light_of_the_world | fresh coffee at sunrise, warm my lips against the cup

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fresh coffee at sunrise, warm my lips against the cup

The deal was all but done. The unimpressive little shop with crystals and pointless little herbal concoctions had gone into something called bankruptcy. The man selling the shop -- a real estate broker -- had explained that meant the business had no money and so, to pay off some of the people owed, the shop had to be sold.

For cheap. Cheaper, at least, than any other shopfronts on the market, which were few.

Hild had thought handing over money would be enough. She had already gone to the bank and learned what a loan was, had applied, had done the math and been sure she could make the payments, provided the business did well.

But then there were things called escrow and deeds and taxes. There were rules for how to run a business, rules set by the city for what she could sell and how the building must be kept and how she must pay and treat her employees. They all came together in a vague pattern that Hild thought she could understand, but it was a painfully slow process to stop and look up the meaning of every phrase or concept she did not understand.

She could have gone to Luke. She had already asked questions of him, learned from watching and doing. But she hadn't realized the sheer number of laws that dictated his actions. All of his actions simply made sense.

She could have gone to Luke. She could have gone to Derek. But she wanted to go to Spencer. They saw each other often; at the very least, Hild could expect to see him whenever she had a shift at the bookstore. But they had not sat down and had a proper talk, with coffee, just by themselves, in some time.

So she placed her folder full of papers, two coffees (Spencer's favorite blend, made as he liked it), and a plate filled with pastry on the table of the coffee shop, and waited for Spencer to arrive.

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Reid's a little early to the coffee shop but then, he's often a little early. There'd been a particular skip in his step today, though, because he hasn't had much of a chance to spend quality time with Hild as of late so getting to sit down with her is something he's been looking forward to all morning. Between work and wedding planning, the world sometimes seems to be spinning around him, in the best possible way; but this will be nice, too, just enjoying a cup of coffee and a chat with a dear friend.

When he walks into the shop, he sees he's not the only one who'd arrived earlier than their agreed time. Hild's even been here long enough to already have coffees and pastries ready, and Reid grins as he lowers himself onto the chair across from her.

"You look so prepared," he teases, reaching for his coffee and taking a sip, not bothering to ask what it is because Hild knows what he likes. It's a small detail but an important one, a detail that means a great deal to him. "I know there were some specific things you wanted to talk about, I hope I'll be of some help."

Spencer was, as he often was, a little earlier than they had agreed upon, but that too was something Hild had anticipated, just like with his coffee. It was nicer to know the habits of friends now, here in Darrow, and not try to use them in some way to make herself appear more knowledgeable, more in control. It was simply knowing a friend, a small way to make them more comfortable. Even if it wasn't necessary -- Spencer would have been comfortable enough as is, and happy to join her -- it felt nice.

She greeted him with a smile, his cheerfulness calling to her own. "It's mostly just the paperwork," she admitted. As much as she wanted to take care of things all by herself, as it was her project, it was nice to know she had a friend to rely upon. A friend she could admit that small weakness to.

"How are you though, first?" She pushed the little plate of pastries toward him and stole one for herself as she took her hand back. "I feel like I see you every day and at the same time don't."

She's come so far from the first time they'd met. They'd spoken to each other primarily in Latin then, though she barely slips back into it these days, and now Hild is on her way to owning her own small business. It's enough to make Reid's chest swell with pride and affection for her, though he knows it's not exactly the time or place for that, so he reaches for his coffee to buy himself a moment before responding. In truth, he's glad she would come to him for help, if only because the teenaged members of the family he and Luke have collected in this city so far are all so stubborn that they aren't often inclined to ask for it.

"Oh, I'm..." Reid trails off, setting down his drink and glancing down at the ring on his right hand. It's the Graymark family ring, the one that had arrived for Luke in Darrow not long ago, and now it's been passed to him. Luke had given it to him as a sign of commitment, as a way of honoring their engagement with something tangible and paying tribute to one of the few Shadowhunter traditions that isn't better off left behind.

He looks back up at Hild, outright beaming now, and lets slip a sheepish laugh as he takes one of the pastries. "I'm really good," Reid answers sincerely. It's not enough to express how he truly feels but then, he isn't sure he has the vocabulary to really describe the extent for what he feels for Luke, which is unusual for him but still true. It's not something that can just be explained, and Reid thinks the only way to understand it is probably to experience it on one's own. "It's actually probably in your best interest that we haven't had much time to really talk lately, my mind's been filled to the brim with wedding plans so you'd probably get sick of me very quickly."

It was dizzying for Hild to think that Spencer and Luke had come to this place. Only a year ago, the pair of them had been discussing his feelings for Luke over coffee and, a short time later, had been discussing Spencer's reveal of those feelings to Luke.

Engagements were matters of politics back in Hild's time and place, arranged according to alliances of power, military and financial. There was no romance to them, no true feelings. Girls of Hild's caste only hoped to be wed to warriors, brave and strong and fierce. Men who could protect them, not necessarily love them. When the deal was struck, the engagement only lasted until a fortuitous time for a wedding. Hereswith's engagement had only lasted long enough for her to arrive at the castle of her betrothed. Hild had not seen it, the ceremony or the arrival, but she knew that Hereswith had only just seen her future husband's face within days of being bonded together.

And then here was Spencer and Luke, so caught up in their love for one another, so well wrapped up in the warmth and certainty of their feelings that within the turn of the year they had pledged their troth. Hild was not sure if she envied them or was, in a small way, confused by a quality of emotion she had yet to feel.

"Not so long ago, you were so uncertain," Hild pointed out with a warm, teasing smile. "And now you have plans not only for a wedding but for a whole life together." Despite her own personal confusion, she could not be happier for them. The rightness of the match shone in their every word and deed.

"I could never get sick of you," she argued, taking a sip from her cup. "You did not get sick of me when I bothered you for a translation of every other word and phrase. Learning takes forever. Your wedding plans will only last until the wedding. Then we will all feel relief."

Reid ducks his head, laughing because she's absolutely right. "You know, it's actually been exactly a year to the day since we kissed for the first time," he says, cheeks flushing. There's no embarrassment in his tone, talking about isn't going to make him shy, it'd simply been one of the very best days of his life. Walking into the bookstore with the full moon threatening to rise overhead had probably been a somewhat idiotic idea, but Reid had used it as an excuse to leave in case things had gone wrong. If he'd lost the courage or if Luke had gently turned him down, he would have had a very good reason not to stick around.

But he hadn't lost courage, and Luke hadn't turned them down. Now, he's engaged. He's getting married, and Reid hadn't thought that would ever happen. After what had happened to Maeve, he'd been so convinced he wouldn't fall in love again, that nobody could touch him as deeply as she had without ever even having seen her face. Reid has never been so glad to be wrong.

They've known for much longer that this is what they want. He and Luke, they'd talked about getting married while tucked away in their room on Valentine's Day up at Kagura. They hadn't spent much time out of bed, but they'd talked in between the moments they had to catch their breaths, talked about important things like this. He doesn't think either of them had really expected it would happen this soon but then again, Reid doesn't know if it can be considered too soon when they'd already been so certain about wanting to spend the rest of their lives together. Reid's been a little bit in love with Luke since the day they'd met, it's a love that's grown more and more each day, which he acknowledges would sound cliche if he said it out loud to anyone but his fiance, but it's the truth. He doesn't expect anyone else to understand them, just as he couldn't understand another couple's love. What he and Luke have, the bond they share, it'll only ever be for them.

"There's a lot more to the planning than we thought there'd be," Reid admits, "but we promised each other we wouldn't lose sight of things over it. We don't want any part of it to be stressful, even though it feels like it might get that way sometimes. But it's true, what you said, learning does take forever. We never stop learning, and I think that's a good thing. Even if that means I end up learning how many different combinations of wedding cake exist in the world. Or how many different types of font there are to choose from for wedding invitations. I've already been recruiting help for opinions so don't think you're getting off too easy."

Her smile brightened, somehow, at Spencer's words. Her world had always been cyclical, moving from one place and season and time to another and then back again. It had always been a comfort to her to have such a regular schedule. There was a neatness to it, a rightness, and she felt that mirrored in the perfect timing of Spencer and Luke's engagement. They would not get married in the fall, but that was less important to Hild. Weddings were less important in her mind here, where love was what mattered, not political ties and agreements.

"Fonts for wedding invitations," she echoed, laughing outright at the idea. Details were important; details were always important, sometimes more so than the message. But the details seemed to have exploded exponentially as the years passed.

"Oh, you'll have my opinions," Hild assured him, eyes still twinkling in amusement. "I would never keep those from you. And any help I can give, I willingly give. Do not hesitate to ask me. But isn't a cake just a cake? You pick the flavor you like best and that's all. What is stressful about this?" It was a honest question, because she honestly could not fathom it.

Scrubbing a hand over his face then threading his fingers through his hair, Reid laughs, helplessly shrugging his shoulders. "You would think it'd be easy," he agrees, "but we got there and all of a sudden, they're telling us about all the different flavors and frostings and fillings. We had so much cake, I nearly had to beg Luke to carry me out of there." His fiance, in particular, had been overwhelmed by the number of choices they'd been faced with, even comparing the prospect of choosing just one cake to fighting demons.

Reid hadn't let that one go, it'd been too amusing to resist teasing Luke about it, but it had been a lot. Choosing a venue had been a little easier, though he'd needed T.J.'s help with that, and he hasn't wavered on naming Kagura as the best place. It's ideal for a winter wedding and anyway, Reid can't think of anything much more convenient than slipping away from the reception with his fiance to the cabin they'll be booking so they can get a head start on their honeymoon.

"Anyway," he says, waving a hand dismissively, "enough about me and the wedding. I want to know how things are going with you, with starting up your business. You know I'm happy to help however I can."

Hild's eyes widened slightly as she listened, horrified but unable to rid herself now of the thoughts of being assaulted by cakes and frostings. Why was this world so complicated? How had people managed to make every decision seem so difficult? Too much choice, she decided. It was not always a good thing to know every flavor under the sun. She and hers had survived fine with only the rarest taste of cocoa and coffee and oranges. She hadn't needed to know all the other things that she had been missing out on.

She reached out to pat Spencer's hand in a comforting manner. "Any time you need me, for an opinion or to make a decision for you, I am here," she promised. It was not her wedding, after all. Perhaps she would have a better perspective.

"But yes, as for me." Taking back her hand, Hild set them both in her lap and heaved a sigh. She stared at her paper work.

"There are so many rules. Rules for things that seem common sense. Rules for things that cannot possibly apply to me." Hild did not whine. When she was a child, she was obstinate and rebellious. (She still was.) She whined and stomped her feet and threw tantrums. She felt like doing so now, only with an adult's mind, she knew this would get her nowhere.

"I have the money. I have the loan. But there is something called escrow. We have to 'go through' it. I want to move my things in, arrange the shop, but I cannot do that yet and the lady who owns it now keeps looking at me like I'm evil." That troubled Hild the least in this situation. She merely shrugged.

"Thank you," Reid answers with a laugh, though he really is grateful that Hild is offering her advice for when he needs it. He's certain he will, he has no doubt that he'll waffle over certain aspects of the wedding between now and December, but he's fortunate to have good friends who are willing to help. T.J. had shown up when Reid had texted him about the venue "crisis," Alec has accepted the challenge of being Reid's best man and planning the bachelor party, Magnus will be Luke's, and Isabelle is going to be helping dress him for the ceremony.

Where Hild will step in to offer some sort of expertise, he isn't sure yet, but Reid knows he'll need her. Even if it's just to soothe his anxieties, he knows he can count on her for that. Maybe she can even help him write his vows, he's been thinking about doing part of them in Latin because speaking the language had been one of the things he and Luke had first connected over. There's just so much to consider, so much to do. He just has to make sure he sticks to the promise he and Luke have made to each other, that they won't let any of it lead them to a meltdown. That'll be easy enough to avoid, he hopes, considering all the help they have.

"To be fair," he says, reaching out to pluck the first few pages of the top of Hild's stack of paperwork, "the lady who owns the store now also went bankrupt. I doubt she's prone to being especially kind to anyone right now, much less the person taking over." He holds a finger up then. "Not your fault, obviously, I'm not saying it is. Just try not to take it personally, that's all." He lowers his finger back down, biting back a smile as he focuses on what's written on the pages. "Though I can see you're not too worried about that, which is fair enough."

It takes him all of thirty seconds to scan through the stack of papers he's looking through, and it's not everything but he's read enough to at least get a decent start. "Okay, so putting your money through escrow basically protects the seller from getting cheated. The money is going to be held in account by the real estate broker you've been working with and once all the conditions of the sale are met, the money will actually get transferred. It's good for you, too, even if it might seem like it's taking too long. It helps to make sure there's a complete transfer of ownership to you in case of any attempt of fraud or anything like that."

The overview of the escrow process is actually pretty simple, though the actual steps can drag on and on. Still, it's a lot of information, and he wants to make sure it makes sense.

"I think in your case, especially with the current owner's bankruptcy involved, moving through escrow is a good thing. But it should be fairly quick and painless, if the owner doesn't drag her feet. I don't see why she would, considering her predicament."

Though Spencer seemed burdened by his worries and concerns about the wedding, Hild felt nothing but certainty. Spencer and Luke fit, like a key to a lock or a tight weave to a beautiful pattern. (Perhaps that would be her wedding present to them. The memory was awful in its association, but Hild thought they of the blanket thrown over the bed of Edwin's former queen, bright poppy orange and calf-eye brown spun in a sweeping pattern. It would take her a few months to make, if she recruited Eowyn to help.)

Whatever happened, however many cakes or fonts or whatever they had to wade through, at the end of it all was their wedding, the ceremony, and all they had to do was speak a few words, make promises to each other that they had already made. All would be well. Nothing would upend that.

"I'm used to people hating me," Hild replied with a careless shrug. "But I do worry a little that she may work against me and drag her feet. She waved sage at me. Unburned, even." She lifted a brow and gave Spencer a sidelong look. The herb had many uses that Hild employed in her salves and tinctures. Though she never practiced burning and 'smudging' sage to cleanse a place before, she had learned of the practice during her studies. That the woman couldn't even be bothered to light the sage to ward Hild away was a bit insulting, even if Hild dismissed the practice as useless.

"So, escrow is good. I can see the use of it." She nodded. "But I want to begin soon. I hoped to somehow..." Licking her lips, she sighed. "Shit, I can't remember the name of it now. I want to build a small space, made of windows? Where I can place plants so they can have the sunlight but not the cold of winter. Having fresh herbs in winter would be a great help. The broker said something about.. ordinances though. That I would have to check the ordinances."

Reid arches a brow at that, but he doesn't comment on the statement because Hild doesn't appear to be looking for validation or sympathy. It's not like he's a stranger to being disliked himself, he knows people can find him off-putting for various reasons, and he'd learned to stop letting it bother him because dwelling on it had always seemed so pointless. Besides, he'd had an excellent group of teammates who'd found him valuable enough, even if they did like to tease him every now and then.

"A greenhouse," he tells her, "and the broker is right. I can help you read up on the ordinances, Darrow's list might not align with what I would've known where I'm from. We'll have to figure out the size restrictions because depending on how large you want to make yours, there might be permits required. You're within city limits, and I'm almost positive there's not going to be any issue with zoning regulations but we'll make sure."

There's a lot that goes into running a business, which Reid knows Hild is aware of, especially watching Luke manage the bookstore. It isn't an easy thing, taking on so much, but Reid admires Hild for the efforts she's already made. When they'd met, this likely wouldn't have been a feasible option for her for a lot of reasons, but she hasn't backed down from the challenge. He doubts there's a challenge she'd ever back down from, frankly.

"I know it probably feels like it's going a long time, but it does take some patience," Reid tells her, his tone slightly apologetic. "It'll be worth it in the end, though, I'm sure of it."

Her eyes lit up with recognition of the word, and, nodding, she mouthed it quietly, committing it to memory. Made of windows, yes, but full of greenery, as she wanted. A greenhouse.

Her mouth tightened around the edges as Spencer explained restrictions and permits, limits and zoning and regulations. So many things to worry about. She wasn't used to so many rules governing what she could and could not do, what she could build and where she could build. The king had been her only rein before -- and herself. Nothing would have stopped her from building a greenhouse at every castle and keep in Northumbria, save the scarcity of glass of course. Now rules written by men she had never met, probably men long dead, kept her from doing what she wished and for what cause?

At times, she hated writing. This would never had happened in her time, when a king made the rules and could change his mind, and the new king after him was not bound by those rules at all.

"But it's my land," she complained weakly. The sigh that followed was resigned, however, to her fate, and she tore a piece of her croissant off to eat. The principle was what bothered her, even if Spencer seemed convinced she would have no problem.

"There's a girl who works there now. She sells pot on the side." Hild looked curiously at Spencer. "Can I keep her? Or is there a rule about... stealing employees?"

"It's not yours yet," Reid reminders her cheerfully, reaching for another pastry.

He understands why Hild would be so eager, taking on something like this is a huge responsibility but it's also surely immensely satisfying. Reid has never owned a business of his own, but he sees how happy it makes Luke, and he's at least aware of how good it makes him feel to know he excels at his chosen profession. Under no circumstances can Reid see Hild doing anything but succeeding in her venture, and he's told her before that if she ever needs help then he'd be happy to come in on his days off.

"And there are rules about stealing employees, it's called poaching, but I somehow doubt that if the business she's working for now is going bankrupt that you'll have very many problems. If she's looking for a new job now that her current one is coming to an end, it might as well be with you." He pauses, narrowing his eyes. "If you want to retain her for her marijuana, though, just make sure you've got your license to sell ready. It isn't illegal, but it is still controlled. It's supposed to be, anyway."

She narrowed her eyes playfully in response to Spencer's too chipper reminder. She wondered if it was because she never knew her father, had no memory of him that could be considered and called true, that she saw Fursey in her male friends, the ones older than her that cared for her as Spencer and Luke did. Fursey was the closest thing she could claim to a father, in spirit, but even he, with his wine-sodden ways, was a far cry from what any child would wish to see in her father. But what he lacked in paternal traits, he made up for with a sharp mind, sharp tongue and an uncanny ability to make Hild see the error of her ways without making her feel too great a fool to learn from those mistakes.

Plucking a chocolate chip from the top of a pastry, Hild considered Spencer's words. It was his duty to keep the law, which she respected, but she wondered at those law themselves sometimes. Often times.

"She doesn't have a license," Hild said, pointing out the obvious. "And neither did the store owner before. Is it so very difficult to get a license that they took the risk without it?"

Reid arches a brow at that little revelation. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, if only because investigating someone who's already filed for bankruptcy seems a little too cruel." The current owner is still violating the law but then again, Reid has a sneaking suspicion that Hild would try to get away with the very same thing, if she could. Besides that, the department is so short-staffed that wasting manpower on something that doesn't appear to be causing all too many problems (at least, not as far as he knows) seems rather pointless, especially since the owner is going out of business anyway.

"But no, it's not difficult at all. There might have been a lot of red tape if we weren't in Darrow but like I said, it is legal to sell here. So please, please, for me? Just get the license. And if you buy from the girl that doesn't have one for resale, just... leave that part out when you talk to me about how business is going."

In Hild's defense, they did not have officers of the law in her day. The king was the law, or as close as could be reckoned, using the standards of Darrow and the modern world. What the king said, was. What the king wanted, he was given. Those who tried to break the law, defy the king, were killed. Painfully. The idea that, in recompense for breaking the law, Hild only had to pay some money in most cases made the rules seem rather weak.

Spencer worked against murderers, rapists, thieves, against people who killed and took and broke for no reason but their own sick satisfaction or greed. Not honor, not self-defense, not to protect others. He helped bring their cruelties to light so that they could be punished. Not the way Hild would see them punished, but there was some kind of reckoning. There were, in Hild's estimation, leagues upon leagues separating what Spencer did from some man potentially writing her a flimsy ticket and asking her to stop selling weed until she'd filled out a form, thank you kindly.

All that being true, Hild did not have it in her to disappoint Spencer in any way, not if she could avoid it. She gave him a small smile, fond and warm enough that the roll of her eyes, to play at being forced to acquiesced, lost all strength.

"For you," she sighed. "Just because it's you." Turning her head to peruse the papers once more, she added, "For the record, I have never bought weed, illegally or otherwise." The few times she had used the herb, it had been provided to her. "I did buy alcohol for a minor once, but she needed it."

Reid opens his mouth to say something then closes it again, thinking better of it because honestly, it's not worth the argument. Besides, he trusts Hild's judgment, for the most part. Whether or not he believes alcohol is ever really "needed" is neither here nor there and in any case, the reasons for those particular beliefs are far more personal than he's willing to talk about with most people. In the end, Hild is an adult, she's her own person, and nothing Reid says or does is going to keep her from doing what she wants. Nor should it.

"Anyway," he says, deciding it's necessary to steer the conversation away from anything else that may be potentially incriminating, "you'll have my support. Luke's, too. I'll march up and down outside of City Hall handing out fliers if you need me to, I'm sure nobody would mind."

"No, I'm sure no one would mind the sight of either of you," Hild agreed with a fond smile. She had caught the sight of parted lips, that tension in the jaw before one began to speak something they were not sure of the reception of, but he had chosen not to put voice to the thoughts. Though she could guess and suppose at what Spencer would have said, she wanted to know in fact. Though she wished to hear him speak, however, she respected his choice not to. It probably would have spurred something more involved than either had time for, what with weddings and shops.

"But I hope word of mouth will do the trick. I have been selling things here and there, mostly at the festivals. They know my work. I must wait to see if they will buy it." She smirked faintly. "And they must, for I have to buy my friends a great gift for their wedding."

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fresh coffee at sunrise, warm my lips against the cup

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