WHO: Octavius Pepper & Rose Knightley
WHAT: "CUTEST INNER CUTENESS EVER"
WHERE His place
WHEN: A few days after Rose and Thomas!

Ahh, Octavius’ flat. Rose had always enjoyed being in her boyfriend’s flat because it made her feel at home. The layout was comfortable, there was always light streaming through from the windows, and he had enough books in the shelves to make any former Ravenclaw pleased. She was happy to finally make it over after a whirlwind couple of days, knowing she could actually stay awhile and didn’t have to worry about anything else.

“Hello!” Rose called out, slipping through the door in full-practice attire. It had miraculously ended a little early today, and not wasting another moment, she simply left to come here. Between spending some exhausting sleeps in her new bed, Thomas’ chair, and practice, she really had little energy to spare spending time in the locker room.

Even if they were doing incredibly well, considering the rocky beginnings of the season. All it meant, obviously, was that practice had become brutaler and brutaler by the day. Second was not first, second place was the first loser, you got no awards for being second in the league-- if she heard one more ‘inspirational’ speech from Carys, Kanga--- Baz or Tristan, she was going to puke.

… she really shouldn’t be complaining.

Collapsing on the couch, or actually, half flopping on Octavius as she fell, Rose dropping her bags at their feet (why was she still carrying them?). “Hi,” she said again, turning to look at him fully. With a small smile she reaching to hold his chin with her hand and give a quick kiss. He had been so understanding lately, the least she could do was show she appreciated it.

Had he ever been more tired?

The answer was actually, probably, yes, much more so than this, and had definitely been at least this tired before, and would certainly be so again, which wasn't encouraging to him at this moment in time. No, at this moment in time he never wanted to get up off this sofa. Octavius hadn't even managed to remove one shoe all the way before sinking dramatically into its cushy depths, and another sock was yanked halfway down his ankle. Because he'd spent the last two days (and nights) wracking his brains, his assistant's brains, and the brains of anyone stupid enough to cross his path on how to rework the blocking of the WWN schedule when he learned the star (hint, her name started with "C" and ended with "elestina Warback") he had been advertising for a month before was cancelling her show slot due to a "tickle in her throat."

There was also the part where a good friend of his had been accosted in a shop, and his girlfriend's best friend was traumatically abducted, but damned if work wasn't foremost on his mind. Likely, this was a sign of his insanity. Still, that information didn't weigh lightly on him, for all he fretted about scheduling and angry listenership.

Octavius rested his forehead against hers for a moment before letting his head drop back against the sofa, closing his eyes. His arm slid around Rose's shoulders, where his fingers drew absent patterns over the skin they touched.

"Had a good practice?" he asked softly.

Rose closed her eyes as well, taking the opportunity to slide further into Octavius’ chest and under his arm. When had their lives become so hectic? It was a strange feeling to realize this. She sucked in her cheeks, thinking of what to say as she burrowed as much as she could of herself into him.

“Bleh,” she muttered finally, deciding she was much more interested in taking his arm and matching her fingertips with his than talking about Quidditch. Don’t get her wrong, she loved playing, it was one of the few things in her life that, when she got it right, made her feel free and without hesitation because there wasn’t time in a match to think like that, just act, and go! But lately, with everything that had been going on--- Rose pressed her face into Octavius’ side, rubbing it against him slightly.

“How’s the station?” she asked in return, still keeping Octavius’s hand within her own. Now, though, she had taken to weaving her fingers in between his, playing a methodical game. He had made mention of a near calamity occurring, she remembered, in one of their journal exchanges but the resolution was unclear. Rose stifled a yawn, instead seemingly taking a long, deep breath.

Octavius managed a bleary laugh. "'Bleh' seems appropriate. But no animals today."

Not that the station didn't grip a good three-fourths of his brain and a good chunk of his heart at any given moment. But lately it seemed that if there wasn't one giant mishap that threatened the livelihood and well-being of everyone at the station, there were a hundred smaller ones. Having an assistant helped him with the load, but only because Mirabelle mostly organized his life, which in turn freed him to devote more attention to the station. Also, his life generally needed a mass organization, a task which few people (including himself) had previously been up for. But he didn't want to talk about that, or try to find a solution for the behemoth problem Celestina Warbeck had laid at his feet, or how yet another voice-witch had quit in a storm over line distribution in one of the dramas run on the WWN.

In fact, he didn't much want to discuss anything, himself. Sitting here with Rose had been the nicest part of the week so far, and he was half-way to falling asleep on her. Not a glowing reflection on him, but she was a pleasant warmth in the coolness of the room, and her hand ghosting where it pleased was entirely too relaxing that he'd have no problem staying here for the rest of the evening and listening to her talk—though she wasn't saying much, either. With the last reserves of his strength, he brought his long legs up and shifted Rose so they lay horizontally, her atop his chest. Feeling a touch concerned, he managed a kiss on the top of her head and murmured, "Did you check in with Thomas today?"

More than willing to let him guide her, Rose closed her eyes again as she felt the comfortable shift to horizontal. Was he aware she was going to fall asleep on him like this? And when Octavius wanted to get up later, that just wasn’t going to happen because she was ten seconds away from becoming a dead log in every sense. And she did not like being moved once asleep. “That’s good,” she sighed, pressing her free palm into his chest lightly. Shifting to make herself comfortable would not be a problem. “I’m still holding out for the return of the nifflers,” she laughed quietly.

Rose curled in toward Octavius more when he asked about Thomas. It was difficult to not think about him, even when she purposely tried to distract herself. Even though her friend did appear to be getting better, the entire matter was very troubling. How did something like losing magic happen? The amount of emotional damage one could experience from an event like that... she wasn’t sure... Rose shook her head. She should focus on how it made her happy to know that at least she didn’t have to think about her word choice now; she could be frank with Octavius.

“I was there earlier,” she started, lifting her chin toward his. She was going to fall asleep in her practice clothes. “He’s with Kendall now.” Shoes! She was still wearing her shoes. With a few swift jiggles her feet felt freedom. “They’re doing manly things,” she finished finally, her hand wandering over Octavius again until eventually stopping below his shoulder.

Her next thought came almost instantly, and if she hadn’t been so tired, Rose would have stopped herself in fear of looking silly. Again she rubbed her face against his robes, taking comfort in its familiar touch and smell before saying, “Don’t ever get kidnapped, okay?”

The hand drawing lines up and down her back froze when she spoke, because even in his half-unconscious state, he could hear the sadness in her voice, feel the tension in her shoulders. Octavius wished there was a lot more that he could do for her, or for Thomas, but the reality was that he was helpless. He tightened his arms around her at the idea of anything similar happening to her, and forced himself to relax. Lightning didn't strike in the same place twice, after all. He consoled himself with the idea that it was a freak occurrence, and Thomas would be fine eventually, so Rose would be, too.

It was better than the alternative.

Apparently, she was thinking along the same lines. With his eyes fluttering closed, himself, Octavius let out a laugh that was more of a sleepy rumble. "I'm not going anywhere," he managed, unsure if he'd heard the question correctly, or if she'd asked it at all. Likely, they were both asleep already and this was a dream, and he was projecting his own concerns onto her. "I'm staying right here.