11787/Oh Brother....

Oh Brother....
Date of Scene:	17 July 2020
Location:	Harry Dresden's Office, Kingston Falls
Synopsis:	Harry comes home fuming about his 'brother', Karrin makes dinner
Cast of Characters:	Karrin Murphy, Harry Dresden

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Karrin Murphy has posed:
Food. They'd both need food, it did rather become an essential part of continuing to function as a human being. She never relished the idea of having to cook and on the nights where neither of them was home until well after sundown, quick take out was generally the plan. But, tonight, she'd somehow gotten out of the precinct at a reasonable hour. She'd probably still head out for other work-after-work later, but right now she had no excuse not to make them an actual, almost healthy meal.

So, standing in the kitchen in her track pants and sports bra, full intentions of working out after dinner, Karrin stared at the wok on the stove, waiting for it to get hot enough to put an assortment of things into. "...just... sizzle... it's not that hard..." She muttered in vague exasperation to the thing. Blue eyes landed on Mister for just a moment, who was eyeing the salmon which would follow the vegetables into the wok. "No. Not for you." Not yet, at least.

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Of all the baseless fucking lies I have EVER been told in my life," Harry screams as he makes his way towards the front door, being heard even before he is able to be seen. The front door slams open hard enough that there is a moment where it seems the thing might break from the force. "There is no fucking way. I am going to roast that motherfucker alive."

Harry pulls off the duster and drops it on the floor by the coatrack, the staff gets tosses into the corner unceremoniously and starts to storm towards the kitchen, pausing short as he seen Karrin home. "Murph," he says with an exhalation of breath that seems to lighten his mood ever so slightly, "Hey. I know she is your friend, but I am going to kill that boyfriend of hers. Stupid Incubus shouldn't fuck with me, I've given him enough warnings."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The angered scream is enough to get her attention away from the oil in the wok, and the hungry cat, that both are primed and ready the moment she's stepping around the edge of the kitchen and in his direction, blatant confusion in her pale eyes. "... what? Okay, now... before we start roasting anyone, let's make certain this is at least slightly justified homicide... This is already considered premeditation just talking about it, you know?" Karrin mutters with a bit of a wry smile, stepping over to his side with a mix of concern and bemusement in her eyes.

However, the continued explanation is enough to make her shoulders go just slightly stiff. "... I... take it we're...talking about Thomas..." She mutters carefully, shifting to head back to the kitchen because looking at stir fry is easier than her eyes giving away something that Harry didn't need to hear from her.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry Dresden says, "Thomas..." Harry spits out of mouth like it was venom sucked out of a wound, "That asshole. I swear to god he is just fucking with the wrong wizard. Do you know what he did?!"

Harry walks past Karrin on his way towards the icebox for something to drink. "The vampire asshole is trying to convince me he is my brother. MY BROTHER! Went so far as to make a replica of my amulet. I don't know what fucking game he is playing, but it is going to end one way, and it isn't going to be good for him."

Harry tosses open the icebox and pulls out one of Mac's beers, popping the top and chugging about half in one pull. "I swear I am going to make him a stain on the floor.""

Karrin Murphy has posed:
The silence from her is a little too long, as she pokes at sizzling vegetables in the pan in front of her, keeping pale eyes carefully on the food and not his momentarily enraged expression. "Now... Harry, I know it might seem a bit extreme but... What ... What reason would he have for just making something like that up? Or knowing what your amulet even LOOKS LIKE well enough to have another?" Karrin keeps her voice low, calm, like she was talking a suicidal person down from the edge of a window sill.

She gives one last push to the veggies and then puts the lid onto the pot before Mister can get any more ideas. Quietly, she walks over to his side, staring up at the tall man with a too-calm, entirely unsurprised expression. SHe was taking this shockingly well. "...I don't see any reason he'd play a *game* like that, even if he is... less than reputable sometimes."

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Of course there is." Harry says as he sips from the bottle, a little slower than his originally downing it. "He convinces me he is my brother, and then next thing I know I am a fucking slave to the white court or worse. We only take his word for it that he is the black sheep of the family. What if it is all just one big ruse to get a wizard like me bound to one of them?"

Harry moves over towards the couch and flops down onto it rough. "I always told Buffy he wasn't trustworthy. I told her he shouldn't have anything to do with him. Just goes to show I was right," he seethes. "Shot, we should call her. I punched that fucker in the face with my force rings...he will probably be awake soon. I was HOPING I would just take his fucking head off."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
In silence, she stares at his back for a handful of heartbeats. A slow, low breath through her nose as she leans her hip against the kitchen counter and figures just how to pick through this. "...Don't drink away your whole appetite, I actually bothered to cook for once and have told Mister repeatedly the fish isn't his, so don't make me a liar." Karrin deadpans, trying to get a little bit of something that isn't seething out of Harry even as he stews in his temper and his beer. "...And Buffy has a...pretty damn responsible head on her shoulders, Harry. I think she's...pretty aware of what she's getting into."

Karrin then turns the head down low, adding the salmon to stew with the veggies but not wanting to baby it for the moment. She grabs a beer from the fridge herself, even if it'll make running later miserable, and moves over to his side. Instead of sitting on the couch, she perches on the edge of the coffee table, staring levelly at him. "Harry...the white court has way better ways of making someone their puppet and you have way more effective methods of telling them to shove off. Maybe... I mean... What if it's true? Just...for a second. Consider..."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry Dresden says, "You're cooking?!" Harry says with some alarm, "As if my night can't get any worse," he manages a grin, his mood lighting up ever so slightly.

Buffy being responsible causes him to roll his eyes and guffaw, "She is a vampire slayer...who dates vampires. Plural. Not even just the one. Tell me how in the hell that is responsible. Hell's Bells Karrin, you used to be on my side with that. Yeah, she is a valuable ally and sure he is good enough at what she does, but come on..."

Harry reaches up and rubs at his temples, "OK, fine. Say it is true. He is my brother. He is the shittiest brother I could have, knowing all this time and not telling me till now? How long has he known? The entire time I have known him? Fuck him either way.""

Karrin Murphy has posed:
There's a momentary, deeper cross of discomfort behind her eyes as he goes on about how long Thomas has known. Still, his knee gets a little shove at the cooking comment and she rolls her eyes, electing to consider that instead. "You don't *have* to eat it. I'm sure Mister will be more than happy to have your share." She smirks flatly at him, not even bothering with defending Buffy. He might have a point there.

She sighs, taking another sip of her own beer before getting up and mussing his hair an affection heartbeat or two with her hand then returning to the kitchen to flip and stir things. "...He might not have told you because, well...considering exactly how you're reacting now, he didn't really think you'd react well. And you're proving him right in that much... Did you even bother to stop and have an adult conversation about it, or did you just toss him across the room and book it?"

Harry Dresden has posed:
"I warned him," Harry says with a shrug of his shoulder. "I warned him if he continued to go down that path I was going to shove a fireball up his ass. He's lucky I just punched him."

"Stars and stones, Karrin, if he knew he was my older brother, he left me think I was alone this whole damn time. What kind of a brother would do that? The least he could have done was say something after we met. He KNOWS I didn't have any family. He KNOWS what I went through with...you know. Yet, he still just left me alone Murph.

He drains the last of his beer and glances over towards the stove. "Smells good, what are you making?"

Karrin Murphy has posed:
There is a long moment of uncomfortable silence from her. Fortunately, she's got the kitchen to distract her so, hopefully, the guilt in her eyes isn't too obvious. Karrin was awful at lying to him and it certainly didn't feel great, so she keeps her eyes down on the salmon as she goes through the delicate process of cooking, but not over cooking, salmon. It's always a challenge. The last question is enough to be a good distraction instead of her continuing to defend Thomas.

"Salmon stir fry. Almost finished and...should be good if I don't completely dry it out. Salmon's a pain but it was on sale and... Well... We probably should eat real food *once in a while*." She dares raise her eyes to him, flashing a half smile of affection but there's still something off about it all.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Let's be honest, sometimes Harry isn't the most observant person in the world, and at the moment he's too buys in his own personal dilemma to pay enough attention to the look on Karrin's face at the moment. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss. He drains the last of Mac's beer from the bottle and frowns at it like it has betrayed him for being empty. He glances over towards the icebox and you can almost see the wheel turning in his head...wondering if he can manage to magic over another bottle to himself, but he knows the answer and resigns himself with a sigh to get up and fetch another.

"Salmon? What are we, fancy now?" he asks with a slight chuckle, "Don't get all domestic on me now, Murph. You know I am perfectly fine with our typical regimen of caned pastas, Burger King, or Mac's if we are really going fancy. Toss something new in there like fresh fish and it might go to my head that we are upper crust."

He tosses the empty into the recycle bin and fetches another beer from the icebox before making his way over to the kitchenette, leaning on a counter out of the way of the food prep. "Enough about my lovely day, how about you? Things alright at the precinct?"

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"It was on *sale*. Don't expect this fancy shit next week, Wizard boy... I'm still second to last pay grade because SPECTRE isn't considered a 'real' department by anyone who matters and... remind me... Just how much DID you charge for your last case?" Karrin asks him with a warm smirk, eyes momentarily narrowed on his features like he might surprise her by charging what he's actually worth. Not that anyone could afford it. She pulls down two plates, beginning to dish out food with not exactly practiced motions, but she has some cooking capability to her when she bothers.

"...You don't need to push your lovely day under the bed and box it up. If you want to... vent, or talk it through more...I'm here. I think you need to actually consider if what he said is true, frankly, and... maybe he just didn't tell you because he IS a *vampire* and there's a whole set of dangerous shit that comes with that too." She then hands him a plate, as he's going for another beer, "...wash that beer down with SOME food. The golden ale, if there's any left, should do well with it."

And she's definitely avoided the question about her day as well, despite being home early. It's probably not a great sign.

Harry Dresden has posed:
"What is left to say? Best case scenario I have a sex-a-holic incubus vampire as ab older half-brother?" He pauses as soon as those words come out of his mouth, drawing his lips in tight until they are nothing more than a line before letting out a slow, practiced breath out through his nose. "Which...would be more family than I have now I guess..." he relents finally, "unless I have other family hiding around and not telling me for whatever reason."

"I just...why wouldn't he say something? Why at the very least not just send a letter or something before we even met? He had to have known, right? At some point he had to have known. Why not say something then? Why wait till now? I just don't...ARGH!" he finishes with a frustrated scream as he pops open the golden ale he grabbed from the icebox.

"Well, I guess it explains why Buffy kept trying to get me to talk to him. Some of those awkward attempts of hers finally make a bit of sense...hell's bells, which means she also knew and didn't tell me...but it really wasn't her place to so I will let that slide....somewhat. Still kinda ticks me off." He pauses, pursing his lips again, "Which is what I did to you all those times when I didn't tell you something about the Shadow Man, or the Lupe Garou...shit."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Another beer grabbed for herself, some utensils, and it's just about the most fancy dinner they've had in ages. Going out on a 'proper date' simply wasn't something that was generally on the table. But this was pleasant enough. She follows him back to the couch, settling down close enough that the outside of her calf runs along the edge of his thigh when she turns to sit sideways, better to let her lap serve as a bit of a table and to see the look in his eyes as he pours over all this messiness. The food is actually pretty damn good, she managed not to try the fish out, and she'll take every win she can get.

His commentary about not telling her things draws a long, earnest smirk across her little mouth. Wry amusement crosses blue eyes but there is still just the strangest trace of guilt there. "...We... try to keep things from people we lo... care about... to keep them safe. It's generally a bad plan and we get our asses kicked in the end for it but...doesn't mean it's done for bad...reasons." She'll never get a better time to say it so, exhaling a little breath, "...so hopefully... you own't be too pissed when I say...yeah. I knew. I... it wasn't my place to tell you either, Harry, but...I'm pretty sure he's telling the truth."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry's fork stops halfway between plate and mouth as Karrin says that, but the salmon that was on it fails to succumb to the sudden stop and the inertia allows it to continue on it's intended trajectory for a few centimeters more before plopping into Harry's lap, where a very opportunistic cat pounces at the morsel of fish that has suddenly found itself in his reach. Landing on Harry's belly, Mister snags the piece of fish and then leaps off again before Harry can even muster up the 'OAF!' the heavy cat elicits from landing on the wizard.

Once Harry recovers from 30 pounds of cat jumping on him for a free fish dinner, he looks over at Karrin. "You..knew?" That looks like more of a gut punch than the cat managed, and this one is all mental. The wizard seems to deflate into the couch with a defeated sigh, setting the bowl of salmon stir fry over to the side...which is all the invitation Mister needs to help himself as Harry wallows or whatever it is Harry is doing. "I know I can't be mad...not after what I just said...but damn do I really, really, REALLY want to be."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Well, Mister had been waiting for his opportunity *quite* eagerly for half an hour now, so Karrin can't blame the cat, even as she slightly winces in sympathy at the bowling ball drop that suddenly found its way to Harry's lap. It's nothing compared to the faint pain that crosses through her eyes as he processes what she said and actually puts his food aside entirely. "...Mister... Go." Murphy grumbles at the cat, carefully shooing him away in some vain hope that Harry might *actually* want to eat her food later. It also helps her not meet his eyes for a heartbeat or two, but she can't avoid them all that long. She exhales slowly... Maybe she should have waited until after dinner.

Finally, she just gives a slow, affirming nod to his question. No dodging it now. Karrin exhales slowly and leans her leg a bit more into his, ice blue eyes searching for his gaze, an ocean of apology and regret behind them even if she couldn't really find the words. "... you're...allowed to be pissed. You can be. I... still don't know if it was my place to tell you but... Dammit, Harry, you've never been Thomas' biggest fan and... How the hell was I supposed to tell you? Through our clear and wonderful history of healthy, open communication." That last line is all sarcasm.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry Dresden snorts at that last line, "Touché," as Mister snags another piece of the salmon before running off, tail in the air is triumph. Harry glances over at Karrin and shakes his head, "I mean, I literally just said I did the same damn thing for whatever reasons I had at the time. Difference is that I don't get the opportunity to sucker punch you, toss you in cuffs, and arrest you for...what was it? Murder?"

Still, Harry looks done. Karrin has seem him at his worst, beat up both mentally and physically, but he has never just looked plain defeated. There was always a spark of defiance there for whatever unsurmountable odd he was facing. Now it looks like all the air has been left his sails.

"I think I am to tired to be pissed anymore, Karrin. And you are right, it wasn't your place. It wasn't Buffy's. It was his, and he is the one I should be pissed at...but I think I blew my quota for pissed off today." Harry leans his head back against the back of the couch and releases a deep sigh, lifting the bottle of beer to his lips and letting it pour into his throat.

Karrin Murphy has posed:
It would almost be better if he was mad at her. Karrin could handle the yelling, the arguments, goodness knows they'd done it before. But this simple exhaustion? The pure defeat in his eyes? It breaks something in her just to watch it. She sets her plate aside as well, no care given to the risk of Mister truly taking his buffet tonight. The man in front of her mattered a bit more than her attempts at food. She leans over quietly, pressing a single kiss to the corner of his mouth, something more tender and reassuring than meant to be hungry or distracting. Her nose lingers there just a few heartbeats before she pulls away enough that eye contact could be comfortable.

"Hey... look at me. I've seen you fight... unimaginable things. And yes, even I've tried to toss you in handcuffs and behind bars a few times. And not once did you give up. This is... it's not something you can really fight. It's a lot and you're allowed to be hurt but... don't just... shut off. Not to me. Please." She sighs, reaching over to try and lace her fingertips through the hand he's not holding the beer in, just staring at his far longer palm, "...this was easier when you were screaming."

Harry Dresden has posed:
"I'm not...giving up. I just need some time to process this. Hell's Bells, what if he actually is telling the truth and this isn't some strange way for the White Court to get their claws into me? I might actually have a brother. A family? I don't even know how to process that right now. The worst part of it is though, is I think there is only one way I am going to believe a word that comes out of that guys mouth, and I am SO not looking forward to it."

Harry turns his head enough to be able to look in her direction and snorts, "Bonus though, if he IS my brother, he is loaded... I can milk him for all those missed birthdays and Christmases."

HArry's eyes go wide as a thought occurs to him, "Oh god. When Bob finds out that I might have a sexpire brother...there is going to be no stopping him."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
A slight breath she hadn't even realized she was holding escapes Karrin's lips, a hint of relief behind it, even as her small hand, calloused with far too many years at the gun range several times a week, tightens over his palm and gives a small squeeze. "Alright. Time to process...that we can do. Though if it involves avoiding dinner much longer, Mister is going to gain another five pounds and we'll be ordering in pizza again." She levels a look at the cat who hasn't quite gotten onto the coffee table again for more hunting, but is definitely eyeing their meal from the corner and planning his next strike.

She catches his eyes as he finally turns to look at her, a glimmer of mischief echoing behind her own with an earnest smile to follow, "If he doesn't buy you a new car, clearly, he doesn't love you. Or...well...new old car." She knows that most modern tech just doesn't seem to work around him, her own burnt out cars proof of that alone. "...maybe a classic Corvette? Something sexy and fast, he should be good at that." She tosses him a wink and finally leans over to grab her plate once more, but not before taking another good belt of beer. "...Harry, there's no stopping Bob *now*. I'm never going to live down the last time I came out of the shower in just a towel and he was awake."

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Another good point..." Harry says in relation to Bob as he recovers his plate, returning the squeeze to Karrin's hand with a small smile. "The fact that you haven't smashed him into powder with a hammer shows your wonderful self-restraint. God knows I have been close to doing it myself before. Maybe I should give him permission to go visit Thomas' club. That would be fun for a laugh..." Harry says with an almost evil grin. The only thing missing would be maniacal laughter and the goatee to turn this into evil-Harry.

Finally after another deep breath, Harry is able to take a bite of the stir fry and his eyes go up in surprise, "Hey," he exclaims, "this is actually pretty good!"

Karrin Murphy has posed:
"I am actually capable of putting food together that is almost healthy, you know. I didn't survive on take out and pizza alone before I met you." Just maybe 50 percent of the time, "Besides...the ex would have bitched even more if I didn't cook some nights because I was the wife and that was my job... despite us doing the same damn job at the same damn place and working the same hours..." Oh. There's something that's pissing her off today. Probably the reason she avoided answering about work. She huffs at the thought and flops back on the couch, taking a good bite of her salmon.

"It's nice to cook for someone who actually...appreciates it. And I needed to shove a knife into some things repeatedly, so... I figured this was the safest bet." She stretches out on the couch, idly draping her leg over his since she's not facing him directly any more, content to fall into munching salmon and actually almost relaxing. As much as either of them does that.

Harry Dresden has posed:
Listens. Not the kind of listening that he has trained himself to do so he can hear phone conversations and such, but listens to what Karrin is saying and the tone of it. "So you had a bad day too, huh? Thank you for not stabbing ME repeatedly. I appreciate that. Did you want to talk about it?" Harry asks as he stabs another piece of salmon and some veggies before popping them into his mouth. "I can't promise I can help," he says, trying to talk through a mouthful of food, "but I will do the best I can."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
Another bite of food. Another slug of beer. She's avoiding his eyes again but not because of guilt, but because Karrin's not certain she wants to talk or think about it. Granted, not talking about things was another major part of the death knell of her marriage, but there's still a lot of that old tension and haunting behind her eyes as she considers it. She just drinks a bit more beer and sinks her side against his a bit deeper.

Finally, not meeting his eyes because she has no wish for him to see how much it's still bothering her, she flattly mutters, "Richard was sniffin' around on a case I've been on and, workin' with Ruldolph, got it transferred out of SPECTRE so the 'professionals' can handle it. When I...expressed my frustration at this all, they told me to take the afternoon off since it must be that time of the month. I... If someone dies because those bozos felt like waving their dicks, I'm going to kill them."

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry continues to eat in silence while Karrin contemplates her feelings on the subject, after all he would be a hypocrite if he continued to just spout off right after he said he was a good listener. It wouldn't be the first time he was a hypocrite though, and most certainly won't be the last. Finally Karrin speaks, and Harry slowly turns his head towards he, his mouth agape.

"They said what? And you didn't kill them just on general principal? Your ex and your ex-subordinate team up against you and they yet live? Who are you and what have you done with Karrin Murphy?"

HArry shakes his head as he finishes the last bite of food, setting the plate down next to him on the table which causes Mister to promptly come over to check it out for any leftover salmon. "Seriously though, you didn't kick their ass? That sounds like a total ass-kicking needing to happen. What are they looking into? I just had to deal with a Denarian coin, which now that you mention it I never did get paid for. I never even settled on a price, I just wanted to make sure the coin didn't get anyone. Damn it. Ah well, maybe I can call the auction house and get something worked out after the fact."

Karrin Murphy has posed:
As he seems to agree that she should have committed murder right there, Karrin's jaw just tightens a bit more. She exhales through her nose, trying to swallow back that temper and the strange, faint sting behind her eyes that always threatens to come when she really thinks about just how little respect she's gained over the years at the precinct, and how easy it is to just dismiss. "...I like my job... some days... more than I hate them. But... f*ck." She breathes out harshly, taking one last bite of her food to stop her from saying anything worse. She's still fuming when she lets herself think about it.

The coin comment gets an arched brow and a bit more of a smirk, "... and considering how good you are at getting paid, one of us has to keep the lights on, so... I guess I better suck it up at work and continue to not commit homicide in front of a room full of cops." She gives him a sly bit of a wink, but there's still tension in her body.

So, she uses it for better things. "Come on, I won't murder you, but lets try some sparring while it's still light out? We might both feel better and if we get drunk later, I wouldn't feel so bad for missing a work out." When he starts with any sort of protest, especially since they just ate, she gives him a stare. "...and when did the badguys wait until you digested? To the mats, Dresden, or I'll shove you there myself." And she very well would. They'll both feel better after 45 minutes of a hard fight against someone not actually trying to kill them.