we've never been so many

[dofaye]

Characters: Jules de Ferrier, Gilbert Cocteau, and Serge Battour
Location: the Deathbucks closest to Casualty Communal
Rating: Who even knows, man. PG?
Time: backdated to the afternoon of October 23rd
Description: Jules absolutely needs to see his schoolmates in person mostly just Gilbert and what better way to do it than over tea? Disgusting Death

Comments

[whatsatisfiesme]

All of that watching would have to end in disappointment, though, because when Gilbert finally slid into view from around the corner, he was looking very nearly pristine. Fully-dressed, shirt buttoned close to the top, hair unmussed and skin unmottled by heat or sweat -- looking like that, he might have walked from the Communal without so much as a breeze daring to touch him. (And if that was more "relief" than "disappointment" for Jules, the feeling didn't seem to be mutual. Gilbert stopped to take in the Deathbucks' logo with an expression that looked more tired than anything.)

At least the nobleman had made himself simple to spot. Gilbert hadn't fancied the thought of having to poke around the place for him. He didn't much fancy the fact that they were here instead of in his own rooms or Jules', to begin with. Moving through the city was still an alien experience for him, strange and unfulfilling rather than exotic. But he'd come anyway - since, he told himself, there was nothing else to be done - and now he crossed the street and

[musiquejeunesse]

Serge believed he was running ever so slightly late, having had to stop and ask for directions after failing to navigate the bizarre computerized map. When the coffee shop finally came into view he picked up his pace, quickly spotting Gilbert as he sat down at one of the outdoor tables with Jules de Ferrier revealing himself a second later.

He ran the last stretch to meet the others, his breath speeding up only slightly by the time he reached the table. He silently offered to shake Jules' hand as he uttered a shot greeting before sitting down.

"Bonjour"

[dofaye]

Jules didn't bother to say anything to Gilbert when he first came, opting to only give him a small, kind smile instead. That was partially because he saw Serge in the distance, but just as much because he wasn't entirely sure what to say to Gilbert -- they had had conversations alone together, of course, but never in a place where Gilbert had almost literally nobody he knew to go to if he got bored of Jules. Serge would, he assumed, make things more formal for the both of them; whether that was good or bad, Jules couldn't say.

"Bonjour to you, Monsieur," he said when Serge arrived, standing up for just a moment to gingerly shake his hand. "I see that the both of you are still in one piece," he continued, glancing toward Gilbert. "Aren't you?"

[whatsatisfiesme]

As Serge arrived and moved to sit down, there was no sound (nor even very much movement) from Gilbert's place at the table. The blonde's eyes darted over to watch his classmate shake hands with Jules, and then, when he'd settled in, Gilbert shifted just slightly, just enough that he could pass for having his attention turned on both noblemen at once. Had he seen the pair together in the same room before this? Maybe passing in the hallways -- but, up this close, the sight was still new in an unwelcome way.

What was Jules de Ferrier even expecting, dragging the three of them together like this? Gilbert doubted that he could stomach a chat about 'keeping together' or 'looking out for each other in these circumstances.' And what else was there to say to both of them? (And yet here he'd come anyway!)

"Mmhm."

The smile and nod he gave in reply to Jules' glance were each artfully noncommittal.