Rayven was coming down to London for the weekend of his birthday, prior to heading back to Hogwarts. Walton was excited, and he knew he wanted the chance to go out and have some fun. He also knew that he wanted to go out with more than just himself and Rayven- because he didn't know her well and one-on-one dates could be awkward. So he'd taken it upon himself to figure out a plan for New Year's Day. A double date. He and Rayven and Sasha and Abby. Sasha just didn't know it yet.

So he'd taken to the nearest public floo at Cambridge and gathered Sasha up from the Trishna's home to take him shopping. Walton knew Sasha well enough to understand he probably didn't have the appropriate attire for a fun night. Custom tailored suits and slacks were likely the entirety of Sasha's wardrobe. And he wanted to make sure Schlagenweit didn't stick out like a sore thumb when they were in London for the date (that Sasha knew nothing about, yet).

Walton had made it out like it was just two guys hanging out. That he'd been bored at home. And as he dragged Sasha into your standard clothing store, taking him over to the men's section, he looked at his friend to size him up. "Tell me, Sasha, have you ever actually tried on anything denim?" Walton asked. "Cause I'm telling you, jeans are a guy's best friend. Easy to wear, comfortable, and always in style."

The invitation to 'hang out' had been a surprise - but a welcome surprise.  When they'd ventured out into Cambridge, Sasha had been dressed in his standard, predictable, 'casual' attire: pressed slacks, a simple dress shirt and a simple sports blazer.  Well tailored and fitting, stylish and ... definitely not jeans and a t-shirt. 

Assuming the brief, post-lunch diversion into the small department store was for Walt's benefit, Sasha trailed along behind the Gryffindor.  It wasn't until the fellow turned towards him and started sizing him up that Sasha started to question that assumption. 

"What?  Why?"  Sasha asked, glancing around at the racks of clothes around them.  He glanced down at his own outfit, lifting a leg slightly to consider the perfect crease ironed into each leg of his slacks.  "I - not really.  I have a couple pair of corduroys for barn work.  That's close.  And tights.  Leggings - jodphurs and such.  Sort of." 

Sasha's looked back up.  "You don't need to explain why you're buying jeans," he offered.  Did Walt really think that Sasha would judge him for buying jeans?  Denim was rather generic but not bad per se. 

"Listen, Schlagenweit, you can't wear lederhosen out around London or Cambridge and fit in. It doesn't work that way. And we aren't looking for jeans for me, we are looking for jeans for you."

"It's my birthday in a few days," he said to Sasha. "I'm turning eighteen. So I was gong to go out to a movie and to the arcade and stuff. I invited Rayven Sorin- a Hufflepuff girl in your year- to come out for my birthday. But, you know, I thought it might be fun if a group of us went out instead. And since you seemed to be having such a good time at the Yule Ball with Abby..."

Walt trailed off, grinning a little. "I thought maybe I could talk you into coming with us, and bringing Abby along. Like a double date, I guess? But, I mean, we don't have to call it that if it makes you guys uncomfortable. I don't really know how close you and her are... But you looked pretty cozy at the Yule Ball."

"So I figured I'd get you date ready before the date so you'd be more comfortable and fit in better. Besides, jeans are great for lounging around the common room, too, and weekends. More comfortable and less..." he looked Sasha up and down, focusing on the trousers he was wearing. "Well, less stuffy I guess. You look like a rich prick, Sasha. And you're not a prick. Loosen up a little. Live a little!"

Sasha blinked and looked over at Walt.  "Have you ever seen me wear Lederhosen?" Sasha asked, his usually muted German accent thickening considerably around the familiar word.  It was, of course, a rhetorical question.  No one at Hogwarts had seen him wear Lederhosen and you could be certain Sasha planned on keeping it that way.  Any Lederhosen or knee socks he owned had never touched British soil.  He could only imagine the nicknames Georgiana would come up with if she discovered them.

Or, any of the pictures. 

"I'm buying jeans?"  Sasha looked up at the wall of jean-filled cubbyholes.  "Here?  But-" 

Sasha turned back towards the Gryffindor as the other young man elaborated on the reasons for this shopping excursion.  He grinned but turned back quickly towards the jeans when Walt mentioned Abby.  "So, I need jeans to go to the movies with friends?  You know, there's no actual dress code for theaters, right?" 

But, no.  That wasn't what Walt meant.  He meant a double date - something like an actual date.  "I'm not really sure," Sasha admitted, his uncertainty quite obvious.  "I mean, I'm sure Abby would want to go - and, it might be a date?"  Though there may be a few who disapproved of the idea.  "It's a bit complicated and she's wanting ... we're going to that winter opera as a date.  I ... maybe?  I don't know if it would make her uncomfortable?"  He really wished and hoped she wouldn't be uncomfortable. 

"It might need to 'officially' be us going out as a group of friends, though."  That would probably be safest - and easier to sell to the adults in question.  Unofficially, it could be whatever they wanted.  Or whatever Abby wanted. 

But - if they were aiming for comfortable, wouldn't choosing something Sasha was more familiar with make sense?  Like khaki slacks.  You couldn't go wrong with a nice, broken in pair of khakis.  "They're not just for the date?  I'm supposed to take them back to school?"  The Ravenclaw followed Walt's gaze down to his own pressed slacks.  "But, bowties are cool." 

Sentiments like that were probably not helping his case. 

"You're not going to make me wear those soggy ones that look like they're going to fall off, though, right?"

"I know there's not a dress code for theaters, Sasha. But I thought afterward we'd do something fun. Like go to an arcade or play laser tag. And in tailored pants you'd stick out like a sore thumb. And if we're going to take Abby into the muggle world, might as well make the best of it. And no, I'm not going to put you in jeans that look like they're going to fall off." He grinned a little at Sasha. He wondered whether or not he could get his friend to try on skinny jeans. It would be hilarious- and certainly wouldn't be the sort to fall off. Walton wouldn't trick him into buying them, though.

He nodded as Sasha said something about it being officially friends. "Yeah, that probably works best for me, too. I don't want to push Rayven into anything, either. I do like her though. I think she's pretty and different. But yeah, group of friends probably works better." Of course, he had no doubt that Rayven and Abby would figure out on their own that it was more like a double date when they ended up coupling off.

Walton picked up a pair of jeans from the table, and held them up to Sasha. "These are more fitted through the top, but the legs are just straight." Then he found a pair of skinny jeans, tucking them into the pile with a few other options- boot cut, straight leg, etc. "Try these," he said. "What kind of shirt do you want to wear?" he asked. "I know you've got polos. I guess that would be fine. Or if you want we could find you something different." But pushing Sasha into t-shirts or something else would probably be pushing him too far out of his comfort zone. But a polo paired with the right pair of jeans would work.

"You can take them to school if you want. You don't have to," he added. "But you know, if you like them it might be worth it? I dunno. I can't imagine wanting to wear dress clothes all the time. But not everyone is comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt I guess. When I'm bumming around the common room that's my favorite thing to wear. Or on the weekends. It doesn't matter if they get dirty or mucked up because they're just bluejeans."

As Walt continued to add to the pile of jeans in Sasha's arms, the Ravenclaw considered pointing out that gaming centers probably didn't have dress codes, either. He suspected that wasn't his friend's point.  'Blending in' with the casual muggle crowd seemed to be the primary motivation and, despite being raised in the muggle world, it was apparent Sasha needed help achieving that.  Especially when mingling with the not-actually-on-a-polo-team crowd. 

"And no, I'm not going to put you in jeans that look like they're going to fall off."

"Good.  They look uncomfortable.  I still don't know how they actually, you know, stay on.  They are wearing belts.  But, they...nevermind." 

Sasha glanced down over the pile in his hands as Walt held up a pair.  Fitting could, likely, prove problematic - especially if they were avoiding the use of a tailor.  Sasha had always been tall and on the lanky side - as his equestrian competitions encouraged a leaner, longer muscle build, Sasha had always struggled to find pants that fit and were long enough in the leg.  The stress and missed meals from the previous term had left him even thinner than usual - a fact that his usual blazers and suit coats helped hide. 

"It's not that," Sasha insisted, taking the jeans and putting them on the pile.  "I mean, ja - I don't want to push her.  I'm not sure she'd even want it to be a date.  Beyond that - we ... her sis- Professor Reid doesn't want us to be dating.  Best the professors think we're just hanging out."  Sasha was finding himself surrounded by professors a lot, lately, wasn't he?

"Most of my polos are, you know, actually team polos.  With positions and ..."  Sasha shrugged.  His old team polos were, essentially, his 'bumming around' attire but he rarely wore them at school.  "I have some old barn shirts for chores but I don't want to look like a slouch.  I still want to impress her."  Casual or not, he wasn't looking to be grungy. 

Walton chuckled. "Oh ho ho! Professor Reid doesn't want you dating?" Walton asked. "Well, unfortunately for Professor Reid there isn't anything she can do to stop young love. If she were raised as a muggle, she'd know that. Because she would have read the great love stories of literature! Young people in love would move the world for one another. Not that I mean to insinuate you are in love with Abby, or she with you, but you know... it's the point of it all. Just don't end up like Romeo and Juliet if they try to keep the two of you apart. Drinking poison or stabbing yourself would be a tad melodramatic and over done." Even if he had spent the last seven years in the wizarding world, Walton still enjoyed reading. His mother was a professor of Literature, he rarely had the option to not enjoy it.

He went on talking about barn shirts and polos that were actually for team play. "Well, we're hear, we can find you a shirt to wear too. A sweater or something, maybe," Walton suggested, marching Sasha toward the change room. "Try those on and we'll find ones that fit the best," he said to his friend. "Nothing beats a perfect pair of bluejeans." At least not in Walt's opinion. What he was really hoping was that Sasha would genuinely put effort into pulling on the skinny jeans. That was an image that would be hilarious. At least Walt wasn't cruel enough to take a picture of that and share it with people. Were he more technologically savvy like his muggle peers, however...

"I'm not sure either, to be honest, if Rayven would be okay with me calling it a date. I get the impression she likes me, too, though," he said. "It's just weird. I've been so focused on goofing off and having fun, and since I got made head boy I have been trying to do better in classes and stuff... This whole Rayven thing kind of caught me off guard. But when I saw her at the Yule Ball in her really simple, really pretty outfit I realized that she's... well, really good looking. And she's nice. And quirky. You know her family lives on a commune?" he said to Sasha. "She was raised like a hippy! That's so cool. They live in harmony and help each other and put a big emphasis on family. I find it super fascinating. I went to her family dinner for her birthday. Everyone was really nice." It was those qualities he really liked about her. Not that he wanted to get married right away, but eventually he did, and he wanted a strong family unit. She had come from one just like he had.

"It's weird, isn't it?" he said to Sasha. "How those kind of feelings just kind of pop up out of nowhere. You think you'll end up dating Abby anyway?" Walton asked Sasha. "Or trying to? Or are you okay with being just friends for now? I don't know her well. Just know about her from seeing you two at the ball together. She's pretty," Walt commented. "Of course, Professor Reid is really pretty too. Maybe it just runs in the family."

Vaguely, Sasha shrugged as he followed as Walt ushered him towards the changing room.  "Sort of.  I - no.  Not really."  Sasha understood it wasn't really a matter of Professor Reid not wanting him dating.  It had nothing to do with him.  It was ... the extenuating circumstances.  On one hand, that was a good thing - Sasha understood it wasn't really anything personal.  On the other hand, it made it difficult to simply dismiss the professor's disapproval as simple meddling.  "Unfortunately, it's not that simple.  I mean - she actually encouraged me to ask Abby to the Yule Ball.  Or, I don't really know if it was me or just-"  It had occurred to Sasha lately that Professor Reid might have been just as encouraging to any other bloke that wasn't Brunn.  "It's just concern of ... there are other complications." 

Inside the changing room, Sasha shook his head as he set the stack of jeans down on the bench.  "Why does it have to be so complicated?" he mused as Walt expressed his own uncertainty about Rayven.  "A commune?"  Sasha repeated.  Despite being muggleborn, his upbringing had left him with distinct holes in his understanding of certain aspects of muggle society.  He tried to avoid actively flaunting his wealth or sounding too much like his stepfather but there were times, like now, when he simply didn't know enough beyond it to avoid doing so.  "Isn't that like ... they're communists?  Is that why they don't have, you know, brushes?" 

Despite the initial, habitual uncertainty, Sasha couldn't help admitting what Walton described sounded nice.  "We kind of had that this year," he admitted.  "The whole family, Christmas-y thing.  Sort of." 

Sasha tugged on the first pair of jeans and fastened them before stepping outside.  They were, as he'd suspected, quite baggy around the waist.  "How, exactly, are they supposed to fit?  I mean, you don't get them tailored, right?' 

"I hope she'll consider it," Sasha admitted, when the topic turned back towards him and Abby.  "I mean, of course it's alright if we're friends but-"  But, for now didn't seem to be part of the equation.  Sasha sighed and shook his head.  "It's up to her, but I don't know.  Her parents are pretty old-fashioned; pushing her to get engaged off to this pureblood from Durmstrang.   Everyone thinks I'm muggleborn.  It's ... Dating me would mean going directly against her parents' wishes."