You're Stuck In My Head, Stuck On My Heart (Dustin)

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Viovinnia had not seen Dustin since their last chance meeting in Horizon Alley. Their last meeting in which she had spontaneously shared a kiss with the animagus. Animagus. Vi smirked to herself at the thought of the Quidditch player turning into a bird of prey. Speaking of Quidditch, that was exactly what she was spectating today. It was a cloudy day and it looked like rain was going to happen, but of course that would never cancel professional Quidditch. Vi had been looking at the back of the Prophet her father had been reading that morning when she saw the headline for a particular team playing today and when she saw that, she knew she had to go. So she had ventured out and headed to the stadium to see the blonde Gryffindor alum in action.

Watching Dustin on the field was something else. She could see why his animagus form was a bird... the way he flew around on a broom was like the flight pattern of a bird. Graceful and majestic, yet also fierce, fast, and (to other players) probably intimidating. He had caught the Snitch that had won the game for the Falcons (Vi smirked to herself at the name and the irony of their Seeker being an animagus of a bird like a falcon,) and Vi was impressed. He wasn't terribly hard to spot on the field but that was also because Vi had grown up watching professional Quidditch games. Plus, she wasn't sure she could easily forget that blonde head of hair.

After the game and most of the crowds had died down, Vi headed out to where she assumed the players exited the stadium. She stood leaning against the wall opposite doors that side "players only" and she waited. The first team out was the opposing team (who obviously weren't in the best of spirits,) and then finally, she began to see Falcons come out with cheerful and prideful looks on their faces. She knew her Gryffindor would be following any minute.

@dustin

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Dustin was a good Quidditch player: this much he knew. He wasn’t being cocky, or self-important, or anything else – he was just a good Quidditch player, and there was heaps of evidence to support that, including that the Falmouth Falcons won every single game that he played in. Apart from the odd illness or injury, Dustin played in every game, so it was safe to say that the Falcons had one of the best records in the league. Part of his pride for his team, and thus his drive to do good by them, was the fact that Dustin just loved to fly, whether it be on a broom or by the power of his own two wings. There were times when the Gryffindor wondered what would happen if he transformed in the middle of the game and just used his bird vision to find the Snitch, but he wasn’t a cheat. He had standards, especially when it came to the practically-sacred game of Quidditch.

Winning that day wasn’t a surprise, but it was still a good feeling. Dustin took his time in the shower, humming a little diddy (and taking care not to summon any birds accidentally while he did so) as he cleaned the sweat off his body. He put on his regular robes afterwards, and stuck a stick of cinnamon gum in his mouth as he exited the locker room, feeling refreshed. All of that easy-going feeling evaporated from his body, though, when he saw a certain Slytherin standing on the wall near the exit. A few of his teammates gave her strange looks, and he was definitely going to get a dressing down about this later, but Dustin approached Viovinnia nonetheless. “If you had told me you were coming today, I could have gotten you better seats.” He commented as he reached her. “And I probably would have taken a bit more care in washing behind my ears when I showered.” Dustin blinked once at Vi, and had to resist the urge to nervously run his hand through his still-damp hair. This was strange, but…nice.

@vi

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As Vi stood waiting, she was quite aware of the looks and raised eyebrows she was getting from Dustin's alleged teammates. She used to that sort of thing, though. Either men staring at her because they thought she was attractive or staring at her and hoping not to make eye contact because she looked intimidating or something. Whatever the reason, Vi liked the attention most of the time. She liked to be on top. So she didn't mind the looks she got as the rest of Dustin's team exited the locker rooms. She actually kind of smirked.

After just a minute or two longer, Vi's smirk widened when the blonde finally emerged, his hair still damp. Seeing his hair like that sent a shiver down Viovinnia's spine for some reason... she liked how it looked. Dustin stopped as he reached her and Vi looked at his eyes, her smirk threatening to form instead into a content smile. "I wanted to see how well you do on a regular day," she Slytherin shrugged. "Because I knew if I told you I was coming... you'd have gotten all nervous, you know," she said this like she knew it to be the truth, even if she was just bluffing. Vi continued to smirk until she caught a whiff of Dustin's breath. Cinnamon. The Slytherin blinked and she could feel her knees slightly weaker than they had been moments before. She tried to hide her sudden infatuation with the smell of his cinnamon breath by narrowing her eyes at him as if to inspect him. "Yeah... it looks like you missed a spot back there," she said, motioning to her own ear to indicate the "spot" he had missed.

@dustin

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Dustin raised his eyebrows at Viovinnia’s explanation. “If you wanted to see how I did on a regular day, you could have picked up The Daily Prophet.” He told her, corners of his lips turning up into a smile. All of the game synopses were in the sports section, and it wasn’t like it was difficult to see a pattern in his playing: he won. Still, the fact that she didn’t want to make him nervous was…sweet. “Oh, so you’ve finally figured that bit out.” Dustin laughed. He had been wondering how long it would take Viovinnia to notice that whenever she was around he seemed to swallow his tongue. He had thought that after they had kissed she would have figured out why that was, but she seemed just as oblivious as ever, and Dustin was certain that it was on purpose. She was playing hard to get, and damn him if he didn’t catch her.

His hand automatically went up to the spot behind his ear that Viovinnia gestured at to see if there actually was any dirt there. There wasn’t, and he grinned at her. “I thought that you didn’t want to make me nervous?” He asked teasingly. “I nearly had a heart attack just then.” The Gryffindor cared about how his Slytherin (yes, she was his Slytherin, just as he was her Gryffindor) saw him, and to have that image ruined would have hurt him immensely. “So, were you impressed with my normal caliber of play, or am I going to have to step up my game?” He asked Vi with twinkling eyes. He couldn’t imagine how he could have done any better, but he was sure that she could come up with something.

@vi

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Vi found speaking to Dustin particularly effortless; as if conversation with him flowed so naturally and easily, unlike conversation with River, which was usually forced somehow. Vi's own lips threatened to curve into a smile when she saw Dustin's do so. She shrugged. "I just figured a little bit of writing could never do you justice," she said nonchalantly. And it was true. Viovinnia doubted highly that a journalist could ever shed the correct amount of light on the talent that was Dustin Bainbridge. The Slytherin smirked at the damp blonde. She quite liked that she seemed to make her nervous. Vi didn't normally get nervous herself but if Dustin were to get any closer to her she was sure she would find herself a little more tongue tied herself. But that was an effect it seemed only he had on her.

Vi's smirked wicked mischievously when Dustin checked to see if there was any dirt like she said. His reaction pleased her and got the smallest chuckle out of her too. "I didn't say anything about not wanting to make you nervous," she shrugged one shoulder innocently. "It's kind of fun to watch you get all nervous. She almost said "cute" but had stopped herself beforehand.

When Dustin asked her his question, Vi pretended to be deep in thought for a moment by placing her finger on her chin. "I think you could definitely step it up a notch," she nodded matter-of-factly but failed at hiding a joking small smile.

@dustin

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Dustin let out a small chuckle when Viovinnia said that writing could never do him justice. He could certainly say the same of her; no words could quite capture how she made him feel, which was silly, because that was all words were supposed to do – put a label on feelings. “Thanks, Vinnie.” He said, smiling at her. “You’re right; no writing could ever do me justice.” He was supposed to be a bit better at bravado than that, but Dustin figured that it sufficed for the moment. He snapped his gum, and then sidled a little closer to her, hoping that he could absorb some of the confidence that was oozing off of her.

“It was implied.” He said with a grin when Viovinnia claimed that she never said she didn’t want to make him nervous. “But I suppose nerves work in your favor, don’t they?” When Dustin got nervous, he was a lot easier to talk into things – that was part of the reason she had been able to see him as a bird, something that no one had ever done before her. “I would say the same of you, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen you all spun up.” Dustin said teasingly. “I need to work on that. Do some research on what makes snakes tic.” As far as he knew, the only thing that bothered Slytherins was when people were smarter than them, and Dustin had no hope of outsmarting Viovinnia. He paused when she said that he could step it up a notch. “Well, maybe if I had known you were here, I would have.” He said with a nonchalant shrug, popping his gum again. “Because we both know I’d stop at nothing to impress you.” Dustin would have caught the Snitch within the first thirty seconds of the game if that was what Viovinnia had asked for.

@vi

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Viovinnia raised an eyebrow at the Quidditch player when he called her 'Vinnie.' She had never been given a nickname by anyone before. She disliked when most people shortened her name to "Vi" and her family never called her anything but her whole first name. The one Dustin had seemed to have given her was certainly a new one she had never heard before. And she didn't know why, but she liked it. A small hint of a smile played at one corner of her mouth. "Vinnie?" She asked, raised her eyebrows and nodding her head in his direction.

The Slytherin's mouth formed once more into her signature smirk. "They do," she shrugged smugly. Vi usually was good at manipulating others into getting what she wanted them to do; it was a Slytherin trait after all. But Vi didn't feel like she had to convince Dustin to do anything; he just seemed to want to and that was something so unfamiliar to Viovinnia but it was something she really liked. But she would never tell him that. Truth be told, the Gryffindor alum had impressed her a lot more than most boys ever had and they hardly knew anything other than the exterior stuff about one another. The idea of getting to know Dustin was an exciting and terrifying one to the Nott. "Nothing, eh?" She folded her arms across her chest. "I guess we will have to see about that."

Speaking of terrifying, when Dustin moved closer to Viovinnia she caught yet another whiff of his gum and this time she felt her breath hitch. Her eyes glanced at his mouth just briefly as he popped his gum. He wanted to know what made her tic? Well, if he didn't spit out that gum soon he was going to find out.

@dustin

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Dustin was expecting some sort of physical harm to come to him when he used the nickname on Viovinnia, but nothing came to past. He still had all four of his extremities, and there was no hole where his heart ought to be, so he was considering it a win. When he studied the Slytherin girl’s face, Dustin was sure he almost detected a smile. “It’s catchier and easier to say than Viovinnia, more personal than Vi.” He said with a shrug. “D’you like it?” He asked, trying to remain as casual as possible. Nicknames were the first step to a relationship, after all. There were few nicknames you could make out of Dustin Bainbridge. His middle name was comedy gold, but he didn’t want a comedic nickname when it came to Viovinnia.

“I mean, if you want to start testing me now, that would be fine.” Dustin said with an easygoing smile. He picked a tissue out of his pocket and spat his gum into it, smile becoming more devilish as he once again stepped closer to Viovinnia. His mouth still tasted of cinnamon, but now he had no gum in the way for when he bent down and pressed his lips briefly against hers. “For example, you enjoy kissing me.” He happened to know this from his previous experience. “So, I will make the sacrifice of kissing you repeatedly, if you’d be alright with that.” Now she probably realized why his smile had been so devilish. “I’d also be willing to take you on a date, even though it would be quite a hardship.” A hardship, to look at that face for hours on end? Not really.

@vi

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Did she like it? No one had ever given the youngest Nott a personalized nickname before, and those who knew her knew she would never let them call her "Vi." So the fact that this lion repeatedly broke the patterns of others was enough to make Viovinnia take almost an immediate liking to the nickname. Though she would never let him know that. "It's alright," she shrugged nonchalantly, pretending as if she were not fluttering like an excited little butterfly within. "But what to call you now... It's only fair you get one too." She smirked at him.

When Dustin said she could start testing him right away, Vi was pretty excited but she became momentarily fixated on the tissue Dustin pulled out and used to spit his gum into. She could still smell the cinnamon wafting from it. Then he stepped closer again and Vi raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what on Earth he was doing and then he pressed his lips against hers. It was just as breathtaking as it had been the first time they kissed in that alley. Vi was not normally surprised or taken aback by anyone, so why then was Dustim Bainbridge so good at it?

At Dustin's next words it took a moment for Vi to process them but when she did, she smirked. "I think that could be arranged," she nodded once, matter-of-factly.

@dustin

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The nickname was alright, and from Viovinnia Nott, that was high praise. He would take alright from her above fantastic from any other girl. He smiled when she said that she needed a nickname for him. Dustin knew that was going to be difficult – there were a total of six letters in his name, and no possible permutation could make anything better than Dust. Occasionally someone tried Dusti, but that was more of a girl’s nickname than a boy’s. “Go right ahead and try, Vinnie.” He said, grin once again smoothing itself into something worthy of the devil himself. “Betcha you can’t find something one of my sisters hasn’t tried.” Six sisters with a lot of time and a penchant for teasing their older brother meant that there were a lot of crazy nicknames in the air.

“Arranged for the first time you go to Hogsmeade?” Dustin asked, though it was less of a question and more of a statement. “Someplace interesting, though. Maybe in private, so you don’t ruin your relationship with the rest of your snake friends. Heaven forbid they see you with a lion like me.” Snakes and lions, that was their game; it was a fun game, but a dangerous one. “Shrieking Shack?” He suggested mildly. That was the only place he could think of that wouldn’t be packed to the gills come the students’ Hogsmeade visit. “Wouldn’t want to take you off of campus just yet.” He would save that possibility for the future, though, because he was determined that there would be a future for him and Viovinnia Nott.

@vi

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Vi was never one to step down from a challenge, so the challenge of finding a suitable nickname for Dustin Bainbridge was going to be a fun one. "Oh, I'll find one," she smirked back at Dustin to mirror his own devilish grin. "But I'm gonna take my time. Make sure it's really good." She narrowed her eyes playfully at him.

Vi smirked at the thought of wandering about the Shrieking Shack with Dustin. A place such as that was bound to be more than private, and that was just how Viovinnia liked it. "Sounds like... a date," she said, raising a challenging eyebrow at him. "And oh, a hardship it will be."

@dustin

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Dustin rolled his eyes at Vivoinnia saying that she was going to take her time finding him a nickname. "Well, please try to find one before I turn twenty." He teased. It wasn't actually that long until he turned twenty, and Dustin shied away a little at that thought. He was getting...older. Not old yet, but older. "I hope you have at least one to try out by Hogsmeade." Dustin said. He smoothed his hand through his hair, and found that it was almost dry. How long had they been talking? He had promised his sisters that he would come see them after his game, and if he was much longer, they would think that he had stood them up.

"Good." Dustin said. "Listen, I have to go meet my sisters...But I'll see you at the Shrieking Shack." Vi had walked away form him so many times, and Dustin was looking forward to giving her a taste of her own medicine. He bent his head down to kiss her one last time, turned on his heel, and walked away.

@vi