London Calling RPG

Outside of London, in her travels for work or pleasure, Victoria had spent less time in the British Isles than elsewhere, understandably, having worked for MI6.

About to assure the girl she'd enjoy it, Victoria had to pause as servers made their way into the dining room bearing trays of food in the promised black. "I believe that's our cue to wonder over the chef's ingenuity," she said. "Are you ready to see whether it can compare to mountain woodchuck?"

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miss_ives

"It is certainly an idea," Vanessa agreed, not empty words. She would actually consider it, perhaps sooner rather than later.

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wispofathing

Curnen started to giggle. "I think so, yeah."

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willysilver

"Clearly dancing," Willy smiled and offered his hand to lead her to the floor.

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0_0_7

"A very good idea. I am quite looking forward to swimming, a good beer, and plenty of rest. I've got a feeling I'll be going to China soon to investigate the Em-drive business to see if there's any weight to it," he said casually, then sipped his drink.

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shannonteverius

Shannon eyed Remus' drink warily, then took a breath to steel himself. "Why not? And then you can tell me more about this bloke of yours. Last time we spoke I hadn't heard that anything was official."

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Remus steered him towards the nearest bar with a gentle hand on his back. "One of...these, please," he said to the bartender, gesturing with his own half-drunk glass. He couldn't for the life of him remember the name of it. When it arrived, Remus paid, and gestured for Shannon to have a start, clearly curious at his reaction.

"As for my bloke, we haven't been official for that long. We were, however, decidedly unofficial. He was in love with me, and I was in love with him, and both of us too stupid to do anything about it. So it's a bit of a gift, really." Remus held up his glass in a toast: "Merry Christmas."

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Remus coloured a little. He'd said worse, far worse, about Sirius to his face. But that was different: Sirius and he knew what each other was about, and even when other students had said similar, well, they knew what Sirius could be like at his best. And they knew he was a Black.

Not for the first time, Remus was hit with just how insular Hogwarts had been, how closed and parochial wizarding society was. You tended to forgive people a lot when almost everyone was second cousins twice removed. "Well, he just...takes a bit of getting used to," he murmured, suitably abashed. "But it's hardly required. Still. do invite us, please: it'd be lovely to get to know more people."

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Remus chuckled, but it wasn't an especially amused sound. "Oh, you're not the first to say I'm a rare breed. But I always appreciate being someone's favourite." He returned the toast with a sip, pacing himself for no real reason.

He got the feeling that somehow their friendship had gotten more distant and yet more intimate over the course of the conversation: they knew each other more deeply than they had before, they understand where each was coming from, and yet for all that Remus was quite happy to be everyone's agony aunt, Felix was not availing himself of what seemed like the perfect opportunity. Perhaps he never would.

"I'm sure you're nearly everyone's favourite." Something else he had in common with Sirius. "But let's go back to our menfolk, shall we? It was lovely to see you, m'dear."

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"It's definitely a jolly time," Remus agreed, picking at his food. The colour might have been disconcerting, but then he'd lived through James and Sirius' attempts at bachelorhood: he'd tasted far, far worse. Some of it was actually pleasant. "...I think what I like about Christmas is that it's an opportunity for family, whether the one you were born with, or the one you made. A lot of people seem to need the latter these days, even if it's...making new friends at bizarrely themed Christmas feasts!" He flashed her a small, conspiratorial smile: Remus knew he could definitely do with folk in his life that weren't Sirius-and-wizards, that didn't drag him down into stories and histories and notions of a war he'd never fought and a wife he'd never known. Sometimes it was just nice to be anonymous at a table and meet someone new without any expectation.

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harrowgate

Felix could talk for hours on end and still say very little about himself, his feelings, or the things that troubled him. Yet Remus' offer to listen to him was clear, and Felix couldn't say he wasn't tempted to confess. Remus probably wouldn't even judge him for the choices he'd made... but it still felt too much like pulling down the protections he'd built and exposing himself to danger.

"And you, darling. Now that you and Sirius are an item, we'll get the four of us together, shall we? As long as we don't chatter about magic all night, Shannon will find it delightful, I'm sure." He leaned up off the wall and self-consciously smoothed down his jacket in preparation.

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Em didn't know either, and when she didn't know something... "I'm not much help, unless you want... I could see what the tarot says," she offered, shrugging.

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"You like him," said a lot, in Em's opinion. "And I won't say a matchmaking word." With one finger, she traced a cross over her heart. "We can just awkward at each other some time."

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"It's always something with work, isn't it?" she replied noncommittally. "If they're going to send you, that is."

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Victoria gave a tiny nod, liking the idea, whether it went further than that or not. But then movement caught her eye as servers came in from the kitchens. "Ah, the black roast beast. One adventure at a time, hm?"

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jageskro

Jag frowned, and then shook his head. "No. Thank you, but... No. Let's just... stay, and enjoy the meal, and not be obvious. There are so many people he might not even notice us."

That was a bit of a lost hope, but Jag wanted to believe that they could all have a nice evening.

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miss_ives

"Let us hope this one isn't too much of an adventure," Vanessa replied with sparkling eyes. She was hoping that the food would actually be good, and not worth being called an adventure.

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akatawitch

Sunny snorted softly. "Would you like me to make any counter-promises?"

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Em hadn't really thought Jag would want her to throw the cards. She wasn't even sure she wanted to in this case. So the mix of emotions in her chest included a tiny bit of relief at his decision. "I'm usually pretty good at not being obvious." It went with not wanting to be noticed. But not being obvious they were here together together, that would be harder when Em could barely keep her eyes off Jag and even the casual touches they've always shared seemed different now.

"Maybe we could go on through to the dining area?" she suggested. It might be easier on Jag, if he didn't have to watch Val with his date, whether or not it kept Val from seeing them.

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"Would it help if I did?" Em asked, teasing like she would've with her cousin or Dani, both of whom tending to say what they wanted to say regardless, and who often thought Em needed a nudge out of her shell. Whether she did or not.

"Just... It's a lot newer than it feels, 'cause we've been friends so long. We'r still figuring things out, and not really telling a lot of people?"

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"More feast, less peril?"

It smelled good, anyway, as the servers set the food out on the tables. And looked – intriguing. "It'll be fine. A lovely meal, and a story to tell from now on, about the Christmas we ate an entirely black meal."

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jageskro

"Yeah," Jag immediately agreed, nodding and forcing himself to look away. They walked towards the tables next door, and he gave Em a small smile. "Thank you."

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miss_ives

"In good company," Vanessa completed for her, watching the food arriving with curious bright eyes.

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akatawitch

"Don't talk about it," Sunny translated. She nodded "I can do that."

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