June 23rd, 1888 - London

The whole getting stuck in London thing had actually turned out quite nicely for Tuni. She'd been able to see and spend more time with Rufus than she would have ever thought possible. And though her father was certainly not happy with the turnout, he'd at least taken it well enough to get her set up in a quaint and respectable boarding house until she'd be able to return home. However, the freedom and independence she was getting a taste of was something she wasn't sure she'd be able to give up quite so easily. She'd returned to the museum the day after realizing she was stuck and spoke with the director about starting straight away. And... she had. Her maid had been with her that day because there was really no knowing what the director would have said but she'd eventually wandered off as Tuni had started working and learning the ropes. The following day, she'd had some assistance with getting dressed but had then ventured out on her own. It had felt strange, at first, but she'd quickly gotten used to it. Eventually leaving the boarding house on her own in the mornings and returning in the evenings simply became second nature.

Then she received an owl from February. She blushed when she realized she hadn't actually ever responded to her friend. But luckily, Febs was a smart girl and hadn't thought to panic and instead assumed good things. She'd been right, of course, but Tuni had been a bit surprised at the book that had accompanied the letter. She'd set it aside with a plan to read it when she got home from work and ended up doing just that when it became apparent she wouldn't be to see Rufus that evening. Febs hadn't been lying when she'd said the book got racy toward the end. Tuni had it finished by the next afternoon though with a blush certainly coloring her cheeks. A bold thought came to her mind but she quickly brushed it away. There was no way she could be so brazen with Rufus. He'd think she'd gone mad to suddenly suggest anything beyond the sweet kisses they shared from time to time. The thoughts were quickly pushed from her mind, however, as she settled for bed that evening. She went to bed with a small plan formed, regardless, to spend some extra time with the man.

When the morning of the twenty-third rolled around, she'd gotten ready much as she always did but told her maid not to worry about her getting home at the usual hour as she planned to surprise Rufus with some sweets from the little bakery she'd noticed in Diagon Alley. She'd gotten a questioning look from the other woman but had simply waved it off. She'd be just fine. It wasn't as if she would truly get into any trouble.

With a box of cookies and other sweet pastries tugged under her arm with Magdalena's scrawled across it in a fancy script, Tuni walked up to the bordering house she knew Rufus to be staying at with his teammate Tommy Tilcott. She'd had the chance to meet him and found him quite friendly and funny from the start, if not a bit odd. She walked up the stoop and knocked on the door, all smiles in a new dress she'd been allowed to get since she hadn't exactly gone to London with a valise of clothing.

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Another Glorious MJ Set!

Well this sucked, Thomas thought to himself as he stared at Rufus’ bed. He had plans to bro out with his bro number uno. The chaser’s head turned to the bottle of whiskey in his hand before turning back to Bixby’s bed and once again back to the bottle. How could he bro out when there was no bro to bro with? It was a catastrophe, truly.

Deciding, however he’d actually much rather enjoy his whiskey than go out searching for Rufus to find out exactly what was more important than getting drunk, Thomas pulled off the shirt he’d been wearing for the day and slumped into one of the small wooden chairs in the room. He took another swig (of several) of the whiskey and stared at the wall, glaring at it almost.

“You want some?” He asked the wall, tipping the bottle forward slightly before pulling it back almost defensively, “Well tough, ‘cause you’re a wall and can’t drink.” he nodded.

He’d been drinking for a short while already and, really, as depressing as this was – he was in his own little world enjoying himself. He had his quill and parchment sprawled out on his writing desk though hadn’t gotten far with his letters. Mostly because he didn’t know who he was writing to. He just had the urge to write to someone.

Taking another big swig of the drink, Thomas snapped his head to the knock on the door. He stood up briskly and without a top on and opened the door, “Ay, you’ve come back, Bix-“ He looked up to see her. The one he’d caught making out with his bro.

“Miss Locksmith!” He hailed, throwing his arms in the air (which, unfortunately, caused a little bit of whiskey to jump from the bottle), “You ain’t makin’ out with me too. I’m taken…” He hiccuped, “Kind of.”

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A brow was quickly raised at the sight of the shirtless man before her, Tuni's smile quickly turning into that of a shocked expression. What in Merlin's beard was going on? But before she could even say anything, he was telling her she couldn't make out with him and his face flushed a rather vibrant shade of red again.

"I.. was.. I.." she stumbled, quickly averting her gaze from his bared chest and looked at the box in her hands. She was never one to get tongue tied but Mr. Tilcott had thoroughly flustered her. "I was bringing some treats by," she said quickly, still unable to meet his gaze, "Is Rufus not home?"

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Another Glorious MJ Set!

The word treats certainly had his interest piqued and no sooner had she asked where Rufus was, had Thomas stepped aside (though clumsily and almost falling into the wall), did he gesture for Fortuna to come in, “Why, he perhaps is, Miss Lighthouse. Come and step inside, ‘ave a drink, and maybe he’ll appear! It’s the rules…” He said with a single, solemn nod and held out the bottle, “No drink, no Bixby!”

Once she was inside and holding the bottle, Thomas stumbled into his room and fell onto his bed before laying on it sideways, watching Miss Lockhart, head resting on his hand, “So… Why Bixby?”

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Tuni's head snapped up at his words, looking at him warily as he called her by the wrong name again. But he was motioning for her to come in and made it sound like Rufus was in there. Or at least, would be soon. She didn't really know what to do but he was handing her a bottle and all but herding her inside. So..she went. Box of treats in one hand and bottle of...something in her other.

She had just settled in a chair after depositing the box of cookies on a table and glanced to him with surprise at his question. The bottle was held in her hands, not entirely sure what she was going to do with it. She'd had wine and champagne before but never really anything of a harder substance. "What?" she asked, confusion on her face. What a strange question to ask.

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Another Glorious MJ Set!

Thomas shook his head though his eyes wandered briefly to the cookies. He turned his gaze back to Fortuna and gestured to the bottle before scratching at his chest a little, “Not answerin’ ‘til you ‘ave a drink! It’s the rules, Miss Lanyard”

Technically speaking, it wasn’t the rules but if he couldn’t bro out with his bro, Thomas was damn sure he was going to bro out with the person his bro had been hoeing out with. On the lips. Like a fish.

Staying silent though wobbling slightly, Thomas waited until she’d at least had a swig. He then held out his hand and gestured for her to pass it back to him. Reaching out and grabbing it, Thomas then continued to answer her question, “Well, why’d you mush together your tatur-traps? Him out of anyone!”

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Tuni simply stared at him. Was he seriously going to make her drink? He looked like he was. She could refuse to but then it would be awkward sitting there. She also figured he'd continue speaking nonsense and calling her strange names. Rufus had a weird taste in friends. But then again, he had picked her. So..maybe she should really think that way.

Throwing all caution to the wind, she brought the bottle to her lips despite the fact he'd probably been drinking it in such a way and took a rather hearty swig. Perhaps too hearty. It burned like something she'd never felt before and she soon found herself coughing. Once recovered, she looked up and saw he'd stuck his hand out. She gladly handed it over before wiping at her lips with the back of her hand.

"Why not him?" she questioned back, raising a brow in something of defiance back at him.

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Another Glorious MJ Set!

Thomas burst into a small fit of laughter as she began to choke. Oh, this was going to be fun. Taking the bottle, Thomas took another swig and with a mouth half full of whiskey, he spoke; “It’s Bixby.” He swallowed with a familiar wince at the burn. This was why he favoured firewhiskey; it was a soft yet strong burn that reminded him of a burning fire. He pondered on that for a brief moment: firewhiskey, enchanted to burn like fire when drank, burned like a fire when he drank it. It was an interesting concept and one that Thomas certainly wanted to elaborate on.

“But, Miss Landscape, ‘ow’d you meet him?” He said, holding out the bottle for her, “‘Cause ‘e ain’t exactly the most social people.”

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Ass. That was Tuni's thought on Mr. Tilcott. He was an ass. She glared at him thanks to his laughter over her plight of the drink. She'd never had firewhiskey before, of that much was obvious. But, she supposed she shouldn't have expected any less of a man that had answered the door without a shirt and and continued to be that way. Most gentleman would have put a shirt on. Clearly, he was not a gentleman.

"I was buying my brother gloves and asked Rufus to try on a pair so I had an idea on size," she answered simply as if it made the most sense in the world as she took the bottle from him and took another drink, this time making sure it wasn't quite as big of one. She didn't cough again but she did wince. "How in the hell do you drink this?" she asked with a shudder.

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Another Glorious MJ Set!

“Well that’s a borin’ story.” Thomas shrugged and shook the bottle once again, “Where’s the romance? Ain’t ‘e suppose’ t’ask your dad to look at you or somethin’?”  

Truth be told, Thomas didn’t really know how courtship worked. His only experience on that front was telling his father he had a girlfriend when he didn’t.

Why couldn’t his broom be a real person? He’d marry that in a heartbeat. She’d be a brunette (probably light brown) with dark brown eyes. And she’d probably be a little bit shorter than him. And she’d listen to all his stories about quidditch intently. Ah, that would be good.

Maybe there was a spell, he thought, that could turn his broom into a woman. Maybe he could invent it. Maybe that was his calling!

Tommy, inventor of Broomisco Womanisco, the miracle broom-to-woman spell! He’d become a millionaire.

He was pulled out of his reverie when she spoke after taking another glug of the drink, “With your mouth, Miss Landslide.” He said with a confused expression. He then sat up and moved over to his wardrobe, his hands rubbing his chest. He was getting quite chilly.

Pulling out a shirt, he pulled it on and turned back to Fortuna, “You think you can turn a broom into a person?” He enquired.

It was a good idea, he thought.

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Tuni was back to glaring at him. Idiotic asshole. Yep. That was Mr. Tilcott.

"You're an ass," she said as she stood up and snatched the bottle from him when he went to put a shirt on. [i]Finally.[/b]

She took a drink. Another bigger one but she thought she was getting the hang of it before sauntering over to the table with the box of cookies. Setting the bottle down, she picked the box up and went back to her chair and opened it to take a cookie out.

"I'm sure you already know plenty," she said before taking a bite of the cookie, eyes fluttering closed with how good it tasted, "I'm not telling you more unless you answer some of my questions. Besides, I'm sure you know a lot about me already." She was quick to swat his hand away when he reached for a cookie of his own and shake a finger at him. "Not until you tell me what you meant by 'kind of' being taken. That makes no sense," she added then took another bite of cookie.

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Another Glorious MJ Set!

“So I’ve been told, Miss Laundry” Thomas shrugged. He was a little too drunk to really care at this point though even sober, Thomas didn’t particularly care. He only minded when insults were directed at others and not himself. He cared for all but himself when it came to that.

Then, once she’d taken the drink from him and set the bottle down, he reached for one of the cookies as she spoke, “One, what’d you do that for?” He said, rubbing his hand and stumbling back a little, “Two, I don’t know if brooms can turn into people. That’s why I asked.” Wait, was she on about courtship? Who even knew at this point, “And three,” he moved to pick up the whiskey and took a large swig of it, “… and four, it’s complicated. My dad thinks I’m courtin’. And I guess I am but, er, she’s er… it’s complicated. She caught me talkin’ to a pole but also I met a flower girl who sells flowers and paints real good but that’s fine because we are just friends and also five,” he said, taking another – bigger – swig.

It was at this point that Thomas stumbled onto his bed and put the bottle on the floor, “That’s enough of that talk.”

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Tuni found it hard not to laugh. Actually, she couldn't stop herself from laughing though what left her lips was certainly a girlish sort of giggle. Idiotic ass he may be, he was at least a hilarious one. Maybe they could be some sort of friends after all.

"Sounds complicated," she said once she recovered from her giggles then tossed one of the cookies at him so it landed on his finally clothed shirt. She finished off the cookie in her hand, smiling pleasantly as she savored the flavor of it.

"This Maggie woman is a phenomenal baker," she said as she pulled another cookie out to munch on herself, holding the box almost possessively in her lap.

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Another Glorious MJ Set!

“A little. She’s nice.” He shrugged and though he didn’t particularly want to, the mention of Maggie the Baker opened up an entire can of worms for him. She was easy to talk to, it seemed. Or was it because he’d realised the more he spoke, the more cookies he got.

He picked up the cookie and in return, passed her the half empty bottle, “She’s got nice buns, yeah.” He nodded. He’d liked eating her bun – it was very plump and had quite a nice texture.

He still needed to pay her back. Maybe he’d visit her bakery one day with his own buns. He could be a baker, too. He was sure of it. All you did is throw stuff into a pot and cook it.

He practically swallowed the cookie without so much as chewing on it as he turned and grabbed his wand, “Gimme one more, I wanna do somethin’.” He nodded.

Infinite. Cookies.

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Tuni was giggling again. She didn't know why she was giggling but she was as she happily accepted the bottle and took a hearty enough swig. She was finding she quite liked the burn of the firewhiskey, though it didn't seem to be near as strong anymore. Strange.

"And what are you going to give me?" she asked, not even thinking of the fact he'd given her the bottle again. She went ahead and tossed the cookie anyways though her aim was surely not so great anymore.

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Another Glorious MJ Set!

“This,” He began as he leaned over and grabbed his wand.

Aiming it at the cookie in his hand, Thomas flicked his wand toward his target and said the spell as clear as he’d ever spoken a spell in his life. So clear, in fact, that he could have even been an enunciation instructor. There were a lot of job prospects tonight, he’d thought. He’d have to remember them.

“Geminio!” He smiled.

In truth, that simple spell came out in a slur of ‘germ’, ‘honey’, and ‘her’ and a sharp light darted from his wand and turned the cookie into a flower-scented, runny pile of golden honey.

Hey, he’d invented the cookie-to-honey spell, “… That ain’t a cookie. It was meant to turn into lots of cookies.”

Thomas frowned and stared at his now sticky, honey-covered hand.

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