but what if you fly? [theo]

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Christmas break of the year 2022, when Abby disappeared. Her family wondered where she had gone and her friends were all but breaking their backs searching for her, but she was just fine. Abby had run off with Theodorus Nott. It was really planned that she would do this. No, she was swept away in secret and wouldn't have had it any other way. Making plans was for other people. People who didn't live day to day as she and Theo did. She didn't have a plan now, she didn't want one. They spent the break just doing whatever they pleased and today, they found themselves in nice warm Brazil, ready to do some class A cliff diving.

Abby was dressed in jean shorts and a loose black shirt over her black swimsuit. She tugged on Theos arm, pointing ahead at the group of college kids heading toward the cliffs ahead of them. "They look like they might know a good place to dive... so we follow them and dive higher, eh?" she suggested, laughing as she raised an eyebrow at him. She chewed on her lip excitedly as they got closer to their destination, hyperly awaiting the dives to come...

@theodorus

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Theo was hardly a stranger to vanishing from home for days on end. Granted, he’d rarely done so alone until recently. Being a highly-trained, combat proficient kid still meant you were a kid. And that meant all sorts of weaknesses that skill couldn’t make up for. But as an adult, Theo could roam as he pleased. His parents trusted him to come back, and Theo figured, if he died out there, that was just the limit of what he could accomplish.

So it was hardly Theo’s first time leaving with no warning like this. He’d never gone all the way to Brazil, though. It was certainly intriguing to move from one side of the planet to the other if you felt like being in a different season. Abby had taken to Muggle customs like it was nothing—which, in truth, it really was not, not if you weren’t so insecure you had to avoid it at all costs. She was dressed well enough to blend right in among the tourists. Theo, for his part, was dressed in black swimming trunks and nothing else currently. Dressing properly as a Pureblood tended to mean robes all the time, and they’d been in deep winter up until coming here, so it was a good time to soak up some sunlight. And he was far from the only guy walking around shirtless, though most of the others seemed to be out to attract women.

He already had one with him. And judging by the way he was being eyed, even if Abby wasn’t here, it wouldn’t take him long to get one. Though a few guys were also sizing him up, appraising their chances with Abby. The thought was enough to make him want to laugh out loud.

Nobody here could compete with him.

Abby suggested they follow a group of people who looked to be around their age, maybe a bit older, and see where they were jumping from. Theo grinned. “I'm game.” Abby was practically bouncing after them, her body almost vibrating with energy. Theo, who had realized well before now that he had more experience with the Muggle world than she, was more composed about the whole thing, but it was still thrilling, and that was what he lived for. “Sure you can handle this, Little Girl? No wands means no safety net.” He snaked out an arm to wrap around her waist and drag her back to him, pressing his mouth close to her ear as his voice got low and gravelly. “I know you like it rough though.”

@abigail

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Theo, always being so sassy. She grinned when he said he was game but was just ready to get moving! Those cliffs looked so inviting and this whole 'no wands' thing made this all even more exciting. Her blood was like electricity at the anticipation of that fall. Sometimes the working up to something amazing was just as good a rush as the actual action itself. Theo had been proof of that.

Of course, Abby had noticed all the people around them giving them looks. The idea that any of these girls thought they would get anywhere near Theo was just laughable. Not that she would stop him if he went for it, but she just knew that it was a completely ridiculous idea. She fully believed that no one compared to her, especially around here. At least in the case of what Theo enjoyed about her. She'd never asked him for details, of course, because she didn't have to. She knew him and he knew her and that was it. It was uncomplicated.

"I'm sur-" she yelped as she was pulled back but didn't resist, allowing him to press his lips to her hear and growl those words. She chuckled, leaning up to take a quick bite at his own ear before pulling back enough to see his face. "You know me well. You also know I don't like being interrupted," she glared, kissing him quickly on the lips before trying to escape again by grabbing his wrists and attempting to push him back, "now can we get moving already!?" Sure, Theo gave her just as much of an adrenaline hit as jumping off this cliff would, but even Abby had to shake up her poisons every once in a while.

@theodorus

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He did love the way she responded to him. Not dominant, not submissive. Just equal. Few women ever tried to pull that off with him. Of those who did, only she had ever succeeded. And he loved it. He had sorely underestimated how interesting it could be to know someone who…what was that Muggle term his old boxing coach used for opponents who could read one another? Clicked? Something like that. So when she pecked him on the lips and tried to force his wrists away, he released her, smirking as he jogged along in her wake after the group of young adults she had spotted out.

The energy here was perceptible. One thing Theo had found out—while there were a number of witches and wizards who loved a good challenge, most of them liked things to stay the same. He was raised in what was possibly the pureblood house with the most liberal viewpoints a proper pureblood could have, which basically amounted to “the world is not right but it’s the one we have to live in” and still would prefer a return to the old ways. A large portion of the Wizarding world seemed to resist change, good or bad. Muggles, by contrast, were encouraged to go out and try new things in their youth, to think for themselves and make their own decisions. And a lot of them went for the thrillseeking. Or maybe not a lot. Maybe it was a small percentage that looked big because Muggles numbered in the billions.

He slowed as he came up behind Abby, who had stopped. “Figured out where you want to jump from?” he asked, wrapping an arm around her waist again.

@abigail

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She was glad he didn't fight her when she pulled back. As much as she loved that, her mind was pretty set right now. Abby grinned, turning on her heel to catch up to one of the groups. They didn't really comment on her being there, just glad to have extra company it seemed like. Anyway, the kids were starting to head toward a cliff but Abby's eyes shot upward where the cliff jutted high above them.

She jolted a little in surprise because she was so focused when Theo caught up to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and asking where she wanted to jump from. She nodded, pointing upward. She didn't say anything as she shifted to grab his hand til they reached the point where they'd need to climb.

She climbed, not bothering to check if he was following. Heck, he'd probably get ahead of her or climb by her side. Either way, some people were pointing toward them and making weird exclamations. Like how it was way to high to be safe. Abby just laughed as the wind picked up the higher they got...

@theodorus

(I have no specific plans. Take it away babe)

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He looked up at the cliff she pointed at, grinning viciously at the thought. This one was truly going to put their lives in their hands. She began to climb the cliffs, and he followed her up the rock face, impressed at her ability to climb without gear. Granted, he didn’t have gear either, but he’d been trained for survival. So he made sure to follow her up, rather than try to pass her, just in case she fell. The shouts and exclamations behind them didn’t matter to him. What did he care if they thought it was dangerous? They were only human, not fit to cage two wild animals who would do what they wanted.

They reached the top at last, winds whipping about them as they took in the view for a moment. Theo moved over to the edge, looking down at the water below. It was certainly a long way.

Better to make sure Abby knew what she was doing.

“Have you ever dove properly, Little Girl?” he asked, turning to her. He raised his arms up over his head, stretched skyward, hands forming an arrow. “Water sticks to itself. The bigger an object that hits the water, the harder it hits, because it impacts more water. At this height, if you were to hit the water with your stomach or back, it would be just like hitting rocks. So you make yourself a smaller target. Cut the water with your hands, because there’s not enough water to hurt them. Your body follows through into water that’s already cut.”

Then he held his hands out toward her, still in the arrow formation, and tilted them up, down, left, right. “When you hit, you’ll keep moving through the water. Turn your hands where you want to go, and your body will follow. You see?”

That was the best crash course she was going to get out of him. Theo had done high dives before as part of his training, hands first and feet first, though he had always been instructed to go hands first if he had a choice. But he’d never jumped from this height.

The thought alone brought a feral grin to his lips as he grabbed Abby by the shoulders and pulled her in for a kiss. “I’m guessing you want to go first. Typical Gryffindor.”

@abigail

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Theo stepped up to look down at the water and Abby raised an eyebrow at him when he turned to speak. He asked if she'd dived properly and she leaned in to listen as he made the form with his hands and started to explain. She nodded, "I've done some diving in the sense that I've jumped into water before. Not properly I suppose," she laughed, and she was glad for the instruction. "Got it. Make myself small. Arrow hands," she moved to copy arm shape as he continued. She followed his movements as he explained how to move through the water. She nodded when he asked for confirmation. Her grin was always in place as she mentally prepared herself for this. And by 'mentally prepare' that really just meant she was getting psyched. She got closer to the edge, stepping up beside him right before he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her toward him. She kissed him back and laughed when she pulled back and guessed she wanted to go first. "You guessed right, pretty boy."

She stepped away from him and leaned over the edge, looking down at the water. She felt that familiar hook in her stomach, that sensation calling her to make the jump. She bounced on her toes a tiny bit in excitement. Then she turned to Theo one last time, "if I die, leave my body to the ocean," she spoke in a casual tone, but really she meant it. She'd rather not be buried in the ground. "See you on the other side," then she jumped, shaping her body the way he'd showed her so her hands would go in first.

Falling through the air was much better than flying, and she'd swear by that. Sure, she'd done dives on her broom, but this was nothing like that. No security, no safety net, the speed completely not in her control. If the air wasn't knocked out of her by the sheer wind around her, she would have let out a happy laugh. Instead, she just grinned and tried to concentrate on slowing the moment down as much as possible, to make it last.

Then she hit the water, or rather cut through it like a blade. Once under, she shifted to the left and opened her arms in order to just float (or sink) for a moment with no direction.

Finally, at the last possible second before she'd run out of breath, she pushed toward the surface and burst out of the water.

@theodorus

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Abby admitted to never having properly dove before, but Theo was not in the least bit worried. Aside the fact that her life and death weren’t his concern, she was cut from the same cloth as him. Understanding something as simple as diving and getting it right on the first try would be trivial for her. That was what made her stand out from other witches: she understood the physical world as well as the magical one. He laughed again when she told him to leave her in the ocean if she died. No, that body belonged to him, and the ocean would return it in one piece and unharmed if the ocean knew what was good for it.

“See you on the other side.”

As she jumped, Theo shouted after her. “I’m not dying even if you do!” He ran up to the edge of the cliff in time to watch the second half of her fall, hearing one or two screams from the kids below. Not that there was any need to worry. As he had suspected, her form was nearly perfect despite having never done it before. She hit the water beautifully, with barely a splash to the enthusiastic cheering of dozens of Muggles below. He watched and waited for her—she had to surface before he could jump. If he hit her coming down, they would both die, and their ghosts would argue over it for all eternity.

Or haunt the beach cliffs. Which might not even be that bad.

…come to think of it, their tenacity for life was similar. Would they opt to become ghosts if death claimed them? ….Theo shoved the question aside as Abby finally resurfaced to more cheers, unwilling to examine it more closely right now. There was living to do before worrying about dying!

Now that he knew where she was, he could jump as well. Theo backed up to give himself a good running start, then took off in a mad dash. As he approached the edge, he jumped one time forward to land with his feet together at the cliff’s edge, then forward again, shooting himself forward while maintaining the diving position. They were high up enough that his forward momentum would be killed by the fall before he reached the water. He grinned down at Abby, momentarily crossing his arms over his chest like this was no big deal, before forming a proper diving position in time to cut into the water the way she had done before.

Unlike Abby, Theo didn’t stop to float in place under the water. He tilted his hands to glide beneath the waves over to where Abby was, slipping under her and rising upwards. He caught her hips with his shoulders and lifted her completely clear of the water as he rose up himself. His hands instinctively found hers to help her balance and he smirked at the cheers of the crowd watching them, with Abby now riding his shoulders. “Free fall is the best, wouldn’t you say?”

@abigail

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Abby watched as Theo fell towards the water, her smile wide. When he grinned down at her, crossing his arms like that, Abby shook her head and laughed loudly. Once he went under, she stayed where she was, expecting him to come find her once he rose to the surface. However, she wasn't surprised when he appeared beneath her and lifting her onto his shoulders. She lifted her hands into the air and threw her head back to laugh again before looking down at him when he spoke. "It's the only way, Theo," she answered, accompanied by another laugh.

She brought her hands down to rest on top of his head and then lowered her head onto her hands, bending her back in order to do so. "So, again right away, or swim for a while?" Abby had made the decision about which cliff to dive off of and whatnot so she'd let him make a move one what to do next. She wouldn't be surprised if he just didn't answer her verbally and just took her wherever he wanted to go, and that was fine with her.

@theodorus

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Abby laughed at being lifted into the air, maintaining her balance perfectly to more cheers from the crowd of onlookers, just before they began to disperse. He smirked. Of course she loved free fall like he did. In fact, he was willing to bet she loved it more. “The only way, huh? I seem to remember a mountain cabin where staying in bed all day became appealing to you…” Not that it hadn’t appealed to him as well, mind.

In fact, he rather intended that they go back there before the end of this little excursion. So he could try again to convince her not to return to civilization.

“So, again right away, or swim for awhile?”

In response, Theo submerged himself back under the water, grabbing her by the ankle to drag her down with him. Underwater, Theo smirked at her, holding up one finger for her to pause and wait.

They stayed under for quite awhile. When Theo’s lungs were beginning to burn and he could see Abby squirming for air, he held up a finger to wait again and surfaced himself. The blonde sucked in gulps of fresh air, then dove again immediately. Abby was close to rising, but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a kiss, transferring oxygen to her as he did so.

Still underwater, he smirked at her. I knew you trusted me with your life.

@abigail

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Of course he would mention the cabin. She rolled her eyes, "I meant the only way to fall," she mused. Though, he could still find a way to bring that specific back to that cabin she was sure. Staying in bed all day was appealing there, of course. Only a completely crazy person wouldn't feel that way!

Theo didn't answer her next question with words, which was common for him. He went under the water and dragged her down, but not before she took in some breath so she wouldn't drown. He held up a finger and she nodded, holding her breath with excitement and out of necessity as she waited for what he would do. But, she needed air! She wasn't going to go up before him, though. She was too stubborn for that.

She started to shift uncomfortably while waiting until, oddly, he held up a finger again and her brow furrowed at him as he went up for air.

He wanted her to wait longer!? Was he craz- Oh. He was back, wrapping his arms around her and sort of kissing her. She felt air fill her lungs and she wanted to laugh, but she didn't want to lose the air. She closed her eyes, giving herself in completely to this strange idea. She didn't need to go to the surface any more, she realized. He had given her enough air to last a bit longer.

His lips left hers and Abby waited a moment before opening her eyes. Of course he was smirking. She knew that smirk. She didn't like the idea of someone having her life in their hands, but she had just done that. She smirked back at him, shaking her head in disbelief at herself.

She kissed him one more time, wrapped her arms and her legs around him in the water. More air could wait.

@theodorus

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Yeah she liked that. Not that Theo had ever doubted she would, but the answering smirk was still welcome.

When her arms and legs wrapped around him, Theo wrapped one arm around her, while he ran the other hand back and forth along her leg. Kissing underwater was a new thing for him, to be certain, and he was pretty sure it was new for her as well. He’d helped her with many first experiences recently. They continued to kiss for much longer than they probably should have, but when Theo’s lungs really began to burn, he propelled them both to the surface.

They had to pause for a moment to get their breathing back on track, then Theo laughed softly. “Now I’m missing my wands. A nice Bubble-Head Charm would be useful right now. Although…too many witnesses.” He understood the need for the Statute of Secrecy better than most people. Muggles outnumbered wizards a thousand to one, and what most people didn’t understand was that they knew how to fight. Maybe they couldn’t use magic, but within their more limited world, they knew the ins and outs of combat and war far better than most magical types. Theo was hardly learned on Muggles—though he was a scholar compared to most purebloods—but he’d heard enough and seen enough to know that if the Muggles DID discover the magical realm, they would find ways to fight it, and all the anti-Muggle charms and magic interfering with Muggle technology in the world wouldn’t stop them. It would just get them creative.

“You know, I was listening to the Muggles to see if there was anything interesting coming up. There’s a festival today we could see, but I also heard them saying something about underwater caves in the area. Places where you have to swim to get to them…

@abigail

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Of course she'd never kissed underwater before. She was experiencing a lot of firsts on this trip, she realized. She kissed him and held onto him for as long as she could until they both had to give up, coming up for air in more ways than one. Once her breathing was back she looked to Theo, hearing that small laugh of his. She nodded at the mention of the Bubble-charm, and was about to suggest they find somewhere more private, but he went on. She shrugged at the mention of the festival but his next suggestion caused her eyes to widen excitement and she nodded. "Never been to an underwater cave before," she said, moving her lips to his ear, "maybe we can find one without these pesky witnesses." She let her teeth lock into his ear lobe for a short moment before running her lips along his jawline, maybe taking a bite or two along the way, until she was nose to nose with him again.

"Lead the way, Pretty Boy," she said, giving him another one of her signature smirks. He knew what they meant by now, of course, and that there were many different varieties to the way she smiled. He'd at least invoked one of each kind during this vacation alone.

@theodorus

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The festival didn’t get her attention, but the underwater cave certainly did. She grinned and wondered if they could manage to avoid witnesses. Theo smirked. “Let’s stop by the room on the way back. I have some of the Muggle Repelling Runes left over, plus…”

---

They stood at a point where a flowing stream crashed over a pile of small boulders, dropping a mere three feet to land in a natural trough-like formation and right-angle around the largest boulder before continuing on. Where the water crashed over the rocks, a tiny cleft could be seen, so small that Theo’s broad shoulders were in danger of not fitting through.

Still though. It was his turn to go first. Theo grinned and lowered himself feet first into the hole. “Alright, Little Girl. Time to see if a dark water-filled hole can kill me.”

He raised his arms over his head, to try and squeeze in his shoulders, and slid down.

The fit was tight, but he made it through. It wasn’t far in, maybe five feet, and the water pooled into a small cave. Maybe…five feet by ten feet? And three feet between the floor and the roof of the cave, half that space filled with water. Soft blue light filtered in from under a nearby rock, where the water escaped to rejoin the rushing stream and move on. Between that, and the light slipping through the crevasse (until Abby’s body blocked it momentarily), the cave was surprisingly bright.

Theo laughed loudly, slapping a flat stone with a blue rune design onto the roof of the cave. The rune began to glow as it activated, where it would repel Muggles for an hour or two before burning out.

@abigail

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Theo suggested they stop by the room on the way back with some obvious implications and she grinned, kissing him firmly one more time before letting him lead on.

---

Abby looked over the edge of the stream at the small drop. She followed the path to the spot where the cleft was small and turned her head, shifting to look at Theo as he lowered himself into the hole. She bit her lip, grinning at him as he spoke. "Good luck," she said, giving a little wait before he disappeared.

She was relieved that he made it through, and waited a few moments before slipping in herself. It wasn't nearly as hard for her, and she following the five feet until the cave. The cave was fairly small and she reached out to Theo, looking up as he put the rune up on the ceiling, laughing along with him. "I didn't think we'd be able to see," she admitted, her hand making contact with his shoulder as she looked around. She pulled herself toward him, which was easy enough, "it's beautiful," she said softly. Abby wasn't normally won to be caught being so reverently awestruck, but some things deserved it.

@theodorus