Vince couldn’t help but laugh at Cass’ response. Sabine. Vince’s favorite of all Cass’ siblings. She was the fireiest of them all, save for Cass, but also the one who paid him the least mind. In her own way, she was sweet and cared for him, while also not giving less of a rats tail what Vincent Iago did with his life. Unlike Mama Valenduris, Sabine didn’t carry the same prejudice to his name and she always seemed to subtly come to his aid with Cass whenever he might need it. That said, poor Sabine was not a talent in the kitchen, as many upper class ladies tended. They had no need for it really, and without practice, there was no hope.

“Well don’t tell her I hated it,” Vince replied breezily. “She’s still my favorite of you lot.” An easy tease settled on his lips and Vincent watched as Cass’ expression changed when the gift was retrieved. The look on the blonde’s face was precious, finite in a way that made Vincent want to memorize every detail with his lips. He knew Cass was hoping he liked the gift. There was no reality in which he wouldn’t either, Vince realized.

Tugging the box open, Vince was greeted by a lovely set of accessories. They were sleek and new and as he tugged the lapel brooch from its casing, Vincent marveled at the magical quality of it. It must have been enchanted to match perfectly however he decided to attire because it changed from yellow to white gold in that instance. The elegant green stone and monogram only elevated the quality of the pieces and Vince felt a small pang. He wasn’t sure he loved the idea of reflecting his own name or monogram to the public; there was still a lot of prejudice in the world that he waged war upon each day. One of the few advantages he had left was that few recognized him on first glance (though even that was falling to the wayside as he attended more and more events for the Wixeldorfs).

When Cass commented exactly upon this touchy subject, Vince balked internally. He couldn’t well be ungrateful about it. “Ah, yeah,” he replied. “You know how it can be,” he shrugged a little, feeling like a scrawny sixteen year old again. (How was it only Cass ever made him feel like that?) Pushing the thought aside, Vince offered the blonde a smile. “Thank you, though,” he added quietly, genuinely. “It’s lovely.”

Cass finally met his gaze and Vince wondered how much leeway he had in this moment to ebb the tides. “Sure, how about the cufflinks,” he offered, replacing the brooch and tugging free the two little links. The emeralds glimmered in the office lighting. Holding them out in his palm, Vince closed the space between himself and Cass so they were closer and began to remove his existing cufflinks. “We’ll have to be careful this evening,” he murmured quietly then, still ebbing. “Can’t afford to loose these in the tussle.” A cheeky little smile touched the corners of Vince’s expression as he offered Cass his arm while still working the links. This was a task easier completed with two sets of fingers rather than one.

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