Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Forever and Always	By : cls2256 Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > Het - Male/Female Views: 6832 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter or any of its characters or details, nor do I make any money from this fanfic.

Chapter List
- 40
- 41
- 42
Mia and Tonks stood in front of the Wizarding Library of London in Diagon Alley and admired its architecture. It was an exquisite pink marble building with pillars, two gold lions perched on either side of the front staircase, and had neatly trimmed bushes surrounding the entire building, for which Mia assumed a team of house elves worked around the clock to keep the landscaping in tip top shape. The gold lions sat still on their perches, moving their heads to watch patrons walking up and down the library’s staircase.
Mia took Tonks’s hand as they trotted (Tonks more so waddled) up the staircase to a set of large oak doors, feeling thankful that she had agreed to come with her to the library when they got off work. She felt much safer than she thought she would with Tonks by her side, but she still found herself looking over her shoulder as they had walked the cobblestone roads. Could a pregnant woman really help defend her if need be? She felt a twinge of pain in her arm as she opened the heavy door, it still bothering her from where Dolohov had fractured it. She had been wondering if the Healers at St. Mungo’s had made a mistake while repairing it— maybe a trainee Healer who wasn’t thorough.
“Blimey, look at all these books!” Tonks exclaimed as they stepped inside the library.
Pink marble floors stretched to the back of the library as rows and rows of bookshelves seemed to continue on for miles. The bookshelves were stacked 2 stories high, and oak bookshelf ladders moving by themselves periodically just like the Hogwarts staircases did. Mia wasn’t sure where to begin, so she drug Tonks along to a large desk in the middle of the library. A near-ancient witch wearing thin rectangular spectacles sat behind the sprawling oak counter, scribbling onto a thick notebook. Her gray hair was pulled tightly into a bun, her hairs pulling so tight it gave the witch an unattractive facelift.
“Can I help you?” the librarian said, her voice monotone and bored.
“Hi, I’m looking for your section on wandless magic” Mia said politely.
The librarian looked up from her parchment and peered over her rectangle spectacles, eyeing Mia up and down before glowering at Tonks’s vibrant orange hair.
“Bookshelf 53, section D.” she said, returning back to her parchment.
“Thank you!” Mia softly, and hustled to the shelves behind her.
“Mia!” Tonks whispered, a mischievous smile sweeping across her face “I’ve got a fanged frisbee in my bag…”
“No!” Mia hissed, giggling “I remember hearing about your love for pranking Madam Pince, but I really really need these books— don’t get me kicked out”
Section D of bookshelf 53 was thankfully near the ground, making access to the books easy. Mia began pulling book after book and stacking them on the floor, pulling anything that looked relevant. She found herself with a stack of ten books, ranging in thickness from an inch to at least six.
“Locomotor” Mia said, pointing her wand at the tower of books.
“How many are you getting??” Tonks asked, crinkling her nose
“Seeing as how Remus doesn’t want me venturing places alone for a bit, I figured I should get as many as I can so we don’t have to keep coming back”
The stack followed them as they made their way to the librarian’s desk to check out. Mia’s eye caught a sign to her right on one of the bookshelves, reading ‘Bookshelf 35, Advanced charms including but not limited to: Protean, Patronus, Protego.
She slipped into the row, the word patronus piquing her interest. Everyone always commented how curious it was that she and Remus shared the same corporeal patronus, but something always distracted her when she tried to ask why this was. Was it not common to have the same patronus as someone close?
“Oi, what’re you getting now??” Tonks said, a little too loudly, receiving shushes from the stern librarian.
Mia scanned the shelf, coming upon a book titled Corporeal Patronuses: a look at guides and their purpose. Mia shrugged and pursed her lips, pulling the book from its place on the shelf and placing it at the top of the stack.
“I’m done, I promise” She chuckled to Tonks.
She trotted back to the librarian’s desk as her stack of books followed her like an obedient dog walking next to its owner. The librarian peered at Mia’s stack with curiosity and annoyance.
“You want to check out all of these?” She said with a slight sneer.
Mia fought an eye roll as she guided the tall stack to settle itself on the librarian’s desk. Tonks, who was a few shelves behind her still, kicked one of the library table chairs accidentally. She swore loudly, making the librarian glare even more intensely at her.
“Sorry!” Tonks whisper-yelled, holding a hand up apologetically.
Mia couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head at her. The librarian looked back to Mia and drummed her fingers on the desk in annoyance.
“Yes ma’am, sorry— all of them, please.”
As the weekend rolled in, everyone’s evenings seemed much more exciting than Mia’s. Penelope was off with Eric for her truth or dare date (and not thrilled about it due to her facial expression leaving the flat), and Remus was off patrolling Hogwarts for Dumbledore again, irritating Mia to her wit’s end that she wasn’t called upon as well. She had offered to join him, but he insisted she stay home, that Susan wanted to spend some quality time with her. There wasn’t anything wrong with spending time with her mother, but she found it strange that she and her mother cooped themselves up in her flat (going through her library books), rather than go shopping or to the theater like Mia had suggested. One little incident in Diagon Alley, and she felt that Remus was hiring babysitters for her.
She was irritated that since her father died— hell, since Sirius died, she hadn’t been trusted to do any tasks for the Order. She understood how Sirius felt, trapped inside 12 Grimmauld place and feeling utterly worthless. She knew Remus was trying to keep her safe, but she wanted to be useful.
She felt like she was being treated like a fragile piece of glass, ready to break at any moment if handled incorrectly. She wanted more to focus on than just her mind-numbing internship at the Ministry and her part time gig at the Clearwater’s wine and cheese shop. She needed the excitement that the Order of the Phoenix gave her, the thrill of being on the right side of the war, the pride it gave her to say she fought alongside the great Albus Dumbledore in the fight against Voldemort.
The vodka in her earl grey made her question if she was— indeed— fragile. She found comfort in the bottom of a liquor bottle rather than share her feelings openly. She found herself slipping more and more shots of hard liquor into her coffee, tea and hot cocoa— albeit promising she wouldn’t keep doing it, let alone hiding it as she did. Remus had gotten angry with her when he caught her sneaking rum into her tea the previous night, trying to inconspicuously splash a bit into her mug.
“What the hell are you doing?” he had growled in her ear, grasping her wrist tightly to prevent her from pouring. “I’m over a foot taller than you, I can see right over your head— you promised me you wouldn’t hide this anymore”
She had felt ashamed. Ashamed for one, that she promised she wouldn’t hide it but did anyway, and two, because she felt like she needed a drink just to get her through her evenings. His bruising grip on her wrist might as well have been a slap in the face; her promise she’d made in St. Mungo’s that she would be better was broken by a simple, stupid lie. Everyone had told her if she would like a drink, fine, but don’t hide it. So why did she still feel the need to sneak?
She thought back to this time one year previous; life seemed to have made sense back then. Her father was finally living in the same country as her after years of being apart. Nights under the invisibility cloak with Tonks, snacking on pumpkin pasties and hearing her Auror stories whilst guarding the Department of Mysteries had given her drive and ambition to follow her dream career. She had Sirius; her best friend, someone she considered more as family than simply friends. She felt a sense of belonging, serving alongside Remus and the others, being a trusted member of the resistance.
Now, everything was different. Her father was dead. Sirius was dead. Both murdered by Death Eaters that laughed as they watched the light leave both of their eyes. She had blown off applying for her dream career in the thwarts of her depression, leaving her to be Delphinus Gamal’s errand girl and paper pusher rather than an Auror in training, learning skills on how to take down dark wizards. She also didn’t feel like a trusted member of the resistance anymore, just a sad girl with a dead friend and a dead father. She was certain Remus had asked Dumbledore not to call on Mia for Hogwarts patrol in his absences, as she found it strange that it seemed like everyone except Tonks and she were on rotation to guard the school when the Headmaster needed to step away. Tonks was pregnant, a reasonable excuse— but why not her?
Curled up in the armchair, sitting up to her elbows in books, Mia felt like her eyes were weighed down with sandbags as her focus was on events of the past year, rather than the research in front of her. The books on wandless magic had been so far unhelpful— none could tell her why her palms were reacting to stressful situations with tingling and zapping. She huffed, slamming the book in her lap shut and rubbing her face vigorously.
“These books are a dead end!” she groaned.
“Not necessarily— you practically checked out the entire library, I’m sure there is some tidbit in here…”
“There’s nothing!” Mia grumbled “I’ve combed these books; the only explanation I can think of is that I am losing control”
“You are far too old to be…”
“I KNOW!” Mia snapped, grabbing at her hair in frustration
“Could you not bite my head off, please?” Susan asked irritably
“Sorry” Mia grumbled
Susan took a quick breath, forcing a smile. “Why don’t we take a break? You hungry?— I can make something …”
“I’m not hungry”
“Sweetheart…”
“MUM! You’re being overbearing!”
Susan crossed her arms and pursed her lips “You’re going to need some food if you plan to soak up that vodka you snuck into your tea” she said contemptuously
Mia froze, eyeing her mother out of the corner of her eye.
“How did you know I had liquor in here…?” she said slowly
“Because I can smell it— you poured nearly half the bottle in your cup” Susan said “By the way, bourbon pairs much better with earl grey than vodka does, trust me”
Mia sniffed her tea and bit her lip timidly as she set it on the end table next to her.
“I’m sorry” she whispered
“I boozed my tea for years after I send you and your father to America—” Susan sighed “you really are my daughter” she added with a sad shrug.
“How do you do it?”
“Booze my tea??”
“No— maintain such a calm exterior while dealing with all of this bullshit?” Mia asked “I know you struggle when you are alone, but you handle this all much better than me”
“I’ve been on this earth many more years than you, I’ve had practice.”
“I try to keep it in and look like I have it together, but Helen says it’s actually healthy to talk about my feelings”
“Helen is a psychotherapist who is paid to listen to people’s mundane ramblings; of course she wants you to talk about your feelings” Susan said with a satirical snicker.
“I feel better when I do though— when I talk things out. It helps lift the weight off my chest”
Then quit boozing your fucking tea and talk, stupid her conscience berated her.
Susan sighed, shifting to sit closer. “Sweetheart, you don’t have to keep it bottled up inside, I don’t know where you got this idea that you had to…”
“From you, Mum!” she hissed, feeling a whip of rage inside her. “From you! ‘Byrne women are strong! We don’t crumble under pressure! We keep our chin up!”
“And all those things are true!” Susan exclaimed “But that doesn’t mean hold it in until the dam breaks! Letting it out every once in a while will keep you from crumbling under pressure”
“And when was it ever ok for me to let it out?” she snapped “I couldn’t ever talk to you— anytime I tried as a kid or teenager you told me to quit crying and to buck up. After Miranda died, you told me to wipe my tears—that life had to go on”
“You had shut down completely! You were acting like a child, starving yourself and letting your grades slip— you needed to pull your bootstraps up and persevere”
“I was a child! I was 13! I needed my mum to hold me and tell me everything was going to be ok!” Tears began to fall down Mia’s face as she squeezed her hands into tight fists. “What about whenever I got into fights with Penelope, or when Andrew attacked me in the corridor in 7^th year? I just needed your support!”
“I tried to help you— to tell you what to do to fix your situations”
“I DIDN’T NEED YOU TO FIX ME!” she roared “I just needed you to listen! That’s all I needed— not lectures on fortitude or tenacity! I thought I couldn’t talk to you— or anyone, for that matter, so I just kept it all inside.”
Mia’s ears burned hot as her cheeks itched from her salty tears,
“My stepmother died and I held it in, crumbling under the weight of grief because I didn’t think my mum would listen to me cry over a woman she hated”
Susan took a deep, calculated breath “I know you were— fond of her…”
“Fond of her” Mia cut her off, scoffing. “Dumbledore had to assign me my own house elf to make sure I ate my meals— I passed out in Charms for not eating for 6 days. I was more than ‘fond’ of her—I loved her. I know you hated her but Dad falling in love and remarrying falls on your shoulders and yours alone. You were the one who made the decision obliviate Dad and send him off.” Mia began to pick at her fingernails, muttering cynically, just about a whisper “Not that it helped, he still died”
“Amelia Evelyn, you watch your tongue!” Susan hissed “You may be an adult now, but I am still your mother”
“The last person who told me to watch my tongue broke my arm and murdered my father!” Mia shouted angrily, her knuckles white from the tight fists she was squeezing. “He died without knowing the truth about his family, because you took his memories!”
She closed her eyes and took a breath before speaking again once seeing Susan’s face go through a reel of expressions from angry to hurt.
“But really, Mum, what was the point?? What was the point in keeping him in the dark— lying to him for all these years?” Mia said, no longer shouting but tone still harsh “It didn’t help him, it didn’t keep him safe!”
“And you think those thoughts do not keep me up at night?” Susan said slowly, her voice quiet and scarily calm “Scrimgeour told me on the day he was named Minister of Magic that I needn’t worry— he had a plan. He would do more for the fight against Voldemort and wizarding world than Fudge did, and that we’d be just fine.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “He didn’t keep his promise. Dolohov still got to do what I have feared for over 16 years”
Mia watched as tears began to well in her mother’s emerald eyes.
“I made a mistake when I modified your father’s memory and sent the two of you off. It wasn’t the way things should’ve been handled. I regret my decision. We would still be married had I not modified his memory. We in the Order could’ve put him in protection. Maybe we would’ve been happy— a happy family— maybe he would still be alive”
Susan began to sob, Mia moving from the armchair to the couch and wrapping her arms around her mother.
“I’m not perfect, but I’ve tried to be. I’ve tried so hard to be the perfect mother for you, but I’ve failed”
“And I’ve tried everything to be the perfect daughter for you, but I’ve failed”
“No Mia, you are perfect. I couldn’t ask for a better daughter— you fierce, bold, kind, loving— I am so proud of you and everything you have done.”
“Really?” Mia asked thickly “I always thought I fell short of your expectations”
“No, sweetheart, you haven’t— and I am sorry if I haven’t told you enough of how proud I am of you.” Susan sniffed “I’ve always been hard on you, pushed you hard because I knew what you were capable of. I thought tough love would shape you into the woman I know you are, but maybe I forgot to encourage you along the way— and for that, I am so so sorry”
Susan kissed Mia’s forehead firmly
“And I want you to know you can talk to me. You can share your feelings, your fears and doubts. Talk out your problems, so you don’t end up shutting down again. I’ll try not to tell you how to fix them.”
Mia nodded, wiping her tears.
“I love you Mum, I’m sorry for getting angry”
“Don’t apologize— you just told me it helps you to talk about your feelings” Susan teased softly, Mia chuckling through a sob. “You can talk to us; Me, Penelope, Remus, Tonks, Kingsley— all of us are here for you.”
“I miss Dad. I miss Sirius.” she said quietly “I’m scared all the time. Scared Dolohov will come back and hurt you or me; scared Greyback will snatch me and turn me. Calming draught isn’t enough most days— the alcohol helps numb everything”
“The alcohol helps until it doesn’t” Susan said “Liquor got me through the nights, then the days and nights— but it was alright, I wasn’t drinking on the job.” Susan looked away, shame crossing her expression “until I showed up to work one morning, drunk off my arse.”
“Wait, what?” Mia said, her mouth hanging open.
“No one knew but Kingsley. He found me walking into work, smelling of a distillery. He covered for me and got me home, poured out all my bottles and told me this wasn’t to happen again.” Susan sighed heavily “He told me that he cared about me too much to let me do this to myself anymore. That day he would keep a secret, but if I came into work reeking like booze again, he would turn me into Scrimgeour himself.”
“Mum, I had no idea…”
“You were 14, off at school. That was the year you spent Christmas at the Clearwater’s— you spent it with them because I asked them to take you. I was struggling then and I didn’t want you to see me like that over the holidays”
Susan tucked a strand of Mia’s hair behind her ear, staring at the smooth, black strands to avoid eye contact.
“I got it together after that—I know you miss your Dad and Sirius, but I strongly encourage you to quit slipping the booze in your tea at night; it will turn into booze in your morning coffee and shots at lunch”
Mia was quiet for a moment, chewing her bottom lip awkwardly.
“Remus was angry with me yesterday when he caught me pouring rum into my tea”
“because he loves you, and doesn’t want to see you destroy yourself again” Susan chuckled “Remus is a good man—and cares so much for you, I can tell what you two have is real”
“So... you are over the fact that he was my teacher?”
“Oh no no no, I will never condone what the two of you did that year” Susan snickered, wagging her finger at her “but what’s done is done— we can’t change it. I’m just thankful his feelings for you were true— I would’ve hexed his balls off had they not been”
Mia smiled slightly, chuckling softly. “Did he tell Dumbledore to not put me on Hogwarts patrol?”
“No, I did” Susan said “I asked him not to call on you because I didn’t want you to be overwhelmed”
“Tell him to put me back on” she said firmly “I need to feel useful.”
“Only…” Susan smirked “if you quit spiking your drinks”
Mia smiled slightly, chuckling softly “deal”
They hugged tightly, Mia feeling a wave of affection for her mother. She took note that she felt better once she admitted to the resentment she felt towards Susan for many years; she would have to remember to roll her eyes at Helen for being right— once again.
“You want to keep going with these books?” she suggested
“What’s the point? I can’t find anything in here…”
“What about using them to just learn some wandless magic?” She suggested “if you are losing control, it might help strengthen your magical ability so you don’t keep losing control”
Mia pursed her lips and pondered that thought for a moment, shrugging and grabbing a book off the top of the stack, opening it to the chapter of contents
“Alright, fine, let’s see what this shit has to offer— oh look, lighting a candle wandless, how wonderfully helpful!” her tone was dripping in sarcasm.
“Actually, that could be handy— but why did you also check out a book on patronuses?” Susan asked as she held up Corporeal Patronuses: a look at guides and their purpose.
“Oh I forgot I got that one— everyone keeps saying how curious it is that Remus and I share a patronus, so I got that to see if there was any information on it.”
Susan chuckled “You don’t need this book for that— when two people share a patronus, it signifies a deep connection between the two. Love, for instance is a powerful connection. I would say in your case, it signifies your two souls coming together as one”
“You think that?” Mia asked, sitting up straighter.
“That’s why it’s curious— the more I see you two together; the more I believe your soul has bonded with his.”
Penelope sat down in a cozy, dimly lit booth and immediately grabbed the cocktail menu. She observed the wine list, looking for an acceptable chardonnay. Working in fine wines had made her extremely picky when it came to what she liked to drink, and most of the choices at this little bistro were cheap, bottom shelf options. She uncrossed and crossed her legs a couple times, trying to find a comfortable sitting position before Eric arrived. She picked out a classic black dress for the evening, dreading her evening that would most likely be a boring couple of hours, conversations that had the same depth as a kiddie wading pool. She cursed at a mental picture of Tonks silently, she should’ve told her that truth or dare was for tween girls and she wasn’t going to make a fool of herself by asking out someone pining for her best friend. She wasn’t sure if she even liked Eric as a person; he had always been nice to her, always polite if she would answer the phone for one of his weekly calls to Mia.
What the hell was she even doing here, going through with this stupid game? This night was pointless, she should’ve cancelled. Sure, she hadn’t been out on a proper date since Percy had broken up with her, and it was time she hit the dating circuit, but this wasn’t a date. This was Nymphadora Tonks’s evil game, a chance to make her squirm; the ultimate prank that she will thoroughly enjoy hearing Penelope recount how downright stodgy this evening would be.
She caught wind of fresh cologne, succeeded by Eric slipping into the booth across from her, his blonde hair neatly styled and his collared shirt pressed to perfection.
“You clean up well” she said with a small smirk, finding she was pleased by the eucalyptus and mint scent lingering around him
“I try.” he grinned, grabbing a cocktail menu. “You, however, look amazing”
Penelope blushed; she hadn’t expected a compliment on her appearance, though she figured it was the polite thing to say when on a dinner date. Not a date she reminded herself. The server came by the table for drink orders, staring with Penelope.
“I’ll just take the house chardonnay, thanks” she said with a polite smile.
“Gin fizz for me— and a glass of water” Eric said, handing the cocktail menu to the server.
The server walked away, leaving Eric and Penelope in an awkward pause.
“So, I was surprised when you called me and asked me out” he said, breaking the silence.
“Yeah… listen— So Mia, Tonks and I had a girl’s night, and we were playing truth or dare, and my dare— per Tonks –was to call you and ask you out, because she knows you’re into Mia.” Penelope explained, Eric’s brow rising as she spoke. “She thought it would be funny. I didn’t expect you to say yes, but you did, so… here we are.”
Eric chuckled at her, a sly grin creeping across his face. “Truth or dare? How old are you guys?”
“I know!! I asked her the same thing. She had Mia call her boyfriend Kingsley and ask him for a pizza. We think she just wanted to play so she could get food out of it” Penelope laughed, “so anyway, I’m sorry that you now have to spend the evening in my company.”
The server returned with drinks, asking the two of them if they were ready to order.
“Maybe just another minute, thanks” he said, flashing a smile at the server.
Penelope couldn’t help but notice how nice his teeth were. They were pearly white compared to his tanned skin.
“I was thinking this was some kind of a sneaky girl thing. I was hoping Mia was trying to use you as her wingman, but with her sugar daddy around, that seemed unlikely.”
“Remus is not her sugar daddy” Penelope snorted into her wine glass
“Yeah, sure… Let me ask you something—” Eric leaned towards her, lowering his voice. “Does he hit her?”
“WHAT?” Penelope cried incredulously. “No— ohmygod no— what makes you think that?”
“Just wondering” Eric mumbled, taking a sip of his gin fizz.
The server came back and asked for their orders, which they very quickly decided on since they were too busy talking. Eric leaned back in the booth, sighing in contempt.
“Can you at least enlighten me on why she seemed so into me that night at the bar, but then practically ghosted me after?” he said.
“It’s a long story” Penelope muttered.
Eric shrugged “we have all night”
She sighed and took a sip of wine. “We had a mutual friend pass this summer, unexpectedly. He was a friend of Remus’s that we both got to know well. Mia and he were really close. She was devastated when he passed and Remus served as a reminder to her of him, so she pushed him away. She became reckless after she broke up with him, partying and doing cocaine. You caught her on a particularly bad night, and unfortunately, she used you for your dick.”
Eric nodded, his face puzzled as he processed what Penelope was saying.
“Then her dad was m…” she stopped herself, reminding herself of Eric’s modified memory. “dead, and she and Remus are back together. That’s that.”
“That doesn’t make much sense” he said, his brow furrowing together.
“It’s not my story to tell, I can only give generalities.” She shrugged.
Eric paused for a moment, looking like he was going to ask another question, but didn’t. He nodded stiffly as he stirred his gin fizz,
“Sorry to hear about your friend”
“Thank you” she whispered, taking a sip of her wine as she thought of Sirius, her heart aching as she imagined him smiling that wide toothy grin at her.
Eric sat up, and flashed a handsome smile.
“Well, Penelope, It’s Friday night— and even though you only asked me here because your friend with the weird name dared you to, here we sit. We might as well try to enjoy ourselves.” He said “Why don’t you tell me about yourself?”
“About me?”
“Yes, you” he chuckled
“Alright… well, my birthday is January 28^th, 1976—”
Eric started laughing; flashing a charming smile at her “I’m not interviewing you for your passport”
“You asked me about myself!” She jeered, laughing with him “Ok fine- My parents own a wine and cheese shop that I manage currently, I was born here in London, I’m an only child, and I enjoy cleaning.”
“No one enjoys cleaning.” He teased.
“I do actually, I’m always cleaning. Plus, Mia is a messy cook and she thinks she wiped everything up, but I’ll find a crumb or two after she’s been in the kitchen”
“Oh no, not a crumb!” Eric teased, making Penelope roll her eyes at him “ok ok, I’m from Cincinnati— that’s in Ohio; I have two younger sisters and I HATE to clean…”

The night seemed to fly by, much to Penelope’s surprise. She and Eric actually had a lot of similar interests, fueling the conversation naturally without any strange pauses for awkward change of subjects. They talked and laughed until they were the only ones left in the bistro, completely unaware they were in the restaurant past closing.
“You get a free vacation and can choose between these three; Skiing in the Alps, snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef, or a safari in Tanzania?” Eric said, leaning back in the booth and grinning
“I have to pick one?? Those all sound amazing!”
“Yes, only one, it’s a free vacation— can’t get greedy now”
“Alright, alright, if I had to pick one… snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef” Penelope said giggling. “Wait, no— no. yes. Shit— Ok. Great Barrier Reef— final answer!”
“That’s what I’d choose!” he laughed “but I would like to do all three at some point in my life”
They were enjoying themselves immensely, only to be interrupted by their server bringing by two small shot glasses and a black checkbook.
“Anyone who is having this much fun on a date should have a complimentary shot” the server said, setting the two shot glasses and checkbook down on the table. “a nice nightcap— I’ll be back for that in just a moment”
“That is the nicest way I’ve been told to get the fuck out of a restaurant” Eric said with a chuckle, looking at his watch. “Shit— it’s after 11:00!”
“Wow, It feels like we just got here” Penelope giggled, watching Eric slide a few crisp bills in the checkbook slot and stand it upright.
The server came by swiftly to take the checkbook as Penelope and Eric were taking their shots.
“So, this ended up being a great evening” he said shaking his head furiously, his voice strained from the burn of his shot.
“yeah, it was, I didn’t intend on staying out this late” Penelope said, throwing her purse over her shoulder “I have to open the shop tomorrow morning”
“You thought we’d be here maybe an hour, and eat in silence awkwardly?” Eric teased, winking at her.
“Well, I wasn’t sure… but honestly, I had a great time.” She said sheepishly.
“Me too” He said, his pearly white teeth flashing at her as he smiled “can I walk you home?”
Penelope smiled brilliantly and flushed a deep shade of scarlet “I’d like that.”
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Forever and Always