libby mcmouthpiece quirke (ex_quirkless555) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2008-12-04 19:43:00 |
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Libitina apparated into Hogsmeade, pulling her knitted hat farther down and tightening her scarf as she walked down towards the Hog's Head pub. An unusual place to be going to, she knew, but likely quieter than any other place they could go. Perhaps being alone in her flat with her had made him uncomfortable? She had been behaving rather frivolously. Frowning she looking up and down the street, lingering outside the Hog's Head for a moment or two before the cold became too much and she stepped inside. Severus finished up his work at the library and then stepped outside, set the wards and headed across the street towards the Hog's Head. He knew that he was a bit late, there had been an individual in one of the reading rooms that would not leave, and finally Sev had taken to charming a book to start advancing on the scholar rather menacingly. All things considered, it seemed to have done the trick, and the man had left, looking flustered when he went. The air had gotten quite chill, and it was dark, so when he reached the Hog's Head, he opened the door, the wind swirling in with him as he entered the warmth of the now familiar pub. He hoped it was not a mistake to meet her here, but it was truth that he did come here after work - it was conveniently the nearest pub to the Lestrange Library - and if she were going to be scared off by him she ought to be scared off straight away, before he accidentally fell for her. Once in the door, he saw her standing to the side and he gave her a cautious smile. "Hi," he said, shrugging his shoulders, so that the scarf he was wearing covered almost his entire neck up to his chin. It was definitely warmer in the building than out and so he unwrapped the scarf. It was quiet in the pub, but Abe was behind the bar, and Severus' eyes floated to it briefly before he stepped forward to stand a bit closer to her. "I suppose we should get a table." Abe looked up as the door to the pub opened and a tiny, rather mischievous smile grew on his face when he saw who it was. Severus and a lovely young lady. He thoroughly approved. He knew Severus had cared greatly for Agnes but that didn't mean the young man should be a monk for the rest of his life. Nor should either of his... extracurricular jobs. They weren't going to be easy and while he wasn't sure a serious relationship was wise, having a drink and meal with a lovely lady was hardly something to deny oneself. After hadn't Abe himself had his moments over the years? He chuckled quietly and picked up a glass and a piece of rag. He set himself to ostensibly 'cleaning' the glass while keeping a surreptitious eye on the pair. She smiled in acknowledgment of his greeting and nodded, her eyes sweeping the slightly gloomy pub. "Where do you want to sit?" she asked quietly, taking off her scarf and hat and putting them in an inside pocket, then shaking out her slightly ruffled hair. A good number of the tables were empty, they could pretty much sit anywhere and be mostly undisturbed. But having never entered the Hog's Head before now, she was entirely unsure of Severus's normal routines at the place, if he had any. Rubbing her hands together (they were still a bit cold, and she didn't own gloves), she looked at him somewhat expectantly. Severus glanced at her bare hands, and wondered why she hadn't put on gloves. It was cold enough that he thought she should have, but he didn't make any mention of it - it was not particularly his concern at any rate - and he nodded to a table in a far corner, away from the few people who had come in for an earlier evening drink. It was coincidentally also rather far away from Aberforth as well, which was at least partially purposeful. He wasn't certain why he had brought her here tonight. It would be easier not to, and certainly it was opening himself up to comments from Abe, but he supposed it didn't matter. He honestly wasn't certain why he'd agreed to tonight in the first place. He wasn't certain what, if anything, he felt for her, and so it made the mere fact of their dates to be somewhat bewildering. She'd even asked him, really. The champagne had been her idea, and the suggestion to meet had been hers as well, and she found him nice? He was torn between feeling flattered, and thinking that there really was very little possibility that she could genuinely wish to spend time with him. Perhaps she was merely as lonely as he was, in which case, it wasn't charity so much as self-preservation, and Severus understood that much at least. "What do you want from the bar?" He asked, as they reached the table and he sat his book bag down, careful to not bump her with it as he had done the first night they had met. Libitina sat down at the table. Running another hand through her hair, she sighed slightly. Why had she asked him to meet again? Why had she even asked him in the first place? This seemed silly. Not that she was entirely against spending time with people when you could easily keep them at an adequate distance, and Severus didn't seem entirely too interested in find out the nuances of her personality. That was good at least. Boundaries were always good. But she couldn't help but acknowledge that life was getting dimmer by the second, and it was a lonely place to be. Libitina did like the company, however shallow it may have been. "What do you normally get when you come here?" she asked, after a moment to consider it. He hesitated for a moment, resisting the urge to glance over and see what Abe was doing. More than likely smirking the infuriating smirk and twinkle he got in his eyes when he was genuinely amused over something. Severus mostly failed to see how not dating a girl was remotely amusing, but then he was not a member of the old man's club, as Aberforth had phrased it. "Firewhiskey," he admitted with a smallish smirk. "The harder the better, but I think tonight I'm just going to get a cider. After all the champagne we downed the other night, I think I want something light." She smiled, drumming her fingers on the table. "Cider sounds fine to me," she said with a nod. "The champagne was a bit much," she added with a sheepish smirk. Though she had enjoyed the champagne night, in a way. Though she couldn't help but be wholly embarrassed by her behaviour. "I don't think I've ever drank that much in a night." Or ever, at all. Drinking wasn't really something she did out of habit, nor did she typically find it that enjoyable. Severus actually grinned at her, and nodded. "I have, but usually I put my journal away when I'm going to do that much drinking. It's easier to not wake up to embarrassment in the morning. All right, then I'll be right back." And he moved over to the bar, bracing himself for whatever commentary Aberforth might have for him. They weren't dating, they were just friends... A dozen halfway unbelievable excuses ran through his head and he finally decided he didn't care. He put his hands down on the bar and looked up at Abe. "Two ciders, please?" Abe watched, while appearing not to watch, as Severus made his way over to the bar. He arched an eyebrow even as he reached up and pulled down two mugs. "Cider, eh?" he said innocently. "I'm tempted to feel hurt. You never drink cider with me." Severus had been expecting some comment and he raised an eyebrow at Abe, trying not to flush with embarrassment. It wasn't really that embarrassing - he and Libby were not dating, they were doing something... undetermined at this point in time, which did not equate to "date". And that meant that Abe had no reason to tease him - not that this was likely to stop the man - nor did Severus have any reason to be embarrassed about it - not that this stopped his cheeks from feeling a little bit hot. "Maybe you need to shave your beard and start wearing a skirt," he quipped back easily. "Or, alternatively, simply offer me some." "I've tried that," Abe said with a wicked grin as he poured the two drinks. "I look dreadful in a skirt... don't have the legs for it... and I make a terribly ugly woman." He didn't elaborate on that and left it up to Severus to decide whether he was serious or not. He placed the mugs on the bar and snuck a look over at the young lady Severus was with. He grinned at Severus, a twinkle dancing in his eyes. "One the house for you and your young lady friend." Severus reached out to take the glasses and was going to argue, but then he realised there probably wasn't any point. Abe would just be stubborn and Libitina would wonder why on earth he and the bartender were arguing. "I can't imagine you in a skirt any more than I could imagine me in a veil. Well, you can't keep looking at her like that and not tell me what you think." He gave Abe a look, his hands on the two glasses, but he waited for a moment more. Abe chuckled. "You'd probably look marginally better in a veil. I don't have the bone structure or the build to pass as a woman." He arched an eyebrow and glanced over at the young lady again before he softened into a more genuine smile. "I think she looks lovely. I can't pass judgment on what she's like as person because I've never met her but she does look lovely." he made a shooing motion with one hand. "Now go back to her or she'll start thinking you want to be here and not there with her." Sev smirked for a moment, and then gave Abe a look. But there would be time for what he was implying with that statement later on and Aberforth was right that that Libitina would begin to wonder. "I don't know what would ever give her that impression," Severus said blithely and with that, he nodded slightly, picked up the two glasses and made his way back towards the table where Libitina was waiting. Libitina waited patiently for him to return from the bar, her thoughts wandering as she did so. Did Xeno need an article this week? Had she fed the fish? They had been green today. She would have to look at her book when she got home. Pursing her lips, she wondered what this was supposed to be. That sort of worried her. In Hogwarts, people had gone to the Three Broomsticks and places like Madam Puddifoot's on dates. Was this a date? She couldn't be sure. She hadn't really ever considering going on dates with someone. Though, she noted, the idea wasn't entirely objectionable. She found Severus somewhat fun to talk to. Looking around the pub again, Libitina noticed that the patrons seemed to be considerably older than both she and Severus, they also all looked distinctly unpleasant as well. "Hmm," she said under her breath. Severus took a deep breath as he approached the table with the two glasses of cider feeling vaguely more flustered than he ought to, he supposed. This wasn't anything serious. They were both lonely and they didn't want to spend all of their time at their respective homes alone, no matter what she might say about being all right with being alone. He put the glass of golden liquid down carefully in front of her and then sat his own down across from her, and took a seat. "There we go," he said, unnecessarily. Now what? The other night they had both been rather inebriated and he'd been rather friendlier than he might have otherwise been, and she'd seemed more serious and real than she had during other times, and then they had actually hugged, or she had hugged him, which meant that he was left even more confused. If he was honest with himself, he could say there was certainly a physical reaction to that - to her - but he was fairly confident it was not more than that. She didn't really know what she was asking for, asking him out for drinks. "How was your day then?" He asked finally. It was a simple enough question, but a good beginning point, he supposed. "Thanks," she said, taking the glass and sliding it towards her. Thinking about her day, she wondered what she should answer him with. "Well I didn't do much," she started. "I went to Xenophilius's to see if he needed anything, which he didn't, so I went home and read for a while." Libitina realized how dull her day sounded, once she actually had to talk about it to someone. She was typically perfectly content with her routines. Clearing her throat, she smiled again. "How was your day?" she asked him with a sort of forced cheerfulness. Taking a swallow of the cider, she found that the taste wasn't entirely horrible. Severus nodded thinking that he would need more in a day to keep him busy. Although, he supposed that reading would keep him busy if he had enough books to work his way through. Recently though, it had been all books and journals and library and potions. With the few exceptions being the times he had spent time with Libitina, he had done very little of any amusement for the past two weeks. But that train of thought led him into the potions he should be brewing and the very thin tightrope he walked which merely tended to further emphasize to him that regardless of whether he liked her or not, he should not spend time with Libitina. Women he spent time with tended to get married off, or to die, or to become otherwise unable to talk to him any more, and he really didn't like that idea. "A bit long," he admitted. "I woke up fairly early this morning to check on several potions that I'd started the night before. They have schedules and you have to add ingredients at certain points, which I did, but meant I was up rather early after being awake rather later. And then I went to work, obviously. And that was about the same as usual. Jacqueline Wilkes, you probably remember her sister Julianne - I think they were in your year - volunteers to assist with shelving materials and the like, so I ended up talking to her for a bit, and then since there weren't a lot of people in the library I just did some personal research. And I finished that, and then there was someone in the reading rooms that wouldn't leave - sorry - so I chased them out with a book, rather literally actually. And then I came here. So... I'm not certain it was really that fascinating. What book were you reading? "I do remember Julianne," she acknowledged, nodding slightly. They had shared a dorm for seven years. That wasn't to say they were particularly friendly, or anything. "It sounds like you were quite busy." Turning her glass distractedly, she paused for a moment. "I was just reading some silly novel my aunt sent me, it definitely wasn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination. "What sort of research were you doing?" she asked. This question was naturally double-edged; if he refused to answer it, that was more proof in favor of him being a Death Eater or something of that nature, if he answered, well she would have to just admit she was wrong. Though she was almost hoping to be wrong about it. Severus nodded. Novels, well, he had read a few, and if he did occasionally try for some literature although he found that mostly he felt he had very little time for it. He had devoured much of the local library during the summers of his childhood, finding that Muggle literature was preferable to Muggle people, particularly his father. And if he were in the library, he could not be elsewhere where he might be bullied or his father might stumble across him. "Unsurprisingly, potions research," he said smoothly. The very nice thing about researching potions for Mr Dolohov and also at the same time trying to complete the work to be eligible to take the entrance into the final section of the Potion Master title, was that the purposes overlapped somewhat. And today's research had actually been more for the latter than the former as he had a large percentage of the book research already completed for what Antonin had asked him for. "I can't remember if I've said I'm trying to complete the Potion Master studies - and if I can time it right, I should be able to take the test in January to be admitted to the final three months - which might be more like six with my current job, but either way, I should still have it by the end of 1980." Raising her eyebrows, she nodded. "That sounds brilliant," she said, sighing in defeat. So he had been honest. Maybe? She supposed she'd have to take his word for it. This displeased her more than she thought it would. "I've never thought about trying to be the master of something, it's hard, isn't it?" she inquired, trying to sound interested. She had never been that great at Potions, but she had made good marks until her seventh year. Well, she had really made good marks in most of her classes until seventh year, except Herbology. She was still rather upset with her mother for causing her to fail everything. Taking another sip of her cider, she fidgeted slightly in her chair. Severus looked at her steadily, trying to figure out what she was thinking. It occurred to him that there were ways of finding out what she was thinking, but Libitina wasn't a secret Death Eater or an Order member or someone that he needed to invade her mind, so he resisted the urge for the time being. He wasn't entirely certain she was interested. Maybe he could simply bore her with talking about potions. Talking about potions with Lily was always intellectual stimulation, but he wasn't certain Libitina would provide that. "I suppose it is, I mean, there would probably be quite a few more," he added. "To be honest, it simply is something I've always been good at. I used to make hangover potions for my Dad quite a bit. So I had practise before I ever got to Hogwarts, Mum taught me that, and I found I just enjoyed working with potions. Demetrius says they're my defence mechanism, but they make sense, unlike most things in the world. They're precise and rational, and you don't have to guess how they're going to react. It's about as stellar opposite as people you can probably get," He stopped, that was a lot more than he had ever intended to actually say to her, although he supposed it really didn't matter how much he said about potions, and hadn't the point been to try to bore her to tears? "And none of that should really take away from the fact that it is work. I've got to learn potions, and be able to discuss theories, and situations where potions might work better than another more obvious type of magic, and there are those times. The most obvious answer is not always the best one. And honestly you probably aren't remotely interested in this. I tend to rather ramble on when I'm talking about potions." And when I'm nervous. Propping her chin up on her hand, she let out a simple "hmm". She smiled and pushed herself to seem more interested. "I suppose making potions is a much healthier defense mechanism than alternatives," she said vaguely. "It seems like your very good with potions," she added. "Potions are easier than people, I'd wager. I don't know. I don't really understand peop-" she paused. "Potions. I wasn't really good with potions." That could have been an awkward slip up. Potions was a safe topic. "You don't appear to be rambling too terribly right now," she added. "It's alright to talk a lot about something you obviously enjoy." If he didn't appear to be too rambling Severus supposed that was a good thing. He felt as if he were going on and on. Perhaps it was merely because he felt awkward talking so much to someone he didn't actually know that well despite the three times they had spent time together. There was this huge uncertainty in his mind about what she wanted and whether or not he could actually believe what she said. And she was a reporter who seemed to believe he might be a Death Eater, so there was that possibility lurking in his mind, that she might just want to get to know him for a story. So he couldn't talk to her about that, and even connecting himself to some of the people who were his friends might connect himself to the Death Eaters. And he couldn't risk exposure like that. All of those thoughts together made him just want to shut down and not talk to her at all. And she'd been going to say she didn't really understand people and she'd changed it to potions - why? "I do enjoy potions," he said. It was a safe comment. "I certainly ought to as much time as I spend on them. Some people are more confusing than others. There are a very few that make sense to me, but mostly they do not." Should he follow that train of thought? Maybe... try to figure out what on earth she wanted with him. "As an example, you bewilder me. I can't figure out why you're interested in being around me. I suppose you could just want a new friend, but you don't much strike me as the type of person to go out of your way to make friends with people either. I hardly remember you from Hogwarts," he said, the blunt statement sounded more rude aloud than it had in his head. "But you keep asking me places." Biting her lip, she stared at the table for a second, trying to figure out what to say to that. It was so blunt. Too terribly honest. Libitina frankly had no idea what to say. She could say something trite and silly that he would probably take entirely the wrong way. She could say the truth, but really, what was the truth? Then again, she could easily just deflect and shoot it back at him and hope he forgot he even asked. Looking up at him finally, she frowned. "Well, why do you think I keep asking you? Why do you accept?" she shot back, raising an eyebrow at him. Now she could only hope that threw him off guard and she took another swig of cider. "If I knew why you kept asking me, I'd hardly be asking you why. If I even had any good thought I'd probably not ask. If I were wealthy or handsome or had a position in society that was enviable, I wouldn't need to ask. Also, by asking me what I think, you have not answered the question, you have merely deflected it and hoped that I would forget that I asked you a question. You cannot complain of me deflecting if you are going to do the same." He frowned slightly and reached for his drink. He was beginning to delve into painfully blunt, but all of the carefully constructed social niceties that he had worked on to get accepted by the Purebloods had been put aside in the last few weeks. Libitina wasn't one, to begin with and to end with, all of the social niceties in the world would not change his last name or his father's blood, and Severus had little patience with lies any more: He was telling enough of them by necessity. "And I accept because I have nothing better to do. Because I have few friends, and because I am aware that my cat, as cuddly as she can be - particularly at four am when she decides to suffocate me in my sleep by laying on my face - is not adequate company. You are pretty and you seem to be intelligent, and I can think of far worse ways to spend my time." It was hardly a ringing endorsement, but Severus had been burned so many times this year, the thought of allowing someone to be very close to him was threatening, no matter how unthreatening the dark haired woman sitting across from him might be. Frowning, she picked at her fingernails, looking genuinely unfazed by his sudden bluntness. "I ask you because I have nothing else to do," she said quietly. Rude people had never bothered Libitina, but she wasn't going to be rude back right now. She didn't feel like it. "At all." She could think of a million things to say in response, varying from rude to stupidly nice. She wanted to bite back and put up some sort of fight, but she liked the idea of him thinking she was nothing but nice. And, well, he had called her pretty. "Well, then, I'm terribly sorry you have nothing better to spend your time doing. I can only hope I'm an adequate distraction," she said with a smirk. Simple, nice on the surface but double-edged. He'd probably pick up on it, she resigned herself to that. He wasn't an idiot. Her response frustrated him a little, but probably no more than the situation frustrated him, and his own response to her questions frustrated him. He didn't think he would have questioned her like this a year ago. He didn't think either that a year ago he would have had so little patience with her. If he actually stopped and thought about it, he would say that he didn't like the person he was becoming, but an equally pragmatic side would kick in and say that it was necessary to not get too close to people. Getting too close to women in particular, ended up badly for him. And the fact that she had nothing else to do but put up with him, almost made him feel bad - no, it did make him feel bad. He swallowed, reached for the cider and swallowed again - this time a mouthful of the drink. "You're fine," he said, working to keep the resignation out of his voice. He didn't feel like pushing away someone with no one else to go to, even if he should. If she could put up with him, then maybe she deserved a bit of company. He took another sip of the cider and changed the subject. "What was your favourite subject at Hogwarts then?" "Uhm. I don't think I had a favourite," she said, trying to think. "I just tried really hard to be good at everything." His sudden changes of subject were giving her a headache. How could one person be so damn inconsistent? Cursing herself for even considering this a good idea, she looked around. She figured the faster she could finish her drink, the faster she could leave. "Your favourite was potions, just a guess," she said with a laugh. "What was your...second favourite, then?" Severus was quiet for a moment hating himself for making this so difficult. It didn't have to be, he didn't think. He looked up at her, his dark eyes taking her in seriously. "I guess Defense would have been my second favourite," he said thoughtfully. "It's hard to defend yourself against something that constantly changes though, and I'm not certain that the instruction was all that useful in that regard. A pity really, considering the current climate. I also liked herbology, but mostly because of its usefulness in regards to potion making. One needed to do almost as well there as in potions if you wanted to get a decent apprenticeship at all. And I liked duelling, although I don't think I was as good at it as some students were." At least not then.. What did he want? A friend? sex? Something else entirely? The fact that he didn't know, didn't really bode well to him actually working towards any sort of goal, and so it was of little wonder to him at all that they might be floundering right now. Perhaps he should simply be honest with her, at least about the fact that he'd just ended a relationship, if not the fact that it was because the girl had been a vigilante his Death Eater colleagues had killed - talk about a story for the Quibbler - and then start to be very serious about figuring out what he wanted. She was pretty and she seemed to want to spend time with him, and even if she had ulterior motives, if he benefited from it, where was the harm in that? "Oh, I was so dreadful at Herbology," she said with a (actually genuine) laugh. "Defense is nice. I guess it's useful to know things like that." She was being vague. It occurred to her that all this vague chat probably made her seem like a moron, which seemed utterly undesirable. "I've never really been in a duel, I'm not entirely sure how good I'd be at that..." Drumming her fingers on the table again as she thought of something to say, she wondered why the conversation felt so strained. They had been getting less and less awkward since the first time they had talked, but now it seemed more tense. Maybe this was her fault. Maybe he had realised she was nothing but trouble and was just being polite to spare them both. She was at a complete loss for anything to say, too. "Hmm," seemed to be the best she could come up with. Severus took a drink of his cider mostly to put off having to say anything else. While he took it, he kept watching her. The facts were that she was nice, she was pretty, she'd been even friendlier when she had invited him to champagne, and it was possible that she might be the answer he'd been looking for - some sort of friends with benefits, but he supposed first that they had to be friends. "Look," he said, wrapping his fingers around the glass and pushing it out in front of him, while simultaneously leaning forward over the table. He was about to change the subject on her yet again. "I should just be straight with you. I just had what I guess you could say was a breakup really. I was seeing a girl and now I'm not. And so this is weird. Not because I don't like you, I do, I think. I just don't know what we're doing, or what you want. And my friends keep asking about if I'm seeing you and if I'm enjoying it as if," he stopped you're a replacement for her probably wasn't really that useful here. "And so I'm still a bit wary, I suppose. And I think it's fair if I tell you that, cause I don't really know what you're thinking this is or might be, and I don't even know what I'm thinking it is." Libitina stared at him wordlessly, utterly baffled. She had no idea how to respond to something like that. Did he really think...? Did people she didn't even know think they were some sort of...couple? Raising an eyebrow at him, she took another swallow of cider and then forced out an ironic laugh. "Okay? I'm not really trying to..." Well, she honestly didn't know what she wanted to do. "If you're worried about me wanting...something." She frowned, considering her words carefully. "I'm not expecting anything from you at all. More than...I don't know. Friends, I guess? Yes. That sound right. I really just want to be friends, I promise. I'm not trying to get into your trousers or anything like that." She chucked again, quietly. Severus flushed. The tips of his ears were red, and he was embarrassed that he'd even been considering her in his trousers, because it had occurred to him. Was Potter right about men thinking about sex every five minutes? He disliked the idea of Potter being right on anything, but it seemed reasonable enough, particularly considering that he had been - and he cut that thought off. Her statement had embarrassed him enough without him thinking those thoughts in front of her. "No, I didn't really think you were trying to- I mean, not that I'm utterly opposed to- you are pretty," and his cheeks felt hot in the air of the room. "I just I didn't want you to think that I was- That this was like a date, I guess. I mean, not now. Maybe. I don't know." He was not helping the situation at all. Perhaps honesty was not the best solution in this particular instance. This was really his fault. He should have just left things be, not said anything, not implied anything. Why did he continually mess things up? He just should give up on women. Try something else, like, a Muggle monastery or something. Probably they didn't have Death Eaters in most Muggle monasteries. He pushed on, desperate to get away from the conversational topic of sex, and hopefully to allow his cheeks time to return to their normal pale colour. "Friends are good. And, assuming I have not made you utterly loathe me yet, I would like to be friends." "Well, if you want to..." she started with a devious grin. "I can't say I utterly loathe..." she trailed off, unable to keep a straight face. After a moment, she burst out laughing. "Sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you," she said apologetically. Considering his rather fragmented words, she smiled a somewhat nicer smile. "I don't loathe you quite yet. I actually found that terribly amusing to my old black heart." she said, nodding. Drinking yet more cider, and finding she was quite close to out, she leaned back in her chair and yawned lazily. "It's kind of funny when you get all flustered like that, you know." If Severus had thought his flushing would die down, he'd been mistaken. With her words his cheeks stayed pink, but he smiled awkwardly, because she was laughing, and she seemed genuine, and he'd his glass was also getting a bit low, and he gave her an half-amused, half-stern look. "Don't laugh at my distress Libitina Quirke," but then he smiled as well. "And I don't think you've got a black heart," he added, sitting back a bit and regarding her. His cheeks were still hot, but not nearly what they had been a few moments before. "And I am most certainly not funny when flustered." "I do have a black heart, you see, I'm very cruel," she said jokingly. "I obviously enjoy your distress and humiliation." Finally finishing her cider, she smirked at him. "I think it's almost kind of cute," she teased, but her tone suggested something other than good-natured teasing. Leaning onto the table, she stared at him for a moment, wondering how much more uncomfortable she could make him. She giggled slightly. "What now?" she asked in a stage-whisper. "You might be right," he said wryly, trying to regain a sense of less embarrassment and flushing. Severus stared at her and it was difficult for him to not notice her dark hair, and the line of her neck, and she was giggling, and she didn't seem bothered by how awkward things had been, and in fact they weren't really awkward now except that she seemed suddenly very confident and certain of herself. Something that was to be perfectly honest, rather attractive. "What are you suggesting?" He returned, and now he leaned forward, his elbows on the table. "I don't know, that's why I asked," she retorted sharply, still smirking. Resting her elbow on the table and placing her chin in her hand, she absentmindedly chewed on the nail of her pinky finger, studying him in a slightly more sideways manner. Now she was just being silly, really. "The idea is that when you're asked a question, the answer is typically not another question," she continued, turning her eyes towards the dusty ceiling. Severus couldn't help a short laugh. "You obviously have not spent enough time around me," he smirked, taking a sip of the cider and finishing it off before turning his eyes back to her. "I always answer a question with another question, and thus that is my ordinary response. Is that frustrating to you?" And it was his turn to raise an eyebrow and look amused. The awkwardness of earlier seemed to have passed, and he much preferred the joking and teasing, no matter how shallow it might be in comparison to talking about things that mattered. Maybe Libitina wasn't supposed to be a serious friend, and hadn't he even wanted someone that was not? "Obviously not. Perhaps I can break you," she said with a short pause. "Of that habit, of course. Not in general," she added. She was somewhat relieved that conversation seemed to be coming easier now, though a little disappointed he was no longer flustered. That had been funny. "It's polite to answer questions with an answer, and questions are never the answer." This seemed like a perfectly sensible statement. "Because if a question were an answer, it could hardly be called a question, could it?" "You might find me difficult to break, Libitina," Severus smirked. He was not so arrogant to believe it couldn't be done, he was all too aware of his weaknesses, but he didn't think she could do it. Well, at least not without knowing him a lot better and knowing precisely where to poke to do it. It was not exactly a winning argument for giving her that information. "You may confuse me with all of your questions and answers," he added and shook his head. "Well, if the question is 'now what', then I could give a dozen different answers. I could say for instance, let's get another Cider, or I could say, let's get something to eat, or I could say let's take a walk around town before curfew, or I could say you can come back with me and get in my trousers. So, there are any number of answers that are possible, but some of them are not practical, and since there are two of us, I think any of them would require a consensus," he stopped and took a breath, trying to remain calm at the fact that he'd just actually offered up sex as a suggestion, even if it were not a likely suggestion. "If I were to offer a suggestion, which should not be confused with an answer, I would say perhaps another drink as it is much to chill outside for a walk. And now that I have offered a suggestion, we must reach a consensus, which will require your input." She gaped at him for a moment. "Well, with a question like 'now what', you pick the suggestion you would most like, and hope I agree. If I don't, I suggest and alternative and hope you agree," she explained, trying to sound light-hearted as she tried (and failed) to hide her blush. "But of all those likely scenarios, I'd say we'd be the safest with another cider." There was some finality to that. "Unless you had your heart set on taking a walk in the cold or getting me in your trousers. Though I'm afraid those would take a bit of negotiation." Severus couldn't help a bit of a flush but he tried to ignore it. Negotiation could be dealt with, but not now, later, maybe. He nodded. "Well, I don't particularly fancy getting icy cold myself, so I think the cider is a good plan. Perhaps I should go and get us one more, and then we'll probably have to go our separate ways if we want to make certain we're back before curfew and," he checked his watch. "I do have potions that must be stirred at seven-thirty on the dot." "Right. You'd be good not to keep those potions waiting," she agreed. She had run out of things to say. Great. "Well, I expect I'll have to accept another round of cider before we part ways." Chewing on her lower lip apprehensively, she silently questioned her own sanity. A few moments ago, she was counting the moments until she could finish her drink and escape, and now she had just agreed to a second? Severus Snape was truly confusing (or was she just confusing herself and blaming it on him? She could never be sure) and she was interested in finding out why. |