 Lovely™ | Captain Hurted | Ariana's Bane | Resident Antagonist | Unparalleled Delight
Jake did not need telling twice. Actually, he didn't even need telling once; he was already on his way out of the viewing room the moment Fletcher had risen to his feet. His mind buzzed unpleasantly; all kinds of guilt and grief and concern and unease and a whole bunch of other things Jake was not terribly comfortable with fought to break through the surface, and so he simply forced them all back. Later, when he sat and spoke to Becca about all everything, shared the horrible details about what had been happening with their children, and broke her heart with it all, maybe then he'd let his own heart break a little bit too. Not yet.
For the record, Jake was not at all surprised that it had been an interview with Nem that had caused enough tension between Vivi and Fletcher that even he had picked up on it relatively easily. He wasn't even sure Nem had done much to trigger it, per se, but it was oh so fitting that they'd been at the centre of it. He could not think of a worse person to have witnessed it.
Appearing in the doorway by Fletcher, face pale and expression grim, Jake looked in at his eldest second eldest kid, still sitting with their face in their hands. He'd not seen them give in to emotion(?) in so long, and it was jarring to see it now. "C'mon Nem. I'll take you home." Where they would... talk. Maybe. Probably should, but Jake would honestly rather take the battle all over again. "Wait for me in reception, I won't be long." He gestured for one of the other Level Two employees working this area to let them out, and make sure they found their way.
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For what it was worth, Nem really was tired. They weren't confused, they didn't particularly care where they went next, and home was just as whatever to them as anywhere else, but they were so utterly exhausted that it was getting difficult to think straight. Not confusion, but definitely unhelpful. With their face covered, and their eyes closed, they just kept seeing Rosier's face, staring intently at them across the desk in the Headmaster's office as he told Nem there was nothing wrong with them. His crumpled body in the courtyard. A falling pillar. They replayed it, over and over. And over. Idiot. Just another idiot.
This had stopped being fun. Nem wasn't sure when exactly, but it had. Not until they heard Jake's voice did they uncover their face and stand, pausing for a moment to adjust to being upright. They didn't look at anyone as they left for the waiting area, just kept their eyes determinedly downcast.
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... "And ask Muriel if she can find you something to eat," Jake added, this time to Nem's retreating back. Call him a bleeding heart Hufflepuff, but he sort of preferred it when his kids didn't look dead on their feet. Uh. Still an ill-timed comment? At least he'd not said it out loud this time.
With Nem out of the way, Jake back turned to Fletcher and Vivi and ducked into the room with them, already rubbing his face in frustration. A throne. Why did it have to be a throne. "Right." A throne. In front of Nemesis. "... Right."
Just let him silently judge Fletcher for a moment, before Fletcher could judge him first. Just allow him that much.
__________________ Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You?
You are Chocolate! |