Anaïs Séverine Bolduc (_dumspirospero_) wrote in neeps, @ 2017-12-21 12:44:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! log, ada olivier, alasdair buchanan, anais bolduc, pip parkinson |
Who: A3P - Anais Bolduc, Ada Olivier, Alasdair Buchanan and Pip Parkinson
What: A double date
When: 20th December, 1999
Where: Godric's Hollow
Rating: SFW
Sitting cross-legged on a stool before her dressing table, Anaïs was putting the finishing touches to her outfit before she and Pip headed out of the door. Although it was just a casual dinner date, and even then just with one of her boyfriend’s teammates and his partner, the tall Quebecoise still wanted to look nice. Making an effort in your presentation meant that you respected the people you were dining with, right?
Slipping in the last of her earrings and putting a dab of perfume on each wrist and behind her ears, the redhead turned to call to her other half, wherever he was. “Pip? Ready when you are,” she preened, standing up and fluffing her hair one last time.
Pip leaned against the door jamb, dressed a few steps above casual. He had taken his cues from his other half because he neither wanted to show her up nor wanted to appear to take this entire double date like a joke. "Been ready for a bit," he admitted. "But not too long."
He did not want to make it into one of those stereotypical scenarios when it was it was the other half always making them late. He looked at his watch. No, they had plenty of time.
Anaïs slowly extricated herself from the arrangement before the mirror, her long legs pushing herself up from the floor so she was the 6’1 she stood in her stocking feet. Walking towards Pip, she slid her feet into the low heeled shoes she’d selected to go with the outfit, making her only a couple of inches shorter than Pip. This time. “Ah, what an attractive pair we make,” she quipped with a cheeky grin, giving him a quick peck on the lips.
He grinned at her. While there were several things he loved about Anaïs, he had to admit that not having to crane down to look at her was a nice bonus. "The sum is greater than its parts," he agreed. "Shall we go?"
“Ouais, let’s go. It wouldn’t do to be late now, would it?” Anaïs quipped, sliding her arm in his before they turned on the spot, vanishing from the room.
----
Ada let out an annoyed huff as she got up off the floor after having checked under the bed trying to find the shoes she was after. Though they were far from being anywhere near late for their dinner date with Anais and Pip, Ada didn't want to waste the whole time getting ready trying to find the pair of shoes she wanted to wear with her dress. Being a witch she could use accio - if she wanted to be inundated with all the shoes in her wardrobe, and there were a few silver pairs that even being more specific would bring her more shoes than needed.
"Are you sure you haven't seen my shoes, chéri?" she called out, asking almost the same question she'd asked before checking under the bed.
Meanwhile, Alasdair, who had also been ready a while, was in the bathroom putting the finishing touches to his look - a little drop of the hair potion he used to keep it tidy as it was combed back behind his ears. It was a youthful, fresh and clean cut look, one he favoured for more casual occasions than team galas. He’d already changed clothes, wearing a white shirt and dark blue jumper over his black trousers, and had been just about to dab on some cologne when his girlfriend called out.
“Which pair?” he replied absently, selecting a bottle from the cabinet, dabbing it on. Hell, it wasn’t as if HE knew which of her many pairs she meant.
Ada opened her mouth to make some retort but closed it again when she realised she hadn't actually specified which pair, just that she couldn't find her shoes. "The silver pointy ones that are really shiny," she replied, as she walked over to her wardrobe to see if she had maybe overlooked them. Logically she knew she could just grab any of her other pairs of nice heels to go with the dress but she'd wanted those ones. "I've tried under the bed and everything but they weren't there."
Although he knew about clothing and fashion, to a point, Alasdair’s knowledge reflected almost completely men’s fashion. And let it be said, shoes weren’t exactly the item of his girlfriend’s clothing that he focused on, if truth be told. He wracked his brains as he checked his reflection in the mirror, putting the bottle back before replying.
“You haven’t left them anywhere the cats might have seen them, have you?” he asked, leaving the bathroom to go and select a coat. Convinced as he was that two of the cats were part kneazle, he wouldn’t have been surprised if Dave and Jessica were fascinated enough with the shiny surface to use the shoes as some kind of feline mirror.
"I don't think so?" she replied, frowning slightly. Her gaze went to the bedroom door as she wondered if Dave and Jessica could've maybe been quick enough to have made off with the shoes without her noticing. As she looked over to Alasdair her frown disappeared and was replaced by a bright smile. "You're looking very nice, love," she commented.
Ada sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Maybe I should just find another pair and look for the others later?" she pondered. "And hopefully if our darlings have run with them they haven't decided to find out if they're edible."
Alasdair chuckled at the cheeky remark about the fur children, tilting his head down to give her a quick kiss. “You know how things go, love,” he replied, opening the wardrobe and looking through his options. “They’ll probably turn up the minute we’re back.”
Umming and Aaahing for a moment, he opted for a light brown coat and pulled out a mid-blue scarf to go with it. He hadn’t deliberately chosen the Ravenclawesque shade, but it looked good on him, and why not represent among three foreigners during the evening?
Ada chuckled. "You're probably right." Looking at her shoes she finally picked out a soft grey coloured pair and slipped them on. "I won't be long - promise," she said, pressing a kiss to his cheek before heading to the bathroom. Fortunately, she'd already decided to keep things simple - she wasn't even going to do up her hair - with just a bit of eye shadow and liner and a bit of lipstick, and after a quick dab of perfume to her wrists and neck she was ready.
"At least I haven't gone and made us incredibly late for dinner," she commented with a smile as she exited the bathroom a few short moments later.
Alasdair grinned, accepting the kiss before turning to head downstairs. “Quick? Sure,” he quipped, heading down the stairs and into the kitchen. Well, someone had to make sure the cats were fed before they went out.
He was greeted by three mewing voices at his feet upon his arrival, and he kneeled down to dole out the demanded ear scratches before going to the cupboards, pottering around the room as three pairs of jewel coloured eyes stared at him.
Ada chuckled lightly before grabbing a light coat, just in case she needed it later, and made her own way downstairs. She couldn't help but smile when she wandered to the kitchen and leant against the door jamb as she watched the cats follow Alasdair's every action as he went about getting them food. "It's never not adorable the way they follow you," she mused.
"No sign of my 'favourite' pair of silver shoes from them?" she asked jokingly.
The cats now served - there really was something to the phrase “dogs have owners, cats have staff”, Alasdair took out his wand to clean up and replaced it inside his jacket pocket, leaving the furkids to eat while he approached his girlfriend. “Adorable? They just know I’m providing dinner,” he quipped, leaning down to give her a kiss. “As for shoes, alas, they told me nothing. Rude of them, really.”
Holding an arm out to her, Alasdair prepared for the side-along apparition to the pub. “Shall we?”
----
Ada and Alasdair had managed to arrive at the pub early enough that they didn't see the other couple waiting for them. She suggested that while they could wait outside it might be better if they found and claimed one of the quieter tables at the pub before it got snatched by someone else. They got one that was private enough without being completely secluded from the rest of the pub. "So do you know if Gwen has any plans for Portree to do any PR stuff over the holiday break or is it to be a proper break?" she asked. It was strange to think that it was almost Christmas, and not only that but almost their one year anniversary. Time seemed to be zipping by so fast these days.
Having been keeping an eye out for Anais and Pip, Ada smiled when she spotted the couple entering the pub. "Be right back, love," she said to Alasdair, before making her way over to her fellow Francophone and her partner.
"Bonjour to you both," she greeted happily. "We found a table over there-" She gestured over at where Alasdair was seated. "I thought it might be better if we had at least some kind of privacy."
Anaïs tilted her head down, giving her friend the traditional French bisoux in greeting before straightening up, flicking back her long, red hair. Her eyes flicked over to the quiet Scotsman in the corner, and she couldn’t help but grin. “Ouais, it’s probably for the best,” she laughed. “Already had enough attention for quite some time, hmm?”
Pip thought he remembered reading or hearing about the other couple in some magazine or another, but if there was one thing he had learned during his career was to avoid reading anything that may mention him. Therefore, he probably missed exactly what the article may or may not have said. In either case, he was perfectly happy to have dinner with Alasdair and Ada, especially when he heard that the redhead did not feel like she knew very many people in the Portree realm.
"Thank you for finding a table." He followed both woman to the aforementioned spot along a secluded section of the pub.
Before Ada had spotted their dining companions, Alasdair had managed to get in a quick reply. “Just the regular stuff that’s always on the schedule, I think,” he replied, sitting himself down at the table they’d chosen and slipping his coat over the back of the chair. Crossing his legs as he watched his girlfriend approach the others, bringing them back to the table, he leaned backwards a little before acknowledging his teammate with a nod.
“No problem,” he replied, standing up to pull a chair back for Ada, and giving the taller redhead a nod, too, before holding out a hand for them both to shake.
"Something like that," she chuckled, as she walked over to their table with the couple. When Alasdair stood to pull a chair back for her she couldn't help but smile warmly at him. "Thank you," she said quietly, pressing a gentle but quick kiss to his cheek, sitting down after Alasdair had finished greeting Anais and Pip.
"Do the two of you have any plans for the break, or is The Quidditch Hour still going to be running?" she asked once everyone had settled into their seats.
Anaïs couldn’t help but take note of the other couple, subtle as they were, but certainly very affectionate. It seemed as though Ada had found a good one, and she was glad.
“We haven’t finalised our Christmas plans yet,” replied the taller redhead, sliding into a seat opposite Ada. “There are options, we just need to pick one.” She flicked her hair back behind her shoulder before continuing. “The show will be on air, but we have a bank of pre-recorded interviews that will go out, and we’re recording a special for the actual week of Christmas and new Year’s Day. Down to once a week of course, and it’ll be the regular WWN staff recording news bulletins if there are any big breaking stories. Something huge would have to happen to break that plan, I think.”
Shaking Alasdair's hand before sitting down, Pip simply listened for a few moments. "Christmas is typically busy time of year for us." Between his family and hers, plus his birthday, even when they were back in Canada, it would require some planning. Now being in the UK would just complicate matters. They would actually have to talk about that, because the last thing Pip wanted to do was to make plans and then have to immediately break them because something came up.
"But in the meantime, I am planning on enjoying the bit of downtime." He knew there were Portree players who lived and breathed the game, but Pip was happy to have the opportunity to do something else. Even if that something else was hanging out on the couch with his dog.
Alasdair listened to the other bloke, somehow curious they hadn’t mentioned family visiting or where they would actually be spending the break. He knew the Canadian was a reserved sort from what he’d seen so far, but this was almost cagey. Coming from him, that was quite something.
“We’re not doing Christmas at ours, thank Merlin,” Alasdair offered in reply, looking over at Ada. “Our place is still so new, it’s not finished yet. So, it’s not really fit for hosting anything beyond our housewarming… right, love?”
"At least with whatever you choose you won't have to worry about work interrupting it," she pointed out. There wouldn't be anything worse than making perfectly nice holiday plans only to have work interrupt them completely. Ada nodded and smiled in response to Pip saying he planned on enjoying the downtime. Not that they didn't get time to be a couple but she was looking forward to her and Alasdair just being able to leisurely enjoy things as well as probably working on their place a little since they'd have the time.
She chuckled slightly. "That's about right. We've certainly got the space to host it but we haven't really finished getting our place set up. Though maybe next year?"
“At least you HAVE a house of your own over here,” Anais replied, pouting in a jocular manner at Pip. “We are still in a rental place in Stirling while we pick where is best to go.”
Picking up a menu, her eyes began to flicker over it. “Now then, shall we order?”
---
If Pip had been acting cagey at all with Alasdair and Ada, he certainly did not mean to do so intentionally. The simple fact was that he wasn't entirely sure about their plans and he simply didn't want to say something out of turn that may be proven wrong in the future. As the meal progressed and the two women began to chat between themselves, Pip found himself left to talk with his teammate whom he did not know particularly well, he realized.
"How is the house decoration going?" He figured talking about the other man's house was a relatively safe topic. Asking people to talk about themselves or their pet projects were the easiest way to get people talking.
Alasdair paused a moment, taking a sip of his pint before replying. It wasn't that he was being cagey himself, more that he was never the type to be bubbly and rush into the conversation. It just wasn't his style.
“We've not had much time for it since preseason, truth be told,” he began, rubbing the back of his neck. “What with both of us being in training and all. We've got an idea of what we want, but we will probably only have the time to properly get started on it now we’re on break.”
Pip nodded, knowingly. The house he and Anais were renting was furnished and comfortable, but it did not exactly scream their personality like their place back home, but he was sure that was more because they were unsure if it would be a permanent move or not. He was enjoying his time at Portree, certainly, but it was always possible they could let him out of his contract at the end of the season. That was a negative line of thinking, however, and Pip tried to avoid negative thoughts if at all possible.
"But it will be worth the wait, I'm sure. And all of those other cliche sayings." Pip gave Alasdair a smile. "It's better to get what you truly want rather than settling for something that will just do."
“True enough,” Alasdair said in agreement, then taking a sip of his drink. “We know we’re going to be here in the long run, and we’re both on long deals, so we’ve never had to rush… though to be honest, I’m half tempted to just get in all the stuff we want and get a decorator in to do it. Less time trying to fend off interfering cats while you’ve got a wand going on the paintbrushes,” he snorted, imagining just how much chaos Mog, Dave and Jessica could cause if left to it.
“Whereabouts are you two, anyway?” he asked, setting down his pint glass and nodding his head towards the other man’s partner, the redhead engaged in conversation with his own other half.
"Stirling. We're not far from my grandparents," Pip explained. "They're the only ones we really knew in the country and it's best to be near family, in my opinion." Never mind that he had happily crossed the ocean to put some distance between himself and most of his immediate family. That was a minor detail.
He cocked his head to the side. "Couldn't you put the cats in one room while you're working on another? It's what we do with Nelson and Rusty, the dogs." He'd only brought Rusty to the pitch a few times, because Anais was right. Have both dogs might be too much for others to handle.
“You’re on the mainland, then,” Alasdair commented, reflecting internally on the commute. He’d never lived anything but island life - apart from school and when they’d been in France, at any rate - and he considered himself an islander before he considered himself a Scotsman, truth be told. Life in the Highlands and Islands was as far apart from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen as it was possible to be, in his eyes.
He snorted at Pip’s well meaning suggestion. “We could, but it’d last about two minutes. The kittens are definitely at least part kneazle, and they’ve ended up inside warded rooms and storage before now.”
"Yesssss?" Pip drew out the confirmation, unsure of what that meant, exactly. Granted, he knew how fiercely localities held onto their regional identities. Just look at the Maritimes and Quebec back home. However, getting to Portree wasn't terribly difficult when one was a wizard. Between apparition, floo, and portkeys, he managed to get to the team headquarters with no fuss. "We considered looking at Hogsmeade, but the property market has been incredibly tight with the Referendum vote."
If they were so smart, Pip privately thought that reasoning with the animals might not be a bad idea. Even young children understood 'no, don't go in there' if you spoke to them in the right tone. But since he didn't have experience in that particular realm, he kept his trap shut.
Alasdair nodded in response - it was true, of course, that the referendum was affecting living qualities throughout Wizarding Britain, not just Scotland. “Hogsmeade’s nice, of course, and there’s a lot of magical amenities there. Not much movement in property, though… one of those places where people get in and tend to stay there for life. Difficult to get hold of anywhere new,” he finished, sipping his pint again.
Of course, herein was the difference between Pip as a dog owner and Alasdair as a cat man. Dogs showed their intelligence through the ability to be trained and do what their owners wanted - cats, on the other hand (and kneazles especially) were more defiant by nature, and certainly more independent. The question, of course, was how different this made the humans in question.
-----
Ada covered her mouth in an attempt to smother the laughter from something Anais had just said, before trying to take a couple deep breaths to control herself. After a brief moment she released her hand and picked up the glass of wine she'd been nursing and took a sip. Ada felt that the evening had been going pretty well so far. It was something she was glad for, especially if it meant making at least one new friend at Portree.
"So how are you finding Scotland?" she asked, for a second wondering if she'd already asked her fellow Francophone the question. Ada stole a momentary glance at their partners and was happy to note that they seemed to at least be getting on relatively alright. "At least the weather isn't too dissimilar from France, if at least a little bit less sunny at times, for one thing."
“Scotland? Practically balmy in comparison to home. Honestly, you’d think they’d remember that they’re wizards and the weather can be coped with with relative ease, but the whinging I’ve heard around the place is unbelievable!” Anais scoffed, smacking the wood of the table top with her hand to emphasise her point. It was, however, quite pleasant to have a sense of superiority in some matters, at least.
The taller of the women had also been taking occasional glances at their partners, a little concerned that their own conversation was more lively and vocal - but then, perhaps this was more of a personality difference. Given time, perhaps the menfolk would be more openly friendly, if not enthusiastic. Turning back to Ada, she sipped her own drink (opting for a mocktail this time, in unspoken solidarity with Pip in this new situation). “And how is Scotland for you? Longing for the Med yet?”
Ada snorted at the emphasis Anais made. It was an excellent point she made though, with magic it was more than easy to combat whatever changes happened with the weather. "You'd think so, but it seems it's easily forgotten at times what we're capable of when it comes to magic," she mused. To be fair even she had, on occasion, been guilty of whining about the weather before having to be reminded she was a witch and had magic at her disposal.
"It's... a little different I suppose, not at all bad, but-" Ada glanced across at Alasdair for a moment, and smiled softly. "Some things make it rather more bearable for sure. Ah, not so much yet, but no doubt I'll be longing for it during the Summer again. Though the Summer weather is not too bad here I have to say. Still nothing in Scotland or the rest of the UK will come close to a Mediterranean beach!"
Anais caught the look that Ada shot towards her partner, and although she didn’t respond to it directly she certainly had a wry smile on her face. She herself, of course, would not be here in this side of the pond were it not for Pip’s career change too - the two women were in the same boat there. It would be a poor state of affairs if one’s other half in the relationship didn’t make such a big move easier, after all.
Having grown up in a small border town, Anais herself was far more used to woods, rivers and lakes than she was to sandy beaches and sparkling sea waters. However, she could see the appeal of it, and as she sipped her drink, she pictured herself and Pip on a nice beach somewhere, walking in the sun. A next holiday, perhaps? “It’s an option for the end of season, perhaps,” she suggested. “After it’s all done with for another year.”
It had only been in the past decade playing or Quiberon that she'd spent more of her team near the coast than she previously had. Growing up she was much further inland and had the open countryside and fields for her playground, and maybe that was why she didn't mind living on Skye now - although the island was considerably different to what she was used to the openness perhaps reminded her of her childhood and helped make her feel at home. Ada nodded in agreement, there was certainly something nice about the thought of just going away for a little break. "Perhaps. If we haven't finished with getting our house the way we like," she pointed out with a slight smile. Not that they were in any great rush to finish it, and it certainly wasn't something either of them wanted to speed through anyway. "Though maybe I can convince Alasdair on the merits of taking a little holiday in between working on the house?"
“I think that may be a good idea from both our ends,” Anais replied, lowering her head to chat to her fellow Francophone, gossiping late into the evening.