Tide Me Over (closed, with Irridatedwarden)

[sumurset]

When Celaden began yelling, Mark melted. He felt completely spent. Like a wet rag someone had used to wipe down a window.


He sunk further, using Fi as support. His small journey had him laying on the tiles with his head resting against Felicia's leg.


Merlin help him.


Ivan was not taking the shoving--nor the words--lightly.


He looked down at the shorter man, face red with rage.


"Don't you lay a hand on me, you filthy fucking haggot." His own hand came up to Celaden's chest, and he shoved the man as hard as he could back towards the house.


"That stakebait inside is lucky I put up with his shit. Lucky I've dealt with his shitty face around the house. His mother should have had an abortion, at least then she'd be here and I wouldn't have to lay eyes on the parasite that killed her."


He spat on the ground between them, then focused his gaze on Esette.


"Now go in there and get his coward arse. And don't expect to see him again."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Mark rested against her leg and Felicia leaned in a little more as though to shield him with her body, a hand coming up to smooth his hair out of his face and stroke it soothingly like she would a frightened animal. This couldn't have been easy for him, Merlin it wasn't easy for her.


Celaden glanced back at his wife and saw just how dark her own eyes had become. Her jaw tensed as she gritted her teeth and gave a very small nod to her husband. After that comment that left her feeling sick inside, she had no empathy left for this worm.


The flick of his wrist was so fast Esette almost didn't even see the blur of black wood.


There was no incantation spoken.


A blast of white light exploded from his wand, a force of pure energy aimed at the muggle's chest with enough force to send him flying off the platform and onto the ground some distance away. It wouldn't be a lethal shot by any means, Celaden had enough restraint to ensure that.

 

[sumurset]

An empty sob wracked his body. He tried so hard to fight it down, to prevent himself from crying in front of her.


Mark didn't want to look weak. He didn't want to be weak.


He choked back the next that threatened to break him down.


Ivan went flying, just as the spell had been used for, and landed some distance away. A dull thud could be heard as his limp body hit the Earth. Then--silence. He'd been knocked unconscious by the impact. There was no way he'd be waking any time soon, either. Not after the magic exposure.


When the yelling did not continue, Mark sat up. Another dry sob shook him, though his hair hid his face. His expression. Feelings.


He kept his head tilted down as he stood. Without a word, he walked down the steps and into his guestroom; closing the door behind him.


Always the burden, wasn't he.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Felicia got up and shot a worried look at her mother.


"Mama-?"


"Go check on him darling, we'll take care of this." With that, she started down the steps and Celaden followed her, shutting the door behind him.


Felicia wasn't sure what they were going to do. More likely than not Esette would make sure nothing was broken and they'd try to get him back to the closest muggle city, probably set him down somewhere so he thought it was all a dream.


Funny how magic worked.


Clearing her throat to remove the shakiness of it, Felicia headed down stairs as her parents headed outside. Mark didn't need to be alone.


She knocked on the door.


"Mark?" Her voice still sounded so uncharacteristically weak. "May I come in?"

 

[sumurset]

Mark didn't respond. He was laying on the bed, under all of the blankets he could find. Even the pillows covered his head.


He wasn't crying, nor was he shaking.


He was completely static. His emotions gone, replaced by an odd numbness.


Those words had been spoken before, but never in front of anyone.


It had never hurt so bad.


Now they all knew. They knew how terrible his father was, that he was only a half-blood, nearly an orphan--unwanted.


All he had was the school. All Mark had was the hope of tomorrow.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

With the softest of clicks, Felicia opened the door enough to slip in. She shut it behind her and stared at the lump on the bed for a long moment.


What could she say? She had seen so much, had learned too much about him too fast and it was painfully apparent as to why he tried to keep it all quiet now.


He was a half-blood in a House that looked down upon them, his facade had been cracked and she felt like it was wrong for her to have seen it.


But he deserved better. He deserved a father who didn't say things like that, who didn't treat him so poorly. Surely he realized that, he had to know he deserved better.


Unable to find any words that would make him feel better, she moved forward and sat on the edge of the bed.


"He reminds me of my grandfather." That was a personal bit of information that had never been shared before. "I only ever met him once but he was not a nice man and...I think that is why my father reacted so harshly. Seeing someone being treated the same way he was when he was young, especially when you deserve better-." She droned off.


That was an excuse. She sighed, moving to lay down beside the mess of pillows and blankets, half hanging off the bed.


"Oh Mar I am so sorry that happened. If you want to leave...that is okay. I know you likely do not want to stay with us after that."

 

[sumurset]

His voice, albeit muffled, could be heard from under the pillows and blankets.


"Where would I go? Back with him?"


It was less of a question and more of a deadpan. Mark wanted nothing to do with his father at that moment. Absolutely nothing.


He was upset. Angry, even, that his father had made such an arse out of them both.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

In a way, she felt as though he could be safe there. There was no way his father could get to him, not as long as Celdan was there, but at the same time, she feared he needed to go, that he needed to be away from her family, from her.


If that was the case, Hogwarts would still be open. He'd be safe there too.


"The school is still open for the winter break, plenty of people stay there. I- I do not want you to leave, but more than that I just want you to be happy."


She was more candid than usual, more blunt with her thoughts after that rather terrifying encounter.

 

[sumurset]

"I rather like this bed, thank you."


His reply was quick. Half genuine, but somewhat snappy.


He mostly just didn't want to move at that moment, but what he said meant more than that.


Mark really did enjoy staying with them. The bed had even started to smell like him.


His form seemed to get larger, but shrunk as he sighed out. It was drawn-out and miserable sounding.


"I am sorry."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

She blinked.


"Sorry? You do not have anything to be sorry for. What happened was out of your control and, thus, is far from being your fault."


It was the fault of some muggle who thought he could waltz in there and start demanding things, start calling names and acting like he owned the place.


Mark hadn't chosen his father, hadn't made him act like that. If anything, he was the clear victim.


"No one blames you. If we did, my father would not have stood up for you."

 

[sumurset]

Mark just grunted in acknowledgement. He didn't know what to say.


He still felt horrible. Less like a victim, more like a burden.


After a moment of silence, he turned over and pushed the pillows and blankets off of his head.


His gaze met Fi's. Another pause. He seemed content just looking at her. His eyes were a bit red. He'd been trying so hard not to cry.


"Then thank you."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"You deserve to be treated with kindness."


Merlin, she would have fought the man herself if it came down to it. She could still feel the shock of some of the things he had said.


But, lingering on it wouldn't make anything better.


She smoothed his hair back out of his face once more.


"It will be better now. If you want, I will let you show me another sad film so you can be amused by my sorrow."


Her smile was small, tentative as she made a dry joke. She believed it, though, that things would get better. It wasn't like it could get worse.

 

[sumurset]

Mark sighed, relaxing when she ran her fingers through his hair.


Really, he could not have asked for a better friend. The past few months had been delightful.


That's what he needed to focus on.


"I think I might know a film you'd like...." He opened his eyes, shifting a bit on the bed. "Will your dad be upset with me?"

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"Upset with you? No, though he might be a bit tense for a while. I would not worry too much about that, though, he will not take it out on you."


Pushing her hands on the bed, she made herself sit up and sighed quietly, her own nerves finally starting to relax.


Dealing with Celaden when he was like this was never pleasant. She had only ever seen him riled up like this twice, she tended to keep quiet until he calmed down again. That, she thought, was why having a room in the attic was so nice.

 

[sumurset]

He nodded, considering the fact that Celaden and Esette's room was on the same floor, not even 10 feet away.


Mark rubbed his face with the heel of his palms before scooting off of the bed.


"Should we go up to your room? I can bring the player."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"That sounds like a lovely idea, we can snag some of the cookies from yesterday as well and just relax for it a bit, yes?"


Her smile warmed at that, glad he was getting out of bed, that he was willing to do anything other than mope about. Had she been on his end of things, she wouldn't be getting out bed for days.


She started heading up the stairs, looking back at him.


"It will be fun."

 

[sumurset]

Perhaps it was how used to it all he had been.


Those words were nothing he hadn't heard before.


The worst of it all was where and how his father went about saying it. In front of his son's new friend, her parents.


It was embarrassing.


Mark didn't dwell too hard on it, however. He wanted to move on.


He knew, for the most part, that his father had no right to say those things. That he was wrong.


Shaking his head to rid himself of the thoughts, Mark grabbed his DVD player and Rocky Horror Picture Show from his pack before running up the stairs. He trusted that Fi had gotten a plate of cookies as he headed towards her room.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

The attic room was visually warm. A rug covered a good portion of the floor, drawing out the deep red tones from the wood. The plethora of pillows and quilts on Felicia's bed matched the colors, all warm and rich, various patterns and lace all meshing together under the light of what seemed to be fairylights that were hung about the room. Posters, some of which were signed, were plastered on some of the walls, moving photos of famous witches and wizards all looking charming as they posed for the camera. Small knickknacks rested on her short and long bookshelf, a few twirling while others served to look like pretty little pieces she had gathered over the years.


Felicia liked her room, it was her haven.


She had been tossing pillows down onto the ground near the end of her bed, setting up a little nest of fluff when Mark came up.


"It is a little chilly up here, I apologize for that." That was the one bad thing about living in the attic. Still, she had enough quilts to make up for it.

 

[sumurset]

"That's fine. I do not like being too warm."


He smiled at her, padding over to help with the small nest. When they were both settled and comfortable, all curled up together under blankets and pillows, Mark grabbed the player and held it in his lap.


"This one's a bit weird, but it's funny. I think you will appreciate it."


He chuckled, knowing well how "weird" the movie was.


"It is based off of a play."


Then, without any further ado, he hit the play button and settled back while the large pair of red lips came on the screen.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Christmas was right around the corner and it didn't take long for Esette to coax Celaden into relaxing once more.


Of course, as using magic on a muggle was frowned upon, he had a bit of paperwork to do in order to explain the whole incident. Sitting in the first floor den, Celaden worked on the stack of papers to ensure that he wouldn't get his family in any trouble, after all, he had just been standing up for a young wizard.


Once it was all said and done, the celebratory mood returned to the home.


It was chilly early in the morning, the glass of the windows having been frosted over from the snow storm that had rolled in over the past two days. Esette was the first one to wake.


Nudging her husband awake, she watched as the lanky man grumbled and went off to go start some breakfast.


Esette gently knocked on Mark's door just enough to wake him up as she called out a "Merry Christmas, dear."


With that done, she stalked up stairs, waking her daughter before going to help Celaden.


Quilts had been draped on the couch and various chairs in the living room for anyone who wished to keep warm and around the tree, presents had sprouted over night. There were four presents, each of them colorfully wrapped and adorned with egregiously large bows.


If one looked closely, they'd notice Mark's name written on one of them.

 

[sumurset]

Though he tried not to, Mark had lingered around Celaden until the paperwork had finished. He felt terrible for dragging the family into the situation, and couldn't help but feel guilty about it all. Nothing felt quite right until the man had finished everything up and offered him a reassuring smile. That was the first time he'd hugged Fi's father.


The next few days passed in a happy blur. Everyone was quite content. Ivan wasn't heard from, and cookies were made aplenty.


When Christmas morning rolled around, and Mark was woken by the soft knocking of Esette, he grumbled and blinked his eyes open. He didn't want to get out of bed, but the day would be a good one. He could feel it in his bones. So, much to his body's displeasure, the young man eased out of bed. Not wanting to bother with "real" clothes, he opted to keep wearing the flannel pajama bottoms he'd slept in. For everyone else's sake, he made sure to keep a quilt wrapped around his shoulders.


A loud yawn escaped him as he gently pushed open the bedroom's door. He idly thought about how he'd been calling it "his" room for the past few nights. No one seemed to notice or care. It was interesting.


His tall form slumped partially over, Mark climbed the steps to the second floor. He didn't register the amount of presents under the tree. Honestly, his growling stomach had him far more interested in the breakfast.


With messy hair and half-lidded eyes, the teenage boy dropped into one of the dining room chairs and wrapped the blanket protectively around himself. Without the quilt, it was rather chilly.


"Happy Christmas."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

By the time Mark had stumbled in to sit in the dining room, Esette had decided Felicia was awake enough and had stepped back in to join the boys. Celaden swore as his hand accidentally knocked the side of the hot pan. Barely awake, the usually collected man was much less exact with his motions. Esette giggled and gently rubbed his back, cooing a quiet apology on behalf of the pan as he cracked some eggs into it.


He grumbled at her and she smiled, waving her wand so the pot of tea started itself.


There was a sound of stumbling upstairs and a curse as something hit a door frame.


"Are you alright chou?" Esette called and received only a grumble in response.


Neither her daughter or her husband were morning people. It never ceased to amuse her.


Another moment longer and Felicia came down the stairs, wrapped in a fluffy housecoat and house shoes that made it look like she had pygmy puffs on her feet. She sat down next to Mark and rubbed her face, letting it rest in her warm palms before sitting up straight.


"I dreamed about that odd film you showed me I will have you know." An airy chuckle escaped her. "I have seen many odd things in my life but I do believe that is the oddest of all thus far."

 

[sumurset]

"Dr. Frank-n-furter is an honorable subject for dreams."


He grinned, teasing, and relaxed back into his chair. His eyes were on Celaden and Esette as they fixed breakfast.


Mark took a mental note to fix them dinner sometime. They deserved it, they were good people.


It would be a nice Christmas thank you--from him to them.


His gaze turned to Fi, and he spoke softly. Quiet enough that her parents could not hear.


"Are you going to the Yule Ball tonight?"

 

[Interstellar Bun]

Felicia propped an elbow on the table and let her cheek rest on it. In truth, she was half about to start dozing off again when Mark spoke to her.


"Hmm? Oh," her smile widened, "I am indeed. I talked Kir into going and I fear it would be terribly rude of me if I were to abandon her."


Besides, she liked dances, liked the music and the chance to dress up. Her dress was hanging in her wardrobe, something she had worked all summer to be able to afford with her own money.


It was a bit egregious, but pretty.


"What about you, Mark? I assume someone like yourself already has a date and everything, yes?"


Mark was a charming individual after all, one would have to be blind to not see that.


The tea kettle whistled, drawing her attention away from him for a moment as Esette went to go pour the hot water into four mugs.

 

[sumurset]

"I was actually wondering i--"


He was cut off by the kettle, and his face flushed. Should he even ask? It sounded like she was going with Kir. Wouldn't it be rude to get in between that?


She hadn't been particularly clear on whether or not they were going together.


Whatever, he might as well go for it.


Well, he would have, had Celaden not plopped plates of eggs, crepes, and fruit down on the table.


Mark jumped a bit, not having expected a second interruption.


He sighed, quietly thanking the man for breakfast.