whiskeyneats

who: @whiskeyneats where: mayor's mansion when: new years eve masquerade

indy had been roped into gong to the masquerade by their best friend slash roommate, the event not something they would normally indulge in. not really their style, they had tried to say while trying to find a suit and a mask last minute. they had settled on something simple, a black suit and a zorro style mask that was carefully tied around their eyes, disguising their appearance.

"Yeah, kid. You're still my favorite brother," Raf chuckled. He really did love his siblings. They'd come into his life unexpectedly, but Raf was grateful for them. He trailed after Zane, silently watching as the younger man unpacked the bags he'd brought, only to nearly choke at the next question. "You're so damn nosey," he grumbled. "You don't see me asking you about your love life."

"I knew it." Zane teases, rummaging around Raf's fridge for a moment to find them something to drink. "Woah there No news then? Shame. I was rooting for you." Rolling his eyes at his brother's comment, he shakes his head, amused. "Well that's 'cause I have no love life. There are so many cute boys and yet, none of them are smooching me. A travesty, really."

"The luckiest man on earth" Stavo smirked with a hint of teasing sarcasm to his voice to continue their playful banter. Finishing off his wine and placing his glass back on the table, he stood up grabbing Zane's arm and nodding towards the exit while the others were all distracted "Let's do it".

"You flatter me." Zane waves the comment off, laughing softly. Glancing around, he moves to his feet, voice dropping to a low whisper. "Quick, let's make a run for it." Once they make it out to the parking lot, he lets out a laugh, fake wiping his brow. "Whew, we made it."

Mateo was laying in bed, casually scrolling through different things he wanted to get his roommates for Christmas. He was so focused on it that he had entirely forgotten he wasn't home alone. So, naturally, when Zane poked his head in to ask something it scared the crap out of him and his phone dropped smacking him in the face. But instead of focusing on that he immediately got up, a bit too quickly, accidentally rolling out of bed and landing on the ground. "Hey Zane!" He reached up for the list as if nothing had just happened, looking at the scribbled words, squinting a bit at his own handwriting. “Okay… wow, even I have to admit this is a little tragic,” Mateo muttered, tilting his head and holding the list at arm’s length. “Alright, so this says… uh…‘eggplants?’ Or maybe ‘eggnogs?’ Eh, could go either way. And is that ‘brie’ or ‘bread’? Honestly, I can’t even tell anymore.” He let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "I'm down to come! Ohh! We should get some stuff to surprise Ale with a little homecooked meal, made by both of his favorite people. Imagine his surprise."

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. You okay?" Zane apologizes, shaking his head. Offering Mateo a hand to help him off the ground, he hands over the shopping list in question, chuckling when the other tries (and fails) to decipher what was on it just like he had. "Guess we're just winging it then." Zane jokes, nudging Mat's arm lightly with his shoulder. "Aw, yeah. That'd be nice. We spoil him, don't we?"

"You're my only brother," Rafael called out as he plodded towards the door. It had been a longer than usual day and he was sort of tired. He'd come right home, showered, and had planned to call it an early night, but he'd never turn his brother away. Especially not when he'd brought food. "So you know," Raf began as the door opened, "I'm only letting you in because you're bribing me with food."

"But I'm still your favorite." Zane counters, pleased that Rafael had accepted his bribe. "Yeah, yeah. I'm sure that's the only reason." He teases, making a beeline to his brother's kitchen so he can start unpacking said food, at home at his brother's place. "So what's new? Whatever happened with that guy you had a thing for? Did he ever get a clue? 'Cause I'll go defend your honor if I need to."

"I do eat a lot of garlic." Ana said in agreement, letting out a small laugh. It wasn't a bad thing, garlic is good for the heart. On top of tasting really good. At the spice recommendation, Ana took the jar and glanced at the label to see what was inside of it. Were they spices she grew regularly? There was a whole herb bed in her garden. "Anything in particular you'd put this in?" She asked.

"Good thing neither of us are vampires, then." Zane teases with a light laugh, shaking his head. "I like it on chicken. Or if you don't eat meat, it's pretty good on some roasted veggies too. Honestly, it's pretty versatile." He explains with a nod. "How's your garden ding? Probably dormant for the winter, I would think. Truth be told. I don't have much of a green thumb."

Stavo couldn't help but notice what he thought was a slight blush at his comments and the charming smile on his face only grew. "Oh I'm definitely saying that you could be a good time" he continued the teasing with a wink and added "If you really want to be anyway". Taking another sip of his wine and feeling the light buzz tingle he nodded, "That sounds great, except I'm getting kinda hungry now already..." he trailed off.

"Wouldn't you be so lucky to find out?" Zane teases back, an amused chuckle leaving his lips. At Stavo's next comment, he nods, setting the glass of wine he had been nursing down. "Well, it looks like things are wrapping up here if you want to sneak out and go get some real food?"

Raf paused for a moment, debating whether or not he should say what he was actually thinking (that what he'd really prefer was to see Angelo without any clothing at all) and debated against it. He didn't want to scare him off before they'd even had a chance to explore the flirtation between then. Instead, he just winked and slipped his hand into Angelo's tugging a bit so that he was leading the other man. He'd spent a handful of years doing stunt work so this was really nothing to be afraid of, but he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to hold this man's hand even if it made him seem a bit like a punk. "I'm actually surprised you showed up. I was half expecting you to ghost me."

Lacing his fingers through Rafael's, Angelo give his hand a squeeze before starting towards their destination. He didn't really believe that Raf was scared, but was happy to buy into the illusion if it meant that they got to hold hands, as cheesy as that sounded. "Really?" Angelo's a little surprised to hear it, letting out a quiet chuckle. "I may be a lot of things, but I'm not the guy who ghosts people. Especially after you've been tryin' so hard to get my attention." The last part he says teasingly, nudging Rafael's shoulder lightly with his own. "Guess we're both lucky I showed up today then, eh?"

Elise hated being late. Well, technically, she wasn't late, but she wasn't there first. Though, in fairness, none of that had to do with Topher. She'd slipped into the conversation with a hint of freneticism, having been late, but soon eased once the peppermint mocha warmed her up a bit.

Topher could tell my Elise's reaction that the answer to his question was no, but that was perfectly alright. He wasn't one to judge. "Forcing yourself when you're not in the mood isn't fun either. Reading's supposed to be enjoyable." He replies, shrugging lightly. "Mm, depends. What kind of genre are you in the mood for? I might have a recommendation or two, unless you've rad them already." Which was entirely possible as they seemed to share the same taste in books. It was one of the reasons they got along so well.