Jonathan climbed the stairs of White Chapel slowly, no hurry in his step. Gwen had taken Tess for ice cream, a prize for something the princess had done. He didn't mind being left behind, as he'd needed to ask Regan for a favor and he'd rather it be where little ears didn't overhear and give away the surprise.

The door to her room was propped open, but he hovered outside, not sure what the rules regarding teenage girls' rooms were. Rapping quickly on the door, he stuck his hands back in his pockets and waited.

The short, sharp burst of sound roused Regan from the half-doze she'd nodded into, lost in thought and idly running a hand over Teddy's fluffy fur. She loved Tess, and didn't mind sharing, really, but it was nice to have her dog to herself, now and again. Gwen did not knock so, and Tess and Rose not at all, leaving only Jonathan to be the culprit, and that was confusing in itself, as, despite their denoument, they did not seek one another out to speak.

Frowning, she rolled from the bed and straightened her jumper, making her way to the door with puzzlement plain in her features. He was there, as she'd suspected, with his hands hidden in his trouser pockets, looking for the world like a guilty school-lad. "Yes?" she prompted.

He smiled slightly as he turned to face her, noting the suspicious look on her eyes. "Sorry if I... interrupted. I just wanted to..." his hand gestured at his side, "see if you had any plans for Valentine's Day."

Brow furrowing more deeply at the utterly random question, her mind leaping around trying to make sense of why it would matter to him whether she had or not, Regan shook her head slowly. "Not of which I am currently aware..." More pointedly, and somewhat as though she were asking Tess, instead of a grown person, an Auror, at that, she prodded again, "Why?"

"I'm planning something for Gwen and was just wondering if you'd be able to watch Tess for the night," he answered, frowning at the way she was looking at him. "I didn't want to assume you'd be available."

The latter statement was mildly placating, and Regan worked to mediate her expression into something more neutral.  "I... appreciate the consideration..." she offered.  She doubted that Percy had expected to ask for her company that day, and had made no other arrangements that would prevent her from agreeing to Jonathan's request.

Torn between disliking that he was in a place to plan somesuch for Gwen, and thinking that he certainly ought to have, she pushed the idea itself aside to deal with her part and his question, shrugging one shoulder in answer. "I shall be at home, so far as I know. I can keep Tess."

"If you don't want to stay at home, I could pay for you and Tess to have the night out, too." He'd thought about maybe getting the other girls something for the holiday anyway, figuring that Tess might have no idea what the day was in the first place. "I know there's a new ballet nearby. It's just the local troupe, but they're doing Paquita and I thought Tess might like it."

Quelling her ire at the presumption... for the most part, Regan arched one delicate brow, returning, "While it would not surprise me to learn that you daydreamed through your society lessons as a child, it might have come to your attention since that I am possessed of a tidy fortune, which, while not quite as exorbitant a sum as your family is worth, should prove more than sufficient for the entertainment of a five-year-old who has no concept of what the magical world has to offer."

Lips pursing wryly, she continued, "I realize you meant well. I shall ask her what she might wish to do."

Jonathan looked at her for a long time before nodding. Regan didn't know about the history of his family. She was not a part of the society he and Gwen were, did not know why the mention of his 'family' stirred his blood as it did. She couldn't know that he had left his family at age nineteen, had been disowned and disinherited, and had been living on his own since. It was information she couldn't know, and information he wasn't going to give, and he had no right to hold it against her.

Despite this knowledge, he no longer held the same good mood he'd held previously at putting his plan for Gwen into action. It was best to retreat and spare them both from the agitated humor he knew he'd slipped into, however minor, now that his mind had been turned from the family he'd found himself with to the one he'd tried as hard to distance himself from.

"Whatever you'd like. Thank you." He didn't say more, just smiled softly and turned, beginning back down the stairs.

Regan scowled at Jonathan's back as he walked away. He wasn't difficult to read at all, except when he was, and the trouble there was that she didn't want to know him well enough to solve the problem. He was sticky, all around, and she still had not decided what to do about it.

She turned with a little huff and went back to her bed, ruffling the dog and muttering, "I think you are the only male I know who isn't exasperating, just on principle."


Summary: Jonathan finds Regan to ask her for a favor. It goes about as well as expected.