[ It's a message Giles is at least used to seeing by now. He'd kept the service in California small and private, supposedly for the sake of the girls, though it had been somewhat selfish as well. Those first few months had felt like walking through a dream -- or a nightmare -- and, to be truthful, he's not sure he would have even remembered Stephen being there. ]
No need to apologise. She wouldn't have wanted people to fuss about it.
All right, if we're going to be maudlin, can we at least do it over a drink?
I seem to remember there being a tolerably private little study on the third floor, with the painting of the woman in her knickers that looks a bit like Jonty around the jowls. I'll fetch a bottle of something strong from the old man's private reserve. It feels as though he owes us.
Marvellous. We can celebrate our gracious host in a style befitting his station.
[ i.e they can get thoroughly mashed on his behalf. ]
See you there.
[ In the end, Giles doesn't have any problems borrowing the bottle from Jonty's sideboard, and does his best to avoid encountering any more young people as he makes his way upstairs. In the study, he brushes off some of the dust and leans forward on the couch to pour the both of them generous measures. ]
To Jonty. [ He picks up his glass and offers the toast in the general direction of the house, then the singularly ugly painting of some Balfour ancestor on the wall above the fireplace. ]
[ Stephen follows suit, and some part of the whole thing seems to summon the ghost of times gone by to blanket over the room, an envelope for their meeting. ]
May he in his age and wisdom renounce his love of fun and leave us all in peace.
[ The alcohol goes down easy when he tips some away, and Stephen reclines against the plush back of his seat with a sigh, rubbing thumb and finger into his eye sockets and trying not to wince when it sends a violent spark up into his wrist. ]
Twenty years really came and went, huh?
[ It's been longer than that now since he was first brought here by his then-future, now-ex wife, but he'd rather not dwell on the minutiae of it. They're old, is his point. Compared at least to all the children running around, the same age they once were. ]
[ The flicker of pain doesn't pass Giles by, ensconced at the other end of the couch, though he keeps a tight lid on his sympathies. He's known Stephen long enough to understand that his friend doesn't need or want pity, so, mindfully, he doesn't bother offering it. Instead, he concentrates on his drink and, with a wry smile, the subject of their mutual decline. ]
Rather like a train, with all of us tied up on the track.
[ Giles certainly feels like he's been run over, most mornings. He hums to himself and sips some more whisky. ]
Did you know he was going to invite that prick Ashcroft? I don't think I've seen him since we left Oxford. I didn't know they were still in touch.
[ A light sound of assent around a sip of his drink - it's not been at the front of his thoughts, but he's also wondered in passing. ]
— No. Not that I was privy to the full guest list, but I was surprised to see him.
[ It's a mystery. And while those aren't generally unusual around here, the few things he does feel entitled to know are those relationships rooted in a shared past. Surely he's lived long enough to have earned the intricacies of drama in friendships that started before they all earned their first degree. ]
Have you asked our stewardess?
[ Our stewardess, he says, and the topic of Ashcroft fades just a little behind the knowing glint in his eye. ]
[ At the mention of Alicent, a warmth suffuses Giles' face that has nothing to do with the whisky they're drinking, and he has to look aside from Stephen or give himself away -- though he's probably not doing a good job of covering it up anyway. He clears his throat. ]
Allie? [ As if he could be talking about anyone else. ] No. She's run off her feet with all of this chaos. I don't want to bother her.
[ Time to drink some more, very casual, very normal. ]
Mhmm. [ Some smug warmth in his own wry hum of a reply, but he lets him get away with avoiding eye contact, takes another sip of his own drink. It's only a temporary reprieve. ] I'm sure she wouldn't mind. If you asked.
[ There's an attempt at a quelling look, though Giles already knows from long experience how well that works on Stephen (i.e. not at all). Then he gives it up and frowns instead, looking down into his glass. ]
We haven't been in the same room since.. [ Joyce died, is the end of that sentence, though he doesn't need to say it.
He doesn't necessarily want to linger on the subject, but now they've arrived, he can't stop himself. ]
They cared about each other, you know. Sometimes I wondered if Joyce wouldn't have been happier with her.
[ Ah. A blink and a draw of breath over the rim of his glass, a second of quiet flooding in to fill up the vacuum left behind by that last admission. Then - ]
Rupert.
[ Rare use - old habits die hard - but some things can't be said within the ease of old habits. Name a call to attention, glass lowered and gaze fixed as he shakes his head lighty, once, a soft no. It's not that Stephen doesn't want to hear it. It's that wondering in past tense is one thing, but it does somewhat open a door. ]
[ Giles' expression turns wry, a self-deprecating twist to his mouth. He dares a glance at Stephen, taking strength from his friend's presence, the air of sophisticated confidence that he always manages to bring to the occasion. ]
Easy for you to say. You were always.. better, with women. I seem to recall you practically fighting them off.
[ A cough of laughter, the brief stretch of a grin at the throwback to brighter days. ]
Perks of studying abroad. [ People either loved, loathed, or loved to loathe an American, and it worked out fine for him in all permutations - an opening point of interest he didn't have to do anything to cultivate. More to the immediate point, though: ] You don't need to be Casanova to say hello to an old friend.
[ The point is acknowledged, Giles tilting his head and lifting his glass a little in Stephen's direction. It reminds him to refill it -- he leans over to pick up the bottle again, sloshing another measure into his glass and doing the same, if required, for Stephen. He means to make good on his desire to see out the afternoon as obliterated as possible. ]
True. But I don't want to intrude. She's made quite a life for herself here. We all have. Things have changed.
[ He remains evasive over which of those things concern him the most, hiding somewhat behind his glass as he leans back on the couch, one arm slung up along the back. Then, almost as an afterthought, he adds: ]
[ Excuses, excuses, he thinks but doesn't say, making the comment mostly with the cant of his eyebrows and the lingering look over the rim of his glass as he takes another swallow. Giles would be intruding on Alicent only as much as Stephen's intruding on him now: a welcome distraction, not an imposition. But there's no use in challenging him further, at least not for the time being. He's thinking about it. He'll get there.
So: ] Of course. We're going to catch up properly over a lunch. To which, you'll be devastated to know, you're formally not invited.
[ He's welcome for the afternoon of free babysitting, even if his baby is now a legal adult. ]
[ Stephen gets the required roll of the eyes as Giles drinks some more whisky. ]
Oh yes, I'm quite put out, I'll have to rearrange my entire afternoon.
[ The booze is going down with dangerous ease. Vaguely he reminds himself that they'll have to get something to eat at some point, or he'll be in danger of falling asleep on Jonty's couch. For now, he just studies his friend. ]
Just don't encourage her if she talks about going to Paris. She says she wants to look at the Olympic venue but it's really just a cover for shopping and ogling French boys, as far as I can tell.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2025-06-03 09:44 am (UTC)Where have they put you?
no subject
Date: 2025-06-03 09:50 am (UTC)The old usual. I can't decide if they thought it would be a comfort or a kick in the teeth. You?
no subject
Date: 2025-06-03 10:01 am (UTC)[ A brief pause and then, almost apologetically: ]
Listen, I was sorry to hear about Christine. Really thought she'd make a better go of it.
no subject
Date: 2025-06-03 10:28 am (UTC)[ She didn't, but neither did he. They are where they are. And while they're on apologies - ]
I'm sorry I didn't make the funeral.
[ One of his greater regrets of late, and something he should probably have kept to say to him in person. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-06-03 10:50 am (UTC)No need to apologise. She wouldn't have wanted people to fuss about it.
All right, if we're going to be maudlin, can we at least do it over a drink?
no subject
Date: 2025-06-03 11:36 am (UTC)[ No sweeter question. ]
Any preference on where?
no subject
Date: 2025-06-03 11:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-06-03 12:00 pm (UTC)Call it half an hour? Factoring in some time to get lost.
[ And some time to get ready. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-06-03 12:27 pm (UTC)[ i.e they can get thoroughly mashed on his behalf. ]
See you there.
[ In the end, Giles doesn't have any problems borrowing the bottle from Jonty's sideboard, and does his best to avoid encountering any more young people as he makes his way upstairs. In the study, he brushes off some of the dust and leans forward on the couch to pour the both of them generous measures. ]
To Jonty. [ He picks up his glass and offers the toast in the general direction of the house, then the singularly ugly painting of some Balfour ancestor on the wall above the fireplace. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-06-05 12:31 pm (UTC)May he in his age and wisdom renounce his love of fun and leave us all in peace.
[ The alcohol goes down easy when he tips some away, and Stephen reclines against the plush back of his seat with a sigh, rubbing thumb and finger into his eye sockets and trying not to wince when it sends a violent spark up into his wrist. ]
Twenty years really came and went, huh?
[ It's been longer than that now since he was first brought here by his then-future, now-ex wife, but he'd rather not dwell on the minutiae of it. They're old, is his point. Compared at least to all the children running around, the same age they once were. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-06-08 09:23 am (UTC)Rather like a train, with all of us tied up on the track.
[ Giles certainly feels like he's been run over, most mornings. He hums to himself and sips some more whisky. ]
Did you know he was going to invite that prick Ashcroft? I don't think I've seen him since we left Oxford. I didn't know they were still in touch.
no subject
Date: 2025-06-10 11:27 am (UTC)— No. Not that I was privy to the full guest list, but I was surprised to see him.
[ It's a mystery. And while those aren't generally unusual around here, the few things he does feel entitled to know are those relationships rooted in a shared past. Surely he's lived long enough to have earned the intricacies of drama in friendships that started before they all earned their first degree. ]
Have you asked our stewardess?
[ Our stewardess, he says, and the topic of Ashcroft fades just a little behind the knowing glint in his eye. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-06-12 09:07 am (UTC)Allie? [ As if he could be talking about anyone else. ] No. She's run off her feet with all of this chaos. I don't want to bother her.
[ Time to drink some more, very casual, very normal. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-06-12 09:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-06-12 09:24 am (UTC)We haven't been in the same room since.. [ Joyce died, is the end of that sentence, though he doesn't need to say it.
He doesn't necessarily want to linger on the subject, but now they've arrived, he can't stop himself. ]
They cared about each other, you know. Sometimes I wondered if Joyce wouldn't have been happier with her.
no subject
Date: 2025-06-12 10:05 am (UTC)Rupert.
[ Rare use - old habits die hard - but some things can't be said within the ease of old habits. Name a call to attention, glass lowered and gaze fixed as he shakes his head lighty, once, a soft no. It's not that Stephen doesn't want to hear it. It's that wondering in past tense is one thing, but it does somewhat open a door. ]
All the more reason to see her, surely.
no subject
Date: 2025-06-12 10:59 am (UTC)[ Giles' expression turns wry, a self-deprecating twist to his mouth. He dares a glance at Stephen, taking strength from his friend's presence, the air of sophisticated confidence that he always manages to bring to the occasion. ]
Easy for you to say. You were always.. better, with women. I seem to recall you practically fighting them off.
no subject
Date: 2025-06-12 11:18 am (UTC)Perks of studying abroad. [ People either loved, loathed, or loved to loathe an American, and it worked out fine for him in all permutations - an opening point of interest he didn't have to do anything to cultivate. More to the immediate point, though: ] You don't need to be Casanova to say hello to an old friend.
no subject
Date: 2025-06-12 01:39 pm (UTC)True. But I don't want to intrude. She's made quite a life for herself here. We all have. Things have changed.
[ He remains evasive over which of those things concern him the most, hiding somewhat behind his glass as he leans back on the couch, one arm slung up along the back. Then, almost as an afterthought, he adds: ]
You've spoken to Buffy, I assume?
no subject
Date: 2025-06-13 09:46 am (UTC)So: ] Of course. We're going to catch up properly over a lunch. To which, you'll be devastated to know, you're formally not invited.
[ He's welcome for the afternoon of free babysitting, even if his baby is now a legal adult. ]
no subject
Date: 2025-06-23 10:33 am (UTC)Oh yes, I'm quite put out, I'll have to rearrange my entire afternoon.
[ The booze is going down with dangerous ease. Vaguely he reminds himself that they'll have to get something to eat at some point, or he'll be in danger of falling asleep on Jonty's couch. For now, he just studies his friend. ]
Just don't encourage her if she talks about going to Paris. She says she wants to look at the Olympic venue but it's really just a cover for shopping and ogling French boys, as far as I can tell.