May 3, 1888 - Magdalena's Bakery in Diagon Alley

Just close your eyes
You'll be all right
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound
-Taylor Swift

Life had gone on and relatively smoothly since that fateful day at Gretna Green on the eleventh of April. She was a married woman though no one actually knew she was. Of course, gossip had been mentioned but no one had any real proof. Luckily enough, her family didn't read Witch Weekly so she hadn't had to field any questions. She remained unkissed though and wasn't entirely sure how she felt about it all. Who really knew if she'd ever get that first kiss. That, however, was the least of her worries in that moment. She'd broke the news to her family that she was a married woman and with that, had bought her own shop in Diagon Alley. She hadn't known what to expect but the anger and tension she'd felt had been the least of her concerns. They were angry and instead of enjoying the traditional birthday cake with her like they'd done for twenty years before, they simply handed it to her in a box and she'd been all but shoved out the front door with the rest of her meager belongings.

It had taken her a few minutes to regain her bearings before she'd apparated to her new shop. The sun still barely peeked above the horizon but it was well on its way to setting for the night. The shop was dark but there was a light on above it, indicating Lorcan was already there. With a deep breath, she walked into her own home while avoiding her reflection in the pristine glass of the shop front. She was sure her eyes were a bit red but there was nothing that could be done for it. Crying just wasn't something she did so she felt almost ashamed for having done so but the hurt she felt over the rejection of her family still stung.

Opening the door at the top of the stairs to lead into the quaint lodgings, she headed into the little kitchen where she found Lorcan. Her husband. She blushed at the thought even though they both had their own room and beds. She tried to greet him with a smile but found she couldn't, not without the threat of more tears. Sliding the cake in its box onto the table, she nodded to him.

"Help yourself," she said softly before looking to the hallway that would lead to her bed, "I think I'll just head to bed." She turned away then, part of her hoping he'd stop her and the other part hoping he wouldn't, but hesitated just at the threshold for a brief moment before going to continue on her way.

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Marvelous MJ Masterpiece

So this was... a thing. That had happened.

It had been weeks ago, really - but it hadn't felt more than an odd daydream, some strange play-acting for a day - and then they'd come home and he'd gone to work as usual and no one else knew, so the fact that he was married had just been sitting on him, part spring in his step and part weight bearing down on his shoulders.

He was really rather bad at keeping secrets, usually. It had taken these few weeks to settle in, he supposed, and even seeing the shop-to-be before hadn't made it real. It was only today, when he'd quitted the hospital after work and, instead of heading back to Ireland as he usually did, hadn't even left the city.

This was home, now. It might have felt almost like a holiday, just temporary lodging, if he hadn't broken the news to his father this morning before work. Only his father, mind - he hadn't dared set foot on the Connolly estate to tell the rest of them. Not yet, and not all at once, and heavens, not in person. He didn't want to get lynched by a stampede of angry Aurors.

He'd tell them tomorrow, he'd decided, as he wandered around the house aimlessly, absently, restlessly, running his hand over the surfaces and swinging doors back and forth and peering out windows like he was a child. (Maybe he'd start with his brothers, and then the cousins, and they could filter the news back to his aunts and uncles for him, soften the blow.)

Well, he was out of their hair, at any rate, so they oughtn't complain about this.

He'd taken a chair at the table, drumming his fingers atop it as the minutes passed and shifting his feet about, not quite able to get comfortable. Like he was sitting in someone else's house, and the host wasn't even home. Would it even feel better when Maggie was here? She'd be a comfort, she had to be; he'd always brightened up to see in her in the Hogsmeade shop. (Then again - things might be different now. After all, they were married! Or... not. He had supposed they'd - play the part to some extent, but by the time he'd leant in to kiss her at the ceremony - for ceremony's sake, if nothing else! - she'd already stepped back, like she was glad to have it over and done with.)

And suddenly she was here - and the furthest thing from glad. Lorcan vaguely registered the cake box before him, but her red-rimmed eyes were a more pressing issue, and his throat tightened all of a sudden.  

It hadn't gone well, then.

"Hey, hey, hey - " Lorcan protested, rising from his chair and reaching out to grasp her by the wrist before she fled down the hall and he had to spend the rest of the night going stir-crazy by himself. "Don't go," he entreated, with little else than earnestness; he reached out to take her other hand as well, so that he might turn her around back to face him. "What happened?"

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He had stopped her. Maggie couldn't help the feel of butterflies in the pit of her stomach at his voice or his touch but there was also a part of her worried about having to talk to him. How did she tell him her family had all but thrown her out? Her mother had cried and her father had simply stared. Rye had yelled and even slammed the door behind him as he'd left. It had been, in short, a disaster. The very thought of it all made her eyes well with tears but she couldn't, wouldn't, cry in front of him. Even if it had been his idea, she'd been the one to put it into motion and she wasn't about to make him feel guilty.

"They weren't happy," she said even though it was a gross understatement, "Mum cried. Dad.. Well he just sat there." After Rye's outburst, of which she wouldn't tell Lorcan, she'd quietly gotten her already packed belongings and as she'd left, her mother had handed her the boxed cake. Completely untouched. And after she'd gotten it together, she'd gone straight to the bakery.

She forced a smile now that she was facing him, her hands still in his. "It'll be okay," she said, more for herself than anything, "I'll be fine. We'll make due. They'll come around." She hoped. She wanted them to see her succeed and wanted them to be happy for her.

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Marvelous MJ Masterpiece

He didn't much like this, having to be serious around her. Not that he expected Maggie to think him capable of it, when he wasn't proposing irrational schemes, wild ideas like this one. Not that the seriousness was a conscious choice, for that matter; his brow had furrowed of its own accord, his mouth dipping into a frown as he surveyed her.

She'd cried. That much was blindingly apparent. They were - not even an hour into their new life together, officially - and she'd already been in tears. Lorcan had not thought far ahead enough to predict this. "Together", did he mean? Although there was nothing metaphorical about living under the same roof, so he supposed that was together enough, even if one counted all the ways in which they weren't.

Together enough that she had suddenly started feeling like his responsibility, especially with the state she was in. Together enough in this situation that at least some of this would be shared. He hadn't broken the news to his family yet, however, and judging by her response (and that was her family, kindly and supportive and not the least Irish or insane), it was probably something to put off as long as possible.  

No: this was the way Maggie had wanted it. This had been her part of the plan. (He did not plan to remind her of this.) Rip the plaster off all at once and be done with it, he remembered saying that to himself, and to her. So - the wound was still smarting. That was natural. It'd settle soon enough, with... with everyone.

"Of course they will," Lorcan finally piped up. All he could be was insistent, he decided, since Maggie had already tried to comfort herself independently, had used up all the logical words of consolation. "They're only shocked, they'll come around," he repeated, squeezing her hands and then letting one go so he could brush a loosened strand of her hair back behind her ear, a move meant only to offer some sort of comforting familiarity in an unfamiliar situation, since she didn't have anyone else to turn to, here. Focused on her face, he forced a smile wider than the one she'd tried, as if they could coax themselves out of this sadness, inch by inch.

"Just think, when they actually have a chance to see the bakery, to see you in your element," Lorcan told her brightly, "they'll understand. They love you, don't they?" He said to her, near-chiding. "And," he added, the expression in his eyes a little more pleading now, "this is the first night here, living in London, at your own shop! You can't go to bed sad about it."

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Maggie quite sincerely hoped that Lorcan was right, that her family was just shocked. It was definitely a shocking thing to hear even if her family did at least know who Lorcan was. He'd stayed in the shop during the snow in after all and he was technically a frequent customer. He wouldn't be anymore though. Rye would probably throw him out of the shop if he went I too soon.

But..he had a point. It was her first night there. Their first night there officially as a married couple. That very thought made her blush something fierce, making her wonder what his expectations might be for the night. She hadn't exactly said there wouldn't be a consummation but thought she'd at least implied as much by stating the marriage was purely for convenience. The very thought of..a marriage bed made her shiver and gooseflesh to rise all along her skin.

She tried not to think of it and looked hastily away from him, blue eyes falling to the cake box on the table. "And who could be sad with cake?!" she all but exclaimed as she flashed a happy smile at him before pulling away and heading back to the table and opening the box. She hadn't looked at it before that point and almost stayed crying again at the sight of the brightly colored flowers and Happy Birthday Magdalena written on it.

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Marvelous MJ Masterpiece

What about any of that had made her blush, Lorcan wasn't sure. Had it...been something about it being their first night? In another world, if they'd gone about this properly, this would have been the night right after their wedding, and they'd be here with their spirits high and a honeymoon to set off on and plenty to occupy themselves with for the night.

That might have made her blush, sure.

But they hadn't gone about this properly, and so she was talking about cake.

Lorcan followed her obligingly back to the table, his heart still heavier than he'd expected at this feeling in the air, the way things had worked out. He hardly felt hungry right now, but at least Maggie was trying to cheer things up again. Lorcan could go along with it.

"Now there's the Magdalena I know," he remarked, grinning again at her in return, but staring at the cake more soberly. Forcing himself out of it, he leant in to steal a taste of the icing from the edge of the box with his finger. "Come on then, and make a wish!" He exclaimed, as if they were children.

Hopefully that wish was not to undo the grand mistake of getting married.

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Maggie had been watching in a bit closely, noticing the changes in his facial features as things went along. He wasn't quite back to the Lorcan she knew even if he was saying she was the Magdalena he knew. His use of her full first name caused her to shudder, "Before I do, we're going to make a rule," she said with a raised brow in his direction but continued on before he could protest, "Even if I named the shop with my full name, you're not to call me that. Maggie is all I am."

Then her gaze shifted to the cake and she smiled faintly at it before closing her eyes . She even went so far as to bring her hands up and cross her fingers to play along with the childish antic. What she was going to wish for, however, she didn't have a clue. But eventually came to her, a silent wish for perhaps the smallest of kiss just so she could experience such a thing. The thought brought a small tinge of blush to her cheeks again but she quickly opened her eyes and smiled up to him.

"Let's eat up," she was quick to say as she began to busy herself just as quickly with gathering plates and something to cut into the cake with only to realize..they didn't exactly have anything to do that with.

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Marvelous MJ Masterpiece

"What, and the cake's allowed but I'm not?" He teased, but grinned widely at her anyway, since she was just Maggie to him, anyway.

He kept grinning as she closed her eyes, trying to guess whether she was only playing along for the fun of it or actually making a wish, and if so, what it was. It probably wasn't a stretch to imagine that it had something to do with her family. Lorcan was still watching her when she opened her eyes again, his gaze following her absently as she set about finding some plates and things. Or... didn't? She hadn't gotten very far with that, and her empty-handed pause was comical enough that he burst into laughter, pitching forwards from his helpless chuckling.

"Missing something, Maggie dearest?" Lorcan inquired innocently, like he hadn't already been in the throes of amusement from their predicament. A new place, nothing in order, no idea what they were really doing... Not that it would be hard to conjure up a knife with a spell, nor really to go downstairs to the bakery where presumably Maggie had spent a great deal more effort already getting set up. But either of those things suddenly felt like a great deal of effort. "For what it's worth, it looks too good to even need cutlery," he joked, waggling his eyebrows as he mimed scooping up a piece of the cake barbarically with his bare hands, not sure if that idea came off better or worse in a baker's mind. Was that heresy, or just a good compliment?

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Maggie was still blushing. She hadn't planned properly, clearly. The bakery itself below them was stocked to perfection with all the things she would need to run the shop with efficiency. Their home, however, was a different story apparently. She now was wondering if she even had proper bed linens for their bedrooms. Oh she really was an awful wife already from the start. The very thought almost bringing on more tears but she managed to keep them at bay.

He helped with that. Calling her Maggie dearest and then even acting as if he were simply going to dig into the cake with his bare hands. It actually wasn't an awful idea though would certainly be a messy one. That brought an idea to her mind and a small smirk formed on her features.

"That isn't a half bad idea actually," she said as she wandered back to the cake and actually scooped a hand into the cake. "After you Prince Charming," she was quick to say with a smirk, all while raising her hand and quite literally shoving the cake into his face.

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Marvelous MJ Masterpiece

However Lorcan had expected her to react to his joking suggestion, it had not been like that. But there he was, a handful of cake smushed straight into his face. Blinking back the shock, Lorcan opened his mouth and scraped some of the sticky mixture of cake and icing off his cheeks to - well, actually eat it.

It was good. Not that he had room to be surprised about that; he’d quite used up his resources of surprise at its collision with his face. He could feel crumbs falling from him now - well, might as well make a mess of the new kitchen - and he could taste the icing on his tongue and the corner of his mouth, could feel it coating his nose. Lorcan ignored this situation, for the moment, and instead reached out to catch hold of Maggie about her waist.

“Is that any way to treat your new husband?!” Lorcan declared, not managing much of a thunderous ‘husbandly’ tone over the erupting laughter. Doing his best to hold her there so she couldn’t run, he buried his other hand in the cake and brought up an even fistful of it, the glint of vengeance in his eyes. “After all, it’s your birthday -” he exclaimed, pushing it into her face in turn.

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The following 1 user Likes Lorcan Byrne's post:1 user Likes Lorcan Byrne's post
   Bella Scrimgeour

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Maggie was laughing. It was something she hadn't expected to do for many days following the events with her family. But there she was, remnants of the cake she'd shoved into Lorcan's face still coating her hand and laughing at the very sight of the confection smeared across his face. She should have moved away, expecting retaliation, but she found herself unable to move as she admired the sight before her. When it dawned on her to move, it was too late and he'd grabbed her about the waist and held her in place.

She matched his gaze with one of her own though there was an excitement shining in her blue eyes. One could even call it happiness. Then there was cake pushed into her own face. All she could do was laugh some more. There was no anger over the retaliation in the slightest. She actually quite enjoyed the mess that was being made.

She licked around her lips, catching whatever bits of cake and frosting she could with her tongue before closing her eyes and savoring the taste. "Father always did make a good cake," she said simply, "It's a shame he thinks bread is what brings in the money." Her shop would be different and would feature the sweeter delicacies while still supplying breads. The bread just wouldn't be her focus.

She smiled up at him then, not wanting to dwell on her family and ruin the happiness of the moment. "More cake?" she asked as she scooped up a handful of it again but didn't move to shove it in his face right away, instead looked at him with a devilish grin and a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

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Marvelous MJ Masterpiece

The night had turned with her mood, further than Lorcan had thought possible from the way she had looked when she had come in. It was an unmistakeable relief, and the more she laughed, the more he could ignore everything he'd otherwise be dwelling on about the mess this marriage, this situation, was bound to be.  

The cake mess, on the other hand, was one he was happy to handle. He watched her taste the cake on her face with bright eyes - but there she went, thinking about baking again. "Life could always use a little more sugar," Lorcan agreed, a bit absently. She had warned him it would be this way, he knew that. Her bakery was always going to be first on her mind.

He licked his lips. That didn't mean he couldn't test that declaration, though, Lorcan considered, her mischievousness having a bad effect on him. She had scooped up another handful of cake, but instead of stepping back to defend himself he stepped closer to her; he'd try a distraction. Leaving one hand on her waist, he brushed his other hand against his trousers to get rid of the crumbs, and then raised it to her face, thumbing some icing she'd missed off her cheek. "You know, I think we're good for cake," he said, repeating the motion at the corner of her mouth, a finger light against her lips.

She had caught him off guard first, after all. He probably deserved a turn at that, didn't he? Lorcan slid his hand away from her lips; though rather than letting it fall away altogether, he cupped her face and leant in to swiftly press his mouth to hers, cake notwithstanding.

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Maggie was a bit entranced by his movements though she continued to smile up at him. She had gotten stuck on the thought of more sugar in life. She would be positively surrounded in it once she got the bakery officially up and running. She didn't mind though. That was comfortable. Sugar and baking. That was her life.

But Lorcan was also in it. Right? They were married after all. He'd be a constant in her life. At least, that's the way it should be. And as he looked down at her that way and so gently touched her face, she found herself quite liking the idea. And her eyelids even fluttered close at his soft caress on her cheek.

And then he did catch her off guard as she felt his lips pressed against her own. Her eyes shot open at the feeling but she didn't pull away. The cake she'd scooped up fell from her hand as she instinctively brought her hand up to press softly against his own cheek though she didn't have the presence of mind to wipe it clean of the cake mess like he had his own hand. A soft hum could be heard from her own lips from the kiss. The sweetness of it wasn't lost on her as she felt herself lean into him, her own body pressed flush against his own.

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Marvelous MJ Masterpiece

If the cake to the face hadn't caused her any outrage, Lorcan had been fully expecting the kiss to. Surprised as she seemed, she didn't break the kiss, but rather leaned into him.

It was the best outcome he could have hoped for, he acknowledged, especially after the non-kiss at the ceremony. Perhaps this first night would be what it ought, after all. He couldn't bring himself to care about her cake-sticky hand on his cheek or the cloying sweetness in the air, the taste of icing still on her lips; she had always smelled of bread and flour, before. Lorcan released her from the first kiss for the merest of moments, just long enough to let her catch her breath before he met her mouth a second time, kissing her again with less gentleness and more appetite. Her whole body was warm against him, his own pulse quickening at the contact - Lorcan would happily assert that this was an incontestable method of distraction, of making her forget the heartache and sorrow of the rest of the day.

Well. Not that altruism had played any part in his decision to kiss her. Nor could he pretend consolation was why he moved to deepen the kiss, his hand sliding from her waist upwards.

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Maggie was a bit surprised in herself, truth be told, that she was quite enjoying the kiss. It was certainly her first but it didn't feel awkward. Well, except for perhaps the sticky sweet mess of the icing of the cake that had been smeared on their faces and the fact that she'd accidentally added to it on Lorcan's face when her hand had come up to cup his face.

She was even more surprised when the small whimper of protest escaped her after he released her from the kiss. Her eyes even opened then, ready to give him a look of shock. Only, she didn't get a chance to before he'd pulled her back into another kiss though this one quite different from the first. There was an obvious hunger from him and she found herself meeting him with it.

The feel of his hand sliding up from her waist sent a shiver of anticipation through her entire body and she found herself pressing closer against him, almost cursing the fact that she couldn't really get any closer.

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Marvelous MJ Masterpiece

Everything she was doing - and the sounds she was making - told him that she was into this, almost as much as he was. Lorcan’s shock was less at the possibility that their marriage, whatever she had said, might actually be more than the convenience she’d promised, and more at the fact that he had expected her to take a little longer to realise this.

Either he was an exceptional kisser, or she was less of a puritan than he’d thought. Or both. Both worked, too.

Spurred on by the way she’d responded, Lorcan let his roaming hand reach her breast - but this still wasn’t close enough, so he dropped the hand that had been cupping her face to grasp her hip instead. With this hold, he moved to manoeuvre her backwards, nudging one of the kitchen’s chairs carelessly out of their way with a foot until he could prop her against the table edge and press in against her again, his mouth still on hers, just as hungrily as before.

The mess of the half-destroyed birthday cake was still sitting on the table, dangerously nearby, but who cared about the cake anymore, anyway.

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