| Details for Breakfast at Eddie's |
| Summary: | Cyril stops by to catch up with his older sister. |
| Date: | 18 November 1937 |
| Location: | Edwarlinda's Residence |
| Related: | — |
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Outside the window, one might see a luxurious town-car approaching and stopping on the curb. It spews forth the man, the myth, the legend; Cyril Malfoy. Though it's quite obvious that he is currently under the influence of a grumpy temperament. He looks over his shoulder at the driver and says, "My bags?" The driver nods and scurries to get Cyril's various suitcases out of the trunk which he sets down on the sidewalk next to him. Cyril hands the man some money and walks towards the door, giving it a loud knock.
Well, the initial morning illness mostly gone, and it being a relaxing Sunday, Eddie is quite at home and quite alone. Sloan's gone off to church and she is savouring some doctored coffee in slow sips, waiting for her body to turn against it. So far, so good. Still, while she knew her little brother was coming back into town at some point, she didn't realize he'd be coming by today. In her long cream satin robe, with the feathers around the edges, she blinks at the knock and lazily pads through her house towards the front door. She doesn't keep a house elf in downtown London…"Coming!" She calls, pulling it open a moment later. That's when she sees him, "Cyril!!!" And she practically throws herself at him in a hug, all soft flesh and long limbs, smelling like morning and coffee.
Cyril blinks as he's enveloped in a hug and gives her a soft pat on the back, saying, "Yes. Quite." He clears his throat as if to say 'hug time over' and says, "I imagine my arrival is surprising, then?"
The oldest sister, none of her siblings get to dictate hug time ending, or anything else, to her. Eddie will always be the doting protective sibling. Still, a few heartbeats later, she pulls back and kisses his forehead before ushering him in past her door and to the cozy, elegant front room, "Yes! Well… no, I knew you were coming back to town, I just didn't know you'd be here NOW! But it's a lovely surprise. Have you eaten? There is still some breakfast…"
Cyril picks up his suitcases and moves inside the door, having a look around. No signs of any lingering gentleman callers, so that's good. He'd hate to walk in on Eddie-nookie. *shiver*. He remarks, "I stayed at a hotel last night and as appetizing as a cold biscuit and orange juice sounded, I couldn't bring myself to dive in."
Well, no signs of Eddie-nookie active at this moment, but there is another pair of man-sized boots near the edge of the door, and just a few things that indicate she may no longer be living alone in her house. She reaches up, offering to take his jacket so she can hang it up, "Well, I can get you a toad in the hole no issue, love, and some tea and juice… Are you going to stay here or with Cassius?"
Cyril turns to speak to his sister, saying, "That sounds lovely. Replace the juice with brandy." He notices the boots on the floor and says, "I imagine I shall be staying with Cassius, providing I can get that rancid House Elf to open the gate for me this time." He gives the boots a tap of his foot and says, "I wouldn't want to impose on your dalliances, after all. I trust Cassius is still asexual?"
An arch of her thin brow is brought, levelling a strong look at him for just a few heartbeats. "Cyril, be nice." Eddie scolds gently, shaking her head as she leads the rest of the way into the kitchen and sets about with the skillet again. She's almost living life like a muggle here! Doing her own cooking on a gas stove, it's quite strange. "And Cassius is… well, Cassius. You can ask him yourself." Though she doesn't quite meet his eyes as she says that. She just grabs down a cup and moves back into the front room where the wet bar is. She's gained weight since the last they bet, all soft curves now instead of her rip cord younger Auror days.
Cyril sets his suitcases down at the threshold off the kitchen and moves inside to have a lean against the counter. "Mmmm, have you and Cassie had a falling out, then?" He doesn't comment on her Muggle-y ways. Hell, he's been living in a beduoin for the majority of his recent trip.
"No, no… It's just been a strange week. Things have… It's been interesting." Eddie finally settles to admitting, not certain how much she wants to overwhelm her little brother with now. She bustles back into the kitchen, one tall tumbler of brandy in her hand, and she offers it in his direction before going back to the stove, "But! Tell me all about your trip, yes?"
Cyril walks over to his suitcase and flips it open to pluck something out of it before returning to the kitchen and saying, "The trip? Well, I managed to start a few ill-advised military revolutions. Those are always good fun." He walks over to where she's cooking and clips a golden bracelet around her wrist, saying, "Something I brought back for you. It's the bracelet of Ra." The bracelet is indeed centuries old and rather bulky as it's made of gold. A falcon wearing a sun-crown is engraved along the face of it. "I managed to pluck it off one of the archaoelogists before I left."
The bracelet nearly makes her jump, just not having expected quite such a present, especially when she is in the middle of cooking. Eddie's eyes go wide, smiling even deeper as she looks it over, "Oh, Cyril! It's… it's gorgeous. God… How old is this? Shouldn't it be in a museum somewhere?" Eddie asks with a husky, warm sort of laugh. The poor man is getting pulled into another hug again, whether he likes it or not!
Cyril once again pats her softly on the back, as he's not a big fan of hugging folks (even family) and says, "Aye, it should. But there's no fun it that. It's jewelry. Jewelry is made to be presented on a lovely woman." Once the hug is broken he'll move to lean against the counter once more.
At least he's not forced to stay in the hug overly long this time. His breakfast will burn, if that happens. Eddie releases him, now wearing satin, feathers and an ancient piece of chunky gold jewelry to cook breakfast in the morning! It seems a very Malfoy thing to do. She flips over his toast and egg, smiling a bit more just to see him. "I…I'm glad you're home. We worry about you, you know… So bloody much…"
Cyril smirks and says, "There's no need to worry about me, Edwarlinda. I'm fighting in wars with Muggles. What are they doing to do? Bleed on me?" He scoffs snidely and continues, "I'm positively safe over there."
The skepticism is clear in her eyes, gaze narrowing upon him. "Darling… they have these things called guns. They are really quite dangerous and violent, you know." Eddie admits simply, a genuine worry still behind her gray eyes even as he says there is nothing to worry about.
Cyril smirks once again and says, "I've got guns to. And wards." He chuckles and goes about plucking at clumps of his hair to make sure they're all in line with the ridiculously groomed 'unkempt' hairstyle he's got going on at the moment.
Seeing him plucking at those bits of hair, Eddie cannot help but laugh just a bit, "You are ridiculous." She mutters fondly, probably one of the few people to get away with such things. "Come on, you look fine. Sit down and eat." A few quick motions and she's got his toad in the hole plated up, extra sweet cream butter, a cup of tea to go with his brandy and some jelly on the side. She sets it all out at her little breakfast table, smiling somewhat proudly to actually be able to COOK for her family. This is a new skill for her.
Cyril walks over to have a seat at the table. Despite not having eaten for a day and a half, the man doesn't look all that bothered, as if he's had to go for longer in the past. That might explain the fact that he's more solid-looking than the last time he left. He begins to consume the meal in a calm, sophisticated manner despite the gnawing of his stomach. He daps his face with a napkin and says, "So, who is this man that's living with you?"
Well, eventually they were going to cross that threshold. Eddie sinks down into the seat across from him, just nursing her now mostly cold tea. She doesn't seem to mind. Long legs cross and a warm smile brushes her features. "Sloan Macdubsithe. The Irish boy from when I was in school. Not Keenan, the dark haired one…" Yes. She's living with an Irish halfblood.
Cyril clears his throat and looks up at her from across the table, saying, "The Ape? My word, Edwarlinda." He holds further comment as he goes back to eating his meal.
That comment makes Eddie's expression close off, just a bit. She stares at him quietly, back stiff. "…He is not an ape, he's a man and I quite love him, Cyril. Just because he's not up to the family standards doesn't mean he's… he's not a good man. And we're having a child so you might as well just bloody well get used to it." There, she said it.
Cyril daps at his mouth with the napkin and says, "You've gone and put words in my mouth, dear. I never said he wasn't up to snuff. I simply said he was an ape. Dispute me that he does not share qualities with a gorilla. And congratulations."
"An… ape… it's… It's simply not kind. He's strong, yes. Very strong… all the better to protect myself and keep up the good work as an Auror. But… I appreciate that. Cassius is quite fed up with it all because they nearly got into quite the row." Eddie states with a sigh, but her hackles have gone back down for the moment and she's returning a warmer smile to her features. "Sorry… I'm just tired over arguing about this. I might be a bit touchy. Sloan is a good man."
Cyril nods and places the napkin over his plate, leaning back to sip at his brandy, "I can see where Cassius could be angry, but I don't see him trying his hardest to continue the bloodline." He of course won't mention that there's probably a gratuitous number of half-blooded, half-Arabic babies spread across the Middle East. He looks her up and down and says, "He'd damn well better be a good man. I expect to meet him."
The woman looks genuinely more relaxed than even when he first came in. This wasn't going nearly so horrible as she first thought it would. She smiles wider and nods, "Of course, of course… any time. He's out at church right now. But if he doesn't get back before you leave, then most certainly while you're in town. Thank you… for… For keeping an open mind about this, Cyril." Eddie stretches a tender hand over to him to give his palm a brief, warm squeeze.
Cyril pats her hand and says, "There's no need to thank me. Though, I do expect the child to be named after me." He gives a nod and picks his brandy up for another brief sip.
"Your name will be in there somewhere, my dear. I promise." Eddie winks at him, her smile practically glowing a bit now. She finishes off her tea and then scoops up into standing again, heading over to the stove to quickly start cleaning a few things. "I don't suppose we get to keep you for longer than a few weeks? You know, the ministry could use a bit more muscle. You should apply… I'd love to have you closer, and Cassius would too…"
Cyril rubs at his chin and says, "I've actually been planning on staying for a good while this time. I feel I'm getting too old to continue this line of employment. Plus, it's not like I particularly need the money or anything. I might even settle down."
The news makes her blink and smile even more. Eddie steps quickly over to him and leans down to tightly hug at the back of his shoulders, "Oh, darling! Yes… yes, you should be here. And finding yourself a little lady isn't a bad idea. There's many good women your age… God, Cyril, this is amazing. It's like the family is all coming home again."
Cyril nods to her and says, "Indeed. A reunion of sorts." He stands up and says, "I'm going to go have a walk around town. I'm sure some things have changed since my last visit. I'll send for my bags once I've had a talk with Cassius."
"Of course, Cyril! And you can stay here, if you'd like, I'd love to have you…" Eddie reaches over and squeezes his arm one last time before letting him go. "I'll get you to the door and watch your things. Probably be a bit more dressed when you come back. I love you, Cyril, I'm glad you're back…" Another kiss to his cheek, and she gently shows him out the door.