go & come & go

Here we go again, Terry thought as he entered the bar. The familiar scent of potions and plants filled his lungs, which calmed him a bit, even if his heart still stubbornly beat too quickly. As nervous as he was, he didn’t think drinking would be a good idea, yet he wasn’t sure he’d be able to go without ordering something. If he could have avoided the bar that would have been best, but in his experience most people looking for a date sat down there. So Terry made his way over.

“it depends --” theo smirked at the man, “are you mister hardworking and genuine?”  they teased, gesturing for them to sit. they took in the other, who looked a bit familiar, though, truthfully, that was a moot point. theo struggled with placing faces to names, and this was no difference in this case.theo had mostly kept to themselves in school, for all intents and purposes, a self proclaimed loner of sorts.

“Oh,” Rose replied and bit her lip. “I suppose that would make it a bit more stressful.”

“most of the time. fridays are the days st. mungo comes to pick up their deliveries, so we get extra busy, then, but otherwise, not really.”

“Oh. Well that must be nice as well, to not feel stressed at work?”

Luna squinted right back. “How long do you think it takes to research an article, write it, edit it, have others read it, edit it again, do research again just to make sure everything is right, and then print it?”

Rose sat down on the side of the counter and waited for them to be ready. It felt a little strange, waiting for someone she barely knew, but she decided that she should just let her worries go this time. Instead she watched as they moved around in the store. “Do you usually have it this quiet?” she asked after a few minutes.

“most of the time. fridays are the days st. mungo comes to pick up their deliveries, so we get extra busy, then, but otherwise, not really.”

“Okay,” she shrugged. She’d never seen the back of a potion distributor’s shop, so she hastened to follow him. “Is there anything here that would kill me if I touched it? That sounds exciting.”

“no-- but there are potions in here that take months to make.” he said, narrowing his eyes, “something i cannot expect you to understand.”

Rose immediately felt sympathy for them. “I try not to judge,” she said honestly. “With everything you read… It’s easy to make up your mind before you get to know people.”

theo shook his head, “please, i don’t blame you.” they promised, moving to finish the last of their stuff before his shift replacement came in.

Rose blushed heavily at being caught and shook her head quickly. “Sorry,” she said with a grimace. “I didn’t mean anything by it.” She was surprised when they suggested they’d go eat together. “Short work hours?” she said with a small smile, daring herself to make a joke. “Sure, we can eat.”

“short ones today, anyway.” they smiled, before offering a laugh,  “my name scares most off.” they admitted.

Rose raised her eyebrows in slight surprise at their name. She had been too young to be fully involved in the war, but she new names of people who had been. To be fair, everyone did. “Well,” she said and made a split decision. “Nice to meet you Theo.” She smiled and held out her hand, before realising it was probably considered weird.

theo took her hand. their eyes amused, “i know--it’s the name isn’t it?” theo joked, dryly. “if you’d like -- we could grab something to eat? i get off shortly.” they suggested.

“I… will keep that in mind.” Rose blushed slightly at their smirk and accepted the potion. “I think so,” she continued at their question. “Are there any restrictions or specific guidelines for this potion?”