fandomtownies | Book Haven - Friday

A Liir-less shopping experience.

He was in a thousand different places at once, so it was easier to be in a few different places. He always kept his eye on the door, but he did start dusting the shelves nearest the counter.

Carefully, of course, so that none of it got on him. He wanted to look nice for Andrew.

...

And, of course, any other customer who walked in.

For about twenty minutes or so, Andrew had been pacing the street just down from Book Haven. He had told Liir that he would show up a few minutes after the shop closed and he didn't want to be late. He didn't want to be early either, and appear overly anxious. This was supposed to be casual anyway.

"I'm as cool as a cucumber, casual as a casual thing," Andrew mumbled nervously to himself as he smoothed out the front of his new light blue button down shirt.

He waited till about five minutes past the hour, took a deep breath, and went to tap lightly on the shop's door.

Liir opened it almost too fast.

He'd taken a few minutes to straighten up the store, and then a few minutes to straighten up himself. He'd dusted off any of the dust that'd gotten onto his clothes; he'd decided on the darker jeans, his usual shoes, and the black shirt he'd bought the other day, the one with the printed pattern. Over that, the peacoat made him feel almost too warm despite the fog and the chill that hit him. Luckily, it fit even over the broom at his hip.

Upon seeing Andrew, green green eyes brightened almost to a glow and a smile flashed onto his features. Then he breathed in and made an effort to still the fluttering.

"Andrew! Yes. Just... let me close the door and turn the sign and we can go."

Not expecting such a hasty appearance, Andrew actually gasped as the door came open. Then he got a gander at the boy before him, and acquired a huge smile of his own.

"Do whatever you need to do," Andrew replied, not wanting him to feel rushed. He shoved his hands into his pockets, afraid they might betray his nervousness.

"Have you had pizza yet? I thought we might start by getting a bite to eat."

He did just that and leaned against the door with a grin on before shaking his head.

"No. I've heard of pizza; Teddy tried to explain it to me, but I've never had it. It sounded good, though. Whatever you'd like."

He could feel the blood rushing to his face, reddening his cheeks and the tips of his ears. Andrew looked...

"The blue is nice with your eyes," came out.

Andrew blushed. "Do you really think so?" he asked, almost demurely. "I just got this shirt yesterday. It took some time to iron out all the little creases from where it had been folded up on the shelf."

His eyes ran over Liir again, and he reached out to run a hand down the front of his peacoat. "This is really nice. You look so Abercrombie."

Liir's eyes fluttered faintly at the touch and a soft, sweet smile curled on his lips.

"Thank you," he said, his voice low. It didn't sound anything like a purr, but the similarities were there. "Izzy helped me pick it."

He tipped his chin towards the street at large.

"Pizza?"

Before he insisted Andrew actually did put his hand through his hair.

[ooc: RL ate me whole and I was dragged off! so sorry]

"Izzy has good taste," Andrew commented as he started walking down the street.

"It would actually be quicker to walk through the park to get to the pizza place. Do you mind? Or we could take the long way down by the docks and around. It doesn't matter to me one way or another. I'm in no rush."

In truth, he hadn't eaten anything all day due to a knot of anxiety that had taken up residence in his stomach.

"Whatever way you know best. I've just sort of found things by luck or broom," he admitted as he walked along with him.

"And the park sounds, well, pretty."

"Park it is," Andrew said, turning down an alley way that would lead them to it.

Walking next to Liir, Andrew kept glancing over at the other boy every few steps and grinning to himself. "How does one find things by broom," he asked, that bit of the conversation apparently just registering.

His hand strayed down to his hip, to the bump of the broom handle.

"You can see more when you're up above things," he said, pointing up into the sky. "The ground is small and it's hard to focus sometimes" and this had him blushing just a little again "but it's easier to get an idea of where things are."

Andrew stopped and turned towards Liir. "Wait; are you saying that you fly? On a broom?"

His eyes went from the bump under the other boy's coat to his face, wide in wonder. "That's so cool."

He nodded to the first before blinking at the second.

"Yes. It's, er, sort of cold up there. Especially here."

"No, not cool as in cold, cool as in impressive or excellent," he tried to explain.

"So is that something everyone can do where you're from?" he asked as he started walking again. "Or is it just a gift you have?"

"It's the Witch's broom," he said. "I just fly on it. And it's the only one I've ever heard of, where I am. Professor Ambrose seemed rather amazed at it, really, so I'm assuming that stays true."

"So it's a unique broom for a unique guy," Andrew commented, attempting to nudge him affectionately with his shoulder.

"Who is the Witch?"

He leaned into the nudge and smiled at it.

Then he breathed out.

"The Witch was the woman I lived with until a few months ago. Her and Nanny were the only people I knew after the Arjiki were taken from Kiamo Ko."

Andrew frowned. Karal had warned him that Liir had some things in his past that he might not be comfortable talking about. He decided not to ask too many questions, figuring the other boy could elaborate if he wanted.

He stopped. They had reached the end of the alley bordering the park, and there was a line of small pine trees growing closely together immediately in front of them. "So through or around?" he asked, grinning at Liir.

"Through," he decided.

Andrew unconsciously held his hand out towards Liir and stepped into the thicket.

Liir took it, whether he was supposed to or not, and gave a warm squeeze to Andrew's hand.

"This is nice," he said with a smile. "Walking with you. Though--"

He ducked his head.

"I think we could, um... that is if you wanted to. Er. I think we're both small enough, well, not too heavy--"

He finally just pushed the coat flap aside and placed his hand on the broom handle.

"Would you like to fly?"

He hoped it wasn't the wrong thing to ask. And that he could pull it off. He'd never flown with anyone before, but he knew he weighed much less than the Witch at the end, with her imperious height and her strength and her...

Well, her Witchness. Gravitas was a lot of things.

"Really?" Andrew looked at the broom handle and blinked a few times.

"You won't let me fall off, will you? I mean, it's a broom. There doesn't seem like there's really much to hold onto there."

It wasn't a jet pack, but it was flying! Andrew tried to convince himself that the awesome factor way outweighed his slight fear of heights.

"I wouldn't," and he almost slung an arm Andrew as if to hold him close... but he kept from doing it.

"And we can stay close to the ground at first, until you get a feel for it."

He pulled the broom from it's quiver and there was something alive about it. The brush was singed at the end, but the twigs held buds and there was an activeness about the broom that only seemed present when Liir held it.

"I'd think-- that is, I've never had another person with me, but the Witch was bigger than me, so I don't think it'll be trouble."

He smiled nervously at Andrew.

"Do you want to?"

He wanted to give that to Andrew, that... flying feeling.

"Yes. Sure. I'll do it. Just, like you said, keep it close to the ground at first."

Andrew took a deep breath and looked the broom over. "So what do I do?"

Liir slung his leg over the broom.

"I'd think you'd, er, want to go behind me so I could steer. And you could, um, hold onto me."

He moved up on the broom and it bucked eagerly in his hand, fluttering almost like the thing in his chest that seemed to have returned.

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OOC