A Club.

[Markise Sterling]

"I don't know," Markise said honestly. "It was twenty bucks to get from our apartment to Rand's, but I don't even know what to call this kind of money." Speaking of which, Markise dug into his pocket after the handful of bills and coins. "Your change," he said, setting it on the table in front of Ariel. Then he went back to his coffee. Well, Ariel's, not that it mattered. God, this was good coffee. Markise's eyes closed in bliss again as he sipped.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel settled himself in to picking up the various pieces of money and examining them. He raised his eyebrow when he realized that the money was different than what the man said he was giving. Or maybe he just remembered wrong when thinking euro, but he could have sworn that was what the man said. But the pieces in front of him didn't say that at all, they said pound. He gave up trying to figure it out and sifted through the rest of it absently.

[Markise Sterling]

When Markise had drained the other cup, he sighed in satisfaction and settled back into the booth, eyes closed. "We should go," he said airily. "Before I fall asleep." He didn't want to walk, didn't want to do so much as move, but he knew that the woman wouldn't let them stay forever, not unless they bought something every hour or so. Markise groaned. "I'll go ask." He forced himself to move and approached the counter, sure to keep his cloak closed as he spoke with her. She seemed to have accepted him and Ariel as a typical, if eccentric, heterosexual couple, and Markise felt no need to correct her.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel shifted in the booth, lifting his hips up to push the money into his pocket, and then stood. He stretched and then put his hands back into his pockets to walk slowly over to Markise. He really hoped that it didn't take them long to get back to the school. His eyes fell closed as he thought of his nice warm four-poster bed with drawn curtains and a thick blanket.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise turned from the counter at Ariel's approach, his lips curved into a smile. "She called a taxi for us," he said softly. "It's a taxi cab, so it's the same thing." Markise moved closer to Ariel and brought out his hands, smoothing them against Ariel's chest, even if the layers of cloak and coat kept him from feeling anything. "Whatever happened last night I'm sorry." Markise's gaze dropped back down to his fingers. "I'm sorry I made you come along, you don't have to next time." And Markise would apparently have to watch how many drinks he accepted.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

"It's fine," Ariel said, then added under his breath, "It was mostly my fault, anyway." It had been, hadn't it? He had to go out and start talking to those two men, then Markise had left and gotten drunk and they had ended up in the apartment of some man who-Ariel stopped his memories right there. "Just don't get drunk next time," he said, looking down at Markise.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise would have shaken his head, but he didn't want to get dizzy again, and his headache was bearable now. "I won't," he said. His eyes rose, meeting Ariel's briefly, then flickering back down to where his palms were moving lightly against Ariel. He hadn't meant to get drunk this time. Had he? Markise's brows knitted as he thought about what had happened when he'd gotten to the bar, trying to piece together what had happened before as well.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel saw out of the corner of his eye a car pull up and heard some sound that seemed to come from it, and turned to look, "Is that it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. That had been quick if it was, and that only made him feel like they would be getting back sooner, surely something that arrived so quickly couldn't take too long to get them back. And the ride from the club to the man's house hadn't even been that long, if Ariel remembered correctly.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise nodded, then winced again. "That's it," he said, lifting one hand to steady his head again. After a moment, he pulled his hood back up to block the sun, then headed out. A brief word to the driver and he reached for what he knew to be the handle, even if he'd never actually worked one before. But he'd seen Rand and his mom do it, and in under a minute, he'd successfully opened it and slid in ahead of Ariel.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel slid in with Markise and looked around, inspecting the differences between the cab and the car they had been in last night. He certainly hoped it didn't spark any memories for Markise. He tried not to think of that possibility. There seemed to be a rather high chance that he was going to get out of everything without Markise finding out and him getting in trouble.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise hadn't been awake in the car long enough to have anything but a flash. He looked around the inside of the cab with avid interest, forcibly ignoring the glaring sun for the excitement of being in a car. The driver pulled onto the street and Markise would have gone into raptures if his stomach hadn't objected to the hard start. It seemed the cabbie wasn't particularly interested in driving slow and easy to prolong the ride and get more money. Markise began to feel sick again.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel dropped his hand to Markise's thigh in hopes of calming him down. He really didn't care to have Markise relieve himself of a cup and a half of coffee in the back of a cab. "It won't be long," he said softly, confidently, even if he had no clue how long they would be riding for. Maybe it was just hope on his part, but he really didn't think it would take that long.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise's hand slipped over Ariel's, but he didn't say anything for fear of what would come out if he opened his mouth. The cab ride wasn't long, thank God, but all the same, Markise scrambled over Ariel to get out the door the moment it stopped, across the street from the Leaky Cauldron. He could have gotten out the other side, but he'd have been in the street then, and he didn't feel like watching out for cars. He left Ariel in charge of figuring out payment while he rid himself of the coffee he'd enjoyed.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel fished around in his pocket and handed the man a bill which he hoped would pay for it, said he could keep the change, and then got out to put a hand on Markise's shoulder even as he wrinkled his nose. The cab drove off and Ariel finally looked around the street, thankful to see that the Leaky Cauldron was there just a few yards away.

[Markise Sterling]

When Markise's stomach couldn't empty any further, he straightened again, making a face of pure disgust at the taste of his mouth. What he wouldn't have given for his gum at that moment, but he hadn't thought he'd need it. "Let's go," Markise croaked. He didn't want to be in the Muggle world anymore. He just wanted someplace he could pass out. Markise almost stepped off into the street to cross. Before he did though, he checked that his hood was in place. "Are you going to cover your head?" he asked, glancing aside at Ariel.