February 14th, 1978
Who: Graciela Cervantes and Alex Smith
What: Dessert! And lots of talking
Where: Graciela's flat in Hogsmeade
Status: Finishing in comments



Humming a little, Graciela held her spoon tightly in her mouth, scooping cookies ‘n’ cream ice cream from its container into two small bowls. Dinner with Alex? Fabulous, really, and now it was time for dessert. She’d asked Sarah for some easy to make (but fancy looking) recipes, and with a little help from Kostos, Alex’s cousin, she’d found out some of his favorite dishes. Such as, cookies ‘n’ cream ice cream. Graciela had almost fainted when she’d read his cousin’s response letter; she’d just bought a carton of that for herself earlier that day. Everything was really turning out much better than she could have ever thought, and with the grace of a waitress, she stuck her spoon in her bowl and came back to the living room where Alex was currently sitting on her couch.

At first she’d been worried about the size of her flat, and her dog, but Bernie had been very good and stayed in her bedroom the entire night, only lumbering out to get some water once or twice. Graciela didn’t really know what kind of home or money Alex came from, but he hadn’t said a word about her one bedroom flat (it was tiny, but she really didn’t need much space) and didn’t seem to mind that the living room and kitchen and dining room were all basically in the same room. Ay, if her brother knew she had a man in her flat…

“Herrrre you go, that will be five sickles,” Graciela said with a wide grin, dropping down onto the couch beside him, pulling her legs underneath her. She did have a telly, but at the moment she was kind of content with just talking to him, “They do not have this flavor at Madame Puddifoot’s, I had to go to the muggle village on the,” she waved her spoon toward the window, not even sure if that was the right direction, “the other side of Hogwarts, it is odd, how close they can be to all this magic and not know. Though, before my brother showed he was magical, I did not have an idea either.”

Alex loved food. It was one thing he'd get really excited for. Meal times had been the only time his family seemed to get along at all, as the love for eating had always made them quiet. If no one spoke, no one could argue. Occasionally this safety time was broken by his sister rambling about something, which always made him laugh in astonishment about how airheaded she could be, and caused his parents to become quite protective and angry. No one ever had a problem telling him what he was doing wrong, but God forbid Psykhe be told otherwise.

However, dinner with Grace was far from being like this. She made several of his favorite foods (something he was sure he'd have to thank his cousin for later) and had spent hours talking to her, laughing, and having a … well, grand time. He was amazed by how much they had in common, even though it had been proved to him again and again. Had he really ignored her back in school? He hadn't had felt nervous or twitching to take a pill all night; it rarely happened when he was in her company. He rubbed his neck lightly as he sat on the couch after the meal, looking around her home and biting his lip gently.

He didn't know how she lived in such a tiny place. His family had always had a lot of money; it was just strange to see something so small because of it. Their house had had enough rooms to make it possible to avoid everyone all day, no matter how active you were around it. Or so he had found - his siblings loved interacting with each other and his parents, but he? Could not stand it. He only saw his father when he felt the need to search for Alex, always there to give him advice or a recommendation of a new drug that could help make him more "normal." He rolled his eyes each time, took the prescription (knowing full well how illegal it was) and went on his way. He couldn't imagine being able to avoid anyone in a … well, room more then flat like this.

When she came back in with his ice cream, he smirked at her remark, taking the bowl and suddenly grinning. "Cookies 'N' Cream. Brilliant." He listened to her story, arching a brow, and chuckling lightly. "You didn't need to go through all that effort." He said simply, before taking a bite and letting out a very satisfied "Mmmm…" Swallowing it, he tilted his head, looking over to her. "Your brother didn't let you know he was a wizard?" He couldn't imagine that, either. Magic had been a high part of his life, even if his dad worked in a muggle mental hospital.

“It was no effort, well, it was effort, I mean---” she blushed, looking down at the bowl, “it was no problem, is what I mean. I go there usually; I am not a very good cook with magic tools, so I buy muggle groceries.” Graciela looked back up at him and smiled; honestly, the entire dinner had not been too much trouble, she liked cooking for her friends, and it had been doubly enjoyable to make dinner for Alex, after all he’d really seen was her sugar cookies at Madam Puddifoot’s. Her mother was always insisting that a woman should know how to cook well, that it was the way to a man’s heart, and while Graciela wasn’t certain that she was trying to capture Alex’s heart completely just yet, it was still something that felt really good to do. Plus, he seemed to have enjoyed it, which was the best part of it all.

She shook her head at his question, “We are muggleborn, yes? So Santi, he---he wasn’t sure if he was magic, he wanted to make sure. You have to go and register and sign so many papers if you are a muggleborn wizard, so---he found someone who was, and they did a sort of…test. Like.” Her nose scrunched as she tried to find an example that Alex could relate to. “Oh! Oh, they showed him a building, that to muggles---it is like Hogwarts, muggles see a broken down castle, pero it is really a school. When he was able to read the sign of the building, they knew he was a wizard. And then Andrea, and then me. My parents were very happy.”

“How did---how did you know you had magic? Or did you just…? Know? Or is that rude---sorry, I do not know how other people find out.” Graciela had always wondered if the first signs of magic for a muggleborns were different of that of purebloods; it seemed like there would be, that their families expected it of them, so maybe they didn’t even need to be tested before going off to Hogwarts. Graciela wished that it was that way back in Portugal and Spain, but unfortunately they were very behind in the equal rights movement of the muggles and muggleborns, but at least did not have the violence England had.

“I talk too much sorry, I do not even realize most of the time, it just sort of keeps on coming out of my mouth because I feel like I can not---like my mouth does not hear what my brain is telling it.”

He shrugged a bit, not finding her questions about magic at all rude or intrusive. Alex scratched the back of his neck, trying to remember how it was the family had first started to detect his magic. "Well, I was different then my siblings," he admitted after a long pause, his eyes focused on his lap as his spoke. He didn't quite like bringing up how much he'd failed in the eyes of his parents, and this moment had been a rather large one. "I showed no signs of magic for… years. My sister was making things float and crash almost all the time by the age of two, and my brother was the same, but… It wasn't until I was about… I guess, ten that I first started to show signs. My parents thought I was a squib - the opposite of a muggleborn, you know? Magical parents but no magical abilities. I was sure of it too. After a huge argument with my parents though, the glass my dad had been holding shattered, and… Well, first they assumed that he'd just squeezed it too tight, but when more things like it started to happen when I got angry, they realized that I was actually just… Proving I was going to Hogwarts. No one got their hopes up though, so when I got my letter to school - which is how most people find out, they just… Get a letter. Even Muggleborns. There aren't any tests here - my parents were just… So relieved. Too relieved to be really excited, I guess."

He cleared his throat at the end, rubbing his neck again and finally looking over to her. "I don't think you talk to much. You're just curious. Nothing wrong with being curious." He had never believed in that corny phrase that curiosity killed the cat. No, stupidity killed the cat. Being curious was just a polite way of being nosy. He smiled lightly to her, before looking away again, fiddling with a loose string in his pants. Alex wasn't quite sure why he felt so awkward. He'd never told anyone that he'd been sure he couldn't do magic when he was younger, so it was definitely a big factor. She was, officially, the only non-relation that new.

"I uh… haven't told anyone that story before, by the way, so if you could just… Keep it… To yourself and all…I mean, not that I don't think you would or anything, I just…Uh…Yeah." He fell quiet, still looking at the string he continued fiddling with to just avoid all sorts of eye contact.

She knew immediately that their conversation had turned serious, that it wasn’t just her babbling on and on about random tangent. Graciela watched his face carefully as he told his story, and for a moment she felt guilty about bringing it up, because the memories were obviously painful, but---Alex did not have to tell her any of this, he could have made up a simple story and avoided the bad feelings, but he’d decided on telling her, and that…was big. Tremendo, por que it meant that he trusted her with his feelings, these stories. And---if he didn’t look so unsettled by all of this, Graciela’s heart would be soaring with excitement.

But, it wasn’t a time to begin giggling over another step they’ve taken in their relationship, and throughout his story she’d changed positions, putting her bowl of ice cream down on the coffee table and shifting closer to him. Graciela twisted her fingers nervously for a moment while he told her that it was okay to talk like she had been, and then he—oh, ay, he asked her not to say anything and---claro que si, of course she wouldn’t, and she nodded immediately, her hand going to rest upon his. She was a very hands-on person, maybe it was in her blood, but---oh, she couldn’t help herself, Graciela slipped her arms around Alex’s shoulders and pressed her forehead to his temple, taking in a deep breath.

“I will keep it to my self,” she said softly, nodding against his face. Her eyes shut and Graciela hoped that he believed her.

Alex stared at her for a long moment. It wasn't a though he knew this girl all too well; sure, they'd been on a few dates, and yes, he had felt a deep connection with her, but by all logical means, he had no reasoning for trusting her in the least. Yet, he found he couln't help himself. He watched her, the way she comforted and touched him, the way she closed her eyes when ever she spoke something important or waited for a reaction that actually meant something to her. He had never seen a woman so... Beautiful, for lack of a better word. She was radiant, gorgeous, and everything he had never thought he would look over within his school days. He smiled softly, placing his hand against her cheek and rubbing the skin softly with the pad of his thumb. He hadn't actually cared for someone before, especially not like this.

Biting at the inside of his lip, he tried to think of a way to respond without sounding completely fake. It didn't help that his head was feeling slightly fuzzy and thinking wasn't high on his list of priorities. "Efharisto..." he muttered quietly, before shaking his head. Fuck, Greek was not something that the both of them knew. "Er, I mean, thank you." He smiled weakly, swallowed roughly, and felt his ears suddenly burn a very bright red. God, he'd never been this much of a blusher before, and he'd certainly never been this... Un... Smooth! It was a travesty! A mark against all things Alex!

However, he did decide on one thing; if he was having trouble thinking, he wouldn't think at all. With this new found reasoning, Alex found himself acting on impulse. He leaned in rathe quickly, before she had time to object (which he didn't see why she would, as it wasn't their first time or anything) and pressed his lips against her's for a kiss which probably held more emotion than he'd really meant for it too. His hand still rested on her cheek, his other staying at his side just in case she pulled away from the sudden action, as holding her so suddenly would feel a little too forward, even to him.

She'd have to remember that word. Greek was very different sounding, but a shiver ran through her; Alex would have to speak Greek much more often around her, that was a very good feeling she'd just had. Graciela was sure her face was as red as the hearts and balloons she'd been surrounded in for the past week, but he was looking at her in a way that she could've sprouted antennae and wouldn't have cared.

And she'd been expecting to kiss tonight, was looking forward to it, really, but was still surprised by it. Mmmmhm, it was much different than the few kisses they'd shared, it felt like, she might be silly for thinking it, but it felt like he was trying to tell her something through the kiss. Graciela's mind was quite blank at the moment as it was such a good feeling, so she couldn't possibly think about what he could be attempting to relay.

She kissed him back, not daring to pull away. One hand remained on his shoulder while the other rested on his chest. Her sister had suggested that Graciela give up kissing for Lent, and after this---there was no way.

He finally put his arm around her, pulling her closer to him as he did so. Alex had enjoyed their kisses before, of course, but there was just something about this one - he'd really, in a way, needed it after having told her a story like so. He hated opening up to people, he hated giving them information about what his life had been like, even in the times when everyone had assumed it was perfect. He almost enjoyed people being under that impression, really, as it had helped shield him from questions day in and day out about what sort of family life he may have had. Everyone had known who his sister was, everyone had known him, and everyone would know his brother. They would see Asope, as they had seen his siblings before him, as having everything a person could dream for - no one stopped to ask questions when people seemed so flawless.

It was strange actually trusting someone he was involved with.

His head was cloudy, thoughts and comprehension pushed out by the actually feelings he was being exposed to. Alex couldn't have strung together two sentences if you'd asked him to. At least, not English ones, first languages were always dominating in times such as these. His body ached and what was possibly worse was that he felt he couldn't push for something to make that said ache go away. After all, a girl who didn't kiss on the first date? Would probably be one who would want to wait until (God forbid) marriage. He mentally winced at the mere thought of it. He was trying to keep his hands to himself - REALLY! He was! It was just proving to be exceedingly difficult.

Alex slipped in that department, however, when his hand that had been on her back disappeared under the hem of her shirt (keeping to her lower back, of course. No need to be pervy, people) and happily brushed over her skin. He had broken apart from the kiss to move his lips along her jaw and over her neck, muttering soft words that were only safe when they were in a foreign language; "Ise omorfi... S'agapo..." He had written those words before, but saying it was entirely different.

Graciela's breaths were short and quick, but her eyes were shut and she was forcing herself not to cling to the back of his shirt (because---somehow---sus mãos ended up around him and pressed flat against his back--). It would be uma mentira if Grace told you she wasn't nervous, but it was that good nervousness, like the twisting feeling in your stomach before getting on a roller coaster. She liked that feeling, a lot, and it only increased when he stared whispering Greek words.

Even though she was highly inexperienced in this area, Graciela knew that stopping and asking Alex what those words meant could entirely break the mood. She was going to allow herself to assume they were good things, they sounded like good things, and she couldn't think of any reason why they wouldn't be. This made her blush even deeper (her head was going to stay red for the rest of her life, after this), her face pressed into Alex's shoulder.

Alex was absolutely right in thinking that Graciela was waiting until marriage, but weren't there plenty of...fun things to do between kisses and sex? She knew, and adored him for it (and her hands gripped onto his shirt, finally, after fighting it off for so long), that Alex wouldn't push her past her comfort zone, though at the moment she wasn't exactly sure where that was. She would know when they got there, yes?