Witch Weekly Annual Holiday Party (Thursday 12/19)

[daphne_x]

The Holidays were a cheerful and festive time. In fact, this season was Daphne Greengrass's favorite time of a year. Everyone seemed to be in a better mood around bright lights, wrapped presents, and the jingle bells. It was about the only time that she preferred to see snow on the ground rather than feel the sand between her toes

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[reidinggg]

Reid was still grumbling about the fact that Skylar had managed to make her escape without giving him the chance to stink-eye Harry properly when he himself arrived at the party a half hour later, most of the intervening time having been spent debating the endlessly unsolvable tie-vs-no tie question

[reidinggg]

Reid finally did manage to tear his eyes away from Sebastian's entirely too distracting face, turning his gaze to Jemma just long enough to throw a few daggers her way. He was suddenly all to aware of what she had purposely done. He just wasn't sure how he felt about it just yet.

He threw another quick side glance at Sebastian's brooding profile.

...Alright, so maybe he wasn't all that upset about it. Still, she'd be needing a stern talking to when all this was said and done.

...Or perhaps a high five, or a present of sorts. It was still too early for him to know.

He finally shook himself out of the initial shock the sudden onslaught of shameless attractivenes had sent him into, clearing his throat and raising a questioning eyebrow as he turned his attention back to Sebastian.

"A drink, then?" he asked, jerking a thumb toward the bar, doing his best to keep himself from being too blatant about his helpless staring.

[jemmadorny]

She'd never felt so delighted to receive so many glares before in her life. She kept her face straight, however, as she looked back and forth between them. It had come to her so suddenly when she spotted Reid by the bar- and frankly, as she eyed them standing across from each other- they looked damn good together.

"I'm full of suggestions," she told Sebastian, her eyelashes fluttering playfully. "Go on, you two will have fun! Some of us should anyway, take advantage of the open bar and all that. I've got an election to win-"

And with that, she squeezed both their arms before leaving them to their own devices.

Shew knew lectures were going to follow but she hardly cared. They'd be thanking her soon enough.

[daleysebastian]

"Definitely a drink," Sebastian nodded after a couple beats of silence following Jemma's hasty retreat. He inclined his head toward the bar and headed that way, though not so quickly as to actually attempt to leave Reid behind. It was actually shocking. Sebastian was half-tempted to sulk the whole way, but he was trying this new polite thing.

At least when he was faced with someone that wore a suit that damn well.

"Is she always this clever and subtle?"

[reidinggg]

Reid couldn't help the laugh that escaped him as they reached the bar, shaking his head with a mix of admiration and frustration.

"Unfortunately, yes. Sneaky minx, that one," he said, the endearing affection clear in his tone despite his accusing words. "You should probably get used to it if you're meant to be working with her."

He paused, throwing another lingering side glance at Sebastian before leaning against the bar's counter, raising a hand to get one of the bustling bartenders' attention. Just from looking at him (and he really was thoroughly enjoying looking at him), he guessed that if there was anybody who could keep up with up Jemma and her ways, this one could certainly manage it.

[daleysebastian]

"I'm still not sure I am," Sebastian shook his head. He set his whiskey tumbler on the bar and gave the same bartender Reid had just flagged a short nod. He was reaching his cap of social interaction for the night - month - and couldn't expend additional energy on waitstaff.

"I haven't decided how temporary this is." For some reason, that seemed like a necessary point to make. Or it could be that Sebastian was just saying words for the sake of it, which didn't happen to him often. He was really thrown for a loop with relocating just in time to be tricked into a job and a party all in one go.

"Tell me she's at least better at tricking people with money into doing what she wants without looking so smug."

[reidinggg]

"Have you seen what she's wearing? With the crowd she's aiming for tonight, all she has to do is walk by and wave and the galleons will be piling up at her feet," he rolled his eyes, still with a hint of a 'get it, girl' smile on his lips.

"Rum and coke, double," Reid nodded to the bartender, turning a questioning eyebrow in Sebastian's direction, scrutinizing him stern (stupidly attractive) expression. He had, after all, been warned about his supposed grumpiness. His apparent lack of enthusiasm didn't exactly come as a shock.

A challenge, more like.

"Anyway, any particular reason why it should be temporary?" he asked, idly fingering the rim of his fresh drink.

[daleysebastian]

"Whiskey, straight," Sebastian added his order to Reid's. While he was at it, he considered Reid's assessment of Jemma's dress and the crowd. He had to admit how true it was. She definitely looked stunning and a bit above most of the rest. It spoke of money which always brought more money to it.

Sebastian was a realist - cynic - so the thought couldn't be helped.

Turning away from the bar, drink in hand, Sebastian weighed his options. How honest should he be? It was one thing with the people he'd known - or Jemma who apparently knew everything about him already - but someone new? Who was so stupidly nice to stare at?

Whatever, he was allowed to be stupid over a pretty face sometimes.

"I don't exactly spend much time in the country. Haven't for years. Didn't see much reason to change that now."

[reidinggg]

"Don't exactly see much of a reason not to change that, either," Reid countered with a shrug, leaning back against the bar, still trying to keep his sideglances down to a relatively subtle minimum.

He hadn't thought it possible, but Sebastian's profile was somehow even more enticing than his other angles, all strong brow, perfectly sloped nose, and sharp, tauntingly angled, stubble-covered jaw...

Reid bit down on his lip, casting a look of borderline concern down at his drink - a few more of these in this man's presence and he feared he might start embarrassing himself.

[daleysebastian]

Sebastian was a professional. He should be able to catch every sideways glance sent his way. Unfortunately, he was too busy alternating glancing at his drink and up through his eyelashes at Reid to actually catch much that was going on. On anyone else, Sebastian would call it bashful, on himself?

He called it self-preservation.

"Point, I guess," he nodded. It was a good point, if extremely simple. He couldn't even argue against it. "The are hasn't really been great to me so." He shrugged and pretended this man wasn't somehow ridiculously engaging. And the lip biting? Damn did he have to draw attention to his mouth like that?

[reidinggg]

"So-" Reid cleared his throat again, stubbornly set against letting the conversation flicker off (and if that was to keep from happening, he had a feeling he'd have to do most of the work) mostly for fear of what he would do should he be left with nothing to occupy himself other than his drink and the sight of Sebastian's face and, well, overall look. It really was all he could do to keep his hands to himself as it was already

[daleysebastian]

Sebastian laughed - sort of, it was an amused sound, more of a huff, really. "She would have been trying for a while, I never stayed in the same place long." Come to think of it, six months had probably been the longest he'd stayed in one place for very long since he'd unceremoniously been pulled out of Hogwarts and disappeared off the radar. It usually took that long for someone to catch onto the werewolf thing, though, so that probably had something to do with it. "If she'd been tracking me down, I wouldn't have come back. I don't take kindly to being stalked, even if I'm getting paid." Well, that was a shocking bit of disclosure.

There was no denying that Sebastian wasn't exactly a brilliant conversationalist - at least, not with people he didn't know or hadn't ever known. Typically, he just gave it up after about 30 seconds, but then again, most people let him let conversations die. Reid was definitely turning out to be wholly atypical

[reidinggg]

Reid couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped him. "Sort of. Right." He sipped slowly at his drink, glancing up at Sebastian through his eyelashes. "The whole 'brooding and mysterious' thing really works for you, doesn't it?"

Never mind that he also seemed like the type that could easily squish him under his boot if he so much as said the wrong thing, Reid had given up trying to hold his tongue in delicate situations. No matter how many times it landed him in trouble, there was nothing to be done as far as stopping himself from speaking his mind.

Not that this was meant as a slight of any kind. If patterns were anything to go by, he had absolutely nothing against the brooding and mysterious types, and this one was no exception.

[daleysebastian]

"The sort of is to have some sense of decorum. Even I have that." Sometimes. Most of the time, Sebastian didn't give two fucks who he offended - usually on accident - or otherwise irritated - generally on purpose.

"It hasn't failed me yet, actually," Sebastian said. Somehow - for some unknown reason - he actually smirked and took a long drink. "You want to pretend like it isn't working for you?"

He'd caught some of the looks - even though he'd been trying to be covert himself. Those were meaningful looks - impressed ones - and Sebastian could at least admit he appreciated it.

[reidinggg]

...Fair point.

He certainly couldn't deny it. He wouldn't exactly have called himself a bad liar, but, well, yes, he was a relatively bad liar, all tell tale twitches and anxious ticks and nervous laughter. There was no point in even trying.

"Fair point," Reid reitterated his thought out loud, shrugging and hoping that he at least sounded more nonchalant than he felt.

Still, he couldn't help himself from throwing him another flickering glance. If it was at all possible, it was almost as if he was getting more ridiculously entrancing with every look.

[daleysebastian]

Sebastian laughed - actually laughed, no matter how quiet it was.

"That's what I thought." The fact that Reid owned it - didn't try to turn it into some kind of nonsense game - had Sebastian looking at him a little more blatantly but definitely still with interest.

"We established that I'm both mysterious and interesting," his voice was a little too dry to be cocky. "But you've managed not to say anything about yourself."