I Got Bills {Open}

After a long day of shopping, Meg was thirsty something terrible. She had no back-to-school shopping to speak of, but she still liked to be out in the crowds. The excited little kid faces made her smile, and the frazzled parents made her laugh. Terrible things had happened in the Alley just days ago, so Meg was beyond happy to see things return as much to normal as possible - even if the crowds were a fair bit thinner than she would have liked. No matter, though - more room and time for her to buy things for herself, and by the time she was through with her day, her arms were laden with bags and boxes of new purchases. Mostly clothes, but some gardening and potion supplies, as well as a few things she thought Luna might find interesting.

As far as her thirst, there was only one place that could quench it properly - The Leaky Cauldron. Meg was a strong Three Broomsticks patron, of course, but when in Rome...the Leaky had bigger mugs, anyway, and Meg was about dying for an ale as she crossed into its cool interior. Before heading for the bar and ordering her beverage, she took a look around. The pub was nearly empty, too. Meg sighed, resigning herself to having her drink alone even if she didn't really want to. Her gaze skated across a man cleaning tables as she turned back to the bar, and she did a double-take before skipping right over to who she now recognized as very good friend Benny. How could she forget he worked here now?

Meg was across the room in seconds, sneaking up behind Benny and wrapping him in a bear hug. "Hiii!" She trilled, letting him go eventually to move in front of him and examine his work. She ran a finger across the table he was wiping and grinned up at her friend. "So shiny I can see myself in it. How ya been?"

Benny jumped, letting out a small yelp as arms wrapped around him from behind. He was brought back down to earth with a bump and would probably be annoyed if he were anyone else. But Benny just let out a light laugh, tilting his head to identify his attacker.
"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes, I was getting soooo bored of cleaning tables!"
He gave Meg a huge grin. It'd been quite some time since he'd seen his friend, he'd definitely missed hanging out with her. He grinned sheepishly at her compliment, pretending to be bashful.
"Aww shucks, you know how to make a little waiter like me blush."
He poked his tongue out childishly, wiping his brow.
"I'm doing good! Tessa is getting bigger by the day and Daniel keeps coming up with new excuses for why his rent isn't paid. You?"
Just as he was about to go get his friend her usual glass (although with the size of these cups it was closer to a bucket) of ale, someone else walked into the quiet pub. Benny gave Meg an apologetic smile, before walking over to the newcomer.
"Hi, welcome to the Leaky Couldron. I'm Benjamin, most people call me Benny, I'll be your server today."
Benny froze.
Oh no... oh no no no... He's cute. He thought as he gave the customer a warm smile
"Eh... Sorry, one of those days. Did you say you wanted the Sunday roast?"
He tried to push his thoughts to the back of his mind, as he looked at the man. But damn, he was attractive. Benny was probably pansexual, although he didnt like using labels. He'd been with guys, gals and everything in between in the past.
His Devonshire accent came through, as it often did when he was nervous
"It'll be about a twenty minute wait, if that's alright? We ain't very busy at the moment, so we're low on kitchen staff. 'Course if you need anything in that time, you can grab me whenever. I'll be floating around there."
He gestured over to the table he was cleaning earlier. He gave the man a nervous, apologetic smile.
"Sorry for the wait, but I'll getcha that butter beer."
Benny decided to take the scenic route to the bar, stopping off to grab Meg and hiss
"Meg... help, he's cute. What do?"
He glanced over at the customer, giving Meg a look of complete helplessness.

Meg Ashland @iamsophie

Benny's reaction to her surprise hug was nothing short of adorable. Meg giggled as soon as he caught sight of who his attacker was, leaning back against the table he was just cleaning - but careful not to leave any fingerprints or scuff marks on it. "You're right, I'm a lot more fun," she grinned back at him, more than happy to provide a distraction from Benny's boring old job. She got companionship out of it too, so it was really a win-win. Now she didn't have to have that drink alone! She reached out and bopped Benny on the nose when he stuck his tongue out, laughing. "Best waiter and table-cleaner around, I say!" Coming from anyone else, it might have sounded patronizing - but Meg knew this life all too well, and she could already tell Benny was good at what he did. How could he not be, the kind gentleman that he was?

Benny's update on his life made Meg grin widely. "I need to get my hands on that puppy again, she's too sweet," she mused, mind giving her a brief replay of a certain other puppy she'd met at the park, and the pretty human he was attached to. She blushed a tiny bit and shook her head, looking back at Benny. "Sounds like Daniel. I'm good! Theo's been extra grumpy lately but nothing I can't deal with," she shrugged. As she considered what other details to fill Benny in on now, and what could wait for later, another person entered the pub. Meg nodded at Benny and slipped into the table he'd been cleaning, more than happy to wait. She traced her finger over the tabletop, trying to look as innocuous as possible while she totally eavesdropped on her friend.

Benny was totally into the guy, she could tell by the way his voice changed. Meg had to literally hold her hand over her mouth to stop her giggles. She eyed Benny as he came back her way, biting her excitement back and jumping up to accompany him over to the bar to put the man's order in. "He is cute," Meg whispered, glancing over her shoulder at the other man, now occupied with a book. Subtlety wasn't one of her strong suits. She looked back at her friend with a glint in her eye. "Just turn on that charm, Benny Boy. Want me to talk to him?" She bounced slightly on her heels, grinning. She wouldn't necessarily help in the casual introduction department, but she could certainly get the ball rolling on the hey-my-friend-thinks-you're-cute field. She was also more than happy to wait at the bar and whisper excitedly with her friend while he handled it himself, though.

Lucien couldn't help but mentally applaud himself. Benjamin was definitely interested. The thrice repeat of his name and the fact that he had seen a blush, no matter how small, made Lucien wonder if Benjamin was interested in more than casual fling. As handsome as he was, and Lucien knew it well, he wasn't one for playing and breaking hearts... at least not intentionally. He knew about all the females and some males back at Hogwarts who had tried confessing but turned them all down because he didn't feel for them what they felt for him. Also, Lucien knew they just saw him for his looks, brains, and money. The last thing Lucien wanted was to be saddled with a gold digging wizard/witch. He placed an elbow on the table and his chin on his knuckle as he looked at Benjamin, "I would hope that you indeed do remember my name, Benjamin." Lucien teased before letting Benjamin go to get his drink.

For a moment, Lucien debated whether or not to cast a listening charm on Benjamin and his friend. But then again, he knew that should the two find out, it would not end well. So Lucien settled for glancing at them every now and then. He continued reading his book but Lucien's mind wasn't fully concentrated on his book. Half his mind was on Benjamin and his companion, another part was on his hunger, another part on what Ilyass was probably doing, and the smallest remaining part was on his book. So, the book was nothing but a facade for his real actions: looking at Benjamin.