Abigail leaned on the bar counter, gesturing with a sharp tilt of her chin towards Stephen. Connor glanced over his shoulder to watch his… date… walking towards the loo, and found his eyes drawn to Hart's arse. After a moment Abby cleared her throat, and, feeling his face heat with a blush, Connor turned back to find his friend grinning.
"You cannot help it, can you?" She said, and though it was phrased like a question, she didn't give him time to form a rebuttal. "No, do not say anything! I know you, you will say this is not a date, that you're just two friends at a bar, but it is not so!" Abby practically crowed, and Connor felt the temptation to bury his face in his arms atop the bar as every face was now turned towards them.
"Please stop, Abby! Do not be so gleeful, I hardly know him!" He protested, face flaming. Abby tilted her head, blue eyes sharp and the grin dropped to a less intimidating smile, much to his relief.
"Go on you lot, don't you have anything better to do than eavesdrop?!" She said, turning to glare at the other patrons, who quickly continued with their halted conversations. Connor marveled at the linguistic shift - it had not been his focus at university, but his interests in learning were broader than simply paleontological.
He relaxed infinitesimally, knowing Stephen would not now emerge from the gents' to find themselves the center of attention. Hopefully.
"You do feel strongly about him, though?" Abby asked in a lower tone.
Connor hesitated, and then nodded, sharply. "It is possible that I may have already begun to develop affection for him." Abby chuckled, rolling her eyes, and pushed away from the counter, a white scrap of cloth appearing in her hands almost like magic (though he knew she'd grabbed it from the lower counter on her side, or from a pocket) and removed empty glasses from the bar, sweeping the cloth over the wooden surface to wipe away any liquid from condensation or spilled alcoholic beverages.
"'May have begun to develop affection'" She began, her tone teasing, "you are head over heels for that man, my friend, and you know it. You are simply too afraid to say the words." She paused. "It is alright, you will say it eventually, to him I would hope."
Connor sighed.
"Could we please speak of something else now, Abigail?" He said, knowing she disliked the use of her full name. She glared, and then her gaze moved to look at something over his head, and the blue of her eyes sparkled with mischief.
Connor heard a low, familiar laugh, and froze.
"Missing me yet?" Stephen breathed the words near his ear, and the younger man felt his face heat once more.
"Of course he was. Barely said a word since Stephen left, didn't you, Conn?" Abby said, grinning broadly.
"Abby!"
Stephen slid onto his seat and turned a cheerful smile on Connor.
"I am sure that's not true." He said, "Connor is far too talkative to go silent for any long period of time, yes?" There was a level of teasing in Stephen's tone as well, but Connor took no offense at either of his friends' ribbing.
Still, he groaned and huffed in mock-irritation obligingly, rewarded with matching grins from the others in response.
"If we are all done taking the mick…" Connor said, exasperated, hand moving to his glass.
"Another?" Abby asked, and she looked at Stephen, as if Connor wasn't more than capable of buying his own drinks!