[M] show me a garden that's bursting into life

[Katharina Grey]

Katharina was quite sure of the current possibility that she might be with child once more. It happened a bit more quickly than she had thought it would so she supposed she was just one fertile woman. Or Edmund was. Or they both were. The idea was amusing and quite a welcome one since she wished to provide her husband with a bunch of babies. Little boys and girls with a mixture of her features. The idea was a rather marvelous one.

As it was, the woman was tending to her garden room, nurturing her little plants along with magic and enjoying the scents given off by her roses. The Greys weren't a family that relied on magic for every little aspect of their lives but it came in quite useful when it came to tending a year-round, indoor greenhouse type of room. Really, Edmund spoiled her shamelessly.

Thought of her husband turned to the one that he would probably be home soon. She was soon proven correct as she heard the familiar sound of his arrival. Katharina was certain he would come seek her out, if only to get his routine 'I'm home from work' kiss. Now would be a good time as any to tell him her news.

@Edmund Grey

  

[Edmund Grey]

Edmund was, indeed, home and looking around in mild surprise at the quiet that at any other time would’ve made him suspicious. Given it was evening, however, he assumed that those living with them had already been dismissed for the day, though on seeing the light coming from the garden room, he assumed at least Katharina was still up. Heading in that direction, he smiled at the sight of his wife tending the flowers she was growing in the room. It was not an unusual sight, nor was he surprised to find her here.

“Hello, love. How is it going with them?” He crossed the room to stand at her side and sneak a quick kiss, though ensuring he wasn’t impeding her movement. “Is everything all right?” Spoiled she might have been, but Edmund was rather of opinion she deserved it. Then again, he could admit to his own biases, especially concerning his wife, but didn’t really care to do so.

@Katharina Grey

  

[Katharina Grey]

Christopher had long ago retired to bed, without too much fuss for once, so Katharina had been the only member of the house (aside from staff, of course) still puttering around. Smiling at her husbands arrival and quite willingly giving him his usual after work kiss, she regarded her flowers and put the pot she had been holding down. "Quite well, my darling," she informed him, quite happily.

"Oh, everything is as fine as it always is. Especially now that everything has gone back to normal," she couldn't help but sigh. The plague and fire had thankfully not bogged them down too badly aside from their need to stay at the other estates while their house was being built. Still, Katharina had enjoyed her time visiting and checking up on her animal reserve. It looked like that creepy butler was actually good for something. "I do have news, though." She was not as terrified to see his reaction as she had been the first time she had fallen pregnant, mostly due to the fact that they had fallen into quite a loving, intimate marriage. Indeed, she considered herself quite lucky and spoiled.

  

[Edmund Grey]

Back to normal was debatable, but Edmund was glad they could rebuild and move back. Having stayed at the other estates, he was not around while the village was on quarantine and thus found himself catching up to everything going on, not an enviable position when one missed some time on. “Indeed, and it's good to see that they do,” he nodded, having seen Hogsmeade first hand while to and from the hospital. It was rebuilding and it seemed that it was safe now, so he could go back to where he started.

“Oh? You have me curious. What news can those be?” He wondered if it had to do with the home while he’d been away, or with something else, but supposed Katharina would tell him. She wouldn’t bring it up without planning on letting him know in the first place, after all.

  

[Katharina Grey]

Smiling at her husband as he agreed with her, Katharina shifted closer to her husbands side. "Indeed for I missed you terribly when you were working the overtime," she pouted. He had been off shift when the barrier had become erected but had gone to work once he had been free to do so. And then he had worked tirelessly, just like any of the other healers.

At his admission of being curious, Katharina let off a playful, little giggle before pressing her lips to his cheek, having to stand on her tippy toes to do so. "Hm, shall I let you guess? We could even make a game of it." Wondering what he would say to that, Katharina went to sit on her chaise that she had in her garden room for moments of relaxation.

  

[Edmund Grey]

Edmund grinned, both at the pout and the act, sneaking in a kiss himself as she stood on her toes to kiss his cheek, then quirked up an eyebrow. “A game? What do I get if I win it?” He asked, wondering at what she was up to. He figured it was nothing bad, for Katharina seemed happy, but knowing the woman as he did, he was slightly wary. There was no reason to suspect anything, but as it was Katharina, he didn’t want to take his chances.

On the other hand, with his wife, things were never boring, so he decided to humor her a little. “A guessing game, I wager?” He asked, following to the chaise after her as she sat down. He elected to remain standing for the time being, though he lightly rested his hand on her shoulder, facing her. He’d been sitting for quite a long time through the day, and the walk back home didn’t dispel the feeling of tiredness from it yet.

@Katharina Grey

  

[Katharina Grey]

Katharina couldn't help another giggle at the quirked eyebrow. "Well, what would you desire if you win?" She asked with a seductive look and a suggestive smile on her lips. She knew what she would be asking for.

Katharina grinned as Edmund guessed what sort of game she meant correctly. "Indeed, my love. I shall provide hints so you don't fracture your brain," she said teasingly as she placed a hand across his that was on her shoulder. "If you don't want to sit down, you could lie down," she suggested with a wicked, little smirk. "Another paperwork heavy day?"

@Edmund Grey

  

[Edmund Grey]

Quirking an eyebrow up at the suggestion, Edmund considered the option of lying down and instead decided he would settle on the edge of Katharina’s chaise. “Of course. It seems like once you’ve finished one pile, another one materializes out of thin air…as if by magic.” Amused, he decided he wouldn’t put it past whoever was responsible of dumping paperwork along with actual things in need of doing on them.

As for her other words, he hummed in answer to her seductive look, giving a mischievous grin. “Oh, I can think of a thing or two I might desire,” he responded, lightly flicking her nose. He knew full well what she may have in mind, but wasn’t about to turn her down. “And if I lose?” That was a possibility, too, and one not to be dismissed. “I probably will do whatever it is you’d like me to.” Letting a note of suggestion slip into his tone, Edmund grinned inwardly. He could think of quite a few things to be done, and he was sure Katharina could do as well.

@Katharina Grey

  

[Katharina Grey]

Katharina pouted as Edmund merely settled on the edge of her chaise before shifting so that she was lying down with her stockinged feet in Edmunds lap. "My poor darling," she murmured, moving her foot so that she was giving his back a small rub with it before placing it back in his lap.

Katharina smiled in return to his mischievous grin, her eyes smouldering with seductive promise. "I'm sure you could," she agreed, wrinkling her nose as he flicked it. "If you lose then I get what I want, obviously." Katharina then had to smile when he stated that he would do whatever she wanted him to do. For a brief moment, she thought she had snagged a chance to get a monkey but no, he had said 'probably'. Boo.

"Now, for your first hint. It is something that I was before but not when I was a teenager." And with that, their little game was under way.

@Edmund Grey

  

[Edmund Grey]

“Obviously,” Edmund murmured. He was amused by Katharina’s responses so far, including her question concerning work. “And yes, that seems to magically appear out of nowhere each time something gets done. Though I wouldn’t put magic past the place.” It was, after all, magical, he thought with irony, recalling that his hospital was not only located conveniently in what looked like a middle of magical village, it also dealt with variety of magical elements of various illnesses that one wouldn’t find in the local one down the street from his old house.

Stretching and giving her a thankful look at the small backrub, he gave her a mock-thoughtful look. “Within limits, of course,” he bargained, knowing if he gave her leave, there would be a new animal either at the farmhouse or their own abode, which wasn’t something that was safe for either Chris or Cassie. The adults could obviously take care about the harmless ones, though he wondered how long it was before some of them decided on a leave of absence due Katharina’s bringing home a baby dragon.

As for the game itself, the question seemed fairly simple, but he decided to check at first. “Not when you were a teenager and not when you were adult, right?” He asked playfully, rubbing the sole of her stockingned foot.


@Katharina Grey

  

[Katharina Grey]

Katharina hummed in mild agreement of his statement about work. She was clearly no longer interested in discussing his job. Had she any interest in what healers did when they weren't tending to her for something, she would be one. But she was not. She was the happily spoiled and pampered wife of one.

Smiling at her husband as he gave her a thankful look for the backrub she had given him, Katharina gave a playful, little pout at the modifier to their 'prize' in the game. The dark haired beauty shook her head at the playful question asked. "One guess wrong, darling. Not when I was a teenager but definitely when I was an adult," she said before giggling as he rubbed the sole of her foot. The action pleasant but ticklish.

"My feet look so tiny in your hands," she couldn't help pointing out with a giggle as she liberated her hair from the accurate up do it had been in all day, allowing the black locks to flow freely.

  

[Edmund Grey]

Snorting in amusement and shooting a grin toward Katharina as she hummed in detached agreement with his words, Edmund figured that the topic there was closed. She never really did have any interest in hearing about what was going on at his work, though he didn’t blame her for that. Some days could get really boring, unless the employees around provided much-needed amusement to occasional passer-by. Take that one day, for example, when Edmund got to witness one of them.

But he got easily distracted from Katharina, though his attention was turned back to her as she pouted at his limits. He knew what he was doing, though, at least in this case. Chuckling at proven to be wrong, he quirked up an eyebrow. “But you can’t have been an adult, dearheart, if you hadn’t been one,” he pointed out, wondering if he was making sense himself. Playfully closing his hands over Katharina’s feet, he gave her an amused look. “Still insist I’m mistaken?” He was pretty certain he had an idea on what she had to tell him, but decided to humor her. Besides, taking his time to guess and watch her reactions to him was rather fun, if he said so himself.


@Katharina Grey

  

[Katharina Grey]

Smiling in return at her husbands chuckle, she snickered at his comment. "Well, aren't you the smart one?" She murmured teasingly. "But I must be an adult, considering the things you did to me last night," she mentioned with a sly smile on her lips. Never mind the fact that she had been quite the happy and willing participant in those things. Majority of which had been her idea.

"So yes, I insist that you are, indeed, mistaken," she confirmed with a playful smile on her lips as she attempted to wiggle her feet out of his hands to no avail. Eyeing her husband, she undid the buttons on her bodice, wondering what he would think of her current action. Obviously she still had her chemise on underneath and all that other Victorian Era layers crap. They were on their own anyway though she did wonder if her husband would think to close the door to the room they were in to enclose them in privacy to continue their little game.

  

[Edmund Grey]

“As a matter of fact, I am not,” he told her, though he gave her an appreciative look, slightly tightening his hands on her as she attempted to wriggle out of his hold. “If I recall right, a baby comes well before both teenager and adult, and you said you were it before you were teenager and adult.” He rather did hate spoiling her fun, but it was also amusing to see her reaction and how quickly he’d be able to figure it out.

He also rather enjoyed spending time with his wife in the manner it seemed things were going to go in, though first he would’ve liked to hear whether his guess was correct. They had all night for the other one, after all. “Want me to help you with that?” He asked quietly, amused at her attempts to get her clothing loose. He did, in fact, think to close the door behind him when he walked in, so they were in no danger of being interrupted, should their game go further than this.

@Katharina Grey

  

[Katharina Grey]

Pouting as Edmund merely tightened his hold on her feet instead of letting go of them. "Then we're both wrong because I didn't think of that nor the childhood stage. But it would have been impossible for me to be what I currently am during those phases," she said, certain that would be a major hint to help him form a correct guess.

Managing to get her bodice off, she reached behind herself to unclasp her skirt (or whatever held skirts together). "Hmm, yes, I could use some assistance. Care to slip that off? And my underskirt while you're at it? " She asked with a smirk, if he was going to do so, he had another couple of layers to peel away before one of them would get their prize. Edmund, if he managed to answer correctly, or herself, if he did not. Win-win, in her opinion.

I'm following this stuff, fyi

  

[Edmund Grey]

“Hm.” The noncommittal answer given was an utterly brilliant one, of that Edmund was sure, but she was right in one thing – they both forgot about the childhood stage. “That makes for a rather complicated one unless you’re distracting me on purpose.”
That was followed with a teasing grin as he thoughtfully eyed her numerous garments, knowing well that she probably would need assistance with them. “But of course one would be a baby before one ever reached as far as childhood or even teenage ages.” Raising an eyebrow at her he waited to see if he was right this time, though he could guess at it faster than that. Teasing his wife was much too fun for him to stop at the first right guess, after all.

@Katharina Grey