open up my eager eyes (kit)

O'Brothers was only a short way from Safe Haven and even though there was a chill in the air, Lulu was glad for the walk. The sky was darkening, casting a red and purple haze through the sky and Lulu liked the way it cast shadows onto the street in front of them. She chatted with Kit on the way, telling him what she had learned about Lucy before the incident and ruminating about whether they thought Lucy would come back to volunteer after what had happened and joking about whether or not she would now idolize Kit for his knight-in-shining-armor actions. Lulu was a firm believer that he had earned, at the very least, a thank you card and a small gift even though she did make an argument for a song in his honor and a statue in his likeness.

She pulled open the door to O'Brothers and was welcomed by the warm, cozy feeling that struck her. There was a good crowd inside, a buzz of chatter and laughter filling the place. Lulu couldn't remember when was the last time she was here or with who, but it must not have been that long ago because it felt familiar. She made her way to the bar and found two open stools for her and Kit, sliding onto one easily. "First round is on me," she told him with a smile as she ordered a beer, naming one of her favorite brands, and then looked expectantly at him, waiting for him to pick what he wanted.

Tucking her short brown hair behind one ear, she rested an arm on the counter as she looked over at him curiously. "I don't think I've ever asked, but I'm curious. Why did you want to open your own practice?" Lulu was friends with a few different healers, but most of the ones she knew worked at St. Mungo's. His decision to branch out on his own was intriguing to her and honestly, she didn't know much about him besides the fact that he was tall and handsome a healer, specialized in beast training with his own practice.

The warmth and familiarity of the local pub was far more welcoming than the nameless faces who, immediately upon the duo's arrival, flicked their eyes to the ground as if there was something incredibly exciting happening down there. This was a new sensation for the Healer that typically knew majority of the bar goers at his haunts around the office. Even the bartenders knew him by name. Kit scoffed quietly, shaking his head at the antisocial behavior he had seen. Apparently the small districts inhabitants didn't take well to strangers. "You sure you got all that paint out of my hair..." He spoke to Lulu out of the corner of his mouth as they made their way to the bar.

As conversations around them heated up again, the laughter and buzz considerably shifted the vibe of the room. Kit was visibly more at ease,  shrugging off his jacket and sliding onto a barstool. He shot the female bartender with red hair a friendly nod to get her attention. "Oh no," The man protested immediately. "I've subjected you to blood, bones, and painstaking gore tonight. You won't be buying any sort of drink," He stated firmly. There was no talking him out of this one.

"Don't even try and fight me on it," Kit flicked his eyes over to Lulu threateningly, a smirk tugging on the corner of his lip. "Hm, one of what she's having," He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. He hadn't even heard of that brand before, and the man wasn't one to turn down a new challenge. "This had better be good, Lulu," He pursed his lips as he dug around in his pocket to pull out some sickles. "I'm a bit of a beverage connoisseur," He chuckled as the woman handed them their drinks.

Kit took a tentative sip from the bottle, pursing his lips as he let the flavors sink onto his tongue. "Ah you're in luck, I'm not very picky," He gingerly elbowed Lulu in the forearm. The Healer turned to face his friend, taking another swig of his beer as he contemplated his answer. The man had to actively remind himself not to ramble, he had the tendency to get on the soap box when he started on about his passions. "Iiii," Kit began, his gaze carrying to ceiling briefly. "Well, I really wanted to help people who are on the outskirts, right? People who are technically 'different.' Treated differently, looked at differently, things like that," He explained.

"Fair treatment catered to those differences," Kit finished, cutting himself off from going on for hours. "What about you? What is it you do when you aren't at Safe Haven Lulu Prescott?" He narrowed his eyes curiously. In all their volunteering together, he realized he didn't know all that much about the brunette woman next to him.

Lulu glanced up and back at Kit with a quirked eyebrow when he questioned his hair and took another look, her eyes trying to make out any specks of paint that were leftover. She knew that she had gotten all the paint out initially. She was pretty much a hair care expert, in her opinion, but she was gracious enough to look at his request. She shrugged and nodded in reply, a little smile tugging at the corner of her lips at the idea that Kit might be feeling self-conscious for whatever reason. She was a little oblivious to what the other patrons were doing around them and didn't really notice what Kit had.

Lulu smiled and nodded, murmuring a light "alright, alright" when he told her he was paying for the drinks. She was secretly pleased as she had always liked that kind of chivalry and courtesy. She held up her hands defenselessly, palms facing him, and a playful smile on her lips. "I wouldn't dream of it," she said. "Wouldn't want to get on your bad side because you can be pretty useful in an emergency. Never know when you might fall off a ladder and break a bone or two."

"You are?" Lulu asked with bright eyes, somewhere adding it to her mental list of things she knew about Kit. She definitely wasn't a beverage connoisseur. She really just had a few drinks that she liked and those were her go-tos on a night like this. She wasn't a big drinker really so it's not like she had lots of practice. "You won't be disappointed, doctor," she told him with a false bravado, waiting with bated breath as she watched him taste it. Her fingers danced around her own bottle, brushing away the beads of condensation as she waited for his evaluation. Was her standard choice something a connoisseur like him would approve of?

Her eyes widened marginally at his comment and she nudged him back with her elbow, her response a mix between being affronted and being amused. "Oh come off it. You know it's good," she said with a smile as she lifted her own bottle and let the liquid slide over her tongue. She hadn't realized until now just how thirsty she had been and the cold, cold drink quenched that feeling. "In fact, it's probably the best beer you've ever tasted," she added with a mischievous glint in her eye. "You're welcome." Lulu was naturally humorous and charmingly sarcastic, but usually only with people she knew pretty well. While she had known Kit for a while, opening up in that small way to him made her feel buoyant and jittery all at the same time.

Lulu looked at him curiously as he explained, finding his passion for helping others attractive. She smiled gently and nodded along, hoping he'd keep going. "That's very, very cool," she said sincerely, wishing she could come up with a better way to describe it than 'cool'. She really wanted to ask why they were treated differently because she knew next to nothing about medical care, but she didn't want to be rude so instead she asked, "So you never considered working at Mungo's?" she asked. Maybe they were both drawn to people and places just like Safe Haven.

When he turned the tables on her, she gave him a one shoulder shrug and pursed her lips as she sipped at her beer. She pulled a face and told him, "I work for the Ministry. Junior Assistant to the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports." She rattled off her overly long title with ease from years of practice, but frowned as she tried to sum up her job to him, realizing for about the millionth time that there was really no good way to say that she didn't really like her job. "I'm basically the secretary for the head of our department. As you can probably guess, my day is filled with excitement. Writing letters, owling stuff, making appointments. You know. Every girl's dream job." She was trying to be sarcastic and funny considering there was no actual value of interest for her job, but it was hard for her to keep the dissatisfaction out of her voice.

she threw him a sidelong glance as something close to smile turned up the corners of her mouth. "Sure you don't have an open position for a nurse?" she asked jokingly.

"How will ever repay your for introducing me to this? Kit beamed between swigs of his beer, humor shimmering with ease in the highlights of his eyes. "I'll never have another drink again," Of course, the Healer was kidding and he hoped that Lulu had caught on to his sense of humor by now. They had spent their fair share of weekends together at Safe Haven, but the intimate setting of a bar had changed the game.

Really, really cool. The curly haired man repeated the phrase in his head a few times with a smile, feeling like he was a fifteen year old back in school. "It's very fun," Kit responded swiftly, never being too keen to talk up his accomplishments.

"Mungo's never really appealed to me," He continued honestly, eyes flicking up to the ceiling in brief thought. "I studied in Andorra, where I guess you could say I.. discovered my passion," Kit wiggled his shoulders around mockingly, although he was quite serious about the subject matter. "Mungo's doesn't exactly have a floor for veelas, goblins and giants," He looked back down to Lulu, worried that he might start to ramble if she didn't cut him off.

Thankfully, the young woman had changed the subject before he could bore her, but the response certainly caught him off guard. "The ministry?" Kit could hardly control his involuntary scoff. "Now I can see why you spend so much time at Safe Haven..." He mused with a quick eye roll. When it came the ministry, Kit could never keep his opinions to himself.

"You could be the bloody welcome witch if that meant you weren't in that god forsaken place," The Healer felt his his voice sharpen slightly, but controlled himself when he looked back to the innocent looking female in front of him. Certainly, she was not the picturesque corrupt ministry higher up, but he hated to think that she could have been manipulated by them.

Kit's features softened as he reminded himself that not everyone as bad as the worst of the worst when it came to the Ministry. After all, she was in magical games and sport, how much corruption could really happen there. "So, then." He touched a hand to her forearm to capture her full attention. "What do you really want to be when you grow up then?" Kit asked thoughtfully. "I hope not a secretary," He mused with a chuckle.

Lulu grinned at the healer, her grey blue eyes sparkling with amusement as they joked. For all the times she had spent volunteering with Kit, she hadn't known that Kit could be so funny. She liked that about him. She nudged him again with her elbow playfully and lifted a shoulder, closing her eyes briefly. "I'm not sure there is a way to repay you. You're going to owe me for life."

The brunette took another sip of her drink, but kept her gaze on the healer beside her. She wondered if he was hesitant to talk about himself and his job and she found that unexpectedly endearing. She turned even more towards him, crossing one leg over the other at the knee and leaning in toward the bar. "Andorra?" she repeated quietly with wide, amazed eyes. Travelling the world was something she had always wished she had done or could do, but the opportunity had never seemed right or the cost had never been affordable. She envied others who had traveled and she was curious so she couldn't hold back her question. "What was it like in Andorra?"

When he spoke about Mungo's, Lulu found herself tilting her head. "Huh," she said, after a moment. "I never really thought about that," she admitted with a sheepish smile. She didn't want him to think she was inconsiderate because of that admission, but it was true. Her esteem of him went up a few notches as well because he not only realized that, but he had dedicated his career to helping those who were, as he called it, different.

She was still trying to decipher the expression on his face as they talked about Mungo's to realize that his expression and tone had changed when she mentioned the Ministry. She heard the hint of derision in his voice and she leaned back, unable to keep a frown off her face. "What's wrong with the Ministry?" she asked him, feeling defensive. After all, she had worked there for a few years, her dream job was being an Auror at the Ministry, and both her oldest brother and father worked there. Working for the Ministry was kind of in her blood.

Lulu felt him trying to change the subject, but she wasn't sure how to graze over the fact that he didn't seem to approve of her place of work. She tried not to take it personally, everyone had their opinions right?, but it was difficult. Still, the way she touched a hand to her forearm made her turn her head to glance over at him. His softened expression made her defensiveness melt away and she became eager to gloss over the disagreement. But unfortunately his question wasn't one that could sway her attention too much away from the issue at hand. "Well.. I always hoped I would be an Auror.." she said, hesitating a moment before admitting it to him, considering his reaction to the first time she had mentioned the ministry. "But I don't think that's going to happen now," she added. She was trying to joke about it, but a frown was more evident on her face than anything more playful or light.

In an effort not to drown the mood in her own pity party, she lifted a shoulder in a shrug and rested her chin on her shoulder. "Maybe I should have considered being a nurse though. Since I'm obviously so skilled at it." She was sarcastic but charming and was mostly hoping to see him smile again.

Andorra. At the mention of the place that held a special place in the Healer's heart, his face softened again, memories flooding back to him. Even just the name sent him reminiscing through a frenzy of flashbacks. Andorra, where he attended secondary school, was home to a lot of firsts for Kit. First real love, first time living completely alone, first protest, and first time getting in a bar fight. All the important things in life. "Oh it was good fun," He replied cooly, flicking his gaze back to Lulu as he came back to Earth.

"Loads of work. But loads of fun. Beautiful places. Lovely people. And the food! Merde..." The Healer's voice was distant, almost dreamy not as he refocused his blurred attention span. He hadn't even noticed he reverted back to cursing in French, as he would have at school. "With France and Spain on either end, you can't really go wrong," He added matter-of-factly with a small smile.

The once jovial banter had turned dark (on Kit's end) as the Ministry was brought up. His soft features hardened considerably as Lulu asked just what was wrong with the institution. The man clenched his jaw, trying his hardest to contain himself. For Kit, though, his outspoken nature made that entirely impossible. "What isn't wrong with that rubbish excuse for a system?" He retorted, his voice harsher than it had been the entire night. It wasn't intentional, or in any way meant to be hurtful, the twenty-seven year old was just too blunt for his own good.

"Things are getting better post war I suppose. But still - a lot needs to be done. Equality for all people, even beasts, would be a start," Kit hadn't even realized that he put on the tone of voice that he used when speaking to a group of rally participants. "Oh, and, a working, honest judicial system would be a plus," The healer took a hasty gulp of his drink and the pause in his speech allowed him time to studying the room. In particular a stage that was being set up for something. His electric eyes lit up as he realized what was happening. Karaoke.

Kit listening as the conversation turned again, but truthfully his mind was elsewhere. Changing pace of conversation after getting so emotionally heated was hard for the man who was so often consumed by his opinions. He pursed his lips in thought as Lulu mentioned that her dreams of becoming an Auror were likely dashed. "Well..." Kit began with a shrug. "Plenty of other good jobs out there, Lu," He saw no point in sugar coating the truth about it. If there wasn't a chance, there wasn't a chance, no point in talking it up now as far as he was concerned.

"You are," The brunette ran a hand through messy waves of hair as he shot a nod to the small stage in which a crowd was forming around. A middle aged man who had certainly had too much to drink had just taken the stage and was singing some awful ballad. "But I think you'd be better suited as a karaoke singer. Full time?" He wiggled his eyebrows before catching the attention of the bartender. "Shots, this one is gonna need some before her stage debut," Kit draped an arm over Lulu's shoulders proudly.

The brunette leaned toward the Healer, anticipating his response. If she couldn’t go to exotic places and foreign lands herself, she at least wanted to know alllll the details from someone who had been there. The deep timbre of his voice and the choice of his words lulled her into painting a beautific picture of Andorra in her mind and she immediately added it to her very long list of “Places I Want to Go When I Become Rich And/Or Famous.” She sighed with longing and said dreamily, “That sounds so amazing. I’ve always wanted to live in France and Spain is on my to-visit list so it seems like I should add Andorra to that list as well.”

Her question about the Ministry had Kit’s expression hardening even further and Lulu internally flailed at the sudden flare of confrontation between them. She felt her eyes widen when he threw a reply back at her with an expression and tone of voice she had never seen from him before. She looked down at the bar, unable to maintain eye contact with him under the harshness of his words and instinctively, she wasn’t going to defend her own job against his words. She wasn’t naturally confrontational. But when he mentioned the judicial system, her eyes flew back to his and she blurted out without thinking, “It’s not all that bad, My father is a court lawyer and he’s an honest man,” she said before blushing lightly and glancing away. She really didn’t mean to incite him further as arguments weren’t really her thing, but she couldn’t say nothing when he was talking about ministry workers like her father. Lulu sighed and ran a finger up her drink, smooshing the beads of condensation into nothing, and hoping that she could just sink into the seat and disappear from sight.

She nodded and shrugged in kind when he mentioned other jobs and then nodded once more, forcing a bit of a smile on her face as she glanced over at him from the corner of her eyes. “Yeah, you’re right, you’re right. It’s silly to get so hung up on that, right?” It was a rhetorical question and something she was hoping to gloss over, seeing as the Ministry had quickly become a topic for her to avoid at all costs when in Kit’s company. Duly noted.

He caught her attention, however, when he nodded toward the small stage off to the side and Lulu watched for a moment as someone set up microphones. Simultaneously, her eyes lit up, but she shook her head at Kit in a bashful protest. “No, no, I couldn’t. I’d be even worse than that man,” Lulu said with a laugh as she nodded to the man up on the stage who had apparently gotten dressed in the dark this morning judging by the ensemble he had picked out for himself. Lulu loved karaoke, but only in her apartment, with no audience, where she was free to dance around her living room in nothing but her underwear. Embarrassing herself in a bar full of people with a charming guy she would likely volunteer with in the future was a completely different story. “I want to see you up there though. I bet you do a brilliant Celestina Warbeck.”

She was surprised when Kit ordered shots from the bartender and laughed again with a shake of her head. Lulu was in no means a well-versed recreational drinker and she could probably count on one hand how many times she had had shots in her adult life. Most of them all thanks to Erika. Kit draping an arm over her shoulder did make her smile even wider though, a warmth buzzing its way through her veins. She bumped her hip with his playfully, noticing offhandedly that he met her height minimum standards, and nodded toward the shots that the bartender had placed on the counter in front of them.  "You’re probably going to need both of those for your debut,“ she said with a smile.