RP: No Pink, Frilly, or Anatomically Incorrect Hearts-- check.
Date:February 14, 2005
Character(s): Hermione Granger, Roger Davies
Location: ....around.
Status: Private
Summary: Roger spends Valentine's Day with Hermione.
Completion: Complete
As he stood in front of his mirror in trousers and tucked-in shirt, Roger did up his tie. Then undid it, then tied it again.
"Ah, bugger it." He loosened the tie and yanked it ( Read more... )
She noticed his awkwardness following her questions and shifted. "Sorry," she murmured. "I tend to think ahead a dozen steps, especially about something like business. It requires investment, both in money and time, as well as a lot of passion to be willing to make whatever sacrifices are needed." She smiled sheepishly. "I did research after deciding to open the shop, reading some Muggle business books and such so I'd have an idea what might be in the future. Some of it wasn't necessary for the shop, of course, but it was still interesting reading."
Before they had a chance to discuss it further, he told her to close her eyes and hold his hand. She looked around, suddenly aware that they were in the middle of a dark area and her wand was in her coat pocket. She hesitated and reached her free hand into her pocket, gripping her wand tightly before she looked at him. "I trust you," she said firmly, closing her eyes and taking his hand.
It was difficult to be in such a vulnerable position, somewhere unfamiliar with her eyes closed and her wand not at ready. She did trust Roger, though, and knew that he'd never put her at risk. As they walked, she listened to the stream and the sound of their footsteps until they stopped.
When she opened her eyes, she gasped. It wasn't anything like she'd imagined; it was just perfect. She could hear the water in the stream along with soft music, and there was a picnic basket on a wooden bench that was just beautiful. "You made that, didn't you?" she said softly, looking from it to Roger. "It's lovely. What you can create out of nothing more than a block of wood is such a gift."
She took the rose and listened to him ramble, wondering if he was uncomfortable for some reason. The entire setting was romantic in a way that was subtle and not too ridiculously over-the-top, which appealed to a girly part of her that she normally ignored quite well. "Just dinner sounds perfect," she said, stepping closer to him.
She leaned up and brushed a kiss against his lips. "It's beautiful, Roger," she murmured, brushing his hair out of his eyes and smiling before moved back. She raised the rose and smelled it, looking around to see everything now that she'd moved past the initial surprise.
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"No, don't apologise. Thinking ahead is good. I hadn't actually thought past the passion part," he confessed. "I've some research to do, I suppose. I'm willing to make sacrifices, and I have money. Time is tricky. I have so many commitments where I am now. I hate to leave Jack in a lurch, or to bring my current jobs into my new place. So I have to reach a stopping point, or else sort of do both at the same time for a while."
When she opened her eyes, he was gratified to hear her decidedly delighted gasp, and he turned to her. It was worth any amount of trouble to put looks like that on her face. "Er, yeah, I made it this week. Started it on Sunday. A picnic bench isn't too hard, though. We just had some spare lumber, and..." he trailed off, fairly sure she hadn't asked for a blow-by-blow of how he'd made the bloody thing.
He let her look round a bit, and when she stopped in front of him, kissed him, he reddened and smiled, leaning down to return her kiss softly. "I'm really glad you like it," he whispered as she stepped back. He took her coat and laid it over his side of the bench with his own jacket, then took another moment to admire her in that dress again as he started to unpack the basket.
He took out wine and glasses and the covered dishes of shrimp linguini with red sauce, setting them out along with silverware. He'd stopped at Roma today to get the food, and placed a charm on the basket.
"Have a seat," he said, and began to pour them some wine. "There's breadsticks and everything," he said, smiling over at her and gesturing with tilt of his head to join him. "One upside of running every day is discovering places like this. It's almost like it was designed for romantic dinners." He handed her a glass of wine.
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He helped her with her coat, and she was grateful for the warming charms or else she'd have certainly been very cold in her short dress, which seemed a bit out of place for a picnic with nature. However, it was really quite lovely, so she didn't mind dressing up a bit. It could be fun sometimes, she supposed.
"That smells delicious," she said, listening to her stomach rumble. She smiled sheepishly, fully aware he'd probably heard it. "I'm also rather hungry, so I'm glad there's breadsticks, too. I'll eat a lot and then become very lazy."
She walked over to the table and carefully sat on one of the benches, pulling the bottom of her dress down to cover herself properly. "Oh, you mean there's benefits to running beyond the time to think and muscle definition?" she teased softly. Her gaze moved over him unconsciously, lingering on his shoulders and hands before she looked at the table. "This is really beautiful, Roger. Are you going to keep it on your deck normally?"
"Thank you," she said, taking a glass of wine from him and smiling. "I've honestly never given much thought to romantic dinners before, but I daresay that this might convince me that they're not all soppy and silly."
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He chuckled softly as her stomach grumbled. "You work through lunch again, Granger?" he teased. "I'm glad I get to see you all full and lazy. You're always so precise and efficient with your movements. But I like that, too," he murmured.
"There are a few fringe benefits to running, yeah." Roger thought he noticed her watching him as he leaned over the table to pour the wine, and swallowed. "Ah, thank you. Yeah, I thought I'd put it on the deck. I've stained it the same color so it should look nice."
He smiled slightly. "There's something to be said for romantic dinners, every once in awhile." He thought about what he had planned for after dinner and hoped she could be convinced that it wasn't soppy or silly, either. But that was the challenge, and he welcomed that. He smiled as they began to tuck in. "I rather like convincing you of things, Hermione."
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"It'll go well on the deck, and I'm sure you'll get a lot of use out of it during the spring and summer," she said thoughtfully. "Right by the stream and with flowers around, it'll be a gorgeous location for a relaxing meal outdoors." She focused on him so he'd know she was serious. "This really is excellent work, Roger. While I might not want to hurt people I care about, I don't lie to them or praise when it's not earned."
She laughed softly. "Oh, you do, do you?" She picked up her wine glass and took a sip. "Well, I certainly can't complain when the attempts at convincing are as lovely as this evening. I've nothing against romance, by the way, I suppose. It's just not something that I've had experience with and has always seemed a bit silly if it goes too far."
The food was delicious, and the conversation faded into comfortable silence as they focused on eating.
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"Well, then I hope that means you'll be joining me out there for some outdoor meals. I should be able to handle the food by then. You'll have to help me with the flowers, though." He looked up at her and smiled faintly. "No, I know; I believe you. Thanks. Your eyes never lie, Hermione," he added softly. "At least, not to me."
"Yes, I do," he stated, "and I'm glad that you're having a good time. And romance can be silly, I suppose, but there's a time and place for it. I know that you're a practical woman, Hermione. I think that's why it's fun to romance you," he said honestly. He began to eat, focusing on not dripping red sauce onto his shirt while he looked across the table at her.
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"Oh, I'm bollocks with living things like plants," she murmured, glancing up with a sheepish smile. "I was horrible with anything we had to grow in Herbology. I'm hoping that the flowers planted here by the previous owners are strong enough to withstand my curse when it comes to plant life. I could find a book and instruct you, though. I quite like the idea of sitting with a glass of lemonade and giving you orders on what to plant and where."
She smiled as she teased him before he looked up at met her eyes. There wasn't really anything to say in reply to his soft words, so she bit her lip and finally looked away to stare at the stream as she tried to collect her thoughts.
"Probably too practical," she mused, sighing as she went back to eating. "But, you know, I'm really not completely practical. If I was, I'd not enjoy sneaking off on the motorbike or swimming at night. I think I'm just choosy on what areas of life earn that side of me versus always being daring or silly."
"This is delicious," she told him. "The wine and the food...it's a very lovely combination." She smiled before she went back to eating.
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"Well, we'd be a sorry pair of gardeners, then, wouldn't we?" he asked, and laughed. And didn't mention that he quite liked when she got bossy. "You forget the part where I feed you grapes that I've peeled with my own hands."
"That's true," he mused, at her next words. "You have an adventurous side. It's nice to see that come out, and I'm glad that it comes out with me sometimes." She'd just said she was choosy about that.
"Well, I'm glad you like it," he said. "I took a chance that you'd like seafood, as I actually didn't know. But I like to live dangerously," he said, grinning and topping off their wine glasses. When they finished eating, he watched her and wondered when would be a suitable time to give her her gift. Deciding that it might as well be now, he put down his fork.
"So, I got you something," he began. "And I would have given it to you on any day, mind. But I figured since we were going out anyway, I'd go ahead and give it to you tonight." He fished into his jacket pocket and retrieved the little gift bag, then stood to round the table and straddle the bench beside her. "Happy Valentine's Day."
He handed it to her, sat back and waited for her to open it, hoping she wouldn't think it was over the top. "It, er, wasn't that big a deal, but you know. That time we went to London. I've just been thinking about it for a while."
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