Lunch Break (Milo)

[Kyla Faulkner]

Kyla was craving Italian food for lunch. She liked Galligan's better than any other place to go. It was nice inside, yet you didn't have to dress up in order to go there. With her bag on her shoulder, Kyla left the Ministry to head to London. Traveling by the phone booth was always Kyla's favorite, even if it really was for Ministry visitors. She didn't like going to the train station to be flushed into the Ministry.

She sent an owl a day before to Milo asking him to meet her for lunch. Between Milo's schedule and her training schedule, she didn't really have time to speak to him. Today, however, Kyla made sure she had everything done by lunch time so she could actually enjoy food. Not seeing her brother for a few days didn't feel right.

Walking in, Kyla smiled at the hostess and took to her regular table as she waited for her brother to arrive.

[Milo Faulkner]

Milo was extremely excited when he got the owl from his sister. It had been way too long since he had sat down to talk to her, even though it had only been a couple of days, it still felt like forever to Milo. And after seeing his other sister at their dad's grave, he felt he needed to see a family member that wouldn't tear his head off.

Dressing in his nicest clothing as he always did whenever he was going to be around his mother or his sister, he made is way to the restaurant he knew his sister loved so much. Walking into it, he knew exactly where she would be. They had often went there together for lunch, and he was sure the hostess recognized him. Either that, he thought, or Kyla had described him well enough for the lady to take him right to his sister.

"Kyla! You haven't fallen off the planet or forgotten me!" He greeted her, a huge smile on his face.

[Kyla Faulkner]

Once Kyla spotted Milo, she broke out into a smile and stood up. "Of course I haven't forgotten my too tall, rather skinny, little brother," she said with a teasing tone as she spread her arms out to hug him. Milo was the only person that Kyla really talked to. Sure, she had friends, but she could talk about everything with Milo. Even though he was her little brother, sometimes Kyla thought of him as her best friend too.

She pulled away from Milo and looked at him. "You do look like you've gotten skinner. Have you been eating," asked Kyla jokingly. She knew very well that Milo didn't cook for himself. Sometimes she did worry that he wasn't getting everything he should be eating.

"How is everything going?"

[Milo Faulkner]

Milo laughed at her comment; sure, he hadn't been eating as well as he should have but his limited cooking skills and limited budget meant he couldn't order out as much as he wanted to. Now that he thought about it, the best meals he got during the week was when he went back to his mother's for dinner.

"Yes, I've been eating. Most of the time, anyway." He said with a wink. He knew he should be eating three meals a day, but sometimes he skipped breakfast. He sat down before answering her next question, his mind automatically going to Rose.

"Oh, the same old, really. Busy around the Ministry, and I saw... well, I visited dad today and..." He paused, trying to figure out how to tell Kyla what Rose had said to him. It still hurt a bit, telling him he shouldn't be there. "Rose was there. And she wasn't happy to see me at all."

[Kyla Faulkner]

"Don't let mum know that," she said teasingly. "She'll give you enough grief for still being a bean pole." Kyla smiled. She liked being around her brother. After all, she felt as if nothing could touch her when he was around.

Kyla's smile faded a little when he mentioned Rose. She tried to be nice to everyone in the family, but it seemed as if Rose pushed herself away. Being the middle child, Kyla tried to keep everyone together, but it wasn't quite working out very well. Milo had every right to visit their father. Kyla visited him every once in awhile and brought flowers every once in awhile with her.

"She was?" It didn't really come as a surprise that Rose had been there. Kyla knew how much their father meant to Rose, but that wasn't a good enough reason to lash out at them. "Figures she wasn't happy." Kyla said this under her breath. "Did she say anything to you?"

[Milo Faulkner]

Milo shrugged. He didn't really like talking about Rose. Yes, he loved her because she was his sister, but he could barely stand to be around her. When he was younger he liked hearing her talk about their father but it upset him too much after a while, when she would talk like he was still around and coming home any second from work.

"She told me I had no right to be there since I didn't know him. I mean, I understand she was his little girl but... I just wish she could deal with the fact he was my dad, too." Milo finally replied. He lingered on Rose for another minute before smiling. He wanted to change the subject to something happier.

"What's been new with your life? I'd hate to have talk of our darling sister ruin our lunch." He said the bit about Rose sarcastically.

[Kyla Faulkner]

Kyla rolled her eyes. Rose was still Rose. She tried to avoid Rose if she could. There was no reason as to why Rose should act the way she did. Seeing that Milo didn't want to linger on the subject any longer, Kyla couldn't blame him.

She smiled as Milo used sarcasm. "New in my life, let's see," Kyla said with a teasing like smile. "I've been married twice, had three children, and I'm getting a divorce already so I can marry a richer man." She gave a sigh. "Such drama in my life." She gave a laugh. "Just kidding! I'm actually almost done with training. I have just a little bit longer and then I can go on my first mission. I do have to say I'm a little nervous about that."

[Milo Faulkner]

Milo laughed. "Merlin's Beard, Kyla! You've managed to hide all of this from mum and I?" He joked back. He knew if his sister had a man in her life he would have to approve of him, make sure he was the right man for his sister. He cared deeply for her and wouldn't want her to get hurt.

When she mentioned going on her first mission, Milo had a feeling of dread. He knew this was coming, that she would be doing dangerous things, but he had always pushed it to the back of his mind. "Yeah, I forgot about that..." he said. "Don't be, Kyla, I'm sure you'll do great! Besides, I think mum and I are going to be worrying enough."

[Kyla Faulkner]

She was fairly aware of how much Milo and her mother were going to be worrying. However, her mother had encouraged her to do where her heart took her, and her heart took her to auror training. She was extremely passionate about what she wanted to do, and her mother couldn't say no to her.

"I know," she said with a laugh. "You and mum are going to worry enough for me not to." Kyla looked at her brother and sighed. "But you two are not going to have to worry too much. After all, I know what I'm doing," she paused for a moment, "for the most part anyway." She grinned. "So everything will be okay. Besides I'll always bring you something back."

[Milo Faulkner]

Milo knew his sister would be fine, that she put in enough training to prepare her but it was in his nature to worry about her. Milo figured all the worrying he did for Kyla and his mother was what kept him so thin; he barely ate if one of them was sick, although he wouldn't tell that to either of them. Plus, the stress of that and getting ready for his own job was enough to cause his appetite to go down.

"I look forward to whatever you bring back, even if it is only stories." Milo said. He wasn't a very materialistic person, he preferred sitting around after dinner listening to his mother talk of her childhood, or reminiscing about his own with Kyla. He liked hearing about his family from his mother, something he hoped he could pass down to his own kids, whenever he became a father.

"You think they'll send you all over the world?"