Mister, Missus, Babies, Cats, and Dog.

“I think it’d be the best way to go,” Millie admitted thoughtfully. “Plus, I like my Granddad and my uncle and co. so it wouldn’t be such a trial to be with them for a day and they’re no bother. I think my Nan would be happy to help out Bridget in the kitchen and stuff so it’d be quite nice and not as much hassle as it sort of sounds because they’ll bring over food and things so it’ll be nice. Maybe. We can ask my Granddad tomorrow eh?” She suggested, remembering he was coming over to drop off the presents.

“I got bored of saying Ben and Bae,” she explained with a laugh. “And they’re getting married, for heaven’s sake. They’re choosing to become a single entity and turn into each other. It’s fitting they get a new name.” She giggled and shook her head. “I like it too,” she admitted with a gentle smile. “I think it’d be good to exchange them… sort of.” She clucked her tongue to the roof of her mouth. “I can’t explain without spoiling it but we need to go to it so if you bring yours, we can do it at the same time, sort of.”

As her sniffles came thick and fast, Millie let herself tumble into his arms, drawing her embrace around him as she did so. She looked up at him as he took her face in his hands and nodded to his words. She bit her lip and averted her eyes as he stepped away, reaching up a mitten to rub underneath her eyes. She took a breath and looked at him, matching him in his despair as she stared, unable to articulate what she was really feeling. How did he make her manage to feel guilty for it? She didn’t know, but it rubbed. It was there. The pain of it was raw and smarting. But then a kiss went to her forehead and nothing was resolved; the subject was put away as though it hadn’t even been worth getting upset over.

“That’s a good idea,” she nodded, taking off her gloves. She pushed them into her pockets a little bit too roughly, perhaps, but ignored it and pressed forward towards the sled to sit down. Bean hopped off and began to amble down the hill at his own pace. For the family, it was down on the sled with snow slicing up into the air with wicked speed. The children squealed with excitement and Millie tightened her grip around them reflexively, knowing no one would fall off but did so regardless. Then the sled came to a stop at the Hogsmeade gate and it was time to disembark and find a tree.

Millie decided to take one of the twins, picking Kelly up into her arms to hold as she followed on after Bean who seemed intent on leading the way to the tree market. The sled she let Keiran decide what to do with and instead snuggled in with Kelly who put her arms around her mother’s neck, content to hold on and babble back to the woman who spoke to her in whispered words, asking her things that she knew the little girl wouldn’t reply to – like what kind of tree they were going to get and how big Kelly wanted it.

Bean barked, reminding Millie that she needed to turn, and he wagged his tail enthusiastically before continuing off. Millie laughed a little bit as Kelly cooed after the dog and she stopped a little in the snow to turn and look for Keiran, lifting an impish smile onto her lips. “Come on!” She encouraged. “Otherwise there won’t be any left and we’ll have to decorate the cats!”

Guilt overwhelmed Keiran when he caught Millie's expression, not sure where he had gone wrong. He had only wanted to be supportive, but his face fell as she turned away, and Keiran dropped his chin towards his chest, letting out a sigh that turned to mist in the cold air. His well-meant words had apparently upset her instead of helping, and he couldn't help but feel all the more anxious about her gift. She would probably hate it. It was too late to change it, though, now that they planned to exchange them that night when they got back.

So he just shook his head and followed her lead, settling himself on the sled and feeling rather ridiculous for doing so. Before shoving the thing forward and down the hill, Keiran reached up to brush Millie's hair to the side, and he pressed a kiss behind her ear. "Sorry," he murmured, dropping a second kiss to the shell of her ear. "Thank you for worrying about me, Missie. If you want to talk about it later, we can. If not, well... that's fine, too. I just want my baby girl to be happy. Whatever that takes, and whatever that means for me."

Once Bean had started making his way down, though, Keiran knew they were supposed to follow, and started the sled down the hill behind him. When they reached the bottom, he picked up Liam, setting the boy on his hip. The sled was shrunk and set in Keiran's pocket, where he could find it again later and make it a bit bigger than usual so the tree would fit, too. Then again, he supposed he could just as easily shrink the tree down if he absolutely had to. But he ignored the questions in favor of following Millie down into Hogsmeade.

Liam's little head turned from side to side as they walked, his eyes taking in everything around him as his father tried to catch up to his mother. His attention returned to Keiran, though, when the man spoke up. "I doubt they'll all be snatched up by the time we get down the street," he teased, ending up alongside her. "But we could dress up the cats anyway, if you want."

But he went along with it anyway, following Bean up to the little copse of trees they were meant to pick from. Turning Liam around so Keiran held him against his chest and so the little feet sat in Keiran's hand, he let his son's little hands reach out towards the pine needles. "Righto, babies. Pick out the best one. Preferably one that fits in our rooms," he added with a smile in Millie's direction.

Leading the way through the trees they could choose from, Keiran kept walking until a little gurgle came up from Liam's throat and his hands extended towards one in particular. Stepping closer, Keiran realized it was smaller than the others, but shaped perfectly, and he ducked his chin and dropped a kiss to the top of the boy's head. "I like it, too, little man." Keiran assured him softly.

"Missie?" he called, leaning back to search for her. "I think he's a fan of this one."

A few words. That was all it took. She leaned back into him and forgave him and felt her pain soothe as she knew she could take to her husband about this. It wouldn’t be brushed under the carpet and forgotten about only to gnaw at her for reasons she couldn’t understand. She could talk. It made her feel lighter for it and she strayed back to his side, content to wander with him and their children as they looked around for a tree. Understandably, though, the girls got distracted, magpies that they were, by the pretty things being sold alongside the trees.

Diverting through the brush, Millie came upon the little outdoor gift shop area where other wizards were wandering around with their children. Perching Kelly on the table, Millie began to rummage through the boxes, picking up a little basket before beginning to fill it with trinkets and festive bits to put on the trees. Upon hearing Keiran’s voice, the blonde woman scooped up their daughter and popped her on her hip before wandering off in search of her husband and son whom she found with relative ease.

“Got one, have you?” She asked with a fair smile, loping towards them.

It was a wonderful tree. She got a good look at it as she leaned into Keiran, reaching up to press a kiss to his cheek. She nearly lost her balance in the process but regained it in time, Kelly half helping by reaching out for the tree. Millie flushed pink and laughed a little, kissing Kelly’s cheek before looking up at the tree again. It was impressive and just about perfect, she decided. Liam had picked well.

“I got some pretty things to put on it,” she chipped in, holding up her basket. “How are we going to get this back, though? We could charm the sled to carry it, I suppose, or we could be conventional and shrink it.”

"You read my mind," Keiran informed her with a smile. Shrink it, he would, then.

With her approval, as well as Kelly's of course, Keiran moved over to speak to the person keeping track of their trees, and found a man standing there. He was all bundled up, like the family who had selected their items and were ready to head off. Once it was all sorted out, Keiran did indeed shrink the tree and lead the way back up towards the grounds.

As they approached the Hogwarts gate, he hesitated for a moment, a bit nervous that Millie would start to worry again, but decided that it would be best to just continue on and let her decide if she needed him. He had begun pulling the sled partway up, with Bean hopping on and off as his paws got too cold or, on the other hand, he got bored of simply riding along. So the babies were within their little bubble of safety, and Keiran was glad to not have to stress over it too very much. It was also lucky, he mused silently, that he had an arm free to reach over and pull Millie to him if she did seem to be anxious.

It wasn't until they reached the front entrance of the castle, though, that he stopped the sled and reached down to draw Liam up into his arms again. Then, once they had gotten the babies settled down again with their blocks, Keiran brought out the tree and returned it to its proper size, setting in its spot and wrapping the base rug around the bottom to cover up the sharp corners of the tree holder. They certainly didn't want the kids bopping their heads on anything.

He turned to Millie when he had finished making sure that the tree stood up straight, the smile on his face easily reaching his eyes. Despite everything that had happened the previous year, he had the innate feeling that Christmas would end up being a good time for them. It brought them together before, in a sense, and they had managed to get things more or less back to normal in time for this year's. He decided to take that as a good sign.

"Do you want to work on the tree until the kids get tired and then go ask Baldric to watch them? Or would you rather go and do gifts now and then settle in with the warm and work on the tree?" he asked. "I suppose we could always wait to do the tree until tomorrow, when the kids are more awake and can at least pretend to help," Keiran added with a shrug and a laugh.

"I'd be fine with either," he clarified, moving to sit on the floor next to the twins, offering them blocks once they had set down the ones in their hands.

When the wards of Hogwarts warmed and kissed at her skin, fizzling away the chill of the night air, a notable sense of relaxation spread over the blonde witch and her footsteps grew heavier and more assured, less springy as though she was going to run at a moment’s notice. Through the corridors past milling students they wandered, cuddling their babies into chests as their snow covered feet took them back to their rooms, the portrait door swinging open to admit them before their mouths had even parted to form the first syllables of the password.

Inside the fire was roaring and the dog eagerly came to warm his paws in front of the fire. The cats abandoned the sofa as children were plopped down upon it and coats, scarves, hats, and gloves were removed as the warmth spread through them. Home again, Millie thought with a satisfied smile. She flopped down onto the sofa happily, lifting her feet up underneath her bum. She tickled her fingers under the chin of their son and smiled, popping a kiss to, first their daughter’s and then their son’s forehead. She then sat them back down on the rug to play once more, as though no one had been out in the first place.

Once the tree was up, Millie hopped to her feet and wrapped her arms around Keiran’s middle, smiling at him fondly. She released him after leaning up to press a kiss to his jaw and stood to look at their Christmas tree. She fetched the trinkets she’d bought and spent a bit of time unwrapping them carefully, setting each one on the table, before experimentally hooking one onto a branch. She stood back a little and appraised it before lifting it off and trying it up higher. She was trying to remember how she and her dad used to do it. Decorating the tree was ‘their time’ and it was still strange without him. He started with tinsel first, she remembered with a start. Then the bells. Then the ornaments. Elliot would always get to do the star when he and their mother got home from shopping.

“Can we have a green and red colour scheme?” Millie asked, abandoning her post to come and sit behind Keiran, winding her arms back around him as she straightened her back to learn her chin onto his shoulder. “And make it really tackily Slytherin and Gryffindor? Or silver and gold as secondary colours, maybe? I have a lot of pink baubles, too, that’s the only thing. I mean, sparkly and stuff but sort of … oh, I dunno. We can look in a bit,” she pressed her lips to his neck and smiled, snuggling tightly into him – she was big spoon!

“I’ve been collecting,” Millie admitted softly, reaching out to put a triangular block on the top of the tower they were making, making the roof. “So there are even ones that the babies will love. Dragons and goblins and stuff. Do you reckon we can tear them away from their blocks long enough to help or should we do it? Oh! What do you want for dinner, babe? The House Elves keep accosting me, wanting to cook, so I dunno… might it be worth letting them in—actually no. You wait.” She grinned. “I have something in mind. When we go out, I’ll get it sorted.”

Millie got up again and tugged off her jumper, abandoning it on the arm chair before going into one of the cupboards to fish out the decorations that she’d been gathering. Then, at the table, she set about unwrapping them, pulling out yards of tinsel and lights and goodness only knows what else. She even found a slipper though she couldn’t really attest to either of them owning one so quickly transfigured it into a blue fabric bird that started fluttering about, much to the interest of the cats.

“Okay, what do we reckon colour-scheme wise, then?” She asked.

It felt strange, suddenly, to be without Bridget, Avery and Aiden. Despite the fact that it had only been perhaps a third of his life that the tradition existed, it hardly mattered when that was all he could think about when it came to Christmas. Keiran watched the tree just as she did, trying to figure what on earth they were supposed to use as their own tradition. He supposed it would come from each of the babies having their own set of baubles to hang up on the tree's branches, though the professor hoped that it would bring about room for he and Millie to have something of their own.

When Millie settled in behind him, Keiran smiled to himself, thinking back to when things had been reversed and he had come to discover the difference in his wife that - after, admittedly, a fair bit of turmoil - lead them to where they were. Sitting in front of their babies, another Christmas coming upon them. One of his hands fell to her leg, brushing back and forth as she set the top of one of the towers.

He turned to look at her as she went on, not sure at all where he could cut in to reply to her questions. But in the end she seemed to solve them herself and moved away again. When he realized she was unpacking everything by herself, he too got up, remaining where he could keep an eye on the twins just in case, and made to open one of the boxes himself. He found even more boxes of ornaments, but realized he hadn't answered her question once he had begun pulling them out.

"Well, I'm not sure," he replied, turning to look at the tree over her shoulder. "I mean, you've got too many ideas. Just do half the tree one way and half the other, and turn them around each night," Keiran teased, not entirely sure he didn't mean it. After all, it seemed like the sort of quirky thing he would actually agree to if she had brought it up herself. "Otherwise, pick a color or two and we can rotate through each year," he added, realizing he should probably offer a serious answer.

A part of him loathed the idea of the huge mess the boxes would make, and Keiran considered trying to distract Millie into doing something... else. But he supposed that the mess was just part of the Christmas season, and knew that he would merely end up cleaning the lot now or later. Better to get it done and push himself into giving Millie her gift despite his anxiety about it, he decided

Reaching into his box, Keiran found some of the unbreakable ones that Bridget had sent over for the twins, and took them over to set between the kids and start pulling them out to let them handle them for the first time.

"You pick the colors, Mills. It doesn't matter to me, any. I'm not exactly the one who's good at decorating," Keiran pointed out, lifting an eyebrow in an attempt to point out just how strange he thought it would be if their personalities had been reversed. Still, a smile went along with it, so it was all meant in jest. Reaching out a hand to keep Liam from trying to fit the large bauble into his mouth, the professor added, "I would be just as happy picking up the twins and letting them hang the bobs. But if we don't finish today, that's just as well. I'm a little surprised they're still awake. Though, I guess the cold might've woken them up again," he mused aloud with a bit of a chuckle. "Poor things are going to have to get used to it."

Lowering the tinsel in mock-exasperation, Millie fixed a glare at her husband, her lips twitching to betray her amusement. A little bit of colour ebbed at her cheeks and she picked up another colour absently, letting it drift from her fingers before taking up the silver bells in a little pile on the table. She unravelled them and lifted them up to the top, before hooking on end over a branch. Then, carefully, Millie began to wind the bells around the tree as far as they would go, smiling a little when they reached their end and began to chime. She grinned brightly and then reached for the gold tinsel, deciding that she’d be neutral and go without any house distinction.

Unless of course either of the twins were in Hufflepuff. That made Millie second guess herself. It was too late, though, and she decisively began to bring the tinsel about the tree, weaving it through the branches until it sat prettily in amongst the ferns. Then, the blonde witch stood back, nearly stepping into her husband, issuing an apology to him at once as she reached to squeeze his hand, and appraised her choice. She wasn’t overly happy but it did look nice and she supposed that there could be red and green in there somewhere unless they were going to go purely for silver and gold. Now she felt unsure about the whole aesthetic of the rooms and looked absently over at her house cushion which Narcissa was sat on licking her paws, wondering if that needed to be stored away or at least charmed to match.

“Oh this sucks,” she uttered, throwing her fingers through the front of her hair. She knew there was no saving it now and made a mental note to plait it before she went out. She glanced down at the ends and winced, inspecting just how split they were and glad she had her hair up in buns when working. There was no hairdresser in her immediate future, though. She was half tempted to lop it all off or, better, dye it red but she had a feeling Keiran would have something to say – or, worse, nothing at all and merely a clench of his jaw as he claimed he liked it as an afterthought – about doing that to herself.

“Isn’t the ability to decorate a Christmas tree one of the things you’re invested with in a hospital when you have your baby?” She asked rhetorically, returning to the tree to fiddle with the tinsel, pursing her lips at it, as though glaring at the thing would make it better. “Maybe two negates the Christmas tree skill,” she suspected. “I am going to drink Irish cream,” she decided, “after dinner … I’m going to drink half the bottle, get utterly tipsy, and decorate this sodding thing while I’m drunk and then we can tell everyone it was totally intentionally shit and laugh about it, deal?”

“Let’s go do presents,” she decided, taking a band off of her wrist before quickly beginning to plait her hair. “Sod this for a bunch of bananas. Let’s do presents.” She secured the plait at the bottom and then looked down at herself, deciding she was about as presentable as she was going to get that afternoon. So, it was now just a case of getting Baldric and he seemed to sense trouble or perhaps it was merely fortuitous because he was walking back past their room from the library when she went out to go and get him.

After putting on her shoes and her jacket and all of the winter stuff, Millie held her hand out for Keiran and together they flooed back into Hogsmeade via the Hog’s Head. Then, once out in the street, Millie apparated them. She couldn’t help but wince, always having hated it, but it was the fastest way to do so without ruining the surprise. From Scottish snow they started and they landed in deep, Irish ice.

“You probably know where we are, eh?” She broached, looking up out from under the faint sprinkle of snow beginning to fall to look at the lit windows of their house. “And that there aren’t any happy memories here yet. You see … part one of my gift was me hoping to facilitate some good memories.”

She found a path up to the door, upon which a big red bow had been stuck with a charm and she looked down at her boots with a shy smile before taking the keys out of the pocket of her jacket. After unlocking the door, she let him open it and stepped up, minding to wipe her feet first, into their fully furnished, warm and inviting house. No, not a house. A home. Their home. The furniture made it that. The way it looked right for living in, only in need of their personal belongings from Hogwarts to put pictures on the mantle or books on the shelves. Every detail had been seen to other than what their things could bring. She’d painstakingly, lovingly put down every root she had within her in every piece, every rug, every curtain and every cushion in there. It was an apology as much as it was a present. A long, long overdue apology.

“I hope you like it,” she murmured softly, already feeling the heat of the fire she’d had a stray Hogwarts House Elf that morning make up and preserve as well as turn on the lights so that it would be welcoming to step into. “It’s not everything. Sort of impersonal, isn’t it, in some ways. I mean, I can change things. We can. If you don’t like it, that is. I just … I wanted to make up for … well, everything. I know how much you did want this for us… I mean, I think I do. I just … this was meant to be our home and I was difficult and unhelpful and childish before so I wanted to make it so it really was ours. And to apologise. So I… I did my best. But that’s not all. If you’d, um… if you want to follow me.”

She hastily toed off her shoes and hung up her coat on the stand before hopping over to the stairs she’d put a rug up, finding as she’d flitted around the house with Elijah – who’d had the misfortune of being forced to do the painting – and Theodore as well as Baldric and her brother, all of whom had been roped in to help as much as possible that she was half-sliding down them in her socks. It was only when she’d actually fallen down them, only to be caught by Baldric at the bottom and shakily set back on her feet that the decision was made to put the rug in – and some spells to lessen the slipperiness.

She jumped up the stairs and waited on the landing before moving across to the room she felt would suit Keiran for a study. It had all of the usual study requirements – bookshelves, a desk and a chair – but it also let in an extraordinary amount of light which she adored and she’d spent a long time picking the curtains, wanting to abate the broodiness so that it was a light and airy room despite a lot of the dark woods being used. The bookshelves were empty but for a set of six weighty tomes she couldn’t believe she’d found. They were donkey’s years old – and she knew that because they weren’t even cut – which was bonkers. She still couldn’t believe she’d gotten them. Then, on the desk in a case was a truly beautiful quill, the feather unlike anything she’d set eyes on. Those were his real presents. Those were the ones she’d agonised over.

“I haven’t read these,” she spoke softly, setting her hand down on the shelf by the books. “You’ll see why when you open them but um… they’re written by these really old transfigurers and I couldn’t find new ones anywhere after I’d gotten them because I figured you wouldn’t maybe want to ruin these but the guy who I got them from said they were one of a kind and I’ve looked and I … I think they are.” She blinked, swallowing hesitantly. “And the quill … it’s a bit of a funny splurge but I … um. I thought maybe you could write your own book with it, maybe.”

While Millie went to see Baldric, Keiran decided to shrink down her gift and take it with them. It might have been a mistake, since they just had to bring it back in the end. But perhaps if she didn't like it, at least it wouldn't be sitting in their room and taunting him. He could always put it back in Bridget's house if everything went sour.

He let himself be led along, though, trying badly not to ask too many questions. When she side-along apparated him away, Keiran was surprised to find them in front of a building he knew well. They had named the children there. Would they name any future kids there? Keiran certainly hoped so. Especially after his recent contemplation and his having grown up as an only child. He wanted their home filled with love and little ones.

He frowned slightly at the reminder that they had been plagued with bad memories for the majority of their time together. But he squeezed her hand gently in hopes of calming the anxiousness he could practically feel was rolling off of her in waves. When they stepped in and he saw the change, Keiran's feet stopped, holding them in the doorway so he could sweep his gaze across it. How had she done all of this without his knowing? Maybe during his meetings? Regardless, he felt the look of wonder appearing on his face, and Keiran released Millie's hand to drape his arm over her shoulders. Leaning in, he kissed her hair, unable to find the words to thank her.

Finally, he came up with something worth saying. "Don't change it," he requested quietly, resting his temple against the side of her head. "And you don't need to apologize anymore, Missie," he reminded her, leaning forward to try and catch her gaze. "I thought you knew. I just want us to talk about things in the future instead of fighting about old things."

He followed her upstairs, though he was thinking about how he perhaps should have phrased his explanation better. He would get a chance to explain it again, properly this time, when he gave her his own gift. He had forgotten that she said there were parts, so when he walked through the door and into what could only be his study, his lips parted in surprise. Similarly, when she explained the books, he stared at her, warmth in his gaze just as much as in his smile.

He was probably supposed to look over at the quill in question, but Keiran reached out to cradle her chin is his hands and dropped several little kisses across her cheeks and nose. "You're perfect, Missie. Utterly brilliant," he declared before catching her lips with his own. As he pulled away, he added, "I love you so much, sweet girl."

He beamed at her, then remembered that he had something for Millie in return. It felt like nothing, comparatively. But he always seemed to fail when it came to gifts, especially for her. His hand fell to his coat pocket, feeling supremely self-conscious upon thinking about it. His smile faltered slightly, so he looked back at Millie, and asked her to close her eyes while he set the thing up.

Of course, he teased her about it a few times, checking to see if she was lying. Keiran smirked a bit, surprising her with another kiss once he had resized it. "You can look now, love," he murmured against her lips before pulling back, a sheepish expression finding its way onto his face.

"It isn't... I mean, I thought it was good, maybe, but now it doesn't really seem like it," he admitted, stepping towards the pensieve. "I just thought.. There are some things we don't want to remember, but some we do. And it might... I mean, if you don't like it I can take it back to mum's. It's our family's, you see. We're supposed to pass them on, and you're my family now, so it seemed right. I don't know if you actually want to use it. I thought maybe you'd want to go back and... See certain people," he tried to explain, thinking of her father. "And there are some things I'd like to show you, if you want," Keiran fidgeted, glancing between the object and his wife anxiously.

It registered that he could prove to her that he had not provoked Avery that past Christmas, but he doubted it would go over well. He did want to explain why he was so strange about relationships and showing his emotions. But, equally, he was desperately curious about if she would choose to show him anything. She didn't have to, obviously. She had given him enough.

"I won't ask that you take me in with you. That isn't fair. But I wanted it with us, if you felt you needed it. Seer or not, you can't relive things exactly. You can't see people from your past again. But this is sort of close..." He attempted, only barely able to contain the worry that she might have someone she missed that she would have preferred over him. His fingers twisted together anxiously as he awaited her reaction, hoping he hadn't ruined their evening.

Knowing that despite the anxiety she’d nursed he still liked it left Millie feeling utterly overjoyed. Her breath came out in a rush of satisfaction and she leaned into him, eagerly returning the kiss he thanked her with. Her features lifted and she grinned openly at him, seeing the joy in his eyes. When he’d paused in the foyer, she’d felt her heart leap into her throat. She’d thought she was going to be sick and had eyed the door to the bathroom. But he liked it. He liked it all. It made up for it. She’d actually succeeded.

“I love you more,” she retorted, her gaze softening and growing concerned as she saw the change in his face. She opened her mouth to ask what it was but when he asked her to close her eyes, she discerned it must have been because of his gift. Relenting, despite wanting to peek, Millie closed her eyes and waited, listening to the sounds left in the room as her hearing sharpened. She laughed a little when she felt him come closer to kiss her forehead and she shrank in on herself, batting him away as she tried to concentrate on not peeking.

When he asked her to open her eyes, Millie blinked her lids apart immediately. She searched around quickly and when her eyes fell to the desk, they widened a little at the sides. A pensieve. Millie stepped forward amidst his babbling and caught hold of his hand, carefully lacing their fingers together. She leaned up and kissed his cheek, a small smile appearing on her mouth.

“Thank you,” she murmured. She looked at the pensieve then, turning it around and inspecting the details on the side. She’d seen plenty of them over the years but there was something special about having one that belonged to a family. She knew where the Finnigan one was – though it hadn’t been used since Finn Finnigan fell in and never came out again in the 1850s. It wasn’t really spoken of. The defective thing probably wasn’t safe either – and it was ugly. This one, though. This was beautiful. Truly beautiful.

“I’m not a Seer,” she scoffed, flushing a little. “I’m just good at a wishy-washy subject. It’s not complicated. It’s just guesswork mainly and …” she trailed off, shaking her head. “Where do you want to go?” She asked with a grin.

"Impossible," Keiran declared firmly at the return of his sentiment, a bit of a smirk tickling at the corners of his mouth.

When she took up his hand, he faltered a bit, wondering if she meant for him to stop, because she didn't actually like it. But she seemed rather pleased with it, if her words and touches were any indication. He squeezed her hand for a moment, in case she was covering her distaste for his sake. His gaze jumped back to the new books, half wishing that she had refused him for the time being. Or wishing that he had kept that bit for later and instead suggested dinner.

"Well, you're the only one I'll call a Seer with any seriousness. I'm sure you've figured that much out," he teased gently, inclining his head towards her. "Even if you don't believe it, you're the closest I've seen or accepted. It's still a bit mad, for me. But I try."

Where did he want to go? It sounded strange when she put it that way. As though it were a vacation. It didn't work like that at all, really. "See," he attempted, frowning once more, "I haven't always made the best choices when it comes to us, and I know that. And I think you might remember that I said I'd been hurt before? It wasn't really the best way to put it, but I have a few people you need to see and know about, from my past. You know one of them already, I guess, but not in a way that makes you comfortable... I kind of wanted to give you a look at who I was from fifth year through university. It might make more sense, y'know? If you're... okay with that."