Network/RP: Surprise Visit Who: Elijah and Tate (with a cameo appearance by Luna) When: Saturday, July 15, 2009 [Backdated/back story] Where: The Leaky Cauldron What: Eli's in town and hits up an old school friend. Warnings: None
MM to Tater Tot: You'll never guess where I am...
MM to Eli: If you say France, I'm going to be so pissed.
MM to Tater Tot: Wait why?
MM to Eli: I'm in London working at a little bakery. MM to Eli: Well.. It's far from little, it does ridiculous business MM to Eli: Anyway, I live above it. There's... I have a lot to tell you.
MM to Tater Tot: Yeah man, it sounds like you have a lot to tell me. MM to Tater Tot: I'm in this interesting little family bar thing... the leaky cauldron? Ever heard of it?
MM to Eli: you swear? You're not just pulling my leg for laughs Right? MM to Eli: I live right up the road! I can be there in two minutes
MM to Tater Tot: I swear. MM to Tater Tot: And I'm even drinking the piss these brits call beer
MM to Eli: poor military man, too bad the hardest thing I keep in my fridge is soda.
MM to Tater Tot: Yeah? You know I've never been a big drinker but when in Rome you know?
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It took Tate exactly five minutes to get his ass out of his apartment above Sweet Nothings and down to the Leaky. He rarely came to the Leaky, the Victory Road bar had become Tate’s favorite place to haunt. It was newer, the bartenders were more attractive in his opinion, and well... He maybe still had a little crush on Lisa, even after the pair had gone out once and came to the conclusion they’d be better as friends. At least, she had come to that conclusion and Tate had agreed.
“Eli!” Tate all but cheered as he stepped up to his friend and slapped him on the shoulder. Tate looked better than he had in years, at least since his father had passed away a few years previously. He looked like he had actually gotten some sleep, his dark locks were still a wild mess but that wasn’t anything that quitting drinking would help. It was genetics that made his hair fluff out and take on a mind of its own.
“What brings you to London?” He had to ask that before he asked anything else, he wanted to know if Eli had just blown into town for a few days. Tate never understood how Eli’s job worked, let alone how the traveling aspect of everything went. He never asked for specifics however, he always assumed that the man couldn’t talk about his job. It was ridiculous but Tate had never paid too close attention to the American military since he had moved to France just shortly after Eli had joined the military.
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Once Tate had said he would be able to get there pretty fast, Eli hadn't expected it to take terribly long for his old school buddy to arrive. Still, when he heard Tate call out his name, he jumped slightly in surprise, probably more from the fact that he'd called him by his first name. He was so used to being called Johnson from his time in the military that it still threw him a bit when people called him by his first name in the civilian world.
"Tate!" he called back with a slightly crooked grin that took a beat longer to show up than it would have the last time he'd spent any real time with Tate, before his world had gone to fire with the death his sister in the tower on 9/11.
The question had that grin fading, shadow falling over his dark eyes. "Ahh, yeah... came to visit the family of a fallen brother," he answered soberly, honestly. He motioned toward the stool next to him, inviting Tate to sit and chat with him. It had been a couple years since they'd had a chance to actually sit and have a real conversation, and there were precious few of his old classmates that he actually managed to keep in touch with that he treasured the ones he did.
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Tate wrote off Eli’s jump as the man being surprised at just how quick he had been able to get there, he really did live just up the block! He rather loved living so close to everything. His favorite benefit was living above Sweet Nothings, though he didn’t get to wake up to the scent of baked goods as much since he was the one waking up to start making those. He would be the first to admit though that he liked waking up with the scent as he put everything in the ovens. Nothing beat being in the kitchen, not even waking up to it.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Tate said as he moved to slip on to the stool next to the other man. “I’ll have a drink to him.” He nodded to the bartender. “Just a coke.” He really meant a drink, nothing alcoholic. He was keeping to his promise, if he wanted to be involved with his siblings he would need to be sober. He held up his hand. “Two actually, one straw.” The gesture he hoped was still there.
“Are you going to be around long? You’ve got to let me cook for you, I’ve perfected that shit.” He had a proud grin. “It’s really good to see you, man.” He didn’t think he could properly express to Eli just how much it meant to him to have a familiar face around. Someone that actually knew him, when his mother had still been alive, before his entire world had tipped sideways.
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Eli merely nodded, appreciating the sentiment even though he knew Tate couldn't really understand what it was like. He turned back toward the bar once Tate sat down next to him, thinking he would probably switch to coke here soon too. The warm beer was just too strange, in his opinion, and he'd never been a big drinker to begin with. It was immediately obvious what Tate was doing by ordering a second drink, and Eli didn't want to admit that his eyes teared up a bit at it. Although it had been over a year since Marshall's passing, it was still painful. "Thanks, man," he murmured simply.
He blew out a breath at the question, tossing his head back and forth as if saying: who knows? "Yeah, you have? That's great! I... have not," he admitted. Cooking just hadn't been a priority for most of his life, but now that he was out of the military, it could be something worth learning. His mom had done most of the cooking during his childhood, but after she went back to work, his sisters had picked up much of the cooking duties and he and his brothers split most of the heavier chores between them.
"It's really good to see you, too," he agreed. He blew out a breath then, thinking. "As for how long I'll be around, I haven't decided yet. I'm out of the military now, but I haven't figured out what I'm doing next. Figured I'd start with some non-combat travel, visit some old friends, that sort of thing." And he'd had a letter to deliver, something he'd promised to do in person should anything happen, the same as Marshall had promised to do for him if he didn't make it out.
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Tate gave Eli a soft smile, he may not have understood exactly but he understood losing someone. He had lost enough over the years. He nodded his head a bit as he lifted one of his glasses to his lips to take a drink. He drank more than he likely would have normally, but he also had two drinks to finish that weren’t just a shot that you could down in under a few seconds.
A chuckle left Tate. “I’d hope you didn’t. I’m the one that cooks for a living, you do something bad ass.” Tate gave him a playful lopsided grin before he was leaning against his forearms on the bar. “You’ve not traveled, have you? What’s next after London?” It didn’t surprise Tate in the least that Eli had friends all over, he assumed the man was always on the move with the military doing something that involved guns and being a bad ass. He never knew which questions were off limits, so he listed them all off limits.
“I think you should stick around here, at least for a bit. If you’ve got travel plans, just be sure you stop here before you make a decision about where you want to stay long term. I’ve not seen you in years, it feels only fair that I try to obligate you to stick around for at least a few weeks. I’ll even offer you my couch, if you’d need a place to stay.” If he hadn’t hooked up Perse and Olivier, he may have made an attempt to play match maker too. Instead he’d just offer a couch and food, should the other man want. He really hoped that Eli wanted to stick around a bit.
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Tate's retort had Eli letting out a soft snort of dissent. No, he didn't do something bad ass; he did something necessary. There was a big difference in his opinion. "Uhh, yeah, I've traveled, but for work... not really to the standard tourist spots." Definitely nowhere most people wanted to go, but it was the job. He really wasn't sure what was next though. He'd spent some time at home with his family, but everything felt off and wrong now with Rachel gone and him having been a soldier. The military life had never been something his parents had felt warm toward, but they'd understood and respected his decision.
"You think?" It amused him that Tate still seemed to be a rambler; it was nice to know some things didn't change. "Yeah, I'll probably stick around for at least a few weeks, and I appreciate the offer of your couch, but it's probably better if I stay on my own." Sleep hadn't been a calm, peaceful thing for him for a long time now, and he didn't want to ruin his old friend's sleep while he was at it.
His attention was diverted momentarily as a gorgeous blonde woman stood up from a table and wandered over to another table to talk to the patrons there with a broad smile curving her lips up. She was striking in a somewhat unconventional way, but he forced himself to look back at his friend. He hadn't come here to ogle women, and it wasn't like he was fit for a relationship anyway--not with the plethora of issues he knew he'd yet to work through.
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Tate’s head nodded, he could understand that. You couldn’t really enjoy a place if you were there for work and the way Eli said that? He doubted that any of the places the man had gotten to travel to had been any amount of fun. “Well, you need to fix that.” He gave the man a lopsided smile before taking another drink. He was enjoying his night out, even if it was last minute and a surprise. He was happy to have his old friend in town, he really hoped the man took him up on the offer to come back after he had seen a few things.
“I know it.” Tate’s head nodded though when Eli said that he would be better staying on his own. “I know a few of the hotel managers around, I can talk to a few and get you a good rate if you’d like? I worked at this real nice place when I first blew into town, I’m sure they would help us out.” Tate didn’t have nearly the money that his family had had when he was a teen. The family money had dried up after his father had passed, most going to Quin and just little funds that his father had set aside for the children were all they got. It was only now that Tate was building his savings back up, one sickle at a time.
He noticed as Eli’s attention drifted, only because it had drifted behind him and to the side. He wanted to know what was so interesting, so he turned in his head to follow his line of sight. His eyes landed on a familiar blonde that popped into Sweet Nothings before she went to work just up the road from his flat. He thought her name might be Luna or something. He leaned in a bit towards Eli, so that everyone around didn’t hear them. “I think her name is Luna or Lucy, or something. She comes into Sweet Nothings every morning to buy her coffee.” Tate looked up at Eli. “I can introduce you?” He didn’t know if Eli was into picking someone up at a bar, but he assumed there was no harm in offering to introduce him. It didn’t have to be a one night stand if they didn’t want it to be. Tate smirked a bit, he rather liked meddling. He had enjoyed setting up Olivier with Perse, and now he wanted to play wingman for Eli.
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"I know I do--why do you think I'm here?" Eli asked dryly, lifting the glass to his lips again. Good God, this beer really did taste like crap. There was no way he'd be having another, but at least he could say he'd given it a try. And he really wasn't here to get drunk anyway; that just wasn't his style.
He was a bit surprised by Tate's offer, but he wasn't exactly rolling around in extra funds, though he wasn't doing poorly either. But saving where he could? That was definitely the smarter option. "Yeah? I'd appreciate that." He didn't see it as charity, rather just what friends did for each other. Perhaps it stemmed from his upbringing, having been raised in such a strong community with parents who espoused the benefits of building others up and helping where one could.
Although any blush was hidden in his darker skin, there was definitely something of a sheepish expression on his face when Tate caught just where his attention had drifted--or rather, to whom. "Oh, uh... No, that's all right. She's..." Gorgeous. Probably taken. Definitely out of his league. "...out with friends." He would never want to be a bother, and intruding without invitation on a woman's night out was just not something he did. "Besides, I'm not here for that." Women were better off not having to deal with his plethora of issues, after all.
“Of course, do you need the room tonight or are you taking up here?” He could make a phone call easily to set up a room. He was certain if he got the right person, he could get Eli an employee discount which was fantastic as far as the rooms went. A good 70%, which would save him money for his travels. Tate figured it’d help, and what was the harm in helping someone else out?
He knew that expression when he saw it, a warm laugh leaving him. “Alright fine, but if she comes over here I’m going to introduce you. It doesn’t hurt to say hello, you might not be here for long but what it could hurt?” Tate gave an easy shrug. “You don’t have to do more than get her number. You’re sticking around town right?” Tate was now going to take a shot in the dark and hope that he was at least a little right. “Besides, it could help to get your feet wet in the dating pool again. Just talking to women can be hard sometimes, I never seem to have good openers.” At least not when he was approaching women himself. He was a fairly good wingman.
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Eli shook his head at the question. "Nah, I've got a place for tonight--I just wasn't sure how long I'd be around, so I didn't set up an extended stay sort of deal." But with Tate's warm and pleased response to his arrival, he thought it might be nice to stay for a little while. It would be more than a bit strange, as it had been since he'd rejoined civilian life, but doubly so with being immersed in a completely different culture.
"If she comes over here," he repeated skeptically. Why would she come over here? She had no reason to, he would assume, since Tate didn't seem to know her well enough to be sure on even her name. "It won't hurt anything, and I'm not looking to pick up her number either. Really, man." He shrugged, wanting it to be let go, feeling uncomfortable with the thought of dating. It wasn't that he'd never dated, and he had at least some experience with the physical side of things, but the casual sort of thing had never appealed to him and he had never felt his life suited to anything more serious.
"I'd put money down that you're better than me at talking to women," he admitted, his tone still dry and just this side of self-deprecating. His life in the military had been a dangerous one and very busy, which didn't lend to cultivating romantic relationships. And besides, he hadn't been sure he'd survive overseas, and the thought of leaving a girlfriend or wife behind, possibly even children, was something he just hadn't been able to deal with, so he'd avoided it altogether.
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Tate chuckled. “Alright deal, if she comes over here. Though, getting her number wouldn’t hurt anything. You don’t have to contact her, there’s no obligation.” Just in case he did get her number, he didn’t want Eli to think he was going to press it. He wouldn’t even suggest the number trade, though he did have a plan to get the blonde to ask for his and give reason that they needed to exchange numbers.
As Tate glanced over towards the blonde once more, she was making her way over towards the bar. If Tate were to guess, she had stopped at the table to ask her friends if they wanted anything to drink since she was headed to the bar. He had caught her at the Leaky often enough when he’d come by for food, she always sat in the back with a pile of books for that school she was opening. He bet she had a table in the back similar. Tate really loved to people watch.
Luna came up to the open spot at the bar, just on the other side of Eli. She leaned against the bar in an attempt to catch the bartender's attention but he was busy with a mess at the end of the bar and Luna was too nice to interrupt. He would notice her in a second. She leaned back on her flats, a soft sigh leaving her as she glanced the length of the bar. It was as she did this that man on the other side of the man she stood next to caught her eye and she gave him a smile. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t place his face.
“Hey, I’ve seen you around before,” Tate said with a friendly crooked smile. “Sweet Nothings? I’m the baker. “
Luna’s face lit up with recognition, laughing as she nodded her head. “Oh right! I’m Luna Lovegood,” She called back to him, and would have reached out to shake his hand if he had been the one next to her.
Tate loved when he was right. “I’m Tate.” He motioned to the man next to him. “This is my friend Eli.” He didn’t go farther and admit that Eli had just blown into town, if Eli had been looking for a one night stand then he would have been sure to lay it on thick the fact that he wasn’t going to be around long.
“It’s good to put a face to a name. What brings you both out tonight?” she asked as her eyes moved from Tate to Eli, sky blue eyes meeting his. She felt her breathing pick up, he was attractive and she had an urge to know more. She had never seen him around, though she had only been back for about a year so maybe she had missed him. She hadn’t been getting out much, she had a handful of excuses and had to remind herself to not ask such a question just yet.
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When the blonde approached the bar, even picking the spot next to him at it, Eli glanced at Tate with a look as if to say: did you just signal her over here? But no, he would have noticed that, wouldn't he have? Perhaps it was just fate, though he wasn't sure how much stock he put into the concept of fate. With free will, how could there be fate, after all.
Eli felt the ridiculous urge to duck down and shrink a bit so that he wouldn't be in the middle of the conversation between Tate and Luna, though it was nice to know for sure that was her name, but he knew that would only draw more attention to himself, and he really didn't need to be doing that just then. "Hi," he said simply when Tate introduced him, not sure what else he really could say. Despite his age, this just wasn't his forte.
And then those stunning blue eyes met his boring browns, and he found himself momentarily speechless. Had she asked something? She had, hadn't she? What was it? Oh, right... "He's an old school friend of mine, at Ilvermorny," he explained. "I surprised him, showing up unexpectedly." He brushed a hand over his short hair then, feeling just a tad awkward even telling her that much. Should he explain more? But no, probably not. People tended to get weirded out when the military was brought up, especially in the magical world.
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Luna’s face lit up hearing just what brought them out, “You’re from America?” His accent was better than his friends, though she wouldn’t admit that aloud. You weren’t supposed to tell people things like that, even if she didn’t think that Tate would mind she didn’t like his accent as much. “That’s exciting, what brought you all the way out here?”
It was Tate who piped up then. “He’s finally taking a vacation from work, I don’t think he’s ever taken a vacation in his life.” He chuckled then. “Say, you’ve got that school right?” he asked suddenly, to which she nodded. Her eyes reluctantly left those gorgeous bedroom eyes Eli had, they were warm and inviting. Tate continued on then, “I saw your flyer looking for people with skills that might help the kids. I think he might have one you’d find useful. He can do those boy scout things, teach them to build a fire and things like that. Survival things they might not learn any other way.”
While Luna did know a few of these things, she still hired people when she was out on expeditions to do the things that she couldn’t. This would be fantastic! “Really?” she asked Eli with a bright, excited expression. If Eli were to look at Tate, he’d see a smug satisfied expression that said he was totally right. He loved when he was right.
“Would you be willing to talk to my students sometime? They’re little, aged from about five to ten, but I know they’d love to learn those sort of things. How long will you be in town? Do you think it would be doable?” There was a lot questions, Luna couldn’t help that when she got excited she tended to word vomit everything she was thinking. This was an exciting opportunity though, skills the children could actually use!
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"Uh, yeah," Eli answered, not wanting to make her feel bad for pointing out the obvious. Or maybe people in England didn't really know about Ilvermorny and she was just making it clear that she did? He had no clue, honestly, but he didn't want to make this any weirder than it needed to be.
He was just about to answer the question, though he had no idea what exactly he was going to say, when Tate jumped in, and he'd never been more grateful to his friend than in that moment. It had saved him from having to tell a perfect though gorgeous stranger about his dead brother-in-arms and his life in the US military. His brows furrowed a bit though when Tate asked Luna about some school. Only then Tate continued on, elaborating on why he'd brought it up, and Eli groaned softly, narrowing his eyes at his old friend. "Ah, hell man, come on," he muttered.
But Luna's brightened expression had his irritation fading some. Her smile was something else, and he found himself drawn in to her enthusiasm. "Oh, uhh, yeah, I'm not sure how long I'll be around. A couple weeks maybe? It's... I'm just not sure yet." And he wasn't sure how he'd do around a bunch of little kids. It was nerve-wracking just thinking about it, though he'd always liked kids well enough.
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It had most definitely been a very obvious question to ask if he was from America, since that was in fact where the school was from. She hadn’t even thought of it when she asked, thankfully both men were polite enough to not say a word about it.
She brought a hand up to wave away his words about how he wasn’t sure how long he would be around, “That’s completely okay. My school is brand new so I’m still figuring it all out. This is my first year trying all of this. We hold classes Monday and Wednesday, then we have a different group on Tuesday and Thursday, and I reserve Friday for any students that need help with their studies at Hogwarts, my school, or for fun things like survival training.” She hoped he would be around on a Friday at least, what if he was only in town until Thursday or something? It would be just her luck.
Sky blue eyes met his again for a moment, a slight flush coming to her cheeks because she had Dom. Though she wasn’t entirely sure what that was, she still shouldn’t be making eyes with the attractive man at the bar. Then she did something that went against that entire thought process, she slipped around behind the bar and rummaged around for an actual piece of paper and not a napkin, before she was standing in front of Eli and Tate instead of next to them. “Don’t worry, I know the owner.” She gave both men a playful wink, while Tate chuckled and took a sip from his soda. Maybe this woman was a bit too much for Eli but he thought it didn’t hurt to at least get him talking to a woman.
A moment later, Luna was sliding that piece of paper across the bar to Eli. On it was her name in swirly script and her number. “Let me know if you’d be interested some Friday, I can move things around last minute.” She bit her lower lip, she knew what she did next would likely get her into trouble but she did it anyway. “If you happen to need a good tour guide so you don’t miss the best parts of our city, give me a ring.”
It was then she saw a hand go up to catch her attention across the room and she flashed an apologetic smile to both men. “I have to go, sorry,” ws said in a rush before she slipped out from behind the bar with rosy cheeks. She was never so bold with men, she supposed the courage had come from the fact that she was actually interested in having him talk to her littles.
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As Eli listened to Luna explain a bit about her school, his eyes were slightly wide, his head nodding along silently. She was that sort, then? The overly-friendly, could-talk-to-anyone sort? It wasn't a bad thing, and he'd even been similar once upon a time. But time and war had changed him in more ways than one. "So it'd be a Friday then?" he questioned quietly. Even if he hadn't made up his mind about whether or not to do it, he'd keep it in mind.
His head tracked her movement as she went around the bar, his mind still trying to figure out what had happened to put that flush to her cheeks. Though, she was rather pale, perhaps her cheeks always had that sort of rosy tint to them. "Oh, uh, okay," he said awkwardly as she seemed to shuffle around for things behind the bar and then insist she knew the owner. When she slid the piece of paper over to him, he tapped a finger over it automatically, picking it up. "I'll let you know," he said after a glance at her number written on the paper.
When she spoke again, his brows shot up. Was she...? But no, why would she be flirting with him? She was probably just the friendly sort--hadn't he just thought that about her, anyway? He couldn't think of a response before she was bouncing off toward someone who had caught her attention. He turned and watched her go before looking back at Tate with a quizzical expression. "What was that?" he asked, utterly confused by what had just transpired.
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“This would be on a Friday.” She figured it would make a difference in his plans if he would have a Friday open or not. She still had a few Fridays open that she needed to fill but she wasn’t in any sort of rush. She had yet to run into a problem finding someone for the Friday’s, mostly because the school had just opened and she had been sure that the first month or so had been filled so that she didn’t have to worry so much about finding people.
“I look forward to it.” She hoped that he would call, even if it wasn’t for either of the reasons she had given him. She knew it was wrong and that she shouldn’t have offered to give him a tour but it was exciting. She wanted to tell Ginny about how bold she had been.
As the blonde woman walked off, Tate was chuckling into his soda when Eli asked the question and Tate gave a useless sort of shrug. “That’s a Luna Lovegood, I’ve heard she was worse as a kid.” He hadn’t known the woman then but the few run ins he had with the leggy blonde since had been nothing short of unusual and amusing. If you could look past that, she was attractive he thought. To each their own though, he knew his own judgement wasn’t always the best.
“These British women are something. I’ve had an odd arrangement with a bird from here, we’re only just now in the same city.” He chuckled then. “It’s strange but it works for now. It’s one of those open sort of relationships.” Which had worked wonderfully when they weren’t in the same city. He hadn’t had to think about the fact that his girlfriend was fucking someone else when he was getting under a hot redhead he had met at the club. It was harder to do with them in the same city finally.
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She was like a force, it seemed, blowing into their conversation and shaking everything up before bounding off again. Eli couldn't help but do anything but shake his head as he watched her wander off before meeting Tate's gaze again. That shrug was no help. "Worse?" he questioned, not sure how it could be worse. She'd seemed a strange sort, but not necessarily in a bad way.
When Tate brought up the odd arrangement he had, Eli furrowed his brows at him, not quite sure what to make of the admission. That seemed like an empty sort of life, but then he'd never understood how anyone could have an open relationship and have it still be something serious and meaningful. "An open relationship? I don't know, man, is that really what you want?" he couldn't help but ask. He'd always tried hard not to judge other people for the way they lived, but sometimes it was more challenging than others, and when it came to unconventional relationships, it was definitely more difficult.
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“More odd, I guess?” Tate wasn’t entirely sure what had been worse about her, but he knew that everyone said she was so much better now. He never understood, he assumed it was likely something to do with her odd choice of clothing and accessories. “I’ve seen her come in with radish earrings before.” Which had been odd. “Think you’re going to do her class thing?” he asked with a nod to the napkin before he was taking another drink from his second glass.
“I don’t know,” Tate admitted with an easy shrug of his shoulders. “If we’re honest? I don’t think so. It was different when we were in different countries, I didn’t have to know about men she was seeing. Just the other day there was some article about us, because her brother is some big shot Quidditch star?” He shook his head. “It went on about not only did have a young stud,” He had a cocky smile on his face about that, “but an old man as well.” That smile wilted just a bit.
“It’s weird because it could be any bloke, couldn’t it?” He motioned around the bar. “Anyone who looks even remotely older than me here. Then there’s the tutor...” The tutor that didn’t treat her much like a student. He just shook his head. “I don’t even know,” he admitted again. “I know I’d like to be married maybe at some point... I don’t think she would be.” Which, he thought maybe explained everything.
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Radish earrings? That was a bit strange, but maybe she just really loved root vegetables? "Uhh, I've got no idea. I'm still not sure how long I'll be sticking around." After what Eli had gone through today, a part of him wanted to put as much space between England and him as possible, but he knew his friend's family wanted to have him over at least once more before he left, and he'd do it even if only to honor his fallen brother's memory.
He didn't think he needed to point out to Tate that honesty was typically the way to go; he thought Tate knew that. He listened patiently as Tate went through his thoughts on the matter, and when he finally admitted his desire to be married someday, it all seemed to click. "Look, I'm not going to pretend I understand the whole open relationships thing, but I think what you need to ask yourself is whether or not she's someone you could see yourself marrying?"
Eli lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck, hesitating briefly before continuing. "If she's comfortable dating more than just you right now, when you guys have all this history between you, it doesn't sound like the whole marriage deal is her thing. But, well, you should probably talk to her about it. Tell her the open relationship thing isn't really working for you anymore and that you want to settle down and get married someday, maybe put a few Tater Tots out in the world eventually. And if that's not something she's interested in? Probably best to find out now so you can try to find someone you can share your life with."
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Tate wouldn’t press anymore about Eli meeting with Luna. He had helped to get Eli her number, that was a step in the right direction. He would leave it up to Eli to reach out to her while he was here, if he came back however Tate would try to facilitate the pair meeting again. She was around Victory Road often enough that he was sure he could see her again and could help facilitate another meeting if Eli needed.
He listened to Eli, his head bobbing as he thought about that. Was Emilia someone that he wanted to marry? He didn’t know the answer to that. Did Emilia even want to marry was a whole other question. He shook his head. “I don’t know the answer to that, I’ve been dating her for ten years off and on though. I should have an answer to that though, shouldn’t I?”
“You’re right though, I should talk to her about it. I know I’m young by wizarding standards but...” He shook his head. “I don’t want to waste my time. My father started two families, he passed while his youngest wasn’t here yet.” He shook his head. “I don’t want that for my life. I want to be able to enjoy every moment of children, grandchildren, the whole thing.” If he had children, he was still a little up in the air about it but he was fairly certain he wanted children.
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When Tate asked that, all Eli could do was shrug his shoulders. He couldn't say that Tate should have an answer to that, though he thought it was probably something his friend should consider. "Maybe not yet but something to consider now," he suggested simply.
Although he wasn't the sort that needed to hear he was right all the time, he did like the sound of it just then. "Then yeah, you really shouldn't waste time with something casual. Just my opinion, man," he added quickly, holding his hands up as if anticipating a less-than-pleasant reception to his comment. He didn't know this woman, though, and he didn't really know what sort of relationship they had, but he had to have Tate's back, to encourage him to work toward his goals rather than living mindlessly in the moment.
"Still crazy we're old enough for families of our own, though." He chuckled softly at the thought, scrubbing a hand over his hair. He'd thought he might want a family someday, but after everything he'd gone through the last eight years, he wasn't sure if he'd ever get there, how he would handle that sort of normal life.
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Tate’s head nodded with Eli’s words. He needed to give this some thought, he knew what he wanted in his future. Though he wondered how much of his future had changed now that he was sober, what changes did he want to make? Did he still want the same things? There were a lot of questions he needed to consider before he brought it up to Emilia.
“Thanks, I’m going to.” He flashed a smile to Eli before he picked up his glass to finish off his second soda. He chuckled though when he mentioned families, nodding his head. “Definitely strange. What makes it worse is the fact that my youngest brother can’t even use the bathroom.” He chuckled then, it was such a strange family situation but he loved his siblings.
“Do you think you want one?” He wanted to turn the tables, it only seemed fair. “Some little Eli’s running around, causing trouble. Maybe they’ll be blonde,” he mused teasingly, a shit-eating grin gracing his lips as he picked up the new soda that was set down by the bartender.
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Eli snorted out a short laugh at the mention of Tate's youngest brother. That whole situation was a strange one, but who was he to judge? And at least Tate was able to be around his youngest siblings, even if he was old enough to be their father. "At least you don't have to help teach him to use the bathroom?" he suggested as a consolation for Tate being old enough to be his youngest brother's father.
There was clear hesitation at Tate's question, and he was shaking his head and rubbing a hand over the back of his neck when his friend had to go and make that stupid comment about blonde hair. He snorted out a short laugh, rolling his eyes. "The odds of me ever fathering a blonde child are so low they might as well be non-existent." And yes, he knew what Tate was referring to there, but he didn't want to focus on the blonde who'd given him her number just minutes before. "But I really don't know if me having kids is a good idea," he finally answered the original question with a shrug.
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Tate actually winced at the idea, he was almost certain he might have to do that at some point. At least, if he were to watch the littles for Quin while she was potty training Fee. He shook his head, a smirk gracing his lips. “Don’t count that out, I want to volunteer to babysit for her at some point.” He didn’t know just when though, he wanted to be able to show her that he was better. He had only been sober for a few months, not even a year just yet. He didn’t like talking about it, but it was something he knew he would need to talk with her about.
A chuckle left him when Eli laughed, sure it had an eye roll attached to it but Tate still counted it as a win. He didn’t press the subject though as he leaned an elbow on the bar. “I bake now, did I mention that? Weirdest thing, I love the change of pace though. You’ll have to stop by sometime before you head out.” Since he knew Eli wouldn’t be going by the school, may as well send him off with some cupcakes or something.
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Well, he had to give Tate credit there, that he wanted to help out with his siblings despite the strangeness of the situation. "You think you can handle that?" he asked teasingly. He was the youngest in his family and military life didn't exactly lend to experience with babies, so he wasn't sure he'd have a clue what to do. But he could admit, at least to himself, that he liked the idea of getting to experience all of those things. he just wasn't in a rush to get to any of it as he still wasn't sure it was a good idea for him to go there.
Eli quirked a brow at the change in topic, at the odd admission. "Definitely strange to think of you as a baker instead of a chef. Think you'll stick with it?" And he would stop by to see his friend in baking action and sample some of his goods. "It's really good to see you again," he admitted out of nowhere. It really had been too long, but he had hope that it wouldn't be like that again. Being out of the military now and healed up enough move on with his life helped.
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Tate shook his head as soon as Eli asked, his eyes wide, and laughing just a bit. “Hell no, I don’t think I can handle any of it. She’s got a boyfriend that’s living with them, so I suppose they might be getting married. She’s got a huge rock. It’s all fuckin’ strange man.” He was still grinning as he lifted the new glass that had been down to his lips to take a sip. “I’m figuring it out as I go though. I know they need to have my father in their lives, he’s not around and the other siblings are being assholes...” He gave a shrug. “I figure I’m the closest they’ll get for a while.” He didn’t hold out hope his siblings would change their minds, they had snubbed their father the entire time he had been married to Quin. He doubted they would change their mind about their half-siblings. No matter how intelligent Auri was or how much like father Fee looked.
“I might. I still want to open my place, though I don’t know if I want my own place to be a bakery sort of deal, restaurant, or maybe a mixture of both.” Wouldn’t that be lovely, he thought? He was grinning from ear to ear at Eli’s admission. “It’s really good to see you too.” He wouldn’t say it out loud but he had been worried about Eli going to war. Muggles had some nasty things they used to kill each other with. “Let’s not go so long between doing this sort of thing again, alright?”
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If he wasn't sure he could handle it, then Eli wasn't sure why Tate would offer to babysit, but he had to figure his friend was making some sort of logical leap in his mind there that he just wasn't seeing. And that was okay, really. "Well, they're lucky to have you," he replied simply with a small nod. Even if Tate didn't have it figured out yet and if he was making it up as he went along, that was okay. The fact that he was willing to try had to mean a lot.
He nodded slowly at Tate's thoughts on what he might want to do for his own place he would eventually open. "You've got time to figure all of that out." And whatever Tate chose to do, Eli was sure it would be a success. He hadn't tried any of his baked goods yet, but he knew how good of a chef Tate was. He grinned a bit at his friend, nodding slightly. "We won't," he promised. That didn't mean he was going to stick around here long-term, but he would at least not take so long between visits anymore.