Come On. We're Going to a Quidditch Match [closed]

[marloww]

It had been a hard few days. Marlow couldn't explain the weight she felt on her heart, the way her body fought against her most of the time, not wanting her to even get out of her bed in the morning. She had her better moments, letting herself become distracted by her students or by her friends and what was going on in their lives. It was easy to

Comments

[plainlypat]

Like just about every child born into the wizarding world, Patrick had grown up on Quidditch. It was, in fact, the only thing he and his father had ever really had in common, even bother the Squib bombshell had gone and shattered their nonexistent relationship for good - any memory he had of ever having any kind of home life involved that little transistor radio crackling away with rambling play-by-play commentary.

And while he had made it a point to mostly distance himself from all things strictly magical over the years, his ingrained allegiance to the Howth Howlers and obsessive tracking of the British and Irish League were first and foremost on the short list of decidedly un-Muggle things he hadn't quite been able to let go of.

His jaw practically dropped at the sight of the extravagant tickets, throwing a quick wary look around to make sure no onlookers were likely to stumble upon that unusual sight.

This was the last thing he would've expected her to be proposing.

"-You're kidding?" he blinked back at her, shock taking a moment to transition into giddy excitement, a smile creeping back across his face. "Box seats? Seriously?"

[marloww]

Quidditch was a Huge Deal in the Linney household, with Sebastian constantly tuning the radios to the WWW in order to catch the matches and play-by-plays every night. It drove her mother a bit crazy but Marlow and Jonah relished in it, eagerly awaiting every new match while practically inhaling their dinners. They'd clean up the table like a whirlwind before joining their father in the den, curling up around his feet as they listened.

When Jonah was scouted, and by the Bats no less, the entire family was proud of him, if not a little too eager for the access he'd be able to give them to all the best matches. So when he shoved the tickets into her hand, practically saying, "Have a good time or else-" it was incredibly hard for Marlow to say no.

He thought it would get her head out of the sand properly and she almost agreed with him.

"Seriously," she said, nodding her head. "I sort of know a guy-" she added with a small grin. "Anyway- it's all very nice, there's even a open bar. Give you a proper chance to judge the poor bloke running it ruthlessly on his bartending skills while we watch the Bats crush it. What do you think?"

She only hoped whatever nerves she felt awaiting his response wasn't so obvious on her face.

[plainlypat]

Talk of the Bats and her explanation of 'knowing a guy' finally had something clicking in his head, the mild recognition that had itched at the back of his mind since she had referred to herself as 'Professor Linney' those few weeks ago falling into place.

"Wait a second- Linney? As in Bats Keeper Jonah Linney?"

He was most certainly not on the verge of breaking into a fit of fanboy excitement. No he was not.

"What do I thi- seriously? As if turning this down was even an option?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the befuddling hesitation on her face. Nevermind the fact that the idea of being anywhere or doing anything that very straightforwardly dropped him in an all-magic environment generally set his nerves on edge - this was Quidditch they were talking about. If ever he'd be tempted to make an exception, this was it.

[marloww]

"Really?"

She tried to hide her own excitement, those butterflies in her stomach back in full force as she grinned widely, the idea of spending the rest of the day with him doing little to diminish her nerves. Though, she was more than a little amused by his reaction, somehow not quite expecting him to put two and two together. It was still a bit weird for anyone to know who her brother was- Jonah Linney being some big time professional Quidditch player not quite something she was used to.

Even if it apparently worked in her favor.

"Good- oh, right, yeah, Jonah's my baby brother, actually-" she said, as she raked her hand through her hair. "So, you know, every once in while he sends along tickets-"

[plainlypat]

Right, okay. No big deal. Box tickets to games for one of Britain's top-ranked teams. Little brother one of the brightest up-and-comers in the league. Run of the mill stuff, really.

Pat shook his head, a laugh shaking his shoulders as he struggled to keep his giddy, childlike excitement under control. "Short of everyone else you know having stupidly turned down the offer already, I have no idea why you've gone and picked me to tag along, but I'm not complaining-"

Quidditch fanboying aside, he certainly wasn't opposed to the idea of spending some unexpected time with her, especially after he'd all but given up hope on seeing her again-

He snatched the towel out of his belt, tossing it under the bar and signaling his exit to the other bartender at the other end of the counter. "I'm not even scheduled to be here right now, so to hell with it-"

Paperwork, shmaperwork...

[marloww]

There weren't too many faces that came to Marlow's mind when Jonah shoved those tickets into her hand. Honestly, Patrick was the first one, that smile immediately popping into her vision when she saw that second ticket. She didn't even know why. Alright, well, maybe she did. She had been thinking about him an awful lot lately.

But she'd all but given up on the idea of going to see him again, figuring that maybe what happened had been a fluke.

Not to mention it'd had been hard enough to leave the castle in the last three weeks.

"I um- well, I figured it might be fun, you and me-" she said, feeling a little sheepish all of a sudden. It was entirely random now that she thought about it.

She watched him, the smile creeping on her face probably as eager as she hoped it wouldn't be. She had a terrible poker face.

"I suppose being an owner of this place has it's perks, then," she told him.

[plainlypat]

If nothing else, they had certainly established that 'fun' was a thing that they could definitely get on the same wavelength about, whatever random coincidental sort of happenstance had happened to get them there in the first place.

Either way, there were so many points against which he wasn't about to argue or protest. Quidditch, ridiculously enticing and attractive girl, day off from tedious accounting and scheduling and spreadsheets-

A crooked grin pulled at his lips, the sheepish look she threw his way doing nothing to calm the compounded squirming tugging at his stomach. "They can't quite fire me, at the very least," he half shrugged as he ditched the bartending side of the counter.

[marloww]

She grinned, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she took a step back, her eyes following him as he ducked to the other side of the bar. She straightened her posture, his height looming over her once again, the scuffed Chuck Taylors she wore doing very little to help with their height difference.

Still, she couldn't ignore how pleased she was that he was going to be spending the rest of the day with her.

"Good to know-" she said, then, catching his eye. "Now- um, think you can find us a dark, secluded area?"

It was an odd request, she knew, but Side-Along Apparition was really the only way this was going to work.

[plainlypat]

He pressed his lips together to muffle the cheeky grin that threatened to take over as a response to her unintentionally-not-innocent request. He flicked a gaze back over her shoulder toward the door she had already been lead through once.

"The office is generally empty on Sundays-"

[marloww]

The office.

She was quickly becoming rather acquainted with that room. She briefly wondered if that same bartender who was working on New Year's Day was here again- Marlow becoming this fixture that slipped into the back of the bar.

She laughed, a flush hitting her cheeks.

"Ah, I remember that room," she said, playfully, raising her eyebrows briefly. "Yes- that should be perfect actually-"

[plainlypat]

Patrick nodded, a knowing, playful glint in his eye, and took a hold of Marlow's hand as he slid past her, giving it a slight tug to lead her back toward the employees-only door and the hidden hallway that ran toward the office.

He expertly managed to ignore the exasperated look he received from Carl as he, for the second time, subjected him to being ditched at the bar while his boss less-than-subtly slipped away.

[marloww]

His hand enveloped her own, Marlow sparring a glance for the familiar bartender behind the counter. Of course the same bloody bloke is there and of course the look on his face was nothing short of frustrated. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling she had as Patrick led her through that employee's only door when she knew what happened behind them the last time.

When they finally approached the office, Patrick leading them inside, Marlow couldn't help but laugh.

"Right- so, have you ever done Side-Along before?" she asked, trying to avoid the glare of the couch behind her.

[plainlypat]

The bustle of the crowd at the bar and the initial shock of giddiness having been left behind outside of the office, Patrick was mostly left with just a squirm of nervousness tugging at the pit of his stomach, a twist of anxiety mixed with the funny thrill of remembrance brought on by seeing her within these particular walls again. He could practically see the clothes scattered on the floor still, the knickers he had found tucked under the couch a few days later-

"Erm- well, once? Years ago, when I was just a kid, with my aunt-" He had barely been five years old, and the memory of it was rather vague, but decidedly unpleasant.

[marloww]

She had somehow left her underwear behind that day, Marlow too distracted by him standing there half-naked, the thrill of what had happened all too real on her skin. She didn't even realize until she'd gotten into the shower later, a crucial piece of clothing missing as she undressed. Her eyes scanned the room, as if they'd be posted to the wall or something.

She blinked as he spoke, wondering just where they'd ended up, before turning to look up at him.

"Well, it's not all that fun if you're not used to it," she said, taking a step closer toward him. "But you know, it gets better? My mum used to hate it but she thinks its fun now- she's a Muggle, of course-"

Marlow paused, realizing she was rambling a little bit. She laughed, looking up at him.

"Nevermind all that- just hold on to me tightly-"

Not like he really had to. Hand holding would suffice. But then, where was the fun in that?

[plainlypat]

A fond sort of smile tugged at his lips as he looked down at her, that little laugh of hers doing nothing to settle his squirming nerves.

Still, he didn't have to be told twice. He took a step forward to close the last of the distance between them, his arms wrapping firmly around her narrow waist, all too aware of just how adorably tiny she was as he all but cradled her against him.

"Right- better make it quick before a change my mind-"

[marloww]

She certainly didn't mind the feel of those arms, her mind briefly drifting back to that all too memorable day. She grinned, however, as she braced her hands against his chest, his body solid against her. With a blink, the two of them were gone, the vortex of Apparition pulling them right from his office.

They landed in the middle of a vast field, a crowd buzzing all around them as fans dressed in all sorts of wild colors passed by them, shouting their favorite fight songs. Marlow sucked in a breath as she steadied herself, still clutching him.

"We're here-" she said, lamely, taking a step back from him, covering her eyes from the sun as she glanced up at him. "Are you alright?"