Honeymooners

“For the last time, Gabby, we’re not having a honeymoon!”

“In Merlin’s name, you are! My treat!”

“Gabby! It’s not even a real marriage!”

“Then have a pretend honeymoon. I already promised the kids ice cream.”

“He said I can double chocolate, Aunt Jack!”

“Gabby-“

“Have fun!”

“GABBY!”

Gabby apparated Charlie and Sunny Dyllan to Diagon Alley, feeling very proud of himself. Sunny looked up at Gabby and said, “You want them to have babies one day, don’t you?” The smile slid off of Gabby’s face and he immediately began rethinking his choice to babysit for the night. Oh boy.

Jack stared at the doorstep and slowly closed the door, before turning around to look at Max, who was still in the outfit he was wearing at the wedding. She glanced down at herself and it hit her how underdressed she had been. Whoops. She hoped that his family had not been too off put by her – then again, why should she care? She had said it, hadn’t she – it wasn’t even real, right? So what was she so darn worried about. It was just another night. It just happened to be there wedding night. And it wasn’t like a wedding night had a certain connotation or anything…

Was it hot in here, or was it just her?

She crossed her arms awkwardly and looked around. “So…” Oh, please, Max. Save me.

When Max had proposed he had failed to remember certain obligations that traditionally came along with marriage. They had done the ceremony (sorta), vows (sorta), and family gathering (sorta) but when the house had cleared he was reminded of what was yet to come. Even though the wedding was more of a business transaction than anything else that didn't change the fact that he was now a married man. He was married to Jack Dyllan. Jack was his wife. He and Jack were legally bound together in matrimony.

No matter how Max phrased it, the statement didn't get any less nerve-wracking.

Gabby had been the first one to bring up the word "honeymoon", insisting that Charlie and Sunny come stay with him for the night to give the newlyweds some alone time. It was only then that Max had realized he had never considered what would happened after the wedding ceremony. How much were things about to change for Mr. and Mrs. Dyllan-Morrison? The door had slammed shut with the exit of Gabby and co., leaving the pair alone for the first time since they had said 'I do'.

Jack spoke and Max turned to see her standing with her arms crossed. The redhead had stood in that position many time before but now it was without her trademark defiance. Jack looked almost as uncomfortable as Max felt and he had no idea how to make this situation any more bearable. What did married people normally do?

"Want a drink?" Max blurted out lamely. It was a general life rule for the Hufflepuff to avoid any alcohol under any circumstances but if there was ever a time he needed something to ease his nerves it was now. Not that there was anything he needed to be nervous about.. Just another night hanging out with his friend Jack. Yup, everything was fine, no reason to be nervous at all.

"...it really wouldn't be a big deal, I promise. Those words hadn't been lies when he had spoken them, but time and experience were proving him wrong. Things were more complicated than they had first appeared.

Jack felt like the naïve child who invited a new friend home from school and then had no idea how to conduct playtime with them. She stared at Max, trying to recall the last time they had had the house to themselves. She was not sure that had actually every happened. Sunny, at the least, had always been asleep in the other room. Christmas had probably been the closest to alone time they had found themselves having. Sitting up late, wrapping presents and thanking each other for favors neither thought needed thanking for. The next morning, christening their family with gifts that proved they were obviously past just roommates, and were now friends, at the very least.

The way they regarded each other now, however, harkened back to the very first day the two of them had met. Having to pry Mongo off of his feet. Warning him about werewolves. ’Why are you in my apartment?’ That had been before Sunny had been stuck with Jack, before she had decided to grow up and get over her issues with Nemo. Back when issues with Albus weren’t actually issues. Back when Jack had just been a Quidditch player. So much had changed, and it felt like they were coming back full circle. She had her own issues now. And she was afraid that she and Max would regress, just when she felt like she had a friend through it all.

However, he proved himself with his suggestion.

“Yes, Merlin, please,” Jack said, all in a single breath. A smile cracked onto her face and she turned around, quickly opening the cabinet in which the liquor was held. “Rum sound good to you?” It sounded great to her. She quickly pulled out a half full bottle of rum and set it on the counter, before she went over to the fridge and pulled out a can of cola. She poured a shot of rum and mixed some cola into the glass before holding it out to Max. She poured herself a generous shot and mixed in the cola, before taking a quick swig.

Merlin thank the man who invented rum.

She turned and regarded Max for a second. “We don’t… I mean, you’re not… We don’t have to be weird or different now, do we?”

Jack jumped to get them drinks, momentarily breaking the awkwardness. Max nodded in response to her question. Yes, rum was always tasted fine, it just sometimes ended badly. He swore to himself that he would only take one drink - this might technically be a honeymoon but the last thing either of them needed was another bed sheet incident. Neither Jack or Gabby seemed willing to let the last time go and he couldn't bear to give the evil pair any more ammunition for humiliation.

Max took the drink lightly, all too aware of it's powers.

Jack spoke up after only a moment, voicing the concern that apparently they were both feeling. "Please, no." Max let out in a relieved breath. He laughed lightly, raising his glass in a mock toast. "To.. normal." Whatever that is. He took a sip of his rum and offered to most 'normal' smile he could manage. The awkwardness had far from disappeared from the room but with the agreement came a slight sliver of hope that it wouldn't always be that way.

If anyone was good at being single it was Maximus Morrison and Jack Dyllan - why would those skills change simply because of a few signed papers? No, they would be just fine.

"You do realize we have a whole night free." Max offered after another sip and a few seconds of thought. His face began to genuinely light up as he considered what this meant and the possibilities presented for them. "I can't remember the last time we had an entire night just for the adults.." Max looked up to catch Jack's eye as he made his suggestion with a wide smile. "Candyland?"

The same relief she was feeling registered on his face and she felt her own face crack into a smile, a true, genuine smile that he had felt just as lost and awkward and terrified as she had. She grabbed the counter and tipped her head back, letting out her barking laugh. It had been awhile since that had been let out and it was nice to have it back, honestly. In fact, with that awkward question out of the way, Jack was feeling much better in general. In fact, she would even be willing to admit that she was feeling very good - not to someone like Gabby, of course, but she supposed she could let her new husband in on the secret.

Husband. Huh. Weird. He raised his glass and proposed a toast, one that she was more than pleased to toast too. She raised her glass and the light hit the drink, turning it from the deep brown to an amber color. It was a good toast, considering everything. This house was already strange enough, they did not need any weirdness because they had decided to avoid Azkaban. She took another drink of her own drink, this more thoughtful than the last.

So they had liquor now. Well... one activity done and off their list. Now what?

After a few moments of silence, Max brought up the fact that they the night to themselves. Jack had not had a night to herself in weeks, let alone a night with her roommate. The last night she had had just with him had probably been the second or third night after they had moved in, days before she had picked up Sunny. She raised an eyebrow, wondering what that odd brain beneath the dark locks was busy concocting. For the first time in a long time, Max gave her a large, genuine smile. She grinned widely at his suggestion. "Race you to the living room?"

Her rum held aloft, she ran to the next room.

A race wasn't fair if you didn't give a countdown.

At least that was what Max told himself in consolation as he followed Jack into the living room, arriving in a clear second place and nearly spilling his drink in the process. Shaking the defeat off, Max set his glass on the coffee table and retrieved the battered board game from it's place on the shelf. With a not-so-graceful plop Max dropped to the floor. He removed the box top with care - the torn and food-stained cardboard couldn't handle anything less than the utmost love and care.

With a less paternal attitude he dumped the pieces, board, and directions out on to the carpeted floor and began sorting them with the speed of a very practiced individual. Max had brought Candyland with him in the move but it had not been unpacked until Sunny arrived at the house. The pair had bonded over the Gumdrop Mountains and Chocolate Swamp. Over time game nights had become something of a tradition, dragging Jack and Charlie into the fun.

The Hufflepuff was surprisingly competitive when it came to board games, bringing back a spirit that rivaled his Quidditch days. Sunny only encouraged this behavior and after the many months of living together he felt comfortable throwing his entire heart into any number of "children's" games. Max considered Monopoly a game of strategy, Twister a game of agility and athleticism, and Operation a test of focus.

"I call red." Max claimed, quickly grabbing the piece and moving it to the starting location. Time to play.

((You can timejump if you want or leave it another post or two. Not sure how far you wanted to go.))

It was a simple fact of life - Jack always won their races. She didn’t know if it was because she was just naturally a better runner or what, but she always seemed to beat Max in their races. However, she was not one to question a system if it worked. She would simply accept the fact that she was always destined to beat Maximus Morrison when it came to a footraces. Just as Sunny would always beat him in a baking contest – it had nothing to do with the fact that Sunny sabotaged his cookies with some salt, it had all to do with real talent. If the Dyllan females were anything, it was fair.

Collapsed in her spot, she quickly surveyed the room around her. This was their living room. It had always been a shared room, after all, as the house had never been solely Max’s nor solely Jack’s. It had always belonged to the pair of them. But for whatever reason, this room now seemed more communal. Jack pushed this concept out of her head, though, because there was nothing there. Jack’s head was being turned by a stupid piece of paper that they had already agreed meant nothing. This was all just an annoying side effect of being human.

Max began pulling out the board to play and she drummed her fingers excitedly on her knees, setting her drink down next to her – before quickly thinking better of it and taking another quick drink. Yes – a childless night would not be a waste if it gave Jack a chance to drink. She missed drinking – drinking for fun, that was. She did not intend on returning to Eis Estate sort of drinker for awhile… for ever. Max did not seem worried so she had no qualms about enjoying a night of drinking and gaming.

It wasn’t fair – Max called red when she was mid-drink. She sputtered and choked down the drink and glared at him. “What? I always want red! I’m the Gryffindor! You can have the lame green one.” She made a swipe for it but bumped her drink, and quickly had to recover her drink. She gave him a suspicious look. “You win this round, Morrison.”


“Kill red, dragon, kill red!”

There was nothing in the rulebook against transfiguring your piece into a dragon.

((Ditto. If we want we could jump to the next morning when Gabby and the girls come in and see them passed out with all the board games, or we can jump to the next night, the first time they have to share a room.))

"NO! Stop it Jack. That's not fair!"

- - -

Max woke the next morning in the same outfit he had gotten married in. His tie lay across the couch, his shirt had been unbuttoned slightly to reveal a white undershirt, and the entire ensemble was wrinkled enough to make his mother cringe. The Hufflepuff was sprawled across the living room floor, his limbs splayed at angles resembling a crime scene. Max lifted his head and a game piece fell off, leaving an indent on his cheek from where it had been pressed all night. He gently pushed himself up and surveyed the scene around him.

The mess that the honeymooners had left certainly did not resemble your average game night. Game pieces were scattered, glasses had been knocked over (probably by Max's renegade limbs), and there was more than one small burn mark on the carpet. Jack lay in the middle of the mess. Her hair had fanned out and was currently serving as a nest for her dragon (which had lost most of its transfigured glory and seemed to be quite groggy as it slowly returned to plastic).

It was only when Max moved to stand up entirely that he noticed the weight of Jack's arm flopped across his legs. His rise dropped the lifeless hand to the floor a bit less delicately than he had intended and he froze for a moment to look down with the hopes that he hadn't woken her. Jack could be a dragon herself in the morning when woken prematurely.

Walking on his toes, Max made his way to the kitchen and plugged in the coffee pot, adding the necessary beans and water. He ran his hands through his messy bedhead as he stared out over their front yard, watching the tranquil street for little signs of life. A mailman was walking from door to door, a small dog was barking in a window, and a pompous cat pranced by. It was easy to forget that their home was in the middle of a village. Layabout had always been a bubble to Max - it's separate little universe where time ran on it's own schedule.

This was the first morning he had woken as a married man.

The coffee pot let out a series of hisses and gurgles to let him know it was no longer interested in brewing his drink and he filled his favorite mug before adding creamer and sugar. Sweet elixir of life in hand, Max made his way back into the living room. Placing the mug on the coffee table to safekeeping, he began to clean the mess that their 'honeymoon' had produced. Candyland was picked up first - the board and it's pieces were returned to their specific places in the box with the utmost care.

Max began to gather the pillows and blankets that they had retrieved at some point the night before. He folded each blanket, returning it to the back of it's assigned chair, and collected the pillows to place at the ends of the sofa. When his task was complete Max looked down at the almost empty floor. Only Jack remained, somehow still undisturbed by his quiet movements around the space. She looked so vulnerable without the mess surrounding her and Max took the nearest blanket, unfolding it and covering her with it. He gingerly brushed away the hairs that had fallen over her face before standing again and retreating upstairs with his coffee.

Max got undressed in his room, finally peeling off the clothes he had been wearing for over 24 hours now. He grabbed a towel and indulged himself in a long, hot shower as his mind danced over the memories of the day before. It was surreal. Max still couldn't quite get his head around it. After their night he felt confident about their decision again because absolutely nothing strange had happened. They were still Jack and Max, roommate extraordinaires. But even still.. it felt strange to call her his wife.

Jack Dyllan had been plagued with nightmares ever since she had seen her best friend die before her. Yes, by the time Chase Moor passed, they were no longer close. The relationship had very many obligatory boundaries involved, but there was still the undeniable bond there. Neither woman knew why they must be friends but that was the kicker - they had to be so. When Chase had died, Jack had been traumatized. She had witnessed death, but never the death of someone her age, someone so innocent, someone she knew at the hands of the monster she had created. A monster she did not have the courage to seek proper vengeance on.

The nightmares had never really stopped. She sometimes took potions. The alcohol helped. And some nights were not horrible - she didn't sleep well, but she would not cry out. But there were hellish nights, too. Nights where she had no choice but to go and work in the living room. These were the mornings when the household would wake up to a smiling Jack and a large breakfast. Jack smiled so they did not see that she had not slept, that she had seen Chase and Vito and all of his victims in the corners of her eye.

And last night...

She had not had a single nightmare.

When she would later ponder this, she would just chalk it up to the exhaustion of game night - the fact that there was no thinking before bed, just play until they passed out. She would even blame the alcohol, even though there was considerably less than they had acted to have in their system. But she would not claim that it was because she had felt so genuinely at ease when she had finally slipped away from the game, head lolling onto her arm as she curled up on the carpeted floor. No pressure. No expectations. It had really just been a game night.

Marriage had been pretty fun so far.

She woke later, for her tired body took advantage of a full night's rest when it could. When she did, Max was nowhere to be seen. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and rubbed her eyes, before reaching up. Yep. One side of her hair was flat. The other was not horrible. She blinked and looked about. Had there actually been a game night? It looked clean. Max. Of course. She glanced down. A single blanket still on her. She had not fallen asleep with a blanket. Max. Of course.

Stretching and yawning, she made her way upstairs to her room. Neither she nor Max had discussed if the actual sleeping arrangemens would changed, but that was surely a question for later - or never. Thus far, they had not had to face any consequences of merging surnames, so she was confident they might never have to. She changed, having showered midafternoon the day before, and brushed down her hair from its mane status.

And in two shakes of a leg, she was back downstairs, rooting through the fridge. She had found eggs and ham... The temptation was there. And soon, Jack Dyllan was preparing green eggs and ham, because it wasn't a classy honeymoon until Dr Suess had been honored.

By the time Max emerged from the shower the house smelled of breakfast. Jack's frequency of cooking increased with each addition to the household but Max remained the primary chef at Layabout Lane. The Hufflepuff attempted to make some order of his curly hair by briefly mussing with it in the mirror before giving up and wrapping a towel around his waist. He returned to his room and picked out a new set of clothes that was much more casual than his work outfit.

The shower seemed to have washed off more than dirt. Max felt fresh, pure, and more calmly content than he had been in months. It only took a few minutes before the aroma wafting from the kitchen was enough to draw him back downstairs.

Max paused in the doorway. Jack was facing away from him and he watched her back as she worked by the frying pan, the contents sizzling lightly. The scene was so.. domestic. Max couldn't help but be struck by the irony of it. His wife was making them breakfast after their wedding night. Of course this fairy tale was nothing like the one his mother had told him when he was little but it suited him just fine and Max knew he would have been quite content for the moment to last.

"Morning." Max greeted, breaking the silence that Jack hadn't realized was there. "Did you sleep alright?"