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Confusion Fall - On a random March evening at Michael and Iden's flat.
...because there can still be war without the Dark Lord. |
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Iden had taken the day off at the shop, but hadn't told Michael that. Instead, he had spent the better part of the day whipping up a four course northern Italian meal. When Michael arrived, he would find most of the living room magically cleared, Inky away at Moira's house, a fire in the fireplace, and a beautifully set table near said fire. Iden closely monitored the panna cotta as it cooked and poured it into its dishes to set. It looked suspiciously like everything was just about ready... not that he actually knew exactly when Michael was due in from work.
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Michael had managed to get out of the library early today, an unusual occurrence these days. So, he decided to make the walk home through the bustling downtown of Muggle London instead of apparating. It was a pleasant walk and the weather was surprisingly nice for a London March. Muggles buzzed around, completely ignoring, as they usually did, the man in strange robes.
When he arrived home, he was a little confused by the appetizing aroma. "Iden?"
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Iden snatched off his apron and peeked out of the kitchen. He grinned widely. "Surprise. I cooked. Hope you like Italian," he said before grabbing Michael into a close hug. He took Michael's outer robes and gestured toward the table. "Sit, sit," he said, tossing Michael's robes over a chair and grabbing a wine bottle. He had spent probably too much on this wine, but it looked so good at the shop that he couldn't resist.
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Michael was pleasantly taken aback by all of Iden's effort. He was entirely surprised and delighted.
Michael sat where Iden gestured, allowing Iden to direct the show.
"What prompted all this?" Michael asked.
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"I need to have a motive? I can't just spoil you for no reason?" Iden asked with mock-accusation in his voice. He poured wine for them both and headed back into the kitchen. A moment later, he returned with Bruscetta. This dinner had involved trips to many specialty stores, including a bakery that he'd always been fond of. Having bruscetta on bread from a normal market was never as good. Putting the tray down, he took a seat. "So, how was work?" he asked casually.
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Michael was impressed with the detail and helped himself to the bruscetta and wine. Both were excellent. It made him exceedingly happy that his boyfriend had good taste in food and wine.
"Work was pretty typical, today," he responded, "except for getting off early. I finished repairs on an eighth century text and didn't have enough time to even get started on the next item. So, I left early and walked home."
"So, did you take the day off?" he asked, "You must have spent most of the day shopping and cooking. We didn't have any of this stuff in the house."
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"Er, yeah. I didn't have any appointments and there was already someone there to cover any walk-ins," Iden said with a little grin. He seemed just a tiny bit antsy. It would only be noticeable to Michael and Moira since they knew him so well and it was very subtle. He ate some bruscetta was very excited that it actually came out well. "The shopping was actually rather fun. Well, the wine shop, especially. I dont get there often and I had a nice chat with the witch that runs the place. She seemed entirely too excited to have an early-afternoon customer, kept trying to get me to try everything, which seemed like a bad idea when I had to cook."
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"I can understand her excitement. We get pretty loopy at the library whenever a non-regular comes in before noon. Early morning trips to the library aren't very high on most people's to do lists." He snorted and continued, "What am I saying? Going to the library is never on people's to do lists, and we're loopy anytime a non-regular shows up. Of course, we don't have access to endless supplies of alcoholic beverages."
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"Drunken librarians? It sounds like a bad idea. Few 8th century texts are better covered in wine stains," Iden joked, taking some more of the appetizer. He took mental inventory of the next courses, making sure he hadn't left anything out. The salad was chilling, the homemade dressing was on the counter, the pesto chicken gnocchi was being kept magically warm, the dessert was set. Right, everything should go smoothly. "So, when you get visitors are you allowed to just let them in or is there a screening process?"
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"Well, we're primarily a research library, so we don't grant access to anyone off the street. Generally, you have to have a genuine research need. That's usually established by a letter of reference from an educational institution like Hogwarts or from someone who already has access to the library. Sometimes we accept references from employers. It creates a really quiet environment."
Once Michael got started talking about the library, he would go on and on. "Sometimes, though, I wonder why we don't try to branch out to the rest of the magical community. We're the only magical deposit library in Britain. We have a copy of every magical text published in this country and Ireland. We could make a really great general-access wing. But we haven't."
"But I have some pull with the staff, you know," Michael said, adding a wink, "If you wanna look around sometime, I'm sure I can get you in."
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Iden laughed, "At some point, I might take you up on that. You know, that general access wing sounds like a really good idea. Have you brought it up to anyone? I mean, there a little library in Hogsmeade, but the selection is pretty awful. It seems like there would be a real need for that."
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"I don't think the Head will go for it. But I might bring it up to him sometime. And the Hogsmeade library has loan privileges for most of our general collection. Of course, they might not tell their patrons that," Michael said. He tried not to go into too much detail as the politics of Britain's library system didn't make for particularly interesting dinner conversation.
"And if I keep eating this Bruscetta, I won't make it through all of dinner."
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"Best press on, then," Iden said, hopping up and taking the bruschetta with him. He came back with salads and placed them gently on the table. They were rather small, as if Iden had known that he was making too large of a meal and so cut back on the least exciting course. Iden sat down again and took a bite before making conversation. "Mum was hoping we'd pop round this weekend. She says it's been too long since we deigned to have her around or some such silliness."
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Michael nodded. "That sounds good. I've been meaning to thank her for taking mum along with her to Italy. She had a blast. The way she was describing everything, I started getting antsy to take a holiday abroad soon. What do you think?"
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"Sounds good to me. Do you have any place you'd like to go?" Iden asked, finishing his rather small salad and banishing the plate to the sink. It was lazy, he knew, but they were mid conversation. "Lots of places are really nice in the spring, after all. Well, maybe not Russia."
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Michael ate his salad while he thought about Iden's question. "Well, mum can't quit talking about Venice. That might be nice," he responded. "Where would you be interested in going?"
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"Italy would be nice. We could pop down to Sicily for some sunbathing," Iden suggested before getting up to fetch the entree. He was pleased to find that the warming charm worked perfectly and he dismissed it before bringing the plates to the table. He seemed to be a bit more antsy than before.
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When Iden returned to the table with the next course, he looked a little nervous. Michael noticed him playing with his lip ring. Something must be up, Michael thought. He hoped nothing was wrong.
"Sicily sounds like a great idea. Maybe Milan, if there's time."
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"Sure, when did you want to go? How long? I just hafta work around one of the lads at the shop taking his girlfriend for a weekend in Paris. I think he trying to make her believe he's much more rich and important than he actually is. Course, once she sees his flat that'll be all over," Iden babbled and stopped himself by taking a bite of food. At least, while eating he couldn't give away his nervousness.
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"Hmm...I'm not sure. It would have to be at least a few weeks from now. I need to get through my current project at work before I could arrange holiday time. Maybe at the end of April or beginning of May?"
Michael finished his salad.
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Iden banished Michael's salad plate and floated his entree were it had been. "Beginning of May sounds nice. I'll owl an agent tomorrow and get some estimates," Iden offered helpfully. "So, er, how's Steven liking this term? Still brilliant, I assume."
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Michael tasted the entree and said, "Oh, this is great, Iden."
He wasn't sure that Iden had ever asked about his brothers before. "Well, uh, mum says he's fine. He's excited about some girl."
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"That's got to be good for his revision schedule. Maybe he'll bring her round at next Hogsmeade weekend," Iden said. "I got him an autographed hat from Puddlemere's seeker that's waiting for him at the shop."
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"Oh, well, make sure that you give him a hard time and embarrass him in front of her. I can give you dirt on him if you need it, and I'm sure I can track down embarrassing photos," Michael said, recalling Christmas dinner.
The entree was delicious. Michael enjoyed it, probably too well, because he shoveled it down quickly.
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Iden laughed and said, "I don't think I need photos to embarrass him. Just asking if the chick with him is girlfriend will probably turn him a few shades redder," before he noticed Michael was done. He still had half of his plate left but seemed like he didn't care to finish it. Instead, he took both of their plates into the kitchen.
"Just a sec. I'm checking to see if dessert has set properly," he called from the kitchen. Luckily, it had. Carefully, he drizzled the raspberry sauce across each serving of panna cotta and placed a few raspberries on each. He opened a drawer, reached all the way to the back, took out a small box, and placed a very simple platinum ring on top of Michael's raspberries. Taking a few deep breaths, he walked out with the plates, placing them accordingly on the table and waited a split second before kneeling next to Michael.
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When Iden set the plate down Michael saw that something unexpected was on top of the raspberries but it took him a brief moment to realize what it was. When it occurred to him, he opened his mouth to speak, but then Iden knelt beside him. Michael's words got caught in his throat and his eyes started watering.
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