not an apple

Nora: I am free upcoming weekend!

Nora: You are asking us to agree on dinner?

Nora: You know I almost eat everything!

Bree: You guys are already blowing up my phone.

Bree: Are we going out or staying in?

Crispin: Yes, dinner with me and...my girlfriend. So wherever you will both act most appropriate.

Crispin: Are you both free next weekend?

​The whole situation was entertaining once she was through with being mortified of her dog’s actions. Hippo’s other visits to Crispin’s were always marked by her barking and trying to get into the coop. It was endearing in a way that Evelyn couldn’t quite explain.

She felt at home when with him. The feeling was somewhat odd at first but Evelyn reached a point of accepting it. If anything, the most bizarre thing came down to her realizing she favored his lifestyle over the one she was raised with. “I might be willing to give some of them back,” She laughed. “But I’ve come to like using them as pajamas or a second layer. They look better than my sweaters.” Evie paused to take a sip of tea, nearly spluttering when he spoke. “I wasn’t trying to imply that,” Her cheeks went red. “Seeing as I can say the same thing about you. I may need to start hoarding them if it means seeing you in a layer less.”

Crispin had lived on his own for a long while, had become used to the solitude. There were moments when he also embraced it, the nature, the time given to think. But Evelyn and her dog had fit into his life in a way that was not pushy, a way that he found comforting from time to time.

He laughed, his head thrown back at her comment. “It’s a good thing I’ve already ordered a few more then, isn’t it?” he asked, shaking his head. At least she could admit it – and Crispin could admit that his clothes looked better on her than they could ever look on him. “They’re somewhat NoMag,” he acknowledged. “Well, muggle. I can’t imagine them made in one of the nicer robes shops.” He smirked as Evelyn’s cheeks went red and ran his hand along his jaw before finishing off his coffee. “Is that so?” he asked, his voice lowering. “You should know that I don’t need threats to take my clothes off.”

Hippo wasn’t used to chickens. Her only socialization came from dogs and people. Evie was mortified the first time she had the dog visit since she made a beeline for the chicken coop and took offense to the spell that kept her from getting near them. The next visit had something similar happen followed by the spaniel staying as close as possible then yipping each time one of the hens got too close. It took some laughter and reassurance from Crispin to convince her it was okay to have her dog in the same space

It was somewhat surprising to Evelyn that she was able to keep her cool when he kissed her hand. She nearly assumed the worst before he arrived and was incredibly pleased it hadn’t come to that. Instead, it came down to their being better defined than before. She was practically beaming the whole time he spoke. “Four I think?” Evelyn shrugged. “The last one was because the color looked good on me.” Well, that and her having washed his scent out of the other ones. “Merlin no,” She laughed and shook her head. “Unless you have pajama bottoms to spare since those might be a bit more appropriate than my wandering your home in one of your button-ups.”

The dog was sweet, Crispin could admit, and even though he preferred bigger dogs, Hippo had wormed her way into his heart. The chickens, however, were another story. He wasn’t sure if the chickens thought Hippo would eat them or if they were amused by the fact that no matter how she tried, she was unable to get as close as she might want. Personally, he found the entire situation entertaining.

Crispin was filled with a contentment that he was unused to feeling around a woman. Most of the time, he felt restless at this type of domesticity. But right here, right now, with Evelyn across from him, Crispin felt that he was where he should be. He chuckled loudly at her comment about his shirts. “Merlin, I’ll need to order them in bulk at this rate.” Crispin took a sip of his coffee before setting it down and running a hand along his jawline. “Who says I like it when you’re appropriate?” he parried, his eyebrow rising. “I think I’ll hide the pajamas for precisely that reason.” His lips twitched at the corners. “It’s not as if there are neighbors for miles – kilometers.”

“Don’t look at me like that, brother. I might not have been in India yet, but I know how to make a curry. A lot of spices and just normal yoghurt of milk will do the trick as well. I’ll make you a curry my way one day. When you least expect it,” Nora said with a smile. She got out the ingredients out of the fridge so she would be able to start cooking soon. It was getting quite late already and her stomach began to protest against it as well.

“A little busier than originally thought? That sounds like you are spending the night over at someone,” Nora pointed out, as she raised her eyebrows. A sign that she definitely wanted to know more about what her brother was getting at. She knew that he was dating at the moment, but was it really that serious that he was actually staying over at their place already? They never really talked about eachothers love lives and that was something Nora was very happy about. She still hadn’t told her sibling that she had been very close to getting married and she was going to keep it that way.

“I have tried so many things already against the feeling that I get, but for some reason they don’t seem to work. Muggles say that having a coke would even work against nausea and that kind of things but even that didn’t work unfortunately,” Nora explained to Crispin. But he was right. If there was ever a problem on a plane, if it would ever go down, she would be able to get out of it with some magic. Maybe she would even try to get some more people out of the plane. Hopefully that scenario would never happen. “Magical cruising ships? So like cruises for only witches and wizards?”

Nora took a last look in the fridge and took out two beers. “You know I’m more of a beer kinda girl anyways.” She uncapped them and pushed one of the bottles towards Crispin.

Crispin merely shrugged his shoulders at his sister’s comment. He was perfectly happy not to discuss curry any longer and he ran his hand along his beard, pulling on the ends. “If you say so,” he told her with a lopsided grin as he leaned against the kitchen island.

Nora’s comment was close to the truth and if he was being honest, Crispin knew he couldn’t hide Evelyn from his sisters forever. He wasn’t certain if he even wanted to hide her, though he knew he wasn’t ready to introduce them all either. “I’ve been spending some time with someone,” he admitted with a smile, his lips curving, though he assumed Nora would find it odd that he said someone, his sister well aware of his inability to find women interesting in the long-term. “Though she’s been staying here most of the time. It’s a bit easier with the animals. Her dog likes to roam the land as well.” While Crispin preferred larger dogs, he’d grown to like Hippo. She was certainly a ball of energy when she wanted to be.

He wrinkled his nose. Crispin disliked soda, always had, even as a child. He much preferred water when he wasn’t drinking beer or bourbon. Even iced tea was preferable, if he was back in America, of course. His lips twitched at her comment and he chuckled. “Yes, that’s the plan. They can go to some fairly exotic locations and from what I read, it seemed like a sound business plan. It’s certainly something the muggles do that you’d think we’d adapt well enough.”

“That I do,” he agreed with a chuckle as he rolled up his sleeves to his elbows and took a long pull of his beer. “It’s why you’re my favorite.” Crispin’s chuckle was good-natured and he let out a breath. “Can I help with anything?”

“Hippo misses taunting your chickens,” She laughed softly. “She has more room to roam where you are than where my apartment is.”

Evelyn’s breath hitched when he spoke. She sat up straighter and bit her lip to keep from grinning too widely or interrupting him. “Neither do I,” Evelyn breathed out. A look of relief washed over when her voice didn’t shake. She couldn’t trust herself with saying very much due to feeling a little overwhelmed by what he said. She was always too emotional as it was. He had somehow managed to take all of her thoughts and sum them up with a few simple sentences.

“I feel lucky then,” She gave him a small smile. “And I couldn’t have put what you said any better myself.” She didn’t like the idea of seeing anyone else or just sticking to the occasional casual fling. “I rather like the idea of us,” Evelyn glanced down at their hands and lightly squeezed his. “And I don’t need a ring yet. I would say a necklace or something as a reminder but I think I have claimed enough of your shirts to not require you gifting me tokens of your love.”

Crispin smiled, genuinely, at the thought of her dog with his chickens. They were very unflappable, but something about the small dog seemed to send the more high-strung hens into a tizzy. “There is that,” he agreed with a shrug of his shoulder, knowing that he had a lot of greenery. One couldn’t see anything but landscape on his property, which was part of the reason he’d asked for it. Crispin took another sip of his drink as he looked over at her, his eyes crinkling at her admission.

He picked up her hand and leaned forward, kissing the palm as she spoke, letting out a breath that turned into a laugh at her comment. Crispin ignored the word, somewhat unintentionally, and kissed her palm again before he leaned back. “How many do you have now?” he asked her curiously. “By my count I’m missing at least three.” His eyebrows raised pointedly, though his gaze was filled with amusement. He was a frugal enough man that ordering some new shirts would certainly not set him back. “Should I start hiding my pants – excuse me, trousers, next?” He grinned.

Her use of profanity could be described as creative at best. She usually avoided cursing altogether unless upset or angered. Crispin hit a nerve that caused her to let loose some of her worst language mixed into a few of her favorite insults. It was usually that or confusing people that infuriated and/or flirted with her with Shakespearean insults.

“I’m sorry,” She sighed even though she already apologized once. “I hope you didn’t take anything personally.” Evelyn trailed her thumb over the back of his hand. His touch kept her calm, leaving her grateful he hadn’t let go when his coffee came. “I missed you.”

“Indeed,” Evelyn nodded. “And neither have I, nor do I intend to see anyone else.” She held her breath after that, gaze settling on his while she waited for him to continue talking. As frightening as the realization was at first, Evie knew what she wanted. It was simply a matter of allowing him to speak before she blurted out that she intended to stick around – assuming that was among the lines of what he wanted.

Crispin shrugged as he lifted his mug to his lips with his free hand, allowing the caffeine and heat to move over his tongue. He could handle insults, especially when he knew they came out of anger and not deep-seated cruelty. Besides, he had overreacted a bit more than he wanted to admit. It was hard enough admitting that he’d grown attached to the blonde and harder still when he’d realized just how much younger than him she was. Merlin, when Robbie found out, he’d likely have a field day.

“I missed you,” he said honestly, simply as he set the cup back on the table and smiled at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he spoke. “So did my chickens.” His lips twitched at the corners at his teasing.

Her comment brought a bit of relief to the man and he nodded as he thought about what to say in response. Crispin did not usually have these conversations with women; he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d even attempted to define a relationship. “I don’t…well it’s been a long time since any woman has held my attention the way you do. I can be fickle sometimes. But I don’t want to be fickle now. Not with you.” He ran his free hand along his jawline, building up courage to articulate what was in his head. “I don’t want this – us – to be casual. I’m not saying I’m going out to buy a ring tomorrow, or even in the next year, but if we’re going to do this, I’d prefer that we’re on the same page about where we hope it ends.”

The feelings of anxiousness melted away when she caught his scent. Being uncertain of how he would behave was what caused her to pull back as fast as she had. The kiss on her forehead was enough to get rid of any lingering worries. Evie spent the days leading up to seeing him steeling herself for the worst since it felt better to prepare for that instead of assuming things would easily go back to normal.

She took hold of his hand and lightly trailed her thumb over his. It was easy to return his smile, the look growing wide the moment she decided it was useless to continue trying to hold it back.

“He thought something was wrong because I ordered a tea and a black coffee,” She gave a soft laugh. “I suppose I am a bit picky when it comes to my beverages so it wasn’t my normal order.” Her eyebrows furrowed together after that, Evie biting her lower lip to keep from laughing. “And I am sorry I called you a –” Come to think of it, Evelyn wasn’t entirely sure of what she called him in the heat of the moment but it certainly hadn’t been polite of her. She made a face. “I don’t even remember what I said but I didn’t mean it.”

Crispin felt any worry he’d had about the meeting wash away as he looked across the table at Evelyn, her blonde hair beautiful in the soft light of the café. He supposed he should care more about the age difference, that he should worry he was much too old for a woman of her caliber. But as Crispin looked over at her, he didn’t think he would be able to simply walk away, not now, not with the smile she was giving him, the glow on her face that he simply relished in.

He shrugged as she mentioned the server thinking something was odd about her order and he merely squeezed her hand lightly. “I don’t remember with, but it wasn’t anything positive,” he pointed out with a laugh. Merlin, she had a good use of profanity when she wanted to and he couldn’t even remember what some of the insults were – just that they were quite scathing.

As the waiter brought his coffee, he smiled and thanked him before taking a long sip of it. “I think we need to define this,” he told the blonde bluntly, his eyes staring into hers. “I haven’t been seeing anyone else since we met and I don’t want to.” He took a breath. “And given the…age difference…I think it’s important we make sure to communicate what we want out of this relationship.”

“There are so many more currys than only those with rice and coconut milk,” Nora disagreed. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to get her brother so far to actually eat a curry that night. There was going to be needing more than just some convincing to make him eat that again.

Nora acted surprised when her brother decided to bring their younger sister into play. “Don’t you dare to tell Bree!” she exclaimed. She shook her head and she chuckled. “To put a charm on the coop? You can easily do it by hand, that is so much more fun than to open up your fridge and there they are?” she pointed out. Sure, she was a witch and so many things were easier with magic. She used it for the boring stuff, like the dishes or the laundry. But there were the little things like getting eggs and cooking that she liked doing by hand most of all.

Nora would pick another topic once she had been settled again. She walked inside the kitchen a bit further and took the glass of water. “I’ll be fine. I just don’t get it; why have I always gotten this affected by Apparating. Hence the fact why I use Muggle airplanes to travel around.” Those things might be a bit more dangerous, but she didn’t have that weird effects because of it. She drank the entire glass of water and put the empty glass down on the counter top.

The young woman pulled the door of the fridge open to see what there was to get cooking with. “How about a… quiche florentine? So egg, spinach, ham and milk?”

Crispin merely raised his eyebrow in response. He’d never even heard of a curry that didn’t have coconut milk, something he could taste even in small amounts. But he said nothing, content to be home rather than argue about what they would be eating that evening - especially considering he would not be the one making it to begin with.

The laugh came easily, honestly, and Crispin shook his head. “It just depends on how busy I get,” he told her honestly. “I like seeing the animals, going to get the eggs on my own, but there are days when I’m a bit busier than I originally thought so it can be a bit more work to come home just to get the eggs.” Though, admittedly, he and Evelyn spent more time at his place than hers. 

He shrugged his shoulder, unsure of why his sister disliked apparition so much. “There’s probably a potion somewhere you could take that might help,” he told her helpfully. “Or ginger root. It’s muggle as can be, but I’ve heard it settles the stomach.” At her comment about airplanes, he merely tilted his head. “Well, you have your wand, so if something goes awry in an airplane, you can easily apparate out. I read about a company in Philadelphia that’s creating magical cruise ships. They’ll start sailing next summer.” 

The thought of a quiche was a good one and he smiled. “Sounds perfect. Do you want anything else to drink? I have beer and there’s wine from the last time I had someone over.”

@cr-notanapple​ 

 As much as she wanted a label on the relationship at first, Evelyn found it downright terrifying to properly place one on her and Crispin now that things had gotten serious between them. They still hadn’t but the argument and week and a half spent distancing herself from him had only resulted in her sulking and realizing she had feelings that were far more serious than she was able to admit.

He was an idiot for not questioning her age right at the start. She felt like one for having assumed it wouldn’t matter since she didn’t expect feelings to come about from merely screwing around with him at first. Regardless, Evie had done as he requested and given Crispin the space he needed. The first week was spent with her phone powered down and her focus shifted to her studies and bothering her brother (and swearing up and down that the feelings she had for Crispin were different than the years spent pining after Evan).

The next came with her phone powered on and her apologizing for having ignored a few friends, the rest of her time spent anxiously hoping he would message her or call. She was stubborn enough to stick to letting him be the one to reach out first. As painful as that was, Evelyn was not about to seem clingy or make a fool out of herself. So when he did, the familiar feeling of butterflies came fluttering about in her chest.

They agreed on a cafe, Evie securing a private booth in the back. She ordered a cup of tea for while she waited and tried to steel herself. Not knowing what was going to come out of their talk was terrifying but it needed to happen and being somewhere public would hopefully keep her from shouting at him. His arrival marked her abandoning the cup of tea and throwing herself at him, arms wrapped around him in a tight embrace before she stepped back and cleared her throat, taking a moment to fix her hair and act as though she hadn’t just done that.

“Mr. Rappaport,” She couldn’t hide the hint of a smile that appeared on the edge of her lips. “I told the waiter you prefer your coffee black but he should be back to check on that.”

The past week or so had been a bit…strange, to say the least. Crispin had been rather busy with work, but he’d felt something missing in the evenings, in the mornings. The absence of Evelyn had shaken him more than he’d thought, but he hated to admit it, hated that he’d allowed himself to become attached to one so young and hated even more that he was berating himself for finally finding a woman he had yet to lose interest in. But even that realization had not been enough for Crispin to let things go. And so he had spent the past few days working himself to the bone as he tried to make sense of his feelings in the evenings.

He had finally taken out his phone, her face beaming up at him from the lock screen, and called her. Once a place and time had been agreed upon, Crispin had felt something strange in his lower abdomen and chalked it up to anticipation.

As he made his way through the café, he saw the golden halo of her hair and his lips quirked as he threw herself into his arms. His eyes closed as he breathed in the familiar scent of Evelyn and his hand on her back tightened, holding her there for a beat longer than necessary. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head before he pulled back to sit down at the table. Relief was etched in his features and he held his hand across the table to intertwine their fingers. “I appreciate that,” he murmured as he looked at her, his smile still wide. “I’m sorry I was an ass,” he began.

“Right,” Evelyn exhaled, unaware that she was even holding her breath. She stepped closer to Crispin and took hold of the chicken, a low laugh escaping once she managed to do so without the bird trying to attack her fingers or fly away on her. A small smile spread across her lips. The look slowly shifted into a wide grin. For once, Evelyn had nothing to say.

Had Antonin been there, she would have claimed the moment was better than meeting Stella in person for the first time. She had never been much of a bird person (or much of an animal person when it came to anything besides dogs) so she was a bit nervous about it.

“It’s gorgeous,” She murmured after a moment of silence. “And softer than I expected.” The next comment was accompanied by a laugh. “You know – You probably would have won me over earlier if you had started off with ‘Do you want to see my cock?’ and shown a picture of the rooster.”

Her face was bright red by that point, Evie glancing down when the chicken shifted in her grasp. “Should I let it go?” She quirked a brow. The idea of merely dropping the bird seemed a bit cruel so she offered it back to Crispin. “I don’t think I ever outright asked, but what drew you to farming?”

Crispin chuckled, his lips eyes crinkling as Evelyn held onto the chicken. It was an interesting sight, though he was drawn in by the smile on her face, the grin that made it clear that she was completely pleased to be doing something so simple [and Crispin also considered it mundane] as holding a chicken. It was clarifying, at least for him, seeing how she could belong here. Here, on his small farm. Here, by his side. It was a strange thought for Crispin Rappaport to have and yet it was not unwelcome.

He didn’t want to ruin the moment so he waited until she spoke again and he laughed at her comment, completely unsurprised. “I don’t think I’d have gotten to keep you if I’d done that,” the words came out quicker than he thought they would, acknowledging, at least to himself that he considered her his. He supposed that meant he was hers, though Crispin didn’t want to consider the semantics of it just yet.

He took the chicken back and set it down, laughing to himself as it moved back among the other ones. “My family has a farm in Maine,” he told her with a smile. “And I’ve just…always loved being outside. I love growing things.” He shrugged. “One day I’ll take over the farm in the States but for now this works, since it lets me work with some of the hardier plants anyway.”

Taking Evelyn’s basket from her, he opened the door so they could get back inside. “Ready for the best omelet of your life?”

“Curry’s are so good,” Nora exclaimed. She loved the more spicy foods anyway. It were those things that she loved the most about the countries that she had visited. The local food - next to the big city experience - was the best.

Nora tried to act as if she was insulted when he said he would not kill a chicken for her. “You know that I would never ask you to kill one of your chickens, I love them!” She was an animal lover in general but again; she loved eating meat too much. But she would never touch Crispin’s chickens to make a meal. Unless they were the last thing in the world able to eat, but that was a very different situation. “We will use the eggs of your precious chickens instead!”

Nora shook her head for a moment. “I think your daily rant about our older brother has happened now right? Time for a different subject.” She agreed with Crispin on the views and disagreed with Robert on it. Her older brothers both knew that but that didn’t mean that talking about it to an extensive was one of her favorite things to do. The young woman scrunched her nose at the news that they had to go and Apparate. She did not like that at all. “See you there.” She watched her brother disappear before getting her own wand out as well. She as well disappeared from the Diagon Alley and appeared within the wards of her brothers farm. She bent over for a moment, regaining her breath. “I just hate Apparating,” she mumbled.”

“They can be, but I hate feeling like I’m always eating soup,” he countered as a hand moved through his curls and he pulled on them. “There’s only so much rice and coconut milk a man can eat.” He was a bit picky, he knew, when it came to his food.

“I’d end up telling Bree on you,” Crispin teased her before he laughed. “I’m sure there are plenty of eggs. That reminds me that I still need to put a charm on the coop. Get the eggs to automatically go into the icebox.” Crispin had been putting off quite a few things about his homestead; he thought doing them made his living in Britain much more permanent than he was willing to make it.

Crispin rolled his eyes but acquiesced. “You can pick the topic then,” he told her with a shake of his head. By the time she had arrived back at his cottage, he handed her a glass of water. “Sorry, forgot,” he said sheepishly with a shrug of his shoulder. “Next time we can floo. I promise.” Crispin had always preferred apparition – it certainly seemed to be the quickest way to get to where he wanted to go and he never could land properly upon flooing, much to his consternation.

He gestured into the kitchen. “There’s plenty of…almost anything. Just don’t make me a curry, Nora.” His lips twitched at the thought.

The look on Crispin’s face made Nora laugh out loud. She gave her brother a soft push. “You know that I’m just messing with you. I love your cooking and I missed it while traveling around the world. Although I have to admit that the food in the other countries wasn’t bed either,” she expressed with a shrug. And despite the fact that the pizzeria in Maine was great and the pizza’s of her brother were as well, nothing beat the real thing in Italy, a country where she had been for a week before going to Vienna.

Nora shrugged shortly at the words of Crispin. “I guess I will have to work with what you have. Let’s just see what you have and then we’ll see what I’m going to make.” Improvising with cooking was something that she didn’t mind to do. It was fun to see what you could come up with when you didn’t have everything available at that moment. “And if you do have meat after all, we’ll be lucky.” She didn’t know how her sister did it. Of course, Nora found it very sad for the many animals that died in the process but she simply loved her meat during dinner too much to stop eating it. She liked it too much to stop it.

The woman shook her head shortly. The Rappaport Legacy. That was something that came with the name and Nora hated it. That Rappaport Law would haunt them forever as it was a big part of history in their country. Her eyes grew a little bit bigger when he mentioned the Original Twelve. “Oh please not. We would not have heard the end of that. Dad would almost begin to think that we were royalty,” she said as she walked out of the building. Once Crispin was outside as well, she locked the door behind them. She scrunched her nose for a moment. “Did you think about Apparating or can we go and take the Floo Network?”

“I know,” he grumbled playfully. He wouldn’t admit it, but it was nice to have Nora closer than she used to be. He’d always been closest with her and there was a comfort in having her near geographically. Crispin had traveled, but not as much as Nora and he tended to be simpler in his food preferences. “A lot of ethnic food around here,” he said with a shrug. “Which is great, but you know I can’t eat curry as much as some of these Brits do.” He made a bit of a face at the thought; he much preferred Japanese or Chinese if he had to eat international food.

“Works for me.” Crispin was not too concerned. There was food and he was sure that whatever Nora made would be good. He laughed. “Yes, though I’m not killing one of the chickens for you,” he warned. While he wasn’t against raising chickens to eat, he didn’t have the amount of time to focus on that. He’d be spending way too much time constantly moving them for grazing.

“Dad?” he scoffed. “I was thinking about how insufferable Robbie would end up being. Compared to him, Dad’s a mouse.” He was exaggerating, of course, though he tended to do so when discussing his older brother. He loved Robert, of course, but the two had never seen eye to eye on the ways of the world. At Nora’s question, Crispin thought for a moment. “Apparating is easiest. We’d have to walk to find a public floo otherwise,” he said with a shrug. “You’re able to come through the wards. Meet you there?” He smirked before whipping out his wand and disapparating with a crack! When he arrived at his cottage, he started a fire in the fireplace with his wand and then ran his hand along his jawline as he waited for his sister.

The one complaint Evelyn ever had about Crispin’s appearance was when he came back from the States with a beard that looked like something worse than a caveman would wear. That had been solved with some minor teasing from her end and was well managed since. She had nothing to complain about when it came to him and had come to hope he had nothing to complain about for her.

It was silly to seem as excited as she was. Silly, yet seemingly reasonable. She didn’t get to see many animals besides dogs, cats, owls, and the magical creatures in the classes back at Hogwarts. Farm animals were something her mother would have scoffed at then shooed her away from while growing up. She had to respect what Crispin did. The most notable thing was her managing to bite her tongue and keep her question asking to a minimum.

Evelyn felt surprisingly at ease with how things went when at Crispin’s. She felt like she could breathe and it wasn’t nearly as overwhelming as Cambridge and London. “Of course,” Evelyn cast him a wicked grin then brought her attention back to the chicken coop. “And I take it the charms keep other animals out?”

She leaned up to steal a kiss from him, eyes widening slightly when she pulled away. “Yes please,” She nodded and took a step back from him. “That is if you’re certain I won’t spook it or end up with it trying to peck at my face –” She paused to laugh. “I would prefer you were the only one to do that last part."  

Crispin idly wondered just how often Evelyn had been around animals. He certainly didn’t think she’d grown up around them the way he had and the thought of her living on a farm was nearing absurd. Still, he liked how she seemed excited to learn more about how he lived and it created a warmth that bloomed in his chest. He tried not to think on it too much and his lips curved upwards at her wicked grin. He knew what that meant and he smirked in anticipation.

He nodded at her question. “Well, ones who aren’t here, yes,” he said. “But most animals are used to chickens, at least farm animals.” He shrugged. Eventually he’d like to have a working farm again, but he planned to go back to America for that; it seemed odd to have one here in England. But the thought of leaving and going back alone was not one he wanted to consider at the moment and he shook the thoughts from his head.

After kissing her back, Crispin chuckled at her wide eyes. “It’s all about how you hold them,” he told her as he picked up a smaller one, holding the chicken tightly so his hands kept its wings down. “Make sure your hands cover the wings,” he instructed as he carefully placed it into her hands. “This one is pretty gentle, so you don’t have to worry about being pecked.” He snorted in amusement.

“A fantastic pizza? You sure you haven’t Apparated secretly in the kitchen to get a pizza from Italy? Or did you get it from that pizza place in that village near our farm?” Nora teased her brother. It had always been like that between the two of them. She had always been one of the boys when she was younger. She had always played along with the boys. It was when her younger sister grew older that she became a little bit more feminine in her ways but in her early years she had definitely been a tomboy.

Nora scrunched her nose as he followed through about the dish that he made last for the both of them. “Come on Cris, if you already hear the words ‘tomatoes’ and ‘peanut butter’ in the same sentence, you should have known it was wrong.” She crossed her arms in front of her. No, that dish definitely hadn’t been a big success. “What if we go over to your place but that I cook this time around? That would only be fair.” She loved to cook but she simply didn’t have the space for it in her small studio in the city centre. Nora loved the kitchen of her brother, it was far more spacious and it made her think about Maine a little.

A quick shrug followed as Crispin started about their brother. She didn’t understand the attraction of politics at all. It was not interesting to her. Despite that she did not understand anything about the new rules that the Ministry was following right now. “It is Robert we are talking about here. He has always been the one to have order.” She pushed close the door to the office to the back and grabbed her bag so she could pull it over her shoulder. “How about we close this store and get out of here?”

Crispin fixed his sister with a look. He knew she was teasing him - she’d always been good at it - but he liked to think that his skills in the kitchen had only grown in the years since they’d been in Maine. “The pizzeria near the farm is amazing,” he agreed with a shrug of his shoulder. “But, no. I’ve learned how to make a good crust and the tomato crop in the greenhouse is always good. It wasn’t too hard after that.” He knew that he cooked the muggle way, but had found that it was something he liked. The process, at any rate, was relaxing to him.

With a shake of his head, he laughed. “You have a point. It was not my finest moment,” he agreed. Crispin was the type of man who liked to try almost anything, though, and he’d hoped that it was a recipe that tasted better when it was finally done. At Nora’s suggestion, he was a bit surprised but supposed he shouldn’t have been. She lived in little more than a crackerjack box, in his opinion. And while his cottage wasn’t what one would call spacious, it was enough room for two people and was well equipped. “That works for me. Is there anything in particular you want to make? I have just about everything produce-wise, but I’m not sure on meat.” While he wasn’t a vegetarian like Bree, Crispin didn’t eat meat everyday. 

“Order,” he said with a snort. “I’ve heard enough about order and ensuring the Rappaport legacy lives on at MACUSA.” Their father’s disinterest in government had not extended to all of his children and Robert had always wanted to make sure that the family legacy didn’t die. “Could you imagine what he’d be like if we were from the Original Twelve?” Crispin made a face. He opened the door and gestured for Nora to lead the way. “After you,” he said with a smile.

It was her older brother who appeared in the shop and even though Nora was a little bit annoyed when she had heard the bell rang, it had completely disappeared at the sight of Crispin. She hadn’t seen him in a long time before she had decided to finally settle down near her siblings again around five months ago. Since then she had seen them again more often, but for the past few weeks it had been scarce.

Nora moved around the counter so she could move closer to her brother. “You taking me out for dinner or going back to your place for dinner? Both offers I can’t really turn down, can I?” she asked him before hugging him shortly after he had pressed a kiss to her cheek. She narrowed her eyes a little for a short moment. “Unless you decide you make me that last dish we had when I came over. That just wasn’t… a great one, let’s say that.”

The young woman moved away from her brother so she could get the last few things done. He probably wouldn’t mind waiting a little for her. “My day was okay. I am just not able to get used to this daily rhythm. I don’t know how you have been able to do so for all these years.”

It was strange, really, that all of his siblings were finally in the same place. If he was being honest, Crispin could admit to himself that he felt slightly at a loss about it - they had not been this close together geographically, all of them, in years, and he felt that he ought to make more of an effort with all of them. Nora, of course, was the easiest as the two of them had always been closer to each other. Perhaps it was their proximity in age, perhaps it was the fact that Robbie was a government hack, or perhaps it was simply because they understood each other more. 

“Whichever you’d prefer,” he responded with a smile as he shrugged his shoulder. “I resent that!” he exclaimed with a laugh. “Bree was over just last week and I made her a fantastic pizza, I’ll have you know.” Crispin shook his head. “It’s not my fault I follow a really awful recipe, though in retrospect, I suppose I should have known that peanut butter and tomatoes did not go well together.”

At her comment, Crispin raised his eyebrows, unsurprised by Nora’s little bout of restlessness. “I don’t do the same thing each day,” he pointed out. “And so long as the plants and the animals are cared for, I don’t have to do the same thing. I like to think I could do whatever I want for the most part. Though I do see your point. Not sure how Robbie handles it with those idiots in the British government anyway.”

She was staring. Unabashedly of course. The pants looked good on him. They would have looked even better on the floor but she wasn’t going to suggest that until after breakfast. Evelyn enjoyed watching him. Her thoughts wandered to a point where she was beginning to question if they would ever reach a time where this sort of morning would become a normal thing. It was foreign to her since the last couple of years was spent swearing she was going to only focus on her own needs with no time or reason to even think of adding another person to the picture. Yet here she was, feeling like she belonged to a more permanent thing in Crispin’s life.

“Can I see the chickens?” Evie’s face lit up once she returned from grabbing cream for her coffee. She knew he had them but the aspect of actually getting to see them in person made her feel far more excited than she should have been. The city simply didn’t have space for people to keep animals besides house cats and dogs. “That would be cool.” She grinned, her words having come out slightly quiet. The whole farming thing was new to her. She admired how Crispin ran the household. Her interest in offering assistance only recently came about. It was a step outside her comfort zone and she was willing to learn about the whole thing. She took the basket and followed, head tilting when he pointed to the plants. Charms and defense against the dark arts were her strengths.

“You know I don’t mind nipping,” She smirked at him, the look faltering when given directions. The nerves were back and she did her best to keep them from showing. Evelyn bent down to grab the peppers, gently tugging them from the vine. The onions followed after then she neared the chicken coop. “How many are there, Cris?” She quirked a brow. “They won’t stop moving. And—“ She paused and offered the basket to him. “Is that enough?” Her gaze hadn’t left the coop though.

Crispin didn’t mind it when Evelyn stared at him. He didn’t work out often, per se, but he did most of the heavy lifting around the small farm the NoMaj way. He’d never had a woman complain about his body before and he certainly didn’t think that Evelyn was going to start now. He took a long sip of his coffee – black – before letting out another breath.

“Of course,” he said, pleased at how excited she seemed about something that was just so trivial to him. Having chickens was simply part of his lifestyle, though he could appreciate how much the blonde was willing to try out the minimalistic way he tended to live his life. He could put on a suit and mingle with the best of them, but Crispin had always been happiest when he was outside, working the land, doing something he felt was productive not only to himself but also to others.

He laughed at her comment, the smirk on her face. She was right – he’d found that she didn’t mind that – and when he responded, his voice was low, a rumbling in his chest. “We’ll have more than enough time for that after we eat,” he pointed out as he put a few potatoes into his basket and moved back to the coop to see just how pleased Evelyn seemed to be by it.  

“There’s a dozen at the moment,” he said. “And one rooster, but he’s usually outside by now.” He indicated an area with his hand. “There are charms to keep them in.” Crispin looked into her basket and nodded. “That’s more than enough. Should make quite a decent breakfast at any rate.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her temple. “Do you want to hold one of them?” he asked softly.