บท 56: Chapter 56 (reuploaded)

The Lore's and Reyes were sat at a 10-person table together. The two PA's had the job of ensuring a smooth dinner service, meaning they had to wait before they could eat.

Henry and Joshua looked around the table, seeing everyone busy talking as food was being served. Their mothers were conversing with themselves, as were the fathers, as were Samuel and Archer and Penelope and Meera. The four pairs were so into their conversations that it left the two young men with no one to talk to apart from each other. And while they had managed to talk relatively smoothly when it came to the Q Group or the wedding farce, when it came to small talk they still turned a little awkward and stupid.

Not knowing what else to do, Henry reached forward, grabbing the bottle of white wine from in front of Caroline and Hanna and pouring a little too much into his glass to be considered polite. To his left, Joshua cleared his throat, making the young man look up, only to be nodded in his mother's direction. He was met with a pointed stare, as if warning him from drinking too much.

Hanna was a little worried about her son becoming an alcoholic on top of a smoker, one was already too much.

Unfortunately for her peace of mind, she was met with a nonchalance that she rarely had directed at her, never before from her precious second son.

Henry offered the bottle to Joshua, who accepted without a second thought; he knew his own mother would be sending him looks of disapproval, but he pushed his glass towards the younger man anyway. His glass was also filled past where would usually be considered appropriate for such a high-class event, almost topped to the brim.

As the two men drink, Joshua decided to comment, "We might be in for a lot more than quitting smoking if we keep this up."

"Mm, probably. But they are the ones who wanted to have this party for us more than the merger. In that case, I'm going to drink my fill."

"Just don't get too drunk and start leering."

"You should watch yourself; you will blow our cover if you start your beauty appreciation speech."

"I will be fine, I can handle a decent amount of wine and beer, it's spirits that mess me up. You, on the other hand, should definitely limit the amount of wine you decide to drink. You can't go pulling girls at your own engagement party."

"Shut up. Celibacy was the only thing I didn't consider about this whole thing."

While the bickering was hushed enough that even those next to them could not quite catch their words, what the whole table could see was the young couple enjoying themselves. Although it was clear that there was some low-level conflict, they had subconsciously moved close to each other, heads leaning in slightly. While the two were feigning straight faces, every time one felt as if they were coming out on top, a wine glass conveniently concealed the threatening smile. But within the next few lines, the roles would be completely reversed.

Both were so stuck in their own world that they did not even realise that their appetiser had been places in front of them. This was also attracting the attention of more than just their own table, making people curious what the two were talking about. They all watched quite intently as the two men continued their childish interaction.

One of the photographers who had been hired for the event, and also given the extra request of making sure to capture as much of the main couple's interactions, courtesy of Caroline, quickly saw the artistic value of the two. Even if he had not been asked to take pictures of the two, he would still find himself invested in taking photos. In order to not attract attention, he had been standing on the other side of the hall, but he found there was too much background activity. He wanted to catch the beautiful men as clearly as possible.

In a split second he went to the closest table and took a temporarily empty chair, signalling for the occupants to stay quiet as he crouched down and directed his lens towards the unsuspecting couple. Once happy with the slightly higher viewpoint, he snapped the sequence that unfolded in front of the unnoticed audience.

The small lovers spat was back in Joshua's favour, who was too slow to hide his smug smile, eyes almost sparkling with joy. See this, Henry's cheeks reddened a little, his face forming a slight pout. He was clearly dissatisfied with his most recent loss. Turning away, he went to grab the wine bottle, clearly intending to refill his empty glass. But within a second, the bottle was swiped, Joshua holding it away with his face serious. No one could hear what short words he said, but it was no hard to guess that it was somewhere along the lines of holding back the younger man's drink. The bottle was put in front of their mothers before Joshua stood up. He walked over to the corner of the hall, crouching down a little before coming back.

By this point, Henry had turned away and sullenly started eating his food, seeming adamant as to show no interest in his fiancé's actions. Despite being unhappy, he still did not reach over for the wine, seemingly obedient despite the disagreement. However, his manners had slipped slightly, the usually composed young man shovelling mouthful after mouthful, his cheeks bulging a little.

Silently, the older man sat down, as poised as ever but a slight smile on his lips as he saw his fiancé sulking. Apparently deciding not to disrupt the small tantrum, he placed two ice cold cans between them. Those who were closer, as well as the photographer, could identify the contents as some mid-priced beer. With that done, Joshua settled into his own food.

Henry glanced at the corner of his sight before looking at the cans, a shadow of a smile on his lips, eyes warm. Elegantly swallowing the inelegant volume of food that he had pushed into his cheeks, without looking up, he said something that was once again so quiet that even his family could not hear what he said. Joshua responded in a similar manner, the two having a short conversation before sharing a look and smiling, finally meeting at a truce.

Both reached over for a can, popping them opening a taking a drink, both looking a little more refreshed now that things had been settled.

Of course, that is what everyone else saw; in reality the entire ordeal had been over drinking habits and limits. The argument itself was not so serious, but Henry being tipsy seemed to enjoy picking fights with the other Joshua, the latter who was indulging himself in what was becoming his favourite pastime but worst habit after smoking: teasing Henry.