singing now, while rome burns.

He should’ve known that he could not avoid her so easily, especially not after what had happened between them. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked woodenly, awkwardly. 

☆

“make you ask what?” nero questioned as he handed sev a glass of whiskey he had gotten from the bar.

He took the glass with a quiet thank you, not looking up at Nero as if ashamed. He was. A little. “I don’t know the answer to the question you assigned me a few days ago,” he defeatedly admitted. 

where; st. mungo’s, rufus’s room whom; rufus @bewixched​

Anna had done many things in her life she wasn’t proud of in her life; but lying to the staff at St. Mungo’s and telling them she and Rufus were engaged was maybe higher on the list. It had gotten her into his room though, even with the press of Ministry personnel and security. 

She’d grabbed an elephant from the rumbled of Acid’s top floor and placed it on the end of his bed. The giraffe she’d grabbed for herself she held in a stranglehold, dangling over the edge of the chair she’d squeezed herself into. It was the smallest chair she could find but it made her feel a bit safer.

When she saw the sheets move Anna’s head shot up. “Rufus? Are you awake?”

–

His body was on fire. More specifically, His lower back all the way down to his right calf. It was the first thing he noticed coming to his senses again, trying to pull himself up and out of the dense fog that clouded his mind. Painkillers and other potions that were slowly wearing off by now. Rufus’ mouth was dry as sandpaper, throat itching and aching. 

Eyelids to heavy to blink open, Rufus at least managed to lift his hand a little, even if it cost him more effort to lift even his index finger than he’d have liked to. What had happened? Everything was too murky and unclear to him then, except for the pain. The pain was the only constant, clear thing he could experience. 

Then- 

Rufus? Are you awake?

“Anna?” he tried to croak out, but his words left him as not much more than a hoarse whisper. “A- anna?”

“Probably something silly. He is my brother, after all.” She glanced at the staircase, briefly considering whether or not she could trick him into Truth or Dare for a bit. “You definitely should. I don’t think Sera would mind. I’ve got my eye on one of the giraffes.”

–

“The giraffes?” Rufus’ eyes narrowed. “Anna, if you’re trying to steal the plushy devils to hand to your kids when you’re watching them over at my place and those things trash everything, I won’t be as nice as I normally am.” Rufus attempted an angry expression, but looking at Anna, he failed miserably. It just wasn’t in the cards for him, it seemed. To be angry or displeased with her. 

She carried on moving, counting on him to follow behind her as she dodged club goers and headed towards a quieter, less packed side of the bar. “I don’t think any member of my family could be classed as normal, but if you mean, does she have her own mind again, then yes, she does” she confirmed, chucking the bottles away. “I’d say ask her yourself, but maybe wait a day or two… I think she and Lucius need some time to get reacquainted” she smirked, turning to him with a shot appearing suddenly in her hand and thrusting it towards him, “happy new year Severus”.

He followed behind Andromeda, pushing through the crowd until they arrived at a more secluded Area of the bar. First, it was relief at her words. Then, he wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Merlin- don’t talk about that. Gross.” He was still wearing that grimace when he took the shot from her, inhibitions shrunken a bit after the amount of drinks he’d already had. “Happy new year, Andromeda. Let’s hope you’ll never need me for rescue missions again,” he clicked his glass against hers and downed the shot in one.” 

“I’m rarely ever wrong” she grinned, clinking her glass against the side of his own. “If I were to list the number of terrible things that happened to me, and likely everybody else in this room this year, I’d be standing here until next new years eve” she replied, keeping her answer deliberately vague. They had all come through a terrible year, with no knowledge on whether the next year would be any better. “You know, I have students in the crowd here… it makes me feel suddenly much older than I am”.

“Oh, I bet,” he looked around a little, as though he could spot any of her mentioned students just like that. “I see Anna’s kids around sometimes and it makes me feel out of my depth and like it’s ten years ago and I have to look after my siblings again,” Rufus chuckled. “I don’t know, I’m not cut out for kids that aren’t directly related to me or something.”

“That makes it sound like you’re in some sort of car mafia,” Patrick whispered back before laughing. As someone was in ‘some sort of car mafia’ in the absolute loosest sense of the words, he couldn’t imagine Bo in any of those sorts of crews. “Just stay safe. I’m a hot mess enough without you disappearing on me too, okay?”

–

“If you know a car mafia, tell me your contacts. That sounds like the only mafia I’d ever flourish in,” Bo laughed. Then, his expression and demeanor softened a bit and he gave Patrick a pat on the arm, then a friendly squeeze. “I won’t disappear. No one does shit to the mechanic. Who else would fix everyone’s dings and scratches?”

rita noticeably perked up at the cheekiness of his reply. she always suspected during their briefer interactions following court that he was willing to play if you pushed the right buttons. “that dpes bode well for you if true, but it is sadly unconfirmed at this time.” she winked.  “I would certainly be interested in an exclusive look at all those surprises and make any judgment of size for myself.” her hands trailed back down his chest and grabbed his little silk tie between her hands. “can you act on that?”

“Are you going to write about it? A little tell all exposé?” Nick’s voice dipped a little lower as he leaned in a bit, nonchalantly acting as though she’d tugged him in by his tie. “I’ll have to ask you to keep quiet about any delightfully startling discoveries, Miss Skeeter. Like I said, I like to keep it professional and classy.” His lips twisted into a small smirk. “What, here? Are you that impatient or would you like us to reconvene at a better time and place?”

“You totally are, I’ve seen the pair of you, it’s hilarious and adorable.” Laser patted his arm. “Some people may wear sports bras to sleep but I can’t imagine why. They’re worse than underwires.”

“Stalker,” Bo grumbled and childishly, demostratively, wormed away from her pat on his arm. “I don’t know, isn’t it worse when it’s all just.. out there? How do you ever get any sleep at all?”

“You’re so bossy when you say yes to things.” Nick teased, but he did in fact spin the fucking bottle. He didn’t recognize the girl it landed on: Asian, dyed hair, looked like one of those kids that always crowded around Hog’s Head. “Yeah, okay.”

–

“Poor girl,” Severus muttered under his breath, bringing his glass back to his lips to empty it. After that, he actually chuckled to himself. “Least it didn’t land on me.”

-

“what were you brewing?” strife asked over the stream. “and who recommended it? if you’re about to die, you really let me bury the lead with piss talk and that’s on you, not the piss, the blame. so you better be able to wait.” she finished her business and flushed the toilet handle with the heel of her foot so she didn’t have to actually touch the questionable public surface. then elbowed him away from the sink to wash her hands. “I’d say five shades is really only covering the purple levels of fucked up. how long has it been like that? don’t touch me.”

“Nothing,” Rufus said through grit teeth. “I paired the wrong potion with the wrong spell and instead of impressing the party, I made a gaggle of them freak out. And now my hand is fucking purple, Strife. Purple.” He threw a tired and yet still a little wild and stressed look over at her when she re-emerged. “What, you scared that I’ll make everything purple that I touch? Ooooh,” he began to ghostly say, reaching out his dripping wet, purple hand in a mock threat to touch her.