Who: Lennox Campbell and Micah Savage What: A friendly chat to take Micah’s mind off of his broken arm When: Backdated to September 22, post-match Where: St. Mungo’s Warnings: None
“Lennox, hey,” Micah pushed himself up into a sitting position when he heard a knock at the door. Cleared for visitors, there’d been a steady stream of people coming in for most of the day; his bedside table crammed with the evidence of the well-wishes, from friends and owl deliveries alike. “Come in,” he smiled, and nodded to the chair Lex usually sat in, but Micah had made her go home and shower and get some sleep in their own bed for a bit. It wouldn’t do for both of them to be off their game, after all. “Glad you could swing by.”
Lennox had shyly poked his head around the door after knocking, and his blond head was now visible as Micah greeted him. He was never one to barge right in, and he lingered in the doorway to the sterile-smelling room up until the moment his friend called him closer. He’d deliberately stayed away at first, not for lack of care for the (slightly) younger man in the bed, but because part of him told him, as it always did in these situations, that he was not important and his worries could wait. Now, though, he was here - and he carefully seated himself in the place Micah indicated.
“Ach, you know I wasn’t going to leave you here without stopping in,” he replied, a little wave of his hand dismissing the greeting with modesty. Micah was one of his oldest and closest friends, and the two men had more in common than many people outside the Montrose organisation knew. “Should have come with Angus, though. Someone would have to try and rein him in from doing mad shite to try and cheer you up.”
Micah shrugged good-naturedly, still smiling. “Guess I’ll have to do with just your mangy face, then.” In a slightly more serious tone - but just barely, because it was hardly a really serious conversation - he went on, “How are you? Doing all right?”
Lennox didn't even flinch at the so-called ‘insult’, exposure to that sort of banter over the many years as a dormmate, a man with a twin and a Quidditch pro of many years standing making it slide off him like water off a duck’s back. Anxious he may be, but he still knew his friends, and he could tell that Micah was itching to get out of the hospital.
“Och, you know. Typical Campbell family post match haze of crazy. ‘YOU GOT THE SNITCH AND YOU WON, WHY ARE YOU NOT GETTING MENTIONED MORE,’ blah blah blah,” he groaned, making the chatting gesture with his snitch hand. “You'd think my own mother would remember by now that I actually prefer not being mentioned. If I can avoid it.”
“Don’t you know by now it doesn’t matter what you want?” He raised an eyebrow. “Glad to know they’re their normal selves, at any rate.” Micah, on the other hand, had no problem with his name being in the paper - in his earlier years, his mother likely would’ve appreciated a week when his name didn’t. But he’d matured since then, and that wasn’t so much of an issue these days. Compared to dating Lex, most things weren’t. “You did good out there,” added Micah in a conversational tone.
“Pfft, I’ve known for years people don’t really care about what I want in that respect. Aureliana and I have a carefully bartered system of signed stuff and babysitting to avoid having to do her events, otherwise she’d drag me out by the collar,” he quipped, leaning back in the chair and crossing his legs.
Lennox shrugged a little at his friend’s compliment, accepting it but clearly not seeking further praise. “It’s what the Seeker’s there for, eh? No big deal. Would have been good to have the point differential in our favour to win without needing it, but we’ve always got next time for that, I suppose, when you’re back for the whole game,” he added cheerfully, neatly deflecting the conversation back to Micah.
“As soon as Florrie gives me the go-ahead, I’ll be there with bells on,” Micah promised, and snorted a laugh at the mention of Aureliana and her brood. “We have time, though,” he agreed. “And the scores will reflect that.” They’d be back and stronger than ever.
He exhaled, and leaned back against his pillows, reaching for his water glass on the nightstand. “How’s Angus doing? I didn’t have a chance to talk with him privately after the game,” Micah gestured to his arm, and offered Lennox a wan smile. “Obviously. But I’ve been wanting to. I’m sorry I haven’t done that yet.”
For the first time in their conversation, Lennox frowned and looked at the floor, his expression as literally down as his face was. He considered his brother’s wellbeing a greater matter than his own - which was another issue entirely where his own mental health was concerned - and a flash of guilt lit up his eyes as he thought of the way his brother had suffered to the point of relegation to the reserves’ bench. It was a horrible thought.
“He’s… well. He’s Angus. Hides how he really feels. Or tries to, anyway.” He hadn’t seen Angus’ behaviour in punching the wall, but they were brothers, and close. Lennox could always tell when something was wrong.
Micah was quiet for a moment. “He’s a braver man than I am.” He said finally.
“Aye. Braver than most of us put together, the mad bastard,” Lennox replied, not maliciously, but still processing what had happened to their family even a year after. He sat in contemplation, idly chewing a thumbnail.
“It wasn’t the same without him. Still isn’t. But. I guess we all need to get used to changes around here, especially after we fell apart out there on the pitch.” Micah grimaced, and absently rubbed his forearm where his bones were mending. Not that he could actually tell, what with the pain medicine and all. After another contemplative few seconds, he started to say something, sounding hesitant. “What - do you think about Lex and me? Honestly.”
Solitary person that he was, and in the solitary position that he played (one he had, after all, carried out exactly as he was supposed to), Lennox was starting to resent the comments about how all of the Montrose players had fallen apart on the pitch. Oh well, he thought to himself, there was little that could be done about it now, as annoying as that was.
Lennox quirked one of his brows, a gesture he rarely made as he was usually so stoic in his ways. Perhaps his friend was more anxious about it all than he’d first thought. “How blunt do you want me to be?” he asked, knowing that they’d been through far too much together to panic at such a comment.
Micah rolled his eyes at Lennox. After being dormmates for all of Hogwarts and continuing their friendship outside of it, he had an easier time than most breaking down the wall Lennox kept up between himself and the world. “I didn’t mean you. Relax.” He took a breath, then, as if bracing himself for news he didn’t want to hear. “As blunt as you need to be. I won’t be offended.” Because he wouldn’t be. Micah and Lex knew that dating would come with its share of questions and curiosities, and even disapproval from some, but that didn’t matter. Hell, even if Lennox didn’t approve, it wasn’t like they were going to do anything different.
But as an old friend, Micah valued his opinion, regardless of it being favorable or not.
Lennox shrugged a little as he leaned back into the chair. “It’s probably stuff you’ve already thought of, but you’re in for a world of shit. Most of it likely to be very nasty, because people don’t mind their business.” He crossed his legs, thinking. “And there’s no way you can avoid it, either, because of who you both are. If it’s not the cousin thing, people will have a go at the teammate thing. So, it’s a risk, because you’re facing all of that. The pair of you will need to be solid as a rock, through everything, to avoid people like Skeeter chinking into your armour. And there’ll always be people wanting to bring the both of you down for the hell of it. So, it’s not a decision most people would make for themselves. But now you’ve made it, the pair of you will probably need to work four times as hard to be taken half as seriously as any other couples in this business.”
It was more than Lennox had said in one go for months, and it wasn’t even a negative as such - just making his old friend aware that he and Lex weren’t the only ones wary of perception.
“...Yeah.” Micah sighed. “Yeah, that sounds about what I expected.” Lennox was right, and so was Lex: everything had been easier when it was only them.
Lennox watched his old friend carefully, concerned for him as his spirit seemed to leave him. Being with Lex made him happy, but being public about it was already causing him stress and it hadn't even happened yet. Lennox couldn't offer any advice - he'd never been through it himself - but it was causing him worry that he couldn't even think of a way to help Micah.
“It'll be alright,” he said eventually, leaning forward and gently patting Micah’s uninjured shoulder. “It has to be.”
“No, I know. I’m all right, Lennox,” Micah was quick to assure the other man. And he was - kind of. Dating a teammate was never easy, and, well. Lex and Micah had a few added details that weren’t going to make the press release any easier. He would be all right. Things were going to be fine; Micah had faith in their happiness prevailing. “Frustrated, maybe, but it doesn’t change how I feel about Lex.”
Lennox nodded, a slightly awkward bob of the head, signifying that he understood and would be taking Micah’s lead as far as this particular matter went. He never really participated much in the relationship talk when it went on in the team, but this was Micah, and he had to try.
“Well, you know what the papers are like. Time it right and the attention will be on someone else before too long,” he half-joked, shrugging a little in a ‘what can you do?’ kind of gesture.
The captain shrugged back, before starting to smile. “Good thing I’ve always had good timing, then.”