Lost in Mystic Creek
Chapter 11
A Magical Lunch
"This was a good idea," Rory said to her fiancé, smiling brightly.
Jess barely acknowledged her, deeply immersed in his book. He only grunted her way and nodded slightly.
"Don't you think this was a good idea?" She asked, straightening up her yellow summer dress in the mirror. He only grunted once again. "Jess," she whined, sitting next to him. "Answer me."
He slammed his book closed and turned his head to face her. "Rory, come on. I have two seconds to read and you're ruining it."
"I am not. I just think you should be more interested in me than that stupid book," Rory complained, tapping its cover.
Jess raised an eyebrow. "Stupid book?" He asked, surprised that she would call a book stupid.
"Yes. It's a stupid book."
He sighed, kissing her only slightly. "It was a good idea, I already told you that. Now, let me read." Jess turned his attention back to his book, but just as he did, he heard the doorbell ring.
Rory grinned. "They're here!"
Jess slammed his book closed again, throwing it haphazardly onto the bed. "Wonderful," he muttered sarcastically, getting up slowly.
"Come on," She urged him. "Look a bit more happy to see them."
"I'm ecstatic," Jess deadpanned, his face completely expressionless.
Rory chose to ignore him. "No wonder Joey loves these welcome parties," She said out loud, making her way down the stairs happily. She walked up to the door, opening it with a grin on her face.
"Hey," Rory greeted the couple standing at the door.
Hermione and Draco walked in, following Rory into the living room.
"The houses really are exactly the same," Hermione commented, taking a seat on the loveseat next to Draco.
"Yea," Rory laughed. "On this street you don't really have much of a choice, except for the location."
Hermione nodded in agreement, linking her hand with Draco.
Rory opened her mouth, as if to say something, but she was interrupted.
"Faster, Daddy!" James squealed, smiling happily on his father's back.
Jess walked in, his son perched on his back. He smiled at the couple sitting together, before letting James down.
"Mommy, you invited my friends?" James asked excitedly, running over to Hermione and Draco.
Rory laughed, sitting down on the couch opposite the loveseat. "You know they're my friends, too."
James completely ignored his mother, squishing himself between Draco and Hermione. He swung his legs happily, looking back and forth between them. The smile on his face wouldn't disappear. "Are you guys here to play with me?"
"Well, we were actually thinking of having lunch," Hermione began explaining to him.
"We're quite starved, actually," Draco cut in, shooting James a smile.
James nodded, walking over to Rory and Jess, who were seated together. He climbed up onto his mother's lap, giving her an innocent smile.
"What are you up to?" Rory asked, giving him a quizzical look.
James smiled even wider. "Can we pretty please have cake for lunch?"
Rory's eyes widened, chuckling softly. She looked up at Hermione, who was smiling broadly. Draco had the hint of a smile on his face as he looked away from James.
"Cake? James, I was thinking more along the lines of some pasta salad, and some really yummy sandwiches…" Rory trailed off, looking at James for confirmation.
James grimaced before speaking. "Mommy, you said that cake was for celebrating!" James complained angrily, jumping up and down on her lap.
"Yes, cakes are usually for celebrating," Rory assured him, smoothing down his hair. She looked towards Jess for some help. Jess simply shrugged.
"My friends are here, we have to celebrate that!" James cried, jumping off her lap and running towards Draco.
Draco was caught completely off guard as James climbed onto his lap. Hermione giggled, leaning towards James on Draco's lap. "Darling, I'm pretty sure we can celebrate just as well with some pasta salad," Hermione told him, looking back towards Rory. Rory gave her a grateful smile, leaning towards Jess on the couch.
"But…cake is yummier," James said, feeling defeated. "You don't like cake?"
"She adores cake," Draco said to James, handing him off to Hermione. "In fact, lately, that's all she's been eating." He looked pointedly at Hermione. Hermione narrowed her eyes, glaring at him.
James looked up at Hermione, seeming a bit happier. "You like cake?"
"Love it," Hermione confirmed to him.
James hopped off of Hermione's lap, again making his way over to his mother. He stopped right in front of her, wagging his finger at her. "Mommy, haven't I taught you to make friends happy?"
Jess burst out laughing, no longer able to hold it in. On the other side of the room, Draco hid his laughter in Hermione's shoulder. Hermione couldn't help but giggle as she looked at Rory, who was also holding back a grin.
"Honestly, James. We're fine," Hermione assured him once again, giving him a smile.
"James," Rory muttered, standing up and taking him with her. "Seriously, you need a time-out or something…" Rory's voice trailed off as she walked down the hallway towards James's room.
Hermione leaned in towards Draco's ear. "He's adorable," Hermione whispered.
"Don't get any ideas," Draco whispered back, kissing her cheek.
Hermione giggled. "I already have the idea set in my head, and I don't think it's going away."
"Then push it to the back of your mind for now," Draco told her, pecking the tip of her nose lightly. "We're not even bloody married."
"Engaged," Hermione reminded him.
"My point exactly." He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer, placing a kiss on her temple.
Hermione brought her attention back to Jess. "James is adorable," She commented, giving him a smile.
Jess rolled his eyes. "Trust me, only when he wants to be."
She laughed lightly. "Most kids are like that."
"James brings it to a new level," Rory said as she came into the room, standing by Jess. "Now that James is all set, we can go eat."
James came bounding out of the room, his eyes bright. "Food, Mommy?" He asked her, clapping his hands together.
"None for you, cake lover," Jess told him, picking James up and hoisting him over his shoulder. "You let me know when a nice sandwich sounds good."
James sighed loudly, with an exaggerated eye roll. "Fine," He grumbled. "PB and J?" He asked Jess.
Hermione stood up alongside Draco, following Rory into the kitchen.
Rory sat down, looking at Hermione and Draco apologetically. "I'm sorry about James, he can be a handful sometimes."
Hermione shrugged, smiling at Rory. "Really, it's not a bother. He's adorable, actually."
Draco snorted. "She won't get tired of saying that," He assured Rory. "She gets giddy around children."
Rory laughed. "I can't imagine anyone that doesn't."
"You're looking at the one person who can," Hermione told her, pointing at Draco.
Rory nodded, before the three lapsed into silence. She broke it quickly. "So, are you both really from England?" Rory asked them both, looking honestly interested.
"That would explain the accents," Draco said to her with a skeptical look.
Rory blushed. "You never know these days, what with all of the speech therapy there is around."
Hermione nodded. "Purely British," She assured Rory.
"So you live in the same country as David Beckham?" Rory asked her enthusiastically, her eyes lighting up.
"Who?" Draco asked, a confused look on his face.
"He's not much of a football fan," Hermione cut in, pinching his knee underneath the table. "He prefers…other sports."
"I don't really have a preference for sports," Rory admitted. "Just the guys that play them."
When silence fell once again, she turned to give Draco a warning look. He almost said something that he would have regretted. She squeezed his knee again before looking towards the doorway of the kitchen, where Jess stood with James next to him.
"Mommy," James began, his voice soft and pleading. "I'm sorry. I eat sandwiches. Sandwiches are yummy."
Rory giggled quietly, opening her arms. "Not a problem, Sweetie." She hugged him before sending him off to his booster chair at the other side of the table, next to Jess. Feeding James became Jess's job once James became old enough to eat normal food.
"Food!" James squealed, grinning happily from his seat at the table.
The room laughed out loud as Rory began serving lunch.
--
James had made a mess eating his PB&J sandwich, dropping the jelly all over his shirt and smearing peanut butter all over his face. After a long time of Rory scolding the child, Rory took Jess's hand and brought James to take a bath after all the mess.
"I'm so sorry," Rory gave Hermione and Draco an apologetic look.
Hermione shook her head, waving her off.
"Honestly, I don't understand why they apologize so much," Draco complained to her once Rory, Jess, and James had left the room.
"They're just being polite," Hermione explained to him, smacking his arm lightly. "No harm in that."
"Bloody annoying if you ask me," Draco sighed tiredly, rubbing his hands over his face.
"Is there anything that pleases you?" Hermione asked him. She quickly regretted it after the look he gave her. "Don't answer that," She told him, holding up her hand to him.
"Now, is there a particular reason why we're here?" Draco continued pestering her. "We could have had lunch at our own house."
"We're making friends," said Hermione, an exasperated tone evident.
He rolled his eyes, giving an exaggerated sigh. "You've got plenty of friends," He told her. "I swear to Merlin, if you get anymore, all of England is doomed to loneliness."
Hermione snorted, shoving him lightly. "All of this harassment is supposed to be saved for the marriage, you know?"
"I was never any good at rules."
--
Rory scooped James out of the shower, handing him off to Jess. Jess wrapped him up in a towel, tousling his hair with the towel to dry it off.
"I can do it!" James cried, grabbing the towel from Jess's hands. "I'm a big boy, Daddy. Duh," He emphasized, giving his father a look.
Jess simply raised his hands in surrender, raising his eyebrows at James. James smiled proudly, rubbing the towel over his hair repeatedly.
"Woos," Rory muttered, grabbing James and finishing the drying process. "How about you be a big boy and dress yourself?" Rory asked James, giving him an excited look. "I bet you can do it better than Daddy."
"Daddy sucks," James said, giggling lightly.
"Traitor," Jess muttered, poking him in the shoulder.
"What did we say about that word?" Rory scolded James, giving him a stern look. "Only old people can say that. Are you old?" Rory asked.
"Am not!" James cried, grimacing. "Gross." Jess glared at him. "Cepts for Daddy, cause he's good looking."
"Such lies," Rory commented, a flabbergasted look on her face, smirking at Jess. "We all know its Mommy who's good looking, right, James?"
James nodded, giving Rory a sopping wet kiss on her cheek. "Because Mommy's the queen."
"And who am I?" Jess asked James, eyebrows raised.
"Mommy says you're her servant boy," James said proudly, beaming up at his father. " Because you please her."
Jess looked away from James, giving Rory an 'Oh really?' look.
Rory didn't acknowledge him. She turned her attention to James. "Go get changed. Indecent exposure is illegal."
"Fine," James grumbled, scurrying out of the bathroom.
"Huh," Jess said, picking up some littered bath toys.
"What?" Rory asked, giving him a bashful look.
"I please you, is that it?" He asked her, getting up and sauntering towards her. "I could think of several ways to please you right now."
"We don't have time," Rory murmured, making no effort to push him away.
"I'm glad to see your body agrees," said Jess, gesturing towards her hands, which were slowly making their way up his chest and around his neck.
Without waiting for a response, he engulfed her lips in a fiery kiss, shutting the door behind them with his foot.
--
Hermione looked up towards the doorway of the kitchen to see James standing there, arms crossed in front of him. "Wanna celebrate?" He asked the pair, walking towards the cabinets of the kitchen.
She looked towards Draco, her eyes pleading for help. He simply shrugged, earning a scowl from Hermione. "Honey, I'd rather wait for your parents."
"My parents are being yucky together, right now," James said indifferently, climbing up onto the counter. "They might make the cake yucky, and then you can't eat it," He explained his reasoning to them. "You want to eat it, right?"
Draco, oblivious to Hermione's obvious disapproval, gave James a nod. James's face lit up, and he turned towards the cabinets, grabbing a handful of plates.
And before any of them knew it, the pile of plates wobbled, falling in succession towards the ground. Each plate made a loud crash on the ground. James's eyes widened as he looked at the scattered glass littering the floor.
Draco immediately reacted, pulling out his wand and waving it towards the shattered pieces of glass. The glass moved together, forming together quickly, before flying over towards the counter and landing safely and quietly in a neat pile.
James's eyes stayed widened for a long, awkward few seconds, before uttering one word.
"Awesome."
