A/N: I have no idea how closely Scottish laws resemble American laws. My research is only skimming the surface of the internet, so please forgive any inaccuracies you find. That includes terminology.


It all happened so fast. From his holding cell, Ash pieced the events of the last hour together. He'd just had his hands all over Harry fucking Potter. Foster was going to kill him. He'd wanted to find something amazing to cap off his evening among wizards with. Well he'd certainly found it. Now he sat, waiting to see if the charges were going to stick. Waiting on station bail. Waiting to see if his reputation was going to survive District Court.

They couldn't prove he was paying for sex. Turns out, the law was recently changed. He might've started out with that intention, but he'd found something better. The public conduct charge was worrisome, but this wasn't like the instant disgrace that would've ruined him thirty years ago. Charges of public sex might not stick due to the reformation of laws that allow a tolerance for heterosexual public sex, to a degree. Places like "lover's lane" where people were known to make out without inciting lewd offenses, and cultural cruising that would otherwise put LGBT individuals at risk, were they not given the same tolerance, were more generally accepted now. Since no one's dick was out, a judge might throw the charge out or go for light sentencing. The real concern was being in the presence of drugs, even if he wasn't the one using them, and god knew what else the raid might unearth.

As his mind tried to sober, tried to calculate his state and organize itself for a positive outcome, his lips still tasted Harry. His hands still ran over Harry's back and chest. Each time these sensations pulled him back into those moments, he fought to bring himself back. That was just sex, it was not anything to keep distracting him. It certainly didn't have to be anything that might present a challenge to his dealings with Foster. It simply didn't have to, and he'd make sure of it. The trick was to get his mind off of it and stay focused on the here and now. He had enough to worry about.

But the look of erratic confusion on Harry's face kept bothering him. Didn't the boy know where he was? What he was doing? He'd gotten the impression that Harry was such a devoted father, and respected among the audience, that his image was at least important enough to him, to his system free of drugs and his mind clear. But then, Ash was a well respected doctor in the shadiest, most deviant part of town he could find. When you had to have it, you had to have it. Perhaps that young man would not have been there if it hadn't been for drugs or some other influence. Two raids in one night. He'd certainly seen enough to know that Harry had his share of demons to run from.

After they took Harry away, Ash saw the boy's wand being stepped over and ignored, along with crushed cups, cigarette butts, a condom, discarded vaping bottles and upper canisters. It looked like nothing more than trash to these people. While the officers around him shouted at others and secured everyone they could, he tried to slide his foot inconspicuously, close enough to kick the wand further out of sight. There was a divet in the floor, where concrete had eroded from a seem. If he could wedge it in that spalling crevice, there might be a possibility of retrieving it later.

"Aye! You! What'd you think you're doing? What's that?"

Ash realized that hiding the wand was a lost cause. Especially now that he'd drawn attention to it. He must've known it from the start, because it suddenly seemed reasonable to say, "I'm sorry, officer. That belongs to me. I'm just trying to make sure I leave with it. It was a gift and I shouldn't have brought it here. I could kick myself for coming here, this isn't something I'm used to."

"And what is it, exactly?" The officer bent down with gloved hands and picked it up.

"A wood carving. I don't know what possessed me to bring it here… "

He gave Ash a knowing look. "Say no more. You are being arrested for lewd conduct, soliciting prostitution, and knowingly or unknowingly participating in the illegal distribution and use of controlled substances. Your words may be used as evidence against you, along with this item. If your application for bail is approved, you'll get it back along with any other items confiscated from your person tonight."

Ash pressed his mouth closed. He wasn't sure what his snap decision had just done, but his claim on the wand told him to stop right there. He lost track of Harry after being placed in a van with twelve other men. It was the second time he'd been detained in one night, for completely different circumstances. All related to Harry fucking Potter. Why hadn't he gone home when he had the chance? He was a doctor, he had a practice to think about. His name would appear in the papers no matter how this ended. That might make for an uncomfortable spell, a dip in business, but he had no prior arrests and felt sure he'd come out of this. The thing that worried him the most was Foster.

That man wasn't likely to be forgiving, even if Ash hadn't known who he was touching in the dark. As sharp as he was, Foster wasn't exactly the voice of reason. At least, not when it came to that young man. The feel of Harry against him, the taste of Harry still lingering in his mind, scared Ash into plotting his way around Foster.

He didn't call his lawyer, when they had him processed and in a holding cell. He called Reuse. His bittersweet ally. She could be difficult, but she generally took care of him. It just never went the way he planned it. He'd offer her a deal.

It took seven hours to approve his bail. Outside the station, in the morning haze, Reuse sat parked in her little VW. As a birthday present to herself, she'd had it painted bright yellow. That, and the fact that she hadn't been on the premises five minutes, and she was already violating the parking law, gave Ash a twinge in his stomach. He waited as an officer approached the car and explained she'd have to pull around to the public parking level to conduct her business. Ash saw her point, "But there he is officer, I'm just his ride."

The officer grimaced. "You're still in violation. You left this car unattended while you posted his bail. That's a misdemeanor, Miss. Be glad we kept our eye on you and didn't have you towed."

Reuse batted her dark lashes at him and said with breathy nervousness, "Thank you, Officer. I didn't mean to break the law."

The man backed away from her car, letting Ash get in. Harry's wand had been returned to him, though damned if he knew what he was going to do with it, along with his wallet and keys. He shoved it to the side of his waistband, just to make sure he got home with it. It poked him, but he wouldn't lay it on Reuse's seat and risk leaving it. She'd know by now what something like that was, and that he had no business with it.

When they were out of earshot from the officer, Ash mumbled, "If that'd been me, I'd be driving away with every ticket they could legally give me. And then some."

"What?"

"I said thank you. You're a life-saver and I won't forget this."

She gave him an appreciative smile. Her slender arms wrestled the stirring as she navigated them through a maze of police vehicles, out of the division, and back onto the street.

"Not a problem. Don't worry about the money. My Gran helped me out. Out of twelve grandchildren, I'm the only girl and unmarried. I mentioned being short on rent and wishing I could afford a makeover, and she practically threw the money at me. I'll take installments out of the use of your hot tub."

"Absolutely." He nodded aggressively, knowing she used the hot tub anyway. He'd make sure she got the money back before the day was over with. He tried to choose his next words just as he'd rehearsed them.

"The charges won't stick, you know. My lawyer's pretty good and they found no evidence to deny me bail. It's still a petty offense since they didn't find anything on me. Wrong place, wrong time, that sort of thing. I was hoping we could be professional about this and keep it to ourselves."

Her sharp eyes cut to him. "Of course."

She seemed her usual aloof self. Today's ensemble was a mini dress that looked like it'd been cut from an electric-red tarp. Honestly, that fabric was meant to repel water and guide airplanes to landing strips, not have faux diamond buttons sewn up the front. At least she was wearing hosiery that let a bit of skin show through. Sheer yellow, but still he got to see something nice. Her black hair was down as well. That was a rare treat. The only time she let it drape down her shoulders was when Foster was around. Every other time, she complained that it was either too hot or so heavy that it gave her headaches, but she admitted to being too vain to cut it. "Great hair and nails are better than jewelry," she'd bragged.

He could see that he was going to have to spell it out for her. "I'm particularly concerned about Foster."

"Oh?" Eyelashes fluttered. "Why would you bring up Foster?"

"This whole situation kind of has something to do with him and I'm really hoping you'll keep this between us."

Her head rocked gently up and down with a kind of slow comprehension. She kept her eyes forward. "You don't want me saying nothing to him?"

"Exactly."

She did something with her mouth just then. A sort of teeth-biting, lip compression thing that Ash mistook for compliance.

He added, "I'm asking as a friend, not your employer. Discretion is really the key right now. Foster is a wildcard. You never know if he's going to overreact or ignore a situation completely."

"Why would Foster care about your arrest?" A half smile lifted her pretty cheek. "You're as nervous as a New Year's goose. Spill. What sorta trouble are you in?"

He tried to make light of it, shrugging. "Well, I don't get arrested everyday. I have my practice to think about. Foster's shop. No doubt, when the story comes out, both will take a hit. Foster will be sure to have something to say about it."

"Was it like some sort of public bathroom, George Michael thing? With strangers messing about?"

"It's really not as sordid as it must seem. As you know, I am single. Dating is complicated. I'm no stranger to paying for a woman's company. It's very rare that I do it. In this instance, I simply met someone I liked. Before I knew it, the place was being raided. Till two years ago, that sort of thing was perfectly legal and damn near respectable. How do they go about expecting human behavior to change just because paper work changes, or a vote is cast? It's human nature, it's only the uniforms that turn it into something wrong. No one wants to be arrested, now do they? Of course everyone's going to wag their finger at the disgraced doctor."

She giggled. "Nonsense. Maybe thirty years ago. But people got so much going on these days, if they find your name in the papers at all, you'll be a bit of entertainment for maybe ten minutes, then they'll just get on with their lives."

"But they'll never forget. They'll see me and that's what they'll be thinking when they have to decide which doctor to see. And this isn't over. This could go to District Court."

"I can't believe how bloody insecure you are. If you're just going to wimp out, then you're bloody better off married. And that's not a compliment. It was just a bit of hanky panky. You got caught, so what? I've been arrested twice. Once for shoplifting in my twenties and once for slapping a police officer at a feminists rally. We all took off our bras and dared the cops to touch us. The officer was a lady, and boy she was not impressed."

With that mental image, Ash had to remember what point he was trying to make. "In any case, I really don't want Foster getting wind of this."

"You think he gets newspapers delivered to his pile of rocks?" She laughed, knowing full well that Foster's dwelling was nicer on the inside than some people's homes. From the ruins of a lighthouse, he had a view of the rawest, most verdant isolated landscape, as far as the eye could see, and an unruly swell of salt and sea that kept his dwelling awash in cutting winds and ethereal vapor. Inside, all that wildness was tamed by the accouterments of a cozy home built around a hearth and extended far deeper into bedrock and rafters than physics could explain. His library put the Vatican Apostolic to shame.

"Hang on. How do you know what Foster's home looks like?" No one was supposed to be able to see it unless they were invited to do so. Foster was very strict about that. It wasn't like Reuse was close enough to Foster to actually visit him or spend time there. She was Ash's live-in housekeeper, after all.

"Oh, I went looking for him a while back. He loaned me a book. Said it was magic to help my customers find me. You're always pointing over the ridge and mentioning the lighthouse that's long gone, so I thought I'd put my walking legs on and take a gander. It was a queer day. Perfect one minute, pouring down the next. I tell you, a storm came out of nowhere. I know my way around these parts with my eyes closed, but I got turned around so bad up there, I couldn't find my way back.

"The lightning was terrible. Then all of a sudden there he was, offering me his coat and escorting me into the rocks. I thought it was a bloody cave at first, till I saw all the fancy carpets and books. That place is nicer than your basement. He's even got chandeliers and antique furniture they don't even make anymore. Not ratty either, really great pieces. Well preserved, you might say. Who knew he had such taste? And the paintings! Makes you wonder how he got them so high, and all that trouble getting them attached to the stone. My eyes just kept following the banister that spirals up, wondering what could possibly be in all those rooms. It didn't look nearly that big from the outside. If that's what being a hermit is like, then count me in. I'd love to have my books and my sewing all to myself. Sell everything on the internet and never have to answer the door. Love it."

Ash couldn't stop staring at her. Reuse knew perfectly well that Foster was a wizard. She probably took it even more seriously than Ash, but that didn't mean she'd earned any special treatment. Foster had warned him never to come looking for him without a good reason. Even Ash couldn't see the dwelling unless Foster wanted him too. Ash, who had taken on Foster's wishes to open a shop. Ash, who had campaigned from door to door on foot, offering a variety of bottled and powdered wares to his neighbors in order to build a trusting client base for Foster's store. He'd given out everything from free samples of tea, soil neutralizer, to environmentally friendly barn and basement pesticides.

He knew the fake, hallucination of a storm that Reuse was talking about, and he'd nearly died in it. The only way he stepped foot into Foster's dwelling was after he'd collapsed to his knees from the exhaustion of not being able to find it, and fell face-first into the mud. And even then, he stayed within the entrance of the dwelling, looking past Foster's shoulder, at a cylindrical open-floor layout of tables and glassware that could've come from Victor Frankenstein's lab, and layers of curved, stone walls that supported black cases of books upon books. He never saw the chandelier, or got to look at cushioned furniture from the vantage point of sitting on it. But he had seen a waterfall. It cascaded from what he could only guess was a forty-foot height, and pooled right into an open place into the floor. It was a rockwall backdrop to an otherworldly place of comfort, study, creating, and research. His questions of how the books were left unaffected by the moisture and the spray, went unanswered as he was ushered out shortly thereafter, and warned not to return unless he was called for.

Was he expected to believe that Reuse simply charmed her way into the man's hideout?

"Foster doesn't seem to mind your knowing where he lives?"

"I think he likes the company. He's not the loner he pretends to be. Depending on the subject, he can really talk a girl into her wine. I think it helps that I come from a family of witches, but he's the real deal. None of my people can do the sort of magic he does. Now that he's gotten used to our Friday dinners, he's usually waiting on me and I must say, I like the attention."

"Friday dinners?"

"Well not every week, but it's starting to average every two weeks. Every time I go, he shows me something from a book that solves years of issues I've been having. It's like he pulls out the perfect book. No wonder they're even in his bedroom."

"He has a bedroom? And you were in it?"

"Of course he has a bedroom. That's where I measured him for his new suit of clothes. I can't wait to see him wearing them."

She kept talking without realizing how rigid Ash had gone beside her. He had to shut her up. "Stop stop stop! You got Foster out of his clothes? In his bedroom?"

"I'm a seamstress, we've grown quite comfortable with one another. He's old fashioned but it was entirely appropriate once I showed him pictures of my work."

"No. You make costumes for a living. You showed him your silver holographic dresses and Cosplay scrapbook, and he ordered a suit from you and invited you into his bedroom?"

She huffed. "I'm beginning to think you don't appreciate my talents. I make fantasy clothing for people who want to incorporate the way they want to live into the lives they have to live. Dressing up is total armor. Foster gets that. In fact, he's already paid for his lot up front, he was so impressed with my velvet coats and Victorian daywear."

"What does his bedroom look like?"

She took her eyes off the road to glance at him. "Plane. Books. A normal bed. Antique posts. He's got curtains around it, like a canopy. Forest green Florentine velvet. He saw how enchanted I was by it all, that he did that thing with his wand, moved a bookcase aside, and the whole thing opened up to an overlook. Literally, you go from walking on carpet to walking on bedrock and staring out into this cavern with a waterfall. A real fucking waterfall. The water echos so loudly, he showed me he has spells to buffer the sound. But it's really beautiful and you can just lay in bed and watch it if you wanted to. It's lit from his living room below, and it looks like an inner world paradise."

Ashe felt his chest tighten as he listened to her.

"I tell you, I was ready to shag him right there. He's raw and earthy, but he seems to make refinement out of it. Makes me wonder how many more there are like him, and why anyone who can live like that, with that much magic, wouldn't just take over the world? You know, like become a super nation, bigger than China or Russia, or the US or something."

Ash wanted to know only one thing. "When you took his measurements, did he take off his clothes?"

Soundless laughter had her shaking her head. "He did not. Don't worry, Ash. He was a proper gentleman. I think he let me get so close because he's trying to thank me. When we didn't know him, we fed him. We got him through a spell even when we didn't know what was going on. I'll never forget the day he woke up from a dead sleep and started shooting blue light from his wand. Your walls exploded and I could see clear into your dining room from his bedroom. You could tell he was terrified and didn't know where he was, even though you'd already explained that to him. He kept having relapses. All I knew to do was keep feeding him soup and use the syringe to restrain him when I saw him restless and another spell coming on. He told me later, that my cooking was so unusual to his pallet, that figuring out what my choice of herbs must've been, was the only thing that perplexed his mind long enough to calm him. He said that I make beautiful soups. They were calming."

"Foster said that?"

"Yes. He's quite a different sort when you're not around. Warmer. More human."

"So I gather."
"Oh, don't be like that. He thinks very highly of you."

"And what are my chances of getting to see that waterfall?"

Another giggle. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous."

Ash held up his hand and pretended to write in the air with an invisible pen. "Here's a reality check, Reuse." He made a ripping motion and flung it at her. "Go cash it."

Her mouth filled with laughter she could not let go of all at once. She suppressed it. "I don't know what's more disturbing. Your man-crush on Foster, or the fact that you're still using a joke like that in this day and age."

"Oh, please. Don't play innocent with me. Why would I open up my home to this man, bend over backwards to keep him happy, run his business, run his errands, and run myself into the ground without so much as a fucking thank you? Jealous? That's not the half of it. I am flat out disgusted. I got arrested tonight because I made out with some man, because I can't get anywhere near Foster. There. I spelled it out. Are you happy? Are you going to skip on over the ridge for your next date with the guy who won't give me the time of day, even after I saved his life? 'Cause if you are, I really hope you put in a good word for me."

That shut her up. The glances she now gave him, were cautious and slightly disbelieving. Her huge eyes would've been funny if they hadn't also looked uneasy and a little scared.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I don't mean to take anything out on you. I've had a fucked up night. I'm crazy to think I ever stood a chance with Foster. I just assumed he liked men. I'm an idiot."

She replied in almost a whisper. "I just assumed you liked women."

"I know, I've hid it well, I guess. Even from myself. If anything I've said makes you uncomfortable, I'll understand if you choose not to work for me anymore. I'm finding it difficult to pretend I'm okay with myself. I'm not."

Before he realized what she was doing, the car was already off the road and bumping along a grassy median divide that separated the highways. Her emotional, spontaneous decision was so abrupt she didn't give herself enough time to slow before breaking. They both ended up jerking forward into the dash, protected by their seat belts.

She turned to him and grabbed his hand. "I've got to come clean with you. And please don't be upset with me. I lied, but I lied to help you. Foster said it would be okay. My gran didn't give me the money to bail you out. Foster did. He showed up before you ever called and said that I should wait to hear from you. He said that I was to come get you and bring you home without delay. When I asked what was wrong, he said that you and he would have to discuss a little misunderstanding. I don't know what that meant, but I know by the way he said it, he wasn't happy with you. I made him promise that whatever he had planned, he'd be fair to you. He was obviously not pleased that you'd gotten arrested, but to be prepared to come get you, I was so impressed by that.

"Don't make yourself crazy, he has a funny way of showing it, but he does care about you. You've grown on him the same way he's grown on you. Please don't fire me. I don't want to lose my job at your place. Please let me keep it. Foster said I shouldn't let you know anything because he wanted to be the one to do so, and he just looked and sounded so… tight and severe, I was worried. But he absolutely promised to be fair to you. I said I wouldn't bring you back unless he made that promise."

As Ash adjusted to her breathless confession, he felt the car rock. Trucks and heavier vehicles sped by. Part of his brain was alarmed at the illegal parking spot, and the other parts were piecing her story together, not sure on which side of it he stood. Foster knew of his arrest. Foster put up the money to bail him out. Foster had made a threat to straighten out a misunderstanding? Ash couldn't calculate the math on this. Those acts were great, but it meant that Foster knew who he was with, and that was bad. Very bad. His hands were suddenly hot and sweaty. He needed water.

So this was a setup. Reuse was going to hand him over to Foster? Well, that was just bullocks, wasn't it? If this were a power struggle, she'd clearly hadn't put her money on him. It was almost like suffering two rejections in one sitting, only… Only Foster had put up the money to bail him out. He could've washed his hands of Ash. He could've kicked Ash's ass once he'd gotten out of jail by his own means. He cared. Even if he was only making sure Ash got home so that he could kill him, Ash had a place under his skin. Foster must have intentions, which meant that he must've been thinking about Ash all evening, which meant that no matter what Foster said, Ash wasn't far from his mark.

He would've kissed Reuse if he didn't also want to make her feel bad for lying to him. They both had something in common. Apparently, they were both attracted to the lure of powerful men, even if it was all in their heads. She obviously wanted to test drive Foster herself, whether she could admit that or not. They were both after the same man. Foster wasn't going to be threatened by a seamstress wanting to make him a new set of clothes for all the practical help he's given her. Ash wished he'd played the subtle card, the way she had. A lot more than measuring would've gone on in that room.

Reuse made him realize the bottom line. He wasn't just attracted to Foster. He was attracted to power. It excited his sexuality and what was more powerful than a wizard as sublimely contained in his shroud of mystery, than Foster? That wizard had the power to heal. Ash was a doctor, how could he not like that? That wizard had practically raised the boy from the dead. If that wasn't power, then what was? Hell yes, he'd signed up for this. His cock knew it, even if his logical brain was still scared of what it was doing. Bring on the fucking wizard.

"It's okay," he found his voice. "You did what you thought was best. Don't worry, I can handle Foster. We'll talk. He'll bitch. We'll both relieve some stress and when it's over things will be better than before."

"Are you sure?" She was sniffling now and tears stood huge and wet in her lashes. She pulled a tissue out of her pocket. "Because I don't want to upset you anymore than I have. I didn't know you wanted him that much. I thought you two were just like really odd roommates who made good business partners."

It took some doing to reassure her. At no point and time did he hear her say she'd give Foster up, and he listened for it, but her display of regret over her lies was satisfying enough for the moment. He talked her into pulling back onto the road and trusting what was to come next. "Take the day off and enjoy yourself."

He had a wizard to face.