Hi ;) I'm actually alive. Just back from a very nice SF/F convention (where I attended several fascinating sessions, including one about writing psychologically probable characters and others about fanfiction as a phenomenon), spent a week at the countryside and now I'm... off sick ;P So I have a week of enforced rest in front of me. Guess what I'll be doing...
But in order to give you all, my dears, something, here's the next bit.
Meanwhile, I'll be writing Sunday-Friday (including gossiping, snogging in some silly place, comfort food, older sibling being a pain in the ass and someone mentioning "feminine wiles").

To answer some questions/reviews/points:

* Aphrodite in Disguise - Happy Birthday! Late, but no less sincere for it :)

* there is physical addiction and then there is psychological (e.g. being addicted to painkillers can be the second type), so even if someone isn't "addicted" to pot in the same manner as they would be to heroin or other stuff, they can still be addicted to the feelings they get when using it

* there was residue that was 3 years old, the leaves might have been fresher

* like Darcy said, he never used himself, so he never noticed if she had some specific symptoms (I had to check for them, because I've never used any kind of drugs myself... basically, when Darcy says this thing about using, it's what I feel myself)

* wedding planning has its rules, and I think I've a note somewhere, but it takes sth like 4 weeks waiting period, plus they wanted it to be on Lizzy's birthday, so we'll have to wait 2-3 more posts for it ;)

* sorry for the long wait, but work + vacation + a convention + other stuff... kind of took away some of my energy. I also allowed myself to lose the discipline and I'm posting THREE WIPs at the same time, plus a WIP in collaboration, plus random other small stuff...

Now, last point, but rather important: Because posting on FFNet is becoming really, really, REALLY annoying (cutting out characters, losing vertical lines, e-mail addresses, file names, links etc etc) I will be focusing on posting this on AO3. If I have to reformat this separately for FFNet, I will try to, but with the volume of this story I sometimes just don't have time and/or energy to do this.

So, I'm not saying 'move to AO3', but the experience "over there" is definitely better, I'm afraid.

####

"Colonel Fitzwilliam, sir."

"At ease, Cadet" Richard bit the corner of his mouth as Teddy, still military-stiff, performed a perfect change of position.

"Sir."

"I think we can dispose of the formality for this afternoon, Teddy. Still, now that I see you, have you given your consideration to completing the needed activities for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award this year?"

"Yes, sir. I've registered for the Silver award after the camp. I am starting now on the detailed plan and want to take up volunteering no later than in November."

"Very well. If you need any help, something specific you need to do, contacts to organise something or just a written confirmation you're a Cadet, you know where to find me. And congratulations on the competition. Very well done."

"Thank you, sir, but it should have been..." he looked around, at loss for words.

Mina was watching the exchange from where Elizabeth had pulled her into a hug.

"Mom?"

"Yes, kitten?"

"Who is Colonel Fitzwilliam?"

Richard's eyes turned towards them and he directed his most charming smile straight at frowning Mina.

"Hi," he said a bit breathlessly. "I'm your uncle Richard, kiddo. Also, your godfather."

Mina scrunched up her nose.

"I always thought uncle Charles was my godfather" she glanced at William with a frown and he sighed.

"Charles is Rose's godfather, ducky."

Mina sniffed, just a bit, and extended a cautious hand towards the bemused soldier.

"Oh, really? A handshake. A cold welcome, indeed!" Richard rolled his eyes theatrically. "My own dear goddaughter doesn't want to hug an old man?"

"I don't really know you, but I've been taught not to hug just anyone" Mina pursed her lips.

Uh oh.

Richard glanced at Elizabeth, a raised brow asking for an explanation.

"Mina had, in fact, been taught she doesn't need to hug anyone she doesn't wish to hug, Richard. Kitten, Richard is your Dad's cousin - your grandma was his father's sister. You don't have to hug him, but please do consider him a part of the family."

Mina still looked unmoved and only nodded stiffly.

What the hell...? She's fourteen, she shouldn't be behaving like a six-year-old... Ah, I see.

Indeed, Elizabeth did see. The little, short glance that Mina sent Teddy's way.

Options. Either she is worried because Richard was Teddy's commander or whatever it is during the camp or she is worried about Teddy being busy or...

She bit her lip.

Could our family stop being complicated?

"Richard, do you have some more time today? Mrs Reynolds takes weekends off, visiting her sister, so we have to survive on our own meagre cooking... Ouch! Elizabeth!"

#

Richard laughed like a loon, witnessing the exchange, but once he could catch his breath, he assured them that he had whole afternoon and evening free, just for them, and invited them all for something sweet. Seeing Teddy, still standing in discomfort next to them, awkwardly pulling his jacket on and trying to say a private goodbye to Mina (interrupted by no less than three people) he quickly asked the boy to accompany them.

"It would be inexcusable to just let you just walk home, alone like this - what with you being the winner and all. I think a round of hot chocolate and tea would be just the thing for everyone, and our young singers have certainly earned themselves a piece of that fabulous pistachio cheesecake offered by the cafe down the street from the school. Come on, Teddy. Call your parents and tell them you've been press-ganged into joining us for the evening."

An evening with Richard always promised to be fascinating.

#

Richard had fulfilled every expectation, being expressive, talkative and fabulous. Just as she remembered him.

Rose obviously loved him, hanging onto his every word and laughing at even the most terrible jokes. Still, not everyone at the table was as focused on him as Rose (who barely noticed that Elizabeth had ordered for her, which in case of Mina usually triggered a huff of 'Mom, I'm not a baby!'). Specifically, Teddy and Mina were progressively more and more focused on each other, despite everyone around the table watching them.

"You want something with a proper explosion? Well, we have a few of these every year, but we had an interesting one last summer, just as we've been hosting a team of Army Cadets for some slightly advanced training. Young Theodore here had already heard - or, rather, witnessed part of - that one," Richard winked at Teddy, who looked up in alarm from where he had been watching Mina playing with her pendant. "It is, well, despite the language used, a teaching experience, I may say, for both the old and the young. You see, there was this tobacco factory they were emptying, trying to remake it into a shopping mall, or maybe a residential building, I never paid attention. The point was, they couldn't just raze the whole thing to the ground, because it was a registered historical structure, supposedly built by some very well known architect. So they had people cleaning out the storage rooms, taking out tons of papers, leftover plant matter - that would be unprocessed tobacco - and various other things that had been left there to rot when the production was shut down. Now, does any of you know, what is needed to produce cigarettes, apart from the tobacco and the paper?"

Mina shrugged and Rose followed.

Richard smiled at Elizabeth, inviting her to take a guess.

"These little sponges, for filters?" she provided. "I think that this is what they are in the newer cigarettes? My father used to smoke when we were little, but Kitty's asthma put an end to that. I still remember playing these old, old filters that were just a long roll of tissue."

"That, too. But there is something, more of a class than a specific thing... Actually, it's used in most industries."

"Chemicals" William leaned closer to her, gathering her to him. "As with every production, there must be a bunch of acids, salts and whatever else you use to process the leaves, and paper..." he waved. "Probably the whole periodic table and some interesting combinations, too."

"A cookie for the gentleman in the corner" Richard handed one to William with a wink. "They had, of course, a huge, huge chemical lab. For production, for testing, for research. And when they moved the production away, they never did anything to deal with that beautiful, corrosive collection. So the cleaning team arrived, they had a bunch of neutralising solutions and they started disposing of the stuff. Some of it was no more dangerous than a standard cleaning agent, so they went quickly through the whole lot. Read a label, dump it down the drain-" he grimaced "- read the label, treat it with whatever neutralises it, dump it down the drain... Read the label, dump down the drain but no sooner than twenty minutes after the last one. You know. Dirty, but well, they hadn't been really paid to do it very properly. They were smart enough to do it safely, however, so when in one of the cupboards they had unearthed a huge glass jar labelled "Picric acid" they didn't shake it to see what's inside. They were rather lucky because, in the time when the factory stood empty, the water had evaporated."

Elizabeth inhaled with a hiss, but the girls simply frowned.

"Theodore?" Richard made a welcoming gesture.

"Ah" Teddy found his voice. "Picric acid is very, very explosive. Unstable. If it's allowed to dry, it crystallises and then... kaboom. It reacts with metals, too, and the products of that also explode, quite happily."

"Very good! Good to know we've taught you something useful. Just in case you have to, remember to pick a remote place..." Richard ducked under the rolled-up newspaper William had swatted him with. "Well, back to the story - they checked the jar - and it was a huge thing, five litres - and saw that the contents were crystallised, just like Theodore said because it was allowed to dry. They cautiously moved out of the room and placed a call to the appropriate institution" he bowed slightly "and a qualified team arrived to take the jar away in one of our fabulous armed vehicles. It was transported to our base and there we've performed a controlled explosion. We've allowed the locally stationed cadets to witness it - in order for it to be an appropriate teaching event, showing them the potential of even such a seemingly innocuous amount of matter. It had been a rather impressive outcome, hadn't it?"

Teddy nodded eagerly and Elizabeth felt William sigh soundlessly.

"Well, the moral to the story is not only the one that we've presented to the witnessing cadets - that even a trace amount of something may carry a punch - or that dangerous things come in small packages. Unfortunately, it also teaches us that, as superiors of young people, we must always and under all circumstances watch our language. Because unfortunately one of the officers present on the range had..." Richard paused and grimaced "...made less than cautious remark in the presence of some very young and impressionable persons. Then one of these persons was dispatched to inform the team from the factory that the jar had been disposed of, which they did eagerly. Unfortunately the previous three weeks spent in constant contact with the military personnel had overcome the young man's good upbringing and reduced his sensitivity to the type of language acceptable to general masses, so when the commanding officer of the exercise walked by the room where the call was being performed, he heard - to his deepest chagrin - the young man making a very excited summary of the day's events, culminated with, pardon my French 'And the colonel said the explosion was fucking glorious!'"

Teddy's ears looked as if they were on fire.

####

Mina didn't know exactly what to make of uncle Richard.

Dad's cousin, fine.

Mom obviously liked him, so he fell into the same category as aunt Georgiana - Dad's family who liked Mom.

Rose was looking at him in fascination.

Teddy had snapped to attention the moment he had appeared.

Now almost everyone was laughing at the story, but Mina was only watching Teddy blushing more and more.

Oh. Poor Teddy.

Dad coughed.

"Richard," he said weakly.

Uncle Richard sipped his tea and smiled at Teddy.

"Don't worry, Theodore, girls do like a man in uniform and they ignore many of his shortcomings. As long as you keep the vocabulary under control, I will consider allowing you to date my goddaughter..."

It was Mina's turn to blush hotly, so she almost missed his next words.

"...once she turns eighteen, of course."

Mom frowned at that, but she didn't even manage to say anything as uncle Richard was already leaning threateningly towards Teddy.

"You see, young man, I will make sure your every weekend at the base is full of very, very exhausting tasks, so for the whole week afterwards you will be so tired you will barely have the energy to study. So if you have any plans towards my sweet little niece..."

Mina definitively wasn't feeling as delighted with uncle Richard as others seemed to be. Godfather or no, he had no right to... to say things like that. About her or Teddy.

No right at all.

He knew her for what, half an hour?

She didn't even allow Rose to make too much fun of herself and Teddy, and uncle Richard, Dad's cousin or no, had much less right to say anything than her twin sister.

And he was saying something again and Mina, quite frankly, didn't want to hear any more from him. Not at all, thank you.

"...with such an age difference, you two..."

OK, that's it.

"Really!" she stood up, lips pressed tightly in a line. She blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. "I... You..." she suddenly found herself at a loss for words, but seeing everyone around watching her in surprise she took a slightly shuddering breath, shrugged on her cardigan, turned on her heel and strode outside, leaving the ones at the table staring in a stunned silence as she wrapped the scarf around her neck. It made her exit certainly less dramatic, but she did have enough sense left to make sure she wouldn't be getting too chilled that evening. She heard several people standing up, so she sped up, finally walking into a bench-lined park alley and collapsing bonelessly on the first free bench.

She was tired and annoyed. The day sucked. The competition went all wrong. She was fine with Teddy winning, but in an honest, fair fight and not when her voice simply decided to give up in the middle of the song! And then someone had the temerity to claim she her done it on purpose, to let him win. And then it turned out that she was the only one in the family who didn't know Richard - including Teddy! Who had apparently signed up for some more training or who knows what and she just couldn't process that at all. And then the teasing and her eyes hurt and her nose was full and she was so heartily fed up with all of them!

Someone sat next to her on the bench, but she didn't raise her head. If they wanted something, they should start.

"When I saw you the last time, you were wearing a blue onesie, a white hat and mismatched socks. And you threw up on me. Beetroots. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get rid of a beetroot stain? I had to dye that shirt brown. The ugliest shade I've ever seen. Still not sure why Elizabeth was feeding you beetroots. Why couldn't it have been carrots, or peas, or anything else that at least doesn't leave stains that can be seen from twenty paces."

She sniffed, not dignifying his presence with a reaction.

"I actually am your godfather," he said finally. "And I'm sorry for... I understand... Bah. No, really, I'm sorry. I'm used to teasing Rose on any topic I can find. She's usually happy to fight back, but I might have forgotten you two aren't exactly the same. I... I overdid, right?"

"A bit" she hissed.

"I thought so. Because if I overdid this a lot, you'd have hit me, I suppose. That's something Rose doesn't do so it would be a kind of novelty."

She groaned.

"Which one told you about this?"

"Your father. He was inordinately proud of you, I'm afraid."

"Yeah, because it's so fab to have a daughter that hits other students and can't even sing a stupid song properly."

"Well, I have a goddaughter like this, and she seems perfectly fine. Nice girl, a bit quick to beat a man up. Have you seen her somewhere around?"

"Richard" Dad's voice sounded a bit scolding.

"William. I'm just talking to my goddaughter."

"You were making her more miserable, more like. Kitten, come back inside. You need to eat something. If you are anything like your mother, I'm betting you didn't manage to eat a lot for breakfast, then you were mostly stressing at lunch and are more then ready to murder much more than just a pastry. We have to work out which restaurant seems good to everyone."

She didn't feel like eating. She felt like going home, falling on her face on the bed and having a good cry.

Her stomach grumbled rebelliously.

"Well then, is there anything specific you'd like to eat?"

She sighed and raked through her hair a bit.

"I... No idea. Let Rose choose. She knows what I like and she knows what can be found around here, I suppose. I don't care, really."

"Mina..." Dad's hand felt warm on her shoulder. "I understand it's hard..."

"No you don't" she bit out. "Nobody... Why... Ugh!"

There was a small crunch of the gravel in front of her and she felt both uncle Richard and Dad straighten. And then they stood up and, after a small exchange she couldn't really hear, they left.

"Hey."

She sniffed.

"Hey," she said softly.

Teddy's jacket felt nice around her shoulders.

"You're going to be cold," she said after a moment of silence.

"Then let's go back to the cafe" he suggested.

She didn't want to. She didn't want to go out to eat, or to see more people, or...

Teddy's arm around her felt nice, too.

"I'm fairly sure your uncle was joking" he ventured.

"I'm fairly sure my Dad has some ideas that will sound similar" she leaned closer to him. "Probably waiting until I'm sixteen or... or something."

He hugged her a bit tighter.

"I'd be OK with that," he said haltingly. "Well, not OK-OK, because it would be two years, but, if you thought... I mean, if you wanted to..."

She nodded.

"How is it with other people?" she sighed finally. "How do they make their families behave when they start... stuff?"

"No idea" he straightened a bit. "I mean, I've never..."

"Like, completely never?"

"Nuh-uh. There were some girls last year that... But, I mean, never fancied anyone enough to even consider..." he shrugged. "And then, you, and Theresa was talking about you for the whole day, and the whole weekend. That girl that had punched Ray so hard he cried. I didn't even know he was picking on the littles! And I call myself an older brother! And I wanted to talk to you on Monday, but then I saw you've signed up for the competition, so I did, too. I was kind of counting on having some chance to talk to you, but then on the practice, it was a crowd, and I had to wait until Thursday, and..."

"You really remember it day by day," she said suddenly. "Like, truly, day by day."

"Yeah" he rubbed her arm through the thick canvas of his jacket. "I mean, it was a pretty important week in my life."

She nodded slightly and scooted even closer.

"I suppose we should get up soon, or now you will be sick" she whispered.

"I don't want to," he said and sighed. "But I suppose we should, yes."

"Mhm," she nestled a bit deeper into the folds of his jacket.

"Could I...? I mean, not if you don't want to, but, you know, if they say we can't, I..."

She looked up at him, frowning.

"What?"

"Kiss you?"

"Oh," she blinked. "I... Well, you..."

"Not if you don't want to!" he said very quickly. "It's fine, I just..."

"No, it's not that. It's just... I've neve... I mean, the..."

"So, you never...?"

She sat up straighter and looked at him.

"Listen to me, Teddy Strickland. The guys at my old school were dicks. They were barely human beings from my point of view. There was nobody who could even count as a potential..."
"Ah," he said, still probably not seeing her point. "So, you mean, you never..."

"I never even considered any of them as anything. Yuck."

"So..." he bit his lip "you wanna, I mean, give it a try?"

She nodded slightly.

"OK, so, how do we... ah."

They had at least one hand - hers - between them that they had trouble rearranging, so he resolved the problem by bringing it up and putting it on his shoulder.

And then his lips were just a bit chilled and they were both terribly unsure of what they were doing, trying for a better angle and something was always wrong, with their cold noses bumping into each other, or a short giggle threatening to escape her at the least appropriate moment.

And, with all the small laughs and unruly limbs, everything suddenly clicked into place and they held their breaths for just a few seconds before parting.

"Yeah," he said softly. "If they tell us to wait for two years, I think I can, now."

Mina's face felt overheated and she hid it in his shoulder, nodding mutely.

"But I really hope they won't. It would be..." he pursed his lips. "Long?"

She nodded, just a bit.

"But you will be busy anyway" she pointed out bravely. "I mean, that... award? That uncle Richard was talking about? This is going to take a lot of time, isn't it?"

"I suppose so" he sighed. "It seemed like a good idea. It was... After the camp, a lot of others were discussing it, and it sounded interesting. Not like it doesn't sound interesting anymore, but, well. At the time, I didn't predict I'd..."

"You'd spend a month preparing for a competition you weren't even considering to enter at the time?"

"Well, that too. Or that I would spend a week worrying about a girl! And then two weeks trying to understand what the blazes had happened...!"

She pressed a kiss to his chilled cheek.

"Teddy," she said softly. "I really like you. And if you can stand the fact that I come packaged with my twin sister and some pretty nutty family, I think I can tolerate you being very busy for most of the time."

"So..." he sniffed and nodded. "You mean, you want to, like..."

"Just don't say 'go steady' or something from an American romance."

"I meant, do you want this to be official? At school, and stuff?"

"I think after that performance of yours there is nobody at the school who doesn't think we're something. But probably half of the school isn't sure which one of us you really meant."

He groaned.

"I'm going to print myself a t-shirt saying 'my girlfriend is the one who hits' or something."

"Don't you dare, Teddy Strickland! It was just these two times, and I don't plan on making this my hobby!"

"You could join the boxing club" he suggested with a trace of laughter.

"Doesn't it mostly admit tall, well-built..."

"Yeah," he said quickly. "Maybe not the best idea."

"But you will be busy anyway" she mock-sighed. "What with the award, and your GCSE courses, and..."

"And you" he interjected. "OK?"

"As long as all the grownups in my life agree, I suppose" she sighed. "Because with you being a year older, they may..."

He cleared his throat, just a bit.

"Teddy?"

"This may be a good moment to tell you something," he said slowly. "I mean, it's not like it's a terrible secret, because your sister already knows it anyway, I suppose, so the moment she..."
"Theodore."

"It's not like I'm a year older. I'm just in year ten, but I've only turned fourteen in June..."

She straightened, looking at him, frowning.

"You mean you're four months older than us?"

"Yes, milady."

"So, why are they behaving like that?"

"Because you're a girl and Dad and uncle Richard have no experience in this part of bringing up a girl" Rose informed her calmly. "And you two are disgustingly sweet. Mom sent me out with your coat, because, as she said, 'Teddy must be getting a bit cold by now'. Put your jacket on, Strickland, you ninny."

Mina sent her sister a withering glance, but shed Teddy's heavy jacket, wrapped it over his shoulders and pulled her own puffy one on.

"So, you have like five minutes more before Dad and uncle Richard lose their... patience. Mom is keeping them at the table for now, but," she rolled her eyes expressively "they are both behaving as if you two had eloped to Scotland or something."

"Thanks, Rose" she mumbled. "We'll be back in a moment."

"Strickland, I like you, but..."

"Rose!"

"I was just going to say - hurt my little sister and they'll never find your body. I know places in the woods where nobody will think to search."

Mina groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

"Go away, Rose!"

"Four minutes," her twin said finally and marched away.

"Argh."

"I like her," he said with a small smirk. "Come on, not every bloke can say he had been threatened with bodily harm by a girl half his body weight. And had to take it seriously."

"Yeah, she does come equipped with a horse, and they kick" Mina shook her head. "Come on, or they will send a rescue team for us."

They stood up and walked slowly up the gravelly alley towards the cafe.

"Mina?"

"Hm?"

"I really meant it. I mean, I can wait until whatever time they set. But I'd rather not. I like talking to you, and I'd rather have some more time with you than just on the lunch break."

"Me too" she smiled. "I will probably be spending a little less time with Miss Yang after classes now. So, well, depending on what you'd be doing..."

"We could go somewhere, sometimes?"

"Not a lot to do outside at this time of the year, I suppose?"

"Well, not now. It will be snowing, soon. That may be nice."

"I could" she swallowed. "I mean, come to a rugby game? Unless you'd rather I didn't?"

"Sure" he squeezed her hand. "That would be good. Of course, that's only if you want to watch a bunch of guys get really terribly dirty chasing a small ball. But from what I've heard, the new captain is a rather nice fellow, if a tad tall for his age..."

"How tall would that be?" she glanced up at him, guessing there was a joke in it somewhere, but unable to work out what it was supposed to be.

He put his hand at the top of his head.

"About yea high."

She gasped.

"Teddy…"

"Part of Davison's punishment - they suspended him and removed him from the team. And the coach said that since it's my "fault", I'll have to pick up the slack."

"But… Will you have time for it all?"

He shrugged and nodded towards the cafe.

"I suppose I could discuss this with the colonel… unless you'd rather I didn't?"

"My God, this is getting complicated!"

"Fine. Let's reduce the problems to the easiest questions then. Do you really want to see the next game?"

She snorted.

"Never wanted to, before. But I suppose it would be nice to see you."

He ducked his head, bringing their lips together again.

"Let's go in" she suggested finally. "Or..."

"Yeah. Better to show we're complying."

She found his hand and pulled him inside the cafe.

Wow. Like, wow.

Mina Darcy, did you just get yourself a boyfriend?

Yes, you did.

And a cute one, too.

My God, are you living in an American movie?

You're dating a school team captain.

This is...

Rose snorted when they stopped by the table, both a bit breathless.

"You two are so obvious" she rolled her eyes. "Here, Mina" she handed her sister a short tube. "Lip balm."

Mina felt her cheeks reddening anew, but the short, strong squeeze of Teddy's fingers on hers made her look up at him and smile widely as she met his gaze.

Yeah.

It's going to be interesting.

####

So. Yep, short. But I hope at least someone will laugh a bit.
Let me know what you think, yadda yadda, if you see an obvious error, TELL ME, of you see something not making sense, TELL ME.
I've recently found like 3 plot holes when I reviewed this from the beginning and fixed them retroactively ;P Wonder if anyone will notice ;