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He took another drink of Brandy, but as he was shook, a bit trickled down his chin. He lowered the bottle to his knee and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “It’s fine, I’ll show you later, maybe tomorrow. I’d rather forget it that anyhow.”
Fiori frowned but after he gave Levi a good solid look he let it drop. "Alright. Let's forget about it then." The smile he offered was small but sincere. "Why don't we do something people do at parties? Like… um… like a game or something."
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“A game, a game… I’m up for a game.” He crossed his legs, leaning forward on his knees. He held the Brandy protectively in both hands. “What kind of game?”
"Um… truth or dare? I dunno, I never go to good parties." His nose wrinkled up. "Just the princely kind where you do nothing but talk to people you don't like and then your beloved drags you into a corner to make out and you forget there was even a party in the first place."
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Levi sputtered out messy laughter, because that was very true, and it had happened to him once or twice. But he didn’t tell Fiori that. “That sounds like great fun, but one we can’t do…” he scowled. Why did Mordecai have to be in a whole other country? “We could make a game.”
Fiori laughed too, soft and fond. He'd never been a fan of parties but Cadmus loved going to the damn things with Fi on his arm, so he usually ended up in some kind of shadowy corner. "It's a lot of fun, but yeah… we'll have to do something else. What kind of game do you wanna make, Leviticus?"
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Levi liked parties, and interacting with people to an extent. He loved the high fashion, and making good impressions. However Mordecai almost always convinced him to take his leave after an hour or so.
“Uh…” he looked off the the side with a smile still set in one corner of his mouth. “I don’t know, actually. I’m not drunk enough.” He took another long drink.
Fiori laughed and tapped Levi's almost full bottle of brandy with his own empty whiskey bottle. "Then drink, and hurry up about it! We need to have our drunk party, it's very very important."
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“Of course!” He laughed, closing his eyes and bringing the bottle back to his lips. He took a long drink, as long as he could hold his breath. Finally? He brought the bottle back down and took several deep breaths. He opened his eyes again, “Ohhhh wow…”
Fiori grinned brightly as he drank, and then let out a delighted laugh when he reopened his eyes. He shook Levi gently, not hard enough to spill the brandy but hard enough that he could feel it. "So? Are you drunk yet??"
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“Ah—Almost!” He pressed his thumb and forefinger together, “A little bit.” He was already starting to slur his words, but he appeared mostly aware still. He laughed brightly, loosely nodding his head, “I’m gettin’ there…”
Fiori giggled- honest to gods giggled- and took the brandy from Levi to have a swig. "I knew you were a lightweight!" He said victoriously, setting the bottle down on the bedside table. "You're so teeny weenie!"
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“Oh! But I-I drank a lot!” He contested, gesticulating to the bottle on the bedside table. “I’m not that lightweight,” he sniggered. “And I’m drunk even that drunk yet… I might even need more.”
"You drank two long swigs of brady, Leviticus." He drew out Levi's name, emphasizing each syllable with a teasing lilt to his tone. "I drank half a bottle of whiskey before I even got tipsy! And you're clearly drunk, you can't even talk right!"
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“I can… I can talk!” He laughed heartily. “And I usually…” hr trailed off, looking to the side while he tried to remember what he was going to say. “Oh, I usually don’t drink brandy.”
Fi snickered, reaching for the brandy and then abruptly thinking the better of it. "Brandy's strong," He said, grinning over at Levi with a dimply smile. "And it's why you can't talk good! Makes you forget lots 'n lots of brainy stuff you should probably know."
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Levi nodded along and started giggling, “Yeah, yeah-! It helps forget…” he searched for the word, looking off to the side again, “the bad stuff to. Hah! I can’t even remember what I wrote, exactly,” he sputtered our more light-hearted laughter.
Fi laughed when Levi started too, and soon he was dissolving into a dizzying fit of giggles. He didn't know why everything was so funny, only that it was and he couldn't seem to stop. "Yes!!! Brandy and whiskey are veeeeery good for that! No memories, only fun!"
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Fiori’s giggles sent Levi into even more laughter. “It is!! Brandy can even make you forget your own name!” He exclaimed to the ceiling. He held onto the bedsheet to keep himself upright as he started to sway. It felt like the room was spinning.
Fi had long since collapsed back into the pillows, but he peeked out now and was promptly overcome by a storm of giggles. Levi looked like a kitten who'd gotten into way too much catnip and started tripping like there was no tomorrow. "I don't think I remember my name! Or yours!"
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“Hah!” He laughed long and breathily, “Not…I either. You’re something like….Fori, right?” He stammered clumsily, still fascinated with something on the ceiling. “But maybe, and this is possible, I could be wrong.” He closed his mouth to clear his throat, and then went right back to gaping at the ceiling. “Weren’t we trying to… make something?”
"Fiori!" Fi exclaimed triumphantly, sitting up with the force of his excitement. "That's mine! Yours is long! We were gonna make a game, but then better things were happening, and also can I just ask why you're mooning up at the ceiling? Is there something neat up there?"
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“Yeah! Mine is kinda long. But short too.” He opened his mouth wider in a smile. “An’ yeah,” he answered, gesticulating vaguely to one of the corners in the ceiling, “There’s uh…there’s a cobweb up there… it looks cool,” he laughed.
"Yours is…" Fiori gave him a long look, interest pulled temporarily from the ceiling. "Lev… i…ticus! Leviticus!" He smiled, eyes snapping up to the ceiling. He sighed when he saw the cobweb, finding it very pretty. "Oh! I like it!"
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“Ah! Right!” He nodded quickly, “Thats my name…but people call me…Lev! Yes, Lev, with an e at the end. Leveeee…” he finally fell onto his back on the bed. “Comfy,” he mumbled to himself. He smiled at the cobweb, “It really it’s pretty…wispy…like silk?”
"It's like spun sugar," he murmured, reaching up even though he knew he could never touch it. The ceilings were tall, too tall for even him to reach without help. "And I'm gonna call you Leviticus." Each syllable was carefully pronounced and deliberate. He burst into giggles when it was over. "Because I need to be respectful!"
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That made Levi burst into laughter. He held up his arm like Fiori, and just let it water back and forth. He looked at the cobweb through the gaps in his fingers. “Alright! What should I call you to-to be…respectful? I think…I think Fiori is a shortened name, right?”
"Na ah." Fi shook his head just a little too hard, sending his vision into a smeary spiral of dizziness. "No! My name is Fiori, and then sometimes, people like to call me Fi. Or Fio. There's one twat who calls me Fiodore, but she's my friend so I'm legally supposed to let it happen."
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“Fiodore!” Levi burst into laughter like it was the funniest thing in the world. “That’s—It’s like—Theodore but better!” he sputtered. He dropped his arm to his shaking chest, clutching the collar of his shirt. “It’s great!” His laughter slowly dwindled down to giggles, which were now interrupted by intermittent hiccups.
Fi giggled slightly, but soon he was just watching Levi laugh himself to tears with a mystified smile. He smacked him lightly on the chest in an attempt to help get rid of the hiccups, eyes crinkled in the corners as he grinned. "You're gonna be soooo unhappy tomorrow."
