InsaneJournal

Cambina had not let on to anything last night, coming home, or rather, to William' - which was as good as home on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, rather late after the WICCA cocktail party. It was best to keep the cards close to her chest. Instead, she had let him get her out of the new robes, Slytherin green and white and on the cutting edge of fashion.

This morning, however, she was wearing nothing more than one of William's shirts, half unbuttoned, to ward off the early morning chill. She set about making coffee and placed a cup in front of William when he came into the kitchen. "Morning," she said, brushing her lips against his. "Sleep well?"

William smiled back and was more than happy to take the cup in front of him as he sat down. "Morning to you too. And I don't think the answer to that could be anything but 'yes' really..." He was in a good mood, that much was apparent. Things were going well, his chances at the DMAC were looking good, he'd been very productive the previous week and had essentially had a long weekend with family because of his sister's graduation. Gwennie and Izzie were out for the summer which meant he'd get to see them more and there'd be plenty of planning for short trips. On top of that he'd had Bina come to his door in a stunning set of new robes which had been nothing but fun to get her out of. Yes, William was in an excellent mood.

"What about you? You had a busy day yesterday on top of it all." He took a sip of his coffee and summoned the copy of the Prophet he'd picked up before leaving work last night.

"I'm used to late nights," she said as she took her cup of coffee and settled down next to him, taking one of the sections of the prophet from him. "Although it was a bit different from a late night in the office."

Bina settled her bare feet in William's lap. "So, how are you planning to propose?"

Will opened his own section and was already skimming through by the time she put her feet in his lap, though he didn't seem to mind that. "Depends what I'm proposing," he said simply without looking away from his paper.

"Marriage, from what Narcissa tells me." An arched eyebrow accompanied the statement.

His brow furrowed slightly, more a look of concentration that could've easily been about an article in the paper he was staring at, though really his mind had kicked into gear and was out of the lazy morning mode it had been in. Narcissa had told him she'd be telling Bina, but she hadn't specified when or how and he'd opted not to push that for the first time. It wouldn't look good and he reasoned that he could encourage more coordination in the future once he'd seen how she worked once. But given how last night had gone, he hadn't thought it had been brought up at the WICCA cocktail party...

"Well I'd have to hear the lady's opinions on such an arrangement, I can hardly imagine anyone proposing without doing that first."

"Oh really? Well, when a gentleman agrees to marry a lady you would think he might tell the lady himself. Especially if he sees her quite often. Lest the lady be taken unawares in a public situation." She sipped her coffee as if she were discussing something as casual as the weather, not her marriage to the man in front of her.

At that Will folded his paper down and looked over at her, an odd mix of amusement and confusion. "Agreed? Was that the term used? How interesting." It was interesting, and not at all how he would've preferred it done. He understood it was a better strategy to catch Bina unawares and trap her into the arrangement to the DEs benefit but at the same time it put William in an awkward position. Because here it looked like he'd known and hadn't told her at all, which was a very easy way of having a lady mad at you, any lady, but Bina possibly even more so.

"Whether interesting or not, it was the term used." Cambina studied Will over her coffee cup. "I thought you weren't planning on getting married for quite a few years yet. It was interesting I didn't even know you were under consideration. Although apparently you are become quite the eligible bachelor, Mister Rosier, even for an old maid like me." Her words were still casual, but there was a hint of steel within them. "How long have you known?"

And this was exactly why he'd prefer to have the whole thing sold as if he wasn't aware of it, this right here. For all the people who wanted to use Bina to their advantage, it seemed a lot of them just didn't have the best grasp on just how she worked. Which meant he was working at a disadvantage from the getgo here. William put his paper down on the table, his face more serious now as he turned his body slightly to face her more. "Bina...one, whether I plan on getting married or holding off for a few years is irrelevant to whether I'm on the market or my name gets thrown around. Society ladies and the general way these things work don't much care what my plans are, my name is still in the hat." He wasn't going to mention that being on the list for an 'old maid' didn't exactly scream particularly eligible bachelor.

"And two...think about it. Why would I agree to something this big and not tell you I'd agreed? Knowing you and how you feel about people making you do things, and knowing the fact that I know you...that doesn't make any sense. Yes, Mrs. Malfoy brought up the topic of settling down, and yes your name came up because we know each other...but I'd never seriously agree to such a thing without first being sure this was your own decision." He shook his head at her slightly with just a touch of disbelief in his expression. "Did you really think I would do that?"

Bina set down her coffee cup. She wasn't sure what to believe anymore. Or what to do. William had not been part of the plan and she wasn't sure if she could use him and manipulate him the way she needed to for this to work. He knew her better than most of the pureblood bachelors and widowers. She didn't say anything for a moment and then tilted her head to the side, her voice smooth as silk when she spoke. "So, you haven't agreed to marry me? Holding out for someone better?"

William rolled his eyes slightly. "I said I hadn't agreed, because I wouldn't have agreed without knowing it was your decision, and that you'd been informed of any such arrangements." He picked up his paper again, now his tone casual. "I didn't say I wouldn't agree were those requirements filled though."

"My father needs to approve, although Narcissa seems fairly confident he will." Bina was confident there were conversations going on that she wasn't aware of, after all, Narcissa Malfoy was nothing if not subtle and conniving. "And then I'm sure there are hoops to jump through and certain protocols."

Cambina wasn't saying she agreed or disagreed. Then again, Will hadn't asked her yet. But there was a plan. Even though she hadn't foreseen William's name as her intended, she could still stick to the plan.

"And you?" Will looked over from the paper. "You haven't said your opinion on the whole thing." He already suspected why Bina had gone to Mrs. Malfoy and claimed to want a husband, but now that there was a concrete suggestion...he'd expected something else. More anger or panic or just...emotion that she'd be holding back. But she seemed calm, too calm if anything, and in William's experience...people didn't just change. A thirty year old woman who had rejected settling down and conforming to what respectable society wanted of her didn't just change suddenly and agree to these things. She was committing to the bluff quite seriously, which could only mean she had plans of her own. It didn't worry him, not really, because the more she committed to her bluff, the more she was playing into their hands and the better it would be for him.

"Well," she said, giving him a feral smile. "You're not exactly who I expected as a potential match, but you are a rather… pleasant… surprise." She picked up her coffee and took a sip. "I don't object. I mean, Narcissa was right, we are acquainted with each other. And the sex is fantastic. I could do a lot worse. And you are decent arm candy to take to events."

In truth, he had expected to have to convince her of this not...well it seemed she'd already agreed. Curious. "A pleasant surprise, am I?" William smirked over at her. "I shouldn't ask who you expected then should I?" He turned fully to face her and tilted his head at her, playful smirk still there. "But since I might apparently end up your fiancee...I'm curious. What made you change your mind on marriage? You said you saw the 'benefits' to it...but you never explained what those were." His tone was teasing, he didn't expect to hear what her real reasons were, but he expected that she'd have a few prepared ones at the very least.

"Well, let's just say I didn't have very high hopes," Cambina teased with a smirk.

"Probably not," Bina teased with an easy smile, wiggling her feet in his lap as she took another sip of coffee. If she was uncomfortable with the situation, she certainly wasn't letting it show. "Several conversations with my father in which we've reconnected a bit. Besides, I'm 30. I can't go on gracing the pages of playwizard forever. "

Will chuckled slightly and shook his head at her again, looking even more amused now. It hadn't escaped him that she hadn't really answered his question. "And that's the benefit to marriage you saw? An excuse for not being in the pages of Playwizard anymore? Seems disproportionate."

Bina shrugged. "There are limitations to what I can do in my current status. Being married to the right person would ... Open doors and allow me to reconnect with my father. I know he hasn't been fond of all of my life choice and family is important.

Will sat up slightly, most of the smirk still on his face but his eyes more thoughtful and serious as he rested his hands on top of her feet, gently drumming his fingers against them as he mulled this over. Of course he could've asked why she was so eager to reconnect with her father, but he knew the answer and besides...that wasn't a question that people asked. "So...you need someone who your father is likely to approve of and who can...open doors for you. The first I might be able to do for you if you introduce me to your father, the second...would obviously depend on what doors. They might be the same ones that aren't open to me just yet either."

"They might not, but then, I've never known you to not get what you want, William." Her gaze was assessing and calculating. Just what did he want in all of this. "I asked Narcissa to find me a suitable husband and apparently she thinks you for the bill. I'm curious as to why you'd agree to marry me when you seemed certain of bettering your family name and prospects in a few years."

"Ah, you misunderstood there," Will explained with some amusement. "I never said I was certain about bettering my family name in a few years. I was certain about bettering myself and my own prospects. One doesn't fix a family name in a few short years like that. I've always had a few things in the works to make myself...a more appealing prospect let's say. And the reason I wanted a few years was to give that time to work. I can rush some of them along of course, it's not ideal but it is doable, but that's the main reason I wanted some time."

"And do you think you could find a better match in a few years? Be straight with me, Will. Is this what you want? You won't hurt my feelings either way." A pause to sip her coffee. "And I'll probably shag you regardless."

There was a slight smile at the last bit but it disappeared into a more serious expression, and Will looked her straight in the eye to be clear he wasn't skirting around the question. "If I seriously thought I could find a better match in a few years, I wouldn't be agreeing to this. In fact, I'd still consider myself fortunate if in a few years you were still a possible match for me." In another tone his last sentence could've been flattery, but his expression was too serious for that right now.

"William." A sigh. Apparently they were being serious. "I'm nine years older than you. I'm an Auror, for fuck's sake. You hate what I do, you don't care for some of my friends, and I'm closer in age to your stepfather than you. My parents are divorced and we both know how society feels about that. My father is one of the twenty-eight, but my mother is not. With your ambition, I'm fairly certain you can do better than me. Don't get me wrong, I'm fond of you, but I'm sure you had someone else in mind when you thought about your marital duties."

Will's demeanor was calm, he didn't seem phased by any of her points, he listened carefully but it didn't seem like anything he was hearing was new to him. In fact, he smiled slightly. "I'm not sure if you're underestimating yourself or overestimating my prospects. You really think any of that information is new to me? I know all of that, and I still stand by what I said." If anything, she might be able to do better than him at this stage, not the other way around, though he refrained from saying that. "Should I go through each of those points to prove it to you?"

"I know you to always do your research and I'm just not sure I'm the best you can do. Unless you've knocked me up without me knowing and this is some failsafe to secure a legitimate heir," she teased, confident there was no chance of that. Her face got serious as she studied him, watching his face and body for anything that would give him away. "You really want this then? To marry me? To become William Bulstrode? To have a mouthy, opinionated, sex crazed stubborn woman as your wife?"

He smiled at her teasing, shaking his head slightly in a 'no of course not' at knocking her up. "Okay, then I will say the obvious. I have a name in the twenty eight, but one that has rather lost some of it's...illustrious nature, and fallen out of favour in the eyes of the law. If you want something society disapproves of more than divorce, it's a pureblooded woman working below her former station to make ends meet. You want to get into your father, and society's, good graces? I'm still doing that too. We're on more even footing than you realize, Bina."

"Besides, you clearly haven't caught on that a lot of the society ladies are very opinionated. Perhaps not mouthy about it, but opinionated nonetheless." Will gave her a smile that seemed almost fond as he stood up slightly from his chair to lean forward and briefly kiss her. He didn't pull away and sit back down just yet though, instead opting to shoot her a teasing smirk. "But while sex-crazed works in my favour...I'm not changing my name. Sorry Bina."

But it wasn't about even footing for either of them. She knew Will wanted to advance his family name and she needed an in. But apparently an old pureblood widower wasn't in the cards. She could work this to her advantage though. Will was likeable. And two sacred twenty-eight names joining was sure to strengthen the options for either one of them. She tugged on his shirt tails, pulling him towards him and capturing his lips in an aggressive kiss. "And you expect me to just become Cambina Rosier?"

Of course it wasn't, under normal circumstances if Will had intended to be married now...his prospects were probably going to mostly be girls from other pureblood families who had fallen on harder times after the war. But that was useless to him, it'd do nothing to bring the Rosier name up, and he certainly wasn't going to go into a marriage that leave them stagnant. Will grinned against her lips and took a step towards her, though he loomed over her slightly due to his standing position. "It does sound elegant, though I'd never expect you to be that easy."

"We'll see." She wasn't sure if she could handle having a Death Eater's last name, but there would be time enough for those discussions later. Instead, she got to her feet, looped an arm around his neck, and tugged on his lower lip with her teeth. "I do have my easy moments, depending on the circumstances."

She broke the kiss and met his eyes. "So, are we really doing this?"

Their faces were close enough that it was really only her eyes that he could see, but he took a moment to search them anyway. She'd agreed to this whole thing too easily, he knew there was more to it on her side than she was telling but it didn't change things for him. Having the question out there though made it feel real and concrete, and William squashed all the issues and the future problems that he knew this plan would bring. He wasn't doing this for himself, it was never about that sort of selfishness. Rosiers to the top, and this was the first big step.

"Engaged to be engaged? Yes."

"Well then, perhaps we need to pop the champagne to mark the occasion." She pressed a kiss to his lips. "To the future Mister William Bulstrode."

"We're really going to have to talk about the name thing," he teased and kissed her. "Though I agree, it warrants some celebration. I'm sure we can think of ideas."

"I think we still have a bottle of champagne here, don't we?" she asked, kissing him before pulling back and heading over to the liquor cabinet to investigate. "Aha!" she pronounced triumphantly before reaching for her wand and hitting the bottle with a chilling charm. She handed him the bottle to open before reaching up to pull out two glasses from the cabinet. "I thought I had gotten a few bottles the other week."

"I think so?" For a moment he briefly wondered why she'd bought the champagne back then, though it didn't strike him as odd for a moment that she'd keep it at his place. Will took the bottle without question and had it against his right hip, ready to pop when she turned around with the glasses. "Makes this more convenient then," he smiled before there was a loud pop and he held out his hand for one of the glasses. "It's probably a good thing I don't go through my fridge often or some of those bottles would be gone by now."

Cambina chuckled as she held out the glasses for him. "It's not like there's much of the way in food in there." Once the glasses were full, she clinked her glass against his. "To us," she said triumphantly, a determined and almost feral look in her eyes. Her stomach was still doing flips and her mind was screaming that this was a terrible idea. She needed to talk to her mother, to Rufus, and Salazar knew who else, but for now, this she could work with. After all, this was William.

William smiled back, a similar glint in his own eye though for different reasons. One step closer to making the Rosier name great again. "To us."

He clinked his glance against hers and drank, watching her after he was done, silently wondering how she was handling all this. "You know...it just occurred to me. You said public situation...who else knows about this apart from us and Mrs. Malfoy?"

"My mother knows. She overheard Narcissa telling me. It was during setup for yesterday's cocktail party. I don't think anyone else heard, but I can't be certain." It was the truth for she had no reason to lie to will about this. She refilled their glasses as she watched him. "Embarrassed about your future bride? Doesn't bode well."

Will chuckled and shook his head. "No, just that I'd rather my family hear of it from me than anyone else." Or at some event. There'd need to be serious convincing on that front, Bina had turned out oddly easy but that didn't mean his family would be. But he already had an order in mind of who he'd tell first. His sisters would be easier to bring to his side than his mother, but once he got them both backing him she'd be more likely to grudgingly accept it. He was doing this for all of them, they'd see that, everything he did was for them after all. "How much will I have to convince your mother that I'm suitable exactly?

Will took a drink from his now refilled glass, not exactly concerned that it was early in the morning and they both had to get to work eventually. "Anyway, engaged to be engaged means we have to do the whole courtship song and dance. How rusty are you with dating, Miss Bulstrode?"

"I'm not sure. I'm fairly certain my mother will go along with whatever I decide, but she appeared to have some concerns last night," Cambina admitted. "Might be easier for me to convince her."

"Well, dinner and dancing I can handle l, unless you're proposing that we stop shagging for the length of the courtship."

"I'll leave that to you then," Will shrugged casually, though he took a mental note to try and gauge in the future how much of a problem Dulcinea Doge might be to all this.

"I hardly see why we'd need to stop, if anything it's more appropriate to shag while courting than what we've been doing so far." Plus, it didn't seem quite fair that all her now side-pieces would get the privilege. Not that he imagined this would be a lengthy courtship, or certainly not as lengthy as she might've been hoping for with an old widower.

"I'm sure my mother will want another conversation with you, but all in due time." She stepped closer, wrapping an arm around him and pressing her lips against his, the odd mix of champagne and coffee on his lips. "Mmmm... More appropriate, is that it? Well, I would hate to be inappropriate

Will put his hand on the small of her back and pulled her in slightly to return the kiss. "Especially considering putting on an appropriate front is part of what you want," he smirked teasingly. "Besides...would you really want a abstinent courtship?"

Bina smiled, though it was all too easy to lean into him. "Well, I wouldn't be giving up sex completely.."

Will grinned slightly. "I'd be worried if you changed that much..."

Bina laughed. "Give me some credit, Will. Some things aren't going to change. Although I may demand sex more than three days s week from you."

"I think that's an entirely reasonable demand," Will chuckled. "All here or your new place?"

Bina took a sip of champagne. "I sort of enjoy having this place as a love nest of sorts but I suppose things can change."

"As much as I agree, there will be relatively regular cases of teenage sisters over as of...this week really. So a second location isn't a bad idea." And he needed to brief the girls first anyway, though he was sure Izzie didn't want to accidentally run into Bina in barely a robe regardless of plots in progress or not.

"Somehow I doubt you'll be coming to mine to shag when your sisters are visiting regardless of where I'm sleeping," Bina teased.

"Ah but this place is small enough and there are two of them. Can leave the place to them for the night and sleep elsewhere," Will pointed out with a bit of a smirk.

Bina chuckled and thwapped him playfully. "So this place is too small to shag while your sisters are here, but you're fine telling them you're going off to sleep elsewhere for a night. Me thinks you just don't want them to know the delightful sounds you make when you're about to orgasm."

Will shrugged with a smile. "I'm open about having a sex life, doesn't mean I need them in the next room or doing awkward mornings. They're sweet but nosy enough as is." He swirled the last few drops in his glass and looked over at the bottle. "Did we want to finish it? Because we've still got some time before anyone needs to apparate off to work..."

"Do we ever do anything by halves?" She gave him a challenging look as she reached for the bottle and refilled the glasses. "Of course, if we have time, I can think of a few other ways to occupy ourselves. Perhaps we ought to consider consumating our arrangement…"

"Certainly not, there's no point in doing anything unless you go big." Including the plans behind all this, go big or go home was committing to this right here. Will shot her a teasing smirk after thanking her for the refill. "I'd say we do more than just consider, I don't know if it could be considered official if we didn't..."

Bina took a long drink of champagne before pressing herself against him. "Here? Bedroom? Or both?"

Will took a long drink of his own before putting his glass down on the counter behind her. "Rhetorical question I hope. Both, always both."