"Cool," Laurel noted before looking around, "Pretty much everyone is late," she sighed glancing back at Nic, "You hungry?"

Nic shook his head. He had already been snacking occasionally.

James looked around and whistled, "They did a good job. Hmm, looks like the Okories are here already, no Chious yet."

"Laurel!" he shouted to her with a wave as he started towards her, arm still around Yue.

"Oh... hey, James," Laurel greeted a little hesitantly but with a smile.

Nic was keenly aware of James. Yue glanced between James and Laurel. The medicinal power she had developed with Blaze and had slipped into James's snack seemed to be working.

James took Laurel's hand and kissed it sweetly, "You look hot," he complimented. Laurel blushed a little.

Kale snorted a laugh.

Nic was close, but careful not to suffocate the two of them. Yue also managed to keep her composure.

Blaze glanced back at Kale, wondering what was so funny.

After a moment Laurel pulled her hand away and coughed, "You look like you normally do, what's your costume?" she asked looking between Yue and James.

Kale was walking towards the food table.

"Rock stars," Yue replied.

--

So Blaze followed Kale, seeing if there was anything tasty.

"Hot," Laurel nodded, looking at James. James chuckled.

--

Kale was already digging into the candy.

Yue nodded a little, but managed not to say anything.

--

Blaze let Kale; it was a party after all.

Laurel turned and slipped her arm around Nic's, "Not as hot as us though, right?" she smirked.

--

Kale seemed overwhelmed by the selection and didn't know where to start. It looked very, very happy.

Nic paused, not sure how to reply.

Laurel turned and looked up at him, raising an eyebrow, "You think Yue is hotter than me?" she clarified dramatically.

"... No," Nic replied blandly. Yue rolled her eyes a little.

"Good, let's grab something to eat," Laurel suggested before turning to the tables.

--

James chuckled a little as his hands slipped from Yue's back and went a little lower, "You're definitely the hottest one here, slutty costume or not."

Yue stopped James briefly as she glanced around. "Don't do anything stupid when my brother gets here," she told him.

James frowned, "I thought you said Kaliko wouldn't let him kill me," he reminded her.

"... Yes," Yue replied. "But he can be... rather creative."

James sighed a little, "Are we dating or not?" he demanded.

"Yes," Yue replied. "But can you at least try to make a good first impression?"

"What does he consider a good impression?" James asked, sounding slightly irritated.

Yue paused before simplifying it. "Just don't use any sexual innuendos and don't touch anything that a bikini would cover."

James rolled his eyes a little, "Fine," he muttered, but he didn't seem happy.

And just then Yue's brother arrived. Sheng and party were dressed in a Phantom of the Opera theme with very authentic era clothing. On his arm was his wife Ling. After them came their guards Chi, the younger brother, and Chao, the older brother. Chi appeared to be Sheng's guard, while Chao appeared to be Ling's guard.

[ costumes on first page ]

James glanced over, "Well, they went all out," he noted to Yue.

--

Laurel tugged on Nic's arm, "Wow, he does look a lot like Yue," she noted.

Yue didn't seem too surprised.

Nic didn't comment.

The first person Sheng approached was Hayden.

Hayden had a half smirk on his face as he looked up at Sheng, "Glad you could make it," he greeted.

"Thank you for the invitation," Sheng replied graciously as he smiled back. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. This is my wife, Ling. And our guards Chi and Chao." They all nodded their heads as their names were called

"Likewise," Hayden nodded back to each member as they were called, "I'd love to talk business but Rinrou won't allow me."

Laurel looked up at Nic, "I'm guessing you don't want to talk to him?" she ventured.

"Same," Sheng replied. "Perhaps we'll find an excuse to discuss business in the real universe sometime."

"... Not particularly," Nic replied, though he wasn't as physically tense as might be expected. It was just more of an inconvenience he was here.

Hayden chuckled a little as he glanced over at Laurel and Nic, "I'm sure we will," he replied before turning to greet Dalila as she walked up.

"Well, we finally meet Sheng," she mused, champaign glass in her hand.

Laurel sneezed, "I wonder if they're talking about us," she muttered, rubbing her nose.

Sheng nodded to Dalila, introducing himself and kissing the top of her hand lightly before quickly introducing the group once more. Ling extended her hand to shake Dalia's. They all were defiantly proper.

Again, Nic didn't comment.

"We've been sharing the same city for years and never had the opportunity to meet," Dalila noted a little sadly to the Yin Long members, "Thank you Hayden, for providing this opportunity." Hayden nodded again.

James shuttered a little, "All the people that are after us are meeting up..." he muttered, "and smiling and kissing hands and being polite."

"Oh, that's just a Yin Long thing," Yue sighed.

"Do you want to go talk to your brother?" James inquired.

"He'll come over when he's done exchanging pleasantries with the host," Yue explained.

And sure enough, when Dalilia, Hayden, and Sheng's conversation came to an end, the group made their way over to Yue and James.

When Sheng turned towards them, James' eyes were already on his. He kept his gaze calm, arm wrapped loosely around Yue's waist.

The group's demeanor didn't appear to change as they walked over. First Sheng turned to Yue and nodded. She nodded briefly back. "It's good to see you're fairing well," Sheng told her.

Yue paused before nodding again. "This is James," Yue introduced. "James, my brother Sheng."

"Hello," James replied with a polite but still very handsome smile, "I'm happy to meet Ming Yue's family," and held out his hand.

Sheng reached out his hand and shook James' hand like a politician. "Thank you for taking care of her for me," Sheng replied. "I hope she hasn't been too much of a handful."