RP: We only know of one duty.

[tt_hestia]

Characters: Kingsley Shacklebolt and Hestia Jones.
Setting: Kingsley's house, the evening of Hestia's family's arrival.
Content: SFW. For now.
Status: Open: Closed.



Hestia had welcomed her family's arrival with open arms. There had been tears and hugs (so so many hugs) and overlapping chatter until she directed them to her house. Then there had been explanations, discussions, and lots of tissues being used for the tears. Her house had been filled with people and noise and so much that she had missed during the safe house experience. Her mum hadn't wanted to let her out of her sight and her dad was close behind her mum in clinging close to her. It had been the looks of awe and 'I can't believe she's back with us' that had Hestia feel guilty over everything. Guilty over her agreeing to join the Order, guilt over the fact she volunteered for the safe house, guilty over her death. It was things she had thought she had dealt with and judging by the way she was feeling, she hadn't dealt with them enough.

With promises of seeing them tomorrow ringing in her ears, Hestia typed the message to Kingsley and sat back, thumping her head a few times against the headrest of her chair. She hadn't brought up that she had renewed her relationship with Kingsley, although she was pretty sure that Megan had guessed based on certain things her sister had asked and said today. "I am such an idiot," she said out loud. She knew she should have, but she didn't want to bring down the mood, make her mum go through everything all over again. They had a second chance and Hestia didn't want to screw it up. Course she didn't want to mess things up with Kingsley either. "Such an idiot," she said again.

Packing up an overnight bag, she slipped it over her shoulder and Apprated to the walkway outside of Kingsley's house. Making her way up the steps, she knocked on the door. When no one answered, she tried the lock. As he had said, it was unlocked. Making her way in, she left her shoes by the door and walked to his bedroom. The bag went on the floor next to the dresser and she turned back around and went to the main room. A flick of the switch on her way to the couch had the wireless on.

When Kingsley arrived home, it was to see Hestia sprawled gracelessly across his couch. She hoped he was ready to cuddle with her, because she was in need of them. She was feeling too many emotions than she could count.

Comments

[tt_kingsley]

It had been a long day at Command, with all the new settlers arriving in bigger groups then before. The timing of it all bothered him, but his questions were pushed aside by the Ministry contact on the other side of the portal. Kingsley was assured that all settlers arriving had all been screened as the others had been. He hadn't missed that a larger number of Aurors were coming over, which was a good thing since most of them owned him in more ways than one.

Getting Hestia's message wasn't a great surprise. He knew her family had arrived. She was probably overwhelmed. Giving instructions to Toby to contact him if anything came up, Kingsley apparated home, stepping through the doorway to find Hestia lounging on his sofa. She looked stressed. Setting his pad by the door, Kingsley smiled warmly. "Should I get tea?" he asked, crossing over to the sofa as he did.

[tt_hestia]

She should have know that with the Quidditch teams coming over, that there would be more people and that meant a bigger responsibility on Kingsley's shoulders. But her entire being was taken up with the arrival of her family and she was concentrating solely on that. It was all that she could do. For small though her family was, they certainly made up for it with their noise levels and her parents had taken the parental thing and bumped the level up to...a very high level. Hestia was positive that her mum and dad didn't want to leave, but her aunt and uncle wanted to see their house and Hestia needed some time to decompress and unwind.

Blearily opening up her eyes, she watched him walk over to the sofa and contemplated his question. "I wouldn't say no to tea. Although I wouldn't say no to you forgetting about the tea and joining me here."

[tt_kingsley]

There was no question that he was going to leave the tea until later, not with that tone in her voice. Kingsley circled the table and sat beside her on the sofa, drawing her close in a loose embrace. "You sound exhausted. How did things go with your family?" he asked.

He was sure that her family was happy to see her, probably over the top happy and no doubt excited. That kind of thing in a large group could be quickly overwhelming. He stroked her hair, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

[tt_hestia]

Hestia moved gladly into his embrace, leaning her head against his side. Sighing, she took a moment to appreciate the physicality of his being there. "It went well," she said slowly. "It was wonderful seeing them and so much has happened. My best friend Tess just found out she's pregnant with her first baby, she and her husband are hopefully coming over soon, Gwenog would have gotten named to the English national team this year - not that that's any sort of a surprise, Megan wants to work at the Ark once she's settled in, and my parents are going to enjoy an early retirement."

Even though her family was small (well compared to the Weasleys, it was small), with the personalities that made up the Jones' extended family, the noise and the presence of all of them being in one room could make it seem like there were so many more present than there actually was. "I love them. I really, really do and I'm so happy that they're over here. I just got...overwhelmed and every time I tried going off by myself to get my equilibrium back, by sneaking off to the water closet, I'd find someone - mostly my mum, dad or both - waiting for me outside. I'm surprised my mum didn't force her way in." Burrowing in closer to him after he kissed the top of her head, she moved her hand until it was on top of his and wrapped his arm a little bit tighter around her.

[tt_kingsley]

His days revolved around solving problems, but even Kingsley recognized when the easiest way to solve a problem was simply to listen and let it work itself out. He nodded as she spoke, just taking in what she was saying. Kingsley made a note to find out the status of her friend, make sure nothing would delay them coming through. "It sounds like they are excited to be here. Megan should talk to Charlie Weasley, tell him she has my recommendations, babe."

Kingsley nodded again. He'd seen similar situations with families who had been separated by the portal for some time, but he imagined Hestia's situation was a hundred times the intensity due to her death. "They're just happy to have you back, love. It will take some time for them to get used to this again, not to mention the differences they'll have to adjust to here. If you ever need some alone-time, though, you are always welcome here even if I'm at work."

[tt_hestia]

"I think they're more excited about me being here with them then they are with their being here, if that makes sense." As great as it was having Tonks, Megan, and Fleur here to talk with, there was nothing quite like having a best friend and Hestia wanted so badly to talk to Tess face to face. Plus Tess was having a baby and Hestia was ecstatic over that. "I'm not quite certain as to how the lottery works and I know you can't say 'I want so-and-so over here before it's too late', but could you do your thing and see if Tess and her family can come over soon?" She realized that was probably verging on asking Kingsley to perform the impossible, but she had to ask.

"I'll let Megan know that, thank you." She readjusted herself, drawing her legs in closer to herself. Letting out a sigh as Kingsley spoke, she let her head rest more heavily on his shoulder. She would hopefully never know the devastation that her family went through with her death, but she still needed space to work through her own issues. "How'd you get to be so smart?" she asked, looking at him with a tired grin on her face. "You may regret giving me that offer though."

[tt_kingsley]

"I'd rather think it did make sense. For them, you've come back from the dead. That's a big deal, you know. Far bigger than making a move, even to a place as nice as this is," Kingsley replied, his tone was teasing. The last thing she needed to do was to start re-examining the entire process by which she was here.

He nodded again. "I'll do my best to 'do my thing' and get Tess's family over here, love."

Kingsley leaned over, drawing Hess's legs over his lap, cradling her back so she could lean into him. It was just the way he remembered she liked to snuggle. "I can start naming off those back in 2002 who didn't think I was so smart to want to come here, if it will help."

[tt_hestia]

"Least it made sense to you," she replied. The teasing tone was working. It distracted her enough that her thoughts were turned from the path they could have gone down. "Well, you know, I am a rather big deal," she said, shades of cockiness in her voice. "People love me just that much."

Maybe it was the fact that it was Kingsley and his saying 'do your thing' or maybe it was a way of Hestia releasing her emotions over the day, but that had Hestia going into a giggle fit. "Thank you," she said gratefully after she was done. "I appreciate that." Kingsley's best was all that she could ask for and no one else would be able to accomplish as much as he could.

"No..." she said slowly. "I don't think you should name those people off, because then I would have to hex them for being massively stupid and not thinking that you were correct in your thoughts." She curved herself further into him, her emotional equilibrium straightening itself out the more she was with Kingsley. She didn't know what she had done to deserve him when they had first started their affair and she still wasn't sure, but she was grateful that he was willing to put up with her.

[tt_kingsley]

He chuckled warmly, the chuckle turning into a hearty laugh. "They do, they do," Kingsley agreed, not wanting to be drawn into a play of words that would, he didn't doubt, leave him at the disadvantage.

She laughed and he continued, clearly amused. "Hey, you know how people step up when I 'do my thing'. I'm not above using my mojo to help your friend, especially if it makes you owe me. It's not every day that I 'do my thing', you know. It's at a premium."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, darlin'," Kingsley chuckled, adjusting his arm around her back to be more comfortable. He smoothed his hand down her back, feeling her sigh as he did. "Well, that's all in the past now. We're here and they're there and that's that. Did I tell you we broke ground on a new settlement?"

[tt_hestia]

It should have been surprising the way Hestia was cheering up after the day she had with her family; but Kingsley had a way about him. A way that could make anyone's mood improve just by being around him. Maybe it was the way he spoke, his calm, smooth tones. Maybe it was just him. Deep down Hestia knew that if it had been just her, she would have been an emotional wreck with tissues surrounding her in a gigantic, crumpled up pile. Instead, she was laughing and joking with him. "And don't you forget it," she said with a good natured (but gentle) poke in the stomach. For even if she could gain an advantage in a play of words, Hestia had no doubt that Kingsley would win in a battle of wands. Even if he had both arms and both legs cut off.

"That's because people are in such awe and fear of you," she responded. So had she been upon their introduction at her first Order meeting. He wasn't as famous or well known as Moody - really no one ever could or would be - but Kingsley had made a name for himself in the Ministry (and the Prophet) by that time. "Because don't you know that when the boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks the closet for you." She looked up at him, bemusement on her face. "Oh? And what will I owe you when you 'do your thing'?" Not she wouldn't give him anything he asked for, because he deserved it and more. "Premium or not, I appreciate it." She reached up and placed a kiss on his jawbone.

She let out a chuckle. "Oh, now I discover how to get my way with you. Just flatter you until I get what I want. I think I can handle that. Have I ever told you how much I like your hands?" she asked as he smoothed one of them down her back, letting out a sigh of contentment. "Good. Because they would deserve every hex I would have sent their way. No. No, you didn't. Where is it going? Speaking of, how's the work on Australia going?"

[tt_kingsley]

"Does he now?" Kingsley teased lightly, glad his humor was bringing Hestia out of her overwhelmed state, if only a small bit. He was rewarded with a kiss on the jaw for his efforts, not something he took lightly even if she was playing along. He stretched out his legs under the coffee table, his hand smoothing her hair now, then moving down her back again.

"You haven't but feel free anytime you like," he chuckled warmly but didn't stop petting her. "For their sake, I'm sure they're glad the portal is one way for that reason alone." Kingsley paused, biting back a sigh. "The work is going well now that Sirius has reinforced the wards. Some of the larger predators over there found a tiny gap in the old wards and exploited it. We found what was left of the poor fellow days later."

"The settlement outer walls are up now, though, so it's better protected. They just finished the Command and Medical centers last week and the second engineering crew is working to put up housing in the first ring. Our delay is in getting the materials over there since we haven't finished the ship so we rely on what our long-distance apparators can bring themselves."

[tt_hestia]

"He does," Hestia confirmed. "I'm surprised that you didn't know that." She could probably continue along with "facts" like that that she had been told by people once they found out she was seeing Kingsley. She had found most of them funny if absurd. She noticed his getting comfortable and smiled to herself. Apparently both of them must have needed this.

She took the hand of his that wasn't currently petting her (honestly, if she was a cat, she'd be purring quite loudly by now) and placed it in between both of hers, her thumb giving lazy strokes up and down. "I like the way they feel - warm and encompassing; they make me crave more." The pause had her looking up at him, and as he told her about the poor man, she scrunched up her face. "That poor man," she said. She didn't know what damages the predators over there could do, but she certainly knew enough about predators over here and back in England that she could imagine what the remains looked like and what he had suffered. "At least now the wards are better. Unfortunately, they couldn't have spared that man."

"You certainly seemed to have accomplished so much more from the last time I asked you," Hestia said impressed. If she was remembering correctly, the continent formerly known as Australia had just been chosen. It was wonderful to know that the main buildings were completed. Now hopefully some political leaders that had been on Kingsley's side originally would start coming through and take some of the pressure from his more than capable shoulders. Not that she knew that he couldn't handle it, Hestia knew that he could. She just didn't want him too overly stressed. "My fingers are crossed that everything continues to work out."

[tt_kingsley]

"I can't concern myself with trivial things like that," he played along with a smirk, letting her move his free hand. "Crave more, hmm? I'll have to keep that in mind."

Kingsley nodded and sighed. He didn't like losing people, but this couldn't have been helped. They took all the precautions working over there. "Sirius really beat himself up over it. Blames himself, the poor sod. He wouldn't let any of the engineers out of his site after that. I don't think he slept much. Ruddy Gryffindors."

"We're working much slower this time around. Not as pressing a need as it was when we put up One. Living out of Wizarding tents was pretty rough, with all the storms and no walls. There's a species of small bird here - they aren't predators but those little buggers nip. They love anything shiny. We found them in everything."

[tt_hestia]

"Good thing you've got me then," she replied. "Keeper of Trivial Things. Like Keeper of the Keys back at Hogwarts, but better hair." At Kingsley's mentioning his having to remember that, the best description of Hestia's smile was it looked similar to that of the Mona Lisa painting.

She did her best to give him a hug when he said that, but considering her position it was clumsy. Kingsley may have said that Sirius blamed himself, but Hestia knew that Kingsley felt guilty over it too. "As a fellow Gryffindor, I resemble that remark."

As much as she loved the beach, Hestia liked her creature comforts and camping out in tents - even if they were wizarding tents - did not seem like a good idea. Add to what Kingsley said about the storms and the walls not being up had her wrinkling up her face in disgust. "Maybe they're related to Nifflers or the ancestors of the Nifflers?"