Now It's Official

[inner_human]

Date: Wednesday, May 9, 2001
Time: Afternoonish
Location: The Derrick/Parkinson Residence, Ambrose Terrace, York
Characters Involved: Pansy Parkinson, Peregrin Derrick, invitation only
Rating: PG

Comments

[freakedwithjet]

The house had been lonely, without Perry. She wasn’t used to it yet and late at night shadows loomed in undiscovered corners and Pansy retired early to a bed that was strangely cool and expansive without Perry hogging more than his share. Strangely, she missed that.

She missed him, too. This house was still- just a house. It needed them both to make it a home. It didn’t make sense with only one occupant - it became a Wendy house of pretence and it was that more than boredom that had led Pansy to journal Perry, late in the evening of the full moon. It had been reckless but comforting - she was glad though, that he was coming home.

It only occurred to her briefly that maybe Spinner’s End still felt more like home to Perry, and she dismissed it. They were going to get married- home for him was where she was, now.

Pansy hadn’t forgotten that Perry had told her he had the ring. The ring. So when he came in with a silly expression on his face and tried to act as though this was any other evening, she saw right through it. She got up and headed over to him to reach up and kiss him hello. The first night after the Full Moon always mattered more than others to Pansy. She still worried about them more than she let on.

“Don’t ‘evening’ me when you’ve made me wait days and days and days. Let me see it!”

[inner_human]

Haha, and damned if he'd ever admit it, but he did enjoy this walking through the threshold of his own house, to see someone there waiting for him, and the small kiss of greeting. It was the type of thing he'd seen in his parents when he was younger that always made him roll his eyes. To think that he'd ever be doing it, and enjoying it!

And now he couldn't control the smug grin. Okay, so maybe he was a little mean, to be grinning when he'd made Pansy wait days and days and days. And to compound it he didn't say a word, and very slowly turned to hang up his jacket, as if he hadn't heard her.

And then, "Tell me. Did you only say 'yes' just for the ring?" He slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled it out; a little classic, black velvet box.

[freakedwithjet]

Whereas Pansy had never seen anyone do this before. Her father had been greeted by a house-elf and a ready-positioned whisky and her mother had waited to be waited upon. She had done this with John - kind of - but it wasn’t the same. It couldn’t be the same when even Perry’s stupid smug smile couldn’t shake her satisfaction in his being home once more.

An eyebrow arched in response to his question. “Do you really want me to answer that?” And then she sighed as he turned and with all the speed of a glacier hung his jacket on the peg; and again as he produced the ring box. “Ugh, no, not out here. It’s cold and dusty and- come into the living room.”

Pansy took one of his hands and tugged him through. The furniture, such as it was, had been arranged and Pansy spread her arms and said, “I cleaned. Well, Kebby cleaned and I directed. Doesn’t it look so much better?” She turned a sort of half-pirouette and then sat down on the sofa. “Ok- now let me see it.”

[inner_human]

Not out here-because it was cold and-well, leave it to Pansy to want to have the right ambiance. He sighed himself as he was led into the living room. The living room that wasn't completely furnished yet, and still looked mostly unused. But now it was looking livable-comfortable, even, thanks to a bit of cleaning. His grin became a little more indulgent and a lot more amused, because as hard a time as he gave Pansy, he still found her very cute.

But the grin faded some and Perry sighed as he sat down beside her. "...Okay." This time he didn't mean to keep her waiting. He was suddenly feeling pangs of doubt that hadn't been there while the box was still safely tucked in his pocket. In just another moment Pansy would be opening it, and she would see the ring.

And what then? What if she hated it? Because he had felt a little insecure even in the shop with June, knowing he was picking a ring that wasn't too flashy or expensive. This was something a man should have splurged on, and there he was, thinking it's just a ring and it looks no better or worse than all the rest, she'll never tell how much it cost just by looking at it.

But who was he kidding? This was Pansy, of course she would!

He placed it in her hand, staring at her with every bit of confidence he could muster and reminding himself... it's just a ring. But he had trouble prying his fingers from the box nonetheless.

[freakedwithjet]

Perry was looking so nervous suddenly that it was hard for Pansy not to laugh into his face. Except she was pretty sure that wouldn’t have gone down well.

Yes, it was her engagement ring but, you know, it was just jewellery. She had craploads of the stuff - old diamond wreathes and earrings; emerald droplets; a sapphire pendant (no rubies, of course). Antiques passed down through the Parkinson family line, treats from her father for passing exams; coming home for the summer; Christmas and Easter and just for existing, sometimes. Abandoning the lap of luxury had not been interpreted by Pansy as abandoning her little luxuries in themselves.

She could be pretty stupid at times. Living in this small house and experiencing for the first time worries about whether they would have enough money coming in to cover their outgoings, it still took Pansy a few moments to follow Perry’s thoughts and realize that while she might own several incredibly lavish and bejeweled ensembles, it was highly doubtful Perry would be adding to them just yet. After all, he had just bought a house and yes, Pansy was used to big jewels and showy, expensive gifts (and yes, of course Pansy was going to be able to give a ball-park figure for the ring which was to grace her finger) - suddenly, she felt a little nervous herself.

While Pansy prided herself on her ability to pull down her masks when the occasion deserved it, she knew by now that no amount of cover was enough for Perry. He knew her too well; he could see through all of her slights of hand and expression and she was well aware that she couldn’t hide her true thoughts from him. If the ring was rubbish - if it was a horrible setting for some flawed diamond chip - worse! if it was a fake!- he would see it in her face and he would know what she thought.

It was with some trepidation that Pansy pulled open the box, and for a few moments she just sat and looked at the ring. It certainly wasn’t one that she would have chosen. Where she liked over-the-top accessories that screamed for attention, this ring was subdued, classic - typical of Perry, with his button-down collars and sensible trousers. He didn’t like it when she wore deep-cut robes and short skirts and all the men stared. It was typical that he would choose a ring for her according to his tastes and not hers. And hadn’t she spent the last year trying to doctor his wardrobe, anyway? They were both as bad as each other.

And it would be nice, wouldn’t it? Better than nice, to have this, the most important piece of jewellery any man would ever give her, reflect that man’s taste instead of her own? She used two fingers to carefully, hesitantly, pick it up out of the box and hold it up to the light. The stones weren’t huge, but they sparkled as though they were the biggest in the world and she smiled to herself as she placed the ring over the nail of the forth finger on her left hand and paused to savour the moment. Once it was on, she swore to herself quietly, it wasn’t ever coming off.

[inner_human]

He nearly looked away when she was lifting it up. She was inspecting it, right in front of him, like a jewelry appraiser... kind of like he'd imagined she would, really. He was seeing nothing but imperfections now, how those stones were much too small, and the metal was too dull and not the right color to suit her hand, but he wasn't going to be ashamed of himself. He hadn't picked the ring because he liked it, he'd picked it because he thought she would.

And was he just imagining it, but did that little smile of hers look genuine? He watched as she started to put it on, and for being just a ring, the sight of it was making him feel a bit lightheaded and ill. Suddenly he sat forward and one hand took the ring. The other took her left hand.

"I think this is my job?" He managed a half-grin, not feeling all too confident, but trying to look it.

[freakedwithjet]

Pansy looked up as Perry took her hand, and the ring with her right. An eyebrow titled. "Careful, you're getting dangerously close to living up to my expectations now."

Strange, how this didn't feel like the end of the road. Surely putting on an engagement ring, sat on the couch you shared, in the house you shared - surely that should feel like momentous. It did and it didn't. It was a big deal, of course (after rowing with Perry about it in the middle of his proposal Pansy wasn't likely to forget that!) but also, it just felt right. Of course they were going to get married. Of course they were going to live together for the rest of their lives, and throw jokes and insults and china at each other, and everything else that went along with fourth-finger diamonds and wedding vows.

It didn't feel like the end of something though. Pansy had always imagined this would be the end of every immature inclination - she'd have to be a grown-up, if she was a married woman.

...Maybe it would be boring.

Pansy didn't feel bored, she felt ecstatically, insanely, unstably happy and when the ring was on, she lifted her left hand to look at it as it sparkled there, and to hell with the metal not looking quite right, it fit, it worked! She looked at it for a few seconds and then turned an enormous smile into Perry, fullbeam.

[inner_human]

He paused, smirking at Pansy's quip. "Don't worry. Give it time, and I'll sabotage myself soon enough."

Perry was still feeling rather lightheaded. Now, with Pansy's hand in his, awaiting the adornment of one little diamond ring, this was feeling much more real. With this one piece of jewelry it was no longer just talk, and despite Pansy's joking that it was nothing set in stone, in Perry's mind it might as well have been. The ring was forever (which suddenly felt like a very long time), it was his declaration of love and devotion, and now everyone who saw it would know.

It felt unreal, almost forbidden, as if he had no right to be making declarations of always and forever to anyone. This was the sort of thing for which you were supposed to seek permissions and blessings. He'd not even bothered to consult her parents (not that he would even if he had a second chance at the proposal).

But it wasn't about them, he reminded himself. Worrying about others was what usually complicated their relationship. They annoyed each other sometimes, they fought constantly, but there was really no one else he could be bothered to torment and be tormented by. In a strange, dysfunctional way, they made sense. And even worse, he suspected he made more sense with her than without. It was the only indication he had that they were doing the right thing.

That, and Pansy's smile as she lifted her hand. Perry might have suspected that she was just beaming to spare his feelings if she hadn't looked-and felt-so... well, genuine. Indeed the ring was small, but it didn't look so puny and grotesque on her finger. Suddenly he could breathe again (he hadn't noticed he'd stopped while he slipped on the ring), and a silly quirk formed at the corner of his mouth that he couldn't pull down. He lifted a hand to Pansy's cheek and pulled her closer, and kissed her once, then again. Touching her brought a strange sense of comfort. This didn't feel wrong at all. Right now he didn't even feel like a werewolf, because werewolves didn't fall in love or get married. He just felt like Perry... and right now, Perry was doing pretty well.