Her present was also a puzzle; Zelda was even more excited, because there was something fulfilling about being the person who could figure things out. She didn't have much time to think about it before she was taking Alfred's hand in anticipation of the next dance. Zelda was not a confident dancer, but there was something about dancing with Alfred - she never felt self conscious when she was with him.

"Do you have any resolutions in mind?" she asked. "For the new year." They were a few weeks away from 1891, but - well, she was curious.

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Alfred wrinkled his nose slightly. He didn't really do resolutions — not anymore, anyway. The whole concept had left a bad taste in his mouth since the Sycorax expedition, where every new year he'd optimistically written in the ship's log that this was the year in which they would finally be rescued, in which they would reencounter civilization, in which they would make it back home to England. He'd been wrong every year, and his confidence that he ever would make it home had withered just a little more each day as time went on. Long after he'd given up on the idea he actually did have the chance to go back to England, and it hadn't been everything he'd built it up to be in his head. It was like coming home to your childhood bedroom, after being away many years; it was smaller and less grand than one remembered, and it was hard to picture yourself ever having lived there comfortably or happily.

But this was a rather dour thing to bring up at a Christmas party, so he didn't say any of that. "I don't make many resolutions. I'm already perfect, I think," he joked with obvious sarcasm. "You?"

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Thankful for his height in the crowd, Nemo kept an eye on the pair as they danced. Just one though, he felt weird and like he was spying. Frankly the whole chaperoning thing was for the birds and he kind of hated it, but since Zelda insisted on being a little immature about this whole thing, here he was.

They seemed keen to push boundaries, staying on the dance floor straight into a second round, but then again Nemo didn't suppose he could begrudge them that. They'd get their few minutes away from him before he was set to be their shadow again.

He had to admit, he was innately curious as to what they might be discussing now that he was out of earshot.

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The following 1 user Likes Nemo Fisk's post:1 user Likes Nemo Fisk's post
   Reuben Crouch

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Zelda had asked for his resolutions without actually deciding on one herself, and while Alfred didn't have any, she had to come up with one because she had asked. "It's simple, I think," she said, "I just want to be happy for all, or most of, the year." They were pretty set up for it, she thought - her family stressed her out, but they had survived it so far, and even these snatches of conversation were enough to keep her content so far.

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AMAZING set by MJ

"I don't think that's simple at all," he countered, though his tone was still light. "Being happy is the most complicated thing in the world. We spend our whole lives trying to figure it out. If it was simple, we'd all have it sorted in Hogwarts and then we'd never have to worry about anything else." After half a beat, he added, "But if that's your resolution, I'll do what I can to help. Make you happy," he clarified with a grin. "I'll make you happy whenever you're around, and you work on being around me for most of the year. Sound like a plan?"

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

"Deal," Zelda said, "That sounds like an easy way to ensure I'm happy. And then you have a resolution, too." Maybe, she worried, she was oversimplifying things - just because she was happy right now did not mean that she would be happy all the time, and any number of things could go wrong. But maybe she simply ought not think about that - there was little anyone could do to prevent things from changing, no matter how much she wanted to.

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"Deal," Alfred said, with a grin. The song was starting to come to an end now, and they were at the right edge of the dance floor to make best use of the decor.

"Still up for a bit of mischief?" he asked her as they neared the edge of the dance area. With an encouraging look from her to bolster his courage, Alfred led Zelda straight to the mistletoe. The moment they were under it he pulled her close, hands rising to cup her face as he leaned in to kiss her in a not-entirely-appropriate-for-a-casual-party fashion.

(Nemo Fisk)

  

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MJ made the most Alfredy of sets and then two years later she made it EVEN BETTER

Aww shit.

He'd been distracted for half a minute and they'd vanished. So of a...

Nemo ditched his glass on a passing tray and made his way around to the side of the dance floor they had been nearest to.

Why, Zelda why?

Without drawing any attention to himself, he moved away from the dancing back through the crowd, eyes peeled for his sister's dress, when he spotted them. Underneath the mistletoe and in a highly improper position. If his eyes could have rolled back into his head, they would have. Weaving through the crowd and without giving a damn about what either one of them had to say, Nemo took his sister by the arm hastily and without a word to pull her toward the door.

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The following 1 user Likes Nemo Fisk's post:1 user Likes Nemo Fisk's post
   J. Alfred Darrow

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They were able to get away with kissing for longer than Zelda would have anticipated before she felt a tug at her elbow. Yanked away, she supposed that she should have seen this coming and gave a wave to Alfred, meant to encompass see you soon, et cetera.

"You know, I never would have predicted you getting a stick up your rear when you hit twenty-four," Zelda hissed to Nemo; they were too close in age for her to take his authority seriously.

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AMAZING set by MJ

"Yes well, I never imagined you'd grow into a selfish brat either, so we can both be disappointed." Nemo wasn't sure he'd ever been so annoyed or frustrated, bordering on angry with her in his entire life. He continued towards the exit at a steady pace, without so much as a backward glance toward Darrow, grip firm and tone resigned to the bubbling disgust growing in his system.

"You want to fuck around with your reputation fine, do it in private, but in the event you take a minute to think about someone other than yourself, I would like to get married one day without your shadow of misdeeds hanging over me, Kons and Dory likely too." Not that it would really impact him overly much, if he got his way in life, but if not, an honest match could be dissolved simply for the reason his sister was as harlot.

"And speaking of marriage, your God damn sister is married to the Minister for Magic in case that slipped your mind too. If you think I have a stick up my ass, imagine how Ros would react."

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   Penelope Fawcett

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Zelda had never heard Nemo this angry; she couldn't tune him out the way she could some of their other siblings. She couldn't believe he was saying this in public, either - surely the people around them could catch some of it? It was this thought, as well as his words, that had Zelda's face reddening - once they were at the exit, she slipped her wand out of the pocket where she kept it in her sleeve.

Crack! With the tell-tale sound, Zelda apparated them out of the party's exit/entryway and into the Fisk backyard. Feeling slightly nauseated when she landed - side-along apparition on a stomach that mostly just had a glass of champagne - she turned to Nemo and tried to yank her upper arm out of his grip.

"Would you like to spend some more time calling me a whore?" Zelda asked darkly.

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AMAZING set by MJ

Zelda had beaten him to apparating out and he hadn't been expecting the lurch and sudden halt. Blegh he hated that, especially when he wasn't leading it.

Letting go as she tried to pry herself from his grip, Nemo rolled his eyes so viciously he thought they might roll back into his head. "Are you done acting like one?" He didn't really think that about her, not deep down, but he was pissed enough to be careless with his words. He was annoyed she had just pulled that on him, thought they had more mutual respect for one another than that. She wasn't thinking about how this could look on her, on the family, in the long run and it frustrated the shit out of him; he thought her far more level headed that this.

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The following 1 user Likes Nemo Fisk's post:1 user Likes Nemo Fisk's post
   J. Alfred Darrow

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Zelda balled her hands into fists, dug her nails into her palms, unballed them. If she was being honest, she had apparated them into the yard so that they could continue fighting - Zelda was not particularly good at coming down from a fight, and while she very rarely saw Nemo angry, she expected that he would be similar.

"Excuse me?" she said.

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AMAZING set by MJ

They hadn't fight like this in over a decade, of that Nemo was sure, but she seemed ready to go and he was riled up as well.

"You heard me," He spat without even thinking. "Or did I not just catch you locking lips with someone you are not married to, at a public party, where anyone could have seen you? I doubt your Dory's kind of whore, but it's a step in that direction." Was she really that naive?

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Zelda shook where she stood; she balled her hands into fists again, but was not aware that she did it. "There was mistletoe and we're courting," she spat back at him; she could not think of anything else to say, because what she actually wanted to do was hit him.

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   J. Alfred Darrow

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AMAZING set by MJ

"Yeah some bloke Father said no to and you decided to go ahead and stay with anyway. And courting doesn't mean Jack shit, he could leave you tomorrow with nothing but a ruined reputation. If he truly cared about you, you wouldn't be trying to slip away from me in a crowded social event when you know the last thing I want to be doing is babysitting you and I shouldn't have to, but you just proved that I do."

Did she really lack the ability to see this from an outside perspective? "If he respected you, you wouldn't be in this position Zelda, did you ever stop to think about that?" Merlin's actual beard. "Would it kill you to play by the books when it's something this important? Honestly.

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