Hunter McLaggen (huntermc) wrote in 20somethings, @ 2021-12-19 18:34:00 |
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Entry tags: | c: hunter mclaggen, c: molly sue weasley, d: 2027 12, ~ complete, Ω: rp |
RP: A visit to Winter Wonderland
Who: Hunter, Molly Sue
What: Date night!
When: 19 December 2027
Where: Hyde Park, London
Warnings: Fluff
Completion status: Complete
A benefit to Molly Sue scaling back some of her side gigs and it being the off season for Hunter was getting to spend more time together. They’d gone Muggle this time with a trip to the winter wonderland at Hyde Park, partially so that Molly could get some content for Anya’s account that she’d be able to use this month, but also because it just looked kind of fun to wander among the Muggles for an evening.
Hunter clung to the barrier around the ice rink. He was athletic and he had excellent balance on a broom. But on skates? Those blades were absolute nonsense and how anyone could look graceful on them he had no idea.
He grinned at Molly, face flushed from the cold. “This was a terrible idea,” he joked, having already landed on his backside twice.
Molly Sue really appreciated the fact that Hunter didn’t mind enjoying Muggle sights, and that he didn’t find her Muggle side gigs to be off-putting. It also helped her immensely - mental health-wise - to have someone besides Cassandra she could talk to about the whole Anya Muggz thing. It paid well, though, and even if Zee paid in Muggle pounds, Gringotts never thought it weird to keep the other forms of money (for shopping in London, ha ha) or to exchange it for Galleons and Sickles. When he’d suggested Winter Wonderland, she’d been strangely delighted - it just seemed so fun! The Weasleys tended to go all out for the holidays, as much as they could at least, though Molly’s wing of the family was a bit more stoic, even during holiday celebrations.
Naturally, she had gone all out with her outfit, getting fully into the spirit, and she adored that Hunter never seemed to mind her... over the top-ness. She definitely planned to get a picture on Santa’s lap.
Molly knew how to ice skate - their mother Audrey had taught her and Lucy when they were children - but she had kept close to Hunter as he clung to the side rails, trying to hide her giggles as he attempted to move on the skates. This time, she giggled out loud, her cheeks and nose a lovely shade of red from the cold. “A terrible, delightful, adorable idea. I never thought I’d find something sports-like that I’d be better at than you,” she said with a louder laugh. “You know, a lot of skating is just... confidence. And a lack of caring if you end up on the ice,” she wasn’t sure if that was true, but she liked the sound of it. Of course, it helped that if she fell, she had a shorter fall than Hunter. “And plus, once our time is up, there’s a hot cocoa waiting with your name on it in reward,” she said, sing-songy, with a suggestive look thrown in, too.
Hunter held out his gloved hand to Molly Sue, trusting her to help keep him upright. He didn’t see himself getting too far away from the edge of the rink, but she kept him steady in other aspects of his life so why shouldn’t this be any different. Winter days were short, dark and depressing. Somehow she was always a ray of sunshine.
He smiled, despite his lack of balance, wobbling a bit as he tried to remain on his feet. His centre of gravity felt wrong and he was annoyed with himself that he wasn’t better at this.
“With whipped cream and marshmallows,” Hunter agreed. He managed to glide close enough that he could put his other hand on her hip. They were probably in someone else’s way, but he didn’t care. “We deserve snacks, too. I think I saw churros. Or doughnuts?”
“Extra whip,” she said with a suggestive look. She’d love to kiss the whip cream off of him, in a more private setting anyway. “Mmmmm churros. I wonder if they have funnel cake!” She did a happy little snacks dance in place but held him firm and steady. They weren’t getting very far on the ice, but she didn’t mind. Honestly, spending time with him was far better anyway.
“Think Santa will let me take a photo on his lap?” she asked, cocking her head inquisitively and giving him a radiant smile. She wondered if she could convince him to take a photo on his lap at some point tonight.
Her snacks dance made Hunter laugh and he wobbled less as he found a better balance. It was enough that they were able to make some progress around the rink. “If you smile like that at him, how could he possibly say no?” He grinned, knowing that smile would work like a charm on him. She could probably persuade him to do anything if she put her mind to it.
“He might ask you if you’ve been a good girl this year,” he warned jokingly, his grip on her arm tightening a little as a couple of little kids whizzed past them, scarves streaming.
She returned his tighter hold and asked him, her voice going low and husky, “Well, have I been? A good girl?” Her eyes darkened. God, Hunter was so hot. How she had gotten herself a boyfriend was a mystery to her, but a boyfriend like him was even more mysterious. He was good and hard working and so normal in a way, and excepted her and her weird life and her crazy social life and it all just seemed to work. They supported each other in all their struggles and crazy schedule needs and family insanity and he made her so freaking happy she could burst sometimes.
The buzzer rang out that marked the end of the current round of skaters, and she smiled up at his beautiful face, “Looks like your torture session has come to an end, good sir,” her voice was light and silly now, as she made to turn them to head to the rink’s exit.
“Oh, aye. Very good indeed.” And if Molly were ever bad it was only in an exceptionally good way. With her looking at him like that, Hunter wished he could kiss her, but he was worried that he’d accidentally pull them both down onto the ice somehow.
He was relieved that it was the end of the session. Though he could see how ice skating could be fun if there were fewer people around, the rink was busy and the idea of making a fool of himself was even worse than the thought of getting injured. He was far too competitive to enjoy any public humiliation.
Once his feet were back in normal shoes, he wasted no time in kissing his girlfriend. “Thank you for putting up with my terrible skating.”
“Thank you for taking me skating,” she retorted, after sinking happily into his kiss. She hummed as they split apart, “Part of me wants to do so many things here but the other part of me wants to go home and do lots of things there,” she said with a wicked smile and a sparkle in her eye. She knew she had to get a couple more shots of herself out and about at the park, though, and she groaned slightly. “I’m sick of side gigs,” she admitted.
“I can’t wait for my clothes to actually take off - I’ll be able to just do that full time, much as I love Malkin, and not worry about making extra cash on the side,” she hadn’t admitted that to anyone, not even Cassandra, her best friend, nor her little sister Lucy.
Even with Cassandra’s parents - Eddie and Romilda - having bought the townhouse and not needing to worry about rent anymore, Molly had bills and refused to ask her family for money or resort to a second full time job. Not that her side gigs weren’t full time these days. Ugh. It was no fun, working all the time, even if ‘work’ was parties and Winter Wonderland and fancy dresses.
Hunter pulled a face. That sounded like a great end to the evening, but knew he needed to be a good Winstagram boyfriend and help her with the list of photos she wanted for social media. It really wasn’t a hardship making sure that she looked amazing.
“Let’s get that cocoa,” he suggested before stealing another kiss. Hunter adjusted a lock of her gorgeous blonde hair, picking up on the stress that talking about work seemed to bring her. “You can tell me all about how 2028 is going to be the year that Molly Sue Weasley takes the fashion world by storm.” He smiled reassuringly. “I’ve never been asked more about my clothes at events than since you started dressing me.”
She laughed, a little snort laugh as if she was trying to not laugh, and then she blushed deeply - wow, that was so unattractive.
“I hope you know I don’t have to dress you, I love to, and you always make anything I choose or make look unbelievably hot, but it’s not, like, a requirement of dating me.” She’d dated - never ‘a relationship’, but dates - and her side work and her fashion work had always been a burden to guys. Hunter was so refreshing, every single time she saw him.
As they waited for the hot cocoa order to come up, she leaned in and said, “I’m glad Cassandra dared me to invite you out to that club that night...” It hadn’t really been a dare, but there had definitely been a challenge in her friends’ voice all those months ago.
Hunter shrugged, taking her hand again. “I like wearing nice clothes. And yours are really nice.” An appreciation for fine tailoring was something that he’d inherited from his dad. Even when he’d started buying his own clothes as a teenager he had mostly chosen things that would last for several seasons. If his profile as a Quidditch player could help show her designs to more people, it was the very least he could do for her.
“Me too,” he said with a fond smile. Saying yes had been something out of his comfort zone but also something he’d needed before he slipped into some of his less cheery personality traits. “And someday soon we’ll be able to go out for the night and you won’t have to worry about it being a side gig.”
“Thank you for always understanding that even our dates are ‘work’ for me,” she said, doing the hand gesture with ‘work’. “I really appreciate how supportive you are,” she added, leaning in close to him and threading her fingers through hers, leaning in a long, slow kiss. She wanted to always be showing him her appreciation, even if she was a talker by nature.
Their order was called and she pulled away from him with a pout but turned to get their order from the little food truck with a bright smile and a tip in muggle money for the server in the window. “Thank you!” she called cheerily over her shoulder as she wound through the crowd back to him, “and look,” she showed him with pride before stage whispering, “extra whip.”
“Anything for you.” Having grown up in a house full of physical affection, Hunter rather enjoyed public displays. He wasn’t an exhibitionist by any means, but there was something that he liked about showing the world that he was with someone he cared for. More than cared for, really, even if he didn’t know how to put that into words. His parents had been delighted to meet her and that meant a lot to him too.
“I don’t know how anybody could resist that smile of yours,” said Hunter, grinning. “Of course you got extra whip. I wouldn’t expect anything less.” He never felt the least bit jealous when Molly flashed that smile at people: that was just her natural charisma and he got to see plenty of things that were just for him.
He curled an arm around her waist, turning his head to press a kiss to her temple. “Okay, so where are we going next for photos? I’m warning you now, I’m not laying down on the ground this time. It’s too cold.” At least the pictures had been good the last time he’d done that for her.
She laughed, “I promise! This time actually, if you don’t mind, would you mind taking the picture?” She just needed a picture of her and Santa before she could stop pretending she just wanted to get him home.
“Santa?” she asked, the pout of her voice coming naturally, as she bit the left of the lower lip.
“Santa it is,“ he said, giving her a pout of his own. “I just hope he doesn’t try calling you Mrs Claus.” Hunter gave her a squeeze. He wasn’t jealous by any means but it would be funny to see the Muggle actor's reaction to her outfit.
There was a bit of a queue which gave them time to enjoy their hot chocolate. While he didn’t have quite as much whipped cream as Molly, his was still delicious. “Here,” he said, passing her his cup so that he could retrieve his phone from his pocket. “I think we need to get a selfie.”
The festive lights cast a warm glow over them, making Molly look radiant. Hunter wanted to capture this moment, though photos never really did truly reflect the way that she looked at him. He was an incredibly lucky man, he thought, drawing her close to his body so they could both be in the frame. Hunter hoped they’d have a hundred more Christmases like this.