Andromeda Tonks (andromynous) wrote in valesco,
@ 2008-04-06 20:55:00

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[Ted!]
She had no reason to feel guilty, right? It wasn't as if Sirius had proved himself completely incompetent before ~~except that he had~~ and it wasn't as if she really could have stopped him from seeing his brother no matter where they stood on the family tree. Some part of her had hoped that the brothers really would make up.

But now ... well, now nobody had seen Sirius since she had and the fact was that he was probably somewhere having who knew what happen to him. And it was, as far as she was concerned, partially her fault.

She resolved then to make sure that they found him. Merlin, she needed a smoke ... but she wasn't going to do it in the house when Dora was down for her nap. She frowned, pushing out the front door and lingering on the step.

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teds
2008-04-07 04:27 am UTC (link)

For a Sunday in the Tonks household, it certainly didn't feel like the relaxed, lazy day that it should have. There was nothing physical different--Dora finally napping after having wrecked several rooms of the house, the telly softly pulsating light produced by the noontime news broadcast, Clytemnestra taking up three fourths of the couch to flop down on--but there was that undeniable feeling of tension. Sundays were supposed to be anything but tense, and it was making Ted twitchy.

Twitchy, however, was probably loads better than whatever his wife was feeling.

He let the screen door close silently behind him and leaned against the doorframe, watching Andromeda as she stood not two meters away. It wasn't that he didn't feel bad about this thing with Sirius too, but of course she was taking it worse--it was her cousin, basically the only member of her family that didn't hate her and whom she didn't hate back. If he knew her, he knew that she had to be blaming herself, at least partly, for what had happened (whatever that was).

Groping around in his pocket, he took out a half-empty pack of fags and extended them towards her back. "Need one?" he offered.

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andromynous
2008-04-07 04:39 am UTC (link)

"Merlin's wrinkly balls, yes." She turned around and took a cigarette from the pack, swallowing just a little thickly. Andromeda knew that eventually Dora was going to pick up on the tension that was fast building in the house and she hated that. They hadn't told the little girl anything yet, but if this went on for too long they'd have to.

"I'm sorry, Ted," she mumbled as she took a drag of the fag, wrapping one arm around her own waist and leaning against the doorframe opposite him. She knew she was being slightly dramatic, but the fact of the matter was that Sirius really was one of the only family members who cared about her. "I'll make something up for dinner soon enough."

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teds
2008-04-07 04:50 am UTC (link)

In a normal situation, he would have cocked a bit of a smile at her curse--she sounded so herself in that moment--but as it was, this wasn't the time for smiles. This situation with Sirius was... excuse the pun, but serious, and he knew she probably wouldn't appreciate it anyway. He was saving all his smiles lately for Nymphadora, to keep her from becoming suspicious that something was wrong. It would be heartbreaking if it got to the point that they had to tell her that her favorite cousin had gone missing.

"Don't worry about it," he told her. "I was planning on just ordering takeout later. Nothing in the fridge anyway, I checked." There was plenty in the fridge, actually, but Ted really didn't want her to go and feel like she had to put in the effort to make dinner. "Anything in particular sound good? I was thinking Indian."

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andromynous
2008-04-07 04:57 am UTC (link)

She knew for a fact that there was at least enough food in the fridge to make five dinners, but in all honesty she didn't particularly feel like cooking and Ted was being his usual wonderful self about it. Andromeda took another slow drag of the cigarette and slipped closer to Ted, leaning her shoulder against his. Having him this close was more comforting than she could say even if he wasn't even saying anything.

It wasn't as if she really wanted to talk about the situation anyway. If it got to the point where something could be done about it, then she'd have to talk it out ... but for now it was much easier on her to just avoid thinking about it as much as she could manage. "Indian sounds good, but we'll have to make sure that we get something Dora will like." Ted knew that and she knew he knew, but she felt like if she didn't fill the silence with something reasonably constructive she'd pop.

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teds
2008-04-07 05:18 am UTC (link)

As if by instinct, Ted's arm went around Andromeda's shoulders, pulling her into a supportive side-hug. "Maybe we had better go Chinese then," he mused. This was definitely better than discussing the situation with Sirius, and it seemed to be preferrable, more importantly, to her as well. "Dora's always been such a picky eater, and you know she's just going to cause chaos if we can't get her to eat dinner."

He stared out onto the lawn and pursed his lips for a moment. Yes, he could just remember the last time his daughter hadn't liked dinner--it only served to cause crankiness, which caused havoc wreaking, which caused headaches, which was something they definitely didn't need tonight.

"We can ask for extra fortune cookies, so she can stay occupied smashing them and getting the fortunes out and trying to read them. That might give us a good hour of relative calm out of her."

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andromynous
2008-04-07 05:24 am UTC (link)

"Merlin, yes," she muttered quietly as he hooked his arm around her shoulder. "That's a brilliant idea." It was, really. She shifted her hand down his arm and curled her fingers in his, reveling in the weight and the fact that Ted was here with her.

"I think we ought to put a few flowers out this year," she was glancing out at the lawn too, now, in an effort to calm herself down. The patches of green green grass gave her something to focus on, at least. "Daisies, maybe. Or something pink for Dora." Not that she could think of an exact species of pink flower off the top of her head, but still. It didn't really matter right now anyway.

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teds
2008-04-07 05:34 am UTC (link)

He nodded, squeezing her hand lightly. Ted planted a small kiss on the crown of her head and kept his face there, the clean scent of her hair relaxing. "Not pink roses, though," he muttered into the dark locks. "Something inexpensive, because no doubt she'll want to pick a bunch of them. We could ask her to plant them with us, though. She'd like that, I think."

He had to stop himself--he had almost added that they should ask Sirius to come to help them as well, but... Jesus, it was such a strange feeling to think that he wasn't around. That he might--morbid as it was--not be around again. With the Death Eaters (because considering that it was the Blacks they were talking about, it wasn't really a guess so much as an assumption), you never knew what could happen--you could only bet that it wasn't good. "Let's rent a movie tonight too, yeah? You know, for after Dora goes to sleep," he recovered.

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andromynous
2008-04-07 05:44 am UTC (link)

"Agreed," she trailed her fingertips across the top of his hand, taking in a shaky breath. Her mind had gone straight to the same spot as Ted's, she was sure of it -- Dora would want Sirius to help her with the flowers. What had happened to not thinking about it, she wondered. Maybe it was something that she wouldn't be able to get away from. There wasn't a point directly denying it, at least.

She let out a quiet sigh. "Right, then," it was just as obvious that she was distracted by what they'd both been thinking. "He'll be back, Ted." Andromeda tried desperately to sound sure of herself but thought she failed quite miserably. "Whatever you'd like." Because she was definitely not going to be in the mindset to pick a film, but she didn't want to drag Ted into the sort of state she was starting to sink toward.

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teds
2008-04-07 06:20 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, he will be," he said, and thought he actually did a decent job of sounding convinced. That's what being a news broadcaster did for you, though--it was essentially acting in and of itself, just without having to memorize all the lines. "He's already proven a thousand times he can handle your family."

Just then, a set of footsteps could be heard tiredly padding down the stairs behind them, and Ted craned his neck around to watch Nymphadora--orange-haired today, it seemed--making her way towards them. He nudged Andromeda to put out the fag and let go of her, turning around to meet the little girl in a hug. Five years old and still he would pick her up in his arms like she was only two--it was just a daddy thing, he supposed, because his mother always insisted she was far too old to be carried around like a baby.

"Aren't you supposed to be asleep for another fifteen minutes?"

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andromynous
2008-04-07 06:27 am UTC (link)

Whether Ted was using his broadcasting talents to his advantage or not, she was glad to hear the certainty in his voice. It was the thought that counted. Faith was largely built on figment, after all.

Largely a daddy thing, yes. She shifted to quickly stub the fag out beneath her boot and waved her hand just a little in hopes of getting some of the smell away before she turned to the two of them and reached in to tap Nymphadora's nose gently. While she didn't necessarily think that the girl should be picked up like he was doing just now, she was certainly not going to scold him like she might have, however teasingly, on any other day.

"I'm sure she's just incredibly eager to get that dinner," she murmured, managing a small, genuine smile for the girl and reached up to stroke back her hair fondly.

"Isn't that right, Dora?"

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teds
2008-04-07 06:54 am UTC (link)

The response was an enthusiastic nod of Dora's head, which was actually rather a tired response given that if she had not just woke up, there would be excitement and shouting, accompanied by a million-word ramble about what they were having.

She started to squirm, so he let her down to her feet gently, instructing her to go off and clean up for dinner. Ted turned back to Andromeda as Nymphadora ran off.

"I should go order that now, then," he told her. "And I'll owe you another fag later, after she's gone to sleep. Might have to have one with you." Ever since they'd had Dora, he'd been trying to settle down with the smoking, but he still always carried around a pack with him and he couldn't help the temptation that the smell of one brought.

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andromynous
2008-04-07 06:59 am UTC (link)

"You should," she agreed once Dora headed off to clean up and she closed the door to the house. She knew that Ted had been trying to quit (hell, she'd been trying too), but that just wasn't in the cards right now and she knew it, especially with the added stress of Sirius' disappearance. Andromeda had to admit that the thought of a quiet fag in the middle of the night with Ted was undeniably appealing.

She couldn't help the subconscious urge to stay close to Ted, though, and when he moved to the kitchen to order the food she settled herself at the sink to dry off the already bone-dry dishes absently. The repetitive movement helped to push any residual thoughts about the situation out of her mind for a little while, at least.

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