KICK AT THE DARKNESS !

[acanthus a. macdougal]

Until it bleeds daylight -- we were lovers in a dangerous time

acanthus refused to be responsible for this. it was just yesterday that a patient had ran through the halls in his skivvies and managed to overturn the day's worth of medicine, forcing it to shatter upon the floor -- but now, now some intern had managed to lose a patient? how in the world was she supposed to explain this to the head healer? merlin's beard, she was just the healer-in-charge...and if she couldn't watch over the interns, how in the world was she going to secure her place as head healer when it came time for the old bat to retire? dismissing her thoughts, acan turned around and clenched her jaw. "miss macdougal, the patient has been found and returned to her room. be sure to tell the head nurse that all is well." oh, right, like she had even told her about the incident to begin with. the last thing she needed was this on her record, and besides, what the head healer didn't know wouldn't hurt her. her day at the hospital was just nearly over anyways, and at the moment she didn't feel like dealing with the consequences of someone else's actions.

shaking her head, acanthus quickly glanced at her watch and immediately felt her heart drop a little. she was supposed to meet aiden for a late lunch in ten minutes, and she was at least fifteen minutes away from the restaurant. oh, wait...apparition. merlin, this hospital was doing things to her mind. acanthus quickly stepped through to the nurses' room, where all of their personal items were stored. she grabbed her purse and coat without a seconds' delay, and made her way out the door -- apparating wasn't allowed inside the hospital. if it were, a whole lot more patients would be missing. and godric only knew that acanthus couldn't deal with any more of those ordeals.

but now was the last time to worry about work-related issues. she was headed to meet the one person in her life that could make her forget about every single one of her problems in a single moment. that person was aiden ignatius carrow -- and she wasn't about to dump all of her problems (the ones that were currently running through her mind at the moment, anyway) in his lap. it wouldn't be fair to him, regardless if he was her best friend or not. even if that's what best friends were basically for, acanthus wasn't about to run into his arms and sob on his shoulder about every little thing that was wrong in her life. it sounded so typical of a woman, but that was probably why acan refused to do it. she and aiden had a clear understanding of one another -- aiden was....well, good with the ladies, so to speak, and acanthus was far too serious for her age....or her gender. she was supposed to bawl like a baby when watching chick flicks, but she somehow ended up making a royal joke out of the plot. she enjoyed spending nights like that with aiden. her fiance wasn't so fond of all the time she spent with aiden -- well, he hadn't been at first, anyway -- but he eventually adjusted to the idea. mainly because acanthus absolutely refused to quit spending time with her best friend. in her mind, anyone who put a boy over her friends was completely bonkers. it was simple -- if it came between her fiance and aiden, aiden would win. aiden would always win.

acanthus arrived at the restaurant only a moment later, a smile returning to her lips as she noticed the shop beside it. after such a long day, she needed some coffee. plus, she had fifteen minutes before aiden arrived, anyway. she walked into the shop, up to the counter and ordered two coffees to go. she could briefly recall what she had seen aiden order once or twice, and only hoped that he still enjoyed it. otherwise, well, she'd be drinking two coffees instead of one. which was perfectly fine to acan, by this point. "thank you," she said with a smile, taking one coffee in each hand before exiting the shop and entering the restaurant next door. she waved to the waiter, and was quickly ushered to her and aiden's reserved table next to the window. she put aiden's coffee across from her, and sat down in her seat. sipping her coffee, acanthus glanced out the window and waited for him to arrive.

TAGGED FOR AIDEN/STEPH, I LOVE THEM. <3

[aiden i. carrow]

they tell me i'm the shit
I'M LIKE DUH

why did things always have to go wrong? the day had started out lovely as ever, and then things just had to go downhill. his spirits had been up for once, looking forward to his schedule for the day. as always, aiden carrow had been up at seven in the morning to start his hour workout that he did every day. fitness was key to him. not only was top physique required for his 'second' job, but he cared greatly about his appearance. no one liked a flabby body. ladies liked muscular arms and six-packs, both of which he had. besides, it was good discipline to get up early every morning and dedicate time to something. after that, he showered and had his regular breakfast of a protein shake while running checks on his beloved car. the only muggles seemed to have done right was building a good car, and that was years ago besides. his car, a 1967 chevrolet impala, was something he had bought the minute he laid his eyes on it and babied every since. being over fifty years old, it was in remarkable condition and aiden prided himself on the fact. apparation was always a quick and simple way to get around, but the car was nice for getting around and carrying his 'tools' for work.

the next step on his schedule was to go to his office. located in central london was the first restaurant that aiden had ever opened, which turned into a quick success. it became so successful that in only a few years, he had opened several more over the lower half of england. of course his goal was to breach over into france and continental europe, but the ones he had for now were enough. his office, located on the second floor of the building that was his restaurant that also occupied a bar area that was mostly for labeled VIP patrons, was where he spent almost all of his time. bills, payroll, and maintaining order in his other stores without his physical presence actually being needed were all essential. on a normal day, he could be done by two and out the door. however, his time at il fior fiore was cut short due to his presence being needed at another job. it wasn't even yet ten before he was out the door and off to his other office.

his other job was something only a select couple knew about, due to the risk of people knowing. what he did was not one it legal and frowned upon in all cultures, he was sure. killing people wasn't exactly praised anywhere, but it's what he did. aiden liked to offer his rebuttal though in stating that he kills muggles, which is far more different. the world, in his eyes, could do with less muggles. they were inferior and held great ignorance that appalled him. it made him sick. so he did what he pleasured in doing, ridding the world of people who others no longer wanted. normally, aiden would object to being 'hired' by muggles, being in their service when it came down to it. but he was responsible to no one but himself. they came to him for his services. he was what was called a freelance hitman, using muggle technology and weaponry to track and kill them with their own machinery. honestly, he got a kick out of all of it. and since he used no magic in the killings and only to 'clean up', his activities flew under the radar of wizarding governments. muggle governments had tried pursuing him and even can close a few times, but he was in other words just a ghost. today was the day that his mark finally came to an end, having tracked the man for nearly a week and waited for the perfect moment. it wasn't all just about grabbing a gun and killing someone. there was detailed processes needed to go through to ensure minimal involvement from other parties, including police.

but of course things could not go the way he wanted. what his plan had been was to wait over one building from the office tower that held the place for the meeting of his target. the meeting had been planned a week ago, news aiden had gotten from sleeping with the man's assistant who happened to be a very attractive and very single woman. it would take one shot, through the glass and into the back of his head because as a corporate standing douchewad, he had to place himself at the head of the table. everything had been in place, but something aiden has easily (and stupidly) overlooked was the fact that the glass windows for his area of the tower were reinforced. he hadn't really expected that, but should have coming from a man who dealt dirtily with mafia business aside from his own corporation. one shot fired, one shot embedded into the plexiglass and causing immediate chaos and mayhem inside the meeting. to say aiden carrow was not a happy camper was an understatement. he had a lunch date with a gorgeous woman ghat he wasn't going to miss. with a grumble, he had apparated inside the building on the occupied floor. the broom closet wasn't a good target as it landed himself with one leg inside a mop bucket, but it had been close enough. his wet foot could be fixed later. a glance at his watch, there was still a whole hour before he had his date. it was plenty of time. tracking down and cracking the panic room the corporate suit had escaped into took a whole of thirty five minutes. bystanders were never to be harmed, so ploys had been set to clear them from the floor not like anyone wanted to stay anyway since there was evidence of a bullet in the skyscraper's window. another five minutes was taken to clean the scene of any of his prints or stray hairs that might have dropped. no risks would be taken since this day had been enough of a screw-up.

with that, aiden apparated from the building and to his car. twenty minutes was enough time to drive to his other office which happened to just be a large storage unit by the docks where he stored his car, a small weaponry cache, an actual office for meetings, and a nice lounge area that included a kitchen and bathroom. by the time he arrived, he had ten minutes to shower and change. that took all of the time, especially by the time he decided just what to wear. this wasn't an actual date, but he would always look his best for his best friend. acanthus macdougal was a level of fierce and hot that aiden admired as a best friend. no one could really measure up to him, but she did. finally having settled on gray dress pants with a pinstripe pink and white long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves half rolled up with a loosely hung white tie included. not his most casual but not dressy either.

quickly apparating to the restaurant, he checked his reflection in the large pane window of the restaurant's front. a wink was sent to the girl sitting with what appeared to either be her date or husband to the left of his view. a cheeky grin breached his face in seeing her blush as he moved to enter the restaurant. aiden waved off the host, knowing fully well where he would find his beloved best friend. they always had the same table at the same restaurant on the same every week. as he reached the table, a hand was placed on her back as he leaned down from behind her to place a kiss on her cheek. "i do hope you weren't waiting on me too long," he spoke as he smiled and circled around to sit opposite of her. if there was anyone, especially lately, who could bring a genuine smile from his lips, it was acanthus. his eyes drifted to the coffee in front of him, instantly feeling gratitude. "and coffee? oh, what did i do to ever deserve a best friend as amazing as you?" it really wasn't the coffee per say, but more of the actual act and care that she has bothered to even get him some without him asking. "well i'm quite glad that we can still regularly meet for our lunch dates besides you being so busy. tell me, are you running the place yet, nellie?" his childhood nickname for her rolling off his tongue simple enough, grinning at the fact that she still probably hated it. he didn't care though. she was his best friend. this is what best friends do.

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tagged: acanthus macdougal - - word count: one thousand, four hundred, and sixty-two - - lyric credit: mac miller - - graphic/template credit: myself - - notes: ugh. power couple <3

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[acanthus a. macdougal]

Until it bleeds daylight -- we were lovers in a dangerous time

acanthus macdougal could count on a single hand how many people she would willingly lay down her life for, if it came to saving theirs. firstly came her brother, who was more like her twin than anything else. secondly came her father, who had been there for her, taught her, and essentially had been both parents while ramona was too busy staring at herself in the mirror. she might have included a few friends, but as per the usual acanthus was more about keeping it to a minimum than including as many as humanly possible. therefore, the only other person on that list would've been aiden carrow, her best friend. her only true best friend, if she really thought about it. if she had a flat tire in the middle of the night (not that she drove a car, but still) she would have called aiden. and not merely because aiden was brilliant with anything automobile-related. if she was honest with herself, she might have admitted her belief that aiden carrow was good at just about anything. including being good-looking. but like any other day of the week, acanthus wasn't much up for being honest with anyone, let alone herself. she could have told declan about these things, naturally, given that he was her fiance and all that, but that just.....well, he just didn't understand as well as aiden did. as well as aiden always had. aiden just.....got her, it seemed. she didn't even have to say anything, and it seemed as though he already knew what the answer was. of course, acan also knew how good aiden was with the female race in general, so it was hard for her to feel that special about several potential 'moments' they had together. oh, merlin. who was she kidding? they were friends, only friends. aiden had other things to deal with and....well, she was engaged.

that should have shut her thoughts up immediately, but it never seemed to work no matter how hard she thought about declan instead of aiden. it wasn't her fault that aiden was so....so bloody perfect. she wasn't an idiot. she knew that her best friend was incredibly, davishly handsome beyond all human belief. somedays, she wondered if he was hardly human at all. like, maybe....maybe he was just part-veela, or something. yes, that would have certainly explained a lot about her best friend. his soft, smooth voice, the way that he could wink at her and send her into a fit; him being any percent of veela would definitely help her feel a little bit better about all of this. of course, the carrow family was just beautiful altogether, so she couldn't really blame him for being how he was. when it came to his family, there were really no bad options in their gene pool. they were bound to be fabulous and beautiful -- not to mention filthy rich. had there been an mtv for the wizarding population, aiden would have been their poster boy. and acanthus would have been somewhere in the background, smiling with a hint of desperation in her eyes. it was the same look she had to hide every time he came into view. but she was engaged, and happily so. at least....she thought she was happy enough. everyone had something about their potential life partner that they wanted to change, right? declan was no different. there were plenty of times when acan just wanted to.....well, she just wanted to lock him in a closet somewhere and forget about him. was that normal? it was just another 'woman' thing....she was sure of it.

acanthus continued staring out the window, hoping that she would catch a glimpse of him before he suddenly appeared out of nowhere like he usually did. somehow, aiden always managed to evade every attempt she made to keep him from spooking her -- each and every time, acan thought she was about to jump right out of her own skin. of course, they would both laugh it off, and she knew good and well that it would happen again the very next time they met. which, coincidentally enough, would be right in the very spot that she was sitting in now. she and aiden had one particular table that they sat at, and attended a meal together every week, the exact same day of the week, and in the exact same table that she was sitting at. acan enjoyed looking out the window while she was eating, for some reason she had never even begun to understand. it was enjoyable, watching people carry on their lives. sometimes, she had to wonder what it might have been like to switch with someone else for a day, only to return to her own soon after. she would have loved that, honestly enough. of course, she couldn't become head healer in someone else's shoes....so that thought went right out the window. acanthus quickly snapped out of her thoughts as aiden appeared out of nowhere, and smiled as he placed a kiss upon her cheek. "you came in just the nick of time, actually. i was this close to leaving." she held up two of her fingers to exaggerate just how short his 'time' had been, then shook her head with a laugh. "well for starters, you did pull me out of that treacherous mud hole i found myself in during our second year. and then there was the time that i got hit in the jaw with a quaffle.....yes, i think you've earned your cup of coffee." she laughed again, smiling. acan couldn't help but smile once his childhood nickname for her rolled off his lips. nellie. nellie. merlin, how she hated that name. he was lucky, so lucky that she loved him. in a friend-like way, naturally. "you and me both. i don't know what i'd do without you, honestly." acan smiled, briefly wondering how she would bring up what was currently on her mind. "i'm still working on that promotion. however, the old bat is retiring in a few months, and i have to assume that the healer-in-charge is the runner up. so, now it's your turn....how is your business going, iggy?" acanthus couldn't help but smirk as she tossed out her childhood nickname for him. it was only fair, afterall. acanthus took a long sip of her coffee, swallowing and sighing before glancing back up at aiden. "actually, aiden....there's something that i need to tell you. i don't really know how else to say this other than to say it, so.....i'm engaged." she exhaled, offering a soft smile as she held up her left hand, revealing a small diamond ring on her finger. now, she just had to wait for his reaction.

TAGGED FOR AIDEN/STEPH, I LOVE THEM. <3

[aiden i. carrow]

they tell me i'm the shit
I'M LIKE DUH

aiden carrow wasn't a stranger to women. that was a bit of an understatement really, what with his track record and all. some found it disgusted and yet others wanted to be apart of it. he was never one to shy away from a girl. his list of rules kept him from getting caught up in anything serious or keeping the same girl around for too long which typically ended up leading to something serious. or, at least, that was what the girls always wanted. aiden just wasn't a settle down kind of guy. why should he be? he was hot and there was no getting around that. why waste good looks by being tied down in marriage with kids? that could come when he was older, when he found someone that he didn't mind being with every minute of the day. but there was only person that actually fell into that category now.

acanthus macdougal had been his best friend for as long as he could remember. she was like the female equivalent of himself. well, no, that wasn't exactly true. she didn't sleep with every guy or walk around boasting that she was all that. what she was was a more dignified person than aiden. she knew she was the best, but went about showing it off in a way that wasn't flamboyant. while he was more about showing off, she was more reserved. but she could intimidate anyone and everyone if she wanted. it was something that aiden admired about her. and for as long as he could remember, she was always the one that he turned to first. of course there was christian, but there was just something else about acan. they were always together, always doing things. she got him in a way that no one else did, and she was the only girl that he let close to him. even if it had never been in a romantic way.

almost everyone thought that they were sleeping together for the longest time, but that had just never been aiden. what he needed was acan around all the time. sleeping with her or having feelings would make everything complicated and then he would lose her. this way, they were best friends. they knew everything about each other, still met up once a week to catch up at least. she always knew what he liked to order or how to get deep down in to get him to talk. they would always have each other. that may sound selfish, but aiden needed acanthus. even if he never liked to admit it to anyone let alone himself. but that was okay. she would always be around to be his acan. and that was all that mattered to him. if he didn't have her, aiden didn't know what he would do. probably deep down, he would become like a lost puppy and just withdraw from society all together. christian was great, but he wasn't acan. there just.. wasn't something there with christian that there was with acanthus.

even seeing her face made him smile. she had been gone for so long, it felt like weeks since he had seen her. their table had even gotten pretty dusty without them there every week. while he had kept himself busy with both of his jobs and hanging around with christian, a life without acan constantly there wasn't one that aiden wanted to live. "that close? well, it's a good thing i got my job finished when i did," he said with a little wink towards her. while he never went into details, his best friend knew of his extracurricular job. she was one of the few that he couldn't keep it from. sadistic or not, she had to love every part of him. and she did. taking a sip of his coffee, he raised an eyebrow at her. "a mud hole? i don't recall that...," he spoke for a moment while trying to think before starting to grin, "oh yes! now i do. i couldn't let a pretty girl drown in a little old mud hole now could i? and that time that quaffle hit you in the jaw, oh i was furious. do you remember? that ravenclaw hit it straight at you on purpose. i don't think he saw out of his right eye for two weeks. and he did come apologize to you." when it came to anyone hurting acan, they had to answer directly to him. back then, he had only been a student and was limited to what he could do as far as retaliation. now though was a completely different story. and after he beat the living hell out of that ravenclaw boy, aiden had received a month's detention and a howler sent home to his parents. it was all worth it though. for acan, it always was.

another thing about acanthus that aiden always admired was her work ethic. he didn't think he saw anyone else who worked so hard at their job as acan did, aside from himself of course. while most girls were okay with just getting married to purebloods and lying on their backs to produce a few children to be done with it then spend the rest of their lives blowing through galleons like their husbands didn't actually have to work for it, his best friend was something completely different. the way that she worked was something that he looked up to. and she wouldn't be acan if she wasn't running the place. "work is all the same for me. the new location is doing a lot well than i ever though, and the other job is busy busy as ever. everyone wants the expertise. and that's good! i can't wait to see you running that hospital. i can come and go as i please then. and bother you even more so at work then, when you aren't super busy that is," aiden said with a laugh. he did like to on occasion go bother her at work, but it was something he had to do less of. she still wasn't in charge and could still get in trouble. he couldn't even think to the last time that he had actually been to st. mungo's, except perhaps the night that he had brought embry in. lord, that had been a scary night. there had never been a time before that that aiden had cried, but finding his younger brother's near corpse-like body in the woods behind their family's summer home had done it over for him. the only other time than that that he had cried was when katherine died. when it came to his siblings, he was completely weak. but never did he let anyone see it. the only one who ever saw him cry was acan, never knowing where else to go so he went to her and cried. it was why they were so good for each other.

pulling himself from the memories of those two nights, aiden glanced back up at his best friend just as the words were falling from her mouth. if he hadn't been paying attention, he might have missed it. but he highly doubted that. the words 'i'm engaged' seemed to just ring in his ears. all the color drained from his face as his eyes landed on the ring that she was showing off. without even realizing it, the coffee in his hand had slid out and crashed to the floor. aiden didn't even blink twice at it. a surge of emotions ran over him. anger, betrayal, hurt, jealousy... wait. jealousy? aiden didn't get jealous. least of all over acan. "you go away for a few weeks and then just come back engaged?! what the hell acanthus...," he spoke in a slightly raised tone that clearly spelled out that he wasn't happy, as if him using her full name was any other indication. but of course he wasn't. she couldn't get married. hell, she wasn't even dating anyone! besides, how could there be anyone out there who was even a faction right for he? they weren't... well, they weren't him. he was her best friend. he knew her, inside and out. this bloke, whoever it was, didn't know squat about her. this wasn't right. none of it was.

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tagged: acanthus macdougal - - word count: one thousand, three hundred, and eighty-three - - lyric credit: mac miller - - graphic/template credit: myself - - notes: he's so jelly! he doesn't know what jealous is. lmao.

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