Weekend Interruptions (Harmony)

[Damien Tremblay]

May 31st, 2014

So far, the weekend was... tolerable. Damien wouldn’t exactly call it good (because seriously, nothing seemed ‘good’ at the moment). He was attempting to try a nicotine patch, but it wasn’t doing much beyond annoying him because it was there. At least at home it was easier to take his mind off of things. He had three pets to referee, books that weren’t law textbooks, his laptop, and television.

Josef was teaching a few Saturday classes, which suited Damien fine. He didn’t like having to lean so heavily at times on his boyfriend, despite the fact he was allowed to do so. At least by himself he could whine to the pets without them getting fed up with him, as well as curse when he was particularly frustrated with himself.

After a failed attempt to sleep in, he’d dragged himself downstairs and had started a miniature baking storm in the kitchen to keep himself occupied. There were several batches of mini muffins, as well as two chocolate chip banana loaves and he was now waiting for cookies to finish baking. As he waited, he had started to channel surf before giving up and throwing Netflix on. The recently watched list was as diverse as it was ridiculous, and he simply clicked on the first thing he saw.

That ‘thing’ was Sharknado.

It was an incredibly stupid movie, but Josef loved it, and it was at the very least mind numbing. It would suffice for something to do, and who knew? Maybe it would actually make him fall asleep.

Well, he could hope.

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

Harmony had yet to visit her uncle at his new place. Half because she tended to avoid the man like the plague whenever she though possible. And half because she didn’t want to half to deal with him and his new ‘boy toy’ being all cute and annoying.

But one she was failing half of her classes at Hammel and her teachers had told her the other day that they would have to let her parents know of the situation. So she was hoping that she could talk her uncle into taking the heat from her teachers instead of them contacting her mother. Because she would never heard the end of it if her mother got involved. The old bag would probably even make the trip out to Vermont.

And Harmony did not want her here. But lucky for her, she was pretty sure her uncle wouldn’t either.

She considered actually knocking on the door. Especially since she didn’t know the layout of her uncle’s new place. But decided to chance it anyway and teleported inside. She appeared just behind Damien.

“Sup D,” she said, once she’d gained her balance. “My idiotic uncle around?”

[Damien Tremblay]

Clearly Harmony was unfamiliar with the potential dangers of teleporting into the home of two adults who were, despite the rough patch, in love. Damien wasn't going to be the one to educate her on that one, either. She wasn't his niece, and despite trying his best to be nice to her, he wasn't going to even entertain the idea of going there.

The law clerk idly scratched Gypsy and NPH's ears as they lay in front of the couch, keeping his mind off of trying to pick at the patch on his arm. Charlie was up on the back of it, lazily flicking his tail as he kept a wary eye on NPH. While the cat now tolerated the puppy, NPH still had a habit of chasing him. At least on the back of the couch, he could stay a safe distance away from the dogs.

What the cat, nor anyone, expected was the thud behind the couch. Charlie shot off the back of the couch and took off down the hall to crawl under the bed. Both dogs got up to investigate, and Damien jumped. "Jesus!" At least he hadn't sworn. He was familiar with Harmony and her tricks, having met her multiple times by this point, and he'd had a sneaking suspicion.

While both dogs wagged and snuffled at the girl's hands, Damien just got up and folded his arms. As irritable as he'd been lately, he wasn't about to let Harmony insult his boyfriend. (Regardless of his on and off feelings about him being behind his mood to begin with.) "No. He's teaching. And he's not an idiot." If he was feeling more charitable, he would have offered for her to hang out with the animals and wait. Instead, he found himself hoping she would go to the clinic.

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

Harmony couldn’t help but grin at Damien’s obvious shock at her sudden appearance. It was exactly the reaction she had been looking for. Therefore, to her uncle and his boyfriend’s dismay, it meant she would probably be repeating the action.

She looked down at the dogs, still grinning a bit. As a rule, Harmony tried to never show pleasure at anything, especially things that might be considered girl-ly interests of hobbies. Puppies and kitties were a fine line there, she’d found. Though she would have enjoyed dropping to her knees to play around with the dogs a bit, she held back and just patted them on the head.

“Jeez, no need to have a tissy about it,” Harmony said, slumping into a chair. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at Damien. “And I’ll call him an idiot if I wanna. After all he’s my uncle.” She was a bit surprised by this intolerant version of Damien. But she figured it was probably just a side effect of living with her uncle. After all, Josef usually put her in a bad mood too.

"When will the moron be home?" Harmony said, glaring at Damien a bit.

[Damien Tremblay]

Why did it have to be Harmony? ... Not that Damien actually knew any other teleporters, but still. He was barely in the mood to deal with his own friends and relationship at the moment, and now he had to deal with Harmony too? Normally it wouldn't be a problem. Normally being the key word. With his current situation, she was the last thing he needed.

The dogs didn't seem to mind Harmony's mild indifference to them. Gypsy just continued to wag, nuzzling gently at offered fingers, while NPH bounced around and yipped in excitement, trying his best to get as close to her as possible. Boundaries were something that the puppy hadn't quite learned yet, though they were trying. He was just thrilled to have someone new to love on, especially when one of his 'parents' didn't seem so lovey as he had even a month ago.

Damien gave her a petulant look as she flopped into the chair. Two could play at the glaring game, and he had plenty of ammunition. If Harmony was going to be a brat, why should he have to play nice? Despite his occasional flares of annoyance with Josef for making him go through with this withdrawl thing, deep down he knew it was for the best, and that Josef was only doing it because he cared about him. It wasn't always easy to remember when he was fighting the worst of the symptoms, but he tried. At least he hadn't lashed out at him, verbally or otherwise. He didn't think he could forgive himself for that.

But Harmony... was mouthing off about someone he loved, and he wasn't in the mood to hear it. "Josef will be home when he's done with his classes." Meaning he didn't actually know. "But if you keep calling him names, I can call him and tell him to take his time getting here." He doubted that would work, but it made him feel better.

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

There was something different about Damien today. Harmony was usually a quick learner what buttons to push on people and just how far she could push them before she got into real trouble. Of course she rarely listened to her instincts and went to far.

Her uncle and his boyfriend had their breaking points, just like everyone else did. But all she'd done so far was show up unexpectedly, uninvited, and bad talked her uncle a bit. No big deal. SO why was Damien acting like a ten year old girl whose birthday party just got crashed?

"Geez, you're in a great mood aren't ya." she said, her expression somehow a perfect blend of a glare and a grin. "What the bozo do to ya?" Because of course everything was her uncle's fault since her mother was to far away to blame much on.

"Go ahead then. Tell my wonderful uncle to take his sweet time getting here," Harmony continued, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm in no hurry to see his ugly...I mean wonderful face." Sorry Damien, she wasn't in that much of a hurry to explain her school issues to her uncle. She knew she had to eventually let him know. But for now she was enjoying using Damien as a wonderful distraction.

[Damien Tremblay]

Yes, there was something different about Damien, and if Harmony had been clever, she might have noticed the signs that all pointed to 'stop what you're doing right now and don't poke the hive.' Then again, it was Harmony. Those signs might well have said 'keep poking' in her case. Normally Damien's buttons were hard to push, unless she was flinging insults at Josef, but today they were a little more sensitive, and he wasn't in the mood to deal with her.

Her offenses today were minor, or at least on a normal day they would be considered as such. Instead, Damien was ranking them right up at the top of the list. Especially when she started the insults.

He tried to focus on the movie and block Harmony out, but his eyebrow twitched when she asked the question. It hit a small nerve, only because technically Josef was the indirect cause of his current attitude. She'd hit the nail on the head there, but he wasn't going to give in and let her know that. Instead he just scowled slightly and gave her a sidelong glance. "He didn't do anything." Much. "Could have something to do with unexpected guests lacking in manners." There, Harmony. It's all your fault, clearly.

... Well that didn't work like he'd hoped. Sighing, he pressed his hand to his face. Why didn't they make nicotine patches stronger? "Why are you even here? Don't you have homework or something?" This was so many kinds of not good. Why couldn't he rein in his annoyance and at least offer her a muffin or something along those lines? Oh. Right. Because he didn't want to. ... Yes, it was childish, but so was she.

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

Harmony was rather enjoying this new side of Damien, in a way. It was nice to see he had a bit of a backbone to stand up against her. He was picking the wrong thing to defend, her moron of an uncle, but at least he was on the right track. And still his annoyedness was getting a bit annoying. Harmony wasn't used to either Josef or Damien doing much more than sighing heavily at her, especially for something so minor.

"Aren't you a bit old to be pouting at me?" Harmony asked. She was starting to think maybe her uncle and his boyfriend had already gotten the news about her doing so bad in class. Or maybe Damien was still upset she'd broken that crippled kid's arm. Adults could be so confusing. And stupid.

Harmony didn't catch the eyebrow twitch, but she did understand that Damien was reaching a breaking point. And she couldn't help but grin at that. "Maybe it's the host that's lacking in manner," she said. "I've been here three whole minutes and you haven't even offered me a drink." She crossed her arms in mock frustration while her face still smirked.

"Can't a niece just stop by to see her loving uncle, sheesh," Harmony rolled her eyes. What was with the interrogation? She stuck out her tongue at the mention of homework, but decided not to speak on that issue. Homework was for all the other goody two shoes at school. Let them worry about it.

[Damien Tremblay]

At least someone was enjoying Damien’s newfound attitude. Harmony was probably going to be the only one ever to claim to enjoy it. He certainly didn’t. And he was positive that Josef wasn’t his biggest fan either. ... At least the pets still seemed to love him, no matter what.

“I’m not pouting,” he retaliated, uncrossing his arms in an effort to prove it. (Despite that pouting was exactly what he was doing in the first place.) He just didn’t feel like dealing with Harmony on his own. Thankfully, he didn’t know about her recent antics. His mood was solely based on withdrawl, and the fact that Harmony wasn’t making his attempt at not being miserable any easier.

Why couldn’t she just go to the clinic? Not that he really wished Harmony on Josef, but it would make his life that much easier at the moment. After a moment of mumbling under his breath that maybe certain guests didn’t deserve drink offers, he waved his hand at the kitchen. “Drinks are in the fridge, muffins are on the counter.” The angry buzzer on the oven also alerted him that cookies were done. Or possibly overdone at this point. Forcing himself back off the couch, he went into the kitchen and hit the cancel button with a little more force than necessary and pulled out the cookie trays. ... Okay, they didn’t look terrible. Small miracles. They’d just have to sit for a moment so he could safely transfer them to a plate without having them fall apart.

“You’ve never cared before Harmony,” he reminded her. “Every time you turn up, it’s because Josef is making you, or because you want something. So. What are you here for?” He might as well try to get information out of her. Then he could at least pre-warn Josef via text, or something. And just try not to kill her in the meantime.

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

"Whatever, ya big baby," Harmony said, rolling her eyes. It was a bit pathetic to see a grown man pouting. There must be a reason, not that Harmony really cared. Unless finding out said reason would help her to keep entertained of course.

Harmony didn't hear exactly what Damien was mumbling, but she could help but laugh at him for it. It was like watching a scene from Grumpy Old Men. "Do you know how ridiculous you look right now? Seriously, man up man," she said as she stood up. Leaving him with that bit of wonderful advice, she headed into the kitchen to see what she could find. The buzzer when off, startling her a bit, but she tried to hide it

"So when's ol dodo brain supposed to get back?" she following Damien into the kitchen and pouring herself some milk. She grabbed one of the muffins as well. Then she noticed the chocolate chip breads and the cookies coming out of the oven. Well that was gay dudes for you, she figured. "Expecting a bake sale?"

"Nothing special..." Harmony said, stalling for time. "Uh...just some stupid teacher/parent thing at school. They do them with everybody apparently." Okay so she was lying. And it wouldn't take long for Damien or Josef to discover the truth, but she really hadn't planned for this, okay?

[Damien Tremblay]

On any other day (well, any other day prior to going through the living hell that was withdrawal), Damien would have been able to handle Harmony without being reduced to snark. It wouldn't have been easy, mostly because she didn't make it easy, but he could probably could have done it. Sadly, today was not the case. Withdrawal was making him miserable, and Harmony wasn't helping. If she wasn't going to make the effort to be pleasant, neither would he. Childish? Nah. At least he chose to ignore the snipe about being a baby. He was just going to quietly hold it against her for the time being.

He rolled his eyes at her laugh. If only she had a little bit of empathy. Then she'd be hit with a trainload of feelings that were far from pleasant. Then maybe she'd stop being such a brat for five seconds. Still choosing to ignore her sniping, he chose to focus on dealing with the oven and the cookies instead.

Aaaand again with the names. Damien sighed and dropped his head in frustration. "Never, at this rate," he grumbled. Seriously. He was going to text Josef and tell him to take his sweet time in getting home. As for the baking, he shook his head. "No bake sales. Just keeping busy." If he had something to keep his mind and hands busy, things were easier to deal with. It was easier to fight cravings when he was busy doing other things. Though if he kept this up, if he and Josef didn't do something like run more, they'd both be in trouble with this many baked goods in the house.

That... sounded so legitimate. Turning so that his lower back was leaning against the counter top, Damien crossed his arms and eyed Harmony. "And they can't call your parents and do it over the phone... why?" Considering that so many kids came from all over the country, or beyond, such as his own recruitment from Vancouver, didn't phone calls make more sense? Sorry Harmony. You've been had.

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

Despite popular opinion, Harmony was fairly adept at reading people. She knew when she was pushing people too hard or when they could take a joke, for the most part. And since she knew Damien pretty well, she was used to knowing that it would take a lot for him to actually snap at her. Usually it was her uncle sighing heavily or mumbling under his breath.

Of course, 99 times out of 100 she didn't care if someone was reaching their breaking point. In fact, usually she strove to reach that point. And then push them over the edge. It made life entertaining.

So the fact that Damien for once in her life was on the verge of totally freaking out was a bit...exhilarating.

"Oh..." Harmony said, looking around at the kitchen and all of the baked goods in various stages of cooling down. "So it's just one of those gay dude things, right?" Really Harmony couldn't care less how her uncle or anyone identified. As long as people weren't shoving in there face they could love who or whatever the heck they wanted. Still, it seemed to be an interesting button to push on Josef so she was curious how Damien would react to it.

She wasn't really in a hurry to have her uncle show up. And Damien was being a wonderful distraction in his current mood. As long as she could steer him away from certain subjects.

"I guess..." she said, pausing while she tried to come up with a decent explanation. "I dunno. Don't ask me to explain why those idiots at school do things the way they do. They're morons."

"So...why are you being such a big baby today?" Harmony asked straight out. She really didn't want to listen to Damien complain, unless it was about her uncle or something else she considered to be worth complaining about. Still if she could get him talking about why he was so...weird, then maybe he'd forget she needed a reason to be here.

[Damien Tremblay]

It took a lot to break Damien, normally. It really, really did. Even his older sister didn’t manager it most of the time, and she was a right royal pain in the butt when she wanted to be. Yet all the teasing she’d doled out over the course of his life still didn’t quite add up to what Harmony was doing. Granted, he also hadn’t been this deep into withdrawal... ever. By now he’d usually given up. Josef was powerful motivation, as was the light at the end of the tunnel. He just had to keep this up.

It was much, much easier said than done. Especially today. Harmony was seriously making him consider running to the nearest convenience store and breaking his promise.

Pressing his palm to his face, Damien dropped his shoulders and sighed wearily. He’d heard her say things like that before to Josef, and while it should have bothered him, it really didn’t. There were other things to worry about. Like not strangling teenagers. “Sure, Harmony. It’s just one of those gay dude things.” He couldn’t even be bothered to point out that he wasn’t exactly gay, being that he’d had relationships with women before. It just wasn’t worth it.

At least he chose to ignore her little rant about her teachers. Who knew? Maybe her mother had named Josef Harmony’s guardian for her time at Hammel. He’d never asked. And he wasn’t about to ask Harmony, either.

A soft, somewhat exasperated laugh left his mouth as he dropped his hand, opting instead to cross his arms over his chest. “Since when do you care?” He doubted she really did. It was probably a diversion, knowing her. God, he’d probably turn his back and end up with a smoke bomb or something equally distressing being set off. Besides, the last person in the world he wanted to talk to this about was Harmony. And not just because she would be just one more person to let into that vulnerable inner circle he would probably end up disappointing when he inevitably caved.

Pessimistic? Just a tad. But he was not discussing it with her.

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

Harmony smiled watching Damien hold his head and sigh. It wasn't that she was evil, exactly. She didn't enjoy seeing everyone suffer. Just those she was close to. And even then, suffer wasn't the right word. But there was something about knowing that Damien seemed to be nearing his breaking point. And now it was becoming a game almost to see how quick she could get him to admit what was putting him in such a mood. Not that she actually cared what that reason was. She just wanted to force him to admit it.

"So is this new whinny-ness a gay thing too?" Harmony asked with a smirk. She nibbled at her muffin watching his face for a reaction.

She was glad Damien had dropped the school issue. It would have been annoying to try and steer him away from that subject while at the same time getting him to talk about himself.

Harmony didn't really care. And she figured there was no easy way she was going to convince Damien of that. Still, she paused for a bit trying to think of some lie that might convince him. "I don't care," Harmony finally said. "But don't grow-ups always say you're supposed to get stuff off your chest or some crap? Who better to tell than someone who doesn't really care?" She shrugged, hoping that made at least some sense.

[Damien Tremblay]

Damien would beg to differ on the notion that Harmony wasn't evil. At least at the moment. When she was poking buttons that could do without poking? Definitely evil, or something along those lines. It made him think that everything Josef had ever said about his niece, however seemingly blown out of proportion they were, were actually... accurate. Alarmingly so. Much as he wouldn't admit it, she really was close to making him snap, but that was mostly due to the added stress he was going through. He didn't need her help in making it worse.

Another sigh. Didn't she have anything better to do? "Nobody is whining, Harmony." He wasn't, was he? He hadn't thought he was. Complaining, perhaps, but not whining. ... Hell, maybe he was. It would explain why Josef tended to look at him with somewhat veiled exasperation. Ugh.

At least she admitted that she didn't care. That was a start. Damien shifted against the counter, unfolding his arms to instead jam his hands in his pockets. "They usually talk to other grown ups," he said evenly. "Because other grown ups do care." Still. If Harmony didn't care... or claimed not to... maybe she was the best person to spill to at the moment. Okay, she might torment him if he failed, but wouldn't that just be motivation to try harder if he slipped?

Maybe it was a bad idea, but... maybe it would make her stop with the button pushing. "I'm quitting smoking. There. Happy now?"