January 9th, 1891 - Fawcett Home
Penelope Fawcett

Elsie's curiosity was far too great for her to simply send the book. She had to wonder just what had happened for Penny to suddenly have all of these questions. The fact that Elsie had all of the answers should have been a surprise, but that ship had sailed a while ago. Plus books.

After her day at the library had ended, she'd tucked the small book inside her cloak and set off for the Fawcett home, flooing from the library itself right into her friend's home as suggested. She'd wound up in the kitchen, which was to be expected as that was there they usually gathered and of course she found Penny there.

This whole conversation was something she wished her mother had been upfront about with her, but Elsie had only her knowledge from books and some other information gleaned from conversations with her married friends before she had some first-hand knowledge on the subject. It would be good for Penny to hear about it like this, or so she hoped.

"I have to admit, I'm very curious." She chuckled as she hung up her cloak and handed the book over to her friend. "As to the sudden interest. What happened in Paris?" Elsie had known that Penny and Mr. Fisk, among some of their other friends, had taken the New Year's holiday for an excuse to go to Paris, but certainly that was it, right?

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MJ always makes her so pretty

Truth be told, Penny was rather reluctant to speak in person about whatever it was that happened between a man and a woman. She was still mortified over having forced Nemo into such a position (so much so that the pair had barely spoken in the week since coming home from Paris) and terrified as to what it meant. Their friendship was the most dependable relationship Penny had in her life and now ... now it might not exist as it was anymore. Already, Penny was beginning to fear it wouldn't exist at all.

She couldn't let the subject rest as she ought to have, though. Penny was like a dog with a bone when faced with information she didn't yet know. It became an obsession, an itch that had to be scratched lest she combust. That Elsie knew was both surprising and not at all, seeing as the quiet Gryffindor seemed to know everything about anything. Or, at least, that was what Penny liked to believe.

"It was perfectly innocent, I promise," Penny explained, her cheeks bright with embarrassment. Cook and Cassandra were both, blessedly, out of the house at present. Still, Penny tucked the book into her dress' hidden pocket and tugged her friend down to the workshop. The maids couldn't always be trusted. "We were very drunk, too drunk to manage our portkey, and stayed in an inn." Where they pretended to be a married couple. Merlin! What the bloody hell were they thinking?! "Nothing happened. I swear it."

  

Allowing herself to be dragged down to Penny's workshop, Elsie settled herself a hip against her friend's workspace, only mildly amused by this whole thing. Then again, life events gave Elsie a bit of edge in this respect.

Listening to the rest of the story, Elsie nodded along, not incredibly surprised and mildly relieved to hear that she wasn't the only one making questionable life decisions in her spare time. "Sounds reasonable— and I wouldn't have said anything even if it had." She added, hoping that Penny knew she meant that. Of course the funny part was that Penny didn't even know what could have happened by the sounds of it.

"But something must have sparked all of these questions." For Penny to think a creature of some sort was in poor Mr. Fisk's trousers was something altogether unrealistic, but had to stem from something.

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MJ always makes her so pretty

"I know. It's why I trusted you to ask to begin with," she shrugged. Nemo was and would always be her best friend, but Elsie was an even older friend. There wasn't much Penny wouldn't do for the brunette.

Her blush deepened. Yes, something did happen, but Penny wasn't even sure how to accurately describe it. She woke to the sun shining in her eyes and realized suddenly that she was pressed up against Nemo in her chemise. "Well, see. There was only one bed," Penny attempted to explain through her embarrassment. "And the sofa wasn't large enough for him to comfortably sleep. And ... well, when we woke up my leg was thrown over him. I went to roll back over to my side and I touched ... whatever it was ... with my leg." Penny hid her face in her hands, certain that her face had turned scarlet throughout her explanation. "It was an accident, I just hadn't wanted him to be uncomfortable all night."

  

The rest of the story came tumbling out slowly, giving Elsie a more complete picture of what had happened. "Sounds reasonable, you trust Mr. Fisk, you care about him," The pair were quite close, not entirely unlike her and Tyb before things got serious. It wasn't anything she wouldn't have done in the same situation.

Her lips curled into a knowing smile; Elsie knew how easy it was too get tangled up together when sharing a bed with somebody you cared for, it had gotten her into trouble in the past, but oh, was it lovely.

As Penny buried her face in her hands, Elsie chuckled quietly to herself; this was exactly how she would have been a few years ago had the situation come up, but now she knew better. "I'm sure poor Mr. Fisk is far more embarrassed than you could ever be. It's really not a big deal if you don't want it to be. Give me the book." Elsie motioned for her friend to pass it over with an outstretched hand.

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MJ always makes her so pretty

Penny raised her head from her hands to stare at Elsie with wide eyes. Nemo was embarrassed?! She thought he might've been in pain or perhaps even disappointed that she couldn't hold true to her word. Never once did Penny think her accidental graze would mortify him as she was now. Oh no. Was their friendship truly ruined, then?

"Not a big deal?" Penny echoed, stunned still by the assumption that nothing would change. Whatever was in Nemo's trousers was certainly a big deal. She handed over the book, trusting that whatever Elsie was about to show her wouldn't be worst than her first hand encounter.

  

Elsie sighed softly as she flipped through the book to find the best diagram to illustrate what she wanted to say. The book was a basic medical anatomy text, so was strictly from the factual point of view, for which she was thankful. Els thought there was too much emphasis put on the don'ts in these situations, rather than just simple straightforward facts.

Once she found the page she wanted, which had anatomical drawings of a man and a woman side by side, she handed it back to Penny. "Realistically, it's just biology." Unsurprisingly, Elsie had done just a little research on the subject in the wake of the change in her relationship with Tyb. Mostly so they could avoid the ultimate consequence in an unwanted pregnancy, but she'd learned a thing or two along the way. "Not something that can be helped in some situations." She shrugged. Penny's embarrassment over the situation was to expected, Elsie wouldn't be quite so cavalier about it if she didn't have the experiences she did. Of course she'd learned everything in the moment, but had trusted Tyb to lead the way.

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MJ always makes her so pretty

The anatomy drawing was interesting, to say the least. Penny took the book from Elsie and moved to stand closer to the soft light still filtering through the small window. The fireplace might've been a better source of light, but she didn't dare risk taking this book near flames just yet. With her luck the edges would catch fire before she understood anything of what the book was saying.

She stared at the drawing for a long while, her eyes continually drawn back to the thing attached to the man. "How does it work?" She then asked Elsie. "If it's something that can't be helped...it just randomly happens?" The awkwardness that still lingered between the two friends proved it wasn't just a random act. Did Nemo not want it to happen with her, then? Was that why things were so tense, because it was all just some mistake?

  

Penny seemed either awed or startled at this particular moment, Elsie couldn't tell which, but regardless she was still slightly amused by the whole thing. Someday when she had daughters, she would have this discussion with them before imaginations could wander too far.

Unable to help the little chuckle that followed Penny's question, Elsie had to really think about how to answer it. "I don't know exactly," Could she explain it without giving away how she knew? Would Penny judge her if she did spill that she'd been intimate with someone before marriage? Guess they were about to find out. Would she be able do it without blushing terribly was really the question.

"But when you're very close to someone you care about and your bodies are touching, everything kind of changes." Elsie wasn't exactly sure she could describe specifically what it felt like, simply because she was sure it was different for everyone, but also she didn't have words to explain how wonderful it felt. "It's exciting and it feels, well, good. Men's and women's bodies are meant to fit together, like I said. It's how you conceive a child or if you're very careful, just for fun." Not that Elsie was going to start advocating for premarital sex, but in certain situations, like hers, it wasn't the worst that could happen.

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MJ always makes her so pretty

The implications of what Elsie was saying struck Penny abruptly, causing her to pull her attention from the book to stare at her friend with wide eyes. "You - you've touched one?" Penny asked in a shocked whisper. "What - I mean, how? I mean ... with who?" It couldn't have been Mr. Adlard, Elsie refused his proposal. Of all the women Penny knew, Elsie wasn't one she would've expected such an admission from.

  

Thankfully, though the embarrassment was there, again, Elsie's initial reaction was to laugh. "No, not exactly." Not quite, though that was an idea... "However, I have, well, yes, I've been intimate with someone I love." That probably did not give Penny a very good idea of what it meant, as it was a vague approximation of what sex could be, but until (or if) Penny asked for some more explicit details, she wouldn't get too into it.

"I'm sure you remember my refusal of poor Mr. Adlard," Everybody knew about that, thanks to her former maid and Witch Weekly. "There was a solid reason. I am, and have been, in love with the same person since we were eighteen." She and Tyb had definitely had their ups and downs, and not been together at a couple points in their history, but she had never, ever stopped loving him. Especially now, after Mr. Adlard, they were more determined than ever to make their future together happen. Which was coincidentally, how they had crossed that final line anyway.

Telling Penny wasn't the worst thing, it would be nice to have somebody to talk about it with. Having Caroline know had been a bit of a shock, but even when Tyb had told her, he hadn't actually used any names, Caroline had figured it out on her own, based on Elsie's less-than-stellar poker face at the World Cup match. If Penny really thought about it, she could probably figure it out. It wasn't like Elsie and Tyb were never seen together, especially during their school days.

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MJ always makes her so pretty

Penny wasn't sure what was more shocking — that Elsie was in love with someone or that they've been intimate before. (Never mind the fact that Penny still wasn't entirely sure what being intimate meant exactly.) But, there weren't many contenders for who it might've been, as their friend group wasn't overly large in school. Nemo was, obviously, out. Surely, her best friend would've at least told her if he was in love with someone. "Mr. Kirke?!" Penny asked as the dots slowly began to connect. "You and Mr. Kirke..."

Oh, Merlin.

"But...how did you know that you loved him? What changed the moment? What do you mean it felt good?!"

  

"He's my best friend." Elsie shrugged. It was simple really. They had been friends first, had always been friendly, but had grown closer over their last couple years at Hogwarts. Tyb ha been the one she'd cried all over after Bentley died, he'd come after her when she'd tripped at her coming out. They'd fought, been caught, survived two Quidditch World Cups and it felt like everything in between, in secret, and still managed to squeeze every possible minute out of their precious little time together. How he put up with the clumsiness and the awkwardness, the blushing and the books, she still didn't know, but she was thankful, lucky even.

Elsie wasn't really sure when everything had changed, it always seemed to progress naturally, but perhaps the whole courting fiasco had propelled them onto their current path with a little more validity, a more solidified plan and determination to make it happen. "It's hard to articulate." She really didn't know how to explain it. The feeling was just there; it felt right, natural, easy, like everything always did with him. There had been no hesitation, no second thoughts about giving up that last piece of herself to him. She wouldn't have wanted it any other way. "I can't really explain it. Obviously it does not work out this way for everyone and most cases, it's for the better to wait until after you're married, lest there be any permanent consequences, but I think we just know it'll be the two of us in the end, so there was no reason to wait." That probably didn't really explain it, but  Elsie had more confidence in their plans than ever before, so even if something unexpected were to happen, at least they would face it together.

The last part of Penny's question was a little easier to answer. "Again, it's different for everyone, but in my experience," Which wasn't much, but it was something. "Physically, it feels good, bodies are meant to do it, so naturally on some level, sex is enjoyable." Almost overwhelmingly so and then add the emotional layer and it was just one of those personal things that couldn't be accurately described.

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MJ always makes her so pretty

Penny leant back heavily against the nearest bench, her eyes wide and brows raised in genuine surprise. Elsie and Mr. Kirke were in love and had participated in sex (which was such a dirty, taboo word that Penny felt uncomfortable even thinking it). Never in a millon years would she have guessed that to be the case, nor was it really her business to. But, still. They were best friends who were in love with one another. Best friends like her and Nemo were, just without the romantic love.

"That's ... wow." Penny said stupidly. She truly didn't have much to say outside of that. For one, it wasn't her place to comment upon Elsie's relationship, but mainly she was just too stunned to have any concrete thoughts.

(It did occur to Penny as she stood in her state of shock that she did love Nemo. She loved him in every sense of he word, but any chance of a romance happening between them was almost nonexistent. Nemo would have to love her in return for that, and surely if any such feelings existed he would have made them plain by now. Penny could hardly reveal her own thoughts and make the air between them even more tense. If she hadn't lost Nemo after the events in Paris that would almost definitely do the trick.)

"This is just a lot." She commented quietly. "Are you and Mr. Kirke going to marry?"

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Penny was obviously a little flustered by the information Elsie was giving her, but in fairness, she had started the whole conversation. "It is a lot," Els agreed, sometimes it was still a lot to her and she was the one living it.

"That's the plan, yes. Has been for a long time. But finally we're in a good place to do so, hopefully this year." If everything went according to plan, they would get what they wanted at long last. "I'm ready to move on in life." She chuckled. "Have I scarred you for life?" Hopefully not.

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MJ always makes her so pretty

Elsie Kirke. It was fitting in a way, and Penny couldn't help but be thrilled for her friend. Mr. Kirke was a kind man from what she remembered, he would treat Elsie right. (And if he didn't there was a long line of Beauregard's ready to remind him to do just so.) "I'm happy for you," she said in earnest. "For you both."

Thoughts of marriage immediately led Penny to when Nemo would eventually marry — when he would eventually put his thing into his wife — and a crushing disappointment swept through her. Would his wife be agreeable to their joined meal times? Would she forgive Penny her for having a vague idea of what existed below his belt? Would Nemo even want to still be friends now?

Penny was too confused to make any sense of her emotions.

"You've certainly given me much to think about." She answered. "I ... I never knew men to have anything different like this."

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