Sitting at her desk Summer Capper frowned as she realized that she needed Oliver to sign one more piece of paper. That was the downside of things like this, the amount of paperwork, She didn’t want it to be a burden because Oliver was already doing so much to help her with the event, the money, spending the time to talk to her about it, all of it, that was a lot of time and energy, and money. Summer really didn’t know how to thank him enough.
Pouting her lips for a moment as she started to think through exactly what she needed to do next she ask felt a little her heart light up a little bit at the prospect of seeing Oliver again, even if it was just to ask him to sign some paper work, it was still something. There were a lot of things that Summer wasn’t sure how to feel about it. It was complicated given her problems with Justin right now. There was a past there that was complicated and confusing, and there was a huge part of her that knew all of that was over, they never were official they never really seemed to figure it out, and she was started to feel like no matter what she did she was going to do something wrong, but the fact was, was that Summer never had that high of a self-esteem as it was.
Pushing back she grabbed the papers off her desk and glanced in the mirror in her office quickly putting a little bit of lip gloss on, she smiled trying to tell herself she shouldn’t be so nervous. Heading out of her office she passed a few people and she asked if they’d seen Oliver, finally one of the girls in PR told her that he was helping with decorating. She smiled softly sort of amused by it, as she knew some of the other people were gone for the day already.
Rounding the corner she caught sight of him carrying a box of what looked like decorations, lights maybe? “Hey.” She said smiling as she caught herself looking at his arms she looked away blushing. “Do you have a moment? I’ve got some more papers for you to sign for the snow angel event.”
~~~
The holidays were always sort of lost on Oliver. He only really enjoyed them because he would be able to spend time with his sister and mother. Aside from that, he never really understood the big deal of it all. Time away from school and training. Time forced to spend with his father, smiling like it was fine for his Mum’s sake. A whole sense of being… well the exact same person he was for the rest of the year, only now it was festive. All the same, he was never one to tell the PR girls no when they needed help with something. While he knew they were more than capable of carrying the boxes themselves, or at least levitating them, and putting the decorations up, he still agreed every year. For every damn holiday they wanted the bleak office space to look fancy for.
And this day was no different. One of them had caught him after his shower, headed to check the timestamps for their next practice. It was no problem, really, as he didn’t have much else planned for the day; Oliver just knew that most of the other people were home. Perhaps they had stuff to do with all the Ullr Festival stuff coming up. He was easy to make feel bad, after all. And so he was walking around with boxes, trying to figure out where to put them. Some boxes were not around last year, so he was still unsure what was inside. And he had the last of them in his arms when Summer rounded the corner, and slightly caught him off guard. Oliver was oblivious to her blushing, as he immediately was looking for a place to put the boxes while he spoke with her. Sort of rude to just stare at someone while holding stuff, and his mum at least told him to never be rude to a lady.
When she spoke, an awkward moment fell over the man as his brain forgot what the snow angel event even was. Yes, he had mentioned it and was funding it, but Summer had an accidental habit of derailing his thoughts for moments at a time. But he quickly recovered and offered a small smile. “Oh, yeah, ‘course,” he told her with a shrug. He looked behind him at the box he had been carrying, well aware that he still had all the lights to put up still. “Would we be able to make this mobile? I mean, I don’t want you feeling like-” he paused and coughed and scratched behind his head. “Did I miss a signature?” he asked, deciding to go for the actual topic she brought up again.
~~~
Did she say something wrong? Should she have waited until after he'd helped with decoration? Maybe she should have just owlet him later and asked him to come into her office when he had a chance, maybe that would have been more logical? She didn't want to interrupt him while he was being helpful, great she'd managed to interrupt him while he was being helpful. Even Summer picked up on the awkward moment as she waited for him to say something, it was quick, but in her mind it felt like a lifetime, which was silly given she was just asking him to sign something and it would take seconds and she could get out of the way again.
Summer looked at the box he'd been carrying with a puzzled look. "I don't see why not." She said not really sure if he was talking to her about it or the box itself. She figured why not just use some charms to actually hang up the decorations, they weren't heard, but she knew some of the girls in the office just liked watching Oliver carry things, who wouldn't? She blushed again as she looked down and pushed some hair that had fallen into her face away.
"No, we just happen to have some more paperwork. I'm sorry, I didn't meant to interrupt, I just want to get this off first time in the morning." She said still holding the papers and the quill she'd brought with her. "It's just stuff that the foster kid organization needs signed that they hadn't sent over yet." She said as she blinked realizing if he was going to sign something she sort of had to give them to him. "After you sign, I'll help you with the lights." she offered with a smile. Part of it was that she actually was just naturally wired to help where she could and part of it was that she really wouldn't mind spending some time with him. "That is if you want the help." She added awkwardly.
~~~
Now both of them were awkward. This was entirely why Oliver never took the time to notice when he was attracted to someone. There was no real easy way for him to be okay with it. And once he was, he was a notoriously bad boyfriend. He just never got it right, so he gave up. But This time he figured it was worth it, even if just a date to the party was all that would come of it. This time he did notice the blush, and his eyes narrowed in confusion. He literally was just standing there, so he had no clue what he could have done to cause that. Then again, he had no real idea that the ladies of the office enjoyed using him to carry things because of his arms. That was ridiculous and childish to him, so why would he think of it? But once she agreed that they could make this event mobile to the room he was headed to, Oliver bent down and picked up the boxes again and gave her a thankful smile. Keeping the girls here late would have made him feel worse.
“It’s no problem, really,” he assured her, moving forward. “Guess the girls are just too swamped to do this and fell behind this year.” Or, that was what made the most sense to him, anyway. And of course, they loved to abuse his enjoyment of helping people out now and then, even if just to carry something for them. But the decorations now were in the back of his mind. He had the papers for the events to sign and Summer right there. Once she explained what it was, he once more put down the box and offered another easy smile. “Ah,” he replied, accepting the quill and paper from her. He looked up at her comment about helping, and the smirk grew a little as his face burned under his beard. While he knew there was no reason for her to help, and that she was probably very busy now that he accidentally added an entire event to her schedule last minute, Oliver kind of wanted her to stick around and help.
“I certainly won’t say no,” he told her, handing the quill and papers back once they were all signed. He knew she was being nice. Of course, the fact that she may actually want to spend time around him had been missed. Sure, she said she would go to the Christmas Even Party with him, and she had gone out to lunch, but for all Oliver knew, that was all just business talk. Nothing to see there. “Haven’t seen what’s in these, yet, so I figured best peak at what’s new before just hanging the old ones up. Might as well keep it fresh, yeah?” He shrugged and once more picked up the boxes before going through the open door of one staff room. “have any plans other than the festival?”
~~
How dumb could she be! Keep this mobile, not use magic to hang lights, but keep moving to where he was going, of course. It wasn't the first time that Summer completely got something wrong and it probably wouldn't be the last either she tended to miss some things like thats sometimes, but he didn't really seem to notice and she had kept up with him easily as he carried the boxes. Summer glanced away to see what else had been done for the decorations, but really she was trying not to show the embarrassment on her face. It also gave her a chance to say. "I guess so." Although she knew that the girls were not behind or too swamped.
Turning back towards him she smiled. "Thank you, really." Gosh, she'd said thank you to him more times than she really could count, Summer couldn't help it, she just was really thankful and it was a last minute event and he'd put time into it too, she was very thankful for all of that. After he signed the papers she took them and folded them neatly to send off in the morning. Actually she'd probably send them off later that evening when she was done helping and finished up the rest of the paperwork that was still sitting on her desk. She should have been thinking about that, but instead she was thinking about helping him out.
Summer stopped an intern that was passing by and quickly asked him if he could drop the papers that Oliver had just signed by her office, she knew that he was most likely going to pass it given the direction he looked to be heading. He said sure and Summer thanked him adding that there was some candy on her desk and he was welcome to whatever he wanted in the jar.
"Yeah? I think keeping it fresh would be a good idea for this year. Summer agreed following him as she pulled her long hair back and used the hair tie around her right wrist to secure her hair in a ponytail. If she was going to be hanging stuff up and decorating it was better to get her hair out of her face. "Uh… not really, I think June and I will do something sisterly together, but we don't really do much otherwise. I'm going to volunteer at a soup kitchen on Christmas itself." Ever since her Mum had died and her father turned into a drunk and violent Christmas was never something she felt comfortable with, since she left Hogwarts she tended to volunteer that day. "You? Have anything else planned?"
~~~
Every time she thanks him, Oliver felt his face heat up. He didn’t really understand why she felt the need to thank him so much. Granted, the man would never turn down the chance to hear her say it. It was nice, even if he was confused by it. And she had a great smile every time. He simply did the same thing, and said it was nothing. To him, it really was nothing. He wanted to help out. he liked helping out, especially considering what his money was going toward. He just wished she had not shared with everyone that he had been the one to donate as the top funder. That was not important to him, after all. He had money to spare, so why not give it to people who needed it. He was more than comfortable, and he always had enough for his dogs. Not everyone was so lucky to have been a professional quidditch player for now over a decade. The least he could do was share, right? He handed the papers back to her, completely unaware of the fact that she was really just helping out to spend time with her.
He waited for Summer when she paused to give the papers to an intern and looked down at the box with a smile. Telling the guy there was candy he could have in a jar. Really, he was a little surprised he had not noticed how sweet she was earlier. Then again, he had a hard time really seeing anything not on the pitch or part of what he was used to. Oliver was quite stuck in his ways. Quite the old man at times.But he was fine with that. And she seemed to not mind the fact that he had been oblivious. Then again, she could just be acting nice after all. He had helped out a lot for a last-minute event. All the same, Oliver was not really one for reading between the lines. And once she was ready to move again, Ollie began walking.
When she started to talk about what she was planning on doing, Oliver put the box down and walked to the other side so he could look at Summer while she spoke. Once more, the soft smile crossed his face when he said she would be volunteering at a soup kitchen. He couldn’t really express how sweet he thought she was for that. It seemed all she really wanted to do was help out. After all the bad he saw in the world, it was genuinely refreshing for the man to see. And he liked helping her for that reason. She needed someone to have her back, as well, after all. However, when the question turned to him, he looked at the box of new ornaments and opened it. He didn’t really want to ruin the mood with honesty. he was not looking forward to it, but that was not the holiday-like feel his family put out for the world to see. Handsome father, lovely son, beautiful wife and a stunning daughter- the Woods were that cheery sort to the public. Not the forgotten daughter and the forced to succeed son.
“The usual sort,” he replied with the sound of the box lids opening. “Probably head up to the old man’s for dinner and see Ma. Do gifts there. Maybe see Brigid before that and go with her. Nothing special with Gran and Pops living with them as well,” he told her. If nothing else, he would pretend to get along with his father for the sake of his mum and grandparents. They did not need the battle of the two males happening at dinner. There was little he and Declan agreed on, after all. Not even the same position in Quidditch. But he loved his mum, and would never ruin Christmas on her. “You’re pretty extraordinary will all the volunteering you do, Summer. You realize that, right,” he told her. Both an attempt to move away from family talk and to tell her that. He wasn’t one for voicing his opinions, and the moment he did, he looked up to hold eye contact for a second before pulling out what seemed to be lights humming a soft tune.
~~~
One of the things that Summer had started to learn while getting more into this job was that by saying it was Oliver, other people would be more willing to donate when they saw a big well known name attached to it. She hated that it was true and it always made her feel really dirty when she thought of something like that, but it was for a good cause and she hoped it wasn't something that would turn her into a horrible person.
There was something about the way his eyes hit her that always made Summer blush. It was something she had a hard time figuring out. As much as she hated to admit it, she probably was going to need to talk to her sister about it and see what she thought because June was much better with people than Summer was in the regards to anything past friendship or doing the right thing. Summer tended to just sort of keep to doing what she could to help and trying to be a good person, although she knew perfectly well that she messed that up sometimes too.
Summer's eyes tracked his as he looked down when she asked about his family. She wanted to ask more but it seemed like it might not be something he wanted to talk about. All Summer wanted to do was make it better and okay. She didn't really know anything about his family life, unfortunately some of hers had been published a while back and brought to light after Justin had showed up. She wasn't sure who all had read it, but she knew that more people knew about her family than she would have liked. Summer didn't like talking about her father either. She would try sometimes with June when he contacted them but usually it just freaked her out and she retreated into hiding when he did. Sometimes family wasn't something to talk about after all, she wished that wasn't the case.
Nodding she smiled softly as he said what he'd be doing. "I hope it goes well." She said honestly and wanted that to be true. she glanced down as she looked at the box assuming they were about to get ready to hang everything up and get to the decorating but then he told her she was extraordinary. She looked up shocked as she blinked a couple of times as their eyes locked, she felt her heart beat quicken and her mind was just too stunned to say anything. Summer didn't think anyone had ever called her extraordinary before. As he looked away she finally managed to say. "I just want to do what I can to help." She added smiling, and of course blushing again.
As attention shifted back to the whole reason they were standing there she moved close to the box and to him as he pulled out the lights. the humming seemed to get louder as they started to come out and Summer looked from them to Oliver with a puzzled light. "Do you suppose they're supposed to be doing that?" She asked just as the lights started to burst into a christmas song.
~~~
Oliver simply didn’t realize the pull his name had. Or he chose to not see it. Either way, he was oblivious to just how much of a difference his donation would make compared to someone else who was lesser-known. He just wanted to believe people wanted to donate because it was the right thing to do. Maybe he was blinded by the good will he saw that one year he went back to school to help out after the war. He also wouldn’t blame Summer for using that to her advantage. As long as it was done for a good reason, he couldn’t complain about it. If his participation helped that much more, it was hard to complain about being acknowledged.
But he was also oblivious to the way she seemed to shy away from his gaze. He was not one to hold eye contact for long when not in conversation. He didn’t like staring because it was rude. At the same time, he simply liked to look at her. She was just pleasant and almost angelic to him. It was refreshing, especially when she smiled. The more he helped out at her events, the more he realized that it was easy to make her smile, or at least for him. And so he tried to do it often. Even when conversation became uncomfortable. That was why he looked away. He knew that here were few emotions he showed fully and anger was one of them. Not that he was angry at all toward her for bringing up his family. He had begun the conversation. It was merely the fact that he knew what was waiting for him come Christmas Day. All he could manage was a vague, “Yeah,” in response.
He looked over, this time, just as her brain seemed to freeze her up at his comment. He was baffled by that. She really should know, even slightly, just how remarkable she was. All that room in her heart to always give and volunteer, no matter what. Tirelessly trying to make the world a little better, one event at a time. Always having that smile on her face and asking how people were. Even things as small as telling an intern he could have some of her candy. It was hard, as his girls always pointed out to him (possibly lovingly), for Oliver to notice anything not on a broomstick. But she was always someone he couldn’t not see. And it was never for the looks-Well, excluding the smile- but for how much effort went into doing some good. And when she replied and blushed, he smirked himself. “And it’s refreshing to see,” he told her.
But those lights soon were all too loud for her to ignore. He had opened his mouth to reply when they burst into song. Not one to be expressive, all Oliver could do was blink as his mouth silently formed the phrase “...The fuck?” He looked up at Summer, clearly confused and unable to not laugh a little about it all. He had gotten used to the insanity that seemed to have become norm in the world, but llamas was nothing compared to singing Christmas lights. “I think this is why I’ve never seen them up before,” he replied in a dull tone.
---
Watching him carefully she felt like there was something tense about his family, but she didn't want to push it. Summer also had this deep need to make sure that he knew that if he ever did want to talk about it that there would be someone there, no matter what it was, she wasn't going to judge him and she wasn't going to make a big deal of it. She was just going to be there for him if he ever wanted it. The thing was, was that Summer was pretty sure that he probably wouldn't really need that, she knew that he was close to Katie and Alicia and Lavender… All very outgoing girls, whereas Summer was shy and quiet and worried a lot about things that it seemed the other girls just didn't at all. Sometimes Summer was really jealous about all of that. She decided not to say anything but her eyes were full of compassion and hints of curiosity.
Her breath caught again as he smirked and told her that it was refreshing, it was something that just made her feel like she should…. She should figure out something else to say but she was still so completely stunned that she was struggling to figure out how to put words together in a sentence. Or well get words out at all. Summer just wanted to say thank you, but it was really pretty much impossible to as the lights seemed to be taking center stage.
Summer looked at them curiously. While Oliver managed a couple of words, Summer fully leapt backwards and nearly crashed into one of the mini fake trees that were around and not set into place yet. She put a hand over her heart as her eyes were bright and wide. She looked to Oliver before looking back at the lights.
Opening her mouth to say something she closed it quickly simply because she couldn't even figure out what to say. His comment though did make her laugh as she took a few steps back towards where Oliver and the lights are. "I don't think they'd be very useful for working environment." Summer said softly but was pretty much drowned out as the sound got louder as the lights seemed to start moving….
… "Oliver?" She said in a question watching the lights as they seemed to be aiming towards them.
~~~
While those looks went entirely unnoticed because he had looked away, they would have been appreciated. he was not a fan of people knowing the truth about his personal life. His quiet home and seclusion from most of the magical world aided in that. He was reserved and made a point to keep as few people in the knew as possible when it came to the way his family had turned out. While they never looked like the perfect world, it always seemed to be happy. It was easier for people to think that. And with even just the friendship so fresh and new, he did not want to ruin that with his mental ramblings. All the same, he knew she was looking at him because the hair on his arms continued to stand up, but in a good way. He liked that feeling.
What he did not need, more than people knowing about his family life, was a thank-you from Summer. His opinion was just that, and if it made her feel good, then that was even better. He just felt like she should hear it. Maybe she didn’t hear it enough. Apparently that was the case, as she looked rather stunned by it all. He knew she was still working through things with her ex, but he was not one for gossip. Some of the guys in the office would comment about her legs or hips, which would get a dark and disapproving glare from the man. She was also not just an item to look at. That idea made him more angry than just her being a gossip piece. She was beautiful, stunning to him, but he was not going to sit there and stare at her. Not on purpose.
But the lights made it hard to really focus on anything but the voices. A part of him wondered if this was George’s idea of a gag, sending them to the offices in hopes of someone putting them up. And Summer was right, it was not very good for a workplace. He turned to look at her and ultimately hear anything she was saying better when he noticed her face change a little. More unusual, it was as if the lights were getting closer to them, as he could see the glow on her face and in her eyes. But it was the way she said his name that decided him. The man turned and instinctively stepped between her and the lights, which were indeed moving on their own. One hand reached for his wand to just stun them out of the air so he could put them away (or burn them, he wasn’t very fussy at this point) when his hand was wrapped by the string and stopping him from getting the wand from this back pocket.
“Summer, go toward the door,” he told her in a very quiet and low tone. His hand continued to try and go for the wand when he noticed part of the cord snaking across the floor toward Summer and stepped on it, hoping to slow its movement down.
~~~
It took a lot to ruin a new friendship with Summer, especially when she really liked the person and came to enjoy the small little parts of spending time with him. Besides, if it was something he ever did want to talk about she was in no position to judge difficult family situations, she was understanding and she would probably just want to hug him, even though she would worry that was too forward. She wouldn't have a different opinion of him, she would just see more of him, which she was okay.
Her eyes started to get wide as the lights started to move towards them, or it looked like they were. Dumbly she didn't have her wind on her but she thought she'd only be out shortly to give him something to sign and head back to her office, she didn't think she'd be standing here with him with singing and moving towards her lights. She watched as he seemed to tense and was clearly looking to move towards his wand.
She didn't need to be told twice, she started to move towards the door as one of the strings seemed to leap at her tangling her legs together which very swiftly knocked her down to the ground on her bum. With a small huff she let her hands take some of the fall, it hurt her left hand a little as one of the lights dug into it but she didn't show that it hurt, she didn't want to seem weak in front of him which was silly given that she was pretty sure this wasn't normal.
It took a while but they both managed to get tangled and untangled. ~~~~