Good Morning Beautiful

[Quincey Honeyduke]

Quin was, as usual this early in the morning, elbow deep in dough working on today's fresh baked treats. Of course the sun was hardly over the horizon when he started a couple hours ago and this was his last batch, thank Merlin. He had flour on his face, up his arms, all over his apron as he rolled up the last batch of cinnamon rolls for today. Now all he had to do was pop them in the over and mix the icing before he could clean up and get ready to open the shop for the day. Well, hopefully Vera would be in to do that soon because he wasn't sure he'd have time to clean himself up before they needed to open. That was nothing new, Quin worked quite a few days covered in baking ingredients, but it wasn't the best appearance to be had when trying to sell sweets. As it was his sleeves were rolled up, his apron was a mess and he probably had something in his hair.

Cutting the rolled up dough into sections, he tossed them onto a cookie sheet then into the oven, setting his hourglass timer with a few taps of his wand. It truly was his favorite little gadget in his kitchen and he had quite a few gadgets. With a flick of his wand, the ingredients for his icing jumped to the counter in front of him as did a large bowl and whisk. He'd made a lot of dishes this morning, he wondered who he was going to have to bribe to do them for him. Dishes were not his favorite part of the kitchen, then again cleaning in general wasn't really his favorite either.

He was whisking away when he noticed Vera watching him from the doorway. "Good morning Beautiful, how're you today?" He grinned at her, switching hands because one was tired. He could have whipped it by magic but in his opinion it never came out as smooth as when he did it by hand. Maybe by now he was just so used to it he forgot it was an option too.

  

[Vera Rose]

Vera didn't ever feel awake until she'd nearly tripped and landed in a puddle/pile of dirty, mushy snow on her walk to work. She supposed it was more reasonable to apparate there, seeing as she had access to the wards and soon it would be too cold to even fathom a walk to work, but the routine helped her get into the rhythm of the day. It took a lot longer to get to Honeyduke's this way but, as she came in through the back door and shrugged off her coat, some habits were better kept than done away with.

She heard some noise from the kitchen - Quincey, no doubt, was already at it. It being making a mess. Or cooking, rather, but it entailed the same thing as making a mess: dirty pans and plates for her to wash and flour everywhere. Making her appearance in the doorway, Vera was not disappointed by the mess. Quin was working on something that smelled sweet - what else was new? - and the oven was on. She didn't want to disturb him quite yet. Watching him do something he loved so much, especially when he didn't know she was looking, always served to warm her heart. He took so much joy in what he did that it reminded her daily why she'd fallen in love with what he'd created the moment she stepped through the door.

Once he finally noticed her at the door, after a few minutes, Vera allowed the secret smile on her face to spread into a full-out grin. "Morning to you, too, Handsome." she lilted. Making her way over to the sink piled with things that he was sure he didn't expect himself to end up washing, she gave his shoulder a squeeze in passing. "What's this you're working on? Frosting for what?" she asked, stopping short of sticking her finger in the bowl to taste the stuff. She didn't understand people who didn't like frosting: it was her most favorite part of any baked good that was topped with it.

They still had some time before the shop was to be opened, so she began to busy herself washing the tower of plates. Honestly, how did he even manage to use this many plates this early in the morning? Sometimes Vera wondered if he slept at all, or if he was just in a constant, sugar-fueled state of concoction creation. It honestly wouldn't surprise her!

"How long have you been working in here already?" she wondered aloud, turning around to look at him as she dried a pot. She never minded working like this for Quincey for three reasons: one, he always left things stuck to forks and bowls when he washed them - ew; two, being the manager had lessened her work load because she could now divide the more daunting tasks among Quin's employees and therefore, she had the time; and three, she loved him like family, she really did, so helping him out didn't even feel like a job anymore. He was the best part of her life: even if sometimes nothing about her life seemed to be going well, he was there to make her laugh, make her roll her eyes at his antics, make her feel like everything would always be okay as long as she could count on him. Friends were hard for her to make, but she'd found a sure one in Quincey Honeyduke, and she couldn't be more grateful.

  

[Quincey Honeyduke]

Quin grinned as Vera did, slowing his motions to look and check for any visible lumps as she squeezed his shoulder. He couldn't help but chuckle as she automatically moved to his pile of dishes. Quin often had every intention to do them himself, somebody just usually beat him to it. He wasn't complaining as they were not his favorite thing, he enjoyed creating the messes, not cleaning them.

"Cinnamon buns, in the oven," He glanced at his hourglass. "Got about three more minutes." They didn't take all that long and he preferred them golden brown on the outside and still a but gooey on the inside. They were one of his favorites, though he didn't make them often. The shop wasn't really a bakery per say, though he did often have pastries and the like around, the candy was the big seller. He dabbled in everything sweet and this was no exception. Plus he was feeling a little selfish this morning and he had wanted some cinnamon buns.

"Oh a couple hours?" Probably about five in the morning he'd rolled downstairs from his flat on the second floor. Quin basically lived, ate and breathed this shop, including living just steps away, so this was no surprise. He'd always been a morning person, so that was nothing new, but he also didn't have much of a social life to speak of, so it wasn't like he was out late often either. He went to bed early and got up early, it was a simple equation really. Thankfully he had about all of the friends he needed here in the shop anyway. He'd joined one of the gentleman's clubs here in town, and though he'd met a few people, Quin rarely, if ever went to the silly thing. Still he liked having the option to socialize should he actually need it.

"How're you this fine morning my Love?" He inquired with a look over his shoulder at her and a sly grin. The icing was nearly done and he whipped out the few remaining lumps with expert motions. It would set nicely in the time left before the buns came out of the oven.

  

[Vera Rose]

She hummed in approval when he told her what he was baking. She could've guessed from the delightful smells in the kitchen after the rolls had been in the over for a while, but now she was just anxious for them to come out. Cinnamon was far from her favorite flavor in candy, but in baked goods? She didn't doubt for a moment that Quin could get her to like anything he made, but these held a special, warm, gooey, and very sweet place in her heart.

"These are just perfect treat for the type of day we're having. I think there might be snow later." she replied, busying herself again with the dishes after peeking into the oven to see how the cinnamon rolls were coming along. The damn thing needed to be cleaned again, it looked like, because the glass was almost too foggy to see through. Vera could get an employee to do it later, maybe; it was more likely that she would do it herself between inventories because she was particular, to say the least, when it came to cleaning.

Vera tsked when she heard how long he'd been up. It didn't surprise her in the slightest. However, it stood that sleep was important and she knew that he didn't get enough of it. Neither did she, if she was perfectly honest, but she was used to investing herself in other people's problems over her own.

"I'm... well, doing," she broke off with a laugh. "Cold and tired and feeling older than ever, you?" The smile on her face grew despite her words. She found the way he called her pet names so endearing that sometimes she used them herself, but she was more of a physical person in terms of showing affection. Hugs, kissing him on the cheek, reaching up and ruffling his hair to annoy him - that type of thing.

  

[Quincey Honeyduke]

Quin chuckled. "That was exactly what I was thinking this morning, though I didn't think we were in for any snow." He loved when it snowed, it made him want to stay in and bake even more. There was just always something about a cold day that made him want to be in a warm kitchen. It was positively domestic of him, but nobody ever seemed to mind. "Plus I wanted one for breakfast myself." He laughed again, setting the icing down to thicken up just a bit. The buns had to be almost done, they smelled delicious, especially after Vera peeked in on them.

It was Quin's turn to tsk as she called herself old. Or feeling that way anyway. "I should send you on a week-long sunny holiday for your health then." He joked; they both knew the place would probably fall apart without her. Sure, he could manage without her and had, but damn if it wasn't easier with her around.

He quirked an eyebrow at her has he turned around to the stove, unable to find an oven mitt handy, he simply summoned them with a quick charm to the island in the middle of the kitchen. He then searched about for a spatula, summoned that out of ease and scooped the buns off the hot tray onto a cooling rack. A couple more minutes and he could ice them without the icing melting and they could enjoy some before the shop opened. "Tea or coffee this morning Chérie?" He moved toward the sink, nudging her aside so he could fill the kettle and bring it to the stove.

With that settled he looked around, wiping his hands on his apron, wondering if there was anything else he had to do this morning. Going through his mental checklist, he was pretty sure he'd gotten everything, so he leaned casually against the far counter. He could do the dishes, but Vera was so graciously doing them for him that he didn't have the heart to stop her now. Besides he could schmooze her with cinnamon buns.

  

[Vera Rose]

Quin was like that - baking for the sake of baking. He did pretty much everything because he wanted to, wish she could appreciate and found a little irksome at times. Vera planned a schedule and stuck to it, for the most part, where Quin was more spontaneous. This morning she thanked his spontaneity heartily for the sticky buns she'd be enjoying soon.

"I could work on my tan!" she replied cheekily, bumping into him as she went to put away some of the cleaned and dried dishes she'd finished with. There were still a few mores, but she could finish them up quickly before Quin was done with the buns. She contented herself with working at the shop and keeping herself busy and he knew that probably better, even, than she did! "What would you do without me? I'd come back to see the place sugar-crystallized and coated in strawberry frosting!" Vera giggled derisively, picturing the shop in such a state and its frazzled owner scratching his head at the sight.

He took the cinnamon buns out of the oven and Vera peeked over her shoulder as she finished up the dishes. She really should have made Quincey do them himself: if he never practiced, he'd never learn! "Coffee, thanks." she replied. "D'we still have some of that snickerdoodle flavoured one from last week? Cinnamon galore!"

Once she finished the dishes, she could figure out what was wrong with the packaging of his latest candy invention that was making it stick to shelves. She had a feeling it had been her - and an employee's - charmwork gone wrong, but it would likely occupy most of her morning. Of course, there was also a complaint letter to reply to on behalf of Quincey about a late shipment to a seller in Ireland - angry batch of folk Irishmen were! - and working out a cheaper unit price for the cocoa they used in the chocolate frogs and... Well, Vera had her day cut out for her, to say the least, and a warm treat would offer a bit of comfort for an otherwise hectic time table.

  

[Quincey Honeyduke]

"Oh I do believe you are in luck there." Quin nodded, poking around the kitchen near the things they tended to use for personal use, like an afternoon cuppa, versus the things he used for baking. Sometimes they overlapped, but for the most part he was able to keep them separate. Not that it really mattered anyway, kitchen supplies were universal in his opinion. Unless one of the employees was storing something personal in there, which he wasn't sure any of them did too much of, but who knew, he'd probably accidentally used something he wasn't supposed to at some point or another.

He found the snickerdoodle flavored coffee, something he was also pretty fond of, easily enough and measured out enough in two mugs while the water heated and the sticky buns cooled. While few would expect it out of him and he wasn't very good at it outside of the kitchen, Quin could multi-task with the best of them. He had the expert sense of when things would be done and managed to make it so that everything came out together, exactly when he wanted it to. Outside of the kitchen he could barely walk and talk at the same time, but nobody really expected that of him anyway. Those who really knew him, know that kitchen-Quin was a very different breed of normal-Quin. Very rarely did the two cross, though there had been one amusing time when he'd tried to bake with a fever... Nobody spoke of that day and the disaster he created before being sent up to bed like a child by none other than Vera herself.

Kettle whistling, Quin removed it from the heat and poured the steaming liquid through the filters into the mugs. That could steep for a moment as he liked his coffee strong, while he proceeded to glaze the sticky buns. He had no rhyme or reason to his haphazard pattern of drizzle, though he liked his thoroughly iced, he tried not to overdo it, just in case other's disagreed. Once a healthy amount was on, he separated two out, plated them both and pushed Vera's breakfast toward her. "Enjoy." He grinned, raising his cup in toast before taking a sip of his very black coffee eagerly, ignoring the fact that it was still too hot to drink. He felt the caffeine rush through his system like a jolt and knew one cup would do it today. Licking a smidge of frosting from his thumb, he then bit into a cinnamon bun and hummed in contentment. "Damn, I'm good." He chuckled.

  

[Vera Rose]

Vera waited for the coffee to steep how she liked before adding a generous amount of sugar and cream (which she'd procured from the demon of an ice box with no little hassle) and taking a sip. The stuff warmed her all the way through, which was certainly something she could revel in with the quick onset of cold that had Hogsmeade in its clutches. Cloaks and socks did enough, certainly, but hot coffee, cider, and coffee did the job better than anything else (unless those strange Chinese fire candies Quin had gotten from the International market the past summer were taken into consideration).

Smiling her thanks, she pulled the plate the rest of the way before her and wasted no time in getting the sticky glaze all over her fingers. "Very worth the ceiling high pile of plates you left me with, mister," she hummed delightedly as she took her second bite of the cinnamon bun. As always, more of the frosting ended up on her mouth than in; if Quin was the one to make a mess while cooking, Vera was the one to make a mess while eating, that she always cleaned up afterwards. Thinking ahead to her busy day, she wiped her lips with the back of her hand. "Are you going to put these in the display by the register? Or the one closer to the front?"

Naturally, Vera washed her plate and dried it once she finished her delectable and too quickly devoured breakfast. "Why don't you go up and sleep for a bit now, hmm? You had an early morning," The suggestion was one she often gave him, not that he always - or ever - listened. Quin was married to his work; sometimes she was glad for that, glad that he was simply doing what he loved without the drama of courtship or the responsibility that came with being a father and husband and others, like today, she wished he'd take it easy. After all, how much time did he spend a day in the shop's kitchen?

  

[Quincey Honeyduke]

There was no better way, than in Quin's opinion to start the day off right with fresh sticky buns, hot coffee and in the company of one of his favorite people. Of course he also feel highly accomplished and prepared for the day, even this early in the morning, even though he had left a huge amount of dishes to be done. His girls knew dishes were not his thing and they very graciously did them for him.

"I'll leave a couple in here for the girls and put the rest up by the register. They'll be gone by mid-morning though." With a fine bakery in town, Quin was not trying to edge anybody out; he simply enjoyed baking every now and then and he liked to share what he made. The fact that people liked what he made and he made a living off that was just a lovely bonus.

Savoring both his coffee and his cinnamon bun, Quin chuckled when she suggested he go back to bed for a little bit. Quin was an old man; he went to bed early and got up early, there was no way around it. The habit was long ingrained in his brain growing up a confectioner's son, wake up early, get it all done, clean it all up, sell it and go to bed to do it all over again. "Oh Love, I went to bed about the time the sun went down and I got up about the time it came up, nothing new about that routine." It was sweet of her to worry about him, though unnecessary and she knew that. They'd had this conversation countless times. "There's things to be stocked and more dishes to be made somehow, I'm sure." He teased. Just like she told him to go back to bed, he'd told her he'd do the dishes, yet she always did them anyway. It was an endless circle he enjoyed repeating.

"See look, dishes already." He said as he stuffed the last bit of his breakfast into his mouth. The coffee he would carry with him for a while, there was no rush on that.

  

[Vera Rose]

"Mmkay, I'll let them know they're in here once they clock in, then," she replied, already setting three apart on one of the few clean plates so that she could save them for later. Maybe she would steal a second one before the other employees came in? It was their loss if they got to work late today, she supposed with a mischievous snort escaping her. Yes, Vera already planned on her second cinnamon bun.

Vera took another long sip of her coffee. It was hot enough to make her tongue prickle, but that was the best part of something warm on mornings like these. She would probably curse herself for it later, when the tip of her tongue felt funny and stung, but the instant gratification was worth it. After all, she had so many other things to worry about! Why add another?

She let out a long sigh at his rebuttal of her suggestion. Sure, he slept all night, but he also worked almost all day, which was a fairly hectic work schedule in her opinion. Still, Vera knew an argument she would win but didn't have the energy to put into when she saw one, and this was one of them. "Sometimes I swear you're secretly an old man with the way your sleeping habits are." she commented with a snort, returning once more to her station at the sink. Sticky things were only harder to wash if left to sit and set, so it would lessen the load to get rid of them sooner rather than later. "More dishes? The horror!" Feigning dramatics, Vera turned to smirk at Quincey.

These, her simple mornings with him with jokes over coffee and cinnamon buns fresh out of the oven, were quite possibly her favorite moments. She could live out her days watching out for her precious muggleborn candymaker (cleaning up his ridiculously large and disproportionate messes) and be perfectly content with that. "But, honestly, Quin, you should take a break every once in a while. Merlin knows you deserve one."

  

[Quincey Honeyduke]

Nodding in his typical haphazard, nonchalant way, Quin knew he should take a break every once in a while. When, if he ever, thought he needed one her would. Until then, it was business as usual. He wasn't sure he would ever really find himself in need of time off, as he was pretty sure he'd live and die here, but one never knew. Someday he might get lucky and find himself a girl who could put up with him for long enough to stick around. Fortunately for now, he had Vera.

It wasn't like he had anything to complain about really. He had a very successful business, booming really, he got to wake up and do what he loved every day and he had some pretty fantastic employees and friends. What else could a guy really want? He was only twenty-six after all, he had a whole lot of life left before him. There was time to do other things. He would like to travel, though he wasn't entirely sure he'd want to do it alone. The only person he'd consider taking with him was Vera and with both of them out of the shop it would surely burn to the ground in their absence. (It wasn't because he was gone, but because she was absent.) He supposed a visit to his parents was long overdue. It had been a long while since he'd seen them and Emery. Quin wrote them fairly often, though their replies were much fewer. A note from Emery had come in the last, which was a bit of a surprise. Things had not been quite the same between the siblings when no Hogwarts letter had come for Emery after her eleventh birthday.

"When the time arises I shall do so, but until then, time to open shop I think!" He passed her a cheeky grin, clearly avoiding the conversation. As oblivious as he could be, Quin was good with people, he understood where they were coming from and he knew that Vera was just showing her own brand of affection. He rather appreciated it, though he never managed to follow through on her suggestions, they were mean with love and that's all that mattered. "Don't eat them all Love." He teased as he passed by to go unlock the doors. The rest of the employees would be in soon and soon after that they'd really be open for the day and Quin was certain he had some stocking to do somewhere.