| Details for Be Cheerful, Dammit! |
| Summary: | Keenan delivers Niamh's Christmas Cheer, to an Eddie who's unwilling to be cheered. |
| Date: | December 19, 1937 |
| Location: | Edwarlinda's Place |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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It's getting towards Christmas time, and there's a whistling sound growing closer to Eddie's door. It's a Christmas tune, probably a muggle one, and it does sound similar to an occasional whistling that she's heard from time to time from a certain Ginger Irish man, although not quite so free and easy. The whistling pauses, and there's knock on her door that sounds more like a thudding… perhaps being made by a foot instead of a hand.
Not nearly so crazy and drunken as Eddie's life was until the last few months, she works long hours now and stays home otherwise. A night without a martini isn't much of a night out on the town. She arches a brow at the door, a slight frown pulling at her lips as she was content to remain curled on the couch, home and alone, but eventually she pulls herself up and secures her robe across her frame just a bit tighter. She pads over to the door and opens it with an arched brow.
Clean shaven, surprisingly enough, and green eyes twinkling, Keenan's head can be seen over the top of the box brimming with… well, everything Christmas. "Aye, Lindy-lass. A good evenin' tae ye. Niamh wants tae make sure everyone's decorated fer Christmas…" he moves past her into the living room. "I had tae suffer… well… Rue was tha one… but anyways… Niamh's made me green up ma place an' decorate it, so ye get tae have yer flat decorated, whether ye like it or not." He winks towards her as he sets down the box on a clear spot of coffee table if there is one. "An' of course Niamh sent food." He straightens and gives her a professional look over while he's at it.
While Eddie doesn't look quite herself, she doesn't look horribly sick either. Cheeks a bit thin, she probably hasn't quite been eating the way she used to. Or maybe it's an effect of not drinking like she used to either? Her body, though, definitely looks a bit softer around the edges. She's filled out up top just enough to be noticed. Otherwise, she looks tired. Alone. Sloan's been working such long hours she's barely seen him, and her flat holds no Christmas cheer that he's bringing. Her nose wrinkles a touch. "Decorating… really…Isn't necessary, Keenan. It's just me in and out of here mostly. Sloan's hardly home… Cyril will hate it all."
"Aye, lass. Ye think decoratin' ma flat was really necessary? But Niamh does it every year, whether I'd like it or nae… so this year," he grins, and gives her a hug, one of those 'buck up kiddo' kind of shaking hugs, "ye get tae share my misery. I doubt she much cares whether or not… Cyril, whoever, will like them or not. Sloan's gotta take a break at some point too, aye?" So saying, he turns around, and goes back to the table, and pulls out some green ropes of tightly bound leaves. Then he finds some pillar candles. "Ye're lucky, no handmade ornaments tae embarrass ye with."
The hug is tightly returned, happily, Eddie always content to see Keenan even when she was planning a night alone. "If I cook you dinner and eat something will you forget this nonsense about decorating my flat? What can I do to…distract you from this determination?" she asks with a teasing, flat little smirk.
Keenan raises his eyebrows as he places candles along the mantle. "Threatenin' tae poison me isnae what one would usually call a deterrent, Lindy," he tells her over his shoulder, unable to resist the urge to take a jab at her cooking ability. "An' ye know me… when I get determined tae do somethin'…" He turns around and rests his hands across his chest for a moment. "Niamh sent some mincemeat tarts an' seed cakes. And I stopped by Farrin Braw on the way, too. Ye ever eaten there?"
Edwarlinda shakes her head quietly, "Not yet. Restaurants… the smell half turns my stomach these days alone. It'll wear off soon, I'm told." Eddie admits, apparently the scent of heavily cooking food is enough to turn off her appetite, if not worse. Though that might explain the thin cheeks as well. She looks down to the boxes of decorations, her nose wrinkling. There isn't much happiness in her features at all right now, despite the time of year.
Keenan gives Eddie a sympathetic look and nods, taking out the green ropes to wind around the candles. "This Chef Carmichael bloke, Rue hired him tae cater tha Macnair Mansion Open House, an' he's pretty darn good. I picked up somethin' simple, just in case yer were suffering from nausea." Stepping back from the mantle he takes a look, then takes out his wand. "He's all tha rage now with tha purebloods from what I hear."
"And you know how I feel about Pureblood taste, Keenan. That's not exactly a way to sell me on a place." Eddie states with a slightly deeper smirk. She then sinks back down into her couch, crossing her arms over her chest and her legs, leaning back and doing her best to look comfortable. She doesn't have to HELP decorate.
Muttering the charm, Keenan's wand swirls the pattern of the ropes, and the tightly wound leaves unfurl, filling Eddie's mantle with verdant evergreens, pine, holly and box wood, all shimmering in their different hues. Pine cones bloom here and there among the green, as well as red holly berries. That done, Keenan flops down next to Eddie, kicking off his shoes and putting his feet up on the coffee table. "There, that was nae so painful, was it?" he asks, with a grin, then he leans his head back on the couch. "Aye, Lindy, this is me, ye're talkin' tae. Ye're too much like me tae fool me with that talk. We have nae urge tae live like tha upper crust, but we do enjoy tha finer things from time tae time."
As he sits down and actually relaxes, Eddie exhales a small breath of relief. At least it's not SO bad. She gives him a half smile, her head lulling to the side as she turns pale eyes over towards her best friend. She just looks tired these days. At least there is reason for it now. "…No… no. And it's done now. As for the finer things… They're nice. I…I'm just not in the mood. I'm sorry. How… How is Niamh?"
Lifting his wand again, Keenan waves it. "Accio scones." From the box, a small paper bag rises. Pulling it open, Keenan breaks off a piece of one. "Sage an' cardamom. Just enough savory tae keep it from bein' bland. Give it a try," he hands it over, and doesn't eat the piece he kept for himself until she at least takes it. "Niamh's well enough. Tha charms tae restore her memory worked."
Trying not to be impossible, even if that has been Eddie's mood slightly these days, the blonde accepts the scone and gives it a small sniff before nodding in approval and smiling a bit more. "Thanks, Keen. Sorry… I've… I'm not myself these days." She takes a good bite of the scone, eyes shutting and stomach actually rumbling a bit in hunger that the rest of her doesn't really feel. "Thank god… I'm glad they worked. What happened?"
Keenan gives a shrug as he hands over another piece of scone. "Nae worries. Happens tae the best of us. Well… not tae me, ye understand…" he informs her, rolling his head towards her with a wink. "But, yeah… it appears that a customer wanted her tae forget that he'd ordered and bought certain potions, so he tried tae obliviate it from her memory."
"Okay… which customer was that? Did they get him, and, if so why aren't I going after him? I am an Auror, I'll get out there right fucking now and nail the bastard." Eddie sits up straighter, accepting the score but not eating quite yet. She's ready to apparate to her bedroom, change clothes, and get straight down to the office. It also brigns a bit of light back into her eye. she's missed the danger.
"We need more proof than Niamh's word. Ye know as well as I do once someone's had a memory charm worked on them, what they remember is considered suspect. We're workin' on it." He clenches his jaw for a moment. "He's a pure blood, and he's got some status. Ye know ye're a rare bird, Lindy-lass. Tha number of other pure bloods who would listen tae a half blood Irish witch an' take her word even enough tae question tha bloke 're few an' far between. Gideon's workin' with someone on proof tae nail him with, an' until then… we're keepin' a low profile."
"If he used Oblivate on her, he's a dark wizard, this is a job for the Auror's office. I want the case, dammit. I'll have to track Gideon down tomorrow. He can't handle this with a clear head anyway." Not that Eddie is unbiased herself, but she thinks she can be a bit more. She sits up a bit straigher, still itching for this all, her eyes narrowing upon him, "But tell me who it was?"
"Lindy, no," Keenan says sharply, in a tone that he almost never employs as he sits up and faces her. "It's nae that easy tae accuse a ministry official o' bein' a dark wizard, an' ye know it. Gideon's been workin' hard, an' he's got leads tae go on, but we're only goin' tae have once chance at this guy, he's slipped out before, an' we can't afford tae let him slip out again." He sighs. "We cannae afford tae turn it over tae Aurors just yet. If Sloan got any wind, he'd kill tha bloke, an' then tha Wizengamot would call him on trial." He takes a deep breath and sighs it out, an' the weariness and concern he'd been disguising earlier settle into his face once more. He leans back again and pinches the bridge of his nose. "As long as tha bloke thinks Niamh's forgotten him, we have a chance tae follow him an' get what we need."
"Then we don't turn it over to the whole fucking office, you turn it over to *me*. I can do this, Keenan. I… I feel like some invalid these days. I'm not getting cases, I don't know why… I'm… I'm fucking… delicate, so many people keep saying. I hate it. Let me fucking help. Please." Eddie's eyes half beg as she says that, fully turning her soft body to face him, scone forgotten, determination behind her ice eyes.
"Talk tae Gideon," he says wearily. "I've given him… well, complete discretion. I nae even trust myself tae… if I even see this man again…" His hands fall to his thighs. "I saw him at tha Macnair's. Sat right there at table with him, chattin' just as nice as ye please. Never knowin' that he was goin' tae pull a wand on ma little sister. Never even… dreamed, really." He turns and looks very seriously to Eddie. "Not a word tae Sloan, though. Not a word. He'll get himself… on tha wrong side o'tha Wizengamot. There's precious little in tha world he cares about, an' Niamh's one a those things. An' ye know him. He'd nae care what happened tae him." He pauses, and looks to Eddie. "Well, maybe now he would, he has someone else tae think about… but… I'd rather not risk it." <re>
"I…I know. I won't tell Sloan… but you can't even tell him you know. He'll demand, you know that. And I'll talk to Gideon. but if he won't tell me, I am going to come knocking on your door, you know?" Eddie states just as flatly, her eyes wide and hard on him, no brooking arguments tonight. She means every word she says. A sigh crosses her lips then and she forces herself to take another bite of scone, but her mind is clearly other places now.
"I'm not that daft, Lindy-lass," Keenan says quietly. "I'm glad he's been workin' long hours, because he's tha one person I've always had tha devil tryin' tae hide anything from." He begins to eat at the scone bit he still has, and then pulls out another one. When she mentions coming knocking, he nods. Then, he bites his lip, and a smile starts to flicker. "Aye, knockin' is definitely good idea," he tells her, his gaze straight ahead, but there's a sparkle of mischeif coming back to his green eyes.
That comment makes Eddie's head tilt to the side, brows furrowing at the knocking comment. "…What? You…you busy in there, hmm?" Eddie asks with a half smile, encouraging, but she's just tired and not feeling quite up to her usual brilliant self.
Keenan shrugs and looks down at his hands. "Maaaaaaaaaybe," he allows, then takes another bite of scone, his dimple still showing even as he chews. He switches his crossed ankles on the coffee table.
One last bite is taken of Eddie's scone, finishing what he gave her, and she sinks back into the couch again, smiling a bit wider. "…Maybe…what? Come on. Spill. I'm locked up in here being an invalid old woman. You have to give me the juicy news." She half smiles with that, slightly joking… but only slightly.
Keenan laughs. "Ye're no invalid, Lindy. Get off yer butt an' go tae tha grand openin' of Much Ado About Nothing like everyone else an' see who's with who. Or come knock on tha door an' see what happens. Just… uh, wouldn't suggest apparatin' intae my place any more." He's still holding back, and enjoying every minute of keeping Eddie in suspense.
"Come now. Is it Veruca, or did you drop her and find someone else?" Eddie asks with a deeper smirk, not much enjoying the suspense, just feeling frustrated. Like a tired cat with a fast mouse. She watches him levelly.
"Veruca…" Keenan repeats, drawing out the name as if trying to place it somewhere. "Oh! Ye mean Miss Max, tha pretty woman we had tea with one mornin'. Aye, she's a fine lass…" he agrees. "Ye don't think she's a bit too tall?"
That comment gets a good smirk and a swat against the shoulder, Eddie shaking her head and standing up. "Fuck, Keen, if you don't want to tell me then just say that…" She breathes out and stalks over for her winter jacket on the coat rack, pulling out her silver cigarette case so she can light one up.
Keenan chuckles at the swat, then pushes himself upright. "Why don't ye, stop holin' yerself up here, an' come tae tha Mungo's Gala tomorrow night. Get out an' see people, an' maybe ye'll stop bein' such a sour puss." He gives a flick of his wand and lights the candles along the mantle that he placed. "An' I'll introduce ye tae tha love o'my life." With that, he places his hands on Eddie's shoulders, and leans forward to kiss her forehead. "Until then, try an' eat some o tha stuff I brought, it shouldnae bring on nausea. Get some sleep, an' try tae wake up on tha right side of tha bed tomorrow." He grins. "Ye know I only annoy ye because I love ye."
The comment about the love of his life makes her brows arch and whole body turn in his direction. She accepts the touch and the kiss, even if it makes Eddie wrinkle her nose. "I will try. But… do you mean it with her? Truly?…This is very … fast, Keenan…"
"Mmmmhmmm, and how long did it take fer ye tae move Sloan in here, hm?" Keenan asks, reminding her how fast things when with the two of them once they decided they were together. He puts a forefinger under her chin. "Ye just rest, an' get some food, an' tomorrow put on yer best dress an' all that gunk ye think ye need tae look gorgeous, an' come out fer a good cause. If not fer me, think of all tha poor, sick, patients ye'll be helping."
"I'll send a donation, if nothing else. We shall see." Eddie states simply, not making any promises right now. She gives him a half smile as he places that finger beneath her chin, but the smirk is still there in her eyes. "And I've known Sloan for 20 years, even if we were not… together like that. How long have you known Veruca?"
Keenan tips his head to tha side. "Ye tryin' tae poke holes in ma happiness already?" he asks with a grin. He chuckles, and retrieves his shoes. "If Niamh asks, yes, I put up tha decorations. An' no, I didn't make ye do all tha work." Once the shoes are on, he gives Eddie one last incorrigible grin, and then heads for the door.
"Not poke holes in it, Keen. Just… ensure you are being careful and she doesn't hurt you. That is all. And I'll tell Niamh when I see her…" Eddie promises gently, remaining on her feet now, so she can properly see him out the door.