Glorified Bartender
Title: It's Not The Same
Genre: Emo
Characters: Cygnus Black, others mentioned.
Rating: PG-13, for language and themes.
Word Count: 947 words
Summary: Cygnus speaks of his marriage.
Author's Notes: Was written too quickly and my thoughts were tripping over each other. Hope it makes sense.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, Cissy?"
"Where is Mother?"
"Ah, your mother will not be coming home this evening."
"Why not?"
"She has an important engagement."
"More important than reading me a bedtime story?"
"I can read you a bedtime story."
"No, I don't like the way you read them. Mother reads them better."
"Narcissa came to me again last night. Asked where her mother was. I'm not sure I can take more of this."
"Don't be an idiot. You've been married for ages."
Cygnus sat in the middle of a clean kitchen. He wore casual black robes. His right elbow was on the table and his face was in his hand. "It's not fair."
"Shut up. Your stupid fault for agreeing to the terms in the first place."
There was the sound of china clashing as cups were removed from their cabinet. Cygnus kept his head down. "She would have been unhappy had I forbidden it."
"Wanker."
"There is no need to be abusive."
"Shouldn't have married her, then, if you didn't like the terms -- which, by the way, still sounds more like a business agreement than a marriage."
"I loved her and still love her. It's a marriage. She loves me--"
"A marriage is where two people vow to love each other and only each other for the rest of their lives."
"How do you explain polygamists?"
"I don't."
"It is irrelevant now, anyway. We're married and I do not regret anything. I do not regret my love for her or our children. Not even--" he had to pause to collect himself. "--not even letting her continue to see the man."
"You're an idiot, that's what you are." A dark green cup appeared before him. Tea poured from a teapot and into his cup. He stared at it for a moment.
"Make it coffee. As strong as possible." There was a loud, annoyed sound as the tea disappeared and the crashing of cups into the sink resounded through the kitchen. Water into the kettle and the kettle on the stove. "And I'm not an idiot."
"Everyone does stupid things when they're in love," was the retort. "Anyway, you don't have the right to come to me to bitch and moan about it if you agreed to it in the first place."
"I need to talk to someone."
"I'm not the person to talk to."
Cygnus was silent. He stared at the table.
There was a loud, exasperated sigh from his companion.
"I thought you'd understand," he began as the kettle began to whine. "We both love someone who loves us back, yet we cannot have them."
"Bastard. How dare you compare yourself to me? You married the woman you love, you have her children. It's your own sodding fault if you can't hold on to her."
"Like you couldn't hold on to the one you loved?"
"Different story. Taken away from me forcefully."
"Left you for another, more like it."
A mug slammed onto the table. He looked at it as it began to fill with coffee. The aroma sickened him. He pushed the mug away. An angry sound and the mug was taken away. There was another loud, angry thrashing as mug and kettle were dropped into the sink.
"I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."
"You bet it was."
"I cannot have her. Part of her still belongs to him. Call me selfish, but I want all of her. I want her to want me. And only me. I just want her to love me."
"She loves you, you stupid ass. She's an idiot if she can't see how much you really love her. Then again, maybe you're the idiot for not just telling her what you need from her."
"Maybe I am an idiot," he muttered. Glass tinkled. "But I cannot help it. You should understand. I love her so much I only want her to be happy. Even if that doesn't involve me. I can't deny her anything."
"You are an idiot." A decanter of whiskey appeared before him. There was a loud sloshing as the liquid was poured into a glass. "You declare all that and yet you still come to me. You have no right to complain or bellyache because you are all being stupid, noble fools."
"Speaking from experience, huh?"
"What are you really doing here, Cygnus? You don't need me anymore. You've got a wife that loves you and children that dote on you. You never needed me."
Cygnus finally looked up at Rosalind. She was drinking the whiskey like someone who was used to it. "What happened to you?"
"I opened my eyes."
"So, it's true, then? You've stopped working."
"I have. I thought I was helping people, but I wasn't."
"Were they all just like me? Unhappy married men?"
"No, you're not unhappy," Rosalind snapped. "Must I remind you of your wife and children?"
"How often did it get sexual?" he asked out of curiosity, since she always turned him away.
Rosalind snorted into her now empty glass. "How many times was it sexual between us?"
"Never."
"Exactly," she muttered, standing up. "It's not about the sex. I thought I was helping people emotionally, but I wasn't. I'm a glorified bartender. What are you doing here, Cygnus? Go home."
"What did you tell your clients?"
"What do you think I told them?"
"The exact same thing you told me?"
"Exactly," she finally smiled at him and repeated what she told her clients as she poured out another glass of whiskey: "Go the fuck home to your wife."
She slammed the glass down in front of him. "Leave when you're done."
Genre: Emo
Characters: Cygnus Black, others mentioned.
Rating: PG-13, for language and themes.
Word Count: 947 words
Summary: Cygnus speaks of his marriage.
Author's Notes: Was written too quickly and my thoughts were tripping over each other. Hope it makes sense.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, Cissy?"
"Where is Mother?"
"Ah, your mother will not be coming home this evening."
"Why not?"
"She has an important engagement."
"More important than reading me a bedtime story?"
"I can read you a bedtime story."
"No, I don't like the way you read them. Mother reads them better."
"Narcissa came to me again last night. Asked where her mother was. I'm not sure I can take more of this."
"Don't be an idiot. You've been married for ages."
Cygnus sat in the middle of a clean kitchen. He wore casual black robes. His right elbow was on the table and his face was in his hand. "It's not fair."
"Shut up. Your stupid fault for agreeing to the terms in the first place."
There was the sound of china clashing as cups were removed from their cabinet. Cygnus kept his head down. "She would have been unhappy had I forbidden it."
"Wanker."
"There is no need to be abusive."
"Shouldn't have married her, then, if you didn't like the terms -- which, by the way, still sounds more like a business agreement than a marriage."
"I loved her and still love her. It's a marriage. She loves me--"
"A marriage is where two people vow to love each other and only each other for the rest of their lives."
"How do you explain polygamists?"
"I don't."
"It is irrelevant now, anyway. We're married and I do not regret anything. I do not regret my love for her or our children. Not even--" he had to pause to collect himself. "--not even letting her continue to see the man."
"You're an idiot, that's what you are." A dark green cup appeared before him. Tea poured from a teapot and into his cup. He stared at it for a moment.
"Make it coffee. As strong as possible." There was a loud, annoyed sound as the tea disappeared and the crashing of cups into the sink resounded through the kitchen. Water into the kettle and the kettle on the stove. "And I'm not an idiot."
"Everyone does stupid things when they're in love," was the retort. "Anyway, you don't have the right to come to me to bitch and moan about it if you agreed to it in the first place."
"I need to talk to someone."
"I'm not the person to talk to."
Cygnus was silent. He stared at the table.
There was a loud, exasperated sigh from his companion.
"I thought you'd understand," he began as the kettle began to whine. "We both love someone who loves us back, yet we cannot have them."
"Bastard. How dare you compare yourself to me? You married the woman you love, you have her children. It's your own sodding fault if you can't hold on to her."
"Like you couldn't hold on to the one you loved?"
"Different story. Taken away from me forcefully."
"Left you for another, more like it."
A mug slammed onto the table. He looked at it as it began to fill with coffee. The aroma sickened him. He pushed the mug away. An angry sound and the mug was taken away. There was another loud, angry thrashing as mug and kettle were dropped into the sink.
"I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."
"You bet it was."
"I cannot have her. Part of her still belongs to him. Call me selfish, but I want all of her. I want her to want me. And only me. I just want her to love me."
"She loves you, you stupid ass. She's an idiot if she can't see how much you really love her. Then again, maybe you're the idiot for not just telling her what you need from her."
"Maybe I am an idiot," he muttered. Glass tinkled. "But I cannot help it. You should understand. I love her so much I only want her to be happy. Even if that doesn't involve me. I can't deny her anything."
"You are an idiot." A decanter of whiskey appeared before him. There was a loud sloshing as the liquid was poured into a glass. "You declare all that and yet you still come to me. You have no right to complain or bellyache because you are all being stupid, noble fools."
"Speaking from experience, huh?"
"What are you really doing here, Cygnus? You don't need me anymore. You've got a wife that loves you and children that dote on you. You never needed me."
Cygnus finally looked up at Rosalind. She was drinking the whiskey like someone who was used to it. "What happened to you?"
"I opened my eyes."
"So, it's true, then? You've stopped working."
"I have. I thought I was helping people, but I wasn't."
"Were they all just like me? Unhappy married men?"
"No, you're not unhappy," Rosalind snapped. "Must I remind you of your wife and children?"
"How often did it get sexual?" he asked out of curiosity, since she always turned him away.
Rosalind snorted into her now empty glass. "How many times was it sexual between us?"
"Never."
"Exactly," she muttered, standing up. "It's not about the sex. I thought I was helping people emotionally, but I wasn't. I'm a glorified bartender. What are you doing here, Cygnus? Go home."
"What did you tell your clients?"
"What do you think I told them?"
"The exact same thing you told me?"
"Exactly," she finally smiled at him and repeated what she told her clients as she poured out another glass of whiskey: "Go the fuck home to your wife."
She slammed the glass down in front of him. "Leave when you're done."