Who: Wan and Christine What: Post-attack catch-up When: Backdated to Sunday, August 23rd, After Christine’s Journal Post Where: The Preston House Rating/Warning: none! Status: Closed; Complete!
After he’d been checked over by the medics he’d tried to find the Preston’s. Christine, her parents. It didn’t matter who so long as he could get to them. But after a couple hours of searching and asking, he’d been told they’d already been cleared and sent home. Christine’s post saying she was okay was the only reason he trusted those words, but it still took him some time to find someone willing to give him floo powder and let him leave. He didn’t have family to contact and several staffers thought he was lying about it. But eventually he met a sympathetic ear and did a little bending of the truth to get them to let him go back to his hotel. And from there he made his way to the Preston house.
Wan knocked on the door, unsure if they were there yet, but still hopeful. It was the only lead he had. He should have asked Christine on the journal. That would have been smart.
Getting cleared by the healers had taken some time. Christine had gotten a nasty concussion due to the chaos, not the mention a dislocated shoulder. She’d been separated from her family for nearly forty minutes, according to her father, before he had found her. When she’d finally came to, the healers examined her extensively because she’d had a very nasty concussion when she was eight and hadn’t been healed. The healers had told her and her parents to keep an eye on her hearing in her good ear, but they weren’t overly concerned about it failing. After all, her left ear had been from the water pressure of the lake and how deep she’d gotten.
Once her head and dislocated shoulder were healed, they waited another twenty minutes before getting the okay to leave. Sleeping had been rather uncomfortable between the lingering soreness and the imagery behind her eyes when they closed for too long. This wasn’t going to be easy to get over, that was for sure. When Wan contacted her on the journals the next morning, she was utterly relieved. While they were technically dating, she currently saw him much more as a friend but that could change. She didn’t really know or understand what made the difference between a boyfriend/girlfriend and a friend.
Opening the door had taken longer than she’d planned. Christine had made it to the door in a bit of pain. Her head was throbbing and her shoulder was a little stiff. The healers had said it would take a few days to really feel 100% again and she could see that they were indeed correct. Smiling when she saw him, she sighed a heavy sigh of relief. “I’m so, so happy you’re okay,” just as she finished the last word NIght and Day came charging up behind her and bounded out to meet their other owner.
Wan grinned at seeing her standing there and stepped forward to pull her into a hug as the two dogs barreled into his shins. He ignored them for the moment, though, holding Christine tightly and tucking his head into her shoulder. Not because he loved her - he wasn’t in love and he knew it and though it could change, it wasn’t what he felt right then - but because he cared about her. He liked her. A lot. She was funny and honest and had been a good friend to him within only days of meeting. She had somehow wormed her way into his heart just deep enough that seeing her safe and alive and whole and standing in front of him made his chest hurt with the relief he felt.
“It’s good to see you, too,” he murmured as he pulled himself away and took a step back so he didn’t smother her. “And you guys, too,” he said louder and with a laugh that was half a sob. He knelt down to welcome the puppies into his arms. “The tent was completely collapsed when I got back to it and no one was there. I was so worried.”
Wan looked up at her, “And I couldn’t find you and for a while no one I talked to had any idea who you or your family were. There was just… so many people there. So many hurt.”
When Wan pulled her into a hug Christine cringed slightly. Even though the healers had healed her head and shoulder, there was still lingering aches and pains. And even though there were aches and pains, she squeezed him back just as tightly. She was beyond relieved that he was okay. So many people have been waiting in the tents to be healed or looking for loved ones. They hadn't been friends or even dating long, but she appreciated him and what his life had been like. Christine just wanted him to be welcomed and feel comfortable.
Watching as he cuddled the dogs to him and said hello, Christine smiled. Her smile slowly ebbed away at the mention of the tent and how he might have been panicking. "Once my dad found me they brought me straight to the healers and never thought to go back."
Running her fingers through his hair and behind his ear, she frowned for a moment and then smiled. "I'm so sorry about that. It must have been hard not knowing where we were and seeing all that... Come in."
Wan stilled as her fingers found their way into his hair. The dogs pushing at his hands went ignored while he let his eyes shut, leaning into the touch just as it ended. He wasn’t used to being treated like that. To have someone fuss over him and it come out in the physical. The little touches that others - people with families that were close knit or even moderately okay with each other - were used to. Yao hadn’t done that past making sure Wan knew how to brush his hair properly or had his clothes on straight. Huddling together for warmth didn’t count. Comforting touches just weren’t a part of his life.
Only they were. Now. Sort of.
He stood slowly, putting his hands in his pockets and keeping his head down. A nod to indicate he would come in was given, and then a couple steps forward with a quick whistle to get Night and Day to follow him and not linger at the door. Once inside, he shrugged, “You don’t have to apologize. Your parents chose your safety over anything else. That’s what parents are supposed to do right?”
Wan didn’t mean for his tone to be so bitter. He wasn’t mad at her or her family for leaving him there and getting themselves to safety. Parents and what they were ‘supposed’ to do were just a sore subject for him in general.
“Sorry. That came out wrong.”
Once he came inside, Christine closed the door and leaned back against it. Staring at him for a moment, she looked away and scooped the two pups up. She carried them into the living room and sat down on the couch leaving enough room for Wan to sit. There was still enough room for the puppies to roam between the two of them.
"Right, but they should also be looking after the kids they bring with them to an event like that." Leaning forward, she squeezed his knee and and looked him straight in the eye. "You deserved to be protected and cared for."
Christine sat back and cuddled Day to her chest. Kissing her head, she settled the dog down and shook her head. "No need to apologize."
“I can handle myself,” Wan murmured back, looking away, unable to hold her gaze as she said that. It was habit more than heartfelt. Parents didn’t look after him. Parents didn’t care about him. Parents didn’t want him. Why should it matter which set of parents it was? If his didn’t keep him, he really didn’t see why any others would want to have responsibility for him, either.
He leaned back on the couch and let the puppies climb onto him as they hurried between him and Christine. Trying to make sure the two of them were there and giving them attention at every turn. His lips cracked a smile for that.
“What happened to you? How did you get hurt?”
Immense sadness overcame Christine at the way Wan responded. To her, she saw him in pain from having been orphaned and she wanted him to know that he’d someday have someone in his life he could trust and turn to like a parent. She didn’t know that for a fact, but it was a hope that she had for him. The smile that crossed his lips as the puppies kept giving him love and attention, made her heart ache a little but she smiled despite it.
“Me? When we heard the booms and the screams, we grabbed the pups and bolted out of the tent to get away. My parents were just ahead of me when I turned to look behind me. When I turned back we were separated. I ran as fast as I could to try and find them. When I turned to look behind me again, I got knocked unconscious by someone running scared. I woke up almost an hour later in one of the Healer tents with a horrible headache and a throbbing shoulder. What about you? What happened to you?”
“I was out wandering the parties at the edge of the tents, where it was quieter,” he started slowly, getting his thoughts in order and making sure he was remembering things properly. Everything happened really fast and other than what he’d told a couple of the Mediwizards and Mediwitches, he hadn’t actually given a lot of thought to what he’d witnessed. How it had gone down.
“I don’t remember what it was that changed between the fireworks some people were setting off and the actual attack, but I remember the laughter stopping and screams instead. I ran towards the tents and these people with masks on and dark robes were running around, chasing people. Throwing curses with their wands. I jumped in front of a few, deflected what I could. A lot of them ended up grazing me anyway, but nothing hit directly. I tried knocking down the ones I could with incendio spells. Keep them on the ground and keep them away from people. Most of them apparated out, though. And by the time it was over, I was too hurt to walk properly… One of the Hogwarts teachers found me. That Professor Parker one. He helped me find your tent and check on it. Then got me to the Evac tents. After I was looked over, I went back to your tent again in case you guys came back.”
As she listened to him tell her about what he’d been doing and had done, Christine wanted nothing more than to shake him and tell him he was absolutely crazy. She didn’t understand how people could be so cruel as to hurt others, especially based solely on their blood status. What was worse, was that she really couldn’t understand how people just jumped in front of complete strangers and protected them, fought against the evil with no thought to their own safety. Maybe it was a selfish way of thinking, or even a cowards, but it wasn’t the type of person she was. She needed to care about the person she was protecting, otherwise she was all about getting out of danger as fast as possible.
“You were hurt?” she asked as she sat forward again to touch his hand. “You were hurt and still came to look for us? You’re okay now, though, right? Dad can give you a pain potion if you want one. He’s been brewing some for me and neighbors.”
“I wanted to make sure you were okay.” Wan looked at her hand on his, slowly turning over his palm so he could loosely twine their fingers together. Give her a reassuring squeeze. “I’m fine. I’ve drunk a lot more pain potions this morning than I’ve ever had. I don’t think I need more. Maybe later if they start to wear off.”
He glanced her over and chewed at his bottom lip, “You probably need them more than me right now. I know the hug hurt.”
“I was so out of it. I think I still have a bit of a concussion… I’m prone to get them a little more easily now since my first major one seven years ago. I wanted to know you were okay. I’m so glad you are.” Twining her fingers with his, Christine smiled at Wan when he gave them a reassuring squeeze.
“Well don’t drink too many. They can get addicting and I’d hate to see you go down that road.” Shrugging a little, she rested her head against the back of the couch. She was just so tired still. All she wanted to do was curl up and sleep a little. “I won’t lie. It did, but it’s not unbearable. I’ll take something when it does.”
Wan squeezed her fingers again and then untangled them and stood up. He moved around so he was standing behind her head. He had to make small chiding noises at the dog’s protests to get them to stay where they were. Fortunately they were learning to respond to the various small sounds he used when asking Mula to obey. They seemed to translate well to overstimulated puppies.
He put his hands on the couch back on either side of her head and leaned forward, “Sit up.”
Watching him shift off the couch, Christine arched her eyebrow. What was he planning on doing? He quieted the dogs down, which was a blessing for her headache, and then was standing behind the couch behind her. Sitting up, she leaned her head back and looked up at Wan upside down. “What are you thinking of doing to me?”
“Nothing bad,” he answered, bringing his fingers to the back of her neck. His thumbs started to lightly rub where her shoulders connected. Not a lot of pressure. She was still sore and he didn’t want to counter anything she’d been given for her concussion. And he didn’t want to aggravate it either. So he wouldn’t be touching her head or rubbing her temples. But her neck and shoulders… those could use some loosening up. “It’ll feel better if you let your head fall forward. You can sleep, too, if you feel like it.”
The feel of his fingers on the back of her neck, momentarily made Christine stiffen. She was used to be touched, but it had never been anything like this. No one had ever given her a massage before and that it was the guy she was dating just added to her awkwardness. However, as it quickly started feeling better she relaxed. Listening to his suggestion, she let her head fall forward and rest against her chest. “Mmm… that’s nice. Thank you, Wan.”
He had given Yao and Jaya shoulder rubs, head massages, that sort of thing, for years. Yao more than Jaya because of how stiff Yao could get. Both from old age and from the spell that had transfigured him into part-tree. It wasn’t something Wan did for just anyone. Or rather, it wasn’t something he used to do for just anyone. He didn’t have many people to care for at the moment. Not ones he could stand to be in the same room with for long.
Christine wouldn’t know that, of course, and he was counting on it. He didn’t want her reading too much into it. Rightfully or otherwise. He just wanted to feel like things were a bit more normal again. Taking care of someone helped. And with everyone else he knew on the other side of the country, she was pretty much the only option he had.