Blue Ink
Disclaimer: I will never own either of these fandoms. ò_ó
Notes: Slashy-slash. Fluff, letter-love...And I fudged Jamie and Albie's ages for my own purposes. Cheers!
Italics means a letter.
For Chrystel Malfoy-Potter, who requested this pairing!
PS: yes, I do requests but not often. Chrystel is one of my regular reviewers so this is done with love!
000/000
Having PO boxes scattered throughout the country was a boon. All he had to do was write in his reply that he had changed which box he was using for that moment. To receive letters was to add normalcy to his madness filled life. Especially needed ever since Desmond had come into it. Shaun Hastings sighed and sealed off the envelope, putting a couple stamps on the front. Getting up, the strawberry-blond Brit ignored Lucy's warnings about Templars running around everywhere and exited their newest safe-house. He had tugged on a black pea-coat, the material pleasantly heavy on his shoulders.
Shaun hailed a taxi and climbed in. He spouted out the address for the local post office. Leaning back, his sharp gray eyes looked out the window. In his coat pocket was his letter to his old friend and secret love-interest. When they arrived, he paid his driver and hopped out after leaving instructions to wait, hurrying up the steps.
"Good morning, sir!" the clerk chirped brightly. "How can I help you?"
"I'd like to send this out," Shaun said, sliding his precious letter forward onto the counter. "Also, I'd like to check my post box."
"ID?"
Shaun flashed his ID, fake for this particular PO, and fought the urge to scowl. The clerk, a too perky woman, took his letter and disappeared into the back. When she came back out, she was holding a thick envelope and handed it over. "Thank you," he said gruffly.
"No problem! Have a nice day, sir!"
The Brit didn't return the greeting and slipped back out to his waiting cab. The ride back was just as silent as the previous one. Arriving at the safe-house, Shaun once more left the cab and watched the driver zoom off. He huffed and went back into the building.
"Hey Shaun, what'd you get?" Rebecca Crane asked without her gaze leaving her computer screen.
"Nothing to concern yourself with," Shaun growled. "Where're Lucy and the idiot?"
"Training."
"Good. I'll be in my room. Do not disturb me."
"Yeah, yeah."
000/000
Sitting on his bed, Shaun caressed the parchment envelope. His gaze took in the dark blue ink that stated his PO Box address with his initials right above it. The paid postage did not detract from the simple elegance of the envelope. Flipping it over, he smiled at the sight of the unbroken wax seal. On it was a shield with a sword striking down through the middle. He reluctantly broke the seal and opened it to pull out several pieces of parchment paper. The elegant looping script that could only be formed with a quill stood out, again in the same dark blue ink. Shaun set the opened envelope on the bed beside him and fell back onto the comforter, clutching the sheets of parchment above his head to read.
Dear Shaun,
My friend, how often do you change your PO Box? It is a good thing I don't send out my replies right away. Oh well, it certainly breaks up the monotony. How are you? It seems to me like you're quite stressed with this Desmond fellow being about. Do try to have some patience with him. I wouldn't like it if you popped a vein. Worrying about you gives me white hairs. I know you can't tell me much about your work, which is fine, but I still worry about you. Anyway, how is America? Do you miss proper tea? I know I would. I hear they ice it too! Iced tea, what is wrong with those people? Haha.
I really do miss you, Shaun. It's dreadful here. I think my wife is cheating on me but I have no proof. Actually I think I do have proof considering she's pregnant for a third time but I hadn't touched her in months, not since Albie was born in fact. It makes me sick. How could I let this happen? I wish I could talk to you in person; I could use your advice. We argue constantly and she throws things at me. My things! You know, perhaps this is cause for a divorce. My wife is a whore, Shaun. A whore. I can't let my boys grow up like this, with the screaming and the arguing...
(Shaun paused in his reading, shocked. How could that vile woman cheat on someone like his beloved? He was a kind, quiet man who loved his family! He shook his head and continued.)
I'm half-tempted to pack up Jamie and Albie and just run off to Bulgaria. My friend Viktor would welcome us, I think. Jamie clings to me constantly and he's always so upset now. Albie won't let his mother hold him. It's as if he knows that Gin's cheated on me. Probably has been for months, ever since she lost that baby weight. What do I do? I can't turn to my in-laws; I know they won't take my side. Gin's their only girl, you know. She can't do wrong in their eyes. It's painful to be alone like this. With you out of the country for the past three years, I've had no-one to really turn to. I miss you very much. Sorry if I sound like such a girl but it's true.
("I miss you too," Shaun whispered in the echoing silence of his room.)
Gin's never home nowadays. Three months pregnant and she still scarpers off into the night only to come back home smelling of sex and another man. I don't wait up for her anymore nor do we share the same room. I sleep in Albie's room now. She must think I'm stupid. Do you think I'm stupid for letting this go on?
But enough about that! I'll make up my mind soon enough. So! The book that you recommended to me was as excellent as you told me it would be. Really Shaun, Dan Brown seems to be your favorite author now. That's fine though, I like his books too. Do you remember when we used to sit in our cafe, talking about the books we've read at the same time? We were practically a two-man book club. As much as I've always loved being a stay-at-home father, I miss our sessions where I could talk with another adult and I didn't have to child-proof my words. Well, I'd best end this letter soon. Jamie's demanding Nutella toast and Albie is fuzzing for a bottle. It was good writing to you as always. I eagerly await the letter you probably sent after getting this one.
Sincerely, Harry.
Lowering his hands, Shaun laid the blue-inked parchment on his chest. He stared up at the ceiling. The letter crinkled a little in his shaking grasp. Then he jack-knifed up and scrambled off of his bed. He left the letter by its envelope and ran out of his room into the Animus room for his desk. Startled Rebecca looked up as the Brit dug through his papers. She blinked when he whipped out some blank paper and a pen and started scribbling words in what would probably be jagged letters. "I'll be back!" Shaun nearly shouted as he sealed the paper into another envelope, addressing it and slapping stamps on.
"Wait, what?" Rebecca managed to get out before he zipped out of the safe-house.
000/000
Harry James Potter, cuckolded and recently divorced wizard, pushed the pram, his eldest son Jamie trotting alongside of him. As he walked through the airport, he thought about the letters that Shaun had sent after the first one the wizard had sent about Ginny's cheating so many months ago. The first had been the usual chit-chat about what he could talk of concerning his work and slight complaints about his trio of companions. But the second had been messily written but even more welcomed at that time.
Harry,
No, I don't think you're stupid. I think your wife is though, for cheating on you. So you miss my advice, do you? Then here it is: leave her. Hurry the divorce; you're rich enough to do it. Demand a paternity test after her child is born. Once it's confirmed that it's not yours then take your children and go to Bulgaria. Don't look back; do not grant her any rights to Jamie or Albie. Fuck your in-laws. Tell them to shut it if they protest. You're Harry fucking Potter and those are your kids. Good lord, take it to the Minister of Magic, that Kingsley fellow, if you have to. Bloody prat probably owes you anyway.
I hope you take my advice, Harry. Also, I miss you as well along with the intelligent conversation. If you do go to Bulgaria, please do remember to tell me the address. And for the love of God, send me some Earl Grey.
Shaun.
Smiling, he breezed through the proper channels for security along with his pram and children. The brunet wizard wanted to laugh. Ginny Weasley had been left with virtually nothing, thanks to her own actions. With potions and tests, it was confirmed that the little girl growing in her womb was not his. The magical marriage contract had dissolved once the tests had gone through and Ginny had been denied all rights to James and Albus. She had railed against him but the law was on his side. Old laws stated that if an Ancient and Noble House's bloodline is disrupted by a bastard child made out of marriage because of a cheating spouse, the wizard or the witch, then it was grounds for a permanent dissolution of the marriage bond. And Harry would have never dallied with another woman to be able to produce a bastard.
"Daddy, when does the plane leave?" Five-year-old James Sirius Potter asked when they arrived at the terminal.
"Very soon, Jamie," Harry answered. "We're in First Class so big comfy seats are waiting for us. But remember to be quiet and polite, okay? I brought you colouring books. And then we'll be in Sofia."
"Yes, Daddy." Jamie plopped on into the seat by his father. "Mummy's gone forever, right?"
"That's right. We'll never see her again. Does it make you sad?"
"No. She made you sad and she was mean."
Harry sadly stroked his eldest son's curly black hair. "Don't worry, son. We'll be staying with Uncle Viktor and we can be happy again," he said.
"When will I meet Uncle Shaun? You really like him, 'cause you talk about him a lot." Big hazel eyes stared up at the older man.
"Not for a while. He's in America, remember?" Harry said with a blush.
"You're funny, Daddy. You do like him!"
"Of course I do. Shaun and I are friends."
Sighing, Jamie shook his head. "No, you like him, like him. And that's good because girls have cooties," he announced. Albus Severus Potter, his little brother, cooed from his spot in his pram.
Harry sputtered and blushed bright red. The older woman sitting across from them chuckled at her knitting.
000/000
Shaun was whistling as he sorted through his papers. He had just finished reading a letter from Harry about Bulgaria and how freeing it was to be out of Britain, away from his ex-wife. Ex-wife, the word made him feel giddy like a schoolgirl. He did a breathing exercise to calm himself. It wouldn't do to get too excited since his friend was still straight as can be. But now he wouldn't feel too guilty for fantasizing about a married Harry since he was divorced. Oh how Shaun wanted to see him and his children. The strawberry-blond wanted to insert himself into their lives, make himself essential to their happiness. It was through Harry's letters that he fell in love with the wizard's children. They seemed clever and much loved by the person that he loved.
"Whoa, dude. You sure are cheerful today," Desmond Miles commented as he strolled into the Animus room that morning.
"Desmond, you are a pain in my arse," Shaun said without venom. "Now get in the Animus."
"Yeah, yeah. Good morning to you too, you limey."
"You guys," Lucy sighed, shaking her blonde head. "Not today, please."
Rebecca giggled and readied Desmond for his dive into Ezio's memories. "So why are you so cheerful today, Shaun?" the brunette asked. "Is it about your letters that you always pick up?"
Shaun froze and slowly turned around. His gray eyes narrowed. "How do you know about my letters?" he growled.
"Really, letters? That's so old-fashioned," the Ibn-La'Ahad descendant said from his reclining position in the Animus.
"Well, I think it's nice," Lucy interjected. "Letter-writing is romantic."
The archivist blushed and whirled back around to his work. "Shut it," he said, "And get to work. We don't have time for idle chit-chat."
"Chill pill, take one," Desmond muttered just before he was uploaded into his ancestor's memories.
000/000
"Harry, you haff letter," Viktor Krum, international Quidditch star, called as he entered his Muggle-house's kitchen. He was waving around a Muggle envelope with blue ink sprawled across the space where the receiving address went. He grinned and ruffled Jamie's hair. The boy sitting at the kitchen table smiled up at him, devouring his pancakes. He then gently flicked Albie's nose and crooned softly at the happy baby sitting in his highchair.
Harry set down his spatula and wiped his hand on a dishtowel. "Thank you, Viktor," he said. He tried to reach for the letter only to have the taller man hold it up beyond his fingers. "Viktor..."
"Harry, vhy you no confess your luff for him?" Viktor demanded.
"Yeah, Daddy, why?" Jamie said around his mouthful of pancakes.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Harry scolded, ignoring both questions. He jumped and snatched the letter before his Bulgarian friend could blink. "Ha! Now sit down for breakfast, Viktor."
Viktor sat with a sigh. "Harry, you are my friend," he started. "And as your friend, I must be telling you things that you no want to hear at times, yes?"
"Viktor, please, not today." The wizard savior turned to flip more pancakes.
"Daddy, I'm done!" Jamie announced. "May I be a-scused?"
"Excused, Jamie. And yes, you may. Go wash up." Harry watched as his eldest son skipped away out of the kitchen. Then he set the finished pancakes on Viktor's plate. "Viktor, stop encouraging him."
"About vhat? That you luff this Shaun person?"
Twisting a dishtowel around his fingers, Harry bit his lip. "He thinks I'm straight, Viktor, and I know he's straight too. I don't want to lose his friendship."
"But you are not being straight, Harry. You are, how to say, liking both. It's okay to be liking both sexes." The Quidditch player dug into his pancakes. "I vill miss your cooking when you finally admit your luff to Shaun and live with him happily ever after." He yelped when Harry snapped the towel at him. "Naughty Harry, you are in luff with Shaun, do not flirt with me."
"Viktor, you're terrible!" Harry said with a laugh. He then sighed. "I'll think about it."
"Hmph, I'll leave it at that then." Viktor continued eating, his sharp gaze catching the forlorn expression on his friend's face as he fiddled with his unopened letter. A plan formed in his head...
000/000
Shaun was curious about the fact that he had received three letters in his PO Box. One envelope had Harry's handwriting in his usual blue ink while the other, also parchment, was addressed to him in brown. And the third had red ink. He didn't really know which to open first. But his curiosity got the better of him and he opened the one sporting brown ink. As he read, his eyebrows rose higher and higher.
Dear Mr. Hastings,
My name is Viktor Krum. I know that Harry had written of me in his letters, especially after the fiasco that was his divorce. Right now he is at the stove cooking dinner as I write this. His children are playing in the sitting room. But I am not writing to tell you these things. Instead I write because I have something important to tell you that Harry will not tell you himself.
Harry is afraid. He's afraid of losing you and your friendship. Why? Because the dolt is in love with you but believes that you are heterosexual and would not welcome any advances of a romantic nature.
(Shaun blindly reached behind him to pull his chair toward him to sit. His legs felt wobbly.)
That's right; Harry is bisexual and in love with you, Shaun Hastings. And I know that a man does not write letters almost religiously to another man without feeling something for him other than friendship. If only you could see Harry's face when he first gets one of your envelopes that holds your letters. He cannot hide the love he feels. Even Jamie, his eldest son, knows of his love for you. The letter with red ink is from him. I addressed it for him because he cannot write small yet. But he is clever and wrote to you as well.
Now then, I do not expect a reply to this letter. But I won't stand by while Harry agonizes over whether or not he will tell you he loves you. So I do it for him. I pray that I am not wrong.
Sincerely, Viktor Krum.
Shakily Shaun set down the brown-inked letter and picked up the envelope addressed in red. He opened it and read the simple but heartfelt words of a child.
Dear Unkle Shaun,
Im Jamie and my daddy is Harry. He really likes u. I like u 2. Daddy talks about u all da time. I hope u like him back or else he wood be sad. He seys that u are his friend but I know he wants you to be more. I don't know what more is but I want Daddy to have it. Daddy diserves more. My mummy was a mean lady and brokeded his heart. But u fixed it with ur words that u wrote to him all da time. I wood like another daddy, will u be my other daddy? I think that wood make Daddy so heppy. Will u luv me and Albie 2?
Censerely, Jamie.
Tears fell down Shaun's face as he carefully folded Jamie's letter.
000/000
The doorbell rang. Harry looked up from his novel with a frown. He cocked his head to listen, making sure that his sons did not wake up. When the doorbell rang again, the wizard huffed and stood. Bookmarking his page, he set the book down on the little table by his chair. "Coming, coming!" he called. The brunet opened the door and stared with wide green eyes.
"Hi," Shaun breathed. He fidgeted on the stoop, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his pea-coat.
"Shaun? Oh Merlin, it's you! But how?" Harry stuttered out.
"Can I come in?"
"What? Oh yes, of course!" The wizard stepped aside to let the strawberry-blond man in. "How did you get here?"
"The Muggle way, Harry. You know, a plane and then a taxi?" Shaun said as he stood in the sitting room. He whirled around. "I need to talk to you."
"And you couldn't use a phone?" Harry asked as he closed the door and locked it.
Shaun shook his head. His gray eyes were intense as he gazed at the wizard. "No, this has to be done in person," he replied. He stepped closer, their fronts nearly brushing. The archivist reached up to cradle Harry's face. "I won't do it in a letter or over a phone." His thumbs gently caressed the other Brit's cheeks.
"Shaun?" Harry whispered. His pupils dilated as the taller man leaned in. "Shaun..."
"I'm in love with you, Harry. I can't stay away anymore. Please be mine."
"Oh. I love you too. Shaun, this is..."
"Amazing? Wonderful? Say yes, Harry."
Harry's hands clutched at the front of the blond's coat and leaned up on his tiptoes. "Yes," he breathed. "Please God, don't let this be a dream. Yes."
"Good." Shaun took off his glasses then Harry's, tucking them into his coat pocket. Then he closed the distance between their lips and they engaged in soft, chaste kiss. "Harry, love," he murmured against his lips, his hands sliding down to the other's waist. He pulled him closer and opened his mouth over Harry's, his tongue darting out to caress the seam of the wizard's lips. Harry opened up and the kiss deepened. Harry's fingers went to work undoing Shaun's coat buttons. The heavy garment opened and the brunet tangled his hands in Shaun's gray jumper on his chest. They pulled away briefly only to dive back into their kissing. Shaun could taste the Earl Grey of Harry's tea and beneath that was the unique flavor that was all Harry. The scent of the wizard's vanilla shampoo and baby powder filled his nose. Panting and soft moans filled the air around them.
Then a soft baby's cry echoed down the stairs.
The kissing ended. Harry's fingers tightened a moment in the woven cloth of the jumper and then left the hard, warm plane of Shaun's chest. Then he smiled. "I better check on that," he said huskily. He bit his lower lip. "Don't leave."
"I won't," Shaun replied, prying his own fingers away from Harry's waist. "I've waited a long time, what's a few more moments?" He took out Harry's glasses and perched them back on the wizard's nose. "Go." He shrugged off his coat and draped it over his forearm. He brushed the back of his hand along the apple of Harry's cheek. "I love you, Harry."
The brilliant smile that spread across Harry's face was beautiful as were the words of returned affection.
000/000
END
Okay, no lie. I cried a little writing Jamie's letter. Shit... *wipes eyes* This is for you, CMP! Hope you liked it! Much love!