#olivia bones

♣ - a fading memory

The only thing that Edgar could remember his parents ever fighting about was buying a toaster. 

He knew that they’d fought before and he knew that fighting was normal, it didn’t mean that they didn’t love each other, which is why no one in the Bones house ever stayed angry long. They were, by all means, quite peaceful folk, if not somewhat loud at times and a little bit unusual when it came to their family dynamics-- a dad who cooked and cleaned and a mother who didn’t know how to use the laundry machine was far from standard when Edgar was little-- but now and then something would get under his mother’s skin that would start a little whispering argument between the two that would be resolved by the time the kids became aware of it. 

But the toaster was one of those things that Olivia Bones just couldn’t wrap her head around buying. “It’s going to scare the children,” she protested, her voice kept quiet in a whisper as she looked at her husband. Andrew was looking at her in that exasperated but loving way he did when his wife didn’t understand something muggle. “Food popping up out of a big metal box; it’s ridiculous, Andrew. We don’t need one.”

“They’re completely safe,” Andrew said reasonably, though Edgar could see that his father was trying to conceal a smile. They were standing in the middle of the kitchen appliances aisle of a muggle store, Edgar holding his mother’s hand while Andrew balanced Jon in one arm. “You said the same thing about the microwave, but you like that.”

“The microwave doesn’t hurl projectile bread at our children,” Olivia said tersely. “And what if one of them sticks their fingers in it? They could hurt themselves!”

“It’s a toaster, Liv, not a death trap.”

“I wasn’t raised with all of these things!” Olivia snapped back, the frustration rising in her expression. “If you came into my family’s house and saw how things were run there, with all the things we have there to keep the place up and running, you would be baffled too.”

“I already told you that house elves don’t scare me.”

Olivia huffed, clearly agitated, and turned away from Andrew for a moment. Edgar bounced to keep up with her, hand still clutched in hers when she turned. “This isn’t a joke, Andrew,” she said over her shoulder. “It’s not funny.”

Andrew sighed, bouncing Jon so he wouldn’t cry as he reached out and touched Olivia’s shoulder with his other hand. Olivia paused a moment, and Edgar watched her eyes close before she touched Andrew’s hand and turned around. She was taller than him, but he still brushed his thumb against her chin to get her to raise her gaze to meet his. “I’m sorry,” he said earnestly, voice soft. Edgar could see that his father meant it, and looked back and forth from him to his mother with apprehension in his chest. “We don’t need a toaster, you’re right. I just thought it would be nice. We can afford it, and the way I grew up, having a toaster and a fridge and a microwave was a big deal. But we don’t need one.” He held Olivia’s gaze, and she paused a long moment before she sighed, and leaned her head against his shoulder. Andrew put his arm around her waist, and Edgar hugged his father’s leg. 

“Maybe wait a while on the toaster,” Olivia mumbled against Andrew’s shoulder, and he kissed her temple. Edgar could see her lips turn up a fraction in a small, reluctant smile. Andrew kissed her again, and a few small pecks later, the two of them were giggling in the middle of the aisle, Olivia trying to look offended even as she grinned and whispered, “Andrew, you are embarrassing us!” and Andrew pressed several more kisses to his wife’s cheek and nose. Edgar giggled quietly, hand over his mouth to try and stifle the sounds. He knew what came next if they heard him laughing. Like they’d heard the thought, both of them turned down to look at Edgar and grinned at him. Olivia picked Edgar up, and she and Andrew both nuzzled their noses against his face until he was all but squealing with laughter. Jon giggled, pulling on Andrew’s ear, and Andrew blew a raspberry on his younger son’s cheek until Jon was laughing too, and the four of them stood in the middle of the aisle laughing.

Edgar and Olivia Bones (née Belikov) + Death