The Kingfishers are done having... tea... for the moment, so Ripper is coming by the buffet for a cup of real actual tea. There are so many kinds! It's hard to choose. This is a good problem to have.

[Wow, he is super hot,] Tony agrees. [I think I'm gonna hit on him.]

[I do not blame you for a second, damn. It is just a little weird that he is a Giles but he's a really hot Giles.]

(Soph giggles. She pretends, badly, to investigate coffee.)

Ripper laughs. "You maybe can!" he says, glancing between Tony and Soph. "If it's all right with your...?"

(Soph giggles more, and cannot answer.)

"Girlfriend," Tony supplies. [Should I ask if you can watch? I'm getting a vibe that that is a thing I could ask.]

[Maybe? Is that weird? I don't wanna be weird.]

[I don't think it's weird!]

[Then maaaaybe?]

Ripper is raising his eyebrows at them.

"Can she maybe watch?" says Tony.

"Definitely," says Ripper.

Soph squirms and giggles again.

"Cool, let's get a room!" says Tony.

[You know, I find I'm not even particularly curious which one? Enjoy.]

Soph shuffles after, still giggling.

"You're both adorable," says Ripper.

"I know!" says Tony.

"We would win all the adorableness contests! If there were any."

"But there aren't. Ooh, stairs. So that's where they're keeping the orgy chambers this time around," says Tony as they descend beneath the main floor.

"I don't know what these things usually look like, is this not usual?"

"It's a giant plant floating in space and it was designed by a Joker. No, it's not usual," says Tony. "It's been somewhere different every time, though, so I don't know if 'usual' is even a thing."

"Aianon's space plants are very convenient," says Ripper.

"Well, I mean, it's not like the ability to make space plants is new! Maybe there are space plants for Bell parties all the time and I just never heard about it!"

"We could have made space plants before, but we didn't," says Tony. "Probably because we weren't Aianon. But now there is Aianon, therefore space plants. I think."

"Ooh, cozy," says Ripper, poking his head into an unoccupied room.

Soph divebombs a beanbag!

Pattern snorts. [Okay then. Who's she?]

Soph snuggles into her beanbag in a comfortable supervisory position.

[Soph from Sunshine, according to her nametag.]

Tony pillow-swims over to Ripper. It is highly undignified but very fun.

Soph laughs. Hers is most adorable boyfriend.

[Oh, Juliet's spontaneously occurring sister. Okay.]

"Eeeeee."

Kisses! Mmmm. Yes this was an excellent plan.

Soph sooooo approves!

Tony is flatteringly enthusiastic and really cute! These pillows are comfy! Being watched is definitely a positive contribution to the whole experience!

Soph is definitely watching. They are definitely watchable.

Ripper laughs and takes off his shirt.

"Nice," says Tony.

He beams.

"Eeeeee," Soph says again, squirming in her beanbag.

Ripper grins.

It is only fair at this point for Tony to take off his shirt too! So he does. And then he kinda sorta pounces.

Soph almost applauds!

Mm yes shirtless makeouts good excellent.

It's not like Ripper was previously unaware that he is really hot, but everyone here is so delighted about it, he is gaining a whole new appreciation. He makes a mental note to definitely say yes if any more Tonies want to make out with him, in case it's a template thing.

Soph is certainly really pleased! Alas, there aren't more of her around to partake.

One Soph is enough for all their purposes at the moment. And wow, her boyfriend knows how to kiss.

Yes. Yes he does. He's so glad Ripper noticed!

Did Bella really have issues about this, what issues, sharing is fun.

Mmmmmmm shirtless kisses. The shirtless part is important. Both for immediate makeout-related reasons (skin!) and because Tony and Soph seem to really like that Ripper is shirtless, and Ripper really likes when that happens.

Soph definitely really likes all the hot-boy-shirtlessness going on around here!

There is definitely a lot of really liking going around!

Soph can be heard giggling softly to herself from her beanbag vantage point occasionally. It's difficult to actually catch her peeking for more than a moment, but she presumably is staring to her heart's content when neither of them is looking right at her.

Tony hardly looks. On account of he is busy. Happily, happily busy.

Ripper, once he has glanced over a few times, also stops looking. Because if she only looks at them when they are not looking at her, then clearly he should just let her get on with it! Also, kissing Tony occupies a lot of attention. He's just so kissable. And so happy about it. Mmmmmmmmm.

"Eeeee," giggles Soph quietly. (She doesn't want to distract them from what they're doing.)

They are magnificently undistracted.

Yaaaaay! Carry on making out, hot boys, Soph will just be over here grinning till her cheeks hurt!

They will definitely do that.

"...Yeah," says Ripper, "we should."

"I am so promoting myself to a participatory role for pillow fort!"

Ripper beams at her.

Soph giggles and starts categorizing pillows.

"I love you too! I mean I figured we are going to be doing serious architecture, here, I remember you with the gingerbread, so there will be no going 'now where did I put that one lego, I mean pillow'."

"You are right," says Tony. He rubs his hands together gleefully.

Ripper giggles.

Soph leans over to kiss Tony, too (who doesn't want to kiss Tony?) and then resumes pillow-sorting.

"The better to make a fort with, my dear."

He cracks up.

Sort sort sort. Soph begins testing various pillows for properties like their ability to stand on end and form stable stacks.

Eee hugs! Those are distracting though! A pillow topples over when she is seized. "I love you."

"Going to let the rest of us in on your grand plans?" inquires Ripper.

Soph believes in him! She will hold key pillows in place while he tries things.

Ripper gets swept up in the excitement and is happy to serve as a third pair of hands where necessary.

Experimentation proceeds. Eventually, with the rest of the walls already up, he gets it stable. He kisses Ripper (briefly) and Soph (less briefly) to celebrate.

Kissing Tony is Soph's favorite thing. (Although apparently watching attractive third parties kiss Tony would also make any multi-item list.)

"I'll take the end," says Soph, and so she does.

"Awesome! Over here," he says, hauling his end higher so they can carry the rolled blanket to the back of the fort.

Ripper follows with some long flat pillows he judges suitable for pinning the blanket down atop the walls.

Hugsquish!

Snuggles! "It is! Best pillow fort."

"Best pillow fort," laughs Ripper.

And also pretty best snuggles. Snug.

Snug! Mmmmsnug.

"Now, I don't know about you two, but I know what I do with pillow forts when I'm done with them," says Ripper.

"What?"

"Wreck 'em, of course," he says promptly. "Either with everybody inside, or in a huge pillow fight, or both."

Soph hmmmmms. Then she seizes a long foundational pillow and thwacks both of the boys at the same time.

Cackling, Ripper pulls a pillow out of the wall on his side and hits back.

Soph immediately attempts to trap Tony in it.

He manages to escape to the fort's opposite corner, where the blanket is still anchored.

Ripper covers his retreat.

Soph is relentless! Bow to her pillow-wielding might!

Soph pops up like a daisy and picks up the pillows that were holding the ceiling in place as long-range weapons.

Tony wriggles out from under the collapsed ceiling to discover that the archway is the only part of the structure still standing. He whoops. "Engineering in action!"

His distraction earns him a downy thwack.

"Pffffff," says Tony. He starts pelting Soph with pieces of the collapsed walls.

She bats several of them away midair and is undaunted by the ones that land.

How about when Ripper joins in on the bombardment?

She rolls out of the way and launches another one!

Tony tackles it out of the air. This is a disadvantage of large slow-moving projectiles. Then he flings a pillow at her head.

This one hits her. She laughs and flings it back.

Tony catches and returns it!

And now they're just kinda playing catch.

Until Ripper also discovers a loose pillow to throw at her.

And now she's on the offensive again, pelting them both with pillows nigh-ambidexterously!

Curses! They just can't win!

Eventually Soph is flopped across two beanbags, pinning each of her opponents, panting with mad laughter.

How kind of them! Soph supervises benevolently from on high.

It is slightly difficult to make out while squashed under a beanbag, but Tony gives it his best effort!

Soph is fantastically amused.

That's the idea!