Home Sweet Home (Bri and Dick)

Richard smiled and shrugged a little,

"Well I am going to be sleeping in your house, at least until I can get on my own feet." he shrugged again, "Or maybe I won't be able to bring myself to leave you at that point."

He thought about it for a moment before smiling wide again,

"We are friends Briony." his smile grew wider, "And I'm glad to have you as a friend. You're my only one."

Anhanger, who had been listening apparently, mewled loudly at him. He chuckled,

"Besides you of course Anhanger." he called over his shoulder. He turned back to Briony and backed slowly out of the hug, "Now come on Briony... you still have to show me what lasagne is. And what I've been missing out on apparently."

When Richard talked about not being able to leave her Briony felt a flutter of something deep within her but she quickly buried it again, she was not going there, never...ever...again. That area was out of bounds, locked with no key, friends are all well and good but not those type of friends. She watched as he spoke to the cats and she too looked over at them.

"It that alright Marcy if Richard stays here?"

A soft mewing meant that Marcy approves of him staying probably because she too has some company now! She clicked her fingers and Kayla appeared, telling her that the table was set for dinner. Gesturing for him to follow her she picked up Marcy and took her into the dining room where two seats were seat up opposite each other at the end of the long table.

Before they sat down Briony felt a little flicker of braveness and she stood up on tiptoe and swiftly kissed Richard's cheek in a thank you way.

"Thank you. For being so kind. Lasagne yes, the beautiful food...I love it so. It'll be done in a minute."

Richard smiled at her, his cheeks a little red at the kiss, and went over to pick Anhanger up off the floor. When he was sure Briony had turned away he picked the little cat up and hugged her close to whisper in her ears,

"Sie mag mich wenig anhanger!" he whispered to his cat, who mewed happily in response. He smiled, put his cat on his shoulder and sat down in the offered seat, "I have to admit... I'm looking forward to the lasagne. You've been hyping it up for awhile now."

Briony grinned sheepishly and she jerked her head up swiftly as she saw the Kayla was returning with the promised Lasagne, it was truly wonderful how muggles could make something so tasty without the use of magic, she herself had tried to make it but it had gotten a little misshapen in the process and a little burnt.

"Thank you Kayla. Oh! Two bowls of tuna and water please for the cats."

Briony smiled, the house elf looking more than shocked, she thought back to the last time that she had smiled which had been a month ago when she cooked an especially good Lasagne. She picked up her knife and fork and delicately cut her food up into little squares placing them into her mouth one at a time. When the first bite went in she smiled, her eyes lit up then she relaxed.

"I give you lasagne. I would have cut it up for you but..." she thought back to her meeting with Hades "people don't like me doing that for them. What do you think?"

Richard shrugged with a small smile,

"Wouldn't know. Mother wasn't exactly the doting type. Never had anyone but me cut my food up." he replied before putting a small forkful of lasagne in his mouth. Deciding to let the suspense get to her a little, he made thoughtful noises as he slowly chewed on the food. After a few seconds he swallowed and gave a thoughtful frown, "Mmm... it is indeed tasty. Although I can't help but wonder if it would go well with something to drink..."

He chuckled a little and smiled,

"It is delicious Briony, thank you for telling me about it."

Briony flushed bright red as she remembered that she had not gotten any drinks for them, Kayla already busy getting the other things ready for the cats she got up from her seat with a wave of her hand to tell Richard to stay put she walked quickly over to a cupboard in the corner of the room, pulling out a bottle of rose champagne and bringing it to the table.

"So sorry, I just never normally have a drink with meals."

Briony blushed again and tucked a troublesome strand of hair behind her ear and opened the bottle with ease filling the empty glasses already on the table. She placed the half empty bottle on the table a little way away and raised her glass, taking a sip with a smile.

"I am glad you like it."

Briony grinned, she really was happy and now that Kayla had come with the dishes of tuna and water for Marcy and Anhanger she put Marcy on the floor and right away she went to the plate and began to eat.

Richard put his cat down on the floor with a quick scratch behind the ears,

"You'll spoil my cat at this rate." he joked as he took a sip of the drink. He smiled again and raised the glass a little, "Would you like to have a toast?"

He thought about it for a moment before wincing slightly,

"Dear god... I've reverted back to the 'Lordly manners' bit." he shook his head, "Father would be proud..."

Suddenly realising that he'd trailed off into a dark area, he made an effort to smile and raised his glass again,

"To meeting kind strangers. Let the world never run out of such people."

Briony giggled, she knew that this was of course the proper thing to do and by the sound of it Richard had been programmed along with herself to kindly obey the rules of dinner table etiquette or brave the consequences, Merlin help her if she used the dessert spoon instead of the soup spoon.

"To kind strangers and the dropping of masks, may they forever be shattered."

Briony took another sip of her drink and ate her lasagne once more, she felt bad about this but she had already finished, what could she say she was a lasagne monster it's gone as soon as it's put in front of her. She smiled an apology to Richard before letting her eyes widen once more, she was so forgetful!

"Kayla! Dessert! We need dessert!"

"But Ma'am we only have ice cream in."

Briony groaned "Then ice cream it shall be, just bring two spoons in and the tub. May as well slum it." She giggled at Richard.

Richard smiled a little, finishing up his own lasagne,

"You weren't kidding... you really love lasagne, don't you?" he asked with a smirk. A mewing from near his feet caught his attention and made him look down. Marcy was tugging at his trouser leg. He frowned for a moment before picking up a small bit of mince meat from his plate and offering it to the cat. Marcy sniffed it a few times before quickly licking his finger clean. He chuckled a little,

"Seems Marcy shares your love of lasagne..." he commented dryly, while looking at Anhanger, "Anhanger just wants to steal my food. Don't you?"

The cat mewed happily, apparently not caring that it was being scolded, however lightly. He waved it off with a smile,

"So... what kind of ice cream?"

Briony grimaced a little but she smiled as she did so, she did indeed love lasagne it was one of her downfalls whenever she was upset it was back to the old lasagne, and lasagne and ice cream just so happened to be a great Italian combination. She didn't know what flavour the ice cream was so she waited until Kayla returned and she inspected the lid of the tub.

"Strawberry apparently. Do you like strawberries?"

Briony asked hoping that he wouldn't be allergic to them or anything like that. She took the spoon, looked deviously at Richard before scooping up a great big line of ice cream right down the middle and eating it all. Which was stupid. She waved her hands around her mouth trying to combat the cold and she made odd noises as if to try and relieve the pain.

"Brain freeze!" She muttered

Richard chuckled a little and stood up slowly. Making sure not to step on either of the now hyper-active cats, he made his way over to the pot of ice cream and took a scoop,

"I guess this is a day for firsts." he tasted the ice cream before nodding a little, "It's not bad... I can see why you've got brain freeze though."

He smiled a little,

"Perhaps we should eat this in front of the fire? Less chance of brain freeze if it's not absolutely freezing cold."

Briony nodded kindly and rose from her seat, hugging the ice cream to her chest and moving with it into the living room, it was then that something within her twigged, 'a day for firsts'? He'd never had ice cream before either, she was struck dumb, she knew that she wasn't exactly a food expert but ice cream? Everyone has had ice cream before surely!

"You've never had ice cream before?" Briony asked incredulously

She sat down by the fire, cross legged and saw that her Grandmother had vacated her frame again, she took another spoonful of ice cream and placed it carefully in her mouth, letting it melt a little before swallowing.

"Don't forget you have your bath to look forward to as well. You'll sleep tonight, full tummy, bath and a warm bed not a cave."

Richard sat down beside her with a sheepish smile,

"Errr... well no. I've never really gotten chance." he took another mouthful, "Does it come in many flavors?"

He chuckled slightly as the cats followed them into the living room,

"Looks like you have your own anhanger..." he teased, gently pushing marcy playfully as she walked past. He smirked a little, "Oh I'm going to miss being tired, hungry, smelly and laying on jagged rocks but I guess this can be nice too."

Briony smiled a huge smile and she giggled, with a nod of her head she tried to remember all of the flavours in the ice cream parlour in Diagon Alley, she managed to get to about 30 before she gave up but she knew what her favourite flavours were. Chocolate and cherry, they tasted so good together, she didn't know why.

"Oh yes, lots and lots, I wont embarrass you by naming them all but my favourite flavours are Chocolate and Cherry, one day perhaps we will go to Diagon Alley and sample a few in the ice cream parlour there?" Briony asked.

Her fingers traced the holes in her patterned tights as they sat there in front of the fire, she began to play with her hair again, feeling a little sleepy herself with a warm and full tummy. She lay on her back and looked up into Richard's eyes, she had been thinking something for a while now and she wanted to say it. Since the masks were off she smiled and said:

" You have really beautiful eyes."

Richard chuckled,

"We'll have to go on one of the weekends." he agreed, "After all... term starts soon. Tomorrow if I remember correctly."

He paused for a seconds and looked down at himself,

"OR we can go tomorrow morning. I am in serious need of some robes that aren't burnt or torn in places." he ammened with a smirk. He scooped up some more ice cream, "Still can't believe there are businesses made around ice cream..."

He smiled back down at her,

"I might not have said it before but you're eyes are lovely as well." he reached down and started to gently play with her hair, as she had done with him earlier, "They're so full of life now as well."

Briony jumped a little again, she always did when someone touched her and she didn't expect it but she soon got used to it and she couldn't help but lay her head on Richard's chest as he played with her hair, Briony couldn't remember the last time that someone else had done this to her. It worked better than she ever expected it to, she relaxed so much she was afraid to open her mouth for fear of what would come out!

"If you continue to do that, relaxation plus alcohol leads to a very very blunt me. I'll come out with whatever is on my mind...just warning you."

Briony looked into the fire for a while then up into Richard's eyes, gazing at all the different colours in them that she had never taken the time to look at before.

"Thank you, but my eyes are dark blue, yours have so many colours to them." Briony mused

Richard shrugged with a small smile,

"I'm not sure that's such a bad thing..." he suggested lightly while still playing with her hair and staring into the fire, "You did the same to me in the cave."

He smiled a little,

"My eyes are just a bit strange..." he smiled a little and traced her cheek with his finger, "Now yours... they have a depth to them that makes them light up when you smile."

Briony continued to look into Richard's face, her eyes half closed and she found herself oddly enjoying this moment, it wasn't awkward at all in fact it was quite comfortable. She snuggled her head deeper into his chest and hoped that he wouldn't stop playing with her hair because it really did feel good to unwind, Briony couldn't help but smile as he talked to her.

"Well you've been warned anyway."

She looked at something odd on his top and scratched it in an effort to try and get it off, as she did so she thought something she probably shouldn't have thought and a slightly more sober version of herself screamed at her not to say what she was going to say...yet still it came out.

"You really are very attractive you know." Briony paused a minute still trying to work out what was on the top "I think I'm a bit drunk...do you think I'm drunk? I tell you what I do think, I think I should shut up now."

Richard chuckled lightly, enjoying the weight of her head on his chest,

"Yeah... and I'll be sure to be extra nice." he teased lightly, still playing with her hair, which found utterly fascinating. He watched as she tried to pick something off his top and his eyes widened in surprise as she complimented him. He chuckled lightly, "Thanks Briony. You're not so bad yourself."

He sighed a little,

"I think you're a little bit drunk." he agreed and stood up, pulling Briony up so that she was cradled in his arms, "Which way to your room?"

Briony couldn't help but let out a squeak as she suddenly got picked up off the floor, winding her arms around Richard's neck so she knew she wouldn't fall or be dropped Briony cradled her head in the nape of his neck while looking at the room from this angle. It was different. Marcy had run over and was clawing at Richard's leg but Briony smiled at her and muttered that it was alright.

"Up the main stairs, take a left and it's the second room on the right." Briony grinned "You don't have to carry me...I am quite heavy, all the lasagne you see, gets to the hips."

She took a deep breath in trying to steady herself but as soon as she did so she was reminded of one thing. He needed a bath. Badly. She gently poked him in the cheek and giggled:

"You need your bath remember. Badly. You really do smell."

Pulling her tongue at him she wiggled herself free from his grip and walked, more like sauntered off up the stairs looking back with a smirk on her face.

Richard smiled a little as he walked around the little cat,

"Oh Marcy just worries about your virtue." he teased, mostly teasing the cat but aware that it would be teasing Briony too. He chuckled a little, "Don't you dare insult your hips like that, I happen to like them."

He let her wriggle out of his arms at the bottom of the stairs and leant against the wall, watching as she walked away before walking a little ways behind her. To make sure she didn't fall. Of course. Nothing to do with her swaying hips. Absolutely nothing to do with that. Nope. No sir.

Okay, it was all for the sway.

He chuckled at himself and moved to walked beside her,

"And where might my bath be?"

"MY virtue is still intact actually. More like luckily I didn't give it away so easily."

Briony smirked again, as she turned around and there Richard was blatantly gawking at her, she didn't really care after all it was nice to get some attention once and a while. Nice attention that is. She debated if she should pick him up on it but decided to leave it alone.

"Oh really? Have you been looking at my hips then?" Briony pretended to get offended laying a languid hand across her forehead "What has the world come to?"

She walked down the corridor and pointed to a door on the left, she had decided that this would be his bedroom, right next to her own. She didn't do that for any reason of course...obviously not. Briony pushed open the door and realised she hadn't made up the bed, beckoning for Richard to come over she pointed in the direction of the en suite bathroom though the door.

"Just in there. Go on, I have some things to do, don't worry I'm not going to peek in, not that you have anything to peek at." Briony giggled playfully.

He smiled and raised an eyebrow,

"Is it a crime to notice a beautiful woman now?" he teased as he was led up the stairs. As he was drawing level with her, he tilted his head to the side and whispered, "And you are beautiful... so very beautiful."

Richard chuckled, shaking his head as he was shown to his en suite. He raised an eyebrow as he pulled his shirt over his head, exposing his rather pale torso. His burn shone in the light from the en suite bathroom and stood in stark contrast to the rest of his smooth skin. It was only about the size of his palm but it appeared to be spaced like a splash mark. He knew that his body wasn't as great as it had once been but his lifestyle of dodging curses while running from portkey to portkey had left him with something close to an acrobat's body, thin but with noticable muscles. He smirked a little and got right up in Briony's face,

"If I've got nothing to peek on then why are you still here?" he teased before turning her towards the door, swatting her backside with his shirt playfully, "Off with you hostess before I decided to show you the rest."

Briony blushed a little but when he told her she was beautiful and she playfully kicked him to get him to move on, she bent down to get some clean bed linen from the cupboard under the bed and when she stood back up her jaw dropped open and her face turned bright red. She tried not to look but Richard decided to give her no other option than to face the bare chest before her.

"W-w-ell. I-i-i-i have to put your bed l-l-linen on."


Briony stuttered wildly and she looked lightly at the scar on his chest, it stood out so she couldn't have not noticed it, gently she reached out a hand and traced the outline of it before quickly removing her hand and turning swiftly away. Grabbing a pillow she fitted the case onto it, trying to make the blush on her face less noticeable.

"Now go and g-g-get your bath."

He had shivered slightly when she touched his burn, it had sent tingles across his entire body. With a happy smile, he looked into the bath to find it already drawn,

"Your elf is good..." he told her with a grin, "I didn't even hear the water."

He chuckled and turned back to face her with a smirk,

"Now keep your eyes on your work over there Briony. I'm getting undressed over here..." he couldn't help himself and he moved over to her, purring into her ear, "Ich möchte die beste Überraschung zum letzten verlassen... my dear..."

He chuckled, shredding his trousers as he walked off into the bathroom,

"I'd give you a good night kiss but you might not appreciate it, undressed as I am." he called back before throwing the last of his clothes away and sliding into the bubble bath.