α м (mattias) wrote in valesco,
@ 2012-11-28 20:31:00

Entry tags:

adrian mattias, arista sykes, galvin gudgeon, group, howell williams, magnolia mattias, michal conway lynch, noah boot, nora peakes, octavius pepper, odette boot, rose knightley, saoirse mullet, seth wadcock, thomas mccormack

RECEPTION POST! FOR SATURDAY! EVERYONE!

It had been a long journey, but he and Maggie had finally, finally arrived here, where they could share their relationship with world. Celebrate it! With their family and friends (the most dramatic of which Adrian had made sure would be on their best behavior tonight through some light verbal assaulting), whom Adrian was more than willing to extend his happiness to. And it was, it was such a deep joy that he couldn't--- even though they had been married for months, tonight made it feel... official, like there could no longer be any question that they were Adrian and Maggie Mattias, with their two beautiful children and their beautiful life---

Adrian cut off his own thoughts, thinking that they would only lead to a less put together version of himself. Instead, he simply let his thoughts roll to how this was an excellent way to kick off what would unquestionably be the most hectic two months of his (and Maggie's) life. But in a good way, it made him content to think that... they would need to sit down and figure out their schedules to ensure seeing each other, staying together as a close family because in the end, if that wasn't important, then what really was? Working through and with the sport they individually loved, spending the holidays together... he had no doubt he and Maggie would work it out effortlessly.

And, just in case, it was a good thing they had spectacular sex to smooth any rough patches over.

His lips pressed into something of a grin, and letting his cheekiness take over him, Adrian reached over in his seat to graze his hand slowly up Maggie's leg. Dinner had just ended, and it was getting late enough that the lights that had been set up for hours were finally starting to create nothing short of a stunning atmosphere. Their guests could enjoy it, but he had all the beauty he needed right here.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" It was a serious question completely lost in his proud smile and light-mannered tone. Adrian leaned over to lightly kiss the side of Maggie's neck.

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mullets
2012-12-02 06:19 am UTC (link)

What-- what was happening here? She didn't want him touching her, and yet, here she was, holding his hands down. And she didn't want to be talking to him, yet when the silence spread between them, she suddenly craved to speak further. And now he seemed.... content with her answer, which she wasn't sure if she even liked. Just a shrug? After all that? How could she have so readily wanted a response like that mere seconds ago when it obviously tasted foul in her mouth?

Her brow furrowed deeper. How was he doing this to her? If someone had told her this was where would be three hours ago, Saoirse would have laughed because he hadn't been running through her mind like she apparently had been through his. She had thought... they were done, over, just a summer spur of the moment thing because wasn't getting caught something that took away the drive, and fun, of all that? Not that she would know from previous experience, but the thought of going public had intimidated her so deeply...

But that--- she had been entirely wrong, hadn't she? Because it hadn't just been anyone, and he was entirely different. And she had, she did see something in him, but putting that into words, was difficult. What would happen... when she affirmed all of this to him? What did he truly want? Her mind could not wrap around the idea that it was her, because who would want her, like that? She knew she had a cold, standoffish character, and as he had said they'd done so little talking-- what could he have possibly seen in her?

When Howell looked away, an almost frenzied kind of energy filled her. But--- "I do," she let out, choosing to ignore his last words. And then, because they felt clammy and heavy, Saoirse unclenched her grip on his hands. But she couldn't tear her gaze away from his face; it seemed completely impossible. She was transfixed by how his emotions played out so clearly on it. She knew her face had never remotely done anything as beautiful as that.

"You're different," she inclined forward, and her hands, like controlled by a different entity, moved to grip a small part of his front. Then they loosened, and dropped--- because she didn't know why.

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howl
2012-12-02 07:30 am UTC (link)

For the second time, Howell couldn't believe his ears. It was small, he agreed, but still, he'd wrested from her an answer, even if it boiled down to one word. And he wondered what it had cost her to say it. "Okay," he agreed, looking down at his chest where her arms had rested. Though they were no longer placed there, he still felt a slight burn, or a tingle, where they just had been. "I reckon that has to be enough." And, almost, it felt like it was.

They lingered again for a moment, before he realised his hands were still around her. He'd never thought of them as being particularly large, but his hands nearly spanned her full waist and he felt suddenly big. Clumsy. And she'd let go of him, so he thought it was about time he did the same of her, sliding his hands around her sides and then dropping them. Howell wanted to kiss her so badly that it was an ache, but he knew he couldn't. Saoirse had always stressed the need for privacy, and he'd had a good idea that getting caught with him, even by someone like Vinny, had had a hand in the splintering of their relationship. So a kiss on a dance floor at a party with all of their colleagues was a piss-poor idea, but that didn't make convincing himself that it was a truly piss-poor idea any easier.

"Thank you," he said, meaning for the dance, and for her speaking to him, even though he knew she believed she didn't have to. Stepping a little to the side so she was free to go, he clasped his hands behind his back so he wouldn't do something unwise with them. She'd agreed to one song, and he'd asked of her one question, so it seemed he had little left to bargain for more time with her. It would have been safer for him to just walk away first, as he didn't trust himself around Saoirse, not when she'd started to soften towards him, even just a little. But that was abrupt, and it seemed rude, and not the way he wanted to end this encounter between them. "I think you're different, too."

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mullets
2012-12-02 10:09 pm UTC (link)

And now, it was like she was going to break into tears. Her stomach lurched, her throat grew tight, and never had Saoirse ever experienced such a deep desire to connect with one such person, for it felt as if his subdued disappointment was seeping through her veins and engulfing her. She could feel the almost sadness in his voice, his disillusionment through the slight lag in his final release of her. And she-- didn't want to walk away.

He had very politely cleared the way for her, as she should have know he would, but that wasn't what her heart was pounding for. It beat heavily for her to kiss him, kiss him with the vigor and emotion coursing through her, but even the thought... it made her insides shrivel up. There were so many people surrounding them, many of whom she, they, personally knew, and just that thought alone almost entirely made up her mind; it would be best to leave whatever was happening here between them on this dance floor.

But his final words put a stop to her inner coaxing, and Saoirse looked at Howell like the breath of fresh air that he was. Because--- she was, she was different, that if anything had been made unreasonably clear throughout her short life. A witch in a magic-less family, a muggleborn in a house of purebloods, and while she was proud of her quidditch prowess, it still set her apart. And Saoirse had found in her experiences that many did not take kindly to those who were different.

But Howell, he made it sound something positive, to aspire to be, and most importantly, something that he liked about her. Her. No one had said that to her before, meant it like that, and his simple sentence made her heart burst. How could she--- quietly slip away from him, like nothing of it?

She blinked, realizing that this whole time she had been intensely staring at him. Unmoving. Her feet had been rooted in their place, but now there was an air to them, and instead of brushing by, Saoirse quietly carried herself back close to him. And she thought--- she inclined her face toward his--- to show how deeply what he had said effected her--- but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She needed him to initiate, him to kiss her because it felt impossible for to do on her own.

"You---" She struggled even now, despite knowing it was what she wanted. "You can kiss me," Saoirse murmured, hesitantly reaching up to prickle the side of his face with her fingers.

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howl
2012-12-03 01:19 am UTC (link)

His heart just stopped. Had he heard what he thought he heard? Was she reading his mind? Or, more likely, was he so obvious?

Yes, yes, of course he was. He didn't know what spell she'd weaved on him, but it had taken root, deep and unshakeable. He could push the thoughts of her aside when he had to, when the game called for his entire focus, and he could come to terms with being rejected by her, but he couldn't deny she had a hold on him, good and proper.

Her fingertips on his skin paralysed him. Hardly daring to breathe, he raised one of his hands, slowly, to cup hers, twining their fingers as he gently pulled it down. His other hand crept upwards as he closed the rest of the distance between them, gradually, as if she were an animal he might frighten away with any sudden movement. Howell forgot entirely where they were. He didn't care that they were in public, he didn't care if she'd come here with a date, and he didn't care that he'd just been ready to let her walk away for good.

Except… except that he did. He did care. Perhaps he'd let himself think too much, perhaps he should have just stopped breathing and thinking and simply do as she said, but he couldn't. His hand cupped her face, but when he bent his, it was to kiss her cheek instead.

He could lie and say that he was doing it for Saoirse, because, no matter what she said, he knew she would regret this one moment of weakness she allowed him to take advantage of, but he knew better. Because he couldn't kiss her again just once, and even if he could, he didn't want that once to be what felt like a kiss good-bye.

When he pulled back, he was staring at her lips while his thumb stroked lightly along her cheekbone. "I want to," he said, so softly, he wasn't sure she could hear him. Howell dropped his hand and straightened, loosening his grip on the hand of hers he still held, though he couldn't bring himself to let go of that, too. "But not—I can't, like this."

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mullets
2012-12-03 04:02 am UTC (link)

Her swelling heart hardened, and Saoirse kept a steadfast gaze and composure as he kissed her cheek. She couldn't say... if she liked what he had chosen to do better or worse than her expectations, but at the very least it did not settle poorly in her stomach. Her skin felt rather alive and her thoughts continued to be blurred, and it wasn't until he muttered again that there seemed to be a break through in her haze.

A wave of recognition of their surroundings finally broke through to her conscious, and it startled Saoirse how many senses she had muted, or simply chose to ignore whilst focusing on Howell. The noises, particularly, struck her, and a tight force resonated through her as the sounds of people talking, music playing, and general movement took over her. And then she suddenly felt glad for his subdued response, because while in the moment she may not have realized it, but he seemed to know better than she.

This thought stuck her so heavily, it was overwhelming. How could he possibly...? Her eyes ran back and forth across his face, as she hoped to find an answer written somewhere within his lines and contours. But that was not an answer she was going to figure out quickly, she decided quickly, so she tucked it away for future mulling over.

His hand felt pleasant on her face, and Saoirse had to shake her head lightly to ward off it's effects on her. She blinked slowly.

"No," she concurred, and because it was within her, Saoirse smoothly relaxed and pulled her fingers out from his. It eased her, he eased her, in spite of all the jolts of fear and apprehension, and because of all of that he had--- yes, not here, not now, not tonight.

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howl
2012-12-03 05:13 am UTC (link)

After she released his hand, Howell would have made to walk away, he would have tried to not press his luck, but the way she'd responded… Hope was newly awakened in him, and vicious with it. Was this truly enough for her? Could his feelings be so one-sided he was projecting what he felt onto Saoirse? Earlier, perhaps even minutes ago, he might have conceded that that was true, but that little seedling of hope had taken root in him too.

His heart had resumed a painful, loud tattoo, and he tried not to think about the sweat undoubtedly breaking out on his palms as he mustered up the courage for this one last attempt. Howell felt not emboldened, as one might expect him to be in receiving a better response than expected, but scared and a little desperate. He knew anything he did or said now was going to ruin this moment he'd worked so hard to create, but he couldn't stop himself. He had to try. She'd let him close to her, physically close to her, and hadn't truly shoved him back yet.

"Meet me again," he whispered suddenly. It was a risky thing to ask. One dance, for all intents and purposes, didn't mean she was prepared to acknowledge him in even in private, or simply answer an owl of his again. And they had play-offs starting in just a few days, where everyone who wasn't a teammate became a bitter rival. Not to mention the grueling schedules they had to keep. His timing could not have been worse, but the faculties for logic and good sense seemed to have fled in his hour of need. "Wherever—whenever you want, just… once more." That's how he had to work now. Somehow, Howell had gotten one toe through the door, and if she'd even let him, he had to bargain for a little more each time.

"Please think about it."

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mullets
2012-12-04 01:03 am UTC (link)

Meet him again? Her stomach twisted.

What repose within her promptly vanished, and her all-too-driving defense system quickly settled in. He wanted to see her again, he wanted to talk more-- and while she should have seen his willingness to accommodate her as thoughtful, it was only overwhelming. Saoirse could already feel the tiredness of their winding down exchange begin to fill her, and she suddenly felt--- overcome. And almost confused because she could feel apart of herself already wanting to agree. But how could that possibly happen? Playoffs started the day after tomorrow, immediately followed by a mashed together week of holiday. And then, like it wasn't as significant as it was, came Eurocup in Istanbul. There was nothing that could be spared in adverting her attention, let alone--- how could she even entertain the idea?

She felt her warm limbs grow cold, her chest close up, and the frenzied haze within her thoughts drop and die. That was the reality, and he, and where they were, and this moment may have made her temporarily forget that, but she remembered now.

"We're too busy," Saoirse spoke inexpressively. Her spine straightened, her shoulders fell back, and for the first time in many passing moments, she looked away from Howell's face. "There isn't time." Despite believing better, and against her best attempt at ignoring it, Saoirse did feel a twinge of regret with her words. It wasn't... him, it was simply... the timing didn't bode, and this was happening all too quickly...

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howl
2012-12-04 05:44 am UTC (link)

He nodded once, almost curtly, though he felt no downward surge in his hopefulness. A yes would have been too simple, too easy. Honestly, her saying yes might even have made him suspicious, as if she were saying it simply to get him to leave her alone, not that it was out of the realm of possibility. But an excuse…

An excuse was better than a no. Wasn't an excuse really wanting to say yes, but thinking the better of it? Not ideal, he had to admit, not where he wanted her, or them, to be, but it wasn't a no. And that was a damn sight further than he'd been walking into this reception. So he could let her have her time, let her have her busy schedule, because heaven knew that was true. Howell began to step back, sensing their interlude, this one, at any rate, had come to an end, and knowing it was best not to press her for more. The request had been made, the seed had been planted, so it was out of his hands now.

"Just think about it," he said simply, jamming his hands in his pockets as he gave her one last look before taking his leave.

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