WHO: Nicodemo Penrose, Nora Peakes, and a very naughty jarvey
WHAT: A fugitive's time runs out
WHERE: A tent.
WHEN: ...Maybe a week ago?

When Nico had handed her a slip of parchment with a set of coordinates to find his place, Nora had assumed that he was being cute. Silly, slightly airy and erratic, which she liked about him. A set of coordinates, because he gallivanted all over the world so that was the easiest way to find him! It would almost be like a quest, because today, after a good few days of ignoring the rather obvious ‘disappearance’ of her In Very Big Trouble jarvey, Nora had finally decided to go fetch the creature who had stowed away in her boyfriend’s satchel. Even though she was still annoyed that Kenneth had done something to Marvin the defenseless hedgehog (Nora refused to believe he was dead), she knew that the jarvey was sorry, especially if he’d hidden away from her in this manner.

With a pop, she concentrated on the coordinates, eager to see Nico’s flat for the first time. Her eyes remained shut for a moment as she reappeared, and the loud, whipping sound of the wind startled her, making her stumble slightly. Raising her hand to shade the incredibly bright sunlight, Nora stared at the literally wild wilderness that surrounded her. Her scarf fluttered rapidly over her shoulder and she was glad she’d worn her heavier cloak as she’d managed to apparate herself into the middle of nowhere.

Though from what she’d figured, she was somewhere up north, in the highlands. Nora had figured Nico resided in a sleepy village where goats outnumbered the people, but this...there was not a structure in sight. It was almost eerie how obvious it was that she was far from civilization. The disapparation had taken some energy so she would have to wait a bit to head back home, so Nora climbed up top one of the boulders that were jutting out of the ground to get a good look around the area. The sun was at its peak, making it quite hard to see, but---was that a tent?

“No way,” she muttered to herself, starting to slide down the rock. It couldn’t be.

Yes, he lived in a tent.

Well, "lived" was a fair exaggeration as he didn't spend enough time of the year in Britain not on an assignment to really garner usage of the word "lived," but when he was there and couldn't be arsed with a short term lease or Larkin turned him out, it was him and his tent. He was thanking his bloody stars that the Quidditch season was over, because there was a stadium not terribly far down the moor, and he'd camped out here before when they'd tried to rudely evict him during a match.

Although he did let a flat in Truro that still sucked up his savings in rent, he could count on one hand the number of times during a calendar year in which he set foot in it. Likely, the landlord thought he was dead, but as the rent was never past due, opted to let the matter slide. Moreover, his tent was portable, had an exquisite bed, and withstood all elements, natural and magical, so in some respects, it was much better than a house.

Kenneth, if his dourer-than-usual streams of swears were any indication, seemed to disagree.

He'd discovered the jarvey stowed away in his bag when a shrill screaming sound had accompanied him on his Apparition. That would have been troubling, had it not sounded like a muffled and vaguely indistinct oath of wanking bugger shitting arse head and hole!, from a wriggling satchel. Under different circumstances, he thought Kenneth might have enjoyed his days with a bachelor, but the stress of a potential murder charge hanging over his head understandably shortened the jarvey's nerves. And though it wasn't a real conversation, the two males had been sniping at one another quite thoroughly, making Nicodemo almost certain he'd taught Kenneth a new word or two. (He'd definitely learned plenty.) But their time together was drawing to a close as they were expecting Nora at any moment.

"You're on your own for this one, mate," he told Kenneth, pointing a finger at him, which the jarvey had taken a snap at. He flicked lightly him above the nose, for which Kenneth proclaimed him to be "buggering rude," and slunk off towards a corner, probably with the idea of stalking an errant mouse from the moor when he went to attention by the window. Letting out a squawk, he bounded back towards Nicodemo, scampering up and around his torso to cling to his neck, murmuring "Smarmy git," over and over in a tone that could almost be pleading.

"Showed up, did she? Serves you right, you little delinquent," he said smugly. Despite Kenneth's threatening snap uncomfortably close to his ear lobe, Nicodemo's hand stole up to absently scratch at his fur while he went to go unlatch the tent flap for Nora. "Time to face the music, chum."

There was an old adage about entering a strange new tent, but Nora couldn’t be bothered to recall it. She was too stunned by the fact that Nicodemo’s seemingly primary residence was, in fact, a tent. Her bewilderedness was evident on her face as the tent flap was opened, but seeing him there caused the fog of confusion to lift (slightly). They’d had some rather good times in tents before, and if she really thought about how she’d imagined his flat to be, giant windows filled the place with natural light, wide open spaces gave room to run around when deemed necessary, and---maybe this wasn’t as far-fetched as she thought. If it weren’t for the jarvey around his shoulders, she would have questioned his living arrangements immediately, but the sight of Kenneth hiding his face in Nico’s hair caused Nora’s eyes to narrow.

“Harboring fugitives is a felony,” she said in her most authoritative voice, sending a quick wink at her boyfriend before continuing, “The hitwizards are on their way, murder is a serious charge.”

“Feckin’ hell!” Kenneth squealed, launching himself off of Nico’s shoulders. Nora leaned to look past him to watch the jarvey dart under one of the few pieces of minimal furniture, muttering and cursing all the while. His tail waving nervously back and forth was all that was visible of him and for a moment Nora felt guilty for startling her pet. He deserved it, though, the little bugger.

She reached out to capture Nico’s fingers to properly greet him, deciding to let Kenneth suffer a little more in shame before she wrangled him up. “Are you going to give me a tour of your most humble abode?” she asked, unable to hide her amusement at the recent revelation of his residence.

Though his lips quirked upwards at her wink, he still felt it necessary (well, yes, to further exacerbate Kenneth) to hold up his free hand and stop her in protest, saying, "I swear, this was all under duress. That's a mean jarvey you've got there."

When the faint, dulcet tones of Kenneth's highly aggravated swearing towards him could be heard, Nicodemo fought back a smile, lest he be caught laughing and really upset the small beastie. Tongue lodged firmly in cheek, he added, "Though if you still want a tour, I'm sure we can manage. Prepare yourself. Perhaps take some notes."

Gesturing behind him and turning, he said, "The vast and expansive kitchen," showing the small wood-burning stove, smaller sink, and sliver of counter space to their best advantage. He turned Nora by the shoulders a full rotation and extended his hand over her to the small settee, bookshelf, and coffee table. "The grand ballroom, parlour, sitting room, drawing room, and living room." Another turn, though now he dropped his hands in presenting the entirely out-of-place bed, elevated a step above the rest of the living space.

"And the master bedroom, though I recall you being intimately familiar with the place." He was grinning now, quite wickedly, and had his arms folded with his hip jutting out cockily. "I'd show you the other wings, but they're presently under construction."

With a very innocent change of subject, Nico asked, "Has our friend the hedgehog turned up yet?"

Red in the face at his not so subtle recollection of their weekend in Egypt, Nora lifted her chin to try and maintain some sort of distinguished expression. The tour of the vast and imaginary furniture and rooms shook away her confusion at Nico’s living arrangements and actually tickled her interest. If she thought about it, her flat was really just a place for her and her pets to sleep in. Nora had never painted the place or bought any unnecessary furniture because of her lack of time in the country, and the only decor on her walls were pictures, postcards, and artifacts from her various trips. Octavius had slept on the couch that night a few months back, but Nora couldn’t recall the last visitor she’d had before that. Maybe she was living in a glorified tent, and her place couldn’t be moved around at whim.

Did Nico have something amazing going on, or was she easily struck into a starry-eyed mush because of her handsome curse breaker?

It was probably a combination of the two, but seeing as he seemed quite happy with his living arrangements, Nora wasn’t going to voice her initial confusion. It did occur to Nora that they never seemed to spend time together indoors, but again, that wasn’t very bothersome at all.

“I could use another go around,” she said swiftly, turning pink. Clearing her throat and darting her gaze (and turning her body) away from the master bedroom, she spoke in a stuffy manner, changing the subject as quickly as Nico had, “In my investigations, I stumbled upon a small pile of hedgehog quills sitting below the garbage chute.” She turned to Nico, her expression unimpressed and unamused. Poor Marvin! “I’m now understanding the suspect’s whimperings about ‘idiots and slides.’”

Nora shook her head, stepping toward Kenneth’s hidden form. She bent down, “If it was a mistake, I’ll understand, Kenneth.” It did bother her to have been so separated from the jarvey, who was often called the closest thing she’d ever get to having a child by some (Charlie). It wasn’t a far off stretch, the comparing of her feelings for the animal, and Nora had missed him terribly these past few days, “I want you to come home.”

That she was amused, or perhaps confused, by his present living quarters was evident, but it made as much sense to him as living in a house did to others. The Truro flat was like an extended storage unit for some of his larger personal effects, and his personal haul on expeditions, and whatever remained of the whole other life he'd tried and rather spectacularly failed to live.

His eyes crinkled rather roguishly at the corners, both because of what she had said, and the fact that it caused her to blush. Such a reaction was still a novel feature for him, particularly being as casually outrageous a character as he was. The majority of Nicodemo's associates happened to be just as if not more bawdy and rowdy than he, so he often forgot himself with Nora. Further pursuit of this blush-worthy topic by him, however, was necessarily delayed due to the small, mammalian reason she was even amusedly standing in his spartan tent today.

Following shortly behind her, Nicodemo shook his head, saying sadly, "Failure to dispose of the evidence—that's the mistake of an amateur, Kenneth." Realising he shouldn't be abetting the furry criminal, he hastened to add, "I mean, that was not very nice." But a mistake? Chucking a small rodent into the rubbish? Perhaps once the jarvey had deemed the prickly blighter inedible, he'd "accidentally" found where rubbish went. Whether to keep from distressing a deluded Nora, or spoiling the out she was giving Kenneth and putting his back up yet again, Nico kept his thoughts to himself.

"You'd have to go back sooner or later," he told the jarvey sagely. "This place is big enough for only so many fragile, masculine egos, and I'm afraid I've got you beat." He uncrossed his arms and held his two fists out, extending the thumbs exaggeratedly, should Kenneth deign to be watching them at this moment from his hiding place. "Opposable thumbs, you see."

Nora watched with a small smile as Kenneth crept back from under the small dresser, eyeing her suspiciously. His nose twitched in the air, catching whiff of the treats Nora had clenched in her hand. She knew that if her words (or Nico’s!) didn’t get Kenneth to come back to her, grasshopper peanut butter crunchies would be the key. The jarvey could never resist the savory snack and sure enough he slowly made his way to Nora’s outstretched hand. Sniffing the grasshopper, Kenneth propped himself up on his hind legs and licked Nora’s face before swiftly swiping the crunchies out of her hand and bounding away.

“Suckers!” he shouted as he burst through the flap of the tent. Nora stared after him for a moment, shaking her head. At least he seemed to be back to normal, even if normal meant being a little prick of a pet. She would have to start her expedition into the depths of the garbage chute, in hopes that Marvin’s quills had managed to cushion his fall. Nora stood and looked over to Nico with a small smile.

“Thanks for taking care of him,” she said earnestly. “I know he’s not the easiest of things to deal with.” Most of Nora’s friends grew quickly irritated with Kenneth’s insults and rude attitude, some actually getting into altercations with the jarvey. Delilah had a row for the record books one Christmas, when Kenneth had compared her fruitcake with----it was too filthy to even think it. Nora’s hands linked behind her back and she twisted innocently, as if thinking very, very hard, “How could I ever repay you?”

Endlessly entertained, he watched Kenneth edge out from the dresser, snag his treats, and hoof off onto the moor, most likely to torture some of the field mice as he had taken to doing for amusement here. He wasn't sure living with the jarvey on a permanent basis would result well for the both of them, but he'd enjoyed poking at him (and being poked) for the few days he'd been a fugitive. But Nora and Kenneth obviously had a deep bond, and being apart couldn't have been making either of them very happy, so he was glad to have played whatever small role in reuniting them.

Turning back to her, Nicodemo considered her question earnestly, stroking his chin. He even paced a few steps, now tapping his chin with a finger while making considering-sounding murmurs. He then paused look directly, significantly, at the plush bed beyond his little sitting room. When he faced her again, he too had his hands clasped behind his back, his expression was politely thoughtful, all but for the eyes, which were rather wicked in their intent.

"Gold," he said decidedly.

“Gold,” Nora repeated, nodding in agreement that it was a worthy payment. She sucked in a breath through her teeth, taking a few steps toward him with her hands still locked behind her back. Nora truly enjoyed how natural it was to kid around with Nico, how easy it seemed to joke with him even when it came to topics that had very much to do with that plush bed of his.

She sighed, lifting her eyes to the ceiling/roof of the tent in dismay, “I’m afraid my nifflers haven’t come back from their excursion. Perhaps another form of payment?”

Kenneth should ignore them for a good bit of time, as he seemed to grow disgusted at any sort of displays of affection. First he had to get through his rages of jealousy, but once he was over that, Nora knew she could count on the jarvey to completely dismiss her and her current focus of attention. She tried her very best to keep her hands behind her back, enjoying the teasing but growing anxious to run them through Nico’s wild hair. Merlin, she was a right tart these days, but who could blame her? She was out and about in the literal wilderness with no one for miles with her handsome curse-breaker that had a bed that really did look nice and comfortable. Nora smiled, deciding to give in somewhat as she took a seat at the edge of the bed.

“Perhaps...you’d like to properly welcome me to this tent?”

"More work for me?" he tutted, sighing and shaking his head rather sadly. His eyes roved over her sitting silhouette, and he gave a magnanimous shrug. "Although I do reckon it would be dreadfully rude of me not to do so," he continued in slight capitulation. He sauntered casually up to the bed until his legs nudged hers apart so he could stand between them, flush up against the frame.

Enjoying their byplay, he unclasped his hands so he could lay them on her shoulders, pushing her down to lay on the bed. Nicodemo ran his hands down her sides as he drew back, stopping them at her hips when he sank to his knees.

Grinning, he said, "We'll just add it to your I.O.U."