The Devil Doesn't Bargain (MatD part 2)

Chapter THIRTY - Hangovers and Bananas

Early hours of the morning whispered their siren song and pulled me to a lazy delirium. Though sleep never touched me, the sounds of the room did, echoing around my ears and laughing at my fears. I rolled against Sebastian's heated body and tucked my head over his shoulder. Even in sleep, his body molded to mine - rolling to his back, arm tugging me close, lips turned up in a fantom smile. I rested my hand over his chest, tracing my fingers along the folds of his shirt and wishing away the insomnia. Only after the hours had ticked uselessly by did I find a bit of peace in the gentle thrum of his heartbeat below my fingertips.

A smile of my own spread at the familiarity of it.

Sebastian hummed, his tired fingers finding mine, warm palm enveloping.

"Good-" His whispered voice muffled in his throat. Clearing it, he started again - a bit louder than before but just as rough, gritty and deep. "Good morning my cabbage."

Before I had the chance to answer, someone groaned loudly across the room.

Both our heads swiveled to find a rather rumpled Ominis with a pillow tossed over his head and arms folded haphazardly over the top of that. A few other pillows had been piled around his torso, one leg hanging limply over the top of two and the other completely hidden from sight - a mess of cushion and little tassels. Plopped directly on top of the highest pillow was a rather content Brahms, his beady eyes squinting as his perch shifted a bit below his paws.

Anne was sitting up, wiping sleep from her eyes but grinning to her palm as she spoke, her own voice laced with the tiniest trace of irregularity. "I don't think Ominis is feeling very well this morning."

The pile of pillows groaned again.

Anne kicked at his foot, disturbing Brahms and earning a rather irritated meow as he hopped down to the floor.

"Mmmmfff." Pillow Ominis tightened his grip on the pillow over his head, pausing a moment and then tossing it to the side. He sat up slowly and I could practically see his bones creaking and his head screaming.

Sebastian smirked. "Good morning Om-"

"Don't talk to me."

Anne smiled into her shirt sleeve, brushing her hair that had fallen out of its bun in the night. A few stray strands hooked around her nose as she worked.

"Aw c'mon mate. It's not that-"

Irony seemed to have a funny sense of humor as Sebastian sat up to get a better look at the poor chap but stopped mid sentence to stare at the floor and place the back of his hand to his lips.

Evidently the sleeping hours hadn't been enough for either of them. Anne and I shared a knowing glance.

"Awe c'mon mate." She mocked. "It's not that bad."

----

Sebastian and Ominis had to spend the entire class day as quiet as possible with the promise of a hangover tonic from Anne after classes should they "behave". She'd scolded them for drinking too much in the first place and reminded them that their actions did indeed have consequences. Neither of them having the resources or ingredients to brew their own, were at her complete mercy.

When I'd questioned whether one of my Wiggenweld potions would do the trick, she'd explained that while it might give them a bit of a stamina boost, it would not completely stifle their symptoms and could very well make them more jittery instead.

It seemed they were out of luck for the time being.

Anne had also taken to teasing the poor boys whenever she could, especially her brother who even after a trip back to the common room to freshen up, had looked anything but fresh. Yet somehow, just as adorable if not more so than usual with his disheveled hair and slightly too loose tie. I wondered if that was a perfectly normal thing to think about your hungover boyfriend or if I'd rightly lost my mind.