* EYES / OPEN.

“we should go out.” the door had barely opened fully when he blurted the words. his last few weeks had been- a lot. overflowing with emotional energy and out of character angst. the fight with marlene, a mission to get away, his getting back the day before just to seek marlene out again. and leaving that apartment with acceptance, new resolve to live his life without her in it. fulfilling promises to molly and alastor and everyone who believed in him- to finally grow up and move forward. 

which is what brought him to mary macdonald’s door. the two had always had a connection. their friendship one of the easiest things in his life. and when he laid on his bed the day before, staring at the ceiling, he pondered what this new future could look like. mary’s goading alastor sprang into his mind, her climbing a bridge and yelling at extremists. standing outside her apartment, he grinned fully for the first time in over a week. “we should go out,” he repeated.

@marisolmac​

            several loud, certain knocks from the front door echoed throughout the flat --- typically em or tia would answer the door, but with the two of them off at work, mary was left to fend for herself. so after it went on for a few more moments the dark-haired witch put down the paint brush in her grasp and padded out to the living area of her flat, practically swimming in an oversized paint-stained shirt with various dark shades smudged on her hands. perhaps even mary’s attempts at a ‘quiet night in’ weren’t intended to be that, well, quiet. she pauses to stop the record spinning, a final sharp scratch coming from the player before she opens the door. and then --- we should go out. 

Sara: if a bear and a shark got into a fight who would win

          ‘ MAYBE i’m dull but i think it would actually be really interesting to see what goes on behind the curtain at ollivander’s. all the different wands and sort ? probably really wicked. ’ tia mused out loud as she leaned against the counter, popping a peanut into her mouth.

❝ we don’t even know if it’s a boy yet!! ❞ little outbursts of laughter sputtered from lily’s throat, arms resting on her waist as she playfully scolded her best friend. it was hard to keep a straight face when mary acted so passionately at the topic of the upcoming addition to the potter family, and lily was nothing short of glad the woman was almost as enthusiastic as herself. having mary to confide in during her pregnancy was something lily would forever be grateful for, such support being more than welcomed. ❝ besides, do you really think i’d let my child have an anything-but-awesome name?? ❞ the fake frown that accompanied her words only lasted a few seconds, easily fading as a smile made its way through, crinkling green eyes in a fashion that was characteristic of her whenever around mary. ❝ james and sirius simply insist on calling it elvendork, ❞ ‘it’s unisex!’ she could almost hear her husband and his best friend yell in her ears. ❝ but i suppose it’s safe to say that is not an option. i’ve come up with only a few names myself. daniel, after my dad. thomas, maybe oliver. oooh, how ‘bout han solo potter?! has a ring to it, huh?? ❞

             mary concedes to that with a nod, though a grin blooms as her best friend laughs. “fine, you’re right. but let it be known that i always guessed the gender right when my younger siblings were born!” granted, she only had two and they were identical twins, so that really left her record at one for one. which lily surely was aware of, but mary ran with the claim anyway. she licks the frosting off her finger as the redhead speaks, laughing when she mentions elvendork. “makes it sound like you’re about to give birth to an animated dragon.” mary hops onto a clean section of the kitchen counter while they wait for the oven to count down the minutes until the cupcakes finish baking. “daniel’s cute, oliver is even better. han sure as hell suits any kid of james’. wait --- luke skylar potter for a boy, leia olivia potter for a girl.” she’s only half-joking as she wags her eyebrows at lily. “by the way, all those suggestions were boy names, miss we don’t know what we’re having.”

“and here i thought you liked me…macattack.” he waggled his eyebrows. what a brilliant nickname. “just, tell me one thing, how can i too become a super man?” his eyes sought out the newly elevated girl. tempted to follow her lead just to maintain the height difference- pissing her off. and he laughed, excitement brimming because mary always had the answer he wanted to hear. “now that sounds like a proposition that will end with my maiming.” his hand rubbed the back of his neck. “i think we can both agree i’m too pretty for that sort of violence.”

upon reaching the bridge, he scrabbled up the side the muggle way. all knees and potential scrapes. anchoring himself to the support beam- ready to extend a hand if the smaller girl needed. his hooked legs also ensuring he’d stay put lest she decide to push him in the water. 

          "maybe i’d like you better if you came up with good nicknames,” she teases, shoving lightly at his shoulder. mary then raises a hand to her chin, one finger tapping her lips as she pretends to eye gideon. “you already check some of the superman boxes, but something tells me you aren’t sent from another planet. tragic, truly.” the first wall ends and feeds into another a few inches taller; she doesn’t jump off, simply hops up to the next ledge. “if anyone asks,” mary starts, tone playful, “you brought it up first.” the wall ends completely this time, offering a view of the car lights sparking off the river as they cross the bridge. a galaxy of its own.

          she steps off and drops to land easily on her feet --- and minutes later gideon has reached the ledge above, with mary a few steps behind. it was high enough to provide a new perspective of london, but not so high that they’d be posing a risk to themselves were they to slip. just enough to be interesting. she reaches out to grasp a vertical support, using it as leverage to step onto the slightly-rusted and aged beam next to him. mary feels her heart rush to her throat when she looks down. memories of cliff-diving play somewhere in her mind, reminders of the times she watched her mother leap off an edge as though teasing life and death. her dad always followed moments behind with a howl --- two wolves, teaching their pack of pups to never be afraid.