Fallen Angels

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"We were in the same house and year, we slept in the same room and I punched him once," Michael said. "So yes, I call him Chase. In front of students I try to say headmaster or something, though." It wasn't always a success. They had just never clicked. Hero settled himself in the hallway where he could both watch the movement within the room and see the little girl in the bathroom.

[Skylar Constantine]

That gave Skylar a laugh. "Right on," he said, throwing an approving look back at Michael. "Did he deserve it, or did he just get in the way?" He'd seen plenty of people lose their tempers and had lost his own from time to time. It was never pretty, and with some it was uglier than others. He'd seen Michael Hardt get pretty ugly a couple times, even if he seemed incredibly mellow now.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"He wasn't treating a girl I knew the way I thought she should be treated," Michael said. He hadn't had any right to do what he'd done, but he hadn't exactly been in a good mental place at that point in his life. "He used to be a bit of a wild card, you know, duels with Emilian every other week, but he's calmed down a lot." Or so it seemed.

[Skylar Constantine]

Skylar shook his head and moved to resize the smaller mattress. "Are we getting old, or what?" he asked. "Sh~ used to be crazy, never a boring minute, and now... Now a good morning's letting Ember run around instead of asking what the hell happened." Although he still did that now and then. He wasn't dead.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael chuckled. "Dare makes me feel old sometimes, he's a couple years younger than me and goes out with friends all the time. Of course, when I do manage to get myself out with him, sometimes it does end with waking up wondering what happened," he said. He hadn't woken up like that in a long time, but he intended to have a good anniversary celebration this year.

[Skylar Constantine]

"Yeah," Skylar said, giving another grin of approval. "Gotta let go somehow." He shook his head again. "Drives me batsh~ insane sometimes. Too much energy and nowhere to put it anymore. I've been living day to day, you know?" God he loved Ember, but she was all that kept him from scratching that itch sometimes.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"I went through a lot of unhealthy ways of dealing with it all, mostly just not dealing with it at all and pretending I never thought about it or that it never happened or something," Michael said. Recently, that had all changed and he thought about it more often than he cared to admit. "We kind of changed tactics a little last year, though, found a way to get rid of energy when it comes up." He wouldn't say it was exactly healthy, but it had to be better than holding it all in. At least, that was what he'd been told. A lot of the time, he believed it.

[Skylar Constantine]

"I drink it off," Skylar said. "And I f~ it off. It doesn't get rid of everything, but it chills me out enough to deal. What's your tactic?" He grimaced when he realized the crib was waiting. "You know any spells for putting sheets up? I've been doing it by hand and I'm crap at it." He was a little embarrassed to ask, but the other option involved doing it the hard way.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael nodded and pointed his wand to the crib. Though most of his life had been lived with the help of an elf, there had been the year or so when he and Dare were alone during which he'd learned a lot. "If my father knew I had learned to cook and make beds, he'd be rolling in his grave," he said, shaking his head at himself. "Our tactic is a little odd. Dare made friends with a professor here who's into bondage and things grew from there."

[Skylar Constantine]

Skylar's brows arched, not in shock, but in realization of just how that could work. He murmured a thank you for the spell, then looked around the room to be sure he hadn't missed anything.

"I've given a spanking or two, if you know what I mean." The look he threw said they had nothing to do with Ember. "Hadn't thought of taking it that far, though. But it works, does it?"

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"With a lot of therapy and trial and error," Michael said. In a big way, it had been key in keeping the marriage together. "It started out as something he wanted and I gave it a go for him, then it just exploded." Now it was a regular thing and, though there had been a setback or two, it was still working.

[Skylar Constantine]

"Sounds like a Blackwood, all right," Skylar said. He wasn't quite as casual about it as he sounded, but the problem with being single was that he couldn't just ask whoever he brought home if she wanted to be knocked around a little first.

"So who's your kinky professor?" he asked after a moment.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"Keith Evans," Michael said. "He showed up before the twins were born and he and Dare hit it off. It didn't really click for us together until last summer, though. Another friend of Dare's introduced us to a professional and she helped a lot." The world he was a part of now was one of the last things he could have imagined ending up in.

[Skylar Constantine]

Damn. Skylar had been hoping it was some sexy single lady. The thought of a professional perked him up, but he'd need some money first. "I might just ask you about your professional," he said. A pop from the other room caught his attention. "That'll be my furniture," he said. He gestured toward the door, then headed out to see what the elf had brought him.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael followed Skylar out, but Hero stayed where he was, apparently content to sit and keep an eye on the sleeping girl. "All you have to do is ask." He wondered if he should warn Skylar that the professional was a muggle. "I'm going to guess you've never considered becoming a professor."