@wandofwillow || continued from here x
John sat in their usual pub, in their usual corner, already nursing one fire whiskey, and considering ordering a second. He was debating with himself how long he should wait, because - unfortunate as it was to admit it - he didn’t know if Ivy would actually show.
Their rapport had been solid, even right up to The Incident and her convalescence. (He’d honestly been floored that he was one of the select people that she had permitted to visit her; he felt partially responsible for what had happened). Ivy was very much a dear friend, and in some ways he even saw her as a surrogate daughter. He held the utmost respect for her, and had hoped that regardless of the aftermath, that they would remain friends despite the different paths that life had brought them down.
But, ever since she had returned home, he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of her. He’d barely even heard from her in that time. And while he could have tried reaching out to her sooner, he’d always gotten busy just as he had been meaning to. He also partially refrained from doing so until now because he had wanted to give her time and space to come to terms with what had happened (he personally hated it when friends hovered; he wasn’t about to turn around and do what he hated to her). Still, he did wonder about his friend, and thought of her often enough. So when he finally did decide to pull out his hat from the force, he figured this was a good time to reach out.
Needless to say, he was relieved and thrilled when she finally did walk through the door. He wasn’t sure how much of his daft grin she would be able to see, but he wore it anyway as he stood and called out to her. “Over here, McKenna! ”