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"jack's girlfriend. no, the one with the tits." ([info]saidsid) wrote in [info]foltlins,
@ 2008-10-26 00:57:00

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Guilt has nothing to do with it.
Who: Sid & Barty.
When: October 26 1978, 1 pm
Where: Dwersteg's coffee shop in Diagon
What: Well, whatever it is, it's not a date.

Sid Demedici looked uncharacteristically nervous as she entered Dwersteg's in a set of well-tailored, chic, but appropriately low-key dress robes, brushing her bangs to the side as she glanced around to see if Barty was there yet.

Of course, she had nothing to be nervous about. Some people might have been a little antsy about being around Barty Crouch -- he was a difficult pill to swallow at times, and certainly the thought that crossing him might result in some sort of backlash from his rather powerful family connections had to occur to many people -- but Sid found him mostly amusing, interesting. Not particularly threatening at all.

(Maybe a little bit mad, but not particularly threatening.)

What was making Sid nervous today was the fact that she had been looking forward to this coffee, er, non-date a lot more than she would have liked to admit. It had been on her mind rather more than certain other things as of late. Her one year anniversary with Jack was coming disconcertingly close. She imagined her sudden attachment to someone she'd only really starting speaking to in the last couple of weeks was probably just a random thing, not to be worried about.

But really, talking with Barty was putting a lot of things about her relationship with Jack into perspective. Not even things she disliked about him; more like things she disliked about herself that she was grudgingly being forced to admit to.

But that was all getting ahead of herself. It must have been hormones, or something. Because really, she hardly knew Barty. And even if he was interesting and probably a little crazy and had wretchedly tempting hair and incredible cheekbones, they probably wouldn't even get along that well anyway. And even if they did, they hardly knew each other, so it really wasn't anything at all.

Really.

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[info]withdynamite
2008-10-26 02:16 am UTC (link)
Barty: secret secreter of pheromones to make the ladies go wild. Not that you'd guess it, if you looked at him while he was sitting in the cafe, having managed to get away from his lunch date (which also was not actually a date) with his mother. He'd managed to cut it short by ruefully admitting he was going to meet a girl, and then managed to escape curing the several minutes of pure shock and confusion that followed. He was not looking forward to the fall-out of several anxious owls that likely already awaited him at home.

As it was, he was dressing quite casually, as he tended to be during the weekend. A light robe hung open from his shoulders, and his long legs were stretched out to brace his feet against the chair opposite him, showing off acid-wash drainpipes that would probably have fit a 12 year old girl. His hair was in all sorts of casual disarray, parts sticking down against his forehead and other parts sticking up into the air and all together having given up on anything like a comb far too long ago, and he seemed bored, more than anything.

The scene, overall, had a distinct feeling of a broken umbrella shoved into a hair, with his shoulders folded forward and arms hanging limply between his legs as he waited.

To his credit, Barty did brighten when he saw Sid, and hurried to put his feet down onto the floor. He also stood, coming around the table to pull out the chair for her as he gave a slightly lop-sided smile.

"Sid! I was worried, uhm, that you were, you know, not going to come, that kind of thing," his voice had just a faint far-away tone to it, as if he wasn't entirely focused on what he was saying.

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[info]saidsid
2008-10-26 02:25 am UTC (link)
Sid grinned when she saw Barty and walked over to his table, nerves visibly melting away. Dubious values aside, Sid was nothing if not a social goddess.

"Why would you think I wouldn't come?" she asked smoothly, sitting down in the offered chair without missing a beat. "I was the one who more or less demanded you come and see me."

Sid did note his somewhat impressively tiny trousers and messy hair with a mixture of amusement, disappointment, and pleasure. On one hand, Dax probably would have smacked his own forehead in frustration if he'd seen Barty's hairdo. On the other, Sid was nothing if not used to a disregard for putting oneself together after a year of Jack.

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[info]withdynamite
2008-10-26 02:28 am UTC (link)
"Oh, I don't know. I mean, just, like, it's not like you had a reason to do, and it's just cause I'm bored, that kinda thing," he shrugged his shoulders a little uselessly, pushing in her chair an inch before going back to sit down in his own place.

"Not that this technically is a hobby, you know? It's kind of... an event. Even if it were a regular event, it's just not the same as a hobby," This was something that had been bothering him since she brought it up, after all.

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[info]saidsid
2008-10-26 02:35 am UTC (link)
Sid looked blankly at Barty for a moment. She could not for the life of him remember why he was talking about hobbies. What wasn't a hobby? Meeting people for coffee? Pulling out her chair? Seeing Sid?

After a moment, she remembered. Of course. Naturally. He was debating the semantics of a completely inconsequential conversation they'd had days before. Against all odds, she had found a crush who was just as, if not more, bloody bonkers as Jack was.

She half-smiled, hoping (really hoping) that he wasn't actually distressed about this.

"Even if it isn't, this is probably superior to a hobby, anyway. You said you needed a life outside your job. Socialization is an incredible asset to any life," she said lightly. "I could have suggested you start riding horses, but instead I invited you to coffee. What do you prefer, Barty: horses or me?"

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[info]withdynamite
2008-10-26 02:39 am UTC (link)
The question seemed to stump him only momentarily before understanding flickered in his wide blue eyes, and he was grinning at her happily. "You, of course! For one thing, I expect that you don't smell nearly as badly," He was still smiling to himself as he let his eyes slide off to the side slowly. If he had been distressed about this (which he was), at least he wasn't showing it (any more). Even if her rationalization still didn't exactly make it okay. It was like someone asking for a fruit and you gave them vegetables. An important part of any balanced meal, but dammit, he didn't really want to 'hang'. Well. He could, he guessed, if he had to, which he did, because a nice girl had asked him for coffee, and it was rude to say no to girls.

"How do you take your coffee, then, I'll go get it."

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[info]saidsid
2008-10-26 02:48 am UTC (link)
Still smiling (but maybe a little less naturally than before), Sid tried to understand exactly why Barty seemed so much more unhinged in person than in writing. Perhaps Sid was only now noticing what Alice had apparently caught on to from quillstrokes alone; he really did mean all the daft things he spat out all the time.

Her doubts about her and Jack were seeming further and further away. (Even if he did still look cute even when he was making her animal instincts say "Go. Now.")

"Just black, thank you," she said politely, her hands sitting primly in her lap. She was going to have to go over this with Dax; if she just skipped over the part where she half-fancied the boy, she was pretty sure he'd be able to give her a more accurate judgment on Barty's potential as an acquaintance than anyone else she felt comfortable discussing it with.

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[info]withdynamite
2008-10-26 02:54 am UTC (link)
He nodded, giving her another smile as he stood and made his way over to the counter, ordering and paying for the two of them, of course. He used the minute or two to stare pointedly not at her, mind racing to try and catch up with what was going on, and more importantly, think of a conversational topic once he had to go sit down. Still, he could do it. So far, it was going quite well!

He plodded back, taking calming deep breaths on the way, and very carefully put the cups down on the table before sitting again. He didn't say anything right away, dropped a cough into his hand, and looked out the window.

"So, uhm. Do you have to work?"

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[info]saidsid
2008-10-26 02:57 am UTC (link)
This was going to be one of those days, wasn't it?

Sid blew on and sipped her coffee while Barty appeared to pointedly pretend he was somewhere else in the world, placing the cup delicately back on the table when he spoke.

"I don't have to," she replied levelly. "My family doesn't mind that I'm not, right now. I've had a couple of jobs, briefly, but I haven't found anything I like terribly much. Do you like Auror training?"

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[info]withdynamite
2008-10-26 03:01 am UTC (link)
"Not really. It's awfully boring, I'm finding. Jumping through hoops and reading essays about how to recognise suspicious behaviour, or what to do when you find something that's giving you bad mojo," he rolled his eyes at that and gave a small snort, and that hardly seemed to be a very good topic for him. To his credit, after the Journal Feminist Fiasco, he managed not to congratulate her on her unemployment status. "I don't really have much of a choice, after all, I mean, I'm already this far into it." There was a shrug, and he let the conversation lapse into silence, sipping his own coffee rather happily.

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[info]saidsid
2008-10-26 03:04 am UTC (link)
"Do you listen to much music?" Sid asked, declining to remark on Barty's job; generally, in her experience, if someone bitched about some major part of their life and you hardly knew them, it was best to pretend they'd said nothing at all, so long as you didn't think it was anything that'd kill them. She didn't particularly expect an inspiring answer to her inquiry into his musical inclinations, either, but then she couldn't exactly ask anything like 'do you actually find me this dull or are you just inept?' and didn't want to know the answer to 'how did the chicken business go?'

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[info]withdynamite
2008-10-26 03:06 am UTC (link)
"Music? Oh! Sometimes. I mean-- I catch the WWN top 20 now and then, I suppose. I quite like it. Music, I mean." He looked at her rather more eagerly when she was leading the conversation, because answering questions was much easier than thinking them up.

He sipped his coffee again, and then paused. "Do, ah, you?"

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[info]saidsid
2008-10-26 03:10 am UTC (link)
"Well, yeah, my boyfriend's a musician, and the lot of that," Sid replied easily. Her posture had gotten slightly less perfect than it had been when she'd first sat down. "Whole reason I started fancying him was music. Liked it before then, too, though," she added. "You have a girlfriend, Barty?"

There may have been a slight chance that, annoyed by how much less well than she'd expected this was going, Sid's temper was getting the better of her and she was deliberately trying to make him at least as uncomfortable as she was. It was a distinct possibility.

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[info]withdynamite
2008-10-26 03:13 am UTC (link)
"Oh! So, you, ah, like his music, then? That's good." As good a reason as any to start a relationship, in his opinion, although his eyebrows rose rather quickly at the question, and there was just a bit of an awkward laugh. "Oh, ah, no. Not currently. That's certainly a, uhm, bold question, however," he admitted, although he didn't actually seem any more phased by it.

"I'd like to think that if I had a girlfriend, I'd hardly have to look for a hobby."

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[info]saidsid
2008-10-26 03:16 am UTC (link)
Seeming rather more amused again, Sid smirked, cocking an eyebrow at him. "It's not a particularly bold question, I think. Relationships are a central part of human life. They're exceedingly common and generally viewed in a positive light; I don't see why anyone should be antsy over mentioning them in brief. You're probably right about the hobby bit, though; perhaps I should have suggested a girlfriend, instead."

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[info]withdynamite
2008-10-26 03:19 am UTC (link)
"Girlfriends are harder to get than hobbies, too. And more demanding," he pointed out idly, thinking it over and tilting his head to the side. "Well. I suppose, in that way, but still. Being accompanied by a lovely young lady as yourself, taking a bite together, talking about my eligibility-- it could be construed in the wrong light, if, for example, your-- boyfriend found out." There was a hitch as he forced himself not to say 'suitor', feeling the formal air already creep up on him from behind.

In all honesty, Barty was already concerned that they didn't have a chaperone or something.

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[info]saidsid
2008-10-26 03:27 am UTC (link)
Oh dear God.

He was one of those.

Of course, Alice -- or a number of other people whose primary experience with Barty had been the journals -- could have told Sid that ages ago. After all the bollocks about the delicacy of Sid's sex or what-have-you, Sid had assumed he couldn't possibly be that daft because he was otherwise fun to talk to. Yet here she was, proven wrong.

It was a lot easier to assume someone was joking when they were writing something that seemed absurd to you than when they said it a few feet away from you. The words coming out of anyone else's mouth -- she could actually picture Benjy saying it, or something like it -- would likely be accompanied by a smirk and be a blatant prelude to 'let's get it on.' But no; Sid could see it. Barty was genuinely concerned about their talking about who they were dating.

The polite thing to do would have been to go back to making awkward conversation about various non-threatening topics, but frankly, Sid was having too much fun to back down now. One of the biggest reasons she'd gotten on with Jack and his crowd so easily was that, generally well-thought-of girl or not, Sid had a serious love for stirring shit up now and then. And this shit was too good not to stir.

"Do you think the wrong light is really the wrong light?" she prodded, smiling the same devilish smile which had in previous nights preceded the application of makeup to certain men at various drunken parties.

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[info]withdynamite
2008-10-26 03:29 am UTC (link)
There was a long second as the words filtered into one ear and then out the other, and his face went blank with utter confusion.

"What light."

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[info]saidsid
2008-10-26 03:30 am UTC (link)
"That wrong light you were mentioning," Sid said lightly, sipping her coffee again. "The one our conversation might be construed in, leading to some upset on the part of my boyfriend."

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[info]withdynamite
2008-10-26 03:32 am UTC (link)
"Well. Well, by definition, wrong light is wrong, yes, I suppose, so, you know, all around, yes." He didn't seem to have any idea what they were talking about any more, he be blinked owlishly before taking a sip of his coffee.

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[info]saidsid
2008-10-26 03:34 am UTC (link)
"What light should it be seen in?" Sid looked, for all the world, terribly innocent. She appeared to have no idea she was deliberately trying to make a very proper, brainwashed boy say Things He Mustn't in public.

Though really, what they were saying now was much tamer than what he'd been saying for all the world to see to Rookwood earlier. She supposed talking about bestiality and sex and all of that was only okay if no girls were involved. That lent an entirely new dimension to Barty's apparent uninterest in her. She really would have to ask Dax's opinion.

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[info]withdynamite
2008-10-26 03:36 am UTC (link)
"Should-- Well, I mean, that sort of thing, well, there isn't a proper light for it, because. I mean. Well, it's improper," he was getting uncomfortable, finally, and shuffled his feet a little more underneath the table as he suddenly found his coffee cup extremely interesting.

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[info]saidsid
2008-10-26 03:39 am UTC (link)
"Why is it improper?" Sid prompted. This was actually getting a bit fabulous. She was successfully going to have the boys in stitches the next time there was group drinking. Unless Jack decided to be jealous, but honestly, at this point, she couldn't see what Jack could rationally have to be jealous of.

The poor bastard. It was a shame someone so pretty had to be so bloody hopeless.

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[info]withdynamite
2008-10-26 03:41 am UTC (link)
"Well, I mean, for one thing, you're, well, you've got someone," he pointed out matter-of-factly, and there was nothing she could argue with about that, so there! Then he added, a little more quietly and pitifully,

"And we're in public."

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[info]saidsid
2008-10-26 03:45 am UTC (link)
Sid tilted her head at Barty, unsuccessfully trying to suppress a smile. All right. She didn't want to make him cry. In public.

"Okay," she said simply, sipping her coffee again. "Did you have fun with Mr Rookwood before?"

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[info]withdynamite
2008-10-26 03:48 am UTC (link)
That was very kind of her, but the new line of questioning didn't seem very helpful in making him not-cry, and he sipped his coffee slowly before glancing up at Sid without actually moving his head towards her.

"It was okay." He kind of wanted to go home, now.

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[info]saidsid
2008-10-26 03:53 am UTC (link)
Oh dear. Sid hadn't actually meant to fully traumatize him. She suspected she might have.

"I hope I haven't offended you too badly," she said somewhat more seriously, setting her cup down.

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[info]withdynamite
2008-10-26 03:55 am UTC (link)
He glanced up a little more, forcing himself to give a bright smile that actually came surprisingly close to looking sincere.

"Oh! No, don't worry, Sid. It takes a bit more than that to offend me, I promise," which wasn't true at all but whatever he didn't want to make sure sad, so he reached over to give her a friendly pat on the arm. "I'm just, you know, tired. Working a lot, and had a late night, and all of that, you know."

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[info]saidsid
2008-10-26 04:01 am UTC (link)
Barty was lying. Sid could tell this, despite still hardly knowing him, because so far this afternoon, when he seemed to genuinely mean what he was saying, it tended to be much less friendly than this. Something about the half-hearted bravado of his words sounded entirely wrong.

"Naturally," she said, looking vaguely unsure. "I wouldn't want to keep you, if you're feeling tired...?"

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[info]withdynamite
2008-10-26 04:04 am UTC (link)
"Oh, no no no! It's not problem at all! After all, I said that I would have coffee with you. I hear coffee does wonders for when you're feeling tired!" He winked exaggeratedly. He also spoke with far more emphasis!.

"How has your week been, then?"

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[info]saidsid
2008-10-26 04:08 am UTC (link)
All right, this was just getting scary.

"My week was good," Sid said cautiously, sort of wishing someone else she knew would turn up so this would be slightly less embarrassing. "Fairly unremarkable, as far as weeks go. And yours?"

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[info]withdynamite
2008-10-26 04:09 am UTC (link)
"Well, I mean, I kinda just summed it up, with the whole, work and tired and stuff." He shrugged his shoulders, but at least his sickeningly cheerful attempt had worn off, and he was swishing his coffee around idly, and poking one of the sugar packets on the table.

"What are, uhm, you doing the next week?" He was running out of good conversation topics.

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