Letters (Castiel/Mari)

[Marius Reed]

Mari's eyebrows creased, "I want to." He shouldn't, though, he should take it somewhere else. Once he'd signed the release, he turned from the counter, box in hand. "We could go to the Three Broomsticks or something. This thing's huge, having a table might be good." Then they could spread out and look at everything. He started bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet.

[Castiel Catalyst]

"Yeah, the Three Broomsticks is good," Castiel said. "It's a lot closer than the castle." He eyed the package, wondering what was in it. Was it really full of candy? "He must really like you. I mean, really." They weren't even going out. In fact, as far as Castiel knew, they'd never see each other again and were just penpals. Penpals who'd made out once, like him and Lani.

[Marius Reed]

Mari grinned. "Maybe he does," he said as they left the building. He liked the idea that Seiji really liked him. It was something to keep his mood up when he came across Indigo in the common room or throughout the castle. It was a short walk to the Three Broomsticks and he grabbed a table near a window. He set the box on the table in front of him as he sat down. A letter was attached to the top of the package, which he removed to read, forcing himself not to rip open the package immediately.

[Castiel Catalyst]

Castiel sat impatiently across the table, biting his lip to keep from interrupting. He waited until Mari's eyes had reached the bottom of the page, then said, "Well?" He'd taken off his hat and it was a sad, sad thing without its ribbon. The strip of cloth the ribbon had covered was slightly darker than the rest, and he was starting to feel exactly what he'd done.

[Marius Reed]

"He wants a book title, and the box is full of candy and tea," Mari said, handing off the letter. It wasn't like there was anything personal in the letter, and it wasn't like he hid much of anything from Castiel, anyway. He chewed his lip and looked up at Castiel, then his eyes brightened and he grinned before reaching for the nearest seam of the paper of the package to rip it away.

[Castiel Catalyst]

Castiel had only glanced at the letter before he heard tearing paper, and though he wanted to read it, he wanted to see what Mari had even more. When he saw the edge of the smoothly-polished wooden box, he gave a low Ooh. It had something written on the top in gold, and the more that was exposed, the cooler it was.

"He put candy and tea in that?" Castiel asked, impressed. It looked like a little suitcase, or one of Mother's jewelry cases. "Open it!"

[Marius Reed]

"Oh this is so cool," Mari said. He was definitely keeping this even after it was empty. He could put other stuff in it, he was sure he could find something to use it for. He took off the thin top and the box extended itself. Each level slid back almost to the point of falling off, but some charm kept them in place. One level held a bit of paper giving brief overviews of what the candies were along with a little packet of tea. His eyes widened. "Castiel, this is awesome."

[Castiel Catalyst]

Castiel's jaw had dropped, and he set the letter down to lean over the table for a better look. "That's candy?" It looked like little flowers and tiny fruits and vegetables, and Muggle erasers and miniature versions of other foods. "It smells good!" It was very light and delicate, which he supposed matched.

[Marius Reed]

"He says what some of it's made out of in the letter," Mari said, still looking wide-eyed at the display. It took a minute for him to drag his eyes away to look at the guide. "I don't know where to start, I almost don't even want to. I mean, look at it!" It would be like eating little pieces of art. But still, it was candy, and it didn't take much longer for him to reach for a piece.

[Castiel Catalyst]

Castiel picked up the letter again to scan it. Blah blah, book about Hogwarts, blah blah blah, "Mochi, azuki bean paste, and fruits? Seriously? Those have bean paste in them? I thought you were getting like, candy candy." They were beautiful, though. Castiel watched Mari to see what happened.

[Marius Reed]

"I don't think he'd send me anything nasty. Plus, they're all made by his mom and grandma," Mari said. He eyed the little square of candy for a moment more before taking a bite. Well, it certainly didn't taste like bean paste. His eyes might have rolled back a little. "Oh my-here, try it, this is so good." He wished he had something this awesome to send to Seiji.

[Castiel Catalyst]

Castiel leaned forward and took a bite off one side. His eyebrows rose. He didn't swallow it right away, it had too delicately sweet a flavor for that, and even the texture was something different. He nodded his agreement, and when his mouth was empty again he gestured toward the tea leaves.

"We should use those, like he said," Castiel commented. He stuck his arm in the air to wave down a waitress. "I'll ask for hot water. That's how they do it in Divination, right? Oh my gosh, we have to read the leaves when we're done!"

[Marius Reed]

"Ooo, yeah, that'd be cool," Mari said. "Maybe the leaves will be all hey, Mari, your cute Japanese guy is coming to Hogwarts." He grinned broadly and popped the last of the piece of candy into his mouth. He really hoped Seiji ended up coming to Hogwarts, it would be so super awesome, more awesome than he could really put into words.

[Castiel Catalyst]

"I'd like a pot of hot water and a couple teacups," Castiel told the waitress. "And, um, two bottles of butterbeer, but leave the caps on. I'll leave a good tip." A real, monetary tip, not a smart-alecky one. She didn't blink an eye at the request, but turned around to go get what he'd asked for.

"I don't have my Divination book, but between the two of us we can probably remember everything, right?"

[Marius Reed]

"Definitely," Mari said. He knew Castiel would remember much more than he did, but he knew at least a little about the tea leaves in Divination. He just managed to keep himself from reaching for another piece of candy. It wouldn't kill him to wait. Maybe. "I wonder if they think our candy is as weird as we think this stuff is," he said.