Warren didn't bother with the false modesty required to argue the point with JP, just chuffed a quiet laugh. "I prefer to believe spontaneous combustion is much more likely in my presence than as a response to my absence." Though if he took his mother into account he should probably amend that. He wasn't going to, but he possibly should.
He sighed melodramatically at JP's - entirely expected - revelation. "I think I can survive without for one evening," he conceded, smiling. "This doesn't promise to be the sort of social event best survived by pickling oneself into insensibility...and you should probably save your meager stockpile for the next time one of the little darlings drives you to drink."
He tucked both hands into his trouser pockets and shifted his wings to allow him to lean into the wall with one shoulder facing JP. "My Christmas was rather alarmingly ostentatious, as usual." Also quiet, and somewhat tense, as any length of time spent largely in his parents' presence tended to be. "Was yours pleasant?"