i'm not looking back

⧼   axel auriant, cis male, he & him   /   season nineteen by greyson chance,

A BOUQUET; nimble fingers tie a cloth ribbon around the stems of daffodils and daisies as you grasp onto the empty promise of new beginnings and then sell them to your next patron; FRESH TEA & COFFEE; in the back patio, there are sprigs of peppermint, dried chamomile flowers and coffea seeds to take home with you and turn into a pipping hot mug of lulling tea or a rich, dark coffee; FIRST CRUSHES; your smile grows as does the racing of your heart, the reddening of your cheeks and the sweat on the palm of your hands as you catch the warm, exuberant gaze of your potion’s partner, a used camera swinging around his neck, when he enters the classroom.   ⧽   ━━   hey, isn’t that KENNETH TROWLER? i read a daily prophet article on them, once ; the TWENTY TWO year old muggle born WIZARD is a GRYFFINDOR alumnus who has gone on to be a FLORIST AT MADAME VERBENA’S FLOWER SHOP. I’ve heard they can be quite KIND & WITTY but i don’t know… they came off very WITHDRAWN & AGITATED in that interview. it really is hard to know what to believe these days though, isn’t it? 

Michael knew exactly what Kenneth meant. He did not need to point out the tiredness of his eyes when Michael could see it for himself. Michael’s gaze softens as he studies the other man, his guard shattering. “Yeah,” he says quietly, the past events playing like a reel inside his head. “Me too.” Michael admits and chooses to leave it at that for both their sakes. 

There was a moment of pause, Michael’s mind working, thoughts turning over and over,  tumbling out in a stream of consciousness. Michael pushed out a breath, forcing himself out of his head and met his friend’s eyes. Kenneth was just an arms reach away and Michael’s fingers twitched at his sides. “Where are you headed?” Michael asks him, voice soft. “Can I walk you?”

dennis felt an instant relief as they stepped outside, it was still crowded, but now that they could move freely and hear one another, he was able to breathe. and he was able to take a sip of his drink, a smile appearing across his face as he turned his attention to kenneth. “thank you for the drink,” he repeated. wanting to make sure his friend heard it. 

dennis had spent a considerable amount of time worrying about this meeting, which wasn’t that unusual. he had even managed to convince himself that he was over his worries, which was unusual. and of course, not true. if anything, he was even more nervous now that he was with kenneth. he just couldn’t figure out why.

“just a bit,” he laughed, gently biting on his lip as he followed the other’s lead. he was surprised to hear that kenneth had a gift for him. but it was a good type of surprise. he took charge, leading them to a more isolated part of the alley. it wasn’t long before he discovered a bench, a small smile appearing across his face as he took a seat.

kenenth followed suit, taking a seat on the bench with a small smile on his lips. 

Reaching out a hand of his own, Arthur shook Kenneth’s hand firmly, his returning grin a reassuring one. “Pleasure, Kenneth. Would introduce myself, but it seems that my reputation precedes me.” The epitome of a dad joke. It suited Arthur well, to be most known as a father rather than a Ministry worker. His children were the legacy that he was most proud of, and between them all, the circle of the younger generation were bound to have run into at least one of them. 

He gestured for the bartender to order their wine, the sherry soon being poured into flute glasses, and he held up one as if to give a toast. “Did you take Sybill’s class during your time at Hogwarts? I believe she would’ve been THRILLED to see the turnout amongst her former students.” 

He had half-expected the audience, particularly at the lock-in, to only consist of older adults, of Order members, but he’s pleased by the number of younger people who chose to come pay respects to Sybill, not so naïve as to be unaware of the general consensus students had of Divination as a subject.

He’s been running into people a lot lately, now that Michael thinks about it. It’s a symptom of being too distracted. Between breathes, Michael laughs, hands on his hips as he tries to breathe evenly and get the stitch out of his side. The surprise and immediate relief on Kenneth’s face was enough to convince Michael he nearly scared him half to death. 

“Sorry,” he says, taking a moment and feeling guilty. Michael straightens then, heaving out a sigh. “I wasn’t paying enough attention… but I think the question is are you alright? Didn’t mean to scare you let alone try and knock you out.” 

kenneth managed a weak smile and shook his head almost dismissively. he practically shoved his headphones into his pockets while his other hand fumbled to fix his hair a little and take some time to recover from his clearly disheveled state.  “you’re fine,” kenneth reassured michael with a tired laugh, finally turning his body full towards michael. “i’ve just been a little more on edge since...you know.”

He had to get out of his head. 

After the events of the spring festival, the attacks had left a bad taste in Michael’s mouth. It felt all too familiar, and he knew that this was just the beginning. Something was coming and once again Michael will have to join the fight whether he wanted to or not. It was enough to set him on edge and to rid himself of the crawling sensation underneath his skin, he ran. 

Diagon Alley had become his home, and now it was tainted by blood and destruction. He felt it, sprinting past boarded up shops, glass crunching under his feet as he went. Michael could not escape the war the first time despite how badly he wanted to, and he would have to be forced to meet it again. 

As he rounded a corner, he collided with a body, knocking hard into them. “Bloody hell!” Michael exclaimed, trying to catch his breath. It took him a moment to recognize the person in front of him, Michael blinking at him. “Kenneth?”

an unexpected body slamming into kenneth while he so very on edge definitely caused his heart rate to spiral up significantly. it also caused his headphones to fly out of his ears. his tom petty.

“fuck!” kenneth nearly yelped as he stumbled forward from the impact. as he perpetually expected the worst case scenarios, a hand flew the jacket pocket that held his wand. it was what happened when he was perpetually on flight or fight mode. though once kenneth registered the figure that had ran into into, his body relaxed fractionally. he was considerably relieved. it was michael corner. not a dementor. 

“thank you,” dennis smiled, raising his voice in order to be heard over the crowd. yet another reason why he was anxious to escape the crowd, he’d never been a fan of having to yell in order to converse. though, just being with kenneth eased his nerves considerably, he still looked forward to stepping into the fresh air.

“outside would be lovely,” he responded with a nod as he reached to pick up the pint glass, briefly pausing to take a generous sip from the beer. “i’d love some fresh air,” he continued, as he moved towards the door, waiting to make sure kenneth was following before he stepped outside. “much better!” he exclaimed, a small laugh escaping from his lips as he turned towards his friend. 

“definitely,” kenneth agreed with a small smile, his eyes flickering away from dennis for a moment to take in the scene around them. there were still a lot of people roaming outside, loud laughter and the distinct noise of beer glasses clinking -- but with far more breathing space. normally, he would be fine with the leaky cauldron but it was truly packed to the brim during this spring festival.

“i have heard of it.” diana pouted slightly, wondering why she’d never seen him there. or maybe she had and just hadn’t noticed. she wasn’t completely … not out of it sometimes. “i don’t happen to go in there too often, but i suppose i could always change that.” she chuckled slightly, nipping at her bottom lip before she waved the bartender over and told him to surprise her with whatever he felt like making.

“have you ever considered like — you know? a small booklet with all the flowers and such from madame verbena’s? that would probably be pretty interesting, and exciting.” she raised her eyebrow ever so slightly, actually interested in what his response would be. she could only hope her interest in talking to him wasn’t unwelcomed, though she hoped he’d be honest enough to say as opposed to be pretending he wanted conversation. 

“what? like a small catalog?” kenneth asked diana with a perked brow. there was a small pause and then he straightened and laughed a little. he shook his head. “no, but i would love that,” kenneth admitted with a sheepish smile. “i just definitely think that these sketches are not nearly good enough to present to the verbena customer base. particularly, for mrs madame verbena, herself.” 

“So many flowers,” Rolf mumbled, trying to picture how many greenhouses would be needed in order to meet the supply needed for the spring festival. Seemed like they would need a couple fields’ worth, at least. “I was going to stop by earlier and make myself a crown, but it was pretty crowded, so I decided I’d swing by another time.” He was adjusting to swarms of people, better at coping than he’s ever been, but he still was an introvert who needed to recharge every now and then. 

That’s why he liked the Leaky Cauldron and pubs that were similar to it. He didn’t have to talk unless he wanted to and could instead listen and observe, chiming in when he deemed the conversation worthy. Kenneth’s a familiar presence by now, so he’s comfortable keeping the discussion alive. “Have you been able to do anything else between breaks?” 

“i’ve seen the colorful baby lambs,” kenneth mused with a click of his tongue, not looking particularly ecstatic about that fact. 

kenneth wasn’t widely informed on animal and magical creature rights -- not in the same way that rolf was. he did carry a fair share of knowledge of only the creatures that took shelter in the back garden of madame verbena’s, like the fairies and the bowtruckles. though he only really learned the official ministry of magic policies for their protection through a conversation with rolf at the shop. 

“mhm, diana.” she nodded, making sure getting a glance at his work didn’t go to waste. “you are? good choice.” she nodded again, moving so she wasn’t in his space anymore. she’d almost decided on botany herself, but ended up moving towards potions instead. she’d ended up meeting her fiancé — well — ex fiancée – in potions class. “do you only draw flowers? or do you dabble in other things as well?” she gave him a soft genuine smile, curiosity getting the best of her. she finished her drink, wondering if it’ll look bad on her part if she ordered another.