Closed RP: Stephen and Sarah - The Surprise

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

((This starts Friday morning. Good clean fun with appliances abounds!))


With minimal fuss, Sarah and Stephen had left the school by Floo to seek out a waiting cab in a nearby 'Muggle' village. Their destination, as far as Sarah knew, was Macduff Aquarium in Aberdeenshire, but this whole day just existing was already so incredible to her. They were leaving the castle - and with it she hoped the stress that had plagued them recently - and venturing out into the non-magic world which she had not been in since her arrival. To be fair, she had not gone beyond the castle and grounds except once to Hogsmeade with Stephen, so she was quite excited.

Settled against Stephen's side in the backseat of the cab, she was content to point out things that caught her attention on the drive - and even explain things that might have been interesting to a man from the 19th century - or simply just sit in companionable silence. The familiarity of being in a car after two months was refreshing because it was something distinctly non-magical and not connected to what they had left behind, and it was all that much better for having Stephen, who was already her new 'familiar', right next to her. They both needed this, in her opinion, so she had been ridiculously pleased when Stephen had mentioned the plans. Without knowing it (or so she assumed, as she had never mentioned her birthday), he had given her an early birthday present in this day trip out with him. There was no more she could ask for, and yet...

"Stephen, I think the cabbie's taken us to the wrong place," she said once she had gotten close to his ear to whisper without being overheard. Outside the window of the now stopped cab was a cottage, very lovely but not the aquarium she had been expecting to see. Too preoccupied with the view or with Stephen, she had not even noticed telling road signs that might have led to confusion much sooner.


((R-ish for quite a lot of smut in various places. xD))

Comments

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

Stephen, whose experience of cabs heretofore had been the sort drawn by horses, had spent much of the trip with attention divided between the various sights Sarah pointed out and the machine itself. He knew it would sound extremely strange if he were to question the cabbie about it, and reminded himself to ask the Headmistress where the Muggle Studies professor had gotten to. There were many things in the modern world that Hogwarts and the wizarding environs had still insulated Stephen from ever encountering.

When they drew up to the cottage, Stephen did not even bother to feign surprise. It was as the agent had promised (he had made all his arrangements via an agent in London, with whom he was able to correspond via Muggle post; the existence of Muggle post had of course been revealed and explained to him by the house-elves when he received Ryuuji's Muggle-mailed wedding invitations, months ago). "Not the wrong place at all, my dear, merely a different right place than the one you expected," he said. "What do you say to the aquarium waiting until tomorrow?"

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

"What?" Sarah asked automatically, blinking at him in momentary confusion. "What is..." She trailed off, eyes rounding out in surprise. She looked out the window at the cottage, back at Stephen, out the window again and then looked back at him for a split second more before her face broke out in a wide, elated smile. She made a sound of wordless utter happiness and promptly latched on to him with a loving and completely emphatic hug. The was no restraint in the motions, only carefree emotion as here there was no one to know them and judge. At this point, there were few words she could form to express just how completely and utterly wonderful this surprise was, but she found herself trying anyway. "This is amazing, just amazing. I... you..." Rather than finish, she hugged him tighter, that wide smile only growing.

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

"That will involve the food actually being eaten," Sarah said lightly over her shoulder before she moved into the kitchen. She stopped, looked around and then let out a gleeful but controlled sound at the sight of familiar, modern appliances. "Oh, there's a dishwasher... and a microwave... and a toaster!" At that, she began to laugh and wandered over to it, even more amused to see an excessively well-stocked bread bin with all kinds of bread. Her hand lingered on the jar of raspberry jam in a basket of jams, a soft look on her face as she looked back at Stephen before moving to the refrigerator to inspect what she would be able to cook with. She opened it with interest, blinking in surprise at the amount of food in here for two people for one weekend.

"Oh yes, soda," she said gleefully, nearly pulling it out right now to have some. Resisting, she continued her inspection, her eyes growing wider. "Dear God, there's caviar, lobster, shrimp and truffles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truffle) in here," she exclaimed, looking back from the refrigerator at him in clear surprise. She pulled open the freezer portion as she shut the door, looking through it to find ice cream and multiple frozen foods. "And Chateaubriand (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chateaubriand_steak)."

At this moment, Sarah was feeling the most spoiled she had ever felt in her entire life. Professors of magic school must be paid much better than American 'non-magic' professors, but still - the refrigerator and freezer was full on insanely expensive food. Impulsively, she crossed the space between them and kissed him, but pulled back and moved off before it seemed she wanted more to come of it. Her attention turned to the cupboard, natural curiosity wanting to look in them all. At one, she stopped and stared.

"This cupboard is an American junk food paradise," she said with a surprised laugh and a shake of her head, pulling out a bag of Doritos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doritos) and a box of Twinkies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twinkies). At the sight of several boxes of Jell-o (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jell-O), she promptly started laughing quietly. Due to the full nature of the cupboard, not all the contents were visible, so the full extent of foods (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_food) supplied was not revealed because that is just too mean.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

In point of fact, Hogwarts staff were hardly paid exorbitantly. Stephen had never revealed the extent of his personal fortune (http://estebanmd.livejournal.com/49548.html) to Sarah, or even its existence. (Gringotts having existed for rather a long time, inflation had not been an issue at all; funds were transferred as needed in the 19th century by those who had power of attorney for Stephen, and appreciated in the intervening time.) Nor was he accustomed to living according to his means in general. It seemed the agent had taken the amount of money made available to her for preparations to be somehow indicative of her client's tastes, and acted accordingly. He had mentioned that he had an American companion, and asked that whatever Americans (modern Americans, but he refrained from using the adjective) would find to be pleasing or comforting viands should be sent as well. Apparently 'junk food' was that, from what he saw now?

Stephen also had no idea what a dishwasher, microwave, or toaster were. "I assume from the names that a toaster toasts things, and a dishwasher washes dishes, but what pray tell is a microwave?"

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

Sarah made a sound of glee and grabbed his hand. "Let's go see," she said, pulling him back out to the sitting room and over to where the television sat. "That is a TV - television. It receives moving pictures and sound over a distance - both images happening right now and images that were recorded in the time before they were on the TV. People watch it for entertainment, instead of going to... say, a play or a concert." She hovered her finger over the button on the front. "That button turns it off and on, this," she pointed again, "changes the volume and this," she put her finger on it, "changes the channel. Each channel usually shows something different, so at any time you could watch the news, a television show, a movie, a sporting event... you can find all kinds of programs to watch."

She turned it on and then watched silently for a moment. "See, this is the news right here, those are the reporters and this is likely live, so they are in a building somewhere right now doing this as we watch. Hmm, we probably shouldn't watch the news, depending on the whole 'changing the future' concept." She click past it before temptation set in, stopping to watch the second. "And is a cartoon, which is all art that is animated." She looked back at him with a smile to see how he was absorbing this and then handled him the remote control she spotted. "This is the remote control. Those buttons," she put her finger on them, "change the channel just like on the TV."

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

Stephen stood and watched the flickering pictures. It was very, very strange and he did not know what to make of it. When Sarah handed him the remote control, his hand accepted it automatically, but his fingers closed around it as though it were any other object, and he did nothing with it.

"That picture is not sentient -- not like the portraits at Hogwarts that move and speak -- it is an image of something that already happened or is happening, like a memory." He tried to articulate his understanding of what she described.

As far as changing the future, he thought that if that had been a great concern, the Admiralty would not very well have sent him here. But then, he was known for his remarkable discretion; if anyone could be trusted not to spread tales of the 21st century in the 19th, it would be Maturin.

"I was told that people come here to visit the aquarium and the sea and to see local things, not to watch pictures of people in other places," he said.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

They spent an uneventful afternoon walking along the cliffs and then down to the shore. Stephen noted birds, and talked aimlessly and freely of seas he had known, the condition of the weather (he had always fancied himself to have absorbed rather more knowledge about matters nautical than was in reality at his command), and such. They held hands. To all external appearances, they would have seemed a completely ordinary couple, and happy.

The day had worn on into early evening when they made their way back to the cottage.

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

Sarah had taken it all in, from the sight of the ocean in the places they had walked to the sound of his voice as he talked to the simple pleasure of walking hand-in-hand with him. She was interested in everything he had to say, often asking questions. She felt content and at peace after the afternoon spent out, and the return to the cottage was even more pleasurable because of it. Hair now windblown, she held it out as she unlocked the door, catching the distinctive smell of the ocean in its strands that normally were scented like her shampoo and perfume. Her legs still felt sticky from the roll of the tide and she needed a shower. She opened her mouth to say as much as she walked into the sitting room and then stopped.

"We don't have any clothes," she said, turning around to look at him. They had not brought any type of suitcases as, obviously, that would have spoiled the surprise for her, and she had not even looked in the bedrooms when they were exploring. As far as she was aware, all her clothes were still very much in her room at Hogwarts. "All of my clothes were still in my room this morning... maybe there's a washing machine until they get here," she mused to herself and then looked at him. "Or did our clothes come while we were gone?" He had to have thought of clothes, because otherwise... no, she was not going to think along that line of thoughts.

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

He was trying to watch a book on the history of golf? At that, Sarah had to smother a laugh. "If you really want to watch the history of golf, I'm sure there is a video store somewhere close," she said helpfully, but really hoped he would not take her up on the offer. "Or we could actually go golfing, though I've never done it." She tugged at his sleeve. "But for now, are you hungry yet? I'm going to go cook something for us, why don't you come with me so I don't try to feed you any more offending food?" She did want him with her, but it would be a lie if she was not also asking to keep him from further electronic disasters. Letting go of his sleeve, she went back to work on her hair while she waited.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

Stephen was a little hurt by her amusement at his misunderstanding about the video recorder thing, but would not say so. "I think I should go use the shower as well." She would get no exciting stories about salt-encrusted laundry now, either!

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

Sarah raised her glass and well and then drank, surprised to find it was a taste she did not mind in the least. "Very much," she said in approval, for it was far better than the wine she had tasted before, not that it was much of a prior experience with fine wine. At least this time, drinking alcohol was not connected to anything other than enjoying it with a meal - or before, as the food had a bit of time left. She drank more and then set the glass on the table with a smile at him. "You should sit," she said, and then returned to the stove to check on dinner, moving around the kitchen to gather place settings.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

Stephen thought it would be impolite to sit and watch someone cook for him. He was quite used to having other people cook for him, but not while he was in the same room, generally. So he decided to follow her and help, instead. He certainly knew what place settings should be like, or thought he did. This place had rather less silver than a proper table should have, or even than Hogwarts's dinners generally sported. As a result, Stephen was not quite certain what should go where. Nevertheless he muddled through.

It would probably have been easier to do two-handed. He was carrying around his wineglass the whole time.

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

'Take you to the bedroom.'

It had to be the wine, the intoxication of the whole day that had been good for them the whole time, Sarah decided immediately. But it definitely could not be acted on... could it? She took a drink from her glass and then look at him.

"Well, there's always listening to music in the sitting room," she said, "or reading, or whatever you want, really." With that, she kissed him and then pulled back just slightly.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

Stephen had drunk enough to be much less wary or reluctant than he might otherwise have been. Still holding his wineglass in one hand, he drew her back again with the other, and did as she had done.

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

Trust and belief. Two things that had been defined and adjusted and re-evaluated time and again in their relationship. Sarah did trust him, extremely, and she did believe him, completely. It still did not help that she did think there was a danger. Two things were at war within her - the desire to flee back to the oblivion of dreamless sleep and the draw, which was proving itself stronger, of being the hell away from that place and everything that affected them. Today had been amazing, and while there had been moments with Stephen that she would declare among the happiest of her life, this day was by far one of the nicest they had been granted in their time together.

"No, I don't want to, at all, please, no," she said desperately, unable to stop the sounds of sobs that escaped around words. She clutched harder to him, not wanting to give any of this up despite her fear.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

"Then stay here with me," he said, reaching up to stroke her hair away from her face so that he could kiss her temple, even as he held tight to her with the other arm. "Sleep or wake as you choose, I'll not quibble with it, only stay." More kisses, soft along her hairline and down her cheek.

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

Sarah had not planned what had occurred earlier either, nor had she expected it. All along, she had worked to do as he needed and had avoided the issue of still wanting him as much as she ever had - another reason to have been somewhat grateful for the potion, as it put her in his bed and arms while keeping her from pressing affection on him. Part of her was afraid that the memory self would emerge if she had and it would cause another rift, but right now she was completely herself. After the length of time they had avoided all of this, she had expected the memory self to surge at once, but so far it had not. Why it had not, she would not think about now, but when it did, she would fight it fiercely.

Her kisses became even more eager and searching, her hand finally leaving the back of his head to roam slowly and touch his face and shoulder and chest. She wanted to be wanted now and with him responding for the second time tonight, she could only celebrate it. There was no way she did not want or need him now that this had begun and she made a soft sound, kisses more demanding still.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

It was in his mind to ask -- something, whether she was sure, something stupid and pointless -- and the words died unspoken at that sound from her, one he knew very well. Tomorrow we will go back for the potion, this need not happen again ... Stephen grasped for rationalisations, anything to justify allowing her to continue, allowing himself to continue. The truth was that with that sound, desire had transfixed him. He was no more capable of pulling away from her now than he was capable of making the forgotten potion materialise.

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

Across his chest with kisses and nips Sarah moved and then down, body sliding against his as she continued to readjust. Her hands caressed the stretches of skin her lips were not currently on, moving ever lower until she was covering his abdomen with kisses and then she met the barricade of fabric. The last time (http://community.livejournal.com/hogwarts_hocus/648762.html?thread=31227194#t31227194) she had this intent with these actions, it had been the memory self in control, with all the sexual boldness then that Sarah had still been learning. But she had learned the lesson well and was profiting from it. She kissed along the line between skin and fabric, the fingers of one hand under the waistband of the pajama bottoms so her nails brushed lightly against his skin. A first, yet not a first - either way, it was Sarah now and it would be for far longer. Her gaze flicked up to his face as she tugged gently on his waistband, exposing another bit of skin low on his abdomen to nip at.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

His eyes were closed, his head thrown back, lips slightly parted, breathless in anticipation tinged with only a faint remnant of anxiety. The tug at his remaining garment made him bite his lip, knowing what was coming. If she wanted this, whoever she was, he would not refuse it.

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

His smile and the words he offered so freely only served to brighten Sarah's smile more and she kissed him in joyful abandon until he spoke again. At the serious look, she calmed a great deal of her ardor, her kisses now slow and light.

"I know," she said softly, lips gentle along his chin, "but I'm glad it happened." She did mean that, despite the problems the forgotten potion would cause. She laid her cheek against his to make the awkward telling easier, her voice falling to a faint whisper. "I love you, and you know I'd do anything for you... I would have waited as long as it took... but I did miss this." She would not trade the safety the potion had given her before, or the fact that it had put her in his bed indefinitely while she took it (a thing she greatly feared would end when the potion was no longer necessary) but she found she was glad right now that their bedtime aides were not here.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

Wanting to rest, Stephen stretched out at Sarah's side, facing her, still in full contact with the length of her body, one arm across her chest in a half-embrace. "I find it hard to think of giving this up," he said, quietly. "Not now, not when we know it can be the way it was just now."

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

"Because I don't want to go back and lose the opportunity to be here, lose the chance to be coherent at night to have all of this again," Sarah said with a sigh, looking down. "Because I'm not the only one who had something forgotten yet I've not even bothered to ask if you want to go back, because asking means getting an answer. Even a reason to go back is purely selfish, even though I don't want to go back."

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

"What answer do you think you would have gotten, had you asked?" He stroked her hair. "That I would give this up? Sweetheart, honey, we could stay here a week or more, easily, with nary a word against it from me. As for the rest --" A kiss to her temple. "If you cannot sleep at night, then you shall sleep in the day. I have half a mind not to let you out of the bed anyhow."

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

That sound of his only served to increase the pleasure Sarah was experiencing, to know that a measure of enjoyment was found in this for him. Through a nice haze of pleasure she heard the compliment, focusing on him for a moment before he resumed. She mumbled something like a thank you as pale skin flushed lightly, unused to such compliments, and then she made some attempt at more words to explain the thank you but those were lost to incoherency. The fact that no one had ever told her that before and she was glad it had been him was likely irrelevant right now anyway, especially as she was certain he knew that fact. She also hoped he knew how incredible this was, as she certain could not tell him in other than moans.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

Stephen decided that to continue would be to risk inducing an unpleasant oversensitivity in the areas to which attention had been devoted, so worked his way back up to her throat, and thence to her lips.

He could not, however, resist nibbling at her lower lip, which might also have been considered a bad move given that he had already done so earlier.

Chances were good that they would both wind up sore in more than a few places.

Saturday (next day)

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

Waking slowly, Sarah rolled over in the bed, still mostly asleep as her hand reached out automatically for Stephen and only encountered bedsheets. She bolted upright, looking around as she tried to orient herself and adjust. The nightmares had not been unmanageable as she could only seem to recall once or twice waking and clinging to Stephen, but not having him in the room unsettled her a bit. Grabbing at a short, brightly-printed robe (http://www.sleepyheads.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=BH42BIG0&Category_Code=BHR) out of the suitcase, she pulled it on as she left the room, immediately alert to the sounds coming from the kitchen when she had entered the sitting room. With a relieved sigh, thinking he was likely looking for breakfast, she turned back to the bathroom to brush her teeth and such and then emerged with the robe now at least fastened and once more headed for the kitchen.

For a moment in the doorway, she stopped and stared at the sight of Stephen, at the kitchen table with a butter knife in his hand poking at the broken VCR. Moving over to his chair, she laid an arm around his shoulders and kissed his temple.

"Morning, mind telling me why you are jamming a butter knife in the broken VCR?" she asked, watching what he was doing. "And for my sanity, please tell me you haven't stuck the butter knife in any plugged in appliances?"

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

Stephen, wearing a flannel robe and nothing else, was indeed prodding the VCR with a butter knife. Cords trailed from the back of the much-abused appliance onto the chair opposite the one where he sat.

He seemed to think he could perform surgery on appliances.

He also seemed not to grasp that the machine could be opened up rather than accessing it through the slot where he had earlier shoved, and then pulled out, a book. He was treating the slot as a sort of incision.

"The innards of this thing frankly baffle me," he said.

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

Embarrassment forgotten as he joined her and glad now she had chosen the back part to step into, Sarah pushed him a bit toward the water, enjoying the sight that produced. Unable and unwilling to stop herself, she ran her hands over his chest and abdomen with a satisfied look at the tactile difference wet skin had, as well as how easy it was to 'accidentally' slip lower on such a slick surface, She stepped closer to press her body to his, meeting his gaze for a moment before she kissed him, hands still exploring.

"Why do people not do this all the time?" she murmured against his mouth between kisses. Not that sharing a shower was all that innovative a discovery, but it was an idea that Sarah was finding she really, really liked.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

"Perhaps because then it would be difficult to find time for anything else," he suggested. Her lips were slightly swollen from last night's interminable bout of kissing, as were his; he tempered the pressure of his kisses accordingly. Their bruised lips meeting had a certain yield, overripe and inexplicably luscious because of it. "Love you." It was a delirious affirmation, mindless.

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

Opening her eyes, Sarah moved away from him to rinse her hair, an amused look on her face to see so much lather running down her body. It took a bit longer than it would normally to get all the shampoo out, but soon it was done and she reached for the soap he had set aside. "Should I ask you to do this rather than say I'm going to do it myself and get corrected?" she asked, smiling.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

"Would you deprive me of the privilege?" Stephen countered, taking the soap from her.

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

"Oh, Stephen yes," Sarah moaned, unable to watch him kiss his way down over her body because the expectation of what he would be doing was already making her squirm and arch off the bed. Fingers dug into the bed covers on either side of her and she made a sound quite like a low whine deep in her throat, situating herself a bit more wantonly on the bed. This time she was determined that all of this would be followed by just as much satisfaction for him, even if it meant outright war with the memory self. That was forgotten for now, however, at the sensations she was currently already experiencing. With them, of course, began the string of sometimes coherent, and sometimes insensible, words and sounds - as Sarah never was very quiet.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

In this context, wanton positioning was much appreciated. Not only did it provide better access, the vista thereby presented was nothing short of inspirational. Stephen put that inspiration to full and extensive use. "Did you know," he murmured at one point, coming up for air, "that the tongue is the strongest muscle in the human body proportional to size (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongue#Intrinsic_muscles_of_the_tongue)?"

Obviously a rhetorical question.

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

"That you heard me, so I don't suddenly start thinking you have more interesting things to be thinking about than, well... this," Sarah said and nipped lightly at his neck in a unmarked spot of skin between several other marks and then returned to give his ear more attention. She was stubborn, which hopefully would count for something soon.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

"What counts as interesting is, I suppose, relative," Stephen said absently. "Look, you cannot very well bring up a topic of conversation and then expect me not to think about it."

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

Each subtle sign was a delight to Sarah, drawing a smile from her against before she moved on, deliberately making her way in from his hip with steadily more teasing nips. Temptation to give this to him too great, she happily reached her target. Relying not on memories entirely not her own, but of a memory half hers, she strove to learn more of what felt the best for him by looking for those same slight signs and hoping for a few more. Learning, although always an enjoyable task, was definitely fun in this instance and she was eager to know more.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

At that, Stephen could not repress a low moan. He had certainly stopped thinking about automobiles, that much was clear.

Sunday (Sarah's Birthday)

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

The rest of Saturday morning and afternoon had passed leisurely and wonderful for Sarah. After some time watching Stephen sleep, she too had dozed off. As she had been lulled into such a state of content relaxation, her sleep was not fitful even with some mild dreaming. After the two were both awake again in the evening, they had eaten but, due to Stephen's wonderful dictate on being in bed, it had turned into a picnic in bed with cheese (the 'real' kind, not the declared offense against humanity known as processed cheese) and wine and fruit and bread... and lots of crumbs because, as Sarah well knew by this point, Stephen was a slob careless eater. No wand on her, she had been forced to resort to teasing scolding to get him to rid the bed of crumbs so they could have dessert. Dessert, in this case, being each other.

This morning she had 'escaped' from the bed and managed to shower and dress and fix them breakfast with only mild distractions. After all, today was her birthday (and she still felt older than nineteen, oddly), so in her opinion, she was entitled to as many kisses as she wanted, especially if they were behaving so they could try for the aquarium today rather than another day abed. Somewhere in that reasoning Sarah knew her priorities might be off, but she did want to go to the aquarium and she knew he did too. They could go back to bed later - and even though this trip was her birthday present to her, she would play the birthday wish card if necessary, or just for fun.

Her own camera having not arrived in time from home, Sarah had planned - when this was a one-day trip - to ask to stop at a store to buy an inexpensive one so she would be able to take pictures and develop them later with the magic aides available to create moving photographs. As she still was camera-less, she asked Stephen if they could stop at a store a get the camera and film, to which he had readily agreed and she had gone to the phone book to hunt some place down. The store located to purchase the items and then a cab called, she put the phone back down and turned to Stephen with a smile.

"The cab should be here in less than ten minutes," she said, checking the inner pockets of her lightweight jacket for her wallet to make certain it was still there with other items she had stuck in the pockets. She had forgone any type of purse on Friday to use the jacket as one instead, even if the weather was warm enough to have no need to wear it right now. The weather changed so much here it was better to have a jacket at all times.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

With intense interest Stephen had watched Sarah using The Telephone. (Why this device awed him more than, say, automobiles -- well, who knows why?) After she put it down, he picked it up and pressed random buttons for a while to listen to the tones, until she gave him a goodnatured poke to get his attention long enough to remind him he should wear a jacket. By the time the cab arrived they had everything they needed, and amazingly Stephen did not forget the housekeys.

At Sarah's direction the cab took them first to a small camera shop. (Stephen, having no idea that an aquarium might have a gift shop in it, did not know that cameras could be procured in such a place; and Sarah was not from a decade when disposable cameras were common.) The driver waited while they went in. Stephen did not think it should take very long to purchase such a thing. It was a very small device, was it not? He had seen Remus use one, once.

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

Having the presence of mind to stop staring long enough to loop the neckstrap of the camera over her head and get out of the cab, Sarah checked to make certain Stephen had not left the cameras behind and then took the offered hand. She was still completely blown over by both the fact he had thought three cameras a good purchase when he said he had not liked any of them, then commented leaving about leave ones behind in the cab. She had not seen such a careless disregard for money and expensive things since... well, never, unless she countered the very rich students she had known at college who went through money like there were trees producing it for them. That spawned a whole new line of thought in wondering all about Stephen's financial status, which continued as they entered the building.

Looking around, Sarah's gaze was bright with interest to take it all in, and she did. Including the children. Many children. Her discontent with being around children was far less than an actual phobia, such as owls had become shortly after coming to Hogwarts, but going into a room completely full of the creatures that had previously unsettled her most had been part of the reason she now was so phobic and this... well, it was an awful lot like walking into a crowded owlry. Her grip on Stephen's hand tightened, but she did not react much beyond that. These were strangers, after all, and as she was nearly certain she would have no cause to test her temper, she knew she was not in danger of doing the thing she would always fear doing. Disconcerting, but she was not going to let it spoil her day if she could help it.

"It's really a zoo in here," she observed quietly, looking around at the crowd. "Surprising to see so many children here on a Sunday in the summer. Would have only expected it to be like this during the school year."

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

Stephen, rather less sanguine about the unexpectedly youthful company, could be heard to mutter something about how he had been under the impression he would be visiting an aquarium, not a nursery. While he did not dislike the company of children, he did not think this was quite the place for them, let alone so many of them. Nonetheless, he went to the proper desk and paid the (alarmingly trivial) fee for his and Sarah's admission. Returning with a pair of pamphlets on the aquarium's features (http://www.macduff-aquarium.org.uk/explore.html), he handed one to Sarah, composing his features into a somewhat less forbidding, if not entirely happy, appearance of neutral alertness.

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

Sarah smiled. "That's a 'payphone' - well, technically all telephones are 'pay' phones, but these are meant for public use. So anyone can come and use them for the amount the call is for, but phones in homes, at the cottage, in stores and offices and so forth are paid by a bill. So any phones that look like these," she gestured to the few payphones, "require money to use them. Pick it up and dial a number without putting any money in, umm, call this one," she said, pointing to the next phone's number. "There should be a recording that tells you to insert money." She grinned. "Don't actually do that part, or I'll have to answer the phone."

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

Stephen wanted to put money in the phone, though. Actually, what he really wanted to do was stick a butter knife into the slot where the money was supposed to go. Fortunately he had no butter knife, and therefore no one would ever see what would have appeared to be a grumpy professorial type trying to prise money out of a payphone.

He picked up the phone as bidden, and listened to the recording, then looked at Sarah. "So if I do not give it money as it asks me, now what?"

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

Okay, the explaining part was now mildly embarrassing, but as Sarah had decided she would explain all she could about the present time to him if asked, she did explain the Mafia. When she was done, she gave him a sheepish look. Despite things adding up to point to something like that, it now seemed a ridiculous thought. However, he had looked very, very nice dressed for the part.

"It was just a dream, after all, I don't think you really are in the mob." Well, not now that she had needed to explain it all to him.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

"I should hope not," he mumbled, still drowsy.

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

"No, I guess you really wouldn't," Sarah said, laughing softly at the nip. While the idea of him as a wealthy person was still very non-specific in her mind (as she really could have no idea of how wealthy he was), it was one she was processing and adapting to as it being part of him. It would certainly not make extravagant gifts any less surprising but at least she could stop worrying he was carelessly tossing aside all his money on her. "Especially as I definitely would not let you do it," she continued, holding on to him even tighter. "Completely stuck with me, you poor thing." She patted his back comfortingly, smiling. It felt good to say that out loud, even if the tone was playful.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

"A most pitiable plight, is it not?" He snorted, amused. "Which would be why I try so desperately to escape..." In fact he had managed to entangle himself yet more thoroughly, if such a thing could be possible.

[nopower-overme.livejournal.com]

Perhaps much earlier in their relationship the wince would have gone unnoticed, especially when Sarah was feeling so good right now. While the memory-self had aided her all along with ways to recognize, interpret and understand many things, it only worked for Stephen's memory-self motivated actions. It had been up to her to learn on her own (a strangely satisfying effort because most people had to do that and were not given memory prompts or or other abilities) what small amount she had been able about Stephen himself. Being so alert to him, as well as currently being wrapped around him and him around her without overwhelming desire (desire, yes, but not overwhelming yet) to distract her did have its benefits and while the wince was something that might have gone unnoticed in its slightness, it did not.

She pulled back from the kiss to take a breath and look at him, her gaze moving over his face for a moment to try to gauge the cause of the wince. "Anything wrong?" she asked softly, not really knowing what it could be but hoping it was something simple like she had nipped his lip too hard. She did realize that Stephen and his memory-self often actively shared his body rather than attempted dominance as she tried with her own and while it might have been a cause for concern when Sarah had felt less confident in his feelings, it was not now. She knew Stephen loved her. However, she had no way of knowing that right now such a thing was occurring for him. Even insight mostly failed, as to her, the battle often had to do with being intimate. Yet, had she been thinking, she might have realized that what they were sharing right now was just as accessible as sex for her own memory-self because it was just as intimate to Sarah, only in a different way. For now though, her memory-self was laying low.

[estebanmd.livejournal.com]

With an entity forcibly flooding his emotions with the concept of right, to be asked whether something was wrong hit Stephen like a dash of ice water to the face. He found the dissonance inescapable now. He chose to bury it.

"'Wrong' has no relevance to anything here," he said, and kissed her harder.