If I quit calling you my lover (Jazalea)

Subject: If I quit calling you my lover (Jazalea) Sun Aug 05, 2018 12:20 pm

Kit Harrington had not called the next day, or the next. In fact, it had been five days before Azalea heard anything from home and the call she did receive was brief. Clara had mentioned something about Dad getting hurt, a notion that had sent alarm bells through the younger witch's entire being. She had almost run for her bags before she'd been firmly told that Kit was in the hospitals and being treated. No, the injury was not serious, yes, it involved a stupid traffic violation, no Azalea could not help, the best thing she could do was stay with Jake for a few weeks until they came to get her.

Unsure how to argue with any of Clara's statements, the witch had simply submitted a request to peak to her father as soon as she could before hanging up. The story had been conveyed to Jake a few moments later in shaky breaths as the young woman continued to worry about her father.

But injuries were a part of life, she was a living testament to that. So two weeks into the new year, Azalea was still here, the unwilling and unwanted guest of the Newbury estate though at least now she had the help of a sleeping potion each night. Where the witch had thought her independent sleeping pattern would help Jake, he looked more tired than ever before. One night, he had came to give her her usual potion and had simply fallen sleep on her bed mid sentence. Azalea didn't have the heart to wake him, forgoing the potion for that night as her usual method of sleep was presently snoring softly atop the covers.

The kids returned to school with the first week of January, as did Jake. Alexis was now the only one at home for large parts oft eh day and as a result, Azalea began to spend more of her free time out in the garden. the witch hand't had the chance to appreciate how vast the estate was before now but as she walked in the cold chill and sometimes fresh snow, she could truly take in the area that made up the estate.

Of course, strolling out in the a garden in January was a health hazard in this country but upon request, Clara had sent more winter wear, and better fitting clothes. Azalea had even dared to ask for some gardening equipment which had been sent over with a note from dad simply stating "Love you kiddo, so proud of you". that must mean he was doing better too.

With hesitant permission, Azalea had taken up a tiny plot of land for herself, first digging through the frozen over soil to figure out if it would yield anything this time of year, then map the density and tropisms this area naturally nurtured. Day by day, as more life returned to the witch, so did the urge to try to grow something, anything, even if it was just a lousy vegetable. It didn't look possible though.

Perhaps this was just one more thing she would never be able to do again? But before she could declare it a wasted venture, the witch would at least try. Which was why Azalea was out once again that Sunday morning, crouched over her tiny bed of upturned earth that was slowly frosting over again. , contemplating something that could grow even in the middle of January.

Alexis had taken the children to church and Jake... he was probably sleeping in she hoped. For now, she was all alone, examining fresh earth as if it held the answers to the greatest mysteries of the universe.

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

If I quit calling you my lover (Jazalea) Rsz_gr10

If I quit calling you my lover (Jazalea) Rsz_az10

If I quit calling you my lover (Jazalea) Rsz_li10

Subject: Re: If I quit calling you my lover (Jazalea) Sun Aug 05, 2018 12:54 pm

The news from the Harrington home denoted that Kit Harrington had had an accident that had put him in hospital. But, not so serious that Azalea should be taken over to see him. The conveyed message that Azalea had given had come across so shakily, with so much worry, that Jake had found himself pulling her in to a hug to try to relay that things would be okay. He'd surprised himself as he stood there, holding the small frame of Azalea Harrington close to him as he reassured her that her dad would be okay.

That had been enough comfort to last a while, though, and Jake had slowly pulled away and suggested they go check on the kids, see what they were doing, to take Azalea's mind off of her father's ill health. Once Azalea had been distracted by the children, Jake had excused himself and headed outside in to the garden, getting himself some fresh air as he resigned himself to the fact Azalea was not going to be going for a little while yet.

From there, it had turned in to a few weeks. With each day that passed Jake felt more tired than before. Not only was he sleeping in a bed that did his whole body no good, he was waking up earlier to ensure he wasn't found out. The lie, no matter how small it might be was worrying away at him from the inside out, and he did not appreciate that fact. Where he'd gone back to bed in the first few days at five o'clock after a short walk along the hall, Jake had taken to going to the gym, pounding the punch bag harder and harder each day to try to rid himself of the feelings he was not enjoying the experience of.

It didn't work, of course. Each day the lie only grew. Another night Azalea believed she was sleeping alone. Another night Jake had lied about the concoction she had been drinking, before curling up beside the woman, staring at the wall as he tried to tell himself he was doing the right thing.

Each day he believed it less and less.

Jake had gone back to work -- both in the school and the Ministry -- properly after the kids returned to school. He hadn't looked back that morning as he left for work, finally feeling free of the burden that had been put upon him for the last few weeks. He felt like he could breathe again in that moment. Despite himself, Jake had gone to the Investigation Team his first morning back in the UK, he'd spoken to the detective in charge and asked quite softly, that the case of his wife's disappearance be reopened. The small grimace from the detective before she'd softly said 'I'll see what I can do' had denoted to Jake that no such thing would happen.

But it had helped.

Even if only for a moment.

When he'd returned home a few evenings later, Jake had been asked about a small plot of the garden being tended to by Azalea. A frown had touched his features. She would only be here another... what... two weeks? He'd lived with the witch long enough to know that the kind of results she might want would take longer than two weeks. Besides which, it was January...

"If... you would like to. Of course you can. Just... don't grow anything unsafe." Jake had agreed, his eyes moving to the children to show Azalea what he meant. The last thing he would ever want was for the children to get hurt, and he knew the kind of plants Azalea had liked to cultivate. That was over a decade ago, though... who knew what Azalea wanted to grow now?

His mom had denoted that Azalea had spent pretty much all of her time when the children weren't home in the garden. Despite the cold. Jake had gathered she would. He'd left her to it, knowing that she was happy enough doing that to be distracted. Days passed by again, and the weekend snuck on them. Jake had worked late on the Friday, and the kids had wanted to him to play the whole day on Saturday, or else help with homework. There was no respite when you were a parent, but Jake's usual capable mannerisms of dealing with all he did were waning under the stress of not sleeping enough.

Azalea had -- helpfully -- taken over when the grown man could not help Ivan with his maths homework. His frustration growing much clearer had alerted the witch she supposed, as they swapped, Jake instead moving to help Adrienne with her colouring that denoted the colour you should be colouring with words.

By Saturday night Jake was exhausted, but he'd continued the plan.

He put Azalea to bed.

He waited for her to drift off.

He curled up beside her.

He slept until five.

On Sunday morning, Jake had all but crawled in to his own bed, so emotionally exhausted that the soft splash of tears had caught him off guard as he curled up in bed. His body ached, his mind wouldn't slow down.

But for the first time in a good fortnight, Jake finally slept.

Just short of midday the man had roused, feeling terrible despite the sleep. His body still needed more, but they had a guest to worry about. After a shower and a shave -- Merlin had he really let his beard grow out that much? -- he'd entered the kitchen, finding it empty he'd made himself some toast and a cup of tea, wandering around trying to find Azalea. He'd stopped by the back door, finding her shoes gone. Turning back to the kitchen, Jake had poured his drink in to a thermal cup and then made another for Azalea. After pulling on his work boats and his winter coat, Jake had turned out in the cold to go find the witch, and the spot in his garden she'd decided to make his own.

It took a short while to find Azalea, but there she was, contemplating the dirt as if it might give her all the answers to her questions if she just asked it right. "Found anything yet?" Jake asked, smiling to show he was playing as he held out the thermal cup of tea to the woman. "You'll catch a chill if you're not careful." The man added, taking out his wand and creating a small flame between them -- away from the ground -- that would keep the chill away.

"How's the garden coming on?" He asked, though... it just looked like a pile of dirt. Jake had never been good at Herbology, but he could be missing something..? Possibly?

________________________________________________
~ Auror ~ Profile ~ DADA Professor ~
~ In a Relationship ~ 36 ~ Father ~ 6' ~ American Accent ~

Subject: Re: If I quit calling you my lover (Jazalea) Sun Aug 05, 2018 2:16 pm

"Found anything yet?"

The brunette looked up, her cheeks and the end of her nose pink from the cold even if her body was securely wrapped up in a bright red coat tied snugly around her waist. The ends of her thick blue jeans encased in gardening boots, the young woman had been feeling the soil through gloved hands when Jake's voice carried over, startling her slightly. He had either approached very quietly or she had been lost in her own thoughts too deeply.

"No but the treasure map says X should be here somewhere,": she greeted him with a small, hesitant smile. The smile was getting less and less perfunctory of late, more genuine, less owed. As he extended a heat safe cup her way, Azalea accepted it gratefully, making sure to first let all the dirt slide off her glove before removing it complete to reveal the slender hand encased within.

"Thank you," she murmured, taking the drink in her hand and then taking a careful slip. Hot, strong tea trickled down her throat, warming her up from the inside. "I wish I could give the soil tea too," she added after a second sip, the heat radiating wonderfully inside her with each passing second.

"How's the garden coming on?"

"The soil won't stay warm enough to nurture anything," she admired, her chocolate gaze drawn once more to the pile of frosty dirt. "I turn it over every day, but watering it inst safe because the water freezes overnight, and the consistency becomes too hard again. Do you remember how I used to keep my plants warm by any chance?" Because Azalea did remember there being a method to ehr madness. She just couldn't remember what that method was.

"Right now the biome is so inhospitable, only an azalea can grow here, and we don't need more of those," it was supposed to come out as a joke but the harsh edge to her words was hard to mistake for one. Both she and her namesake were uninvited guests all over the world it would appear.

Realizing her mistake, the witch lowered her lashes. "Sorry," she mumbled, knowing full well she had been in the wrong. She should be nothing but thankful to the Newburies, to all of them, even the ones who were clearly not comfortable with the idea of her being here. "I'm just... its so frustrating not remembering so much of what I did... who I was."

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

Subject: Re: If I quit calling you my lover (Jazalea) Sun Aug 05, 2018 3:27 pm

The joke about a treasure map brought a soft smile to Jake's lips. He might not want Azalea here, but he didn't dislike the witch. What had happened over a decade ago was the past. And, well, jokes showed yet another sign that the witch was on her way to getting better. "Better keep digging, then." Jake replied in equal joke in that moment.

Waving away the thanks, Jake crouched down on the opposite side of the turned soil, contemplating the work the witch had down. It definitely didn't look like anything had been planted. No, it looked nothing like the greenhouse Azalea had worked in back in Canada. It was -- as the witch pointed out only a few moments later -- just turned over soil. You had to turn it -- if Jake remembered correctly -- to get all the nutrients... doing whatever they did. To say Jake didn't understand Herbology would be an understatement, and anything he had learned was gone from his memory. He hadn't needed to know about such things for a very long time.

Jake was about to answer the question of how she had worked before when the 'joke' about Azaleas came in to being. Jake had looked back at the witch without knowing what to say. Had he just been called out? If not, then she knew he didn't really want her here? Did he have to explain himself? There were too many questions, and Jake's eyes slowly turned back to the soil.

"You know I don't bare you any ill will, Azalea." Jake said softly after a few moments, glancing up to the witch to check she did know that. "I'm just... not fond of the situation we've found ourselves in. We're strangers now, and we're being forced... to be together. I know you probably don't like it either, you don't have to pretend... I'm just... sorry. About all of this. I... shouldn't have let you leave all those years ago. Perhaps you might have just gone back to your dad's if I'd managed to talk to you... I'm sorry..."

But, what did it matter? Asking to rewrite the past would mean he might not have met Veronika, he might not have had Ivan and Adrienne. No, he was sorry, but he selfishly wouldn't have changed his life.

"You used to have a greenhouse in Canada. I think that's how you managed to get the soil to stay warm. Well, that and magic, I would wager. I... never really understood the things you were telling me, to be honest. I'd listened back then because it mattered to you... but... I guess I've forgotten because..." Jake trailed off, not completing the sentence. "Perhaps you'd found a way to artificially keep the earth warm enough to plant something?" Jake suggested, trying to jog memories in that moment as he brought his cup to his lips and took a swig of the warm liquid.

________________________________________________
~ Auror ~ Profile ~ DADA Professor ~
~ In a Relationship ~ 36 ~ Father ~ 6' ~ American Accent ~

Subject: Re: If I quit calling you my lover (Jazalea) Sun Aug 05, 2018 4:55 pm

"You know I don't bare you any ill will, Azalea."

"I know," the witch nodded softly. He was telling the truth, of course he was. If he bore ehr ill will, he wouldn't have started vising her in Carmel when she was beyond noticing anything that went on around her. "And I am sorry," she repeated. As grateful as she was for everything he'd done, it still wouldn't be enough to make her not see that she was essentially unwanted. Azalea may have forgotten most things about her life but she remembered that particular feeling, of being needed somewhere.

She was no longer wanted or needed, the only individuals who could possibly need her were oblivious of her existence. Even her baby didn't need her. "I just don't want to be a bother on anyway, not you, not Dad and Clara. And I don't know how to be self sufficient just yet. I'm stuck relying on people and its so... frustrating."

The brunette did not comment on his past decisions, those were another kettle of fish altogether. The polite thing would have been to simply shrug it off, pretend it didn't make a difference, even take the blame on herself but right now, Azalea didn't want to do any of those things. She didn't remember their relationship well enough to fully believe he would have stopped her or just been relieved she was gone, or that she would have stayed if he asked. However strong or weak they were had yet to be revealed to the witch and Jake was in no rush to remind her. Which was okay because those memories were no longer her priority either.

"Well, how do I go about getting a Greenhouse?" she asked, half in jest. "Not here, obviously, but for wherever I end up in the next few weeks." Where had she gotten ehr previous Greenhouse? She remembered having access to all of them at Salem but that was because she had taught that.

She had taught at Salem...

"Oh... I used to teach Herbology," she spoke out loud, her own surprise evident in her features. "Do you think... I still could?" Slowly, some of the details began to lazily unfurl in her mind. A underground space with dark vines, someone helping her remove a gardening glove, the familiar tickle of a wine creeping down her shoulder.

"You're right," she mused. "I did keep the plants warm with magic, but not greenhouse magic." Putting down her cup, the witch removed the other glove from her hand too, looking at her small palms in wonder. Slowly, she reached out to the soil, placing both hands squarely on the hardened earth. the contact sent chills through her body but the witch did not move her hands.

After half a minute, she began to shudder.

And what was worse, nothing happened. The earth remained solid and unyielding.

"I guess that's my answer about Herbology," she finally conceded

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

Subject: Re: If I quit calling you my lover (Jazalea) Sun Aug 05, 2018 5:15 pm

Azalea's explanation about not wishing to both anyone made Jake nod slowly with mild understanding. It had been so long since he'd been dependent on someone else... he couldn't really remember the constricting nature of that feeling. He was the person people depended on now, the responsible one... but it must have been frustrating. He was sure that couldn't be a lie.

But he left it unsaid, not wanting to keep pushing down that road. Azalea knew he was sorry. They didn't need to talk about it again.

"Well, I bought one for you. Otherwise you used the ones at the schools where yo-"

"Oh... I used to teach Herbology,"

Jake smiled as Azalea remembered in that moment that she used to teach, and he nodded in affirmation that the witch did used to teach. "Yeah, you did. At Salem and Hogwarts, actually. And... Lugarmago, too. But... yeah..." He nodded a little bit more to show that she had taught once upon a time, much like he did now.

The question of whether she could still teach...

"Well... I guess you'll need to go over what you know, brush up on the things that are a little bit hazy... But, I don't see why you couldn't teach?" He explained, being very careful not to explicitly say yes to the witch's question because there were a lot of ifs, buts and maybes. Would anyone take Azalea on as a teacher, given she would have a gap in her CV for the last ten years? Jake wasn't sure, but if that was something Azalea wanted to do..?

As Azalea took off her gloves and held her hands to the ground, Jake watched quietly, trying to work out what she was doing in that moment. He didn't know the ins and outs of what she'd used to do. She'd cultivated plants, some deadly, some not. But he didn't know how. As a minute passed, and Azalea started to shiver, Jake leaned over to pull her hands away. "But your gloves back on, you'll get a cold." He told her softly, contemplating the ground for a moment.

"It... might be the lack of magical plants?" Jake asked, looking to her for confirmation. A guess, he didn't know at all. "I mean, that was your speciality before. I only have grass here, so it's not... magic. The only plants I have are by the house..." He pointed out, though that was more his mom's touch seeping in to the property than his own choice. "Perhaps... you need magical plants for... this to work?" It was clear the man didn't know, but at least he was trying to help. That counted for something, right?

________________________________________________
~ Auror ~ Profile ~ DADA Professor ~
~ In a Relationship ~ 36 ~ Father ~ 6' ~ American Accent ~

Subject: Re: If I quit calling you my lover (Jazalea) Sun Aug 05, 2018 5:34 pm

Azalea made no move to resist as Jake gently pried her hands from the frozen soil. He was right, she would get a cold if she kept persisting without a plan. Maybe if she had access to research? Or some method of reference. Her own notes were, truthfully, too complicated for her to understand at this point. She might have to go back to the very beginning to relearn what she had already known once upon a time.

"I think I may be better off starting with lemon seeds in cotton in a paper cup," she admitted, defeated. Dusting off her hands, the witch picked up her cup of tea once again, taking a grateful sip to warm herself up once more. "Maybe the children would enjoy growing plants in little cups with me?" If course, Adrienne would enjoy most anything, and even Ivan was starting to get used to her presence. The only person who wouldn't like paper cups full of shrubs around the house would be Jake's mother, and Azalea had no wish to impose on the woman quite that much.

"Is it okay if I ask... about the children?" the witch slowly began. When it had finally occurred to her that children usually resulted from two sets of parents and not just one, it had been too late and too uncomfortable to ask. But now, sitting out here in the freezing garden sipping scalding tea, it felt easier to communicate. Perhaps it was just because she was outside, and getting better, and because Jake was... well rested.

But if the Auror indicated this was not a topic up for discussion, Azalea would of course not probe into his personal life. She really had no right to after all. Though how a parent could stay away from children like Ivan and Adrienne, Azalea really could not say.

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

Subject: Re: If I quit calling you my lover (Jazalea) Sun Aug 05, 2018 6:26 pm

The idea of starting out with a smaller project was one that Jake nodded on to show he agreed. "That sounds like a good idea, start small, work back up to the deadly vines." He said as a small joke. He wasn't sure if Azalea remembered her vines, but even if she didn't the joke would still stand. It would sound like a good progression after all. "I think the kids would love that, too. If you explain it to Ivan, as much as you can, or want to, as well, I'm sure he'll really love it. He... seems to like school a lot, so... yeah. I think he'll enjoy understanding the stuff behind it, too."

He didn't have to say the Adrienne would just love it no matter what, they both knew that already.

Taking another sip of his tea, Jake allowed himself to sit on the ground, his knees aching from the prolonged squat position. He couldn't sit on the ground for long, but it was more comfortable in that moment.

Azalea's next question was not one Jake had expected, though. He thought they would stick to the Herbology stuff, not... that.

Jake had looked back at the witch curiously for a moment, wondering if she really wanted to know, or whether it was just polite conversation. In all the months they had been meeting, Jake had not mentioned Veronika once to Azalea, finding it to be less of a conundrum in his head than telling her. He didn't know what would happen if he brought up his wife, so he'd stuck with not saying a word. Now, though, Azalea had asked. Taking another sip of his tea, Jake allowed himself one more moment before he spoke.

"You... mean about their mom?" Jake asked carefully, making sure that that was what Azalea wanted to talk about before he jumped in to the topic. A nod came from Azalea, and Jake thought for a moment. What did she want to know? It was weird, this situation, but he would work through it.

"Veronika, their mom, and I met at Hogwarts. Just as friends to start with. I wasn't... really looking for a relationship. I'd just gotten out of another relationship... well... my girlfriend had... been killed, actually." Jake explained, his eyes focused on his cup because he didn't feel comfortable telling Azalea about this. He felt guilty that he'd had a life where she'd... well... they didn't really know. But... they knew enough. "I... We met in Rome during the holidays. I was just visiting because I'd heard how beautiful it was, Veronika had been set up by one of her friends to meet with some 'well to do' young men. We ran in to one another... one thing led to another... We had Ivan two years later. Planned. Veronika and I had talked about it. We just did things out of the order I would have liked..." He said with a soft laugh, shaking his head to show that it wasn't a problem.

"We tied the knot a year and a half later, December 2018 in Rome. It was beautiful..." Jake explained, clearly quite fond of the memory. Ivan had looked so good in his suit that day! "Adrienne was born in the following September. Everything was perfect." Jake explained, but it was clear from the saddening of his features that despite things being perfect...

"Shortly after Adrienne was born, Veronika had to go and see her sister. Family issues." Jake explained carefully, a lump building in his throat in that moment which he took a moment to push down. Away. "I haven't heard from her since the day she left. The department looked for her, and looked, and looked. They can't find her. They..." Jake paused, shook his head. "I haven't given up, though. She's going to come home."

The last was said with a deep, unfaltering certainty. He'd strayed in that time, he knew that. He'd made mistakes, but the man knew that Veronika was coming home. If she had died, like the Auror department insisted, he would know. You knew these things when you loved someone, didn't you? No, Veronika was still alive, Jake was sure of that much. He just didn't understand why she hadn't come home yet.

________________________________________________
~ Auror ~ Profile ~ DADA Professor ~
~ In a Relationship ~ 36 ~ Father ~ 6' ~ American Accent ~

Subject: Re: If I quit calling you my lover (Jazalea) Sun Aug 05, 2018 8:22 pm

It seemed as though Jake already knew what she was going to ask. Upon hindsight, it must have been an obvious query. Anyone in their right mind would have asked sooner or made assumptions. Unfortunately, Azalea had only just begun to get in her right mind. Slow on the uptake, even she had noticed that someone important was missing from the picture, and now here sat the Auror, confirming it for her.

Following he time lime he'd drawn out, his wife had been missing for nearly five years now. Was that enough time to declare someone dead? How long had people waited before declaring her dead? Azalea had been told very little of what transpired after she'd disappeared mostly because she hadn't cared to know. But there was a funeral, from what the witch had gathered. She wondered how many had attended. Had Jake been there, saying his final goodbyes? Had little Victoria? Was that why he couldn't bear to think of his wife being gone?

"I'm sure she'll be back," the witch offered softly, not moving to comfort the man because she was afraid to touch him when he was this vulnerable. It was clear he missed his wife a great deal even if the children had gotten used to her abscess. Adrienne had never mentioned her mother once in all these weeks and Ivan... well, he hadn't enticement it in front of Azalea at any rate. The children were happy, the presence of their father and grandparents enough to make them feel as safe and loved as possible.

"You're doing a great job with the kids,' she added, hoping her words would reassure him if nothing else could. "They're happy, healthy, beautiful. Well worth being proud of," she added with a genuine smile because no matter what else between then, Azalea could never hide the fact that she was immensely fond of his children. Adrienne and Ivan had been as essential to her recovery as Jake's previous sleeping pattern had been. It was a good thing she could at last take care of that now on her own.

"Come on," she coaxed, getting to her feet and extending a hand his way, leaving him free to grasp it or ignore the gesture and get up on his own. Should he take her hand, the witch would mock pretend to pull him up to his feet before continuing. "I'm getting cold, and I feel adventurous. How about I try making an omelette for a proper breakfast?"

It was as they walked back into the house, not really taking but for the first time in weeks, not uncomfortably silent with each other that Azalea turned her head slightly his way. "Hey,' she nearly whispered, unsure if he wanted to hear it or not but feeling compelled to say it anyway.

"Don't ever given up on Veronika, okay? People... come back. And I can't imagine her willingly staying away from you guys. So.. Just don't give up on her, ever."

________________________________________________

Come Plot With Me <3

Subject: Re: If I quit calling you my lover (Jazalea) Mon Aug 06, 2018 8:58 am

"I'm sure she'll be back,"

Jake smiled at that comment, nodding to show he agreed with the witch on that point. Veronika would come back, of that much he was sure. She loved their children, she had been the best mother to Ivan and Adrienne. But her sister had needed her. "She'll be back." Jake confirmed softly, not looking across at Azalea because he didn't feel comfortable with all of this. She was trying, he knew that, but it was weird, talking to your ex-girlfriend about your wife who was... not here at the moment.

But the next comment, the next comment brought Jake's eyes to Azalea. It was one thing, hearing your mom reassure you that you were doing well with the kids, or the subtle reassurance from Victoria that the children were perfect in every way.

It was quite another to have a stranger insist that they were good kids. That he was a good father. That the children were good eggs, so to speak. The smile upon his lips grew stronger in that moment. "Thank you, Azalea. That... means a lot." Jake told her softly, because that was the truth. You didn't always realise you needed to hear these things, but sometimes... sometimes they really helped when you were in the middle of something that was bringing you down. He was doing something right in his life. That had to count for something.

As Azalea held out her hand to him, insisting they head inside, Jake took it, heaving himself up without the witch's help but not wanting to push the gesture away. "Omelette sounds amazing right about now." Jake agreed. "I'll make us some fresh tea to go with it." He added, not wanting to be waited on by the witch by his side.

The walk inside was in silence, but for once since they'd been together, Jake didn't feel uncomfortable. Now that Azalea knew that there was someone else in his life, now that he had been as honest as he possibly could have been about everything going on, it felt like a weight had lifted from his shoulders. Not all of it, but enough to not make him feel so shit about himself in that moment.

"Hey,"

Jake had looked across at Azalea as he moved to the kettle, an eyebrow raised in question to the witch.

"Don't ever give up on Veronika, okay? People... come back. And I can't imagine her willingly staying away from you guys. So... Just don't give up on her, ever."

"I don't plan to, don't worry." Jake replied to Azalea, turning back to the kettle in that moment. He had to keep believing. For the children's sake. Veronika would come back. Their family would be together again. It was going to happen, Jake had a feeling the children would not grow up without their mother. Even if he couldn't explain it.

They were going to have everything they needed, no matter what.

________________________________________________
~ Auror ~ Profile ~ DADA Professor ~
~ In a Relationship ~ 36 ~ Father ~ 6' ~ American Accent ~

» London Calling (Annabeth & Jake)
» Why Does It Always Rain on Me? (Jazalea)
» When you try your best but you don't succeed (Jazalea)
» Stay A Little Longer (Jazalea)
» Why have a ballroom with no balls? (Jazalea)