Who: Alasdair Buchanan & Ada Olivier What: finished unpacking - time to relax! When: Tuesday 5th September, afternoon [terribly backdated] Where: Their home in Dunvegan Warnings: domestic fluff
Ada smiled happily to herself as she flopped onto the couch. She still couldn't quite believe this was their home, or the fact that they'd finally finished unpacking the last of their boxes. Well, she'd finished the last box she'd had to deal with and she assumed Alasdair was either finished or close to it. It was nice to know they could finally enjoy and relax in their new home without needing to worry about any moving boxes ever again.
"Are you nearly finished?" she asked loudly, unsure whether or not he was currently near the living room at all. Ada smiled as she lazily stretched out on the couch and started to relax. "You should come and join me. This couch is still very comfy." Which was a little surprising considering this was its second move; it had been easy to convince Alasdair for a second time on the merits of having a comfy couch.
Alasdair had indeed finished, putting the last of his books about Quidditch onto the shelves in the spare bedroom already dubbed the ‘man cave’ by some of his friends. Sure, he and Ada had lived together a while, but this only made it more sensible that they would occasionally want their time alone. An unhealthy relationship was one where they spent too much time together, and for a couple who were relatively new, they were doing pretty well. Alasdair assumed that this came from their having known each other for so long prior to actually dating.
He quickly vanished the last of the boxes before pocketing his wand, sauntering back into the living room as he looked around. Some of the decor of the place was pretty dated, but it was clean and well cared for, so it would do nicely until they figured out exactly what they wanted to do with it. Given that Alasdair didn’t exactly enjoy moving, and he basically wanted this to be the home they spent the next ten years or so in, it was something he took seriously.
Plonking himself down on the sofa next to Ada, he swung his legs over the side of the couch and lay down across his girlfriend’s lap. “The couch itself isn’t my favourite,” he quipped, snuggling into her and mockingly batting his eyelashes at her.
They'd both been in agreement about the decor of the home but it had been one of the nicer and more spacious of homes that had been on their shortlist of properties to view. They'd been helped by Alasdair's parents in that regard and it had saved them quite a bit of time and effort in needing to search for a place. And Ada knew they'd manage alright until they finally figured out what it was they wanted their home to say.
Ada laughed and snuggled in against him, feeling content and as if they could finally properly relax and enjoy their new home. "Hmm, I wonder what is then," she pondered, her tone teasing even though she was quite certain what part was her boyfriend's favourite.
“Put it this way, I'm very comfy over here,” he quipped, wriggling again as he settled against Ada’s legs, his head propped up on the arm of the couch. His hair, loosened from the potion he used to keep it back from his face during match and training sessions, was flicking slightly across his face, and he blew a loose strand of it away from his eyes. He was far too content to move right now.
"Yes, all the way over there where I can't rest against your shoulder or do anything else," she said, pouting slightly. Unhappy with her position and the fact she couldn't properly snuggle Ada sat up, scooted a little closer towards the other end of the couch before laying down again and, after lifting Alasdair's arm, rested her head against his shoulder. "There, much better," she said smugly, snuggling to get comfortable again.
"I'm glad that we've finally finished unpacking the boxes even if we haven't gotten everything completely organised yet," she commented a moment later.
Alasdair chuckled, instinctively moving his arm to sling it around Ada’s shoulder. She was much smaller and daintier than he, and she fit neatly against his broad chest, nestled in the gap between bicep and collarbone. Without thinking, he tilted his head down to plant a kiss on top of her head, the pair of them already falling into their evening habits where snuggling was concerned. Once he spotted Mog, the elderly cat strolling lazily through the living room on the way to the kitchen, he closed his eyes.
“At least everything is in the right place, even if it isn't all tidy,” he mused, “and that can wait. Training in the morning, and I don't want all my mental energy gone. I can think about it more after, I think, but the books are all on the shelves, at least.”
If the books, cats and kitchen items were all in the right place, he thought they would be fine.
Ada smiled at the quiet gesture of affection and snuggled in a little closer. She nodded in agreement with his statement. They were making a home here for themselves so there wasn't any real rush or need in getting the house absolutely perfect straight off the bat. "I'm sure you'll do fine in the morning," she said, smiling and gently patting his chest with her right hand. "As long as we mostly know where to find everything in the meantime we can take our time in setting the house the way we want it."
Alasdair smiled, enjoying her affectionate touch as his body was soothed into a deeper state of relaxation. It was, truth be told, the place where he most liked to be. Here they were, in their own space, their own little world where the only people they needed to let in were the people they chose. It was peaceful here, the two of them against the world, despite the significance of the move. He really could see them being together, in this house, for the rest of their lives. Another thought that made him smile.
“How was training?” he asked, knowing that she had been out earlier that day. “Team stuff or keeper drills?”
"It was... good, mostly team stuff," she replied. It was still early days so it wasn't any surprise that she still felt like the new kid in a new place, even though she vaguely knew she wasn't the only newbie on the team. "Still taking a little getting used to, being on a new team and trying to get to know everyone and their style of play, but I'm sure I'll manage and soon forget I was ever new to the team."
Ada suddenly frowned remembering something she'd read the other day. "So my coach is going to be hosting a meet and greet party for Montrose, only it's on the same day as your first match," she announced, sighing a little. Ada had wanted to be able to support and cheer on Alasdair at his first match but at the same time knew the party was a good and more relaxed opportunity for her to get to know her new teammates. "So I won't be there in person to cheer you on," she added.
Alasdair opened an eyebrow as he peeked down at his girlfriend, assessing the look on her face. It was not a settled one - she seemed genuinely concerned about missing his first game. She had, after all, been able to come to all of his games before, and Alasdair sighed a little. Being on the same team had been something of a luxury for them, and now they were finding the difficulties of being apart and with something of a clashing schedule.
“And if you did go to the game instead, that would certainly raise some big questions from anyone who saw you there,” he groaned, rubbing the side of his face. This was going to become infinitely difficult, and he knew it. “Looks like you should go to the team thing, really. And we will have to just look up which of my games don't clash with Montrose stuff and vice versa, yeah?”
Ada nodded and sighed again. Things had been easier when they'd both been playing for the Quafflepunchers - they'd still kept their relationship private, but having been on the same team had at least meant they hadn't needed to come up with any reason as to why they were seen together. That it would be considered questionable for her to cheer on and support her boyfriend (even if hardly anyone outside of their families and close friends actually knew) just because she happened to be a reserve for his team's traditional rival annoyed her a little, even if she could understand it - the French Quidditch League itself was hardly without rivalries amongst the teams.
"Yeah," she replied, smiling a little as her fingers idly danced on his chest. Tilting her head back she pressed a kiss to his jaw. "And I'll still be cheering you on even if it won't be aloud or in person," she added.
“Then I suppose that is that,” he mused, watching as her fingers danced across his shirt, enjoying the closeness of this quiet moment together, even if it was a fairly deep discussion they were having for this hour of the day.
“Though, I suppose we’ll have to start telling people at some point. We're having PR meetings soon, apparently,” he went on, thinking that it wouldn't be that much fun to have the discussion with a woman only a year older than him, whom he'd known at school.
"I guess so. At least all the important people know already," she pointed out. The 'important people' consisting mostly of their respective families and a few close friends. She doubted either of their families would've appreciated them keeping it entirely private from them for too long. "I suppose it's something that might or will have to come up in the PR meeting then?" she asked. Ada hoped they'd be able to keep things private awhile longer but she supposed it probably wouldn't be particularly good if either of their team's' PR were caught unawares if knowledge of their dating came out prematurely.
"Do you suppose the press will be particularly nosey about it?" she asked concernedly.
“Not many of my friends over here know. I mean, they know you exist, but not what you do,” he replied, thinking of Luag, Tor, and Jason mostly. “And one of them’s your teammate. Awkward.”
“I suppose it will… mostly because they want to know about anything the papers might dig up, so if they know, they can anticipate who might say what, I suppose. Better prepared than unprepared,” he added, twirling a strand of Ada’s hair around his index finger. “As for the press… I don’t know. If there’s a slow news day, maybe,” Alasdair scoffed, his shoulders shaking a little with derisory laughter. He wasn’t one to enjoy gossip. “But you never know, I suppose.”
"Oh, I thought they did... boy that's going to be awkward," she said, realising it would probably get a little weird the moment they found out. Ada hoped though that they were friends enough that they wouldn't hold it against either of them.
"I suppose then that I should consider talking to whoever is in charge of PR for Montrose as well, sooner rather than later," she sighed. Ada got the feeling it wouldn't take a slow news day for the press to suddenly become interested in them. "Let's find something less... depressing to talk about before we completely ruin the mood of the afternoon," she suggested. "Even if it is something that we should probably come back to and talk about."
“At first, maybe. But most of them are pretty laid back. They’re more likely to take the mickey out of you for being French than for being a Magpie,” he quipped, grinning at her cheekily.
“I would if I were you… it’s a pain in the arse, but you want them on your side if anything happens, you know?” Alasdair sighed. It wasn’t a great situation, but one that they probably had to live with. “And I don’t want to keep this secret, just to be left to our own devices, you know?”
“Well, I can certainly think of better things to do and talk about,” he grinned in return, touching his nose to hers and rolling them over so she was lying on top of his chest.
"Well, that I'm sure I can handle," she said, grinning back at him. It was only if someone got a little too insulting that she'd probably lose her temper, and she doubted that with the majority of Alasdair's friends that it'd come to that.
"I know," she said quietly, mentally resolving to make an appointment to talk to Montrose's PR and probably coaching staff as soon as possible. "I don't want it being a secret either but I'd rather us not get dictated to as to what we are or aren't allowed to do."
Ada gave a light laugh in response as he rolled them over. "Now where to start," she murmured teasingly, smiling down at him as she trailed a finger down his chest.