Ash Lynburn (ashlynburn) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2017-04-15 23:32:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !completed gdoc, !log, [plot] future kids take 4, ~2017 april, ~25 points, ~~ash lynburn (ashlynburn), ~~hermione granger) |
WHO: Ash Lynburn and Hermione Granger
WHERE: The woods
WHEN: During kidplot
WHAT: Bonding over kids
RATING: PG
STATUS: log; completed
In general, kids loved Ash. Everybody loved Ash, actually. They loved his warm smile and his easygoing ways, and they loved spending time with him. Thing was, Ash didn't really like kids. Okay, so maybe that was an exaggeration. He just wasn't particularly comfortable with kids. He just pretended really, really well. So when not one but two of his kids showed up, he pretended to be delighted they were there… And now he was catching some respite. Being in the woods grounded him, soothed him. Lying on the cold forest ground despite its dampness, he closed his eyes and let himself recharge. *** Hermione was glad that the weather was nice today, even if things tended to fluctuate a lot in this day and age. Global warming was something to be taken seriously, but she also wasn't about to ignore a nice day when one presented itself. Especially when she had a kid with Oz to look after and the challenges that presented. Taking a walk in the woods seemed like a great way to just unwind for an hour or two. As she made her way through the woods, she really thought about Madison Valley and the life she'd built for herself. She was happy, even if it wasn't exactly how she ever pictured her happiness taking form. Oz was a great boyfriend, she adored Lily and James, and taking care of baby Harry was still a bit unnerving, but honestly something she was really happy with. Before long, she ambled into a clearing and realized someone was already there, lying on the ground. "Aren't you cold?" she asked, before she could help herself, when she realized it was Ash. *** Having felt someone approach as a dull presence in his mind, Ash wasn’t entirely startled when Hermione spoke up. Fortunately, by then he’d recharged enough to be effortlessly sociable. He opened one eye and then the other, and gave her an easy smile when he recognized her. “Dirt is a pretty good insulator of heat,” he said, but he sat up anyway. Miraculously, the only things that clung to his back were a few twigs and dried leaves. “Hey. Didn’t expect anyone to be coming this way this time of day.” *** Hermione chuckled at that. At least he wouldn't get sick, if he wasn't cold. "Good warming spell does the trick, too," she replied, giving in to the secret of how she wasn't letting the weather affect her that much. "I was just hoping for a bit of a walk to clear my head and the like," she explained, walking over to stand a bit closer so they were able to hold a reasonable conversation. "Was there- did any children show up, calling you dad?" she asked, curious about his own experience with the current weirdness going on throughout the town. *** “Two,” Ash said with a small grimace. Usually he wouldn’t reveal so much of his feelings, but his next words would probably make that make sense. “With different mothers.” He supposed he was at least lucky that Kami and Katniss seemed to find it amusing, especially since there’d been tension between them when Kami had first arrived and Katniss had caught them kissing. *** Hermione whistled softly. At least she'd only ended up with one, and there wasn't anything too drama inducing about having a child with Oz. It was a little weird, with Lily and James having a daughter named after her, but mostly she was immensely grateful. She valued her friendship with the Potters so much, so she was grateful that they'd adopted her into their family so easily. "Sounds like you needed the peace and quiet a bit more than me." She debated just leaving at that point, but Ash was a nice guy. "Do you want to talk about it?" *** “I wouldn’t know where to start,” Ash admitted. “I guess I’m lucky Kami and Katniss just seem amused by it, but having two kids show up is...quite a change.” He drew his knees up and loosely looped his arms around them. “What about you? You have any kids show up?” *** "It's something that's happened a couple of times, from what people are saying. It's very much a surprise, so I'm lucky it's only the one," Hermione replied. "It could be a lot worse all around. Are you close with Kami?" She knew that Ash and Katniss were dating, so it made sense that they'd have a kid together. "Just one, with my boyfriend, Oz. It was a big surprise, but in a good way, you know? Oz is really important to me and I care a lot about him. I'm glad we eventually got to the point of having a child together, and I think it speaks to what might happen if we stay in Madison Valley long enough." That little peak into the future definitely wasn't a bad thing at all, and she was looking forward to getting to know their little one more. *** “Kami is…” His Source. The other voice in his head. The girl he’d crushed on and then betrayed. “Yeah, we’re close. We come from the same place, and she used to go out with my cousin.” It was a very sanitized version of what they’d gone through, but Ash didn’t really want to get into his history of human sacrifices. That was the kind of thing that got people thrown in jail at best and magically castrated at worst. “It’s weird to me to think that we could be here so long, though. I guess with all the people coming and going, I didn’t think I’d stay long enough to have kids.” *** There was definitely a story there, she was sure, but Hermione could tell that he didn't want to talk about it. She understood that all too well, thinking about Bellatrix, Voldemort, Ron, Draco, Pansy, among others. She was lucky that the people who were in Madison Valley wouldn't complicate the life she'd made for herself here, but she knew it wouldn't always be that way. Her luck wasn't that good. "It's harder when it's with someone you love who isn't from the same world as you," she replied, steering the conversation toward Katniss for him and Oz for her. "I don't know that this place will ever really be home, but it's nice to know that it'll be a close second somewhere down the line, if it works out that way." *** “Yeah, it’s tough that way,” Ash agreed. In addition to the crap he was going to have to face back at home, he wouldn’t have Katniss with him. That was more than enough to convince him he never wanted to return home. There was really nothing for him there. Unfortunately, this wasn’t exactly his choice. “You think any of us would stay that long?” he asked Hermione. “So far I’ve heard of people being here three years, but nothing longer than that.” *** "I'm not sure," she admitted. "And knowing that we're at the mercy of the dome, it seems like too big of a risk to even put much stock in it." But she wanted to, and that contradiction of what she was saying versus what she was feeling was evident. Hermione wasn't sure what the future held for her and Oz, but to know that a little girl was possibly going to be part of it? She was at least willing to see if they could get there, too. "Do you think you'd ever be ready to have kids?" That was the thing she wasn't sure about. Having children seemed like such a deterrent to any kind of career she'd want to have, but that wasn't necessarily the case in Madison Valley. She didn't even really have to work if she didn't want to, even though she always wanted to keep herself busy. *** “I don’t know; that’s nothing I’ve ever thought about,” Ash admitted. Even after Rowan had shown up the first time, Ash hadn’t ever considered himself as a father. So much of his life had been focused around getting home, sometimes he felt - even in Madison - he was still working towards going back to Aurimere. “What about you? Have you thought about kids?” *** Hermione shook her head. "Not particularly. I'll admit, helping Lily and James with Harry has been a pleasure, and I do think I'd be quite good at it, but in our world, children were part of why my ex-boyfriend and I broke up," she admitted. It wasn't something she talked about much at all, but it was true. Ron had wanted a handful of kids, and while he never outright said anything about Hermione and her career, there were sometimes insinuations or commentary that had made her feel like she shouldn't have even wanted to be working instead of raising Ron's children. "It's different here. Having a child wouldn't hurt my career or give anyone an opportunity to tell me I shouldn't be working as hard as I was. With Oz and I being from different worlds, what hope could we have to be together in the long term? What would happen to our daughter if one or both of us were taken away from here?" They were mostly rhetorical questions, but that was what she was grappling with. *** They were all good questions too, and they told Ash that she’d given it more thought than he had. He’d only just gotten to have sex with Katniss recently. The thought of kids was far, far away. “There are people who do get married and have kids here,” he remarked. “I wonder what they think of it all.” *** There were certainly plenty of people she could ask, she supposed, and it wasn't as if she and Oz were thinking about having children right at this very moment. It was maybe a little old fashioned, but Hermione wanted to be married first before having children and they hadn't even discussed any of it yet. They had been dating for a while though. Plus, she could admit that she was falling in love with the red headed werewolf. "I'd guess they think it's worth it, if they've done it themselves," she mused. "It's one helluva wake up call though. Makes you think and all." Hermione didn't mind it as much as she thought she would. Maybe it was foolish of her, but it wasn't all that bad. "Could be worse." She, at least, only had one kid. *** “Yeah. Me and Katniss are nowhere near that, though.” Which was what made this kid thing exhausting. Ash was extremely good at lying and pretending interest where there might not be any, but some situations were easier than others. Despite the difficulty, however, Ash knew he couldn’t hide forever. “I should probably head back, before Katniss and Kami pull their hair out over the kids.” *** Hermione glanced at her watch. She should probably get back as well, though it was more because she wanted to than because she had to. Even staying with Oz while all of this was going on was nice. It certainly gave her plenty of food for thought. "Do you mind if I walk back with you?" she asked, hoping he wouldn't. Though, if he did, she could just Apparate home. *** “Not at all,” he replied, gallantly holding out his arm for her to take for their walk back to town. “What’s your kid like, anyway? Mine are both extremely opinionated, which makes me glad my mom isn’t here to see it. She always thought children should be seen and not heard.” *** She grinned and tucked her arm in his. "Well, her name is Miranda and she's an absolute sweetheart," Hermione began. She was probably lucky that her daughter was on the younger side, plus she had only ever known Madison Valley as her home. It made things a bit easier and Hermione overshared a bit with Ash as they made their way back into town. *** |