All That We Are Is Who We Must Be

Simon.

The warm sunshine of yesterday has been replaced by buckets of icy rain and a cold, hard wind. After breakfast, Baz and I bundle up to go get our girls, bringing along coats and scarves for them. One glance out the rain-warped windows of our sitting room makes me glad we decided to park the car in the garage.

We get into the car and drive over to Penny's, Baz holding my hand in his the whole way there. I lift it to my lips, kissing his knuckles idly.

"Crowley, Simon, maybe we should get the Bunces to watch the kids more often," Baz teases. I grin.

"Careful, or they'll be confused about who their parents are. Besides, can it wait a week? Anytime sooner and I don't think I'll be able to walk for a month." Baz bursts out laughing in a way he seldom does (don't get me wrong, Baz laughs; but never great bursts of long-lasting giggles like this).

"The mouth on you, Simon, Aleister Crowley. What are you grinning at me for, now?" I hadn't realized I was, but a smile has spread across my face as I look at him. Reaching over, I tuck his still-wavy hair (humidity does the best things to his hair) behind his ear before leaning over to kiss his cheek.

"I like it when you laugh, that's all," I reply, pulling away. Baz smiles at me, and it's a soft, happy smile. I wish I had a camera on me to capture that look.

Then I realise I have an endless supply of magic just behind my fingertips. Quickly, before that smile can fade, I will my magic to capture the moment, to copy it down onto paper, to set the magically-printed photograph in my pocket. I feel the slight weight of it settling down, but don't pull it out. I'll show it to Baz later.

We get to Micah and Penny's, grabbing an umbrella from the backseat of the car for the short walk to the door (we'd be soaked to the bone in seconds without it). I make a thin, magical barrier around the parts of us that aren't covered by the brolly, blocking us from the wind and the sideways rain.

Penelope opens the door, still in her pyjamas but with a bright, alert look on her face that tells me she's been awake for hours. She's looking at us with an expression that says 'I know what you did last night' as plainly as if she's spoken the words aloud. Baz must see it, too, because a smirk tugs at his lips.

"Hi, Penny," I say cheerfully, feeling my cheeks redden.

"Hello, Bunce," says an amusingly unabashed Baz. Penny rolls her eyes at us, grinning.

"Hello, boys," She replies, pulling us inside. I set the umbrella by the door, letting the magic surrounding my husband and I drop away.

"How did the girls do?" Baz asks, tugging off his shoes and setting down the girls' coats. Micah walks in, also wearing pyjama trousers, with a tired "hello". Penny leads us into the sitting room, picking up a cup of coffee.

"They were just fine. Lulu and Kieran fell asleep right away, but I had to tell Natasha and Eavan to get to sleep at midnight." I laugh lightly, wandering into the kitchen to look for more food. Penny watches me go, rolling her eyes.

"Eavie and Tasha are some pair-- Simon, we literally just ate breakfast." Baz breaks off in the middle of his sentence to reprimand me as I steal the last of the Bunces' digestives. I cross my arms, still holding the nearly-empty packet.

"I know. I'm still hungry," I reply, shoving another biscuit into my mouth. It would taste better with tea, but the soft, crumbly cookie and the sweet chocolate melt deliciously against my tongue. Aleister Crowley, I fucking love digestives.

Baz is trying not to laugh, but manages a fantastic eye-roll.

"You are an actual void, Si," He teases. I wink at him before focusing my attention back on my biscuits.