𝕍𝕠𝕝𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕤 | Lyney x Reader

5

"Goodness Y/n, are you alright?" Bastien asked earnestly once he reached your and Lyney's table, "I came by your workshop today, but it was closed. I asked one of your neighbors about it, and they said it sounded like some kind of commotion took place last night, so I was worried about you!" He paused when he noticed Lyney sitting across from you, his smile faltering slightly, as if the mere sight of you two near one another made him sad.

"I'm sorry," he said once he pulled himself out of the slight surprise, "Who is this?" He was looking right into the magician's purple eyes with an expression you couldn't quite place, but you knew he was really asking you. Lyney opened his mouth to speak, but not trusting him not to ruin one of your few positive client relationships, you cut in.

"This is Lyney," you said before he could, "He's just an old friend of mine. And no need to worry, Bastien, I'm just fine. I was...Dealing with some particularly frustrating orders last night and I guess the noise of me working on it must have gotten out of hand. that's all." Lyney quirked an eyebrow at the fact that you didn't seem to be planning to tell the brown haired man the truth, but didn't comment on it, thankfully. Bast was still staring at him awkwardly so you changed the topic as fast as you could.

"On another note, though," you said, making his brown eyes finally turn back to you, "Your recent orders might be...Delayed for a while. A big influx of paid orders recently came in, so I need to prioritize those." You'd almost considered telling him the truth about his stolen engines for a second, but then you realized you'd have to provide some kind of explanation on how they got taken. So, this was easier in the meantime.

Luckily, it seemed like Bastien went back to normal now; his regular warm smile returning to his face.

"Oh, I understand!" he replied with a dismissive wave of his hand, "Don't worry about it; I don't need that new order soon, anyway. And, who knows? Maybe by the time you're able to work on them, I'll finally be able to pay you for them on the spot!"

"And for you other order too, I hope." You added as you crossed your arms. Though, you didn't exactly want him rushing to get the money for that either, considering they  had been stolen...

"Of course!" Bast replied with a chuckle before seemingly remembering something now, "But anyway, the original reason I came by your workshop was actually to give you this." With that, he reached into his bag and pulled out a small envelope, handing it to you. You raised an eyebrow at the sight before he added, "You can open it now, if you'd like."

And not knowing how else to get him to go away so you and Lyney could continue your investigation, you obliged; tearing it open and bringing out a card decorated with fancy gold lettering.

'Dearest Y/n,' it read, 'You are cordially invited to the Norbert family's annual Masquerade Party, which celebrates the birthdate of our oldest son, Bastien. Bastien would be more than thrilled if you could attend; but there is no need to RSVP. Your presence is all we require on this monumental day.'

You held your face back from cringing at the exaggerated grandness of the invitation, glancing up at Bast once you'd read it over.

"It's an invitation to my birthday Masquerade Party," he explained eagerly, "It'll be in a couple of weeks but I wanted to invite you as soon as possible so you could be sure to attend."

"Thanks..." You replied unenthusiastically, though the brown haired man didn't seem to notice as he gave you a closed-eyed smile in return.

"Of course!" He replied happily, "We Norbert's don't often host events anymore, so whenever we do, I want to invite you to attend as a way of saying thank you for how generous you've been towards me." He glanced at Lyney now, his smile dying slightly at the realization that he was still here. It was immediately replaced with a fake front of friendliness, though, as he spoke back up.