Careful What You Wish For

[Elsie Beauregard]

Despite the fact that Elsie was properly supervised, with both her married sister and her married best friend in attendance this evening, she was also fairly confident that her habit of running into Tyb at things like this was going to go unnoticed, at least by Adella, once again. Mary was, thankfully, always aware and coincidentally discreet about it, bless her.

It had been a couple of years since their disaster New Year's day, but Elsie still had reservations about skating. Not that she thought it was... bad luck or anything, but perhaps it was still a good idea to avoid the rink. It was late anyway and the dark only increased her chances of falling or running into somebody. Maybe tomorrow if she was feeling up to it, maybe she could convince Owen to go with her. Thinking about that was silly thought, not when they'd had such a fun evening so far and the fireworks weren't far off. She was both looking forward to the display and dreading it, just a little bit. While she knew they would be absolutely stunning, they would also signal the end of the evening and as always, she wished nights like this could go on forever.

As they searched for a spot to watch the fireworks from, Elsie kept her hands around her hot cocoa, one for the warmth and two because she'd fidget otherwise, the itch to slip her hand into Tyb's all too familiar and entirely impossible. The crowd around her allowed a little leeway to stick close, as she was pretty sure they were all aware -even Mary's husband- knew she didn't like large groups like this and so she hovered as close as she could without making it obvious. There was a little spot atop a small hill nearby that would work nicely if she remembered right.

Els supposed it didn't really matter where they watched the fireworks from, just who she saw them with, as cliche as that sounded. "Over there? She offered, though it seemed Mary and Jesse were already headed the way she'd gestured. "I can't believe tonight went by so fast." She lamented, looking at Tyb out of the corner of her eye as they slowed near the back of the crowd to their final spot to watch the fireworks.

@'Elias Grimstone' / @'Tybalt Kirke'

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   Elias Grimstone

[Tybalt Kirke]

Tybalt had enjoyed the New Year's festivities as much as usual, by which, as they wandered, he had come to the same conclusion as he did every year - which was that the village might as well keep up the extra fun and carnival games all year round, 'the novelty wearing off' nonsense be damned. Even better was the ease with which Elsie could gravitate from her official company to his, here. Although he was of the opinion that they did fairly well at keeping this routine up, the endless pretences - all the careful discretion - well, it was tiring. See, and Jesse and Mary - well, no one need shoot them a second glance! He'd say he was jealous, if trying to take anything in his life at a pace of more than one day at a time didn't just give him heart palpitations.

As far as days went, this had been a good one, so he shouldn't complain. Tyb merely shrugged at Elsie's suggestion of where to stand, letting her lead the way as he kept in step alongside her. When they fell to a halt he readjusted the silly new year's hat he'd almost forgotten was on his head and grinned, his mouth blistering from all the sugar he'd consumed this evening and his nose scorched red from the cold.

He leant over just far enough to nudge her gently with his shoulder, pressing his arm against hers as if in passing to return some of that sentiment silently. Not one to let it all go unsaid, he raised his eyebrows at her and made a face. "It always does," he agreed, trying not to sound too wistful.

- Or not trying at all, really. "But you're not going home after the fireworks, are you?" He asked, with a plaintive pout - and the first firework due any second - although he already knew the answer, knew that was the eventual outcome expected of everyone still out on the streets, knew that he ought to be grateful for events like these in the first place. But still. They came and went so quickly, and then all he could do was look forward to the next one, and rinse repeat with the next limited sliver of time together. "Say I'll get to see you more in the new year, please," he teased.

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   Elsie Beauregard

[Elsie Beauregard]

Elsie breathed out a long sigh over her hot cocoa as she took a sip. The smile that followed his nudge bloomed into a little blush, though hopefully it wasn't too visible in the dim light. Always too fast. Els realized she had no right to think that way, as she should be grateful for any time they got to spend together, but it always seemed to fly by and left her wishing for more.

As the first firework shot up into the night sky, Elsie nodded slowly. "I think so. I'm sure Adella and Mr. Calendar will want to head home." Though she was under Mary's 'supervision' at the moment, Elsie knew that she was expected to find her sister to be taken home at the conclusion of the night. Though Stella clearly loved Mary like she was her own, Elsie also knew her mother was not a fool either. As much as Stella respected Mary, the decision to elope at such a young age certainly was a mark against her good judgement, at least Elsie assumed so anyway.

A few more fireworks shot up and Els noticed for the first time that a light snow had begun to fall. It was ever so lovely, framed by the lights in the sky against the dark background. "And I sincerely hope so." She added, nudging him gently, though she didn't quite move back as far as where she'd started; she was not above taking a little risk, besides, who would notice with such a show to watch? She would take what she could get in the moment.

The moment was to be short-lived however as she quickly realized that the snow was gaining momentum- and fast! The wind had picked up too, alarmingly quickly really. It wasn't long before she could hear shouts of alarm and the pop! of apparating though what was rapidly becoming a wall of snow. In never having been somebody who was quick to react physically, Elsie turned belatedly to see if she could find Mary and Jesse, but her friend, who had just been standing reasonably close by was no longer visible! Panic rising, she knew she should probably try to apparate home, but was too panicked to trust herself to do so safely and instead found herself reaching out to find the one person she could always count on to ground her.

@'Elias Grimstone'

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   Tybalt Kirke

[Tybalt Kirke]

He blew out a sigh of his own at her answer that yes, like sensible people, her sister would expect to return home, and to take Elsie home too. Still, he would ignore that fact for as long as the fireworks lasted, and hope that Elsie's hope for the new year rang true. He grinned sidelong at her as he found her standing a little closer, though eventually - eventually - stared back up at the fireworks. Fireworks were rather fun.

Except he could barely see them, now! Instead there was only a shower of snow, which might have seen his face light up in glee, if it weren't falling with uncustomary vehemence? All his face could do instead was scrunch up in surprise, followed by a muttered, "What the hell," when people began scattering to get out of the storm. Tybalt had already been reaching towards Elsie on instinct, hardly inclined to duck away without her coming along, She was looking around, but Tyb couldn't see - well, anyone anymore, with white swirling around so frantically in the darkness - and so he grasped her hand, in no doubt that he was at least a little less fazed by this sudden turn of events than Elsie.

He tugged her along a few paces down the hill, his first thought to take shelter somewhere in a shop until the snowstorm stopped - probably only in five minutes or so - but he wasn't making much ground like this. Even with one arm up in front of his face to try and squint through the snow, the combination of the weather and the swarming chaos of the crowd was getting them nowhere. Hastily, he turned on his heel instead, leaning in to face Elsie, clutching at her hand more tightly. "I'll - apparate us -" he explained, with as much clarity as he could muster through the howl of the wind, trying to coax out a nod or something so at least she would be prepared for the sensation. Still, they couldn't hang about, and so he shut his eyes, sucking them out of the snowstorm and jolting them into another place.

He'd, well, he'd visualised his destination clearly enough, since that was kind of a crucial part of the apparating process... but when Tybalt opened his eyes to see his bedroom - bathed in darkness (possibly lucky, since the huge amount of stuff littering the place could only be called a mass of indistinct shapes for the moment), he realised that perhaps he hadn't thought this quite through. "Phew," Tyb exclaimed, blinking back the dazedness of the abrupt journey and the snowflakes still coating his clothes and hair. His eyebrows crashed together. "Sorry. That was very unchivalrous of me. I should have apparated you to yours first." With his free hand - he hadn't let Elsie's hand go yet - he absently brushed some of the settled snow out of her hair, and assured her, "But it's okay, I can take you home now." Probably. The snow was still falling thickly outside the window, furiously enough that he was mildly worried apparating would prove nearly as difficult as walking to Elsie's now. What did they say about extreme weather conditions, again? Tyb didn't say this, of course. Obviously he didn't want her to worry.

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   Elsie Beauregard

[Elsie Beauregard]

In the moment that the storm began to howl, Elsie had followed Tyb on instinct, trying to get through the snow without slipping, hand clutching his until he announced they should apparate out. Had she any wits about her she would have thought of that sooner, but caught up in the moment, she hadn't been thinking overly clearly. And so she'd closed her eyes and let him take the lead, preparing for the uncomfortable squeeze of apparation, only to find herself landing with a bit of a sway, eyes adjusting to the darkness of the room slowly.

It took her a moment to realize where they were, confirmed by Tyb's apology, but Elsie was, truthfully, just happy to be out of the storm. A little pang of uneasiness bubbled up, she hoped Jesse and Mary had made it home alright- and Adella and Mr. Calendar! There had been so many people outside, it had been nearly impossible to see what happened to them. Had they been able to apparate out successfully? Had they been able to make it to a nearby shop to find shelter? Certainly they had to be more useful in that situation than she'd been!

Elsie was ready to reach a full blow panic attack when she felt Tyb brush away the snow from her hair. The motion pushed the potential panic down and she forced herself to take a deep breath to steady herself further. This was fine, at least they weren't out in the storm, they were safe and warm and that was all that mattered right now. "I ah- I don't think we're going anywhere tonight." She said warily, looking out the window as the snow whipped by ferociously, coating the frame's edges already. Bad weather made apparating even more difficult than it already was, she was fairly certain it would be safer to just stay put here... at Tyb's. For however long it lasted.

She still had a tight grip on his hand, the gravity of tonight's turn of events (both here and outside!) hitting her all at once; she couldn't let go just yet- nor did she have to, she realized. It was all sinking in, though she was trying just to stay calm after that whole debacle; there was no reason to get worked up about anything else at the moment.

@'Elias Grimstone'

  

[Tybalt Kirke]

He could sense impending panic from her, and quieted down calmly, waiting to see whether anything would come of it. She took a deep breath, which was certainly a start, and soon enough she came to the conclusion he had, the one he hadn't wanted to broach, in case it only worried her further.

She was right, though, and he gave her a nod, accompanied by a wry grin and a quick squeeze of her hand. "Yes, probably for the best." Who knew? If the snowstorm didn't prevent apparating completely, if they tried they might well end up in China. Or Australia, maybe; it was hard not to think about what a warm day would feel like right about now. "I'm sure everyone else made it home just fine," Tyb assured her, in no doubt that she would be worrying endlessly, "and at least," he added cheerfully, "you're safe and sound." He pulled away for a minute, shrugging off his coat and fumbling for his wand in the pockets, and then pointed it at a couple of lamps in the room, lighting them to a yellow glow. Realising that this added light would expose what a state the room was in, he coughed and swept his wand hurriedly at all his things that were strewn about the place - there were some clothes on the bed that hadn't made it back to the wardrobe; a half-empty box of cauldron cakes on the chair, quidditch boots kicked off nearby; the desk at the window that he'd never actually seen the surface of was littered with papers and posters and other things he hadn't bothered to look at in months - and some charmed shuffling saw the place straightened up a little. Bless the poor maid who did her rounds; she tried to clean what she could. It wasn't her fault that tidiness set Tybalt's teeth on edge.

Elsie had been here before, but now, he supposed, unless the snowstorm abruptly melted away, she would be staying. This should be the stuff of dreams - really, really wild ones that one scarcely imagined would be recreated in real life - and while Tybalt was slightly gleeful at the situation having arisen in which he and Elsie could actually spend time together with no one to prohibit it (and in private, no less!), there was still an odd flip of nervousness in his gut.

He shrugged that off, and loosed his hand from hers in order to reach up and attempt to help her shrug off her outer layer (it was plenty warm inside, and maybe she'd feel more relaxed if they treated this like she was a guest who had always been intended to arrive). He leant in whilst doing so, his mouth hovering near her lips and marvelling at the way he didn't even need to be furtive about it, and, with an optimistic twinkle in his eyes, tried for some easy teasing. "Fortunately, I can think of worse people to be stuck indoors with."

@'Elsie Beauregard'

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   Elsie Beauregard, Ophelia Dippet

[Elsie Beauregard]

Tyb was right, of course he was. If they had made it out safely, everyone else had certainly! Mary's husband was on the Accidental Magical Reversal Squad and was clearly capable of handling such a situation! Elsie also had faith that Mr. Calendar would take good care of Adella; the pair were so smitten it was hardly likely that her brother-in-law would anything happen to her sister!

With those worries soothed and her hands free, Elsie fidgeted idly with the closure of her cloak, watching with an amused grin as Tyb tried to tidy up. Truthfully he didn't need to bother, not for her sake. She liked seeing his room as it was; it was very indicative of everything she loved about him. If she had the time, she'd probably get a little curious and investigate, just a little bit, but that thought slipped from her mind as he finished up and turned back her way.

Merlin she went weak in the knees when he looked at her like that.

Her hands hovered uselessly in front of her, half through the motion of taking off her cloak as he slid it from her shoulders. Elsie realized they were well and truly alone- though she had no idea if there was any one else in the house, for the moment there was nothing and nobody else to be concerned with. Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to think of some witty retort, but she had never been very good with words when put on the spot. Moments like this were so few and far between that Elsie had relish in them when she could.

"You say that, until I find where you keep the books." She managed finally, though it was breathless and not nearly as confident as she would have liked.

@'Elias Grimstone'

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   Elias Grimstone

[Tybalt Kirke]

He had curved her shrugged-off cloak over his forearm but hadn't stepped back to do anything with it yet, because that would mean stepping away and that was the last thing he wanted to do right now. But Elsie had something to say in answer, and Tybalt look it as rather the threat: she would not spend the entire time the snow was falling outside with her nose in a book! He knew she was only teasing, of course - well, at least a little teasing; he did suspect she'd be keen to look through all the books in the house, she probably did that in every house she set foot in - but he played into it anyway, eyes wide in alarm.

"Books? What books?" Tybalt joked, scanning the room as if he couldn't see even one. There weren't many, certainly, at least not in view under the mess, but he had a collection of quidditch books and a few old school textbooks, and there were some slightly childish adventure novels, muggle ones, that he admittedly still kept around and re-read occasionally. Plus there was an alcove off the stairs that had a mismatched collection of books in it, not that Tybalt ever looked at them. "You'll find no books here," he pretended instead in a wild exclamation, as if he were wounded by the very thought that she might ignore him the whole time she were here - "not a single book in the building! How about that?"

He didn't give her much of a chance to answer - or to argue - only glanced over his shoulder very briefly at his closed door. All of his exclaiming might sound odd coming from his rooms, given he hadn't announced a guest; that said, he probably ought to do that, or at least go see if anyone else was in. But the moment he left the room, he was sure some of the thrill would be ruined - and he'd be damned if he didn't take a little advantage first. With a triumphant grin and his free hand flitting to her waist, he leant in to steal a slow kiss.
How about that.

gaaaaaaaaaaaah

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   Elsie Beauregard

[Elsie Beauregard]

Elsie's lips curled into a smile and she bit her lip to contain the laugh that threatened to follow. Apparently she'd affronted him with the mere thought of spending her time here reading. Of course, Elsie had no idea just how long she would be here at this point. Reading would certainly be a last resort. They would never get time together like this again, no matter how much planning they could put into it. Though the chaos of the storm was obviously terrible and Elsie sincerely hoped that nobody was caught asunder, she couldn't complain one little bit about where she'd ended up.

Opening her mouth to argue with him on that point (there were most certainly books int his house, she'd bought him a few herself!) she was caught off guard by the hand on her waist, surprising her, causing her to crash into him clumsily, breath caught in her throat as he kissed her.  The dizzying giddiness set in, as usual, and the hands that had been floating uselessly earlier found his shoulders easily enough, but Elsie had to slide her hands around his neck to keep from actually falling.

Never mind that this wasn't the first time they'd had a moment alone like this, Elsie was certain she'd never quite get used to the sudden drop in her stomach that happened when Tyb kissed her. It was that good kind of rush that always left her breathless and perhaps it was the feeling of being entirely alone or the fact that it had been a while, but Elsie was feeling a little emboldened in the quiet of his room. She came up for air, leaning back to gently run her fingers through his hair, a luxury she so rarely got to indulge in, she couldn't pass up the opportunity. "Alright, reading later." She murmured quietly, with a small smile to go with the usual blush on her cheeks.

@'Elias Grimstone'

  

[Tybalt Kirke]

Tybalt hadn't given her much warning that he'd been about to kiss her, but it turned out to work in his favour: she hadn't fallen over, just gotten a lot closer in the process of clinging on. He wasn't complaining.

He could hardly recall that cold winter numbness of being outside any more - no, he was pretty warm already, and even the snow still falling thickly at the window couldn't get in here. Silently, he crossed his fingers that it might keep falling. He had wanted to get to see Elsie more often, after all. He just hadn't thought it would be... here. And so soon.

"Mmm, much, much later," Tybalt agreed teasingly. It took a lot of effort to get the words out when all he really wanted to do was purr contentedly at her fingers combing through his hair, a sensation that he'd never envisioned before, but one that now he felt he'd been missing out on tremendously. He'd never envied cats so.

"Lots to do first," he announced cheerfully, like he'd somehow planned an itinerary for being stuck indoors with Elsie tonight, as though he were some pompous tour guide. "Give you the tour, find us a midnight feast..." Tybalt reeled off ideas with a wave of his hand, making precisely no movements away from her or towards his bedroom door. "Elsie, this is going to be fun."