Timelined a day after Real Estate Fate
<Shaw> Tony had always sworn he hated this vase, so why was it still here? This was the important question on Sebastian's mind as he strolled down the abandoned hallway of the executive residence. As it was slightly off center on the inlaid antique oak table, he tilted his head and stared at it.
<Shaw> Sliding his hands from his pockets, he slid it an inch to the left. He was a tad disappointed that no visible or audible alarm sounded - or that no passageway doors opened. He sniffed. "Pity, that."
<Hope> Hope yawned as she made her way back through the the residence to get to her room. After a long day of dealing with preparations for an upcoming dignitary, she was exhausted and ready to get away from people. A form in the hallway caught her attention though. She did a double take, then paused to watch what he was doing.
<Shaw> Bored, he picked up the vase to look at the bottom, then set it back down with a shrug.
<Hope> "Looking for a cheap wedding gift?" Hope mused, moving to approach him.
<Shaw> Recognizing her voice instantly, he turned only his head to smirk at her. "I was actually trying to discern why your father hasn't used it for target practice yet."
<Hope> "The greatest mystery of our time." Hope shrugged a bit. "If you're here to tell me I'm not invited, you wasted a trip." She paused, wondering if she should head on to her room or stay and chat.
<Shaw> Sebastian pivoted on one foot to face her, crossing his arms to blink down at her curiously. "Well, of course you would be invited, but now I'm offended that your disdain for Jessica extends to snubbing me as well."
<Hope> "Figured that was a built in after the last time she and I 'spoke.'"
<Shaw> "Are we speaking of your invitation or our relationship?"
<Hope> "Well, mostly the wedding. But I guess the rest depends on if you take a side or not." She shrugged a little.
<Shaw> His lip twitched. "What would you prefer I do?"
<Hope> "If you pick a side pick mine," she smirked at him a little, headed on toward her room.
<Shaw> "And not my wife's?" He waited for her to pass and fell into step with her, unable to resist this now that it had started.
<Hope> "Your choice. I'm sure she already whined at you about it." She was good at that victim role. She moved through the doorway to her room, kicking her shoes off at the doorway. "And how horrible I am."
<Shaw> Well, if she was comfortable with him following her to her bedroom, he would be happy to do just that. "Point of fact, she did not tell me anything." Sebastian leaned against the door frame, smirk still in place.
<Hope> "Well, first time for everything." She sank into a chair, sighing a little as she did. "So I find the new 'school' unacceptable and frankly... a set from a horror film. So I don't want to live there and be part of that anymore. She goes on about how I'm abandoning everyone when they need me. I reminded her how she was too busy sleeping with you to help find everyone during the cannibals. She acts like it was so much worse to leave now than to hide then."
<Hope> Hope picked up a silver picture frame that contained a picture of her and Johnny, gazing down at it briefly before turning it face side down onto the desk it had previously been upon. "And then she decided throw Johnny at me. Some yelling... don't really remember everything. I know it ended when I threw my ring at her face though."
<Shaw> The smirk faded slightly and he sighed, moving into the room to find a chair for himself. After settling into it, he leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees as he watched her. "A key point that most seem to miss about that entire cannibal fiasco is that I asked her to stay with me."
<Hope> "Remind me to hate you later then," she muttered, her eyes landing somewhere on the opposing wall.
<Shaw> "The new school is a set from a horror film," he said, chuckling slightly as he leaned back in the chair.
<Hope> "Or hate you now," She managed a very slight smirk.
<Shaw> He bared teeth in a predatory grin.
<Hope> She tried to smile, but it just fell flat. "Eh, don't have the energy anymore."
<Shaw> Shifting again, he let the expression fade into something more sincere. "Hope, my dear, you know I'm very sorry for your loss."
<Hope> "I know," she told him softly. "I should be used to it really."
<Shaw> "Used to... what, exactly?" She had him confused again, which seemed a common state around her of late.
<Hope> "Every time things settle... every time I think that I can finally have a normal life... it gets turned upside down. A year is about all I get."
<Shaw> "Ah," he said, with a slight nod. "Perhaps, now, as you've chosen another path free of the school, and here with Tony, things will be different."
<Hope> Hope laughed at him. "Yeah right. People try to kill him all the time."
<Shaw> "True, but arguably he has better security than Xavier's." Sebastian brushed off the leg of his suit. "However, I would point out I haven't been challenged since I left his company, wandering the halls like a vagabond for the last quarter-hour."
<Hope> Hope pointed to the pin on his suit. "Because you're wearing that. Nobody cares. Really... they could sneak a murderer in with a pin on and he'd probably get by. Probably more to it, but they know better than to delay the redhead."
<Shaw> "Mmm." He peered down at the flag on his lapel. "It's likely I could replicate this pin and all its functions within a day in my own home, so I'm not certain that's the best barometer of security." One corner of his mouth quirked up at her implication as well.
<Hope> "Exactly," she smirked at him. "Why do you think I insist on hanging around? Somebody has to keep him alive."
<Shaw> At this, he grinned. "Well then, you'll need to be at the wedding, won't you?"
<Hope> Hope wrinkled her nose at him. "Do I have to?"
<Shaw> "Tony, of course, is to be my best man." The grin only grew broader at her face. "When I asked, he had much the same reaction as you are right now."
<Hope> "More proof I share his DNA," she kept her look a bit longer before relenting. "Fine... if I have to."
<Shaw> "Oh, you are most certainly your father's daughter, little Stark." Pleased with himself, he drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair.
<Hope> She laughed and relaxed a little. "Yeah... I guess so." She smiled and glanced at him. "So... you going to stay for dinner?"
<Shaw> "If you can restrain your hate for long enough, of course," he chuckled, returning the smile.
<Hope> Hope grinned. "Oh you'll love the food here. I suppose I can stop hating you for a bit. At least until after dessert."
<Shaw> "Hate and dessert, how can I resist?"