|
Post by Theo Bowre on Sept 29, 2011 21:05:40 GMT -5
The light from the drawer was monochromatic.
Whitish-blue light, not unlike the colour created by other Muggle things, and wisp-like as it curled and churned in the dissipating steam that traveled effortlessly up Theo's clean-shaven face. He enjoyed the chill of the air. Artificial or not, it made him feel alive.
There were many Muggle machines that Theo loved beyond imagine, but none was more creative than the refrigerator. It was the one appliance that Ralph and Jean had insisted upon when they moved to Bryn, and so important was it to their feeling at home that they had spent a considerable sum of money on a magic-to-electricity convertor that ensured years of problem-free functionality. The children of Harkness House grew to love and respect the machine; they especially grew to love what it held.
Like ice cream. Ice cream was Theo’s favourite, and although he had found next to no time to eat a proper meal since Jack’s damning confession at St. Mungos Hospital, he afforded himself a few minutes tonight – before his midnight security detail of the Harkness estate - to indulge in something other than worry and exhaustion. Ice cream was practically therapy. And undeniably cheaper too. The beleaguered beater reached in to the lower drawer of the freezer and pulled out three separate quarts: vanilla, cookie dough, and mint chocolate chip. He wasn’t sure he wanted all three, but at least the options were there. The choices.
Meow.
Theo’s slate-grey eyes peered into the shadows of the kitchen, spying a familiar feline who blinked at him with large, calcite-green eyes. The grey tabby cat almost waited for an invitation and although Bowre had patted the counter at which he sat, she found it necessary to clean herself first. Theo had expected his nine-lived visitor. She equated the sound of the freezer drawer opening with treats. The moment she jumped up to join him, Theo grabbed a milk dish from the cupboard and placed a spoonful of the vanilla dairy dessert inside. The cat sat beside him and lapped contentedly.
Their collective silence was epic.
Theo was the first to break once he finished his first helping of cookie dough.
"You see, Tip-Toe, you have a choice. You have a choice because like everything else in this world, some people like vanilla and others like mint chocolate chip. A tyrant would lead with an iron spoon and say, you can only have vanilla because that’s what I demand. But Jack provided choices. Jack gave people the option to say, I disagree, sir: I want chocolate chip. Jack gave them freedom. All of them. And now they’re about to throw it all away."
Meow.
"Want some cookie dough?"
|
|
|
Post by Ryan Harkness on Sept 30, 2011 19:11:23 GMT -5
"Want some cookie dough?"
"Love some." Matt stood leaning on the counter on the other side of the refrigerator. He had been there the whole time, actually. Matt was good at going unnoticed when he wanted to. He and Ryan were staying the night at Ryan's grandparents' house with Ryan's siblings. They had had to compromise with Salt; in exchange for them moving to Harkness House with the younger siblings and keeping them safe overnight, they got Travert to finally get the hell out. There was something unsettling about Jack's assistant, and Matt wasn't having him stay with the kids for longer than he was forced to. Tom agreed with him, too. Hitwizard's intuition.
Matt took the pail of ice cream from Theo and pulled out a spoon, eating directly from the container. He always liked Theo, he was a good man, though he tried too hard to please everyone. He also felt a bit akin to him, as an adopted Harkness. Matt felt like one himself sometimes, with how Ryan and his loving family had welcomed him in so warmly.
"How's Jack?" He asked, meeting Theo's eyes. "Ryan's been mum on it. You know how he gets, anything upsets him and it'd take veritaserum to get a word out of him." Matt cracked a smile at the thought of his boyfriend upstairs. "He's trying to get Annie back to sleep, now. Good luck."
|
|
|
Post by Theo Bowre on Oct 1, 2011 21:35:06 GMT -5
Theo stood silent and motionless as his near nephew-in-law absconded with his ice cream. He looked longing at the spoon he once held in his hand: it would be cruel if it weren't so unexpected. Theo eased in to a chair across the table from the man and watched him scoop out the cookie dough.
Matt was a good looking kid: built like a six-foot-something ox yet dashing enough to win over his beloved nephew's heart. Matt definitely wore the pants. He gave the man a kind but weary smile.
"I used to do that to Jack. I'd pick out all the best bits and then swirl the rest of the ice cream in to soup so as to hide my evidence. I was a shit criminal and so immature. Last time I did that was...God, I don't know, last week?" Tip-Toe chirped at the beater's feet and leapt on to his lap, curling in to a purring ball.
"How's Jack? Ryan's been mum on it. You know how he gets, anything upsets him and it'd take veritaserum to get a word out of him. He's trying to get Annie back to sleep, now. Good luck."
"No kidding. They delivered her book to the house this morning. If Ryan thinks he's getting out of there before reading a dozen chapters, he's screwed. She's been on about it for weeks. How can any one series have thirty freaking books? We're in the wrong business, Matty. Maybe Ryan should look in to it. Throw in a couple banshees so it's not all pagan princesses and sparkles...Massacre at Crystal Palace. For the love of God." Theo absently stroked the grey tabby's head. He realized he was rambling, feeling not entirely himself. It wasn't that he didn't feel comfortable in Matt's company but every one of his conversations over the past week had been bad news-centric. He wasn't entirely sure how to be normal anymore. He was thankful Matt broached Jack.
"He's good. I think he's good. Um, dad went and saw him yesterday and said that Jack seemed at peace. I guess that's a small blessing. They haven't set a date for his arraignment but I imagine they'll try to bump it. Keep him out of Az-...well, keeping him as close to home as possible for as long as possible."
"Look, Matt, I want you to know how much I appreciate you boys being here. Uprooting you was the last thing I wanted to do but it's made a huge difference: to the kids, to mum and dad...to me. You're the flagship of sanity in our collective chaos, my friend. The cookie dough's a down payment but I'll make it up to you guys, I promise."
The weight of the world fell heavy on Theo's shoulders and his voice trailed off in to space before he regained his sense of place.
"Veritaserum...I like it. You hitwizards." Theo grinned crookedly, looking suddenly younger than his years. "I'll be cautious the next time you offer me a drink, bauy. So how is work? You hardly ever talk about it and part of me is wondering whether you're not hiding the fact that you're an international super-spy. I don't care. Lie. Make it up. Tell me about infiltrating the Kremlin."
|
|
|
Post by Ryan Harkness on Oct 3, 2011 0:33:17 GMT -5
ooc: Hey Theo, how long after Consequence is this thread?
ic: "I used to do that to Jack. I'd pick out all the best bits and then swirl the rest of the ice cream in to soup so as to hide my evidence. I was a shit criminal and so immature. Last time I did that was...God, I don't know, last week?"
"What I hear from my superiors, you're still a shit criminal. Have you ever been brought in for something you actually did?" Ryan chuckled, consuming his fill of the ice cream and surrendering the pail back to Theo. "How's Jack? Ryan's been mum on it. You know how he gets, anything upsets him and it'd take veritaserum to get a word out of him. He's trying to get Annie back to sleep, now. Good luck."
Matt gave a chuckle over Theo's rambling about Annie's book. He had a point; she'd been on about it constantly already since they'd arrived at Jack's house, and the move to their grandparents' home had only encouraged the chatter. Ryan agreeing to read some of the book with her was basically signing his soul away to the Crystal Palace for the night.
"He's good. I think he's good. Um, dad went and saw him yesterday and said that Jack seemed at peace. I guess that's a small blessing. They haven't set a date for his arraignment but I imagine they'll try to bump it. Keep him out of Az-...well, keeping him as close to home as possible for as long as possible."
"Yeah, they're trying to pull the death-related crimes ahead first." Matt crossed his arms, his eyes downcast towards the ground. He didn't want to say it, but he knew exactly why the higher-ups were ordering the trials that way. As far as anyone at the Department of Law Enforcement knew, Jack Harkness was not directly linked to a death. He figured his higher-ups were trying to make Harkness's crimes look less severe by comparison. "They're bringing charges against that old auror, I hear. The one whose kid was taken." Matt shrugged; it was news to many, but to Matt it was idle office gossip. The Ministry was rank with gossip, and not all of it could be taken seriously.
"Look, Matt, I want you to know how much I appreciate you boys being here. Uprooting you was the last thing I wanted to do but it's made a huge difference: to the kids, to mum and dad...to me. You're the flagship of sanity in our collective chaos, my friend. The cookie dough's a down payment but I'll make it up to you guys, I promise."
Matt turned a bit pink in the cheeks with the praise, shrugging humbly. "Eh, you know how it is. Ryan loves his family and... well, I'm lucky to have all of you. Have to protect what you've got, right?" Matt half-smiled, sheepishly meeting Theo's eyes. Matt was lucky to have Ryan and his family, to be so accepted and loved not only by his boyfriend, but the entire community of Harkness House. He had never felt quite so blessed before he met Ryan.
"I'll be cautious the next time you offer me a drink, bauy. So how is work? You hardly ever talk about it and part of me is wondering whether you're not hiding the fact that you're an international super-spy. I don't care. Lie. Make it up. Tell me about infiltrating the Kremlin."
"Ah, I wish I had something interesting!" Matt smiled, leaning back on the counter again. "We've still just been cleaning up after Hogsmeade and this Godric's Hollow mess. This whole thing shook the aurors most I think. One of their own, you know." Matt shrugged; the aurors didn't mean much to him. He worked with them every now and then, but he tended to keep to the hitwizard side of the law than dealing with serious dark magic. He was happy letting his hitwizard work just be a job, not an obsession.
"They've got me on desk duty since Jack turned himself in; they don't want me to be emotionally invested and all that." Matt was a very private person in the Ministry, and though he never shared his relationship with Ryan to the department, his relationship with the Minister's son was something rarely spoken but widely known. It didn't bother Matt that they knew, really, it was just the sharing that bothered him. He didn't like the looks he got, especially from some of the older, more conservative members of the hitwizard squad.
"So," Matt arched a brow at Theo curiously, "what's next for you? Ryan said you dropped your teaching gig at Hogwarts..."
|
|