Chapter 344: Friends? Friends.
The lunch had started civilised. It was supposed to be nothing more than food, wine, and polite conversation. But "supposed to be" rarely survived with Bob and Riven in the same room, especially once alcohol was involved.
Each time Riven reached for Bob’s wine glass to top it off, Leon pushed forward his glass tight. Each time Bob laughed too freely at Riven’s nonsense, Soren’s hand twitched like he was imagining throttling someone. He really did not want guests.
John sat to the side, massaging his temples. This is exactly why I left home, he thought bitterly. Back then, it had been endless fights for Bob’s attention. Now, here, he somehow ended up in the exact same situation. At least it did not involve him... Or Bob.
Whatever kinks Leon, Soren and Riven had to work out was none of his business, he just wanted to leave.
John stared at them. Soren looked ready to walk out. Leon muttered, "I hate..."
And so the stage was set.
By the time dessert was cleared, Leon had migrated closer, squeezing himself between Riven and Bob with all the subtlety of a territorial cat. Riven, already a little pink from the wine, welcomed him with sloppy enthusiasm.
That’s when the real trouble started.
John noticed it first—Soren’s patience thinning, his lips pressed so tightly they’d nearly disappeared. He could already tell where this was headed. And John’s survival instinct kicked in. They had to go.
"I’d say it’s time to go home," he announced firmly, standing. "Bob and I will take our leave."
He tugged at Bob’s arm, trying to coax him up, but Bob resisted like a sulking child.
"Nooo," Bob whined, dragging out the vowel as if it might change John’s mind. He leaned heavily against him, voice sugary and petulant. "But I wanna stay with Riven~."
John’s expression tightened. He glanced across the table. Soren was watching him with narrowed eyes, dangerous and cold. Not at John specifically—but he radiated danger.
"Bob," John murmured, adjusting his grip to support the full weight suddenly dumped on him, "we’ll visit Riven tomorrow. You both need to rest."
"Tomorrow?" Bob perked up slightly, though his words slurred. "Promise?"
"Yes," John said quickly, shooting a silent prayer of apology to the heavens. There was no way in hell he was bringing Bob back here tomorrow.
But Bob was pliant enough to move now, leaning into John’s shoulder like a lazy cat. His mate’s weight pressed against him, and despite the headache of the situation, John found himself strangely content. If Bob depended on him—even just like this—it was enough.
Unfortunately, Riven was not on board with this plan.
As John tried to lead Bob away, Riven clung to Bob’s hand with drunken desperation. His words tangled and stretched as he tried every possible variation of Bob’s name.
"Nooo... Bobby. Bobooo. Bobert. Bobsy-daisy. Bobbles—"
"Riven," Soren cut in sharply, catching him with a hug just before he toppled off his chair. "Enough. You need to rest."
"I don’t wanna rest, I wanna Bob!" Riven argued, wriggling uselessly in Soren’s grip.
John took the opportunity to retreat, half-carrying Bob toward the door. Each step felt like peeling himself away from a battlefield.
Behind him, chaos continued.
Leon staggered up, swaying like a reed in the wind, and draped one arm across Soren’s shoulders while the other clutched a near-empty bottle. His hiccups punctuated his every word.
"I hate your guts," Leon slurred, glaring blearily at Soren. "You think you’re sooo tall, sooo serious. So insufferable."
Soren’s jaw tightened. With Riven sagging against one side and Leon hanging off the other, he looked like a man condemned.
"Let. Go," he growled.
Leon only squeezed tighter, his breath hot and heavy with wine. "Neverrr. We’re bonded by suffering now. You and me. Brothers in misery!"
Riven, still dangling in Soren’s hold, suddenly perked up. He reached toward Leon with a sloppy smile. "It’s okayyyy. You have a friend in meee."
Leon’s eyes filled with dramatic tears. "Finally! Someone cares about me!" He buried his face into Soren’s shoulder.
Soren stood rigid in the middle of the storm, carrying the dead weight of two grown men with an expression carved from stone.
John, watching from the doorway as he adjusted Bob against his side, thank god he left, that man looked like he was going to lose it.
Soren, with a lot of effort, pushed off Leon. He did not need to take care of this lousy lion, if it were up to him, he would have kicked him out a long time ago. But he was a quick learner, he learnt from Ronan what would happen if he did that. This was Raphael 2.0. And he did not intend to make the same mistake.
He was in the middle of these thoughts when Leon slung an arm around Soren’s shoulder without warning, nearly knocking the man sideways. His cheeks were flushed from drink, and his grin was far too bright.
"You know what?" Leon announced loudly, swaying a little. "You’re alright... For a guy I hate."
Soren stiffened immediately. His first instinct was to elbow Leon in the ribs and shove him away, but the sound of Riven’s laughter stopped him.
Inner peace... Inner peace... In... In pieces.
Riven said between hiccups. "You two are perfect. Best friends now. Forever."
Leon laughed so hard at that he nearly tripped on his own legs. "Friends Forever? He looks like he wants to kill me!"
"Ooohh", Riven turned his head to look at Soren.
"You wanna kill me... Don’t ya. You wanna kick me out, don’t ya... If you had the chance you would definitely take it... Right? Hehe." Leon managed between hiccups. He said it in a sing-songy way that got on Soren’s nerves. He was dragging two men upstairs now.
Xavier offered to take the annoying lion off his hands but neither Riven nor Leon let it happen. Riven started to whine again and Leon clung to him like a cat clinging to it’s owner’s hands when it’s time for a bath.