The Pub Is Closed

[Clara Schwarz]

Walking through the streets of Berlin with her head held high, Clara plastered an all-knowing smirk on her beautiful face. Filthy muggles, didn't know what she was capable of. She could've killed a bunch of them in an instant. After all, she'd just ended her sister's life - filthy blood-traitor that she was.

Still, it wouldn't be fun. Nothing seemed much fun anymore, not even slowly destroying her sister's life, along with the life of her filthy muggle husband.

Nothing seemed much fun without Joseph around, as humiliating as that was to admit. She missed him. The great pureblood arse, Joseph? Clara almost shuddered. She was crazy enough as it was. She didn't have to add the humiliation of being crazy about Joseph on top of that.

Sighing, Clara stepped in to a sidestreet. There was a nice magical bar there. And at 30am, it was bound to be open. She needed a drink. Or five.

Ordering a wine - she had to start off simply - Clara slumped in to a comfortable chair towards the back, resting her feet. The black high heels were gorgeous, but God, they hurt. Throwing back her drink, Clara rested a palm against her forehead. There was nothing she could do about the Joseph thing, as much as she would've loved to pretend she wasn't a fool for him. She may have been a decent actress, but not even she could hide something so terribly obvious.

 

[Joseph Adler]

He'd had a long and tiring day of trawling through family history in an attempt to wipe out those who had been traitors. The first person he had spent the day attempting to remove from the Adler family history, was Ruth, his darling elder sister who had played the game to his advantage and landed him with the role of Patriarch. Perhaps this was why it had taken him so long to carefully unweave her part of the family, what with her embracing muggles and filth in general. It was not his job to care about her, anymore. It was his job to protect the family line and to continue the purity of it.

And that was where the problems began.

Joseph turned up at the bar at a very odd hour. He knew it would be open, that is was a wizarding bar and that it was a place he could relax with the murmur of talk. Unfortunately, Joseph soon discovered that this was not the case as he ordered himself a pint of firewhisky. He was wasted no time on silly little drinks. He was there for a reason. As he looked for a vacant seat (and there were a few) his eyes fixed upon one woman. "Oh for crying out loud.." he breathed to himself, approaching the table before he could think otherwise. He made the point to sneer at the witch "I thought it was you; no-one other than you could look so alike a hag. Heck, I think you're even giving the hags themselves a run for their money." He sat down with Clara, gulping a mouthful of his drink.

He had thought about her for a long time. He had fought his mind for control over the situation, but he knew the score, he knew what had happened, regardless of his closeness to her brother for all those years. Clara was the only person who made his lonely life worth living, and he resented her for it.

 

[Clara Schwarz]

Clara looked up from her second wine in to the eyes of the very man she'd just been thinking about. "Urgh," Clara spat, trying to ignore the fluttering feeling in her stomach when she looked at him. She was sure it wasn't fooling anyone, but she liked to keep up the pretense.

Besides, it was more fun this way. Thrilling, even. Because on one hand, she couldn't stand the sight of him, but on the other hand, she couldn't imagine being without him. It was terribly degrading and humiliating, and frankly, she kind of liked it.

Not that that was polite to admit or anything. Then again, it wasn't polite to admit that you were sadistic and very much in to torture.

Honestly, Clara didn't have very good dinner party conversation.

"A hag, Joseph? You must have a thing for dark and ugly," she whispered, tossing her hair back as she turned towards him with a large, fake smile. Sliding a hand on to his thigh, Clara leaned in close to him, her lips almost touching his ear. "A long time, no see, liebe," she murmured, placing heavy sarcasm on the last word. "How have you been?" she asked, in mock politeness, sliding her hand that bit further up his thigh.

Perhaps it was best to mention that this wasn't her first alcoholic stop of the night.

 

[Joseph Adler]

Joseph noticed Clara's hand on his thigh. He tried to ignore it, which worked at first, though it forced him not to look her in the eyes. Eye contact would be acknowledging that it was happening. Her hand moved and Joseph flinched, slightly. He took hold of her wrist and held it away from thigh, finally looking her in the eyes. "Busy," he replied, "it's not easy being in charge of a family bloodline, keeping it pure." He held eye contact a second too long, and he knew it, releasing her wrist and taking another swig of his drink.

"And what of you," he returned the pleasantry, "have you been keeping yourself out of trouble?" This was Clara he was talking to, someone who thrived from causing trouble. That was probably why he liked her. He more than liked her. This got him thinking. Joseph didn't generally enjoy thinking of such things, and this subject was most troubling.

He injected his thoughts casually into his words. "I presume you've found yourself a man stupid enough to care for and marry you?" He took another large gulp if his drink. He didn't want that to be the truth. He hoped it wasn't, but he had to check. He had to because of where his life needed to head, his duties, and most importantly, the feelings he would rather die than reveal.

 

[Clara Schwarz]

She knew she was getting a rise out of Joseph, and she loved it. Clara was surprisingly patient. She killed slowly, she teased slowly. Smirking, Clara dropped her hand and looked aside, innocently. "I know what you mean," she agreed. After all, she'd just murdered her sister, the blood traitor. The purebloods were dying out, and nobody seemed to care anymore. Even Mark liked a girl who was far below him in terms of blood status. Of course, even heartless, callous Clara couldn't do anything about that. Mark was the only family member she had who she could stand, after all. Even she couldn't ever bring herself to kill him.

Maybe she was too soft. She certainly thought that when it came to Joseph, after all.

"Oh, but of course," she replied, innocently. "I may have caused a little trouble here or there, but I have been ever so good and not gotten myself caught." Laughing to herself, she looked back at Joseph attempting to appear nonchalant and innocent, but most likely failing at that. Mein Gott, she thought to herself, biting her lip. Why does he do this to me? Always has, always will most likely. Such a bastard, can't stand him, can't stand not having him.

Clara gave a soft chuckle at his next question. Such an odd thing to ask. "Me? Of course not," she replied casually, trying not to jump up and declare that she was madly in love with him and would accept no other man. "Though I presume that there are wedding bells in your future?" Clara added quietly, silently begging for that to not be true.

 

[Joseph Adler]

Joseph was glad to hear that maritally, Clara was still single. When the question was aimed back at him, Joseph almost immediately replied with a negative answer, however, something inside of him, made him say otherwise. "Well, as a matter of fact," he said casually, improvising his every word, "there is someone who has caught my eye in such a way.. Perhaps it's finally time to settle down." Clara had wound him up, in the past, so maybe it was time for revenge. Although, it wasn't exactly a lie.

Joseph had thought about 'what if' on and off for many years of his life. The past few years had consisted of 'what if he and Clara ever became more than whatever it was they were for the time being'. It had started as something laughable, but as the years had progressed and Joseph had aged, he had begun to realise that if he was to do his duty by his family heritage, he would need to get a move on and find a wife, and extend the family line.

There was only one woman Joseph had been interested in, and she was probably only one he felt he stood no chance with. For starters, there was the matter of her brother. Would he allow such a thing? His best mate and his little sister becoming an item? And then, of course, there was Clara herself. Joseph and her had history, but did that really mean anything? After all, history was over and done with.

Joseph couldn't believe he was even thinking about such matters, especially while in the company of the person he was thinking of. He downed every last drop of his drink, looking to Clara. "Yes," he said more to himself than to her, a great grin etching upon his face as though he was intending to get under her skin, "she's definitely the right choice."

 

[Clara Schwarz]

"...oh."

She couldn't even say anything witty back. Just 'oh', and signalling for more wine, more wine that she hastily gulped down. Yeah, she wasn't hiding anything. She assumed the only way she could make it more obvious was to come out and say something, but she wasn't going to do that. Though, she had drunk almost enough to make her do something so incredibly stupid like that...

...no.

"I...I..." she began, stammering. If she was more sober, her wit would have been much faster, but she was pretty much at the point where her mind was totally addled, this new information was not helping her. "I hope that she could stand to put up with you," she half-slurred. "There likely aren't many girls who could..." she sniffed.

Oh God, this was just getting humiliating. And the way he stared at her with that stupid grin of his...

"Though have you actually asked her? If she had any brain function at all, she'd say no."

 

[Joseph Adler]

Joseph wasn't sure if he was taking this too far- but then he remembered the time she had claimed to be pregnant with his child, just to wind him up, and he had ended up having to meet and talk with Mark about the subject, trying to sort out some kind of arrangement. No, this was how Joseph and Clara worked, they wound each other up to the very brink of insanity.

"Well," Joseph admitted, "no, I haven't outright asked her.. Yet, but I plan to do it tonight." He almost wanted to leave that instant. He had just made the plan, out loud and obvious. Please don't let her see through my words, Joseph thought in a panicky way. But he did now plan to propose. He was going to propose. Tonight. To the woman he hated the most in the world.

How was he going to do this? How could he be subtle when they'd both had a bit to drink, when was continuously looking at her like he was starving? Perhaps, in her more intoxicated state, she wouldn't be quite as observant, quite so sharp and picking up his ever slight twitch. "I thought I would start off by saying something along the lines of: 'You look beautiful, tonight. Not at all hag-like as some people do.'" He smiled at Clara in a smug sort of way, pausing to order in another firewhisky which he supped at between sentences. "And maybe tell her that.." Joseph looked around for inspiration before suddenly ducking his head under the table. He popped up a second later. "Maybe tell her that she has nice shoes, though maybe she should just attach razors to the the heels and kick me where it hurts before I make a complete fool of myself." He, too, was gradually becoming intoxicated as the alcohol hit his brain.

 

[Clara Schwarz]

"If you plan on asking her tonight," Clara stated, attempting to keep her voice calm, "...then what are you doing here, of all places?" Throwing back the rest of her wine, Clara was entirely sure she didn't want to hear any more from Joseph. She was certainly just going to get her heart broken. Of course, there was a part of her that hoped that he was just referring to her in a roundabout way, but at the same time, she had little hope. Joseph had always been too good for her, and she knew he hated her.

It was such a pity, really.

"Who knew you could be charming sometimes, Joseph," Clara whispered, looking down at her hands. She was making a complete and utter fool of herself, she knew, and there was something telling her she ought to just go home and curl up in bed with her childhood dolls and accept the fact that she was destined to be alone for the rest of her life.

That was a rather weak way of thinking about it, and it appalled her, but she felt rather hopeless, especially as the alcohol hit her brain.

"Tell her, then," she muttered, trying her hardest not to pout. "You should leave a poor lonely woman alone then..." she spat, bitterly. "I mean, it's not like I wish I was her or anything," she blurted, before hastily slapping her hands over her mouth. No, no, she didn't mean that, she hated Joseph after all, couldn't stand the idea of being married to him.

Right?

"...please, tell me I didn't say that out loud."

 

[Joseph Adler]

Joseph watched as Clara went for troubled, to downright admittance. She had said it. The thing he had wondered for so long. It was like a confirmation, a heads up, a hint at going forth with what he was going to say. It was the rest of his life, decided in the space of a few minutes, influenced highly by alcohol.

"I thought I would say to her," he continued, trying to pretend she hadn't said as she had, "something like.. Like the fact that we've known each other for many, terrible years, each of which you have slowly become more hag-like. We've frequently teased and tortured one-another and I hate you more than I have ever hated anyone," Joseph paused to finish his drink. If he hadn't been somewhat intoxicated, he wouldn't have had the nerve to go through with all of this, to say what he soon would.

"You are the most cruel and sadistic woman that I have ever met, and that is precisely why," he reached out to take Clara by the hand, to look into her eyes, swallowing any pride he had left. "Clara Schwarz, I want you to be my wife."

 

[Clara Schwarz]

Humiliating. Clara had just about had enough of all this, was about to throw her wine in Joseph's face and leave dramatically...

...and then he continued talking.

Realization slowly dawned on her face, and now she felt more idiotic than ever, but at the same time, unfathomably happy. The love-hate (well, mostly hate) relationship that Clara and Joseph had was strange and a little incomprehensible, but at the same time, she wouldn't have been nearly as happy without it.

"Joseph, I..." she started, trying to put her thoughts in to words, which was an incredibly difficult task. She'd never been the best at words, choosing to act rather than think or talk. Probably why Mark was always seen as the more intelligent one, whereas Clara was more cunning and devious. But at least there was one word she knew she wanted to say, in this instance.

"You're a hideous fool and I detest you more than anyone else in the world, Joseph. Of course I'll marry you."