Cub Sitting

The Lupin Twins didn't take the cake for the most tragic childhood in Wizarding history (no one would ever unseat Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter from tthat shared title) but did have it pretty rough. A (very loving) father who routinely transforms into a terrifying beast, losing their mother and growing up with a ring side seat for political unrest and the black chaos that Death Eaters brought couldn't be easy. For the most part they were darling, charming children and while frustrating, it was easy to understand their misbehavior. Mali wasn't mad, she wouldn't scold them too harshly but she needed them found.

Theo was perfect for showing up exactly when she needed him with exactly what she needed. Pizza, bless the man. Her stomach rumbled the moment the delicious aroma reached her nose and she hugged him a little more tightly. How did she get so lucky? "I fell asleep for a minute. Only one, I swear. And then when I woke up they'd drawn on my face so I went to wash it off and now they're gone." she explained, desperately pleading her case that her little mid-sitting nap wasn't really a big deal. They had to be in the house. Merlin, please let them be in the house. It was like someone somewhere saw fit to answer her internal plea and the twins scampered through the room so quick she didn't even see them. Mali wasn't feeling up for much joking (there would be lots of jokes and witty teases once the children were secure...) and was frowning when she looked back at Theo. At least they had a general idea of where the two had gone. They'd gone 'that way' but there was a lot of house 'that way' for them to hide in. Theo's brand of magic coaxed that frown into half a grin. "The best sort've magic." The fastest way to Mali's heart was through her stomach and that was proving true for a lot of things, hopefully the pizza would coax the children out. "Did you get the kind with pineapple?" If that didn't draw them out then nothing would.

Mali seized up at the crash, going absolutely rigid. "Hippogriffs, the kitchen!" There was a lot two mischievous little ones could get into there. Like her dads' under the counter wine cellar that two very stressed adults might have to get into if they survived until bed time. Mali was new to the world of adult beverages but she could appreciate a glass of wine after a long, stressful day of babysitting. Mali took (mostly) mock offense to Theo's statement as they headed off to investigate. "I apparated them fully intact to my house, thanks very much! It was no easy feat, either. They're very squirmy little things." They were met with... nothing out of the ordinary, except the coffee maker had been knocked off the counter. "Nooooo!" Mali lamented dramatically as she withdrew her wand. "Not the coffee!" She enjoyed a good cup of tea, but nothing compared to the caffeine boost or the taste of a fancy coffee (although she'd settle for a regular brewed cup in a pinch.)

With a flick of her wand and a mutter of "Reparo!" the coffee machine was repaired and back on the counter, leaving them to search for the children. "You search the high cupboard and i'll search the low ones?" Mali asked as she relieved Theo of his pizza boxes to set on the island counter. "Summoning doesn't work on children, I tried that." It didn't work on Nifflers, either. The witch set to work, searching each bottom cabinet thoroughly 'til she opened one of the doors and got a face full of powdered creamer. She squealed and fell back on her bum, coughing and fanning away the powder cloud. With a giggle the offending twin darted right past her, free to wreak havoc on the rest of the house.

Mali had to press her lips together not to laugh along, because Theo was a big lovable guy with a face that made you want to laugh along with him. She crossed her arms over her chest instead, dropping her shoulders into a slump as if she could fold in the giggles before they escaped. "Oh.." His very hard not-looking made her a little self conscious and she touched the space above her upper lip. "Oh, erm.. It was a mustache and some really angry eyebrows... Thick slanty ones, looked like I was plotting world domination or something." Mali moved to rubbing at her forehead. "Can you still see it? Have I gotten it all off?" When Theo confirmed that he indeed that not only was he the hero of the hour, but he'd brought the best kind of pizza along the witch pushed up on her tiptoes, forgetting all self consciousness about her phantom eyebrows and mustache to plant a kiss on his cheek. "You're my hero."

A hero who took orders. 'Captain' made her gigglesnort. "Don't you mean aye aye?" Her snark was met with a face full of powdered creamer as her own little wiggle child ran off. Mali grabbed for the little bugger, coughing through a haze of white powder but missed the tyke and he ran off, soon to be followed by his sister, the little rascals. Theo helped her up and called to the retreating kids, getting only retreating giggles in return. "Thank you, first mate Theo." His chivalry earned him another quick kiss, this time on the lips which left a smudge of white powder. "Same thing that's on you, now." she grinned, wiping it away with her thumb before searching a kitchen drawer for a towel. "S'coffee creamer. Should we run after them? Or are children like stray cats? They'll come back when they get hungry enough?" After cleaning the creamer off she leaned back against the counter, crossed her arms and eyed the pizza boxes. "I'm hungry and they've existed on nothing but sweets all day, surely the smell of the pizza'll lure them out?"

As captain of this mission, Mali determined that was exactly what they'd do. "Sit down at the table, I'll get plates." With that she set to pulling four flowery plates from the cabinet, setting two aside for when the scamps decided to come back. There was a crash upstairs above them and she paused, gaze shifting up to the ceiling and ears straining to listen. There was one more crash and Mali put the plates down and dashed from the kitchen with urgency, deciding it was too risky to leave the children unattended in a home full of old books and antiques, especially when a child's wail carried down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"They're fast little devils." Mali felt the need to defend her cat nap again, now that they were talking about what the twins drew on the canvas that was her face. "I swear I'd only just fallen asleep. It was only a moment. Three minutes tops!" She rubbed and rubbed but Theo tapped it with his finger and assured her it was gone. The corners of her lips curled up in a smile and she laughed. "It's for the better. I don't think you could pull the eyebrows off like I did." The witch reached up to trace said eyebrows out over one of Theo's eyes. The beautiful, soulful eyes. They were her favorite eyes in the whole wide world (Furry creatues excluded because no one could beat actual puppy dog eyes) "You would have only gotten jealous that you couldn't have them." As Mali led Theo into the kitchen she looked back over her shoulder to stick out her tongue at him before laughing.

Chivalry beat twin capturing any day. It gave her an excuse to sneak in a quick peck. Every kiss felt just as good as the first time. It had been months.. Nearly a year, hadn't it? And the thrill of Theo's lips had yet to wear off and she hoped it never did. "No, it's not." She shook her head in agreement. "Good thing I fixed the coffee machine, isn't it?" Theo suggested bed and bath time for the twins and Mali groaned and slumped back against the counter. "Have you tried to wrestle them into pajamas before? They turn into little octopuses. I swear all their bones turned to jelly because they used impossible contortion tricks to get away from me." Mali looked back up at Theo, looking every bit as exasperated by the whole babysitting ordeal as she felt. "Did we want kids, Theo? Because I don't want kids right now. I want wine. My dads have wine." She didn't even really like wine but that's what her dad's used to drink to 'unwind' and Mali could certainly do with some unwinding.

Or pizza. They decided they would eat pizza. Probably best to leave the alcohol 'til after the kids were in bed (or stunned.) They nearly got to indulge in the pizza but the scamps were at it again. It was a terrible choice to let them get out of their sight and they paid for it. The adults were off and running to find the pair of children with a broken vase and an injured little boy. "Mm.." Mali stepped forward and crouched down to Teddy's eye level. "Shh, it's alright. Let me see." The Healer coaxed the poor child's hands away from his chin before gently taking it in her hand. She tilted the boy's chin up so she could examine it. Mali's heart dropped a little when she saw the damage, a bruise forming on the little boy's chin. Remus was in Azkaban and she let his children damage themselves. Not to worry, she kept a steady, serene smile and spoke sweetly despite how terrible she felt over the whole thing. "You know what? You did more damage to the vase than it did to you. It must be your hard head, mm? Not to worry, we can fix it but I'll need your help to do it, alright?"

Mali withdrew her wand again and held her hand out for Lily. "I'll need your help too, LJ. We're going to do magic." She shifted to her knees and brought Lily closer. "Now when I say so we'll all have to say 'Reparo'. Nice and loud. Let's practice. Reparo! Alright? Now let's all hold the wand." The witch held the instrument out so each child could put a hand over hers. Together the three of gave the wand a shaky swish and "One, two, three! Reparo!" Their chorus of incantations were out of sync but the vase pieced itself back together and in just a moment it was good as new. "Would you look at that! Good as new!"

Mali was caught on to her little fib that it had only been a minute. It was a handful of minutes, maybe as much as thirty if she were brutally honest but even the most energetic witch in the world had to crash after a couple days of looking after a pair of children with an infinite amount of energy and the ability to change their appearance at will. The crash was bound to happen and all said and done, the damage wasn't too bad although Mali would feel a lot better once the children were corralled. "Dunno." She teased through a snicker and a grin as Theo drew attention to his own naturally heavy brow (no magic marker needed) "Not world domination, that's for sure. Maybe start small? Dominate something on a smaller scale? Like... A park."

A future with Theo was sort of still a touchy subject. They had their dog but had decided that it was better if they don't live together just yet. Still, playing house with Theo while watching the Littlest Lupins did stir up some very strong feelings in that regard. Mali always knew that she wanted a future with Theo, but what and when was questionable. "I don't think that's necessarily up to you or me." Mali shrugged at Theo's one child at a time suggestion. "I'm pretty sure it just sort've happens that way? Or maybe there's some spell. I haven't put much thought into it, myself." Theo agreed that tonight, there would be lots of wine although he punctuated that with a raise of his adorably heavy brow. "Don't look at me like that. Which wine goes best with pizza? I'd think red because pizza sauce is red." To her wine-novice brain that made the most sense. Maybe the better question was which wine went best with troll snuggles, because obviously they had to feed the children before putting them to bed and imbibing in the wine.

The four of them, two little ones, a medium one and a large one turned into a spell casting quarter. Together they managed to charm a broken vase right back together. Mali clapped enthusiastically along with Theo before placing the vase back on the table and tacking on her own chime of "Pizza!" to Theo's statement. The children were ushered into the kitchen and fed to satisfaction before they were readied for bed and tucked in which left the grown ups down in the kitchen preparing for wine fueled snuggles.

Mali eyed the wine glasses that hung from a rack above her head. Her average sized parents did not take into consideration the ease of access for their shorter daughter to pilfer wine from their collection. She could likely reach the glasses on the tip of her toes but Mali liked when Theo reached the high things for her. After tilting her head up to look up at them she turned to Theo "Mind? I'll get the bottles if you get the glasses?"