roartonrisen | (no subject)

While Kieren hasn't prohibited magic from all areas of their little cottage, he has made it very clear which areas he prefers to remain magic-free. Or at least mostly magic-free. The kitchen, of course, is the primary one of these and, while Sirius still sneaks in a cleaning spell every now and then, he's honestly done his best to honor Kieren's wishes.

Which means, of course, he's had to try to learn to cook, an endeavor he's found to be as rewarding as it is endlessly frustrating.

He's in the middle of what he's hoping will eventually be some kind of stew when he hears Kieren step in. There's a bit of shuffling, which Sirius can detect over the sound of the broth boiling and he glances up with a frown when Kieren calls out to him.

"Healing potions," he echoes, confused and a bit concerned. Setting down his knife, he wanders out of the kitchen, wiping a hand against his trouser leg in the process. "What in Merlin's beard would-- oh dear," he says as soon as he sees the way Kieren is gingerly holding his arm. "What's happened?"

Kieren can smell something happening in the kitchen, his face lighting up with delight with the knowledge that Sirius is making attempts to cook. When he heads inside and sees that it's without any magic, he forgets the pain in his wrist for a moment because that is a nice sight to come home to.

"You're kidding, you're asking me what's happened when I come back and you're cooking all handsomely?" No, Sirius is right, that's probably best to know. "I might have had a sporting incident that resulted in an injury," he says, lifting his other hand to show the bruises. "Think I sprained it."

The reward, all told, is largely in that look upon Kieren's face. Regardless of how well the stew might come out, all the trouble and toil is worth it for that flicker of hunger in Kieren's eye.

If only he had a moment longer to dwell in it.

"You've-- what sort of sporting incident?" he asks, hurrying closer to delicately cradle Kieren's injured arm in his hands. There's quite a bit of bruising around his wrist, splotches of purpling skin nearly dark enough to hide the marks from years ago. "Did this happen at uni? Have you joined a club and not told me?"

Kieren lets out a disbelieving laugh as he ducks his head down, staring at his wrist as he holds it out a little between them. Sirius is still pretty much the only person around here (other than Beth and Carl) that he trusts to see the marks. "Not a club, exactly, unless James has some lofty ideas for the future," he says, tipping his head as he glances up at Sirius.

"I tried Quidditch," he admits, wrinkling his nose given that the sprain in his wrist is fairly decent evidence as to why that had gone so miserably.

It's when Kieren mentions James that Sirius puts the pieces together. He doesn't even to finish his sentence, doesn't have to so much as utter the word Quidditch, but he does all the same.

And Sirius can't help a laugh.

"Quidditch?" he asks, amused and delighted in equal parts. Though it's still a bit subdued by the fact of Kieren's rather mangled wrist. "Did he put you on one of his enchanted brooms then, is that what happened?"

"Yes, Quidditch," is Kieren's huffy response, as if he has anyone to blame but himself for being such a prat and deciding to try and break his landing with a hand. He makes a face as he curls his hand a little more into his stomach, wishing that he'd accepted help on the spot, but no, he'd been stubborn.

He's done with that now, at least. "I tried to play on one of the brooms, but I'm just not really athletically inclined, even with a magical broom underneath me," he grumbles. "It'll have to stay art for me." Turning a hopeful look on Sirius, he nods towards his hand. "Can you help it?"

"Well, I'm afraid that makes two of us," is Sirius's somewhat playful response, though he's quite sympathetic as well. After all, Sirius had found he lacked any sort of talent for Quidditch quite some time ago, but not after many, many attempts that had all ended much as Kieren's had. "Though I don't even have art in my repertoire. It's just dashing good looks and easy charm that keeps me worthwhile," he adds with a wink before looking back down at Kieren's arm.

It really is quite a mess and Sirius brushes his fingers very lightly over the mottled skin. "I can," he says because, while healing charms have never been his specialty, mending a broken arm has never been particularly difficult. "I'll warn you, it'll hurt a bit. Quite badly, even, for about five seconds or so."

He's grateful that Sirius isn't going to be out there expecting Kieren to play along, but he does feel stupid, still, for having failed so thoroughly at something magical. "You've got more than that going for you," he chides, even as he hisses at the touch to his skin. Even the lightest of touches makes him react a little, even though he knows he's being a big baby about pain.

Now that it's back, he's no good at managing it, is the simple truth of it all. "If you don't fix it, it'll just keep hurting all the time," he points out. "And seeing as it's my dominant hand, you might be getting lonely in bed," is his arch addition.

"Are you saying you wouldn't give it a go with the other?" he replies, still only lightly teasing as he pulls his wand out from beneath his apron. "Good reason to start practicing that sort of thing. After all, never know when something like this might happen again, right?"

Of course, there are many other things that can be done in bed that don't require the use of Kieren's hands at all, but that's hardly the point right now.

Instead, he nods toward the sofa before leading Kieren towards it. "You should sit down for this," he advises. "Do you want a shot of whiskey first? Might help dull the pain just a bit?"

"I'm saying that you wouldn't want that," Kieren replies instantly, seeing as he could plenty try, but he imagines that it wouldn't go over very well. He gives Sirius a bemused laugh when the wand suddenly pokes out. "Was that always there?" he asks, able to look past the pain for that disbelief.

He heads over to the sofa and settles in, shaking his head at the offer of alcohol. "How about a lager after," he suggests. "That way it's a reward for sitting through and bearing the worst of it."

He supposes it makes sense enough to reward rather than fortify, even if it's not a choice Sirius might necessarily make for himself. "Suit yourself," is all he says with a fond smile as he seats himself atop the table that rests before the sofa.

Gently, he cradles Kieren's wounded arm with one hand as he raises his wand in the other and murmurs a quiet but clear, "Brackium emendo." It's not a spell he's used in some time, but he'd had plenty of practice back home during the war and he feels confident he'll not end up twisting Kieren's broken bones ore removing them altogether, two common mistakes if the spell isn't done correctly.

Kieren breathes in and out through his nose, building it up in his mind like it's going to be the most painful thing in the world. The thing is, it's not that far off, honestly, and the pained yelp that he lets out when Sirius starts to knit everything back together isn't even subdued a little.

There's no one around he needs to be brave for, so he's willing to sit here on the verge of tears, not sure that he can do much else. Eyes blurry with them, it's over soon enough and he's left staring gratefully at Sirius. "See? All better," he vows, his voice a touch unsteady.

Even expecting it as he is, Kieren's cries send a chill straight down Sirius's spine. To be honest, he'd would be quite happy to never hear again hear Kieren in so much pain, to never again be the direct cause of such pain, even if it is for an eventual good.

As it is, there's nothing to be done for it apart from squeeze Kieren's shoulder as tightly as possible, a reminder that he's right there, that the pain will stop in due time.

And, eventually, it does, the tension bleeding from Kieren's muscles bit by bit, his brow tinged with sweat and eyes cloudy with unshed tears when he meets Sirius's own once more.

"Can you move it?" he asks, nodding down at Kieren's wrist, still a bit worried he's messed up some despite his earlier confidence.

Kieren is already feeling better soon after, the pain more a lingering memory than actual pain. He's rubbing at the wrist, but the twist is gone and it looks normal again. Forcing himself to breathe out and release the tension from his muscles, he gives Sirius an appreciate look, rolling it slowly and squeezing his fingers.

When it works, he leans in the small distance between them for a grateful kiss. "So," he murmurs, a playful hint in his tone, "I'm starting to think magic is definitely good for some things."

He's a bit tentative at first, though Sirius can't blame him, gently rubbing at his wrist before twisting it one way and then the other, testing it out. The fact that he's able to do at all is proof that the spell worked and Sirius lets out a quiet breath, the tension in his own shoulders easing.

He isn't expecting the kiss, but he smiles against it right away, eyebrow arching at the tone in Kieren's voice. "Only just now?" he asks with a quiet laugh. "And after I've gone through all the trouble to try to cook you a magic-free dinner?"

"Only for some things that won't keep me out of my schoolwork for weeks," he says, which is possibly a little selfish about him, but it has done a wondrous thing. Then again, magical brooms is the reason that his wrist had been like that in the first place, so maybe it's sort of just healing the damage.

"What is my magic-free dinner?" he teases with a hopeful gleam in his eyes. "I've never come home to dinner so often, that wasn't made by my parents."

"Or keep you away from touching me, I'd say," Sirius adds with a wider grin.

He doesn't miss the little gleam in Kieren's eye either and quickly pushes up to his feet, reaching for Kieren's hand in the process -- the one that isn't just recently mended. "It's a vegetable stew," he explains none too proudly. "With potatoes and carrots and onions and that sort of thing. Can't promise it'll taste any good, but I get points for trying, don't I?"

"That's probably just about as important," is his teasing reply, smirking as he leans into Sirius' warmth for a kiss, flexing his wrist and marvelling at his fingers and how they can squeeze and move so easily. "You really are wonderful," he praises.

"So, are we going to have dinner now that you've fixed me? I could be convinced to help reward you after it," he guarantees, on his feet.

It isn't often Kieren praises him so easily -- usually more keen on poking fun or, at the very least, simply not working to inflate Sirius's ego any more than necessary -- and Sirius allows himself to revel in it, grinning wide as his chest warms.

"Is this reward going to be cleaning the mess I've made?" he asks as they both head back into the kitchen. There are pots and pans and knives strewn all about, filling the sink as well as nearly every bit of counter surface, bits of unused food stuffs all about and a bottle of wine still opened. The pot of stew happily boils atop the stove. "Or will you allow just a bit of magic to get it all taken care of?"

Edited 2018-01-22 18:49 (UTC)

Kieren does like to scrub pots and pans, admittedly. It's an easy way to let his mind drift, but given that Sirius has repaired his wrist and saved him weeks of suffering, he thinks that a magical reward is one of the few things he can offer. "I suppose you could magic it away," he says thoughtfully, tugging on Sirius' hand to lead him into the kitchen.

Staring at the mess, his eyes widen a touch (possibly comically). "Definitely able to use magic. Did you use everything we own?" he wonders.

"Should I not have?" Sirius replies with a hint of genuine concern. "That is what they're all for, isn't it? I mean, if I'm not to use magic, then what am I to use?"

He's largely being facetious, his tone just a little teasing, amused by Kieren's mild horror. And maybe he did make a bit more of a mess than strictly necessary, but he honestly hadn't done it on purpose. It's only that cooking requires quite a few tools, it seems. And Sirius doesn't quite yet know how to use all of them. He's trying, at least.

Kieren's not exactly a chef either, he just never saw his Mum use them all like this. She always liked to use one or two pots, something easy and fast. "No, it's good that they're being used, I've just never seen so many at once," he admits, trying to backpedal away from his shock so Sirius doesn't feel bad.

"We always did really easy stuff at home," he admits, finally. "One pot meals, frying up things in a pan. I think it's nice that you went to the extra effort, though."

Sirius isn't honestly certain his effort can be measured by the mess he's made, but he's quite happy to let Kieren believe he's worked very, very hard indeed.

"Well, I can only hope it tastes as good," he remarks with a somewhat rueful smile. "If nothing else, I'd like it to be worth all this. I've been here hours." It's a big of an exaggeration, of course, but he's always had a bit of a flair for the dramatic.

"Oh, hours, is it?" Kieren echoes with a faintly amused smile on his lips, leaning in to press a fond kiss to his cheek, arms wrapped around his waist. "I'm starved," he admits. "The whole sprained wrist after the Quidditch mess didn't exactly leave me with much time to grab something to eat, so you could put barely edible porridge in front of me and I'd go for it."

Nudging at Sirius' side, he prods him to get them dishes. "C'mon, then, let's try this food of yours."

"I would never," Sirius promises, nose wrinkling at the thought of porridge. If nothing else, Sirius has gotten quite proficient with the mobile phone; even if he had managed nothing better than mucky porridge, he would have called for a food order to make up for it.

Though he's had to do much less of that recently given his rather abhorrent lack of funds in this place.

With the gentle push, he reaches into the cupboard to pull down two large bowls before nodding over at Kieren to grab the ladle. "My only real hope in all this is that I'll not need to cast another healing potion before the night is through. At the very least, I used only fresh vegetables and meat I bought just today."

Kieren settles at the table with his bowl, placing a napkin on his lap. He makes a show of twirling his wrist around as he takes up the spoon, beaming as he does, and to show his thanks, he slides his foot under the table to let his bare foot toy with Sirius' ankle.

"I'm sure it's going to taste amazing," he chides. "Don't think so little of yourself," he says, leaning over to have a few spoonfuls. It's rich and aromatic, and, honestly, really tasty. Beaming as he straightens up, he gives Sirius a proud grin.

"Couldn't have asked for anything better."

Kieren makes a bit of a show of being able to his wrist and Sirius can't help but beam with pride. In all the time they've been together now, Kieren's not nearly as impressed by Sirius's magical abilities as he once was. Even bringing Padfoot around hardly garners notice anymore. Just this one little thing he can actually accomplish feels a bit more monumental than it truly is.

"It's not terrible then?" he asks a little skeptically as he carefully swallows a small spoonful of the stuff himself. It's hot to the touch and he blows on it a bit then eats, eyebrows lifting in genuine surprise when he finds that it's truly rather good after all. "I suppose even something tasty could still poison, but this does seem a good start," he admits with a quiet laugh. "Do you like the spices well enough?"

"I promise, I wouldn't be nice and pretend," Kieren allows, because he's more than happy to react in a way that was honest. If it were terrible, he'd make sure they could fix it, but it's really not. Shaking his head, he gives Sirius a terribly fond look. "I'm not much of a spice person myself," he confesses, "but yeah, I really do like it."

"Stop looking shocked," he chides, shaking his head. "It's good."

Kieren's always been rather sparing with his praise, choosing to provide it only when he feels it well deserved. In truth, Sirius likes it that way if only because it makes garnering Kieren's approval that much more rewarding.

"I'm not shocked," he says before adding a bit of a lie. "I knew it would be good. After all, it's not like it can possibly be that difficult, can it? It's just like making potions." Nevermind the fact that Sirius had always struggled a bit with potion.

He gives Kieren's foot a light nudge beneath the table then, a bit more playful. "Eat up then. Can't let any go to waste."

"I'm not sure I want to think of this as a meat potion," he deadpans, lifting up another spoonful of stew to eat, even if the corners of his lips are curving up in amusement at the thought of a meat potion course that Sirius might've taken.

He pushes right back at Sirius' foot, grinning the whole time. "What, am I meant to eat all of this?" he protests, gesturing to the pot. "I know I'm a bit on the lean side, but this is a bit much at one time."

Now that Kieren's said as much, a meat potion does sound a bit strange, though Sirius does wonder a bit why they'd never been taught cooking of all things at Hogwarts. It's not as though it's an entirely unnecessary thing, Muggle or not. Wizards do still need to eat, after all.

He gives Kieren's foot another nudge of his own, a playful little tussle as he grins wider. "What are we to do with the rest if you don't eat it? Should I go around offering it to any who'll take it?"

"Leftovers," Kieren protests with a laugh, still in disbelief sometimes at how little that wizards get taught of the normal world. "We put it in the fridge and then have it for lunch tomorrow or another dinner when neither of us can be fussed to cook or take away." He nudges right back at Sirius' foot, shaking his head.

"Unless you dream of wandering around the sidewalks shoving day old food at people," is his coy retort.

"Oh," Sirius remarks, his nose wrinkling slightly. He can't imagine the stew will taste nearly so good the next day, can't imagine he'll want to eat it. But Kieren seems hardly disgusted by the idea at all.

"Well, we haven't got many neighbors out here," he remarks because there's really only James and he hardly counts. "We could go offer it to the little woodland creatures though." He's joking for the most part, doesn't mean it seriously, but he still can't quite bend his mind around to the idea of eating day-old food himself. "Won't it be cold and a bit slimy?"

"You reheat it, have you really never have leftovers?" Kieren asks, the statement and the question rushing together because he's a little bit in disbelief, marvelling at the idea that leftovers is not a thing that Sirius has never come into contact with before.

"Sirius, we definitely need to get you trying leftovers," he insists, because that seems ridiculous that it didn't happen. "Maybe I can make lunch tomorrow with the leftovers from this," he suggests.

"Should I have?" he replies, his smile faltering a bit when he notices the sound of clear disbelief in Kieren's tone. "I haven't a clue what my mother did with the food when we were done. I always assumed it was either thrown out or the-- or it was otherwise disposed of," he says, quickly catching himself before mentioning Kreacher, still too aware of the sensitivity in that particular subject. "And it was the same at Hogwarts. I've certainly never attempted to simply heat up food that's already been cooked. That does sound terribly unappetizing. You're certain it's sanitary?"

"It's a bit surprising, but I suppose you lived in a world of magic and probably enough money that you never had to have the same thing twice," he admits, which isn't such a bad thing, it's just strange and new to him. "I promise, they're not bad," he vows, squeezing Sirius' hand from over the table.

"They can even be a bit tasty," he promises, trying to infuse warmth and encouragement into his tone. "It's perfectly sanitary, we'll have some tomorrow and I'll prove it."

It's true, he supposes. Though he hadn't thought on it much back home, he's become overwhelmingly aware of his lack of funds since his arrival in this place. Business at the Lamplight manages to pull in some bit of money and he still gets the mysterious stipend every month even while he and Kieren share the little cottage in the woods, but it's nothing like the money he once had.

"Alright," he says, twisting his wrist just a bit to curl his fingers briefly with Kieren's and returning the squeeze. His lips tug into a wide grin. "I'll trust you then. And, in the meantime, you can continue to lavish praise upon me for cooking a delicious meal and healing your broken wrist."

"I'm definitely going to keep giving you praise for that and, I hate to say it, but I'm probably not going to be a magical broom star anytime soon," Kieren says, heavy sarcasm and amusement in his words because he's still a little in disbelief that anyone actually ever was.

Leaning forward over the table, he presses a kiss to Sirius' cheek. "Thank you, for healing me," he says, and means that with every bit of his heart.