She watched as he moved about the room. Why had she turned down the drink? Since when did she care about being sober when home? With work it was different — she had to have her wits about her, lest she fall through another ceiling and destroy years worth of artifacts. Here, though, made no difference.

Fuck.

"Oh." She said surprised. She hadn't thought his work at the site was dependent upon her own. "Sorry." That she would apologize for. Jo would've been furious if his disappearance cost her her job.

  

He shrugged, her apology not really necessary at that moment. Holsten had been headed to the area before she’d written to him anyways. Going to the dig site she was on was just a pleasant distraction before he headed to his real job.

“I had to be in the area either way,” he said after another drink straight from the bottle. He tipped it in her direction then. “Sure you don’t want some?” he asked.

---

  

Wordlessly, Jo held her hand out for the bottle. What was the use in resisting something she so clearly wanted? One drink didn't have to lead to five (it would) and they didn't have to take their frustrations out on one another (they would). One drink. Jo could handle one drink. And then...and then she would leave his flat and the ball would be in his court.

The whiskey was delicious. Jo held the bottle back to see its flavor (vanilla, she should've guessed) and brand before passing it back to him. It was expensive, and something she wouldn't be able to afford on her own. "How long are you here for?" She asked instead of dwelling on her own financial status.

  

Bottle back in hand, he took another drink. Holsten wasn’t a huge fan of the sweet whiskey but it hardly mattered in the end. Alcohol was alcohol in the end. It all did the same thing no matter the taste.

“Through the summer,” he said with a groan, “At least. Finn’s getting married.” He was fairly certain he’d mention his brothers before and the fact that Finn was a twin. "Why he wants to get married is beyond me,” he added before taking another drink and setting it between them in case she wanted more.

---

  

At least summers in London weren't as miserable as the winters. The greyness usually gave way to some moderately nice days, though they generally didn't last long. Without thinking, Jo reached for the bottle and took another drink. It wasn't as though she had anything pressing to do today. Who would she harm if she was drunk before noon?

(Herself, the little voice in her screamed as Jo drowned it with whiskey.)

"I don't get it." She replied. Already, the faint buzz from the whiskey began to leave her outermost thoughts fuzzy. Dear lord, how potent was this whiskey? "Summer isn't so bad. At least it's warm." Her hatred for the cold was a common enough topic between them, another way he might've brought up having a flat in London.

  

Holsten shrugged. “It isn’t about the weather,” he answered honestly, “It’s about the location.” He didn’t like being in areas that the upper crust of society frequented. Especially if his family was involved. They liked to drag him about and do all the things he hated doing, the reason why he never talked about his status.

“I prefer the places where so many people aren’t around,” he said with another drink of the whiskey, the alcohol finally doing enough of its job to blur the flavor on his taste buds. “I like my worn trousers and loose shirts,” he added, “And smelling like sweat and dirt. Not whatever bath salts my mother is forcing on me.”

---

  

Teasingly, Jo made a point of sniffing in his direction. "Why, you smell like a perfect English Rose." Whatever bath salts he was using weren't actually pungent enough to reach her on the opposite side of the couch, but it didn't stop her from poking fun. Such was the way their relationship functioned.

This is what she missed with him, this easiness. Jo was still furious with him beneath the surface, and undeniably hurt he hadn't trusted her. Eventually this fight would happen again. A wound as deep as this wasn't one easily forgotten. For now, though, Jo would allow it to simmer. She'd further fall into his lies.

"I'm hoping to leave after Mars has the baby. Ideally before, but Mother won't hear of it." She said after a minute. Jo rarely followed her mother's rules explicitly anymore, as Tiffany's mothering skills stopped at the ocean. But, in this instance she was right. To leave now would be a slight against Mars.

  

Holsten rolled his eyes and shook his head with a light chuckle. He really did hate having to do the whole cleaned up appearance. Not to mention the outfits he had to get into. They were all so bloody restrictive and uncomfortable. He was far more comfortable as he was lounged back on his couch in a shirt wide open.

“Any idea when that’ll be?” he asked, not exactly knowing much about pregnancy and childbirth. His oldest brother had a wife and kids but it wasn’t really something he’d ever paid much attention to. He didn’t have any plans on being a father himself so children never crossed his mind.

---

  

"Early June, I think she said." Jo said with a shrug as if to say, 'how the bloody hell should I know?' Pregnancy wasn't a topic she was overly familiar with and had exactly zero desires to educate herself on. She religiously took whatever necessary precautions to prevent it upon herself. A baby would be a death sentence in her mind.

She leaned into the corner of the sofa, elbow on the back so she faced him. "God help me if I have to stay here longer than that." Five months was long enough in her opinion. Mars was already functioning better without Aaron's assistance. Once she hired another manager for the shop all run smoothly. "I miss the heat."

  

Holsten nodded in understanding. He didn’t want to be here any longer than he had to either. Likely for different yet somewhat similar reasons. Like he’d said before, the weather usually wasn’t a factor for him.

He smirked at her mention of missing the heat though. He took another drink, feeling the heat from the whiskey itself before handing the bottle directly to her. He slipped the shirt from his arms then, not that it made much of a difference with how open it had been. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he went on to say, still smirking, “It’s plenty warm here.”

---

  

Jo took the bottle but refrained from taking another drink. The few drinks she had thus far had already given her a decent buzz, and she really didn't want to be drunk before noon. Instead, she twirled the bottle in her hands admiring the design. It was a far nicer liquor than the cheap shit she usually had.

Besides her, Holsten removed his shirt. And, despite her every intention otherwise, Jo couldn't resist the temptation. She hadn't had any release since they were last involved, and Alfred's hands on her kickstarted those longings. "I'm still pissed." She said as she placed the bottle on the table in front of her. "This doesn't change that." And with that, Jo began working on the lacings of her dress.