WHO:Betty Braithwaite & Joe Bell WHAT: Joe had a bit of A Day WHEN: early morning, 15th February WHERE: Betty’s apartment WARNINGS: None
Joe's eyes shot open the second his watch started beeping at promptly 6am. He blinked a few seconds, a bit confused. He didn't quite know where he was, but he was absolutely certain that this wasn't his bed. He tried to shift his body slightly, but that was when he realised there was another body on him. He blinked several more times, trying to nudge the body way, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He finally turned the alarm off, and realisation struck in.
"Betty," he whispered quietly, trying to move her body over a bit so he could get up. "Bets…," he tried again, though he wasn't sure that it was working.
Giving up for a bit, Joe tried to give the nearest light a flicker and when it worked, he squinted his eyes, once again trying to adjust to the brightness. His eyes fell on Betty's face after a moment, and he smiled to himself. Even with the drool on her chin, she looked angelic. He couldn't help himself as he leaned to press his lips on the tip of her nose for a moment.
He figured he could stay this way for ten minutes before he needed to leave.
She’d always been a deeper sleeper than him, and while the noise of his alarm or his whisper didn’t quite rouse her the light being turned on certainly did. “Mhmm?” Betty shifted slightly where she was curled up, eyes not fully opening just yet. She raised a drowsy hand, pushed it roughly through her hair and groaned quietly.
And then it dawned on her where she was, and just who was kissing her nose. She sat up with a start, rubbing her eyes with her fingers. “Joe?” She asked. What time was it, and how long had she been asleep for?
"Hey," he mumbled back in a hushed whisper. "It's okay, go back to sleep." He pulled back, just a bit, and smiled slightly. "I think we somehow fell asleep here after everything last night." His arm around her squeezed her arm slightly, while the other hand brushed away a few strands from his face.
Eager to listen to him, she sighed slowly and visibly relaxed. Looking up to him and smiling softly, she blinked slowly as her eyes adjusted to the light. “You had a bit of a day yesterday, didn’t you?” Umbridge and bombings and parties, she was glad to have not been present for any of it. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she murmured.
"Quite a day," Joe agreed, wrinkling his nose momentarily. "But the night made up for it." He gave her a stupid grin, leaning over to capture her lips with his, though only for a moment, as he pulled back from the kiss just as quickly as he had leaned in to it. "I can't believe I have to go face Umbridge today after thinking I was in love with her yesterday. It's going to be… —," he paused, trying to think of the perfect word. "... interesting, to say the least."
“I can’t believe you’d kiss me then talk about Umbridge,” Betty was quick to object, starting to feel more alert. Her fingers found his hand, thumb gently circling his knuckle as she talked. “How’s that supposed to make me feel? Especially since she was your one true love just yesterday,” unable to resist teasing him. Another kiss, lingering this time. She still didn’t know what time it was, but she was caring less with each passing moment. “You’re to tell her you’re taken, you can’t be her personal security any more and you’re too much of a dog person to be in her company a minute longer.”
"Oh, I'm taken, am I?" he inquired, his grin appearing after a moment. He kissed her once again, somehow liking the tone that this was apparently going to take, though he had warned himself a thousand times before to not get too excited, despite how well this was going so far. "No need to be jealous, Bets, even if you're cute when you are jealous." He grinned against her lips, and gently stroked her back, licking his own lips after a moment.
“If you're going to be around random fits of love for Umbridge or saving her from bombings at parties then yes,” Betty told him smartly. “You're very spoken for, and you need to come back in one piece to whoever she is, because she's not keen on the idea of losing you again.” Maybe it was jealousy, or even a little possessiveness, but mostly she just needed him to be okay. Betty had a hunch that trouble seemed to follow Umbridge and the company that she kept around. She looked up at him, her own smile giving way to a troubled frown. The fear she'd felt hearing about the events at the gala had been very real.
Joe smirked a little bit, but he did feel some comfort at knowing that she really did feel so strongly about him again. He pursed his lips after a moment, and exhaled softly. "I'll be fine, Betty. Trust me, yeah?" he spoke, stroking her back once again. "I'm not the one running under-the-radar publications, for one," Joe started, a teasing tone to his voice. "So you be careful."
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Betty insisted softly, moving her hand to his shoulder and rubbing her thumb against his collarbone. “But I do trust you.”
Joe smiled, his mouth finding her neck, as he placed gentle kisses on her soft skin. "How much do you trust me?" he mumbled quietly, his hand combing through her hair.
“A bit,” she smiled again, thumbnail digging into his shoulder a little as his lips touched her neck. “Enough that I let you sleep here, shame on me.” She sighed softly, the realisation that there was a day ahead of them starting to dawn on her. “Even if you wake me up, you wretch.”
Responding with a muffled laugh, Joe let his lips shift to her ear and pecked at her lobe, letting his tongue run over the skin. "I really should get going, I suppose," he whispered in her ear. "Shall we count last night as date number two?"
“Not yet,” Betty whined, unwilling to give him up quite so soon. “And this is number three. Four if we count you making me dinner before you asked me out again.” She finally relinquished her hold on his shoulder and ran her fingers through his hair. “Otherwise it’s lunch out as number one, the other night as the second and this the third. That’s how I’m counting, anyway. I’m a writer, not a mathematician,” she smirked.
"Date four it is," Joe smirked against her ear, letting one hand reach her stomach, slowly letting it slide further down. And before either of them could speak again, he was kissing her mouth again, more passionate than before.
She sank into those kisses with abandon, arms wrapping around him and holding him close. If this was the fourth date then the fifth was going to be something else. She broke the kiss, touching his lips briefly once again with hers. “You need to leave,” she told him with a smile. “You need to leave or we’re not making it to the fifth date.”
Joe groaned, but he knew Betty was right. "I know," he grumbled, but he leaned in for one more kiss, before pushing her away gently, and up on his feet. "And I've yet to take you on a proper date." He wrinkled his nose, as he turned to her, and pointed his hand at her. "You've got to swear that you won't count anything else between now and then a date, because I want to wine and dine you before we…," he shrugged, grinning like an idiot, exaggerating that with a wink.
“Ugh,” Betty was unable to stop herself rolling her eyes. “You're such a nerd, Bell.” Smiling despite that, she didn't remind him that he was her nerd. “Fine, I'll behave. But you need to tell Umbridge you can't work for her any longer, because your girlfriend won't go on that big fancy date while you're covered in cat hairs.”
As much as he wanted to remark on that 'girlfriend' bit, Joe let it go, and instead leaned down for one more kiss. "What a nag she is," he smirked, pecking her lips briefly, before pulling back. He pocketed his wand and made sure he had his belongings, before checking his watch. He'd have just enough time to get home and ready for work at this state. "Right, well, have a good day, Braithwaite."
She stretched out her arms into a wide yawn, not noticing her erroneous choice of words. Maybe she could get a little more sleep with him gone. “I’m serious, you’re a Hitwizard. Not her personal dogsbody,” Betty told him, standing up and kissing his cheek. “Be safe.”