Pulling her wand from her boots, Rose arrived in front of her flat, Euan arriving seconds after. Taking down the wards, she pushed the door open with her good arm, her wand still clutched in her fist.

"I should have seen the bludger coming," she said, even as she bent to remove her boots, a little harder to do with only one working arm. "Or heard it, at least. Fucking rain ruining eyesight and sounds."

"It's not your fault," he assured her, pulling the jersey from her grasp, tossing it onto the couch. "Do you want..." he started to ask if she wanted help, but thought better of it. She was fiercely independent and strong minded, she really didn't need him butting in. "What do you want to eat?"

without</i> her hands before. Her sports bra, however? It could pose a problem. "I haven't had breakfast in forever."

"You mean you haven't eaten?" He asked incredulously. "You said yourself you metabolize quickly...." He shook his head. Again, it wasn't his place to criticize her habits. "I'll see what you have as far as alcohol, but I think it's best to warn you, I'm not much of a bartender."

"But you have to tell me jokes and make me feel better about my day by talking about your abysmal life. The wife that left you, your dog ran away." She sighed, standing into the doorway of the kitchen, a frown on her face as she watched him move around, gathering things. She'd known she had pans, she just hadn't seen them in quite a while. "And I eat breakfast... it's just never breakfast foods."

"I wouldn't exactly call a toasted cheese sandwich breakfast food, but I'll give you the fried eggs." He began to root through the vegetable drawer in her ice box. "You don't happen to have tomatoes, do you? Because then at least you can say you've hit most of the major food groups."

"Anything that could go bad too quickly... I keep the bread for the carbohydrates, but that's about it. Go ahead," she said, leaning against the door frame, "nag me. I know you want to. I'm giving you permission." She could practically hear the silent sighs in his head.

Euan shook his head as his hand lit on a small red fruit. "I'm saving them at least until after you've eaten. Possibly after you've gotten drunk as well. Leave you defenseless. Ha ha." He held it out to her. "We are victorious."

As he set the eggs to cook, he began to cut the tomato, sneaking bits for himself. "I mean, you've survived this long doing what you're doing. You must be doing something right, yeah?"

"So far," she said, coming father into the kitchen, the scent of the eggs already filling the small, brightly colored area.

Flipping the eggs awkwardly with two forks, he couldn't find a spatula, Euan started toasting the bread and cheese, making sure to add to tomato in time for it to get nice and soft without it turning it into mush. A minute or so later Rose had a fresh from the pan sandwich in front of her. "There. Greasy, but still somewhat healthy."

"You spoil me," she said, sliding the plate towards her, one arm cradled against her stomach, as still as she could keep it. "And it's colorful too. What more could I ask for?"

Euan shrugged, snagging some left over tomato. "A pony?" As he turned his gaze back at her, his eyes widened. "Rose," he said, trying his best not to sound like a scandalized grandmother, "you're only in your bra and knickers."

"I couldn't get the bra off," Rose said, holding a hand to her mouth to cover it, as she was still chewing. "I don't like ponies."

"So does that mean that if you could have gotten the bra off you would have eaten topless?" Euan flushed at his suggestion. "But alright, I'll make sure to not get you a pony for your next birthday. When is your birthday?"

"If I had gotten the bra off I'd be in the shower right now, not partaking of your delicious pseudo-breakfast fare," she said, grinning at him as she took another bite. "I'll still shower so you don't have to put up with the stench. It'll just take some clever maneuvering on my part.

And it's June thirteenth. Maybe you'll get to meet my brothers. They always make it back to celebrate."

"Maybe," Euan echoed softly, making note of the date. He'd have to get her something non-pony related.

Finishing the meal, Rose nodded and slid back from the island in the middle of the kitchen. "Euan?"

He looked up at her, his chin cradled in his hand. "Yeah?"

"Think you could help get me out of this?"

The auror trainee blinked. She wasn't wearing anything. "Out of what?"

Rose reached up and drew one of the thick straps of the sports bra away from her body before letting it fall back, the sound making a semi-wet 'thwap' as it hit her skin. "It's sort of hard to do one armed."

"Uh..." Euan trailed off as he moved behind her, his hand resting on her uninjured shoulder. His fingers ran under the strap, trying not to think about how her skin felt under them. "So, just lift?"

"On that side," she said, reaching up and pulling her hair to the side to give him better access. "Then I'll just pull it down the other arm so I don't have to lift it."

He nodded, then felt slightly foolish. She couldn't see him. Slamming his eyes shut, Euan lifted the strap enough for her to wiggle out of the garment.

Her good arm pressed over her chest, covering herself, Rose held the offending garment in one hand, grinning. She would have hurt herself, possibly injured herself more, if he hadn't helped. She giggled as she saw his eyes screwed shut. "Am I that grotesque," she joked.

"You're naked and my friend and..." he trailed off. "I thought you wanted to take a shower?"

Grinning, Rose took a step backward. "Semi-naked, so say the knickers. And I couldn't take a shower with this on, but now I can." She turned, heading for the bathroom. Wiggling from her knickers wouldn't take his help, though the corner of her mouth turned up when she thought about asking him anyway, just to see his cheeks fill with color. "Think you could have a drink ready for me when I get back?"

"Where's your alcohol? And should I just mix until I find something fruity?" he called back. Alcohol. He could do that.

"Cabinet by the icebox. I might take it straight tonight so I can sleep without pain," she called back, leaving the door to the bathroom cracked a bit in case he had a question. She flipped on the tap. It wouldn't take her long to shower, and the alcohol would definitely help with the dull ache that was beginning to settle into her shoulder.

Opening said cabinet, he found a various collection of flavored vodka's and as well as a few rum. Unsure of what exactly to do, he pulled them all out, spreading them out across the counter. Unscrewing the cap on one of the bottles of rum he took a decidedly impulsive pull, relishing the burn as alcohol poured down his throat. While he would have preferred whiskey, this would do, for now.

Washing herself with one arm was a test, but Rose cheated and had her wand help halfway through. Thoroughly clean, and no longer smelling like wet clothes and grass, she pulled on a clean pair of knickers, forgoing the bra as it would be far too hard to navigate in and out of one herself once Euan left.

Rose pulled on one of her brothers' 'Weird Sisters' long t-shirts and padded back into the kitchen after doing a quick drying charm on her hair. Her green eyes widened at the array of bottles on the counter. "Wow, you really must want to get me drunk."

"Or I didn't know what you wanted." He held the open bottle of rum. "I hope you don't mind, but I already partook."

"You can partake of anything of mine," Rose said, sliding onto one of the stools she'd placed at the island. "These are a little girly for your tastes though, yeah?"

Surely she didn't mean anything. "A bit, yeah," he admitted. "It's fine though. I don't drink enough for it to matter much."

"If I get you to drink enough and I flip on some music, would you do that dance you did at the club for me?" She grinned, looking up at him as she grabbed the bottle from his hand and took a long drink, her face grimacing a second later as the alcohol slid down her throat. She'd be thankful for it in a little bit, but that didn't make it go down any easier, especially when she was used to mixed drinks with much less alcoholic content.

"Maybe," he returned the smile. She didn't even have to get him drunk, not really. If it made her feel better watching him make a fool out of himself for a bit, well, he'd get over the embarrassment. Eventually.

"Then we have a mission, Mr. Abercrombie," she said as she took another drink before holding the bottle out to him. "You think if I mixed a potion in here it would help?"

"I don't know, Ms. Zeller." He eyed the bottle carefully. "I'm not an expert in potions," he had gotten an E on the NEWT, "but the alcohol might destroy any healing effects the potion might have."

"Damn," she muttered, taking another deep pull of the rum. "Maybe it'll work quick enough." She had a decent alcohol tolerance, which she could blame on her brothers, but she was still small enough that a few drinks would do it, if they were concentrated enough. She held the bottle out to him, but felt it slipping from her fingers as she did so. Reflexively, her other arm rose to grab it before it could fall.

Hissing in pain, she brought a hand up, pressing it against her shoulder. "Fuck," she groaned, fingers digging into the painful muscle.

Euan had seen the bottle begin to slip, but her reflexes were much better than his. Grabbing the bottle from her grasp, he set it on the counter. "Go sit on the couch," he prodded. "I'll bring you a glass of whatever you want."

"I'm going to keep doing that, I know it," she said through gritted teeth. "Bloody healers should have figured out a way to make it not hurt. They can regrow bones overnight, but they can't fix sore muscles? Bloody sadists," she said, climbing to her feet.

He shrugged. "Heat pads?" They had always worked for him. He had been a perpetually clumsy child.

"Don't have any," she said, collapsing backwards onto the couch. "I deserve the pain, anyway. Maybe it'll keep me from doing something so stupid in the future."

"Don't say that." Euan took a seat next to his friend. "Nobody deserves pain. No matter the mistake. You didn't know it would turn out like this. If you had been successful, you wouldn't be beating yourself up, even if the move remained stupid."

Even if the move remained stupid. Rose looked over at Euan with a raised eyebrow, an amused expression on her face. "Are you trying to make me feel better?"

"Yes."

"You're lucky you're cute," she said, grabbing for the bottle still in his hands. Rose pulled her legs under herself, being careful not to jostle her shoulder too much. She took a large gulp from the bottle before holding it back out to him.

He took the bottle, his own eyebrow cocked slightly. "What do you mean?" he asked, holding the bottle to his lips, but not taking a drink. "Why should I be lucky I'm... cute?"

"I think I can call myself stupid as often as I want, but I have this thing about others calling me stupid, even if it's true. My brothers have worn quite a few bruises for doing so. But, they're my brothers, and you are not. So whether I get offended depends entirely on you, and the fact that you're cute and blush easily and are embarrassed by any kind of undressed occasion works in your favor."

Rose snorted at herself. The alcohol was already warming her face and chest, and she had just rambled on a great bit there. "You should use it to your advantage."

"I'm sorry!" Euan apologized once he realized he had insulted her, even accidentally. "I didn't mean to offend. I was just using your terminology. I don't think you're stupid. Reckless a little, but what good quiddich player isn't?"

He blinked at her as her words caught up to him. "So getting embarrassed is good and you think I'm cute?" The few sips of rum must have already started to affect him. He usually wasn't so slow on the uptake. At least, he didn't think he was.

Shaking her head, as she'd been kidding about being offended but had forgotten that he still had a hard time understanding her sense of humor, Rose nodded. "Sometimes even when cute people do thing that could be considered bad, they get away with it. I've used it to my advantage numerous times over the years. Maybe it'd work for you at the Ministry." She grinned, trying to imagine him talking himself out of some sort of snafu at the Ministry by blinking innocently, blushing, and running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"I doubt it." Even as he protested her words, Euan was returning her smile.

Shrugging was a little awkward with just one shoulder lifting, but Rose managed it, grabbing for the bottle a second later. "You'll never know until you try, I suppose."

"I suppose. But I'd rather not chance it." He took a long pull from the bottle before offering it back to Rose. "With my luck they'd just laugh in my face."

"Well, that wouldn't be very nice of them," Rose said with a frown, wrapping her small hand around the bottle before drinking what was left in it. It had done its job, pleasantly numbing her shoulder and any pain that came along with the injury.

"Like I said, it'd be my luck." Noticing her relax against the couch, he supposed she had gotten what she wanted. He also noticed the empty bottle. "Did you want me to get another bottle?" he asked.

"That would be great," she said, lifting her legs enough to rest them on the coffee table in front of her. "I don't have anywhere to be tomorrow really early. Might as well get sloshed."

Nodding, he stood and grabbed three bottles, enough to give her a choice of what she wanted to drink. Euan moved back to the couch, putting the choices on the coffee table, right next to his friend's feet. "Your move," he told her.

"Decisions, decisions," Rose hummed, lifting her leg, hovering a toe just a few inches in front of each of the colorful bottles. "Um..." Her bright blue toenail stopped in front of the bottle of blueberry vodka. "That one."

"Blueberry vodka it is." He plucked the bottle from the table, unscrewed the cap, and offered her the first drink.

She took the bottle, taking a large drink. The flavored alcohols were always easier for her to drink. "You don't have to stay here with me. You got me home. I've drunk alone before."

"Drinking alone is always a bit depressing and you're not a depressing person. Besides," he looked at her through half closed eyelids, "I don't mind staying. I'd just go home." And worry.

"Usually when I drink, there's music and dancing involved, regardless of whether there is anyone else around." As if her words made her realize how quiet the flat was, she climbed to her feet, only needing to stable herself on the table once before padding over to the wireless. "I don't mind you staying either," she said, looking over her shoulder at him with a smile before turning her semi-attention back to the task at hand.

He started for a second when she grabbed the table for balance, but sat back once it became obvious she had everything under control. "If you're going to want me to dance, I'm going to need to drink more." He took the bottle and poured a bit of the liquor down his throat, making a face at the fruity taste.

"You don't have to dance if you don't want to," she said, even as her hips started moving. Normally her arms would have rose above her head, snaking through the air, but that was impossible at the moment with her arm clutched to her chest to keep it motionless. She settled for swinging her good arm at her side as she turned back around, making her way towards Euan and the bottle.

He held it out to her. "I'll get to it... eventually." He sank back against the couch. "Your sofa's very comfortable."

"'s why I bought it," she said, pulling the bottle to her lips. She grinned against the glass when one of her brothers' songs came on the radio. She started moving a little faster, knowing the words and chords by heart, drumming the beat out with her fingers against her leg.

His head lolled to the side slightly as he watched her move. "I like this song."

"You'll never know my name,
But that's alright by me.
Just move your body to the beat,
Don't stop is my only plea..."

She'd been there when Josh had wrote those lyrics, sang them softly under her voice as her older brother belted out the tune.

"You have a nice voice."

Rose snorted as she moved closer, holding the bottle out for him, even though she'd been taking steady sips from it the entire time it'd been in her hands. "I'm not made for the stage. That's my brothers' calling. I can hold my own, but it's not my passion, not like Quidditch is. Not like Auroring is for you. Auroring? Is that even a word?" She laughed as he grabbed the bottle from her, spinning a bit as the guitar solo began. "This is Jeremy," she said, though it really didn't matter.

"Auroring is a word now," he decided. "And I didn't always want to be an Auror. Originally I wanted to play Quidditch, be a chaser like you. But I can't fly worth a knut." He shrugged. "So you have four brothers. Jeremy is one of them. What are the others' names?"

"Three," she corrected as their song ended, finding her way closer to the sofa and Euan. Collapsing next to him, less aware of her arm now that her face and cheeks were pleasantly warmed and flushed by the alcohol, she looked slightly up at him from her vantage point. "I could teach you to fly," she said, ignoring his question all together.

"You could try. My grandfather got me to the point where I didn't fall off and break anything, but that's about it." He shrugged, draping an arm over her shoulders, careful of her injured one. "I can watch just fine from the ground. I've gotten over most of my jealousy."

"Most?" She grinned at him, though her lips were a little loose, her eyes a little less sharp than normal. "I want to try," she said, shifting so she could look him in the eyes instead of slouched down. "I could try. I could make it fun for you."

"I tend to fall. Make people laugh." Truth be told, he hadn't been on a broom since the required lessons in first year.

"I wouldn't laugh," she said, unable to keep the grin off her face at the words. "Well, I wouldn't laugh a lot, but I'd still try and make you better. I can be a good teacher when I put my mind to it, and I'd do with you."

"Well at least you're honest about it. And I'll think about it. After your shoulder's healed, of course."

"I can fly without my shoulder," she said, frowning. "I can do a lot without one arm, actually. I'll even be flying tomorrow when I go see the healer for a check-up."

"Still," Euan insisted as he shifted slightly so he could look her in the eye. "It'd make me feel better if you were the top of your game. Besides, if you wanted, we could go bowling afterward. But only if you wanted. And you need both arms for that."

"Mmm," Rose hummed, looking down at his shirt as she thought about it. The idea of not being able to fly made something in her stomach turn. She knew she'd taken a risky move today, and the idea that she might hurt herself enough that she wouldn't be able to do the only thing she truly had passion for scared her, an emotion Rose rarely felt.

Her fingers reached out, pulling on an errant string hanging from Euan's tee near his neck. "I need to find something to bulk me up. Lifting weights isn't working. I need to gain weight, and eating more food won't help. Think Cap'n Gwen could find me something that would work?"

He tried not to think about her fingers brushing along his skin. "Probably," he murmured. "If you don't mind, I could always ask my grandfather."

Rose grinned, the expression a bit lopsided. "'Grandfather? I 'ave a terribly tiny friend who needs to grow a' least three sizes. Any ideas?'" She'd tried his accent and had completely butchered it, she knew, but giggled anyway.

He sniggered along with her. "I wouldna call ya terribly tiny. But perhaps I'll just have t' use yer words. They're very... colorful."

"Everything about me is colorful," Rose said with a grin, pointing to her toes, which she wiggled. "And I am too tiny. I'm too tiny." She laughed at her words. "But I've always had a problem gaining weight. I tried to do it for quidditch in school and it never worked, and Hogwarts has some of the best food on the planet!"

He shrugged. "I don't know about that. I always thought my Grams cooking was better. I missed it something terrible that first term." Hell, that whole first term was a nightmare. He hated being away from home. The second term had been better, but not by much.

"My mum never cooked, it was always my dad," she said, thinking back to breakfast at her house when her brothers were back from school. She leaned against him, looking up at Euan with slightly heavy-lidded eyes. The events of the day and the alcohol now in her system were making her blinking slower, her words sluggish. "Tell me what it was like for you at home."

"Well, there were always people around, adults mostly. I remember, just after we came to the Inn, my grandparents got a puppy, Bosco. He was my best friend." Euan paused as he remembered the Labrador. "I don't really know what to tell you."

"Was it warm," she asked, blinking up at him sleepily.

"It's Scotland. It's rainy and cold."

"I mean at home. Was it warm? With your grandparents? Was it warm with them? Cozy?" Rose remembered her family gathered together, her older brothers studying for their classes while her mother hummed to the wireless. She'd been sitting with her father, playing with the man's larger hands. Warm was the only way she could describe the memory.

"I suppose." He shrugged, he had never really thought of it. "I never wanted for anything. Pops and I went bowling. Grams baked me biscuits. So yeah, I guess it was warm."

"Mmmm," she hummed, resting her head against his chest. "It sounds warm. Warm is good."

"There were always people," he repeated. "We got what you'd call regulars. Learned all sorts things. I know all sorts of knots. I can build a fire the muggle way, with only one match."

"Also warm," she murmured. She shifted further onto him, stealing a bit of his body heat, curling her legs up for the warmth as well. The pain in her shoulder was a bit too far away to think about, not with the steady beat of his heart under her ear, the rumble of his chest as he spoke. Rose had always been small enough to curl onto someone's lap, and just that moment, she remember being somewhere safe, warm, taken care of. It was easy to keep her eyes closed, let his voice wash over her, lull her closer to sleep.

Unconsciously, his hand ran over her hair. "I love th' land though," Euan murmured, slipping into his natural brogue. "I know every inch. Th' sunrises are lovely. Especially in th' summer. I canna think of anythin' more beautiful."

"Beautiful," Rose repeated, though she couldn't have told you what he'd been talking about. It wasn't the words that mattered, just the sounds, the company, the comfort.

"Though th' sunsets are nice as well. Especially in th' summer, with th' heather bloomin'. Ya will have t' see. Words canna describe."

Rose hummed her agreement, past the point of forming coherent words unless something was directly asked of her. She was warm, comfortable, and pleasantly numb. Burrowing a bit more, she let out a small sigh of breath, sleep completely taking her over.

Looking down, Euan's hands stopped midstroke once he realized Rose had fallen asleep against him. He froze for a moment, unsure of what to do. Should he wake her? Or should he just let her be? After another moment he realized that he was being ridiculous. She had had a hard day. His friend deserved the rest.

Shifting her off of him, Euan stood before lifting the tiny chaser into his arms. He moved in the direction of her room, laying her on the bed, careful of her injured shoulder. After tucking her under the covers, the auror trainee moved back into the living room and collected the bottles of alcohol before heading into the kitchen. Slowly, he began to clean up the remnants of her dinner, careful not to make much noise. He had no idea how deeply she slept.

Once the kitchen was spotless and everything was put away, he stood there, loathe to leave. But he had no real reason to hang around now. Rose was safe and sound, sleeping soundly tucked in her bed. She didn't need him anymore.

He would owl in the morning, Euan decided, to see if everything was alright. Mind made up, he quietly made his way out of her flat, only apparating away once the door was closed firmly behind him.


SUMMARY: Euan makes sure Rose is alright. He gets her naked, drunk, and asleep. In that order.