What Would Rhys Cadwallader Do? (cymru) wrote in disorderic, @ 2017-10-12 22:04:00 |
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Entry tags: | grace jordan, rhys cadwallader |
WHO: Grace Jordan and Rhys Cadwallader.
WHAT: Two friends having a chat, building a surprise for their beloved Nora.
WHEN: This afternoon.
WHERE: The Gentle Green B&B.
WARNINGS: Nah.
“Do you think she’ll like it?” Rhys asked, looking a touch unsure as he surveyed the contents of the greenhouse kit, cedar basewalls and polycarbonate panels splayed across the lawn behind the Gentle Green. He sipped his hot chocolate and set it carefully aside, not wanting to knock it over once he got to assembling the pieces. He wasn’t sure how he was going to accomplish this, but this surprise was important to him, and so while he was usually far too embarrassed to ask for help, he’d reached out to Grace to request her assistance. He shifted in his seat, trying to position himself in a way that allowed him better access to the nearest piece as he carefully lifted it with his wand and stood it upright. “Aha!” he said triumphantly before realising that adding a second piece in this manner was probably easier said than done. “Grace, do you know where the instructions went?” Rhys asked. Grace looked up from where she had been trying to guesstimate which of the many panels was a top piece, the frown still on her face. “Instructions? Yes, I think I saw them…” she stopped. Not a paper in sight. “Okay so the instructions are missing, but,” she hurried to interject, “I will find them. She’s going to love it Rhys, I promise. I’m not sure you and I will by the end of it, but, consider it a bonding experience.” Grace smiled, teasing. Rhys returned the smile, trying—and failing—to look confident in his greenhouse-building abilities. “Well, I guess we know what it’s supposed to look like. We just need to figure out how to turn all this into that.” He gestured with his wand at the box, where an adorable cedar-framed greenhouse sat perched in the middle of a adorable bird and squirrel-filled, expertly landscaped garden. “There are four of these wall-type pieces, maybe we should start with that?” he supposed. All four pieces appeared to be spread out far away from one another and he sighed. “Thank you, by the way, for helping me with this. I know you’re busy. And after all the—well lately.” He paused, making a face. “Anyway, it means a lot to me. And I think it’ll mean a lot to Nora, coming from the people who love her. So thank you.” Grace brushed off his thanks, shaking her head at him as she stood. With a swish of her wand, one of the wall pieces was levitated over to Rhys. “Don’t be ridiculous. I love you both, whatever you need, you’ve got. Even if whatever that is is far, far out of my skill set. Besides,” she held onto the first wall piece and levitated over another. “With everything that’s...this is a kind of busy I’d much rather be. Er, that came out wrong. Please don’t tell Witch Weekly.” The second wall piece dropped suddenly, pitching into the other piece before collapsing onto the ground. Grace winced. “Or about that.” Rhys flinched as the walls collapsed on one another with a crash, but he was quick to reassure her, “No, no, it’s fine! Don’t worry, it happens, no worries!” Perhaps, he thought, this was going to be harder than expected. He looked around and searched for an easier way to do this—or any helpful idea, really. “Okay, what if I sit on the ground and hold it up? Or what if—hmmm. I don’t know. This kind of sucks. Maybe I’ll lift it up, then stand and lean against it to hold it there, and you can raise the other one, and then we, I don’t know… stick them together, I guess?” he thought out loud. Grace cocked her head to the side and tried to hide the unfortunate helplessness she was feeling in the face of simple building construction. Swing a bat sure, put two pieces of wood together? Apparently not. “That could work. Stand there, I’ll get them together and we can freeze them. Did it say what kind of binding we’d need to...right, missing instructions.” Grace didn’t trust herself to try to melt anything to solder, and a simple sticking charm would likely work, but was it the best kind for buildings? What about weather? What was the best charm to waterproof? Should they just charm nails? With a newfound appreciation for magical structural engineers, Grace carefully lined up the two wall panels, applying as strong a sticking charm as she could until they had a better option. “There?” Rhys—who had tucked his wand between his teeth in order to slip his arms into his crutches in order to stand and prop the wall up—tentatively moved away from the wall in order to see if would remain standing without his help. Thankfully, the two walls remained exactly where they were supposed to be, and he nodded at Grace approvingly before carefully seating himself back down. He removed the wand and twirled it between his fingers thoughtfully, admiring their handiwork. “That looks great! It’s a good start. It’ll only get stronger the more we work on it,” Rhys said, then let out a small sigh at the daunting thought of how much more work they had ahead of them. Still, he was determined to see it through. “Maybe we should take a hot chocolate break before it gets cold,” he suggested, reaching for his own mug, not really caring if it was too soon to take a rest. Grace stifled the laugh that was obvious enough in her answering grin anyway. “You’re right,” she thrust her chin out, nodding. “We’ve earned it.” Grace reached back for her own hot chocolate, pushing herself up onto the picnic table in order to properly sit and enjoy it. Knees a perfect prop, she curled her fingers around the mug and admired their two wall handywork. “This is very sweet of you, you know.” Rhys grinned over his partially-melted marshmallows as he sipped his drink. “It’s very sweet of you, too.” he said, unable to keep a compliment all to himself. He lowered his mug and held it between both hands, silent and contemplative for a second before adding, “Nora deserves nice things. I just want her to, you know, know that.” Grace hummed in agreement. “How could she not, when she has a husband who reminds her how much he loves her every half second.” She sighed. “I live with a constant stomach ache around you two.” She gave a small smile and took another sip. “You deserve nice things too, you know.” Rhys gave her a small smile. “I’m sorry. It’s just that—well, you know. She’s lost a lot. Her parents. Her career. Her home. Her husband, to an extent.” It sounded bitterer than he’d intended, so he just smiled wider. “The only nice thing I want is for Nora to be happy,” he said, and swirled his hot chocolate around its mug before bringing it to his lips again. “Rhys,” Grace protested, clearly unimpressed with the man’s self depreciation if her frown was anything to go by. “You make Nora happy, I’ve never seen Nora as happy as she is when she’s with you. You’ve both lost a lot, but you always have each other and I’m going to ignore that stupid bit about not being whole, because that's what it is. Stupid.” Rhys looked doubtful, but he continued anyway, “Alright, it’s stupid.” It wasn’t going to dissuade him from feeling guilty—he doubted he would ever shake the feeling that he was the root cause of all of this—but he could keep that to himself to keep things light. “I just don’t want her to ever feel like I take her for granted, and if I can build her a stupid greenhouse as a token of my affections so that she can have fresh vegetables without being harassed by that Snatcher moron, I’ll do that. So thank you, Grace, for being a friend and helping me. Cheers to you.” Rhys raised his mug, thankful for the company. Grace shook her head. Rhys was too good, and she didn't just mean the lengths he would go to make Nora happy and safe. Grace counted herself lucky to be called his friend. “Cheers to you, number one husband, friend, and a Hufflepuff to boot.” No hot chocolate was lost as their mugs clinked together, but Grace immediately took another long drink, spooked at the thought. “Has that snatcher been around again?” Rhys felt sheepish at her compliment but clinked mugs anyway. “I’ve warded him out as best I can, and I don’t think he’s been back, but I’m sure he will be,” he said gloomily. He sighed. “He won’t leave either of us alone on the journals. I suppose he thinks if he hounds us long enough, we’ll slip up and give Nora’s mum up, or else he just enjoys making people miserable. Unfortunately, I can’t do anything about it because I’m sure his boss would happily send me to Azkaban for hexing him into next Tuesday.” “You, maybe, but Pea and Carrot? I’m sure they’d be happy to chase him right into the cell he deserves. I also might need to look into a new career, professional snatcher catcher?” She winced. “Name could use a little work but I didn’t want to go with the more obvious and scandalize the children.” Rhys grinned. “I like the sound of that. You should get a Pea and Carrot of your own—you know, to be your security.” Grace gasped. “With try-it-I-fucking-dare-you sunglasses? Cute. Think of the promotional material, hell, once social media catches wind of it, you know film & tv will be throwing money.” “Merlin, you’re going to be so rich and famous, how am I ever gonna convince you to help me with shitty home improvement projects ever again? I’ve created a monster,” Rhys joked, chuckling as he added, “Then again, Nora would be a great addition to your entourage.” “Excuse you, I am theoretically rich and famous,” she teased. “And Nora is already in my entourage...actually it's more like I’m in hers.” “Famous sports star money is nothing compared to famous puffskein money,” Rhys pointed out, gesturing with his mug. “and we should all feel incredibly blessed that Nora includes us in her entourage. It’s only fitting that we build this vegetable shack in her honour.” Grace lifted her mug and clinked it against Rhys’. “Hear, hear. To Nora, may she forever take pity on us and keep us around.” The hot chocolate was a dependable warmth spreading across her chest as she took another sip. Grace cradled the mug, keeping her fingertips toasty as she clutched it tighter. From their perch on the picnic table, what they assembled of the greenhouse somehow looked sadder. “I’m your friend to you know,” she said unnecessarily, hesitantly after a quiet moment. “If you ever did want to talk, or need someone to listen, I’m happy to. And maybe you don't, or don't have anything to talk about, but I worry about you too, you know.” Rhys paused, his expression contemplative for a moment as he considered her words. He never really had been the best at talking about his problems; it was far easier to crack a joke or deflect concern rather than admitting he was not invulnerable. His first impulse was to shrug it off; he’d been trying, however—mostly thanks to Nora—to get a bit better at this sort of thing these days. “Yeah, I know you are, and I appreciate that,” he said finally, relenting. “There’s just always so much going on, and so many people are worse off, that I just don’t like complaining, you know? All things considered, I’m pretty alright. For now, anyway. I mean, who knows what’ll happen tomorrow, but.” He shrugged. Up until a few days ago, he’d felt relatively invisible. Unfortunately, he’d been proven wrong. Grace nodded thoughtfully, accepting the explanation as it wasn’t too far off from how she felt when the questions were thrown at her. “Saying, out loud, that things aren’t ok isn't complaining. And even if it was, you’re allowed to think about how things are affecting you, you Hufflepuff.” The small smile she shot him faded slightly and she glanced down at her mug. “Rodolphus Lestrange has been chatty.” Rhys winced slightly at the mention of that name. “Unfortunately. I mean, normally I’d just ignore him, but he’s made that a bit impossible,” he grumbled. He took a deep breath, gritting his teeth before admitting, “That’s not ok. He’s invaded my life—more than once, and now my home. I know he’s doing it to get a reaction, and I don’t want to give him that, but it’s hard not to. I probably shouldn’t have said anything to him, but you know, here we are.” Grace bit the inside of her cheek, her own anxieties over the present situation still festering. “People have been saying that a lot, don’t say anything, watch yourself, and I get it, I do. Lee made a list of his own,” she shook her head, still in disbelief, in perpetual fear for him. She sighed. “But fuck Rodolphus Lestrange, fuck all of them for making it unsafe for us to stand up for ourselves. And fuck him for hurting you and throwing it into your face! I’m sorry Rhys, I’m so sorry.” It was angrier than he was used to seeing her, and for good reason. “I’m sorry he’s harassing your brother, too.” he said, voice softening slightly. “Fuck him. Fuck all of those Death Eating fucks.” He hated how much power they had over him, over his friends and family, over everyone, really. He hated that everyone he loved had to live their lives afraid. And now, he’d have to be reminded of Rodolphus Lestrange specifically every time he looked over his shoulder, or struggled with a task, or even caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, looking far from the brave and stoic Auror he used to be. “I hate that they’re able to affect us,” Rhys said, scowling. He paused for a moment before adding, “this hot chocolate could use some liquor, honestly.” “Totally,” Grace agreed quickly, lifting her head from where she’d settled it against Rhys’ shoulder in support. If they were going to talk about this, reinforcements wouldn't hurt. “That guy sucks, we deserve spiked beverages. You deserve spiked beverages and at least half a bag more of marshmallows. Sit tight, I’ll grab some.” Before he could protest, she had taken off toward the house, leaving Rhys frowning at their unfinished greenhouse, alone. Rodolphus Lestrange had made this task much more difficult, but he hadn’t made it impossible. With the help of his friend and the goal of making Nora happy in mind, he’d get through it. If only he he knew where to start— “Carrot—what is that you’ve got over there?” he asked suddenly, seeing the tiny orange ball of fluff toting some piece of paper in her mouth at the edge of the garden. The puffskein, hearing her name, perked at the sound and excitedly bounced toward her person with Pea following closely behind. She placed the paper in front of Rhys, looking very pleased with herself. Rhys smiled despite himself as he picked it up and unfurled it. “You’re kidding me,” he said with delighted surprise as he found himself staring at the missing instructions. “You know what, Carrot? Fuck Death Eaters, we’re going to build the fuck out of this greenhouse.” He called to his friend across the yard, “Hey Grace! You’re never going to believe this…” |