juniper; DORNEY (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} jdrny) wrote in ![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} reduxpitch,@ 2016-05-09 15:56:00 |
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
when ? backdated to friday, 6th may
where ? picture perfect, knockturn alley
what ? xavier needs a painting and jun... paints
status ? complete
Xavier didn't go to the Diagon Alley areas much. It was always so busy and crowded, and a guaranteed place for him to get cajoled into interacting with more people than he'd planned. Getting recognized was nice in the sense that the band did well enough to cause that to happen, but he definitely felt more comfortable when he had his bandmates around in those particular situations. Some circumstances called for such outings, and he needed to go see Jun. So London it was.
It was raining a light drizzle, so without a hood or umbrella at his disposal, Xavier kept his head down and weaved his way through the people on the streets to get to Knockturn Alley. Once at the door of Jun's shop, he shook his arms a little to get the lingering raindrops off his jacket before going on, not wanting to drip all over her floor. He pushed his hand back through his wet hair as he glanced around, wanting to spot her before treading dampness all over the place.
--
Fridays were Jun’s days with Cathy, unless Cedric happened to have time off work, and originally Jun had planned them to be days at home but she had rather quickly grown bored of that. The studio she had in her house was great and she did get a lot of work done there, especially the forging, since it was easier to mask from eyes who shouldn’t really see them, but there was plenty of things she could and did need to do at the shop, too. The three employees Jun had were great and she only needed to correct them on rare occasions, but even so, Jun quite liked being at the shop. As, seemingly, did Cathy.
The baby was sat in one of the many carseats that Jun owned, despite neither owning a car nor knowing how to drive one (frankly, Jun wasn’t sure the last time she’d even been in a car). They were handy things to have and seemed to suit Cathy’s napping habits well. When the lights flashed to indicate that someone had entered the shop, Jun glanced up from the sketch she was making for a new order, a smile appearing on her lips when she spotted Xavier. “Look, Cathy,” she said to the baby who, at least currently, appeared to be awake. “It’s your favourite godfather,” Jun added, before looking up at Xavier. “What do I owe the pleasure to?”
--
Raising his hand in a little wave, Xavier took a few steps over toward where Jun was, pausing when she mentioned Cathy and looking to where she was in the seat. He couldn't help but smile, because he certainly liked being her godfather - it felt almost like being an uncle, he imagined, but with a much cooler title. His gaze turned back to Jun, and he offered her a smile as well.
"Business, actually," he said, closing the rest of the small space between them and slipping his hands in his jacket pockets. "I was wanting to commission something from you."
-
“Oh?” Jun drew out with interest at his words. It wasn’t that she expected Xavier to have popped in for a social visit, they weren’t exactly friends, even if by some sort of logic they were probably related (were you technically family with those who became your child’s godparents?). Even so, it was raining, so Jun couldn’t have faulted Xavier for coming into the shop as a refuge from the weather. She reached out to pick Cathy up, since she was awake, thrusting the baby into Xavier’s hands. “Enjoy,” she commented. Well, he was her godfather, by implication he should want to... pet her? Did you pet babies?
Pulling out a notebook that Jun used to take down any notes for potential commissions, she looked over at Xavier. “Whatcha after, then?” She asked, tilting her head slightly.
--
Xavier quickly pulled his hands back out of his pockets when Cathy was handed off to him, holding her carefully. He felt bad about his jacket being wet, and slowly shifted her to one arm to be able to shrug out of it one sleeve at a time so she wasn't pressed up against it anymore. It dropped to the floor once he got both arms out, but he didn't care about that as much as he did Cathy being comfortable.
"Something for my mom," he replied, brushing wisps of Cathy's hair back from her face as he looked over at Jun. "For her birthday. I thought it might be nice for her to have a painting of me and my sisters? She has pictures but not a lot recent."
-
Jun watched Xavier take his jacket off, half-considering offering to take the baby back, but he didn’t look like he was going to drop her so it was probably okay. “You know she’d dry, right?” Jun asked teasingly, but it probably was better for Cathy not to be pressed into the wet material. Still, Jun did walk around the counter to pick Xavier’s jacket up from where it had fallen, pulling her wand out to cast a quick drying spell and then proceeded to put the jacket down on the counter as she walked back.
A picture for his mum, Jun could certainly do that. “Do you have pictures of your sister? Or we can do a sitting, if you’d prefer?” Jun offered, before remembering that Xavier was Muggleborn, so his sisters were most likely Muggles. “Doesn’t have to be here,” she added because it wouldn’t be a hardship to do a sitting wherever.
--
"Still doesn't mean she should get wet," Xavier mumbled, mostly to himself as he looked down at Cathy again. He glanced down when Jun moved to pick up his jacket, a little smile quirking at the corners of his mouth as she dried it and set it onto the counter, his gaze following her as she moved. "Thanks."
He tilted his head as he considered it, slowly swaying back and forth to keep Cathy happy. There were pictures, sure, but it seemed nicest to do it in a sitting. If it was off a picture, he might as well just frame that for his mom. "A sitting would be good," he replied. "Not here, no. How long are sitting usually? I'm trying to think of where might be nice to do it, maybe someplace near where they live since we can travel quicker..."
-
Jun missed Xavier’s first comment, since mumbling was not something she could lip-read particularly well, and it hardly helped that he had been looking down at Cathy when saying it. Still, Jun was quite used to reading people’s body language in a way which indicated whether it was actually important that she knew what they had said. The smile she saw when retrieving his jacket indicated that probably not.
“An hour at least for the original sketch,” Jun replied when Xavier asked how long it’d take. “Could I do magic around your sisters or is it strictly Muggle?” She asked mostly for reference, because if she could use minor magic, it would go slightly quicker. Not greatly, though, so it didn’t make a huge difference. “And then after the initial sketch, I might need another sitting for adjustments,” she added. “Anywhere is fine. If there’s a particular background you want, I can work that in for as long as I’ve seen it at least once,” Jun explained.
--
Xavier hummed a little under his breath as he thought about it. Getting at least an hour someplace near where they lived wouldn't be difficult, and he nipped at the inside of his lip as he mentally narrowed it down. His attention was drawn away when Cathy squirmed, and he made sure she was resituated comfortably before making up his mind.
"Some magic is okay, as long as it's not anything... crazy," he said slowly, mulling it over. Generally he tried not to, but it wasn't as if they didn't know. "It might be nice to have the background this park where she always took us when we were little. I think she'd like that."
-
Jun probably should have paid slightly more attention to the way Cathy squirmed in Xavier’s hands, but frankly, she trusted him not to like squish her or drop her, so he would be just fine. Besides, Cathy’s seat was just there, on the counter, so he could always put her back down if she became too cumbersome.
“No, not crazy,” Jun agreed with a nod. “Some of the sketching just goes quicker if I enhance the pencils and colours and so such,” she explained. “I will also need a couple of photos, just to make sure I get all the detail as close matching as possible,” Jun added. She was a good artist, one that did portraits on regular basis and Jun was rather confident in her skill of producing them well, still, photos would help her ensure that she did a good job. At Xavier’s mention of a park, Jun smiled. “I can definitely work with that,” she assured him with another nod, before writing the information down.
“Is there a deadline I’m working towards?” Jun asked looking back up again.
--
"Oh, that kind of magic would be fine," Xavier replied with a nod. Honestly, he wasn't even sure his sisters would notice something like that, practical and not flashy. He could definitely get her pictures, too, and belatedly thought he could have brought one or two with him - he just hadn't thought about it. "I'll find good pictures of them, where they aren't making silly faces or anything."
He was glad the park would work, because he thought it would be perfect, both as a nice background as well as something meaningful to his mom. "Her birthday is near the end of June, the twenty-eighth. That's not too short a timeframe, is it?" Xavier knew she had other work, and he hoped a lot because that meant she was doing well, but he had no idea what amount of time she would need. "I can probably get my sisters together as soon as a time works for you, they're easy."
-
Jun gave a small laugh at Xavier’s words that he’d find a nice picture of his sisters. “Honestly, one where they’re pulling faces works, too,” Jun assured him. “I mostly need them to make sure I’m getting the features and like, hair colour, correctly,” she explained. Pictures combined with a sitting or two would work just fine, Jun thought. She had done plenty of portraits before to know the pattern they tended to follow.
“I should be able to get it done by mid-June,” Jun said, before writing the date down in her notebook. “Just let me know what time works best for all three of you and I’ll work around it,” she added. “I might have to bring Cathy, though, depending on when it is,” Jun commented, glancing over at the baby. She seemed rather content in Xavier’s hands, blinking so slowly that it took Jun a moment to realise she wasn’t asleep yet. “You’re very good with her,” she said with a slight tilt of her head. “I’ll make sure to get you to babysit,” Jun added teasingly.
--
Xavier smiled, making a mental note to find pictures of his sisters she could use. If nothing else, he would take some when he was next home. There was a lot to be said about getting to see his family once a week - and it definitely gave him many opportunities to get things done for and about them.
"Oh, that wouldn't be a problem," Xavier said, giving a quick shake of his head. "My sisters have met her before, one of the times Cedric was over." A little grin quirked at the corners of his mouth. "I'll gladly babysit sometime. I think it's my duty to do so, as her godfather and all." He was glad Cathy seemed to like him, because he wasn't exactly that experienced around babies and she easily could have not wanted to be around him at all. Plus, it felt nice to have her all cuddled in his arms like she was.
-
“Well, I’m glad she left a good impression,” Jun said with a snort as she glanced at Cathy. “Clearly her abilities to produce stickiness only come out around me rather than the general population,” Jun added almost judgingly as she watched the baby. It really was very sticky a lot of the time. But she was also kind of cute so Jun supposed she could see why other people would not object to her being around, especially if there was a distinct lack of stickiness.
At Xavier’s confirmation that he would be glad to babysit and that also perhaps it was his duty to, Jun laughed. “Yes,” she confirmed almost teasingly. “That is what Cedric roped you into. It’s all fun and games when they just call you a godfather but in reality, you are expected to chip in with the parenting duties,” she informed Xavier. “There’s a manual, I think,” she added. “Ask Cedric for your copy, Pippa has mine.”
--
"They found her very cute - my mom did, too," Xavier assured her, looking down at Cathy with a smile. His mom particularly liked when Cedric came around with her, glad to have a tiny baby to dote over considering all her kids were definitely grown up. Cathy was definitely cute, which only helped her case. He glanced over to Jun again with a somewhat wry smile. "Don't worry, she's thrown up on me before."
He laughed a little when she mentioned the manual, shaking his head. "I'll have to ask him for it," he replied, before adding teasingly, "I'm not expected to chip in with the parenting duties with Pippa, am I?"
-
“Oh, good,” Jun said genuinely glad that Cathy had been sick on Xavier. It made her feel a bit better knowing that she wasn’t the only person that Cathy ruined the clothes of. Cedric, Jun suspected, probably also had quite a few ruined shirts, but then, Cedric should because he was half-responsible for the tiny machine of bodily fluids. Xavier, however, had chosen to sign up for it, so really, who was the biggest fool in all of this?
Closing the notebook, since it felt like Jun had taken all the notes she might need, she leaned slightly on the counter, watching Xavier with Cathy. He really did suit a baby. More so than Jun felt she did, at least. “Well, technically, I’m pretty sure if Cedric and I die it does fall on you and Pippa to raise Cathy,” Jun informed him thoughtfully. That was the role of godparents, was it not? “But don’t worry, I’m pretty sure Cedric’s mum will kill both of you before she lets Cathy out of her sight,” Jun assured him. Her own mum would probably be rather insistent, too, but Jun would put good money on Cedric’s mother being far better at winning that battle. Jun liked her a lot.
--
Xavier gave a little hum in response, more out of habit than actually needing to say anything. His gaze shifted down to the baby in his arms again as he listened to Jun, taking in how peaceful she looked with her eyes closed - maybe asleep, he wasn’t quite sure. Helping out with the parenting in the form of babysitting, that was fine, but having to take it over was a slightly concerning thought to him. Especially since that situation meant Cedric and Jun would both be dead, which was a thought he truly didn’t like.
“I’d appreciate you both not dying, and not just because of the whole taking over being a parent bit,” he replied as he looked up to her again. “I don’t doubt Cedric’s mum would be first in line, should the worst happen - but I’d rather it didn’t.” He offered Jun a smile. “Babysitting, though. That I can do.”
-
“Well, no,” Jun agreed realising just how morose the concept had come across. “But luckily for everyone involved, neither Cedric nor I are likely to die in near future,” she assured both Xavier and to a degree the sleeping baby, too. It was true, but even if there was death in their future, at least it was highly unlikely that they’d both die at the same time. Not unless Godric’s Hollow set on fire or something. Jun really needed to stop thinking of all the ways her and Cedric could die. It seemed an odd route of thought to have gone down.
Instead, Jun moved to walk around and take Cathy from Xavier, careful not to wake the baby before she put her down in the car seat. “Babysitting,” she confirmed looking back at him. “I am certainly going to ask that of you, do not worry,” Jun told him with a grin. “Especially once the teething starts, she’s all yours then,” because Jun had read about it and she did not look forward to it at all.
--
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Xavier said, knowing it was very unlikely the two of them would die suddenly and at the same time. He didn’t really know Pippa, and even if he did, he didn’t think two people not particularly involved with each other would do a good job parenting a child that wasn’t theirs either. His gaze followed Jun as she came toward him, and carefully passed Cathy off to her, almost immediately missing the warmth and comfort she’d given while she’d been there against him.
“I offered, I stand by it,” he replied, bringing up his hand to push his hair back from his forehead. “Though I don’t think Panquake would be the best place for it. There are dogs, and a lot of people, and it’s not exactly … child friendly.”
-
“She likes walks,” Jun told Xavier when he informed her that he wasn’t sure his house was the best place for a baby. Frankly, Jun wasn’t too sure her house was particularly baby-friendly but she didn’t have dogs so there was that. “By which I mean, she seems to prefer crying outside, when there’s more hearing ears to pity her,” she added with a small laugh. Crying, like many other things, was just what babies did, so she had been assured. Still, Jun was rather glad she missed the sharp sounds of that.
Offering Xavier another smile, Jun run a hand over her shirt, smoothing it out from where it had crinkled from her sitting. “Let me know when’s good for you and your sisters, then, yes? And we’ll go from there. Ask them to note any colour palettes they’d prefer to see as well,” she added thoughtfully. Jun was good at her job, so she was sure she could paint something that all of the siblings agreed on and that would make Xavier’s mum happy.
--
"Thankfully there are lots of nice places to walk in Hogsmeade," Xavier mused, picking up his jacket to slip back on now he wasn't holding a baby. Plus, it seemed like she had all the information she needed from him so he would probably be headed out into the rain again soon anyway.
"I'll check with them and get back to you," he said with a nod. "And I'll be sure to get you some pictures for reference." His sisters would have opinions about the colors, he was sure, and they had a better eye for that kind of thing than him so he would leave that to them. He gave her a smile. "Thanks, Jun."
-
“You’re welcome,” Jun offered, returning his smile. It wasn’t like she had yet done very much, but Jun did suppose that at least she had given a reassurance that she would. Xavier could certainly get a finished painting in time for his mum’s birthday, especially since it was a Muggle painting, which meant that Jun wouldn’t have to bother with charms and spells and movement and all those things that made magical painting so much more difficult.
“There’s umbrellas in bucket by the door,” she informed Xavier nodding towards where the bucket was. “Do take one,” Jun added. They were there, after all, for customers. Jun wasn’t sure why or how the shop had accumulated so many but they had plenty for Xavier to take one with him, that she was sure of. Glancing at Cathy, Jun considered encouraging the baby to say goodbye but a) she was asleep and b) she was four months old, she had no fucking idea what was going on. “Lovely seeing you and all,” Jun said instead, once she looked back at Xavier.