"Holy shit, it's freezing." Castiel rubbed his hands together as he sprinted through the snow, icy flakes sticking in his red hair. Lysander shot a disapproving look at his friend.
"Language," he said, though he couldn't come to disagree. This sudden snow storm had caught everyone off guard, and even despite his heavy jacket and gloves, his evening wear was slowly freezing him to death.
"Castiel," he muttered, as he sped up his pace, "we really should have driven. Arianne and Gemini will be dressed in evening wear as well, and heels! We can't force them to walk through this." The idea of Arianne in a dress flittered across his mind, and his cheeks blushed against the wind. If this was the reaction he had just thinking about her...he shook his head, pushing the thoughts away. The snow was sticking now, and the flurries were getting heavier.
"We'll call a cab once we get to the building," Castiel responded. "Don't know why we have to go to this stupid party anyways, gonna be all full of uppity business men in their fancy suits and fancy cars." He paused, and his face suddenly brightened. "I bet the booze will be good though! Don't think I've ever had champagne before." Lysander glared, a look of disbelief coloring his features.
"Castiel! You're the one who insisted that we go to this party, I never wanted to drag Arianne to Amber's house! You know how horribly those two get along…." He trailed off, hoping to emphasize his point. Castiel only snorted.
"If you think Ari has a problem with her, imagine how bad Gem is gonna be! The only way I could persuade her into coming was the promise of vandalism."
"I still cannot fathom what you hope to gain from this experience." Castiel turned away from him quickly, but not before Lysander caught the embarrassed look on his face.
"What? What did you do?"
"Well...I wanted to do something nice! This is a girl thing, right?" He said, looking to Lysander for affirmation. He only shrugged. "We haven't been on many real dates," he continued. "I can't really afford to go to fancy places, so when Amber offered…." Ah. This made much more sense. Lysander reached out a gloved hand and grasped his friend's shoulder.
"I always knew you were a sweetheart." Castiel shrugged his hand away with a roll of the eyes, but looked cheered none the less.
"I got her a present too." He winked and offered up a sheepish smile, pulling a velvet box out of his coat's pocket. Lysander chuckled. The thin box traded between shivering hands, and he snapped it open, cupping a hand over to protect it from the snow flurries.
Lysander's face settled into confusion.
"You got her...brass knuckles?" Castiel nodded, grinning like a child, and carefully placed the box back in his pocket.
"Romantic, right?"
"Mmm...most definitely." It was a testament to Castiel's excitement that he didn't pick up on Lysander's sarcasm. Or maybe he didn't hear him, the wind was ripping away the words now. Castiel's mouth was moving, but Lysander was straining to hear him. Damned snow. He nodded as if he understood as they trudged around the final corner. They both sighed in relief and sped-up.
"Look both ways before you cross the street!" Lysander shouted as his friend leapt off the curb. Castiel waved his hands above his head and squinted down the stretch of pavement. They crossed together, tucking noses into scarves and hands under arms. When they pushed into Arianne and Gem's apartment building, they were hit by the oh-so-comforting wave of heat. The blast of icy wind and flurried snow flakes that followed them got an angry glare from the man who stood behind the counter. Logic ruled that he must indeed be the receptionist, but he certainly did not look the part. Dark eyes glared out from a caramel coloured face, and his curly black hair hugged his scalp in what was almost a buzz cut. He was pretty cute actually...
"Pardon. Sorry," Lysander said, gesturing towards the glass doors. "On dirait un gros orage se prépare." The man didn't respond. Lysander gulped. "Erm, où sont les ascenseurs? Where are the elevators?"
"Hors service." He pointed towards a bland door with a glowing green sign hanging above, depicting a little stick-figure man running up some stairs. "Tu vas devoir de prendre les escaliers."
"Merci." Lysander nodded and pulled Castiel (who was tracking the conversation with an evil glint) into the stairwell. Lysander was ruffled. He didn't deal well with confrontation, much less with confrontation in a language he could only barely understand.
"I know that Gem lives on the fifth floor. I think your little lady is on the third?"
"Huh?"
"Stairs, genius. We've gotta climb them. Do you know Arianne's room number?" Lysander frowned and stuck a hand in his jacket pocket, pulling out a slip of paper with an address inked across in tidy hand-writing. Arianne had handed it to him earlier that day, emphasizing the importance of not losing it. To be honest, he was surprised he hadn't.
"312?"
"Sounds about right. Let's climb, my friend."