Chase Lang
Tuesday 5/4/10 @ 11:09 PM
A muffled groan issued from under a bundle of featherweight comforters. Despite the sunshine that blinked brightly through her charmed blinds (which clearly needed its Anti-Alarum charm refreshed), the minute figure that shuffled under the covers now was still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Within a few moments, however, she had flailed her way out of the veritable nest of blankets in which she had encased herself and sat up.
Where on earth is that boy? Chase wondered vaguely, slipping on a pair of her ratty kneazle-fur slippers and wandering downstairs. Since the marriage and reception of her best friends, Darren had been staying in the spare bedroom - well, for the first three days or so anyhow, before her bed found itself with a tall, dark, and handsome occupant - of her parents' rather expansive townhouse. Even now, over a week later, Chase pinched herself from time to time to guard against the possibility that the night that Darren had shown up on her doorstep after having supposedly departed for the states was all a figment of her imagination.
Smiling to herself at the memory, Chase padded down the stairs silently, half in search of nourishment and half in search of her temporarily roommate. As soon as she entered the kitchen, she spotted Darren in the living room, though Chase wasn't so keen to disrupt his apparent focus. Instead, she poured herself a cup of tea and sipped it slowly.
Darren Liten
Friday 5/7/10 @ 11:01 PM
Darren had actually been staying in the guest bedroom for four days before he ended up joining Chase in her bed, and that had been out of respect for her the first three nights. He wasn't going to invade her space without an invitation, and he wasn't going to push. The fourth night was set to go the exact same way, except for the fact that he was minding his own business and starting to nod off when he was pounced and utterly taken advantage of by the lady of the house. From that point on, he'd been sleeping in her bed, if only to make it just a little easier for her if she wanted to take advantage of him again. He was thoughtful like that.
He was also the sort to take what sleep and comfort he could whenever he could, which made her bed even more amazing than the guest room bed. Between Auri's guest room and Chase's place, he was being spoiled. How was he supposed to sleep on dirt and rocks after this? That first morning after sleeping in Chase's bed, with those soft down comforters and the mattress that felt like sleeping on a cloud, they were damn lucky that they'd even gotten up. Darren could have lazed in bed with her all day, like a cat curled into a nest of blankets, and he'd have been satisfied. He didn't ask for much, right?
Personally, he'd thought he was asking for too much when he showed up on her doorstep after having left Auri's place. The newlyweds had departed, he'd seen the bride to her groom without incident, and now it was time for him to get back to his life, Ministry offer, or not. It had only been when he was actually leaving that he'd found himself in trouble. He'd gotten by with the theory that if he didn't overthink things, he'd be fine, and that was fine. He hadn't considered the what-ifs of staying, not Chase, the Ministry, being near Hugh and Auri when they got back, Trev, none of it. If he thought about it, he'd be torn, and he knew it. It was a good plan, right up until he spontaneously changed his plans, also without thinking things through. He didn't stop to think until he was standing at Chase's door, wondering if he was making a huge mistake.
Waking up beside her sleeping form had made it obvious that he hadn't. He had to admit that it was nice to have help with the transfiguration problem he'd been playing with, as well. With as talented as Chase was, the two of them were actually making headway in figuring it out. He'd been doing alright on his own, but he was usually thinking in short spurts between jobs, or trying to work something in conditions that weren't ideal. Here, he had quiet, a nice space, and an awesome bit of help. He was going to have it figured out in no time.
That was actually what had drawn him out of bed before Chase, only because he wanted to try to get something done before the day actually got busy. He wanted to try it out soon, perhaps even that day if he could manage it, and that wasn't going to happen unless he got more done. It was true that he was focusing and actually being productive, but that sure as hell didn't mean that he didn't notice that Chase was up. He finished what he was up to quickly so that he could slip into the kitchen while she was still sipping her tea, slowly sliding his arms around her from behind while she was still at the counter.
"Morning. Didn't want to wake you," he told her softly, nestling his face in against her hair so that he could drop a kiss on her neck. If he didn't have her totally distracted from the tea in the next few seconds, he was a total failure. What really killed him was how ridiculously domestic this whole deal was, and how much he was finding that he liked it.
Chase Lang
Friday 5/7/10 @ 11:46 PM
Another coy smile couldn't help but flit its way across her lips. His silent trail had wound its way from the sitting room to the kitchen in mere moments - she was impressed! More impressive still was the softed brush of a kiss that had graced her collar. Craning her neck gently back such that she faced him, Chase eyed him with feigned suspicion.
"What's this?" she murmured, returning his kiss in kind, "A handsome stranger in my living room?" Another kiss, this time deeper. "To what do I owe this honor?"
The charade melted away with the final kiss; when they finally parted, she returned to a cup of lukewarm tea. Evidently, his ploy had worked. As she fixed a cup of coffee for him, content and a bit bewildered with the domestic tameness of their recent days, Chase glanced at him bemusedly.
"Odd how natural this feels," she remarked, the briefest moment of hesitation quieting her tone, before reaching for the usual cubes of sugar that Darren normally took with his morning coffee. The movement had become almost second nature to her at this point, despite the relative brevity of his stay. Not that she wasn't glad for it, of course; it was just shocking that they had taken to 'home life' so seamlessly, given the rough-and-tumble nature of their courtship to date.
Cradling her earl grey with both palms, she leaned a hip against the granite counter thoughtfully. It was Saturday, which granted them an essentially 'freebie' sort of day, free of Ministry duties and social commitments. Their closest friends were still on their long-awaited honeymoon and Trevor was in the middle of harvesting his latest batch of plants. Despite the temptation of luring him back to bed, Chase was keen to observe the latest developments in their joint efforts. What had started as a brief flirtation with the limits of their Animagus transformations had grown to a full-fledged hobby, and she felt optimistic about his growth thus far.
The paid leave had taken a toll on Chase, naturally, though the pain of constant restlessness had been soothed, more or less, by the rediscovery of certain old school volumes and other tomes of magical study. She had been particularly taken by the 'mind crafts' of Occlumency and Legilimency, and had progressed quite nicely in the weeks of 'vacation'. The focus today, however, would likely be Transfiguration. With the thought in mind, she shuffled towards the cupboards.
"I want to see what you've come up with recently - first thing after breakfast. We've still got - let's see - toast, some fruit, cold and hot cereals, eggs, rashers of bacon... what'll it be this morning?" She poked her head out from behind the open refrigerator door.
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