[The silence that follows truly is comfortable. The revived fire is doing its best to remove the remaining chill from the room and the conversation is pleasant and coffee a familiar comfort... It's perhaps the most at ease he's felt since the severance of his Bonds. His gaze turns to the fire in idle thought; this late, it would be polite to invite Nico to dine with him and Leslie, but did he have the supplies for unexpected company?]
[Instead, his train of thought is derailed by Nico's offer; it seems "coffee" did mean literal coffee by the rare expression of plain surprise on his face.]
[Hubert clears his throat after a shocked second, his gaze briefly flickering aside before returning to Nico's face. ]
--Yes, it was... pleasant. I...
[He's been approached before. Of course he has; an heir to a great house was still an heir, even if Vestra was considering settling. All shallow things he had no interest or time for - but here, there was no status, no politics, no war, no... complications.]
[It's okay to want something, floats in the back of his head.]
[After a long moment of consideration, Hubert slowly sets his cup down. He wasn't sure if the heat in his ears was from the fireplace or a flush.]
I... would like that.
[His voice isn't as smooth as it usually was, but wasn't exactly timid. Still, this was beyond him in so many ways, so beyond his usual areas of comfort. ]
no subject
[Instead, his train of thought is derailed by Nico's offer; it seems "coffee" did mean literal coffee by the rare expression of plain surprise on his face.]
[Hubert clears his throat after a shocked second, his gaze briefly flickering aside before returning to Nico's face. ]
--Yes, it was... pleasant. I...
[He's been approached before. Of course he has; an heir to a great house was still an heir, even if Vestra was considering settling. All shallow things he had no interest or time for - but here, there was no status, no politics, no war, no... complications.]
[It's okay to want something, floats in the back of his head.]
[After a long moment of consideration, Hubert slowly sets his cup down. He wasn't sure if the heat in his ears was from the fireplace or a flush.]
I... would like that.
[His voice isn't as smooth as it usually was, but wasn't exactly timid. Still, this was beyond him in so many ways, so beyond his usual areas of comfort. ]