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dianahartley:

Diana offered a smile before gesturing towards the crowd of children running around.  “Yes, she’s over there with my son.”  Thankfully Henry was responsible enough to know he needed to stick close to his sister and come find her if they needed anything.  So far neither one of them had come to find her.  “What about yours?  Is she here?”

Anneliese’s gaze followed where Diana gestured, a smile slowly forming on her face. “Oh, your children are beautiful, they take after you,” she said, sincerely, her hand gently resting on Diana’s forearm. “Yes, right there,” she said, gesturing towards her own child, with four other children, all children of her colleagues, all carrying their pumpkin-baskets filled with candy, and all of their respective nurses hovering closely around them. “The little Holly Golightly.”

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maribelvela:

There was plenty to love about Anneliese: her ambitions, her elegance, and her position in the Hispanic Caucus definitely gave her the respect that Maribel had too. And most of all, she was an absolutely pleasant woman on top. There was a thin line where Maribel could slip into jealousy, but with that smile — how could she? 

“It’s absolutely wonderful to see you too,” Maribel replied. Her voice quavered ever so slightly as Anneliese’s extra detail did intimidate her. “Don’t suppose your little one come along as well?” If she can connect with the motherhood card, Maribel would take it. After all, if she sounded like a knowing parent, it would make her feel less horrible about the cold shoulder both her kids were giving to her now. “They’re always excited for Halloween,” she added, with a polite smile in return.

“Of course, she and her friends are trying to get more candies from the zombie waiters.” Anneliese said, gently, smiling and letting her gaze wander towards them again. “Right there. Let’s hope I can stop her before she eats all of them, though. And you? Are you a fan? I love your outfit, by the way. Any chance it comes with a performance?”

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hans-starke:

Hans laughs, although he isn’t entirely sure why. Let her think that was funny, but also, how cute that she’d think he would have been to a store in the first place with this event in mind. That meant effort, and Hans hardly put in any. “That’s a new kind of misogyny America hasn’t quite reached yet.” 

Anneliese hummed in agreement. “I suppose you’ll just have to find one elsewhere.” She reached into her purse, bringing out a metallic cigarette case. She opened it. “Do you smoke?”

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sgt-rigby:

If there was one thing Paul was known for, it was his networking. There was no person too high or too low for Senator Catalan to talk with, and that included his congressmen and women colleagues from the House of Representatives - as long as they were Democrats, of course. As far as Paul was concerned, the Republicans had some major rethinking to do before they were good in his books.

“It’s a pleasure, Miss Schmidt,” Paul smiled down at her. “Looks like you’re practically the belle of the ball, so to speak. Although, to be fair, most people stand out from the zombie waiters, so there’s that.” He took a sip of his own drink, but only a sip. Paul didn’t need to be drunk tonight of all nights. “It’s a nice change, isn’t it?”

Anneliese did not often get to speak to the Senator, more often keeping touch with his Chief of Staff. “You flatter me, Senator Catalan. You’re certainly going to give Harrison Ford a run for his money,” she said, letting out a soft, light-hearted laugh. “It is. I love the decorations. It’s a breathe of fresh air, although the work never really stops, does it?”

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what do you miss about your ex-husband?

“I’d like to keep my private life private,” she said, showing her sweetest smile.

She’d be lying if she said it didn’t make her think of him, which she’d been trying so hard not to. She saw Gerard every now and then, when she picked up or brought back their daughter, and she always tried not to linger. Always rationalizing everything their relationship was, their marriage and their child, as family values, as her marrying the son of a Conglomerate King for the connections. If she missed his gentleness, his jokes, his love of nature and his garden and the way even at thirty years old he would sometimes appear with flowers tucked into his clothes, his blue eyes and the way they looked at her, this almost overwhelming way that he loved her, with every single inch of his being - she didn’t let him know, and she most likely refused to admit it to herself, either. He couldn’t handle the things Anneliese was willing to do, and Anneliese wasn’t willing to budge on these things that she needed to do. 

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hans-starke:

“Oh?” He couldn’t say he saw that one coming. Hans follows her gaze ahead and out into the black-blue sky beyond, but soon drags his eyes back to her; even in the half darkness which coated them outside, Anneliese remained a far better view. “You make a good point, Ms. Schmidt. But you don’t happen to know where I can get one, do you?”

There are people who had much to say about the night sky, about its color, its mood, the moon and the presence or absence of stars - Anneliese is not really one of them. It’s just darkness, and she lets her gaze settle on the nothingness. She knows Hans is looking at her, and really, who needs the stars and the skies when she has that? Attention, beauty, power. She turns her head, slowly, so she can meet his gaze. The corner of her lip twitches into the slightest of smirks, for one careful moment, before her face returns to its mock-seriousness. “Why, there weren’t any at the store?”

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senator-ross:

Grinning and nodding at the compliment, he set his glass down on a nearby table. “Certainly,” he answered. Alan moved closer to the table, motioning for her to do the same. From his long coat, he pulled out a package of cards. He chuckled at the mention of Dalton’s costume. “Poor Solis. Can’t seem to catch a break, but it’ll die down soon. The Montgomery’s do seem to have interesting costumes indeed. I’m fairly certain I saw the older Montgomery in a prison jumpsuit.”

Taking out the cards from the package, he handed them to her to inspect. “Regular deck of cards, yes?” Though the trick itself was quite simple, it was one that he knew quite well and had had plenty of time to practice. “Yes, I think the Halloween parties are quite amusing. This year hasn’t disappointed.” He paused before taking the cards back, “Would your daughter like to see the trick too?”

Anneliese followed her to the table, setting her glass down as well. She watched as the senator pulled a pack of cards from his coat. “Oh, hopefully,” she said, somewhere in between amusement and sympathy. At the mention of the older Montgomery, her expression visibly faltered. “Yes, I ran into him,” she said, easing out a little laugh. 

She inspected the cards, briefly flipping through them with a smile. She handed the cards back to him, and lifted an eyebrow at this question. She turned her head to look at where she had seen her last, with a group of other representatives’ children, comparing their stacks of candies. “I’ll never hear the end of it, it’ll rekindle her dreams of being a magician.” Anneliese said, with a sigh, but smiled at Alan. She picked up her drink once more, and smiling, nodded towards the children, walking with Alan towards them.

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leonsolis:

“I’d much rather be gladder to see you.”

Leon personally would shoot himself in the foot than willingly face Henry Montgomery—especially when the guy was wearing a prison jumpsuit as a fuck-you to both fashion and everyone he knew. His answering grimace was entirely to assure Anneliese that Leon Solis no longer associated with known criminals (except for work. Definitely for work.)

The grimace flipped into the reflexive smile he had whenever anyone asked after Solis Jr. It was only twenty-five-percent practiced. “Came with both the wife and kid, too. He’s at that precious pre-adolescent stage where his parents only embarrass him, so he’s running wild somewhere, far away from the taint of us. If only you’d gone with fairy godmother instead of Holly, I’d probably have asked you to vanish teen angst with a wave of your magic wand.”

Anneliese’s eyebrow was lifted in both curiosity and teasing, before seeing this grimace, and her lips settling into an amused, satisfied smile. “Yes, I haven’t seen Donna in a while, either,” she said. “We ought to have dinner together again some time.” And at these next words, she nodded, her lips curled in a knowing smile. “Well, there’s no force in the world strong enough to vanish teen angst, but if you find a fairy to do it, you’ll have to recommend her to me. I’m afraid I’ll have to deal with the same thing soon enough. Does he get it from you? Were you an angsty teenager, Leon? I’m trying to imagine.” 

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graciewclsh :

“In Cold Blood was my favorite, true crime and all.” She’d never been through an Audrey Hepburn phase, probably her own loss as she notes here’s nothing quite so elegant as elbow length gloves. “But who couldn’t use a few extra mysteries in their life.” Her hand smoothed her skirt, almost out of instinct at the recognition of who she was supposed to be. “I always thought pen names were nice- something to be passed on.” But that’s the extent of what she knows about Carolyn Keene, anything else just seemed like it would be dispelling the magic that surrounded her childhood reading.  “Maybe that’s just the nostalgia talking.”

"I've heard of it, and I'm sure it's on a list somewhere, but I suppose it got buried underneath - well," she said, with a little laugh, a little gesture with a twirl of her hand. "Everything else, I suppose. A recommendation from you is quite solid, though. I'd love to read it, would you still have a copy?" Anneliese said. She smiled, brightly, as Gracie smoothed her skirt down almost seemingly by instinct. She tilted her head in thought, and after a moments, as though she was considering this, she smiled. "That's true, yes, I suppose. No, I don't think so, it's a very nice way of looking at it." She smiled, and as people passed them, moved to Gracie's side, touching the small of her back lightly and walking out of the way with her. "How has life been, Gracie? Have things been going well for you?"

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dianahartley :

Glancing at Anneliese, Diana smiled.  She didn’t have many friends across the aisle, but she did like the moderates.  She was one and so was Anneliese as far as she knew.  It was nice.  It made working together far more bearable.  “IT’s nice to see you too,” she commented.  “You look absolutely lovely.  I wish I’d thought to wear something like that.  Instead my darling daughter decided my costume this year.”

"You’re too kind, Diana.” Anneliese said, with a good-natured laugh. “Oh, I know what it’s like to be subject to the whims of my daughter,” she said. “I’m quite lucky this time, she said she wanted to be, and I quote, to be pretty like Mommy. I wasn’t about to complain.” She smiled, light-heartedly, taking a sip from her drink. “And anyway, you still look gorgeous, as always. Did you bring her with you today?” 

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hans-starke :

Mirroring Anneliese, Hans too takes a sip from his drink – the goddamned martini, which was the hardest part of the costume to pull off. You’re that kind of German, people always commented, that only drinks beer? Alas, no beer at the White House tonight. “Is that right?” He cocks his head to the side, considering the question. This so-called costume had mostly been to piss off Nicholas anyways; missing something was probably a given. “What am I missing, if you’d so kindly enlinghten me?”

She watches him take this sip, watches the way he considers this question, and smirks and turns her head toward the dark night sky, enjoying the air of the balcony. “A Bond Girl, Mr. Starke.”

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freddiereyes :

“Yeah, most definitely sure. We’re only in a house of horrors. I haven’t actually lost my mind.” Reflexive as it was to turn up the corner of her lips in a matching smile, Freddie cocked her head, trying to figure out where she knew Holly Golightly from. Half of Washington would’ve put Freddie on a “no-fly list” if they could. “You’re not, I don’t know, trying to gaslight me here, are you? Talk about Halloween spirit.”

If Anneliese knew who Freddie was, she gave no hint of it, still baring her sweetest smile. “I’m Holly Golightly, not a Stepford Wife,” she said, with a little laugh. She touched her upper arm, carefully, her fingers touching her red coat. “Take care, now. Enjoy the party. Don’t have too many sensitive conversations near paintings.”

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hans-starke:

“I’d never throw you off a balcony, Anneliese,” he says, with the same lowgrade type charm an actor would recite Sonnet 18. “But if you really must know, I’m James Bond.” He spreads his arms just slightly, as if putting himself on display, every detail of his (rather simple, really) outfit for her to see. “The tux? The gun? The maritini? The uncanny good looks? Come on.” 

“I’ll take your word for it,” she says, carefully. Anneliese has looked at his costume enough, and so instead smirks, instead takes a sip from her drink and listens to his explanation. “The uncanny good looks,” she repeats, as though doubting this, before pressing her lips into a thin line, as though conceding. “Ah, I see. I understand where the confusion was. You’re missing a very important component of any adaptation of James Bond, Mr. Starke.” 

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adamconnelly:

Despite positions in separate houses and across the aisle, Adam rather liked Anneliese, or at least what he’d heard of her - everyone said she was charming, an elegant personality. That much was clearly true, the air of elegance only enhanced by her costume. They were the same in a lot of ways, too - Harvard grads groomed for greatness from the start. To say there wasn’t some interest there would be a lie, though if asked he’d only mark it up to curiosity.

“Same to you, of course.” He handed off the glass of champagne with a smile of his own, taking a sip from his own drink. “Though we’ve never actually met, I don’t think. Not personally, anyway, so I thought I may as well introduce myself. I’m Adam Connelly.” He almost felt silly, greeting the smartly dressed woman in his jeans and leather jacket, literally dressed like a high schooler, but he could at least hold his own. “It’s a pleasure.”

“No, not personally,” Anneliese agreed, her expression pensive. She took a sip of the champagne, smiling brighter as the man introduced himself. She offered him her hand, gently and without hesitation. “Anneliese Schmidt. The pleasure is mine, Senator. I’ve been wanting to meet you for some time now.” Her lips parted as though to say something, but before any words could leave her lips, she stopped herself, smiled, and her eyes moved away from his gaze, down to his costume, before returning to look at him. “You’ll have to help me out. I’m either too old or too uncultured.” 

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Anneliese, meanwhile, had been on her way to the balcony. Her brow carefully lifted at these words, but she managed to form a smile on her lips, maintaining it through the rest of his words as they came. “I never doubted it, Senator,” she said, making no comment of his costume, no matter how much she wanted to say it suited him. “You’re enjoying the party, I hope?”  

The smell of smoke lingered on his orange jumpsuit as Henry walked back through the balcony doors and out of the cool evening air. He turned towards the crowd and an unexpected face appeared in front of him, so suddenly that he felt his heart spin in his chest. His lips parted on an exhale, so slight that it was barely noticeable. “God, you startled me. It’s good for you that I don’t carry a gun anymore,” he said, and laughed, though not for lack of trying. A beat, and he looked the other person up and down. “You look downright dreadful, don’t you? Now, don’t take that the wrong way,” Henry said, his tone light, a smile playing over his lips as he lifted a hand between the two of them in a gesture of mock conciliation. “Even though it’s Halloween, I didn’t mean it as a compliment.”

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graciewclsh:

Though she knew Anneliese was likely just being nice for the sake of the event, she was happy to see the Congresswoman. She liked to think of the woman as a family friend, if not because she’d taken classes at Harvard with the Gracie’s father, then definitely because of Jamie. And though her brother had always seemed to be an introductory point, she liked to think that she could forge friendships far past that. “I try not to miss these kinds of parties.” And there’d been a push to have correspondents at the event in case something else happened. She was praying it would be uneventful and she could just enjoy the night with friends, but only time would tell. “I love your costume.” She stepped back to admire the detail of Anneliese’s ensemble, “I read Truman Capote all through college, but there’s just something about the movie that’s so classy.”

She didn’t know Gracie as well as her brother, but she knew her well enough that her smiles were easy. “I’m glad, it’s always nice to be able to run into old friends,” she said, laughing gently as Gracie stepped back to look at her outfit. “Thank you, Gracie, you’re too kind. Oh, did you? You never told me that. I don’t know much about him, I’m afraid,” Anneliese said, her smile curious, a soft twinkle in her eye. “You ought to tell me all about him, although - you know who I did read quite a lot when I was young - ?“ she said, brightening into a little grin. “Carolyn Keene. Of course, I was devastated to find out she wasn’t a real person, but still.”

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 leonsolis :

Leon had to bite his lip to hold in the urge to say, No, wait, that was my drink. At least his breath didn’t smell of three layers of whiskey when he leaned in and lightly kissed Holly Golightly’s cheek in greeting.

“Oh, likewise, Anneliese,” Leon assured her, the Superman get-up reinforcing the element of all-American earnestness in his smile. “Of course, I’m just glad to see a familiar face here that’s under sixty-five. God bless Senator Henderson, but she’s got so many wrinkles she sucks all the moisturiser out of the room.”

Anneliese was not blind to the effect of his costume, in fact making a mental note of it. It did suit him quite well, although she felt no need yet to say this out loud. “Now, that’s quite a low bar you’ve set for me, Leon,” she said, her tone without malice, only teasing. “You ought to be glad to see Senator Montgomery, by those standards.” Her gaze did wander over to Senator Henderson, but she refrained from any comment, instead smiling at Leon. “It has been quite some time. How’s your son, did you bring him with you tonight?”