[Serenata] Old friends, new beginnings [Declan]

After Bennett had died, Shea had decided that there was no better cure for the black cloud that had taken to hanging out above her head on a regular basis than to get away for awhile and take a vacation. Normally, leaving Ireland wasn’t high on the woman’s list of things to do long term. She loved the country, and her home and shop were there, but even she could recognize that getting away was best. So Shea had chosen to travel to Australia for a few months. It was pretty, there would still be a wizarding community, yet things were quiet enough that Shea knew she could both relax and work on research should she feel like it.

It had been almost a week since the black haired witch had returned for good. And while the vacation had been relaxing, and had helped her move on past Bennett’s death, Shea had to admit that she was incredibly glad to be back home. Things weren’t perfect, but they were getting there day by day. But something was missing, that the witch couldn’t just put her finger on. Maybe it was that she had just missed home more than she thought she would? No. That wasn’t it. Then it struck her. She needed to catch up with her friends, and family. Though, her family generally only consisted of Lochlan these days, the red head was definitely all she needed in terms of family. The bigger question was, who did she go see first? Shea was terrible at making choices, and knew it, so she resorted to using the muggle trick of flipping a coin and visiting whoever corresponded with the side that landed face up.

The result? Had been Declan. She hadn’t seen the wizard in ages, felt like forever, really. So long, that the witch wasn’t even sure where he might be at this time of year, so Shea decided her best bet was to start at Serenata and work her way from there. She didn’t want to intrude, but she also wanted to see her friend badly enough to track him down.

Pushing her way through the doors of the coffee shop, Shea looked around, eyes keen on picking the man out of the crowd. When she’d been looking for a few minuets, and couldn’t spot him, She gave up, and decided to just ask for him. Walking up to the counter, the raven haired woman gave the barista behind the counter a small smile and then ordered for herself “ Could I please get a small Caffe Cioccorana, please? Thanks.”  Then she had to decide whether or not she was actually going to ask for him or not. Maybe he didn’t want to see her just then? No, she could always ask. Biting her tongue, the ex-Ravenclaw added somewhat hastily to the end of her order “ Is Durante in? If he is, could you tell him Shea is looking for him? He should recognize the name...” Once the wizard behind the counter had nodded, Shea gave him another smile, and picked a seat, waiting for her order, and to see if Declan was up for a visit.

Lunch with Justyne was always a special treat. It was a rare occasion when both Declan and his cousin could make it, thus he treasured the time they got to spend together. Between her career as a healer and his obligations as a managing director of a large company, there wasn't much overlap of free time. Now, they were both in committed relationships, there was even less time for that. It was crazy, the days of being fancy free seemed to lie a million miles behind them. Out of convenience, Serenata was where the two met up. It was near to Justyne's place of work and allowed Declan combine business with pleasure. He needed to check up on Serenata every once in a while to keep things ticking over nicely. 

He'd not even finished his tiny glass of espresso macchiato when Justyne was called away though. Apparently, there had been an incident with one of her patients. He tried not to be too disappointed. The woman couldn't help being called away. Still, he felt a twinge of resentment after having made the effort to clear his schedule for the afternoon. He would wait. Maybe, Justyne would return soon and they would be able to catch up soon. He knew better than to count on it though. Meanwhile, he could take a look at the books and lend a hand with the job applications that had come in.

As usual when waiting for something, time moved at the slowest speed possible. He could hear the pointers of the clock moving, impatiently urging them along in his mind. It was a surprise when suddenly one of the baristas approached to tell him that there was a lady waiting for him. Justyne knew where he was sitting. Declan craned his neck and his eyes fell on a surprisingly tanned, old acquaintance he'd not seen in quite some time. What the Merlin? What was Shea doing in London?

He got up from his chair, quickly smoothing over some imaginary wrinkles on his plum purple, double breasted velvet coat. As always, he looked impeccable and rather dramatically overdressed for a simple coffee bar. Declan likes his Victorian-esque pomp just a little too much. He carefully navigated his way through the crowd, until finally close enough to embrace his friend. "What a nice surprise! I thought you were still one walkabout. How long have you been back?" It had been ages since he had last seen his friends and owls had only been exchanged sporadically.

"You look well," Declan complimented, giving her a rare, genuine smile. 

Shea had been steadily sipping at her drink, and people watching, waiting for interesting something to happen, when the witch noticed a familiar face appearing out of the crowd around them. It was Declan, just the man she’d been looking for. Greeting her friend with a warm smile, Shea embraced him in return, giving his shoulder an affectionate squeeze as she let go. It was a surprise indeed, but it wasn’t one that she was sorry for in the least “Quite the surprise! I’m so glad to have run into you here. It’s been far too long.” She was caught between answering his questions and wanting to ask plenty of her own.

Instead of worrying about her dilemma too much, the potions mistress decided to go with the flow. How long had she been back now? That was a good question. Shea paused a moment, trying to figure it out “I’ve been back about a week now. So not too terribly long. ” Another pause “How have you been? And Merrick, too.” she had admittedly missed keeping up with the wizard in front of her quite badly. But life had a way of tearing people apart from one another, only to bring them back to one another all over again. And if there was one thing her time away had helped her learn, it was that worrying about the little details rarely mattered, and it was more about enjoying the things one had in the moment. And right now, she had the chance to catch up.

At his compliment, the witch felt herself blush slightly at the sincerity of it, but the blush was accompanied by a smile that made her nose crinkle and her eyes twinkle happily. Laughing softly Shea waved her hand dismissively “Oh please. Out of the two of us, we know you’re the better looking one. But in all sincerity, you’re looking quite good yourself, though you always do.” Some might have found Declan’s choice of attire to be odd or unbecoming, but Shea had always found it to be unique, and incredibly fitting for the wizard, both literally and figuratively. Declan likely wouldn’t have truly been Declan as she knew him without his impeccable style.

Spying an empty table, Shea gestured towards it “Would you like to sit, or were you on your way out? I wouldn’t want to keep you from something.” Shea knew what it was to be busy with the demands of work, especially for a potioneer like Declan, the job never stopped. But either way, she hoped she might get to snag him for a moment or two.