15873/It's an easy job...right

It's an easy job...right
Date of Scene:	05 December 2023
Location:	Harry Dresden's Office, Kingston Falls
Synopsis:	Willow brings Harry a gift, only to find herself play a game of 'piece the wizard back together' to go along with it.
Cast of Characters:	Harry Dresden, Willow Rosenberg

---

Harry Dresden has posed:
Harry's is a private investigator. That can get him into enough trouble. He told Willow he was looking into a case today, but would be home tonight. He didn't anticipate trouble, just a simple skip trace of sorts.

He isn't a bounty hunter, but the area is a little grey and there is talk that the one on the run is a low level practitioner and Harry intends to bring him in, preferably in one piece.

Unfortunately, the practitioner is also a former Ranger and so he sets traps. Harry gets banged up several times, hitting a trip wire here, a drop pit there. Sitting on the couch now, Harry looks a little like maybe he called Buffy a sissy and threw a glass of water on Faith in the same breath.

Mouse sits by the couch, Harry tending to bruises and abrasions galore. The one who did the hiring will have a lot of things to answer for. His left eye is black, his lip and nose bleeding, and he even looks like his back might be a little burned. Oh yes, someone will pay...eventually.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Already, when Willow enters there is a slight twinge to the air. Not so much that she was panicked, but even that by the time she entered the living room, she was wearing a frown.

"Is something the mat- .. oh."

Quiet.

And then..

"What happened to you? And should I ask what the other guy looks like? Do you need a hand? Some food? Or to pretend nothings wrong with you until you get cleaned up?"

One thing she had learned with living with Buffy was to not jump in - unless it was dire, or she wanted up. Otherwise? Hands off till she knew.

She figured it was a pretty good system to apply to Harry.

Harry Dresden has posed:
There are a few wounds that probably should be stitched, but a hospital visits are kind of a no fly. He looks up as she enters and tosses a wasted shirt into a rag pile,"Hello dear. Rough day at the office." he mutters, wincing when he laughs at himself.

Bruises around the right rib cage says it they aren't broken they might as well be. He motions her to him,"It's all right. This happens now and then. For all out power, we're still pretty much just squishy people." He grunts and looks around the bandages and other supplies,"Next time someone tells me the person is a low level practitioner and doesn't bother to tell me he was Army Special Forces I am going to drop the person in their lap."

Super glue. What is he going to do with super glue? A bowl of foul smelling liquid has rags steaming in it over on the wood stove,"Grabs those for me please."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow knows what the super glue was for. "Let me help you. You are more likely to have scars if you do it by yourself. You forget, Buffy isn't a super squishy girl, and some of the demons.." ALL of the demons. "..pack a mean wallop. Sometimes I think they get a kick ploughing Buffy to the ground."

And because she is quite familiar with superglue, she picks it out of several containers and tubes, and returns to his side.

"Me? I'm squishy. I mean I have done some martial arts, but let's face it, the things we usually got up against would - and do laugh at me. My magic is still my number one protection in almost all of the situations that I will meet." A pause. "Or Buffy."

Harry Dresden has posed:
He might protest initially, but then he catches himself. If she sleeps in his bed, she can see him beat to oblivion. He grits his teeth and feels the cheese grater effect on his skin, oh look tiny gravels in his skin.

Sighing softly, he starts to pick some out with tweezers while she concentrates on things he can't reach and closes up of cuts that would be a lot trickier alone,"You're hired lady, I am keeping you around. We need to figure out a way to make you less squishy. I want you around for a long time."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"I should talk up my martial arts again." As she says it, she tries to think 'where will I put it'. After all, it wasn't a thing a person could do in the odd hour or two a week. Really it should be a routine, and frankly Willow just doesn't have the time.

Not and keep Harry as a big part of her life.

Not unless he planned on doing it as well.. which gave her a silly little idea..

"You know Parkour? What about that mixed with magic?"

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Martial arts is good. If you don't have time for anything else, kickboxing is a good mix for general self defense. This day and age it seems like everyone is a master grappler too, but that's another aspect all together."

He hmms softly and admits,"I don't know that I would have the time unless we were working together. I would make time then." he suggests.

"Parkour is very interesting to me. Mixing that with magic and potentially kickboxing could be a good way to learn how to work together."

He makes a face as a deep imbedded gravel comes out,"We're a team now, might as well work it all out. Maybe at some point work on link our minds to work together. We've seen each other's souls, though until I am rid of Lash I don't know how much you will want to be in here."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Who is Lash? Really?" Willow holds the two edges of the current slice on his back together, allowing the glue to set. "You are you. So with Lash either he's dangerously unsafe, or you wouldn't have allowed me to contemplate this relationship. You wouldn't have let yourself take any chance. Or you could have shown me out the door after we slept together."

Finally the edges were close enough to let go. The remainder were more gravel and road burn. Looks yucky, but there wasn't anything for it but to clean and bear with them for the couple days before his skin began to heal.

"I was thinking it could be a fun time for us. Okay, we would suck. I would, anyway. But it's good practice?"

Harry Dresden has posed:
"Yeah. I have the fallen's influence mostly under control, but once in a while she tricks me. Someday I want to be rid of her. I only have room for one person in my head and one woman in my life." He looks both ways and stage whispers,"That would be you."

"I think you're right though. It would be good for both of us. A new way to think about things and solve problems thinking outside the box. It also gives us tools that aren't magical in nature. It's not a bad idea."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Buffy always tried to be able to get one or two punches while she tried to get to me if necessary. I have got off of my training regimen. It didn't feel very necessary in the past couple of years."

Closing up the superglue she smiles, "All done. It's going to hurt for a couple days. But the road rash isn't very deep, so it's not likely to infect."

Willow kissed him quickly. And then again, slowly. "You're going to spoil me, you do know that. Speaking of nothing, I brought you a copy of the mathematics that I am enamoured with." String theory and computational factors.

Harry Dresden has posed:
He considers, looking at her fingers for a long moment, then looking at his own hand as well. Like and epiphany bursts in his head,"A ring, that collects kinetic energy from swining your arm walking. Build up a charge that can be released all at once." he muses thoughtfully.

"If I didn't hurt I'd think I was dead." he admits with a softly chuckle. Everything still smarts a lot.

The quick kiss is a surprised, the slower one is met equally. Once it breaks he smirks,"It's fun to spoil you Willow." He is curious about what she had though, it might be over his head, but he's a tall guy and can reach pretty high.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"I still say you're spoiling me!"

Willow breaks off the embrace and rummages through her rucksack. "I bought you this myself, so you can keep it. It's about string theory and the mathematics that comes out of it. Open it up!"

She waits with bated breath till he opens it to the end pages, front and back. At the end there appears to be nothing. Which isn't quite true - at the bottom at the last page before the index she inscribes something he will get to if he finishes the book.

But at the beginning she inscribed:


"Mathematics are the result of mysterious powers which no one understands, and which the unconscious recognition of beauty must play an important part. Out of an infinity of designs a mathematician chooses one pattern for beauty's sake and pulls it down to earth."
        ~Marston Morse

And in a smaller script: Always look for the beauty, love Willow

Harry Dresden has posed:
"I'm going to continue to do that for as long as I am able." he quips back, getting settled now that he is mostly patched up.

When she mentions she has something for him, he raises a brow and waits for her to hand it to him. Once she hands it over, he starts to unwrap it and he takes it out. He looks it over.

Opening the book, he studies the inner binding.

He reads the words, mutters softly along with the words. Reading to the last, he looks at the smaller script and his fingers run over what she has written. He closes the book and leans towards her a little, despite the sore and kisses her lips once softly,"Thank you. You really do understand things better than most."