Open; The Quidditch Gala

[daphne_x]

Getting back into the swing of things at work was exactly what Daphne Greengrass needed to put her time in the cabin behind her. It was always easy to get lost in color schemes and floral arrangements, the dark secrets of her past and present just fading into background noise

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[marloww]

This was an impossibly big night for her brother and everyone in the Linney-Kirke family knew it. She felt as if the majority of the guests were related to her in some way, shape or form- whether it be her bevy of cousins roaming the event or Jemma, her soon to be cousin-in-law if Drew would make the dive already and ask her to marry him. And while she was crossing her fingers for Jonah and the rest of the Bats to pull a victory, thoughts she was absolutely keeping to a minimum when in the presence of Lavender and Roger, she was really only on the lookout for Zacharias.

It had been an odd few weeks- with Zacharias returning to work more fervently now that the weather was nicer and Marlow officially taking sabbatical form Hogwarts, they'd had a sort of disjointed time away from each other- Marlow moving into her own place while Riah was Apparating all around the world with other pretty models (something that didn't bother her at all. Nope.)

And she was excited to see him.

So excited that she had even bought a new dress for the event.

It still surprised her how easily her whole face could light up when she saw him, but when she finally caught his eye across the room, she couldn't help but grin widely.

[rockinriah]

This was the first day in weeks where Zacharias felt like he could properly take a break. Between shoots in the most bizarre locations and a callback from some post-apocalypse film he'd auditioned for months ago, he hadn't been in one place for very long.

Technically, he still wasn't on a break. Events meant press which meant he was expected to put in an appearance to make sure his name kept getting mentioned and he stayed current. Personally. he thought that was terribly ridiculous since this was a Quidditch event and shouldn't have anything to do with him

It was better not to question his manager when she threw an invitation at him and then sent him off to a suit fitting. As if he didn't have enough suits, ones in which he hadn't been photographed, even, but that wasn't the point.

The bright side, the part that kept him from putting up even the token complaint, was Marlow. Somehow, it seemed that they had seem each other more when she was actively working at Hogwarts and had classes to teach. He didn't try to reason that out since his own schedule was insane and all over the place, and he didn't expect her to keep up with how he was expected to be in London, Adelaide, and Auckland all in a four day time span.

The point was, he had a weekend at home, and this was the kick off with Marlow somewhere there. He'd just gotten through the brief press nonsense and let the placating look fall off his face when it was replaced by a brighter, genuine grin.

Marlow looked amazing, as she always did. He didn't bother to acknowledge anyone else as he weaved around people to reach her.

"I'm pretty sure you get more gorgeous every time I see you," he told her as soon as he was close enough to be heard. Not only was it true, but it was probably a sign of how much he missed her.

[marloww]

She wasn't easily flushed.

At least, not when it came to cheesy pick-up lines and cat-calls, things she'd heard numerous times before. She was a woman in London. It happened.

She could see through the pretty words and the raised eyebrows and nearly always answered them with a scowl or a roll of her eyes.

But with Zacharias, it was impossible not to believe everything he ever told her. There was just something so honest in him- so unabashedly sincere- even if his reputation of womanizing far preceded him. It almost made her giddy to know just how much he cared about her.

She couldn't help but tug at the lapel of his tux.

"I'm pretty sure it's just because we don't see nearly enough of each other-" she told him, sighing. "You're forgetting what I look like-"

[rockinriah]

"Maybe I am. Maybe I need to get you in front of a camera more often so I can carry you around every where I go." Zacharias purposefully laid it on thick, going overboard with their brief separation, and it was brief, honestly.

It was just longer than he'd have liked.

He stepped closer as she tugged at him, leaning down to catch her lips while his were still curled into a grin. They were in public and there were cameras, which he was overly aware of, but it still took effort not to let the slide of their lips get out of control.

[marloww]

It took an incredible amount of effort for Marlow not to try and drag Zacharias out of the crowd and into some dimly lit hallway or maybe the bathroom. But that wasn't like Marlow at all and a gala honoring her brother wasn't the time to start. Still, she might have lingered just a little too long before pulling away. It was a shame that the both of them had to work or fulfill obligations when all she really wanted to do was curl up in bed with him.

"Oy-" she said, wrinkling her nose. "Don't go talking about that silly photoshoot again- it was a horrid experience-"

Still, she couldn't help but laugh. It was weird as anything to see her face moving about a printed page- but still, sort of sweet to have those moments with Zacharias forever in ink.

[rockinriah]

"Horrid?" He sounded as close to offended as it was possible for a person to sound. "It was an enriching experience. One you're welcome for, by the way."

His lips were already tugging into a grin. After not seeing her, he was finding it shockingly - or not so, honestly - difficult not to smile like an idiot at her.

"You were a complete natural. If you get bored on this sabbatical, my agent is looking for new blood."