{Aces and Six} Because I Knew You (Morrison)

Ivana for the first time in her life considered herself truely happy.  Her business was sucessfully running itself...well she had hired a manager and stepped back from the position.  Every once in a while she would have to go take care of her family business but even that was rare.  She was happily engaged to the most wonderful man in the world, and had a soon to be step son that kept her busy and smiling.  She did not have him with her today though.  Today she wanted to go out on her own to find a gift for Rhiannon. 

Her little sister seemed to be doing well enough in school, but Ivana was always one to provide a little more entertainment.  She had settled on a custom wizard chess board that was pink and white rather than black and white.  It would fit the little girl's personality, and the game would be perfect for her to practice.  Seeing that she had been sorted into Slytherin as expected it seemed appropriate to get her a gift that would help practice stratagy.  Today was the day she would pick it up, but of course it was not ready yet.  For her inconvience though, the shop was going to make sure it was wraped nicely in bright pink paper to be delievered. 

So Ivana found herself wandering the streets of Diagon Alley trying to figure out what to do.  She had time, and she should probably think about eating something soon.  One of the Regan's she knew was bound to be at Aces and Six, and the wine there was good.  Yes, that would be a good choice.  She was hoping to find Etain or Dom there.  Perhaps even her fiance would be there.  She was not sure where he was bound to show up today.  Although she listened when he told her things about work, and offered suggestions from time to time, she was not one to outright ask about what he was up to for the day. 

Ivana held her arms close to her as she walked quickly down the London street to get to the restaurant.  It would be time for a warmer dress than the one she had on soon.  She still felt she was going soft.  Perhaps Ireland would toughen her up a bit.  It was bound to be cooler than Italy.  Thankfully it did not take her too long to reach her desired location.  She smiled upon entering, and motioned that she was headed to the bar.  She was a familiar face in the restaurant by now. 

That being said she was expecting to see a familiar face there, but not the one she did see.  She had not been avoiding the man, far from it actually, but she had not expected to see him at 11am at Aces and Six.  It was too early for lunch really, and Ivana had figured that it was a good time for some business conversations to happen as there were few people there.  Ivana had been vague about what had happened to her in the owl that she had sent to him, but he was one of the few other people who knew that something had happened.

Strangly, he was one of the few that she would actually be willing to talk about it to now as he was instrumental in executing the action that lead to her kidnapping and torture to start with.  No part of her blamed Morrison though.  It had been her who brought it on herself.  Her life was better for it.  It could even be said that it was partially due to Morrision's actions all those years ago that lead to her finding the love of her life. 

Ivana could not help but smile as she approached him.  His back was to her, but it was unmistakenly him.  "Hello, Morrison," she said happily, "I hope that you are not having lunch alone today?"  She also hoped he didn't mind the intruption, but that part she left unsaid.  He might very well have been in the restaurant for business with one of her soon to be family members.  Aeric had not mentioned him, but she did not know who Dom or Etain worked with.  She just knew that they had quite a bit of help from many people.

It wasn't that Morrison had been avoiding paying Aces and Six a visit; he really had nothing to keep him from wanting to go. What kept forcing him to put it off was his schedule. While not nearly as tight as it had been in the past, he still had a lot to do with a limited amount of time, and it required careful planning. Most nights by the time he left the Ministry, he was shot and wanted nothing more to go home. Some nights, if he had an event to go to, he wasn't even afforded that luxury. With nicotine being his preferred vice, though he did like a good drink, most often he would rather end his night chain smoking his way through half a pack of cigarettes, making up for the ones he didn't get to burn during work hours that day.

Today, however, he was coerced into a day off. While he wasn't fully forced, it had been very strongly suggested to Morr that he use one of his many saved up vacation days. The older wizard was too laid back for his own tastes; he thought everyone needed time off to rejuvinate, or some garbage like that. There was already two off days scheduled into their weekly hours, how much more time did they need? Even without wanting the frequent access to the Ministry's records, having two days with little to do wasn't fun for him. An early riser, he typically had most of his errands finished within the first few hours of the first day of his weekend. If he had an obliviating to do or plan, he could usually find some time to kill with that, but that wasn't always there for him.

Like today; he awoke that morning and even after some light cleaning in his home and answering all of his mail, he was lacking any plans. So here he was; and of course, he finally made it to the Regan's haunt and Étaín wasn't there. He probably should have sent her an owl or something. She had been bugging Morrison to pay them a visit for months not, if not more than a year. She of course thought he should make it out to Dublin, and he very easily could, but London seemed like a better choice for the day. He had crossed paths with a few faces he ran into that morning during his work with the family, but today it seemed to be lacking anyone he had spent any significant amount of time with.

The former Slytherin had just had the bartender draft him a second beer whenever a feeling poured over him, the feeling as though he was being watched. He didn't even have time to process it before an unmistakeable voice spoke his name. He turned in his chair, seeking the source. Had she not spoken he would have certainly been surprised to see Ivana Karkaroff, but he knew as soon as he heard his name. Then again, it made plenty of sense for her to be here. After her kidnapping, when he had visited his old friend, Aeric Regan had been there with her, and it would appear things were still going well.

Being reminded of that time brought back some very tough emotions for Morrison to deal with. When she had first told him about what had happened in Italy, he had been met with very heavy amounts of guilt. When he had first heard of Leonidovich's release, he had actually considered paying a visit and obliviating Ivana from his memory. However, the fear of getting caught was so high he just hadn't been able to convince himself to risk it. The Ministry kept close tabs on him, but they had only been able to do so until he left the country, and Morrison couldn't risk being caught anywhere near him.

Upon spotting her, his lips immediately curved into a small smile. It was always good to see her, especially in much better condition than their last meeting. He immediately stood to greet her, pulling into a familiar hug, though he immediately felt more than one pair of eyes on him. Clearing his throat, he backed away, scanning the room. "It looks like I am, though I haven't quite made it to the food yet," he told her, motion to the second pint glass beside the now empty one. "Here, sit, sit," Morrison insisted as he pulled the stool beside him. "It's good to see you," he said, his glass finding his hand. "How have you been? Everything alright?" While he of course wanted to know the answer to this question in many facets of her life, he knew the answer to one; he kept very close tabs on her and Aeric's names, always making certain their names did not show up in any documents under suspicion.