the last thing he wanted was to come home tonight ----- but as fate would have it , his plans fell through . so , here he is : helmet in hand , sleek black t-shirt too casual for the formal setting making him pop like a button in the crowd as he storms through the front door , hair looking a little messy , sunglasses still on because god knows why , trying to navigate through unspotted only to be greeted by that forever awed , slightly chiding tone of his mother “ sebastian ! ” she can make his name in itself feel like something reprehensible . it’s a skill , really . so , yielding his weapon of choice : charm , he stretches his mouth into something of a smile and kisses her cheek . “ is that dress new ? you look ---- ” she cuts him off promptly , unamused . “ why are you in sunglasses at 7pm ? inside the house ? ” he opens his mouth , fumbling for an excuse , only to have them promptly snatched from his face to reveal a purple-ish hue around his eye . damn it . “ --- okay , don’t freak out . ” too late , she’s already grabbing his chin , looking at him like he’s an expensive glass with a crack . “ sebastian ! what happened ? ” squirmish , he wriggles off her grip . “ it’s fine --- i [ ... ] fell on [ ... ] a shovel ---- is that doctor julia ? doctor julia ! over here ! ” he waves to her friend , dodging a scolding just in time . he watches as she clenches her maw , and then shapes her mouth into a smile , whispering something along the line of ‘we’ll discuss this later’ as he scurries off her line of sight . good god , he needs a drink . sebastian snatches a glass of champagne off a tray and moves to the far off corner of the room ---- he likes people watching at during these things . it’s like nature documentaries , a bunch of vultures picking at a mangled carcass in the road ---- only the vultures in this case were people trying to become associates , and the mangled carcass was , well ---- his father . these things are often dull , seldom does anything interesting ever happens , so when he spots her ---- the last person he expected to see here , or --- well , anywhere , he can’t disguise the surprised look on his face . it’s like getting hit by lightening twice .