Work Text:
Oh gosh.
Blake's night just got a lot more difficult.
Throngs of people are pulsing through the rooms. They (people and rooms) are dressed to the nines in leaves and tinsel on the mystical third side of gaudy. And there - right in the middle of it all is his boss.
And she is most definitely drunk.
And being handed another glass of something by Jay.
“I thought we agreed we'd be limiting the alcohol after last time?”
He's not sure who he's asking but neither tweedle dum nor tweedle dee are listening.
After a pregnant pause, Jay pipes up.
“Mulled Wine isn't alcoholic!”
“Mulled Wine is low alcohol when cooked properly because the ethanol evaporates.”
The words rush out faster than light.
“Mulled Wine is high in alcohol when it has only been mildly heated and then dished out to powerful people politely asking for it before it's ready without alerting the kitchen staff that they are looking for it as low alcohol alternative.”
As his face returns from a colour similar to the liquid in his boss's glass to a more healthy red, he cannot help but lament tunnel vision.
The most capable people in Government trying to do everything right and, in the process, forgetting the basics.
“Sorry.” Comes a slightly slurred response. At least they have the sense to look regretful.
Though, it's not like he's in charge. He works with adults (it was his only stipulation) who do not need babysitting.
The problem, of course, is that the public are utter children so it's better not to get hammered in front of them. Or, in the case of the demographic of tonight's public, teetotalation is the safest situation.
As he plucks the drinks from their hands, he resolves to sneak some fully mulled wine into the secretary's office for before she leaves.
A little Christmas present.