Many hangovers later, James was glad to finally wake up in the morning and make a cup of coffee on the counter of his kitchen. Tina was still asleep, and from his experience, one could make a better breakfast sober than with a raging hangover. Jim cracked a few eggs over the hot buttered pan and flipped pancakes.

He set the table nicely and put a few of the fake flowers from the counter on the table in a plastic vase. It would do. Jim started playing a little music. He silently padded into the bedroom and leaned down next to Tina, she was breathtaking when she was asleep, he was lucky to have her.

He laid a kiss on her forehead, "Come on Starshine, wake up, I made breakfast." He put his hand on her shoulder and shook it gently.

Tina had felt James get out of bed a while ago, rolled over in her half-sleep to watch him through dream-fogged eyes as he dressed in the dim light, before letting the warm comfort of their bed drag her back into the dark.  Her dreams echoed with the sounds and smells of breakfast set to jazz, and distantly she recognized that morning had arrived.  In the privacy of her mind, she dreamt of her father cooking and humming and dancing softly as he had on Sunday mornings, when mum slept in late.  She was a little girl again, standing barefooted in her nightgown on the cheap linoleum, giggling, telling her dad not to be so silly.  A smell like flour and coffee and bourbon reminded her that Jim was standing next to her in her childhood.  Except, of course, she wasn't seven any more, she was eighteen--no, nineteen now, she reminded herself.

Who's making breakfast? she asked, and even in her dream the question made no sense.

I made it, he replied, in his sixteen year old voice, because they were in Hogwarts again and he was kissing her forehead--

"You shouldn't have," she mumbled incoherently as he took her by the shoulder.  Stretching, she reached up and put a hand on his face, finding the back of his head and pulling him down for a kiss that tasted like she hadn't brushed her teeth yet. 

"What time is it?" she breathed, lips tickled by his hair.  Half way upright, she sighed and let him go.  Throwing the tangled covers off, she exposed herself to the morning's wakeful chill. "Is it Sunday?"

"Well, I did, and it's getting cold" James patted her leg, her kiss reminded him of Julie, he still hadn't told her. "It's 9 am on a Saturday my Lovely and I have you to myself all day." He kissed her cheek and grabbed her hands. "Up-sa-daisy!" James shuffled his way into the kitchen and pulled a chair out for his lady.

"Sunny side eggs and chocolate chip pancakes." The sun streaked through the windows, he groaned, he had to clean those today, but later. He kissed the top of her head and sat down in front of her, pouring orange juice into her glass. "What do you want to do today? Anything you want to do, just say it, I got my broom fixed the other day so we can go anywhere you want."

Tina laughed her hiccuping laugh as he pulled her into the kitchen and sat her down before the spread.  Saturday, she thought, reveling in the idea: no werewolves, no dragons, no huffy centaurs, no pureblood racist screaming at her because he's not allowed to breed twenty-tentacled monstrosities in his basement anymore . . . just James, and chocolate chip pancakes.  She could have cried for joy.  Instead, she grinned and raised her glass, brimming with orange juice.

"A toast!  To Saturdays!"

"Yes Miss Ainsley, to Saturdays!" Jim clinked his half full glass up to hers. He liked it when her hair wasn't combed, or when she didn't have any make-up on, when she was just plain Tina was when he liked her best. He tipped his buttered toast in his eggs and bit into it. He was a good cook.

"So? What do you want to do today? Shopping, movie marathon, a walk in the park? Anything and i mean anywhere you want to go, anything you wanna do, let's do it, money isn't an option, just, whatever you want, let's do it, even if it's just taking a shower and sleeping the rest of the day."

He had been an idiot the past few days, he just wanted a complete day of her utter happiness.

Tina made a show of looking thoughtful, actually wondering where this was coming from--or going.  It was possible this was simply a romantic gesture, and it wouldn't have been the first.  But there was something about it that made her wonder whether she had missed something . . . he's probably just trying to make up for us not seeing each other as much lately, she decided, half-chiding herself for being so suspicious. 

"You know what," she sat up, eyes flashing.  "I've actually been thinking . . . it's been an awful long time since I've been to a zoo.  Not a wizarding menagerie, ye get me?  Just a plain old muggle zoo, like the one I used to go to as a kid.  Twy--Twycross?  I can't remember."  But she could--not the name.  As a kid, the name had been purely irrelevant.  It wasn't called anything--it was just The Zoo.  She remembered the smell and the heat and the animals, and eating cotton candy with her dad.  Once she got to be older, she'd lost interest all together, too caught up in magic and books.  Now, a nostalgic little stroll down memory lane seemed just the ticket.  It might be nice to spend some time with some animals who weren't all smarter than a six year old and three times as nasty. 

A thought struck her, and she let her head fall to one side, trying to hide the excited smile playing on her face.  I wonder . . .

"Have you ever been to a zoo before, James?"[1]

 

1.

Sorry it took me so long to post this--I've been super stressed getting ready for college and just had this massive writer's block.  Didn't even want to think about writing.  Anyway, I think I'm over it now, but things are going to get busy for a little while because of orientation.  I don't know when I'll be able to post, but I'll try to find time.

A zoo.

James eyebrows did a wave as Tina thought of the zoo she used to visit as a child. That was not what he was expecting from today, oh well, he asked, and he got his answer. He tried to think of any zoos that he knew of, or that he could get to in a mildly short time, the only muggle one he could think of was the petting zoo in Oulton Broad when the carnival rolled into town in the mid summer, but that was too far, his parents must have taken him and Annette sometime during their childhood...

London must have a zoo somewhere, he was going to have to find a map, he hated maps, it was so much easier to just use a four point spell and a list of printed directions, they didn't have a printer, they had no electricity, Curse wizarding London and it's silly no electricity rules James though angrily. A map it was, he was going to have to take a cab, another thing he did not want to endure, but, he had asked and he got his answer.

"Have you ever been to a zoo before, James?"

James put his hand under his chin, a zoo, had he ever been to a real muggle zoo? He dug deep into the thoughts of before Hogwarts, before magic, when it was just him and his parents. Yes, just one.

"Once, when I was 6 years old, about 2 years before my magic kicked in, before we moved to Oulton broad and Annette was born, my mum and dad brought me to the London Zoo, we had lived in a town about 15 minutes from there, I can't even remember the town's name.."

Jim ran his finger though his hair as he took a sip of orange juice.

"I loved the lions, was afraid of the birds, you know how I get around birds." James shuddered thinking about his sister's owl. "My dad bought me kettlecorn, I rode on the carousel, and laughed when the monkeys screamed in my face"

James' mouth curved into a small remembering smirk. "So, that was the zoo for me, how about you? What animals did you like at the zoo?"[1]

1.	((OCC:))It's not a problem at all, I know how you feel, I just went back to school this week, no rush, no worries, have fun at school!

Tina noticed James's distress and felt a little guilty about her demand.  Though she was well aware of magic's limitations, she continually forgot that these included barring wizards from muggle convenience.  Her parents had bought her a laptop for her sixteenth birthday--a sleek machine that had spent the school year glitching and dying on her before she finally sent it home when a classmate pointed out that the ambient magic was probably the cause.  As far as she knew, it was still at her parents' house.  Hopefully they'd put it to good use, but it was just as likely that they'd placed it reverently on her desk to await her return.

The guilt passed quickly--surely it wasn't so difficult to get to the zoo, even for a wizard.  Somewhere, she had one of those Guides to London books, with all the various distractions the big city had to offer.  She'd been excited to be moving to a real urban area, only to find that most of London was much like home, but uglier (in her eyes).  Diagon Alley, of course, was glorious, and within a month of moving in with James she'd completely forgotten about the muggle city surrounding her, like so much dull backdrop.  Now, however, the Guide might come in handy.  They could take the underground, no big deal--she hoped.

She watched him reminisce with open delight spread across her features--realizing her wide grin, she tried to hide it in a more demure smile, bluish eyes still crinkling handsomely at the corners.  There are many people in this world who, by means of introduction, regurgitate every minute detail of their life to date.  Most of the rest of the world abhors these compulsive sharers.  Tina, on the other hand, was one of those rare individuals who neither shared nor avoided being shared at, but actually listened to these annotated biographies with quiet interest and appreciation.  Unfortunately, she also remembered all of these details, to the surprised chagrin of sharers everywhere who were well accustomed to their subjects falling into deep comas within minutes of being cornered.

"Me?" she asked, not out of surprise, but as a way of stalling.  Her favorite had been the free-roaming peacocks.  "I don't know . . . I really liked the orangutans."  Which was true: there had been something about their big, sad faces and potato-sack bodies that had been strangely appealing.  Her mum had gotten her a stuffed animal version for Christmas later that year, but it wasn't as good.  "I remember one of them had a baby and everyone was well excited about that.  I though it looked like a tiny, big-eyed version of my grandfather--my dad thought that was hilarious.  And they had these adorable pig animals, small ones, y'know?  The ones from South America what look like anteaters?  I must have taken ten or fifteen pictures of them, drove my parents nuts because I was using up the film."

She'd have to find out whether the zoo had free-roaming peacocks.  That might be a hurdle she hadn't thought of in her moment of impulse.

"Orangutans, I like it." James made a mental note about the monkeys for later."The zoo it is!" James raised his fork and pinged it off of his OJ glass. He dug into the pancakes he had slaved over the past hour, he was a really good muggle cook, why didn't he have a job in a restaurant? He silently contemplated this as he alternated from coffee to orange juice. But his contemplation turned to something he didn't want to think about.

He was trying to think of things he and Tina would be doing together today, but his mind was overcome with thoughts of his single kiss with Julie. Did Tina know? She always knew. She read him like an open book. But if Tina did know, would she say anything about it? Would he even have to bring it up? His head was so filled with questions that it was surely pouring into his eyes so she could see. Like a movie projector.

He gulped down juice, wanting something harder to settle his thoughts, his entire conscience was screaming at him to tell her, but he shoved his conscience in a burlap sack and threw it over a canyon ledge because he was scared. This cold ruin his relationship, but he had hit on plenty of other girls while dating Tina, even in front of her at time, would this be any different because Jim had kissed Julie?

If James didn't have Tina as a stabilizer, he would go nuts, become a wild, drunk,  sex-crazed animal, he didn't want that, he wanted Tina, he just wanted to be with her, maybe forever. What the hell was he thinking? he still less than twenty five years of age! Could he tie himself down to one person? Yes, he could. Tina would be the other person he could stand by for the rest of forever.

One kiss wouldn't matter, Jim decided right then and there as he looked over the butter dish at Clementina Ainsley, that unless she figured it out herself, he would never tell her about what had happened between Julie and himself the night Mark was drugged by his own potion.

Tina's smile flashed broader before disappearing into her coffee mug, until only her eyes were visible above the rim.  In the pleasant silence, she took a moment to study her boy.  There was something wrong, she could sense it now for sure as the caffeine began to kick in, bringing her fully awake.  He appeared care-free enough, but for anyone who knew him half as well as Tina did, there was a heavy lining to his cheerful demeanor that suggested there was something weighing on his mind. 

Setting the mug aside, she set into her breakfast, watching him through the fringe of her lashes as she cut apart her pancake.  Breakfast proceeded well enough, and she made some noises about how good everything was--because it really was very good--though a good part of her mind was elsewhere.  She contemplated cornering him on the subject, then considered letting him come around to it himself, and eventually tried to dismiss it all together: probably something was bothering him at work, or maybe he was worrying about something . . . something silly, like, like . . . her imagination, all ready something of a weak point for her, failed to come up with anything convincing.

Pushing her plate back with sudden finality, she sat back in her seat, her gray eyes narrowed and arms crossed.  If he was going to be like this all day, they might as well have it out now and be done with it.  Sighing, she relaxed her arms and leaned in slightly, having sufficiently screwed up her courage.

"So are you going to tell me what's bothering you or what?"

An awkward silence hung in the air as Tina ate her breakfast, Jim stared at his plate, wishing he could make his hand reach high enough to grab his fork so he could spoon the pancakes he had slaved over into his gaping face hole. He looked at his fork, then his spoon, and then his knife. His glass reflected his own guilty face back at him. He looked away from it, trying to find something else to look at, like... the maple syrup!

When Tina finished all too soon, the words that came out of her mouth were like hitting the button on a detonator bomb. James ran his hands through his hair, leaving it puffed up as he went to answer is question. "Noth-uh.. nothings wrong, what makes you say that?" He knew that was weak, not considering anyting else he stood from his chair and moved across the table to where is beautiful girlfriend sat.

He looked into her eyes, forgetting Julie, he leaned in, brushing his lips lightly across her cheek, making his way to her mouth. "I love you, you know that?" He whispered in her ear, putting his hands on the arms of the chair she sat upon.

Disturbed by this sudden show of affection, she brushed him back, confusion stark in her gentle features. 

"Cut it out," It wasn't sharp, a quiet reprimand against his vague attempts at distracting her.  Now she really was worried, and her brow furrowed over her eyes.  But--her cheeks dimpled briefly--"I know you love me."

Standing, she put slight distance between them, enough to emphasize the seriousness of her words.

"And I love you.  Just tell me--please?  What's bothering you?"  It wasn't the first time James had gone shame-faced and evasive.  Usually it was something dumb, sometimes it was something that made her mad, but she always forgave him.  What could it be this time?  Had he been drinking?  She would have noticed.  No more than usual, at least.  Then . . . no, she stopped wondering.  Wondering was worse than knowing.  "Don't make me guess, Jim.  Whatever I come up with will be a hundred times worse than whatever actually happened."

Tina pushed away from Jim. He was dead. She asked again what was bothering him and James spun around, groaning. Was he really going to tell her? This could end them. But one kiss really didn't count as cheating, did it? It wasn't like he slept with Julie or anything, it was a kiss, a fluke of a kiss. It wasn't his fault either, it was Julie's. Jim slammed his fist down on the countertop. Damn.

"Okay, before I get to the 'bothering' part, there's a story behind it." Jim walked around the kitchen as he told his story. "So, remember that one morning when I went out to bring bagels to Mark and Julie? Well, Julie had drugged Mark with some sort of hate potion, then a love potion and then she stupefied him as I came in through the door, Mark woke up, I got confused and the next thing I know..." Jim hit his fist on the counter again, making the glasses underneath in the cupboards shake.

"I was kissing Julie." He looked up over Tina, and then kept going. " It wasn't my fault! She kissed me. Mark smacked me up a bit, I left, and Julie locked him in the bathroom." Done with his speech, Jim sat up on the counter, looking at his girlfriend. "So, now you know."

Tina sat perfectly still, listening patiently to her boy's halting explanation.  Her steady gray-green gaze let little show as she stared steadily at his poor hunched shoulders and worried face.  Whatever she thought of his story, she kept it from her features until he got to the part where he kissed--or, rather, Julie kissed Jim.

As he finally turned to face her, she couldn't keep the twitch of a smile from her face.  Is that all? she sighed inwardly, not sure whether to be exasperated with his drama or relieved that it wasn't anything more serious.  The way he'd been carrying on over breakfast she thought he'd really . . . well, that he'd fallen into what she suspected were the criminal ways of his pals, Mack and Mark, or something worse.

Trying to look serious for his sake, she gave him her crossest look and raised her hand as if to slap him, stopping short of his stubbled cheek and pushing back through his hair with an affectionate tutting.  Sometimes he was just so dumb.

"Really, Jim--it sounds as though if I'm going to be short with anyone, it's Julie."  Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him smartly on the cheek.  "The way you were carrying on . . . James, I trust you.  Not with drink, or when it comes to Mack and Mark maybe, but . . . you'd never do anything to hurt me."

Now that she'd gotten her boy out from under that cloud he'd gone and found, her mind turned on Julie with a vengeance.  What the hell was she thinking?  It was bad enough she'd kissed James, but that she'd left him hurting like this . . . The least she could have done was come straight forward and explain herself.  Unless she had some ulterior motive . . .

But Tina's mind wasn't built for that kind of twisted thinking.  She could explain the intricate workings of a magical filing system and cast some of the most complex charms on the legal side of magic, but humans were often a closed book to her.  Back in her 5th year she'd attempted reading Machiavelli's The Prince.  It was still sitting on her bookshelf gathering dust, bookmark waving sadly from its position between page 12 and 13 from which it would likely never move.  It wasn't just that she liked to think the best of everyone, it was that she wasn't able not to.

That was it? She wasn't even mad? Jim made a confused face and furrowed his brow, that was harder than it had to be, he really didn't have to tell her, he couldn't even remember why it was such a big issue in the first place, oh, wait, now he remembered, HE HAD KISSED ANOTHER LADY AND FELT LIKE A CHEAT! She pecked his cheek and he smirked. "So it's not a big deal? Because I was having panic attacks all week because I didn't have the guts to get that off my chest."
 
"You're the best lady person a manly person could have, you know that?" He kissed the top of her head, wrapping his hands around  her waist. "and I promise I'll get some non-criminal friends, sound good?"