Persephone had hoped it wouldn’t come down to this. It actually didn’t happen very often that she had this many problems, or at least had a potential source escalate things so quickly. She could manage most things but being touched was not one of them. When she normally meandered about like this she could handle anything said, even if the blokes got a bit sexually explicit, but once they put their hands on her it was a no go. She had succeeded on getting this man’s hands off of her once, but in that instant that he had pulled her closer she already knew all bets were off. She hadn’t noticed any movement from Nikolai, though she knew he had seen her in action in other aspects enough to know she could handle herself. It was actually nice to know that she had someone that looked at her as an equal capable of taking care of herself but still knowing if things did start getting out of hand he would step in.

The man was not about to drag her anywhere outside of this bar if she could help it. He had a look she didn’t trust and was concerned he could be capable of more devious actions that made her sick to her stomach, almost like he would force himself on her the moment he got her alone as she had seen his eyes flicker towards Nikolai several times during the ordeal. It looked like her husband unnerved him a bit, which was amusing. She wondered what he would do if he discovered she was, in fact, the Russian’s wife. She feigned shock as the man jumped up with his obviously broken finger though she felt he should be grateful that that was all that she had done. She had already braced herself for whatever would come next though she saw another man stand up to approach them as if he were planning on pulling the Death Eater away from her.

It was then that the door to the pub swung open and a very disgruntled woman walked in spotting the man and stomping over to him. Persephone was shocked that she immediately recognized the woman as a girl she shared a house with while in school. That was definitely a plus in finding out who the bloke was later. A shouting match ensued between the couple, ending with the woman slapping the man across the face. Persephone had to stop herself from laughing at the display as the woman then stormed off followed quickly by the Death Eater. That had definitely been convenient as now no one was paying attention to what had just happened between Persephone and the man. She took that moment to sit back on her stool taking a casual sip of her brandy as if nothing had happened.

This was a situation that he needed to keep an eye on, not that he doubted his wife’s ability to sort it out herself. He knew that she was capable of dealing with nearly any situation that she came across, but one never did know what kind of problem they were stepping into or just who they were necessarily dealing with. Nikolai had no idea if this was an incredibly deadly Death Eater or a milder one that liked to talk a tough game. It really could depend, and that was why that he was obviously ready to make a move at absolutely any moment if it came down to it. As long as it was with magic, Nikolai knew that Persephone could set him straight easily, but if it came back to some kind of physical confrontation, he would step in if it looked like something was going to happen that shouldn’t. After all, he’d really prefer not to sit at the bar while a Death Eater tried to land a blow on his wife. His entire family would come back as ghosts to give him hell for that, and he would also hate to have to kill the bloke for the mistake. He supposed that might be a bit of a severe reaction, but this man wasn’t actually giving up any kind of aura of being just talk, which meant that he had probably killed people for less anyhow. It wasn’t as if he wouldn’t deserve it if it came down to that, but Nikolai was sure that it wouldn’t get that point.

It seemed like this encounter had caught the attention of quite a few other people in the bar as well, though they looked more likely to help Persephone than to help the bloke, so that was promising as well. That could mean that if it came down to it, they could continue the amusing conversation they’d been having before this bloke showed up, without having to actually do much of anything to draw any more attention to them. However, before the situation could really escalate any further, the door to the pub swung open again and the woman was heading right over to the man in question. Married, he noted, having not been able to get a good enough glance at the Death Eater prior to this moment to even notice the ring. His lips twitched upward almost imperceptibly, hiding his amusement as the woman slapped the man across the face. He was following her out of the bar only a few moments later, which was actually quite the entertaining turn of events.

By the time that Persephone had even sat back down to join him, Nikolai was already taking another long swig of his drink, his gaze turned back to the bar in front of him. After a moment’s silence, he let his eyes move back toward her, a smirk forming across his lips. “Perhaps you should be the one worried about your pretty face getting mucked up,” he commented, offhandedly, raising an eyebrow.

This evening was certainly full of surprises so far. She hadn’t expected her husband to be in the same bar as her, seeing as she never told him exactly where she would be only that she was going to be out for a bit that evening. She had also not anticipated that the first bloke to come up to her would be someone that probably had worthwhile information. Of course she also hadn’t thought that she would actually have to be aggressive with someone so early in the game. She got the feeling the Death Eater was actually quite dangerous. For moment she had been genuinely concerned. She was confident in her skills with dueling and spell work in general, but physically she definitely had the disadvantage. If Persephone hadn’t been so focused on the situation as a whole she was sure she wouldn’t be able to contain her laughter as the woman slapped the man. She had somehow managed and the man left of his own volition. Part of her was relieved though the other really had wished she could have gotten something more from him. Granted it did work to her and Nikolai’s advantage that she was no longer the center of attention. They could actually sit around a bit and continue their amusing game.

She sat back down taking a long sip of her brandy before deciding that hadn’t been the best idea. She was never one to really drink liquor though she was able to handle brandy much better than any other kind, and enjoyed it on occasion. The long sip was pushing it though as she concentrated on not making it outwardly known it was a bit strong for her. It was easy for her to get drunk off of liquor which was probably another reason she stayed away from it. She wondered briefly if that was what she had started drinking the night shad and Nikolai had their one night stand seeing as she knew she was pretty plastered to not remember anything. The thought was amusing as they sat there pretending not to know each other. She looked over at him raising her eyebrows in amusement. ”Well I guess it’s a good thing my face isn’t what gets me paid…” She replied looking him over with a mischievous look in her eyes before pulling out another cigarette and lighting it casually before taking a deep slow drag from it, tilting her head back slightly to exhale the smoke languidly.

Nikolai supposed that, in a way, it was too bad that the man had left because he had quite obviously had information that could have been useful. That had been the reason why they’d both ended up at the bar to begin with, after all. They had wanted to find out something and he could have had something to say. But Nikolai was actually glad that the fucker had pissed off, because he really didn’t feel like it was the right move to try to kill someone in the middle of a crowded pub. Looking around, he would like to think that he could take on a great portion of the blokes in this bar at the same time… but he supposed that he could only fight so many people at once, if it came down to it. It was an interesting thought to consider though, and he really wasn’t intimidated by a single person in this bar and he was sure that he’d be fine if it ever did come down to it—not that it would. The others in the pub looked like they were about to help Persephone, not the ponce that had just walked out the door, so he didn’t think that anyone else would be causing all that much trouble. Luckily, that just meant that they could go back to the amusing conversation that they had been having prior to being interrupted by the Death Eater. After all, it wasn’t every day that they ended up in the same bar, at the same time, completely unplanned—they knew how that one ended last time, clearly, he thought, with an amused smirk at the memory. That had been what started this off, which meant that it was entertaining to him that they had both ended up here tonight. Acting like they didn’t know each other was just something that was amusing and could have quite promising results later, if she were up to it—and obviously she was.

He took a sip of his drink, getting near to finishing this drink as well, as the higher quality vodka was going down a lot smoother than the cheap variety that he’d just been drinking. The Death Eater might have been a bit more tolerable if he’d had decent taste in vodka, but Nikolai doubted it. An amused smirk formed across his lips as he saw Persephone taking long swill of the brandy that he’d purchased and she almost was hiding the fact that she wasn’t enjoying the drink as much as she’d like to have wine. Nikolai knew her too well to know that she really did prefer wine or even beer over liquor, but that simply hadn’t been a logical drink choice for a stranger to buy a bint in a bar. He turned his gaze fully toward her as she spoke, raising an eyebrow at her words though he had to stop himself from laughing out loud. That comment, heard by anyone else, would have a completely different meaning than what he was gathering from it. She was an auror, clearly she didn’t get paid for her face but he supposed to just about anyone else, where they currently were, it sounded like she got paid for a different aspect of her body altogether. “Then what does get you paid?” Nikolai asked, watching as she tilted her head back casually and exhaled the smoke from her latest cigarette. It really was far too damn difficult to not just want to drag her from the damn pub right now—or just take her against the damn bar or go into the damn supply closet… but he could practice restraint for a bit longer as they amused themselves with this conversation.

This was much more like it. She found herself not as down trodden about missing out on the information she could have obtained. She wasn’t officially on the job and it was mostly just for her own personal use. She knew who the man’s wife was and could easily determine who he was later just based on that. He did seem like he could potentially be lethal, but he could have been just talking the talking the talk in an attempt to intimidate her which obviously didn’t work. She was sure at some point her fearlessness would come around to bite her in the arse. Her time was definitely much better spent playing this little game with her husband. Their personal lives had become stressful with work and family life. It was about time they actually just enjoyed each other’s company for a bit and have some added fun while doing it.

It was nice that even after so many years of being together she felt like she could never get enough of the Russian. He was just as appealing as he had been all of those years ago, and her want of him never seemed to falter even when she was put off with him. They had somehow found a way to make things work, especially with how similar their personalities were, or at least how stubborn they both could be. It hadn’t taken a whole lot for them to figure out that balance thankfully. She was just thankful he had stopped smoking his cigarette at that moment. That was far too distracting to her for some reason. Smoking should not look attractive, and he had somehow mastered doing just that. Actually just him being there was distracting her as his smirk did exactly the same thing to her. It was almost annoying how easily he disarmed her. She paused in silence as she exhaled as if to really think about what she did for a living. ”I don’t make my work position known to just anyone. Actually I fill quite a few positions, all of which I am told I do rather well.” She replied with a smirk as she tapped her cigarette on the dingy glass ashtray. It was definitely amusing as she was genuinely talking about her job as an auror in a way that could be misconstrued by anyone trying to listen in. It was fun to figure out ways to twist things around to sound so inappropriate.

This was a nice break; although he had come here with every intention of finding out some information that could prove to be useful in learning more about what was going on in London—and Persephone had obviously had her own reasons for coming as well, Nikolai was still just glad that they could relax and amuse themselves by pretending to not know each other. He supposed not many people would find ‘relaxing’ to be the right word to explain being in a seedy bar in Knockturn Alley, but he knew that they could entertain themselves with each other while simultaneously keeping enough of an eye of everything else to make sure that nothing was about to go down. There was no reason to not be relaxed really—he’d be aware, obviously, since he always was, but there was no reason to be on edge when they could anyone that walked into that bar anyhow. He knew that the chances of someone walking in that he himself couldn’t handle was pretty damn slim, but the chance of someone coming in that they at least both couldn’t take down was just about next to impossible. So that meant that they really didn’t have to worry all that much, and he would just continue to be well aware of everything that was going on around them, even if he looked disinterested. If it was one thing that he’d learned in his time undercover, it was how to know what has happening in the opposite corner of a room while simultaneously looking like he couldn’t care less about what anyone was damn well doing. Looking overly curious and observant while playing the part of someone in a gang was a sure way of looking suspicious, as it was better to just be self-assured, after all, and they could take observance in several ways and not many of them were ways that were good.

Although this really was quite the amusing conversation, and he was enjoying acting like he didn’t know Persephone, Nikolai’s patience wasn’t at a peak point at the current moment. He’d be fine with living that damn second and perhaps if they were lucky they’d make it to the room that he already decided they needed to rent and she’d still have her clothes on. But she might lose some of the few layers she was wearing on the way up. Nikolai shook the thought from his mind, knowing that if his thoughts continued in that direction, there was not a chance in hell that he’d be able to stop himself from immediately acting on it and this conversation really was too good of an opportunity to pass up. It was reminiscent of the first time they’d met, or so he would assume since he didn’t remember, because one of them had certainly initiated something between the pair of them and they both knew how that ended, obviously. “Well, I can only really know how well you perform in those positions by finding out for myself,” he answered, casually, raising an eyebrow at her, “I’m not one to believe what others say—I like to make my own determinations.” It still was hard not to laugh at the fact that she was still very clearly referring to her real job, but it sounded like quite the different conversation to anyone that could have been listening in on them. Nikolai let his gaze move darkly over her, really appreciating the view for the first time, since he hadn’t been able to get that great of a look before now. Damn it, now this was really going to take a lot of willpower to stop from cutting this entertaining conversation short.

Persephone had been in this profession long enough to be able to split her attention between a few things going on at once. Even knowing that Nikolai was doing the same exact thing didn’t stop her, though she was bringing more attention to him then their surroundings at that point. It was difficult not to, especially since she was already pretty certain she knew how this was going to end. She wondered what Nikolai would think about just renting a room and let this all play out. There was no way she was in the mood to be tame when it came down to it, and going home meant that she would have to tone things down significantly. It definitely seemed like it was far more difficult to pretend she didn’t know her husband opposed to borderline hating him and having to pretend they were in a relationship. Granted it was amusing to realize that the end product of such things were the same regardless.

She took another slow drag of her cigarette trying to conceal her smile at his next comment. It was fun to think of ways to speak about her actual career in a way that could and would be taken the wrong way and she could tell that wasn’t lost on Nikolai either. ”With the experience I have I don’t come cheap. I always have offers waiting for me. So I’m afraid I may need a bit more convincing than that.” She said casually as she took another small sip of her brandy and turned so her body was facing him more fully awaiting his answer. ”Keep in mind that some positions will cost you more than others…” She added running a finger around the edge of her glass slowly.

Although this wasn’t exactly the type of work that he and Persephone had ever technically done with each other in the past—though he supposed they weren’t exactly working officially, it was still reminding him of cases in Russia, as they had found themselves in some amusing situations in the past. However, they had also found themselves in some damn serious situations too, obviously, and he knew that she was keeping from a good portion of her family just how dangerous it could get over there. He considered that to be quite reasonable, since there was no reason for her mother to know how many close calls happened, since close calls were par for the course in their profession. Obviously not everyone needed to know that he had almost gotten killed, though especially they did not need to know about several times that Persephone had been in situations as well. He could certainly recall the time that Spiridon’s absolutely damn insane wife had thought that they were having an affair when they had really been on a stake-out and her showing up to confront them had blown open the case and had caused both Persephone and Spiridon to get injured—and it was lucky for Tasha that she hadn’t gotten hurt as well. That had been the time when he really had determined that he actually hated his friend’s wife, as he wasn’t one to normally hate nearly anyone.

But this… this was harmless, at least to an extent. They could amuse themselves for a little while longer, and then they would certainly be getting a room here. It would make this all the more intriguing to keep this going and not go back to their house where they quite obviously did know each other. No, renting a room would make this even better, though it was testing his patience to stop himself from just suggesting that immediately. Once his thoughts started to take a turn for the inappropriate, it was hard to move back to any kind of casual conversation, and this was particularly true with their current line of conversation, where they may have been talking about her profession as an auror, but it certainly wouldn’t seem like that to anyone else. “Well you have to pay for experience, and the more of it the better,” he agreed, offhandedly, taking a swill of his drink to finish it off. It still amused him that Persephone hated vodka when he was all too used to the taste and could drink it without a second thought. He supposed it was engrained in him, or some shit, a Russian stereotype that he definitely fit into. “I do require a variety of positions,” Nikolai agreed, nodding, before gesturing at her cigarettes again to ask for another one.

It seemed like all was going well around them. She had been casually watching a small group of men at a table behind Nikolai the past few moments wondering if they had something worth substance only to see one of the blokes begin to pass out from a bit too much drink. Well they certainly were not going to be of much help. The bartender was starting to make a round back towards them again and she had caught another bloke looking over her as if debating on coming over to speak to her. As much as she had initially wanted to get information she wasn’t on the clock and she would much prefer not to have to deal with anyone else. Her patience was running thin, and all she wanted to do in that moment was be alone with the large attractive Russian she had never ever met in her life ever…

If she were playing the part she supposed telling him he had all of five minutes to get them a room or she was going to give everyone in the bar a show wouldn’t really help to keep up appearances. She sat there almost as if she were bored as he continued to speak. It was almost painful not to react to him as she would normally. Maybe she could find a way to let him know that this little part of their game was over… She glanced at her cigarettes and back at him before sliding them back with one hand and moved the other to his lay on his leg. ”I’m sure I can satisfy whatever need you have, but I prefer not to discuss business in mixed company.” She said quietly as she leaned in so that her lips gently brushed his ear. Yes, this part of the game needed to end…

He was glad that the Death Eater had left with no problems. Nikolai hadn’t been sure if it was going to end up like that, thinking that it quite likely the man was going to cause problems, though he supposed that wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world since it meant that Nikolai would have an excuse to knock him the hell out. Something about this environment was just making him far more territorial than normal, and although it had obviously been to attempt to get information, Nikolai still hadn’t been necessarily pleased with the Death Eater’s hands on his wife—though it ended up with his finger bring broken so it had ended up amusing enough, he supposed. But now that he was gone, Nikolai could now focus more on the fact that he really didn’t want to be in this crowded pub any longer, unless Persephone was all right with him taking her against them damn countertop because it was beginning to seem more likely if they didn’t leave soon enough. Although the clothes she wore really didn’t make that much of a difference since he obviously knew how attractive she was, something about this particular outfit was making it difficult for him to not want to get it off of her as quickly as possible. It certainly worked for playing the part well but now it clearly needed to go.

Raising an eyebrow at her moving the pack of cigarettes away, he glanced up at her in time for her to move closer to him. A smirk grew across his lips at her words, glad to hear that Persephone was apparently good with leaving as well because it was really for the benefit of everyone that they didn’t continue this conversation and test his restraint any further. “I do have a room upstairs,” he replied, which obviously wasn’t true at all. But it would not be all that difficult to get one, and it would continue on with this intriguing little game that they were playing. Without waiting much longer, he got to his feet, waiting for her to do the same before bringing a hand to her lower back and heading to the door.

-END OF THREAD-