Re: Early evening in the living room - Rey + Hugh
Hugh had already found a cocktail by the time he found himself entering the living room and doing a quick sweep to see who was around and available to talk.
The last four new years eves, he'd had someone around to kiss - and not just someone, but the first three had been someone he'd considered one of his closest friends, and the last had been a girl he'd hoped to maybe hold onto for a while, and tonight, he decidedly did not have either of those people here, which wasn't the worst thing in the world - intellectually he could tell himself this - but emotionally he was all too keenly aware that they weren't there.
And so while it wasn't remotely unusual to find Hugh Christian with a cocktail in his hand - whether or not he was drinking it anything more than sips at a time was another question - tonight's cocktail was a little bit of an armor. Not that he was admitting this to himself.
Of course, on the bright side, this was his second party in two weeks time and it did feel normal to be attending parties regularly again. It felt normal to have a cocktail in his hand while scoping the room for someone to chat with or dance with or just say hello too. For this particular moment, he could feel keenly like himself, and that was a feeling that had been all too rare for close to two years. Maybe 2020 would kick him out of whatever funk he'd been in? Maybe he'd come full circle around back to the person he was meant to be. And maybe if he managed that, along the way he'd find someone who liked that person he was meant to be well enough to... well, no that might be too much to dream.
He took a sip of the drink, and his eyes fell on the sofa, and Rey who he hadn't yet said hello to, so he stepped in further, coming up tot he edge of the sofa and giving her a warm smile. "It's good to see you again, Rey. You're looking fabulous for the new year or decade or whatever they decided this one is. May I join you?"