Despite... everything about how Illumi treats people as a whole, Hisoka is in a category all his own. Illumi won't go as far as "friends" for his usual host of reasons, but there is something to be said for the one person not blood-related to him he actually willingly spends time around. "Expendable" isn't the right word, but if Hisoka crosses one line too many, Illumi wouldn't hesitate.
So, that's friendly, right? Right.
He doesn't stop Hisoka from taking the needle - he has more, and it's just an ordinary one, without his nen covering it - and arches an eyebrow over his drink. "Sure."
Ah, what is he being bribed for again, he already smiled... "You're surprisingly serious about this."
To be fair, Hisoka won't go as far to say 'friend' either.
Well no, he'll say it.
But it's usual with humour behind it. Playful. To say he's ever had an actual friend is going far beyond what he has experience with- or wants to have experience with. Attachments like that are unnecessary, ya know? And that extends to the concept of family as well. For him anyway. It's easy for him to over look those ties being raised as he wasn't.
"I'm quite capable of serious." A smile, tipping a shoulder before going to drink from his own glass again and tapping at the bar. He points to Illumi's drink- and the tender'll start preparing another one. "This isn't serious though, it's harmless fun~!"
Friends are a poisonous, stupid concept— but they'll always disagree on family. That's fine, because only one family actually matters. How convenient.
"If you say so," Illumi says, and it's not a disagreement. This isn't not fun, he did decide on it himself, but he's also not bouncing off the walls. To be expected, really. This time when Hisoka signals for another drink he turns to watch, and when it's set in front of him- he still has this first one.
Well, he won't let the freshly alight one go to waste. He hums, tipping back the rest of the first drink in one go and setting the glass aside. There, now the new drink gets his undivided attention. "That's better."
'Friends are a poisonous, stupid concept- -- Illumi everyone, tip your waitress.
Right? And he has nothing else to do right now, so this isn't wasting time. Besides, keeping in a good relationship with Hisoka (whatever a good relationship is with him) is important so they can continue to want to do favours for eachother. Hisoka never expects to get Illumi that excited, he knows what it is to spend time with the younger man. But that's fine, he likes this as it is Illumi is interesting and impressive. Hence no boredom.
"That's better?" Chuckling, leaning on a hand as he curls over the countertop to look at him. The pocket book on his lap between his legs. He strokes over the slick fabric with his fingers tips, focusing on the cool against his skin as his eyes go to stare at the heat rising off the new drink.
"Fairly sweet right? And strong enough to catch fire." Smirks. Yes, drink it, keep drinking. He wants to see where this goes. Though for some reason he imagines Illumi as the type of drunk not to seem drunk until he's made to move--
This drink doesn't get the same special treatment as the last. That is, Illumi doesn't feel the need to stick needles in it, although he does take a moment to stare appreciatively at the flames. It looks nice and it doesn't taste half bad, but the whole package - the color, setting it on fire, making it a spectacle - makes it more a performance than is usually his taste. He orders simple drinks because they're simple; ice, liquor, glass, done— and this one is leaning heavily toward absolutely ridiculous.
"I can see why you picked this one," he says innocuously enough, and leans forward to blow it out. Well, innocuously enough until he adds, "Although it's not as flashy as I expected."
Sure is Hisoka's taste though. Performance, pizzazz! Hisoka in a nutshell. Maybe Illumi's love for this drink is like his love for Hisoka. Not bad, but not amazing, but he can appreciate it well enough and would rather it accessible to him rather than not.
"As you expected? Well next time we'll have to hit a pub!" Some foreign style totally not!German place where you drink a lot of liquor out of a massive fancy boot while people scream and sing and count how long it takes. These two missed out on possibly amazing college party years.
"Well you usually stick to the same stuff, is it the same things your father goes for when he tips back?" 'Father' is said with a lot more emphasis than it should be. Unf, your hot dad, man.
A... pub. A pub? Is it a purple pub, is it a pub where anything on the shelf is worth more than maybe spitting on the ground? Like, he'll go, but he won't drink out of a boot. Hisoka can drink out of a boot for them both.
"Sure," well, whatever, and then, "I don't drink with my father, though. We don't have anything to talk about aside from work."
Watch as he skillfully ignores Hisoka's hard-on for daddy dearest. Again. But if he had to guess, based on the time he's spent silently observing the man without actually engaging with him on the level that, say, Killua seems to need to—
"Surely you've seen him drink, perhaps as a child, he influenced you? Well, besides how he influenced you." Made you into the terrifying monster you are now.
"Hmm- don't you?" Pokes at. Idly swishing his drink around.
Hisoka, stop fishing for tips on how to get his dad drunk. Illumi considers - but he doesn't know, it's never been in his interests to control his father directly. They're both grooming Killua, and whoever wins that battle will topple the other; at least, that's how he sees it. What Silva likes to drink or anything else about him as a person and not just a business associate is past the point of relevance.
He's not even allowed to kill any family members, so like, poisoning his nightly whiskey wouldn't be useful either.
"I've heard the butlers say I take after my mother," he says, throwing Hisoka a glance. Don't poke, come on. "We don't have to agree." As long as the rules are followed... or held up like they're followed, close enough.
Wow not what he's doing at all. He's just prying to see where you boring interest in liquor came from.
"While- Killua takes after your father, ha- oh right." Zips at his lips. "I'm not allowed to talk about him." Smirks, finishing off his drink and ponders for a moment. So you like to drink simple liquor in glass, right. They can even take out the ice.
It came from how much he likes murder more than other things, shush.
An eyebrow quirked at the mention of Killua- still on no Killua probation, good catch- and then he goes back to his drink again before the question. A what. He's heard of drinks in that he's ignored them when actually presented with a menu or a suggestion from a bartender (rare, given he automatically orders expensive things anyway)- but since he's already sipping this purple monstrosity.
"Are you insisting?" Is he paying for it, more like. Why not try another drink he'd never order himself in a million years - it's not like he has something else to do, somewhere else to be.
A thoughtful sound as he looks through the woman's wallet. Looks like they either were planning of bar hopping or eating out somewhere were cash was necessary. He grins, pulling out the money and going to pocket it before flicking his hand and causing the wallet to stick to the ceiling along with the purse.
"Think you can handle it? I'm not sure how often you drink, I wouldn't want to hurt you~"
Like Illumi hasn't been throwing back drinks in a row here already. He's never pushed the very, very edges of the limits to Zoldyck alcohol tolerance - it could very well be considered a poison, couldn't it, but it burns going down all the same - but he certainly isn't... some kind of lightweight.
Don't liquor-patronize him. He shrugs.
"Why not? It doesn't sound like anything impressive."
Then think of this as- studying your limits? Makes it seem useful doesn't it.
"Well you haven't eaten anything in a while, have you." That's where it's easy to fuck yourself when it comes to liquor.
Hisoka passes his gaze to the bar tender and he looks befuddled for a moment at Hisoka's order before he describes it. Heard it by another name it seems, but it's not long before he's pulling out ten shot glasses and those nearby are getting a little interested. This is a flashy sort of bar after all, it's odd to see two people get that heavy handed with their liquor here- and such nice liquor too. Needless to say they have a good amount of eyes on their little endeavor as soon as the tender starts picking up bottles and filling up crystal glasses. All until he fills the last one and goes to get a lighter.
"He won't light it till we tell him to, and we have to drink every one in a row at the same time. Okay?" Speaking to him in a way that may suggest Illumi's age compared to his own- younger. This is meant to be a game after all, they can't take it slow! He's taking it quite a bit easier too on a stomach full of horderves and only a drink and a half.
Ah yes, for the next job that requires him to drink instead of breaking the end off a champagne glass and shoving the stem in someone's throat. Sure.
The spectators they suddenly gain aren't to his tastes, neither is the way Hisoka is talking to him- didn't he object to that "slow boy" thing earlier? Spare him. Without answering he reaches for the first glass and picks it up. But if Hisoka really wants to direct this little display that badly, fine- Illumi looks at him, waiting.
What about getting really extreme at all times is not fun? That seems great.
But alright, shot one down. He reaches for the next, ready to go down the line with as much mechanical precision as is probably expected of him. Hisoka said all at once, so...
Second, third, fourth, tender lights the fifth, and fifth. Even Hisoka's making a slight face at the burn in his throat before he smiles and sends a slim eyed look to Illumi.
"Eughlleh-" Sticks out his tongue. Gross. He mostly hates the taste of liquor, to be honest, but this is still fun.
Illumi has no complaints about the taste. He's already decided it's more about drinking them all at once than caring about how they taste, though he does take a moment at the end to savor the shock of drinking so many in quick succession. He looks at the last glass still in his hand, tips a last drop of liquid into his mouth and licks another off his lip, and turns to Hisoka.
"Not bad." Someone cue SHOTS in the background already.
Well 'caring' about the taste is one thing, he still tastes it and dislikes it, harsh in his throat. Too savory if anything, he's much more for sweets. But this little endeavor has a point and his eyes move to glue to his companion once the fifth shot's fire is blown out and it slides down their throats.
"Hmm--" Leans in a little, staring at him him. Nothing? Not a falter? Maybe he seems more- relaxed? A different sort of relaxed from Illumi's usual emotionless one anyway.
Boring...
"You thought so? That's good." A chuckle, ordering a cosmopolitan. Pink, not that he has much on right now.
He might be a little more relaxed. Illumi doesn't go in for these kinds of drinks usually- because he's terminally uptight- and because they're more of a spectacle than a drink meant to be enjoyed for its taste and worth. He doesn't especially need his liquor to entertain him.
That said, when he says Not bad, it's a high enough compliment. He'd do a row of shots that may or may not be on fire again, although he won't order another right now.
However, he still has some of his second purple disaster drink, and sips at it contemplatively when the shot glasses have been cleared away.
"I did think so." Thanks, Illumi. "Still, it was overly elaborate." Which he means in the nicest way.
"Things are often overly elaborate for you though, aren't they?" Everything's always too complicated, could be made faster, simplified, everything is a hassle for Illumi. Hisoka understands hassles, sure, but he's willing to get elaborate to get his money out of it. Literal or not.
"You only ever drink for your job, or idly when talking about something." Not a question, an observation.
"Your lack of enjoyment in life is so depressing, Illumi." Poking fun, smiling as he says it. His eyelids are low though, and their's heat in his skin. A bit more than tipsy for Hisoka, but he's enjoying it, basking in the feeling. Illumi might notice his looser posture, about the only thing that will tip him off. Otherwise Hisoka normally has that ever there small smile and that slim stare.
"Hmm," Illumi says, and then, "You're not wrong. Drinking isn't one of my hobbies, you know." As if he has hobbies, by any stretch of the definition. There's nothing to object to in that observation, so he won't.
The second one, though... Well, he still doesn't object, but he looks sideways at Hisoka with an expression that's difficult to place. Possibly because it's there at all, though muted, an eyebrow barely raised and the minute tug of a frown at the corner of his mouth.
Depressing?
"Says you." Thank you, Illumi. Ordinarily he wouldn't bother to respond, but there's more alcohol in him than usual and it's loosened his tongue if nothing else. "Maybe your standards for enjoyment are too high." Not 'I enjoy things,' no— rather, 'You're probably wrong.'
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So, that's friendly, right? Right.
He doesn't stop Hisoka from taking the needle - he has more, and it's just an ordinary one, without his nen covering it - and arches an eyebrow over his drink. "Sure."
Ah, what is he being bribed for again, he already smiled... "You're surprisingly serious about this."
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Well no, he'll say it.
But it's usual with humour behind it. Playful. To say he's ever had an actual friend is going far beyond what he has experience with- or wants to have experience with. Attachments like that are unnecessary, ya know? And that extends to the concept of family as well. For him anyway. It's easy for him to over look those ties being raised as he wasn't.
"I'm quite capable of serious." A smile, tipping a shoulder before going to drink from his own glass again and tapping at the bar. He points to Illumi's drink- and the tender'll start preparing another one. "This isn't serious though, it's harmless fun~!"
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"If you say so," Illumi says, and it's not a disagreement. This isn't not fun, he did decide on it himself, but he's also not bouncing off the walls. To be expected, really. This time when Hisoka signals for another drink he turns to watch, and when it's set in front of him- he still has this first one.
Well, he won't let the freshly alight one go to waste. He hums, tipping back the rest of the first drink in one go and setting the glass aside. There, now the new drink gets his undivided attention. "That's better."
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Right? And he has nothing else to do right now, so this isn't wasting time. Besides, keeping in a good relationship with Hisoka (whatever a good relationship is with him) is important so they can continue to want to do favours for eachother. Hisoka never expects to get Illumi that excited, he knows what it is to spend time with the younger man. But that's fine, he likes this as it is Illumi is interesting and impressive. Hence no boredom.
"That's better?" Chuckling, leaning on a hand as he curls over the countertop to look at him. The pocket book on his lap between his legs. He strokes over the slick fabric with his fingers tips, focusing on the cool against his skin as his eyes go to stare at the heat rising off the new drink.
"Fairly sweet right? And strong enough to catch fire." Smirks. Yes, drink it, keep drinking. He wants to see where this goes. Though for some reason he imagines Illumi as the type of drunk not to seem drunk until he's made to move--
Or an angry drunk.
He's hoping for the latter.
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This drink doesn't get the same special treatment as the last. That is, Illumi doesn't feel the need to stick needles in it, although he does take a moment to stare appreciatively at the flames. It looks nice and it doesn't taste half bad, but the whole package - the color, setting it on fire, making it a spectacle - makes it more a performance than is usually his taste. He orders simple drinks because they're simple; ice, liquor, glass, done— and this one is leaning heavily toward absolutely ridiculous.
"I can see why you picked this one," he says innocuously enough, and leans forward to blow it out. Well, innocuously enough until he adds, "Although it's not as flashy as I expected."
He will still knock it back, though.
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"As you expected? Well next time we'll have to hit a pub!" Some foreign style totally not!German place where you drink a lot of liquor out of a massive fancy boot while people scream and sing and count how long it takes. These two missed out on possibly amazing college party years.
"Well you usually stick to the same stuff, is it the same things your father goes for when he tips back?" 'Father' is said with a lot more emphasis than it should be. Unf, your hot dad, man.
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"Sure," well, whatever, and then, "I don't drink with my father, though. We don't have anything to talk about aside from work."
Watch as he skillfully ignores Hisoka's hard-on for daddy dearest. Again. But if he had to guess, based on the time he's spent silently observing the man without actually engaging with him on the level that, say, Killua seems to need to—
"We don't agree on very much."
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"Surely you've seen him drink, perhaps as a child, he influenced you? Well, besides how he influenced you." Made you into the terrifying monster you are now.
"Hmm- don't you?" Pokes at. Idly swishing his drink around.
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He's not even allowed to kill any family members, so like, poisoning his nightly whiskey wouldn't be useful either.
"I've heard the butlers say I take after my mother," he says, throwing Hisoka a glance. Don't poke, come on. "We don't have to agree." As long as the rules are followed... or held up like they're followed, close enough.
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"While- Killua takes after your father, ha- oh right." Zips at his lips. "I'm not allowed to talk about him." Smirks, finishing off his drink and ponders for a moment. So you like to drink simple liquor in glass, right. They can even take out the ice.
"Have you ever had a four horsemen?"
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An eyebrow quirked at the mention of Killua- still on no Killua probation, good catch- and then he goes back to his drink again before the question. A what. He's heard of drinks in that he's ignored them when actually presented with a menu or a suggestion from a bartender (rare, given he automatically orders expensive things anyway)- but since he's already sipping this purple monstrosity.
"No. What is it?"
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"Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, John Walker, Jose Cuervo, and to make them go to hell, Bacardi 151 possibly lit on fire."
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"Are you insisting?" Is he paying for it, more like. Why not try another drink he'd never order himself in a million years - it's not like he has something else to do, somewhere else to be.
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"Think you can handle it? I'm not sure how often you drink, I wouldn't want to hurt you~"
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Don't liquor-patronize him. He shrugs.
"Why not? It doesn't sound like anything impressive."
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"Well you haven't eaten anything in a while, have you." That's where it's easy to fuck yourself when it comes to liquor.
Hisoka passes his gaze to the bar tender and he looks befuddled for a moment at Hisoka's order before he describes it. Heard it by another name it seems, but it's not long before he's pulling out ten shot glasses and those nearby are getting a little interested. This is a flashy sort of bar after all, it's odd to see two people get that heavy handed with their liquor here- and such nice liquor too. Needless to say they have a good amount of eyes on their little endeavor as soon as the tender starts picking up bottles and filling up crystal glasses. All until he fills the last one and goes to get a lighter.
"He won't light it till we tell him to, and we have to drink every one in a row at the same time. Okay?" Speaking to him in a way that may suggest Illumi's age compared to his own- younger. This is meant to be a game after all, they can't take it slow! He's taking it quite a bit easier too on a stomach full of horderves and only a drink and a half.
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The spectators they suddenly gain aren't to his tastes, neither is the way Hisoka is talking to him- didn't he object to that "slow boy" thing earlier? Spare him. Without answering he reaches for the first glass and picks it up. But if Hisoka really wants to direct this little display that badly, fine- Illumi looks at him, waiting.
Just tell him when.
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Ope, first shot glass up! He'll pick up his. Good. Nice and simple.
A pointed look, and he downs the first.
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But alright, shot one down. He reaches for the next, ready to go down the line with as much mechanical precision as is probably expected of him. Hisoka said all at once, so...
Here goes.
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"Eughlleh-" Sticks out his tongue. Gross. He mostly hates the taste of liquor, to be honest, but this is still fun.
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"Not bad." Someone cue SHOTS in the background already.
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Well 'caring' about the taste is one thing, he still tastes it and dislikes it, harsh in his throat. Too savory if anything, he's much more for sweets. But this little endeavor has a point and his eyes move to glue to his companion once the fifth shot's fire is blown out and it slides down their throats.
"Hmm--" Leans in a little, staring at him him. Nothing? Not a falter? Maybe he seems more- relaxed? A different sort of relaxed from Illumi's usual emotionless one anyway.
Boring...
"You thought so? That's good." A chuckle, ordering a cosmopolitan. Pink, not that he has much on right now.
kneeslides back in here
That said, when he says Not bad, it's a high enough compliment. He'd do a row of shots that may or may not be on fire again, although he won't order another right now.
However, he still has some of his second purple disaster drink, and sips at it contemplatively when the shot glasses have been cleared away.
"I did think so." Thanks, Illumi. "Still, it was overly elaborate." Which he means in the nicest way.
oh it's you
"You only ever drink for your job, or idly when talking about something." Not a question, an observation.
"Your lack of enjoyment in life is so depressing, Illumi." Poking fun, smiling as he says it. His eyelids are low though, and their's heat in his skin. A bit more than tipsy for Hisoka, but he's enjoying it, basking in the feeling. Illumi might notice his looser posture, about the only thing that will tip him off. Otherwise Hisoka normally has that ever there small smile and that slim stare.
i came back for you
The second one, though... Well, he still doesn't object, but he looks sideways at Hisoka with an expression that's difficult to place. Possibly because it's there at all, though muted, an eyebrow barely raised and the minute tug of a frown at the corner of his mouth.
Depressing?
"Says you." Thank you, Illumi. Ordinarily he wouldn't bother to respond, but there's more alcohol in him than usual and it's loosened his tongue if nothing else. "Maybe your standards for enjoyment are too high." Not 'I enjoy things,' no— rather, 'You're probably wrong.'
Depressing. Is not.
did you
i'm here now aren't i. bats eyes
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