Owner	Pose
Phoebe Beacon	Phoebe hadn't let on when they had first met, at least not much, but she does have her own bike. Unlike Nix's bike, though, hers is old. Solid, but old. Probably could make a hundred twenty if you tuned it up right. It was dark gray, scratched up a bit about the tank, with a brown seat that could use some TLC, this Yamaha xs400 was a smaller, light duty bike, and was old enough to be Phoebe's parent. Barely.     She had found parking, and after securing her bike she tucks her helmet into a bag. Wearing the slightly armored jacket (an insistance item from a teammate), she had asked politely for directions to the back yard, and had seen herself out, peeling out of the jacket to show she was wearing a soft, gray T-shirt over her jeans. She seems a little bit in poor spirits.
Nicolai Codona	It's not difficult to find the little area behind Hope House, it's a short trip straight through the recreation room. It's not terribly late in the day so the place is still pretty full up with neighborhood kids, many of them with obvious mutations others without that could be human siblings or just mutants with no outward indicators. All ages, from tots to teens - older ones helping care for the younger. Coming through the doors to the outside finds the picnic tables about half full. Nicolai is perched on one of the, feet on the bench, guitar in hand, wearing a pair of loose fit cargo shorts and leather sandals, no shirt, it's *hot* out here! A little girl, maybe seven or eight tops is sitting next to him. Cute as a button in her little sun dress dotted with daisies. Her skin's green, her hair a deep shade of near midnight blue; little blue freckles dot her nose. "Sing the one about the Sun comin' back, Mr C!" she says, a little too loud, but that's what kids are, loud. "Which one? I don't think I know that one," Nicolai replies. "Maybe if you sing it for me?" "You know the one! Here comes the sun, here it comes!" He bumps against her lightly and suggests, "Maybe I'll remember *all* the words if you sing it with me, Lindsey?" The little girl bobs her head up and down like one of those little bobble headed dolls. And so it happens that Phoebe gets to be witness to Nicolai and the cutest little mutant girl ever perform an adorable rendition of the Beatles, Here Comes the Sun while the rest of the kids watch and some even sing along. Even the two boys on the basketball court, such that it is, stop and watch.
Phoebe Beacon	Phoebe had to give a smile as she side-steps a couple of kids running about, minding a tail here and someone's arm there, and was just taking off her gloves when she realizes she's about to get a concert, thanks to the loud kid's announcement. She hangs back a little, looking on with curiousity as she leans against a handy wall, listening to the two play and sing. If others join in, she does sing along softly to the refrain from her place at the side... her hanging back was twofold:     First: She didn't want to interrupt Lindsey and Nicolai's singing... and she had to steady herself, because she did *not* want to stare at Nicolai being shirtless.     Sun's not the only thing hot outside!
Nicolai Codona	Spend enough time watching and manage to look past the adorable that is little Lindsey and Nicolai's talented. It's not even just the kind of talent that comes from practice, practice and more practice. It just comes naturally. ... and he just *radiates* peace and joy and all that good stuff when he's playing and singing. He's in his true wheelhouse, in the zone, where he's his happiest. Smile for days, dimples, eyes a little brighter than the even are normally. Once the Beatles are set aside and finished, one of the older kids calls out, "Drift Away, Mr. C!" Nicolai must do this *a lot* if these kids know those sorts of songs. Then again, the musician is not much older than the boy making the request. He looks up after ruffling Lindsey's hair and gushing a little at her about what a great job she did, both singing and helping him sing all the words right. He spots Phoebe and that *smile* brightens. "All right, one more, but then I have company." A few of the boys follow Nicolai's gaze and immediately start with the teasing, "Mr. C's got a girlfriend!", and all that, the stuff teenage boys are good at. It stops when he gives his last performance of the night, Drift Away, by Dobie Gray. Or maybe it stops because because before he starts, Nicolai tells the boys, "Watch it, I'm gonna stomp you in our next game of Horse if you don't stop being little heathens."
Phoebe Beacon	Lindsey did do a wonderful job, maybe a shade better than Nicolai. Phoebe gives applause as netly as you please after Nicolai and Lindsey finish their duet. She steps forward, slipping her jacket and gloves into her pack with her helmet as she follows closer to Nix.     "Oh no, no I'm not -- I'm not his girlfriend!" Phoebe protests, her ears and cheeks turning a couple of shades darker as she looks momentarily alarmed. "I'm Phoebe. I'm a scary nurse!" she jokes.
Nicolai Codona	When the final request is over, Nicolai stands and takes a moment to tuck the guitar away in its case; beautiful thing that guitar, an ivory and rosewood Gibson. Next he turns on the bluetooth speaker sitting on the table. It connects to his phone and when 'December 1963 (Oh What a Night) starts, he swoops the little girl up amid a gale of giggles and dances his way toward Phoebe with Lindsey in his arms. One there, he settles the child on the ground, "Grab me a water, please and thank you?" he asks along with another ruffle of the girl's hair. Of course she complies, willingly and excitedly. With the show over, the rest of the kids go back to gossiping, cornhole and basketball. "It'll thin out here soon," he assures Phoebe once his attention isn't divided. "Once parents start getting off work and dinner's served out front. A lot of them live here, with their parent... parents... whichever the case, upstairs. Some just hang while they're parentals are at work."
Phoebe Beacon	"This place is... pretty much a safe haven for them, then?" Phoebe asks, watching as Lindsey retreats to fetch a water, and she looks back to Nicolai, looking him up and down a moment. "You're going to get horrible sunburn." she states, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and she gives a small shake of her head. "At least your taste in music's pretty great. You and my dad would have gotten along really well."
Nicolai Codona	"That's what I aim for anyway," Nicolai replies before he gestures toward the spot he'd vacated at the picnic table. "Wanna sit down? When the guys are done, I'll be judging your hoops skills." He's mostly kidding. "It's not easy for them out there, in the world. It's good for them to have somewhere that they can all hang out together, where people don't stare or point or whisper." He pulls his phone out of his pocket to scroll through Spotify and adds, "Hey, nothing wrong with the oldies. They're fun. Like this one..." 'Up on the Roof by the Drifters. "Tell me you don't relate?" He takes a chance, knowing he's like than not to get shot down despite the request being innocent enough. "Dance with me," hand held out.
Phoebe Beacon	"No... it's not. Back before I was really... entrenched with stuff, I guess. When I was still doing Hash-Tag-Gotham-Hope, I came out here with a cooler of ice cream bars and cold waters." Phoebe admits, and then her shoulders rise up "... we got into a street fight, but none of the kids got hurt." she states, and then Nicolai changes the music.     "... oh no. Nooo no no--" Phoebe's ears darken, and she gives a smile, biting a little bit at the edge of her lip as she looks at Nicolai.     "You're going to make it hard for the kids to not think I'm your girlfriend." she states, and there's a hesitance, "... and I can't dance. Two left feet."
Nicolai Codona	Hand still extended, Nicolai replies, "That's why I lead. ...and you can't weigh much, I'm sure you won't break any toes when you step all over my feet." Lindsey comes running back out with the water, shaking the bottle up and down without even realizing it as she runs. It's a good thing he didn't request a soda? Maybe that's *why* he didn't. "I just stand on his feet, maybe you could just do that too?" she beams up at Phoebe. "Mr. C's a real good dancer, he won't let you fall off. I never do." She hands off the water just in time to hear one of the other kids yell, "Linds! Your mom's here!" She darts off, a few more have left, a couple more go. "Her dad was killed during a mutant rights protest," he all but whispers, voice pitched to just between him and Phoebe. "She was only two, doesn't remember him. Her and her mom live a few blocks down."
Phoebe Beacon	Phoebe looks to Lindsey, and gives a little smile "I think I weigh a little bit more than you though, I wouldn't want to hurt your dance partner!" Phoebe protests gently, but after a moment, she accepts the hand, and looks prepared for Awkward Middle School Dancing, her fingers tingling against his skin as she follows the beautiful little girl on her exit.     She's quiet for a moment, as she contemplates, and follows her. "... her mom's very lucky to have her." she states quietly.
Nicolai Codona	"They're lucky to have each other," Nicolai corrects, gently, as he wraps his hand Phoebe's and places his other on her hip. "So, dancing, it's really just like fighting under the surface of it. When you're fighting, you're not really moving against your opponent like most think, you're moving *with* them, anticipating their next move and where you need to be in relation to it." If she can manage to do that and follow Nicolai's lead, it won't be awkward. Boy grew up right, isolated in a castle most of his young life, but rich enough that he was also forced to attend many a Gala type parties. He can lead on a dance floor.
Phoebe Beacon	Phoebe's cheeks and ears remain darker as she gives a soft huff. "Fighting is easier. I could brace myself and flip you backwards over the table and probably against the wall. Or drop-sweep your legs and follow through w ith a blow to your solar plexus to keep you on the ground. Headbutt, inner-step stomp and then knee to the groin... really, I'm pretty good at the fighting thing." she states, with a strange sense of mirth in her voice as they dance. She's trying her best not to nervously stomp on his feet or actually throw him into anything, though her arms are stiffened slightly, her hand in his, the other hand just... sort of awkwardly... hovering over his shoulder.     "... I haven't danced with anyone since fifth grade." she admits.     "You... are shirtless."
Nicolai Codona	"You could *try* to do those things," Nicolai returns along with a that bright smile again. "And you might even succeed, I'm not prefect, but I'm not slouch either." He tries to bite back the laugh her acknowledgement of his lack of a shirt brings about, but part of it slips out, a little chuckle. "What *is* it with Amercians and skin. It's skin, we all have it when we're born and have it when we die. It's not fifth grade anymore, I don't have cooties." The song's switched up by now, Crocodile Rock, a little faster that and Nicolai's pace picks up right with it. Leading turns from just trying to lead a slow sorta sway to actually attempting to spin her out and back in again, carefully, with his opposite hand on Phoebe's waist to guide her out and then back.
Phoebe Beacon	"You /could/ have cooties. I can't run testing!" Phoebe protests, but she gives a laugh as she's spun out, one arm drawing back, and then tucking in as she turns and returns to his grasp. "And we were definitely attempting more rap and hip-hop in Gotham than oldies!"     "And.. I dunno, up here in the NorthEastish we had the whole Puritan thing going on? ANd it's just... I mean... you're not wearing a shirt!" she laughs a moment. "I don't know, just not often I hang out with shirtless guys?"
Nicolai Codona	Nicolai dosen't exactly stop moving, he's still swaying, but he slows enough and backs up just enough that he can turn Phoebe's arm over, palm up. He uses one finger to draw each on her forearm as he speaks, "Circle, Circle, Dot, Dot, now you have a cootie shot. There? All better?" Right before he's pulling her kinda close, but not inappropriately so and spinning her back out again. They're nearly alone now, only a handful of stragglers left. "I can do Rap and Hip-hop. I just love music in general. This stuff just reminds me of Cristian though."
Phoebe Beacon	Nicolai turns her left arm up, and he would see that white protective circle at her pulsepoint, where he might just be able to feel that pulse pick up and start to race as he sways and turns her arm, tracing the age-old spell of safety from cooties from the opposite gender.     She's spun out, and then back in again, giving a little bit of a laugh, and she draws her dark gaze up. "... my dad and I used to listen to Elton John, making breakfast on Saturday mornings. Crocodile Rock, Yellow Brick Road..." she trails, and then just under the music     "It's a little bit funny -- this feelin' in siiiide... I'm not one of those who can easily hi~de..."