Arcturus kept his umbrella up as he made his way down the cobbled street of Diagon. Of all the nights he had to go out, it was a night where it was simply pouring cats and dogs - despite the brolly he was getting slightly damp. He was thankful for his long, black coat, but otherwise he was in a slight hurry to duck into a warm shop that he actually wanted to be in.

It hadn't been in his plans to walk out, but Johann had asked for a change of date and it was a day earlier than he had to steel himself for talking to the man. And at a time like this he was all nerves. He'd agreed himself into a relationship. This was unheard of, unthinkable, even by his standards! His healer's sensibilities were screaming at him to back out, back out before he hurt himself.

He was so frazzled that his hands were shaking, and it wasn't from the cold. He hadn't been able to concentrate on his reading for the night, so he had changed, Floo'd to the Leaky Cauldron, decided he didn't want to drink, stepped out into Diagon and then got caught in the rain while at the other end of the street. Thank Zeus for some sense in grabbing the brolly before he left, but he had no idea why he'd walked all the way here.

The healer wasn't focused on the street or the people around him doing a bit of last-minute shopping. He turned his collar up so that he didn't feel like he was getting damp down the back of his neck - although that could be sweat from anixety - and hurried onwards, not really looking where he was going. The perfect opportunity, therefore, for someone to bump into him.

Nightingale, found his way down the busy streets with his frail little hands clinging to the edges of his wrap. He'd forgotten his umbrella as always, but the Charms Professor was doing well to dart from awning to awning. The slight drizzle of London wasn't anything he wasn't used to anymore, but the downpour of the evening nearly did him in. He was shaking by the time he bumped into a stranger, and cursed slightly under his breath at himself.

"Oh--I'm sorry. I--" He stopped a moment seeing the man beneath his cover, a friend. Chance encounter at a local pub once had them sharing a table, drinks, and a bit of laughter. He knew that Chester too knew this man, and wasn't he the healer who healed Chaz's broken hand that one time his once lover fought so gallantly for his honor.[1]

"Oh, hello again! I'm so very sorry, it's that...just.." Gale finally laughed giving in and just accepting he was going to be soaked before the night was over. Up through his wet spidersilk hair he looked at the man with a somewhat defeated little impish grin, "I suppose it's not too late to wish myself to the Caribbean is it?"

1.	We never played this out, but if you want it to be Arc that's fine with me.

The healer was jolted out of his nervous reverie by the impact. He blinked several times as he oriented himself before he realised who exactly it was that he had bumped into. "Oh. Gale! I didn't...expect you to see here, actually, I didn't expect anyone at all..." It had been a while since he had seen the man.

At Gale's remark on being drenched Arcturus wordlessly swung the umbrella around to include the man with the white hair underneath its cover. His nervousness was probably visible to Gale, but no matter how much of a wreck he was, being helpful was a part of his life and it would be unthinkable for him to not share.

"How are you this fine-- okay, I tell a lie, wet evening?" he said. "And heading anywhere? I can accompany you so that you can at least stay dry to your destination, although I don't know how much of a help that's going to be." He eyed Gale's sodden clothes with sympathy.

Gale could tell there was something not quite right with the healer. He seemed on edge, and unwell. His skin was pale, yet damp still even under his umbrella. The Professor thought that maybe even if he put a hand over the other man's chest he would feel a heartbeat in a fluttering mess. It was all strangely familiar, and eerily heartbreaking. It made him miss Chaz.

"Thank you," Gale was thankful for the little reprieve from the rain, but kept his distance at best he could. He knew that his reputation was on edge right now, being a little alley dweller with a rent boy's smile, and the fact that he'd been spending the last few weeks alone in different run down motels didn't help either.

"Um..." He peered around the man to see the coffee shop still open, and his stomach growled at the sight of the different sweets in the amber lit window. "I was actually just heading over there," he said with a point, "And I'd love it if you could have a quick cup of coffee with me? I'd love the company, and...I'd like to hear about what is going on in your life to make you seem a little on edge?" The last part was said with a small almost knowing smirk.

"Sure, sure, I'll be happy to have a coffee with you and-- what?" Arcturus mentally skidded in his anxiety as he caught up with Gale's words. He stared at Gale's smile and then sighed. "Okay. I'll try."

He noted the coffee shop nearby and headed for it, making sure to keep Gale covered. Despite the display of sweets in the window, he didn't feel hungry or attracted by it. He just felt nervous, slightly frightened and uncertain, and the combined result was a feeling of nausea that left no room for appetite whatsoever.[1]

The coffee shop bell tinkled as the door swung open; Arc made sure Gale was in before he shut the umbrella and shook the excess water outside the door. He was just taking his time, he knew...but he also felt that he could trust Gale. Maybe. "You get the privilege of picking the table," he told Gale, smiling a little despite his anxiety, remembering the first time he met the man. "Don't mind me, I don't really have any preferences."

He hooked the mostly dry umbrella on one arm - he had forgotten that he could use magic to remove the rest of the water from it - and joined Gale. It was somehow comforting to be with Gale, mostly because, well...it was nice to be with someone who didn't outright stare at his hair and made quick judgements about the reason for its current state. He felt he could belong somewhere.

Maybe that was one of the reasons why he felt comfortable around Johann. The man had carefully thought about the hair colour without making any snap judgements[2]; even though he hadn't gotten the answer right he hadn't made any snide remarks as to exactly why it was that way. And he was grateful for that. He had had a lot of it, and even the normally-patient healer had a limit as to how much he could take.

"How have you been of late?" he asked, as a way to lengthen the time it would take for Gale to get to questioning him. "I'm sorry I haven't kept in touch, I've been a bit...busy of late..."

1.	Arcturus usually likes sweets and chocolate.
2.	In this post.

Gale laughed lightly when they started under the cover of the umbrella. The other man's legs were almost as long as Chester's but he didn't have as much trouble keeping up. Little droplets of January rain slipped every now and then down his back and he pushed forward until they were inside. The little brisk run and cold weather painted his normally pale skin with a little blush of color, and his smile brightened his whole face. He wouldn't have any issue with picking a table, whichever one was closest to the fire would do.

"Oh, that one." He said with a small point, he could get his grading done too while they were there, but truly Gale was just happy to be out of his little solitude of loneliness and intrigued as to what the healer was out doing at this hour.

"I'll pick the table sure, but I'm also buying. You saved me from the rain. Where I come from that is the same as offering me your life," It was true. Growing up in the caravans of his people little things were often the most important like shelter and food.

Gale didn't waste any time before the shopkeep was quick to come around the counter and pull him into her thick arms. They shared a little banter in what sounded like Russian,

'Where is your other half?' The woman asked in English and Gale shook his head, while the woman gave a little frown before looking up at Arc, 'And you will have, Sir?'

"He can have whatever he wants, and I'll actually take anything with honey." The woman smiled as Gale put their order in, dipping into his rather little pants to pull out his purse.

"I come here a lot. I'm staying in a little motel down the way. And I've been well. Busy. School is back in session, and I hardly leave it anymore. So it's been hard to keep in touch, so you are forgiven--if you forgive me." He smiled up at the man and took off his wrap to rest it over the back of the chair. Underneath he was wearing an oversized gauzy white shirt that seemed to have somehow stayed dry.

"What about you? How are things? Healing many broken bones these days?" Gale took his seat and waited for the woman to bring their tray.

"I'll pick the table sure, but I'm also buying. You saved me from the rain. Where I come from that is the same as offering me your life."

In his nervousness Arcturus gave a smile that was just a little too bright to match his usually calm face. Awkward, but he could deal with it. He was not about to diss Gale's culture, however little he knew of the man.

He also didn't expect the man to actually know the shopkeeper, but this one he let it pass. As he sat down by the table Gale had pointed out, the woman's question made him raise his eyebrows slightly, but he said nothing.

"I'll just have, uh, a hot chocolate, if that's all right with you." He was chilled from the rain outside, so it would be all the more welcoming.

"Oh, I forgive you, Gale." Arcturus smiled, a little more easily now that he was sitting down and distracted from his thoughts about the next day. "It's nothing to grudge about. I've been fine, busy, but fine. Was around looking for, for, flowers, for tomorrow, but the florists I know don't have what I want. I'll just take a few from the back garden." He smiled.

Obviously, Gale was not to know the real reason for the flowers, and that he took them from the back garden anyway. But it was better than having to tell him exactly why he was out here.

Gale, the every faithful house wife was already setting out napkins and spoons for their little bit of coffee, and listening very intently to Arcturus as he spoke. Flowers? What did he need flowers for? Was someone sick? With a little shy smile, he ran a finger back to tuck his hair behind his ears before he parted his lips to make a confession,

"I have beautiful window boxes of flowers at the Castle, Arcturus, I could bring them to you in the morning? But they are roses, and depending on what you need them for, I might even have the right color." That was Gale's polite way of asking of first what was going on, and second...did he know that when you give flowers there was an art to it?

Arcturus shook his head. "No, it's...it's all right, really, I don't mind. Thank you for the offer, though, they sound lovely and I'd like to see them one day." Roses! Although herbology had been one of his stronger subjects in school, he'd gained an appreciation for plants and flowers from his mother rather than the subject itself. And taking flowers to Allie's grave had given him more of an appreciation for the delicate colours, although the fact that they died so soon afterwards often made him depressed if he thought about it for too long.

His hands were trembling. Oh, dear. Arcturus covered one hand with the other to prevent Gale from seeing this, so overly concerned that he wasn't noticing the details of the other man's state, if any. "It's not a huge deal, the flowers, I always make do. Don't worry." His hands were trembling; his only thought was to keep talking so Gale wouldn't notice. "It's not like the other party would know, after all. But really, I mean, I'm also out here to relax. I really shouldn't stay at home so much these days, it's not healthy."

Because Arc's sense of self-conscious awareness was frazzled by the nervousness of the next day and social anxiety in gneral, he really wasn't noticing the fact that he was talking a great deal more than he normally would, and it didn't sound very genuine. He was, by now, twiddling his fingers slightly to get the tremble out of them - an odd gesture even for the likes of him.

Gale laughed lightly and shook his head, as the tray was set before them, "Flowers do matter. They are a sort of universal language. Especially when it comes to love and friendship. Like you don't take white roses on a first date, stay with red or pink, and never give a girl a carnation on the first date either. It makes you look cheap, but wild flowers are always alright." He spoke more to the coffee in front of him as he let the subject die,

"And no you shouldn't stay at home so much. Maybe do what I have been doing and stay in a different motel every weekend. It's been...uh...fun?" Wasn't far from the truth, it made healing from his break up rather easy.

Arcturus looked at Gale for a moment, considering him. Then he said, simply, "I don't think the other party would mind what flowers I use, it's just to comfort myself after all." He smiled wanly. "It's for a grave. But that's not the matter in question that's making me so nervous."

He had to stop buying time. He had to man up and face the music. That was it. One day it had to happen, he had to tell someone some time soon. Otherwise - and this was probably certain - he would just go crazy from the thinking and the stewing, and...

The healer sighed, closing his eyes. "I...I've just agreed to be in a relationship. And as much as I like the other party, I've been away from people long enough that I'm worried." He glanced at his hands. "And scared," he added in a softer tone. He didn't want to look at Gale's face.

At the mention of the grave, Gale wanted to kick himself in the face at how he'd put his own foot so far up in his mouth. However, Arcturus was quick to move the subject on, but a little less eager to give away the truth.

I...I've just agreed to be in a relationship. And as much as I like the other party, I've been away from people long enough that I'm worried...and scared.

Gale felt his face soften, the quick wrath of his concern left as he warmed watching the other man use his nerves to get the better of him. It was rather endearing, and Gale wondered if he had been this adorable once he started moving back into the dating scene.

"My first love has been dead now for ten years, and I didn't surface once. Arcturus, trust me when I say that this very first step is the hardest part, but once you are over this bit of a wall, it's wonderful." Without thinking he reached over and covered the Healer's hand a moment, his palm warm from the coffee.

"And it's alright to be afraid, as it's a very hard and scary subject. But...you must have known her now for a good while to agree to enter into a relationship." Gale removed his hand to take up his mug, using the cup to mask his smile. It was just so darn precious.

"Obviously you care about her, as relationships are hard work. And to agree to enter into one is to agree to accept everything that comes at you. Even if it means there are a little bumps along the way right?"

Arcturus couldn't help but exhale audibly and quickly at Gale's words. "I guess it's the wall that I have to scale, then. But that's the thing. I don't...actually know him that much, or all that well. He was a patient of mine, so I do care for him, but at some point in time it became more than just a healer-patient relationship. More than just a job." He took a sip of hot chocolate to calm his nerves as an echo of the brief lingering heat from Gale's hand.

"I know there will be bumps along the road. The question is...will I be able to deal with them?" He looked up at Gale. "Each and every bump, for pain, loss...really, the truth is that I don't trust love. I'm surprisingly jaded for someone who always has hope in their job. There's no question about the professionalism, technically I am making him better and it's outside the hospital's jurisdiction," because he'd taken the matter into his own hands, "so it's all just my anixety over this."

The healer leaned back and lifted his head, closing his eyes to take a deep, calming breath. "I don't even know if I can take the consequences if it goes wrong. If."

"I guess it's the wall that I have to scale, then. But that's the thing. I don't...actually know him that much, or all that well. He was a patient of mine, so I do care for him, but at some point in time it became more than just a healer-patient relationship. More than just a job."

Gale smiled as he did his best to try and keep a more comical grin from escaping across his lips. He shook his head slightly and finally let his lips part in a smirk. "Honey...then that is not a relationship. Don't confuse the professional term for the casual one. You put too much pressure on yourself, and to go in expecting so much more than what you are ready for? It won't end well." Gale bit his lip to keep his mouth closed from continuing one so quickly. Maybe Arc wasn't like he was, but he could tell the poor soul had some super anxiety issues.

"What I mean to say is, just live in the moment. Don't build up to something worrying that it will all fall down. Walk in there, walk up with a smile, and just relax. Laugh and have a good time, and just enjoy the right then and there." He smiled at the other man, enjoying truly that he seemed happy, "I wish that I could have gone back in time to that very first date. I would have liked to have not been so nervous and just soaked it all in."

"I don't even know if I can take the consequences if it goes wrong. If."

At this Gale got quiet, he didn't lose his smile, but he did just study the other man quietly, "Honey, things are going to go wrong. They are. You are going to spill something. He might as well. You will say the wrong things, but the best part about that is in those moments you will see if this whole thing will really work out or not. Because if he sits back and just laughs, not at you, but in the moment. Then you can face everything together. The good and the bad. Don't go in there with your healer hat on, and expect to fix everything. Break a few things. Break down walls, and just have fun?" He leaned forward to better look at his friend, and kept his voice low.

"Seriously, don't let your anxiety ruin your night."

Arcturus smiled at Gale's concern for his professionalism, despite himself. "There's no need to worry. My decision is not counted under the hospital's jurisdiction, it's not like I'm flirting with him while he's lying in the long-term ward. Now that would be unprofessional."

He took a sip of his drink as he listened to the man. There was a grain of truth in those words, he felt - and it was a strong feeling. He'd always held himself back with that fear of things going wrong, like how they once did. What was it that he had said to Johann? That he had regretted spending fifteen years of his life staying exactly where he was? Maybe it was time to just throw off the cosy blanket and sit in the snow.

No wait, that analogy didn't make any sense. Never mind.

Arcturus exhaled slowly as he mused over Gale's last sentence. "Well, I can't guarantee that I won't be anxious the whole time," he said at last, "but I'll probably expend a lot of effort keeping myself calm. It's been years, I don't remember the last time I acted a carefree soul in the world. Probably never have, come to think about it. Trying to break a habit is hard enough, breaking the habit of a lifetime is going to be even harder." He sighed.

"Maybe this is a good oppportunity to try that now and hope for the best." He looked down at his drink. "And I can only hope I keep everything - well, myself, really - under control."