Re: coffee: sam & neil
To him, the change in his speech wasn't noticeable. Once he'd gotten sober and started to clean up his act, Neil had started rebuilding his reputation, throwing himself into work, and the people he associated with could definitely be called formal. Rich, powerful, intelligent; he'd needed to fit in. To identify with them. They needed to trust him, to trust what he could do. Friends was a strong word, even if it was thrown around in his world quite a bit; people liked appearances. "I have," he admitted. "Refined is good for business." But then something she said sank in, and his brow furrowed. "Seven years?" Eyebrow raise.
He could have been content with not asking about the bracelet, not because he didn't want to know but simply because he was used to being passive. But maybe that was one old habit he shouldn't fall back into. "Alright. Tell me about the bracelet." Technically, it was asking. He sipped his coffee as she spoke, and it didn't surprise him that she'd been 'gone a while'. It made sense. "Where did you go?" But he could understand missing the people, just not the chaos that seemed to follow them everywhere. "That's how I felt."
As much as he wanted to believe that Louis would be find, he had a hard time being optimistic. Outwardly, he could pretend, but beneath the surface... it wasn't so easy. He was quiet at first, looking down at the cat doodles and absently reaching for the pencil. "I want to believe that," he sighed. "I do. We've come too far for Louis to not be fine." He looked up. "I'm not sure what either of us can to do help, but... thanks." Neil wasn't really sure why he told her about Meredith. It'd just be nice to talk to someone about it, that was all, and he laughed quietly when she said Louis was protective. That was an understatement. "I don't want you to do anything, Sam. I don't think Louis will come around no matter what either of us do."
Discussing his sex life, now that was certainly... different. He set his coffee down. "No, it's not tacky. I... suppose you can ask."