#drabble response

Lily leaned against the doorframe to the kitchen, staring at it where it sat on the sitting room floor. It hadn’t been there earlier—of that she was sure—and James and Harry had been gone for a few hours now. She couldn’t explain it, and that only meant one thing. 

Lily did not trust the cauliflower sitting on the floor. 

She knew better, at this point, than to think that something so strange and random was just an accident. No, she had known her husband and his ridiculous friends for far too long to merely accept the vegetable on her carpet. So, in order to not fall prey to their prank, she ignored it. 

***

James pretended he didn’t see it. Lily seemed to not be able to see it, or maybe she just didn’t care about it? Either way, it seemed to be that the thing to do was to pretend there was not a large cruciferous vegetable on their floor. She was probably up to something–that devilish, tricky wife of his, so he just acted like it didn’t exist. 

***

“Do you see it?”

Sirius whispered it in Remus’s ear as they sipped the glasses of wine that Lily pressed in their hands. She walked right by the cauliflower on the floor, and Sirius couldn’t ignore it anymore. 

“What?” Remus looked around for a moment before spotting it, and he nearly jumped when he did. Sirius rolled his eyes. “Oh, I didn’t even notice.” 

“It’s been there the whole time we’ve been here.” Sirius glanced nervously at the kitchen. “Do you think it’s going to explode or something?”

“Nah, definitely not.” Remus looked at it. “I think not. They wouldn’t make it explode, right? Harry crawls around all over here. They wouldn’t risk it.” 

“Maybe they charmed it to only explode for us.” Sirius looked at it nervously again. “Should we do something about it?”

Remus vehemently shook his head. “Let’s just act like we can’t tell. Best way to foil a prank is to pretend it isn’t happening.” 

***

They all sat down to dinner, which of course was topped off with roasted cauliflower. Lily watched each of them suspiciously as they took their serving. James pretended like it was no big deal. Sirius prodded it nervously while trying to prepare himself to dive if it did explode. Remus took a scoop, not even remotely concerned about the cauliflower in the living room. 

Lily finally threw her fork down. “Oh, come on. Will you all just give it up already?” 

They all looked at her in surprise. Remus spoke up first. “Give what up?”

“The prank!” She stood up and walked toward the sitting room. “The fucking cauliflower. It’s been driving me crazy all day. Why is there a cauliflower in my sitting room?”

James looked back at her blankly. “I thought you put it there.” 

Lily looked at him in confusion. “You thought I just left a cauliflower in there?”

James shrugged. “I didn’t do it, and you didn’t mention it.” 

Lily turned to Remus and Sirius. “Did you two do this?”

“Hold on, you mean it’s not going to explode?” Sirius asked, fork with a skewered cauliflower still in hand.

Lily looked at him sternly. “You charmed it to explode? But Harry crawls around here!” 

“That’s what I said!” Remus took another bite. “But we didn’t charm it. We thought you did.” 

She looked between the three of them. “You all thought I did this?” They shrugged and nodded. “Why, exactly, would I?”

James stood up, moving to where he could see the cauliflower again. “If you didn’t, then who did?”

Remus and Sirius joined them in the sitting room, and the four of them stood around the vegetable. No one was willing to touch it. 

“Peter, maybe?” Remus asked. “It does seem like a Peter prank.” 

“Are you sure you didn’t just drop one when you brought in groceries?” James asked. 

“Are we sure it does anything?” Sirius asked

Lily scoffed. “It can’t just be here for no reason. It must do something.” 

Just then, Harry came out of his bedroom, rubbing his sleepy eyes. He walked right between the legs of all the adults, picked up the cauliflower, and walked back toward his room. 

“Harry!” James cried. “What are you doing?”

“My caw-flower.” Harry pat it with his chubby little hand.

“Yours, my love?” Lily asked, her voice now soft. 

“Mine!” 

“Buddy.” Sirius squatted in front of him. “Did you leave it there?”

Harry nodded. “Uh-huh!”

“But, why?”

“It napping.” Harry pat it again. “Now bedtime. Go sleep.” 

The four of them stood there and watched Harry toddle back to his room. 

James cleared his throat. “We’re all going to pretend like we didn’t get pranked by a baby, right?”

Prompt 3: Letting them lay your head in their lap while they play with your hair. Brin and Imra.

---

Therapy was a word Brin had trouble with. His entire life the term had elicited memories of syringes, of electric shocks and foul medicines.

Therapy was now something else but yet the memories remained. That was partially why he was here in the first place, in what the Legion called the quiet room.

Soft furnishes and recliners, a couch pit where Imra sat ready, waving him over with a soft smile.

As the Legion's on-board psychic, Imra was the most experienced in dealing with others' baggage; she had taken courses to better her own skills in therapy.

The kind that helped rather than hurt. Brin joined her, circling around her a few times before sighing as he fell to his side, head in her lap as he breathed slowly.

She had encouraged him to not repress his instincts entirely, accepting the parts of himself he couldn't change and focusing on the things he most wanted to improve on.

His anger issues, his nightmares that threatened the control he had over the beast within.

'Clear your mind. I can hear you over-thinking already.' Imra teased with the friendly nature he had come to expect from the Legion.

He'd never had friends like this before. Vague memories of rough friend groups back on Zoon and then solitude on Rawl.

He preferred this by a long shot.

'There we go. Now, steady yourself.' She instructed, placing the fingertips of her left hand to her temple while the right were placed on his.

Immediately flashes of memory threatened to overwhelm him. He saw his mother clearer than he had in years, he re-lived the time he raised a chick to adulthood and set it free, how jealous he had been but also relieved.

"You kept that chick safe from your fathers experiments, you gave it a chance at life."

"I've taken too." 

Memories of killing for food, the murderous blood lust directed at his father. It made his inner beast roar out. 

"You did what you needed to survive and in the end you chose mercy, a choice not many would make." 

Imra's voice cut through the cacophony of anger, turning the roiling memories into a gentle pond. He picked out memories he thought she might like.

Showed her the flower grove he would sleep in before it was discovered, an old mine on Zoon that had graffiti that glowed in the dark.

She took it all in, thanking him for showing her. Belatedly he realised her fingers were stroking over his head, petting him like a cat and he purred, melting into the feeling as she helped put the broken pieces of his psyche in order.

"Are you having trouble with your form?"

"I have nightmares and wake up transformed but I'm in control." 

"That's wonderful, Brin. You know we would never expect you to use it in battle."

"I know. But if I can protect my friends with it then I feel like it's worth it… Makes me feel like less of a monster."

"One day you'll see what I see."

"And what do you see?" 

She showed him, taking him from his mind to hers, showing her the memories she had of that first encounter, the fear turning into thanks, the horror that she shared at his revelations of his father.

She had been angry, furious.

"How could he?" She repeated and Brin moved to nuzzle against her lap.

"You were angry for me…"

"I still am, my friend" she assured him, taking him to happier memories, Brin cooking for the bake sale, playing video games with Chuck.

It was strange to see himself but validating to see that the word monster never came up in her mind at seeing him.

But she could tell he was thinking about something, she step around the counter and made her way over. Hoping up to sit on the cushion bench set up in the bay window. 

“Okay spill.”

Richard flicked his eyes down to her and raised an eyebrow a moment. 

“Whats on your the oh so benevolent gods mind that has him in such a sour mood.” She smiled up at him of course having to take a shot at his ego. She was the only one who did. 

Richard mulled it over a moment then sighed, maybe it be good to talk to her. He took a seat next to her and tip his head back able to feel the cold from the outside coming from the window. “Bailey mentioned moving in together.” 

Valiere’s interest was peeked now, she kind of understood the reason behind how he was actting. Richard never dated anyone really, he was a bachelor for life he mentioned to her once. Then after meeting Bailey he changed took forever but they finally started to date and everything seemed to be going well.  This was a big step it kind of excited her to hear they were getting more serious. She adored Bailey he was fun and they razzed Richard together when he came over. She approved of him for Richard so hearing things were moving like this was good. But a second looked towards Richard had her wondering a bit about why that had him like this. 

“So is that a bad thing?” She pressed, crossing her legs to get comfortable 

Richard rolled his head over to look at the robin. He looked unsure how to answer, eyes moving around as he thought, slow loosening his hold on his arms as he dropped them to his sides. “I don’t think so?” 

Val looked at him a moment, “Are you scared?”

“Terrified.” Richard confessed, it was easy to tell her these things. He turned his head to look back up at the celling. “I’ve never be so scared in my whole life, i’m pretty sure when I left I told him I had to shower the dog?”

Valiere tried not to laugh but she failed Richard couldn’t blame her, he had no idea what that was about himself. But after her snicker clamed down she looked back at the golden eagle. He never done anything like this before so of course he was scared. Never even used to have partners over at his place until Bailey. She knew he loved Bailey, and that Bailey loved him. Heck she knew it before they knew it they were so painfully obvious about it too. She shifted a bit turned towards him getting an idea. As she held up her hands. 

“Look left is for the cons, right is for the pros. So five each. Just list as it comes to mind. State if its a pro or a con of course, and which ever you hit five for first means if you’re ready or not deal?” She smiled after explained. Richard looked back to her after giving her childish answer. “Don’t be a prick do you wanna have to buy a dog to cover you’re dumb lie?” 

Richard just shrugged and sat up looking at her hands a moment.  tapping her left thumb first, this was her usual way of helping Richard. “Well I wouldn’t have privacy any more, unless coming here for one.” he tapped her left pointer finger next “I’d never have a peaceful morning again, since Bailey is always wanting my attention” Left middle finger got tapped next “He be able to annoy me any time he wants.” 

Val looked at her hands moment, worried because of how he was breezing through the cons ready to tap the next finger on her left, before stopping. he moved and tapped her right thumb instead. 

“I get to wake up to seeing him first thing. And I like that.” Richard smiled “He whimpers in his sleep sometimes and just cuddles into me.” He tapped her left finger “I can keep a better eye on him, to make sure hes taking better care of himself...he really needs to be kinder to himself.” tapped her right middle finger next “I can have more of those nice moments with him like when he feels the urge to come up and hug me from behind. I like that a lot too, how nice and loved a touch from him makes me feel.” He tapped the next finger on her right hand “Going home being the same place as Bailey sounds..really nice.” He tapped her right pinky next “I love him.”

Val just smiled and held up her right hand to show him what he knew and he just smiled. “Okay, okay maybe i’m not against it then” He glanced back out the window behind them. “I really do care about him and as scary as this can be...being with him makes it better. I mean we spend a lot of time together already. over at my place or his, there times we stay a couples days at the others. And thats always been fun.”

“I don’t wanna hear about your kinky sex times.”

Richard just chuckled “That wasn’t what I meant. It just feels nice being domestic with Bails. Stupid little dances with him, how he plops himself into my lap when Im trying to work from home. How he sits on the counter well I cook...I can’t trust him to cook or be alone in the kitchen anymore.” He interrupted with a moment “Just looks so happy when we get comfortable on the couch together. the way he cuddles up against me, coos my name in the adorable tone flutters his eyes up at me.” Richard smiled a big stupid grin on his beak thinking of Bailey. “How he worries about my work habits, ironic since he claims im the one to nag...though he’s right I do.” Yeah richard enjoy the sex and such but it was that stuff he liked with Bailey too. the playful bricking in the morning, the teaseing when he caught Richard praising himself in the mirror. Richard grew quite a moment 

“I love him so damn much Val, I want to stay with him as long as is allowed.” 

Valiere tilted her head at that “Allowed?” she asked 

He nodded a bit looking back at her again. “I mean sure this is coming up but how long till I chase him off you know? How long till he gets tried of me? how till he changes his mind and gains his senses?” 

Valiere just placed her hand on his shoulder and he sighed a bit. She never realized how much he really was in love. to a point he expected it to end even. “Has Bailey ever done anything to show that could happen?”

Richard shook his head “no...he kind of takes me as I am. Hes seen parts of me I try to hide and just.” He sighs again “God Bailey is amazing to me in truth. I’m so lucky that the person I fell for was Bailey. Hes a mess but he gets me. He makes me laugh so easily. Hes my favorite person in the world...the love of my life. I honestly can see us together long term even. I think hes honestly the one for me even. When were together it feels right. Yeah he annoys the hell out of me and he is a utter brat...but I don’t hate it. He makes me want to be a better person..someone worth being with him you know?” He just smiled gently to himself. “I more than love that idiot of mine, I adore him. I care for him...god he worries me sometimes.”

Val just nodded she understood why but it was cute how Richard got worried over the rooster. 

“I guess yeah I’m scared but if it’s Bailey I can do it?” 

She smiled and held her hand up in a fist, he smiled back and did the same. Gently bumming his fist against hers. Their little thing to say I got this, and I got you too. He leaned back against the window he felt a bit more laxed now if it got brought up again he could actually talk it over with Bailey now. 

“I still wasn’t sulking.” He added in 

“Pft yeah sure okay drama king. Oh im sorry should that be God of Drama? since you are a god on the earth gracing the mortals with your exsitence” Valier said in turn. 

“yes you should” Richard responded back with