RP: What are you talking about? Who: Marcus & Adrian When: 11/5/08 evening Where: Adrian's lab on VR What: Adrian gets a surprise visit from his oldest friend with some - totally not new - news. Warnings: Language
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Adrian had spent the Saturday at his lab, catching up on a couple of draughts that Mungo's was waiting for and that required a bit more attention than others. He hadn't even realized the sun had gone down until his stomach had growled and he sent a clearly frustrated-and-missing-her text to Alicia apologizing. I wouldn't wait up, love, I'm sorry, he said, knowing she would understand his work and hoping she would understand his rock-and-a-hard-place feelings, too.
Yup, he'd be here all night, he figured.
Which is why he was surprised when there was a knock at his door. Here on the third floor there weren't many who had access to the landing. Basically it was his father, Draco, Marcus, Alicia, the twins... That was about it. Not even his mother. Maybe Alicia had brought him dinner? The thought made his stomach growl again so he headed to the front door and opened it with a sly smile, only to see Marcus Flint standing there looking... Well, looking like a man who'd been put through a grinder, if he were honest, at least the look in his eyes did...
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Marcus had drunk maybe one more pint than he ought to. But that was par for the course these days: go to a Quidditch match, drink too much after. Because it didn't matter any more. "Hey," he said, bot hands shoved in his pockets. "Did you know I'm a fictional character?"
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Adrian couldn't help but laugh, "Come on in," he said through his chuckles. "What the hell are you talking about?" Had Marcus finally cracked? Adrian went to the little kitchen and took out two beers, offering one to his friend.
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Taking the beer, Marcus sighed. "Remember that girl I dated back in school? Silviya? She's now a best-selling author, which I knew." He took a swig for fortification. "Turns out her main character is based on me."
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Adrian stopped dead in his tracks. How is this news? "Marcus... Have you never read the books?" Adrian had, mostly because his sister had insisted, but it had been a while.
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"Of course I bloody haven't!" Even if they hadn't been written by his ex, Marcus wasn't one for romance. "Wait... you have?"
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Adrian rolled his eyes, "Not long after the first one came out, Sera made me. She's a fan of Silvie's, they were Housemates or some shite." Sera was only a couple of years older then Silvie and her cohort. "But really, Marcus, ~why would you never read them?" That just didn't make sense to Adrian, who was a bit more practical and grounded than some of his Slytherin friends. "Either way though - you've figured it out. So what?" Adrian didn't see the big deal.
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"Because it's romance shit." Marcus waggled his bottle at Adrian in disagreement. "And I didn't figure it out. Percy Weasley told me, of all the people in the fucking world." He closed his eyes. "I don't know what. But it's like a Bludger to the gut."
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Adrian nodded, "Okay... But why? Why do you care?" It had been literally more than decade since Marcus had split on Silviya, and while some of their friends had been surprised, Adrian couldn't imagine Silvie had been. And then he'd read her book and known better. But in all seriousness, ten plus years was a long time for this to bother Marcus.
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"I don't know," Marcus said, trying not to groan. "I shouldn't care. But it seems like everyone else fucking knows about it, so why didn't I?" His neck felt even tenser than before. "Do you ever just feel like you can't do anything right? 'Cause I'm pretty sure that's my life right now." He took a long swallow of beer.
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Adrian gave a sympathetic sigh. Sometimes he felt exactly that way. "Listen, 'everyone' doesn't know fuck all. A couple of people who know you both and know the history recognized traits from you in a character in a book. That's all." He thought for a moment. "And even so, it really doesn't have to affect you. It's not like you and Silvie were ever gonna survive school, and if she didn't realize that, it's her fault, not yours." Marcus really had nothing to feel bad about, as far as Adrian was concerned.
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Marcus felt marginally better hearing that. He always thought he'd been clear about his post-Hogwarts intentions, too, but for some reason this whole book thing was making him feel insecure and he didn't like that one bit. His thumbnail picked at the label on the bottle. "God, I really need to find something better to do with my time instead of worry about shit like this."
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Watching his friend fret, Adrian asked, "Alright. So let's do that instead. Commentating? Coaching? Teaching? Department of Magical Sports? There's a life after the pro league, Flint, and you know it."
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One grumpy thought had crossed Marcus's mind earlier when he'd been watching the Cannons take on the Wanderers: the ref had made a host of bad calls and it had occurred to Marcus that he could do better. "Refereeing."
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Adrian's eyebrows went up in surprise. Marcus Flint - king of the nasty hit at Hogwarts - wanted to be a referee? "Seriously?" He asked, and then nodded. "Alright, it should take maybe two floo calls to make that happen. So why not?" That was a question Adrian had been asking himself a lot lately, not ~why but ~why not.
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Marcus shrugged. "Yeah." Even if he'd always been known for rough moves, he'd also always know the rules. Quite literally, as it happened, as he'd memorised the entirety of the rulebook as part of a punishment in his youth. He liked to bend those rules as far as he could.
Guarded, he screwed up the nerve to admit what was holding him back. "'Cause once I do that, it'll be over. The one thing I've wanted since I could talk. And I know it's been months, but making an actual decision'll be the final nail in the coffin of my career."
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Adrian took a deep, long breath. He really didn't want to be ~this friend. But ~this friend was what Marcus needed, so he'd do it. He looked Marcus right in the eye and said simply, "I understand that, but Marcus." He paused before saying the hard part, "Marcus, it's already over." Marcus was one of the best there'd ever been, Adrian had no doubt, and he'd had the privilege of playing with him while in school, but life was... well, life. And Marcus needed to get on with his.
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One hand around the back of his neck, Marcus pressed his fingers into the tense muscles, hoping to relax them a bit. The beer, it turned out, wasn't working in that regard. "God, sorry." Adrian was right and he knew it, but that still didn't stop the sting. "I'm being a right misery, aren't I? Dunno how you put up with me."
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Adrian gave his friend a chuckle. "You put up with me, too, it's a two way street." Gods, Adrian had given Marcus in hell with all his moral obligations to dirty moves on the pitch... but even against the other Slytherin players (and probably Flint's own motivations!), Marcus had stood by him. "And plus, if you didn't vent to me, who would go to? I don't think Silviya would be nearly as interested these days as she was in 7th year..." Adrian gave him a cheeky smile - one very few people ever saw. "Then again," he thought, "Maybe she would be. Now that I think about it, do you think maybe lashing out is because she's not over you?" It had been ~forever, but women had a way of holding on to things...
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"It's been nearly fifteen years," Marcus pointed out, breaking into a bit of a laugh. "If she's still hung up on me, she needs her head seeing to."
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Adrian shrugged, "We've seen weirder from witches over the years, and Silviya was never the most... Social? Person." He wasn't quite sure how to put that. In all the time Marcus and Capper had dated, she'd maybe said three words to Adrian despite being around a lot.
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"Yeah, I guess she spent a lot of time in her own head." No wonder she became a professional writer. "But I guess I don't really know her these days," Marcus admitted. "Maybe she's different now. And it's none of my concern." This book character thing was going to bug him for a while, he was sure, but he'd get over it. He just needed to direct his energy elsewhere.
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"Exactly. It's not your issue, whatever her issue is. So throw yourself back into the game, man, go get signed up as a ref, or however the hell it works," he took a long pull on his beer bottle, "and do that. Focus on that." He hit Marcus in the arm, not hard, but to make his point.
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Marcus didn't even flinch at the tap to his arm. He was used to worse. Besides, this pep talk from Adrian was kind of funny. The man would be raising teenagers in just a few years, so he'd better get used to giving them. Raising the hand that held his beer, Marcus gave him a salute. "Yes, sir."