This Was Meant To Be Bros Night

Keiran watched Avery out of the corner of his eye as she told her story and listened to his and Robin's. He should have seen this coming. It wasn't unknown to Keiran that Robin took a liking to most girls, especially those like Avery. From what she had done so far, it was obvious to Keiran that avery was interested as well. Especially when Robin turned to him and suggested, not so subtly that he leave.

Keiran knew his best mate was likely having a laugh, but something about the situation made him feel protective of her. It wasn't like he hadn't considered Avery as more than a friend on occasion, just to try out how it would feel. It hadn't been bad, by any means.

"I'm not even half done with my drink." Keiran replied lightly, lifting his glass to Robin in a slight challenge.

Over Robin's shoulder, Avery was setting her glass down and standing up. Keiran nearly stood before she lifted a hand, apparently anticipating this. "I'm just going to the loo. I'll be right back." Avery looked at Keiran pointedly as she added, "Don't you ditch me. It's happened before."

"Liar." He replied good-naturedly, watching as she took a few steps in the direction of the restrooms before turning back to Robin. "What are you on about, mate?" He asked, brow furrowed. Keiran wasn't overly protective for most people. But when it came to Avery, no one was allowed to mess with her without dealing with him in return.

Avery stood and Robin's eyes matched Keiran's as they followed her path towards the back of the bar. As soon as she was gone Keiran's tone and demeanor changed instantly and Robin's eyebrows couldn't help themselves - they raised. He took in the stiffness of the other mans posture and realize in moments how displeased Keiran really was with how the situation was playing out.

"What?" Robin inquired innocently. "You wanted me to meet her and I'm getting to know her. Lovely girl by the way, you have excellent taste my friend." His eyes glittered slightly, not intending to offend but rather subconsciously from his enjoyment of the evenings turn of events.

The longer Robin looked at his friend the more a stray thought nagged at the back of his mind. He had never seen that particular look in Keiran's eyes before. In all the bars they had been too and all the woman they had picked up never once had the older man acted.. jealous? A look of confusion crossed Robins face. He spoke slowly and quietly, as if what he were saying could easily have been a dirty secret. "Wait.. Are you seeing her?" That would be dreadful. No matter how acceptable this Avery girl seemed Robin couldn't stand the thought of losing his best friend to any sort of domestic relationship.

Keiran couldn't explain what bothered him about Robin's interest, honestly. It had to be his protective side, he decided. Taking a drink, he tried to pretend like Robin wasn't bothering him as much as he was.  Robin's sarcasm wasn't lost on him, and he gave his best mate an appraising glance over the rim of his glass before setting it down.

“Get to know her, yes. Go after her? Maybe not.” He replied, eyes flicking to the doorway which led to the loo. Keiran didn't expect her back so soon, of course, but he didn't want Avery to see them bickering.

His attention was drawn once more by Robin's question. Eyebrows raised in surprise, Keiran stared at him for a moment before saying, “No. No, I'm not.” His voice perhaps betrayed his slight disappointment in this. Keiran wouldn't say he had thought about asking her to be anything more than his best mate, but he also couldn't claim he would be upset if they tried it out.

Now that he thought about it, he found himself wondering what exactly Robin though Avery was to him. “Why? You can't possibly be interested. Not seriously.” He shook his head as he observed his friend. After all of this time, he knew what Robin was probably thinking. The two men had seen plenty of bars and the like over their time together, and the other man had never taken a girl seriously.

"No. Of course not." Robin snapped automatically. The words were a reflex and as soon as they were spoken he felt a twinge of guilt and knew their was a definite falsity to them. This feeling worried and humbled the young Russian man, a viable deflation in his ego momentarily shown. Was he interested? The thought bothered him endlessly and he chose to quickly dismiss it. In the few minutes he had known Avery he had developed a first impression of her as a humorous, attractive girl who he would consider quite pleasant. He wasn't pursuing her. Just talking.

It was easier to push off that unsettling feeling that he got when he considered a relationship with anyone (much less the pretty blonde in the bathroom). Instead he preferred to consciously inflate his mind with self praise and return to his easygoing smile that always stayed so effortlessly on his lips. He punched Keiran lightly on the arm and grinned. The bickering tone of this conversation was off putting to Robin seeing as the two boys were normally nothing but civil.

"But if I had to wager I'd say she likes me, wouldn't you?" Robin teased. It was amazing to see Keiran this worked up over a girl. An odd sight, that was for sure, but amazing none the less. There had to be something really incredible about Avery and the more Keiran voiced his wishes for them to remain apart, the more determined Robjn became to get them together.

Keiran frowned at Robin's hasty response. AS someone who spent so much time around students, he knew just what that sort of reaction. For example, if he asked a student if they had done the reading and they answered that quickly and with that much defense, they were probably lying. Nine times out of ten.

Instead of looking at his friend, Keiran focused on his hands as they toyed with the glass sitting on the bar top before him. He let out a light scoff of a laugh when Robin suggested Avery would be more interested in being involved with him than Keiran.

"She's only just met you. I seriously doubt it." He put in. It wasn't until the words came out of his mouth that he realized he would be returning to teach in the next week. At that point, Keiran wouldn't exactly be around to put in any comments about Robin.

Not that he should, mind. Robin had certainly grown on Keiran, and he could understand why Avery might become interested. Something about not being around to know about it worried him, though.

Robin let out a low chuckle. He was amused by the ferocity at which Keiran pushed him away from the pretty blonde but at the same time he was a bit.. Frustrated? Annoyed? Jealous? No. Not exactly. It was more that by making Avery the single girl in England that was off limits she had become the single girl that he really wanted. It had become a challenge of the best sort and he couldn't resist. "Oh come on" Robin poked. "She would go out with me. Maybe not right now but if I had a little time."

Robin shrugged and sat back a little in his chair. "In fact, I'd put money on it." He swirled the honey colored liquid in his glass and raised his eyebrows at Keiran. Not that he would admit it but there was a certain element of fun when getting Keiran so worked up. It was genuinely fascinating to Robin, who had never seen his friend so much as bat an eyelid when it came to the member of the opposite sex. This was uncharted territory for the best friends and perhaps the younger man was not treating the issue with the respect and tenderness it deserved but, well, he wouldn't be Robin if he had.

"Or do you think you could do better?"

"A little time, mate?" Keiran replied with a light scoff. "Besides, you never actually date. Or I haven't seen it, anyways." He pointed out with a tilt of his head. What about Avery made Robin so interested? It would definitely be a first if the man actually pursued her with any seriousness. Such a thing would actually be rather fascinating, Keiran decided, just to watch.

Keiran practically laughed aloud when Robin asked if he thought he could do better. "Please, mate. I've known her since Uni. If anyone would have a chance, it's me." He shrugged. It shouldn't have felt like a challenge, but it definitely had started to.

"Is this a challenge, Ivanov?" He asked slowly, observing the younger man closely. He looked up and saw blonde hair returning from the loo. "You've five seconds to decide."

Robin's eyes followed Keiran's and realized their time alone was running out. For half a second he considered Keiran's words, pretending like there was some choice in the matter. But his heart knew better - if it was a challenge there was no way he could back down from it. The proposition was too perfectly wonderful for Robin to pass up even if he had doubts. He reached over and tapped his glass against Keiran's . "You're on." he said with a smirk, raising his glass to his lips and taking a deep drink.

The last drops of the golden liqueur fell down his throat and he set the glass back down at the bar with a clunk. He waved at the bartender and pointed to the empty container, clearly requesting a refill. And within another second Avery had arrived back next to him. Robin couldn't help but smile internally when he thought of the challenge that had just been struck between the two friends. He could definitely forgive Keiran for disrupting boys night - this was far more exciting.

Robin smiled at Avery as she sat down but didn't say anything right away. There was no need to overwhelm the girl. After all, they really had just met.

Something about Keiran had changed, Avery noted upon sitting down once more in front of her drink. It was like something in the air had shifted, and yet Robin looked as cool as could be. Now that she thought harder about it, Keiran seemed more the type to get suddenly worked up over things. Thinking back to final exams at Uni, she wasn't even surprised.

She returned Robin's smile as she sat, before peering over Robin's shoulder at her best friend. He, of anyone, knew that Avery was all about body language and what wasn't being said. Right then, Keiran was telling her nearly everything she needed to know. There had been something between to two men, though she could hardly guess what.

Instead of focusing on that, she looked back at Robin, "What are we going to do when our best friend leaves for Hogwarts?" She asked, resting her head on her hand and looking between the two.

The tension radiating from Keiran was tangible in the air. For a man who was normally so suave this was quite the reaction to a little game. Robin pondered what could possibly make Keiran so stressed over Avery. It was amazing, really. But Robin ignored the strangeness coming from his right side to the best of his abilities and returned his focus to the woman on his left when she spoke again. He laughed and shrugged. "No idea. We are just going to have to find ways to entertain ourselves until he comes back." Robin grinned, looking between his two companions.

"Ivanov?" The deep voice of the bartender caught Robin's attention and he looked up from his drink. "You've got a message." He slipped a small folded piece of parchment across the table and walked away before Robin could ask the sender. He unfolded the piece of paper and read the message that was scrawled in delicate cursive.



Robin's smile fell from his lips and he groaned internally. Of all of the times that they could have contacted him it had to be now. The prospect of leaving Avery alone in the hands of Keiran was unappealing but unavoidable and he folded the parchment back up before sticking it in his pocket. "I'm sorry, I've got to go." He said with an apologetic smile to both. "It was a pleasure to meet you Avery." Robin stood and pushed in his chair, taking a final sip of his drink and setting the glass back on the counter. He threw a couple golden galleons down and turned to move away. Before he did however, Robin paused and turned back to where Avery and Keiran sat.

"Would you like to go get lunch sometime? I feel terrible for running out like this and I'd love to get to know you better." He asked, trying not to steal a glance at his best mate.