Fletch wanted nothing more than to lean back against the balustrade and drop the act. Instead, he remained at a respectable distance, hands clasped behind his back again. He made certain to stand in such a way that no one indoors could see what he said or how he looked when he said it, though. "Wish you'd let me know in advance. I'd have brought some rope for you. Might seem suspicious carrying the missus' bedsheets through the party." Fletch frowned at the question. "I always have it, Theo. You know that. Why — need something stronger? Because it's punch. It'll already knock the tits off a cow."

His eye darted between the drink and Theo. His frown deepened. "We shouldn't stay out here for too long. Appearances and all. But...you're not okay, are you? It came back to you in the carriage."

He startled at Fletcher's presence, having been wrapped too deep in his own worried thoughts. "Sorry," Theo murmured softly while scooping up the glass and staring down into it.

"I just couldn't take another minute inside. Been contemplating if I could miraculously climb over the balcony to the next and the next until I found a quiet room to hide in." He snorted and shook his head, swirling the drink some before lowering his voice. "Did you bring your flask by any chance tonight?"

Fletcher hit the end of a laundry list of unique and silent ways to convey his unhappiness, and still he couldn't find Theo. He'd passed the girl at least two times, now. As he walked by her yet again, he started at the top with a low, irritated noise grating up his throat. He supposed it was a good thing he knew where she was. If he couldn't find either of them, he'd know there was trouble. Didn't change the fact that he hated the sight of her, though.

Finally, by sheer chance, he caught a glimpse of Theo out on a balcony. "That's not a chair," he muttered as he stepped out into the chill with the man's drink. He set it on the balustrade and promptly wrapped his arms around himself, shivering in the cold. "Bottoms up. 'S fucking freezing out here. Still better than putting up with them, though."

Theo bobbed his head in agreement. His gaze however lingered on the retreating man, taking in the strength but also the tension of his form. Fletcher was miserable, and likely more so than Theo himself. 

As he drifted through the room and eventually out onto a balcony rather than a chair as he had been instructed, Theo began to question once more what they were doing. His life was not Fletcher's. Would the other man accept the social finery and political dancing that came so often with comfort? Would he be able to stand balls like this? Or the questions that came with Theo being a perpetual bachelor? Would he want to be open one day when the Baron and Baroness were long gone? Would he want to forever remain a secret?

There were so many questions to be answered and they were nowhere near a place to be asking them yet in their relationship. Theo slumped in the shadow of the balcony corner and stared forlornly down below. How was he to balance all this? How could he best support the man he loved without crushing his spirit or driving him further away? He had never done this all before and he so earnestly wanted to get it all right. Fletcher deserved right. The way he spoke of the past, hinted at how things had been, or openly shared his scars, it all spoke to Theodore of a man that needed kindness and warmth and gentleness. Patience, Theo had in spades but how did he both protect and nurture a man in their current environment? How did he allow him to blossom while also dragging him down into the muck with him?

They needed to talk. They really, really needed to talk and soon. 

Fletch snorted at the thought. He'd never seen Theo truly drunk. The closest the man had gotten — that he knew of, anyway — was on that awful wine he'd dug out from beneath the floorboards. And while this was hardly the venue to test him when, Fletch would never turn someone down for needing to drink their misery away. "A man can dream," he replied.

He stood there rigidly, scanning the room as he spoke, before his eye finally rested back on Theo. His ire calmed, his expression was now carefully controlled, though his clenched jaw gave away just how much he hated this, too. "Why don't you go and find yourself a seat, sir?" he suggested. "I'll find you a stiff one and be back shortly."

He nodded his curt guardsman's nod, still hoping that Theo would see past the act just as he tried to see past Theo's. Then, as if afraid to linger there, he marched off in search of wherever these horrid people kept their refreshments table.

Poor Lin looked heartbroken when it seemed that Goblinda didn't recognize her. She seemed to have forgotten everything. 

Morthil could tell that Lin probably needed comfort. He was beginning to make his way over to Lin when he was snatched off the ground and found himself in the goblins arms again. 
"Listen this isn't necess—" his sentence was cut off because Goblinda was holding him quite tightly.
His ears laid back, he gave Goblinda the most exasperated side eye he could.
"I am most certainly not hers! I am my own man....cat....thats besides the point!" 
Then he remembered that she's probably been through a lot worse. She was close to death. She was the reason he was alive. 
"Do you...remember anything? The village...the goblins...you actually rescued me," Morthil explained, gratefulness in his voice. Maybe telling her what had happened would help jog her memory. 
"And then your friend Lin nursed us back to health. You were close to death."
Morthil looked at Lin. 
"Do you know if anything was left of my village?"

He snorted softly. "Not worth muddying your hands," he replied back through his teeth. The blush returned though at the reminder of mistletoe and Theo avoided Fletcher's eyes hoping to avoid explaining that one.

A drink though, it was foolish but it sounded like an excellent excuse to escape this show. "A big one. Maybe if I get stupid and drunk I can go home." Theo nodded with a deep sigh. "Yes please."

Fletch barely followed their conversation. He didn't want to pay attention to it at all, mind, but he thought Theo was worth keeping a closer eye on. The man wasn't in a good state, and Fletch would no doubt be adding to his misery here and there as he kept up the act.

"I'll drag you into your own grave, woman," he muttered beneath his breath as the girl made her retreat to burden some other poor sod with her grating presence. He turned to Theo, his irritation lingering. "The bloody hell is missile-toe? Sounds awful. Erm. You look like hell. Do you need a drink? I can find you one."

He took one, deep, fortifying breath and then plastered on his fake smile and gave Fletcher a nod. "Of course, Mr. Daw. How silly of me to be so nervous. I've seen my fiancé countless times now. No difference between home and work so many watching eyes. Thank you, I'm good now."

Theo gave another smaller headbob of a more genuine nature while meeting the other man's eyes before straightening himself and beginning to escort his mother inside. The noble mask fell back into place but there was a crack in it. His eyes no longer looked as enthused to the point that when Edwina joined them she asked after him, pressing her palm to his forehead to check his temperature. Theo gently drew her hand back down and away and released it.

"I am well, I assure you, Lady Obower. You need not worry for me and might I say your dress is lovely. Red is such a classic color for this time of year."

The woman twittered and giggled, doing her best to cling to him and never being allowed to touch for too long as Theo repeatedly maneuvered her into more polite positions and touches.

"Is Mr. Truckett here tonight?"

"I'm afraid not. After the incident at our last ball it was deemed best to have only experienced guards on staff tonight."

"Oh," she replied, trying to cover up her disappointment before smiling brightly and once more attempting to cling to his upper arm. "We'll have to find some mistletoe tonight. Although I don't think I've seen any in Lady Fjene's decorations. How gauche of her."

"Perhaps for the best. Can you imagine the number of couples taking advantage of it and so early in the season?"

"Oh yes! Best to keep the anticipation up!" Edwina eyed Fletcher up and down with a large grin. "Do you have someone to drag under the mistletoe this year, Jack?"

"—Mr. Daw is from the north. I'm not sure they do that where he's from," Theo quickly interjected blushing deeply at the thought. "Oh is that Lady Diene and Lady Gergene over that? Would you like a moment to talk to your friends dear?"

Edwina squealed and bounded off without being told twice, giving the two men a blessed moment of peace. "Is this ball almost over?" Theo asked exhausted, knowing it had barely even begun.

Clover didn't know how he was expecting her to respond to his comments or questions with only one free hand, not to mention the fact that he either misunderstood or seemingly ignored her signing most of the time. As such, she didn't bother trying to communicate much to him on their way over, instead keeping her eyes trained on the path ahead.

She yelped a bit when she was dropped into the chair without any warning- the first time she'd vocalized anything since having the fortune (or misfortune) of meeting Jin. Of course, the moment he turned his back on her she immediately tried to push herself back out of it, only to find herself lacking the strength and slumping back into it. Apparently she'd been running mostly on adrenaline for the past few minutes, and now there wasn't much she could do other than rest and try to recover her energy- which made it quite convenient that Jin was now offering her a plate of food.

As ridiculous as the situation he'd put her in was, maybe it would actually help for her to eat something and gain some of her strength back, so after taking one of the buns and peering suspiciously over it at Jin for a brief moment, she finally took a small bite. And... it was good. Really good. Her eyes immediately lit up with surprise and delight, and in no time she found herself taking bite after bite. Maybe she was just that hungry, or maybe the bun was just that good, but whatever the reason, she devoured the whole thing in seconds and wasted no time reaching for another. It was almost enough to make her forget why they were here in the first place! Almost.