WHO: Joy Diserafino & Finn McLaggen
WHAT: They need to have a talk :/
WHEN: August '78
WHERE: Joy's room

So Joy had said that she needed to talk to Finn, and it was completely true. It wasn't like he was in trouble with her for something, and it wasn't some of the normal stupid crap like 'go out and get me an apple pie slathered in ketchup', it was a serious 'we need to talk because I'm not sure about what we're doing and I'd like to clarify things' sort of talk.

So she sat on her bed (it had taken a while to call it her bed and not Finn's bed that she was using, but it really was her own space by now, hot pink bedspread and all) and closed her journal and listened to the footsteps sounding from down the hallway. It was weird to say footsteps had feelings, but Joy could hear that they were annoyed. Which... well, she had had him come all the way across the house to talk to her.

"It's open," she said when she heard him closing on her door.

Finn didn’t like this Graeme Dorny character. Sure he was being all nice to Joy and taking her to the concert, but---well, he didn’t really know why. He was sure he didn’t have feelings for Joy because you couldn’t have feelings for someone that you wanted to kill some days, then laugh about how stupid you were the next, right? No, they were too combustible in Finn’s opinion, and he liked that they hadn’t begun to feel awkward or anything the closer it came to the final countdown to Cormac’s arrival. Maybe he didn’t like Graeme because he seemed to get on better with Joy; all Finn really wanted was for Cormac’s parents to get along just fine, what if Cormac decided he liked Graeme better and---

--ah, no one could like anyone better than him.

Anyway. He’d been grumpy because he’d been watching the conversation between Joy and Graeme unfold, and had taken his sweet time in crossing the house. Apparently it was important, or at least, it better be important, or he was just going to turn around and get back to his business (which didn’t consist of anything important, it was just the principle of it all). Finn leaned on the frame of the door, looking over at Joy with an expectant glance.

“What?”


"Come sit down with me."

She said it sort of commandingly, but with good nature because again, this wasn't like she was calling him there because she was mad or something. Just, well... he should be sitting down for this because this wasn't just stuff you talked about casually, the future of your son and his parents and all of that and Joy didn't understand why he was like this some days when others he was the best friend that she could ask for.

Bloody man.

"You're going to get uncomfortable standing around for all of this. Even if you don't approve of my choices in bedding."

“I can’t believe I let you bring this into the house,” Finn grumbled, but he sat beside Joy on the end of the bed. His posture had never been good, but today he was slumping a bit more. The team was doing well, on the field, but they really worked each other’s nerves off of it and Finn wasn’t sure how long they were going to be able to remain on top. Bell and Martin were working on everyone, Flint was about ready to kill Bell the other night, and don’t even get him started on Bardera---so things at work (Finn always referred to quidditch as work, his job) were tiring, and then the added fact of a baby entering his life in just about three months…well, fuck. It was crazy.

His eyebrows went high; apparently this was something serious, or at least, something that Joy found to be serious, because they rarely had conversations that didn’t start or end with one of them yelling, either out of anger or excitement. “What?”

Joy opened her mouth to speak, but was for one rendered speechless. Not really, but she didn't know how to put what she wanted to say... how did she bring it up? She wasn't sure if this had ever occured to him after all, and she'd sound stupid if she was just worrying over nothing and he blew her off, right? But no--this had to be important and legitimate because this was... what wasn't important, what wasn't legitimate about the way that they were going to introduce themselves to their son?

Holy shit, she could hardly believe that in three months she'd have a son. Holy. Shit.

It was that thought that compelled her to finally just say it, so quickly that she couldn't remember even opening her mouth again and actually speaking the words to him. "I need to know what we're supposed to do about us. And this baby, but mostly us and how we're going to... Finn, is it parents or is it 'mum' and 'dad'?"

Somehow, even with his mental anger toward Graeme, Finn hadn’t been expecting this. His eyes widened a bit, not out of shock at her question, but the fact that Joy was actually thinking about it. Of course it occurred to him, that they were going to have to one day sit down and figure out what they wanted to do but…he hadn’t…oy, maybe he’d hoped that it would come when Cormac was ten, and asking why mummy and daddy don’t live together…he really shouldn’t be wishing such awkward things on his son, but it was better than thinking about them in the present tense.

“Er.” He couldn’t think. Did she want a definite answer, right now? Because well---what if a few years from now they looked at each other and realized that damn, they were the one? Finn didn’t think he’d ever have that feeling for any woman (well…there had been one…), but he did like to dream big and---

Think about Cormac, Finn. He looked down at his hands, trying to sum up what he really wanted to say.

“I want to do what’s best for Cormac,” Finn said slowly, not looking at Joy just yet. How could it feel like they were breaking up when they’d never been together. “I don’t want to force something that isn’t there, that’ll just hurt him.”

"I... don't either," she said, slowly but with certainty. "I know what it's like firsthand to have your parents hate each other and that's the last thing I want him to have to grow up dealing with. But...--I guess you could say I've been thinking about this a while, aheh--I also don't want him to grow up with us living separately, I want him to have the stable Dad-Mum-Baby-House setup, even though I keep asking myself how in the hell that would work if one or both of us decides one day that we want to run off and get married to someone else and I know that's really far in the future aaand--"

Joy cut herself off with a sigh, losing her point in the middle of a bunch of words. She didn't even know what she was saying anymore. She knew what she wanted to say, she'd even rehearsed it, but actually talking to him and putting it into practice was different. It was so much harder.

"It's just driving me crazy, I mean, what if that kind of thing does happen and we end up in separate houses, maybe even separate cities, countries? I think... I think I want to date, but every time I think of that, this comes to mind and I don't know what I want to do."

“Jaysus, Joy.”

Finn let out a sigh, putting his hand to the back of his neck. He didn’t particularly mind Joy being around all the time anymore, actually, he got quite lonely when she was out with her friends, but Finn didn’t think it was that longing someone has for a husband or a wife. It was a friendship they’d developed that he hadn’t had before. He had friends, he had…acquaintances, and while Tibs would always be his best friend, he was also family, and---augh, Joy seriously had become his best friend these past few months, he loved her like he loved Tibs, it, just---was that enough to raise a son?

“When…the time comes,” he said, referring to the wanting to run off and get married thing, which he wouldn’t said out loud because then she might get ideas, “we talk. First. Make sure that the other’s okay with it. With them---the other person. If…the time comes.”

He put a hand on her knee, patting it, “You can stay with me, Joy, I’m not going to abandon you or my son.”

Joy smiled a little, despite herself, at the fact that he had patted her knee and reassured her. It seemed so out-of-character for such a big, strong hardass like he liked to make himself seem and it was... well, kinda just a little amusing. Had the situation been any less serious, she might have poked fun at him for it, but for now, she figured it'd be best not to point out at all.

"I don't want to marry you, just so you know," she said. "I... wanting to live with you has nothing to do with that, I swear. Actually--" Joy cut herself off, because while it was their current topic, it would still be a little weird to say that she thought she might be slowly becoming interested in another guy, especially since it was such a premature feeling that she had no idea if that was it at all. "--Nevermind, I... just. I want it for the baby, really. I mean, if someday we decide it'd be the right move, I guess that's great and everything's solved, but I don't love you like that right now."

She laughed just a little and shook her head. "I knew I'd sound dumb, see, I knew that you'd have already figured this out, but I had to talk about it, it's been driving me crazy."

Finn shook his head, taking his hand off her knee to clasp his hands together.

“You don’t sound dumb,” he muttered. He felt dumb because he’d been hoping they’d be able to avoid this conversation until Cormac graduated from Hogwarts, but…what happened, happened, right? He knew plenty of people who turned up fine with parents that weren’t married. Right? Well. He knew that Caden was a single dad, but he had family that helped and Marcus was amusing if anything, and…his parents weren’t exactly the best, so who’s to say that Cormac would turn out better if they were married? They were already doing things ‘wrong,’ so…maybe they should just continue doing it the wrong way.

Cause it could turn out being the right way. Which sounded incredibly corny and as if it belonged on some positive thinking poster, so Finn wouldn’t say that out loud.

“I don’t want to marry you either,” he said with a laugh, “I’ve never really thought about things past…right now, it’s…different, thinking for other people.” His eyes drifted down to her belly and sighed, looking up at Joy for the first time during this whole conversation. “D’you want ice cream or something? Take advantage of the generous mood.”

Joy laughed out loud this time, because that had just been about the best way to bring this conversation to an end and lighten the mood, and for a moment she felt overwhelmed by love for Finn--again, not like love love, but love like she really liked him as a person. He really had gotten right up there with Erin on her friend list in a very short time, especially considering that for a while there they had only been screaming at each other.

"See, you know me so well! When don't I want ice cream?" she said, throwing her arms around his middle in a hug. "But I'm still tired, I think you may have to carry me to the kitchen. While you're being generous and all." Which she knew he totally wouldn't do, but it was pretty obvious that she was just playing. Serious mood dropped, she could go back to being her very not-awkward self again, right?

His eyebrows rose, and Finn stood, moving to look as if he was going to scoop Joy up in his arms, and then,

“Auuuuugh,” he groaned, feigning a ton of weight in his arms. He probably could have picked her up, but he didn’t exactly know how you should carry a pregnant woman, and God forbid he actually drop her and something happen to Cormac, but still---there was tension floating about, and they needed to get back to their somewhat carefree ways, and teasing Joy about her weight would either make her laugh or get a shoe thrown at his head, which would make him laugh, so either or.

“Merlin,” Finn said, backpedaling in an exaggerated manner, rubbing his arms, “What have you been feeding that boy?” Of course, his backpedaling had led him to the door, with just enough time to duck away from any attacks she might send his way.

"PHINEAS CYAN MCLAGGEN, YOU SAY A SINGLE WORD ABOUT MY BEING FAT AND I'M GOING TO CASTRATE YOU!" Joy screamed after him, but she was laughing as she did. She had chased him out the doorway and down the hall before she got out of breath, and had to settle for standing very 'annoyedly' with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Fine, then you had better bring it to me for that!" she ecxlaimed, smirking, before making a show of stomping back to her room.

See, this was where they needed to be. This was perfect. Why couldn't this last another eighteen years?