staring at the sun

@thearthurweasley​

>> I’ll spare you my real advice and just caution you that if it does go well, your mum might try to set you up with her hairdresser. And you’ll go on the date and find out he’s not even her hairdresser just a gay man who was at her salon one day.

>> he paid at least so it wasn’t a complete waste of an evening, but -_-

>> you could tell them you met someone and just call her uh….Arthurina? Dunno. But if lying to them is eaiser, or half truthing them rather, then do that. You don’t wanna be stressed beyond belief when they get here. 

>> does Ced make a habit out of outing you? because you could use that to your advantage for sure with the right type of bloke. 

>> Side note-any advice for biters? Charlie is uh, exploring the world via his teeth lets say.

>> How could I not have even considered this possibility??? You’re right. Time to stay in the closet for another year at least. Maybe the rest of forever if it means avoiding mum trying to set me up.

>> Arthurina? XD With how often we text they might even buy it.

>> It’s never really something that comes up. Most often people ask who he’s with or where his mum is and he just shrugs and says he doesn’t have one and then points to me. Truthfully, I feel like it’s all a bit beyond what he cares about right now. He’s less concerned with my dating life and far more concerned with when he can next have a sweet. 

>> Sounds like a true adventure. Have you tried the teething things you put in the freezer? When Ced was biting we worked on healthy emotional expressions like, ya know. Screaming. 

thearthurweasley​:

>> I wish I had a quarter of the time that nonce does to post random bullshit online to do literally anything else with.

>> Also I know a trick for getting that out of carpet but I’m not sharing cause I’m feeling bitchy.

>> Perce is still up, she ….lkjhggfffffff

>>has started a phase where she likes to grab my phone. You? Ced?

>> I feel like the two page long to-do list sitting on my desk really speaks for itself.

>> We are alright! My parents are planning a trip to see us which is always an adventure. I’m going to assume at least fifteen times they’ll bring up finding a new wife. 

>> Eventually I’ll break the news to them. Or maybe, Cedric will do it on accident and I won’t have to.

(Over Facebook Messenger)

>> Arthur. You know I’m not normally a judgemental person, but if I see one more post from Stephen whining about something that is easily fixed with a Google search and minimal effort I’m going to blow a gasket.

>> Anyway. How’s your day been? How are the kiddos?

Edgar was running late.  Usually, he wasn’t one to run late, but work kept him later than he anticipated.  The healer wasn’t even supposed to work that Saturday, but an urgent test needed running and the patient seemed to respond well to him.  

He spotted Amos and Cedric and slowed his pace a bit, smiling as he watched the two of them for a moment.  “Hey buddy,” he smiled to Cedric as he took his seat across from the pair.  “Amos, hi… sorry I’m late.  Work stuff.”  Amos looked good, happy and healthy.  Edgar always felt like he looked older than his 30 years, rundown and ragged (which wasn’t always the case).  “How are you two?”

-

Cedric looked up from his coloring sheet as Edgar got his attention. He smiled brightly, waving. “Hello, Mister Bones!” Amos also gives Edgar a smile, waving off his apology and giving a small shake of his head. “Don’t worry about it, Edgar, I know how it goes.”

“We’re doing great today.” Amos reaches over and pats Cedric’s head. “Ced’s got a hot chocolate to keep him going, and I’ve got this latte. I hope you don’t mind that he’s tagging along, it’s just been me for the past few years.” The split between him and Dahlia has been rather private, so Amos isn’t sure how much Edgar knows. 

“How are you?” Edgar looks a bit tired and worn-down; Amos hopes he isn’t too overextended. 

“Sounds fair enough.” He briefly wondered how long transfers could possibly take, but judging on Amos’s description, it was not a quick process. Perhaps it wouldn’t be too horrible then to be away from his desk for a while. Granted, it was just another menial task to do instead, but at least he could be away from prying eyes. “Lead the way.” He nodded slightly, stepping aside so the man can get through the doorway.

-

Amos nods and locks his office behind them, leading the way down to the basement where the actual servers are stored. “I don’t suggest bringing any liquids down here. They’re pretty durable, but you never know and the last thing you want to be is responsible for a loss of data,” Amos jokes. “So what brings you to the Ministry?” He heads over to the desk space, taking a seat and motioning for Regulus to take a seat in the other chair. He logs onto the computer and begins typing away, starting the long and arduous process. 

Looking back at the kids, Ted is relieved to not see a pig snout or purple hair make an appearance on Dora’s face. It’s hard for them to stifle her like they have been, he knows even though he doesn’t, but the idea of her being deemed unacceptable is unacceptable to him. “Getting on like a house on fire.” Ted says, mostly to himself. 

“I can’t say I do, though Dora does.” He shrugs, somewhat embarassed, “I’m a Healer over at Mungo’s, so unfortunately my wife is the one who does the park trips most days. But a day off for me is a day of reprieve for her so here I am. Though I’m sure these two will be seeing more of each other, if this is anything to go off of.” 

-

“Yes! Ah, it’s always nice to meet a fellow Hufflepuff.” Amos hadn’t been particularly social as a student, preferring to stick to his friend group and not much else. It’s no surprise to him that they haven’t properly met until now, especially if they weren’t even in the same year. There were so many students at Hogwarts that Amos never had a chance to meet due to his shy, neurotic nature. 

Amos hums and nods in agreement. This is good, great even. It’s not often that Amos finds an agreeable parent on the playground -- much less a parent who grew up in the magical world. Cedric has already been through his exam and is expected to attend Hogwarts, scoring much the same way that Amos did when he took his. Still, that’s many years away, and right now he just wants to see Cedric flourish. He’s worked hard to afford the school he sends him too -- somewhere that encourages his brightness and exposes him to diversity of both the muggle and magical. 

“A healer! Remarkable. I’ve always admired those who go into the healing arts and medical field. Although, they’re almost one in the same these days, aren’t they?” Amos chuckles, hands slipping into his pockets. “Would you like to swap numbers? I don’t mind if you pass mine along to your wife -- I’d love for Cedric to have some good friends outside of those he plays with at school.” Amos hopes that’s not too forward. 

Once they’re comfortably seated, Amos helps Cedric get out his coloring things. He draws with his son while waiting for Edgar, happy to just converse with Cedric all afternoon. 

“Don’t think we have, no.” He replied, moving to stand slightly inside the office. “Yes, I’m the new hire. Regulus Black. I’m not sure if they told you my name yet.” Regulus continued on. “From what they’ve told me, it might be me they send more often, I’m still getting used to things around here.”

--

Amos stands and nods. “They usually send the newest person to deal with this. I’m afraid it’s pretty dull, mostly just killing time while the files transfer onto the backup servers,” Amos explains. He grabs his phone, office keys, and mug of coffee. “Alright, let’s head down to the server bank. They mostly keep one of you guys around on the off chance there’s some sort of attack before the backups can be properly stored. It’s never happened to me though.” 

“Daddy! Daddy!” 

Ted looks up from the from the leaf that he was deeply contimplating– a rare day off still required Ted’s brain to be half at the hospital, if his thoughts on placental rupturing whilst staring at leaf veins was anything to go by. Dora runs to him, her small hands grasping at his coat sleeve until he’s on his knees looking at her, eye to eye. “Yes?”

“There’s a boy– can I play with him?” 

Ted looks up and sees a cherub faced boy, a year or two younger by Ted’s approximation, standing several feet away shyly looking at the two of them waiting for Ted’s response. It warms his heart. “Oh course.” He reaches up and tucks a stray curl behind Dora’s ear, leaning down to whisper to her as he sees the beginning of purple strands appearing at her roots.. “Just remember what Mommy and I have told you about your special skills, okay?” Her hair immediately returns to brown and she frowns. “Hey now, none of that.” He presses a kiss to her temple. “I want to see all of the colors of the rainbow when we get home, my little bug. Just not with new people.” She nods and smiles, running off to rejoin her new friend. 

Ted stands, brushing the dirt off of the knees of his pants when he hears a voice and looks up into the eyes of a man that Ted immediately warms to, if one can know innately at a playground who the good versus the bad parents are. 

He looks over at the two children and grins. “Yes, yes it is– That’s Dora. Doesn’t seem to have a patient bone in her body when she’s at home, but I’m sure she’ll match him in chatterbox ways. Don’t know where she gets the energy from, certainly not me.” He laughs, and holds out his hand to shake the other man’s. “I’m Ted, by the way– lovely to meet you and Cedric.” 

--

“She seems incredible.” Amos has always adored children, always wanted one of his own. Cedric is the greatest gift Dahlia ever gave him, a testament to the love that had been there before everything went to shit between them. Sometimes Amos thinks she must’ve known he was gay, that things would never work out between the two of them long term. He pushes those unfortunate thoughts from his mind, focussing on the here and the now. He’s got a bad habit of losing himself to his more negative thoughts. 

He takes Ted’s hand and gives it a firm shake. “Amos Diggory. It’s a joy to meet you too; Cedric is such a social butterfly; it always warms me to see him make a new friend.” For a moment Amos just watches the two children play. They seem to be in deep discussion about whatever they’re looking at. If Amos has to guess, it’s some sort of creature that’s enraptured them. 

“Do you come to this park often? Cedric and I make it a habit to come down every Sunday, but I can’t say that we’ve crossed paths before.” His smile is kind, nerves calming down somewhat now that the hard part of introductions is over and done with. 

“Mhmm, and I didn’t even shit my pants doing it.” He laughs and takes a big swig of his black coffee. Arthur has to go back to work after this and make sure all the paperwork is settled for the Sonnenberg case that starts tomorrow, but he wouldn’t miss coffee with Amos for anything. What had started as an attempt to combat social anxiety and bond with the only person in their group he could remotely see himself having something in common with had turned into one of his best friendships. There were aspects of himself that he didn’t have to explain with Amos, and that was just wonderful.

“She was late, of course, but it was just fucking perfect, mate. And we got away the weekend after-Molly said yes, obviously, or I would’ve been a wreck today.” Arthur’d been a lot better the past year, and while part of him was waiting for the other shoe to drop, going to group helped him focus his energy into the good, and not to dwell on what ifs. 

“I’m sure you can tell by my even paler complexion that the Scottish weather did me good.”

He takes another sip before dunking the biscotti he was almost certain he wouldn’t like into his drink and taking a tentative bite.

“How’s Baby Amos enjoying whatever watered down Irish history lessons I’m sure they’re doing at school?” Arthur smiles-obviously he knew Cedric’s name by now, but in group it was pretty common to not mention people’s actual names and thus, Baby Amos. The nickname worked too given how much alike father and son looked similar.

“He can bring me in for show and tell. I can do a decent accent, pretend to be a leprechaun, the works.”

Amos listens with his full attention as Arthur explains how the past week has gone for him. “Congratulations! You and Molly make such a beautiful couple.” He likes Molly quite a bit; they’ve done some work projects together and she’s a very bright person. While Amos gets along with most everyone, there are some people he certainly prefers more than others. “I better be invited to the wedding.” He flashes a grin at his friend before tearing off a bit of the pastry and popping it into his mouth. 

He lets out a hum of excitement, sitting up and fishing his phone out of his pocket. “Oh!” He declares as soon as he’s finished that bite of pastry. “Look at this picture-- Ced was reading to me the other day. Couldn’t believe it! I was so impressed. Wasn’t perfect of course but -- look at how pleased he is in this picture!” 

Once Arthur has gotten a proper look, Amos tucks his phone away again and takes a small sip of the latte. It’s still a bit hot, but he doesn’t mind it all that much. “I have an important update.” There’s a tone of seriousness in his voice as Amos settles back into his chair. “So -- I told my parents that I’m gay.” He hasn’t officially told Arthur this, although they’d discussed his struggles with his identity in the past. He watches his friend’s expression carefully. He isn’t ready to bring this up in the big group yet, or, really, anywhere else. 

“More coffee should do the trick,” Kingsley remarks with a saunter he doesn’t deserve, as he has neither done any of the paperwork he had intended to do to close the Whittaker case, nor the necessary self-evaluation form his boss has been hounding him for. 

Regardless, he finds himself drawn to the break room in pursuit of the coffee being made. Since it does not smell vile, he assumes that neither Arthur nor Amelia made it. 

“Been better. Slow on the uptake. Focus is an issue.” He pours himself a mug and sits opposite of Amos. “How’s your boy?”

Amos chuckles awkwardly. “I know it’s no good for me, but after staring at that screen all day I’m finding that I need the caffeine to get by.” Where Kingsley seems like all confidence, Amos is timid and awkward. 

However, his awkwardness vanishes the moment he gets to talk about Cedric. He grins brightly. “Cedric’s doing amazing. Came home reading to me the other day; he’s just as bright as I thought he’d be. He’s still struggling, but it seems like all that extra practice we put in is paying off.” Amos has always tried to put Cedric ahead; he wants to set his kid up as best he can. 

Edgar Bones: Manager? That's great. I mean, as long as you love what you do.

Edgar Bones: Congrats!

Amos Diggory: Thank you! I'm enjoying it a lot, and the higher pay is nice too.

ATLAS FRACTURED TASK NO. 1: SOCIAL MEDIA

Once a week, an ‘unfortunate’ soul was sent to the archives in the Phoenix database. According to the schedule that week, it was deemed Regulus’s duty to go and make sure that the files for the time being were transferred safely. Still being relatively new to the team, it was logical to send him in order to make sure he gained familiarity with how things flowed within the department. At least that’s what his supervisor told him before scribbling a name of who he needed to see and a brief list of instructions on what needed to be done. Regulus walked down the hallway, following the signs to find the right offices for the archives. Finally, when he found the name Diggory just outside an open door, he peered into the office.

“I’m looking for Amos Diggory?”

@amosd​

Backing up the most current version of the database is one of the most important parts of Amos’s job. If PHOENIX was to go down for any reason, they would need accurate backups to restore the system. Still, the actual backing up itself is quite a boring task; Amos’s favorite part of it is chatting with the coworkers he normally doesn’t get to see. 

“Ah! That’s me!” Amos looks away from the screen to peer over at the newcomer. “I don’t think we’ve had a chance to meet yet, I’m Amos Diggory, but you know that already. I suppose you’re that new hire in cybersecurity?” 

Still, he finds himself returning to the break room like it’s an oasis in the desert. 

He clicks his tongue softly as his coffee spills slightly, right over his hands. He sets the mug down and grabs a few paper towels, mopping up the mess just in time to notice someone out of the corner of his eyes. “Shaky hands -- gotta hate them.” He glances over and offers a small, timid smile. “How are you today?” His eyes drift back to the mess he’s made as he cleans it up attentively. 

Today is no exception, and as soon as Cedric’s up he’s asking to go down to the park. Amos indulges, and soon enough Cedric finds a sweet-looking girl to play with. They seem to hit it off, excitedly chattering back and forth. Amos watches as she runs up to the man that must be her father, tugging on his coat to ask him something. She must get a satisfactory answer, because a moment later she’s run off again. 

It takes him a moment to work up the nerve to approach someone new, but Amos tells himself it’s for Cedric. Perhaps, if Amos plays this right, Cedric will be able to make a proper friend outside of school. Maybe, if Amos is especially lucky, he’ll make a friend too. 

“Excuse me -- is that your daughter?” Amos points to the little girl Cedric is currently chatting excitedly to. “That’s my son, Cedric. She seems very sweet; she must be awfully patient. Cedric is a bit of a chatterbox.” He manages to keep the nerves out of his voice as he smiles. 

Edgar Bones: It's my dream job really. Magical forensics. We get the cases that no one else can solve.

Edgar: And you... something with computers?

Amos Diggory: Yes! I'm an archivist with PHOENIX.