Alfred took a deep breath and considered how he ought to respond to that. He was the one who'd told her to wait, so he owed her something, he supposed. On the other hand, he really didn't think she would believe him, and having her storm off (or lose her temper at him) in the midst of Muggle London wouldn't leave his situation improved in the slightest. Was there any chance that she would believe him? On the one hand, there were probably few other people who would know her by sight and know enough about his connection to her to lie about something like this. On the other hand — he knew what he looked like at the moment (or rather didn't, since the house he'd emerged from didn't have mirrors, but he knew he had fangs which was quite enough).

"I'll tell you," he said cautiously. "If you get me into Diagon first." Then, in case she thought he might be planning to bolt as soon as the brick wall opened, he added, "I promise."

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

"No." Jo refused immediately. Once they were in Diagon Alley she would lose any bargaining chip she had over him, for he could simply walk away as she had every mind to do. "You'll either tell me now or I'll return to my errands." As it was her time was already running low. Ilona would need her soon and Jo wasn't meant to be gone for longer than a few hours at most. Merlin knew what Zach would do if he thought she had abandoned Ilona and him (again).

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beautiful set by mj

Alfred huffed. So stubborn (so like her).

"You'll do that anyway if you don't like what I tell you," he contended. Even if she did believe him, which still didn't seem likely, they hadn't left off on a good note. He didn't know that she would be inclined to help him if she knew the truth.

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

She'd had enough of the negotiations. The man obviously had no intentions of being honest with her and she had to make her appointment sooner than later. "I think you'll fare better threatening someone else into helping you." She told him bluntly with an added huff at the end. "I've spent too much time here as it is. Good day to you."

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beautiful set by mj

Alfred let out a dramatically loud sigh of frustration and threw his hands up on the air. Before he could think better of it (or think at all), he said in exasperation, "Why are you always so —"

He didn't exactly have a way to finish the sentence in mind, and by the time he'd realized that he had also realized that he was saying too much again. "Nevermind," he said, shaking his head. "I'll find someone else to help. Goodbye."

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Forgetting entirely where they were, Jo reached forward to stop the vampire (seriously, what was she thinking?!) from leaving. "So what?!" She demanded. "Since you claim to know me well enough to make assumptions, tell me. What am I?"

If her voice a tad too high for a busy muggle street, she hadn't yet noticed.

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beautiful set by mj

Jo yelling at him and grabbing his arm caused an emotional reaction which at least temporarily blocked out all other considerations. He was still in a strange (possibly vampiric) body and trapped in Muggle London, but for a second he forgot all of that and was just Alfred in the midst of an argument with Jo.

"So frustrating," he snapped. "Like you try to be difficult on purpose. And half the time I think that's true, because if you drive everyone off there's no one to stop you from running away."

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The following 1 user Likes J. Alfred Darrow's post:1 user Likes J. Alfred Darrow's post
   Zelda Darrow

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

For a second, she stared at him stunned. There was something familiar in the way he was responding, in his mannerisms and explosion, but she was too frustrated by the situation to be understanding of it. Instead, she ripped her hand back as though his skin had burned her and glared at him venomously.

She had to deal with Zach and the lying tensions there. She had to walk on eggshells and forge a path forward for the sake of her daughter. There was no circumstance in which Jo had to stand here and listen to a bloody stranger announce her worst character flaws to the world (even if she'd pushed him to do it). "Go to hell." She spat. "You know nothing of me, nor of my choices."

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beautiful set by mj

"Yeah, I do," he bit back. He knew too much about the choices Jo had made before she'd fled his flat in the midst of the blizzard last year. If they hadn't been close enough that she confided in him about most of her thoughts, they wouldn't have been in a position to get themselves into trouble and things wouldn't have ended the way they did.

"But if you think that's what you need to be happy, it's not my business anymore." Not his business was an understatement. He hadn't expected to ever be talking to her for this long again, much less arguing with her about anything. And she still didn't know who he was. Merlin, what a mess this interaction had become.

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Jo was raging and nearly drew her wand to hex him into oblivion before she finally came back to her senses. Tearing her gaze from him, she looked about to the passerbys staring at them. Fuck. She had to leave before some other stranger recognized her.

"I have to go." She told him with the smallest hint of defeat. "My daughter needs me." And without a thought to either the man or her colleague waiting, Jo turned on her heel to walk away.

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The following 1 user Likes Jupiter Smith's post:1 user Likes Jupiter Smith's post
   J. Alfred Darrow

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beautiful set by mj

Her what?

Alfred was so shocked that his mouth dropped open slightly at that. He didn't recover his tongue quickly enough to say anything as she walked away, even if he'd wanted to stop her. Jo Smith had a daughter?

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER