(Untitled)

[clumsy_auror]

The days that Nymphadora's been back have sped by far more quickly than she'd like. There've been near-daily visits to the Healers, for tests and exams and ultrasounds, and Durkin's been scratching his head trying to re-calculate Charlotte's exact due date. Then there's Allbright, who hugged her, told her off, and dumped a foot-high stack of

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[the_woodpecker]

Bernard's been swinging from one extreme to the next, either clinging to 'Dora like he can't let her go, or keeping to his study, the door closed, immersed in work.

It's the latter he's indulging in today.

He just... It's hard, getting used to her again. Getting used to not missing her.

[the_woodpecker]

"This--"

He drops the apple slice on the counter, turns, follows her, stands leaning against the doorway between the dining room and the living room, his hands shoved in his pockets like a shamed schoolboy.

"It wasn't me keeping something from you. There was nothing they could do, and. And I thought you'd be back, I thought."

[clumsy_auror]

"Of course there was something they could do!" she explodes, on her feet again and rounding on him. "And it doesn't matter whether I'd be back or not, what the bloody fuck were you thinking, keeping it all bottled up like that?"

She rakes one long-fingered hand through her hair, eyes a little wild.

"And since when do you have a monopoly on worrying about me? They're my family, too, and they have a right to know when I'm in trouble!"

[the_woodpecker]

Bernard opens his mouth and finally looks up to meet her eyes, his own wide and almost panicked.

"I wasn't thinking."

[clumsy_auror]

Bitingly, "Apparently not!"

But just as suddenly as her anger had come, it's gone, and she drops wearily into the chair once more.

"I'm just. I'm so sorry, Bernard. It's my fault. All of it."

[the_woodpecker]

His eyes slip shut, and he shakes his head. "I wish you wouldn't do that."

[clumsy_auror]

"Do what?" replies 'Dora, looking up at him with tired eyes. "Tell you the truth?"

[the_woodpecker]

"Take all the-- blame, I guess," he murmurs back, rubbing one eye. "You know it's not the truth."

[clumsy_auror]

She reaches out, taking his hand and tugging him into the chair beside her. "If I hadn't been so stupid and impetuous, if I hadn't done that, you wouldn't have been in that position."

[the_woodpecker]

He comes, his feet almost shuffling against the floor, and sits, his eyes on the coffee table.

"I... don't know if I'm ready to do what needs doing. Say what needs saying."

[clumsy_auror]

"You don't have to say anything," she almost whispers, pressing her forehead to the back of his hand. "I just want us to be okay. Want everything to be okay."

[the_woodpecker]

"You know better that that," he replies on a low laugh, leaning closer. "You can't just make everything better by wishing it."

[clumsy_auror]

A rueful laugh of her own. "No, but I can try."

Nymphadora lifts her head and presses her mouth to his.

"But you know I love you."

[the_woodpecker]

His free hand lifts to cup the back of her head, and he kisses her again, soft. "I love you, too."

[clumsy_auror]

"And I still think you were an idiot, not to tell people." 'Dora's mouth moves along his cheekbone, light as a feather. Her fingers caress the inside of his wrist, smoothing up his forearm.

[the_woodpecker]

He nods, slowly sagging to rest his head on her shoulder.

"Wasn't really thinking. At all."