[FIN] Hello My Old Heart (Book'em)

[azuredreams]

mother

"I was beginning to wonder," Meredith replied, taking a sip of her tea as she sat across from her son. Countess Meredith Mercer was the epitome of manners. She was well dressed, her legs crossed, and a pinky raised as she drank and then set the tea cup back down on a saucer she held in her hand.

"Do I want to know about what?" Jeremiah rolled his eyes, far too used to his mother's ribbing. When he had been younger he had not understood her sense of humor but now- Now he knew exactly where he picked up a lot of his personality quirks.

She was clearly the one that Jeremiah had inherited his looks from even if her hair still was more brown than silver. The only difference was that she had dark brown eyes compared to the odd blue-green eyes that her son had gotten from his father. Hearing that he had his father's eyes had always been something of an annoyance when he would have much preferred being compared to his mother.

"Don't play coy with me, Jeremiah Percival." An eyebrow was arched and she watched as he rolled his eyes again. Did she really have to bring out the middle name?

"Perhaps I simply do not want to hear your thoughts on how it is 'about time' or whatever else it is you're going to say." There was a slight definsiveness to him as he spoke and Meredith sighed.

"No, I would never do that to you ..." she sighed. "I was worried more about you being happy than anything else. I was wondering if you would ever find that." Her eyes cast down to her tea cup briefly.

"... mother," he said quietly, picking himself up and going to sit beside her. Jeremiah's arm slid around her shoulders and squeezed a moment before he let go. There was always a respectable distance there but she still appreciated it. "Happiness is not easy, even when Alg and I have - are - going to get married. It's something we work on a day at a time."

"I know but you have clearly learned from my mistakes." Such as marrying a man who ultimately only wanted the wealth and power that came with the family name. One who had been partially responsible for running off her son.

Jeremiah was silent, unable to respond for several moments. Right as he was about to, right as his mouth opened, she held up a finger and shushed him.

"I'll be fine," she told him, "I am merely happy for you." Her brown eyes glinted. "... also that this would probably have put your father into the grave if he were not already there."

That made Jeremiah laugh and she was shaking her head this time. For a moment she leaned her head against her son's shoulders. She was given a warm squeeze before they resumed their respective distances apart.

"Lucille would be thrilled," she added a moment later, her eyes misting. Jeremiah swallowed thickly. "Though she would give you trouble about how long it took."

The silver-haired man nodded. "Father would be having a fit and Lucille would be giving me recipes ..." His lips twitched briefly upwards. "After she's heckled Bob and Alg some, then coming to you to conspire on who knows what ..."

This time is was Meredith chuckling with a nod. They would sit and talk for some time. Mostly catching up but the last parts were about the wedding that would be happening and, as he had thought, giving him two sets of cufflinks that had belonged to his great-grandfather Percival.

"A set for each of you ..." Her eyes were still misty. "After all, he is going to be a Mercer so he should have a family treasure beyond just the ring." It was more than his father had ever gotten and Jeremiah's smile could not have gotten any wider.  

[iloveyouDIE]

an old friend

"Not for a wedding," Alg huffed. Please. He knew how to dress, "Though I do need some more blazers- I wouldn't mind.. browsing.." He was already eyeing a display to his right. Alg could never quit you, tweed.

"What's a tweed tuxedo look like do you think?" Ash was given a smug look.

azuredreams

these asses

 

[iloveyouDIE]

checklist

Nando's arm gripped around Jeremiah's waist as he laughed, struggled slightly, and only after relaxing himself managed to twist free. His poor hair had suffered though and he straightened it primly with lingering laughs.

Jeremiah was shoulder shoved, because they were supposed to be buying the damn suit by now, "I'll be the adult and stop this now before we both end up at your wedding with black eyes." Of course leave it to Nando to spin himself as the good guy. "So new suit, borrowed pocket square, old something from Mama."

He ticked his fingers further, "Something blue is all we need and you'll be thoroughly proper for your Professor."

xazuredreams

 

[iloveyouDIE]

assault

Meredith Mercer was a saint who had pulled enough strings to get their wedding treated as an elopement and greased the wheels for their paperwork. All Alg and Jeremiah had to do was go to the register together, pay the fee, and they would be good to go.

It was done.. and done.. And they were hand in hand and pleased as punch when they emerged from the office.

*FLASH*

"Now all I need is a good tagline-" A greasy voice followed the photo. The camera was very nearly shoved in Algie's face before it moved aside to reveal Viktor in all his scummy glory. "Maybe something about your mum pulling strings for you Mercer?"

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

an old friend

"I just said you were getting married, Alg." Ashley rolled his eyes again and then scowled when a tweed tuxedo was mentioned. "I'm sure it will look great on you. Absolutely. I will still torch it and you can just be married in your underwear." A breath. "Which is also probably tweed."

The shorter man sighed. "I am picking this out. It's my treat anyway so deal with it." There would be no arguing with him about it but he would probably end up caving on some form of tweed something.  

[azuredreams]

checklist

Jeremiah just shot Nando another look when he was shoved, a warning look given. "I would make a comment about that being unlikely," that it would just be Nando, "but I'll let it go for now. If only because I do not want your firecracker coming after me for hurting your pretty face."

There was another look for Nando calling his mother Mama but it was let go. "Let's just get this over with so that we can get back in one piece. Perhaps we'll find something blue while we're looking over suits."

He paused a moment.

"... did you two seriously separate us to buy suits? We don't need help, Nando."  

[azuredreams]

assault

Jeremiah's hand was wrapped tightly around Algie's and, as they stepped out of the office, he was about to press a kiss to the back of it when the flash went off. He instinctively raised a hand up to block his eyes, expecting it to blind him more than it actually did before he was lowering it back down with a growl.

"You would do well to not post a bloody thing, Strom." His hand lowered and clenched at his side.

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

an old friend

"Tweed thong," Alg corrected dryly, glancing just for the look on Ash's face with the accompanying mental image. "But I'll need a tie obviously. It's a formal event."

The man working the tailor's shop was finally over to help them and Alg was fine submitting to being a doll for his friend's amusement.

And he was totally leaving with some new tweed jackets.

azuredreams

prob end this?

 

[iloveyouDIE]

checklist

"Bullshit," Nando was still fixing his hair, looking at his reflection in a window a moment before he deemed it well enough, "You both need all the help you can get considering how long it took you to finally get here."

The wedding, not suit shopping.

"Come on, Romeo."

azuredreams

moving on here too?

 

[iloveyouDIE]

assault

"He knows my name already- Aw," Viktor was smiling sharply, "Mixlin you shouldn't have. Though it's nice you've found a defender."

Algie scowled, "Get out of our faces Viktor. I don't need a defender."

The photographer didn't stop, of course. His camera raised again, snapping another photo even though Jeremiah and Alg were both scowling.

"Where's the event? Where should I send a gift?"

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

assault

Jeremiah was quiet, teeth grinding together as he stared hard at Viktor. His hand was raised once more out of reflex to block the flash of the camera but the shot was taken. Alg and himself both looking angry and scowling.

"No, he doesn't need a defender and you need to bloody well back off." Jeremiah's tone was not louder, he never raised his voice if he could help it, but he was speaking in that voice. The one that he used for work and to deal with people. It was, to put it bluntly, his authority voice.

That was the only warning Viktor was going to get.

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

assault

Viktor smiled at Jeremiah's anger, camera hovering in front of half of his face. He belted off questions in ramble, without any response to their refusal of him.

"Who's taking who's name? Or will Algernon be hyphenating?"

"Leave me alone Viktor- no one even cares." Alg was bristling though he clenched his hand to Jeremiah's, equally as a reminder to his spouse to not do anything too rash.

"Will it be at your mum's estate Mercer?" Viktor smiled again, "They got good security there?"

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

assault

Jeremiah's grip tightened on Algie's hand, a half step taken forward before he let out a harsh rush of breath to stop himself. This time Jeremiah did not even respond, instead clenching his teeth because if he said anything there would be a punch coming not even a few seconds later.

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

assault

Alg's grip tightened, pulling close to his husband's side because he knew the other was going to pop Viktor one in mere seconds.

Viktor snapped another photo. He seemed to sense the danger and either thought to capitalize on the violence, capture it on film, or perhaps it was simply an unspoken dare for Jeremiah to just do it- he would not relent.

"Will your daughter be there Mixlin? How old is she now? Maybe time to meet the whole family?? Meet her grandparents?" There was a pause and he didn't even see the change over the other two, "Well- not all of her grandparents."

Alg, at mention of his estranged child, turned stony and white faced. He released Jeremiah in one motion, perhaps unspoken permission to strike, and upon hearing an insinuation about his own mother, surged forward the next. His body seemed to carry itself, against common sense and self control, and the professor was delivering a solid jab straight into Victor's face.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

assault

Jeremiah snapped just a moment after Algie, not even making the futile effort to stop him. Between the commentary about the other man's child and bringing up Lucille, the detective was livid. A step was taken forward but the other beat him to it with a punch to the face.

Which meant, of course, Jeremiah was assisting with a solid punch to the man's stomach. Never mind that he was grabbing for the camera as the man fell, catching it and yanking it away.

iloveyouDIE