Too Late. [Ro]

[Max Kameren]

Max should have known not to be on time.

The Potions Master sat with his back against Rowena Covington's front door, trying not to nod off as he waited. Technically her shift ended a half hour ago, but considering how their day collectively went at St. Mungo's Merlin only knew when she'd be getting home. Max himself had stayed two hours past his twelve-hour shift; it was visibly apparent in his slouched posture and sunken eyes. After a long weekend he was ready to finally process.

It had been a strange few days, surely; after the strange dark magic attack at the Ministry that gave him an unexpected twenty-four hours off, Max made up for it and then some by sleeping in his office at the hospital. He’d brewed potions around the clock for the last four days, pausing only to go to his family bloodline’s estate and discover another bombshell: his father had left behind a chest of memories, one of which had his name on it. It was another set of mysteries to ponder, Max was sure; Curse Kameren’s idea of an ‘answer’ usually only resulted in more questions. Whatever it was, it felt like it connected to the strange events of the previous week.

Altogether, it felt like the Demon Wars had at the beginning, when Max was a child. The idea broke Max’s heart; the Flux had brought back their missing loved ones after seventeen years, but it also brought back the previous war’s problems. When the war came, they would all have to fight once again.

He leaned his head against her doorframe, checking his watch. Forty-five minutes, now. Why hadn't he called ahead? He could have sent a patronus, at least. At this point he knew texting was futile. Something about his girlfriend left Max over-eager to please; usually with women he was more wary of the connection. He would use his own confidence to push her away, keeping a distance to keep himself safe. But something with Rowena just clicked. It scared him, how easy it was. No matter how much time they spent together, he always wanted more.

He sighed, letting his head fall back against the door with a soft bump. His shoe grazed the Thai food they'd ordered and he'd picked up, kept warm by a preservation spell he'd cast around it. His stomach growled; how annoyed would Ro be if he cracked into it before she got home? Would her guilt over him sitting on the porch for an hour offset that annoyance?

He was weighing the options in his head when the door behind him suddenly gave way. He flopped backwards into Rowena's foyer where his emerald eyes were met with the face of his girlfriend staring down at him from where she stood. "Hey. You're late!"

[Rowena Jones]

The paste was sticking to her fingers and she smelled like smoke from Max’s office so Rowena didn’t hesitate to head straight into the shower once she apparated home. The hot water turned her skin pink washing away the exhaustion of the day, soothing tired muscles and calming her, the smell of her mango soap filling the bathroom.

She stepped out of the shower and wiped the steam off the mirror, frowning as she spotted a darkening bruise by her collarbone. There was another larger one on her hip. Then Rowena remembered tripping over Colonel Mustard, her parent’s elderly Labrador, over the weekend and shook her head at her own clumsiness. She finished wringing out her hair and drying herself before throwing on the shirt she’d ‘stolen’ from Max the first night they’d spent together. Her bed looked tempting already but she really wanted to finish reading her book before she turned in for the night… and it was only half 8.

The Healer grabbed the book and her wand from her bedside table and walked downstairs to her living room. Tall shelves towered the height of the walls, covered in books ordered in a multitude of ways that only made sense to Rowena and framing the fireplace. Near the bay window two large plush chairs beckoned her and she made her way over, grabbing the blanket off the back of the sofa.

She’d just sat down when there was a quiet thud on her front door and she jumped, her book falling from her hands. She got up and softly padded over to the door, her wand held tightly in her hand as she opened it. She wasn’t expecting to see her boyfriends’s emerald eyes staring at her nor to be admonished for being late.

“I’ve been home for half an hour Max… what are you doing sitting there? You could have just apparated in instead of giving my neighbours a reason to call the police.” she said, confused before spotting the bags of food as she moved inside to let Max in. “Ooh, is that dinner?” She’d been debating whether it was too late to eat but if it was available she’d take it. “Do you need plates or cutlery? Something to drink?” she asked, already moving to the kitchen to look for whatever was needed.

[Max Kameren]

“Hey. You’re late!”

“I’ve been home for half an hour Max… what are you doing sitting there? You could have just apparated in instead of giving my neighbours a reason to call the police.” she said, confused before spotting the bags of food as she moved inside to let Max in.

“What, where were you? I only gave up on knocking ten minutes ago.” Max pushed himself up and snatched their dinner from the ground. It was odd that he hadn’t been able to feel her in the house with his Empathy. Must have been his fatigue, he figured. His sixth sense was dulled. He shrugged off the errant thought and leaned in to kiss his girlfriend hello. Oh well, she found him eventually; his hand found her waist as he stepped up into the foyer with her.

“Ooh, is that dinner?” She’d been debating whether it was too late to eat but if it was available she’d take it. “Do you need plates or cutlery? Something to drink?”

“Yeah, we - “ Max cut himself off when he stopped to think about her questions. A sly smile rose across his face and he narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. She was surprised he’d brought Thai food, takeout she’d asked for. She looked like she was heading to bed; in his shirt, no less. He looked her up and down, cocking his head at her. “Did you forget I was coming over tonight?”

“You don’t remember us talking about this? In my office this afternoon?” He shook his head in mock disdain as he opened the takeout bag and laid their dinner out on the counter of the kitchen. He grinned at her as he took up a pair of chopsticks and took a bite of pad thai directly from the container. It really was odd that she’d forgotten, though; it was unlike her. Sure, Max had waited for her running late in the foyer nearly every time he’d come to meet her, but she’d never outright forgotten.

“I’m hurt, Rowena. Truly. Now come eat.” Max beckoned her over to the counter. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the side of her head. He grinned, taking in her scent and basking in the post-shower humidity of her skin when he touched her. “You can make it up to me later. How was the rest of the Floo-kerfuffle? Did Bryn do you proud?”

[Rowena Jones]

“Yeah, we – ” Max cut himself off, looking at her suspiciously, cocking his head at her. “Did you forget I was coming over tonight?”

Rowena’s hand paused as she reached for the glasses and she turned to look at Max, frowning. They hadn’t made plans. She’d assumed that with such crazy 12 hour rotations, he’d have headed straight for his own bed. Not that she was complaining. Any time she got to see her boyfriend was a pleasure.

“You don’t remember us talking about this? In my office this afternoon?”

She wracked her brain trying to remember the point in the conversation where they’d talked about this. He’d asked about her weekend… and then oh, he’d made that suggestive comment. Her confused frown disappeared in lieu of a flushed smirk. But then Bryn had interrupted and the Faux Floo had taken any chance for them to talk about their evening plans… Right?

“I’m hurt, Rowena. Truly. Now come eat.”

She moved around the counter, a giggle escaping her even as her brain whirred away, trying to understand how she had forgotten. “You do realize I have a table we could eat at right?” she said even as she pulled up a stool next to him and pulled her food closer to her. On second thought, moving to the table was entirely too much effort after the day they had had. Rowena smiled contentedly as he pulled her close, feeling herself relax as she only ever did around Max.

“You can make it up to me later. How was the rest of the Floo-kerfuffle? Did Bryn do you proud?”

“Yeah. Bryn was great. He’s really come such a long way in the past few months, he used to drive me crazy but he’s going to be such a good Healer,” she said after she finished chewing a mouthful of food.

“I’m really sorry though Max, I can’t believe I forgot.” She wondered if perhaps she was coming down with something, she had been feeling a little more tired than usual lately. Then again, she was still having nightmares every now and then, though none as bad as that first one. But it would explain why things had been feeling a little fuggy lately. She shook her head, pushing away those thoughts for now. For the rest of the evening, she wanted to enjoy Max’s company.

“How was your weekend by the way? I never asked.” She said, her chopsticks darting out to grab a mouthful of Max’s pad thai.

[Max Kameren]

“You can make it up to me later. How was the rest of the Floo-kerfuffle? Did Bryn do you proud?”

“Yeah. Bryn was great. He’s really come such a long way in the past few months, he used to drive me crazy but he’s going to be such a good Healer,” she said after she finished chewing a mouthful of food.

“’Course he is, you trained him.” Max’s mind flashed to moments from earlier in the day, when he would glance up from the paste cauldron and catch Rowena hard at work. She had such a sharp, attentive look when she worked. She was targeted, tough with her treatments but soft with her patients. The fact that her trainees were the most skilled was an objective fact at the hospital; no one was as thorough as Rowena in that regard. What had once been irritation with Rowena’s stringent success at the hospital had morphed over the short course of their relationship into an admiration. He wouldn’t admit it, lest she never let him forget, but it was there.

“I’m really sorry though Max, I can’t believe I forgot.”

Max smiled at her as he chewed a too-large bite of pad thai. In the absence of a proper kiss he nudged her affectionately with his shoulder, shrugging. “S’ fine, Ro. Really.” His empathy reached out to prod her as a mental nudge, reassuring the worry in her mind. A small crease formed between Max’s eyebrows as her concern left an impression in his aura; was she alright? This felt like more than just guilt over leaving him on the doorstep.

“How was your weekend by the way? I never asked.” She said, her chopsticks darting out to grab a mouthful of Max’s pad thai.

“Hmm? S’fine,” Max’s chop sticks slowed as he thought, “Alex found a chest full of Dad’s preserved memories. One of them was addressed to me. But we didn’t have a pensieve, so…” He trailed off, shrugging. “You know, same weird Kameren shit as always. What Dad’s known for: seven answers and a hundred more questions.” He sighed, his appetite waning with the anxiety of what might be in those glowing bottles. Who knew? Curse had kept all kind of secrets, and with the rising tides of tension in the Wizarding World Max wouldn’t be surprised if Curse could set them over from beyond the grave.

“How are you sleeping? Better?” Max threw down his chopsticks and leaned against the counter, looking over his girlfriend carefully. His affectionate gaze hardened when Rowena’s hair shifted and revealed a dark bruise at the base of her neck. He reached out and took her shoulder to hold her still, leaning in for a closer look. His eyes glanced up to meet hers in concern. “What happened?” He asked cautiously. Did he want to know?

[Rowena Jones]

“How are you sleeping? Better?”

Her nose wrinkled in thought as she debated her answer. “Better than that first night. Not as good as usual?” As if summoned, a yawn escaped her and Rowena smiled bashfully, moving the hair that had fallen into her face. She met her boyfriend’s hardened gaze and blinked, stilling as he took her shoulder.

“What happened?” He asked cautiously.

“Hmm?” she asked, amber gaze flitting to where we had looked. “Oh that? I tripped over my parent’s dog. He’s old, tends to fall asleep in stupid places. I must not have been looking where I was going and fell over him, hit something. Just general clumsiness.” She said, waving away his concern. The fact that she wasn’t usually a clumsy person didn’t register.

“It’s nothing really Max.” she said, trying to sound reassuring. “You weekend sounds much more interesting than mine. How are you going to look at them then?” she paused, cocking her head at him, “You do want to look at them right?” She supposed it was a mixed bag. Who knew what you were going to reveal when you started digging into the past?

[Max Kameren]

“What happened?” He asked cautiously.

“Hmm? Oh that? I tripped over my parent’s dog. He’s old, tends to fall asleep in stupid places. I must not have been looking where I was going and fell over him, hit something. Just general clumsiness.” She said, waving away his concern.

Max let her go, but his skeptical look didn’t fade when Rowena waved him off. She’d patched him up enough times now that they both knew she wasn’t a clumsy person. ‘Must have’ didn’t feel like a real explanation. Max got a distinct feeling she wasn’t telling him the entire truth.

“It’s nothing really Max.” she said, trying to sound reassuring. He bit his lip, his concern for his girlfriend growing. With a sigh he consciously relaxed his posture. Max knew he had to pick his battles with Rowena; he’d let this one go for now. “You weekend sounds much more interesting than mine. How are you going to look at them then?” she paused, cocking her head at him, “You do want to look at them right?”

“Well… yeah, of course.” Max suddenly felt very conflicted. His relationship with his father was very, very complicated. Curse Kameren had been a difficult person; the more he knew he needed you, the more he would push you away. For most of his life Max had been the apex of that push and pull; when they fought they would explode at each other, but when they were on good terms they were nearly codependent. When Curse died and Max lost his grip on his aura he lost a significant part of himself. For over a year he was shattered, trying to pull his splintered aura back together.

Three years out, Max wasn’t sure if he was ready to open that back up again. Whatever was in those bottles was going to cause changes: whether it was personal or public was a different matter. “I… I don’t know. It’s complicated. I wish he’d said something, to let us know what it is.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It just feels like all of this is building to something, you know? I can’t ignore the signs. It feels like last time.” Max shuddered, his hand finding the other stool at the counter for him to sit. His exhaustion was suddenly wearing on him.

[Rowena Jones]

“Well… yeah, of course. I… I don’t know. It’s complicated. I wish he’d said something, to let us know what it is.”

Rowena watched the conflict unfold on Max’s face, unsure what to say in this situation. She’d only ever known his father as Professor Kameren. She didn’t actually know much about Max she was starting to realize. That they’d been in each other’s lives for getting close to two decades didn’t really factor. She’d been quickly learning that the things she’d thought she’d known about him were completely wrong and she was enjoying discovering the wonderful man she got to call her boyfriend… but at the same time, he wasn’t exactly an open book kind of guy.

“It just feels like all of this is building to something, you know? I can’t ignore the signs. It feels like last time.”

There hadn’t been a last time for Rowena and Max still hadn’t talked about his own experience with her. She wasn’t going to push him about it, but it did kind of hurt that he wasn’t willing to share with her. She felt like she’d been nothing but honest with him about things in her life. He’d seen her at breaking point when she’d heard about her father, he’d held her as she’d cried at nightmares, he’d listened to her fears and worries and supported her when she’d mentioned wanting to find out more about her birth parents. She’d tried to be as open as possible with him and come to him when there had been something wrong. She trusted him.

For a second, she considered telling him about her latest fear, one that had only recently occurred to her, something that would explain the constant exhaustion and occasional blank space in her mind. But they’d ended up talking about her every time recently. At some point, it was going to have to go both ways. And she couldn’t always rely on Max. He was right. It did feel like something was coming. That they could talk about. Her personal problems could wait until after they dealt with whatever was coming for them.

“Sometimes it feels like there’s darkness all around me,” she admitted. “I don’t like not knowing Max. How can I prepare if I don’t even know what all of this means? We still don’t even know why that thing wanted to taste my blood.” She shuddered at the memory. “I still dream about that voice. When does it stop?” She didn’t know if she wanted to hear the answer. What if he told her it never stopped? Then again, he’d probably deflect again.

She sighed, stretching and wincing as her shoulder twinged in a sharp spasm of pain. Had she pulled something at work? “Do you want to sit somewhere more comfortable than the stool?” she asked, her own bottom had had enough of the hard wood. “We can sit in the living room? Or just go to bed?”

[Max Kameren]

Sometimes she looked at him and max felt like a stranger. Max knew he was prone to locking up when he had to talk about himself, and he'd noticed it grating on Rowena more and more. Especially when it came to his family; Max was always open talking about his 'normal' muggle side, but would shy away from the subject of the Kamerens. They were so well known, their private lives so pried into and dissected, that Max felt he needed to protect them. After Curses death the vultures descended, carving into his family life out of morbid curiosity. The same thing had happened after the war, and every other tragedy they'd faced. Eventually Max learned to just stop sharing. He didn’t trust the Wizarding World.

But then again, Max always forgot Rowena hadn't been part of the Wizarding World yet. The War had been a world-shaking event for magical London but barely left a dent on their muggle counterpart. If he didn't tell her, how would she know?

When Max felt Rowena's aura bristle he mentally prepared himself for what he knew was coming; Max had avoided any heavy questions about his family on principal, but he knew eventually he would have to stop ducking Rowena. Max was nervous for what was to come not just between them but for the times they were living in. Rowena knew he was anxious, but didn’t know why.

“Sometimes it feels like there’s darkness all around me,” she admitted. “I don’t like not knowing Max. How can I prepare if I don’t even know what all of this means? We still don’t even know why that thing wanted to taste my blood.” She shuddered at the memory.

“I know, Ro, I’m sorry.” When she shuddered Max pushed himself up from the counter, too nervous to be still. His hands found work in cleaning up their takeout, anything physical he could do to get the nervous energy his mind was manufacturing out. When he ran out of things he came around his girlfriend at the counter, holding her in an embrace and kissing the top of her head.

“I still dream about that voice. When does it stop?” Max sighed, nuzzling his head into the back of her neck. He didn’t have an answer for her.

Rowena shrugged him off with a sigh and a stretch and he took a step backward. His green eyes still lingered on her bruise as her explanation nagged him. “Do you want to sit somewhere more comfortable than the stool?”

“Yeah, sure. It’s been a long day.” He smiled half-heartedly and followed his girlfriend into her living room; his eyes immediately flashed towards the bookcase to see if she’d caught his movements. Damn. Everything was in its proper place, he noticed with a smirk.

Max sunk into the couch, letting his long legs hang off so as to leave enough room for his girlfriend to join him. His eyes searched the ceiling, trying to think of where to start. There was just so much. After a long pause, he decided to start with a question: “How much do you know? About the last war, that is.”

[Rowena Jones]

Rowena grinned despite the tense atmosphere as she turned just in time to catch Max’s glance at her books. Did he really think she wouldn’t notice when a Biology book suddenly made its way into Biography? He’d have to be a lot sneakier than that to pull one over her eyes, though she did make a mental note to check her Library too.

She grabbed the blanket she’d been using earlier and joined Max on the sofa, tucking her bare legs up and using his chest as a pillow before throwing the blanket around them. She wasn’t really sure what they were going to talk about. She wasn’t going to bring up her personal worries when there was this threat of war hanging over them and he didn’t want to talk about his Past. It was fine. Rowena had said she’d let him move at his pace and she’d stick to that but it didn’t leave much to say. It also didn’t mean she couldn’t just snuggle up to her boyfriend and take comfort from his presence which is exactly what she was going to do.

“How much do you know? About the last war, that is.”

Max’s question dragged her out of her musings on just what made Max smell so good and she pushed herself up to look at him properly.

“Only what’s in books or old newspaper articles. I had neighbours in Nottingham, the ones who told me about this World. They left the country quickly about a year and a half before the Flux? Now I know they were running away from everything that was happening… I got a message telling me they were coming back but then yeah…” The Flux had gotten them and they hadn’t contacted her since the Return so she wasn’t sure what had happened there… “But honestly, I don’t know much. Just that magic went haywire, people were scared and there was a curfew, some fighting. The Battle at Castle Innvar…”

She shrugged. She’d read up on it in her third year out of personal curiosity, but by then people had begun to move past it, wanting to enjoy the peace and accepting that people had been lost. The Wizarding World was used to War and Loss. It was a plague on magical folk; some Witches and Wizards always wanting more than what they already had. She supposed Muggles were the same, there had always been one war or another going on somewhere in the world. In that sense, humanity as a whole was perhaps just cursed to never be happy with what they had…

But Rowena had just always felt removed from it. She’d never been directly involved in anything remotely warlike. She didn’t think her constant battles with Eden at school counted. This had the potential to be way bigger than anything she had ever imagined she’d have to deal with and that thought terrified her. She'd spent her whole adult life trying to save those closest to her... and now there was a very real threat that something would take it all away from her.

[Max Kameren]

“Only what’s in books or old newspaper articles. I had neighbours in Nottingham, the ones who told me about this World. They left the country quickly about a year and a half before the Flux? Now I know they were running away from everything that was happening… I got a message telling me they were coming back but then yeah…”

Max sighed, his green eyes closing as he listened to the comforting sound of Rowena’s voice. He let her warmth sink into him, the softness of her skin and the comforting pressure of her resting on his chest. This was good, he was happy. He was fine; after everything, they’d survived. He told himself this to build himself up, to chip away at the anxiety growing in him at the thought of bringing back old memories. He bent his chin to his chest to cuddle into Rowena, breathing in her scent. In the end, it had worked out. For now.

“But honestly, I don’t know much. Just that magic went haywire, people were scared and there was a curfew, some fighting. The Battle at Castle Innvar…”

He took a deep breath, taking a long pause to soak up more of their private moment together. He took the strength Rowena gave him and used it launch himself into the story. “I’m sure if you read about Innvar you at least know the basics of my story, then. Or at least about Dad. He killed the Dark Lady, and she nearly killed him too.” A chill went up his spine as his words brought him back into the moment: small, too young and weak to do anything. Pushing against Alex’s hold to try to intervene anyway. Curse’s blood, magenta with poison.

Max shook his head to push himself out of it. Maybe closing his eyes wasn’t better; he opened them, instead looking down at his girlfriend. He held her tight, using her aura to ground himself in the living room. “It was a direct result of the Battle of Godric’s Hollow, four days before. They leveled our house, killed our friends and Dad’s familiar. Then they took me.” He bit his lip and he watched Rowena’s head rise and fall with his sigh. “I was a captive for three days until they could find me. I was ten.”

The mood in the room had plummeted so much that Max’s aura sent Pumpkin and Spice into the other room. There was a bitter taste in his mouth, but Max couldn’t tell if he was feeling sick or it was his Empathy. He hated talking about this. The stressful topic of conversation only ever succeeded in garnering him pity, which he loathed. He didn’t want to be pitied, he wanted to be strong enough to help. He didn’t want to be that kid again, watching his loved ones die with no power to stop it.

“So… what I’m saying is that you missed a hell of a party.” He smiled sardonically down at Rowena, putting his chin to his chest low enough that he could kiss her lips.

[Rowena Jones]

She didn’t say anything until she was sure he was finished, not wanting to interrupt and possibly lose this once chance at Max letting her in. Instead she sat there in silence, her head moving up and down with his deep sighs, her hand slowly soft patterns on his chest as she tried to keep her aura calm but reassuring, letting her gratitude and happiness at this moment together, despite the topic, shine through.

“So… what I’m saying is that you missed a hell of a party.”

She lifted her head to meet his kiss, mind whirring as she processed what he had just shared. Did she pity him? She pitied the 10 year old boy who had been through that ordeal, no child should have to go through that… but the man holding her… it wasn’t pity she felt for him. She admired him all the more for the man he had become despite the events in his early life. She wasn’t prepared for the surge of emotion she felt. Was it possible to feel this protective over someone who she’d only really been dating for a month?

But she couldn’t hide the fear she also felt when he described the events of the last war. Was that what awaited them? Kidnapping? Death? Destruction?

“I’m glad I missed it,” she said finally biting her lip. And she was. Thinking back to her 10 year old self, there was no way she would have survived such trauma. It was odd to think that she’d been deciding what to name her new horse while Max had been watching his father fight for his life. But that difference only served to make her more determined now. “I’m not going to be able to miss this one...But you're not helpless this time Max. And nor am I.”

The time to deny that war was coming was over. Even without anything happening since the last attack, they’d both known that it was just the beginning. She shifted, moving to straddle Max so that she could look at him without giving up the contact that she needed. Was she scared? Absolutely. They had no idea what was coming, just that it was inevitable. And that it was powerful enough to kill a Senior Ministry figure without apparently breaking a sweat. But they weren’t children this time.

“We’ll fight this together?” she said, amber gaze searching his face for reassurance. It was odd feeling this vulnerable around Max, but they’d only been together a short while and it felt like already the Universe was testing their relationship. They should still be enjoying that honeymoon phase, going on casual dates, laughing, teasing, having fun, and exploring each other’s personalities and bodies.

Instead, with the dark shadow of War hanging over them, they were faced with the strong possibility that they might not make it out alive. And knowing that made Rowena feel very alone. Max had his family behind him and while she knew that meant he would see that as more people to protect it also meant he had a huge amount of support. Even after 16 years in the Wizarding World, Rowena didn’t have that. Her private life remained largely Muggle. Without Max, she would feel very alone.

“You won’t leave, even if you think you’d be protecting me by doing so?” She’d considered doing that very thing if she ever thought she could save Max, but really what would that achieve except to weaken their combined strength?

[Max Kameren]

Now that he’d told it, Max wasn’t sure why he’d been so worried about sharing his story with Rowena in the first place. Where he thought there’d be anxiety or judgment, there was none. He was relieved to instead feel a surge in pride and comfort; he finally fully relaxed, taking strength in Rowena’s support.

“I’m glad I missed it,” she said finally biting her lip. Max chuckled, his chest rocking Rowena’s head with his bitter laugh. He would have preferred to avoid the War too, if he could. But they were a family of meddlers, the Kamerens, and he had the gene too. His chuckle died down in to a tired smile, his heavy eyelids closing and his breathing evening in his chest. “I’m not going to be able to miss this one...But you're not helpless this time Max. And nor am I.”

“We need to get you at the dueling pitch again. We only covered the basics of dueling. Didn’t cover defense…” Max mused. “Of course Merlin only knows when we’ll get another day off together again, with the Potions Team cut in half.” Max’s errant thoughts were silenced in an instant when Rowena shifted on top of him. His eyes opened and examined her face for the variations he felt in her aura. A bubble of happiness rose in his chest when he took her in. God, she was beautiful. She was distractingly beautiful; sometimes when she wasn’t paying attention he would just marvel at her. Here they were, preparing for war, and Max still couldn’t figure out how he’d managed to convince this woman even to share a couch with him.

“We’ll fight this together?” she said.

“Always.” He replied. He pushed himself up on his elbows to kiss her again, this time more passionately. Somehow, this felt like some new level of commitment that wasn’t in a regular relationship; at least he hadn’t remembered committing to protecting each other in wartime with any of his previous girlfriends. But he’d been able to open up to Ro, to share a part of himself that he felt uncomfortable with. That meant something, even this early on.

“You won’t leave, even if you think you’d be protecting me by doing so?”

“Can’t get rid of me that easily.” He smiled wryly as he pulled his girlfriend down to meet him, kissing her more aggressively as he pushed himself up into a better position. They’d talked enough tonight, he figured. Time to communicate in a better language. His hands found her thighs on either side of him and he moved up the shape of her body slowly, pausing at her hips to reposition how she was straddling him.

But when he squeezed her hips she shrank back in pain. “Sorry, sorry.” His hands lifted off her on reflex and he reared back into the couch to give her space, glancing down to find the source of her pain. “Ro…” Max’s eyes widened when they fell on a large darkening bruise on his girlfriend’s hip. His heart skipped a beat when he examined it, looking up at his girlfriend in concern. “Ro, come on. This isn’t from tripping over your parents’ dog.”

[Rowena Jones]

“Can’t get rid of me that easily.”

Rowena grinned, relaxing into his kiss, feeling his reassurance and happiness and answering it with her own. She couldn't ever remember feeling this way about James. The thought both thrilled her and scared her but for now she was happy to just enjoy theway Max felt against her... until he grabbed her hips in exactly the wrong spot and she shrank back in pain.

“Sorry, sorry.” Rowena shrugged off his apology. It was fine, really. Just a bruise. She tried to stop him looking at it. It wasn't worth the fuss but Max wasn't that easily swayed.

“Ro, come on. This isn’t from tripping over your parents’ dog.”

Rowena blinked at him owlishly, confused as to why he didn't believe her. "It is though Max." she frowned as she tried to remember the details of the accident. "He was lying on the floor by the door. Mum had asked me to get more biscuits. I was talking to her while walking. And of course he started to get up right as I was about to walk over him. Fell into the shelf on the wall. Got some bruises. It's nothing. Really."

Rowena glanced down at the bruise, reaching around Max to grab her wand from the side table and whispering a quick Episkey. Both bruises faded away. "See? Nothing." She should have just done that earlier but she didn't really like using magic for such minor ailments. If it was going to bother Max though, maybe it was for the best. She put her wand down again, resting her hands instead on Max's chest, amber eyes searching his green ones. "Please don't worry about me Max. Not about this. We have bigger things to think about. Dueling practice sounds like a great start. I've been doing some by myself... but it'd be good to practice with an actual person."

His shifts might be an issue. His work schedule was packed at the moment, but they'd worked on little sleep pretty much all their adult life. "We'll just have to lose a couple of hours sleep every now and then to practice?"

[Max Kameren]

"It is though Max." she frowned as she tried to remember the details of the accident. "He was lying on the floor by the door. Mum had asked me to get more biscuits. I was talking to her while walking. And of course he started to get up right as I was about to walk over him. Fell into the shelf on the wall. Got some bruises. It's nothing. Really."

Max bit his lip in conflict, reaching out again and running a gentle thumb over her bare hip where the bruise was. A crease of worry knit his brows, but he let it go. He believed her, or at least believed that she believed. Despite her explanations something about these bruises was raising red flags in the back of Max’s mind. He’d learned not to ignore these flags, lest he regret it later. Max would keep a close eye on Ro and any other concerning marks that might show up on her. Under his thumb Rowena healed the bruise and it faded away to her soft pale flesh once again.

"See? Nothing." Her quick healing didn’t do much to soothe the red flags and he sighed. He shifted back into a sitting position on the couch, wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her down from kneeling to sitting on his legs. They were level face-to-face now and he met her eyes, the concern still evident in him. Something still felt off.

"Please don't worry about me Max. Not about this. We have bigger things to think about.”

“Well, you’re too late for that.” Max pulled her in closer to kiss her, lightly nudging her forehead with his in affection. “You’ve got me telling you all about my dark and twisted past, my neuroses come with that too you know. Should’ve read the fine print.” He smiled as he kissed her down her neck, his whiskers tickling her skin.

“Dueling practice sounds like a great start. I've been doing some by myself... but it'd be good to practice with an actual person. We'll just have to lose a couple of hours sleep every now and then to practice?"

“I am always willing to lose sleep with you.” He grinned. “I’ll find a way to blackmail Milton into giving me a day off, and this time we’ll go to the Dragons so my sister doesn’t dictate our lessons. But for now…” Max slipped his arms behind Rowena’s back and under her leg, hooking the other one under his arm in one swift motion to stand and pick her up, cradling her with her head against his chest. “Let’s go to bed, shall we?”