Ummmmm. Hi? [closed]

[scilicette]

Fridays weren't much of an excitement when you worked in place that housed one of the most popular bars in wizarding London. There wasn't an upcoming two-day lull to look forward to and there certainly wasn't any sleeping in on Saturday mornings when the Inn was typically at its most busy - early check-ins and room cleanings to be supervised,

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[so_astoria]

It had been a bit of a long night, even by her rather flexible (figuratively, literally, whatever) standards. While a good bit of her clientele was still drawn from the wizarding world, there was still something she always found a bit itchy about scheduling anything at or around the Leaky Cauldron. While most (herself included) would agree that her morals weren't exactly up to par with what respectable society would consider appropriate, there were still a few things she cared about keeping unspoiled, as few places and people and things she didn't want to see dragged through the (figurative, literal, whatever) dirt she so generally enjoyed smearing.

The Leaky Cauldron, as stupidly sentimental and childish as it was to think of it that way, was one of those places. As weirdly fenced in and exclusive as most of her childhood had been, she, like most other wizarding children, had gotten her first real taste of what truly, deeply, properly ingrained magic really was upon her first visit to Diagon Alley. While nearly everything in the mansion had been charmed in some way or another, there was a presence about the Alley that clicked into the thing about magic that had nothing to do with spells or charms. It was simply there, a reminder of that difference, that superiority their kind had been gifted with.

So, no. The Leaky Cauldron, as comfortable as its rooms were, was hardly her favorite place to do business in. But some clients were particular, and said particular clients were particularly easy to shake a few extra coins out of, and if she'd made a business out of being sentimental about things, she wouldn't have lasted as long or succeeded as much as she had.

But, extra Galleons or not, the clock ran out at 7am, and she hadn't waited a minute more before unceremoniously sending the bloke off (the room might be in his name and booked until the next morning, but if she had no other skill (and yes, she had plenty) it was deterring any instinct or urge to argue - she told him to leave, and he left) and jumping into the shower, coming out just short of an hour later with her damp hair tied up in a bun, her bustier-and-lacy-garter getup traded for cuffed boyfriend-style jeans and a worn off-the-shoulder sweater as she wandered out in search of a strong cup of tea.

Which she easily found at the bar downstairs (the fact that the Leaky could simultaneously be found serving out pints and coffees was just another on a long list of lovable qualities), and she was all but ready to settle in for a good mid-morning eight-hour snooze when that unexpected collision happened. The cap on her takeaway cup kept the tea spillage down to a minimum, but not so much as to keep some of the boiling liquid from splashing onto her hand and successfully waking her right back up.

"Oh- fucking hell- watch it-" she hissed, shaking off the steaming drops that had landed on her hand and gingerly handling the semi-crushed remains on her paper cup.

She looked up with a sort of judgmental wariness, the snappy comments already lining up to be picked from depending on the offender (everything from school age boys to elderly women, she was covered)-

But then. Well, not what she expected. Hello there.

"Hm. No, my fault. I was definitely not paying any attention to where I was going-"

And if her glare had gone from sleepy and accusatory to wandering and curious, well, who could blame her-

[scilicette]

The collision knocked Hannah backward slightly, her body bouncing into the cleaning cart situated behind her. The handcuffs tinkered against each other in her pocket as she let out a little 'oof' sound, something admittedly not quite feminine but completely out of her grasp as she was completely guard off guard by the hit. She was still sputtering out her apologies, quite certain hitting a guest wasn't likely to bring her good business when she heard the demure voice of her victim and it might have hit her harder than any physical collision could.

She glanced up, the slight flush that had crept into her cheeks turning a brighter pink now as she took in the sight of her. She was short- maybe around her height, and her eyes were as round as saucers- incredibly dark and more than a little enticing to Hannah as she stood there.

Stood there feeling incredibly foolish, dressed in nothing worth bragging about- dark jeans and an over-sized sweater- the other girl had a sort of radiance Hannah couldn't put her finger on.

But she couldn't help but smile, the gesture creeping into her skin before she could stop it.

"No, please-" she said, shaking her head. "I wasn't looking at all-"

Though, she couldn't help but look now.

"I'm terribly sorry, is this your room, Miss-?"

[so_astoria]

If that flustered, apologetically flushed look had been enough to get Astoria's attention even as she was catching her balance and fumbling with her cup, it was nothing compared to what that smile did, and she made no point of making the slow, assessing up-and-down look she gave her any kind of subtle.

A slight quirk of an eyebrow was the only shift in her expression as she met the other girl's eye, the practiced control she had over her expression more of an automatic reaction than an actual thought out effort. Slightly mean or passively displeased were her resting expressions, with casually unimpressed and cheekily suggestive only a few eyebrow quirks away.

This particular hitch, however, almost bordered on something between amused and intrigued. The outfit didn't do her much justice, but hell, noticing these things were part of the gig, and there was something about the way a person stood, and holy mother of curves, Merlin-

"Astoria," she corrected nonchalantly (as strict as she was about the use titles within working hours, she was equally strict about avoiding being addressed with a prefix in everyday life). Never mind the fact her last name tended to carry a certain reputation she generally couldn't be bothered to deal with, or that her mother would faint at the thought of her introducing herself on a first name basis to innkeeping staff-

"And yes, it is," she added, pulling the keyringed and labeled key out of her back pocket.

She actually snuck in an apologetic sort of shrug at that. Thinking back, she should've made better use of the 'Do Not Disturb' sign-

Or should she-

"It wasn't too much of a problem, was it, Miss-?" she continued, a minimal, teasing sort of tug pulling at the corner of her lips, all sly innuendo and casually mocking half-smirk.

[scilicette]

"Just Hannah-"

Was that a look? She wasn't sure- she hadn't expected it, really, but she saw something. Hannah caught her eye, that slow up and down sort of glance that she hardly saw from other women. But when it came from her, that steady drag, it set something off in her skin, her body feeling slightly warm, her flush deepening.

She brushed her hair back, tucking it behind her ears as her smile softened.

"The room was fine-" she said, catching her bottom lip between her teen as she reached into her pocket, sheepishly removing the handcuffs and holding them out. "Though, I saw these and well- I suppose I should have left them but I wasn't sure if-"

She licked at her lips, pressing them together as she wrinkled her nose, feeling utterly embarrassed by this whole moment.

"Well, they're yours right? This would be all too awkward if they weren't-"

Not that this wasn't awkward already, Hannah's eyes all too keen on the girl in front of her, her hands holding out a pair of silver handcuffs as if it was a lost sock or a forgotten book. This wasn't normal in any sense of the word but Hannah had been apart of the Leaky culture far too long to be shocked about anything she found in one of the rooms.

At least this wasn't an illegal dragon egg.

[so_astoria]

If she hadn't been a poster child for control and composure, Astoria would have been in proper hysterics.

Here she was, idly standing in the dim hallway of the Leaky Cauldron's top floor, all loose dress code, damp hair, and half-crushed paper cup in hand, being handed her handcuffs back by some sort of pint-sized exotic blushing curve goddess.

She would have tried to make up some excuse for the fact that she was still out here bothering herself with human interaction rather than already passed out just a few feet away behind the door to her room, but then the way 'Just Hannah''s tongue quickly dragged across her lips, the wrinkle that scrunched up her nose, and the way her own curiously intense gaze was definitely not one-sided as she held out the familiar pair of metallic cuffs sort of spoke for itself-

"Those would be mine, yes-"

The smallest hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips, amusement and interest beating out whatever systematic defenses she had in place as she reached out to snatch the scuffed up accessory, purposeful and less than shy about the way she let her hand brush and linger against Hannah's in the exchange.

"Do you normally make a habit of taking things out of guests' rooms?"

[scilicette]

"I-"

She faltered, her eyes trailing to the floor slightly as she chewed on the inside of her cheek. She brushed her hand back through her hair, tucking it behind her ear as she let her eyes travel back to Astoria's, completely taken with the glimmer behind her eyes.

Her fingers felt warm from where Astoria's skin lingered against hers.

"No-" she said, finally, hands wringing. "This isn't actually my job," she added with a slight laugh. "One of our maids is sick-"

Not like that mattered. Not like any of what Hannah was saying mattered. It was all impossibly stupid small talk to keep her standing in the hallway for another moment or two, beyond what was really necessary.

"I guess they just caught my eye-" she said and maybe the moment the words slipped from her lips, she pressed them down, feeling far more flustered than she just was.

[so_astoria]

Astoria watched as Hannah adorably fumbled with her words, offering needless excuses (asking for her name had been a mere formality - anyone who frequented the Leaky Cauldron even on the rarest of occasions knew who ran the place, as quiet and unassuming as she might be, and Astoria had always made a point of knowing who was who, even when the majority of them weren't deemed to be worth her time or attention), all wringing hands and nervous ticks, the amused quirk of her lips pulling up a bit more.

She'd never been a fan of small talk nor of being sidetracked by anything when a comfortable and sleep were in her line of sight, but hell, this one was welcome to keep talking.

She casually swung the repossessed handcuffs from the tip of her finger, the links clinking together, tipping her head slightly as she raised a teasingly questioning eyebrow.

"Caught your eye, huh? Were you planning to do anything with them?" she asked, the slight lilt in her voice bordering somewhere between cooing flirtation and laughter.

[scilicette]

"What- Oh-"

Her eyes flickered slightly, opening wide as she tried to think of something to say that would completely bypass the fact she just said a pair of silver handcuffs caught her eye as if they were a bloody pretty flower or something. She was rubbish with strangers most of the time, that was nothing new. Stringing together proper sentences when she was this flustered was just a joke.

Though how this girl could seemingly have such an effect on her, she couldn't begin to figure out.

She took sight of the crushed paper cup in her hand, the little red marks on Astoria's pale ivory skin and chewed on the inside of her cheek.

"Do you want to get another cup of coffee?" she asked, offering her a hopefully distracting enough smile. "I um- sort of mangled that one- I'm sorry-"

[so_astoria]

That smile certainly was distracting enough, despite how obviously it accompanied a less-than-subtle attempt at a change of subject. There was still something to be said for how she had looked more flustered than horrified, which was all too common a reaction to these sorts of insinuation.

Clinking cuffs still swinging from her hand, she threw a glance down at her half-crushed cup, then leaned in (admittedly closer than was necessary) to reach around Hannah and drop the leftovers into the rubbish bin attached to the maid's cart she had been trailing behind her.

"I supposed I'm equally at fault, but I could use another cup-"

[scilicette]

She stood still as Astoria nearly pressed against her, the move to toss the coffee cup in the bin behind her close enough so that she was swept up in the sweet smell of her skin, whatever fragrance she was wearing catching Hannah's attention. She didn't know what to do with her hands, her body, hell- really anything in that moment, her eyes too focused on Astoria's movements.

"Come on, then," she said, trying to snap back into her charming owner role, gesturing toward the lift. "On me, of course- did you um, have breakfast?"

It was the least she could do, she figured, after the embarrassing moment of throwing her handcuffs at her. Not like she threw them but Merlin, what was she thinking even taking them in the first place? There had only been one thought going through her mind when she uncovered them while changing the sheets.

And it was one that left her body feeling a little warm when she realized who the proper owner was.

[so_astoria]

It was really entirely too entertaining (and strangely, ridiculously alluring) to watch her struggle between that flustered embarrassment and attempted professionalism, all flushed cheeks and flickering eye contact.

Astoria took a few backwards steps toward the lift, taking advantage of the added distance to shamelessly let her gaze do a full, proper up-and-down evaluation (yes please) before twirling around to lead the way back down the hall. She swung the handcuffs around her finger one more time before gathering the two cuffs together and slyly slipping them into the back pocket of her loosely fitted jeans.

"You know, if you're looking to make up for attempted theft, I could think of a few better ways to offer repayment than with coffee and a breakfast pastry," she said lightly, throwing a quick look back at Hannah over her shoulder.

[scilicette]

Although it had been Hannah to offer breakfast, to make the gesture toward the lift, urge the two of them away from the dark, quiet and entirely too cramped hallway (if only to allow Hannah to catch her breath), she realized as her eyes followed Astoria's footsteps back, she couldn't bring herself to move right away. She just stood there, hand catching at her elbow, lips pressed together as Astoria's eyes dropped up and down.

Never had a look like that shook her the way this one did.

"An omelet?" she offered, taking a few hesitant steps forward, though she knew Astoria wasn't heading in that direction.

Was she insinuating? No. That's silly. That's not even- Hannah didn't even do that. Granted, she didn't do anything with anyone, regardless of well, anything but still- this was a new playing field for Hannah.

And she was rubbish at most games.

[so_astoria]

If she hadn't thought that it might incapacitate Hannah to the point of leaving her frozen in the middle of the hallway, Astoria could almost have laughed, those hesitant steps and that innocent response more amusing than they really ought to be. She always did get a good kick out of toying with people (and was good and creative enough with it to be making a more-than-comfortable living out of it), but this was bordering on the line of subtle, practically innocent flirtation in a way that was more genuine than practiced performance.

She got to the end of the hall and pressed the lift's down button, leaning a shoulder against the wall as the mechanisms whirred into motion behind the doors.

"I'm really not all that hungry, actually," Astoria shrugged casually, reaching up to tug at the elastic band holding her messy bun together, raking a hand through her semi-damp hair as it tumbled down past her shoulders.

[scilicette]

"Oh?"

Hannah's voice was soft, if a bit nervous, as she slowly strolled closer toward Astoria, her hands clasped in front of her, fingers wringing as she finally reached the lift doors. She was desperately trying not to stare at the way Astoria's hair fell around her shoulders, or the curve of her neck as she ran her fingers through the still slightly damp locks. She licked at her lips, pressing them together in a crooked line as she stared at the golden rod doors leading inside the lift, waiting for the ancient machine to make its way to the top floor.

"Well, um, is there something else you'd like?" she asked, barely sparing the other girl a glance, instead trying to keep focus on the ticking sound of the cogs working behind the door, the floor lurching slightly as the lift finally reached its destination.

She pulled open the door, gesturing for Astoria to go in before her.

[so_astoria]

Was there something else she'd like? Really? Really?

The expression on her face probably gave up more than she was used to allowing, the amused quirk of her eyebrow lingering just this side of suggestive. She pushed off the wall and backstepped into the lift, one finger still twirling around and tugging at a strand of her hair, her gaze steadily glued to Hannah - while the other girl's shyly flickering glances had their own undeniable appeal, she personally couldn't be bothered with allowing for much propriety or manners, shamelessly unwavering in the way she watched her nervous movements, wringing hands and that flick of her tongue across her lips-

Astoria raised a noncommittal shoulder, waiting for the rattling doors to be dragged shut, confining them into that small space, before offering any kind of response.

"Oh, there's plenty that I'd like-" she offered, eyes momentarily flickering toward the lift's controls, shifting to take a small step in Hannah's direction.

[scilicette]

Hannah might have resigned herself to avoiding most attempts at flirtation, never quite sure she'd be able to hold up to any sort of expectation, but she wasn't blind nor stupid and she couldn't continually ignore how impossible it was to not stare at her. The way Astoria moved into the lift, her eyes never leaving Hannah's, save for the sly drift up and down her body, was not lost on her. In fact, her heart was beating so rapidly in her chest now, she was sure that the moment she stepped inside beside her, that was all either of them would be able to hear.

But that didn't stop her from moving timidly inside the lift.

What was it Susan had said to her time and time again? That she had to start acting on these moments? But she'd never felt this sort of heat in her body before, the way her skin tingled just as she caught that hitch in Astoria's brows. She was completely thrown.

She dragged the lift doors shut, the silence following them deafening.

And then-

"Oh, there's plenty that I'd like-"

Hannah stood frozen as Astoria stepped toward her, her hands balling into fists as she dug her fingernails into her palms. Now or never, right? And Merlin, she didn't want it to be the latter. As the space between them closed, Hannah's hands moved, bracing Astoria's shoulders, her head tilting slightly as she found her lips with her own, the softness of them entirely new, the lingering taste of coffee sweet.

She let her mouth linger against hers for a long moment, the flurry of butterflies in her chest not simmering, before she pulled back.

"I'm sorry- I shouldn't have-"