Like hell he was going to cook. Alec had food catered to their apartment, things that he was assured that people would like. The pickiest eater was his baby sister who was picky by nature, and so he made sure that it was stuff that he wanted and stuff that they would want as well.

He hated to admit that he was nervous. Fucking hell, he barely recognized himself, being jittery about something so stupidly domestic. It was unlike him, but he knew he had his best friend with him. Dorian was reluctant, but being a good bloke that he was he wanted to help him.

Placing the food on the side, clearly showing the caterer, he waited for the others to arrive.

Victoria had arrived early, not wanting to leave Alec in Tess's hands if she had arrived first. She was glad she had, because it was the first time she'd been to Alec's flat. She tried not to be nosy, she really did, but she couldn't help poking her nose around, trying to learn more about him.

First off, it wasn't just his dress style that was classy and cutting edge, it was he whole style in general. And it was clean! She wondered if he had a house elf or a maid or something. She'd never had one herself, so wasn't really sure how she felt about someone else cleaning up after you.

She walked into the dining area and snuck her hand in Alec's while he wasn't looking. She smiled, "I really wish you had let me cook. You didn't have to do all this."

Dorian was curious more than anything about tonight. He chose a simple suit for tonight. If he was meeting someone this special to Alec, he wanted to make a good impression. Letting his hair fall freely, since he wasn't at work, and apparated to the door.

He went to knock, but figured he was expected, and just walked in. Normally he would have just apparated into the flat, but he didn't want to scare the ladies. He smelled food when he walked in. It was strange since he knew Alec didn't cook. Dorian had no idea if he actually could or not, just knew that he didn't.

Walking slowly into the dining area, he leaned on the doorframe. He couldn't help but smile at the way Victoria looked so natural holding Alec's hand. Finally.

Tess took a deep breath trying to calm herself down. She had gotten out of work early, and had taken time to get ready. She knew how the boys were, and not wanting to be under-dressed, she changed into a blue dress and some comfortable pumps; her hair was down and slipped on makeup and a bottle of wine before running out. She knew that with Alec nothing was simple, it was full of flair, that bastard.

Walking towards there, she wanted to take her sweet time, making the awkward dinner wait for her as long as possible. She was uncomfortable, but she knew that she was doing it for Victoria. Walking a block, she sighed and apparated towards the posher part of London and landed in front of his door. Knocking, she saw that it was opened and realized she was the last one to arrive, typical.

" 'ello" she called out walking towards the living space. "I brought some wine"

She didn't look around, she was used to this place having lived here for a year. And she had brought the wine as a peace offering.

Alec smiled as he saw Victoria apparate before anyone was there. He kissed her cheek and saw how lovely she looked in her outfit. He hid a smile as he saw her trying to get as much as her flat in before turning to him once more.

"I would never let you do that" he said smiling "You could be a terrible cook for all I know" he teased her.

Turning around he smiled seeing Dorian and grabbed Victoria's hand before leading her to meet Dorian. He let go and patted Dorian's back happy that he had someone else on his side against Tess.

"Victoria, this bastard here is Dorian my best mate. Dorian this is Victoria"

As he finished introductions, he heard the door open and turned to see his baby sister walking in. He walked over to her and noticed that she had wine in her hands and he smirked knowing what her deal was. So they were going to play civil and be adults for once in their lives, that was good to know.

"Hello luv, come on in everyone's here. You remember Victoria, and that's Dorian you remember him too."

Pushing her towards them he walked off and put the plates on the cherry wood table he had never used in his life. He had used it for...he'd rather not remember at this moment with them around. He knew that he bought it for a reason and he was going to use it for food for once in his life.

Victoria smirked at Alec's comment. "And here I was planning on having you over and cooking a very elaborate meal. With desert." She couldn't help teasing him, smiling coyly. "But I guess I won't."

As Alec introduced her to the newcomer, she couldn't help noticing the similarities. Both men looked like they were more accustomed to chic night clubs and expensive restaurants. Victoria ha felt self conscious on their date, not used to that world. But since then, she had decided that Alec would either like her as she was, or not. So she had worn a simply peasant blouse with a flowing skirt. 

She smiled at Dorian and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, bastard. Thanks for coming. " She silently hoped the man Alec considered his best friend shared his humor.

At Alec's strange introduction of Tess, which she found off since Tess knew both of them, she lifted an eyebrow at him and linked arms with Tess. "Come on, let's bust into that now. May need it." At the last comment she shifted her eyes, indicating the men. She lead her into the kitchen that she had seen, looking for a corkscrew. 

Dorian couldn't help laughing at Victoria's comment. "My pleasure." Deciding to test the waters, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles lightly. It was mostly to bug Alec, but he couldn't help laying on the charm. Alec's tastes seemed to have improved.

He turned to the door when it opened again, not sure how he felt about seeing Tess again. It hadn't been but maybe a year or two since he had seen her at one of their family functions, but she seemed to have changed. She looked more confident, more sure, and it made the corner of Dorian's mouth curl up in a smirk.

He nodded to her when Alec introduced them, but decided to stay out of the way when Victoria moved her towards the kitchen. Turning to Alec, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "So far, so good."

Seeing Dorian, her eyes trailed a bit before being dragged by Victoria. Alec's introduction was just to tease her, to make it all the more obvious of the awkwardness of this whole situation and knowing it bothered her.

Tess smiled despite of herself and she patted Victoria's hand that was tugging her along. Seeing the glasses, she shook her head and opened the bottle, in a bit of a clumsy way, and began to pour into the glasses. Lifting her gaze to look at the men, she turned to look away and back to the drinks.

"No worries Victoria, I promised to behave" she teased softly. "I brought the wine because I needed it."

She sniffed the kitchen casually and she realized that he wasn't trying to just make peace, that bastard was trying to get her to have a good time. That, THAT, she refused to do. She picked up one of the glasses, then another and handed them to the guys before handing one to Victoria, and drank out of one herself.

"Let's get this over with" she whispered to herself.

Alec rolled his eyes at Dorian's actions towards Victoria. Usually, if it was any normal bloke, that bastard would have been on the floor, but it was his best friend and he trusted him and Victoria. Not to mention, that Dorian was attracted blondes, and he wouldn't date betray him.

"Okay, get off of her you bastard" he said rolling his eyes.

He grinned at Tess reaction of the whole thing. He knew that everyone was fine with this except his baby sister, and who was he to not make it a bit more challenging? He knew that she was going to try to behave, for Victoria. Apparently he had never realized how good she was at making Tess do the things she was reluctant to go through. Still, he shared a grin with Dorian and let out a lazy smirk wondering what was going on in Dorian's head as he twitched.

"She's going to snap"

Still the way Tess walked over to hand them the cups, he was surprised at the fact that she was keeping up the civil act. This was going to be an interesting evening.

Victoria laughed and elbowed Tess. She saw that the caterers had finished setting their places, and her stomach grumbled in response to the fabulous smells. "Come on, everyone. Let's eat!"

She took a seat and smiled at the others. This was the most domestic thing she'd done since returning to London, and felt a warm glow at how comfortable she felt. Yes, she was in the house of a man she....was very fond of, for the first time. Yes, she was just meeting said man's best friend. Yes, she could tell that below her best friend's civil demeanor, she really wanted to kill Alec. But she was going to have a good time, damnit!

Taking a sip of her wine, she smiled at Dorian. "So Alec hasn't had a chance to tell me any embarrassing stories about you or anything. What do you do?" She knew her eyes might be shining a little too bright, but she was genuinely happy for the first time in months. She nudged Alec's foot with her own, wanting physical contact, but not wanting to embarrass him in front of the others.

Dorian wasn't sure what made Alec say that. Alec had mentioned he was going to tell Tess about him and Victoria. Apparently it hadn't gone so well, though you couldn't tell by the way Tess was acting. He shrugged, chocking it up to sibling tension.

He followed the girls, and smiled at Tess as she handed him a glass of wine. Something about her, maybe the pent up anger that Alec assumed was there, grasped his attention. She wasn't blushing, but her face looked more alive than a normal persons. As if her emotions were heating her from the inside. Interesting.

When Victoria suggested they eat, he was surprised at how comfortable she was acting around Alec. Normally women acted like animals in heat around him. Showing off and doing anything they could to get his attention. But she acted so...normal. A part of him ached for someone like that.

Brushing those thoughts aside, he smiled, leaning back in his chair. "Well, thank Merlin he hasn't been spreading vicious lies. Though they would, most likely, be true. I'm an Auror, same as Alec. We're actually partners in crime, so to speak."

Tess sat down and began to observe the scene before her. It sickened her how Victoria was glowing. She was bloody glowing and Tess didn't want to be the terrible person who ruined this. She knew that this wasn't Alec, he hated domestics, he hated playing house, and yet there they were doing it for the pleasure of her best friend. It sickened her in a way, how Victoria didn't glow like that without Alec. She was already forcing herself to accept that it wasn't going to be as great as she thought it was going to be. She wasn't going to see Victoria get bored and just walk away from this.Oh no, she feared Alec leaving Victoria and Tess being there to pick up the pieces. He was blunt, and sometimes heartless without meaning too, even she had to admit that.

Tess forced herself not to snort at the comments being made. Victoria wanted a perspective of Alec from Dorian? Yes because a man whore covering for another man whore was what she wanted to hear. Still, she played it civil with a coy smile on her lips and her eyes dim hiding her annoyance as best she could. It was good to know that the only good thing that came from her family was that they were good at faking emotions. She simply sipped her wine, wondering if she should get sloshed to numb this horrible nightmare of hers.

This seemed oddly domestic; and mundane. He hadn't had a real meal since he was a child and those were filled with talk of work, while he listened and took things in and Tess played with her food. From the looks of it not much had changed, as Tess was swirling the wine in her cup lazily faking a small smile. The little tart was a good actress, but he was one too so he knew that she was being tortured.

At Victoria's comfort he rested his arm behind her chair and copied Dorian's relaxed position. She could not hear the stories that Dorian had of him, those were all a little too honest, and there was only so much she could know about his promiscuity.

"Don't listen to a word he says unless it's good" he said chuckling.

Turning to face Victoria he noticed how happy she looked, and he wondered if that was him entirely; probably not, but he figured that he had some input in this situation.

"So..."he said noticing that Victoria was one of the people making conversations. "I never did know how you and Tess met."

It was true, he never really understood how they even came together because of their differences.

Victoria smiled coyly at Dorian's comment. She hummed, thinking of all the things she could ask him about Alec. But if they were as close as they said, she knew she would get even less out of Dorian than if she asked Alec himself. "Sounds exciting."

When Alec inquired about how they met, she looked at Tess, a little surprised. She figured that would have been the first questioned asked in their house when her parents learned that their daughter had befriended a Gryffindor.

"Well, it was actually at a ball our first year. I was completely awkward, since I hadn't made any real friends. And it seemed like there was drama everywhere! We ended up at the same table, talking about how we both felt like outsiders." It almost seemed like yesterday. She remembered the white, simple dress she'd worn. She'd been so happy to find someone that felt the same about all the drama going around in their year.

She smiled at Tess. "There was an attack by...well, I don't really know by who. But I was terrified! I was just learning about this wonderful world, then all this craziness happened. I kind of blacked out or something, and Tess got me to safety." When she had woken up, she'd vowed never to let houses cloud her judgement.

Dorian smiled at Victoria, nodding at her comment. Exciting...yeah. That was one way to put it. Most Aurors got paired at random, if at all. While they seemed to put up with the people they worked with, this wasn't exactly a job that bred trust. Him and Alec though, they'd gone into it together, right out of school.

To say he was surprised at the story of how the girls met would be an understatement. Usually attacks showed people their true colors. The fact that Tess pulled someone she had just met to safety, a Gryffindor no less, was...admirable. Most Slytherins only look after their own.

He looked at Tess. On the surface, she seemed content at their small gathering, smiling lightly. But he could see hints of emotions sliding across her face. Dorian raised his eyebrow, curious.

Tess looked down and flushed remembering how they met. It was as if it was yesterday; she was minding her own business, her roommates weren't the kindest people in the world and she had run out only using the room to sleep. They were all aggressive, too much of Slytherins and had isolated her as they clicked. The Ball was a place for her to meet others, and sat tentatively in front of the girl and let out a shy smile. That girl turned out to be Victoria who was new as well, and someone who she managed to talk to and not stutter. The calmness of the ball had immediately ended as they were attacked, she remembered that her first instinct was to run, but she saw Victoria was in shock, and instincts kicked in as a child, perhaps who her parents were or something but she'd done it. It was out of character but it was her first step towards being outgoing.

When she had told her parents, they said it was nice and went on talking about Alec's Quidditch game. She never got to tell anyone more than what they allowed her to talk. It was always about him, that's why she loved Hogwarts; it allowed her to speak. And gave her someone who was actually interested in whatever she had to say even if it was stupid or naive.

"It was the first time I felt brave" she commented a bit breathless.

Letting out a smile, she sighed and knew that she was softening up. Damn that question; it reminded her how lucky she was to have a best friend like Victoria. And while she'd rather face another attack than be here, she knew she had to be civil.

"She was my first friend at Hogwarts."

She noticed Dorian was looking her direction and she looked at him. He looked surprised and she knew it seemed out of character for her to be the one to lead, so she let out a slow smirk and sipped her drink calmly. He didn't know her; just like Alec. She wasn't the young meek girl she once was, there was some bravery in there, it just took some time.

Alec had asked the question in hopes of changing Tess' quietness. But he had never expected to hear exactly how they had met. He always figured it had been something mundane like meeting at a train compartment and chatting it up, not the attack. He remembered the attack vaguely, he was snogging some girl in her dorm while it had occurred, but he felt a bit of guilt realizing he never thought about his sister.

"I never knew it was like that" he commented after the story was told.

Tess' response to the story, that was what was most surprising. She was eleven and she had taken over and saved someone, it was definitely not like her, but it seemed that the loyalty was there, clearly enough as the girls were still friends.

"Dorian and I just met because I hated my roommates" he chuckled "As did he. Nothing special other than we complained and pranked them until they knew who was in charge."

Victoria looked over at Tess. She could see the memories flashing before her eyes. Yes, they'd found best friends during that attack, but it wasn't that beneficial for everyone. People were hurt. And for first years, it was terrifying. She smiled softly, taking her hand when she mentioned she had felt brave for the first time. It was one of the things she loved about Tess. Even though she had been placed in Slytherin, she had many Gryffindor traits as well.

She was surprised at the reactions the men had to the story. That is, until Alec explained how they'd met. Victoria imagined that it was similar to what would have happened to her and Tess if the attack hadn't happened. Maybe with less pranking....Maybe not.

Happy that Tess was talking now, she turned to her. Victoria hadn't had time to visit in the last few weeks, getting settled in at her new job. "So how are things? How's the job?"

Dorian's eyes widened. He couldn't count the number of times he'd heard Alec go off on Tess's choice of career. Maybe it was because he was an only child, but he never understood Alec's interference in Tess's life. So when Victoria asked about her job, he could feel the air thicken with tension.

His phone rang. Saved by the bell. He gave the others a small smile, asking for indulgence, and moved into the sitting area. After a quick talk, he returned, looking pointedly at Alec. "Sorry to cut this short, but we have to go." He couldn't really say why, but knew that Alec would understand. They'd been working on one case in particular, and their boss had just called with an assignment.

Turning to Victoria, he smiled. "It was wonderful to meet you, and I hope Alec doesn't fuck up, so we can hang out again." He looked at Tess, a twinkle in his eye. "Until next time." And he walked out the front door, to give Alec time to say goodbye.

Tess was surprised at how Victoria would have the gall to actually ask her about her job in front of Alec. He wasn't exactly the most supportive person in the world, and his lack of belief was always a reason behind their differences. She looked down at her glass and swirled the liquid trying to phrase it appropriately.

"I-"

Before she could even start to explain it, they were interrupted by Dorian and Alec's work. She sighed in relief and leaned back on her chair placing the glass down on the table calmly. She was surprised by Dorian's goodbye and the look he gave her would make the old her flush out of reflex. She merely raised her brow and hid a smile as she waved towards the pair.

"Bye Dorian...Alec" she said nodding towards him.

Alec had gripped his glass a bit tighter at Victoria's question towards Tess. He didn't want to remind Tess exactly why they were at odds, but that was one of the factors. He bit back his tongue, knowing that if he hurt one, the other would be hurt as well.

He thanked Merlin as they were interrupted. Seeing Dorian's departure he rolled his eyes at his comment and simply got up and leaned down to kiss Victoria on the lips.

"Sorry but this case calls" he murmured and kissed her forehead.

Walking to Tess he kissed her cheek out of reflex knowing that's how they would depart in family dinners.

"I know you can show yourselves out, take some food with you and I hope you can forgive me but my job calls." he said smiling. "I'll floo you Vic"