GROUP POST | Hunt & Evans Wedding Reception

[richandlovingit]

[OPEN TO ALL]

Out of all the things in his life that Ethan had worked towards and achieved, he was pretty sure he had never been this exhausted in his life. The wedding was over, and Stuart and Tom had finally managed to tie the knot, only one hour later than originally expected. Stuart had arrived at the ceremony just as Tom was about to panic,

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[artisticaoife]

Two weddings in two days and Aoife was starting to feel a little like she might never be sober again. She wasn't exactly drunk, but she wasn't exactly in a fit state to be driving, or operating heavy machinery. It also served to make her a little more brazen than usual and given that there wasn't a crowd following Neil around at the private party, she sucked in a breath and made her way over to him.

As soon as she was close enough she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a passionate kiss as she pressed her body against his. Her eyes were dark when she pulled back, and she gave him a huge smile. "Hello, stranger."

[alwaysbritish]

Oh hell. A drunk chick. Really not Neil's scene, and he peeled himself out of her grasp with an awkward laugh and pushed her away so he wasn't accused of taking advantage of her. Been there, done that, got the idiot t-shirt. "Hey," he greeted her warily, clearing his throat before he took another sip of his Martini. "Congrats on the whole brother marriage thing."

[artisticaoife]

It was only after Neil pushed her away that Aoife really registered what she'd done. She covered her mouth with her hand as her eyes went wide. "I'm not drunk!" she murmured from behind her hand. "I mean, I'm a little tipsy, but I'm not drunk and I just saw you and I've missed you and then I was kissing you, and oh my god. I'm so sorry! It's just you were finally alone and you look amazing as usual." Aoife gave him a shy smile before she mentally facepalmed her stupidity. "Hi, erm, aye. Thank you. I have a sister-in-law. It's kinda hard to believe. Congrats on the whole brother-in-law's best friend's marriage thing."

[alwaysbritish]

"It's fine. Just had my fill of being accosted for the day," Neil said with a laugh as he leant against the bar. "And I, uh... wasn't exactly sure where you and I were supposed to be standing. I kind of got the feeling you were a bit pissed when I, um... the date thing. I don't know what point I'm trying to make here, only I caught some passing reference to you being set up with Gee's partner, so yeah..."

He cleared his throat, wondering why this was so awkward. He usually was anything but awkward around girls. "I don't know Stuart that well, but he and Tom look really happy. Lucky he didn't run away for good."

[artisticaoife]

Aoife blinked before she looked around the room for her brother, but he was busy whispering in Gee's ear while Ciaran slept on next to him. She frowned a little. "A reference to... Oh. Oh, no. No. There was no set up. I'm not here with anyone, and I wasn't really pissed. I was just... Well, what do I say to something like that, you know? How do I convince you that I'm the girl to change your mind on all that. It's just hard not to still be attracted to you. And not because you're famous! Just so we're clear."

Aoife watched Neil before she just wanted to crawl into a hole and die for being such an idiot. "Yeah, they do, don't they? I don't know either of them at all. I just know that Tom is helping Euan and Gee get custody, and Stuart's Gee's BFF."

[alwaysbritish]

"I was just being honest with you," Neil told her, looking down at the olive floating around in his glass. "I didn't think you would appreciate the whole agree to a date out of sympathy thing. And seriously, I hear the copper is nice. A bit broody, but hot. Probably a better sexual track record than me, and all that." He looked around, trying to find the guy in question to scope him out. He caught sight of Liam, who had discarded the suit jacket in favour of a longer woollen black coat. Not surprising, really, but at least he was still here.

He gestured with his glass. "I know Tom, but not that well. I was OS for most of the whole Soph falling for Ethan thing, but he and Tom were always a package deal. By the way, your nephew is gorgeous. Perfect manners for a teen."

[artisticaoife]

Aoife held her hands up. "It's okay to be honest. I like honest. But I don't need you trying to hook me up with Adam Larson, either. Why are you trying to set me up with him?"

Aoife smiled proudly at the mention of her nephew. "Apparently he wasn't so perfect a bit earlier. Euan said the boy had had his first fit when Ethan was trying to get Gee to go after Stuart. It's hard to imagine him sulking, but he was. Are you sorry you missed out on all that? You would have come back for the wedding though, right? Did you ever meet Ethan before that."

[alwaysbritish]

Neil held up his hand. "I'm not! I don't even know the guy. Only from... the Liam thing, again. But even then, he wasn't one of them questioning us. He was questioning the fucker's family and shit. I'm just saying, if you want a nice guy to date, who won't be a prick, maybe he's a good option. I might point Renee is his direction, though."

He smirked. "Really? Ooo, could be puberty kicking in. Brace yourself. Or maybe he was just tired. He looks shot now. My nephew, meanwhile, was last seen screaming the castle down. Well, yeah. There is always a part of me sorry I missed out on so much, but I wouldn't be where I am today without that break in Australia. I went there to backpack and surf, got discovered one day on the beach. He and Soph flew out to Australia a couple of times. Ethan has a HQ of his company in Sydney. He came a couple of times on his own, too, so I was able to get to know him. He made a huge effort with our family. Bent over backwards."

[artisticaoife]

Aoife frowned as she looked at Neil, not really sure what she was supposed to say. Larson was a nice guy to date, and probably someone that Aoife should be interested in, but instead Neil was just going to send his sister in that direction. "Look, you don't want to date. It's fine, I get it. I'm sorry if I'm being a pain. The kiss was a mistake

[alwaysbritish]

It was Neil's turn to frown. "Now you're just making me feel bad. You know, it's okay for a chick to be all independent working woman and not need men or to date to get on. They get all 'Yay one for feminism, lets just use guys for sex because I'm independent and I work', and what do blokes get? Being made to feel like a man tart because he - shock horror - is too focused on his cock to date. It couldn't possible be that he doesn't want a girl to just feel like she's second best to a career he happens to really love

[artisticaoife]

Aoife continued to just look at Neil. "Hey! I'm not all independent woman and using men for sex. That's not me, okay? So maybe that is the problem. Maybe I need to learn how to be all like that so that I don't feel like such a chump for just liking a bloke. I never called you a man tart, you know. You did. If you love your career, then I think that's awesome. I think people should be doing things they love for work. Just like I love my job."

Aoife gave a small shake of her head. "Well, I just kind of sat with him, and held him for a little while. I wasn't really sure what to say so in the end we just sat there looking through the photos we'd been taking on the trip so far. How were you coping with Liam's nightmares?" She held up her hands defensively. "Hey, I didn't breathe a word. I never doubted that you could put in some serious hours. I just meant that being discovered on the beach was a pretty cool thing to have happened. But I'm sure he really doesn't, does he? He's now part of the family."

[alwaysbritish]

"I didn't say it was you," Neil pointed out, pressing his lips together in frustration. There was no way he was ever going to win this, so he didn't know why he was even trying. He never won arguments with his sisters, this wasn't going to be any different.

He gave a small nod. "Talking probably wouldn't help much anyway. Asking them if they're okay is pointless. Clearly they're not. I keep my distance with Liam. He withdraws. Well, he was. Like I said, he's getting a little better in general now he's had the right help. I just sat in my own room and tried not to burst into helpless tears most of the time. If I went in and touched him in the middle of the nightmare, it would be disastrous." He shrugged. "Actually, he did get pushed to the sidelines a little when we all came back. Sophie inadvertently cut him off from sex, so he retaliated by cutting her off."

[artisticaoife]

"Then I don't get it," Aoife replied with a confused frown. "You're trying to palm me off to Larson who you actually want with your sister all because he's a nice guy to be dating, and not a prick. I thought you were the prick in that scenario... No offence. But it was your word! That's why I got a little... annoyed."

Aoife nodded. "Aye, I know. I learned that one with Euan, too. He used to bite my head off if I asked him if he was alright. Definitely the worst question to ask someone. He's been good with the wedding, and I see he's still here. That's a huge step in the right direction. I know it can't be easy watching him hurt. I'm sorry you've felt that helpless. It can't be easy not being able to just do something." Aoife's eyebrows went up. "No way, really? Because if I was married to him... No way would I be cutting sex off."

[alwaysbritish]

Neil scrunched his face up and fought the urge to smack his head against the wall. "I wasn't trying to palm you off. I was just suggesting that if you want the whole dating thing, it might be nice for you. And actually I don't specifically want him for my sister, I just want her to be happy and to have some to take care of her like she deserves. She's been through a lot and a nice, sweet guy to take and make her happy is exactly what I want for her. If Larson is a possibility, yay! He's a copper. At least I know I can trust him on some level. And that? I was just repeating what other people tell me."

"It is the worst question when there are things seriously wrong. We do it reflexively, but it makes them just feel worse when they have to say no. Still here, but turfed the suit," he said in amusement. He nodded. "She was worried they were loud, but E puts a lot of stock in sex in general."

[artisticaoife]

"Other people call you a prick?" Aoife's eyebrows shot up. "I haven't once called you a prick. I don't think you're a prick. I'm sorry, this is just not how I wanted this to go. Can we just start over?"

Aoife pulled her mouth to the side. "So does my E. Strange, huh? They're alike in so many ways... Just had different paths when they were younger. I wonder if Euan could have ever been a billionaire."

[alwaysbritish]

"Of course they do. I'm an actor. For every person who likes me, there is one who doesn't. It's the nature of the business. But yeah, people call me that. That I use women, that I'm a man tart, a prick for not being ready for relationships and things. Which is a skewed opinion anyway. It's not that I'm not ready, there are just only so many hours in the day. This new show is areally full on. I don't just read a script and get my picture taken. I need to research, know how coppers function and operate, understand the laws they are portraying. I love it, but it's a huge thing. A challenge," Neil explained. "Start over in what sense? Because about the only time we weren't misunderstanding each other was when we were having sex."

He laughed a little. "Apparently your Ciaran thinks our E is Batman, or the like. But he's a kid. Sun will shine out of his own Dad's arse. Everyone else will be that little bit lower on the scale whether they're Batman or the Queen. No one ever really lives up to your Dad when you're a boy. Would he want to be