x. (xxoxoxx) wrote in reduxpitch, @ 2016-07-05 18:14:00 |
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Xavier never felt quite so muggle as he did during Ramadan - not that he saw that in a bad thing in any way, but he was hyper-aware of how he was different than the majority of people in the world where he usually lived. Not that it would be much different were he to live as a muggle outright. Eid al-Fitr was especially one of those times, because it was a full day he spent with his family, chock full of traditions and food and prayer and joy. It was one of his favorite days of the year, and he looked forward to it each time, not just because it meant the end of fasting but also because it was such a wonderful celebration that made him feel whole. That was how he felt as he got back to Panquake that night - complete, at peace, and so full. He was grateful he lived with people who were so supportive and understanding, even to a degree he would never expect or ask of anyone. His band mates were the best, which he knew year round but was especially reminded of when it came to the one month out of it where he had so much shift from what was normal. Walking into the house, he smiled softly to himself, reflecting on how nice everyone had been about everything for him over the past month. -- Aisling had had a rather quiet month. There had been plenty of practicing but seeing how the band wasn’t doing festivals until the later half of the summer, Aisling had actually had a lot of free time. She had mostly used it to catch up on reading books, which was what she had been doing on the living room sofa as Xavier came in. Looking up, Aisling smiled softly at the expression on Xavier’s face. “You look happy,” she commented honestly. Unlike Aisling, Xavier had spent the last month fasting, which couldn’t really be easy (and kind of was the point). Not today, though, no, today was Eid, which meant celebrations with food and drinks and happiness. “Have you eaten your own body’s weight in your mum’s cooking?” Aisling teased, putting her book down as and resting her chin on top of the sofa’s backrest as she watched Xavier. “Going to pass out of happiness now?” She added with a grin. -- Xavier glanced over to her and smiled more genuinely, shifting his route from the stairs where he'd been headed over toward where she was on the sofa instead. “I am happy,” he replied, raking his hand back through his hair to push it away from his forehead. “And pretty much. I feel like I might explode, but it will be the best explosion ever. So very much good food.” He hadn't quite stuffed himself. That would have been a rookie mistake. He'd eaten more than usual, true, but with how so much of the food was sweet it was easy to keep from eating too much as he was certain to get a stomachache otherwise. “I would have brought leftovers for everyone but they're still going.” -- Shifting to make space for Xavier on the sofa, Aisling patted one hand against it. “Come, tell me about it,” she encouraged, despite suspecting that the celebration was mostly going to be described as ‘we ate, it was good’. As much as Aisling did try, there was plenty about the tradition she didn’t understand. Obviously, she had read up on why it was a tradition and what it was meant to demonstrate, but not having grown up in the religion, it was rather hard to just get it. Once Xavier had joined her on the sofa, Aisling moved so she could press her feet against Xavier’s tigh. “I hope you’re ready to do it all again tomorrow evening, even if I can’t promise the food to be as nice as your mum’s cooking,” Aisling told him. She was quite looking forward to the band dinner the next day, even if it did mean that she’d have to spend most of the day in the kitchen tomorrow. -- Xavier moved around the sofa to be able to sit, settling back into it and resting his head against the back as he let it tilt to look over at her. “Well, I don't know how much there is to tell,” he started, because it was more so something one experienced but without much to talk about after. “We did the Eid prayer at our local mosque, then we spent the rest of the day at home just… eating and celebrating. My dad made lots of calls to family, so there was a good bit of passing the phone around to everyone, but it was all nice. A good day.” His hand moved to rest on her knee, thumb brushing over it lightly. “I am definitely ready to do it all again tomorrow,” he said with a soft grin. “And I'm sure whatever you make will be delicious. I can help, you know.” -- “Did you have a nice time?” Aisling asked since that seemed the most important part. Personally, her family was vastly different, not only religiously (which they weren’t at all). The idea of actually wanting to spend time with her extended family, or even the closer one, was unimaginable and Aisling was pretty sure majority of their family gatherings tended to be out of obligation, and more realistically business. She knew how to do those, somehow the idea of actually having a lovely celebration with one’s family just seemed terribly novel. At Xavier’s suggestion, Aisling smiled. “Yes, please,” she nodded. “I can cook, obviously, but I imagine that your input might make the food much more delicious,” she added only half-jokingly. As much as Aisling could follow a recipe very well, she could probably use the advice from someone who actually knew what the food she was making was supposed to taste like. -- “I had a very nice time,” Xavier confirmed. He knew he spent time with his family a lot anyway, going home each Sunday for a meal with them, but days centered around holidays or events were something different entirely. It also felt right that they were having a dinner the next night at Panquake since Eid was commonly a multiple day celebration, though his family tended to cram it all in on the one day. “Then I will help,” he agreed with a nod, offering her a smile. “My mum thinks it's very nice of you to want to make it. I do too, but I think you already knew that.” -- “Good,” Aisling smiled when Xavier assured her that he had, in fact, had a lovely time. It seemed only right to, even if Xavier did also appear to be the only person in the band who enjoyed spending time with his parents. Oh, perhaps now also Mary-Anne. She seemed to get on with her parents well, which made a nice difference from the majority of them. Apart from Xavier. Aisling would’ve suggested he could bond with Mary-Anne over that but it seemed odd that ‘having a nice family’ was a criteria for bonding. The rest of them were most likely just anomalies, since Aisling liked to imaged most people actually enjoyed spending time with their families. Throwing Xavier a dinner, or rather throwing a dinner for the band to celebrate something that only Xavier participated in, was neither a hardship nor something Aisling didn’t genuinely want to do. She thought it would be a lovely time, so whilst she couldn’t deny that it did perhaps make her nice, Aisling did wave her hand dismissively. “I want to do it,” she assured Xavier. “We’re friends, yes? Family of sorts? That’s what people do,” Aisling told him even though she wasn’t actually convinced it was true. It certainly was what people should do, in her opinion. -- “We’re friends?” Xavier asked teasingly, raising an eyebrow. “I hadn't realized.” Of course they were, but even still he wouldn't have expected anyone to make a deal out of it for him. Much like how he didn't expect anyone to do anything different for him when it came to Ramadan, though his bandmates always did seem to be more accommodating than necessary. He didn't mind if they ate in front of him, or swore, or anything like that, but he was aware that they made an effort not to. “Thank you, though,” he added, fingertips pressing in against her skin lightly. “I appreciate it.” -- The thing was, it really wasn’t hard to be accommodating. Perhaps if it had involved them all fasting or something, that might be different, but as it was, it really wasn’t a great challenge to make sure they didn’t eat or swear or drink or plan stuff during Ramadan. Those sort of religious practices she could get behind, even if she did somewhat suspect that Andrew felt marginally uncomfortable about the whole thing, but that was most likely to do with any sort of religion, rather than this particular one. Giving Xavier’s leg a small shove, Aisling laughed. “Yes, sometimes we’re friends,” she told him with a grin. “And you’re welcome, it really is my pleasure,” Aisling said slightly more seriously, because she did want Xavier to know that honestly, this was not something she did out of any sort of sense of obligation. -- “Ah yes, only sometimes,” Xavier agreed with a solemn nod, but he grinned a little all the same. He took what Aisling said at face value rather than question it, because she had no reason to lie to make him feel better about her wanting to do a dinner for the band. They could have gone back and forth all night, him thanking her and her assuring him it wasn't a problem, so he nipped at the inside of his lip to keep from doing it again and starting the cycle over. Hooking his hands behind her calves, he gently tugged her over closer so her feet were on the other side of his legs rather than pressed against them, and he let his arm loosely rest around her waist. “I missed you,” he said quietly, which may have been an odd thing to say because it wasn't as though they hadn't still lived together the whole month, but he was sure she'd know what he meant. -- When Xavier tugged her closer, Aisling moved easily, bringing one of her hands up so she could run her fingers across the back of Xavier’s neck. “I missed you, too,” she told him honestly. Of course, it was hardly as if they hadn’t seen each other, had even shared a bed occasionally throughout the month, but she did know what he meant. There’s was an intimacy that Aisling really had missed in the past month and she wasn’t convinced it was just to do with sex either. “Made me think, though,” she said after a moment, taking a while to just appreciate the way her body fit against Xavier’s. “It’s odd, isn’t it?” She asked him because it seemed odd. “This,” Aisling added as if that explained it, before waving her hand between them. “Are we in a relationship? Because I feel that maybe we accidentally kind of are,” not that it really mattered. That, too, Aisling had realised during the past month. Whatever they were doing, it had worked for months. It was just strange because until she had started thinking that she missed Xavier, Aisling hadn’t really considered that perhaps they were. It really was rather accidental if that was the case. -- Xavier gave a quiet hum as her fingers moved against his neck, his eyes closing for a moment until she said it had made her think. That caused his eyes to flutter open so he could look at her, his thumb absently rubbing against where it was resting on her waist. “It is,” he began slowly, mulling over his thoughts before trying to put them into words. “But it doesn't feel odd?” It felt natural, normal, and maybe that's why it had taken them months to get to a place where they questioned what was going on between them. As to being in a relationship, he had no idea, and that would have made him nervous to say except this was Aisling he was talking to. “Maybe we accidentally kind of are?” -- No, it really didn’t feel odd. That perhaps was the strangest part of it. Aisling, too, hummed softly in agreement, since there wasn’t much she could say to it. When Xavier agreed that perhaps they had, in fact, accidentally fallen into a relationship, Aisling laughed lightly. “Does this mean we need rules?” She asked but it was mostly a joke rather than a serious question. They seemed to be managing just fine as it was. “Or tell the rest of the band?” She wondered, before shaking her head slightly. “No, probably not that. I’m sure they can carry on thinking whatever they want,” if anything, it was probably a lot more amusing to see how long any of them would take to realise. If they hadn’t realised already, since it was hardly as if either Aisling or Xavier bothered not to be affectionate with each other. Probably wouldn’t be sitting this close to each other in the living room if they had. Biting her lips softly, Aisling tilted her head. “Doesn’t really feel different from how it was before,” she told Xavier thoughtfully, before grinning slightly. “I mean, the sex probably adds to it,” but apart from that? Aisling wasn’t sure anything had changed between them. -- Xavier’s nose scrunched a little but he huffed out a soft laugh. “We seemed to be doing fine without them, but we can if you want?” he offered, though he didn't know what they would possibly be. He gave a quick shake of his head when she mentioned telling the rest of the band. “No, they can think what they want. I don't think we need to issue them a statement or anything.” His arm shifted slightly around her, holding her in a little closer as he considered what she said. “It feels the same,” he agreed, humming in thought. “I think that's a good thing, though. It would be weird if it was different.” -- Aisling gave a shake of her head. “No, I don’t want rules,” she told him. Aisling wasn’t sure what sort of rules they might even need, the only one she was able to think of on top of her head was to do with not sleeping with other people and she didn’t actually care? It might’ve seemed harsh, but frankly, Aisling hadn’t wanted to sleep with someone else in months and if Xavier did, well, that was up to him? Perhaps the whole point of this working was the fact that they didn’t need rules. “I don’t know,” Aisling drew out with a small laugh at the mention of the band. “I feel that perhaps homemade cards might be a nice touch,” she told Xavier when he said they needn’t to issue a statement. Aisling strongly doubted anyone in the band would care one way or another, really. Moving in slightly closer, Aisling brushed her lips over Xavier’s cheek lightly. “I think it’s quite nice, really,” she told him because it was. “Especially now that the sex can be brought back to the table,” she added teasingly. -- Well that was good, because Xavier didn't really want rules either. Part of why they worked well together was the lack of need for things like that, he thought. Besides, it wasn't like he was going around sleeping with a bunch of people other than her. He certainly hadn't been before they'd started sleeping together, and he'd been quite content with just her for the months they had. “Maybe a homemade card to Nina,” he mused. “To let her know we won't cause any headaches, we promise.” He smiled at the kiss to his cheek, and then that quickly turned into a grin at what she said next. “Yes, poor you, having to go without this month,” he teased before closing the small distance between them and pressing a kiss, the first real one since Ramadan began, against her lips. -- “I think an embroidered cushion might work better,” Aisling told him with a grin. “More permanent and also useful,” she added jokingly. Maybe if she had had any idea how to embroider anything she might’ve given it a go, but as it was, perhaps a card would have to do. “It’s not like the two of us have ever caused any headache to her,” Aisling said, fingers slightly dipping under Xavier’s hair as they were still playing on his neck. “We’re very headache causeless,” she confirmed, because frankly, they really were. Well, perhaps there was that time Xavier had punched a Ministerial candidate but that was months ago and it wasn’t exactly a common occurrence. Aisling kissed back as soon as Xavier’s lips were on hers, because she had missed this. A lot more than she had realised it seemed, at least from how eagerly her body responded to his touch. The months had seemed to go past rather quickly, yet right now it felt like they hadn’t kissed in an actual forever. “I really did miss this,” she told Xavier softly when they finally pulled apart. “Not just because of the lack of sex, I don’t think,” Aisling added truthfully. It seemed rather undermining the whole situation if she attempted to claim it was only sex, because it didn’t feel like it was. -- That was fair, because the two of them did tend to keep quiet and not cause a ruckus. Usually if Xavier’s name was in the papers it was tied to Cedric, and that was more amusing than trouble. Either way, he didn't see it making any kind of problem for Nina. Xavier hadn't quite realized how much he'd missed something as simple as kissing her until he got to do it. That wasn't too much of a shock to him because he tried to avoid thinking about anything along those lines when he couldn't do it, so it had been a long month of mental avoidance, but he didn't have to do that anymore. “Oh good, glad to know you don't just want me for my body,” he teased quietly before kissing her again, softly, briefly, but long enough to make him sigh when he pulled back. “No, I missed it too. I'm glad you still came and slept with me, I don't think I would have liked not having that.” -- “I think that’s what made me wonder if this is a relationship,” Aisling admitted. “I wanted to sleep with you, sex or no sex,” she explained because she had. The fact that they hadn’t been able to have sex hadn’t been a bother, mostly a shame, but not to a point where Aisling cared to object. She had enjoyed just spending time with Xavier, talking about things whilst not doing more than hand holding. It had been pleasant, which was not something Aisling would’ve associated with an arrangement purely based on sex. Moving her free hand over to she could link her fingers with Xavier’s, Aisling grinned. “Besides I’m sure we’re going to have a fantastic time catching up with a whole month of sex,” she told him assuredly. “Make sure we still remember how,” she teased. They would manage, Aisling had no doubt. -- “It was a good question,” Xavier agreed, and he was glad they were on the same page. It had never crossed his mind that they might not be, but that was probably due to how easily they'd fallen into everything together. It had been a good month for them, of quiet conversations and keeping appropriate amounts of space between whilst lying in bed, and he'd enjoyed every bit of it. “I'm not sure I remember, you may have to remind me,” he said with a grin, squeezing her hand. “A hardship, I know.” -- “A hardship,” Aisling confirmed with a nod, before moving so she could put her legs on each side of Xavier’s, effectively sitting down in his lap. “But,” she added with a small smile, bringing her arms up so she could rest them on his shoulders loosely. “One I am perhaps happy to undertake,” Aisling told him before leaning in to press another kiss against his lips. It really was good to be able to do this again. There was no question that even not being particularly physically close, they had had a nice time, but Aisling wasn’t exactly going to object to the return of the intimacy. After a moment, she pulled back again, giving her lips a lick. “Maybe we need to move before we completely undermine the point of handmade cards,” she told Xavier thoughtfully, but the hint of amusement was certainly in her tone. -- Xavier let his hands rest on Aisling’s hips when she settled into his lap, grinning softly against her lips as she kissed him. It really was quite nice to be able to kiss her again, and not have to overthink any possible touch or comment. Plus after having a month away from any of that, it almost felt like it was rekindled and new. “That's a very good thought,” he agreed with a nod, pressing a quick kiss to her lips before letting his hands slide down her thighs and off her legs entirely so she could get up. Because he certainly couldn't go anywhere with her on him, not that he was complaining. -- Pressing one more kiss against Xavier’s lips, Aisling did pull back enough to be able to stand up, reaching out to take Xavier’s hand and so he’d come up with her. “Come on then,” she told him, starting to move towards the stairs. “Best see what we can do about reminding you all the things you’ve forgotten,” Aisling said with a smile. “I’ve put new bedding on and everything,” she added with a grin. “Most comfort for any hardships that one has to endure,” Aisling assured him as they walked. She really was quite looking forward to it. -- Xavier got to his feet once Aisling was off him, walking with her toward the stairs and chuckling softly at what she said. “New bedding and all? I feel so special.” He gave her hand a squeeze as they walked down the hall, letting her lead him into her room before tugging her back to him and capturing her mouth in a longing, hungry kiss, his free hand moving up to cup her jaw. It had been a long month, but it was over, and they had plenty of time to make up for what they'd missed. |