Aftermath || Vivian & Theo

[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Just thought I'd start this 'cause I was bored and it seemed like the next logical thread to do XD we can pick it up whenever, if at all.

Vivian was sitting in the Slytherin common room, alone. It wasn't all that unusual for Vivian to be alone. Unless she was with Theo, or entertaining herself in some sort of group discussion or maybe a party, she was alone. There was no one person she wanted to spend time with, apart from Theo. Before the pair of them had become a couple (boyfriend and girlfriend... it was still weird to think in those terms) Theo had been her best friend. She had passed most of her free time with Theo since she came to Hogwarts at eleven years old. But even so, Vivian wouldn't normally wait around for him. She wasn't a lost puppy, she could handle being by herself. But tonight she was waiting, because Theo had his first Quidditch practice since Lestrange had walked in on the two of them, and Viv was sure he'd make good on his unspoken promise.

As the evening passed, Vivian started to wonder more and more how awful Rodolphus had been to Theo. It started to get late, and the rest of the team appeared in the common room... but not Theo, and not Lestrange. Vivian wasn't worried, but she knew something was up. Still, she wasn't going to go down to the changing rooms looking for them. She knew Theo would never be sorry to see her, exactly, but she knew too that he wouldn't thank her for acting like he couldn't take care of herself. In his position, she would have been the same. Neither of them needed the other running around after them, taking care of them. Their friendship- and now their relationship- had always been on equal terms. With Theo Vivian had met her match, in every sense. She respected Theo's ability to take care of himself, and whatever happened between him and Lestrange... well, she respected his ability to make his own decisions, too. Even if he did do something stupid.

The Slytherin common room was a large, cavernous dungeon, with stone walls and floor, softened by rugs of dark green and silver. The room could sometimes be a bit drafty, so Vivian was sitting in a large green leather armchair by the fire. Her legs were curled up under her, and her long hair fell in thick, soft curls over her shoulders. As always, the weight of it was comforting. The light from the fire made her bright hair stand out in the otherwise dark room. She was staring at nothing in particular, her eyes often going to the fire, but she was unable to stare into it for long before her eyes started to water.

Vivian looked completely and utterly bored. When there was nothing to entertain her, it was her default setting. With Theo she felt more things than she ever had before, more things than she'd ever thought possible. But that didn't mean she was Miss warm-and-fuzzy the rest of the time. She was still the same Vivian, still emotionless, still without compunction, and still bored unless she had something to entertain her. But tonight she wasn't looking for entertainment; she was just waiting.

He saw her before she saw him, she was sure. Vivian wasn't watching the door, but a movement there caught her eye, and she looked up to see Theo walking into the common room. Finally. He looked exhausted, and non too pleased, but even so Vivian seemed to light up at the sight of him. Her eyes suddenly seemed brighter, and a slight smile formed on her lips.

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[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

Quidditch practice, in one word, had been exhausting. It had been brutally exhausting in the physical sense to the point where Theo had been knocked off his broom by bludgers. He was sure he was covered in innumerable bruises that were various colors from dark purple to light brown to some grotesque shade of blue-green. He didn't care what Rodolphus threw at him physically, though. He took it all, and despite the fact that he'd been beyond tired when he was finally forced to lug the cases of equipment back inside, but he knew physical exhaustion was something he could get over. The mental exhaustion the meeting after the practice had been what was eating away at Theo.

He and Lestrange had stayed behind while the rest of the team had gone back to the dorms and talked. Well, more like insulted each other. Rodolphus had been out to get at Theo's last nerve and into Vivian's pants ever since he saw the two of them together in the changing rooms, and it was becoming quite the old routine. It was wearing on both Vivian and Theo, but Theo sometimes he felt like it wore him down more. Vivian could easily brush just about anything off her shoulder and let it not affect her. Theo supposed that was one benefit of not having the average emotional range. Theo, unfortunately, had to deal with all of it. All of the confusion and anger and bitterness crashed down on Theo like a tidal wave, and he was getting caught up, losing the will to fight for air.

After practice Rodolophus Lestrange had told him that he hadn't slept with Vivian (after he lied and tried to act like he did), but he had said that Vivian had wanted to, and that he touched every inch of her. The visualization made Theo want to be sick, and it made him feel like he'd been punched in the gut. It was a hard realization to get over, and as he walked back to the common room he was still trying to process it all. Every bone in his body was sore and ached more than he knew his body could, but his brain was too distracted to think about how agonizing every step he took was. It was too busy circling and obsessing over Lestrange's words. Which was exactly what Lestrange would have wanted, and Theo knew it, but he couldn't help himself. He was surprisingly emotional for the type of person he was, and he was easily confused, easily jealous, and easily angered. Rodolphus Lestrange had managed to weasel all three of those emotions out of him tonight, and he was bitter with both Lestrange and himself for it. He was too quick to anger, and in the end it only got him hurt.

He sighed to himself as the Slytherin common room opened for him. All he wanted to do was close his eyes and forget that that practice had even happened. He could wake up in the morning and everything would be the same. That was only hopeful thinking though, and he knew it. He knew the words that Lestrange had spoke would stick with him for a long time.

And then he saw her, sitting there, and he smiled in spite of himself, in spite of his hurt and exhaustion. She was still as beautiful as ever. And most of all he was surprised, she usually never waited up, and he never expected her two. They were very much their own people, they always had been, and neither one of them would ever thinking of holding the other back.

He walked over to the couch and practically collapsed next to her. Now that he was sitting and looking at her he was overcome with emotions. How did he talk to her about this? Did he talk to her about this? He sighed to himself once more before deciding that it wasn't going to be the first thing out of his mouth because, truth be told, on some level he was ecstatic to see her. It was like the golden light at the end of a tunnel, or a rainbow after a hurricane. She was the silver lining in his shit-sandwich of a day.

"What are you doing up?" he asked with a smile, looking at her, trying not to let his exhaustion show, even though he knew his bruises were visible in the short-sleeved shirt he was wearing.

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[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Theo smiled when he looked at her, but he looked utterly exhausted. Even the way he walked spoke of how tired he was, and he moved like he was in pain. Vivian felt an odd, protective sort of feeling welling up inside of her, a mixture of wanting to comfort Theo and kill Lestrange. It wasn't something she'd ever experienced before, but since she and Theo had opened up about their feelings for one another she had had a whole host of new experiences in that department.

He collapsed next to her on her sofa, and Vivian had to move slightly to accommodate him. The arm chairs in the Slytherin common room- like most of the furniture- were very large and grand, they even managed to make Vivian look tiny, and she had grown several inches over the summer. She and Theo often shared one quite comfortably, when it was just the two of them in the evenings. But even so, he was close to her, not that Vivian was complaining. That was just how she liked it. She turned to face him, resting her head on the back of the chair, looking up at him, a soft smile on her face. She realised now that she was tired, but it was a peaceful sort of tired, at least now that Theo was here.

Vivian took a moment to look at Theo properly, and saw bruises all over both of his arms. She frowned slightly, despite herself, wondering what other bruises were concealed by Theo's shirt.

He asked her what she was doing up, and Vivian was surprised he'd even ask. Honestly, wasn't that what girlfriends were supposed to do? She could tell that Theo was trying not to look so tired, and she didn't know why he was doing that, either. He didn't need to do that with her. Theo didn't seem quite himself, but Vivian chalked it up to exhaustion and aching muscles, and probably an evening of Lestrange being his usual prickish self.

"Waiting for you, of course," she said, speaking softly in the quiet of the common room, reaching out and putting her hand on his, her thumb gently stroking the back of his hand. "I love you." Vivian made sure to tell Theo she loved him every day. She never wanted him to forget it. She knew that she could be cold hearted, and she knew that her emotions weren't what other peoples were. Most of the time she just didn't care about things. She just didn't really feel them. But not with Theo. She didn't ever want Theo to think he was included in that. She didn't ever want him to feel like he was missing out because he wasn't dating a 'normal' girl.

Besides all of which, she did love him, very much, and she wanted to say it as much as possible.

Another movement at the door caught Vivian's eye, and she looked up to see Rodolphus walking in. He smirked at the pair of them, but Vivian looked away and back to Theo, uninterested and unmoved. She was tired of his games. Vivian just wanted to be here with Theo, warm and comfortable by the fire. As much as he might irritate them both when he got the chance, he hadn't managed to intrude on their time together as a couple. In times like this, Rodolphus felt as small and insignificant to Vivian as a fly. Lestrange headed up to the Slytherin boys dormitories, leaving the almost empty common room behind. Only a handful of students remained.

Vivian snuggled closer to Theo, repositioning her legs under herself, shifting so that her knees rested against Theo's thigh. She breathed him in, enjoying his warmth. Theo always seemed warm, and she supposed he'd have to be, with his habit of being without a shirt so often.
"What happened?" she asked, her eyes on his. Her hand left his, and moved instead to the side of his face, brushing his hair back and stroking it gently. It was a gesture Vivian never would have made if the common room had been full. She didn't like sharing intimate moments with the world... hell, she didn't like to be seen being sweet and gentle and loving. And she wouldn't 'baby' Theo in front of his friends. But the common room as all but empty, and no one was looking over. For all intents and purposes, it was just the two of them.

[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

Theo knew that his exhaustion was incapable of being hidden, especially from Vivian, so he wasn't sure why he was trying, really. In fact, he was surprised that she didn't snap at him about it. He knew he would have called her out for pretending to be something she wasn't. But maybe that just made Vivian the better person of the two of them. Vivian was by his side again as he rested comfortably in the arm chair. Simply sitting down felt nice, and the fact that Vivian was by his side only made it all the more better. She had to move slightly to make sure they were both comfortable, and he should have thanked her or something, but he didn't because he knew she would say that he didn't have to. She'd never been one for pleasantries or apologies, but that was one of the reasons he loved her so much. She was never anyone but herself.

She replied that she was waiting for him, and he couldn't help but grin to himself. It was kind of nice to have her waiting there, honestly. He never expected her to before, and just because they were dating now it didn't mean that little things like that had to change for them. Still, it would have been a lie to say that he wasn't happy to see her and so incredibly thankful to have her there. The two of them stayed quiet for quite some time, Theo just trying to get over his exhaustion and anger with Rodolphus Lestrange, and Vivian not really finding much around for conversation. It was a silence, sure, but it wasn't uncomfortable in the slightest.

And just as Theo thought he could let everything go and just relax, just be there with Vivian in that moment, Rodolphus had to go and show his face again, dredging back up everything that Theo had managed to bury in the last few minutes of relaxing with Vivian. Rodolphus didn't open his mouth, but he didn't have to. Just seeing him smirk in that some cocky, shit-eating way that he did was enough to sour Theo's mood entirely, and he sighed in anger and exasperation as Rodolphus walked out of earshot.


Vivian asked him what happened and he shrugged. Did he really want to get into all of this now? Not really, but the caring part of him knew that Vivian was only asking because she truly did care about him. And, after all, this did involve her too, whether it was good or bad or not. It affected her because she was dating him, and his mood in turn affected her life and on and on the spiral went. He looked at her before inhaling and exhaling once.

"What didn't happen?" he asked, and he considered it a valid question. It was true. In the time spent at practice and afterward Theo had gone through a roller coaster of physical pain and emotional stress. "Practice was a bloody nightmare and then, in the locker room Lestrange was just going on about the two of you," he said, waving his hand like he wanted to forget abut everything Rodolphus Lestrange had ever said. He didn't really want to talk about all of this right now, and part of him hoped that Vivian would simply let it go, and take what he said at face value. Rodolphus Lestrange was being his usual prickish self and it got to Theo. That was the sensible part of Theo's brain, but the other part, the jealousy-driven part seem to let go of what Rodolphus had said. Had she really wanted to be with Rodolphus while they were together?

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[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

While Vivian barely reacted to Lestrange walking into the common room, Theo gave an angry sort of sigh, and Vivian knew that Rodolphus had given Theo a really hard time at practice. Maybe she should feel bad about that, guilty in some way, since Theo was getting a hard time because he had punched Lestrange, and he had done that for her... but Vivian didn't really work like that. It wasn't her fault, not really. She wasn't torturing Theo on the Quidditch pitch. She hadn't made him clock Lestrange in the face. So she didn't feel guilty, not one bit, but that didn't mean she was happy about it. She felt bad purely because she didn't like seeing Theo hurt.

Theo didn't go into much detail about what happened at practice, but the bruises he was covered in did that for him. Then he said that Lestrange had been going on about when he had Vivian had been together, and Vivian knew that was what was getting to Theo. She wished he wouldn't let stuff like that bother him; he'd slept with plenty of girls, and she never let it get to her. She just didn't think about it. She didn't want to let the past ruin the present. But Vivian also knew that Theo wasn't like her. He wasn't able to be rational like that. Theo was a passionate person, and easily made jealous. Vivian had always known that about him.

But Vivian knew how to handle Theo. Sometimes she thought she understood him better than he understood himself. He could come across as extremely cocky, with an ego the size of the castle... but sometimes what he really needed was reassurance.

Vivian stopped stroking Theo's hair, thinking where to begin.

"There never was a 'two of us'," she said, looking at Theo, "there's only ever been a me and you. And how could anything with Lestrange ever be compared to that?" she paused, feeling uncomfortable talking about it all, but pushing on anyway. "I gave you everything, Theo, and you... you know what a big deal that was for me." She didn't really need to say it. He knew what it meant to her to have that experience with him, after everything she'd dealt with in the past. "What happened with Lestrange was nothing. What happened with you was... Theo, I could never find the words to describe how it felt, being with you. Or how much it meant to me. Don't let him spoil it. Its what he wants."

She kissed him, and it was slow but fiery, filled with passion and love like all of their kisses.
"I think about that evening we spent together every night," she said, looking at him as she broke away. "I dream about being with you. And I can't wait until we can find time alone together again." It had been less than a week since that evening in the changing rooms, and living in dorms made it almost impossible to find time alone (Vivian had resolutely turned down Theo's 'broom closet' idea).

"Just think about that, next time he says anything," she finished, smiling slightly as she looked up at him. Theo was her world. The idea that Lestrange had anything on him at all... it was laughable.

[THEODORE JACOB NOTT]

Vivian stopped messing with his hair and for a moment Theo became worried. Was he going to get reprimanded? Had he said something wrong? He knew Vivian had a habit of putting him in his place when he needed to be, and he appreciated her endlessly for that, but was this really one of those times? Was this really a time for her to scold him? He winced slightly at the thought, and when she began speaking he prepared himself for an angry rant, but what Vivian said was much different than what he expected. Rodolphus Lestrange was the epitome of an ass. He was evil, vindictive, and malicious. And the fact that that didn't get to Vivian amazed Theo. He knew part of it was that she didn't really function like other people with the whole emotions thing. She was never really hardwired that way, and part of Theo envied that. He wished he could just... not care about all the shit Rodolphus Lestrange let fall from his mouth, but he just couldn't bring himself to truly let go. Perhaps that made him weak, or pathetic even. He was a guy after all, they never got caught up playing catty games like the one Rodolphus was trying to pull, so why was he allowing himself to do just that?

He sighed, a mixture of contentedness and confusion overtaking him as she said he knew what a big deal it was for Vivian to give herself to him the way she had. And it was true. He did know what a big deal that was for her. He knew her parents had done terrible, awful, unspeakable things to her when she was younger and he hated to think about that. Even now it filled him with a hatred unlike any other. That anyone would do anything like that to Vivian, their own daughter, then just a little girl... it was disgusting, it would always be disgusting. But Vivian was never, ever disgusting.

"I know, love," he said, moving his hand and placing it over hers before she continued speaking. She told him not to let Rodolphus spoil what they had because it was what he wanted, and then, as she kissed him, it was like something finally clicked within his brain. She was right. Theo was feeding into what Rodolphus wanted, and while he wouldn't allow Rod to get away with talking about Vivian and calling her a slag while he was around to hear it, he'd not let thoughts of Rodolphus Lestrange ruin his time with Vivian. He'd much rather get caught up in the feeling of her lips on his and the way she tasted than ever think about Rodolphus Lestrange again.

She broke away, and he grinned at her as she began speaking of the night in the locker room, and how she dreamed about it, and how she couldn't wait to do it again.

"You always did know how to get my attention," he said with a grin before kissing her again. "And you know I can't wait until we can find some time again. You have to know that," he said laughing a little as his eyes then began wandering around the common room. Were they the only two there? That's how it felt. His eyes found Vivian's face again and he grinned.

"Thank you," he said genuinely with a smile. "for always being the more sensible one." his lips found hers as his mind wandered back to thinking.... were they the only two in the common room? Would Vivian be up for taking that kind of risk?

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[VIVIAN HOPE BLACKWELL]

Theo seemed to take what Vivian had said on board, which was a huge relief. With Theo you couldn't always know how he would take something. He could be impulsive, and his changeable feelings and hot temper mirrored that. Often Vivian thought that not even Theo knew how something would make him react.

He put his hand on hers, and Vivian smiled slightly, glad that he understood. Rodolphus could only come between them if one of them let him. As long as she and Theo stuck together, there was nothing that was going to break them apart; especially not Rodolphus Lestrange.

She grinned as Theo said that she always knew how to get his attention. He couldn't wait for the next time they could be together, either. The waiting was the hardest part. Vivian didn't like denying herself something she wanted, and she wanted Theo more than anything. Then she saw Theo's eyes wandering around the common room, and she shook her head slightly, a smile playing on her lips. Really?

Vivian knew exactly what was on Theo's mind; he was checking to see if they were the only two there. Vivian thought they might be, but she wasn't sure, and besides even if they were alone there was absolutely no guarantee that it would stay that way. But before she could tell Theo that, he was speaking again, saying that she was the more sensible one of the two of them. At that Vivian couldn't help but laugh. If she was the more sensible one, then they were really in trouble.

And then Theo was kissing her again, and Vivian let herself get swept up in it, despite the fact that she could practically feel where Theo's mind was wandering with the way he kissed her. Only when her own mind started to wander did she stop herself, pulling away from Theo, smiling.

"I know what you're thinking," she said, quietly, still smiling, "and apart from everything else- like the fact that anyone could walk in, and the last time we took a risk like that it ended in disaster- aren't you exhausted? And you're so sore you can hardly move." There was no point in him denying it; Vivian knew Theo was aching all over. It had been obvious when he'd walked in.

Of course, Vivian was sure there were ways they could get around that... she bit her lip slightly, trying not to let her mind go there, but it was hard. She hoped Theo didn't feel like tempting her, because if he did her self control would crumble, and it was such a monumentally bad idea.