WHO: Maggie Brand & Adrian Mattias
WHAT: MEETINGS AND SUCH
WHERE: TUTSHILL STADIUM!
WHEN: During their match! Time out!
Maggie was sure that she had never played such a long and intense game of quidditch in her life. She’d had matches go on for longer than the five hours they were heading into after the break the refs had given the players tonight, but the Catapults did not seem to be losing energy and with each goal the Tornadoes revved themselves up and caught right back up. The seekers were having a miserable time, both men having not even
spotted the snitch. Silas was cursing like the uncouth players he usually denounced, that was how Maggie was sure that he literally could do no more than what he was currently.
They now had an hour long break, but there was really nothing more the team could do or change until Silas caught the snitch. The goals were so evenly matched that it didn’t matter if they changed formations or did some trick plays; focus on finding the snitch for the seeker was all that was demanded of the team before their captain let them go take a much needed breather. Maggie made her way out of the locker room and down the back corridors of Tutshill stadium to get in some rest in her secret (well, almost secret) spot.
It wasn’t really a secret, it was just a poorly lit corridor that hosted large storage bins that held equipment or---well, she didn’t really know what else they had in there, but they were taller than her and sturdy. She and Adrian often snuck there before or after games, enjoying the excitement of possibly being caught, but they had managed a good record out of it. Maggie figured that the top of one of the crates would be a good place to lie and be left alone, because this was probably the last place her ex would wander to.
Grabbing the ledge of one of the only storages that she could reach the top of, Maggie tried to hoist herself up but let out a cry of pain as her shoulder shot with pain. She’d nearly been thrown off her broom by one of Thorough’s bludger shots, but Maggie had managed to hold on with her good arm for those furious few seconds before Martin had swept by and helped her back up. The crowd had gotten a big kick out of that, but now Maggie was wishing that she’d accepted the mediwizard’s help when asked. Her head dropped to the storage bin, and she shut her eyes tightly to try and force away the pain; she was
so tired of acting strong and brave, like nothing was wrong.
Everything was wrong.
Adrian heaved a deep sigh, the dull pain of exhaustion radiating from his arms. This game had gone far beyond what could be deemed as an ‘appropriate rivalry,’ and quite frankly, he found himself unsure about how to continue on with the game. Yes, Braga had trained him for a situation like this, but it had certainly never arisen to this extent. What
exactly was the role of the beater if the chasers had effectively stopped vigorous scoring and the seekers still hadn’t spotted the snitch?
Perhaps if he and Richard somehow managed to knock Silas out, it would give Vinny some time on his own, but that quickly seemed pointless. Two trained set of eyes on the pitch were better than one. Or maybe... Adrian continued to walk, as he had for the past quarter of an hour, in a vain hope that spreading his legs would reveal a way to end this endless game. The walking made him ache more, he supposed, but it was the only thing that didn’t make him feel completely incompetent.
Before Adrian had realized it, his legs had brought him to a familiar part of the Tutshill stadium. Coming to a halt, he felt an uncomfortable chill clench his chest. He and Maggie used to come down here a lot.... the recognition of this area alone was enough to make Adrian turn on his heel, but just as he had made that decision, an unmistakable yelp of pain caught his ears and the image of a very familiar bob filled his eye, and his feet were frozen.
Were his eyes deceiving him? Was this a Tutshill trick? There was enough karmic hatred in the stands for him to believe it. Unknowingly he began to scratch at his elbow guards, choosing to take off none of his guards during their timeout. Adrian continued to watch Maggie for a couple of moments, unable to take his gaze off her. Was she hurt? He had seen Richard nearly off-seat her not too long ago, and it had taken a lot from within to not react to it. If that was it, why hadn’t their mediwizard healed her? Or was it something else...? A sudden habitual wave of protectiveness for her overcame him, and before he could control his himself, he was already speaking aloud.
“Are you alright?” he spoke tentatively, immediately feeling intrusive. She had obviously meant for this to be a private moment, which he had so obviously foolishly interrupted. It was just--- that shout, and how he had found her.... he could not ignore the urge in his chest.
Maggie jumped at the voice, the very familiar voice, the very voice of the man she had been planning to avoid. Her head remained against the cool steel of the storage container as she turned to look at Adrian, her shoulders dropping in defeat. But really, how terribly hard could she have been trying to avoid him by going to ‘their spot’? As much as she didn’t want to deal with the heartbreaking pain seeing his face brought her, Maggie couldn’t, she absolutely
couldn’t stop the small smile that appeared at the sight of Adrian.
She’d missed him so much. It had been a little over a month since their disaster of a wedding, but it felt like years. Maggie didn’t know how she’d managed to survive the lonely nights, where sometimes the loneliness of her bed seemed to strangle her. Her unconscious mind had not been able to accept that Adrian was no longer staying with her, and most mornings she woke, surprised that he was not lying beside her. Her days started with that depressing thought, and she carried it with her all day, through taking Josef to daycare to going to practice, to staying too
long after practice, and then the night just repeated itself in her misery.
“I’m busted,” she said, smirking. It was true in many meanings of the word. Maggie turned to Adrian and made to cross her arms, but winced once again as her shoulder throbbed in pain. This second half of the match, if you could call it that, was going to be even more miserable than the first. “But the pain potions don’t work, so.”
They’d actually been making her quite sick, so Maggie was opting to deal with the pain and bruises if it meant she wasn’t vomiting on the pitch. She let her hands drop to her side and looked from Adrian to the top of the crate and back to him. Had he been planning an escape too? She shouldn’t ruin his break by being here, even though she’d arrived first. Maggie pushed her pink hair back and out of her face, lifting her good arm to do so. “I’ll let you get on with---whatever you were doing.”
His brow furrowed in concern. Why was she not seeking better treatment? Why wasn’t the Tornadoes team insisting she received a treatment with more substantial results? No manager in their right mind would let a player back into that game with anything less than a scratch. Had she not
said anything at all to her healing staff? Adrian began to find himself quite aggravated, with who exactly he was unsure. Maybe with her team for not taking better care of her, or Maggie herself for being negligent with her body, or even Richard for going after her so blatantly... but the news of this situation bothered him deeply.
But Adrian bit his tongue, knowing it was not his place. She.... had the right to do whatever she wanted. If that was potentially refusing to seek help, then that was going to be another thing he, they, would have to... deal with by no longer being.... together. The mere thought of that made Adrian’s heart sink even further, and wrapped up in that he almost missed what she had said to him.
“No, you don’t have to--- don’t,” Adrian rushed, twitching his arms in a vague attempt to stop her from leaving. She was here first, he hadn’t even realized where he had been going, this was
her stadium. Adrian lifted a hand up to place it on his head in a vain attempt to release the tenseness building up in his chest. Maybe he should leave. This wasn’t the time or the place for a talk, and he didn’t want one of their few conversations to be about quidditch.
“I’ll just---” he waved his hand as he turned to head back the way he had come. Later, later they would talk, when it was better timing. When they weren’t so exhausted, no preparation on what to say or a better location or--- how could she expect to play the rest of the game when she couldn’t even lift her arm above her head! Adrian had only gotten a couple of steps before these thoughts fixated for the worst. Unable to control himself, he quickly turned on his heel and beelined straight for Maggie.
“I really think you should go and get that checked again,” he spoke assertively, obviously unable to let this go. He pointed at her arm with his finger, feeling it a necessary action.
She’d felt that familiar tug of pain, of heart break as he started to go. Maggie watched Adrian miserably as he turned turned and began to walk away. There was nothing that would keep him here, he wasn’t ready to be near her. Maggie had to force herself to understand that if she ever wanted to be with him she would have to be patient, but---how long would that be? Maggie wanted to tell him that she’d wait forever, but she didn’t know if she was strong enough to handle the pain waiting brought. It had only been a
month. How long was that in the scheme of things? She’d lied to him about Braith since she’d met Adrian, so---she didn’t know how long she had to wait, and she didn’t know how long she could.
But then! He turned back. He’d turned
back, he hadn’t walked away----Maggie felt her heart skip many a beat as he nearly stalked back to her, scolding her about her shoulder. The soreness was a dull feeling compared to the pounding in her chest and Maggie let out a shaky breath because of how caught off guard she was. She listened to Adrian’s request, demand, and nodded, not having been this close to him since the wedding. His gaze was so intense, she’d missed his
eyes, his voice! Even through the sweat of his jersey she could smell his cologne, the scent that had washed out of her sheets and she desperately wanted back.
Her hands grabbed the bottom of his jersey before she could tell herself she wasn’t allowed to touch him like that anymore. Maggie let out a shaky breath, pushing herself up on her tip toes like she’d done with him so many times before.
“Please don’t leave,” she mumbled. Her grip on his jersey tightened, she couldn’t let him walk away again. “Stay with me.”
Adrian felt himself straighten at her grasp. He had not been expecting her to do that. Honestly, he hadn’t really thought about how she would react to his outburst at all--- he hadn’t thought that far in advance. It had just come over him, and now... he raised his arms enough that they hovered around her form. He wanted to hold her again, take her in as he had so many times before, but---
Something was holding him back. A nag, a tug, made him hesitate. What was it? There was nothing more important to him than her. It had been over a month since the wedding, fewer since their last encounter, all the while he thoughts had been thoroughly consumed with her. It didn’t feel right to be apart from her, but the thought of everything going back to normal didn’t seem... possible. What would staying mean?
Truly mean. This wasn’t the right time... there was still the match to think about as well...
But--
but--- Adrian continued on with his internal struggle, finding it very difficult to muddle out what the right thing to do was. He looked down at her, about to ask for her to let him go because this was too much when he realized he couldn’t. He couldn’t ask her to do that just as much as he couldn’t leave her at that moment. Those were too difficult of things to do, and with that sudden clarity Adrian decided that whatever ramifications, unintentionally good or bad, he would deal with it because it was worth what was happening right now.
So, as if he had been holding his breath, Adrian finally moved to wrap his arms around her softly like a long-awaited exhale. It didn’t feel awkward in their uniforms and paraphernalia, simply sorely needed. “I won’t,” he breathed and dropped his head to her shoulders. Unable to help himself, he reveled in this closeness, and didn’t think twice before burying his face into the crook of her neck.
“I miss you,” he sighed soon after, eyes wide as he pressed his hands into her back.
Her breath hitched, nodding along with his words. Maggie mumbled back that she missed him too as her arms went around his chest to hold him tightly to her. She didn’t care about the soreness of her shoulder, Adrian was
here. Maggie felt all of the emotion from the past few weeks flood straight out of her and she cried, never loosening her grip on him, but
cried, straight into his jersey. Someone had told her that crying actually made you feel better, and for the first time since that day of disaster she felt like her tears weren’t from the pain of the breakup. She felt relief, Maggie felt a sense of movement, that things weren’t just stuck in this terrible frozen and miserable place. He missed her, he didn’t
hate her and he’d
stayed.
She felt exhausted by the time her tears had subdued, but she hadn’t let go of Adrian. Maggie didn’t want to, in fear that this was just because from the high of the game that had let his emotions get the best of him. What if after the match, if the Catapults won or lost--what if it changed everything again? What if this didn’t mean anything at all? Maggie refused to let her mind drift in that direction and she needed to hold on to him for as long as humanely possible. Letting him go meant leaving this moment where things were okay; Adrian was with her and he missed her, who knew what would happen when they had to part again?
“Will you meet me here after the match?” she croaked, pulling away only enough to look up at his face. His
face that she’d missed so, so much that it hurt her to think she would have to be away from it again. Maggie wanted to kiss him so badly but that was something she didn’t know if she was allowed to. Holding him seemed to be a gift, she didn’t want to turn him away by being greedy. “Win or lose?”
He nodded, not needing a thought or even a second. Of course he would meet her, he would do anything for her. Adrian slowly moved his hands from her back to her face, taking the time to take in her look. Even with her strangely colored hair and her tired-out expression, she still was so beautiful to him. A faint smile played on his lips as he brushed his fingertips above her ears, right where her hair met the side of her face.
“If we live through this match, yes,” he joked lightly. Things might not go back to normal right away, but maybe this was the first appropriate step? Adrian had been waiting for what would seemingly be the right moment, or the right mood, but perhaps there would never be one. Maybe it just.... needed to happen. If anything, he could be eternally grateful for his listless feet for giving them this moment of peace.
It was an overwhelming feeling that came over him as he looked at her, and before he could deem in inappropriate, Adrian leaned forward for a quick closed-mouth kiss. It was... stupid, but also something he felt they needed right now, in addition to medical attention. Medical attention! He pulled away, taking the moment before speaking again.
“Fix your shoulder first,” he mumbled, looking down to the ground as he began to detach himself from her. He didn’t want to leave this moment as much as he hoped she didn’t, and therefore couldn’t bare to look at her face as he did so. There was still a little hope left--- Adrian held his hand out for her, knowing they still had a couple more minutes of walking before they would run into people.
