Who: Derry Ackerly and JJ Monroe What: Someone gets an earful. And an eyeful. When: July 22, 2019. Early evening Where: Derry's room, The Bunkhouse Warnings: JJ's Grauntie (yes, she deserves a warning), and a shocking twist!
Even with the temperatures magically regulated indoors, JJ was still running really hot. Her skin had a shine to it, and she could barely hold on to any inch of skin she tried to touch as Derry left her a mess of soft sighs and somewhat embarrassing moans as he nibbled across her bared collarbone. They were in his room, and she was in his lap, and they'd been kissing for what felt like hours between snatches of conversation. She had no idea that she could feel this good with anyone, even without doing everything. Her fingers were tangled in his hair while her other hand was pressed into his back, pulling him closer. She whispered his name, "Derry."
Derry had been sucking at the edge of JJ’s collarbone after he’d been trailing kisses from her neck and down. He had been more than happy to enjoy being with JJ, and make her feel good without pushing her too far. With JJ’s hands tangled in his hair, he’d pulled back so he could look at her when he’d heard his name.
His hands smoothed over her lower back, and Derry leaned in to capture those lips in another kiss. The kiss lingered for a moment before breathing was important again, so Derry pulled back. His nose pressed against hers, and he rested his forehead against hers. “JJ?” he asked with a light smirk because it was a bit of a delayed response to her saying his name first.
She stared a moment, completely dazed, and then laughed as her forehead fell against his shoulder. It was soft and mossy against her skin, and she didn't flinch away from it. Instead, she leaned back and brushed her fingers across the patch that had definitely gotten bigger since they'd last done this. "Nothin'. 'M just happy. And I like sayin' your name." She paused from her gentle exploration to look up at him. "Have you— Do you know when Healer Strand might be comin' back? Surely someone can get you more potions before then."
Derry laughed softly too because JJ’s was just infectious to him. When she leaned into his shoulder, Derry just wrapped his arms around her to hug her gently. It had been only a short period of time, but Derry had never let himself get this close to another person. He’d never had a relationship that had been so… tactile either. There was just something that made him happy with having JJ so close to him and having their skin touch.
When she asked after the patch on his shoulder he shook his head. His condition was not slowing up in Healer Strand’s absence. There was bark creeping up the side of his neck now. It had not been good timing for Derry to switch over to a new Healer, but they couldn’t have predicted this. And the man had his own life. He’d just gotten married. Derry hadn’t pressed for any news. “I don’t know. And it’s not so much getting more potions as we need to find something new. My body has developed a tolerance so the potion is less effective each time.”
A sad look crossed her face as she looked from his shoulder to his face. She wasn't feeling sorry for him, but the reality was still upsetting. "I'm sure you've thought about it before, but have you thought about goin' to Dr. Glitter—er, Dr. Brightstar and maybe Felix? See if they might be able to work in conjunction with each other?"
Derry reached up to brush a hand over JJ’s cheek when she looked sad. He didn’t want her to be. This was something he had already been dealing with. It was the reason he was switching healers in the first place. At her suggestion though, he did wonder. Dr. Brightstar was a creature healer and Felix was a herbologist. “It’s worth trying. It would mean telling one more person about my Being status.” Felix knew, but Derry didn’t particularly know Kent Brightstar that well.
She nodded slowly. "I get that, I do. Just somethin' to think ab—" Her phone began to ring, and JJ stared at it, eyes going wide. "Oh, no," she groaned. "Where's my shirt?" Panic was a nasty bubble rising inside of her. "It's my Grauntie, and if I don't answer, she's gonna have my hide!"
The conversation was interrupted by the sound of JJ’s phone ringing. At her sudden panic, Derry quickly looked and found their shirts (he did look like he was part tree at the moment) and pulled them over. “Here,” he said and helped JJ move out of his lap. That gave him the room to pull his t-shirt back on over his head as well.
Her shirt was thrown hastily back on and she combed her fingers through her hair as she sat next to Derry with her leg tucked under her. She pushed Accept, and immediately put on a contrite smile. "Hi, Grauntie! How are you? I'm sorry I almost missed you. I was just in the bathroom. I know how you feel about takin' phones in there."
Her great aunt's face filled the screen, and already she looked unimpressed and suspicious. "That doesn't look like your room, young lady."
JJ glanced at Derry before even realizing she'd done it, but then looked back. "No, ma'am. I'm just visitin' someone this evenin'."
"Is it that Will boy? Put him on. I'd like to see his sweet face."
"Grauntie..." JJ kind of hated the plaintive note in her voice, but couldn't help it.
"Jayla Monroe, you'd better 'fess up right now. I know someone else is with you, and that looks like a boy's room." Her look was one that would brook no foolishness or arguments to the contrary.
For his own part, Derry really did try not to laugh. This was serious, JJ was legitimately panicked, and her Grauntie did look scary. He was curious about JJ trying to keep him out of the conversation. He understood the remark about Will since he was JJ’s best friend here. Also, with the religious upbringing Will was… safe. Derry was not really that safe, in comparison.
But he didn’t know how the direct approach would be here, so he gave JJ a nod at least, and reached for her hand so she could tilt the phone to include him in the camera instead.
“Hello Ms. Alberts. I’m Derry. This is my room,” he clarified though as he thought about it it sounded kind of dumb in his head.
A critical eyebrow rose on the face on the phone's small screen. It spoke volumes in the nearly deadly silence that followed his greeting. "I see. And what is my great-niece doin' in your room, Mr. Derry?"
"Derry's my"—JJ drew in what was clearly a fortifying breath; there would be no lies tonight—"boyfriend, ma'am. We were just hangin' out."
Another quiet moment, and it was like her phone had turned up the intensity of the older woman's scrutiny past the max volume. "I see," her grauntie said again. "And what, pray tell, do you do in that little Reserve of yours, Mr. Derry? I assume you are gainfully employed, young man?"
He was glad that he hadn’t introduced himself as JJ’s boyfriend, and waited for JJ to do it instead. Derry was far happier hearing JJ call him that herself. Also, they weren’t lying about it.
Each pausing moment seemed to draw on longer. Still, remaining calm was what Derry did. Also, since it was out of sight, he’d reached so he could take JJ’s other hand in his. “I’m a herbologist, ma’am. I work in Facilities. I’m mostly responsible for maintaining the health of the trees, especially for the creature habitats.”
JJ watched her grauntie take this in stride, even giving a small nod as if to say that it met with her approval. There was no way she was going off her guard, however, and she turned her hand to intertwine their fingers. "He's been with the Reserve for a year, Grauntie. He's real good at what he does. The trees around here are the prettiest and healthiest I've ever seen."
"I'm sure that's true," her Grauntie said, but her incredulity was audible even across the wireless network. "And where do you go to church, young man?"
It was the question that JJ had been expecting since she'd swiped to accept, and now she dreaded it with every fiber of her being. "Grauntie…"
Derry smiled at JJ’s encouragement about his job and how good he was at it. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze because he could tell she was really trying to get approval from her Grauntie. Or she was eager for him to have approval.
He knew that JJ was concerned about this question, and he also didn’t want to upset her Grauntie about his answer either but even if he planned on lying, JJ’s warning tone said enough.
“I don’t go to church,” he didn’t hesitate to explain. “I’m a naturalist in a way, except that my belief in the laws of nature has to include the laws of magic and the reality of mythology.” Derry wasn’t sure if that was a satisfactory explanation. It probably made him sound like some hippie where in reality while growing up what Derry found himself relating to the most was Greek Mythology and Nature. Not that he could explain that to JJ’s Grauntie.
This did not seem to please her matronly aunt, but JJ knew that as soon as the conversation began. Her Grauntie opened her mouth to say something, but JJ headed her off gently, but firmly. "It's magic, Grauntie."
"But Will—"
"He's the exception." JJ was walking a fine line here. She didn't want to disrespect the woman who had basically raised her, but she wasn't about to let her try to tear down or run roughshod over her boyfriend. Or any of her magical friends. "We've talked about this, remember? Back with the groups? Derry grew up with things like satyrs and dryads and unicorns and dragons. Of course that's gonna influence his belief system. But he has love, Grauntie, and ain't that what's important? Don't we always say that God is love, and that we need to love one another? He's a good man. And that's what matters to me."
The woman looked mutinous for a moment, and then fixed her niece's boyfriend with another critical look. "Do you do right by her, young man? You treat her like the treasure she is? My Jayla has the purest soul, and I won't have anyone tarnish that."
Derry didn’t expect JJ’s Grauntie to like what he said at all. What mattered to him was that JJ understood and accepted him. He smiled at her explanation, as she slipped in the part about dryads… But more importantly he noticed the emphasis on love.
So even with the piercing look the other woman was giving him through the phone, Derry was still calm and undeterred. “I hope I am doing right by her. JJ will know that the best,” he said and at the second question, Derry lifted their joined hands so he could place a kiss on the top of her palm. “She is a treasure, and I know I am lucky to be with her. I would never hurt her.”
JJ felt her cheeks grow warm, and all she really wanted to do was to kiss him in that moment. She was so caught up in looking at him that she didn't notice the way her great aunt's face had shifted into something a little more knowing and perhaps a little kinder. When she did look back, it was just in time to see a text alert pop up at the top of the screen. The notification was no more than a flicker of light really, and JJ flicked it closed nimbly with her thumb. Her other hand tensed around Derry's but it was minute. "Grauntie, I've gotta run. It's a work thing."
"Lord, they do make you keep the oddest hours," the older woman observed with all the weight of her judgement present. "But I understand, hon. You best be good now, y'hear? Mr. Derry, I'm expectin' to see more of you. And you be good yourself. I don't wanna hear about no shenanigans from your parts."
Derry had been keeping an eye on JJ and on her Great Aunt. He had noticed the shift in facial expressions, so he felt that he’d passed some form of test anyway.
Still, he was surprised when JJ suddenly told her that she had to go. Derry also felt JJ’s hand tense in his too. He didn’t let that bother him immediately though as he smiled back at the screen. “No shenanigans. I promise I’ll be good.”
"G'night, Grauntie! Love you! Big hugs to everyone!" JJ blew a kiss at the screen, making her great-aunt laugh.
"G'night, sweet bird. I love you too. G'bye, Mr. Derry."
The screen went dark, and JJ laughed, shoulders relaxing as she released the tension that had been pent up in her shoulders since her ringer had gone off. "Well, that was somethin', wasn't it? Sorry about her. And me. I've gotta run to the necessary." She leaned in to give his cheek a peck and set the phone down on his bedside table, flicking at a button to lock it. That done, she left the room for a bit, still giggling to herself.
Derry had given his goodbyes as well, and it was a bit of a relief when the screen went black. He felt JJ’s shoulders relax next to him. “That wasn’t so bad.” He’d wanted to kiss JJ and give her some reassurance that it was all okay, and there was no reason to apologise… but after a peck on the cheek, JJ was off the bed and gone.
He moved to lay back down on the bed against the pillows, thinking about everything that had just happened. That was when JJ’s phone started pinging next to him. Normally he wouldn’t have looked at her phone, but it sounded like it was something urgent. It might have been her Great Aunt messaging her back again.
Derry reached for the phone and realized it wasn’t locked and there were four new messages. But when he checked them it wasn’t what he’d expected. First, there were numbers but Derry knew right away they looked like coordinates. Then there was what looked like a map of the reserve with a glowing marks in certain spots, and finally a couple of slightly different runes. Who would be texting this stuff to JJ and why? Derry looked at the number and it was blocked and that just made him even more confused.
"Aw, hon," JJ said from the door where she'd just slipped back in, "I really wish you hadn't seen that." It closed with a click, and suddenly her wand was out and pointed at him. Something blank and dispassionate fell across her face. "Obliviate!"
~*~
Derry woke up several hours later with a start. It was dark, and it had to be late. Despite that Derry noticed he was still in the clothes he’d been wearing that night. Leaning over to the night stand he found his phone to check the time… and it was late.
The last thing he remembered was listening to the wireless. He’d started that afterJJ had left to do… something regarding work. But, Derry couldn’t actually remember what he’d been listening to.
He felt off, and it wasn’t just because of that weird feeling you had after waking up from a nap in uncomfortable clothes. There was also a lingering image in his head from when he’d been sleeping. It was a cold expression on JJ’s face while she pointed her wand at him. What kind of nightmare was that?
With his phone still in hand, Derry opened his texts to JJ and paused for a moment to think about what to say.
Fell asleep. Hope everything is okay and you got back alright.
Right as rain, hon.
Sorry I never made it back. Feel like I owe you something after Hurricane Grauntie. What's your favorite sweet?
It’s alright. On both accounts. Only a matter of time about having a meet the parents moment.
Is it boring if I say Chocolate Chip Cookies?
It's sacrilege to say that Chocolate Chip anything is ever boring
Unless you're allergic
Then you get a pass
I'll makin' you a batch
.
Or five
You can horde them or be generous as your little heart desires
Won't judge
Much
❤️
Five might be a bit excess. I’d have to share.
Sorry if I woke you up. I wasn’t having a very good sleep.