All we see is sky | Lee & Bobby

[Deleted]

July 2025

Lee had signed up for the blind date thing mostly as a way to escape her routine. Having two teenage girls living with her was proving to be more challenging than she suspected it would be, especially after the Quidditch event and Mazie’s accident there. Luckily she was healing nicely and Lee didn’t really have to worry about that anymore. She also signed up as a way of trying to make herself move on. She and Rory had tried to date, but they just weren’t working in the way that they wanted themselves to. It was weird and they were too different, and they had different thoughts on where they wanted their lives to go. Not to mention Lee had adopted a teenager without talking to him about it at all. Oh well. You live and you learn.

With the quarantine it seemed like she’d be here for a while yet, so she wanted to make some friends, possibly more, while she was still here. Her envelope told her to go to the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival and her date would meet her there. Lee had never been to any of the palaces, she didn’t think much about the royal family, even though she knew that the youngest of them had attended Hogwarts and one of them just died in the explosion. She was kind of surprised the event was still on after that. She wondered what muggles were saying was the reason for his death…

She stood by the entrance, dressed nicer than she normally would, in attire that was appropriate for a garden party at which a member of the royal family might be in attendance. She looked around for a man with the same envelope in his own possession, not feeling nervous in the slightest. Worst case scenario, at least she saw the palace.

@bobby

[Deleted]

When he had gotten the enveloppe he'd been surprised for multiple reasons. For one, the event itself. He loved the idea of strolling around a beautiful garden in order to get to know his date properly but the fancy avenue wasn't exactly suited to him as a person, not to mention his style would stick out like a sore thumb. The second was that it hadn't mentioned anything at all about his date, which made him wonder who to look for. He figured that perhaps this person would have the same envelope or some other tell that would make things very obvious for the both of them.

His grooming ritual that morning had been the usual. While he wanted to make sure he looked good he also felt it to be very important that the woman he was meeting would know exactly what kind of person he was. He'd opted to make sure he looked presentable, or at least slightly more so than he might usually look. He'd chosen his sleeveless joy division shirt with some simple black jeans (without holes in them this time). He hated any shirts that had sleeves on them so he was pretty sure he'd be either overdressed or not true to his own person. Besides, he didn't really like covering the art on his arms. He'd spent a lot of time and money on it and he saw no use in covering things he was proud of. That included his marks of the trade. He knew some people considered it needed but in his line of work there was no use for covering up or sleeves. They only got in the way.

He arrived on time as always, punctuality being a thing he valued and instantly looked around for who his date might be. It made sense that he'd approach her if he went with the slightly more traditional dating rituals. He didn't really object to them as he was raised with the typical southern hospitality, even if he didn't look the part. The lessons from home along with the parts he'd picked up overseas had shaped him into what he was today and if his date didn't like it they simply were not matched to each other.

He spotted a woman with the enveloppe then and his eyes widened ever so slightly at the sight of her. She was absolutely beautiful and his fingers almost started itching to grab his sketch pad and draw her rather than walk up. Well, if things went well he surely could do so later. He wanted to save the image in his mind while she was still a beautiful mystery, but he wasn't there to make art. It was almost a regret that he didn't have the time for that. He shook his head at himself slightly as he walked up to her with a friendly smile. "Hello, I'm Bobby Ray Blishwish." He held his envelope up to show he was her date. "Also, yes, I am related to the match makers. They're distant relations though." He said with a chuckle and a shrug. He wasn't going to make inappropriate jokes but seeing how beautiful she was he certainly felt that his relation had gotten him a favour. He ought to pay his cousin a visit to thank him for that part if this entire date ended up going well.

@alyra

[Deleted]

Being here felt entirely out of place at the garden party. Things like this didn’t happen in America. Never would someone throw a garden party, or, if they did, Lee wasn’t sure that she would go. She actually figured she might laugh about it and call them posh, or something along those lines. But here she was, dressed in a sundress and a light cardigan, and wearing heels. She couldn’t remember the last time she had worn high heeled shoes. At Ilvermorny, probably.

A man approached her that surprisingly looked vaguely familiar to her. She couldn’t place where she knew him from, but she knew a lot of people from a lot of places, especially with her ongoing investigation, and the fact that the magical world here was kind of small. He was carrying his own envelope signalling that he was her date, and introduced himself as Bobby Ray Blishwick. Interested, he clarified that yes he was related to the matchmaker himself but several generations back. To her surprise, he also didn’t have a british accent. “Nice to meet you,” she smiled politely back at him, he was certainly attractive. “I’m Alyra Pond, I like to go by Lee, though. “ she clarified. “Would you prefer I call you Bobby Ray or is just Bobby alright?” she asked.

@bobby

[Deleted]

She looked really pretty and he found himself captivated by her beauty quite a bit, although it wasn't a bad thing. He found that to be a very nice start to a blind date, although he wondered how she felt about him. He didn't exactly look like a prince charming after all. He sometimes felt like he was like a very bad mixture of too many different things. He had the faintest hint of a Southern Twang but also had gotten hints of a Britsh accent from spending too much time in London. His style screamed punk but his demeanor was very calm and the exact opposite of how he dressed. Not that it mattered too much as she hadn't ran away screaming so far.

"Nice to meet you, Lee." He said, inclining his head slightly. "Either works. My dad usually was the one to call me Bobby Ray. It's a bit of a naming convention in my branch of the family I suppose." He said with a slight chuckle. He then looked around at the garden and smiled slightly at the beauty of it all. This was part of why he liked the UK so much. They were a bit posh and stuck up at times but tea and flowers were a beautiful and nice and calm kind of tradition that he saw the appeal in easily. "Would you like the explore the gardens?" He said, offering his arm to her. "So, by your accent I'm guessing you're from America?" He asked curious, by way of starting the conversation. He was curious why a girl from all the way across the pond was here, although he most certainly didn't mind hearing the accents that reminded him of his younger days. It seemed to be more common these days, especially now that Esther and Alfie were in his life. A bunch of Americans living in the UK. Out of place, but at least they were out of place together.

@alyra

[Deleted]

He didn’t seem bothered by her asking what to call him. He explained that his father was the one who called him Bobby Ray and that it was sort of a tradition within his family to have a name like that. She nodded, she’d just stick with Bobby Ray since that was what he introduced himself as, people didn’t tend to give their middle name unless it was something they went by. She couldn’t remember the last time she had told someone what her own middle name was. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to associate her with the name Rose. He asked if she wanted to explore the gardens and she nodded. “Sure, I guess that’s what we’re here for right?” she couldn’t say it was entirely her scene, but it was kind of cool.

Then he brought up that based on her accent, he guessed she was from America. She nodded. “Yeah it tends to give me away. And I can say the same for you, so that’s kind of cool. I wonder if we got matched up because we had that in common…” she was so awkward. Come on Lee, you’re an international crime investigator, get yourself together. “I was born and raised in Southern California. Thunderbird at Ilvermorny and now i work for the MACUSA.” she explained. “that’s what brought me over here…” she added.

@bobby

[Deleted]

She was nice and so far he really liked her company. She wasn't judgemental (or had failed to show it so far) and in general seemed to be relatively calm, something he appreciated. Big bouncing balls of energy just tended to tire him out for some reason. Maybe it was mostly due to the fact he was used to being in a calm and peaceful environment. He didn't like people bringing drama into his shop or his personal life. Things that were high impact were not drama, but if people started to fuss over what seemed to be insignificant details he found it irksome, even more so if they forgot what they got wound up about in the first place. He offered his arm but left the choice to take it fully up to her. He'd been raised a gentleman, even if he didn't really look the part. He led the way into the garden, purposefully navigating the path to take the more quiet side tracks so they weren't out in the open around all the others all the time. That wasn't exactly the kind of overly busy environment suited for properly getting to know one another.

She brought up a good point in their potentially being matched due to similar backgrounds. Or well, at least the fact they were both American. He wouldn't object to that, as it was much less of a threshold to move to America if both of them considered it home. While he loved his shop and his life here, he wasn't by default opposed to moving back across the pond. "It's possible." He mused in agreement. He then nodded as she mentioned her roots and her job that had led her across the ocean. "I was born and raised in Nashville for the most part. My dad took me on tour some times in the summer so I got to see a fair few places. I also wen to Ilvermorny, although I was a Horned Serpent. I traveled here mostly in pursuit of my craft as tattoo artist but a part of me also wanted to escape the shadow of my father in a way." He figured he might as well mention it. It tended to come up at some point and he no longer minded the presence of his father half as much as he used to. In his school days the fame his father had definitively had him rebelling but the two had grown a lot closer of the years and by now Bobby was just very grateful to have such an amazing father has he had been. "How do you like it here? Is work treating you well in the UK?" He wasn't fully sure what else to ask. He didn't really feel awkward but it was hard to determine the best topic of conversation in a first meeting. He certainly didn't want to risk starting a monologue about his favourite kinds of coffee or something. That would be awkward.

@alyra

[Deleted]

Bobby offered her his arm as they started their way into the garden party. It still felt very strangely formal, but taking his arm made it seem like they belonged there a little more. It was strange for a first date, but fitting given their location. He began to explain that he was born and raised in Nashville but his father had taken him on tours and he saw a lot of the United states that way. Interesting, Lee couldn’t help but wonder about that. Maybe his father was military and traveled a lot for that? “What sort of tour?” she asked casually, wanting to simply understand better. He also explained that he went to Ilvermorny but was in a different house than she was. She nodded. “I’m sure we crossed paths during our time.” he couldn’t be much older than her, if at all really.

She nodded at his last question, “Well enough, I’d say. The Quidditch match kind of put the investigations back into high gear.” she admitted. It was a shame, the entirety of that event. And she had barely slept the whole week after it happened. Her and her team were out night and day dealing with the aftermath, picking up and clues, etc. She was a special investigator and attempted to do her best to piece together the events of the day. But with the whole thing in ruins and burnt to a crisp, there weren’t many pieces left to put together.

@bobby

[Deleted]

Bobby was almost relieved that his origin and family name didn't instantly set of a huge bell. She probably wasn't the biggest fan of country music in that case, which he considered to be quite the relief. He liked a very different kind of music and while he had nothing against country, he didn't really feel like dating a woman that would fawn over his father half the time. It would be far too awkward. "Music. My dad is a musician, country to be specific. I prefer more punk and metal myself but my dad's music is okay." He said it with a smile that made it clear he enjoyed his fathers music a lot, even if it wasn't quite his own taste. He nodded in agreement that they probably had crossed paths. He'd changed a bit since those days, mostly in the amount of ink on his skin, but the same could probably be said for her. It made sense they would not remember each other if they hadn't been friends back in school.

Bobby narrowed his eyes slightly as she mentioned the quidditch match brought things with investigations into high gear. "I thought it was supposed to be an accident? Do they suspect faulty fireworks or something?" He couldn't really help his curiosity. "I understand if you can't elaborate of course. It's mostly idle curiosity. I've had a few people come into the shop that wanted pieces for those they lost out there. I think it's in all our minds." He was just glad he wasn't really a quidditch enthusiast on that point. Not all that much into sports to begin with. It was mostly quodpod if anything, but that was due to it's popularity at home. He watched quidditch from time to time but he wouldn't pay to be in a stadium for a game. His interest didn't really stretch that far.

@alyra

[Deleted]

He told her that his father was a country musician and that was why he toured around the country. That made sense she could have put that together. Come to think of it, with that realization, his name did sound slightly more familiar, but she couldn’t visualize the man. Maybe if she heard one of his songs she’d know who he was. “Oh that’s cool. But I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan of country music either…” she admitted. She didn’t need to tell him about the country music festival she had attended a few years back in Los Angeles. It wasn’t about the music as much as it was about dressing up and drinking beer anyway. She always had a good sense of adventure and humor for those types of situations, and she was never someone to turn down an invitation. “I’ll have to check out his stuff, see if it’s anything I know.” she decided.

He asked a bit about the explosion and that she was currently investigating. “Yeah, it probably was. Fireworks do seem the most likely cause. But any sort of event like that requires some bit of looking into.” she said, sort of vaguely. Whatever the cause was, it was just too suspicious that it happened so close to the azkaban explosions. She wasn’t sure that any explosions were ever accidental or the fault of no one at all. Whether it was a faulty firework maker, a slip up from an intern, or fowl play, she just wanted to make sure she covered her bases. He mentioned that a few people had come into his shop asking for pieces done in honor of those who they lost in the event. She nodded, that was a sweet thought. A piece of their loved one would be with them forever. “So how long have you been... doing tattoos?” she’d admit that she didn’t know the correct terminology for what he did exactly, but it did intrigue her. Getting a tattoo had always kind of been at the back of her mind.

@bobby

[Deleted]

While Bobby had a good relationship with his father, he worried at times that it would create problems between him and whoever he attempted to date. Sometimes they hated his music and it ended in fights, which usually was because every once in a while he liked putting on one of his dad's albums for the sake of nostalgia. Besides, he liked supporting his dad just like his dad had supported him. His father had pieces made by him on his skin, and those were from his earlier days. To get a piece that will stick with you forever done by your still vastly inexperienced kid was quite the honour and Bobby was very aware of that. It was both nerve wrecking and kind of comforting that she was both not intimately familiar with his fathers work but not so heavily against country she'd look it up. "I could give you an album. On loan at first but I can always get a new one from my dad. He's not too troublesome about that sort of a thing." He offered, not really wanting to make her spend money if she didn't really want to. If she liked it enough she'd end up buying a record either way. People did that when they were fans.

She was a little vague but he wasn't about to push it for more information. It was either in the gray area of confidential or there wasn't too much to tell to begin with. He didn't really want to know either way. It wasn't his business and the more he knew, the more likely it was that negative emotions could get hold of him. They didn't improve his life and getting angry over a perceived wrong doing was one of the least productive ways he could possibly spend his time. "I understand." He replied calmly. "Even an accident deserves the proper attention to see where to prevent it in the future. In order to do so it's vital to know if it truly was an accident first." He summed it up, acting under the presumption it was an accident. He didn't want to imagine people hurting others for whatever sick reasons they might have.

He smiled as she asked about his career. He looked at her, needing to hold back a flood of words, something that was very uncommon for him. He was usually far more calm and collected but he loved his work more than anything else. He could easily create a thousand pieces inspired by her, even if nothing worked out. He saw beauty in everything he faced, even if others could not. "Since graduation. I got an apprenticeship at a muggle shop. I went with my dad for a sleeve once and the artist was a patient man. He explained so many things. I fell in love with the craft then and under his guiding eye I did my first piece when I was sixteen. My dad volunteered and the man promised me that I could get an apprenticeship after graduation if I kept working on my art and built a decent portfolio. He seemed a bit surprised when I came back there with a ridiculously thick folder full of all the pieces I was most proud of and he upheld his promise. I worked there for several years before learning some more tricks of the trade with some magical tattoo masters. Eventually I moved here and got some work experience in before starting my own shop. I think it's been about 14 years by now?" It was a far long prattle than he might have intended but he loved his job a lot and the only other passion that even came close was his interest in the various kinds of coffee.

@alyra

[Deleted]

Her date offered to loan her one of his fathers albums to listen to and she nodded, that would be nice. It also meant, she assumed, that they would have to see more of each other, since there would have to be some exchange back and forth. She liked the idea of that. While she had just met him, she could feel that there was some chemistry between them and she didn’t mind the idea of getting to know him better, even if all that came out of it was a good friendship. He intrigued her. “I’d love that. I’ll definitely give it a listen.” she admitted. She wasn't sure how her girls would like country music filling the house, but oh well. They’d get over it or close themselves in their room.

Lee nodded at his comment about even accidents deserving proper attention. She didn’t really want to say any more, she was kind of regretting having brought it up in the first place. But here they were, and there was no taking it back now. But he seemed okay with her change of subject and happily went off talking about his journey within his career. It was obvious from his first sentence that he was passionate about his tattooing. It was an artform, she’d agree. It was incredibly impressive. “Wow that is an incredible story. I’m impressed your dad let you work on him. That’s a lot of trust.” she smirked. “Did you do your own?” she wasn't sure how that would work, logically. But he was covered with them. Surely some he had to have done himself, right?

@bobby

[Deleted]

Bobby was glad that she was willing to listen as well as open to the idea of borrowing. It suggested she wanted to see him again after today. He liked hanging out with her a lot so far and hoped she felt the same. If things didn't work out in a romantic way they could always be friends, but a part of him hoped that it could possibly be more than just friendship. So far he had no reason to hope that wouldn't work out.

She was right, his father had put immense trust in him despite his young age. Bobby smiled, pleased by the memories and the faith that his father had shown in the capabilities of his teen son. "Yeah, my dad is very proud of me." He said with an obvious smile that showed just how happy it made him to know that. Then he smiled as he held up his left arm. "Most on here are my own craft. I also have a fair few on my legs that I did myself and one on my right ankle. It's quite the challenge to work on yourself as it can be a lot harder to get to the places you need to be since you can't adjust yourself to an ideal position in regards to your own body. I got all sorts of sore on the one on the ankle. At some point I almost worried I was going to sprain a muscle due to the awkward angles I wormed myself into." He admitted with a chuckle. "What about you? Do you have any tattoos or ever considered getting any?" It wasn't that it was a deal breaker for him, as long as she wouldn't judge him on being a living canvas for many artists, himself included. He only had two things that his partner (who ever they ended up to be) wasn't allowed to hate or break down. Tattoos and coffee.

@alyra

[Deleted]

Lee found herself smiling too when he admitted that his father was very proud of him. “As he should be, I’m sure.” she nodded. She knew her parents were proud of her also, but she did wish that they understood her choices more than they did. Lee did tend to make bold decisions. She didn’t go half in on anything in her life. She decided to take a job for the MACUSA and wasn’t going to stop trying to advance. She went from simple auror training into a highly competitive, speciality branch of defense and then into foreign aid work. She then took it upon herself not only to take her sister with her, but an orphan whom she had rescued years back as well. And then decided to adopt said orphan. Her parents were shocked by her life choices. She knew they loved her, but they would have been happier if she simply worked at a desk in an office, married a nice guy years ago, and had a child the old fashioned way rather than taking on a teenager at 30. However, Lee couldn’t see any other course for her life.

Lee had to stop herself from snorting when he mentioned that he thought he’d pull a muscle from trying to do some of them on himself when he had to twist and turn and get into weird angles to reach the back areas. “Okay but how do you stay focused when there are needles poking you over and over again? Doesn’t it hurt?” she questioned. “No I don’t have any. I’d totally get one, It’s actually kind of funny i’ve gotten this far in life without one.” she was SO impulsive, she was fairly convinced she’d wake up one morning from a crazy night with a random tattoo on her shoulder. But she never did and now she was too responsible for nights like that.

@bobby

[Deleted]

It was nice to be able to share with her in the way he found that he could. She listened well and seemed to pass no judgement, at least not in terms of appearance. She was very interesting and he could easily say that she captivated his attention. He looked at her with a smile, even more so as the declaration that his parents were proud seemed to make her smile. It was a beautiful smile too. He found himself at ease in her company and hoped that it could endure just a bit longer. "What about your parents? They must be proud of you too. You're well accomplished from what you've told me and travelling abroad by success is not highly common." He knew achievements when he saw them. For him the move had been a choice and a risk but for her it seemed more than it was a reward for hard work and a lot of effort. The reasons why were not pretty but not every job had that kind of a luxury anyway.

He chuckled a little bit as she mentioned the pain could potentially be distracting. "I guess I got used to it. It doesn't hurt too much if you ask me and most of the pieces I gave myself are not exactly on the bone or other very sensitive parts. I'm not highly sensitive to pain when I'm working because I'm so preoccupied with the art that everything else seems to just disappear for a moment. The pain registers more to my body than my mind, if that makes any sense." It probably wouldn't but it was the best and only way he could manage to try and explain it. "If you ever decide to get a tattoo you're more than welcome in my shop." He said playfully. "Although you can also stop by without getting ink." He said, not meaning to be suggestive in any way but he enjoyed her company and he considered it logical to let her know that. If she decided to stop by for his company he certainly wouldn't complain.

@alyra

[Deleted]

Lee shrugged when he questioned her parents and insisted they must be proud of her seeing as she moved to another country herself. If only he knew she did it with two teenagers in tow with just over a week's notice until she was made to move. She had figured out the ministry herself, she got their travel documents, petitioned the MACUSA for temporary custody, and then for a formal adoption of the orphaned girl. “Yeah, they’re proud of me. Though I think they’d rather I have stayed in California and did a job that was less dangerous.” she admitted. She knew that was the truth, she had learned to stop telling them stories from work because then she got a lecture about how she didn’t need to make money that way and she could always cut back to something more stable. They were proud of her work ethic, she was one of the youngest detectives and specialty aurors that the MACUSA had. She literally saved lives and rescued people and children from unfortunate situations. She knew what she was getting into when she trained for the job.

She listened as he explained how he was able to turn off the feeling of bodily pain when he was tattooing himself. She nodded, it honestly made a lot of sense to her. She had it similarly when she was in a duel or in some other dangerous situation. She needed to do what she came to do, and a cut or gash or broken bone couldn’t stop her in that moment. Part of auror training was learning how to turn that off temporarily at least. “I don’t even know what I’d get…” she mused regarding coming to his shop if she ever wanted a tattoo. Maybe it would be something she’d start thinking about. “But I’d love to stop by sometime and just see it. I’ve never been inside of a tattoo parlor.” she admitted. And she couldn’t say she wasn’t curious.

@bobby