Year/Job
Wizengamot Admin. Services
Steph
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Rosy
Feb 27, 2024 10:48:51 GMT -8
Post by Rosemary Carter on Feb 27, 2024 10:48:51 GMT -8
The interior design book sat open in front of Romy, she’d been sitting in the Caspar’s parlour for over an hour and it was an excruciating experience. Whenever she asked Max his opinion on something, he would stare back at her with big, bright eyes and ask “what do you like?” It was like pulling teeth. Honestly, she had no idea what she was even doing at this point. Not just with the sudden request that they meet at his family’s home to start picking things out for their future home, but with the whole situation. She liked Max. She would go as far as saying that she loved Max. He was sweet and caring and he had dreamy blue eyes and nice lips…
She found herself leaning against Max, her lips brushing against his. The big clock chimed across the room and Romy blinked. Was she forgetting something? She stood up, quickly making an excuse to leave. Max never questioned her.
As soon as she popped into Diagon Alley, Romy felt like she could finally breathe. It didn’t take long for her to spot Dane near the big window of a store. She immediately forgot about Max and her corner of her lips pulled up into a bright smile. She came up behind him, placing her hands over his eyes and let out a small hum. “Wanna take a guess?”
Dane Caspar
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Year/Job
Auror In Exile
Break your back to earn your pay, and don't forget to grovel. |
Travis
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Rosy
Feb 27, 2024 12:22:55 GMT -8
Post by Dane Caspar on Feb 27, 2024 12:22:55 GMT -8
Should Dane have felt silly showing up thirty minutes early to Diagon Alley in his best turtleneck? He was dressed for a date when he was just meeting with a really good friend. He feared that he would give Romy the impression that he was feeling more for her than she was for him, and then what would happen? She would go away.
But the playful way that Romy came up behind him and placed her hands over his eyes reminded him that they were on equal footing. He laughed and said, "Is that Rose Carter?"
He hated that when he turned around the first thing he saw was the ring on her finger. It made sense, if anyone who knew her and Max saw them together without Romy's ring they might have questions. This was just an afternoon with her fiance's brother, perfectly normal stuff. He pushed it out of his mind as quickly as he saw it.
"You're brighter than usual," he said. "What's got your spirits so high?"
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Year/Job
Wizengamot Admin. Services
Steph
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Rosy
Feb 27, 2024 13:01:40 GMT -8
Post by Rosemary Carter on Feb 27, 2024 13:01:40 GMT -8
It was totally up to Romy to make it clear that this wasn’t a date. She was helping Dane pick out furniture for his apartment because she wanted to continue seeing him in secret… oh, maybe this was a date. Or a precursor to the many dates they were bound to have away from prying eyes.
The sound of his laugh stirred something inside her, her stomach fluttered and she wanted so badly to reach out and hug him. Instead, she took a step back, pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and answered, “Am I?” She lightly tapped her full lips with her finger as she pretended to think. “Maybe because I get to spend the afternoon with my favorite person in the whole world?”
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Year/Job
Auror In Exile
Break your back to earn your pay, and don't forget to grovel. |
Travis
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Rosy
Feb 27, 2024 13:15:25 GMT -8
Post by Dane Caspar on Feb 27, 2024 13:15:25 GMT -8
Dane's heart fluttered. Why had he been so nervous? First he'd feared that it might freak Romy out that he was living in a tiny apartment with nothing but a bed, and then he was anxious about her expectations. We he supposed to come with a list of furniture ideas? Wasn't that why Romy was coming? But when he saw how excited she was to go shopping with her "favorite person," all Dane could feel was the same excitement Romy had.
"Is that me?" he asked. "I didn't bring a list of needs or anything, but I did make a list of the things I already have."
He passed Romy a slip of paper that just said: bed.
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Year/Job
Wizengamot Admin. Services
Steph
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Rosy
Feb 27, 2024 13:46:36 GMT -8
Post by Rosemary Carter on Feb 27, 2024 13:46:36 GMT -8
”Of course that’s you, silly,” she said, playfully pushing his arm. Dane didn’t even realize how fun he was and sometimes it made Romy sad. She wished he could see what she saw. He was the only person who truly let her be herself, no expectations to be perfect for anyone. And he always made her feel so warm inside, she hoped maybe she could do the same for him.
She held the paper up and raised her eyebrow at the one word. Romy looked at Dane and smiled, “Looks like you have all the essentials already. What do you need me for?”
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Year/Job
Auror In Exile
Break your back to earn your pay, and don't forget to grovel. |
Travis
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Rosy
Feb 27, 2024 14:19:51 GMT -8
Post by Dane Caspar on Feb 27, 2024 14:19:51 GMT -8
Dane had been such a bummer for such a long time it was hard for him not to feel like he would bring Romy down too. But it was a little of the opposite. Romy's attitude had a way of bringing Dane's spirits up, while his sour mood would bring her down to him and they would always meet in the middle as two perfectly normal and balanced people. Kinda. That was part of what he liked so much about her. She had a way of making him feel optimistic, even when everything the world through at him was so awful.
"I just use my apartment for sleeping," Dane said. "But if we're serious about spending more time together there, I want it to be a real place where we can hang out."
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Year/Job
Wizengamot Admin. Services
Steph
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Rosy
Feb 27, 2024 14:33:52 GMT -8
Post by Rosemary Carter on Feb 27, 2024 14:33:52 GMT -8
At his words, Romy’s eyes moved from his face to their surroundings. As if anyone really cared what they were doing, but it still made her nervous that someone would hear. Whatever she needed to do, she wanted Max to hear it from her first.
“I am serious, too.” They could have kept using her apartment, obviously but she was curious about how Dane lived. She wanted to know everything about him. When he first told her that he only had a bed, she felt bad for him, but this was the perfect opportunity to help him.
Romy, completely forgetting that she was nervous about anyone seeing them together, took Dane by the arm and pulled him along. She peeked in through all the windows on this side of the street until she spotted furniture. “Let’s try this place,” she said, already pushing through the entrance.
The little bell dinged above them and a witch, currently occupied with a customer, gave them a quick friendly greeting.
“Let’s build on what you already have, yeah? We can get you a nightstand and maybe some curtains?”
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Year/Job
Auror In Exile
Break your back to earn your pay, and don't forget to grovel. |
Travis
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Rosy
Feb 27, 2024 14:49:21 GMT -8
Post by Dane Caspar on Feb 27, 2024 14:49:21 GMT -8
Dane's heart raced as Romy took him by the hand. Just feeling the soft skin of her hands made him buzz with excitement. He followed her into the first store that she dragged him into.
"I already have curtains in my bedroom," Dane said. "Well, actually, I have a heavy black blanket that I tacked up over the window."
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Year/Job
Wizengamot Admin. Services
Steph
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Rosy
Feb 27, 2024 15:11:12 GMT -8
Post by Rosemary Carter on Feb 27, 2024 15:11:12 GMT -8
Dane’s hand was so warm and her fingers curled around his so perfectly, so she refused to let go when they started exploring the small shop. She scrunched up her nose and gave him a small head shake. “That won’t do, Dane. Don’t you want to bask in the sun on your days off, after being in the cold basement all week? I know I do.”
Was she overstepping? It wasn’t like this was her apartment, she was only going to spend some time there.
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Year/Job
Auror In Exile
Break your back to earn your pay, and don't forget to grovel. |
Travis
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Post by Dane Caspar on Feb 27, 2024 15:18:56 GMT -8
Maybe it was dangerous for Dane and Romy to walk around Diagon Alley holding hands. Dane certainly knew better, coming from the family he did. People were killed for less than this. He didn't think Max had the stones, but if Simon got involved...Dane figured there was no sense talking himself out of time with Romy. If these were the best days of his life, he wanted to live them to his fullest.
"I like the darkness," Dane said. "It reminds me of the creeping night inching toward me."
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Year/Job
Wizengamot Admin. Services
Steph
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Rosy
Feb 27, 2024 15:51:20 GMT -8
Post by Rosemary Carter on Feb 27, 2024 15:51:20 GMT -8
Romy didn’t know Simon, personally, but if she did, she would definitely be more careful. Max was… how would she put it? What’s the word for not the brightest bulb in the box but nicely? Romy could explain her newfound friendship to him by claiming that they were just really good friends thanks to work. And he would most definitely buy it.
Was Romy being a horrible person? Probably, but she had always followed the rules and never stepped a foot out of line. First it was for the sake of her dad’s career and then for her own - she needed a perfect, clean record if she was going to make it on her own. But she couldn’t help what she was feeling and what she was doing with Dane.
“Umm, okay,” she stopped in front of a display of curtains. She reached out to touch them with her free hand. She didn’t say anything for a couple of minutes as she slowly browsed their selection. Then she perked up a bit, holding up the sheer gray fabric. “Look, this one’s enchanted to blackout when you don’t want the light to come in. And if one day you happen to not want to act like a vampire, you can turn them back into the sheer fabric.”
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Year/Job
Auror In Exile
Break your back to earn your pay, and don't forget to grovel. |
Travis
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Rosy
Feb 27, 2024 17:47:02 GMT -8
Post by Dane Caspar on Feb 27, 2024 17:47:02 GMT -8
Stupid. The word was stupid. Okay, maybe stupid was too strong of a word. Listen, Dane had always cared about his little brother, but Max was always in his own world. He grew up oblivious to everything going on in their family and even after their father died, he didn't seem to have any idea that it was murder. Maybe Dane resented his brother a little for getting to play Quidditch, but he knew that Romy couldn't be happy for her with someone so oblivious.
When Romy reached for the magic curtain, Dane was shocked by how intuitive she was to his own needs. He hadn't expected her to find something so quickly, but somehow it was perfect. He reached out to touch the fabric with Romy. "Blackout for my nights alone," he pondered. "And I can still let the light in when you're with me."
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Year/Job
Wizengamot Admin. Services
Steph
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Rosy
Feb 27, 2024 21:15:55 GMT -8
Post by Rosemary Carter on Feb 27, 2024 21:15:55 GMT -8
Max’s obliviousness was what Romy had liked the most about him growing up. It was nice to talk to someone who had no idea what was going on in the world. He never brought up the increasingly cruel policies installed by her father. She knew, over time, that he was always so happy because he didn’t notice everything going on around him. And while it was a good quality to have, not losing his child like view of the world, it wasn’t as cute as they entered adulthood.
Dane not only knew how cruel the world was, he had first hand experience. Some people looked at him and could only see the dark cloud hanging over his head, but Romy saw someone who needed and deserved to be loved.
“You know, you never have to let the light in, even if I’m there. I’m more than happy to sit in the dark with you. I’ll hold your hand to let you know you’re not alone.” Oh, was that too much? She let the curtain drop from her hand. “I mean, if that’s what you need or even want. Or I can leave you to your brooding on your own.”
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Year/Job
Auror In Exile
Break your back to earn your pay, and don't forget to grovel. |
Travis
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Rosy
Feb 27, 2024 22:39:18 GMT -8
Post by Dane Caspar on Feb 27, 2024 22:39:18 GMT -8
Dane really wasn't trying to attract Romy. His dark and brooding thing wasn't an act, it was really how he saw the world! But for some reason every time he brooded, Romy seemed to get closer, more intense. It wasn't unwelcome.
"I think," he started, looking around the shop for a moment as if someone might be watching. "I think I really need that. But I'd have to let the light in sometimes so I could see your face."
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Year/Job
Wizengamot Admin. Services
Steph
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Rosy
Feb 28, 2024 8:19:37 GMT -8
Post by Rosemary Carter on Feb 28, 2024 8:19:37 GMT -8
Romy smiled, squeezing Dane’s hand. He claimed the world was so dark but he somehow always allowed her to pull him out of it for moments like this - holding hands, smiles, his hand drifting up her arm in the early morning while the beginning of the sunrise filtered in. Wait, she was getting distracted!
“This?” She asked, pouting her lips and making a face before she let out a soft laugh. “I would like to see your face sometimes too.”
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