heroes. [tag; ben]

now go sing it like a hummingbird
the greatest anthem ever heard
we are the heroes of our time.

Yay!

It was a gorgeous sunny spring afternoon and a tall blonde girl came tripping down a busy pedestrian street. She was in a bit of a rush. Madeline Fletcher was chronically late. To everything. All the time. Meetings with friends, appointments, Muggle buses, the lot. The only thing she wasn't late for was work because her boss, though sexy, terrified her. She had big news for her older brother, Benjamin. She'd quit her part time job at Crust & Crumbs and taken up a new job as head patisserie chef in Paris!

At nineteen, she was expecting resistance. She'd heard people mention that she was too young, too inexperienced and one Frenchman even said she was too blonde. What did that even mean? True, she had no idea how to manage a kitchen but! She was good with people, she was passionate and she was an excellent baker.

Slipping in her chunky heels, her long blonde curls bobbed behind her happily. She hadn't told her parents. Maddie was convinced that they thought Paris was a passing fancy, that she was coming home soon but no. Oxford held too many memories. Memories of Ernie and her mistake of marrying someone to actually turned out to be a bit of a dick. No. She was happy. Happy in her dinky little Paris apartment with crappy plumbing and a neighbour that sung "Nessun Dorma" every morning in completely the wrong key. She liked it. Life was opening up to her and she was excited to share it. She hoped Torsten wouldn't be too upset that she was moving away permanently, Then again, he was always busy travelling himself.

Pink cheeked and a little out of breath, she opened the door to the agreed restaurant. Gino's was amazing. She could smell the garlic from down the street. Yum. It was tucked away in a quiet area of London, close to St. Mungo's and it was a treasure. The restaurant was bright and airy with  red checked table cloths and the walls rammed full of pictures. Chairs and cutlery was mismatched, there was always music and it was always full of life. Run by an Italian family, it was authentic and people came from miles around.

It was a Tuesday lunch time and fairly quiet so Madeline was able to snag a table by a large window that overlooked the street. The tall brunette made a beeline for the fresh basket of bread that was on the middle of the table. Soft and warm. She dove right in. Unlike most girls her age, she loved carbohydrates. And cake. She thought calories were a myth and thus, she ignored them completely. Happy to fully indulge, she set about dipping the bread into the olive oil and mumbled happily, garnering amused glances from the tuxedo clad waiters.

"Hi!" The chef called out as one approached, her cheeks puffing out, full of bread, making her look like a hamster looting food. Nom. Did she want to order? "Crap. I'm so sorry, I was too distracted by the bread," she admitted with a sheepish smile which earned her a roaring laugh from the waiter that introduced himself as Alessandro. Did she want drinks? "Yes please," she said before pausing. Ben wouldn't want any wine. "Water would be great," she settled for now before adding. "Ooh and a glass of cola, thank you." Madeline was in no rush to grow up. She hoped she got a straw with it.

Really quite happy to finish off the bread basket, someone caught her eye. "Ben!" She exclaimed, her honey coloured eyes wide and her pretty face shining with joy. Stepping over to him, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a rib cracking embrace. It had been so long since she'd last seen him. "How are you? Sit down!" She gushed, pulling out a chair for him and jogging around the other side, successfully tripping on the strap of her bag and knocking the rest of the bread onto the floor. Luckily, she'd demolished most of it and there was only crumbs left.

How was it quarter-of one already?! He could have sworn that it was noon only five minutes ago.

The handsome blond Healer shook his head in disbelief, hurriedly flipping through his current patient’s chart. His shift was supposed to end at noon, but a patient came in with a nasty Venomous Tentacula bite just as he was about to sign-out to the next Healer. They had needed all hands on deck and, as usual, he had gotten caught up in the flow and ended up staying late. Normally, the twenty-four-year-old didn’t mind one bit, but today he and Maddie had scheduled a lunch date – for fifteen minutes ago.

“Damn,” he muttered under his breath, glancing up at the clock again before closing his patient’s chart and beginning to collect his things. He had worked a partial overnight shift today, beginning at 3am, and when that happened he almost always lost track of time more than usual. Ordinarily he would have gone straight home for a power nap after such a shift to recalibrate, but when Maddie suggested they meet up, Ben jumped at the chance. The Fletcher siblings had always been close despite their five-year age gap, though both of them had been so busy over the past few months that he felt he hardly knew what was going on in her life anymore. The last time they’d seen each other had been… Christmas? Over three months ago, now.

After checking in one last time with the Healer taking over for him, Ben slung his work bag over his shoulder and strode quickly through the corridor, down the half-flight of stairs, and out into the bright spring sunshine. He supposed he shouldn’t be too upset about running late, as Maddie of all people would understand – like he, she was rarely on-time for anything except for (again, like he) work-related events. Nonetheless, he still didn’t like not being somewhere when he said he would be there. Thankfully, Gino’s was only a two-minute walk; before he knew it, his long strides had carried him across the threshold and into the gem of a restaurant. Italian food was quite possibly his favorite, and after a long shift he was positively ravenous.

And it appeared he wasn’t the only one – within seconds, he spotted an all-too-familiar blonde shoveling bread into her mouth at a rate that rivaled someone competing in a hotdog-eating contest. The Healer smiled and shook his head as he moved toward the table. That was his little sister, all right – a girl after his own heart. She spotted him quickly thereafter and came flouncing over, calling his name.
“Hey, you! How’s— oof!”
His greeting was cut short when she wrapped him in a hug with much more force than it outwardly appeared that the petite blonde could muster. His breath forcefully left him in a whoosh, and he laughed as he returned her greeting with hug just as fierce – though with one a bit more mindful of her ribs.

He followed her over to their table and was just about to sit down when Maddie promptly tripped over her bag in her state of excitement.
“Easy, there, tiger,” he joked, catching her elbow with lightning-fast reflexes. The breadbasket, however, was less fortunate – it toppled to the ground, scattering its crumb remnants that Maddie hadn’t managed to vacuum up. The tall blond leaned sideways and scooped it up in one fluid motion, eliminating the wayward crumbs with a quick swipe of his wand.

“I’m good!” he began, grinning as he glancing up at his sister. “Sorry I’m late, had to stay for a patient that came in just as I was about to leave. Pretty nasty Tentacula bite – from a mature one, too – but he got here quickly enough that we were able to set him straight. Might be a few days before he can go home, though.”
He broke off for a moment as their waiter came by with a glass of water for him and a cola for her. Ben flashed her another smile – she knew him all too well. All he ever drank was water, for the most part. He requested another breadbasket (“Cause you didn’t save me any” with a wink at Maddie) and another two minutes to decide on food before returning his attention to his sister.

“So! Since I haven’t seen you in three months… what’s new? How’s Torsten? Am I ever going to meet this kid?” The former Gryffindor took a long drink from his glass, waggling his eyebrows goofily at Maddie over the rim of it. He didn’t know much about his sister’s “new” beau… though as long as he treated her better than that prat Ernie had, he was off to a good start in Ben’s book.

Clenching her eyes shut and clinging fiercely, her brother's arms always made her feel safe and loved. Now she was in Paris, there felt like a chasm between them that was so much more than just a boring old sea. She squeezed him again, tightly and affectionately before he let her go, causing her to offer a sunny smile. "I'm fine," Madeline told him, finishing his question for him. She was fine. After being derailed so suddenly, it felt nice to be by herself again. Her mother kept mentioning that there were bakery jobs in London but they weren't what she wanted.

These jobs in cafes and delis were great, they were, but she was so much more than scones and cherry bake wells. Madeline wanted to run her own kitchen, design her own menu, really make a go of things by herself.

"Whoops," she squeaked as she wobbled, thankful that Ben was near her. She was clumsy but it wasn't endearing, it was annoying and childish and she knew that. "Thank you," she said a little breathlessly, envious of her bother's quick reflexes and elegance. There was a reason she'd only played on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team for a few weeks. She'd been knocked off her broom and broken her arm because she was distracted by a pretty bird and the plaques and signs her house mates had made.

Maddie's pretty face scrunched with disgust as he explained why he was late. "Gross," the tall blonde added. "Is he okay?" She asked as an after thought. She, for one, didn't think that plants should have teeth at all. Nope. Honestly? She hadn't noticed that he was late as she was herself. She waved his apology aside nonchalantly with a shake of her head. "Totally fine," she said gently as she dropped to her seat. The smell of rich Italian coffee and soft folky music drifted in on a fragrant breeze.

"You look -- " she stopped. Suddenly, she frowned as she tilted her head. "Tired," she settled on with a soft sigh. Healers worked hard. She knew that, they knew that, everyone knew that. "We could have scheduled for another day?" She asked. If Ben had cancelled because he'd not been to bed, she would have completely understood him. But! As a family member, her job was to look after him and today, that involved feeding him until he exploded and then a little more.

The baker scowled at her brother as he ordered more bread, causing Alessandro, the waiter to giggle. Miffed, she proceeded to order a pasta dish. Plain and simple, nothing fancy. "Fab, thank you," she said with a bright smile as their drinks came and she was rather pleased her cola came with a thin red and white striped straw. Taking a sip, the carbonated bubbles made her wiggle happily on her seat before she turned a deep shade of scarlet and forced herself to swallow. "He's fine," she said meekly, turning pinker and pinker with every passing second and grabbing a small roll and stuffing it into her mouth so it gave her time to think.

As far as she knew, they weren't exclusive but she wasn't seeing anyone else at the moment. The thing with Ernie was stubbornly stuck in the back of her mind. Torsten was a world famous Quidditch player. He was in magazines and newspapers. There was even a sexy calendar of him. It was only a matter of time before he got bored and dated a leggy socialite. Madeline Fletcher was far too normal. It'd never last.

"He's away training at the moment," she informed Ben. Not following the sport, she didn't know when the season started. "Stop it!" She moaned,  her cheeks flaming as she clapped her hands over her eyes, dying of shame. "Soon!" She told him, dropping her hands. "I just…I dunno," she said, her shoulders slumping. "I want to make sure that I properly like him before introducing him to everyone. He might run a mile," she said with wide eyes.

She hadn't dated anyone since she was fifteen years old. Approaching twenty in a few weeks, she was out of the dating game. What did she do with a boyfriend anyway? Feed it? Pet it? Occasionally snuggle it? It was all a bit of a minefield. Her mum would love Torsten, she was sure she would. "I dunno," she said softly, shrugging. She and Torsten hadn't gone any further than the occasional kiss. It wasn't that she didn't want to, it was more a case of she didn't know how to. Inexperience was one thing, unwillingness was another.

"Oh and I got a promotion. I'm running an entire bakery in Paris," Madeline said off-handedly. "How's Seamus?" She asked, sipping her drink and pretending that her bombshell wasn't a bombshell at all. Seamus was the now elderly family Irish Setter with a flatulence problem.

“Merlin, no!” Ben waved away his sister’s would-be offer to reschedule as if it were a pesky fly. “It’s no trouble. Unlikely that any other day would find me any less tired, in any case.” He flashed her a toothy grin, which only broadened as the conversation turned to Torsten and Maddie’s color changed from pale to deep pink.
Admittedly, Ben had been more than a bit wary of his baby sister dating a Quidditch star. Fame tended to go to people’s heads, from what he had seen, and he didn’t want Maddie to experience any potentially negative repercussions. That protective-older-brother side of him would never change – that was for certain.

“Alright, alright, then,” he laughed as she attempted to bury her face in her hands. “Hang on… are you suggesting our family’d scare him off?” Ben did his best to look grievously offended, but couldn’t keep from breaking into a grin at her genuinely wide-eyed expression.
“Aw, c’mon… worst that could happen is that Hank licks him to death.”

Maddie was clearly uncomfortable on the topic, though, and before he could think of something else to say to reassure her, she had changed the subject.
“Maddie, that’s excellent!” he congratulated warmly, giving her hand a quick squeeze from across the table. But the off-handed manner with which she delivered the news was mildly troubling, and a small frown creased his brow. “Are you happy, though? That’s what’s really important.”

Belatedly, the Healer realized that the waiter was still lingering. Ben quickly settled on chicken Parmesan on a bed of pasta and apologized for the delay, more reflexively than out of any real need for an apology.
Ben chuckled at her mention of Seamus. “He’s well – popped up to see Mum and Dad last weekend and he nearly wet himself in excitement. Gettin’ to be an old man, truly. Have you picked up any new additions?”

Maddie cracked a grin as she gave a soft laugh. No, they wouldn't. Her family were great and Torsten was a charmer. He'd impress her dad, charm her mum and reassure Ben. She shrugged. "He treats me like a princess," she said softly. "A queen, really," she said with another blush. She sighed as she picked up her napkin and began folding it into a complicated shape. "Much better than Ernie ever did. He buys me flowers for no reason, he writes me letters a lot, just to check that I'm okay. I really like him," she said with a smile. "And there's no use just sitting in the corner, moping. It's a big world out there, after all and I'd like to explore it with him."

Torsten was funny and kind and charming and wild. He opened her eyes to new and exciting things but aside from that, she felt safe with him. She felt as though he truly cared. He wasn't as into gender roles as Ernie was. He didn't expect dinner to be cooked when he got home, he didn't ignore her at parties or complain when she drank beer. She was nineteen years old, for crying out loud. That was what nineteen year olds did. When she thought of Ernie, she wasn't sad. There was still a brief pinch of hurt but other than that, she felt nothing for her ex-husband.

The tall blonde grinned. "Of course!" She gushed, her curls bobbing and her hands flapping. "It's my dream job. I just haven't told mum that I'm not coming home," she said with a slight frown and a sigh. "She'd never tell me that she wanted me to but I can just tell," she said as she finished folding a napkin, ending up with a decidedly lopsided swan. "My life's in Paris now. I've rebuilt. It's a new and exciting thing," she said, brightening up, her honey coloured eyes shining. "I can be anyone I want to be here. Back home, I'm just that silly teenager who made a massive mistake but here," she paused, spreading her arms wide. "I'm cool, you know? I like it. It's fun."

With a smile at the waiter, she ordered fettuccine alfredo. She was a Parisian now but she still loved her carbs.

She snorted. "Aww!" She gushed, feeling a sudden pang of homesickness. "I miss him," she said fondly. In her angst-ridden early teenage years, she thought Seamus the dog was the only one who understood her. The dog had been there through the divorce, listening intently and only letting out the occasional fart. Seamus had also never liked Ernie. The dog had barred his teeth and growled at him. Maddie thought the ultimate litmus test would be to introduce Torsten to Seamus. The dog had always liked Logan, she thought suddenly. Why had he popped up into her brain suddenly?

She sighed, her slender shoulder sagging heavily. "No," she said with a pout. "My building doesn't allow pets but there is a cat that I sometimes feed. I've called him Kevin," she added. Kevin was a fat ginger tom, clearly all the residents fed him. He was friendly. He swanned into her apartment, rubbing himself against her furniture and curling up to sleep on her sofa in a sunbeam.

"When're you gonna let me meet Brita?" The question was sharp and quick. Her brother and his friend had been circling each other for ages. She came up briefly in conversation. The youngest Fletcher sibling wiggled her eyebrows suggestively before she giggled.