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Who: Vivian and Gunn.
What: Bringing in New Years.
When: New Year's Eve/New Years Day
Where: On the castle roof.

The roof of the castle would be an interesting place to celebrate New Years and one of the quietest as well. Vivian had a feeling that the bars would probably be packed, and well, she wanted some peace. Being able to wish up alcohol was also very handy. She had asked the ghosts for several kinds because she wasn't quite sure what Gunn liked to drink and she hoped that among her stash there would be something to his taste.

A thick blanket was laid out on the rooftop with some cushions to sit on as well as a small, stable surface to rest the alcohol on. It was a bit chilly out but the sky was clear and the moon was out; stars glittered in the sky and not a sound could be heard. Overall, a beautiful night to celebrate on.

She had brought extra blankets in case it got colder and Vivian hoped that it wouldn't rain. If it did, then they could always just wish up an umbrella or just go inside the castle again. Figuring out what to wear was something else that she had fretted over for a while. She wanted to dress up but wear something that suited the weather. Vivian eventually settled on a long-sleeved dress made from wool, with leggings and a pair of boots to match.

Everything was set.

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And Gunn.. was a little late.

Not that he usually practiced lateness. He was typically up at the crack of dawn, punctual when he actually made appointments, but he'd gotten a little carried away at the karaoke bar with Wesley and Fred and decided that, hey, maybe he didn't want to show up on his sort-of date completely hammered and smelling like Caritas. So he had returned to his room, showered and pulled on a button-up, and hoped that she wouldn't fling him off the roof for still being just the littlest bit intoxicated.

He had thought he'd been drinking water.

"Hey," he greeted, sounding a little sheepish as he ran his hand over the top of his head, clearly embarrassed. "Not too late, am I?"

"Hey," she said, getting up from the blanket to address him properly. "No, you're not. There's still some time before midnight." Vivian smiled. "You're here now so it's all good."

Admittedly, she was a little worried that he mightn't show up and well, Vivian felt kind of nervous. This was like a date and while she was looking forward to it, she was a bit uneasy. Hence the reason why Vivian had drank already so that she could relax.

Vivian gestured to her set-up on the roof. "It's not much but I hope you like it."

"Don't worry about it," Gunn answered, and there was a little grin on his face as he moved to where she stood, flashing his eyebrows playfully at her. "Things are lookin' pretty good out here."

He paused for that, lingering at the end of his sentence, before tossing his head at the cushions.

"Wanna sit down?"

"Thanks," she replied, her smile growing a bit wider as he drew nearer. "From where I'm standing, things look quite good as well." That probably sounded better in her head.

A moment passed before she found herself staring too much and Vivian blinked before nodding.

"Yeah, I do."

She moved back to the blanket and sat down, curling her legs around herself before patting the spot next to her.

Gunn obliged, taking the seat next to her and stretching his arms out behind him to brace himself on the roof. For the record -- it had sounded just fine to him.

He wasn't blind to the staring, either, and it made him grin as he glanced sidelong at her.

"You sure you ain't chilly?"

She shifted in her position to get more comfortable, looking over at him in return.

"Hm, a little bit. How about you?" Vivian reached over to fetch them a few glasses, setting one down in front of him. She was going to wait before asking Gunn what he wanted to drink.

Vivian was going to go for wine herself as it would help her to relax.

As she lifted some of the wine for herself, he took the glass she gave him, nudging it toward her. Apparently wine would be just fine for him, too.

"Could be warmer," he admitted, a half-smirk on his face. "So you gonna tell me what you got planned for the new year? Any big resolutions? World-changin' plans?"

After filling her glass, Vivian poured some wine into his own before setting the bottle down again. She didn't think that he was a wine drinker but it's what he wanted.

"I can help with that," she replied, reaching for a blanket and moving closer beside him, draping it over them. "Big resolutions?" Vivian repeated, thinking that over for a few minutes. "One is to learn a new skill. Something that I've never done before. Another is to not let this place get the best of me. Or, at least try." She took a sip from her wine.

"Do you have any?"

"Learn a new skill," Gunn echoed, settling his hand in his lap when she draped the blanket over them. He lifted his other arm, the one holding the glass of wine, to drape over her shoulder, leaning into it slightly -- nothing over the top, but definitely a little more than just friendly.

She was pretty drunk. He'd behave.

"Sounds kind of like mine. I wanna be something -- more. Stop dwellin' on the past."

It was then that Vivian thought of the Diwali festival and how they had sat together on a blanket to watch the fireworks, his arm around her shoulder. With a smile, she leaned against him lightly, resting a hand on her knee while the other held her wine glass.

"That's a good resolution," she replied, raising her glass to him. "You want to look to the future then?"

Dwelling on her past was something that Vivian did quite often; she couldn't let go so easily.

"Yeah. Been having some issues with that, lately." It was chilly outside, but he was comfortable, more than a little tipsy -- he was maybe a little more willing to open up than usual.

"Been too busy dwelling on the past to handle what's been goin' on in front of me. Gotta cut that out."

"I had no idea that you were going through that," Vivian said softly. It was easier to talk about someone else's problems than her own. She sipped from her glass again, thinking to herself for a few moments before speaking again.

"You have to do what's best for yourself," she added. "So that you can move on with your life." Vivian was good at giving advice but not necessarily taking it. It made her think that maybe she should be more open with people and she felt like she could trust him; back home, others had lied and betrayed her which made Vivian less inclined to trust others.

"Hey, nah." Gunn shook his head quickly, giving her shoulders a little squeeze. "I'm not going through anything I didn't put myself through. Kind of my own fault, you know? But it ain't as bad as I thought. And I keep bein' reminded of that -- I just gotta make myself start believin' that."

He leaned down, pushing her bangs back to press a chaste kiss to Vivian's forehead.

"But I think I'm doin' alright for now."

"Yeah, I know," she replied quietly, understanding what he meant. "I've felt like that sometimes." A moment passed. "Having belief in yourself is important and you can't lose sight of that. I should probably follow your example and do the same."

The kiss to her forehead drew a smile from Vivian, appreciating his gesture.

"You are? I'm glad to hear it. I think I'm okay too."

"Cool. Cool cool."

Gunn leaned up, tilting his head back and squinting at the sky. Things were getting a little metaphysical, maybe even a little metaphorical -- not really places he liked to go, even when he was stone cold sober.

"So. Ever wonder if these're the same stars we're used to at home?"

"Sometimes I do." Vivian cast her gaze up to look at the sky, trying to see if she could recognise any constellations-provided they were the same as the ones back home. "I sometimes like to come to the roof at night and look up at them."

A small sigh escaped her. "They are lovely though, aren't they? You get the best view up here."

It really was picturesque and even she couldn't deny that despite being far away from home.

"So."

Gunn kept his eyes trained on the sky, trying to pick out constellations -- but he wouldn't be able to, even if it had been the exact same sky. You didn't see the stars a lot in LA, and certainly not enough to learn constellations.

"Tell me about you, girl. What you did at home -- who you are. I'm expectin' something exciting, now. International art thief, at least."

"Well, you already know about my hobbies and interests." By that she was referring to the horse-riding, shooting range and the martial arts.

"I'm twenty-six, born and raised in Somerset in a lovely house in England. My father was hardly around and my mother had left years ago so I was pretty lonely for most of my life." A pause. "I did get to see the world though, get to do lots of things and enjoyed those experiences; that was pretty much normal for me until things changed."

Vivian fell silent and took a few more sips from her glass, wondering if she should just come out and tell him the truth. Others had gotten half-truths and stretched out lies because she was afraid of what they would think about her.

"I was led to believe that my father was an oil executive and that he travelled a lot due to his job. That's why he wasn't around. I hosted a party at my home a few months ago and the CIA came along, telling me that my life was in danger. An enemy of my father's was looking for a key-at the time I didn't realise what the key was for. Anyway. The CIA informed me that my father was an international arms dealer and he was on the most wanted list. I didn't believe them at first until they give me proof of my father's dealings. They were going to take me into witness protection and I said no because I wanted answers from my father and I wanted to do things my own way. So, I helped the CIA to take down the man who was after me. One of their agents posed as me and when she got into trouble, I got on my horse and took another agent to help her. I thought it was the end of it but then when I was bringing my horse back to the stable, I was confronted by the man who wanted the key. He told me about my father, that he had groomed me all of his life to take over his business and be his successor. I didn't believe him and he was going to shoot me so I startled him with my horse, grabbed a shotgun that was hidden on the saddle and shot him. I had no other choice, it was self defence."

Vivian finished her glass and poured herself another, letting out a shaky breath.

"The CIA left and I thought about what the man had said and the key. Turns out it was a necklace my father had given me when I was a young girl. It gave me access to a chip that had my father's secret bank accounts. I found it hidden away in his office after I had used the key. By this stage, my father was in CIA custody and because of that, his lawyer came along with a letter from him, saying what he wanted for me, that he wished for me to take over his business. I point blank refused and his lawyer pointed a gun at me so I stabbed his hand with a letter opener and ran out of there, catching the next flight to America to tell the CIA what had happened.

"I had come to trust and befriended one of the agents in particular. Like me, his father wasn't around and he had gotten sucked into the spy world through no fault of his own. I wanted to get access to his account in the hope that I would learn more about him. So, I posed as my father's new account holder and got access to the bank, taking a safety deposit box. Contained within it were pictures and newspaper clippings of my achievements. I was confused because despite my father's absence, he was still keeping an eye on me and seemed proud of me. The CIA soon discovered that there was more and my father's account had to be taken down. I agreed to help them freeze my father's accounts on the condition that I would get to meet him and ask the questions that I had. The agent I trusted promised that I would and I went into the bank again to do what needed to be done.

My father's lawyer came along when I was in the bank and told me that the CIA was lying to me, using me for their own needs and I wouldn't get the meet with my father that I wanted. He gave me his card and I travelled back to the CIA headquarters in the states and I was told that the meet up with my father wouldn't happen. I felt betrayed and angry because I trusted them; they had broken that trust and now I would never know why my father did what he did. I broke off all ties with the CIA and never looked back."

She gulped down some of her wine, remaining silent after that and waited on his reaction.

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