[Prompt] Cham-pain
Going to the masquerade means that there’s far too many drinks. Way too many, and here, Tomoki would prefer if they had more cocktails, it’s all that he drinks and honestly, with strawberries in season, it’s easier to make. Really, he just wants something sweet as he looks over the champagne.
It’s not one of his favourites and part of him wonders if he really wants to get drunk that badly. If anything, it’d just open up more chances for him to make a fool of himself. Not that he’d remember the next day (which is a good thing) while everyone else would remember (which is quite bad).
All the same, he finds himself picking at the drinks as if there was some clear differentiation between them.
And that’s when Hops finds him, donned in her own dress, while taking more shots of the champagne.
“Tomoki! And I thought you’d never show up in a place like this!” she says with her voice cutting through the air.
It’s enough for him to chug the glass he’s holding because holding anything in his hand right now is far too awkward. The thing is, he shouldn’t be here. Rather, he’d be better off anywhere else. Or at least he should be writing rather than socializing.
Except he has enough words for now. This is for experience.
“I was curious,” he explains. Really, for Tomoki, curiosity can be used to explain everything and anything. Even this.
“Take a shot of the champagne and relax,” Hops tells him as she takes another swig. “Oh it’s so nice to not be working tonight.”
Yeah, Tomoki can’t imagine working in a place like this tonight. It’s too stuffy for its own good. Much less how many buns will end this night completely drunk. For him, he wants to remember this, thank you very much.
“I’d like to remember all this,” he repeats. “Instead of getting completely drunk.”
A beat.
“It’s your first time here, isn’t it?” Hops then asks. “First year for all of this type of fun.”
“Which is why I’d like to remember it.”
A beat.
“Yeah but you should still live a little, take one,” Hops replies easily as she hands him a glass of champagne. He looks at it as if expecting it to go down on its own before drinking it.
Alcohol, Tomoki recalls, has a nice buzz that exists in his mind. It’s why he drinks in the first place and allows for him to relax even though it does make him sleepy on some occasions. However, with how much he drinks, that tiredness no longer washes over him. Still, he grimaces after taking a sip.
He’ll probably never like champagne, like ever. Though for this occasion, he might not bother with his habits. Old habits die hard and he should mix and match a little bit.
That’s how Tomoki finds himself grabbing another drink to converse with Hops.
“Any plans tonight?” he finds himself asking her. She turns to him with a grin, as if she has an exact plan for how this will go. Namely:
“Getting drunk,” Hops explains. It explains everything for tonight. “And the most you can do is to drink with me for part of it.”
Tomoki nods. His research can wait, he thinks. “Well, I might as well make the most of it.”
Which is how he finds himself trying out more of the champagne, then Hops shows him that mixing the other drinks with champagne is also viable which is fascinating. Really, it’s like how she makes a lot of drinks at the Rabbit Hole.
“It’s a free experimenting ground,” she tells him, conspiratory. “What do you want to try next?”
“What do you think would taste awful,” Tomoki replies with a lopsided grin as he takes another glass of champagne.
Tonight, he thinks, will be a fun night. And hopefully, he’ll remember enough of it tomorrow instead of being completely hung over. Still, getting drunk with Hops is still a better alternative than sulking alone.
“I have something in mind but I can’t recommend you to drink it.”
A beat.
Tomoki turns to look over at her. “Call me nosy, I want to do it anyways.”
If he has regrets, he can deal with it tomorrow.
