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Tweak says, "I speak baby."

bl_collin (bl_collin) wrote in bloodlines_rp,
@ 2017-08-02 22:04:00

Entry tags:

!retcon, collin haussler (oc), dec 2002, loc: falcons team flats, loc: london, nicholas fleming (npc), oliver wood, type: rp

Awful Truth
Date & Time: Saturday, 28 December 2002 | Evening
Post Type: RP
Status: Complete
Character(s): Collin Haussler, Oliver Wood, other Falcons as needed/wanted
Location: Falmouth Falcons Training Facility and Team Flats
Summary: The Falcons deal with the aftermath of an incident at their most recent game
Retcon Info: Picks up after this thread, except with it pushed back to the 20th and other Dec threads pushed back accordingly. No major changes.

“What the actual fuck were you thinking, Haussler?”

Fleming’s voice carried into the common area, but Collin simply sat there, gazing down at his hands in his lap. He was tired in a way that he hadn’t been since he’d been in hiding just because of his blood status. The ferocity he had shown on the pitch just a few hours ago had vanished altogether when the Magical Games Department’s owl had arrived with a very formal looking document that said, in part, “…suspended, pending a formal review.”

It might well have been a howler as much as the words were echoing around his head. “I’m serious, Collin,” Fleming was saying; his voice had gone hoarse from all of the shouting he had done both at the match and in the subsequent hours, at him, at the team, and at the officials. “What the hell happened out there?”

Collin glanced up at his captain, but couldn’t hold his gaze. “I couldn’t let him say that about Elena,” he mumbled, and felt his face grow warm. “You didn’t hear him.”

As excuses went, it was really bad. It had been really bad at the time, of course, kind of the worse, but his rational mind had been temporarily obliterated by blind fury and the sort of bone-deep grief that he wasn’t even aware he was capable of feeling until he was dragging the other man 50 feet to the ground, fists pummeling every square inch he could get his hands on. His own throat still felt raw from the primal screams that had been ripped from him as he attacked. It was only their hard landing that had finally snapped him out of it. Collin had taken the brunt of that landing, still had the burn of healing ribs to show for it, the ache of newly patched lungs reminding him of his shocking display with every shallow breath.

Fleming stared at him, he could sense it, could feel the weight of his disapproval in the shadow that loomed over him. “We’ll fight this,” the other man said, and Collin saw the shadow unfold his arms, saw one of them start to reach out toward him, but it fell back to his side. Even his shadow looked tired. “We’ll get you reinstated, but it’s pretty likely that the Department will drag their feet on this. We’re not exactly the golden child of the league. Merlin, Collin, you almost killed him.”

He winced, but otherwise didn’t move or say anything else. Fleming pushed out a slow sigh, and then walked to his office door and pulled it open. “Pack a few things, and then head to your parents’ place. The Department’s letter was very clear about this point. We’ll owl you with any updates.”

Collin nodded his understanding miserably, pushed himself to stand stiffly, and then left the office. This was officially the worst day ever.

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bl_oliver
2017-09-04 11:06 pm UTC (link)

"No idea," Oliver said, though it wasn't exactly true. They'd never done this because their relationship had always been friendly and casual, and this was anything but casual. What he didn't know was why that thought sent a part of his brain into a panic state, and the rest of it into contented silence. For now, the relaxed part of his brain won out, and he lazily stroked the back of Collin's neck and made pleased little noises as Collin's lips brushed over his neck. After a moment, he remembered Collin's injury and attempted to support at least a bit of his own weight again, but he couldn't bring himself to roll away just yet. "All right?"

He pulled their lips back together again before Collin had a chance to answer, and for a few minutes he was caught up in that kiss, which he deepened enough to satisfy his lingering desire, but kept slow enough to let their breathing continue to recover. He shivered, belatedly struck by the continued intimacy of it, but also by the possibility that this would all disappear once they left this bed. Was it possible that this was a fluke brought on by the stress of today's events? Why did that idea feel like such a punch in the gut?

Oliver pulled back just enough to take in Collin's face, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly before saying, "We should have. This is...." He nuzzled Collin's cheek, unable to decide on the right words for a moment. Finally, he settled for kissing his jaw and saying softly, "I want this. With you."

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bl_collin
2017-09-05 12:06 am UTC (link)

It was more amusing than anything else that any reply that Collin might have given to Oliver's statements and questions were being chased away by the other wizard's greedy mouth. Collin couldn't even begin to bring himself to mind. He smiled into the kiss, tracing lazy, listless patterns around Oliver's back and shoulders. It was easy- perhaps a little too much so- to forget anything outside of them in this bed right at this moment, but there was an ache in his sides that was making itself known again. Bastard body.

And then, just like that, Oliver's words made him forget it all over again. He felt breathless in a way that had absolutely nothing to do with his injuries or what they had just done- no, that wasn't right. It had everything to do with what they'd just done. He'd thought about it, sure, entertained the notion more than once, but he'd never been sure about Oliver's side of things. Collin took Oliver's face in his hands, pulling it up so that he could look him in the face. "God, me too," he admitted in an almost-whisper. "For a while now."

He pushed out a sigh, his head falling back. "But we can't make it public, can we. Not until after everything blows over. Maybe not even then." Collin glanced up at Oliver, and chewed his lip. "I know how much you value you your privacy, and I respect that. I don't want to compromise anything... else for you."

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bl_oliver
2017-09-05 12:59 am UTC (link)

Oliver drew in another breath, this one sharper than the last, as Collin not-quite forced Oliver to look into his eyes again. Oliver wasn't shy, and he was rarely hesitant to communicate what he wanted in all areas of his life, but this was more complicated than that—more delicate somehow, though Collin himself was anything but, injuries or not. For a while now. Had he missed it because he wasn't looking for it, or because he was trying to avoid seeing it? He'd thought they were content with the not-quite relationship they'd carved out. Oliver had been content. But maybe it was possible to be better than content.

As Collin continued, though, some of that earlier tightness returned to his chest. The truth was that things in the world outside this room were a lot more complicated. "No more of that. I won't have you feeling guilty for my choices." Oliver kissed him firmly, staying close for longer than was strictly necessary, memorising the feeling of it, before finally rolling to one side to rest on the bed. One leg stayed intertwined with Collin's, and he slid his hand lightly across the man's abdomen before leaving it there, fingers curled around his waist.

"I can't say it won't be complicated," Oliver admitted, rather reluctantly, after a long silence. "We're going to have an uphill battle with the press as it is. If they get wind of this, start spinning things to look like it's about us being lovers instead of what it's really about—" The sad part was that this was about Collin. If today hadn't happened, how long would it have been before Oliver realised he should have spoken up already about the League's discrimination? Half of the things the paper might say would probably be true, and he hated admitting that to himself. It made him that much more determined to force change if he could.

"It's not that I wouldn't want anyone to know about you." Oliver hadn't been open with his friends and family about his relationships, but he hadn't tried to cover it up, either. He'd always preferred silence and discretion over lies, but if he and Collin really— Oliver let out a sudden, shaky laugh and pressed his face into the crook of Collin's neck. A relationship. That's what they were talking about, not just shagging. Neither of them had said it in so many words, but he had no doubt that was what Collin meant, and that whether he'd intended it in his words or not, it was what he wanted. "My mum is going to love you, you know." The words were teasing, but he wasn't able to hold that level of lightness as he continued. The topic felt too important for that. "George will figure it out about two seconds after seeing us in the same room, I think. The girls might be a little slower, but they're not stupid." The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to tell them. Get it out in the open so he didn't have to think about it.

No, it was more than that. He didn't want this to feel like a dirty secret, because that's not what Collin was. They were mates...and they were something indefinably more. What was wrong with wanting his friends and family to know and be happy for him?

"Can we do...not public-public, but something in between? I don't want to hide you."

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bl_collin
2017-09-06 12:14 am UTC (link)

Everything that Oliver said made sense, and, more than that, he was putting Collin’s turbulent mind at ease. The weight of the arm across his stomach served as a further anchor, and he wanted so badly to turn into Oliver, bury himself against him, but he was swiftly becoming too exhausted to do anything more than drag his fingers over Oliver’s forearm. He managed a chuckle, however, and murmured, “All mums love me,” before falling silent again.

As Oliver listed his friends, he tried to remember “the girls”. Katie he remembered from the awful Christmas party, of course, but he was having trouble recalling the others- Angie-something? Maybe an Alicia? He found himself smiling, trying to picture the look on his siblings' faces when they found out he was shagging Oliver-bloody-Wood. “No, I get it,” he said on the back of a shallow nod, and blinking slowly; he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. He managed to smile over at Oliver, darting in for a brief kiss before settling back again. “I’ll take you however I can.”

His brow furrowed. “I’m not sure if I mean that innuendo, given what we just did, but I might.” A dopey smile crept across his face, and he chuckled. “You called us ‘lovers’. Can’t say I’m upset about that. Kinda like it.” Collin yawned hugely and finally turned so that he could cuddle Oliver properly, almost burrowing into his side. “Gonna be your mostly private boyfriend."

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bl_oliver
2017-09-06 02:47 am UTC (link)

Oliver laughed softly, tucking his arm more firmly around Collin as he snuggled in closer. It hadn't occurred to him that referring to them the way he had would be unusual. It was what they were, wasn't it? He liked the reaction it got from Collin, though, and so he didn't point out the logicality of it. It did, however, send a pleasant shiver through him when Collin took things a step further and gave himself the title of boyfriend.

Oliver liked the sound of that one, too, even if there was still that little part of his mind that couldn't quite grasp everything that was happening between them.

"We should try to get some sleep," he said, running one hand slowly up and down Collin's arm without really thinking about it. "Even if we don't head to Diagon till later in the day, we'll need some time to put together our plan of attack." And maybe sneak in a bit more quiet time together, if they were lucky. Fuck Zimmerman and the Wasps and the League and the press and everyone else who would intrude in the coming days.

The sheets were twisted half under them and half pushed down to the bottom of the bed, more a result of Collin's restless napping than anything else. Oliver managed to twist and get a handful of them without having to move away much, and he yanked the covers over both of them. He kissed Collin one more time for good measure, lingering in it simply because he could, and then settled back against the pillows with his arms around...well, his boyfriend, he supposed. He smiled in the darkness as he closed his eyes and let himself drift off.

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