Tweak

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Tweak says, "Help me Obi Wan Kenobi."

harrisonmc (harrisonmc) wrote in 20somethings,
@ 2022-09-05 15:40:00

Entry tags:

c: etta russell, c: harrison mclaggen, d: 2028 09, Ω: rp

RP: Looking for Recommendations
Who: Harrison & Etta
What: Casual Run-In, Book Shopping
When: 5 September 2028
Where: Flourish & Blotts, Diagon Alley
Warnings: TBD
Completion Status: ~~Ongoing~~ Faded Out

"Maybe I should've tried Muggle London." Harrison muttered under his breath. He let his hands fall across the spines of the books he was perusing, all of them books he'd read a million times. All of it, magical. "Are you looking for anything in particular?" A blonde, young witch asked, sensing his indecision.

"Not that I can tell," he smiled. "Thank you." He pushed open the door looking down the Alley before deciding to head in the direction of the Leaky, perhaps his search for a good read will be better amongst the shops of London.

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harrisonmc
2022-10-09 12:31 am UTC (link)

Harrison nodded, before heading back to the bar making a mental note to grab himself a cup of decaf while he was up. Shifting his way through the crowd he secretly thanked Gavin for being a hard-ass when it came to strength training. He still wasn't as hulking as a beater, but he was considerably bigger than he was during tryouts.

He thanked the bartender and pulled a bit of everything, unsure how Etta took her coffee. "They mentioned if we needed anything else to let them know." He placed her coffee in front of her and prepared his own. A couple of cream and a sugar.

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funeral_bell
2022-10-09 08:15 pm UTC (link)

She half-watched as he moved through the crowd, but once he got to the bar she just pulled out her phone and started to scroll, checking if she had had any orders come in, or anything interesting had appeared on Winsta. It wasn't helping the headache, but she was banking on the coffee helping her out shortly.

"Thanks," she said, drawing the cup towards her. She sipped a little before wrinkling her nose and dumping some sugar in. "Sometimes I drink it straight, but I think I need the extra sugar right now."

"I'm gonna give this a couple of minutes to kick in, but I definitely need food," she said.

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harrisonmc
2022-10-09 09:21 pm UTC (link)

Harrison nodded again, taking a long sip from his own cup. If her headache was that bad he figured extra noise wasn't going to help even if it was polite conversation. Seeing her swiping through her phone he followed suit.

He didn't have much in the way of notifications. A few messages in the team chat about offseason training, the last thing he wanted to think about right now. Another from his mother reminding him that he had to make an appearance this week at the family store.

He set his phone back down, all it was doing was reminding him of the things he should be doing. Training and boosting the store's sales going into the offseason.

"How's your head doing?" This nagging urge to ask what she did for a living rose up as quickly as he pushed it from his mind. Headache riddled didn't seem the right time for serious conversation.

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funeral_bell
2022-10-10 04:14 pm UTC (link)

Alternating between coffee and water combined with the fact Hunter wasn't pushing her to speak Etta's headache started to abate. There had been a slight crease between her eyebrows that loosened.

She nodded slightly at him and she stopped swiping through various bits of social media and games on her phone. "Starting to let up, thanks. I should probably help it out by eating. Girl can't live by coffee alone, tempting as it is sometimes," she said. She also loved food, so there was little real chance of her giving up eating in favour of coffee. Almost-magical elixir though it was.

"Thanks for giving me a few," she said. "Are you eating too?" Thankfully there were a couple of menus on the table and she grabbed one. There were usually a plenty of things at the Leaky which would pique her interest.

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harrisonmc
2023-01-03 01:54 am UTC (link)

Harrison smiled knowing his presence wasn't a complete nuisance. "Good." His voice was a touch higher than he expected. Regardless of their one night, Etta was still a good friend and he hated seeing his friends in pain, even for something as minuscule as a migraine.

"Food is good, coffee is better. Both are best." He couldn't count on two hands how many times he skipped a hearty breakfast for a quick cup of coffee before a practice or training session.

"Are you sure you want the company?" Her question surprised him. His mind was already reading into her question. She'd obviously had a hard day at work. Would she be better off alone or did she simply want company?

He picked up a menu. "I am hungry, but if you had a hard day and would rather be alone, I could always grab something to go." Overthinking aside, he needed a true answer from her. Whether he should stay.

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funeral_bell
2023-01-04 08:04 pm UTC (link)

"Okay, yes, both is best," she agreed decisively. The combo was definitely going to help her out.

Etta frowned at him in confusion. "If I hadn't wanted the company I wouldn't have come to the pub with you, especially when I already had a headache," she said. "Like I said you're not you're not yelling. The pub isn't the worst either. Especially now the coffee and water are kicking in."

"Decide and order what you want you..." she struggled to work out exactly not-really-an-insult she wanted use on him. "Banana," she finished lamely and laughed and shrugged at him. She didn't know where it had come from either.

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harrisonmc
2023-01-05 01:24 am UTC (link)

Harrison stared at her slack jawed. "Did you just call me a banana?" He chuckled. There was something interesting about seeing Etta like this. Without the control her annoyance was well, cute.

"I think I'll stay." He decided, flashing her a quick smile. Looking at the menu he was regretting skipping breakfast this morning. Everything on it seemed like something he could devour. Breakfast Burger with a runny sunny side up egg? He glanced back up at Etta. Maybe something less messy. Looking further down at the sandwich offering he found himself settling on a reuben and a side of crisps.

"Another coffee?" He asked, handing his menu to their server. "Maybe a carafe for the table?"

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funeral_bell
2023-01-05 05:04 pm UTC (link)

She held her hands up and pulled a face. "I wasn't sure if we were in a friendly insults that sound like actual insults place and I couldn't come up with anything else." She paused and tilted her head to the side. "I think maybe my mum used to use it sometimes," she said softly and gave a rueful smile. She was far more comfortable with her mother's death these days, but Harrison had definitely known her long enough to remember when it was a touchy subject.

Etta was pleased he had decided to stay and went on with looking through her menu. She didn't want anything too heavy, but it probably needed to come with some kind of carbs. She looked at the burgers first but nothing really grabbed her, and then she saw the 'posh fish finger sandwich' and her stomach growled in appreciation. Easy enough choice. "Oh Merlin, apparently I'm hungrier than I thought," she said, grabbing her stomach in embarrassment.

"I'd better not have more right away. I'll just get a pumpkin juice, and a fish and chip sandwich on white, please," she said to the server who had appeared. "I might grab another coffee on the way out," she said to Harrison.

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harrisonmc
2023-01-05 06:46 pm UTC (link)

"Well I guess, I'm a banana then." Harrison asserted. Even while they were at school he never pushed hard when she brought up her mother. And when she'd started taking crazy risks on the pitch he only helped pick her up. No, it was never time to push on the topic. He would simply smile and find a way to bring her back from the edge.

"Good!" He chuckled. "I managed to skip breakfast, so it's a good thing you won't be just watching me eat." The smile lingered on his face. She was adorable. They'd shared a night together, seen all of each other, and yet she sat across from him now blushing and clutching her stomach for making a little noise.

"I think I'll have another coffee." He told their server. He wasn't sure if he'd make it into Muggle London to peruse the shop, but it made sense to keep his energy up. "Maybe water too?" He reminded himself that he needed to keep himself hydrated even outside of the Quidditch Season.

He turned his attention back to Etta. "What did you have planned for the rest of the day?" He could always pick up his regimen again tomorrow. He wasn't Hunter or Gavin. He needed rest days in between her body mashing workouts.

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funeral_bell
2023-01-06 11:33 pm UTC (link)

She snorted softly. "Even if I didn't order food I'd probably end up trying to swipe your chips or something. Just the act of other people eating makes me hungry unless I am absolutely stuffed," she said sunnily.

"Back to work after lunch. Dad and my step-mum have a funeral at 3, which is weirdly late, but whatever. I'm holding the shop until 6 and then my brother has the emergency line for a while and I need to go pull stuff from the kiln and see if it fused nicely overnight. I think I'm gonna have a quiet night though. Do you have anything other than your book search?" Etta had mostly forgotten that Harrison hadn't technically been told what she did these days, but she rarely pushed the family business in people's faces anyway.

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harrisonmc
2023-01-07 01:30 am UTC (link)

"Somehow that doesn't bother me." Sure Scarlet would do it when they were growing up but usually it was because there were four of them at home and it was the last of something. A girl doing it felt different. Kind of like a date. The thought made him smile.

"What kind of shop?" He denied the urge to ask 'who died?' at the first part of her statement. It didn't feel appropriate and it was nice to see her happy, he realized. The Bell family owned a few businesses around the Alley and Victory Road. Then she mentioned the word 'kiln', not exactly the type of equipment the clock shop would use. He didn't want to push, she'd been rather mum on the subject before, but he was curious.

He paused on the line of thinking focusing on her other question. "A quiet night, I think." It would be too late to do any type of meaningful conditioning. He'd have to pick up on that the next day. "If I find something I might read. If I don't then I'll need to find something to fill the time."

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funeral_bell
2023-01-08 11:59 pm UTC (link)

Having forgotten that she hadn't told Harrison about her family's business (and it was never something she advertised at school) Etta's face registered surprise for a few seconds before she gathered herself into stoic professionalism. "Ah, yes. One of my, er, three jobs is with the family business. We're the branch of the Bells with the funeral directors. I'll be keeping an eye on the office or shop portion while others are conducting a funeral." She was watching him for his reaction since she knew there were many ways it could go. "I don't usually bring it up right away with people, because a lot aren't very comfortable with death."

She nodded, that sounded kind of like the evening she had when she wasn't planning much else. Although hers often involved the trashier bits of WeVe and possibly sketching some glass ideas. "Sounds good."

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harrisonmc
2023-01-09 02:25 am UTC (link)

"Understandable for sure." He hadn't given it much thought the other night at Carnival. His own little house on the McLaggen Estate was far enough away from the others and the main house that it didn't matter much that she'd insisted on his place, but waking up the next morning he'd wondered.

He could see that his nondescript answer didn't exactly return confidence that he didn't care about what she did or what her parents continue to do. "Da doesn't talk about it much, but mum's gotten better with it. When she was attacked there was a point where even he didn't think she would make it. The healers had tried everything and it wasn't looking good. He had to come to terms that he might lose her." He didn't know if he was rambling but the story had a point.

"She pulled through, but she's never quite been the same. Fond of rare meat. That story has always been my benchmark though on the subject. Everyone eventually does and sometimes you get lucky. Some days I'm just happy to be lucky."

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funeral_bell
2023-01-09 09:46 pm UTC (link)

When he took the opportunity to start talking about death she was surprised, and somewhat pleased. Not quite the response she'd been expecting, but far better than him changing his mind about eating with her. "It's not always been easy for me either, you saw me after mum passed, but I'm in a much better place with it now. Although it's always a bit different with someone you're close to." She had dropped the professional mask, but her smiles were still soft and on the gentle side.

"I don't tend to think of death like a spectre hanging over me most of the time. Sometimes it feels like it, but usually it's just something I know will happen. I know enough to know I don't want to be a ghost, and a decent sketch of what I'd like my death care to look like, but that's pretty unusual in your 20s unless you're in the industry or really ill," she said. "Being surrounded by death reminds me to live me life as much in line with my wishes as possible." None of her jobs were very lethal, and although Quidditch was rather more dangerous, medical supervision generally meant it wasn't likely to be lethal either. Harrison's take seemed to be relatively positive as far as things went, and she filed it away for future reference. She glanced around to see if anyone was listening to their conversation and uncomfortable, but nobody seemed to have noticed.

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harrisonmc
2023-01-10 03:57 am UTC (link)

He noticed her shifting glances to the filing room. The Leaky was notorious for gossip, but most of the patrons seemed to be keeping to themselves. He reached a hand out to hers hoping to ground her.

"Death care." He repeated the words as if they had a great deal of weight. He was twenty-two and in peak physical condition. "That's something difficult for me to wrap my head around." He didn't want it to sound like bragging. If the roles were reversed he'd have a well thought out plan as well. "It probably should be something to consider now I have bludgers flying at my head on a weekly basis. Gavin doesn't exactly pull his strikes."

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funeral_bell
2023-01-10 11:33 pm UTC (link)

When he reached for her hand Etta's instinct was to snatch her own away. Not because she didn't want to be touched so much as she didn't feel like it was an appropriate gesture between them. However she left her hand there and gave a strained smile before moving back.

"It's kind of a neutral term we've taken to using more and more. It covers as much or as little as you need it to and works for whatever your perspective near enough," she said. It was true. It worked for everyone from those who had minutely detailed expectations for everything from the preparation of their body to the funeral, to those whose opinion boiled down to a wish for burial but where everything else was left to their loved ones.

She nodded, having seen plenty of people in a similar place for themselves or their loved ones. "I tend to think its worth anyone considering some basics, but I've got an unusual perspective," she said gently. "Oh, but if you do decide anything make sure you write it down and put it somewhere obvious. You have good healers around though, you're pretty safe for a potentially concussion inducing job. Right?" Or at least she hoped that was the case.

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harrisonmc
2023-01-12 03:03 am UTC (link)

Physical touch, not a thing. He noted. It was more of an instinct than anything, but not one everyone appreciated. They weren't that close anyway. He leaned back in his chair, maybe an overcorrection, but one he hoped said 'I respect your space'. He wasn't one of these ogres that got offended when simple gestures weren't returned positively to begin with.

He listened attentively to her explanation. "A bit of a carry over from medical, innit?" He'd overheard a similar term when his mother was being discharged from hospital. "It's all about what you want to accomplish." The personal details seemed just that. Personal. Definitely not something you discuss over lunch with a friend.

"Pretty safe." He assured. I can't remember a player being in any mortal danger since Cyprian Youdle and that wasn't even a player's fault." The safety regulations around spectators had come a long way since 1357 and most wands were at least checked at the gates nowadays. He thought about the 1994 Cup, but that was a tragedy and harsh reality for the entire wizarding world. "No, I think I'm as safe as I can be. Concussions and broken bones aside."

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funeral_bell
2023-01-13 01:25 am UTC (link)

Part of Etta wanted to explain that her aversion to Harrison's touch was less general and more contextual, but that both seemed far too complicated and mixed in with the fact it was partly couched in instinct. Plus she wasn't bothered by their conversation, more she had been concerned that other people might be. Or at least she was guessing he had noticed her glances.

"The two are pretty linked since they're usually about what you want doing when you're not able to say for yourself," she agreed. And very rarely were death practices set in legal arrangements, but that was just far too complex to be getting into over a casual lunch.

Just then their food arrived and the server gave them a mildly alarmed look at the conversation but said nothing about it. Etta thanked her then turned wide-eyed exaggeration to Harrison as she went away again.

"And this is why public conversations about that job usually end quickly." She grinned and stuffed one of her chips in her mouth, then added some salt to the rest.

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harrisonmc
2023-01-13 02:11 am UTC (link)

It was becoming obvious that he didn't know nearly as much about her as he thought. She was brave, but not outgoing. Guarded but more than willing to open herself given the right atmosphere. This was someone he'd gone to school with, practiced with, and he felt more like a stranger he bumped into outside of a bookstore.

He continued to listen while he parsed out how that made him feel. A stoic, silence washing over his face. Then the food arrived, and though Etta was smiling he couldn't help but wonder if she had many other people to talk to about this. Everyone talks about sports. Not everyone can talk about death as though it was merely someone you passed on the street.

He took a large bite out of the pickle spear that hid underneath his pub chips. "Thank you for sharing that with me." He offered after swallowing. There wasn't anything more he could say on the subject of her job that didn't make him sound like he was trying too hard.

The pickle was gone in another few bites and he turned to his sandwich. He'd leave the chips for now.

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funeral_bell
2023-01-16 11:19 pm UTC (link)

She shrugged lightly. "I rarely mind talking about it," she said. "But I don't usually bring it up myself, for obvious reasons," she said quietly, tilting her head at the departing waitress. "I, er, I live in the flat above the office. It's why I don't usually take people back there at first," she added apologetically.

"You know I also work in the craft shop and make fused glass art. So I have less alarming work stories to talk about too!" she said trying to steer away from the topic for a bit.

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harrisonmc
2023-01-17 02:13 am UTC (link)

"It's understandable." He didn't tell her he'd had a hunch. She already had that look on her face like she'd hidden something more important from his. He had to admit. If she'd walked him up the stairs above a funeral home he might have questioned it. She was right, most people would.

"Creative Collective, right?" He'd been hearing about more and more people taking classes or selling their homemade crafts. Images of mosaic colors catching the light and scattering a rainbow of light came to mind. "That sounds beautiful." He'd never been the creative type. That was more Skye's realm. He followed his brother into the more physical side of the world.

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funeral_bell
2023-01-19 12:17 am UTC (link)

"Collection, but yep that's the one," she said, some of her brightness returning now they had moved away from death as a topic. "I try to make beautiful things, but sometimes the kiln has other ideas! Or I do something when I'm too tired and forget how colours work and end up with sludge," she wrinkled her nose at the last part and shrugged a little. It didn't happen too often, but sometimes last minute inspirations turned more into last minute disasters. At least Caleb had introduced her to someone who would recycle her occasional disasters for their own craft work. She still had fun no matter what.

She took a huge bite of her sandwich and let out a small but happy sigh. Even though it wasn't something she'd grown up with it was a weirdly comforting food, even as a posh version.

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harrisonmc
2023-01-19 07:57 pm UTC (link)

"I'd like to see that sometime. Your work I mean." The words came out before he could really think. Is that something she would be open to? Their conversation so far reminded him that Etta was a private person who let people in on her own terms, not someone else's.

"That is. If that's alright with you?" He backtracked a bit. If it wasn't then he'd drop the subject altogether. He took a bite out of his sandwich.

He cared what she thought and tried to keep her presumed boundaries intact, feeling if she wanted to share something that she would.

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funeral_bell
2023-01-20 11:50 pm UTC (link)

Pleased, and not quite sure if this was edging on flirting Etta smiled. "I have pictures, by, like the bucketload, but if you want to come by the shop when I'm working I'd be happy to give you a personal tour," she said.

"Craft shop, clearly, not funeral shop," she clarified with a slightly panicked look on her face.

She didn't know if she wanted to flirt right now. She'd had plenty of fun with him, but she didn't do a huge amount of repeats, and he probably needed to process the whole funeral thing before she actually made potential moves in that direction again. She wasn't opposed, but she wasn't aiming at it right this minute.

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