halfway & one step forward | juniper

[rhys alexander greyback]

Past the point of no return

December 15, 2028
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Rhys couldn’t remember the last time he’d entered the Hound’s Lounge. It was a bit of a different scene compared to the pubs he typically found himself in. At least lately, The Three Broomsticks appeared to have become a suitable replacement for The Violet Hound. He still missed the pub, mainly as it had grown into a hub for werewolves to drink. Contrary to popular belief, fights were rare, considering the crowd. Although, Rhys had to admit that Vasilia was likely a big part of that. Rhys’ brow furrowed as he stood at the bar, awaiting the whiskey he’d just ordered.

She still crossed his mind, his feelings unclear, but that was true about many things these days. At least the few constants didn’t change and kept him afloat. After turning away another woman asking if the barstool immediately to his side was taken, Rhys finally received his drink. For now, Rhys opted to stand while saving the seat for Juniper. Sipping his whiskey, Rhys fiddled with his watch again. It wasn’t often he wore this one. It gleamed in the light. His ‘nice’ watch matched the scene. Archer dragged him here once, but not before insisting Rhys could not just show up in his usual everyday jeans and shirt. But Rhys’ grumpiness over his attire had quickly been swept away as it hadn’t taken him long to find company for the night.

At least he didn’t have to wear a tie. Instead, he settled for one of his button-up shirts (sans tie) and his ‘nice’ jeans. But he didn’t mind. His fidgeting was merely a bit of his impatience settling in. Rhys had spent almost the entire day with Amelia out and about, and Juniper had joined him. It had been a bit of a last-minute invitation, but he made it without hesitation. Only now did he start to go through them. Merlin knew how many pictures he’d taken that day, plus Juni had messaged him many more that he had yet to go through. Many were blurry. Some were duplicates because Amelia liked to hold down the buttons on the phone, and some were beautifully candid. The phones even caught a bit of movement as traditional magical photos did, though not as much.

Even though Rhys was home for the following few weeks, he maintained the schedule he shared with Sage. Before he’d prepared himself for the evening, Rhys had ensured Amelia was all settled with her mother. Those transition points were tricky sometimes. On a day like this, Amelia had caused quite the fuss when Rhys took her to Sage’s flat. It tore him to pieces inside to see her upset, but hopefully, she would understand one day. He stopped at one photograph, one of the few Rhys noted he’d managed to smile. Nobody seemed prepared for the picture. As Amelia was almost out of the frame, Juni looked off to the side, and Rhys looked at Juni. With his free hand, Rhys continued nursing his whiskey while on his phone.

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[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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A long day separated by parts was the only way Juniper could describe how it had been so far. On any normal Friday, she would have been consumed by work, grading her students classwork, or sitting on her couch stuffing her face full of chocolate fudge brownie ice cream. As of late, her Fridays had started to shift back towards what they had once been: a brief workday and then out with Rhys. Everything at Witch TV was handled for the time being, and barely anyone was in office on Fridays in December anyways. And she had already decided to push off her Hogwarts duties until the weekend. Leaving early to meet Rhys with Amelia was definitely the different part in all of this. It was definitely exhilarating, seeing him in a way she'd never before. At the same time, she had quickly learned how to be patient. Had she been more invested in the production side of her children's shows, she probably would have seen that first hand by the parents that were there.

Chasing a toddler around was exhausting though. And that was a toddler that wasn't hers. Amelia, thankfully, was a sweetheart of a child and Rhys made it all so much easier. The newfound respect that had started to bubble up for both him and Sage was immense. She'd known they were good parents already, but every further interaction with their daughter only confirmed it more. When it came time for her to go back to her mother's though, Juniper had left to head home as well. She didn't need to be there for that, a third party watching and listening. She still felt awkward around Sage after her sister's death and they had never really been close to begin with. Trying to navigate that relationship now, when she was seemingly getting closer to being back with Rhys, was going to take a lot longer of a conversation than in the middle of exchanging their child with one another.

Which was all fine with her, because she wanted to get ready for their date anyways. Juniper had never been to the Hound's Lounge, and apparently it was a little classier than the average pub they found themselves in. It was a nice change. Content with her outfit (and hoping she didn't freeze on her way there), Juniper disapparated from her apartment and to the lounge. She found Rhys inside, literally standing well above the rest of the patrons at the bar, looking at his phone.

"Hello there," she slipped up beside him, her eyes wandering down to the phone screen as well. He was going through pictures that he had taken throughout the day. They weren't going to win any awards, with quite a few blurry and out of focus ones in the mix, but the mundaneness of them was charming. "Did you want to get a booth?" They had been running around all day with Amelia after all and her heels were not meant for standing long.

rhys alexander greyback ● 502

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[rhys alexander greyback]

Past the point of no return

December 15, 2028
juniper minerva mcgonagall

The exhaustion of a day with his daughter wasn’t the same as a day of work. It didn’t even compare. Chasing a two-and-a-half-year-old around was far more draining than digging through sand, looking for traps, or evading cursed objects. But every time Amelia giggled or wanted to show him something, he forgot about all that. Three years ago, the prospect of fatherhood had sent Rhys spiraling and literally running toward work, but now he couldn’t imagine his life any other way. It was an interesting thought, especially as Rhys noted he wasn’t alone at the bar anymore.

At first, he thought it was merely another woman trying to get his attention, but then he caught the scent of Juniper's perfume—the one she always wore—light and unique enough to always get his attention. Maybe this wasn’t what Rhys pictured ten years ago, but as he turned to acknowledge Juni’s presence, he realized he liked it very much anyway. ”Hey.” She had dressed for the occasion as he did, not that he was shy in letting his eyes take it all in. And almost out of habit, Rhys leaned in and quickly kissed her. ”That one over there is free.”

The booths weren’t terribly big, but it was just the two of them. ”Do you want to get a drink first?” Rhys slipped his phone back into his pocket. They could sit down first and wait for a waitress to drop by or order at the bar first. Considering a whiskey was already in his hadn’t, Rhys wasn’t too particular about it. He also hoped his short kiss with Juniper signaled to the usual hovering women that he wasn’t available. It was odd walking into a bar with that mindset, well, when Juni was present in any case. Everything was casual, as they’d agreed, so whatever he did elsewhere didn’t matter. But tonight—she was his date.

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[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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Juniper wasn’t sure if there had ever been any real hiding of the fact that they were casually seeing one another again. Anyone with half a brain and a pair of working eyes could have seen it from a mile away, even when they were sneaking around at Hogwarts. For as obtuse as Dahlia came across occasionally, Juniper was positive that she was the first one that had actually noticed. There had been a long glare, and then a look of either indifference or acceptance, over the fact. She supposed the other Greyback had only heard stories of Rhys’s past and had decided for herself that she’d wait and see. Now they weren’t even hiding it, despite not putting an actual label on it again. The slow procession back to how it used to be was sort of nice. She liked it this way. A few months ago, she may have been a tad concerned about how others might react if they saw Rhys kissing her openly in public, but now she didn’t care at all. She was back again, and she wasn’t going away any time soon. That would deter the other Dolohovs out there.

She didn’t look towards the table Rhys was referencing, relishing in the kiss for just a moment longer. They’d eventually get there. They had the whole night now. ”I probably should…” she said as she thought about what she wanted to drink. Leaning on the bar, she got the bartender’s attention quickly, waving him over. She ordered an espresso martini. She needed that kick of caffeine. Running around all day like they had really taken it out of her. It was far more activity than she normally had in her workday.

”She looked like she was going to pass out right before I left,” Juniper stated in reference to Amelia as she turned back around to face Rhys. Her drink would take a moment, unfortunately. ”Hopefully that means an easy night for Sage…”

rhys alexander greyback ● 329

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[rhys alexander greyback]

Past the point of no return

December 15, 2028
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Rhys hadn’t thought about how Juniper might respond to such a public display of affection as he was getting carried away with the energy of the day. Nothing was expected to go to plan with a toddler, but somehow, it had been perfect nonetheless. And Rhys had invited friends to accompany him on days with his daughter before, not that Juniper was ever just a friend. The thought floated through his mind as she leaned into him. Casual with no label or expectation, but Rhys knew damn well it was more than that. Maybe that night in the library had just been about pent-up tension and sex, but that was ages ago.

While waiting for her drink, Rhys nodded in agreement. ”She was still awake when I took her to Sage’s, but it usually doesn’t take long for her to fall asleep.” It was actually quite remarkable how Amelia would fall asleep in minutes. When she’d been a baby, both Rhys and Sage had found her napping in the oddest positions and places. Even then, she’d been quite the adventurer. For now, he left out the part where a tantrum ensued when Amelia realized she wasn’t staying with Rhys. He wondered what it all looked like from a two-year-old’s perspective or how long it would take her to understand the two-home situation.

”The earlier she falls asleep the earlier she wakes up….” Rhys lightly shrugged. Which meant Sage was due for an early morning the next day. The bartender appeared almost done with her drink. ”I’m glad you were with us today.” Rhys began in the meantime. ”She likes you.” He added, sipping from his whiskey. Amelia, as any child, would put Saffron or Dahlia’s bluntness to shame. Had she not liked Juniper’s company, they would have known right away.

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