InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "welp"

Alicia Spinnet-Pucey (_alicia_) wrote in finnigans_rpg,
@ 2014-09-01 21:54:00

Entry tags:

character: adrian pucey, character: alicia spinnet, status: complete

RP: Tonight We... Celebrate?
Who: Alicia and Adrian
What: Celebrating after a successful day
Where: Finnigan’s
When: Monday, September 1 - evening
Rating: SFW

To say that it had been a hectic day would be an understatement. Though Alicia had sworn that she would leave everything that had to do with the student escorts to Mrs. Fawley for the morning, she had kept an eye on the journal, just in case. It had only been very briefly, though, because she wanted to make the morning extra special for Isla and Liam, too. The three of them had indulged in a full breakfast complete with eggs, bacon and beans and had had freshly baked pastries Owled in from Sweet Nothings. It had been an extra treat when the Owl had brought two additional small boxes, each holding a cookie – white chocolate and macadamia for Isla and oatmeal for Liam – for the twins with the wishes of a best first day back to school from Melinda.

After the mandatory pictures of them in their school uniforms and with they’re new bags, the three of them had walked to the school and Alicia had joined the other parents as they took their place by the wall and saw their offspring getting settled in, taking their new roles as first years very seriously. It had been amazing to watch, but she had still felt a small touch of sadness that they were growing up this fast and that she had been the only one there to see it. It had been just before 11.30am when Isla had told Alicia that she didn’t have to stay; they were big kids now and they had been in year 0 just last year. Besides, wasn’t Marie – their nanny – picking them up today? Kissing both of them on the cheeks, Alicia had waved goodbye to them, and assured them once again that yes, Adrian would be bringing over dinner tonight, but no, they couldn’t stay up late, because they had school again tomorrow.

At King’s Cross it had been bordering on chaos, as per usual. That wasn’t due to any of the Foundation’s kids, though, simply because it was just a busy day. One by one, the children on her list had shown up, each with their assigned escort, and Alicia had gotten to send them off, happy to see that it had all gone according to plan.

By 12 o’clock, she had been back home and had taken a quick shower, changing into a pair of comfortable jeans and a fitted t-shirt, before she had met with Adrian for lunch at Finnigan’s at 1. That had been just what the Healer ordered; just sitting down with a drink and lunch while getting caught up with Adrian. Then again, her talk with Susan that had taken an unexpected turn last Friday was still playing in the back of her mind. She had meant it, though, when she had said that she didn’t want to lose Adrian, so she had kept it pushed as far back as she possibly can, and a couple of hours later, they had split up to get a few more things out of the way before meeting up again for dinner.

At 5.30 pm, right on the dot and exactly as promised, Adrian had shown up, with bags of boxes from the sushi place they all favoured. Alicia hadn’t been wrong when she had assured him that the kids would want to tell him about their day. She watched with amused marvelling how Isla and Liam fell into a rhythm where one would talk and pick out a piece of sushi while the other one ate and vice versa. By the time dinner was done, both of them washed and in bed, Alicia was surprised to see that not only did Adrian still have both his ears, he didn’t look ready to bolt either. They had talked back and forth for a bit about whether to stay in or go back to Finnigan’s like they had originally planned. Considering how hectic the day had been, Alicia felt that a night out might just be what she needed. So, they had agreed to meet back up there an hour later.

Taking her time with her hair, make-up and dress, Alicia forewent her third shower of the day and instead was a little early in making her way back to Monument Alley. She knew she was early, but she still looked around the pub to see if Adrian had beat her to it, and her face split in a bright smile when she saw him right there by the main bar.

“Hi,” she greeted him as she came up to him letting her eyes wander appreciatively up along his body. “You clean up quite nicely, Mister Pucey.”

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adipucey
2014-09-01 08:01 pm UTC (link)

Adrian looked Alicia up and down - he rarely saw her in a dress, especially one like this - all bright and short and beautiful. When she complimented him, he looked himself up and down, his dark blue and black ensemble feeling under-dressed.

Their lunch had been a nice respite in the middle of the day - hearing all about the kids heading to school and her work with the Foundation. It seemed to have gone smoothly, and he was grateful on her behalf. Adrian stood from his stool as she reached him, putting out his arm for her, "I thought you might like a quiet dinner in The Corner, after the craziness of the day?" They often had a quick lunch at the bar or in the muggle streets of London, but to have a nice dinner, just the two of them, seemed like something different.

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_alicia_
2014-09-01 09:23 pm UTC (link)

Alicia rolled her eyes when Adrian looked himself up and down as if doubting the validity of her claims that he looked good – he looked bloody good! That man had some serious issues when it came to his self-perception, at least that was the conclusion Alicia had reached after they had settled into something that wasn’t her complaining about his Potions stinking up the building and him not being provocatively nonchalant. She tried to tell herself that the smile that was on her lips was all due to that thought and not because of the way he had just looked at her.

But then Adrian did something unexpected, and Alicia tilted her head, charmed by his invitation and slowly nodded. She had thought that they would be celebrating, with drinks and noise and the perfect excuses for keeping it superficial. She met his eyes for a brief moment. “A quiet dinner with you sounds perfect,” she smiled and reached out to take his offered arm. Her hand only rested on his arm for a moment before the thoughts that had been churning in her head since her evening with Susan came rushing back to her. If this wasn’t the chance to take the risk that Gryffindors were notorious for, then she didn’t know what was. Looking up at him, she slid her hand further down his arm until she could lace her fingers through his.

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adipucey
2014-09-01 10:27 pm UTC (link)

Adrian's smile was bright and big when she accepted his arm and then when she slid her hand down and took his, his smile turned slightly perplexed but didn't slip from his face. Without saying anything about it, he lead the way to The Corner and pulled out a chair for her, only then unlatching their hands.

Sitting down across from her at the small table, he gave her another slightly confused smile and then looked down at a menu, his cheeks colored slightly. "I figured after a day of kids and noise and trains and work, you could use some downtime and adult company," he explained.

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_alicia_
2014-09-02 11:05 am UTC (link)

To some, it may have been a small step, a chaste gesture, to some maybe even a childish act, but for Alicia, taking Adrian’s hand was a huge step, albeit a huge step that just felt more right than accepting his arm. She could see the perplexity in his smile, but offered no more explanation than the smile that was already on her face.

At the table though, when he gave her a brief look of confusion, she did give a small, accepting shrug of her shoulder as if to say ‘it just felt right.’ That small hint of blush to his cheeks, though, chased away the small sliver of fear that she had done something wrong. “You figured right,” she smiled at him before she quickly glanced over the menu and set it aside again. “I’m not particularly hungry, but an evening like this with you sounds…” this time it was her cheeks that heated slightly as she searched for the right word. “…perfect.”

Alicia wet her lips and cleared her throat before she looked up at him again. “Thank you,” she told him softly.

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adipucey
2014-09-02 09:57 pm UTC (link)

Adrian's smile melted into a genuine grin at her small gesture and any confusion he might have had went out the window.

"Perfect?" His grin turned cocky, "You witches are going to give me an ego one of these days, let me tell you," he thought back briefly to Susan telling him he was attractive, that he was ridiculous to think otherwise. "I'm sorry you're not feeling dinner, but I am absolutely not letting you go home to deal with toys and backpacks for tomorrow and all of that until we've had at least a bottle of wine." To get through a summer, with twins and as a single parent, and then to organize on behalf of Hogwarts the way she did... Alicia deserved at least a bottle of wine tonight.

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_alicia_
2014-09-02 10:55 pm UTC (link)

Alicia smiled and nodded. Yes, this was perfect, and she kind of liked that cocky grin… no, not just kind of, she did like it, though she looked down for a bit when he mentioned ‘you witches’, because she had a pretty good idea which other witch he could talking about, and that wasn’t a topic she really fancied picking up tonight.

“At least a bottle?” she burst out with a delighted laugh. “Oh, you’ll be carrying me home if I have to drink half of that.” His concern was touching, his desire to give her an evening off making her grin brightly and feel lighter than she had in a long, long while. “I’m not not hungry, I’ve just been, well, eating a little here and a little there all day long and you were too engulfed in hearing the tales of Fox Primary School to notice how many pieces of sushi I actually managed to sneak while you weren’t watching!” Still looking fondly at him, wondering why she hadn’t seen this side of him until now she nodded. “Will you get me home safely and not make too much a fool of myself?”

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adipucey
2014-09-04 07:44 pm UTC (link)

Adrian nodded in agreement at her assessment then feigned hurt. "Always, Alicia, willingly." He didn't realize he'd echoed an earlier sentiment, but there was something about her - as much as he hadn't admitted it even to himself - that brought it out in him. He wanted to protect her, to care for her, to make sure someone in this world was. He supposed to himself that this was what being a friend felt like.

To their server, he ordered a basket of ships and a bottle of Chablis for them to share.

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_alicia_
2014-09-04 09:15 pm UTC (link)

The feigned hurt in Adrian’s voice was what had Alicia chuckling, but it was the words and the memory of the last time she had heard those words that had her cheeks heat up and her look away for a moment to hide it. “Mm, you do need something to do with your time, so… glad to be of service,” she said with a smile as she looked back to him.

Once the server had left to fill their order, Alicia leaned in a little, resting her elbows on the table. No, it wasn’t proper etiquette, but this was Finnigan’s, not a fancy restaurant, and she was with Adrian and she wanted to keep their talk between the two of them. Possibly she wanted to be closer to him, too, but taking his hand had already been quite a step for her, and she needed just a little more encouragement, more proof, so to speak, that what Susan had told her about him was true. “So, aside from willingly catering to my every whim today, not to mention feeding my children and very potentially getting me at least tipsy tonight,” she smirked at him. “How’s your day been?”

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adipucey
2014-09-04 09:22 pm UTC (link)

Adrian leaned in unconsciously when she did, mirroring her and bringing their faces within a few inches of each other over the small table. Her skin looked soft in the light of The Corner, as a matter of fact, all of her did. She was a contrast to Susan in that way - Susan was sharp corners, teeth and fight. Alicia's strength was subtler - it was there though, no doubt - and her beauty lent itself to an old world prettiness that Adrian couldn't help but admire on nights like this.

He smiled, looking at the only other person in the room as far as he was concerned, "To be honest, those were the highlights. Other than the tipsy part - I'm still looking forward to that," he admitted. Just then the server came back with the bottle and he moved back just a bit, long enough for the server to pour them each a glass and set the bottle on the table for them. Then he leaned back in, not even bothering to take a sip yet, just enjoying her proximity, and he couldn't help but think of their lunch here - her leaning on his shoulder, just relaxed in their closeness.

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_alicia_
2014-09-04 09:53 pm UTC (link)

Adrian’s eyes were every bit as mesmerising as she remembered. That soft blue and the look in them that made her feel… like he could see everything she felt and everything he meant to her. She couldn’t see his mouth, didn’t want to look away, didn’t need to, because the small lines by the corners of her eyes – his laugh lines that were reserved for special people and situations and that she come to like so much – let her know that he was smiling. Her fingers twitched; she wanted to reach up and touch them, wanted to count them, just to know for certain how many there were when he was looking at her like this. She didn’t. Instead she stretched her index finger, reaching without moving and was just about to touch his hand when the server returned and Adrian leaned back.

Keeping quiet, not wanting to make a snarky remark about Seamus not only needing to replace the cook, Alicia kept her mouth closed and gave him a slightly tight-lipped smile when he was finally done and left them alone again. Her smile relaxed and brightened when Adrian didn’t reach for the wine either and instead leaned back in. “Sure, you’re looking forward to that now,” she chuckled, and this time when her fingers twitched, she did move her hand that inch closer to his and let her index-finger touch against the pad of his finger. “You may change your tune when you have a five foot two witch giggling into your sleeve and telling you things she probably shouldn’t.”

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adipucey
2014-09-09 03:26 pm UTC (link)

"You? Giggling? Never," he shook his head, feigning shock. "It'd be my pleasure," he repeated, as she seemed to skim the tip of his finger with her own. It sent a pleasant trill up and down his spine and he looked down at their hands, the corners of his mouth turning up again despite his confusing. He liked this feeling up and down his spine, he liked how he really wanted to take a big gulp of wine right now because the feeling in his stomach was foreign and delicious and anxious, but you wouldn't know any of that as he used his free hand to expertly pour them both a glass.

Lifting his, he proposed a toast, "To a new school year, and the Foundation, for being very lucky to have you."

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_alicia_
2014-09-09 10:23 pm UTC (link)

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Alicia laughed, delighted at the playfulness in Adrian. Oh, she had seen it before, but it wasn’t all that easily displayed, she knew that. Tonight it just felt exciting and new, the smile that appeared on his lips when he looked at their hands made her feel warm, comfortable and nervous the same time, even more so when he poured the wine without moving his hand away from hers.

Lifting her own glass, Alicia met Adrian’s eyes. “To a new school year,” she accepted his toast, but couldn’t find it in herself to toast to the Foundation being lucky to have her. If anything, she was lucky to have the Foundation and she was the reason Mrs. Fawley had started it up in the first place. “And to he help and support from extraordinary people.” Adrian more than qualified for that, and without him, she wasn’t certain she would have made it through today, or the past year, at least.

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