Follows Calm Before the Storm and before that A Healer and a Linguist Walk into a Bar...

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The Leaky Cauldron was altogether different on a Saturday than a Sunday night - louder, busier and ram packed. Even the rain had not turned away the usual crowd, and perhaps encouraged them to stay inside for longer. He'd only braved the weather to kill a little time, holing himself up for half an hour in Flourish and Blotts reviewing some new editions.

Johann ticked himself off mentally - he should have known, it had been busy enough Thursday night when he was there, and this was yet another reason he'd celebrated turning thirty-four on the day, rather than the weekend. That and the fact Colin and Hannah were locked in the Ministry, changing for the full moon. His two best friends were imperative to a good celebration, even if they were exclusive of each other.

"I remember why we chose Sunday for our chats." Johann remarked, eyebrows raised towards his dark curls. They were stood just inside the door, and his hands were raised to his scarf, contemplating removing it, but pausing, unsure if they would stay. If they did they would be at high likelihood of being interrupted by those who knew them, or the noise, or just generally find it difficult to talk. He'd also promised he wouldn't drink this time - a clear head and all.

"I don't know about you, but I don't think I can do this," Johann explained, turning back to Arcturus with a frown. Then in alarm he realised he'd not specified what 'this' was and added with a hand instinctively reaching his companion's arm,
"the busy pub, I mean."

His features tried to appear apologetic for the miscommunication. He was trying so very hard already to keep things clear, and something as simple as the location was already proving a disaster. As soon as they had appeared to take a step forwards last weekend, Johann already felt like he had taken three back by arranging this weekend.

"We can go back to mine, only I'll need to get some milk in. I was going to do it tomorrow morning, and buy steak - er, for Colin to eat when he gets home." He clarified. He wasn't sure he'd ever mentioned Colin being a werewolf to Arcturus - an unspeakable perhaps, but not a werewolf, and certainly not a direwolf. The paper had detailed his abduction last year, but Hollingbury maintained he didn't read the paper, or at least not with great interest.

"What do you reckon?" He asked, stepping backwards out of the way of others coming in from Diagon Alley.

Arcturus stepped aside to let people pass as he considered the interior of the pub. It had been a hard week, and he was suspecting that a migraine was waiting to pounce on him within his head. A ripple of loud, raucous laughter only confirmed it - he winced and turned his head away from the source. He had to agree with Johann. The Leaky Cauldron on a Saturday night was horrendous.

Not to mention his normally stolid healer's nerves were being frayed with the anxiety of the realisation of what he'd actually agreed to the previous weekend. He could still remember Gale's words[1], but even if those words had calmed him for the day they weren't doing him much good today.

"No, it's okay, don't sweat about getting milk in or anything," he said, as he adjusted his own scarf from its half-loosened state as he had prepared to take it off in lieu of entering. He hoped Johann wouldn't notice it - he had already been poked fun at for bringing it since his usual green one was in the laundry. It was his old Ravenclaw scarf and he was fond of it, but it was quite something to see the normally stoic healer wearing a school accessory according to his colleagues. Apparently.

He sighed. "I would love to hop over to yours, but if you've got a housemate I wouldn't want to intrude or have you get up late. I have something to do in the morning as well, too." It would be surprising if Johann remembered what that was. "I don't think--"

Another burst of loud laughter and some shouting drove his tolerance over the edge. Arcturus broke off and ducked out of the doorway. The rain welcomed him back with a splatter of water to the face; he yanked his coat over his head and swore under his breath as he frantically looked around for shelter.

1.	Calm Before the Storm (29th)

With a trumpet of laughter, out the door went the healer. Johann took a last look at the warm, busy pub interior and followed, a pit forming in his stomach that this whole meeting was going to be a disaster owing to the fact he'd already scared the other man off, in a manner of speaking.

Outside the rain was so heavy it was bouncing off the cobbles and the air was dense with water. In the darkness, he could see the tall figure ahead of him with coat over his hair, silhouetted in the light spilling from the lamps in Diagon Alley and windows above lit up, curtains undrawn.

"Here!" Johann was routing in his satchel like shoulder bag, coat shoulders and hair quickly coloured with the large raindrops. Somewhere in this magically enlarged interior was an umbrella. Owing to the fact Johann's first instinct was never to draw his wand, he did own such an item, but was unsure of the state of it.

His fingertips closed around the material of the umbrella canopy closed up together and he pulled it free, wrestling to open it as he hurried towards Arcturus. When it sprang open he stumbled two steps away, splashing across the cobbles in surprise of it coming free.

"It's not the milk, it's just… well… I've been stopping with a good friend, Colin, since last summer in his place. It's very Muggle, can't draw my wand in there without breaking something. But, yes, this weekend he's at the Ministry." Johann explained as he shared the umbrella with the healer, not meeting his eyes. "Where he is, every full moon." Along with his other best friend of the opposite gender. The moon made for a lonely couple of days, and some more days before of tiptoeing round trying not to annoy a pre-transformation werewolf.

"There's not much space, either way." His eyes returned to Arc's face and he smiled, glad that he'd got that out of the way somewhat.

"You'd like to head somewhere that's not a pub then? I mean, I don't mind talking to you under an umbrella in the dark and rain, but not sure it's good for our health, eh?" His breath was condensing in small clouds, and he wiped a drip of water from the end of his nose, eye contact uncomfortable as he broached the subject:

"Er, don't want to seem like I'm inviting myself, but, does your place have a roof, and can we apparate to it?"

Arcturus was glad that Johann had brought an umbrella. He hadn't thought to bring his for some reason, even in the dismal weather that tended to be typically British, as always. He ducked underneath it and slipped his coat back down, wiping rainwater from his face.

Johann didn't look at him as he explained. Arcturus frowned a bit in thought, and then made the connection with "Ministry" and "full moon". He'd heard about this, hadn't he? Something vague about safe cells in the Ministry something something werewolf something. He wasn't very good at remembering news that didn't apply to St Mungo's - or his life, really.

"Er, don't want to seem like I'm inviting myself, but, does your place have a roof, and can we apparate to it?"

Arcturus couldn't help but let some relief escape through his voice. "Oh yes, please, I would just love to go home and get myself straightened out." He'd thrown caring what he said to the winds right now, and the winds were blowing fairly hard and probably on the verge of giving him pneumonia. He held out his arm to Johann, uncaring of what the gesture would look like to the passing stranger. "I can take you to our street. We live along with Muggles, so it's never good to apparate directly in front of our house."

With surprising ease, Hollingbury agreed to Johann's somewhat forward request that they relocate to his place. In his haste, he hadn't then considered the fact that the other man lived with his parents, unless miraculously since their last meeting, the healer had upped sticks to a new place, sans pestering apothecary.

Beneath the umbrella, an arm was held out, and Johann was at first a little taken aback. It had been a while since someone had invited him to side-along apparate, and as a matter of his daily life he wasn't in the habit of even doing it himself. Most of his trips to and from work involved a fair amount of walking, travel to other countries was by international floo, and between floors at work on foot again or by lift.

"Agreed," Johann replied in relation to the comment about apparating before muggles. Such an incident had led to Johann meeting Arcturus's father, Mordecai in the Improper Use of Magic office, when Johann's irritable, intolerant father had both broken Colin's television, and then left the flat and disapparated in the stairs, witnessed by Muggles.

"Oh, the umbrella!" He had been about to rest his hand on the other man's arm when he realised that the thing might not make it through the void between one place and the next, and hastily dragged it down from full span and gathered it in his other hand, ready to respring it as soon as they hit the other side should the weather be just as bad.

"Ugh! After you!" He remarked as the rain quickly landed on them. Instead of clasping the other man's forearm, he curled his arm around and then placed his long, pale hand upon the forearm of the healer firmly enough to apparate, but not so tightly as an auror might seize his captive.

They snapped to in a residential street seconds later, and Johann took a gasp of air. It was all good to apparate oneself, but when someone else was in control it felt ever so slightly more exciting.

Unfortunately the rain was as abundant and persistent, so he flailed the umbrella in the other hand, not realising he had not relinquished the arm of the other man until several seconds had passed. At that point he let go abruptly and uttered embarrassed apologies, wrestling the umbrella above them again with haste, blotting out a streetlamp as they passed beneath it.

"Do you need much straightening out?" Johann asked as they traversed the pavement and his feet skirted puddles, "You generally have always seemed rather together from my perspective." In the glow of the sodium lamps above the umbrella he grinned cheekily, breathe condensing as he turned bright-eyed to flash the grin at his friend of new sorts.

"Wherever's comfortable, and we did say nothing stronger than a stiff cup of tea for clear judgement." He swapped hands on the umbrella to the one furthest away from Arc and reached an arm briefly around the other man's shoulders to encourage him onwards to the front doorstep.

"Lead on to the kettle!"

Arcturus steadied himself after the short, if windy and literally breath-taking trip along the vertigo-inducing apparition. He never liked side-along apparition himself, but if he had to do it he wasn't going to complain. It was that or return to the pub - and he wasn't sure if he could even endure the noise in the Cauldron just to reach the fireplace.

He didn't expect Johann to flail about like that with the umbrella, though. The healer ducked as the umbrella swung around above his head, but it did graze his head slightly. As much as he wanted to say something, he was appreciative that Johann had kept the umbrella around - he wasn't going to complain, and the migraine and anxiety was leaving him with very little energy to waste on vocalising a petty issue.

"I don't usually require straightening out, but it's been a long week and my head hurts." Arcturus was sure his voice was betraying his tiredness. Now that they were on his home street, he felt less tense and irritable with everything. Acton Road was peaceful, the warm light from yellow lamps of his Muggle neighbours lighting the street alongside the streetlamps. He couldn't wait to get back. "And as much as you'd like to believe that I'm completely unflappable, I do have my moments."

The healer had to smile at Johann's words. At least someone was being positive today. "Chamomile tea today, I think," he said, as he swung the gate shut behind them. "Mind the bushes. The patriotic plant," he indicated the Fairy Lights shrub near the door, "will light your way, at least. They're my mother's, so be careful."

He tapped the door handle with his wand and muttered a few words under his breath. At least he could still remember the spells through the migraine. The door opened to reveal a dark interior, but Arcturus pointed his wand into it. Warm light departed from the tip and flew down the dark tunnel before alighting upon a pair of lamps with a welcome glow, illuminating a hallway.

"Shoes off just inside the door, we walk socks or barefoot in the house." He waved the other man in and shut the door behind them. The drumming of the heavy rain outside suddenly became muffled. He pulled off his soaked coat and hung it on the row of hooks behind the front door, taking his trainers off at the same time. Clearly this was a routine he was familiar with to the point of instinct.

As they shuffled around in the space, which admittedly was not designed to accommodate more than one person standing beside each other, there was a loud meow from the living room. An orange and white kneazle accompanied the sound and immediately began to purr as it rubbed itself against Arcturus' ankles, tufted tail upright.

"What have you been up to, Rustle?" Arcturus bent down to scratch the kneazle between the ears, but looked up at Johann. Despite the throbbing in the back of his head, he was smiling - it was difficult for him not to, not when his furry friend was giving his legs affection and leaving long hairs all over his jeans. "This is the cat you've been hearing about. Just stand there for a moment, he'll want to check you out."

Rustle turned his yellow-eyed gaze upon this new two-legged creature accompanying his master. Then he walked around the man warily, sniffing at his trousers, his tail twitching in uncertainty, and occasionally looking up at the man as if scrutinising his appearance. Then he sat down, curled his tail around him and started washing his face as if to get rid of possible contamination from Johann's clothes. Arcturus gave the kneazle an amused look.

"You pass," he translated, for Johann's benefit. "He trusts you just enough to not fly at your face with claws out. Seems that you've got some things he doesn't like, but I'm not going to ask."

As the headed up towards the house in question, Johann mentally ticked off all the things that evening that had so far stacked against him - rain, busy pub, umbrella, tired companion with a headache… the pit in his stomach remained, and he found a voice in the back of his head already calculating how many cups of tea were polite before making a retreat.

"… I do have my moments."

Never! he thought inwardly, though another voice went 'aha, he is human then!'

He was caught up gazing down at the plants indicated while Arcturus unlocked the door when he was hit with the sudden thought that the senior Hollingburys could be home. Tea with one might be tea with… three… and it could be Christmas Day with Hannah all over again.

As such, he paused, staring at the plant until the light pouring from the hallway beyond the open front door brought him to and he composed his features again from balking. Shaking off the umbrella, he brought it inside loosely.

Once he had deposited the umbrella, and slipped the coat from his shoulders, he revealed a dark blue shirt, and the familiar sight of black suit trousers. The dark colours emphasised his pale winter skin, though that didn't bother the linguist. Suits were easy uniform amongst social classes, but pubs were usually warm and with a coat, he'd left the jacket behind. He'd met with a client not long before either, so little time to amend an appearance.

He was just looping the neck of his coat over a hook when the meow turned his head. A cat the size of a small lion - certainly bigger than most house cats, appeared to greet them. Not the parents, thankfully, but clearly a loved family member owing to the greeting the cat received.

Obediently, and without question, Johann watched at the animal circled him and sniffed. It could probably smell Colin's dog. He wasn't one for fussing other people's pets in any situation, even less when told that he'd escaped a face-full of claws.

"That's reassuring, and it might be the dog at home, not mine, my flatmate's." Johann explained, shoes finally making their way off, and into some sort of order amongst the others in the hallway.

The coat off his shoulders and his stockinged feet on the floor made him feel lighter and ever so slightly less formal. His eyes took in Hollingbury's appearance beneath his coat, having relinquished the striped scarf. Being sat down in a pub didn't leave much room for admiring the other man's appearance.

"I guess if he's heard about me like I have him, I wouldn't trust me either." He gave a dismayed shrug. "I won't stay long if you're feeling unwell, and I don't want to impose on your, erm, family. They won't be expecting me to be here." Whereas Hollingbury was back on home turf and a little more relaxed, the situation put Johann a little more on edge.

Relenting, he followed the healer into the house, eyes flitting left and right at his surroundings, the furniture, the decoration, the arrangement of the rooms.

"Is your mother a keen herbologist, or is the garden a hobby?" He asked, feeling out for suitable topics of conversation as he tried to get a handle on the evening. The pit in his stomach was fast turning into butterflies, much like the feeling he'd had each time he'd considered the evening the past few days.

Tea, and somewhere to sit, that would settle his nerves. In the meantime his hands moved uneasily from loosely clasped before him to into his pockets.

Nice, spoke a voice in the back of his head you look like you're about to admit to casting an unforgiveable.

He had to smile about the dog as well. "Rustle doesn't mind dogs. Dogs tend to mind him."

"I won't stay long if you're feeling unwell, and I don't want to impose on your, erm, family. They won't be expecting me to be here."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I keep forgetting to let you know." Arcturus led him into the living room, lit mostly by a fire crackling contentedly in the hearth. A quick wave of his wand restored lights to the various lamps, casting yellow warmth around the room and immediately radiating cosiness into every corner. "My parents are away in another town, they'll probably be back very late tonight. I have my own migraine remedies, it won't take long." Thanks, mum, he added to himself.

"Is your mother a keen herbologist, or is the garden a hobby?" Arcturus wasn't looking at him, he was busy warming himself in front of the fire when he answered.

"Both," he said, smiling, his features illuminated by the orange glow of the playful flames.  "She's an amateur herbologist. It's more of a very obsessive hobby to her than anything else; she doesn't consider herself qualified to be a professional, but she wants to be. Apparently better than being at the Department of Magical Transportation, from how she goes on and on about the old days." He turned around and noted Johann's looking around.

"The couch's for visitors." He gestured at the couch, a light grey affair that could take three or four people at a glance. It sat facing a wooden coffee table, with three mismatched armchairs of different colours - one blue, one green, one purple - arranged opposite the couch, all of them looking well-worn but cosy and with cushions tucked neatly into the corners of the seats. Rustle leapt onto the green armchair and sprawled himself lazily across the seat, an orange and white splotch against the dark. He smiled at this and then turned to Johann with the same smile, hoping to somehow be encouraging. "Make yourself comfortable, though obviously not how Rustle is like."

Arcturus could feel the headache pulsing in the back of his head. "I'll be back, don't worry. If you want to keep talking, go ahead - the kitchen's just over there," he pointed at the other end of the living room, where a kitchen counter could vaguely be seen in a soft glow of white light coming from somewhere. "I can hear you just fine."

The kitchen was tidy and smelled faintly of mint. Arcturus set about working on the tea, picking out two mismatched but clean mugs from one of the cabinets. From where he was, he could see Rustle watching him lazily, but not Johann.

He sank down onto the grey cushions somewhat automatically when prompted, towards one end of it. The cat didn't launch itself at him, but chose one of the three armchairs set nearby.

"Make yourself comfortable, though obviously not how Rustle is like."

The words not yet anyhow were on the tip of his tongue but formed into a squeak that was covered by him clearing his throat, a closed hand to his mouth. Arcturus vanished into the kitchen and Johann muttered disparaging comments to himself under his breath, pulling himself together.

"You have a lovely place," he spoke clearly and a little louder than he might usually to be sure of it travelling to the next room above the clink of crockery, "have you always been here?" Some families stayed put in one place, some moved often.

The tidbit about his mother formerly working for the Transport Department was filed away for future reference - both parents in the Ministry, yet he'd opted to be a healer. Johann's own parents both worked in finance, but his paternal grandfather was still practising as a senior healer, the younger brother of Ignan's late father who had passed just before the turn of the year.

As he listened to the answer he peered over the arm of the sofa to nearby objects and any papers.
"Certainly quieter than the pub." Johann agreed, and folded one leg over the other, eyes finishing a lap of the room again and landing on Rustle's fluffy coat.

"Do you have just the cat, or are there any other pets?" There was an edge of trepidation to his question, "I only ask, because a friend had a great big snake once, and didn't mention it until it was about to give me a hug."

While he waited for the water to boil, Arcturus found what he was looking for - the small, compacted white pills that his mother had kept away. They were a wizarding family, but Lydia still had her Muggle habits. Ibuprofen was one of them, and Arcturus liked it better than any of the foul-tasting things that existed at the hospital's apothecary. St Mungo's entire board would have thrown a cog if he brought up such a thing, though, so the Hollingburys kept it to themselves. More than willingly.

"You have a lovely place, have you always been here?"

"Yes." Arcturus turned his attention back to the kettle. "Our direct family's been here through any weather - rain, shine, war, you name it. Previous generations of our family move per generation, but I think I'm staying here in London...I'm not good with the country, and it's quiet on the outskirts here. Peaceful, clean. I like this area."

The kettle lid began to rattle. The healer paused in adding the tea bags to check on it. "Don't worry, it's only Rustle here. Look at the size of this house and tell me if it could possibly contain any more than one large kneazle." From where he was, he could see Rustle had turned his lazy gaze and ears towards Johann. "I think one pet's enough, and my parents share the opinion."

As he finished talking, the kettle sputtered and then burst into a whistle as it rattled around on the stove. Arcturus tapped on the stove to turn off the gas before the kettle got up and started running around the kitchen in a panic. The headache was starting to wane by now, which was good.

"How do you like your tea?" he asked, as the kettle got up on multiple legs and scuttled over to the mugs like a particularly large spider.

As Arcturus had been explaining about pets, Johann had nimbly got to his feet, socks rather quieter on floors. Rustle watched him with what looked like suspicion.

"Hot, in a mug, or a teacup if you're feeling like a fancy badger."

He winked, reviving the nickname he'd almost accidentally tried on for size at the pub the other weekend. Johann's long stride had allowed him to reach the kitchen doorway, and he was peering into the brighter room, eyes busily sweeping the scene of the rattling kettle on legs and the man in the kitchen - trying hard not to stare for more than a moment admiringly at his backside. Eventually his eyes returned to the other man's face and realised that his response had been less than helpful.

"Sorry, sometimes my mouth's as quick as my head and I can't resist." He apologised, peering round the doorframe. The smiles and joking were just his way of settling in with this most odd feeling between the two of them. Camille had raised her son to be a polite guest, well, at least when sober.

"Truth is, I've not really had camomile tea," Johann explained, eyes dropping to watch the kettle's magical movements, "so can't say I have a preference for how it is."

When he realised that sounded dismissive of tea altogether he raised a hand and shook his head, "I mean, I'll have it however you would suggest I might like it?"

With that he had progressed inside the kitchen ever so slightly, and the eyes wandered once again around the surfaces. He was predicting where the teaspoons were kept…

It was very easy to discuss tea, and houses, and pets. It was all mundane conversation to friends, but to the relatively un-accquainted pair, each revelation was a little more knowledge about the other. Johann couldn't help but wish Arcturus would come and sit down though, if only to ensure Johann and Rustle the cat-who-could-potentially-lacerate-his-face were not alone together.

Soon enough, he retreated back into the living room and back to perch on the sofa, marvelling at tea. Despite himself, he drew one leg up with the other from the floor, habit from perching on the sofa-bed that was the couch back at Colin's.

"Better?" He asked the healer softly, lips almost permanently smiling as he conversed. "How was your head after the pub last week? Sorry to drive you into drinking through shock."

"Hot, in a mug, or a teacup if you're feeling like a fancy badger."

Arcturus turned around and smiled at Johann, his eyebrows raised. The other man was looking interestedly around the kitchen. The healer didn't really think he had to say anything at Johann's answer.

"Sorry, sometimes my mouth's as quick as my head and I can't resist. Truth is, I've not really had camomile tea, so can't say I have a preference for how it is."

"I mean, I'll have it however you would suggest I might like it?"

"That's all right." Arcturus turned back to the tea-making at hand. The kettle appeared to be watching him despite the lack of optical organs, the mugs steaming. As Johann gazed around the kitchen the healer tapped the kettle with his wand, making it sit down and tuck in its legs. "It'll be best if you just take it plain then. Chamomile tea isn't really the sort of tea you can add milk or sugar to...well, in my opinion. I have less experience with tea-brewing than my father does."

He turned around with mugs in hand and raised his eyebrows.

Both of them were back in the living room relatively faster than they had going to the kitchen. Arcturus appreciated that Johann was smiling at him, but now that his headache was gone he himself had apparently reverted to his usual poker face. The tea-brewing had left him little distraction or time to focus on anxiety; now that he was back here it was starting to creep up onto him again.

He had put the mugs down on the coffee table and had to shovel Rustle off the green armchair. The kneazle amiably strolled over to the blue armchair, where he claimed it with another lazy sprawl. Arcturus meanwhile was drinking when Johann asked him if he was better or not. He lowered his mug before smiling at Johann and putting the mug down.

"I was all right, I took the day off and worked night shift to make up for it," he answered. "Sleep usually fixes most hangovers for me, though I try not to do it all the time since my time is valuable and the hospital needs me on hand. Thank you for your concern. I'm much better now, too. I guess you weren't subject to the same sort of lousy alcohol tolerance, were you?"

Johann winced apologetically to the fact he'd given Arcturus enough of a hangover to have to not go into work.

"Ok, so drinking isn't something we should regularly engage in," he suggested, the teacup just below his chin in one hand, having sipped tentatively a moment before, "but that's ok, I can handle tea." He nodded to himself.

"All in all, Sunday night drinks were a quiet moment in the week ahead. Tuesday night I got wrapped up in some bother at work with a few foreign visitors trying to lift some museum pieces.[1]" He skimmed over the curse slinging fight and the aurors arriving to the rescue while he hid behind exhibits.

"Thursday was my birthday, but I spent most of it in a Russian courtroom owing to a British ex-pat and a hungry plant[2], but I did get back to drink the Leaky Cauldron dry[3], complete with awful headache, yes, the next day. I only had to go in for one afternoon meeting though, torture enough.[4]" He rubbed at the side of his temple with his left hand in memory of drinking coffee and bothering Aisling while avoiding other work.

His gaze dropped to the mug and his cheeks coloured a little.
"I'd have slept like a log last night, only I was strangely nervous about meeting you this evening. I… I wasn't sure if you would entertain it again, or entertain the same conclusions." The German looked up again a little less confidently. He'd have quite liked for Arcturus to perch on the sofa with him, but it seemed as if each of the family had their own armchair, well, apart from the kneazle.

"I just couldn't shift the thought of how things felt, you know?" He gestured with a hand and self consciously dipped his eyes to his tea and let out the rest of his breath in a little puff, his shoulders sinking suddenly as he dropped the teacup to rest on his folded legs.

1.	Mind Your Fingers
2.	Dog Russian, Deutsch & Shackles
3.	With Mirth & Laughter, Let Old Wrinkles Come
4.	The Fairest Knight of all the Board

Arcturus smiled. "I can deal with drinking, just not so many glasses next time. I appreciate the gesture, but go easy on the drinks." He drank from his mug again and then put it down on the coffee table. Rustle watched him through half-closed eyes.

"Well, you've been busy. Sounds much more interesting than what I got up to at the hospital for the week." He watched Johann talk, every movement, every gesture, to keep his mind off the anxiety trying to tell him that everything was going to go wrong in a minute.

"...same conclusions?" He furrowed his brow in puzzlement. "What do you mean? About what we agreed the last time, is that what you're referring to?"

"The chance." Johann replied, gaze unflinching suddenly, keen to be sure they were both talking about the same thing. His eyes flickered a moment as he recalled the general phrasing, "A little time to take a chance, for us both, because it feels like the right thing to do."

He swirled the tea around gently, watching it for a moment, colour creeping up his face, suspecting Arcturus had changed his mind, that this had just been in his head.

Idiot.

He doesn't remember, can't hold a drink long enough, or he's pretending he doesn't remember.

He's your healer, he's not meant to even be talking to you like this. No wonder he sat on the armchair away from you.

He invited us in though!

There was a full blown argument going on in his head, which was the pay-off for what he further explained:

"Not even considered potion all week, and stone cold sober, as per the agreement, also." He inhaled and swallowed. "Still feel the same." He tapped his fingertips against the china, "But no obligation, I didn't expect anything of what happened that night. It just, took me by surprise. Pleasant surprise." His features broke into a nervous smile, though he wished the sofa might swallow him up like a big grey whale to avoid the uncomfortable churn in his stomach and the war going on in his head.