Home Sweet Home (Bri and Dick)

Briony apparated right outside her house, she let the large building come into focus for a minute before walking down the same old gravel path opening the large wrought iron gates for Richard to follow her. She was wondering what he would think of her home, it was more like a small mansion really, influenced by the Gothic Period of architecture and Briony loved it. It had libraries upon libraries and she could spend all day there. The gardens weren't bad either.

"Welcome to Philosophers Close." Briony smiled and gestured to the grand oak door with two large snake head knockers.

(OOC: Found it despite there not being a visible link )

Richard's apparation skills were slightly better than even his well practiced portkey skills so when he arrived he was already walking forwards. His eyes widened slightly as he followed Briony down the gravel path. He opened his coat and put Anhanger on his left shoulder, where the cat latched on with it's claws,

"We've been talking to a Lady by the looks of it little Anhanger..." he muttered to his cat quietly. He smiled warmly when he caught up with Briony, poking her teasingly in the arm, "You never told me you had more than one spare room! Now the sofa seems like a bad deal..."

Briony jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her should but turned around and smiled warmly at Richard who was standing behind her smiling as well, which put her at ease. Tapping her wand on the door and muttering a few words the heavy wooden doors swung open to reveal the interior of her house.

"Hey, I did change my mind. I did say you could have a bed, but your little Anhanger gets to share mine if she wishes."

Emerald green drapes lined every room while the hard wood floor creaked slightly under every step that Briony took into the house, she beckoned for Richard to follow her into the living room where she swiftly called out to her house elf as she appeared beside her. Talking curteously to her she asked:

"Hello Kayla, please would you run a bath for my guest, bubbles and provide him with a sponge." Briony winked

She lit a fire in the grate, placed Marcy on the rug with her cat toys and threw her arms open wide as if to say 'make yourself at home'.

"Would you like a drink? Something to eat?"

Richard stopped walking and glared playfully at his pet,

"Bloody cat gets all the luck..." he joked playfully before following Briony into the house. He whistled a little, "Nice place you've got here. Bigger than my old place at least."

Following her beckoning finger, Richard walked into the living room and watched as she conversed with her house elf. He shook his head roefully at the wink and plopped down onto one of the sofa, letting Anhanger slide down his outstretched arm onto the floor. He shrugged,

"I'm a little bit hungry is all." he looked at his muggle wrist watch, "About dinner time. You hungry for anything?"

Briony smiled as she heard Richard say he was hungry, alas, she was not so herself but she didn't think that he would mind if she absented herself from food for the meanwhile. He was correct it was nearly dinner time but normally she didn't eat much anyway, yet, since she had a guest for appearances sake she supposed the must eat.

Turning once more to Kayla she asked "Could you please fix us some food, anything you wish, perhaps lasagne? If that's alright?"

"Yes, of course Miss Blake!"

Kayla squeaked and she poofed off into the kitchen to start making their meal. Little did Richard know but lasagne was her favourite food, she loved eating it and since she was going to have to force something down her, it would be prudent to eat something she enjoyed.

"I don't know if you like lasagne or not...if you don't I'l ask her to make something else." Briony smiled and sat cross legged in front of the fire playing with a loose strand of hair.

Richard chuckled a little bit and followed Anhanger over to sit by the fire, a little bit away from Briony. He stroked his cat thoughtfully,

"I don't remember ever trying lasagne..." he smiled a little, "Is it good?"

He leant against the stone of the fireplace, not caring that it was hotter there than anywhere else in front of the fireplace. He sighed a little and took off his overcoat, throwing it on a sofa before wincing and scratching the back of his head sheepishly,

"I don't suppose it's alright for me to put my coat on the sofa?" he looked away, "It's really dirty and your sofa is really clean..."

Briony couldn't help but let her mouth hang agape...how could anyone not try lasagne? It was surely the best food on this Earth and she really found it stunning that two people now that she had met hadn't tried it, or disliked it, Briony pushed her jaw up with her finger and jumped up from the floor pacing relentlessly.

"How? Lasagne! It's...so beautiful. You must try it!"

Briony was nearing meltdown again but she snapped back to normal when Richard spoke again, she looked at her sofa and then the identical one to it across the living room and smiled. She didn't care, she could get the dirt out if it was that bad.

"Oh no, I don't mind at all! You can treat this house as your home for tonight, just, not if you like to burn down your homes...ok?"

Richard was pleasantly bemused with her reaction to his lack of lasagne knowledge,

"Calm down... I'm sure that tonight will be an educational experience for me." he told her, stroking both Anhanger and Marcy. His smile fell away and he looked back at Briony, completely serious,

"Thank you Miss Blake. You've shown me a kindness that not many others would show..." he paused for a few second before smiling slightly, "But why is it everyone thinks I burnt down my home? The burn marks on the coat are from some fiendfyre okay?"

Briony giggled when she saw his reaction to her absolute horror that he hadn't tried lasagne before, she smiled serenely and lay down on the rug, her face by the fire so that she could look into the dancing flames, buttons from her corset pressing into her tummy as she lay on it. Wondering if she could tell as story with the figures in the flames she turned to face Richard with a look of shock on her face, he was so serious now.

"It is no problem. Don't think this is usual custom for me. I don't even know why I'm doing it for you, my house elf nearly had a panic attack she has to cook for more than one today." Briony laughs

She looked at his coat then back at his face with a puzzled look plastered all over her own.

"Hmm. Just making sure." She laughed.

Richard chuckled a little,

"Now that I don't believe." he told her with a grin, "You've been so nice to me, I imagine you're quite the hit at social gatherings."

He sighed a little and laid down on his front beside her with the same small smile,

"Don't worry, I wouldn't do that to you." he told her, nuzzling Anhanger as she moved past his face, "I'm really not that bad a guy."

Briony looked as he lay down next to her feeling the rug indent with his weight, she was a little freaked out but she tried to put that to the back of her mind, tonight would never happen again so she might as well enjoy it while she could. She turned to face him with a look of sarcasm on her face.

"Oh of course because everyone wants to be friends with the cold girl who doesn't talk to anyone. Seriously I'm only doing this for you because I actually think your worth a damn, otherwise you'd be knocked out in that cave."

She traced the pattern of the wood on the floor with her fingers, she looked up at the portrait above the fireplace and she grinned, it used to be her father hanging there before she changed it now it was a picture of her Grandmother, the only person who thought SHE was worth a damn.

"I know, you seem nice, but, I never like to trust anyone too much. It's not good for me."

Richard turned to look at her with a smile,

"Now that's a bit harsh don't you think?" he chuckled lightly, "Besides... you're not cold from what I've seen. Just... selective."

Richard smiled a little and pinned Marcy lightly with a hand, tickling her belly and getting playful swipes from her paws for his trouble,

"Well trust is something that has to be earned..." he frowned a little before smirking, "I guess I'll have to earn your trust. We will be working together after all."

Briony looked at Richard with a look of utter confusion on her face, he wanted to earn her trust? Why? Honestly, she was so confused, why would he bother? Normally people saw that statement as cold and standoffish but he didn't seem too, he seemed to agree with it and that was something Briony wasn't used to. Most of the time people just want trust offered to them on a silver platter but she wasn't like that, trust was something to earn.

"You would? You would earn my trust?" Briony muttered "Then you're going to have to be awfully patient with me, I haven't trusted anyone for years now...why am I telling you that? You don't care."

Briony smiled and tried to change the subject away from her, she didn't like it, normally she gave too much away around him.

"So, Richard, why do you wear that coat even though it is ruined?"

Richard looked at her for a few seconds before rolling over onto his back, to look straight up at the ceiling,

"I don't see the problem with that." he told her was a small smile, "I've waited about six years before even attempting to stop running from Romanians. I'm nothing if not patient."

He cast his battered and burnt coat a look before returning to staring up at the ceiling,

"My wife gave it to me for the first birthday I spent with her." he smiled sadly, "She said that it was a lucky coat. I didn't believe her at the time... but it is lucky."

Briony felt a little awkward she didn't know what she was supposed to say when he talked about his wife, she hadn't ever liked someone in that way before but she supposed if she thought about it, he was handsome and pleasant and she had just invited him to her home and they were getting on well. If she thought about it and troubled to care, mixed messages...hmmm.

Briony stood up and wandered around the room once more, while thinking of what to say to Richard.

"I see. Sentimental value. I would be the same if my locket was ruined...this is my Grandmothers, she was a wonderful woman."

She smiled and gestured to the portrait who smiled back when she heard what she had said, she winked at her and left her fame. Briony couldn't help but blush a little.

"Well...she is sometimes."

Richard looked at the now empty portrait before smiling a little,

"Your grandmother seems to have a good sense of humour at least." he teased before smiling at Briony as he sat up, "I guess we're both actually quite sentimental. Who would have thought huh?"

He looked around and saw Marcy and Anhanger curled up together in front of the fire. Smiling, he turned to look at them,

"Awww... now ain't that just cute?"

Briony smiled delicately at Richard and looked intently at the two cats curled up together, it always put her in a better mood once she had interacted with her grandmother, she loved her so, the only person she could say she loved with her whole heart. It made her sad though, there was a part of her, albeit very very small that longed for a bit of romance. But then reason kicked in romance leads to lies, lies lead to a broken heart and that leads to the man getting killed, or castrated.

"Aye, they are very cute. They seem to have made friends easily. I am very sentimental, about her that is. There is a very long and I'm sure boring story behind each of us that one day in the future I have no doubt we will both hear."

Briony fingered the locket that hung at her neck and placed it back under her corset out of sight.

Richard chuckled and picked himself up off the floor,

"Well how about we start now?" he asked with a smirk, "Get it out the way?"

He chuckled and held up his coat,

"Bought for me, seven years ago. French in origin. Burns from my brother's fiendfyre, although thankfully I only have one real burn from that on me." he touched the left side of his chest at the memory, "Although I'm sure you have a better story. And you're probably a better story-teller. I'm terrible at telling stories."

Briony's eyes widened and she shook her head violently but this didn't seem to stop him from talking, she listened to his very short story before she tilted her head in surprise it wasn't long or boring, in fact it was a little too short and she had some questions herself. She thought that it was best that she ask them first before moving onto her story.

"Why only your brothers fire? Surely it wouldn't be very useful if someone could damage it?"

Briony thought, paused for a moment and turned away from Richard while she fingered her locket, she took a deep breath and began her story.

"My Grandmother used to take care of me while my parents took my brother on holiday, I loved spending time with her, she got me into all of these wonderful muggle stories, then, on the last night we were spending together she gave me this locket. The next week she was dead, her house had been burnt down, muggles...her books lost, everything, and this is the last thing she gave me. It has a message in it too...but forgive me, I will not read it."

Unbeknownst to her, Briony's Grandmother had crept back into the portrait and stood there with a gentle smile on her face like always. As she turned to look at the frame Briony let out a kind of choking noise and she made sure she did not meet anyone's gaze.

Richard thought about it for a few moments,

"I don't know... I know it's not very useful. I know it's not really lucky either. It doesn't block a knife. It doesn't block curses." he paused, barely breathing as he fought down the old anger, "And it's only my brother's fire because he was the slowest one. I caught up to him before he could run away."

Slowly, he made he way over to Briony. He was about to reply when he saw her shoulders move suddenly, an action associated with crying of some kind. Concerned, he looked around to find something that could have caused it. The old lady, Briony's grandmother was back in the frame. He smiled as an idea came to him. Slowly, he crossed the room and went over to the portrait,

"Excuse me madam but it seems that you granddaughter could use some cheering up." he smiled at the old lady in the frame, "Shall we tell her a story? Perhaps one about a princess? A beautiful princess... who was locked away from the world."

He smiled a little and looked down into the fire,

"Or perhaps a story of two princesses." he frowned slightly, "One, called Rapunzel, who was locked away in a tower by an evil witch. For her valient knight to save her, he needed to fight the evil witch. The other princess... a woman who was loved only by her grandmother... and who's tower was tall and without a door. But the evil that beset the princess was not something so easily beaten as a witch... this princess had the power to escape the tower on her own... but she was afraid to extend her hand... afraid of being hurt."

Briony turned around and she looked from her Grandmother to Richard then back to her Grandmother, her emotions were a mix of rage and intrigue she wondered what he was planning to do but she was angry that he was speaking to her Grandmother. Quickly she scolded herself for being so possessive, Richard was trying to help her feel better so she listened to what he was saying.

She couldn't stop herself laughing as he tried to tell the story of Rapunzel and how she got saved by a knight, it made her chuckle to see how badly he told stories but as he moved onto the 'second princess' she realised that it was her. She narrowed her eyes in an effort to show no emotion but all it seemed to do was make her seem even more upset. She sniffed when he had finished the story.

"Tell me, does the Princess live happily ever after? Or does her story have more to be told, how about, that one day she extended her hand to a kindly Prince who was passing by, who took the time to talk to her to be kind to her even to tell her he loved her. What could the Princess do but believe him? Yet, one day the Princess went down to her safe only to find it had been ransacked and most of her gold was gone...of course, after that, she had to kill the noble Prince and she locked herself away where she could never...never hurt anyone again."

Briony leant against the wall, she had never let this much emotion show to one person at one go. She looked at him wide eyed, her hands over her mouth in shock.

"I-I'm so sorry. You were only trying to make me feel better."

Richard smiled lightly,

"Princes are very well known for being terrible people." he agreed with a hint of a teasing tone. He nodded thoughtfully, "Of course, the prince would have to die. For being so dishonorable. A Prince is a man who has gold but is never satisfied with it. A man who never sees the worth of what he has..."

His smile wavered a little,

"I used to be a Prince. I used to have something very special and I didn't see it until it was gone. Snatched away from me in an instant. I..." he paused, swallowing hard to regain his composure, "I failed my princess. I let evil take her because I didn't see that I needed the princess as much as she needed me."

Leaning against the wall, he turned to look at Briony,

"Yes, I am trying to make you feel better." he smiled gently and held out a hand, "But you have to let me try... Briony. A princess doesn't need to love a Prince. But can she not at least be the friend of the Traveller? A Traveller will ask nothing more than a roof over his head and will do whatever he can to repay that simple kindness."

He slowly moved closer to her before slowly wrapping his arms loosely around her shoulders in a loose hug,

"And this Traveller has decided that he needs to help the Princess to repay her."

Briony stood leaning against the wall listening dumbly to what Richard was saying, of course all of it was true, every last word of it but she couldn't bring herself to head his advice, she tried so hard from that moment on not to show any emotion to try and claw back some of the cold Briony the one who could be asked any question and not fail to answer it, and without a trace of emotion in her voice.

"We have both been hurt in our past by people we assumed we could trust, surely you can see why I have a hard time making friends...a hard time that the Traveller would care about the Princess if she hadn't offered him a place to stay."

Briony looked into Richard's eyes, she hoped that the anguish that she felt inside was masked well enough that it wouldn't reach her dark iris'.

"The Traveller is always welcome in the Princesses' castle. However cold the Princess may be, and if of course, he's not allergic to cats." She smiled weakly

Briony jumped, what was he doing? Was this some form of attack? She squirmed a little until she realised, he was giving her a hug. She didn't quite know what to do so she lay her head in the crook of his neck and held her arms around him.

"How? How will you help me?"

Richard smiled a little and gave her a comforting little squeeze,

"I will be there for you." he said simply, pulling away slightly to look in her eyes, "As you said, we've both been hurt by those we trusted. Who better to be there for you than someone who knows what it feels like? I'm not one of those people who will tell you that it's alright when it's not... I'm one of those people who will help you make it alright."

His smile turned more gentle in nature,

"I'm not allergic to cats. I've felt what you're feeling. I still feel it now..." he trailed off a little before he looked straight in her eyes with weaker smile, "But most importantly... I can see into your eyes. I can see mask your mask because I wear a mask. I can see the little girl in your eyes."

He gently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear,

"I can see that scared little girl, curled up into a ball against the world." his hand gently stroked her cheek, "And the scarred and broken little boy in my heart tells me that girl needs someone. She needs a Traveller with a little boy in his heart to show her that some strangers are worth a damn."

Gently, he pullled her back into the hug,

"I will be the one you can come and cry to. I will be the one to console you. I will be the one who will show you behind his mask and swear never to wear it again with you near." he hugged her a little tighter, "I will be the one who will be there. I will be there when you need me... but there might come a time when I can't leave. There might come a time when I need you."

Briony didn't know what to do. She didn't know if she should laugh, cry, or slap him in the face but she listened to everything he said, she couldn't stop herself, she was almost drawn into his very words and even if he was the worst storyteller in the universe he could speak very eloquently when he knew what he wanted to say. Briony couldn't believe that she was letting this happen again, she was trusting him, slowly but surely she was trusting him. In the space of a day he'd broken down the wall others had taken years to knock down, and she didn't know why she'd let him.

"I guess, it is a good thing that you ended up in that cave. I don't know why I'm doing this, I know it's going to end badly it always does but...I trust you, I want you to help me and I will help you in return. We are, friends?"

Briony wiped her eyes clear of tears, the tears that had been bottled up in her for so long and she lay her head on Richard's chest and let more flow out, silent tears no sobbing. Just streams of tears that Briony thought would never end.

"If there ever comes a time when you can't leave, I'll be highly surprised. I will be glad, honoured even to help such a kind hearted man as yourself, and I too promise that this mask that I wear will vanish when it is just you and me."

Briony smiled into his slightly damp shoulder. "I guess that means we'll be seeing a lot of each other."