Harry, carefully veiled, spied John packing the car. Stepping toward the trunk and careful to make no noise, Harry leaned toward John and whispered in his ear, "Hello. I'm here. I'm just going to go get in the car, okay?"
So saying, he walked toward the sedan and settled into the passenger seat.
John made a non-committal noise, an absentminded mm-hmm that could easily have been approval over the arrangement of the bottles in the trunk. He shut it, then went to slam the passenger door before sliding into the driver's seat and starting the car.
It purred out of the garage and onto the roads, trees flicking by the window as it wound the road that lead 'out' of town.
When there were enough trees between car and town, John smiled.
"Hello." Harry was smiling as well--not that John could see it while the veil remained up. "How are you? I presume you want me to stay veiled till we get wherever we're going."
John nodded slightly. "I'm doing very well-- despite a newly acquired tendency to wake up in the morning and feel as if the world has shifted ever so slightly on its axis. ...and you? How have you been?"
"Happy. Extremely, ridiculously happy. It's a new feeling. I like it. I like it a lot." He chuckled. "I take it that the world having shifted on its axis is good?"
"I don't think that good is superlative enough, to tell you the truth." After saying this, Harry sighed happily and leaned back against the seat. "And yeah, I've looking forward this all week, too."
"It's odd," John said, pulling off the road and into the grass at the edge of the road. He put the car in park. "We're 'here', I think, or at least this seems like a suitable 'here' to be. Which isn't the odd part, surprisingly enough."
He looked over at the seat where he knew Harry was sitting, albeit for the moment invisible. "The odd part is that while I feel a bit like I'm on a crucial first date, I also feel as if we've been dating long enough to get comfortable with one another."
Harry chuckled. "I know exactly what you mean. We've been meeting for months, having dinner together, drinking together, watching movies together, going to the same parties, exchanging gifts on Christmas and Easter...it's like the dating just snuck up on us."
"I know your taste in music, food, and movies; I know about your childhood. I know that you drink home-brewed ale cold, and several other of your more appalling habits." John chuckled, an easy laugh to take the sting out of the words.
"But being able to kiss you makes a significant difference."
"I prefer cold ale," Harry corrected. "I don't drink it cold around you or Dad, as a rule.
"But...yeah. Being able to kiss you changes a lot." He chuckled. "Rather like being visible would. It's not that I can't touch you right now, but I'd rather that you could see me."
He unveiled, got out of the car, then reached out with his wizard senses.
"Nobody here but us," he said as he concentrated. "No one's watching. And there aren't any magical traps, either." He turned to John. "I could set up a magic circle, if you want, to ensure some privacy."
"If it wouldn't be an inconvenience-- I really don't want this interrupted." John let his eyes drift down his friend... or his what, now?... Harry's body, glad to see him again, and then went for the trunk to unpack.
"The food is Vietnamese-- there's Pho soup, a vermicelli dish. I hope you like it."
Harry had tried to look good for today while not being ridiculously overdressed. As a result, he was dressed in a leather jacket, a gold-trimmed blue shirt wit short sleeves, a good pair of dark blue jeans and a pair of black sneakers. Judging from John's glance, he looked all right. That was a relief.
Reaching into the pocket of his jacket, he pulled out a squeegee bottle. He walked around the circumference of the clearing, drizzling a brownish potion from the bottle. Once he returned to the place from which he'd begun, he replaced the cap on the bottle, put it on the ground, pulled a straight pin from his pocket and jabbed his left index finger with it.
The drop of blood sealed the circle.
"There," Harry said, waving his hand back and forth to make the blood stop flowing. "No magic can enter now, and this potion makes people overlook you. So even if anyone comes by this area of the wood, they won't see us, hear us or smell us. Kind of like a veil, with extra veiling."
'All right' was one way to put it. They could have been a couple of friends out running errands-- John had worn a sports coat over fitted levis, an unassuming, casual-business type look.
He liked that leather jacket on Harry, though. In his opinion the outfit all together on the man was slightly better than 'all right'.
"You came prepared. I have to say that I'm ... flattered isn't quite the word, but glad that you were thinking ahead." John produced a handkerchief and stepped forward to take Harry's hand, daubing the blood off the pin-prick.
Once Harry's hand was clean, John held on to it for a moment, running his thumb over the wide palm.
So saying, he walked toward the sedan and settled into the passenger seat.
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It purred out of the garage and onto the roads, trees flicking by the window as it wound the road that lead 'out' of town.
When there were enough trees between car and town, John smiled.
"Hello, Harry."
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"Good. The word isn't inappropriate. I've been looking forward to this all week."
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He looked over at the seat where he knew Harry was sitting, albeit for the moment invisible. "The odd part is that while I feel a bit like I'm on a crucial first date, I also feel as if we've been dating long enough to get comfortable with one another."
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"But being able to kiss you makes a significant difference."
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"But...yeah. Being able to kiss you changes a lot." He chuckled. "Rather like being visible would. It's not that I can't touch you right now, but I'd rather that you could see me."
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And immediately he was the wholesome older man again. "Magically, I mean. There's no reason to keep the veil on."
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He unveiled, got out of the car, then reached out with his wizard senses.
"Nobody here but us," he said as he concentrated. "No one's watching. And there aren't any magical traps, either." He turned to John. "I could set up a magic circle, if you want, to ensure some privacy."
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"The food is Vietnamese-- there's Pho soup, a vermicelli dish. I hope you like it."
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Reaching into the pocket of his jacket, he pulled out a squeegee bottle. He walked around the circumference of the clearing, drizzling a brownish potion from the bottle. Once he returned to the place from which he'd begun, he replaced the cap on the bottle, put it on the ground, pulled a straight pin from his pocket and jabbed his left index finger with it.
The drop of blood sealed the circle.
"There," Harry said, waving his hand back and forth to make the blood stop flowing. "No magic can enter now, and this potion makes people overlook you. So even if anyone comes by this area of the wood, they won't see us, hear us or smell us. Kind of like a veil, with extra veiling."
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He liked that leather jacket on Harry, though. In his opinion the outfit all together on the man was slightly better than 'all right'.
"You came prepared. I have to say that I'm ... flattered isn't quite the word, but glad that you were thinking ahead." John produced a handkerchief and stepped forward to take Harry's hand, daubing the blood off the pin-prick.
Once Harry's hand was clean, John held on to it for a moment, running his thumb over the wide palm.
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