I'll Be Seeing You {RadioDust}

Chapter 20

~Happy birthday, Eighttale!~
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Wednesday, February 9th, 1921
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As they approached their destination, Anthony looked around. There was still noise coming from the main stretch of the city but it was faint. He looked to his watch quickly, seeing that it was just past midnight, which meant it was now the ninth.
Taking a breath, the Italian looked up at Alastor and then approached a fine-looking tree for them to drink in, jumping up to grab the lowest branch and pull himself up.

"Alright."
He sighed as he got comfortable on the branch, pulling the bottle out of his coat pocket with a bit of a smile.

When it came to climbing trees, Alastor would say that those days were long behind him. However, as he watched Anthony easily jump up there, Alastor quickly followed after, not having to reach up very much to grab the branch before he pulled himself up too.
As he climbed though, he almost wished he could simply snap his fingers to appear effortlessly upon the branch instead of foolishly climbing.

Pulling his cigarette box out of his pocket and placing it to the side so he could sit properly, Alastor too got comfortable against the trunk of the tree, one foot on the branch beneath him, the other hanging down.

"Okay, show off."
Anthony muttered with a roll of his eyes and a small smirk, moving up a branch as well so they could be more or less level. Once comfortable again, he removed the cork from the neck of the bottle with a hum, passing it over to the other man.
"Here, you take the first sip. Make sure y' like it."

Alastor laughed a little at that, taking the bottle with a nod and looking over the label it had on it with a hum of satisfaction.
"Oh, I'm sure I'll like it regardless of what it is."
He smiled, taking a swig of the whiskey, eyes squinting a little as he swallowed.
It had been a while since he'd had any alcohol to drink, so it tasted stronger than usual to him, but was still nice.

Passing the bottle back across to the blonde, Alastor sat up a little.
"We should toast."
He began.
"To the death of Lawrence Batallier. May his downfall bring joy to us all... and since I do believe the time is appropriate, given the height of the moon, a happy eighteenth birthday to both you and your sister, Anthony."

Anthony reached for the bottle but stopped with his hand around the neck, looking at the butcher.
"Tsh, was hopin' y' wouldn't remember... but thanks."
He sighed as he took the bottle and took his first sip, let out a small cough as the burn hit his throat.
"Christ-"

Alastor couldn't help but smile a little more at Anthony's reaction. Of course he would, Anthony had remembered his after all.
"Well, you remembered mine, and yours is important too."
He watched as Anthony took a sip of the drink, chuckling a little at his reaction.
"It is quite strong, isn't it."

The blonde nodded a bit but took another swig before passing it back.
"Can see why my dad likes it so much."
He stated.
"But if we're toastin' t' things, I wanna make one for you. I couldn't have done half this stuff without ya and your company through it all was great."
He added with a small smile before looking up further into the tree, seeing the moon shining through the leaves.
"There's a lot I should thank ya for."

Alastor nodded at Anthony's toast to him as he took another sip, really feeling the burn that time around.
"Well Anthony, there's a great deal I should thank you for as well. Whether you knew it or not, I have thoroughly enjoyed having you around. Every second of it."

"Don't go as far as sayin' every second."
Anthony sighed, looking away as he remembered his mistake. He was certain the man didn't quite enjoy those few seconds of his company; not that it was going to matter. They moved past it and everything was coming to an end, so everything of the last few weeks would eventually be forgotten by both parties.