beautifully goofy grin is ear to ear as Dick turns her back about and hugs her from behind. They pass an elderly couple who look over and can't help but smile at what they see from the younger pair.

"Oooo, regular people? Who would have thought something like that would sound so wonderful," she says, resting her hand atop Dick's where it rests across her belly. "I tried to bribe Alfred to divert any calls to anyone else. He just looked at my $20 and back at me, but I saw his little smile as he turned away," she says with a quiet laugh.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick laughs and says "Yeah, he's kind of hard to bribe. I've tried it a couple of times since Bruce took me in, it never works. I think it's a combo of loyalty and the fact that he's got a bank account larger than the treasury of several small countries."

    He guides them into a little spin on the ice, then puts them back on course around the rink. The lights gleam on the ice and around Rockefeller Center, turning it into a fairyland of twinkling lights. And then it becomes the perfect picture as the first flakes of snow start to fall, gently filling the air with white.

    "Well, that just about makes it perfect. Skating with the woman I love, a little dusting of snow, what more could we ask?"

Stephanie Brown has posed:
The cold nip in the air bring a touch of rosiness to Stephanie's cheeks as she leans her head back against Dick's shoulder behind her. When he spins her out, she takes his hand, managing the turn but with a slight stumble. "Toe pick," she says of the stop in front of the skate she caught, and perhaps quoting a movie in the saying.

Though she drifts back to him gracefully enough. She's looking up into his eyes again when the snowflakes start to drift down around them. "If I didn't know better I'd suspect you ordered this for us somehow. Seeding the clouds?" she teases.

Stephanie leans up, which she finds is tougher to do on skates because of those toe picks. But she manages to give Dick another quick peck on his lips. "Want to get some hot chocolate and go in search of somewhere for dinner?" she asks after they've made quite a circles around the ice rink. "Anything that you are in the mood for tonight?"

Dick Grayson has posed:
    He nods and guides them to the exit, "The perfect winter plan." Sitting down he removes his skates and ties them together to go over his shoulder. Once Steph has hers off, he leads her to a locker and stows them away. "We can leave them here for tonight."

    After giving Steph another kiss, he takes her hand and leads her around the corner of the Concourse where there's a coffee bar where they can get their hot chocolates. Grabbing a table to sit at, he considers her question.

    "That's the one problem with New York, so many choices. Let's see..." He pulls out his phone and starts looking at nearby restaurants. "Ah, I've got it, and it's right here in the concourse." He takes a sip of his hot chocolate, then suggests, "What do you say we come back for the tree lighting? We can check out all the Christmas displays as well."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown gets back into her shoes, a pair of leather boots that she tucks the ends of her jeans down over and then joins Dick over at the coffee bar. She bites down on a finger of her glove and pulls it off, then the other with with her freed hand as she takes a seat with Dick and takes the hot chocolate.

"Mmm, love the dark chocolate, and the extra whip scream," she says, taking a sip and leaving herself with a little whipped cream moustache on her upper lip.

"Oh, I'd love to see the tree lighting! I've never been able to make it up here for it. Actually I rarely came to New York other than for occasional gymnastics tournaments. Before I fell in with a certain crowd," she says, giving a playful eye roll.

Stephanie rests her hand on Dick's arm, rubbing gently back and forth. "It's really nice to have someone to share moments like this with," she says, smiling as she looks at Dick's handsome face. She reaches up and brushes a few snowflakes from his dark hair, more an excuse to tease her fingers through the locks than anything else. "So what kind of food did you pick, for the restaurant?" she asks.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    "The perfect spot for a chilly winter evening. It's called Hale and Hearty, they do gourmet soups, sandwiches and salads. Sounds just about right to me, does it work for you?"

    He smiles as she brushes his hair, thinking again how fortunate he is to have finally realized what she meant to him. And for that matter, that she was someone he could share all of his life with, not having to keep things secret. While that runs through his head, he looks over with a sparkle in his eyes, just taking in her happy, whipped cream bedecked face.

    "You are just far too cute, do you know that? But I think you're the wrong one of us to have a moustache."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
The eldest Wayne ward manages to bring out a shy smile from Stephanie, but one that turns radiantly warm after a few moments. She looks upwards as her tongue comes out to lick at the whipped cream, getting most of it and using her finger for the rest. "I think I like you clean shaven," she tells him, leaning over to brush a kiss beside his ear and then whispers something to Dick.

The girl leans back, saying, "Oh, some nice warm soup and a sandwich sounds perfect for tonight," she says. "I bet they have a nice view of the plaza too. We can watch the snow fall while we eat."

Stephanie takes another sip of her hot chocolate. "Though I'll probably just sit and look at you like a lovestruck girl anyway," she teases. Also strong measures of truth there. Though they have been together for awhile, that new relationship euphoria has never really left her, where Dick Grayson is concerned. "I'm thinking maybe a chicken noodle, if it's hearty enough, and a French dip," she says of dinner.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    He smiles as she whispers in his ear, replying "Well, maybe I'll shave a little less often then." He takes another drink of his hot chocolate while sending a text to the restaurant to reserve a table. Finishing his drink, he looks over and asks "All set? I'm a little hungry, how about you?".

    He stand and takes Steph's hand when she does as well, then they move through the crowd to get to their dinner.