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"What the fuck is this place," Theo muttered under his breath as he pushed through an unobtrusive black door on a very dodgy side street in Shoreditch. Fucking Blaise. His need to drag Theo to whatever oddly themed pub was the most 'now' in muggle London bordered on pathological.
"Oh my god." Theo craned his neck as he took in the decor, which looked like a mash-up between a tropical island and an Alice in Wonderland-esque fever dream. He shook his head and moved toward the bar, which was mostly obscured by foliage, found a seat and sat with a huge sigh. Blaise was late, as usual.
"Rough day?" came a voice from behind a ficus.
"No, sorry. I'm just being a brat." Theo's smile emerged as he realised the speaker appeared to be an attractive bartender.
The bartender turned and Theo saw that he was more than just attractive; he was gorgeous, with light brown skin, green eyes and intricate tattoos on his bared forearms. "Can't be bratty for long in a place like this," he said, setting down the glass he was polishing. "Plus our drinks are very good." He handed Theo an ornately lettered menu, 'The Hothouse' tooled across the top in opulent font.
Theo skimmed it and looked up. "But I don't like fruity, flowery drinks." His mind flashed back to Pansy and her epic tantrum over the Alpine Spritzes a few weeks ago. "I'm more of a strong and stirred kind of fellow."
"Strong?" The bartender's grin flashed against his artfully strubbled jaw. "This drink here," he leaned directly into Theo's space and pointed a tapered finger to something titled 'Venus Slipper', has four ounces of rum in it, two of them overproof. See where it says 'limit two'? And it tastes like a Jelly Baby. You'll never know what hit you."
"I'll have that." Theo said decisively, sliding the menu back across the bar. "Thank you…?"
"Reggie," the bartender said, biceps straining against the crisp white of his shirt as he began pulling bottles and measures down from artfully low-lit shelves. "And you are?"
"Theo. Lovely to meet you, Reggie."
"Likewise," Reggie flashed a little half-smile before he poured and mixed, then carefully placed what looked to be a small, purple orchid on the rim of a delicate cocktail glass. He sprinkled something powdery and gold over the froth at the top of the drink and lifted it to the napkin he'd placed in front of Theo. "Voilà," he said with a small flourish.
"Absolutely beautiful," Theo said, not looking at the drink. Reggie's smile widened and he slipped toward the other end of the bar, where a couple of suited City types had just walked up.
"I'm curious what you think of the taste," he called.
"I think I'll like it," Theo said, still not looking at his glass. Reggie laughed softly as he turned to greet his other customers. Theo smiled then finally picked up the cocktail and took a sip. It was very good and he could barely taste the strength of the alcohol. Dangerous. His eyes drifted to Reggie again.
Suddenly a hand clapped down on his shoulder, startling him out of a nicely detailed fantasy. He turned, affronted, as Blaise Zabini dropped into the seat next to him.
"Mate! Sorry I'm late," Blaise said, flashing a totally unashamed smile.
"Dude, forty-five minutes?" Theo asked, showing Blaise his watch face. "I even arrived a half hour after our meeting time because I know you."
Blaise shrugged and grinned. "I got caught up."
Theo rolled his eyes. "Who was she this time?"
"Carla," Blaise said with a double flick of his brows. "She's the buying agent on this property my client is selling off Diagon and she is so smoking hot. Wouldn't give me the time of day for ages."
"Smart girl."
"But," Blaise talked over Theo, "persistence has paid off because we now have dinner plans for Friday."
Theo shook his head. "Congratulations."
Blaise smiled hugely then clapped his hands together and rubbed them vigorously, "I could use a drink!" he said, looking around. "How's yours? This place is supposed to be very good. Very hip. Lucky it's a Wednesday or we'd have never gotten seats."
"It's delicious," Theo said, looking up and making eye contact with Reggie, whose gaze warmed on him before flicking to Blaise with a little bit of surprise. He looked back at Theo, his eyebrows going up. Theo gave a tiny shake of his head and Reggie smiled as he approached.
"A menu, sir?" he asked Blaise as he held out the thick white card stock.
"Yeah, man. I am parched!" Blaise gave the small square a very perfunctory perusal, "I'll have the, ah, 'Green Velvet'," he said, naming the cocktail at the top of the list. Reggie inclined his head.
"So!" Blaise said, leaning turning toward Theo. "What the fuck is going on with you? Haven't seen you since the house party weekend."
"I'm between projects, so not a lot," Theo replied distractedly, watching Reggie's elegant hands pouring Chartreuse into a long slim glass. He blinked and turned to Blaise. "A little Quidditch, a little fencing. Getting ready for the Midsummer party."
"Must be nice," Blaise groused as he accepted an artfully arranged glass from Reggie. "Thanks, mate." Reggie nodded and walked back down to the other end of the bar.
Theo lifted a shoulder. "If this Quidditch thing of Potter's comes through I'll be busy again."
"Why wouldn't it?" Blaise asked, his brow wrinkling as he took a swallow of his drink. "That is bloody delicious!" he said and raised his glass in Reggie's direction. "Tastes like a spring morning. With vanilla."
Theo laughed and then sighed. "Eh, Draco is just skeptical."
"Bloody old woman." Blaise rolled his eyes. "Of course he is. He's got more money than god, so he fails to understand that some of us have to invest and take risks."
"Well and now it also appears that Wickham is involved." Theo tore off a corner of his napkin and balled it up.
"Jack Wickham!" Blaise said, "He's in town? I like that bloke. Now he's a risk taker. I'd say his involvement is a plus."
Theo felt his features tighten. "You just don't know him that well." He didn't trust himself to say much more.
Blaise looked at him for a beat and then shrugged. "Does this mean he's not invited to the party?" He slurped the last of his drink. Loudly. Reggie was instantly there with a raised eyebrow and the menu in his hand. They conferred and ordered, Theo plumping for hitting his limit of Venus Slippers and Blaise going for something named after a jungle butterfly of some sort. Bloody theme bars.
"No," Theo said when Reggie had turned away again.
"What?"
"No, Wickham is absolutely not invited to the party and if you try to smuggle him in, I'll have you and him thrown out."
"Easy, tiger," Blaise shook his head and Theo caught a flash of bright eyes and white teeth over Reggie's shoulder. "But just 'cause Draco doesn't like him doesn't mean he's a bad guy."
"It's more than that. And no, I'm not getting into it. I'd also rather Draco not kill someone in the Grand Salon. Too many witnesses." Theo gave a little shudder.
Blaise laughed and shook his head. "Ok, ok. And speaking of his highness."
Theo raised his brows.
"What," Blaise said, leaning forward with keen eyes. "The fuck is going on between Granger and him!?"
"Now that is a topic I will happily discuss with you," Theo said, picking up the new drink Reggie had just placed in front of him and holding it up with a nod of thanks. Blaise clinked his glass lightly against Theo's and Theo turned toward him. "And I'm not sure. But I think he likes her. A lot."
"I saw those fucking pictures in The Prophet!" Blaise said. "And after the scene in the library?"
"I know! And you should have seen him the other night," Theo leaned in. "We saw her out and she was in a group with Jack Wickham."
Blaise's brows shot skyward at this news. "She dating him?"
"No, I don't think so, but I need to make sure." Theo tapped his chin and added to his mental to-do list. "But anyway, Draco was furious as soon as he saw Wickham—I don't think he knew he was in London—but he was like, even more furious than you'd expect. Especially after he saw that Granger was standing next to him." Blaise was nodding avidly. "And we were just about to make a grand, huffy exit, when all of a sudden Granger calls to Draco."
"No!"
"Yes, and she used his first name."
"NO."
"Yes! And he went back! And you should have seen it, Blaise."
"Tell me."
"At first he was all stiff, but then she said something—I didn't quite catch it, but I did catch that he had written her some kind of apology note about those pictures in the paper."
"What!?" Blaise's mouth was hanging open and his eyes were sparking with glee. "He wrote her a note!?"
"Yes. And so she says something and he just… goes all soft. I can barely explain it. Like, his eyes softened and he stepped toward her. I've never in my life seen him look that way. I mean, maybe with Astoria, but not the same kind of softness, if you know what I mean." Blaise leaned back on his stool and whistled. "I mean, I think this could be something big. Something different," Theo said, realising he'd just finished his cocktail. "I actually had to break it up."
"WHY!?"
"Because I knew he'd hate it if he let himself go like that in front of so many people. There were a few Weasleys there and some other blokes from the investment team. Potter. Wickham. They had mostly walked on, but they were definitely looking back."
"No, you're right. He would hate that." Blaise shook his head. "And Granger? What was she like?"
"Bright pink. Flustered. And Ginny Weasley was standing right there too and she and I shared a couple of very significant looks. She knows something is up. AND he fucking left for New York the next day. Invented an excuse to get out of town, but I think I know why he went."
"Hoo hoooo," Blaise leaned back again and closed his eyes. "This is fucking delicious. You realise the whole wizarding world is going to have a complete fit if those two start dating."
"I know," Theo shook his head and stared off into space. "But I think they could be really good together, Blaise. You saw how she handled him in the library."
"And how she was with Pans. She takes no shit," Blaise said with respect in his voice. "And she's fucking fit. I'd ask her out myself if I thought I had a chance."
Theo snorted and sent him a sideways glance. "I don't think you do."
Blaise waved his hand. "So they're both going to be at the Midsummer do, right?"
"Yeahhhh," Theo said, narrowing his eyes. "What should we do?"
"Having seen our boy in action, I think a little competition can always help the cause. I'll make sure to introduce her to some blokes, drop a few tidbits in conversation with him."
"Ok, but don't take it too far. I actually won't be able to supervise because I'll be run off my feet with hosting duties." Theo sighed. This party actually got more tedious every year.
"Never fear," Blaise said, setting his empty glass on the bar. "I'll be a picture of restraint." He straightened in his seat and looked around. "I'm off for the loo. Get me one of those things you were drinking for the next round, yeah?"
Theo nodded as Blaise climbed off his stool and fought through a couple of vines to get to the door to the bathroom. HIs mind stayed on the idea of Draco and Granger and other ways he could promote the match. He'd need to make sure she wasn't involved with Wickham, though. Maybe a strategic brunch…?
Suddenly Reggie was there, startling him out of his thoughts. "Another?" he asked.
Theo nodded, "One of those for my friend," he gestured to his empty glass, "and for me… I don't know."
"How about bartender's choice?" Reggie's mouth quirked up on one side.
"Yes, please." Theo looked at him from under his lashes. Reggie blew out a laugh and grabbed a glass as he twisted around.
"This will be the last one I make for you. I'm almost off." He said, turning his head slightly.
"Isn't that a pity." Theo put his chin in his hand and leaned on his elbow.
"Doesn't have to be."
"Oh?"
"I live in the flat over the bar."
Theo's felt his pulse speed up. "Does it have more plants than furniture too?"
"Ah no," Reggie's shoulders shook with silent laughter. "It's very clean. Minimalist even."
"Thank god."
Reggie turned and placed two frosted glasses on the bar. "I'll be there all night."
Theo smiled. "Well then. So will I."
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