He's not what he says he is. on At Home

Killian Row

April 27, 2020 2:33 PM

He's not what he says he is. by Killian Row

CW: Past alcoholism

Killian had made the executive decision to spend most of the summer break at his parents' house. They lived in the same multi-bedroom home that Killian and Lorcan had grown up in, and there had always been more than enough room there. That being said, the Row family was not an especially wealthy bunch and even less so after they'd paid for Lorcan's time in rehab the first time, let alone the second or third. It did seem to have stuck though. For now, at least.

It was not surprising to Killian that Bonny had never been to her grandparents' house before, although she had taken to it with more excitement than the guidance counselor had expected. She seemed entirely enamored with any life outside of London; much the why she'd been with Tumbleweed, Bonny was eager and curious. Just outside of Muggle Birr, the Rows' little piece of Irish countryside was quiet and the natural landscape was a prominent feature of life here. As Bonny played in the grass below, Killian surveyed the hills and distant cliffs from a deck on the second floor. When the door behind him opened, he turned to see Lorcan approaching.

"Hello, big brother," Killian smiled a little awkwardly. On the whole, he was comfortable and easygoing, but he'd hardly gotten to know his brother over the past two decades, and such distance made it harder. An unexpected child and imposed sobriety on the older Row brother didn't help make a case for his voluntary reformation.

"She loves it here," Lorcan said, smiling down at his daughter a little sadly. "She should've been here before."

"She could've," Killian said, sipping from his tea.

Lorcan was quiet. It was one of the few things about the man's otherwise bombastic personality that Killian really appreciated; knowing when to be silent, particularly because you'd been in the wrong, was an important trait. The two watched Bonny roll down a small grassy hill and land on her stomach at the bottom, her dress a tumble around her as she pieced at the nearby daisies, grinning the whole while.

"Does she look like her mom?" Killian asked, wondering at the woman who'd stolen his brother's heart.

Lorcan nodded. "Oh yes. She's got her accent, too. 'When in London'," He chuckled softly.

Killian smirked. "Good thing," he teased. "She'd be an unlucky lass to have gotten your looks. Accent would be okay."

The brothers exchanged a look and then laughed together. The tension between them lessened some and it felt nice to almost feel like it had when they were home twenty years ago. They watched as their mother crossed the yard and flomped down onto the grass beside her granddaughter to pick daisies with her, the two laughing about some joke too quiet to hear.

"I'm sober," Lorcan promised quietly, putting a hand up to stop Killian when he opened his mouth. "I know it doesn't mean much. It's only been a couple years. But since I found out she was born . . . since she was left with me . . . I haven't touched a drop. Twenty years of losing my mind and my money to the stuff, and I couldn't keep doing that. Not when she needs me."

It was Killian's turn to be quiet, and a few moments passed before he spoke up. "I want to believe you," he murmured. "It won't change? Where's her mother?"

Lorcan smiled a little more sadly and for the first time in his life, Killian thought that maybe there was more depth to his older brother than he'd given him credit for. "She's gone. The only reason she even told me about Bonabelle was because she met someone else. Truth be told, I can only assume she's mine. But that's what R-- her mom said. She was Filipino," he explained, answering the unspoken question in his brother's eyes. "She came by my place to get some of her stuff and left me with Bonny. Bonny was just a couple of weeks old, and it's just been her and me since then."

Surprised, it took another moment for Killian to decide what he wanted to say. When he did, he put a hand on his brother's shoulders and pulled him in for what was almost a hug. "I want to get to know you again," he said. "I love you, big brother."

Eyes glistening, Lorcan smiled. "I love you, too. Take care of my girl at Sonora, won't you?"

"Why Sonora?" Killian asked, wondering not for the first time why they would pick a school in Arizona, USA, when Hogwarts was a closer choice whether they stayed in Ireland or returned to London. He was sure she'd gotten a letter for that school as well.

Lorcan blinked, surprised. "Because you're there. I want to know my girl is being taken care of and if you work there then it must be a good place."

"Oh," he replied softly, not having expected such a response. Another moment passed in relative silence and then Killian looked at his brother with a wry smile. "If you could put that in writing, I'd love to submit it to Headmistress Skies so she keeps me around."

Lorcan laughed and pushed Killian away. "You're an idiot," he grinned.

Killian raised his teacup for cheers. "Runs in the family. Skipped a generation up and down though," he added, nodding at the two women the brothers loved most in the world. Killian shouldn't have been surprised that Bonny was one of his, even if he didn't know his niece very well yet. They would have time.

22 Killian Row He's not what he says he is. 1450 Killian Row 1 5

Killian Row

May 03, 2020 10:39 AM

She's not who she looks like. by Killian Row

Killian spent a lot of the break researching. He got every newspaper imaginable and scanned all the classified sections everyday, looking for job listings, internships, and more. He was subscribed to several university newsletters, both Muggle and magical, and summer was a busy time for recruiting new students, so Killian got more than his fair share of advertisements for those as well. Unlike his messy office at work, he was very neat at home. Something about the watchful gaze of his mother made him keep his room clean on instinct. This turned out to be a particularly good decision when he worked late and fell asleep at his desk and didn't end up smudging any more ink than whatever he'd been working on at the time. It also meant that when Bonny came in to talk to him one evening after dinner that she didn't really get a good sense of what he was like.

"I'm not always this neat," he promised her, as if being clean was the worst thing one could be. He smirked a little, amused by the thought of telling a child to go mess their room. "What's up?"

Bonny shrugged as her attention turned from Killian's room to his face. Her eyes were somehow wide with curiosity and narrow with suspicion at the same time, like she had several questions to ask and several notions to question. "What do you do at Sonora?" she asked, apparently deciding which itch she most needed to scratch.

"I'm the guidance counselor," he replied, grinning. He loved his job. It was - or had been - his favorite part of his entire life. He worked with amazing students and amazing colleagues and amazing placement sites. It was a good gig. He gestured at the stacks of college admissions paperwork, job postings, and even a few print outs of Google results he'd gotten from the local library, aware that such a thing was impossible at his parents' house.

Bonny nodded and Killian got the impression that she really did understand what that meant. Most people didn't, include the people he worked with. She looked around some more and then turned again as if a question had just come to mind. Killian got the impression that was not the case, though. "Why does dad want me to go to Sonora? Like . . . I'm glad to go to school where you work, but why does he think that is important?"

Killian leaned back in his chair and considered his newfound niece for a moment before getting up and gesturing for her to take a seat in the chair he'd vacated while he sat on the bed. It gave him his own moment to think as well and he supposed Bonny might like to see some of what he was working on a little more closely. "Your dad worries about you," he said. "I'm not sure why."

"He thinks I'm like my mum," Bonny replied matter-of-factly. "But I'm not. I would stay if I could."

Perhaps this kid knew more than she let on. Really all kids did, which was good both because they knew more stuff and because they didn't let on some of what they knew. Some of what they knew was gross and weird. "It's good that you don't stay home," he told her. In a moment of recognition, he thought perhaps they were on the same team. "You and your dad have both had to grow up fast since you were born, but that doesn't mean either of you are all the way grown up. This will be good for you both."

Bonny opened her mouth and then shut it again and Killian had to suppress a victorious smile. He'd thrown the little thinker off her game. Finally, Bonny nodded. "Take care of him," she told him, her voice dropping into a sadder tone than she'd used before.

She looked up in apparent surprise when Killian responded with laughter. "Funny," he said. "He told me the same thing about you."

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