Gale hated it when the had fights, but today he knew he had been in the wrong. The day was certainly eventful with his run in with Davies and his brush of fate, but nothing prepared him for how his lover would take it. Chaz looked so hurt and so defeated, angry and pent up, that Gale had almost just gone back to Hogwarts. They didn't have the big space anymore, and were back at Chaz's flat. However, Gale was thankful for that, he loved this place even more.

His evenings were often spent beneath one of Chaz's quilts, curled up with his lover's cat and reading by the fire, and that is exactly where he was now though he couldn't truly enjoy the book. His stomach turned with worry and frustration that he allowed the argument to get so out of hand. He should have just gone to bed, but he wouldn't have slept. Gale was used to Chaz sleeping beside him, and missed him so badly.

"It's getting late, baby," He curled his fingers through the cat's beautiful grey fur and enjoyed the way she purred on his lap. The silver glasses that were perched on his nose made him look a few years older, but without the patch he almost looked normal. (A little nerdy, but still normal) Gale had taken a shower, made a small dinner that was waiting still warm for his partner to come home, and counted the minutes.

Perhaps he should go look, and with a glance to the door he listened to the rain. Chaz needed his space, didn't he?

Chaz appeared in the haze of rain on his street, tired and grateful to be home.  His heart still thrummed with fear from his strange encounter that rendered him shoeless, coatless, and belt-less.  He had to hitch up his jeans, which were starting to drag with water weight, in order to keep them from falling down around his ankles.  He shivered and pattered his way down the street to his door, his socked feet squelching unpleasantly. 

He edged through the door to his apartment, trying to appear small in hopes he could sneak to the bathroom before Gale saw him.  But the tragedy of the small apartment struck again.  Gale was reading on the couch and had full view of him soaking wet with missing apparel.  Chaz's heart ached at the sight, so lovely and warm.  His lover and his cat curled up in front of the fire, purring and content. 

"Hi..." he said softly.  Guiltily.  He braced himself for Gale's reaction, trying desperately to think of an excuse that wouldn't leave Gale feeling responsible for this.  Chaz knew his lover well enough to know that the stranger was right.  Gale would distance himself if he thought it meant keeping Chaz that much safer and that was the last thing he wanted.

The cat gave away that Chaz was home long before the door ever opened, her little ears perked as she turned towards the door, and Gale readied his apologies instantly. Baited on his breath the words were there and willing, but upon one look at the other man the remained captive on his tongue. He could say nothing. Gale hardly realized that he was even moving until his feet touched the ground, and in a careful slow motion he moved towards the other man. He looked confused, concerned and completely bewildered all at the same time.

A hand came out to touch Chester's arm, pulled him from the door way gently only to shut it from behind and in a flurry of motions started to undress his lover. How many times had Chaz come home to this, though with intimate words and delicate kisses--feverish hands and desperation for skin to touch, and for the end result to find him in the feathery soft down of their bed?

Tonight was not one of those nights.

Gale went to his knees to remove Chaz's wet socks, looking up at him as if to question the whereabouts of his shoes, but as shocked as he was he could say nothing as he undid the button of his belt-less pants. His shirt...his shirt was even soaked, and without his coat? Where was his coat?

A flurry of motion had Gale lighting up the room with a series of commands for a fire hotter, water warmer, a blanket the slave to his wands command and fitted around Chaz's shoulders. He pushed Chester to the couch, forced him down while he fluttered to the kitchen and banged around for the tea pot.

Words--they failed him. He was so upset the cup of tea shivered on the saucer as he came around the couch again, "W-where you robbed?" He asked standing there looking at him with a thousand questions and a hundred waves of guilt washing over him all at once.

Tired, nervous, and a little bit scared, Chaz was actually a little relieved that Gale was home.  He didn't have to linger in this pathetic state for very long.  His clothes were removed swiftly and he was engulfed in a warm and heavenly dry blanket.  He shivered one last time though, like he as shaking off the last of cold from outside. 

At first, he couldn't talk.  He could only pick idly at a loose thread on his old couch.  Then he pet Aphrodite.  Then he took a sip of tea.  He'd known that Gale was going to be incredibly upset but he was still unprepared for that completely shaken look on his face.  Chaz ducked his head in shame.

Did he lie?  Did he play it off as being just some common robbery?  Telling Gale the truth, that this was something caused by their relationship would just add guilt to the situation.  Then again, Gale was probably going to feel guilty anyway because he wasn't there to protect Chaz from a a robber.  It was going to hurt either way and cause a great deal of discomfort.  Better to just... try and tell the truth and get it over with.

"Sort of..." he hedged.  "I mean, obviously my coat and shoes were stolen but..." 

He cleared his throat.

"There was more to it, though.  To be honest it was all incredibly confusing."

The silence was killing him, he thought for sure he could count every second that spanned between them only to multiply it by thirds with how much this was torture. Chaz didn't seem hurt, though he was certainly wounded, his pride getting the better part of him. But he truly was afraid, his boyfriend seemed very upset and that startled him more than anything else, and as soon as he slipped in beside Chaz he regretted the words that came next.


"So...start from the beginning." His words were a little harsher sounding then perhaps they should have been, but now that Chaz had stopped his shivering Gale let the whole ordeal sink in and it angered him dearly.

"And tell me what they looked like." So I can gut them like a fish.

Chaz regarded Gale warily, catching a hint of the anger simmering beneath the surface.  At first he had a twinge of hurt but knew that it wasn't aimed at him.  Gale had been violent to men who treated Chaz badly before.  It would no doubt transfer here but Chaz was nothing if not faithful and obedient as he could manage.

"I was confronted by this woman crying for help but it was just a ruse.  This man came up to us and at first I didn't understand.  He knew all kinds of things about me that couldn't be explained.  He knew about my sister."  Chaz leaned forward with true fear in his eyes, naked and raw for the first time.  He clutched at the blanket around his shoulders.  "He didn't exactly threaten her but... I could tell.  He'd hurt her if I didn't cooperate.  I- I can't- I can't let anything happen to her because of me.  She has absolutely nothing to do with anything. I-" Chaz trailed off, hurt and scared for his sister's well-being.  He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and hunched in on himself.

"I'm sorry, I tried to get his name but he was very tall with dark hair.  And he spoke French."

Everything Chaz was saying sank in on him as if it weighed a hundred pounds. His entire body absolutely felt so heavy that he could almost burst. His whole being went to the floor, even though he didn't move from the couch. The fear in his lover's eyes broke his heart and he reached out a trembling hand to sooth him, but before he could say anything he listened for the man's description even though he knew he truly didn't have to.

"I'm sorry, I tried to get his name but he was very tall with dark hair.  And he spoke French."

Gale closed his eyes while he felt the waves of his guilt wash over his body, and he damn near felt like he was going to pass out. Gale sank back against the couch, one arm going to the rest while the other to the necklace he wore around his neck. He covered his mouth with his hand while staring openly at the fire, and appeared to be in absolute disbelief. There wasn't fear, nor was there true anger--he sat just completely dumbfounded at the nerve his father went through just to get him to talk.

"He won't hurt her," Gale said finally after a few moments of silence, the whites in his eyes were red but no tears dared to fall, "He's such a bastard." Filled with a white hot rage, Gale could hardly move. His whole body was shaking, trembling from the pent up nerves and absolute disgust of the whole situation.

"He is just using her to get to you, and you to get to me. I'm sorry." Gale stood to leave, making his way towards the bedroom to gather his things.

Chaz was not comforted by the knowledge that this man was simply using his sister.  He'd known that already.  But if this man was willing to use her once, he'd probably do it again, and with far worse than just watching her next time if he refused to cooperate.  It rankled more than he'd like to admit that he wasn't strong enough to protect her.

"Who is he?" Chaz asked, an edge of anger evident in his voice.  He followed after Gale as he headed to the bedroom.  "What are you doing? Are you leaving?"  He began to panic a little, wondering what Gale was going to do.  "I would never let him use me to put you in harm's way."

Chaz paused and looked down, suddenly overcome with shame and doubt.  "At least... I wouldn't intentionally.  I hope... I hope I didn't say anything to him that would... hurt you.  You know I wouldn't.   I love you."

Who was he? How did he even answer that? What was that man to him now? He was supposed to wait until Spring, they would talk in the spring, but this meant war and Gale was preparing for it. He moved to arm himself and started to put out the various weapons and his wand on the bed until he heard bare feet  pad across the floor.

"What are you doing? Are you leaving?" With the blankets still around his shoulder, Chaz looked helpless and lost. He had that kicked puppy look that damn near killed him every time. Gale put a hand on the other man's shoulder and sat him on the edge of the bed he'd made up early after his shower.

"Chaz," Gale started as he moved around the room to gather his lover's clothes. First thing was first, socks on those cold feet. He went to his knees to pull wool over Chester's toes, and grumbled a few curse words under his breath. He was shaking so bad that when it came time to unfold Chaz's sweats he couldn't get the tie apart.

"He's my father!" Gale said in a frustrated burst of anger, "He's upset because I won't talk to him. He's doing everything he can to get to me. His men jumped me. I keep getting letters. Now this...now you...and Eva. I'm going to kill him."

Chaz sat there blinking for a second.  His brain whirled trying to process the information.  His father?  It was shocking and yet... entirely probable given the treatment he'd received.  But why on earth was he so aggressively mysterious about the whole thing?  It was all a bit dramatic.  "Why doesn't he just pop in for a visit like most dads?" he asked in confusion, wiggling his toes in his warm new socks.

He stood up and took the sweats from his boyfriend and put them on himself so he wouldn't feel quite so ridiculous standing there with nothing but a blanket and socks.  He let the blanket fall and stood there shirtless with his hands on Gale's elbows.  He got the feeling that Gale's relationship with his father was strained at best.  "What happened?  Why don't you want to talk to him?"

Gale pulled away from him, and not in the sort of way that made it seem he was just needing space. Chester's touch nearly burned him, and his jaw tightened, "Be-cause. It's not that easy. And I don't want to talk about it." He turned away from Chaz to get him a sweater.

"I don't want to talk to him. And I don't want to talk to you about it ok? Here," He handed him the warm clothes, before going to his little section of the little bedroom. The suddenly too cramped space he kept his bags and pulled out his wand, a few knives, and his boots. He pulled off the christmas gift Chaz gave him allowing his hair to fall around his shoulders, only to start tying it back again with a leather cord. He was clearly preparing for war, and muttered to himself, "I can't believe he stopped you. And your shoes, Chester. He took your shoes." Looking over his shoulder he caught his lover's eye,

"It's a Romany thing, he is trying to let you know he's King. He's alpha."

Chaz frowned and watched as Gale moved about the room, gathering his things to go out.  He could only stand there helplessly while thinking of something to say.  He wanted to bring Gale back down from the fight he was clearly gearing up for by taking out his hair comb and putting on his knives.  Chaz tried not to indulge in the feeling of resentment that sprung up when Gale lashed out at him for asking.

"Look-" he began, rubbing the  back of his neck uncertainly.  "I can tell whatever happened between the two of you must have been bad but he didn't hurt me.  He scared the hell out of me but there wasn't really any harm done.  I mean, he left me my wand so I could apparate home at least."  Chaz tried to make it seem less of an issue that it surely was because, hey, it was Gale's father and he didn't want to make things worse.

It was clear that Gale was getting upset about this, understandably.  He walked over to Gale and once again braced him with his hands, this time on his upper arms.  "Hey, hey, just relax.  You don't have to talk to me about this but I don't want you rushing off if you're not thinking clearly.  I'd like you to explain what all this means but only when you're ready."

"Chaz." His name was said with such resistance that it almost sounded like he was forcing back far too harsh words for his soft sweetheart, "I don't have a sob story for this one ok? It's just personal business. I'm not always so broken, and--" He stopped as he processed what Chester said about his wand,

I mean, he left me my wand so I could apparate home at least.

"Are you kidding me?" he pulled away again from Chaz's grip just to openly hiss at him, "You had your wand the whole time and you let him just walk all over you? Is this really what happens to you? You just let everyone plow you over? You had your wand, Chester Augustus Lawrence! Why didn't you use it to get away? To fight back?!" Standing there in his black ribbed tank and worn out jeans it was almost comical the way he looked so mundane sometimes, but with his hands on his hips glaring at his boyfriend Gale looked more like an angry wood-elf than anything.

"He took your shoes, your coat, and your belt. And you just rolled over and let him do as he pleased. Omega." Gale moved out of the bedroom and muttered as he went, "Great first impression he's going to have of you, huh?"

"What exactly should I have done!?" Chaz snapped angrily, his ire rising in response to Gale's.  He held out his hands as though searching for plausible responses.  "Should I have attacked a strange man on the street in the middle of Muggle London?  Maybe you'd enjoy coming to get me out of jail because I don't think the Ministry would take kindly to that kind of display." 

He turned and paced away from Gale in an effort to control his temper but all it did was give him the opportunity to think of something else.  He whirled around on Gale again.  "That is, of course, if I even survived the encounter in the first place."

Chaz just stood there staring, his chest heaving from the increased heart rate and respiration.  His eyes were steely and grim but when he spoke again, he was calmer but his anger still came through.  "I'm not a fighter, Gale.  I never pretended to be.  I wasn't going to pull out my wand and threaten a guy who almost killed me for walking away.  Not with you and my sister threatened as well."

A sharp, insulted intake of breath followed the assertion that he'd rolled over like a dog.  He pursed his lips and invaded Gale's space.  "Is that why you keep pushing me to be more aggressive? Huh?  Because you are disgusted with idea of being with an omega dog?  Is that what this is really about?"

"Should I have attacked a strange man on the street in the middle of Muggle London?  Maybe you'd enjoy coming to get me out of jail because I don't think the Ministry would take kindly to that kind of display."

"I would have preferred that over putting you in a grave!" He spat back, "And frack the Ministry! Chester, godric's garters you are so dense sometimes."

"I'm not a fighter, Gale.  I never pretended to be.  I wasn't going to pull out my wand and threaten a guy who almost killed me for walking away.  Not with you and my sister threatened as well."


"No no no, a few minutes ago you said that it wasn't that big of a deal, now you were almost killed? Which one was it Chaz? Because trying to quell my anger by sugar coating something that upset you will only piss me off further. If you were afraid I want to know, if you were upset I need to know, if he hurt you. I'll cut him in half." He had a hundred things he could say, but the next little bit that came from his lover stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Is that why you keep pushing me to be more aggressive? Huh?  Because you are disgusted with idea of being with an omega dog?  Is that what this is really about?"

Gale blinked at him a few times, absolutely shocked--stunned really. Not at how angry Chaz was getting, no, that was to be expected, nearly half desired, but to the topic killed all the blind rage,

"You really think that is what is running through my head right now? My best friend, my love, my heart and soul was just threatened, stripped of his dignity and openly mocked by my people, and you truly honestly think that is what is going through my thoughts? Our sex life?" He sat Chaz down on the edge of the couch, and took his chin between his index finger and his thumb to gently force his eyes up,

"I want you to stop letting people walk all over you. My parents, your parents, your stupid ideals of how pathetic your life is here in this dumpy little flat." He wrapped his fingers around the fabric of Chester's shirt to grasp it beneath his neck, "I want you to walk with your chin up, look everyone in the eye, and dare them to fuck with you." Gale used the element of surprise more often than not. It was easy to play the part of backward little school teacher, with a skittish personality and loopy exterior. They never saw it coming, the shift and change to battle hungry wolf prowling the alleys at night. It was what got him so many things as a child, but he doubted he would ever see that in Chaz. His gentle little lover who made demands in the bedroom to only say please after each one.

With a sigh Gale wrapped his arms around Chaz's neck, pulling him tightly against his chest while sinking his face in the crook of his neck. Chaz was seated, he standing, and he could fold himself around his love as if protecting him from a rain of fire.