5/12 Instance: Room Service

[Slarti]

Timelined after Home Invasion

<Shaw> Sebastian again found himself staring out at the city skyline, his tumbler of scotch balanced on his knee. It had been a very long day. Since their return from England, Monet had made herself frustratingly scarce. His phone was somehow missing, and when he'd finally asked Emma to procure a replacement for him, she acted strangely as well.

<Shaw> The woman had jumped as if she'd seen a ghost when he'd walked into the office this morning, and then had stammered out a reason to excuse herself. He still didn't have his new phone.

<Hope> Hope let herself into the penthouse, juggling her bag of Chinese food and scotch as she did. Her head was tilted sideways, holding her phone in place as she talked to her dad's secretary on the other line. "Well tell him I don't really care how many countries are waiting to talk to him, I still need to!" She kicked the door closed behind her, hard.

<Shaw> Luckily, he wasn't so drunk that his reflexes failed him so he caught his drink handily. Surprised, he twisted in the chair to look over his shoulder to the door... and the redhead. His eyes narrowed. Hope Stark. ...had he given her a key as well?

<Hope> "...Thank you. Yes. In New York..... yes I'll be at the banquet... yes have extra security. Drake isn't here.... Because I didn't want him here!.... Bye." She set the food down and hung the phone up, setting it and the drink down on the counter, exhaling loudly. Still not noticing the other person in the room, she took a half second before she began unpacking her dinner.

<Shaw> Hope Stark, who was making herself quite at home. Perhaps he'd married her as well? He should really call Tony, he realized, but first he supposed he should determine why Hope was in his apartment. No, first he should finish his scotch. So, he did.

<Hope> Finally glancing up, Hope let out a scream at the sudden person and ducked down behind the counter. The fuck!? Why had she left Drake?! Where were Stan and Phil?!

<Shaw> "Well, that's a bit overly dramatic don't you think?" Sebastian stood, taking only a moment to steady himself, and headed directly for the bar.

<Hope> Getting her wits about her, Hope carefully stood back up, brushing herself off. "The hell are you doing here?!"

<Shaw> "I might ask the same of you." He poured himself a refill, then automatically picked up another tumbler. Then, he remembered he probably should ask. "Oh, yes. Drink?"

<Hope> "Always... and what do you mean? I live here. Sometimes... When I'm hiding."

<Shaw> Sebastian's head tilted, but he continued his pour. Picking up both glasses, he ambled to the counter and set down her drink. "From whom are you hiding?" he took a sip, pleased his grasp on grammar was still intact.

<Hope> "Chris. He's being an ass. And Tony's too busy. And you're off being married and shit." She sighed, running her hand through her hair and getting two paper plates out to share with him.

<Shaw> As he wasn't certain he remembered who this Chris was, he ignored that bit of information. As he was working his way to pleasant numbness entirely in an effort to forget about this marriage nonsense, he chose to ignore that bit, too. "Well," he said, leaning against the counter to watch her appreciatively. "I suppose Tony has a valid excuse, leader of the free world and all."

<Hope> She waved him off as she poured out his portion and slid it to him, digging out a pair of chopsticks for him. "I just get tired of crap. I don't have to deal with people here."

<Shaw> "Other than me," he said with a smirk, accepting the chopsticks and food with a thank you. When had he last eaten? He couldn't quite recall.

<Hope> "Yeah why are you here?" She asked him again, pulling out chopsticks for herself and pouring the rest of the food onto her plate.

<Shaw> Sebastian waited for her, then picked out a bite with his chopsticks. "I do believe I live here as well." He popped it into his mouth, eyebrows raised as he watched her face.

<Hope> "I... guess so..." She took a bite, giving him an odd look. "Not usually, but sure. Having trouble at home too?"

<Shaw> That was one way of putting it, he supposed. "It would seem." He took his time and another bite before he spoke again. "But, the evening is looking up."

<Hope> Hope grinned and hopped on the counter. "Doesn't it always when we're together? I'm trying to think of an excuse to not go to this banquet later."

<Shaw> With those words, he recalled time spent with her and smiled. "Of course, I'm the best of company." He took another sip of his scotch, savoring the burn, and surveyed her from head to toe. "What banquet?"

<Hope> "Uhhh something for... something. Orphans maybe. Seems like what I get pushed to all the time."

<Shaw> "That's typecasting of the most depressing sort then. There's no reason to grace them with your presence. I'm certain they would enjoy a check more than your company at any rate." Sebastian's grin was winning.

<Hope> She met his grin with one of her own. "True enough. I'll double the size and cancel. That should be fine."

<Shaw> "That should be excellent," he agreed, picking out another bite.

<Hope> "So now what am I going to do with my newly freed up evening?" She took a sip of her scotch, thinking it over.

<Shaw> "Is there any question?" He moved around the counter, meeting her gaze with a confident smirk.

<Hope> "Well, all of our work crap is back in Boston. So it's not like we could finish any of that."

<Shaw> Boston, again. He drained his glass.

<Hope> "Fuck it. Let's go out!"

<Shaw> This... made sense. Hope Stark was clearly a woman after his own heart. "An excellent idea, little Stark." It's no wonder she had a key to his penthouse.

<Hope> She hopped off the counter with a grin. "Give me... thirty minutes?"

<Shaw> He tsked. "Thirty minutes?" Reaching over to catch her hand, he brought it to his lips. "Perfection needs no further work."

<Hope> She laughed at him. "While I agree, should still probably shower."

<Shaw> He chuckled, giving her fingers a squeeze before he let go. "I suppose that is permissible."

<Hope> She stuck her tongue out at him as she disappeared to the master bedroom to get ready.

<Shaw> Inspired to stop her and nip that offending tongue, he resolved to give her a few moments before he pursued. Leaning back over the counter, he took another bite of food and listened to her movements, closing his eyes to enjoy the experience.

<Hope> Not thinking anything of Sebastian in the other room, Hope quickly undressed and slipped into the shower. The hot water made it easy to relax for a moment and forget about her fight with Chris. Had they broken up? She wasn't really sure.

<Shaw> Sebastian decided another drink wouldn't be remiss. After all, he could call a driver. So, he fetched his glass and hers and went to the bar for refills.

<Hope> After enjoying the water for a moment, Hope started with her shampoo, humming slightly and thinking about which clubs they would be least likely to be spotted at.

<Shaw> She was humming, and he listened, taking a sip from his glass as he moved back to the kitchen. Placing her drink next to his, he supposed he should put up their dinner. Opening the refrigerator, he shoved both plates inside, uncovered. Perhaps she would know where all those pots had come from?

<Shaw> And did she like tea? He'd found boxes and boxes of it. He hated tea.

<Hope> Hope rinsed her hair out and picked up her loofa, sudsing it up with her body wash before she started washing her body.

<Shaw> As he closed the fridge door, he smiled to himself and picked up the glasses, strolling into the bedroom. He placed them on the nightstand and stripped off his shirt.

<Hope> She took her time, allowing her stress to float away with the suds. What was she supposed to do with Chris? What was wrong with him anyway? She knew she'd been gone a lot, but still?

<Shaw> If the last visitor to his apartment had been problematic, this one was beyond reproach. She held his former position in the Hellfire Club, with style, and he could see why.

<Hope> Her mind was far from the Hellfire Club and its business, however. She kept replaying her fight with Chris over and over in her mind, washing the same spot on her arm five times before she moved on.

<Shaw> Sebastian took another pull from his scotch, dropping the glass back to the table with a click. He stepped out of his trousers and entered the bathroom. Hope had stopped humming, but he would give her a reason to sing.

<Shaw> Taking a moment to appreciate the view, he quickly joined her. "I must say, I do enjoy this sort of room service."

<Hope> It was a good thing that Hope's reflexes were sharp. Her knee came up quickly, connecting with his groin as she let out a shout. "THE FUCK!?"

<Shaw> His ability absorbed much of the shock and lucky for him, as otherwise he would have brained himself on the tile of the shower wall. As it was, his shoulder connected and he slumped, the cocktail of Chinese takeout and scotch in his stomach threatening rebellion.

<Hope> Soap suds be damned. Hope got the heck out of that shower as quickly as she could.

<Hope> Her fingers grabbed her bathrobe and quickly put that on, wrapping a big fluffy towel around her just to be safe. Had she imagined it? She glanced back at the shower. Nope! He was naked. In her shower. HER shower. What the hell? She retreated to the kitchen for scotch. Scotch made everything better.

[steyn]

hur hur hur, Shaw you dawg.