Zacharias was a proper movie star. He had movie premieres and red carpets. He'd been invited to a grand total of one awards show so far.
And he's just wrapped a zombie (well, more of a plague, really) movie that evening.
So he wasn't A-list, but he also wasn't on the stage which was tedious or in simple print ads anymore which was mundane.
He also had a beautiful daughter and gorgeous wife at home. Well, Marlow should be at home. Clover should be with Marlow's parents for a bit longer, getting spoiled even more rotten than she already was and getting slowly taught that she could get away with murder if she wanted because that's the only logical conclusion when you were a Linney-Smith.
So instead of hitting up the wrap party, Zacharias headed home to get reacquainted with his sofa, after a quick detour for ice cream and wine. The necessities of life.
Zacharias juggled the bags briefly in his hands before unlocking the door and stepping inside, holding up the bottle a bit more triumphant than he should really be as he kicked the door shut.
"Ready to celebrate like proper teenagers?" He grinned at Marlow, already curled up on the couch. It still amazed him sometimes the changes between now and a few short years ago. And he wouldn't change it for the world.
She had become tangled up in the couch, curled up against a throw pillow, a blanket tossed over her legs. When she heard the door, she twisted, turned and then poked her head up with a sheepish smile on her face. She had an old dime store romance tucked in one hand, a story about a love-torn vampire and his unrequited obsession with the neighboring fairy. It was horrible- but it was exactly the sort of escape she had been looking for.
When she saw her husband standing there proud, the bottle of wine in one hand and ice cream in the other, she grinned.
"My prince charming!" she said, tossing the book to the coffee table. "How was it? Are you sad it's all over now?"
She couldn't wait to see the final cut- she had always loved a good zombie story. At least, the muggle kind.
"Shockingly, no." He laughed, crossing the room in a few strides. "If I never have to get bitten by an extra again, it'll be too soon."
They'd been doing a lot of the more action packed, running from the zombies scenes toward the end. There were a few variations on the ending, all that had to be shot completely out of order. He wasn't even sure which lead lived and died at the end and wouldn't be until the final cut came out some time next year.
Zacharias leaned down to press a kiss to Marlow's lips, grinning before he'd even pulled back.
"How the vampire Romeo and fairy Juliet developing?" He nodded toward the book she'd discarded. Her bookshelves would never stop being random and hysterical.
She cringed when he mentioned being bitten. As much as she loved growing up and watching pictures her mother showed her, she'd never understand actually being an actor or actress. Still, she could watch Riah lose himself completely in a role, and it was fascinating. She had to admit, she loved it.
She was still smiling at his kiss to her lips when she caught on to what he was asking and she laughed, shaking her head.
"It's a downright disaster," she told him, sighing. "They're having issues right now- what with fairies being all sunlight and happiness, they're thinking Jaque might die from his love for Sienna-"
Those names. Ridiculous with a capital R.
"But I just got past a pretty steamy love scene, so it's been worth it-"
"Oh no. How will they ever pull through this shocking and totally unpredictable obstacle?" Zacharias deadpanned. He wasn't one to judge. He'd just come off a string of completely formulaic rom-coms. This was the pattern.
Then his lips quirked and he kissed Marlow again, eyes shinning as he pulled back and winked at her, a bit over the top but totally unapologetic.
In the nearly four years since Marlow and Zacharias had reconnected, it was sort of bonkers to realize how everything had changed. They weren't fooling around anymore, wondering if they were going to actually commit or not. They were married, they had a daughter- a rambunctious and sweet two year old who looked more and more like her father every single day.
If someone had told back in Hogwarts that she'd end up married to Zacharias Smith, she wouldn't know what to think.
And yet here they were.
And it felt perfect.
"Hmmm, it depends on what kind of ice cream you've got," she said, nudging at his chest cheekily.
"I get it. You're only in this for all the ice cream I can buy you," Zacharias teased.
He'd never worried about that, not with Marlow. Not in all the years of their silly will-they-won't-they circling. Not when they went so long without seeing one another.
And never even when they reconnected.
He'd always been questionable of people who wanted to interact with him, but never with Marlow. There had always been something different with them, and Zacharias was always thankful for that. He'd never have imagined the life and family they had built together, but it made so much sense for the two of them.
"It's peanut butter and salted caramel," he told her, turning around to pull the container out of the bag. "What do you take me for, an amateur?"
She let out an excited squeal, one much like Clover when she was feeling particularly giddy about something. Oh well, they do say that the apple doesn't fall far from the salted caramel, or something, right? She grinned, her hand reaching briefly for the ice cream before resting on his chest, fingers curling into his shirt.
"You are a beautiful, beautiful man, Zacharias Smith-" she said, pulling herself up from behind the couch to plant a proper kiss on his lips.
"You do know we're alone for the next, oh, three hours, right?" she told him.
Then, with a firm tug, she pulled him from behind the couch so he could get tangled up with her.
Zacharias couldn't stop from laughing at the pure giddy he could get out of Marlow with a simple gallon of ice cream and showing up.
Again, they fit together so well for a reason.
"Alone for three whole hours?" Zacharias mused, leaning in with the tug. He went easily, sliding onto the sofa with her with practiced ease and a laugh, ice cream getting discarded on the coffee table nearby.
"What are we ever going to do with that eternity?"
She chewed on the inside of her cheek, biting back another bout of laughter. She situated herself properly now, on the couch, pulling her legs out from underneath her so she could kneel in front of him, a bright and rather goofy grin playing at her lips.
"I dunno, husband," she said, moving to wrap her arms around his shoulders. "We haven't had this much alone time since-"
She tilted her head to the side, her fingers playing at the hair at the nape of his neck.
"Well, since before Clover was born-"
She leaned forward, her lips catching on his cheek. She was always so proud of him for getting work, knowing that breaking into an industry like film couldn't be easy. And she knew he loved what he did- but Merlin, was she happy just to have him home- really home- not waking up three in the morning for call times, or dealing with weekend long press tours.
"I just can't imagine how we could possibly fill the time-"
Zacharias slid his hands down her sides to settle along her hips as Marlow faced him. He was stupidly exhausted, the last few weeks involving stupidly early calls, and Clover demanding all his extra time (what little there had been).
It was always worth the juggling act. But this was also what was worth everything, every minute they got together, alone. So rare as those times were nowadays.
"There are a few options I can think of," Zacharias told her, head turning to catch her lips again.
She melted right into his kiss, leaning against him for a long moment, her teeth catching his bottom lip. She could have stayed there the rest of the night, just tangled up in him. But she knew the time they had while Clover was with her parents was limited, and she wanted to make it worth it.
She pulled back, slowly, her eyes catching his as she offered him a sultry smile.
"I can, too-" she said, her fingers deftly reaching behind him, wrapping around the remote. "In fact, I was thinking we could start the next episode of Breaking Bad-"
Zacharias grinned, blue eyes lighting up. Once upon a time, he would have groaned and possibly put on a big show about how much of a tease she was.
But they were talking Breaking Bad here.
"You haven't watched ahead of me, have you?" He looked at, very accusatory, reaching out to find his wand and have two spoon floating their way before he'd even settled back against the sofa beside her.
"Because if you watched ahead, I'm never forgiving you. And I'm uninviting you to the premiere."
How bizarre their lives were. You have time without your child running you ragged and you spent it on a mini binge of a television show? What kind of people had they become?
She was affronted, truly, clutching hand to chest as if she had just been struck, her lips parted in shock.
She held on to the act for a moment while she switched on their television, the large flat screen lighting up momentarily as it loaded. The joys of the duality of Muggle and Wizard life. Breaking Bad and Summoning Charms. It was the perfect life.
Once the DVR loaded, she turned to look at him, finally breaking.
"I can't believe you threatened to uninvite me to your premiere!" she said shaking her head with laughter. "Your agent would kill you if you didn't show up with your mega fit wife-"
"I'd spend the whole red carpet telling everyone about your gross betrayal of my trust," Zacharias explained, catching the spoons in the air and discarding his wand to the table.
He popped the lid off the ice cream and slid hand up Marlow's back, walking his fingers up to her shoulder before tugging her back toward him.
"I'd be completely justified that you ruined the last season for me. Even my agent, dreadful old bat that she is, would let me off the hook for that one."
It was hilarious, really. Marlow and Zacharias didn't spend all of their time in either the wizarding or muggle worlds. Somehow, they still managed to be - admittedly - pretty active and impressive in both.
"I'm hurt you'd think me so cruel," she replied, her voice just a bit more posh than necessary, airing on the side of sounding roughly sixty five years old- honestly, a very close impression to her mother's mother.
She played at tears in her eyes, wiping them away dramatically before snatching a spoon from Zacharias and digging it into the ice cream with a flourish.
"I'm just so lucky I have this to drown my sorrows-" her mouth slightly full with her favorite, too caught up in the act to recognize just how bloody delicious it was.
She sniffled before selecting the most recent episode from the DVR list.
And he's just wrapped a zombie (well, more of a plague, really) movie that evening.
So he wasn't A-list, but he also wasn't on the stage which was tedious or in simple print ads anymore which was mundane.
He also had a beautiful daughter and gorgeous wife at home. Well, Marlow should be at home. Clover should be with Marlow's parents for a bit longer, getting spoiled even more rotten than she already was and getting slowly taught that she could get away with murder if she wanted because that's the only logical conclusion when you were a Linney-Smith.
So instead of hitting up the wrap party, Zacharias headed home to get reacquainted with his sofa, after a quick detour for ice cream and wine. The necessities of life.
Zacharias juggled the bags briefly in his hands before unlocking the door and stepping inside, holding up the bottle a bit more triumphant than he should really be as he kicked the door shut.
"Ready to celebrate like proper teenagers?" He grinned at Marlow, already curled up on the couch. It still amazed him sometimes the changes between now and a few short years ago. And he wouldn't change it for the world.
Reply
When she saw her husband standing there proud, the bottle of wine in one hand and ice cream in the other, she grinned.
"My prince charming!" she said, tossing the book to the coffee table. "How was it? Are you sad it's all over now?"
She couldn't wait to see the final cut- she had always loved a good zombie story. At least, the muggle kind.
Reply
They'd been doing a lot of the more action packed, running from the zombies scenes toward the end. There were a few variations on the ending, all that had to be shot completely out of order. He wasn't even sure which lead lived and died at the end and wouldn't be until the final cut came out some time next year.
Zacharias leaned down to press a kiss to Marlow's lips, grinning before he'd even pulled back.
"How the vampire Romeo and fairy Juliet developing?" He nodded toward the book she'd discarded. Her bookshelves would never stop being random and hysterical.
Reply
She was still smiling at his kiss to her lips when she caught on to what he was asking and she laughed, shaking her head.
"It's a downright disaster," she told him, sighing. "They're having issues right now- what with fairies being all sunlight and happiness, they're thinking Jaque might die from his love for Sienna-"
Those names. Ridiculous with a capital R.
"But I just got past a pretty steamy love scene, so it's been worth it-"
Reply
Then his lips quirked and he kissed Marlow again, eyes shinning as he pulled back and winked at her, a bit over the top but totally unapologetic.
"Does that mean I have the most amazing timing?"
Reply
In the nearly four years since Marlow and Zacharias had reconnected, it was sort of bonkers to realize how everything had changed. They weren't fooling around anymore, wondering if they were going to actually commit or not. They were married, they had a daughter- a rambunctious and sweet two year old who looked more and more like her father every single day.
If someone had told back in Hogwarts that she'd end up married to Zacharias Smith, she wouldn't know what to think.
And yet here they were.
And it felt perfect.
"Hmmm, it depends on what kind of ice cream you've got," she said, nudging at his chest cheekily.
Reply
He'd never worried about that, not with Marlow. Not in all the years of their silly will-they-won't-they circling. Not when they went so long without seeing one another.
And never even when they reconnected.
He'd always been questionable of people who wanted to interact with him, but never with Marlow. There had always been something different with them, and Zacharias was always thankful for that. He'd never have imagined the life and family they had built together, but it made so much sense for the two of them.
"It's peanut butter and salted caramel," he told her, turning around to pull the container out of the bag. "What do you take me for, an amateur?"
Reply
"You are a beautiful, beautiful man, Zacharias Smith-" she said, pulling herself up from behind the couch to plant a proper kiss on his lips.
"You do know we're alone for the next, oh, three hours, right?" she told him.
Then, with a firm tug, she pulled him from behind the couch so he could get tangled up with her.
Reply
Again, they fit together so well for a reason.
"Alone for three whole hours?" Zacharias mused, leaning in with the tug. He went easily, sliding onto the sofa with her with practiced ease and a laugh, ice cream getting discarded on the coffee table nearby.
"What are we ever going to do with that eternity?"
Reply
"I dunno, husband," she said, moving to wrap her arms around his shoulders. "We haven't had this much alone time since-"
She tilted her head to the side, her fingers playing at the hair at the nape of his neck.
"Well, since before Clover was born-"
She leaned forward, her lips catching on his cheek. She was always so proud of him for getting work, knowing that breaking into an industry like film couldn't be easy. And she knew he loved what he did- but Merlin, was she happy just to have him home- really home- not waking up three in the morning for call times, or dealing with weekend long press tours.
"I just can't imagine how we could possibly fill the time-"
Reply
It was always worth the juggling act. But this was also what was worth everything, every minute they got together, alone. So rare as those times were nowadays.
"There are a few options I can think of," Zacharias told her, head turning to catch her lips again.
Reply
She pulled back, slowly, her eyes catching his as she offered him a sultry smile.
"I can, too-" she said, her fingers deftly reaching behind him, wrapping around the remote. "In fact, I was thinking we could start the next episode of Breaking Bad-"
She grinned.
"What do you think?"
Reply
But they were talking Breaking Bad here.
"You haven't watched ahead of me, have you?" He looked at, very accusatory, reaching out to find his wand and have two spoon floating their way before he'd even settled back against the sofa beside her.
"Because if you watched ahead, I'm never forgiving you. And I'm uninviting you to the premiere."
How bizarre their lives were. You have time without your child running you ragged and you spent it on a mini binge of a television show? What kind of people had they become?
Parents. That's what they were.
Reply
She was affronted, truly, clutching hand to chest as if she had just been struck, her lips parted in shock.
She held on to the act for a moment while she switched on their television, the large flat screen lighting up momentarily as it loaded. The joys of the duality of Muggle and Wizard life. Breaking Bad and Summoning Charms. It was the perfect life.
Once the DVR loaded, she turned to look at him, finally breaking.
"I can't believe you threatened to uninvite me to your premiere!" she said shaking her head with laughter. "Your agent would kill you if you didn't show up with your mega fit wife-"
Reply
He popped the lid off the ice cream and slid hand up Marlow's back, walking his fingers up to her shoulder before tugging her back toward him.
"I'd be completely justified that you ruined the last season for me. Even my agent, dreadful old bat that she is, would let me off the hook for that one."
It was hilarious, really. Marlow and Zacharias didn't spend all of their time in either the wizarding or muggle worlds. Somehow, they still managed to be - admittedly - pretty active and impressive in both.
Who would have thought?
Reply
She played at tears in her eyes, wiping them away dramatically before snatching a spoon from Zacharias and digging it into the ice cream with a flourish.
"I'm just so lucky I have this to drown my sorrows-" her mouth slightly full with her favorite, too caught up in the act to recognize just how bloody delicious it was.
She sniffled before selecting the most recent episode from the DVR list.
"Are you ready?"
Reply
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