The Benefits of Not Being Sober // Nero Whitehorn

Guest

Five empty shot glasses were on the table in front of her, and Eun Soo was ready to down some more.

She could handle her Firewhisky, after all. It was a trait she often used to her advantage when visiting shady pubs in order to hunt down criminals. To most people, she probably looked like a frail Asian woman who would probably pass out after four shots. But the more they underestimated her, the more Eun Soo got what she wanted.

Her visit to The Leaky Cauldron, however, wasn't triggered by a desire to play at Lady Justice. Alone and with no desire to find company, Eun Soo wanted to forget the things she had seen that night. She hadn't been in the mood to party in the first place—the event was hosted by some pureblood who was just clearly trying to gather his connections together—but she had gone anyway, mostly because Nero had said he would be there, and Eun Soo figured she would at least have company.

At least, that's what she thought, until she saw that woman in a bloody red dress clinging to him.

Then again, it wasn't as if Nero was obligated to keep her company. He was just a friend, after all, and even their friendship took a long time to happen. Even as friends, Eun Soo still couldn't stand his arrogance. Quite a few times they had almost gotten into fights, only to calm down after a few drinks. Over the months they had known each other, they had become good drinking buddies, but now Eun Soo was nursing her sixth shot of Firewhisky alone.

Perhaps it was for the best that he wasn't around to keep her company. He could keep his women and inventions. She had her dignity to take care of.

Guest

Nero was glad of the party - Elyah would be home soon enough, and undoubtedly, this would mean being tied down. Unavailable for his usual antics. Not the Nero minded completely, but a man had needs, and he was satiating them as much as he could that evening. He'd informed Eun Soo of the party - they had a good time together for the last few months, and a familiar face was always a bonus.

However, shortly in to the evening - on the way to getting himself a drink - Nero had spotted a rather beautiful brunette, in a very tightly fitting red dress that left nothing to the imagination.

Most girls would roll their eyes at Nero for picking the openly available women. He had a brilliant mind, he didn't have to have skin tight clothing to guess what was beneath the attire, and yet, when he drank, Nero didn't want to be the imaginative one. He wanted to stop thinking, and just... have fun.

Time had run away from Nero, and he was just about to make his move on the woman clinging to his arm as if she could claim him, when his man walked past and informed him that Miss Han had left, 'in quite an unsavoury mood, I would wager', Nero's man had explained, and Nero had let out an irritated sigh.

Without so much as a second glass at the brunette beside him, Nero downed his drink, parted himself from the woman, and apparated. Women were never easy, Nero had learnt that a long time ago, but they weren't always as discrete as they believed themselves to be.

The Leaky Cauldron was as drab as ever, Nero noted as he slipped through the back door, and to the bar beside the woman he had known to be there. "You know the other party was much better than this, babe?" Nero asked, his friendly pet names never quite defining the differences between female friends, and potential conquests. "Fire whiskey." Nero added, motioning to the bar tender to hurry up.

Guest

Eun Soo had not expected Nero to follow her. In fact, she was quite certain he would stay at the party and probably take that woman home with him while he was at it. She wasn't sure whether to be pleased or irritated—on one hand, he had abandoned the party just to follow her, but on the other hand, it was rather insulting how he only remembered her when she was gone.

Nero's apparent enjoyment of the party reminded Eun Soo of their differences. While he saw those parties as an opportunity to have fun and meet new people, Eun Soo thought of them as a waste of time and only bothered to attend because she was starting to feel uptight next to Nero. The fact that he always managed to meet someone while she felt like the token third wheel didn't help matters at all.

It was a good thing she wasn't the sort of person who cried when she was angry, since her body had gone cold all over despite all of the Firewhisky shots she had. She turned away from Nero and downed her sixth shot as she motioned to the bartender for another one. Pointedly avoiding looking at Nero, she watched the bartender who was juggling bottles by the bar.

'I don't think we were attending the same party, then.' She folded her arms across her chest as she leaned back and crossed her legs. It was the classic cold shoulder pose, and she made sure her expression looked as icy as ever. 'Gatherings for purebloods who can't be successful without connections aren't really my cup of tea, but I suppose you find that sort of thing fun.' With a smirk, she looked him up and down before quickly downing the seventh shot glass handed to her by the bartender. 'Where's your little friend? Won't she be upset you abandoned her?'

Guest

The comment of being at the same party made Nero smirk to himself a little bit, truth be told. "Come on, if you just relaxed in to the party you'd enjoy it so much more. You're just... too caught up in being your day job!" Nero insisted, lifting his shot from the bar and downing it easily. Fire whiskey might not be his favourite, but it served it's purpose. Not to mention, The Leaky Cauldron had never been a good place for Jack on the rocks. Too Muggle, a bartender had told him once when he'd complained.

The cold shoulder just made Nero more amused, though, jealousy was radiating off of her, and he couldn't help but want to laugh at that. "Purebloods who use those for connection gatherings are amusing, I'll grant you that, especially when they're fluttering around me all evening. But, doll, you gotta realise that it's just an act. I don't go to make people like me. I go for fun!" He insisted, shaking his head at the fact Eun Soo couldn't see something so blindingly obvious like that.

He wasn't frustrated, he just... couldn't understand her sometimes.

'Where's your little friend? Won't she be upset you abandoned her?'

"Didn't give her chance to contest the idea of leaving." Nero replied, looking much too happy with himself as he said these words. "Though, in all likelihood my man has given her my card, apologised and insisted she give me a call tomorrow. Too bad the card is a fake, huh?" He added - a brilliant idea made by Nero for the situations such as this. A promise of something more seemed to cool most women down in those situations, fickle creatures they were.

"Anyway, I thought you weren't too happy about that, so why are you worrying where she is, when I'm here?" Nero added, trying to catch Eun Soo out in that moment with the question. He was way too confident in himself, but Nero was, as ever, unapologetic about it.

Guest

Every word he said made Eun Soo want to stand up and leave, but she stayed put and looked away again. Merlin, it was tiring to keep ordering for shot glasses. When she caught the bartender's eye, she asked for a bottle of Firewhisky all to herself. The bartender raised an eyebrow at that, but the galleons on Eun Soo's palm glinted in the dim pub light. Besides, she knew the Leaky Cauldron's owner, and the bartender was aware of that.

Of course Nero would tell her to 'relax'. That was the thing about Nero—he always made observations about her character, as if his unsolicited advice were actually helpful for Eun Soo at all. She was starting to get sick of it. Only someone as arrogant and insensitive as him would think himself to be the master of having fun. She rolled her eyes and sighed, and just in time before she could completely lose her cool, the bartender handed her the Firewhisky bottle.

She poured herself a shot and drank it all immediately, enjoying the burning sensation down her throat. The only downside to having high alcohol tolerance was that it took awhile before she felt the hit, and even after eight shots, the world still looked clear. Nero was still as infuriating as ever. Reluctantly, she poured him a shot and handed him a glass, wishing she hadn't grown up so hospitable and well-mannered.

Even when all she wanted to do was hex him, she couldn't ever completely hate him. It was ridiculous how she managed to tolerate his presence despite her anger, but she supposed it was only because she was getting used to him.

'Fun is for university students,' she said as she shook her head disapprovingly at the idea of adults being irresponsible idiots. 'While you lot get wasted on gold-infused champagne, crime is rampant in London, and I still haven't got leads regarding the group suspected to have created the virus.' Her fists clenched as she remembered how close she had gotten to getting information, only for it to slip away due to a man who tried to hit on her.

With a sigh, she poured herself another shot of Firewhisky. 'But you know, it's alright, I understand why you lot need your parties. You enjoy your drinks and women, I'll fight crime. Let's keep doing what we do best, shall we?' Eun Soo was starting to ramble, and she wasn't sure she knew how to stop. All she knew was that she wanted to hex or curse everyone right at that moment, but an Auror's job was to save the world, not to destroy it. 'I don't know, Whitehorn, why am I unhappy, indeed? Why are you even here if you like that other party so much?'

Guest

As the shot was passed to him, Nero did not pass up on the opportunity. No, instead he downed it quickly and professionally, enjoying the burn as it slid down his throat. The joy of Firewhiskey, as it were. Putting the glass back down on the bar, Nero used his index to tap the top lightly, indicating for Eun Soo to refill it for him.

Whilst they might not be at a party, it didn't seem the drinking would be stopping any time soon, no matter how much Eun Soo might not want it to.

"Fun is for the living, not for the existing!" Nero responded happily - he hadn't taken offence to Eun Soo's words, he rarely took offence to anything. In fact, he found it rather amusing, entertaining, even. And, as Nero had found out with the time he'd already spent with Eun Soo, she took her job way too seriously, and he knew not to test her when it came to that.

So, he let the comments go when she seemed to grow frustrated. He wasn't in the mood for arguments that evening.

"What we do best? Babe, women and drinking are not my best assets, a close second, I'll give you that much. But inventing is what I'm good at, why do you think I'm who I am today if not for that?" Nero insisted, getting a little defensive in that moment. He had helped invent the world's fastest broom, how dare Eun Soo not pick this up as his best feat?

"I can't leave my girl to drink on her own, now, can I?" Nero replied, tapping his glass once more. "Fill her up." He insisted, waiting for Eun Soo to do so. "Why's there a bee in your bonnet, come on. I'm not stupid, you're upset."

Guest

A smirk began to form on her lips as Eun Soo refilled Nero's glass. Though he didn't seem to take offence to what she said about partying, the comment about women and drinking as his best assets must have ruffled his feathers. There was a certain defensiveness to his tone, and he was probably appalled at the idea that Eun Soo thought him to be just like those young rich bachelors who slept with someone new every night.

Of course Eun Soo truly didn't think of him that way. They wouldn't be friends if she did. Perhaps, at some point in time, that was what she had assumed, but as she got to know Nero, she understood the hidden depths that made him, well, Nero. If only he didn't waste his time with women who didn't deserve him.

If only he understood how utterly frustrating it was for Eun Soo to watch him as he flirted with girls, while she pretended to be happy with her position as a 'wingman'. Her temper boiling again, she handed over the newly refilled glass to Nero and leaned back, crossing her arms in front of her.

It was too bad Eun Soo's invention skills were limited to her family's technomancy companies and her various Auror undercover identities, because it just wasn't possible for her to invent excuses for her anger. She could try and stay quiet, but for some reason, being around Nero made her more in touch with her emotions, and her emotions were bad at making themselves scarce.

She downed another glass. She had lost track of her count, but that didn't matter—she always had a trusty sobering potion with her in case she needed it, and besides. She knew she could handle her alcohol. She could handle anything, after all. She was Han Eun Soo, the brightest student to have graduated from her wizarding school, and possibly the best spy/intelligence Auror the Ministry could ever have.

Setting down the glass on the table, she looked Nero in the eye, hoping they could show all of her anger and frustration to Nero. 'Of course I'm upset,' she began. 'Ah, jintcha, naneun cheongmal babo ya.' Shaking her head, she drank all of the liquid in her shot glass and poured herself some more. 'I like you. There, that's what upsetting me. I like you, and I hate having to watch you flirt with all those girls. Does that answer your question? Are you happy?' [Translation: Ah, really, I'm such an idiot.]

Sighing, Eun Soo paused a bit before she spoke again. 'And I'm so stupid. Of all people, I had to end up liking you. Because I definitely don't want to be one of those girls who end up crying because of you, and besides, I value my friendship with you. So there.'

Guest

Knocking back the next drink, Nero winced at the burn, and placed his glass back down. Drinking Firewhiskey with little or no reaction was a feat only the strongest of people could muster, and Nero was not one of them. Pushing it back towards Eun Soo for the next round of drinks.

'Of course I'm upset,'

Here we go, Nero thought to himself, paying attention to the witch before him, he waited for her to continue on with her explanation. The slip in to Korean was ignored by Nero, he didn't speak it, but he knew that Eun Soo could speak it, obviously. And on the occasions she slipped in to the language, he just pretended to have a clue of what she was saying.

The answer, though, simply made a smile form on Nero's lips. A cocky smile, one that showed he wasn't taking her words seriously. She was wasted, why would he believe her when she said such things? "You like me? Come on Eun Soo, as if you could like me. You've seen me with women!" He replied, chuckling because this had to be a wind up.

There was no way Eun Soo could be serious about this.

Was there?

"Who's put you up to this?" Nero asked, the smile on his lips still far too amused to believe it. He wasn't the kind of guy you fell in love with - not seriously. He was the one-night lover. Two if you were really pretty, and good where it mattered - i.e. the bedroom. No, Nero knew he wasn't the perfect guy to fall in love with. And... surely Eun Soo knew that?