fall for anything. [tag; aeric]

Urgh. London.

She hated this city. It was cold, dark and oppressive. The people were rude, everything was overly expensive, the pavements were shot to Hell and there was no way she was going to tolerate having the heels of her brand new shoes stuck in some gap in the tarmac that some silly little Muggle was meant to have filled it. People! Dolts. Every single one of them.

It was late. A little after dusk and the night air was still warm and sticky, the summer air thick and tangible. Sofia strode down the quiet streets that she knew very well by now. Her thick rose-scented curls bounced as her long legs walked with purpose, her high heels click-clacking, the sound echoing as she wandered down and neatly stepping over some fallen debris.  It was a social visit. Funnily enough, all of her social visits seemed to be done when the sun went down. Darkness was so…theatrical. And Sofia was all about the dramatics.

She was calling in to see a friend. Friend. Occasional foe. It was difficult to put a label on what sort of relationship she and Aeric Regan shared. Rumours through the grapevine said that her favourite little thug was getting married. How sweet! The fact that she hadn't been given an invitation nettled her faintly. She liked weddings. She liked mentally scoring the bride's dress as she wafted down the aisle, she liked hitting on the best man, regardless of his relationship status and she really liked an open bar. Aeric was Irish. There had to be an open bar.

Upon reaching the door, her wand was out quickly. Sofia whistled to herself, in her own little world as she twisted and waved her wand in precise and intricate movements; she helped apply these wards so getting in wasn't really too hard.

The bar was dark, closed already. Excellent. The tall Italian slipped inside, closing the door behind her as her big brown eyes looked around. With a yawn, she discarded her leather clutch on one of the highly polished tables, her silk and taffeta dress making soft swoosh noises as she meandered through the place like she owned it. Her long fingers gently pulled off her leather gloves, flinging them aside absently like a trail of proverbial bread crumbs. Sofia liked mind games. In her opinion, cloak and dagger scenarios were becoming less and less frequent. Boring.

She didn't often wear a lot of colour so the bright pink bag was sure to throw him off. She knew he'd be here, he was actually rather predictable and she thought it was so adorable.

Yawning, she ruffled her glossy curls as she slipped behind the vast and well stocked bar. The lights hadn't been turned on, there really wasn't any need as she knew the bar as well as anyone. Crouching, she rummaged underneath the counter, her plump scarlet lips down turning into a frown as she looked for the good liquor. Letting out a disgruntled sigh, she spun around to face the back wall, leaning onto her tiptoes as she stroked the various different bottles before stopping on one in particular.

The bottle was a bright blue and unopened. A quick read of the label told her it was a vintage wine, grown in Italy. There wasn't a price on it and it didn't surprise her. Turning it over, Sofia uncorked it like a pro, the sound slicing through the silence of the bar before she took a sip. Why pay for her own alcohol when she could pilfer someone else's? Taking another sip and nodding in agreement with a thoughtful frown, she neatly perched herself on the edge of the bar, long legs over one side and her heels dangling perilously from her left foot.

There was so much to do, so many things that he had to address. It was hard for him to figure where he should start. His hands rose to rub the sleep from his face roughly. Heavy eyelids closing for just a second. Just a little rest things would be fine. He had been having a hard time sleeping. Always dreaming one of two miserable dreams haunting his subconscious. As much as he wanted to tell Ivana he knew she would worry about him more than she already did. He had to be strong for the mere fact that now all eyes were on him. He was constantly under scrutiny, so he had to be careful. One sign of weakness and his family could be facing a terrible incident.

Sitting back in his chair he gently tapped his quill against his desk. The soft sound allowing him to keep his eyes open. He'd sent Niko home for the night, there was no need in him standing around exhausted. Standing himself he stretched sighing as he did so before grabbing his vest. His body froze as a soft popping sound filled the air. Quickly his hands rose to touch his vest, his wand wasn't there nor was it in his holster against his hip. Green eyes rested on his slightly ajar office door as he contemplated going through it to investigate.

It would be just his luck someone had come to kill him. Regardless he was a man. A Regan man at that. This rising feeling in his chest was not the fear of his death. No not of that. He would die one day it was the only thing his birth had promised him. No, he feared of not having enough time. Enough time to love his son. Enough time to cherish Ivana. There wasn't enough time for him to seek forgiveness for all he'd done. This feeling was unstoppable, because it was close to the truth it hurt.  His priorities were not in check, and maybe just maybe this was his wake up call.

He exited out into the bar from his office, and something bright caught his eye. Was that a purse? Etain would have just come in his office. Maybe Ivana had come to wait for him to finish, a nice little surprise. "I know...I know I was supposed to be home an hour a...go.." He paused as he rounded the corner to see her sitting on the bar. There she was, long legs in a dress. "The worlds thirstiest assassin. Hello Sofia." He eyed her for a moment before looking around in case Blake was in the shadows. Though he now trusted her. He still remembered her tying him to a chair for two days and beating the hell out of him.

"You don't knock or announce yourself I see." Walking over he tilted the bottle she held before sighing. "That was vintage you know. My grandmother will most likely kill me for that." He walked around the bar and touched a button to allow a slight bit of light to flood the room. "To what do I owe this surprising visit? I kmow you didn't come to drink and talk." It wasn't how they worked together.  They were like fire and ice, always butting heads. They worked well together when it came to the planning of someones demise. She had become his grim reaper wigh Etain out on maternity leave.

"Were you not able to finish the job? Problems?" She had been sent to handle a little stealing problem. He knew Harrison was more than one could handle, but he'd sesn her in action. She was good at what she did. Precise down to very last string. "Please get off the bar...there are well over a dozen chairs in here...." he sounded faintly annoyed as he made himself a glass of scotch. He wondered then why she actually came in the middle of the night no less. "So why are you here again?" With his glass to his lips he hoped like hell it wasn't bad news.

This was such fun! Sofia had a flare for the dramatics, she always had. If there was a way for her to enter a room in a cloud of purple smoke at every opportunity, she'd damn well take it. Grinning to herself like a proper loon, she heard the door go. It was Aeric or Niko and she liked Niko. He was cute. Countless times she'd tried to get the taller man into bed and it was blah, blah, blah. All work and no play. It was frustrating. He was sort of like a mannequin. He just stood there, arms folded, looking bored. Such a shame.

"Hi honey!" Sofia called out into the darkness, her voice taking on a sing-song tone. He was meant to be home an hour ago? "Tut tut," she called out, shaking her head so long glossy dark curls cascaded down her slender shoulders as she reclined a little.

She laughed, high and tinkering as the lights came on, highlighting the hints of copper in her hair and casting her pretty face into high relief as it picked up on the curves of her long and lean body. "Buonasera," the brunette replied with a smile that dimpled her cheeks as she tilted her head to the left a little. She laughed again, properly this time, slapping her left thigh for effect. "You're so jumpy!" She teased, her scarlet lips parted in a grin as her big dark eyes sparkled. "I came alone," she remarked. "Blake isn't here. I love him," she said. "But he's so uncouth sometimes, it's scary."

Knocking? "That'd ruin the surprise," she purred, letting the shoe she had dangling from her toes hit the floor with a dull thud!. "Besides, if you knew it was me, you wouldn't have answered," she said candidly as he watched her, causing her to lift up her left hand and wiggle her slim fingers in greeting. Shrugging, she took another sip of her pilfered bottle. "Oh pfft," she pooh-poohed Aeric, flipping her hand at him nonchalantly. "And what, pray tell, is an eighty year old woman going to do with this?" She asked, an eyebrow arched before taking another swig. "It was gathering dust there."

She watched him with a smile. "I came to offer my congratulations," she said softly. "I do believe you're getting married," she concluded. "I trust my wedding invitation got lost in the post," she drawled. "Anyway," she said hastily. "I brought you a present." With that, she leant backwards behind the bar and extracted a pair of pink fluffy handcuffs. With a grin, she twirled them around her long index finger as she held them out for Aeric to take. "For the honeymoon," she said with a wink.

She blinked, a slim eyebrow arched and looking totally unimpressed. "No," she said, looking around. "Is Niko here?" Sofia mused. "Because I'm convinced when he sees me coming, he runs away from me," she stated, her deeply pink lips down turning at the corners as she pouted before taking another sip of the expensive wine.

"Make me," she purred, smiling slowly, her eyes glittering in the light mischievously. "I'm comfortable," she whined. "And in this dress?" The Italian scoffed, gesturing to the tight fitting fabric. "If I sat in a chair, I wouldn't be able to get up again. I'm quite fine here, thank you," she said with a pleasant smile. "I told you," Sofia said, sounding exasperated as she sighed deeply. "I came to offer my congratulations for your impending nuptials. Do I think you're insane? Yes," she remarked with an offhanded shrug. "But I'm sweet enough to keep those opinions to myself."

With another smile, she kicked off her other shoe and wiggled her bare toes as she continued to drink. "You," she said brightly, twisting and leaning across the bar to tap his wrist in a manner that was decidedly patronising. "Need to stop worrying so much," Sofia commented cheerily. "Besides, I was out of alcohol," she said with a sigh. "So naturally, I came to steal yours. How have you been, cara mia?"