blame the champagne || s. sallow one-shot

part 1: blame the champagne

the silence stretched between, but it felt oddly familiar—like the space between them had never really grown so wide. maybe he was just deluding himself, but for a moment, it felt like they hadn't changed, like they could still slip back into those old rhythms. it wasn't comfortable, not exactly, but it was natural in a way.

"congratulations, by the way. it's a nice party," sebastian said, his voice a little too casual. a lie. he knew it, she knew it. and yet, neither of them dared to say it aloud.

"the very picture of grandeur," he added, lifting his glass in a half-hearted toast, as if the motion might somehow mask the gaucheness creeping into his tone.

she hummed in response, but it wasn't in agreement. It was more like a sardonic chuckle, a sound that told him she saw through it all. "and then some," she replied, her voice dripping with dry humor. "i think it's quite over the top. but don't tell hector i said that, he'd have a fit."

hector? oh, her fiancée. that must be his name.

for all his loquacious nature, sebastian didn't quite know how to respond to that. there was a pang of something—jealousy, regret, resentment—that made the words catch in his throat. there was a part of him that wanted to ask how it felt, to ask if hector was everything she had dreamed of. but he knew he didn't have the right. so, he stayed silent, letting the questions churn inside, only to swallow them down along with another gulp of champagne.

she smiled then, warm at first, but it quickly shifted into something more melancholic. "but i'm glad you're here, sebastian," she said, her voice gentle. "to be honest, i wasn't sure if you'd come, considering, well, everything. if i were you, the last place i'd want to be is my ex's engagement party."

he shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "i could be in worse places," he said, the smirk tugging at his lips as he raised his glass. "and hey, what could be better than a party with an abundance of champagne?"

"i know you're joking, but take it easy on the champagne, alright? you're a lot more indulgent than you like to think."

sebastian leaned back, giving her a sidelong glance. "ah, there it is. your trademark nagging. i'm already starting to feel sorry for hector."

the words were flippant, but his chest tightened the moment they left his mouth. the thought of someone else being on the receiving end of her odd brand of shrewish affection gnawed at him more than he wanted to admit. he would have swallowed every word he'd ever said if it meant he could keep all that cavilling to himself again. but that's neither here nor there.

she scoffed. "oh, trust me, he does enough nagging for the both of us. quite the pedant, really. i don't know how you put up with me for as long as you did. might be a good idea to ask for your advice."

her words were wrapped in jest, but sebastian didn't miss the small shift in her expression. the tiniest of pouts tugged at her bottom lip, and he caught it—just a flicker. it passed so quickly he almost convinced himself he hadn't seen it. but he had. and it twisted something in his chest, a reminder of all the ways he used to know her. again, he found himself telling himself that it didn't concern him. not anymore.

"advice?" he said, his voice forced into a casual tone, but it cracked just a little. "you're asking the wrong person, hen. i'm hardly an expert on relationships. evidently."

the irony in his own words didn't escape him. no, what did escape him was just how much the slip of that term of endearment landed with weight.

her gaze flicked over to him, brow raised in mild surprise, the corner of her mouth twitching with amusement. "hen?" she echoed.

ah, of course. yet another symptom of too much champagne that also falls under a lack of control—the slip of the tongue.