The Downeaster Alexa

So I could own my Downeaster Alexa
And I go where the ocean is deep
There are giants out there in the canyons
And a good captain can't fall asleep
I got bills to pay and children who need clothes
I know there's fish out there but where God only knows
They say these waters aren't what they used to be
But I got people back on land who count on me

It had been that time of the week where Eoin elected to put down his work, in order to go take care of an entirely different kind of business. Something that took him away from the Ministry, something that took him away even from The Spiny Serpent. Out to the different suburbs of London, to well kept street that house a clinic. He wasn't going in. Eoin had never set foot through those doors, though he knew just about everyone who worked there through careful research, and he also knew a few of the clients. Some might call them patients, and in this case, the older wizard was inclined to say that he agreed with the term in some respects. There was a bench opposite the front doors, right next to a coffee shop that he'd taken a strange liking to, and it was on this bench  that he sat and waited, coffee in hand, frequently checking his watch and keeping an eye on the doors.

You see, when all else had failed when it had come to Van, in a fit of desperation, Eoin had found something that worked. That stuck. Much against his better judgement, the man had stepped in to the space the boy's father had left in his death in order to watch over both Van and his older sister Donna - though, he hadn't seen Donna in quite some time. They had never really interacted. But Van... Well, he saw Van every other week when he got up to merlin only knew what, as it always came back to Eoin's department, and the paperwork always hit his desk. Fines hadn't done anything to sway him. The threat of prison sentences had been too severe for the older bloke to dish out even though he knew it would o more than straighten Van out. He didn't have the heart to do it. He cared touch. So yes, to circle back to the point at hand, Eoin had accidentally stepped into a parental role because he now wanted what was best for Van, wanted to see him do better and live a life that he could actually enjoy and appreciate. A life where he didn't have to come into the Ministry every other week. A life where he could see the wizard out in the community for lunch or for a drink and hear how he was getting on, without the formalities of a large oak desk in the way that kept Eoin's hands tied.

His condition this time, his final threat for keeping Van out of prison, was the condition that Van started seeing a psychiatrist. Therapy as long overdue for him and while Ein had never personally allowed a shrink near him, he would probably benefit from it too. Of course, he couldn't trust Van's word that he'd go. He had to show up every single day that he had an appointment to see that he went, was in there for the allotted time, and came out with the staff and building they same way they'd been before he entered. And it seemed to be working. Every morning so far, he had seen Van and Van had seen him, he'd even given him a wave. Then afterwards, he either treated him to lunch or Van split to do his own thing. Today, however, Eoin wanted to have an actual conversation with him. He had heard through the grapevine that Cat was back on the scene and for reasons personal to himself that bothered him. He had decided that it was best to hear the truth from the source, and that was his plan for today.

Binning his takeout cup in the bin next to the bench, he waited until Van was outside and looking at him before he grinned and beckoned him over with his fingers. Yes, they were long overdue a chat. "If you keep this up, you might get me out of your hair permanently. Won't have to see keeping an eye on you anymore." His smile lessened a tad. He wasn't looking forward to that day anymore. Van had become like a son to him and he was more than just invested in his wellbeing. But Van was in his thirties, had his own life, and he probably only thought of him as a silver haired nuisance.

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724 Words | @van |
TEMPLATE BY ELIZA @ SP & ADOXOGRAPHY

With open hearts, despite the stakes

We take a chance on our mistakes
A brand new day, we will embrace
An open wound that heals with grace

Eoin wasn't the first person to tell Van that he needed help. There had been countless people, countless times, and he had always laughed and brushed them off. Nothing could possibly be wrong with him. It was their jealousy, or envy, or whatever he could possibly think of to pin it as a fault of their own at the time. He had never seen an issue with his actions before. Not until last November anyhow. Even after he had cheated he found a way to pin the blame elsewhere. It was Cat's fault, obviously. She had been the one talking about children; she was the one giving a damn about the Lord and Lady titles. Not him. Never him. She wasn't who he thought she was, that was it. And so he had done what he always did when it came to the threat of duty. He rebelled.

Months and months of therapy had shown him how absolutely ridiculous he sounded then. Ellis had went about turning him inside out and showing him every little flaw in his thinking and it was miserable. He hated every moment of it, but he needed to do it. He knew he did because it had cost him everything. Over the years he had lost a lot due to his ridiculous ways. He had lost friends, lost his father, lost countless galleons to Eoin's pay-for-play idea. None of that had mattered to him the way that this did. None of it hit him as hard. Not even the loss of his father, and that was something he had once believed could never be topped. He had lost a man who had never loved him, at least not in his own eyes, but losing Cat had been worse. She had loved him. She loved him even after he had caused her so much pain, and he had lost her due to his own stupid ways.

When Eoin had suggested the therapy it was already a thought digging holes in the back of his mind. He had told him that he would think on it. All that had really meant was that he needed a push. A final shove. Tiberius had given that to him, and Van had agreed. Therapy was what was going to be best for him. That was what he wanted in the end. To be a better version of himself. To have a better version to give to Cat. Now that they were back together he was more determined than ever to continue making progress. So he went. Every day. Like clockwork. Hell, he went even when he wasn't scheduled. He was a bug up Ellis' ass, but he was determined to make this work. And, every day there was Eoin. As much of an annoyance as he had been to him before he knew that it was his own fault for it. He also knew that it was his fault that the elder wizard felt the need to check up on him at all-- him, of course, having proved countless times to be the slippery scoundrel that would do anything to get out of trouble. Now, he didn't see him that way. He was just....someone who gave a shit. One of the countless people who did that he had pushed away or annoyed into oblivion over the years. Somehow he had stuck through it all and for that Van had a deep respect for the man.

Van made his way out of the building and did as he always did-- he looked for Eoin. Today it wasn't a simple wave, but a beckoning instead. He made his way toward the elder wizard with a bit of a smirk on his face. "Well don't go getting your hopes too high," he said patting his jeans for a pack of smokes, "Tib and I'll have lots to keep you entertained with soon enough. We're a two man band now, d'y'hear? That means double concentrated powers of fuckery'll be afoot." Banter, of course. He had made a promise to both himself, and Eoin that he would be more thoughtful when it came to his on stage antics. He meant it, for once. Van took a cigarette and stuck it between his lips steadily cursing the fact that he was still without magic. It made it bloody hard to enjoy a smoke, and he hated that. Having to constantly have a lighter on hand. By the Gods, what an annoyance. 

@silverfox | Words: 745

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

The Downeaster Alexa

Well I'm on the Downeaster Alexa
And I'm cruising through Block Island Sound
I have charted a course to the vineyard
But tonight I am Nantucket bound
We took on diesel back in Montauk yesterday
Left this morning from the bell in Gardiner's Bay
Like all the locals here I've had to sell my home
Too proud to leave I worked my fingers to the bone

All of his life, he had dedicated his time to others. Never himself. Always it had been looking towards his father to support him, after he was blinded, then towards picking up the pieces of his family name. His sister upped stakes and left and that hole had never really filled itself, the betrayal still carried with him alongside the rest of the burden of his life. He'd never had the time to take a look at his own life... and really do something with it. Sure, he had an amazing job. He'd been at it for decades. He also had a high grossing business - if slightly on the downlow, appointment only gig - that kept him busy. But was that for him? He enjoyed working with wood. He enjoyed working with paint, and runes, and he had never really been able to hold true to murder bothering him. He had taken a few lives in his time, all of them deserved on some level, if only warranted for someone else. That hadn't been for him either.

But then his close friend had had kids, where Eoin hadn't been able to. That part of his life was probably over now and it sometimes kept him up at night, working in his shop on countless projects and cabinets, the hours ticking by while he contemplated on all he'd missed out. He'd missed out on getting married too. On getting to fill his silent house with the noise of a family, with a new life, a new meaning to get up for in the morning. His entire life was clockworked, routined. Then his best friend had died and made him swear that he'd keep an eye on his kids, and while that hadn't necessarily stuck for Donna... it had with Van. It probably had helped that the younger wizard could find trouble in a blank room with no exits or entrances and ended up in his office every other week so he had always had a reason to see him. Yet somewhere along the way, his way of looking at Van had changed. Until he wasn't just his ward, his charge... but in many respects, was the son he'd never had.

Not that he would ever admit it, and certainly wasn't planning on doing so anytime soon. But knowing that Van was taking steps now to straighten out his life and was letting him support him through it was giving him a new lease on life. His weeks had perked up a bit knowing that he wouldn't have to lecture of admonish him anymore, but could meet up with him for coffee and ask him how he was getting on. Proud of what he was trying to do and what he was trying to achieve. Proud that he was letting him tag along for the ride to see him do it all. 

He'd seen him do a lot in his life already, even if he didn't agree with it all. His marriage with Cat had been a rash decision, and then he had thrashed it across the rocks like a makeshift boat in a storm with poor light. He'd never truly believed the two would be the best for each other in married life, thought they made amazing friends, and so he was reserving his judgement now that Van had postponed their divorce and was making amends. He didn't want him to make another mistake that would cost not only him but another witch valuable time and precious memories, leading more heartache in their wake. He wanted them both happy, yet right now he didn't know if that was going to be them together forever or not. He didn't want to have a say in it, and was glad that he didn't. He wasn't his father, however much he had become it in more ways than one. Their relationship was there own. He just wanted what was best for them. And if they did mend their bridge and move onto greener pastures, he sincerely hoped that he wouldn't be left in their dust. Van was all he had in the means of family now, since his father had basically passed on. He had no one else. 

But that wasn't the boy's fault nor his problem or responsibility. If he chose to move on with his life and cut him out of it, then that was his choice. His door would always be open to him if he wanted to ever duck back in. Open to Cat to if she truly needed it... even if he'd never really gotten to know the girl. Ever. They had an entirely new world to travel now, one without magic. He hoped they wouldn't fare too badly.

"Ah ah ah," he wagged his finger, amused glint to his eye, "I've only sworn protection for one of you, and only have an invested interest in one of you as well. If Duke can't keep his nose clean, my hands are tied. That's my department's problem, not mine," he shrugged playfully, easy smile on his face. He was only half joking. Tiberius was virtually nothing to him, except for Van's best friend and bandmate. But he was also a large pain in his ass and he was growing less inclined to keep those around these days. "C'mon, let's go grab something to eat, my treat. Since I'm so glad to be out of my office for once." 

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907 Words | @van | Notes:
TEMPLATE BY ELIZA @ SP ADOXOGRAPHY