After the shower, he felt loads better. The guilt was nagging at him, especially when he laid down next to her (on the rare occasions she stayed at home and got to sleep at a decent time) or shared an intimate moment or two. It was getting worse the longer he didn’t tell her. Miranda was doing her own thing as of late, which was probably best. Jason didn’t like lying to Fiona. Or rather, keeping something of this magnitude from her.

There were enough times he’d almost said something. The day had been busy, at least. He’d taken Aidan to the park again for a nice run around before stopping in to see Fiona at work. The little guy had had little room for a nap, running around and checking in on things that were probably not quite as child proof as one might think. Child proof in the way that the object should be fearful of the child as well. Still, he seemed to sense that he shouldn’t push over breakable objects within his reach. Perhaps that was part of being Fiona’s child.

The well behaved young boy was well received and was kept entertained by others while Jason talked Fiona into having a night off. He had the next day off from work as well, and really wanted to spend some time with her and Aidan before his work week started up again. Or just her. The affair had at least reminded him that he’d missed spending time with someone.

He had allured her away with promises of bacon burgers from their favorite burger spot. After the shower, he pulled on a plaid, light blue and gray button up collar shirt, sleeves rolled up, over a dark gray under shirt. It was tucked into his dark gray trousers. Jason had sent in their order for pick up, and after making sure she was relaxing, he’d gone out to get it. He had also stopped and got a case of her favorite beer.

After fumbling with his keys, he’d finally put the takeaway bag in his mouth, gritting his teeth over it. Once it was unlocked, he pushed the door open with his foot and stepped inside, the door closing behind with the same foot while he took the bag out of his mouth. Holding the case of beer under his other arm, he glanced around. “Fiona?” His voice was louder than usual, and he made his way to the kitchen. The sun was still in the sky, shining through the sparse clouds. All in all, the jaunt down to the burger joint had been an enjoyable walk.

Now, though, he wanted one of his beers in the fridge. A nice, cold beer… yes. Setting the case on top of the counter in the kitchen, he set the bag of burgers down precariously before making his way to the refrigerator. A moment later, and he had the red ale in his palm, the top twisting off with a satisfying pop.

How sweet the idea of a quiet evening at home, with some beer, bacon burgers...and her husband. Fiona could hardly remember the last time she had  had dinner at home at a decent time (for some reason, marriage pushed these things into the "not normal" drawer), so leaving work early and bringing Aidan to bed while Jason was rushing about getting food had felt like a nice alternation to the usual.

She had wanted to take a shower while he was out, but singing softly one of the Spanish lullaby her nanny had sung to her when she had been little had an unexpected effect on her. When her son drifted off into a dreamland of his own imagination, Fiona was long gone, sunken into the pillows next to him as if she had never wanted anything else.

It was an odd scene for anyone who knew that neither Aidan nor Fiona ever fell asleep in the large bed in Jason and Fionas' bedroom- he had his own little room and the historian tended to pass out on her desk or sofa somewhere in the early morning hours.

“Fiona?”

Did someone call her? Where and why? She wanted to answer, but could only grunt slightly and turned around, her hand almost searching for Aidans, who automatically grabbed her fingers in his sleep.
No, she wouldn't wake up now - she couldn't. Just a minute, Jason..or two..or...

He didn’t hear any response. Frowning, he took a swig out of the bottle, grasping the neck of it lightly. Picking up the bag of burgers and fries, he started out of the kitchen with his hands full. Then he realized, and he pulled his wand out, having the case of beer float behind him. The beer was equivalent to flowers for a normal woman, so he couldn’t just let them stay down and out of sight. He walked through the entire ground floor with no sign of Fiona or Aidan before he started to have irritation set in.

It wasn’t beyond her to head back to work once he’d been gone from the house. Maybe she’d thought to get a little more done, another article read and put into the museum project. Either way, he assumed the worst and finished his first beer before stomping a little too much up the stairs, grabbing the floating case of beer under his arm in a fit of frustration. He’d meant for them to have a night at home together! He had things he had to tell her! Or…

Jason paused on the stairs, nearly tripping over. Was he really going to tell her? Glancing down at the case, he felt his stomach disagree with him. Guilt was something he could live with, right? Surely it wouldn’t be that much of a big deal… And so long as Miss Skeeter kept her knowledge to herself… So many ifs, too many uncertainties. Groaning, he trudged through the upstairs a little less enthusiastically. Maybe her being at work was a blessing in disguise.

And he started to think that way until he stepped into their bedroom and saw the two of them asleep. Then he felt a fresh pang of guilt and worry in his gut. Setting the bag of tasty goodness aside, he shifted the case under his arm slightly. Moving over to the bed, he thought too late that he should have gotten a camera. Perhaps Aidan would keep sleeping if he woke Fiona up. Setting the case down on the bed, he also sat down on the edge, turning to her.

Reaching out, he rested a hand on her arm, gently rubbing it. Then he moved his hand to her shoulder when that didn’t work, shaking her lightly. “Fiona…” It was said softly. Watching her, peaceful and content in her sleep, he felt mean to wake her from it. Still… she might not be happy knowing her burger got cold.

She smelled something in her sleep, but she couldn't tell if she only dreamt or if it was really there somewhere, hanging in the air of her bedroom.

“Fiona…”

The historian woke in an instant, slightly confused as to her whereabouts. It was odd to see Jason sitting next to her waking her up when in fact it had almost always been her who had come late from work waking him up to let him know she was home, safely und without a scratch. Or at least, no life threatening scratch.

She felt dizzy and sleepy- and hungry, too- as if she'd been awake for days and days in a row. Shaking that feeling off, Fiona sat up and blinked with her eyes, noticing Aidan on one side of her, sleeping heavily, and Jason on her other.

"Hey you," she brought out, smiling a little in her sleepy-ness, still not really in the there and then. For a moment she turned her attention back to Aidan, putting his blanket over him and running her hand over his hair.

Her gaze wandered over the bed bed then, to Jason. Slowly she moved forward, slipping her arms beneath his and pulling him into a gentle embrace.
"You're back...with burgers my nose tells me," she whispered. Only now she noticed he had put something else on the bed, a grin pushing all the tired feelings away instantly. She let go off him and grabbed the case.
"Beer...How awesome!"

He felt a bit of guilt at waking her up. Actually, he was feeling guilty over quite a few things, but that just added on to it. Biting his lower lip a moment, he gave her a small smile as she woke up. It wasn’t often he got to see that these days. Always working… away from home… sleeping where Jason wasn’t. A pang of remorse came over him as well. It was hard to wait for the next fleeting moment he might get with her. It seemed less and less these days.

“Hey you.”

“Hey…” He normally would reach out and rub her. Or kiss her. Or other things. But he was too focused on all that had happened in the past week or so. Rita Skeeter had made him a bit of a nervous wreck. Not that he hadn’t been the cause of it, of course… If he hadn’t had anything to feel guilty about, it would have been a fine interview.

Jason watched her act like the mother she pretended not to be, smiling softly and tilting his head. That was the woman he loved. Guilt riddled him well, though, and he felt the smile slipping. He still loved her, of course. That was why the affair was difficult. He knew it was going to hurt her. And him.

“You’re back…with burgers my nose tells me.”

He closed his eyes as he rested his head against the side of hers, holding her in a hug. Slightly muffled against her hair, he chuckled. “Your nose does nothing but give away my secrets. I mean my surprises.” When she noticed the beer, he sat up and moved out of the way. He was now regretting that he’d thrown his first beer back so quickly. She at least seemed happy with the gift.

“Beer…How awesome!”

Taking a sip of his, he nodded and glanced to it. “I wanted you to keep your fingers off of my stash, so I thought maybe you’d like your own. Now that you’re back home for the time being.” Finally he pushed off the bed and moved over to where he’d put the burgers, bringing the bag over to her in the bed, sitting down. “Are you hungry then?” He would just take one of her beers for now instead of going all the way down to get another.

“Your nose does nothing but give away my secrets. I mean my surprises.”

"I'm a weapon, really. What can you do," she shrugged, almost half-emptying the can in one sip. Ah, beer. What a wonderful invention to sweeten her life.

“I wanted you to keep your fingers off of my stash, so I thought maybe you’d like your own. Now that you’re back home for the time being.”

She scanned him in  playful disbelief. "Stash, what stash? You've been out for half an hour or so- the things that happened in this time!"
Like her changing Aidan, singing songs and falling asleep (Did she snore?) almost instantly. "But good thinking."

Fiona watched him get the bag of food and felt her mouth watering and stomach grumbling. Patting it slightly she wondered how she could have forgotten to eat today- it was the oddest of things. There was always time for food in her life. Only to not say Food was her life.

  “Are you hungry then?”

Raising an eyebrow, 8 years of being with her should have been enough to answer that question before it was actually asked. That woman was always hungry.
"That was not a real question, was it?", she took another deep sip from her beer and crushed the empty can between her fingers.

"Let's go downstairs before we wake this little bug up. If he sniffs my beer -or burger- i'm in trouble", she grabbed the bag and got off the bed quickly, making her way quickly downstairs without waiting. "If you're not quick enough, I might have eaten your burger already by the time you arrive in the kitchen," she commented over her shoulder, taking three steps at a time.

In the kitchen she literally threw herself onto a chair which slid to the other side of the table, taking some other chairs with it. Unwrapping the food, she superficially turned her attention to her following husband. "Could you bring the custard and all from the fridge, please?" She didn't really want to get up again, lazy as hell as she could be on occasion.
"How has your week been?" she randomly asked, taking a deep breath to take in the junk food smell, "Anything interesting going on at the moment?"

“I’m a weapon, really. What can you do.”

Shaking his head slightly, he watched her drink the beer. It was always a bit of wonderment when she swallowed such a vast amount of liquid in one go… If only he wasn’t feeling so damn guilty his mind could go elsewhere and stay there.

“Stash, what stash? You’ve been out for half an hour or so- the things that happened in this time!”

“I all ready checked on it, nice try.” Smirking, he raised an eyebrow. “And I sometimes think. Enough to be right now and again, anyway.” About certain things. “I might have to take a couple of yours, though, to compensate for my depleted area in the fridge.” Jason could joke about it, anyway. It was a gift, though, and the best flowers he could give her. Maybe it would even hinder her when he told her. If he could bring himself to…

“That was not a real question, was it?”

“Depends on whether you think I got you a burger at all.” He knew she ate a bit, and would probably eat constantly if she had the ‘good food’ around in easy reach. It was part of the reason he’d fallen in love with her, as odd as that was. She hadn’t been worried about how she should act in front of him; she’d just been herself. Still… teasing her with food was both a dangerous and fun game.

Jason nodded when she mentioned going downstairs. He didn’t want to wake up Aidan; he was tough to get back to sleep once that happened. And the little boy was hungry quite often, much like his mother, and would easily try and con his way into some food. And possibly refreshment as well…

“If you’re not quick enough, I might have eaten your burger already by the time you arrive in the kitchen.”

Though not quite his usually extra flirty and happy self, he could still smirk at her threat. Picking up the case and keeping it under his arm, he followed after her. “I knew I should have taken the bag of burgers.” Though she was a bit careless once they got to the kitchen, Jason took his time. Setting the case down near her on the table, he moved to the fridge and pulled out another beer for himself, popping the top off. He preferred bottles.

Hearing her request, he made a noise before setting his freshly open, cold beer on the counter. Taking the condiments out, he set them on the table and then grabbed his beer, lifting it to his mouth.

“How has your week been?”

Something wasn’t communicated between his mouth and his hand, and the top of his beer landed on his chin and down to his shirt. Grimacing at that, he stopped and turned around, picking up a dish towel and dabbing at it. “Oh… you know…” Way too interesting to bring up at the dinner table.

“Anything interesting going on at the moment?”

He did freeze a moment, but after that brief heart stop he took a gulp of his beer and moved to sit across from her. She obviously hadn’t read the Rita Skeeter article… Or hadn’t mentioned it yet. “No.” His voice was a little higher than usual, and he cleared it before taking another swig. Setting the beer aside, he took his burger and pulled it to him. “I mean…” His heart fluttered a bit in his chest. “Miranda Elliot is back. You remember me telling you she… went to Hogwarts?” He used to complain quite a bit about her. “How about you? Work seems to be keeping you awfully busy.”