I Can Fix That

Kallie wobbled as she apparated into the dim bar. She took a deep breath, and held her hood up to her face, attempting to cover it from prying eyes.

She shouldn't have come here. She should have just... just gone home - or- or hid in her office, or....

She took a shakey breath, trying to get back her control. She already knew her face was blotchy, and eyes red. The young woman had thought, when she had finally left and ended up here, she though that she had been finished but she could feel the lump in the back her throat grow again, and her eyes glincened slightly.

She hovered just by the bar. She took another shakey breath, and shook her head. She shouldn't be here - shouldn't have come.

Pulling her cloak towards her once more, she turned on her heals to leave, getting about three steps before she walked right into someone.

"I'm.. please," her accent began to come out thicker through her emotion, and she refused to look up at the person for fear they'd see who she was. "forgive - am sorry."

Eli handed out the drinks to the large table of customers. He tried to get them all in the right order, but messed up two or three, receiving a few annoyed glances from his already irritated patrons.

He really needed to get more work here, and fast. The one waitress he had almost quit a week ago, and it took several days of begging along with a pay raise to get her to stay.

He sighed and headed back to the bar, only to run into a short, hooded figure. "Sorry," he said distractedly before noticing how familiar the voice sounded. He gave the woman a surprised grin, tilting his head slightly to try and look under the large hood, "Kallie? What are you-"

Then he noticed her blotchy skin and the strain in her voice that could only mean one thing. He placed his hands on her shoulders, "Kal, are you okay?"

Eli hastily led her over to a seat at the bar, "Come on, why don't you sit down." Taking a seat in a chair next to hers, he took her hand. He hated it when people cried, especially people as tough as Kallie, "What's wrong?"

Kallie swallowed, blinking her eyes causing the liquid slowly filling them to leak out the side. The young woman quickly wiped her face with the palm of her hand.

"I a mess, yes?" she laughed shakily, wincing slightly at her very heavy accent but she could find the energy to bring back her schooled English. "Must look awful."

In a manor that was completely unusual for her, she meekly allowed herself to be sat down at the bar.

"I fine, really," she took a deep breath, flashing a weak smile, "Its, hölmö*, silly to let things get to me, yes?"

Spoiler:

Eli narrowed his eyes and gently pulled back her hood, "No..." he said thoughtfully, "I think you're one of those people who looks pretty when they cry." He gave her a small smile.

What he had said was true, she did look pretty, especially under the warm lights of the tavern. Kallie's cheeks were a rosy pink, and the tears made her eyes sparkle.

He shook his head, "No. It's just a side effect of having a life outside of work. And you know what us normal people do to cope with it?" He slid around to the other side of the bar and pulled out two glasses and a bottle of firewhiskey.

"We talk about it over a drink," he said, pouring it into each of the glasses, handing one to Kallie and taking the other in his hands, "Cheers." He took a small sip, feeling the pleasant burn as it went down his throat.

Kallie laughed a little and wipped her eyes some more. "You're just saying that, yes?" She was glad to hear that her usual english was slowly comming back. "I'm all, red, and, and a mess."

She looked down at the drink for a moment. There was a small part of her that did not wish to take it - her father had over used her limit on resposible drinking.

But, tonight... she just felt she needed.

"This is what normal people do," she said slowly before giving the faintest shrug of her delicate shoulders, and tipping back that glass. She had to put effort into not sputtering. "I always forget how strong that is."

Eli shook his head again, "The really pretty ones always deny that they're pretty." He listened to the way her accent decorated his bland language. "You know," he said, leaning his head in one hand resting on the bar, "I've always wanted to learn Finnish. Maybe I'll start taking classes."

He laughed at her reaction, downing the rest of his drink and making a face himself, "Yeah, I do, too."

"So you got the first half," he arranged his face into a serious expression, and poured them both another drink, "Now comes the hard part. Unless... you want to get just a little more drunk first."

"Do you?" she gave a small smile. "Then I guess I will have to stop saying everything I don't want you to know in Finnish, won't I?"

She smiled sheepishly as she took the second drink, "It shall come with practice then."

Smiling slightly she took this drink more slowly, sipping it as she thought about her day.

"The hard part," Kallie sighed, and looked at her drink, swirling it around. "I am a bad person, yes? I do not... people say, I am in control too much, I must have no heart."

"See? You have an unfair advantage!" He scoffed dramatically, "You see how it feels when I start saying things about you in Pig-Latin."

Eli watched Kallie over the rim of his glass as he slowly sipped from it, waiting awhile before putting it down with a sigh, "No. I don't understand where you get this view of yourself, but you're the opposite of a bad person. You're compassionate, sweet, kind, forgiving, considerate, loyal, trustworthy, intelligent, and... and..."

He paused and gave her a small, shy smile, "And I love you."

Kallie shook her head and laughed. Her blond hair spilling around her, having already fallen out of an hold she had originally had it in, in any attempts to look professional.

"Yes, I can speak four lanuages passingly well, but Piglatin will always go over my head," she teased slightly, her warm brown eyes teasing.

"It is not a hard opinion to have," she whispered slightly, sighing and finishing the contents of her cup in one gulp, "When you hear it often enough."

The woman was playing with her glace - fidgeting despite the fact that she normally hated such an action - when she heard him and stopped. Her heart did an odd flipflop.

Kallie, for once in her life wasn't sure what to do - or how to hide that fact. She openned her mouth and then closed it. Hesitantly she leaned across her chair and softly grazed her lips across his.

"I love you too."

Eli grinned at her, "They're all just jealous."

He smiled against the kiss, pulling away in order to move the glasses aside and hop up on the counter, swinging his legs around so he was sitting opposite Kallie. A couple of customers sent him wary looks, but most of them were too drunk or too tired to care.

"Good," he said with another grin. He slid from the counter to the chair and leaned in again, his lips pressing against hers.

Kallie let out a small laugh, acting a tad bit more .... out going than she usually did with the slight help the two drinks ahd given her.

"You," she whispered wrapping her arms around his neck, "Are attracting a lot of attention you know."

She leaned in to kiss the man again, her hair falling forward, curtening them both from the world for the moment.

"As the minister I can't have a scandal you know," her voice was soft, and barely serious.

Eli leaned into her kiss, feeling the long tendrils of her hair fall over their faces, enveloping the two in their own little world.

"Well, then, Minister. Why don't we go somewhere no one can find the scandal?" He laughed softly and stood up, striding quickly to the door.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he announced cheerily to the three (very drunk) people left in the pub, "We're closing early! If you need a room, take one! I won't have any of you appararating under the influence!" A chorus of grumbles came from the small crowd, but most of them started to stumble out the door.

He laughed to himself, giving Kallie a mischievous look, and turned towards the stairs, "Come. I'll show you to a private room."

Kallie shook her head and laughed as Eli got up.

"I don't think they'll be to happy with us," she whispered as the people left. "I'm losing you business Mr. Patterson."

Looking around the now empty room, she shook her head, and followed him.

"Lead the way."