| Details for Another First Kiss |
| Summary: | Annie drops by to give Tim some papers, and they manage to get sidetracked. |
| Date: | 11 September 1939 |
| Location: | Moody House, London |
| Related: | — |
| Characters |
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An owl drops a letter off at Tim's house on Wednesday afternoon, with a note in Annie's familiar hand. -Would like to see you. I'll drop round tomorrow after work, if you aren't in I'll spend a minute with Bowie.-
Annie stops at the cottage in Hogsmeade long enough to change into something more muggle for her trip into town, then takes the floo to the Leaky Cauldron. From there she walks the familiar path to Tim's house. She pauses on the sidewalk, looking up to the window of "her room" before continuing on to the door. There's no rain tonight, so no puddle to avoid, and it's warm enough that she didn't have to bother with any jacket. Her knuckles rap on the door, but she doesn't try the latch like she did in the past.
Bowie manages to keep his excited greeting of hugging her leg tightly til after he's let her in and closed the door keeping out of sight. "Master is in the dark room Mistress, can Bowie get ye a cuppa, or a nip of whiskey?"
Annie's smile is fond as she drops her hand to softly caress the elf's head, "Evenin', Bowie love. How 'bout two nips, an' we'll have one ready for Master when he comes out, hm?" She steps inside, her second time in a week, looking at the pictures that she's seen so many times. "D'yeh think he'll be very long? I know I didn't say when I'd be by."
All of the pictures are still there it's true, even the ones of her and them together taken during their relationship. They've not been taken down. Bowie smiles wide literally ear to ear and he holds up one finger and vanishes and then reappears in under 40 seconds. "He's on his way Mistress! Just hanging the last pictures to dry." Then he toddles off to get the tray strapped to his head so he can bring out the two short glasses of whiskey and the ash tray with a pack of Tim's Irish Brand cigarettes sliding about on the tray without spilling a drop. Right on time Tim steps out of the basement door smelling of his picture developing potions and with that shy smile. He comes forward to give Annie a hug but remembers himself and just extends a hand out. "Llllooking a picture, Ans."
"Ta, Bowie," Annie says casually to him before he's gone to get the tray. She's already looked back to a picture of herself and Tim when the basement door opens. The smile comes as she turns and blue eyes find the Irishman. "Ever the photographer, you," she says lightly. Both of her hands reach for his, soft and warm as they hold for a moment. "Got some new pictures?"
Tim squeezes her hands warmly and gives that shy grin with a shrug, guilty as charged when it comes to being the photographer. "Would yee like to come down and see?" Whatever her answer he'd like to sneak in a nip and a fag so he takes up a cigarette and lights it with a, "Thanks Bowie." He then gestures towards the sofa or the basement door depending on which she'd like to take.
Annie's brows go up, an eager light in her eyes. "I'd love t'see, Tim. I missed seeing all the new things yeh'd taken photographs of." She shrugs off the strap of the bag that had been draped over her shoulder, setting it aside by the sofa and turning to follow Tim. "I'd always look for yer name in th'paper t'see yer work." Every new picture meant he was still alive, and gave her a little glimpse of what he was doing.
Tim leads the way into the basement and he moves to take her hand to help her down the stairs. "I must warn that some are less then cheery." She'll see what he means once they step into the Dark Room. He puts his cigarette out in the ash tray that's stationed just next to the Dark Room door. When they step inside he turns on the red lantern and it illuminates pictures mostly taken in Muggle London. One of a newsie boy hawking a paper with the huge header of War Declared. Many pictures of people in shock and comforting each other. There's one that's on bigger paper than the others, meaning it's his favorite from the collection and it's a woman with tears glistening on her cheeks kissing a soldier and even his lashes are moist. Then there's a collection of muggle kids with their little cardboard boxes with white strings tied around their necks, gas mask boxes. They also have tags pinned to them as they wait in King's Cross station to be shipped off to the country. Many sad faces and children and parents clinging to each other. The only other large photo up to dry is the picture of Annie basking in the sun in Hogsmeade.
Annie holds onto Tim's hand a bit more than might be absolutely necessary before releasing it to turn her eyes up to the hanging pictures. Her face is solemn as she studies each one, her voice soft. "Some of my mate from Camden Town were already in service. Th'rest will be called up t'serve." A picture from the station of a man and woman kneeled down to the level of a little girl, heads bowed together, holds her attention the longest. "Yeh always capture th'moment. It's a gift yeh have."
Tim unconsciously reaches up to rub her back as she looks over the pictures. "It struck me that…that could have been us…" If they stayed together and maybe have had kids, Wizards or not, would they want their kids to be living in London at this time? He then realizes that he's gotten out of professionalism and teetered on the too much personal sharing and also realizing he's rubbing her back and he stops with a softly whispered, "Sorry." And gulps down his whiskey.
There was no protest coming from Annie at the touch. In fact, as she'd stood looking at the photo, she'd closed her eyes for a minute, not minding the caress at all. It's not until he stops that her eyes open again. "Don't be," she says softly, still not looking away from the captured moment. When she goes on her voice is stronger. "It would have been different for us. The way we can travel, we wouldn't have had to say goodbye for who knows how long. We wouldn't have t'be apart like this."
Tim nods and takes a deep breath with a sad little smile, "Still, I don't mind saying I was well past misty eyed taking these. Just to think about the what ifs. Bit daft of me. But I couldn't help it." The woman having red hair, though a different shade might have also been a strong influence to his contemplation. "So sad that they have to go through this. How's yer family love? Everyone well?"
Annie turns finally, a smile lightly curving her lips but not reflected in her eyes. "Yeh've always been a bit daft, Tim, I've told yeh that before." She says it with the same fondness she always has, her eyes direct. "I just talked to Uncle Richard the other day by telephone. He's well, and he sends his regards." Since he doesn't know the full truth, it's not like Annie can just pop over and see him, even already being all the way up there most days anyway now. He does know about Tim, without knowing all the pesky details.
Tim looks genuinely glad that Uncle Richard is well. "If yee leave his address, I'd like to send him some fine whiskey. If that'll be alright for him?" He's not certain what the trouble was with her Uncle. He doesn't want to send whiskey if he had his liver removed or what else other butchery muggles do to each other in the name of medicine. "Did ye see that one?" He points to the picture of her. "I'll make another right now if yee wish one?"
There's a grin and Annie nods, "I'll do. He was quite pleased t'hear we'd talked." Although she never faltered in her care while he needed it, Richard could plainly see she wasn't the Annie she'd even managed to hold onto after her parents' accident. She looks at Tim points, and pushes her elbow to gently nudge him in the ribs. "It's lovely, but what would I do with a picture of myself? I'll just look in th'mirror if I want t'see me." What she wants is the pictures of him she took while practicing with her camera when she came over last. When she's had a chance to get it into school she'll finish the film in it.
Tim gives a little sheepish shrug to her question, "So ye can see yee as I do? Remember tha' someone cares bout ye…" He shrugs again and in the red light it's hard to see the actual coloration, but she knows his body language well enough to know that he's blushing.
Annie's smile fades, a wistfulness settling on her face as she studies him. She does know that posture all too well. "How can yeh, still?" she asks softly. "I broke my promise t'yeh." There's a pause before she adds, "I'm sorry, Tim."
Tim shakes his head and lifts his free hand to give her cheek a little rub, "I'm Daft, remember?" He answers with a cheeky and boyishly charming smile. "Ye did wot ye felt ye had to do, what sort o tosser would that make me if I got bent cause yee went to take care o yer family?" It's clear he knows the other reasons why, but they don't get mentioned then. "Apology accepted, so long as ye accept my own apology. I should have made it more stark that ye came first to me. Yee know I would have hung up my silvers long before the Valkyrie if yee said yee needed me too. Maybe then yee'd have felt easier in the asking. Iffin ye wanted."
A slight tilt of her head accepts the touch to her cheek, blue eyes on the face that stole her heart two years ago. "I couldn't have asked that of yeh, Tim. I know what it meant t'yeh. T'make yeh choose between doin' what yeh thought was right an' me…" She trails off, knowing that instead, she made the choice for him. "It seemed like th'right thing t'do at th'time," she adds feebly.
Tim clears his throat a little as he finds himself a bit choked up. "Yee were always the right thing Annie, I'm sorry I didn't make that clear enough. So … wot about now? Yee saying that yee wish yee didn't go?" This sort of deep conversation seems just fine to be having in the Dark Room. It really is the one place in the world where he feels the most himself and the most comfortable. He's not had to chew on his tongue once. It's like the time apart never happened now, and he's as confident around her as he ever was.
Annie looks at Tim, bathed in red light, and her shoulders lift in a slight shrug. "I'd have had t'go for Uncle Richard. But I wish I hadn't gone for the wrong reasons, an' that I hadn't stayed away so long." She takes a deep breath and just admits with no qualifiers, "Yes, I wish I hadn't gone. I thought it would be better t'let yeh go, an' not lose yeh t'the aurors or a dark wizard."
Tim licks his lips and takes a final sip of his whiskey to wet his parched mouth. "So, ye, still feel tha way? I may nae be on the hunt like I used ta be, but I'm still wanted, and I still won't stand by if I come across somethin' that is goin wrong. But…" He clears his throat and swallows hard before he goes out on a limb. "I would…yee know, like it, if we could…" He loses his courage there and just sort of peters off gesturing between them.
"I know yeh still have … issues," Annie says after searching for a word to sum it all up. "Yeh know even I couldn't just stand by if we came across somethin', no, I'd never expect that of yeh. So yeh'd like…" She does the same thing he did, letting the words drift off and gesturing between them. The colored light does little to hide the press of her lips to keep from smiling.
Tim clears his throat as if it was the potion smell in the air and not him getting all emotional. Desperate not to dive in had first and bungle things up like he did last time. "Aye. Us, again, have a try? Maybe?"
Annie reaches out, stepping forward until she finds Tim's hand and gives it a light squeeze. "Yes. I think we should have a try." She closes the distance between them with another step, letting go of his hand and wrapping her arms around his waist. Back in the arms that comforted her after visions, the warmth is reassuring, his heart beating strong and steady beneath her ear pressed lightly to his chest.
Tim easily wraps his arms around her, taking her into his embrace like she's never left. His face lowers to lay a kiss into her hair and his hands caress over her spine. "I've missed yee so." He then gets a rare little impish look. "So start fresh, or right in where we left off?"
Annie takes a deep breath and lets it out in a soft huff, then tips her head back to look up at Tim. She seems to consider the question, then lets her smile come through. "How about a bit of both?" One arm comes up to snake around his neck as the smaller witch pushes up on her toes. "Fancy another first kiss?"
Tim learned a lot about what to do and not do in bolloxing up the romance side of things so he's swallowing the shyness and he scoop her up against him, embracing her and gets out a low teasing, "Who's being Daft now?" Of course he fancies another first kiss. Without any hesitation and with the passion of a man that's been waiting years to do this he presses his lips to hers and his arms that are wrapped about her support her as he presses in and tries for one of those slightly dipping kisses. Another timid nose bonking first kiss this is not, he won't allow that! In the few moments of the kisses duration he intends to show her that he has every intention of showing her how cherished she is.
More than a year and a half of missing everything about Tim, finally ending in a kiss that takes Annie's breath away. Her arms tighten about him as if she intends never to let him go again, which is pretty accurate, actually. Any hesitation she might have still felt, any awkwardness, is gone with the press of lips and the warmth of his body against hers. By the time they come up for air, she needs it, gasping a breath against Tim's lips with a softly whispered, "Wow."
Tim, more than a year and a half ago might have sheepishly whispered, 'sorry' in apology for knocking her socks off. But this Tim gives a little grin and whispers, "Not sorry." playfully down at her. "Yee are the love of my life, bout time I got to treat yee like it. Aye?" He caresses her cheek and kisses the center of her eyebrows and then tips his head towards the door. "Fancy some fresh air? That I'll smoke up of course." Yes, after that he'd like a cigarette!
Annie grins, feeling more like herself than she has since going to Scotland. She strokes his cheek, the love that never died shining in her eyes. "I've missed yeh so, my Tim." She nods to his suggestion. "I think a bit of fresh air would do well t'clear my head, after that kiss." Her lips take a playful tilt, matching Tim's teasing, "But don't let it be clear for too long." Light brows arch as it suddenly comes back to her, why she's here in the first place. "Oh! An' I've got papers for yeh, that I've brought out of th'school."
Tim chuckles and he was about to draw her up for another kiss at his instruction to not let her be clear headed to long, but it's just in time for the dawning light bulb switching on above her head moment on why she came. It all draws a light giggle out of him. "Well then, we best go see these papers and no more kissing until we are done, professional to the end!" He mock declares as he escorts them out of the Dark Room and up into the living room once again.
Annie trails along in Tim's wake, her hand tucked nicely in his, until they gain the living room. Then she gives his hand a light tug. "I've been thinking about it," she says, having used the whole long trip up from the darkroom to ponder the matter. The gravity of her thoughts shows in her face, can be heard in the tone of her voice. For a moment. "I think we can be professional later." She steps close, taking the initiative as her hand lightly finds purchase on the back of his neck and she pulls him gently until there's another kiss, and then one more after that…. the papers will still be there later.