Pain. Hate. Envy. Those are the ABCs of me. (bygones) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-09-03 12:38:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, audrey, caroline forbes, jonathan murphy |
Who: Audrey, Caroline and Murphy
When: Last week sometime
Where: Baxter's Bakery
What: Murphy goes to the bakery.
Rating/Warnings: Low/none
Status: Complete
Murphy had been meaning to go back to Baxter’s Bakery after whatever had happened, but he’d been broke and surprisingly busy. And while he wouldn’t admit it, even to himself, there’d been a knot in his stomach every time he thought about it. The last time he’d been there, he’d heard his last argument with his mother, and he didn’t really want to do that again.
But that was stupid. Those demented things from before were long gone. Work was slow, so he was let off early, and he figured while he had time to kill, he might as well go get himself a coffee and maybe another one of Audrey’s brownies. Besides, he wanted to see her again. After all, anyone who could banish those things with a word and a stick was someone Murphy wanted in his corner.
His coveralls had protected his clothes, but he still had some oil smudged on his face and neck when he walked into Baxter’s, and he smelled vaguely of engine oil, but he’d noticed neither of these things as he approached the counter.
Hey, those brownies were amazing. Audrey could make a damn good brownie. There was a reason she owned her own bakery--a chain of bakeries, no less!--and had a successful business. It wasn’t surprising that he was on his way back for one.
Audrey was inside the bakery now, in front of the pastry case, loading things into the refrigerated display case below it. She paused for a moment and rested a hand against her swollen belly. She looked twice the size when he’d last seen her. When she saw him coming in, Audrey broke into a bright grin. “Hey!”
“Hey,” Murphy said, flashing Audrey one of his rare, quick smiles when he spotted her. He headed over to the pastry case and eyed up the desserts inside. “Glad to see that your customers aren’t shaking in their boots today.”
Caroline had been in the back of the bakery preparing for her shift. Being a vampire she of course heard the conversation between Audrey and a customer. “Shaking in their boots?” Caroline asked adjusting her apron as she walked behind the counter.
Audrey had just given Murphy a warm smile--it was good to see him smiling, for some reason she thought they might be rare--when Caroline came from the back room. “The last time we saw one another, there were dementors in the alley behind the bakery. I had to lock us in and cast a Patronus charm for protection.” She explained to her second in command. Then she looked back over at Murphy. “You all right?”
“Patronus? Is that what that wispy pig was called?” Murphy said. Sounded like a rather hoity toity name for a small pot bellied pig. He wasn’t terribly impressed by the blonde woman who’d decided to intrude on their conversation though. “Murphy,” he said by way of introduction to her, realizing as he said it that he didn’t really know the name of the owner either.
“Oh right! When those portal thingys were around? Peeta mentioned fighting some stuff here too.” Where Caroline had been she had no idea. Well she did fight some demons just not at her place of employment. “Hi, Murphy,” Caroline greeted with a bright smile. “I’m Caroline.” She figured he had been introducing himself to her.
“Wispy Pig.” Audrey repeated with a chuckle. She shook her head a little. “Yes. It’s a Patronus charm. Pretty tricky magic.” She’d been a little nervous that she wouldn’t be able to produce one in her time of need. Thankfully, Harry Potter was an excellent teacher. Her Dreams gave her more magic than she really realized.
“Yes, those weird rifts? So glad that’s over.” Then she realized she’d never told Murphy her name, either. “Murphy, Caroline, and I’m Audrey. I own the place.” She motioned to the ceiling with her hand, idly, but that was a silly gesture, wasn’t it? “...and all this talk about Dementors makes me want a brownie.”
“He didn’t have to fight those Dementors too, did he?” Murphy asked. Dementors. That’s what they had been called. He knew it had something to do with being demented, but honestly, he’d been so out of his head when he’d dealt with them that he’d forgotten some of the finer details.
“Actually, those brownies were why I came back here,” he said. Well, that, and the hope that Audrey was around.
Oh so maybe they hadn’t introduced themselves already. Well now that was all taken care of, apparently. She could see how introductions wouldn’t be important while fighting demons or Dementors or whatever the hell else showed up here. “No he fought some demons I think.” But then Caroline didn’t know what a Dementor was and who the hell knew if Peeta did either to describe it to her.
“Oh my god right? The brownies here are so good.” They beat Peeta’s but his cakes were the best. “You both should totally have one. Let me get them for you.” She didn’t need one given her diet. Plus working.
“I hope he came out of it okay,” Audrey’s brows knitted as she turned to face Caroline. The idea that someone could have been hurt at her bakery was distressing. “And we always have brownies,” she added to Murphy with a little wink. “I will absolutely have one with you.
There was no comparison. Peeta’s cakes were by far superior. Audrey had purchased some from Peeta’s bakery for things like Ben’s first birthday and her baby shower. Peeta was a good guy, and Audrey was happy for him and Caroline. They were absolutely adorable together.
“Thank you, Caroline.” Audrey was more than willing to sit down and get off her swollen ankles for a minute.
“You’re getting big,” Murphy said while Caroline went to get the brownies and Audrey sat down. He thought she’d looked pregnant last time he’d been in here, but she really was much larger than the last time he’d been here. “Sounds like this place gets attacked by demons often,” he said as Caroline returned.
Caroline selected two brownies from the case bringing them over to Murphy and Audrey. Once again she overheard the conversation but didn’t comment on how big Audrey was getting. Because she had no reason to. However she did reply to his comment about demons. “Yeah,” Caroline informed him. “I feel like everytime something crazy happens this place gets the worst of it.” Okay maybe not the worst but it was almost always affected. She looked over at Audrey for confirmation.
Audrey gave a laugh, running a hand over her tummy as they slipped into a booth not far from the register. “Only a few weeks left,” she told him. Then Caroline was back with brownies. Brownies. Perhaps the best thing ever. She smiled at the blonde as she accepted her brownie. “Sometimes Baxter is a safe haven during the crazy. People fleeing the monsters often come here to hide. Or we stay open during rigid snowstorms and whatever else. I guess it was just our turn to have crazy things happen.”
“Thanks,” he said to Caroline, taking his brownie. He took a bite. They weren’t as good as the last time he’d tried them, but that might be because he didn’t have that cold feeling in his veins to dispel. “Here’s hoping it goes smoothly,” he said to Audrey.
But a safe haven... That sounded good. When things got weird, there was nothing Murphy wanted more than to find a place where he could escape from the crazy. He had no interest in getting involved with the demon of the week crap. “So what. You wave your magic stick to keep the monsters away normally?”
“You’re welcome,” Caroline said with a bright smile. It was her job though, to bring food to customers, and her very pregnant boss. “She’s amazing with her wand,” Caroline commented just jumping into their conversation. Oops? Well there weren’t a ton of customers at the bakery and Caroline liked to get to know them each personally. At least the regulars, which it seemed like this Murphy guy was becoming.
“Thanks,” Audrey said to Murphy. She liked knowing that people cared, and they were hoping for things to go well. When Ben was born, she’d made a wish on a shooting star that everything would go smoothly and quickly, and it had. Ben’s birth was textbook, easy, and perfect. Now she was sort of on her own and a little scared. At least she had magic on her side. Hers and Merlin’s. And Nina, too, who was magic in a totally different way. World’s best nurse.
Phrases like She’s amazing with her wand were a little hilarious when taken out of context. Audrey couldn’t help but grin brightly as she tore off some brownie crumbs and put them in her mouth. “Caroline’s pretty kick-ass, too. Don’t let her beauty fool you. She’s one of the strongest and toughest people you’ll ever meet. Half the time I only feel safe because she’s around.”
Murphy eyed Caroline up after Audrey’s phrase, trying to size her up. She sure didn’t look very tough. Really, she just looked like some kind of cheerleader. But then, Murphy was well aware that looks could be very deceiving. “Oh yeah. You good with a wand too?” Murphy asked, cracking a smile at the double entendre.
“Wands aren’t my thing,” Caroline said with a smirk. Though if they were going with the metaphorical wand, those she was good with. But no need to speak about her sex life with her boss and some random customer. “I have more of a super strength and speed thing going for me.”
“It’s pretty amazing,” Audrey said, giving Caroline a smile. Then she turned her attention back to Murphy. “We didn’t have much chance to talk last time. What with the dementors and all. Are you local? Lived here long?” Audrey should probably have learned by now that forcing small talk was no way to make friends, but hopefully her optimism and pleasant demeanor would make up for the abruptness of her conversation.
Super strength and super speed. Those sounded like something he really wanted on his side. At the very least, he didn’t want to make an enemy of someone who boasted of those powers. “Couldn’t tell by looking at you,” he said complimentarily. “Orange County, born and raised,” he said. “I’ve been moved around a lot the last few years, but I think I’ve found the place I’ll be living until I get my own place now.”
She got that a lot. And she honestly didn’t go around bragging about her skills but since it had been brought up. Although she was over talking about it now. “Really? Where’d you go to high school? I was at Huntington Beach class of 2013.”
Audrey took a big bite of her brownie and savored it. This was one of her best recipes, she thought. She’d developed it herself in her first year of owning the bakery, back when brownies were a bit of a release. Between baking different kinds of breads for all the wholesale customers and restaurants around town, making something sweet and fun was a bright, shining spot in her day. She turned to Murphy, curious about his answer to Caroline’s question.
“Santa Ana High,” Murphy said. “Dropped out last year.” There was no point in hiding it. It wasn’t as though he was ashamed of it. He took a bite of his own brownie. “So those sparkling lattes, you don’t put glitter or something in them?”
“I don’t know anyone from there,” which was weird considering Caroline knew a lot of people. “But I hear it’s a good school. Anyway I should get back to work. I’ll see you around,” that was obviously more directed at Murphy, Of course she would see Audrey around. With that she turned on her heels, heading back behind the counter.
After giving Caroline a nod and a smile, Audrey turned her attention back to Murphy. “No, it’s magic milk. A Dream gift to a gentleman who owns a local dairy. We’ve got the exclusive commercial rights to the sparkling milk that comes from his cows. It’s more nutritious than non-sparkling milk, and I can’t tell the difference when it comes to taste.”
“I’ll get one of those too,” Murphy said, more for the novelty of the thing than because of the nutrition. “I’ll grab a seat and let you guys get back to work.”