Give. Even When You Know You Can Get Nothing Back.

Send my muse lies about people they care for.

“I don’t need your help.”

Alice rolled her eyes as Marlene stumbled away from her, her words slurred together. "Right, sure, I know you're used to getting yourself home when you're pissed drunk, but Rosmerta called me to come and get you, so I couldn't very well leave you."

Alice had gotten the gist of why her friend had sought refuge in the bottle from Ivy, who had heard enough to put it together. "Meadowes" "bitch" "she wrecked us, not me" "I'll show her disaster". Alice had known full well that Dorcas was going to do this, and as much as it hurt to see Marlene in this state, she knew that she had to keep quiet. It had been Dorcas' decision to do this in order to keep Marlene safe, and Alice could understand that. She wouldn't jeopardize that, even if Moody wouldn't kill her for it.

"Come on, love, you can come home with me. I'll kick Frank out of bed and hold back your hair whenever you need to bring this all up." She knew that it would be a long night, and an even longer morning when Marlene's soberness returned, but Alice would be there through it all, for as long as Marlene needed her. And between her, Lily, and Mary, they might just be able to patch Marlene up enough to keep her moving forward.

S2E21 Operation Fake Date

“Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference.”

— Barbara de Angelis

frxnkislong​:

…

If leaving that morning hadn’t been necessary he wouldn’t have done it.  His knowledge of babies, while still limited, had grown significantly the past nine months, and from what he understood birth could be rather unpredictable.  But going to the office was a far cry from Romania, and if she needed him she knew how to get him home.  Apparation would have him home in five minutes flat.  But he was relieved that hadn’t been necessary.  He was relieved he could do the last minute task at the office without trouble and get home to her before things got moving.  

He carefully kicked his shoes off at the door and put down the bag he took to the office before finding Alice on the couch.  He wrapped an arm around her back, brushing his thumb in a circular motion against her arm while he considered his answer.  She needed to rest, but she also deserved the truth from him.  “Chaotic,” he admitted.  “some Muggle baiting incident up by Kent.  But not unmanageable.  They’ll sort things out just find there, and we can sort our things out here.  How are you feeling?”

...

Alice sighed contentedly as Frank’s thumb brushed her back, sinking into the comfort of his touch. His mere presence had an immediate effect on calming her nerves, and she was grateful for that. When she was with him, all of the fears that she had didn’t seem quite as big as when she was alone. They were still there, but far more manageable. Alice frowned at the news, saddened by the fact that she didn’t feel any surprise to hear it. Things like this were becoming the norm lately, and there was no reason to think that it would slow down just because she was on maternity leave. 

Alice bit her lip at his question, wondering how much to say. Frank had been gone so much for the second half of her pregnancy that so far she hadn’t shared any of the worries that had been circulating through her head and her heart. She felt a little silly about them, but even though she knew it was ridiculous, she couldn’t banish the fear that she wouldn’t be a good mother. “I’m okay,” she finally said, her answer coming slowly. “Just...nervous, I guess.” She shrugged, clearly holding back.

homemade cosmic brownies

frxnkislong​:

…

“I know,” he said softly, quietly agreeing with the words that she didn’t say.  She didn’t have to say them to know what was on her mind, he felt the same way.  “It’s disgusting, and it’s even more frustrating that I can come in here and say they can handle it.  It’s the sort of thing that should have us all up in arms, ready to burn the whole system down.  But it’s not anymore, and it’s disgusting.  It’s just life.”  He continued to rub out a soothing pattern against her skin.  “but it doesn’t have to be.  It’s not our problem right now, we have to focus on the here and now.”

“What’s wrong?”  He put his feet up on the coffee table, just now noticing that his socks didn’t match.  “Don’t tell me nothing, because the both of us know that isn’t true.  I know I haven’t been here lately, but I am now, and I’m ready to listen if you want to talk about it.  Or we can just sit here and wait if you don’t.”

...

Alice gave a soft hum, not entirely agreeing with Frank, but understanding his point. This was supposed to be a maternity leave, a time for them to focus on becoming parents, not worry about what was going on in the outside world. But it was a little difficult not to. It wasn’t in Alice’s nature to just stop thinking about her work, and besides, they were having a baby in the middle of a war. That wasn’t something that was easy to forget, even for a little while. They were Aurors, Order members, what some would consider blood traitors. Any child of theirs could be a target the second they were born. 

Alice leaned into Frank, sighing deeply as she considered how to express the anxiety she had been feeling. She should have just talked to him about it sooner; instead, she had let it grow and grow until it was so big that it felt insurmountable. They had wanted to have a child for so long, had put it off and put it off until the time felt right, but now that it was happening, she was afraid that she still wasn’t ready. “What if I’m a bad mom?”

@frxnkislong​