monster gambling in tokyo [Will]

[finn kylie nottingham]

@will

The meeting was over, and so was the Order of the Phoenix. Finn had played a role in that without even realizing what she was doing. She was naïve to think that her talking points would sway the minds of someone like Victoire Weasley. There was a reason she was the former Minister. That was the first mistake. The second one made consisted of the part where she tried to not make any of this personal; where trying to get revenge for Harry Potter was a mistake. She didn’t even believe that. Of course they would all want to get back for whatever had happened to him. Hell, she didn’t even know the guy on a personal level and still wanted to take out whoever was responsible. But in his respecting his memory, Finn also didn’t believe that becoming violent in the manner that the former Minister wanted to take it was the correct way to move forward. And that was why she had spoken up in the first place. What was looking to be a three-way split on ideals was more than likely going to happen, and the meeting had ended with her peers asking her where she was taking them next. What did that even mean? Speaking up at a meeting didn’t automatically elect her as a leader for her beliefs, did it? There were too many questions right now, and trying to process the steps that led to the fallout was all she could manage.

Sitting on the back deck of the safe house they had met at, Finn had her chin wedged into the palm of her hand as she stared out into the darkness of the trees beyond the property’s edge. Doing this wasn’t going to solve anything tonight, or maybe even tomorrow. She had names of people she had never met before, written down on a scrap of paper in her pocket, who apparently wanted to hear her elaborate more on what she meant during the meeting. When she had come to London to help the Order, she hadn’t intended to bring it crashing down in the process. All she wanted to do was be an assistant, and to bring in her knowledge on dark wizards and criminals. Apparently the strategic approach of a MACUSA Auror was something desirable to the British witches and wizards, because she was now in this position to lead them forward. Sighing, she leaned back on her hands and started to zone out as she looked up at the night sky. As if that would help any more than staring at the trees had.

[Deleted]

Well, that was a train wreck. Will wasn't the least bit surprised that Harry's apparent death had created a rift. In fact, a part of him thought it was a good idea to split up. Or at least explore different strengths. It would be better if they all worked together but politics didn't always work that way. It was rare that they ever did. This was pretty common in a crisis. A younger, more reckless Will would have agreed with Victoire. Wanted aggressive action. Being in parliament changed that. As well as being knighted, that made him feel he needed to be more responsible. And then there was Finn.

Will wouldn't allow his feelings for someone, however new OR seasoned, to get in the way of his judgement when it came to muggle politics. But when it came to the safety of his family, friends and caring for Finn... It was easy to immediately take her side. It was a bit strange how people had already gravitated toward her leadership, even only in that short burst of agreement that just happened. Will could see why, though. She was new, which made her opinion seem more unbiased and therefore logical. She was charismatic too, at least to him.

He had given her a few minutes before following her to the back of the safe house. He stood still for a moment, just assessing how she was doing as she leaned back on her hands. "For the record, I'd follow you even if you had suggested we all become a vampire task force," he joked, moving to stand beside her, his eyes forward. "I think I'd make a pretty irresistible vamp, personally."

finn kylie nottingham

[finn kylie nottingham]

@will

The sound of footsteps creaking across the wooden deck behind her meant that either someone was coming to discuss future plans or end it all right there. Finn didn’t think the other side – which was still an odd thing to think of when it came to her former allies – would do anything that bold right away. Technically they were still heading in the same direction, albeit on paths that were far from being similar. Or maybe they were. In another continuum, she could have been the Victoire Weasley of that disagreement. The young, American loud-mouth who thought she knew everything there was out there, fighting against the old blood of England. Finn almost would have preferred it to be that way. It was much easier being the villain of a story than a hero. She knew that all too well from her days in New York. Now she had standards and rules to follow; people would expect her to be the better person, even when being the better of the two could end with more bodies. Having her hands tied like that would be tough to work around, which is exactly what Victoire and her group had just avoided. Smart move on the former Minister’s part.

She caught a glimpse of the person’s shoes out of the corner of her eye, stopping right next to her. Glancing up, Will was there, staring off in the same direction she had just been absorbed in. “Please don’t bring your morals down to that just for me,” she gave him a weak smile, before returning her own gaze back to the woods. “You mean you aren’t one already? I thought that was the trick, William. There were all those other girls you mentioned, remember? Something about being, what was it? A manwhore?” Joking was her only respite right now. Being around Will always seemed to do that. She didn’t have to think as seriously, and if she did get caught up on it, he was there to break her away from it. There weren’t many people out there that were capable of eliciting that same response from her. “I don’t know if what I just did was a good thing or not. I came over here to help, and if that did help, then great. But it didn’t look like it did at all from where I was…” she trailed off, letting out a deep breath before continuing once again. “Did I do the right thing?” Finn asked, turning her head to look back up at Will again.

[Deleted]

She asked him not to bring her morals down just for her, giving him a weak smile before turning to the trees again. He frowned when she looked away, trying to analyze how she was doing. She went on to say that she thought him being a vampire was the 'trick' to him having all those other girls. He chuckled, shaking his head as she brought up the 'manwhore' part. "Manwhore implies explicit physical activities, which I have not done with many," he explained, chuckling. He was happy to be the butt of her jokes, clearly that was what she needed. Then she spoke again, saying she wasn't sure if she did a good thing. He stood, silently listening, which was something he was learning to get better at now that he actually wanted to listen. Then she turned to look at him, asking if she did the right thing, and he slowly moved to sit beside her, quiet for a moment. He looked out toward the trees, "I think you did," then he turned toward her, "and I'm not just saying that because it was incredibly endearing to hear you stepping up like that," he smirked a little before letting his face shift back into a serious. slight frown. "But I really did. In my work I... I had to learn that you have to do what's better for everyone, not just for those you care about the most. I believe that's what leaders should do," she said. He moved his arm to place a hand on her knee and gave it a slight squeeze, "if anything it was good you spoke up, being still somewhat new to everything. It gave a fresh eye, you know? Don't regret it."

finn kylie nottingham

[finn kylie nottingham]

@will

While it was awful to call Will a manwhore, carrying on the joke helped a bit with the current situation. Plus, he was the one that had started it first, back at his house. Or mansion. Castle? That didn’t matter, but convincing herself that it was fine to mess around after what just went down inside the safe house made her feel slightly better. At least he wasn’t going to change at all, and that she could count on. “But many is not none,” she teased, still trying to force her awful smile to become something more than just that, awful. “Though I see what they got ensnared by, I think…” Finn added, though much quieter than her previous comments, and also while she was looking away from him. Being a prince was only half of it, though she knew that was the majority of it for most.

Will continued, saying that he thought she did the right thing. She let out a deep breath that she didn’t even know she was holding until it escaped. Obviously it mattered what he thought – it was partially the discussions she had with him over the last few months that had helped create this monstrosity she had just helped to create. The fact that he said leaders sometimes needed to do what was best for the whole, rather than the few, gave her flashbacks of the meeting again. There were so many things she agreed on when it came to the other factions that had been splintered from the Order. There were parts of her own argument that she didn’t agree with already, or that she knew she would need to make more clear going forward, assuming this was going to be a thing. Will put his hand on her knee as he said that it was good she was the one to speak up, and not to regret it. Regretting her decisions before following through with them wouldn’t exactly hold over well with the long time Order members that were seemingly pledging their allegiance to her ‘cause’, but at the same time she didn’t want it to be about her, or even her ideas. There was nothing wrong with the way the Order was functioning before, aside from the lack of discourse on what they needed to be doing. Grabbing one end of spectrum had to be done if the other side was running away as fast as possible. Had she known there would have been a middle ground, she would have preferred to be there, instead of looking like a radical ready to fight head-on with the niece of Harry Potter, who also happened to be the former Minister of Magic.

Her head fell against his shoulder as she thought about all of this, unsure of where to begin since there were so many things going through her head concerning the same problem. “But wasn’t that what the Order was supposed to be about? How did I end up away from the middle ground?” This was going to be a question that was going to come up a lot, she could already tell. If her convictions about what the Order used to be matched up with what she wanted to do now, then did that mean she was going back to how it was supposed to be? Had the Order really diverged that much from its original intent, assuming her faction was going to be the one reclaiming what it used to be? “I don’t think I’m upset at myself for speaking up. But I am for saying all of that without thinking it through first.” People following some no-name ex-Auror from America didn’t make sense at all, and yet here she was. They probably thought she was a military genius or extraordinary leader. Aside from a few flawless raids on smuggling rings back home and a rapid rise through Auror ranks, she wasn’t anything spectacular. “So what now?” she asked, tilting her head on his shoulder to look up at him. Will was a political leader for the no-majs, and his insight had yet to fail her, so he had to know what the next step would be, or at the least, the correct direction to head in.

[Deleted]

Will was happy for an inside joke, even at his expense. Anything to make her feel better and let her know that he was there for her. She said 'many' was not 'none' and he laughed, shaking his head. She added that she saw what they got ensnared by she 'thought' and he raised an eyebrow at her, at first ready to tease her back but then, seeing her face looking out and catching the softer sound of her voice, he didn't have a joke to make back. After a moment, he spoke again, looking forward as well, "I would hope so," he said, his tone a little more serious than teasing.

He only hoped she was really listening to what she was saying. She seemed to be, with her letting out a breath and clearly in thought about it all. Then, her head tilted to rest on his shoulder and he let it, moving a little closer as he could with her head there. He moved his arm that was beside her to wrap around her waist instead as she spoke. She questioned how she stepped away from the middle ground and he didn't answer, not right away. She had more to say, and she did. She spoke about how she wasn't upset for speaking up, but that she didn't think it through first. He nodded a little, turning his head to rest his lips on the top of her hair for a moment before pulling back again. "I think... I think sometimes it's okay for our instincts to hold the reigns. I think what you said needed to be said, even if it didn't come from you, someone needed to say it. You just happened to get the prompting," she suggested.

Then, she tilted her head to look up at him and he looked down at her. "So what now?" she asked. 

He knew she was asking in a political sense, what to do about the Order situation, but for some reason he didn't think that was the answer. "Now," he started, his brow furrowing a little, "I think you should kiss me."

finn kylie nottingham

[finn kylie nottingham]

@will

Will certainly had a way with getting her to pay attention to him, even when she already was, though saying that out loud probably wouldn’t make much sense to him. There was a difference in listening to someone and listening to someone. One was what everyone did, the other was like hanging onto the edge of every word because of how important each one was. Finn hadn’t realized that talking to Will was like the latter until recently – after he had invited her over to try fencing, which ended up being a little more than just fencing in her mind. He said that he hoped she had figured out how all the girls fell for him and his seriousness with it made her snort awkwardly. “No, I do understand why that is now,” she laughed. But that was her secret for now. Getting that out of her would prove to be difficult.

As for the discussion they had just escaped from, Will had a point. It was better hearing someone else say it as well, proving that she wasn’t entirely wrong by stepping up and saying what needed to be said. They, as an organization, couldn’t lose all control like that. It was unprofessional and showed a lack of resolve, especially for people who had supposedly been the great minds surrounding the last wizarding war. While she only understood all of this on a surface level, she wasn’t stupid, and letting everything fall to the former Minister’s ideals was not how the Order should have to go down. At least with her way, they could keep the pieces that worked and work on adopting new ones as well. “That I did,” Finn sighed, pulling her eyes away from his, but inching a little closer to him as his hand wrapped around her waist. “But lesson learned. Now I have to follow through with all of it.” That was a scarier thought than she had anticipated. There were a few powerful figures that seemed to like her opinions on the matter, ones that had more influence than Will even did, and that had to mean she was going in the right direction. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t scared about it either. All of this was new territory for her, but she had him with her. That she was positive of.

His next comment, what she assumed would be something serious in nature of what she should do next, wasn’t exactly what she was expecting. Kiss him? Her eyebrows furrowed, mimicking his, and eyes narrowed as she looked back up at him, trying to determine if he was being serious right now or not. Yup, definitely serious. “You’re unbelievable, you know that?” Finn said as she lifted herself up just enough to complete his request, holding her lips against his for a few seconds before returning to her original position. “But that’s what I like,” she said with a grin.

[Deleted]

Finn clarified that she did indeed understand why girls fell for him, but she laughed. So for a moment, he wasn't sure if she understood because she was actually experiencing it or if she was just really observant. He really hoped it was the latter, and was going to act as if it was for now... 

She sighed while agreeing that she did indeed have to say what she said because the prompting came to her. She moved closer to him when he wrapped his arm around her, and he was glad for it. Being comforting was something Will hadn't always been good at. He was always the type to tell people to get over their problems and move on with their lives, that nothing got done sitting around thinking about things that had already happened. It had taken a lot of practice to be able to have this kind of conversation. The majority of that started when his siblings started school and he realized he couldn't push them so hard. It took a lot of practice, and a lot of fights, to teach him how to just shut up and be there for someone. He was glad Finn could experience that with him now. "And I'll help you," he promised. He wouldn't let her try to do all this on her own, especially since he knew a lot about leadership. He had a lot to offer.

When he said she should kiss him, a part of him really regretted saying it. Her brows furrowed, eyes narrow, and for a moment he thought she was going to be angry. But then she said he was 'unbelievable' and his entire face relaxed, because her tone wasn't angry, and then she kissed him and he kissed her back. It was short and sweet, and then she was back to cuddling against him. "Well," he said, after a moment, "if that's what you like I'll try to keep it up. Eventually I'll get predictable though," he chuckled, resting his cheek on her head again. 

finn kylie nottingham

[finn kylie nottingham]

@will

Help was definitely something she was going to need in all of this. With Will next to her, she was sure that would bring in quite a few more interested parties than just the ones that approached her following the meeting. There were things to be discussed and plans to be laid out, and surrounding herself with the best people was the first step in all of that. Flip-flopping back and forth on the positives and negatives of this outcome was certainly scary, but it also meant she was looking at it realistically. Being overwhelmed and anxious about it allowed her to think critically about every action, and how those actions could reflect back on her, those around her, and ultimately their community. This wasn’t a game like some in the Order seemed to think and she wasn’t here to play around anymore. “Thank you. I mean it. These politics are still new to me, so I’ll take all the help I can get,” Finn stated, flashing a smile up at him.

While Will had placed the order for the kiss, he didn’t initially look like he was ready for what was coming. Her quick reaction and spontaneity seemed to catch him off guard, although only for a split second, because he was returning it just as fast. “You say that, but I don’t think you will,” she said as she felt his face against her head. This was…nice. Work had always kept her so busy that a relationship wasn’t exactly feasible, or even getting to that point to begin with. Whatever this was would need more clarification at a later point, but she wasn’t opposed to the thought of it being more. Will was, well, a lot of things that she didn’t think would ever be possible for a normal person like her to be introduced into, and yet here she was. “Maybe just a warning though, be careful what you ask me to do from now on,” she laughed. “Because it might come back to bite you.”

[Deleted]

finn kylie nottingham

She thanked him, saying that the politics were knew to her so she'd take all the help she could get. She smiled at him and he smiled back, chuckling a little in the back of his throat. "Well, it's been my whole life. So, I guess you're lucky that I like you so much," he joked, but it was kind of an interesting coincidence, or fate, or whatever that he took a liking to her and she ended up being put in this position. It was almost as if they were meant to be here, now, dealing with this together. Her choice to speak in there was impulsive, sure, but Will didn't really believe that anything happened without a reason and maybe this was part of the reason that he and Finn had come together in the first place. It was a bit of a whimsical thought, but he was known to have those from time to time

She said she didn't think he would get predictable, and he could only hope that was true. If there was anything a politician was, it was predictable. So if he could avoid that in other areas of his life that would be just lovely. After a moment of silence she warned him to be careful what he asked of her, because it might come back to bite him. He laughed, too, tightening his grip around her shoulders, "isn't that part of the fun?" he teased. He waited a moment longer before turning his face to kiss the top of her hair, "okay, let's get out of here," he suggested. They needed a change of scenery and she needed to rest. The whole Order needed a break, that was clear.

finn kylie nottingham
(le end!)