As a boy, it had been expected of him to choose a position of particular merit in society. His family's future near relied upon himself and his brother and the path they made. Although, being the youngest son, Sebastian hardly had been subjected to the same manner of intense scrutiny as his elder brother, there had still been some level of expectation placed upon him. After all, his grandfather had gained their title, his father had secured it, his brother was expected to carry it on. The least Sebastian could do, in his father's eyes, was to continue the Cust reputation. It had been almost a relief, of sorts, when the Englishman had taken an interest in law, particularly considering his often wayward nature when it came to his more womanizing tendencies. It was a redeeming career - the very sorts his father was more than happy to pay for. And how he had found he enjoyed that peculiar industry! The rules in which they had to play by were so rigid and complex, the navigation of which came with surprising ease to the once young man. He was relatively good at finding loops holes, at piecing together pieces of strewn apart information into a solid case. His charisma came in handy in that courtroom as he lured the jury and his peers to his arguments. He found, as he sat in the dining room overlooking those scraps of paper, that he had missed this part of his human life that had been stolen from him.

It was a puzzle, to be certain. Those pages spread out on his dining room table were pieces he'd not yet fit together into a cohesive image and yet, Sebastian was relatively certain he could. His plan was not fully built, not yet, the vampire certain that things would slowly begin to come together as the preliminaries of that case were sorted, organized, and paid for. After all, no case could begin without first registering a copyright protection and even that could sometimes take months. It gave them plenty of time to start collecting that information needed to present to a judge. He was hardly oblivious to the blank look Arlo gave him as he informed the man of those preliminary findings and the few options available to them, along with a brief plan of those primary necessary steps that were required before they could even begin to move forward. It was clear to him that, at that moment, Arlo had likely not contemplated the very sort of education, life, or era that Sebastian had come from. He so often took on that role of the charismatic incubus that, to point out there was more depth beyond those good looks and physical skills often caught others off guard entirely. His idle comment of such prompted little more than a friendly declaration to 'shut up', the very sort of which prompted laughter from the Englishman.

He listened, however, as Arlo attempted to reiterate all he had been told, even if it required some level of correction. The very fact that they had something to go off of, however, seemed to put Arlo at easy as the man reached forward to pick up on of those pages. Sebastian could tell there were still questions that lingered upon the vampire's mind - inquiries that, it seemed came out but mere moments later. Despite Arlo's insistence that he was hardly willing to be a charity case, the Italian Prince was distinctly unconcerned about the cost of the whole affair. After all, in the wake of his marriage, Dorian and his own assets had been combined to create a staggering wealth, one that, he was sure, guaranteed a distinctly comfortable lifestyle for the couple for a great many years to come regardless of what caught their passing fancies. He waved off his companion's concern with the simple assistance that it would be fun. He was hardly concerned with any sort of hourly cost if Arlo was willing to pay the form fees and the renewal of his own license, the very amount of which would surely come in at no more than a thousand - though, even then, Sebastian was more than willing to foot the bill for some chance at his age-old profession.

He hardly anticipated that sudden grin upon Arlo's features, much less the man's announcement that he was a nerd. A look of indignation crossed his lips as he leaned back in his chair, his arms crossing over his chest in an almost boyish pout. "I was not." He protested, perhaps more than truly necessary. After all 'nerds', by modern standards, were often lanky boys in collared shirts with pens in their pockets and glasses on their face and no concept of sex or the touch of a woman - things that Sebastian was more than experienced in. That playful shove of Arlo's hand on his shoulder hardly helped to remove the scowl from his features, even as Arlo darted out of his reach. It was tempting, really, to push him back down in a fashion similar to what he had done before - except that he was not quite finished with all that was required of them. It was the inquiry of checks and copyright notices being filed on his behalf, however, that prompted a shake of the man's head. It was a good sign, well, good for their case, at least. At the very least, Arlo was more than willing to put those scraps of pages together into coherent songs ready for submissions, at least, until Sebastian lamented a lack of a copy of that contract Arlo was originally supposed to sign - and hadn't.

His eyebrow rose ever so slightly at Arlo's comment that there was a chance even it was here, somewhere amongst all of that paperwork. He watched as the man moved quickly through those stacks of papers, shuffling things aside in a determined fashion as he searched for that collection of pages. It wasn't until several moments later that he held up that stapled together pile in her triumph. "Thank God for your hoarding," Sebastian muttered as he reached for the contract. He leaned back in his chair, beginning to read each and every page whilst Arlo returned to his own efforts to piece together those songs. It was only the mention of that song within Arlo's hands that drew Sebastian's attention upwards from the paperwork within his own. He had to admit it was curious to hear of the band Arlo had once hand, the very relations seemed so...messy in comparison to the sort of ensembles within his own day and age. His head shook ever so slightly as he pushed the rest of those songs in front of him towards his companion, entirely willing to bury himself within that contract instead of trying to puzzle piece together songs he'd never heard. The last thing he had expected was the sudden shout of surprise upon Arlo's lips before the musician stumbled backward into one of the dining room chairs - resulting in both man and chair on the floor.

For a moment, Sebastian merely stared at him with an almost blank look on his features, the vampire wholly flummoxed as to why Arlo was on the floor in the first place. He watched as Arlo scrambled to his feet, only to gesture towards the living room. That declaration that he was being robbed caused the vampire to pause, his features turned upwards ever so slightly only to allow those predatory instincts to take over. He sniffed the very air within that estate, so easily able to detect that scent that was so distinctly Matteo. The aromatic scent had always been so distinctly alluring, akin to that smell that so naturally permeated from his own lover. The vampire so easily brushed off his companion's concerns as the contract was tossed on the dining room table. He led the way towards the very living room in question. The vampire hardly seemed surprised in the slightest at the sight of his father-in-law comfortably positioned within a leather armchair. Elizabeth seemed more than flushed, her cheeks near ruby red before the woman burst out into laughter, her nervousness clearly showing through at that moment, particularly considering how long Sebastian had known her. He cleared his throat as he stepped into the room, his mere presence prompted the young woman to hurry off, as if she'd suddenly remembered something she'd forgotten.

The very presence of the Frenchman seemed to put the vampire on edge, his previous playful demeanor had all but returned to a certain sort of strict rigidness. Those muttered words on Arlo's lips saw his bright blue eyes shift ever so slightly to the man at his side. "You have no idea..." He uttered back in that same, lowly whispered tone. After all, there was more there than that flawlessly perfect face and an award-winning smile. Sebastian had certainly not failed to notice that equally as enticing physique. If Dorian was anything to go by, he was certain his Father-in-law's blood was nothing short of heavenly. That warm grin he was given prompted a weak simper from the Englishman, his head inclined ever so slightly in return. "Good Evening, Matteo." He uttered in that same polite fashion, only to fall silent as the Frenchman turned towards Arlo in turn. That usually confidence that the Englishman often exuded seemed to falter within Matto's presence, making him feel like he was a child again underneath his father's watchful eye - all whilst the vampiric, incubus part of him desired more. It was a peculiar mesh of emotions within him that prompted Sebastian to direct the conversation elsewhere. "Dorian is riding with Alexander at the moment, though I am sure they'll be back soon." It was, after all, exactly what Matteo was here, wasn't it? His son and closest companion?

It was the sudden mention of Matteo's briefcase that drew Sebastian's gaze towards the very object at the Ambassador's feet. It was a rather unique briefcase, distinctly vintage and yet so very much like Matteo himself. It was, however, his name upon Matteo's lips that caused his crystalline gaze to raise up towards those enigmatic silver eyes, his eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly. A favor? From him? The notion that obtaining his request in another way might be...messy caused his lips to press together ever so slightly in a small display of his own hesitance. Arlo was, apparently, not the only one who was uncertain of what that meant. He was hardly ignorant of that glance Arlo gave him, his own gaze shifted slightly to meet the blue of his companion's eyes. He was hardly surprised that the very mention of a donation seemed to prompt Arlo reaching for his wallet, even though Sebastian was rather certain it wasn't money Matteo was after. He had seen Chambord, after all. He hardly intervened, however, simply watching as that conversation between Arlo and Matteo played out, that very suggestion of money one that the French Ambassador easily brushed off, only to reveal the true request. Vampire venom..

It was those two words that seemed to prompt a stillness in the Englishman as he so wearily eyed his Father-in-Law. His venom, perhaps, was no great secret amongst those who had been touched by its sensation. Still, Dorian's staff were particularly keen to be discreet about just where and whom his fangs touched. He doubted, truly, that one of them had voiced even a breath of what he was capable of. It was not impossible that someone else whom he had once enjoyed might have uttered something of his capabilities and yet, perhaps it was more likely that Matteo had seen its use first hand within his visions. Surely then, he was entirely aware of what Dorian and his sex life consisted of? The realization of that very possible snooping only furthered that peculiar mix of emotions within the vampire. On one hand, it was....odd to know that Matteo knew of what he subjected his son to, and yet, the incubus part of him was almost pleased with the knowledge if only for the fact that it too afforded Matteo the knowledge of what he could do. Not that he should be thinking that. Why wasn't Dorian here to rescue him from this? Knowing Matteo, such was probably planned in such a way to make saying no difficult. Would the Frenchman hold it against him if he declined? It probably wouldn't make relations between them better...unless Matteo intended to get it from them in more messy manners regardless. Did his Father-in-law just...threaten him?

And then, there was the whole affair of what he intended to do with that very venom. After all, though the pleasure Sebastian could provide was well known, that venom was quite capable of being a double-edged sword. With extreme pleasure also could come extreme pain, even if he'd only produced such an effect once or twice within his whole lifetime. The simple fact that he knew he could made him weary to simply hand over that very venom in the first place. The last thing he wanted to do was have Matteo utilize his venom in such a way that might cause pain. Though, his own venom was so alike that of the stingrays that, really, Matteo could just steal the same chemical balance from them.

Those thoughts weight all too heavily upon the vampire's mind, enough so that he was almost inattentive to the way that silence seemed to prevail for an unusually long amount of time. It was, surely, his upbringing that prompted Sebastian to break it. He cleared his throat ever so slightly. "May I ask what you intend to use it for?" The vampire inquired, that inquiry clearly presented as neither a yes nor a no. Maybe he could stall long enough for Dorian to return from his own trip with Alexander....unless Alexander had merely been a ruse all along for this visit. Frankly, he wouldn't put it past either man and yet, that request most certainly did not sit well with the vampire.