InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Nobody put Tweak in the corner"

Seamus Finnigan (openbottle) wrote in finnigans_rpg,
@ 2014-09-25 14:45:00

Entry tags:

character: dennis creevey, character: seamus finnigan

Reconciliation?
Who: Seamus and Dennis
What: Trying to pretend nothing's wrong
Where: Dennis's flat
When: Thursday evening
Rating: SFW

Seamus wasn't good at dealing with conflict. Not the kind between friends, anyway. He supposed he'd been alright dealing with the kind that involved sadistic teachers and a rebellion. He hadn't exactly been avoiding Dennis since the cuddle party, he was too busy with work to deliberately avoid anyone, but he had noticed that Dennis hadn't been by Finnigan's and it had taken him this long to man up and do anything about it. He knew he'd upset his friend, even if he still felt like he'd deserved at least a little more understanding than was being shown, and apparently it fell to him to fix it.

He didn't often give himself a day off work, except Sunday, but today he'd spent the day in the office working on books for the pub and hadn't stepped behind the bar except for the staff meeting just before they'd opened. Now, he had the prospect of an entire evening to fill. Dean was busy painting and Seamus was going to go crosseyed if he stared at the figures any longer, so he'd packed up a couple of bottles of cider, his new deck of exploding playing cards and a tub of no-melt ice cream and made his way to Dennis's, determined to pretend nothing was wrong until they were friends again.

He knocked at the door and waiting, trying to ignore the heavy thrum of anxiety in his belly.

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openbottle
2014-09-26 01:03 pm UTC (link)

Seamus paused where he'd been about to knock the cider open on Dennis's kitchen counter, absorbing Dennis's words. That was... a lot to take in. "Of course you're important." It seemed his hopes of this conversation being avoided had been unfounded. "I'm not pretending anything." Except that things could so easily go back to normal, though that was more wishful thinking than actual pretence.

The knot of anxiety was tightening in his chest and Seamus moved away from the kitchen to stand near Dennis. "I don't -" He started. This was so stupid. All week he'd been trying to think of a way to apologise, to explain but he'd never been able to find the words. "I didn't mean to make you feel unwelcome. I just didn't know how to apologise without explaining - which I can't do because it doesn't even make sense to me!" His expression was openly distressed and his voice quieter as he added, "Please don't make me talk about it, Dennis. I can't."

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dennisthebrave
2014-09-27 10:32 am UTC (link)

Dennis stared at Seamus intently. "Am I," he asked, rather flatly. "It seems everyone is always telling me that, but I'm never quite important enough for people to stay," he added, his breath slightly ragged. He chose not to reply and simply stared at Seamus intently.

He blushed slightly. In his rush to be offended at Seamus pushing him away, and then deciding that he was going to be dropped by another important person in his life, Dennis had completely overlooked the fact that Seamus may have had his own reasons for running away. "I didn't," he began quietly, before wincing. "I don't give a fuck about your- your thing, Seamus. I got upset because it felt like I'd somehow fucked up and that another person I cared about was going to kick me to the dirt." He definitely wasn't tearing up, there was just something in his eye. Like dust, or a twig, or a branch or something. "I'm tired of people leaving me. Everyone leaves me."

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openbottle
2014-09-28 09:35 am UTC (link)

It was simple instinct to reach for Dennis and draw him into a hug and Seamus didn't stop to think about whether it would be welcomed or not. He wrapped his arms around him, intent on making this right as soon as possible because hurting Dennis was something he'd have kicked anyone else's arse for doing. "I'm here, aren't I?" he asked quietly. "I know it took me too long, but I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

Seamus shook his head, still hugging Dennis tight. "I am not going to leave you. I - ran away because I didn't want to -" His throat was tight and this this was why he hadn't wanted to talk about it. Because he'd been a coward, again. When would he learn that running away solved nothing? "You didn't fuck up. It's something I should have told you about, but I didn't, and then you saw it - the scar - and you kept talking about it and I felt like everyone was staring at me and I didn't want to... I just needed not to be there."

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dennisthebrave
2014-09-30 02:19 am UTC (link)

Dennis allowed himself to be pulled into a tight hug, even if part of him was still vaguely annoyed. He clung to Seamus, trying very hard to not cry because really he'd cried far too much over the last few weeks. "You are," he conceded. "It didn't take you that long, considering I didn't think you were going to be here at all."

He hugged back tighter as Seamus tried to explain himself, the last vestiges of his annoyance evaporating. "Shhh, it's okay," he said quietly, bringing Seamus' head against his chest. "You don't have to talk about it, I get it," he said, making a face before continuing, "Well, no I don't. But it upsets you so we can drop it." The patted Seamus' back firmly for a moment. "I'm sorry I did that, Seamus. If I'd have known I wouldn't have dreamed of it."

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openbottle
2014-09-30 01:44 pm UTC (link)

Dennis's words served to make Seamus feel more guilty, not less. He should have been here sooner, if only to prove to Dennis that he wasn't leaving. "Like I said, I'm not going anywhere. I'm always going to be here. You know us Gryffindors aren't so easy to get rid of."

He nuzzled into Dennis's shoulder, not sure which of them he was comforting anymore. Hopefully both. "War fucked us all up," he said with a shrug. It was something he'd said before, many times. At Battlescars meetings and with his friends. The war had damaged them all and Seamus would rather face that head on that try to hide from it. "This is just one more way it fucked with me." And he didn't mean the scar itself, though that was bad enough. He stepped back, stomach tight with both nerves and determination. "You can see it, if you want. If it's just us." Cool fear was spiralling in him but he ignored it. "Just don't- Don't say it's sexy or anything."

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dennisthebrave
2014-09-30 04:45 pm UTC (link)

Dennis gave a watery smile. "Good," he said firmly. "I didn't want you to leave; I like you. You're my favourite." He laughed slightly at the comment. "I guess we are, except when we're not."

"It did," he agreed, the said as he pushed Seamus back towards the kitchen in a weird shuffling hug. He pushed Seamus lightly against the bench and disentangled himself from the hug. "I'd love to see it, but only if you're comfortable with the idea," he said carefully. "I promise I'll keep any opinions on sexiness strictly to myself," he added solemnly.

He poked around in the refrigerator, yelping in pain as a stray movement twinged one of his stomach muscles. "Stupid bloody goblins," he muttered to himself crossly as he turned to look at Seamus again. "Do you want something to eat? There's leftover Indian and Chinese and uh, something deeply Romanian that Rose made?"

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openbottle
2014-09-30 05:57 pm UTC (link)

"You're my favourite too, cub." One of many favourites, but that was hardly the point. Seamus loved most of his friends equally and he knew Dennis had other friends too that he cared for just as much.

Seamus propped himself against the bench and reached for the cider, tipping a good portion of it down his throat before offering the spare bottle to Dennis. "Chinese sounds good."

He considered quietly while Dennis moved around the kitchen, then nodded. He felt like he owed at least that much to Dennis. After all, Susan and Dean and Ernie and Justin and - really, loads of others had seen it. And that hadn't helped as much as Seamus had wanted to, but that had been a long time ago. Obviously he still needed to work on this. "Maybe not in your kitchen, though. Have to get mostly naked if you want to see all of it. Not very hygienic."

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dennisthebrave
2014-10-01 02:26 pm UTC (link)

Dennis nodded and accepted the bottle of cider from Seamus, stopping to grin happily. "I love this cider," he said with a smile, before pulling out his wand and summoning a rather upsetting number of dishes. "We ordered everything," he said helpfully, pulling out a couple of plates. "What would you like?"

He stopped and stared at Seamus for a moment, amusement and confusion warring for first billing in his brain. Instinctually, he knew that making a joke about Seamus coming on to him would have gone down with all the grace and finesse of a panda attempting to dance a salsa on ice. "I'd be happy to see it," he said finally, only a hint of a smile playing across his lips. "But yes nakedness in the kitchen would be a bit weird. Maybe I can show you the scar on my thigh," he said thoughtfully as he ushered Seamus away from the food, casting a preservation charm on it as he did so.

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openbottle
2014-10-01 03:44 pm UTC (link)

Okay, Dennis wanted to see it now. Seamus had been kind of hoping they could eat first, but no - now was better. Otherwise he'd be worrying about it all through dinner. As they settled in the living room, Seamus's hands fluttered around the hem of his t-shirt. "Rose isn't-" But then he remembered that Rose was on holiday. No more excuses, then. Seamus shucked his t-shirt and let it drop to the floor beside him. It felt weird stripping off for Dennis. For years the only time Seamus had had to worry about someone new seeing the scar was if there was a chance of getting laid on the horizon, and then he'd been able to put his nerves down to the thought of them leaving if the scar turned them off.

Now, though... Dennis wasn't going to leave, wasn't going to stop being his friend. So what was he nervous of, exactly? Another melt down like at the party? Maybe that. He kicked his shoes off slower than he could have done before dropping his jeans as well. He knew from experience that if he looked down all he'd see would be the red lines of the scar all the way from his thigh to his stomach, so he kept his eyes up - but not on Dennis's face, either. He didn't want to see his reaction. He stared at the wall, teeth digging into his lower lip.

His boxers hid most of the scar on his thigh, which meant by right they should go too. He just needed a minute.

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dennisthebrave
2014-10-02 04:45 pm UTC (link)

Dennis watched Seamus deal with his visible levels of agitation, and nearly told him to forget the whole ordeal however; something stilled his tongue. "Rose is in Greece, probably shagging Rolf's brains out by now," Dennis said, looking at the older man carefully. He blinked several times, pushing back the slight strangeness from the fact that Seamus was essentially giving him the least sexually-charged and possibly also the saddest strip show in the history of the apartment.

He smiled encouragingly at Seamus, resisting the urge to get up and give him a hug. "Take your time, Princess. I'm not going anywhere and I'm not going to freak out."

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openbottle
2014-10-02 06:05 pm UTC (link)

Finally, Seamus took a breath and shoved his boxers down just far enough to reveal the full extent of the scar. He used his free hand to cover his crotch because despite not usually having a problem with friends catching him in the buff he felt vulnerable right now. "And it goes round," he said with a small gesture. He turned to show how the network of scars wrapped around his hip and faded into healthy skin on his arse and the back of his thigh.

Once Dennis had had enough time for a good look, Seamus yanked his boxers and jeans back up and fumbled for his t-shirt. He didn't know why, but he just wasn't as comfortable standing around half dressed with Dennis as he was with Dean or Justin. Maybe in time he would be, or maybe it was because he was usually half naked for a reason with Dean or Justin - whether that be showering or sleeping or shagging. Since that first summer of skinny dipping, he'd never got his kit off just so someone could have a look.

"So there you have it," he said, voice tight. He didn't know what he wanted Dennis to say, how he wanted him to react. As long as he didn't say it was sexy, Seamus supposed he could cope.

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dennisthebrave
2014-10-03 01:31 pm UTC (link)

Dennis blinked for several moments: the urge to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation warring with compassion for the obvious levels of vulnerability that Seamus was feeling. This was all brushed aside by a certain level of fascination with the scar tissue stretching across and wrapping around Seamus' upper legs. It was a curse scar obviously, but Dennis wasn't entirely sure how it had come to be where it was. He was also deeply certain that asking would probably push Seamus over the edge, thus he forcibly quelled his curiosity.

"Thank you for showing me," he said at last after Seamus was decent again. "I'm sorry that you have a scar. Also the whole undressing thing was a bit weird, but thank you for showing me. I can show you the scar Colin gave me when we were kids if you like? It's my favourite scar because it's so stupid."

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openbottle
2014-10-03 05:05 pm UTC (link)

Dennis trying to move the conversation on was possibly the best thing Seamus had heard all day and he nodded. "Yeah, seems fair." He grinned, hoping that talking about Colin wasn't the equivalent for Dennis to Seamus talking about his scar. He sat down, glad to be fully dressed. "Mine was from the battle. Obviously." What else could have done that much damage? Dennis already knew the stories behind the scars under Seamus' chin and the ones on his arm, from the Carrows.

He leaned into Dennis with a smile, even if it was a little fixed. "And then can we eat? You showed me food and now it's just sitting there."

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dennisthebrave
2014-10-04 05:06 pm UTC (link)

Smiling slightly, Dennis rose and dropped his trousers without a second thought, revealing an oddly symmetrical scar on his left thigh. "See," he said, lifting his cotton boxers slightly to reveal the scar in greater detail. "Dennis was doing the whole Snow Queen thing with a 2p coin, and then magically fixing the glass. He was about nine I think, and I told him I'd tell mum, so he threw the coin and it hit my thigh and got stuck." He smiled slightly at the memory. "I was mostly fine with the whole thing, but he sobbed for hours." He pulled his trousers back up and grinned. "Now we've seen a scar each eh? Although mine wasn't from a battle."

"Oh bollocks, yeah wait a mo," he said, summoning the various cartons and two plates for them. Once Dennis had loaded his plate high with egg rice and ginger beef, honey chicken, and Mongolian lamb he turned to look at Seamus. "So what's new with you?"

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openbottle
2014-10-05 02:02 pm UTC (link)

Seamus gave a short, breathy laugh at the thought of Colin sobbing over having hurt his little brother. "Sounds like Colin." Seamus eased an arm over Dennis' shoulders and squeezed. He couldn't help thinking that Dennis' scar was small and not particularly off-putting, and that it really wasn't the same thing. He didn't say so, of course. He knew Dennis meant well.

Relieved to have an excuse to drop the topic, Seamus reached for the food, filling a plate with egg rice and ginger beef, plus a few small spring rolls. "New with me?" He shrugged. "Honestly not much. Still looking for a chef."

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