and you're the sky [grey]

[Deleted]

The heat of summer had faded into a rainy autumn, and the year seemed to be flying by quicker than Cecelia could comprehend. October was almost done with, and that was strange. When she had been in school September and October had felt like the longest months of the year. She had to force herself to sit still and pay attention again, which was never fun. Now that she was working, though, the change from summer to fall hadn't meant anything other than a change in the clothing she wore. That, and the fact that it was much less sunny, which was a blessing for her and her sensitive skin. However, the cloud cover was also a curse, given that her entire career focused on her ability to be able to see the sky. Tonight was already a wash - the clouds had rolled in just after noon, and now the sky was overcast and showing no signs of changing.

Cecelia had elected to spend the time at the kitchen table instead, star charts fanned around her and a piece of parchment at her elbow on which to scrawl notes. She was mostly making busy work for herself, waiting for Grey to return from the Ministry for the day. Perhaps the only good thing about the constant rain was that Cecelia's schedule had been able to shift slightly away from being nocturnal, affording her more time to spend with her boyfriend, who was busy as ever with his Auror training. The change wasn't permanent, but the extra time was welcome while they had it, and Cece was more than pleased to be able to wait for her boyfriend to come home - almost like they were normal.

grey xavier slater

[grey xavier slater]

@cecelia

10.29.2024

“I’m done with this,” Grey proclaimed as he barreled through the door that led into Cecelia’s apartment. Exposition was probably necessary in order to understand what those words meant exactly, but his head was full of thoughts on what to do next, post-final decision. Everything had been leading up to this exact point for months; the long hours, always starting in the early morning and never getting home until late at night, the strained relationship, and the incessant barking of orders the entire time. He wasn’t built for that, even if he supposedly held all the typical traits of a Gryffindor. What was so wrong with wanting to lay around all day and do things at his own pace? The thought of it made him toss his jacket onto a hanger by the door, only to miss and have to pick it up again to repeat the process. The easy thing would to be to hang it up right then and there, make it simple. But no, he had to be stubborn and drag it on for a couple months longer than he had intended it to last. Plenty of time had been spent discussing the pros and cons of leaving with his coworkers, and how that could potentially affect him in the coming months. The goal had been to make it to at least Christmas. Give it a month or two into the new year, see if that changed anything. Unfortunately, he didn’t think he could last that much longer.

It was regrettable that it had to come to end, but not all good things lasted. Bubbling frustration over everything in general, mental and physical exhaustion, and the lack of feeling like he was accomplishing his life goals all added up in the end, and now seemed like the best time to call it quits. Grey had never considered himself a quitter before, usually opting to drift further and further away from whatever it was he was running from. Some would call that tactless, he called it a smart way to retreat and protect himself at the same time. It was a wonder that his patronus crow instead of a tortoise or sloth. The latter two seemed to resonate with him much more than a raspy, annoying black bird did.

Of course, he was talking about quitting the Auror training program.

There were plenty of other jobs accepting interns at the moment, and he was more than positive that he could get picked up by the Prophet in a heartbeat. He had been watching the job section in the paper for months without really thinking about working at the paper itself. That had been his original plan, after all, before he had thought it genius to head into the training program. Hell, he even told everyone that he spoke to that writing for the Prophet seemed more like his sort of job than being an Auror did. But he let his family’s opinions on the matter get in the way, like they always did, and decided that following in his sister’s footsteps would be a smart choice. The only smart choice he was making these days was quitting and getting a new job. His parents could disown him for all he cared. It would simply be another nail in the coffin, which he was sure would be fully shut if he ever mentioned Cecelia was a vampire. Speaking of…“Evening,” Grey said as he spotted her sitting at the kitchen table. “How’s your day been so far? Looked to me like it clouded over rather quickly earlier in the day.” It almost scared him with how calm the words sounded coming out of him, considering what he had said when he entered the apartment, and what was going through his head currently. But there was no way he could bring the wrath of his job down on Cecelia; she heard enough of it from him as it was, and he was sure she would give the final thoughts on what his new plan of action would be.

[Deleted]

Cecelia jumped a little when Grey came flying through the door. She had expected a more reserved entrance. Normally at the end of the day of training, Grey didn’t have much energy to be barging into places and throwing things around. The frustration in the air was palpable, and Cecelia watched as he wrestled with hanging up his jacket as she tried to work through what his statement could mean. A rude, self-deprecating part of her brain insisted that Grey had finally come to his senses and decided that being in a relationship with a vampire was idiotic, and that was the ‘this’ that he was referring to. The more rational part of her brain - and the part she was choosing to listen to - insisted that there was something else. It took approximately three seconds of actually thinking for Cecelia to realize that Grey was most likely talking about his training program.

Cece had never been fond of the idea of Grey being an Auror in the first place. Not when she knew the kind of dangers they were in daily. When Grey talked about the benefits of quitting the program (always hypothetically, of course) she tried to keep her opinions mostly to herself. If he wanted to remove himself from the training program, then she wanted to be sure it was because of what he wanted. Grey had too many people trying to pull his strings already without Cecelia adding to the problem. Grey was her boyfriend - her partner would probably be a more accurate word - and at the end of the day, she just wanted what was best for him.

Rather than continue his tirade against the Auror program, though, Grey switched gears, greeting her with an almost stoic calmness. Cecelia raised her eyebrows at him. “My day was fine. Sounds like yours wasn’t, though.” There was no use in beating around the bush, not when it came to Grey. “You want dinner? I can try to make pasta or something.” Learning how to cook was still a work in progress for Cecelia, but she found it was always easier to talk over a problem with something to eat in front of you. “I’m not going to be able to get any work done tonight, so we can sleep together.” Whoops. Accidental innuendo. “I mean, you can stay the night.” Not much better. How long were they going to date before Cecelia could behave like a functional human being? Not that she actually was entirely human anymore, so maybe it was a moot point...

grey xavier slater

[grey xavier slater]

@cecelia

10.29.2024

Trying to force work problems to stay at work and not allow them to follow him home was difficult, especially with the growing frustration he had as of late. At the beginning it was easy not to talk about it, mostly because he wore it home on his face and in his exhausted body. There was no need to discuss something that was plainly visible. Lately though, everything had been internal and weighing down on him. He had to put an end to his training and switch jobs. Continuing would only hurt time he could spend elsewhere and cause unnecessary stress. He didn’t need that, and he didn’t need to bring it down on those around him either. “Another day in paradise,” he said jokingly, cracking a smile for it. “But today isn’t over and I think it’s starting to get better, so I’ll be fine.”

His body crashed into the chair next to hers, head falling back so that he was staring up at the ceiling. Letting the pain of exhaustion and an all-day workout seep out of him was the greatest feeling in the world. Not even a relaxation potion could mimic this sort of relief. The only thing that topped this would be when he was lying in bed, but only because that was softer and sleep was a thousand times better than being riddled with anxiety over potentially quitting. “I’d love that,” Grey said, head snapping back up as he grinned at Cecelia. “But only if I get to help.” He was back up on his feet and already moving towards the kitchen by the time she said she wasn’t going to be able to work due to the overcast weather, and that could stay the night if he wanted, though that was the amended, PG-13 version of what she had originally said, intentional or not. “Okay,” he said over his shoulder as he popped open a cabinet that he thought had a pot big enough for pasta in it. It wasn’t the right one though. “To both. But food first.”