February 14th, 1891 — London

Jo realized after she sent the owl to Zelda that her last few sentences were likely a mistake. Zelda was obviously already irritated towards her and all Jo had done was fan the flames. However, she was nothing but polite and friendly in her first two letters. She was eager to explain the situation, happy to promise that nothing would or had ever happened between her and Alfred. But, that wasn't enough for Zelda. No, Zelda needed details that Jo didn't feel comfortable divulging. (Just as she wouldn't be comfortable speaking of her friendship with Zelda to Alfred. Or any of her other friends for that matter.)

Obviously, Jo would never disclose that her and Alfred spent more time being skin to skin than any friends ought to have. Not because she was ashamed to admit it or because she thought something could eventually become of them, but out of self-preservation. Naked cuddling wasn't something that was done in England. Not for comfort, not for reassurance. In fact, sex was so repressed here that a woman's bloody fucking ankle was seen as scandalous! An ankle! Jo continued to live in a state of disbelief over that particular etiquette lesson.

She left for Alfred's flat straight from Zach's, not bothering to dress more than her simple house dress and her hair loose over her shoulders. Regardless of whatever the issue was with Zelda, he was still Alfred and wouldn't care if she sat crosslegged on his sofa to explain. "I can explain," she announced in lieu of greeting as she swept the dust from her dress. "And I'm sorry, too, for allowing her frustration to seep onto me. Shouldn't have done that."

  

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After a frustrating hour or so spent loitering in and around the Diagon Alley post office, Alfred was happy to be home again, if only so he could be out of view of strangers for a moment. He expected Jo any minute after he walked in the door, so he decided to preemptively pour them both a drink. He had taken his usual seat in the parlor by the time she appeared, and gestured towards her waiting drink.

"No worries. You're here," he said with a shrug. "Time to get our stories straight." He was joking, of course. He couldn't find it in him to be angry at Jo, or at Zelda, though he was a little annoyed at the situation they'd gotten themselves into. He was also not taking this as seriously as perhaps he should, based on the tone of Zelda's last letter, but he had faith that this would all blow over quickly. It wasn't as though he and Jo had done anything wrong, after all.

  

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

She accepted the glass with her non-injuried hand with ease, only to belatedly realize her gloves were forgotten at home. Any other day and she would've allowed it to simply exist and answer any questions he had, but today wasn't about her — it was about Alfred and Zelda's relationship. Jo sat quickly and tucked it beneath her so that it remained out of sight and mind for the time being.

That Alfred was joking relaxed her a little. Perhaps things weren't as dire as she was led to believe. Regardless, Jo hardly considered anything involving their friendship to require a story, just some omission was all. "Well, she already knows that we met on the docks and have met up for drinks a few times. Also that we remained in the quiet for a bit when you were cursed." She shrugged. All of it was truthful, just missing the details about where and what they were wearing.

  

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Alfred noticed that she was hiding her hand, but made a point not to look; if she didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to bring it up. Besides, she'd moved on quickly and given him plenty else to think about. He wasn't exactly sure what she meant by in the quiet, but wasn't sure it was worth asking about. He knew what had happened, of course. He'd been there. He was more curious about exactly what words she used and what Zelda might have assumed, but Jo couldn't tell him what Zelda was thinking. Instead of pressing her on the exact wording, he nodded and asked a more general question. "So... why is she angry?"

  

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

"I might've gotten snarky at the end of my letter," she replied nervously. Jo took a sip of.her drink, neeing the alcoholic courage to confess her wrong doings. "I was perfectly pleasant in my first few letters to her. Apologetic, eager to wish you both the best and so on. Explained that while yes, you're handsome, you're also like a brother to me. Or a dear friend." She rambled on as she worked herself up to the last bit.

"Her last letter to me was obviously angry and suspicious. So, again, I laid out the details of our friendship and asked if that was enough information or if she needed to violate our privach more?" Jo was clearly mortified to have done this, and wished she had rethought her actions. "She just irked me so. I'm so sorry, Alfred."

  

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Well, that would do it, he supposed. Alfred took a drink and wondered if he could will his cheeks not to flush at the idea that Jo had been calling him handsome behind his back. After last Sunday the cat was out of the bag, he supposed, but that didn't change the nerves at hearing it out loud. He had known a year ago that she would have been perfectly happy to kiss him, if he'd let her, but that could have been a matter of convenience — right place, right time, right feeling. Having her just come right out and say she thought he was handsome was something else entirely.

"So how much of the letter did you spend talking about how handsome I was before insisting we needed our privacy?" he said; a joke but a dry one. He glanced off for a moment, shook his head, and took another drink. "No wonder Zelda's so upset."

  

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

Yes, the mention of him being handsome was perhaps misplaced, but she had only meant it dismissively. "My cheeks could have just as easily been flushed because of my attraction to Zelda." Jo pointed out. "Attraction doesn't mean you have to act upon it." Zelda was beautiful, of course, but Jo wasn't exactly bursting at the seams to fall into bed with her. "Nor does it mean I want to." Objectively speaking, Saturn was a handsome man and Jo could see why women might like him. That didn't mean she was going to try and bed him, either.

"That being said, my mention of you being handsome was not even a full line. And I immediately explained that I care for you like a sibling. You're one of my best friends, why would I risk that?"

  

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Alfred frowned. "I think perhaps we ought to leave everyone's cheeks out of it, and just deal with what's happened since then," he suggested. They still didn't know exactly what the magic had done, but he'd already tried the tactic of just trying to dismiss the results as inconsequential. He'd made that little comment about silly magic during the luncheon, and it hadn't won him any points with Zelda as far as he could tell, so it was probably best to leave it be. (Nevermind that suggesting Jo might be attracted to Zelda was hardly going to solve anything — and Alfred still didn't really actually believe in lesbians, so was certainly not going to try and explain them to Zelda through mail).

"I know all that. But you can understand why Zelda's so upset, can't you?" he said, shaking his head again. "I honestly don't think I ever said anything about you to her, so she might not've even known we were friends. And then all in a day she sees this magical indicator that we might be secretly pining for each other, or even carrying on together, for all she knows. And you can do things like pop over to my flat with twenty minutes' notice," he said, gesturing vaguely in her direction with the hand holding his drink. "And we've not had a single unsupervised minute since before Christmas. Of course she's upset," he concluded, pausing to take a drink. After a beat, he asked, "Is it all right with you if I tell her everything?"

  

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

Jo did understand. However, she didn't agree that Zelda had a right to know everything that she and Alfred spoke of and did together. Jo hardly expected Zach to be entitled to tales of her friendships or dalliances. Surely, his word was enough?

"What do you mean by everything?" She asked hesitantly. "If she's already this upset I don't think telling her that we've seen one another in various states of undress is going to help matters."

  

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"Well, I wasn't going to start with that," he answered sarcastically. He didn't plan to go out of his way to tell Zelda anything that... nuanced. He certainly couldn't just say that in a letter; there was no way she would understand that the moment hadn't been like that unless he was able to talk her through it in person. That said, if she ever asked about it, he didn't want to lie to her. Not bringing something up when it might cause hurt feelings or a mess like this was one thing, but intentionally keeping secrets was something else. Keeping secrets was what people did when they had something to be ashamed of. When they'd done something wrong. He honestly didn't think his friendship with Jo was something he ought to be ashamed of. It was nontraditional, certainly, but nothing Zelda ought to feel threatened by — so if coming clean with her about all of it was what he needed to do in order to reassure her, he intended to.

Unless Jo told him otherwise, of course. The moments they'd shared together weren't just his, and while they hadn't been sexual they had been, on occasion, intimate. He couldn't tell Zelda everything if Jo felt that would be crossing too many of her boundaries.

"I just want to see what questions she has and go from there. I'm not going to recount the whole thing from the day we met," he reassured Jo. "But I don't think we've anything to hide. And I think being honest with her about it is the right decision." He paused, watching Jo's reaction. "But if there's anything you want me to leave out, I will."

  

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

She ought to have realized that eventually her friendship with Alfred would become a point of contention between her and Zelda. It was an unnatural friendship in the eyes of the British, and Zelda was too inexperienced to have any fews but the standard of her home. Jo turned her head towards the star maps, unable to form her thoughts into words he might understand. This contention was likely going to lead to a choice for Alfred, especially once Zelda learned all the truths there were to know. And, naturally, it wouldn't be her he chose. They were friends, but Alfred didn't love her. Not as he loved Zelda.

Jo didn't expect such love and devotion from him, of course. She wouldn't have known what to do if Zach forced such an ultimatum, but their trust in one another was unwavering. And Zach was hardly the sort to forcefully push someone into a corner.

"No, there's nothing," she said eventually, because she wasn't ashamed. Not in the least. Jo was just disappointed with the situation. "You can tell her whatever you feel is necessary." Jo refused to look back at Alfred, too afraid of being forced to explain how she was feeling. Instead, she raised her glass to her lips and drained its contents before standing. "I'm sure you have an important letter to write. I'm sorry, again, to have caused such difficulties. I'll see you soon." She hoped.

  

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This was, in theory, the answer he'd been hoping for from Jo, but the way she delivered it was all wrong. He could tell she was disappointed by this turn of events, and he couldn't blame her. The moments they'd shared together weren't really intended for public consumption, so he understood her hesitation. He understood, too, why she would have said she was fine with it even when she clearly wasn't. He appreciated that she was willing to make some sacrifices for him and his relationship with Zelda, but she shouldn't have had to. None of this should ever have even come up — and if that stupid luncheon hostess hadn't been dabbling around with ridiculous potions hidden in biscuits, it wouldn't have.

"You could stay," he offered, sitting up a little straighter on the couch. "I do need to send a letter, but it'll only take ten minutes. I've got nowhere to be the rest of the day and a whole bottle of this," he said, raising his glass slightly. An afternoon of drinking was a poor trade off for asking her to give up so much of their shared history, but it was something. He was loathe to see her leave like this.

  

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

An afternoon of drinking and chatting as they normally did would have been enough to lift her spirits were she not feeling as disjointed as she was. Now, all she could think of was whether or not their conversations would be relayed with explicit detail. She had more or less given Alfred free license to inform Zelda whatever extent she desired, which could very well be every last sentiment the pair had ever shared.

Never, not once, would she have demanded the same of a friend or lover. Not even with foolish glowing cheeks involved. But, that came with the experiences she had. Experiences Zelda likely never would.

"I shouldn't," Jo stated. Short of Alfred asking her not to leave Jo wouldn't be swayed otherwise.  "It is Valentine's Day, after all. Zach is picking up supper for us, I believe." She offered a tense smile towards him then and shrugged, "next time, maybe."

  

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Alfred forced a smile, though he was still feeling vaguely unsettled about this whole business. "That sounds nice," he said. He set his glass down on the arm of the sofa and rose, pulling her into a tight embrace before she could retreat to the fireplace. Hopefully the gesture could convey some of what his words at the moment could not. For a moment he just hugged her, without saying anything. After a moment, he spoke, doing his best to sound reassuring. "We'll get through this. And it won't change anything, between us. I promise."

He let go of her and gave her a quick, slightly awkward half-smile, moving his hands to the back pockets of his trousers so he wasn't tempted to fidget. "I won't tell her everything," he added. "Just enough that she knows not to worry."

  

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

It was only by a sheer force of will that Jo didn't allow the hot tears forming in the corners of her eyes to fall onto Alfred's shirt. She loitered in the hug for as long as he did, silently telling herself to remember it as it was like to be the last one. Regardless of what Alfred believed, when push came shove things would undeniably be changed between them.

She nodded as she backed up towards the floo. "Whatever you have to do," she replied. Would Alfred tell Zelda how she cried a few months ago? Or how comforting it was to just be held for awhile? The thoughts left her feeling terribly uncomfortable and unsettled. Zelda had no rights to their friendship, but Alfred had to do what he must. "Bye," Jo waved awkwardly before stepping into the floo and stating the address for Zach's. One more thing to tell Zelda, she supposed.

  

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beautiful set by mj