Al Gumboil is a bad big brother. (countervail) wrote in an_ill_wind, @ 2009-07-09 02:11:00 |
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Entry tags: | - 1980/06 june, alastor gumboil, rita skeeter |
Who: Rita Skeeter and Al Gumboil
When: [BACKDATED] to fucking forever ago; 25 June, 1980.
Where: Al's flat.
What: It's about damn time.
Rating: PG-13ish // FTB.
Status: Completed log.
Rita was experimenting. She had her wand in her hand and she was transfiguring Al's furniture, changing the shape and texture and colour and squishiness, tinting the walls. She was playing. She'd beat him back to his place and let herself in since he'd left his wards open for her ever since the first time she'd come over. She'd arrived shortly past five after she'd turned in her article early for once, and she'd ordered them pizza (which was being magically kept warm until he got in), and now she was just keeping herself entertained while she waited. That meant she'd tested out a minty green theme, a warm orange theme, and an earth tones theme, but they all seemed too colourful for Al. Finally, she compromised between her own tendency to make everything bright and found something she approved of but that was muted enough not to give poor, spartan Al a headache: gray. Not boring gray, though. The walls were a pale slate, not too different than the white of before, but the carpet was a rich charcoal, and the furniture was now an inbetween. The accents (throw pillows, lamp, curtains) she'd made blue, and it was all just a little more... put together, she thought. She hadn't intended to redecorate, but she didn't think Al would mind. Part of her wondered if he'd even notice her somewhat... domestic passing of the time. As that thought occurred to her, she began to consider changing it all back. But she was good at transfiguration. It looked nice. And anyway, when she heard a sound at the door, she knew it was too late. It was practically closer to seven than six by the time she heard him come in--damned workaholic--and she breezed out of the living room and towards him, pecking him perkily on the lips. "I made dinner!" she said, gesturing to the pizza on his counter, still in the delivery box. Al did notice. As soon as he'd walked through the door, actually. You didn't live in the same flat for eight years and not notice when the entire colour scheme changed on it's own. Well. Not entirely on it's own, he decided, as Rita filled his vision. Al smiled and pressed a kiss to her lips. "Hi," he greeted, pulling his coat off and tossing a folder of case files onto the side table. At the sight of the pizza, he couldn't help but grin, giving a slight roll of his eyes. "Aw, for me?" he asked, grin still sticking to his face. It was hard not to be too distracted by difference in his flat since he'd left this morning. But it wasn't bad, certainly not. It wasn't as if he would ever have gotten around to playing with colour schemes anyway. He sort of liked it. "All right, just let me change. Two seconds," he added, walking down the hall to his bedroom. It was half an excuse to see if she'd changed anything else. Far from minding though, he was mostly just curious. Rita followed him. She hadn't done anything to his bedroom except give it a few matching throw pillows, carrying a splash of the dark blue theme through the rest of the flat. He had to have noticed. He was a Hitwizard. Observation was part of his job. Regardless, he hadn't let on really if he cared, or how he felt. She leaned against his doorjamb, watching him intently. "Well, do you like it? It was just kind of a whim," she explained, smiling. "I can change it back if you don't." Al glanced at the pillows, a smile still on his lips. "No, I like it. I'm glad you did something with it. It was a bit depressing, wasn't it?" He pulled his tie and shirt off, rubbing at his neck now that there was no further restriction before pulling on an old United jersey. Merlin, if there was one thing that he really, really hated about his job, it was the fucking ties. Away went the black trousers and on went a much more comfortable pair of jeans. No socks. Immediately, he was a thousand times more comfortable and the way he relaxed was practically visible as he took her hand and padded back out to the kitchen to eat. "Are you getting all domestic on me?" he teased, a smirk lingering on the corners of his mouth as he pulled some plates out. "I am most certainly not. I just... felt like doing something nice, and I had time since you decided to work overtime. Again," Rita said, rolling her eyes at him. She really had no place to reprimand him for it, since it seemed to be more and more frequent that she had to run off and write a last minute article, or go on scene at some ungodly hour of day or night to research her next piece. He worked late. She worked whenever her boss bloody wanted her to. Still, she refused anything on Saturday nights or Sunday mornings, if she could. That was their time. Although, with how often she was at his house now (even more frequently since he'd said she could leave some of her stuff there), staying over was hardly an anomally. In fact, it was the norm. She was surprised she wasn't sick of him yet, really. "Aren't I allowed to do something nice without you hurling about insults? Domestic, honestly," she added, accepting the plate from him and popping the top on the pizza. She helped herself to a piece, taking a bite, chewing, and swallowing before asking, "How was steak with Pepper?" Al laughed and lifted a couple slices of pizza onto his plate before sitting down. He liked it when she was here when he got home. In fact, he'd always sort of liked someone being here more often than him. Merlin knew he wasn't really around enough to justify paying the rent he did. And he liked that it was her. On the occasional night he slept alone - which certainly wasn't very often these days - he felt a bit lonely despite himself. "Sorry, sorry, I'll never say the d-word again," he laughed before taking a bite of pizza. It was hot and greasy and horrible for him. And just what he wanted after a long day of work. "Mm, it was steak and Pepper, I suppose," he said. "I told him. About us, I mean." Rita smiled back at him as he laughed, sitting down next to him, feet crossed beneath her, one thigh brushing over his and their shoulders touching. Rita really had no concept of personal space or boundaries. Or she did, but she just didn't care, not with Al anyway. Still, as he mentioned the last bit, she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows. This time she didn't bother using manners while she spoke this time, mouth full of pizza, "What, really? How'd he take it?" Al was a big fan of cuddling and being close, so this certainly didn't bother him. On the contrary, he rather liked it. The subject of Pepper though, was slightly more serious. He was Al's best friend and his opinion did actually matter quite a lot. "Well," he started a little hesitantly, filling a beat of time to swallow a bite of pizza. "He wasn't exactly thrilled. But it's fine. It's Pepper, you know? It's fine." Of course Pepper wasn't thrilled. Pepper hadn't liked her since Hogwarts, and she wasn't surprised that a decade without her in their lives had done nothing to soften his opinion of her. Still, she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed, and she was sure her emotions were written on her face, like usual. Still, she couldn't help but wonder exactly how not thrilled he was, and if that meant anything would change between her and Al. She decided immediately that she wouldn't let it. She liked how things were going. She was feeling things she'd written off as the delusional histrionics of a sixteen year old, but despite the fact that she was almost twenty-seven now, the feelings were back. And she wasn't going to let Pepper's disapproval mess it all up. "And by that you mean what, exactly?" she asked, careful to keep her voice casual as she looked up at him with a neutral expression. She and Pepper hadn't been friends since Rita had dumped Al in sixth year, and sometimes she couldn't help but think unkind thoughts of him, given how he'd treated her in seventh year. She hadn't had any interaction with him since then, really, so she had no reason to think he'd changed. That said, she knew how close he and Al were. She wasn't going to get snappy. Al didn't really want to elaborate. And it showed with the way he was sort of methodically eating his pizza, taking his time, not looking to be in any sort of rush to finish and answer her question. He knew, sort of vaguely, what had happened between Rita and Pepper. Pepper had been being a good friend. He was still a good friend, and if the situations were reversed, Al didn't think he'd be much more pleased. Friends looked out for each other. "Just... be nice to him," he said finally. "Don't give him a reason to be angry with you." "What? Like I would," Rita replied, frowning and pulling away from Al a bit. "You know why he doesn't like me. Do you think I'm... Do you think I'd do that again?" The idea that Al thought the same way, that maybe Al had given Pepper some reason to think Rita was going to walk out on him, that bothered her. Sure, she regretted what she'd done, but she'd been having a rough enough year without Pepper making it worse. She didn't expect Al to see it from her side, but she certainly hadn't expected him to tell her to be nice, as though she'd done something wrong. "No," he said immediately. "I don't. I trust you. It's just, you know how he can be. We look out for each other. He doesn't have anything but my word to go on, so he's a little tetchy. You've just got to give him some time," Al explained, trying to be as clear as he could. "I trust you," he reiterated more firmly. "You'd better. Christ. He's got a lot of nerve, holding a grudge. He was a right asshole about it all," Rita grumbled, but she'd already decided not to hold it against him. While she personally didn't much give a crap about his werewolf status, she had to admit he'd probably had a shitty last few years. She wasn't heartless. She knew it had likely been tough for him. Of course, she had no intention of letting him use that as an excuse to be a prick, but as of yet, she had no reason to think he was, so she could cut him a little slack. He was just looking out for Al, really, and she supposed she was glad Al had a friend like that. Of course, a little part of her wished that he liked her, now that she and Al were back together. Not that she could ever say that to either Al or Pepper. After munching away on her pizza for a moment, Rita asked curiously, "So, how is he? I haven't seen him really since school." Which wasn't entirely true. They'd seen each other a few times. More often than she'd seen Al until they'd started back up again, really, and while Rita and Pepper had been on poor terms during school, he'd been polite any time they'd seen each other. They'd never stayed in touch, though, but as a member of the press, Rita was as familiar as any outsider with Pepper's story. Al picked at the crust of his pizza, frowning a bit. "He's... dealing, I guess. It's been about the same the last couple of years. He got handed a pretty shit end of the stick. I think he just feels stuck. And let's face it, he is." It was a hard position, even being the best mate of someone who was in that situation. Al really just did his best to remind him that he was more than the furry monster everyone hated. But it was still difficult, and he was quiet as he chewed on his pizza again. "Well, life is a bit shit for everyone sometimes, isn't it. It's just a little more shit for him. You have to deal with it however you can," Rita said pragmatically, finishing her piece of pizza and reaching out to steal a bit of topping off of Al's second piece. She smiled at him teasingly, hoping to lighten the mood a bit as she waggled her eyebrows at him and said, "Maybe he just needs to get laid. Think he'd like me more if I offered?" Al couldn't help but frown. Not only was he the jealous type himself, but that was exactly the sort of thing Pepper was worried about. It was more likely to piss him off than anything. "Quite honestly? No," he answered, maybe just a tad bit shorter than he'd meant. Well, if he was determined to be in a foul mood, that was his problem. She got up, intending to take her plate into the kitchen. "I was just kidding. Obviously I'd never, Christ," she said, tone similarly short, and then asked, "Are you done with your plate? I'll put them away." Al sighed and idly mussed his hair, "Sorry," he mumbled. "I didn't meant to snap." He took his pizza off the plate and scarfed about half of it down in a couple of bites. "Yeah, I'm done," he agreed, taking another bite, which had him down to the crust. Which he didn't need a plate for. "It's fine," Rita said, still a little annoyed as she left to put the plates by the sink. Pepper would likely be a touchy subject for them for a while, really, so perhaps she should just let it go. There was no point staying annoyed at Al when he'd already apologized. She was a stubborn girl, and she wasn't in the mood for serious conversation. She'd decided to lighten the mood, and she would. "Let's do something else," she suggested. Pepper's lot in life was depressing, but there was nothing they could do about it. No point obsessing over someone else's misery when today wasn't a day she felt at all miserable. Al sighed and stood up, tossing his crust back into the box. "Hey," he said, wiping his hands on his jeans. "I'm sorry," he repeated. He didn't want her to be annoyed, least of all over Pepper. Pepper was Al's responsibility, as far as he was concerned, and he didn't mean to push it all onto Rita. He caught her in the middle of the kitchen and pulled her into his arms. Al was really bad at staying annoyed or angry at anyone for very long. Especially when he didn't really mean it. As Al pulled her into his arms, she looked up at him and smiled, this time more genuinely. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning comfortably against him in the middle of the kitchen. She kissed him briefly, looking up at him warmly. Just touching him made her feel things, even if it was as innocent a touch as a hug or a chaste kiss. This time she sounded like she meant it when she said, "It's fine, really. And this is an acceptable activity within the 'something else' category." Al smiled and gently returned her kiss. "Good," he said, squeezing her. He let his hands wander down to the small of her back. "I like this more," he agreed, relieved that she didn't sound so annoyed any more. "Did you have a good day?" he asked, quite happy to change the subject away from the somewhat depressing subject of his best mate. "Yes, I suppose I did. I finished an article early for once," she said, comfortable in his arms. "I didn't have to bring it home and owl it off last minute like I seem to do so often lately." She played with his hair idly for a moment before asking, "How was yours? You want me to help you... unwind?" The last word was spoken with a mischievous smile, eyes dancing as she teased him. He always seemed so exhausted when he came home from work that it had become a sort of running joke that he always seemed so tired when, conversely, that was the time Rita seemed most wound up. Al smirked. "Long, as usual. You're pretty good about helping me relax though," he agreed, biting his lower lip for a moment before pressing another kiss to her lips. He liked the she was always more energetic when he got home. It helped him feel less lazy and tired regardless of what they did. And he liked that 'making dinner' was a box of pizza and that she did little things like playing with the flat. In fact, there wasn't a whole lot that Al didn't like about Rita. He only wished he'd bumped into her earlier. Rita laughed and pulled away a little, dancing out of his reach and pushing her hands through her hair as she struck a bit of a dramatic pose. She smirked right back at him, once again playful. "Well, don't make me work too hard or anything. I love the way you play hard to get." Al chuckled and quickly reached for her arm to pull her back. "But that means I have to wait too," he pointed out, quirking a brow. "I'm too impatient right now. Call me easy, just don't be a tease." "Impatient? You've been patient for weeks," Rita laughed as she fell back against him, mouth curling into a delighted expression. She leaned in close to his lips, but didn't quite kiss him. She brushed her nose against his cheek, then ghosted her lips over his jawline. He never should've tried to tell her not to be a tease. That was just asking for trouble. "Yeah, baby? How bad you want it?" Al rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. "Merlin, shut up," he groaned, though he was practically grinning now, despite her teases. Or maybe because of. He wrapped his arms more securely around her and gave a rather lingering kiss. It was answer enough, he figured. He was strong, and she felt safe in his arms, well taken care of. She returned the kisses contentedly, feeling relaxed and cheerful. Sure, he'd just told her to shut up, but then he'd kissed her quiet, and there was nowhere else she'd rather be right then, no one else she'd rather be with. No one knew her quite the way Al did, and no one made her feel the way he did. There was a thrilling flipping sensation in her stomach as she deepened the kiss, arching against him and putting her hands on either side of his face. After a long moment, she broke the kiss and without thinking first, breathed, "God, I love you." As soon as the words left her mouth, her eyes opened (though she didn't recall closing them) and she blinked, flushing and looking up at Al, clearly surprised by herself. "Um. I mean. When you're like this. I love it when you're like this." He almost whined in protest when she pulled away. She always felt so natural right here, nestled comfortably in his arms. It was only when her words met his ears that his brain really attempted to reassemble itself. He pulled away another inch and blinked, confusion flickering on his face. Had she just said it? First? But no, she was correcting herself and Al quirked a brow, looking a bit bemused. "Me or this?" he prompted, wanting it one way or the other. Saying it and then not saying it just wasn't acceptable. Her heart was pounding in her chest as he questioned her, and she ducked her head a bit and leaned her face against his shoulder, hiding in the crook of her neck. She pinched his shoulder, not too hard, just enough to be a reprimand. She felt nervous and shaken and she murmured, "Come on." She hadn't meant to say that to him. She'd been thinking about it a bit, but hadn't even quite decided if it was true or not. She wasn't sure if she was ready to admit those sorts of feelings, that sort of need. If she loved him, and if he knew it, part of her felt like he had something on her, some power over her. She trusted him, of course, and her discomfort wasn't really out of a worry that he'd hurt her, so much as it was out of a worry that he didn't feel the same way. Al couldn't help but smile, despite being pinched. He squeezed her gently and pulled back a bit so he could look at her. He was pretty sure these days. This last week really, of coming home to have her here and being completely unable to not think about her at work. He was pretty sure Myron was starting to notice. For as much as workaholic as Al was, he still had ducked out earlier than usual to get home lately. Otherwise he'd likely still be sitting behind his desk. He didn't really know what he was waiting for any more. So he caught her gaze and pressed a light kiss to her lips. "Fine," he agreed. He wasn't going to force her to say it. "But I love you." Rita smiled and wrinkled her nose up in an expression likely familiar to Al, the sort of expression she made when a smile just wasn't quite enough. Her heart swelled as he spoke, and she looked into his eyes, face bright even though it was still red. "Really?" Al let himself hold her gaze, unable to keep the smile at his self. His stomach turned pleasantly and he nodded. "Really," he confirmed, pressing another kiss to her lips. "Really, really." Giggling, Rita threw her arms around his neck, clinging and pressing herself into him, grinning against his lips as she literally laughed into his mouth. She felt giddy and ridiculous in that moment, and she didn't even care. She wanted to say it over and over again, and hear it over and over again. She pulled away from the kiss then, looking joyful and triumphant as she declared, "I said it first." Al laughed and held her tightly, his smile widening into a grin. "No fair," he protested. "You said it and then didn't say it, that doesn't count!" Not that he even cared a little. It was just nice for it to be out there, one way or the other. He felt lighter and happier and was more than happy to press kisses to her over and over. "I love you," Rita said again through the kisses. She hadn't felt this happy in years. She couldn't actually remember the last time she'd felt like that, actually, and she couldn't help but wish they'd run into each other sooner as well. It was an undeniable fact that he had made her life exponentially better. She had enjoyed her life before, yes, but she'd been lonely too. Now she was anything but. "I've never said that to anyone before. I might swoon. You'd better hang on a little tighter." Al grinned and held her more securely, arms tight around her waist as he forced his smile down enough to kiss her properly. "And I love you," he said again when he pulled away, gently pushing his fingers through her hair. As much as he tried, he still couldn't quite get the smile off his face and eventually, he just quit trying, pressing a few kisses to her neck. She let her eyes flutter shut then, tilting her head back to give him better access to her neck. She let out a pleased hum, relaxing her weight against him, trusting him to keep her upright. She didn't open her eyes, just remained putty in his arms as she exhaled a request: "Say it again?" Al kept her tight in his arms, not about to allow her to slip away from him. Not now. Merlin, she did horrible things to him sometimes, and he complied quite readily to the tacit suggestion for him to continue his kisses. "I love you," he whispered against her skin and then nipping gently. He was quickly losing control of his brain, which he would normally consider a bad thing. But in this circumstance, he figured he could allow it. It was Rita, after all. Again," Rita breathed, smiling and feeling overwhelmed, almost drunk on it. No one had said that to her in years, or at least they hadn't said it in a way that made her feel the way she did when Al said it, especial when he said it like, a murmur against her throat, his arms around her, her brain shutting down with every repetition. Every single part of her was focussed on him. Her thoughts revolved around him, her ski was on fire with his touch, her heart was full with his words. Al still couldn't get his damn smile off his face. And fucked if he really wanted to. He didn't remember the last time he'd been properly happy like this. It was like he'd said that day on the boat: there was a difference between being happy and being content. And he was fairly certain he was happy. His stomach was doing bloody flips in his abdomen. And so again: "I love you, Rita Skeeter." She caught his mouth in a kiss, and then, lips moving against his as she whispered, asking, "So can I have all of you? Do you trust me enough yet?" Of course, Al had said it wasn't about trust. He said he trusted her, but no matter how many times he tried to insist it was something else, that it was so their relationship wouldn't just be about another guy to fuck, Rita still felt like he wouldn't go there with her because that was the last thing, the last thing he hadn't given her yet. It was the last piece of him she didn't have, she'd never had, and maybe she was reading too much into it, but it felt like he was witholding it, maybe, because she hadn't proven herself worthy. But if she was somehow worth loving, surely she had to be worth that? "Please," she breathed, pressing more tightly against him. If Al's brain had been any more functional than it currently was, he might have repeated what he'd said in the first place. That it wasn't a matter of trust and... and... oh fucking hell, just what the fuck was he waiting for any more? He gave into her kiss for a long moment, letting it melt whatever was left of his brain. He didn't have to think about this any more anyway. He just gathered her up into her arms and breathed the single word of consent: "Okay." "Okay," Rita repeated with a smile, still speaking into his mouth, not willing to separate from him even for the breath of time necessary for her to utter that one word. She wrapped her legs around him as he lifted her, letting him carry her into the bedroom, her skirt bunching up around her waist as she did. They'd take care of their clothes fairly quickly, she was sure, so she didn't worry about it, instead focussing on nibbling on his lips, sucking his bottom lip into her mouth and tugging with her teeth. It was a damn good thing Al knew his way around his flat, because there wasn't much left in his head beyond Rita as he made his way down the hall. Which was just fine, he decided, as the door snicked shut behind him. |