Closed New Beginnings

[Hamish Reid]

Hamish often rose early in the morning. He'd made sure to get up earlier this morning. They'd moved into a new home, having gone all the way to New Zealand to settle down. It was a big move, across countries, and even though he loved his parents, the entire trip over they'd been feeding Seamus all the wrong things. Hamish noticed it, and he'd thought that at the very least he could make them all a good breakfast on their first morning in the new house. He adjusted his glasses as he came into the kitchen, sighing in frustration as he saw the note taped to the fridge.

He didn't even bother reading it, knowing what it would say. His parents were off to work early, they were old enough to watch out for each other, call if there was an emergency. The usual. He set to work, putting in some music and humming along softly. Hamish found a calmness in cooking, in making breakfast. His parents might not have had time to notice these things, but he knew Seamus was a picky eater. He knew his brothers' tastes. Without even realizing it, Hamish started to sing softly while he cooked.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus had been up most of the night. The new and unfamiliar house with it’s strange, unfamiliar noises and smells had just been enough to set him on edge. He missed their home, he missed the flat, this was just...this wasn’t that. It was some place far to far from his own, with too many different things. It hadn’t helped that the trip there had been miserable, going via muggle channels to get here and get proper entry had not been fun. It hadn’t helped that everything his mum had given him he hadn’t liked. But, his parents had been preoccupied with something else to be able to realise, story of his life. He’d struggled to fall asleep and struggled to stay asleep, and all too soon the sun had risen, something had caused him to wake up, and he was sure that it had been Hamish getting up. He could see the light behind the curtain. He sighed tiredly, huffing a little and turning over in his bed. Seamus could tell Hamish was already up, he could make out the faint noises in the other room.

Seamus felt around at his new bedside table and found his glasses, he slipped them on, blinking as the room became clearer. He didn’t like the ceiling of this place, he didn’t like the walls, where was the draft from the old and poorly fitted single glazing windows. It was ridiculously unfair of their parents to bring them here. He knew he’d have been leaving muggle school at the end of the year but he’d left just as the football season had started. They’d left while the summer was still high. He heaved himself out of bed, shaking out his tired limbs. He changed into some running gear, deciding that once he had some food he might go check out the neighbourhood. See what all this fuss was about. Seamus rubbed his eyes tired and headed to the kitchen. ”Madainn mhath,” he greeted his brother in quiet gaelic. He wasn’t sure Hamish would hear him, but he took the moment to glance around, to the note on the fridge and the small amount of mess that had been created already. ”What are you making?” he asked, peering at what Hamish had started cooking.​

 

[Hamish Reid]

Hamish blinked, quieting when he heard his brother speak to him. "Madainn mhath," He returned easily. "Something you'll actually eat," He countered, giving his brother a smile. He turned back to his cooking, serving up two bowls. He moved the dirty dishes to the sink before walking over to the table with bowls in hand. "There are some drinks in the fridge, do you wanna grab them?" He asked, settling in a chair and taking a bite of his porridge. Oh, a little too much honey. He switched the bowls, taking a bite of the other one. Yeah, that was it. Seamus always liked a little more honey in his than Hamish did. He nodded, taking a strawberry piece and eating it. "Did you sleep at all?" He asked, looking over to his brother.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus peared at what was being made and nodded, it looked good, as good as any porridge might look as it was being made. ”Good, I’m famished,” He helped move some of the dirty dishes to the sink and then nodded, going to where the juices were and grabbed the pumpkin juice, he noted that the orange juice had pulp in it and he always knew that orange juice was hit or miss, where pumpkin juice was much more solid. He brought them to the table, and poured himself and then Hamish drinks. He sat cross legged on the chair and tucked into the porridge, appreciating the honey which had been put in. He shrugged at the question, ”Couple of hours,” he didn’t think it was worth lingering over, though he was tired, ”I’m gonna go for a run after,” he motioned to the meal they were having, ”See the area, tire myself out. Do you want to come with?” he asked. Seamus wasn’t sure that Hamish would want to go, he did come sometimes but he was sure that Hamish would more likely want to stay at the house and start putting things away.​

 

[Hamish Reid]

Hamish was pleased when Seamus started eating, smiling to himself and sipping his drink. His brow automatically furrowed when his brother said he'd only slept a little. He shook his head a little. "No, it's alright, I'm going to stay home and set things up a bit more." He told his brother. "Unless you want to help me unpack," he teased. He was going to start with their room, of course, but Hamish had the feeling if he didn't get around to unpacking the rest of the house they might be living in a mountain of boxes for months.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus appreciated every bite of his porridge, he really didn’t understand why his parents couldn’t manage to remember what he liked and didn’t like when Hamish could. He noted the concern crossing his brother’s features but just gave a shrug, he didn’t need that much sleep anyway. Seamus nodded. ”Okay,” before he shook his head, he knew he would need to unpack eventually but he wasn’t intending to do that just yet. ”It’s okay, you’ll do it better than me,” he told him, half a compliment and half a statement of fact. ”We could still go out later, you know just walk so you can see the area?” he knew it would be good for Hamish to get out and about, get some fresh air and not be stuck in this house all day.​

 

[Hamish Reid]

Hamish wasn't surprised that Seamus was going to let him into unpack himself. He nodded, sipping his juice. "Alright, what if," He mused a bit, eating another strawberry. "What if you go out now, and I'll unpack, and you can come back in the early afternoon for lunch?" He offered. "Then we can both go out and you can show me around, and we can go out for dinner? Mom says they're going to be late again and left money for dinner, so we can find someplace local," He offered. If he unpacked well, maybe they could curl up and watch some movies when they were home.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus paused in his eating and looked to Hamish as he proposed. He wasn’t sure he’d be out that long but he just nodded. He wasn’t sure where would accept two children alone for dinner in such a far away and odd country but they would see. ”Maybe we don’t need to go out….we could just wander around pick up some groceries and make dinner ourselves?” mostly he was a little concerned about what food they might find in this country and how much of it he would actually like. He didn’t want to waste money and their first dinner here when he didn’t like what was on offer, or ended up not liking after having spent money. ”Would you mind if we just came home for dinner?” He asked nervously.​

 

[Hamish Reid]

Hamish smiled and nodded. "Of course. Do you have anything in particular you want?" He asked, sipping his drink. To be honest, he'd missed cooking, and he was sure Seamus was fed up with the food they'd been having since the move. He was kicking around ideas in his head, eating his food quietly. His parents rarely ever ate at home, so he had a bit of a food stipend he'd gotten from his father so that he could make sure he and Seamus ate well. He was curious to see what sort of cuisine options they had now. He'd done a bit of reading before they'd moved, of course, but it was different when you saw it up front. "We can stay in, I'll have our room set up, and we can curl up and watch some movies or something while we eat," he offered instead.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus gave a little shrug, ”You know what I like,” he replied, and truly it was only Hamish who knew what he liked and didn’t like, was the only one who ever made meals to a standard where Seamus would eat all of it. He knew a lot of people called him fussy but he was just particular, he liked things in a particular way, he didn’t like things in other manners. He just nodded as he continued to eat his breakfast, ”Sounds good,” he agreed, it would be a simple night in but at least he could be sure that he’d eat enough and if he got tired he was fairly close to his bed to be able to go to sleep. There would be no awkward walk home. ”Thanks Hamish,” he thanked his brother, ”I should probably get to my run,” he was finishing his meal, ”Last chance to join me?” he offered. He knew Hamish had plans and he wasn’t trying ti distract him from that he just wanted to offer it again, one last time.​

 

[Hamish Reid]

Hamish nodded the gears in his head already turning. It was true, he did know what his brother ate. Better than anyone. In all honesty, Seamus was his best critic. He lived for it. He smiled, nodding absently as his brother thanked him. He took the last bite of his food, standing and taking both of their bowls. He shook his head at Seamus's offer to join him, giving his twin an impish grin. "Nah. I'll go with you tomorrow," he countered, holding up his arm with his hand out, like he intended to arm wrestle his brother. He raised a brow, waiting patiently.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus finished the bowl of porridge and finished his juice. He took his brother’s hand lightly and then smiled. He let go and took a moment to stretch out in the kitchen before finishing getting himself ready and headed out of the house for his run. ”See you later,” he called out as he left. Immediately upon starting his run he began feeling better, more at ease, just good again. He was still feeling tired but there was just something about running that he absolutely loved. And he’d be back soon enough.​

 

[Hamish Reid]

The morning passed quickly for Hamish. He turned on the stereo, humming along lightly as he worked. Cleaning up the kitchen was simple. Unpacking it was simpler. He knew how he liked his kitchen. He moved to their bedroom next, and spent much more time unpacking and organizing their things. Seamus wasn't just picky about his food, after all, but Hamish liked to think he knew his twin well enough that he could get things prepared. He had just finished unpacking the last box, setting it in the hall, when he heard the front door open. He smiled, straightening and wiping his brow on his sleeve. "How was your run?" He called, knowing it was his brother.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus had had a pretty long run, he’d really pushed himself, but he knew it would be fine. It was good to get the energy out, to push himself so he would sleep better. He’d gotten a little familiar with the area, had found the local town, found the local park. It was all near enough. He walked in the door, a mess of sweat of short breaths. ”Good,” he called back to Hamish. He stretched out his limbs as he walked to where Hamish was. ”It’s not like Edinburgh, but the area is nice,” he reluctantly admitted, it was no town that he was used to, would never really compare but it wouldn't be bad. ”Hows the unpacking going?” he said. He made his way to the kitchen and got himself a glass of water.​

 

[Hamish Reid]

Hamish followed Seamus to the kitchen, shrugging easily. "I just unpacked the last box, our room is set up. If you want to sit down for a minute I can unpack the restroom really quick and you can shower," he waved his hand in front of his nose playfully. "You smell awful," he laughed lightly. "Once you're done we should walk to the store. I had enough food for breakfast but apparently shopping wasn't a priority yet." He rolled his eyes. "We can pick up a few things and maybe a new movie, then I'll cook dinner when we get back." He offered, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking to his twin.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus nodded, he pulled out a seat and sat down, he rolled his eyes at Hamish’s insult. ”I smell like I had a good run,” he replied with a little grin. He was feeling it a bit, the way his bones now ached a little, the lack of sleep would become a little more in the day but the immediate of the slight ache. After their long journey it had been good to get out and really force his body to do something. He nodded as Hamish went over the different things they could do. ”Sure, sounds good,” he told him, he was sure that they would find a good movie to watch, and good food that he would eat. ”Can I help with anything?” it would go faster if he was able to help.​

 

[Hamish Reid]

Hamish rolled up his sleeves, going over a grocery list in his head. "You can shower while I get this list together," He told his brother with a small smile. "And then you can help me go get it then help me bring it back. I'll pull out what I need to cook and you can put everything away, and after dinner we can clean up, leave some dinner for them, then stretch out in our room and put in a movie," He offered, nodding. It was a solid plan, he liked it.

 

[Seamus Reid]

Seamus nodded as Hamish went over the different things that he could do. The different things that he could help with over the next few hours. He rolled his eyes at what Hamish said with regards to leaving something for their parents. ”They can make their own food,” he retorted but he was grabbing clothes and then toiletries he would need before heading to the bathroom. He didn’t understand why Hamish bothered with their parents. They could look after their own meals, he and Hamish dealt with their own things so could they. He was sure that it wouldn’t be like they’d appreciate it much anyway.​

 

[Hamish Reid]

Hamish chose not to answer. He often felt like the adult in the house, and though he had always felt like his parents had left them without actually leaving, he couldn't help but want to try and remind them that he and Harris were still there. He let his brother leave for the shower, taking out a small notebook and putting together a list. He knew Harris' eating habits, and how best to feed him. Hamish was picky in his own way- he tended to eat more things than his brother would, but Hamish was picky about the quality of his meals. If it wasn't done properly, he wouldn't eat it. He had just finished wrapping up the list when he thought he heard his brother. "Are you craving anything in particular?" He asked, shutting the fridge.