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A scientific experiment of the highest order is in progress. One which includes raspberry fudge, brie and crackers, and several different wines. Autor plans to get tipsy today, and he'll do it in style.

He'll also do it with help. Autor endures light ribbing by Sunshine, who has promised to stay with him and make sure he doesn't do anything foolish while even slightly inebriated--a serious concern of his, especially with a sprained ankle. She's keeping to tea today, just in case.

Autor raises a glass, his cheeks already tingling. He swirls the wine, as he has seen done before. Then he holds it up to his nose and takes a deep breath. "Ah, yes. This clean, buttery wine has a heady bouquet with oak notes, and a spicy aroma of vanilla and currant," he says, and takes a sip. "Sadly, it is broad--it has a full body aroma, but lacks any finesse to its taste."

Rae grins, sipping her tea. "Try harder not to sound like you memorized the book, Autor."

[OOC: Two pups, two muns! All threads will come after Rae and Autor's, when the boy is already tipsy.]

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Gavroche shows up, eyeing them in amusement.

"Doing a controlled experiment?"

"Gavroche!" Autor says, launching off of his chair to wrap him up in a tackle-hug. "It's so good to see you. Happy birthday. And yes, this is a strictly controlled experiment--very controlled--as is everything about it, including me. I've only had two glasses and it's not affecting me at all yet, though I have a feeling"--and here he drops to a whisper--"that Rae thinks it is. Traitor."

He cocks his head, marveling at his dizziness. "Anyway, it might be the best idea I've ever had or the worst, I'm not sure, but I feel pretty damn good. Rae, you feel good too, right?"

Rae laughs over the top of her teacup as Autor explains the situation. "Oh, terribly controlled experiment, yes," she nods, mock-solemnly. Sunshine has no illusions about what's going on here.

"I feel fine, Autor," she grins. "And how about you, Gavroche? Join us for some, um, science? Or how about a muffin and some tea? We've got both, here."

"Wine will do that", Gavroche agrees, patting Autor's shoulder. "As for whether it's affecting you, you... might want to think if you'd normally be hugging people." He grins over at Rae. "I'd be up for a little bit of science. But not too much, don't worry."

"But I looove hugging people," Autor says, rubbing his cheek on Gavroche's. "How could you not love hugs, huh? They're only like the best tradition in the history of all the world, ever, and then some, because this is the bar and... wait, they do have other worlds here, right?"

Autor tears his face away from Gavroche's to seek out Rae's. "Oh, man, did you say muffins? I'm starving except I'm not that hungry but a muffin sounds delicious."

Rae offers Autor one of the muffins, grinning, and asks a passing waitrat for another wineglass for Gavroche. "If only I had known, all those months ago, that all I had to do to get the prickly scholar to be okay with hugs is get him drunk. It would have saved me some effort," she grins.

When the waitrat returns with the wineglass, she pours for Gavroche, and offers him the glass. "Muffin, Gavroche? We also have crackers and cheese."

"Always good to have food with wine", he agrees cheerfully, accepting the glass. "Especially cheese, if it's French wine."

"It's not French, it's Italian," Autor says, clinging to Gavroche with one arm while he eats the muffin with his free hand. "Mmm, banana. Banana is the best damn fruit I ever eated. Hey, how come he gets more wine and I don't, Rae?"

"We can't have you hogging it all for yourself, Autor," Rae says, improvising with good cheer. "You've already had a good amount and Gavroche hasn't had any! Plus, he might be able to offer more information for your experiment notes."

Right?

Something like that?

"Exactly", Gavroche backs her up. "You can... compare the speed of the effects, this way."

"Ohh," Autor says, adjusting his glasses once he finishes off the muffin. "That's brilliant, and I don't know why I didn't think of that except that thinking is really, really hard, you know? Like, what's that other word for hard. Dif. Difficult! Yes. See what I mean? Gosh, I hope I'm not like this all the bloody time."

Muffin eaten, he turns back to cuddling with Gavroche. "Rae, I expect to hear your report after this experiment is done, you know. Let me know if I'm making a total ass out of myself even though I don't think I am."

Rae snickers - she can't help it.

"Oh, you want me to wait 'til afterwards to let you know?"

Gavroche tends to be tactile even without the help of wine, and cheerfully cuddles Autor if he wants.

"You might not remember or believe us, afterwards."

And Autor is content to be snuggled by his friend, resting his cheek on his shoulder. "Of course I will," he says quickly, and clings a little tighter. "My memory is faultless."

He glances at Rae. "It's very important that my memory be perfect, because I had to reconstruct everything. Remember? Ha, I told you to remember now, that's horrible."

"Another reason to pause on the wine for a while," she advises, knowing how much being in control of his own mind means to him. "You remember when those balls were going around the bar, making people drunk? I took you upstairs to sleep is off, and you didn't remember being drunk, afterwards."

"Normally, your memory is perfect", Gavroche says with a nod. "But wine plays havoc with everything if you have too much."

"I remember touching Joshua's balls," Autor says, a far-off look in his eye. Then he focuses on nuzzling Gavroche again. "I don't know if I wanna ever do this again, then. But it's nice while it's lasting, because I feel really good and I get to hug people. Rae, you wanna hug?"

Edited 2014-10-26 23:04 (UTC)

Sunshine is a mature, sober adult, and yet she still snort involuntarily into her tea at Autor's remembrance of Joshua's balls. But then she puts her tea down, and smiles at her friend. "You know I'm always up for a hug, Autor."

Except when she's really, really not. But she's not thinking about that right now. Right now, she's amused at her friend, and offering her open arms for a hug.

"Want a hug, too, Gavroche?"

"I'm going to remember you said that." Gavroche grins and shuffles over. "Come on, Autor, let's have a group hug."

...where he heard that phrase is unclear.

"See that you do," Autor says, huffing a little. "My words are things which should be remember all the time because I've said them, and if I'm saying them, it's because I'm saying them for a reason, which is true of everyone but especially me."

The boy shuffles over with Gavroche and loops an arm around Rae, with a soft, "aw. My friends!"

Rae hugs them both, grinning at Gavroche. "He's such a marshmallow, underneath all the prickliness."

Soft and sweet and huggable.

"In vino veritas", Gavroche returns, trying not to laugh.

"Oh, my gosh, you know Latin?" Autor says, grinning. "That's brilliant."

Then he straightens up. "Rae, I am not a marshmallow. I am not. I am not sweet and fluffy and pale. Nor am I roastable," he huffs. "...You were talking about me, right? If not, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to--I don't know what came over me. Can you forgive me for being so harsh?"

Rae chuckles, and leans in to hug the huffy marshmallow again. "I can forgive you anything."

Oh, she was totally talking about him. But see her change the topic.

"More muffins, you two? They're small, and there are lots of different kinds."

"Sounds good. You know I never turn down your baking - Autor, what kind do you like best?"