December 31st, 1890 - A Little Inn Outside Paris
just before midnight
Penelope Fawcett

Their day in Paris couldn't have been more fun, just enjoying the sights and spending the time without worrying about anything much other than what to see next. They'd had wine with dinner at a small little restaurant off the beaten path and Nemo had probably indulged in a little bit too much and by the looks of it Penny had too. Getting home had become a bit of a problem as making the portkey and surviving it were now out of the question.

He wasn't sure how the subject of finding a place to stay had come up, but he'd managed, with his passable French, to find one and convince the innkeeper than he and his "wife" would only need the one night, that they were headed back home in the morning. Merlin he just hoped that he wasn't being too presumptuous, he was only trying to ensure that her reputation was kept in tact. Unfortunately there was only one room available, so it looked like Nemo was sleeping on the couch. They did get a nice little bonus bottle of wine though "for their honeymoon."

It was all around a bit of a mess and he was tipsy and thank Merlin it had worked.

"You take the bed, I'll take the couch." He said as he opened the door for her. All they had to do was sleep it off and head home in the morning.

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Although she didn't often allow herself the enjoyment of going beyond tipsy when it came to drinking, she had always been a happy, giggly drunk. The world became brighter and more exciting when she crossed the line, but it also came with an awful headache in the morning. One no amount of potions or foods ever seemed to touch. Tonight, though, there was no reason not to prevent herself from overindulging. She was with her very best friend, far from Hogsmeade and the likes of her mother, and had nothing to do but sleep in the morning.

It was her idea not to head back to Hogsmeade after his decision to miss their portkey. Nemo was right to do so, of course, neither of them were in the state of such a nasty method of travel. (Penny thought about suggesting flying across the channel on her recently crafted broom, but she'd yet to try it across long stretches of water and the thought of dooming them to a watery grave was too sobering a thought.) But, they couldn't remain on the streets of Paris all night, either. Their safest bet seemed to be the inn, though perhaps not seeing as they had only one room.

Penny blushed when Nemo referred to her as his wife, but gave no indications to the innkeeper that he was lying. Penelope Fisk did have a rather nice flow to it, didn't it? Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to allow herself the fantasy, if only for one night. Tomorrow, they'd be back to being friends and this would simply be a fond memory to look back upon. It was safer that way, much like staying in the inn was.

She flopped down onto the edge of the bed and immediately set upon removing her shoes. She'd thought to look nice that morning, choosing an unbroken in pair of dainty shoes rather than her sturdy, worn in boots, and had regretted that decision all day. Truthfully, Nemo was lucky she hadn't tried to remove them earlier in the evening. Walking around barefoot had to be better than walking with the blisters she'd gotten.

Penny was so caught up in her thoughts about her shoes that she only caught the tail end of Nemo's decree. One look at the 'couch' he determined as his bed tonight immediately made Penny shake her head no. "Absolutely not. Look at that thing, it could barely fit the two of us side by side." A chaise would've been better. Or even an arm chair. No, that couch looked dreadfully uncomfortable. "We'll build a wall of pillows between us. It'll be fine."

  

Nemo chuckled as Penny settled herself on the bed. He shrugged out of his coat and tossed it over the arm of the so-called sofa. It really didn't look all that comfortable, but he would be fine. Just the mere thought of sharing a bed with Penny wasn't even acceptable, no matter how innocent it was. If he were sober enough he'd transfigure it into something more comfortable, but he didn't dare try in his current state.

"I'll be fine." He insisted as he too leaned down to unlace his boots, nearly falling over in the process. This brought about another fit of laughter from him. Oh this was going to be an interesting night indeed. Finally he managed to get his own shoes off and placed them off to the side near his coat. The bottle of wine caught his eye, but he thought better of it as he sank into the uncomfortable couch. He'd be fine, drunk enough not to notice, hopefully.

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After relentless tugging her shoes were finally gone. Though, any hope Penny had of falling backwards on the bed was dashed by the tight lacings of her corset. She didn't often wear one anymore. Long days of bending over a broom stick left deep bruises in her ribs before she finally decided to forego it altogether. She'd wanted to look nice for her day with Nemo, though. She wanted to be the pretty girl on his arm — his wife — and the corset was an unfortunate side effect.

She frowned as he dropped down onto the couch despite her protests. "It'll be hard to share that from all the way over there," Penny chided teasingly. She certainly wasn't going to wobble across the room to plop down next to him. With her luck, she'd fall and crash into the furniture.

  

Nemo continued to clumsily shrug out of layers; his suitcoat and vest joining his overcoat on the arm of the sofa. If he piled up enough, he'd have a decent pillow. Loosening his tie, Nemo tossed that unceremoniously to the floor. That had zero purpose for him tonight. He'd collect it all tomorrow wherever it landed.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" He chuckled as he looked over the back of the sofa at her, amused that she either caught his glance at the wine or read his mind. Either was possible. They'd been friends for a long while now.

Nemo was unsure and as he eased himself back on the couch, he felt the booze and the fatigue in his limbs, loose and heavy at the same time. He'd could definitely be drunk enough to find this spot some kind of comfortable.

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In her drunken haze, Penny couldn't think of any reasons why him sitting besides her on the bed was a bad idea. How could it be any different from sitting on a sofa, walking together, or eating at the table? The bed was a comfortable place to sit, was all. "Yes, it's just me, Neems" she said two seconds before hiccuping and giggling. Neems, what a funny nickname.

She reached behind her as she waited for him to make his decision to pull on the lacings of her dress. There were too many complex layers between her and her corset, and if he got the pleasure of being comfortable then so would she, damn it. If only she could remember the spell to undo all the lacings and hooks, that would make her night so much easier.

  

Just her. As if that had ever been true. He shook his head as he laughed to himself. The irony of the situation was not lost on him, but he rather thought they were on two different pages here. "I meant the wine, what are you talking about?" Being drunk certainly diminished his capabilities to keep anything to himself. Merlin this was a bad idea.

Maybe he could just pretend to be asleep already?

He changed a glance over his shoulder at her to see her tugging at the ties on the back of her dress and immediately felt his face flush. Slowly he sank lower on the sofa and stared at the fire in the hearth. Damn it was warm in here. Fuck.

Nemo could feel an unfamiliar tingle in his fingers and so he sat on his hands to ebb the feeling, hoping it would go away and fast.

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"Of course the wine is a good idea," she giggled again. Wine was never not a good idea. In fact she could likely duplicate the bottle if her wand would cooperate with her so they'd both have more wine. "Why wouldn't it be? Not the first time we've shared a space and bottle of wine together." The first time they've been this alone, though.

Penny stood on wobbly feet and continued to pull at the lacings of her dress, and groaned in frustration as she felt a tangle in the lacings. "They really ought to have these lace in the front," she grumbled to herself. "So impractical."

  

Nemo grimaced. Not the first time no, but he couldn't remember a time they'd been this inebriated in one another's company. A glass of wine or whiskey at dinner sure, but not drunk in an inn in Paris drunk.

What in the name of Merlin's beard was he thinking. It hardly registered what she said until he thought about it and then he sunk even lower on the sofa. "So impractical." Safe. Smart. Not that there was anything dangerous about this situation, other than the fact that it could change their entire friendship.

To distract himself further, but against his better judgement, Nemo stood abruptly and went for the wine, uncorking it swiftly to take a long swig. So drunk he passed out was a good idea.

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Penny was no fashionista, but she could envision several designs better than the one she currently wore that afforded better access to the wearer. Hidden panels to make the laces on the back for show only, for one. It wouldn't take much, just some fabric. Merlin knew she never wished to be in this predictament again. "Bloody laces. Never again." Penny continued her grumbling as she finally loosened the dress enough for it to fall to the ground in a blue puddle.

There was nothing nearby for her to hold onto as she stepped outside of the dress, causing her to stumble obviously into Nemo. "Sorry, did I get any on you?" Some wine stained the white fabric of her corset, to which Penny frowned. Were there spells to remove the stain? There had to be, she knew plenty for grease, after all.

Placing a steadying hand on his arm, Penny regained control of her feet and began to focus on the corset's hooks. It was a pain to undo them when the back was laced so tightly, but she'd manage somehow.

  

Oh shit.

No, no, no no. Not good.

"Pennnn," He hissed without any thought as to why. He would have left the room until she was under the covers if she'd just given him a minute. "You alright?" He set the bottle down, his other hand on her waist to help steady her.

This was a baaaad predicament.

"Let me step outside." He offered, glancing at the pool of petticoats and dress on the floor by the bed. She worked at the hooks of her corset which she was practically in his arms and Nemo did not know what to do with himself other than offer to give her some privacy. Fuck.

He made to move away, but got tangled up in his own two feet and ended up half collapsing onto the bed in his haste to give her a moment. He straightened himself clumsily, barely noticing the gash down his forearm from the corner of the bedpost. It wasn't bleeding, but it was a nice scratch forming. It finally hit him and he sucked in a breath at the sting of it and the mess of the situation he currently found himself in. Ugh.

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"Oh, Nemo!" Penny exclaimed through a fit of giggles as he fell. It wasn't funny, not really, seeing as he had a nasty scratch on his arm. But, the hilarity of the evening landed Penny in another fit of laughter so intense tears welled in the corners of her eyes. She would've been bent over double if not for the bloody bones of the corset keeping her upright. "Are you alright?" She managed somehow, though took no steps to inspect his arm. He'd been moving away from her, hadn't he? The last thing she wished to do was make him uncomfortable.

She turned her attention back to the corset then, frowning at the realization that she'd undone fewer hooks than previously believed. Bloody hell, she would be undressing all night at this rate. She wouldn't get a wink of sleep in the thing, though, so she had to press on, regardless of how uncoordinated her fingers were at present.

  

Her laughter wasn't helping him any. He was flustered and out of sorts and it was not nearly as funny as she seemed to think it was. "I'll uh— yeah. He composed himself to get around the maze of clothing littering the floor and into the adjoining washroom.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Nemo poured some cold water in the basin and splashed some on his face. What in the name of Merlin's beard was happening right now. All he could feel was the wine in his veins and the weird itch in his palms. The room was also spinning a little. That was probably not good either.

Forcing himself to calm down, Nemo dried off his face and rolled up his sleeves. No more wine. That was the first thing. Once Penny crawled into the bed, he could resume his position on the uncomfortable couch and hopefully, once sobered up in the morning, they could go home and hopefully not have ruined anything between them.

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Undressing was far easier without the added distraction of Nemo. In the few minutes they were apart she managed to get down to her chemise, her hair unpinned and pulled her stockings off. Try as she might in the cold winter months, Penny could never sleep with anything but the blanket over her feet. She sipped on the uncorked bottle of wine, not caring in the least to procure a glass. Tomorrow would bring a headache whether she indulged more or not, so why not continue on?

Her clothes were kicked into the corner of the room as she stumbled back towards the bed and settled herself upon it. Having always been a night owl, she wasn't yet ready to climb under the covers and rest. Still, she did have enough forethought to cover her lap with the quilt. The chemise didn't leave much to the imagination, after all.

  

Waiting a few more minutes, Nemo ran a hand through his ruffled hair and decided he couldn't stay in the washroom all night. He took a deep breath and gave himself a mental pep talk. Hopefully it would do the trick.

He peeked around the corner into the bedroom to find her on the bed, hair loose, in nothing but a chemise, sipping on the wine and everything he'd just steeled himself to do went flying out the window. The regret at even looking was high and he held his breath as he made his way back to the miniature sofa and tried to fold himself onto it in some semblance of comfort.

It was going to be a long night.

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"You're not really going to force yourself into such a night of discomfort, are you?" Penny asked over the bottle. There were more than enough pillows to make a suitable wall between them, and if there weren't they had their discarded clothes, too. "I don't wiggle around much in my sleep, if that's what you're afraid of." She typically curled onto her side and stayed there for most of the night. Sometimes, she'd wiggle about, but that was only when she was under extreme stress.

She tucked her hair away from her face and held out the wine for him. "I'll even share with you."