The Elephant Is In The Room [Angie]

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Yadi was sitting at a table in Madame Puddifoot's shop, a paper in his hands and a steaming cup of decent tasting tea in front of him. His eyes glanced over the front page story; news of two bodies being discovered and worries that a serial killer on the loose had been circulating for a few days now. It was concerning, honestly. Whoever it was didn't seem to be discriminating between muggle and magical victims. He'd been worried about Angela having to get herself and Olive home by herself so he'd come by to see her home. Angela. He appeared calm on the surface, as he always had, but inside a hurricane spun. They'd kissed the last time they were together. It hadn't been anything lust-ridden or inappropriate. Or at least he hadn't thought so. But it had happened and the question still remained what the kiss had represented. He knew himself and he couldn't lie to himself, never made a habit of doing so because it was pointless. He liked her as much more than a friend and as more than someone who understood him as a single parent of a daughter. They had seen one another since it'd happened but it had been when one or both of their daughters had been around. Definitely not an appropriate conversation to have then. Of course, Lucia was already suspicious. And quite smug about it too. Either way, he wanted to address it. Something was stopping him though. Yadi had never been overly conscious of his age. It was something that came up occasionally because he was a professional quidditch player but nothing serious. With such a big age gap between them... He flipped the page of the newspaper, pretending that he wasn't completely aware of her moving from table to table around him.

Tag; @angie

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When Angie saw Yadiel enter the tearoom, she couldn’t help but swallow the lump in her throat and try not to blush. He made her smile for so many reasons, and the last time that they had been alone together, they had kissed. She wasn’t really sure what had come over them, but she wasn’t opposed to it? It was so complicated though, as these things always were. She worried about Luscia and Olive. She worried about the girls getting attached to one another and the two of them and then what would happen if it didn’t work out? Would they be able to remain friends for the girls sake? Olive asked about their friends all of the time, she more or less idolized Luscia and Angie loved her having a witch role model to look up to.

Her co-worker had served him and he sat, reading the paper and sipping his tea. She knew he couldn’t have been enjoying it much, she knew he was particular about his tea. She tried not to smile everytime she caught a glimpse of him as she hurried around the tables, wiping them down, while chairs magical stacked themselves and the mop busied itself on the floor around them. It was closing time, a normally quite calm and peaceful time of the day, but today, she wasn’t exactly calm. She was anxious, in a way which she couldn’t explain.

Her co-worker gave her nod and insisted that she would finish closing and Angie could go a little early. So after she hung up her apron, she grabbed her bag from behind the counter and walked over to the last remaining customer. “Just come for a cuppa did you?” she asked, a smirk on her red lips.

@yadi

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He flipped through another page of the Prophet, settling on a story about the latest estimates on living dragons and reserves before Angela's shadow passed him, disappearing towards the counter. They weren't in any rush. He wasn't in any rush to get out on the streets anyway. Not that he expected the serial killer to make any moves during that time of day but he could never be to careful when women and children were involved. Her footsteps approached and he pretended not to notice, holding back the smile on his face that attempted to spread the closer she grew. It was when she mentioned the cup of tea that sat unfinished in front of him that the smile broke across his face and he chuckled. "It's not as bad as I remember it but I've had better," as always his words were blunt but the smile on his face cut any harshness from them. He rolled up his newspaper and he finally, fully met her eyes. She was lovely, but he always thought she was lovely. The smirk on her face had him chuckling once again. "I thought you might like some company on your way home?" he stood then, paying no real attention to the chair he'd been in stacking itself with the rest. He still didn't know what way she took to get home, whether that be by floo or by apparation. He just wanted to make sure that he saw her home. "You have a good day?"

Tag; @angie

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He admitted that the tea wasn’t the best and Angie shrugged. She didn’t take offense to it, it wasn’t as if she made the tea. The tea itself was bought from a producer somewhere in the world, they simply put it in a pot and served it to customers. “I fancy the coffee here a little more.” she admitted, giving a small nod to his statement about having had better. She loved this place, but not necessarily for its tea. She loved it because she had always kind of loved it, but never let herself love it while she was a student. She loved it because it was the first place she even applied to when she was looking for a job, she loved it because the owners had come to visit her the first few days after she had the baby and always allowed her any leave she needed for Olive. It was almost a second home to her.

He told her that he was here to escort her home. Angie smiled at this, she couldn’t help it. “Well that’s rather kind of you.” she said. “I’d love that.” she agreed. She wasn’t exactly scared of getting home alone, even in the dark of fall. She was a witch after all. Not that that meant she was immune to any danger, but it did mean that she wasn’t quite as afraid walking the streets of London alone at night. “I normally apparate from here to Olive’s care center, and then we normally walk home from there, it’s just a few blocks away.” she explained to him.

@yadi

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He nodded at her mention of liking the coffee better. He hadn't tried it but he imagined the coffee could be a bit better than the tea. He hadn't expected her to say no to him walking her home; he didn't want to think of that as arrogance either because he couldn't always be certain that she wanted him company. With a smile, she told him that she'd love it if he accompanied her and felt a dot of relief come over him. He wouldn't have to worry about her that way. He knew she was a capable witch but he would have felt shame if she or Olive had gotten hurt and he could have done something as simple as this, as simple as making sure she made it home safe. After all, the media had assumed the men who'd been killed had been traveling alone. And Yadi couldn't assume that the killer had a moral compass. She proceeded to explain her normal routine; apparating would get her there a lot quicker so it made sense. It didn't give him a lot of time to talk to her though. "Do you have to get there quickly? I was hoping we could talk," he commented casually as he waved for her to lead the way to the apparition point. The words sounded so serious by themselves. He didn't want to make a big deal out of it so he wanted to remain casual in his speech. "We should take a longer route, if you have the time. Or we'll walk slower," amusement touched his lips briefly. Hogsmeade was small so they could stroll around the village. Then again it might be better if they were closer to where she needed to be. Either way, he knew he wanted to discuss them and they couldn't do that in front of Olive.

Tag; @angie

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Her heart skipped a beat when he asked if they could talk. That was quite ominous, she thought. But she couldn’t think of anything else he’d be wanting to talk about than what had happened between them. She had been almost dreading this conversation, but she knew it was coming. Either decision they made would effect the girls in some way, and she wanted to be prepared for whatever that was. She was sure, even if there was nothing more than friendship between them, that Yadiel wasn’t the type of person to just leave their lives, or rather, that his daughter wouldn’t let him. “Sure, we can stroll the village a bit?” she suggested, leading the way out of the cafe and out into the crisp, fall night. “How are you?” she asked, not sure what else to ask at the minute.

@yadi

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Yadi held the door open for her before he followed her out into the little village. All around them it seemed as if everything was closing up for the evening so the night was filled with people exiting establishments in uneven groups. He caught up with her and began a slow stroll, following her lead. It was quiet for just a moment before she spoke up, asking him how he was. He smiled to himself a bit. He wasn't usually one to beat around the bush for anything, preferring to get things over with or address them as immediately as possible but he would indulge her for a moment. It was taking some effort not to dive right into it though. "I'm good, I'm good," he placed his hands in his pockets as he spoke, "Practice is getting a little bit difficult with the new players but overall I'm doing well. How are you?" For just a moment his tone became a bit reflective. Practice had been down right frustrating, honestly. The balance of their team had been thrown off quite a bit with the exit of two of their players. Working with the new players had him rethinking the their routines and many of their plays, just so they could make it through games without injury or complete embarrassment.

Tag; @angie

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It was strange, usually Angie wasn’t one to beat around the bush either. She felt like her time was usually too valuable to do so. She was a single mother with a full time job, she didn’t have a lot of time for games and such. But there was something weird about this moment, maybe because she figured she knew what he wanted to talk about. She wanted to talk about it too, but a part of her couldn’t help but worry that it might go a way differently that she expected it to, or maybe wanted it too. He smiled when she asked how he was and she knew that he wasn’t a fan of this kind of idle conversation either. He said he was good and spoke about how Quidditch was difficult with all the new members, and Angie nodded along. “Well I’m sure you’ll get them to fall in line.” She smiled kindly in reply, she knew he was good at his job, and, had to imagine the new players might be kind of afraid of him.

“So. You had said you wanted to talk about something?” she asked, turning her head to look at him as they strolled the lanes, taking their time. She couldn’t remember the last time she had walked this slow.

@yadi

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He had no doubt that he would get the players to fall in line. That or they'd be benched for the reserve players until they fell in line. And while that might seem harsh to others, it was the world of professional sports. He would bench his players before he allow them to put themselves in a position to embarrass or hurt themselves. He nodded at her assurances anyway, appreciating her confidence in him as a captain. She cut all of the pretenses then, bringing up his wishes to talk and he figured then that she knew what he wanted to talk about. He pushed down any nerves that were trying to well up in him before taking a deep breath. "So. We kissed. Last time we were alone together." He said the words evenly, still trying to be completely casual with the conversation they were about to dive in to. He paused for just a moment, trying to word his next sentences as carefully as possible. He didn't know where her head was, how she felt about it so he wanted to find out. "I know we haven't been alone again to talk about it, but I don't know if you've thought about it sense it happened. Didn't think bringing it up in front of Olive and Lucia was the best move either," he smirked, thinking of his daughter, knowing for certain that it would not have been a good idea for either Lucia or Olive. "So. Have you thought about it? Where is your head?"

Tag; @angie

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He jumped right into it when she brought up that he said he wanted to talk. Well he didn’t start right away, he took his time, and she could imagine that he was trying to craft his words carefully. She had never been good with things like this. She had never really dated, at least not with someone who she saw any kind of future with. She had gone on dates, and they had been fun, but she had never, once in her life, had a real, serious relationship, at least not since she had Olive. She hadn't really had time for anyone who didn’t understand her lifestyle. And now here was Yadiel. And he understood it all, well, almost all of it at least. “Yes. We did.” she nodded when she said that they had kissed, not that it needed repeating, but the way that she said it was meant to admit that she had been wanting to talk about it too and that she hadn’t forgot it or been ignoring it. “Bringing it up in front of the girls is definitely not a good idea.” she agreed, not yet at least. She didn’t want to give anyone the wrong idea or have anyone get too attached. He then asked if she had thought about it, or where her head was about it. Angie sighed and rubber her arm, thinking for a moment, and then she stopped walking and turned to face him. “I don’t think either of us really have time for mind games, so, in the spirit of honestly, I think i could really like you.” she admitted, “but,” she continued, “I worry about Olive and Lucia getting attached and being hurt if it weren’t to work out.” she explained, hoping that he would understand her fears. “How do you feel about it?”

@yadi

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It was easy for him to stop when she did, though he wasn't expecting it and even though he hadn't turned towards her, the way that she had towards him, he made sure that his body language and his eyes read that he was focused completely on her and the words that she spoke. He nodded in agreement with everything she said. He felt only a little bit irresponsible because of the way that his thought process had ran through things. Immediately after it had happened, after they had gone their separate ways, he's thought about all of those things. He'd worried about how Lucia and Olive would take it if they were to start dating. He'd been worried about all of the things she had pushed forward. For the last few days, however, he'd just thought about them. The two of them as a man and a woman, both unattached, who'd enjoyed one another's company. He suddenly felt selfish; of course she would be thinking about those things. Olive was a lot younger, therefore the connections she made were more important and he would never want to ruin the connection she had with his daughter. "I agree. I don't think I will have any problems with keeping the two of them in touch. Whatever happens, I want the both of them to be happy. Being that Lucia is older, I know she would understand more but I also know it wouldn't affect her relationship with either you or Olive." He'd talk with her about it of course. Then again, he was talking as if things had already ended. "Is there anything else?" he asked then, pausing and then shifting gears a bit. "Since we are being honest, I can admit I'm a bit worried too. I'm much older than you. Is that an issue? Shouldn't that be an issue?"

Tag; @angie

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Yadiel seemed to share her concerns, and of course, he understood them, she mostly expected him to, being a parent himself. But there was a major point that he was missing and she felt a little weird saying it. “I’m not worried about Olive and Lucia growing attached. I’m worried about Olive attaching to you.” she admitted. “Not that it would be bad if she got attached, but… well, Olive’s never had a father or a father figure and she’s never known what she was missing by not having one. And I worry that if she gets attached to you, or whoever I date actually, and we don’t work out, then it’ll crush her.” not that she expected Olive to think of Yadiel as a father figure, not right away at least. But she felt it was a little different. Lucia had a mother, and even if she did start to associate Angie with some of those motherly roles, she always had her mother still. As far as the world knew, Olive’s father was dead, even if Angie knew that he worked at a club in London.

Yadiel then brought up the age difference. Something Angie hadn’t thought about too much. “Honestly, it doesn’t really bother me.” she shrugged. “Does it bother you?” she asked, and she wanted him to answer her honestly. “Why should it be an issue? I’m a lot more mature right now than most are at my age…” most at her age didn’t have a child, at least not all on their own. “I guess some people might think it’s odd, but I don’t really mind what some people think.” she explained.

@yadi

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They were clearing the air then and there it seemed, getting everything out in the open then. At least he thought so until Angie brought up a detail that Yadi hadn't even thought about. She had told him about Olive's absent father before, and while Yadi had been angry at the notion that her father hadn't wanted anything to do with her, there wasn't anything he could do about it. He cared about Olive and he didn't want to see her hurt. And Angie was right. What if things didn't work out between them? He definitely didn't want to be someone who let her down as well. He pressed his lips together tightly, trying to wrack his brain for the write answer for the concern she had broached. Nothing came. And that frustrated him. "What do you propose?" he sighed after a few beats of silence had passed, "I agree that that is important as well. But I can't say that I have an answer for that. I don't want to be someone who hurts her." He was at a loss for words once again when she admitted that his age wasn't a problem for her. He couldn't see why. There had to be plenty of guys her age who she could date. He wanted to shake his head both when she mentioned her maturity and what other people might think of it because it wasn't about either of those things. He didn't care about what people thought of him either in any sense outside of his quidditch performance, one of the reasons his teammates got frustrated with him often enough. He couldn't put in to words why he felt the way that he did so suddenly."No. It's not that. I just don't want you to feel...." disappointed. The word died on his lips before it could tumble out. It had nothing to do with his age and everything to do with the last time someone had gotten attached to him. He pressed his lips together once again. It didn't feel right to bring up his previous marriage; he didn't want to make it seem as if he was jumping ahead. His previous marriage, however, had been exactly the reason he hadn't pursued anything with anyone else in the time since it had ended.

Tag; @angie

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He nodded. He understood. She knew that he hadn’t been thinking about that and she didn’t blame him, it was a very complicated situation that Angie found herself in, one she didn’t even understand. More recently, Aerick had been coming around, bringing little gifts for Olive and wanting to help Angie make life decisions for her. Angie took his suggestions, but overall, she would make the final decision. Angie was just glad that her daughter looked too much like herself and the only thing she seemed to have got from Aerick were his eyes, and possibly, his spirit. She was an active child, Angie couldn’t imagine Olive got that from her mother, Angie had been a little trouble maker, but she never remembered having that much energy.

"What do you propose?" he asked her, he went on to explain that he didn’t want to be someone who hurt Olive and Angie nodded, but then, she took a step towards him, pushed herself up on her toes and pressed her lips gently to his. After a second, she dropped back to the ground and looked at him. “How did that make you feel?” she asked. “I don’t feel anything negative when I’m with you. I don’t think I’ve felt safer… or smiled more…” she admitted, smiling a little, feeling like a silly girl.

@yadi

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He should probably say something, because the conversation couldn't end there. He'd had every intention of doing just that and before he knew it, she was close to him, on her toes, and she'd pressed her lips against his. His eyebrows raised in surprise and he instinctively held on to her waist but everything about it was pleasing. She moved away and he still felt a bit of shock clouding his thoughts but he heard what she said after it. She didn't feel anything negative. He made her smile, she said. But how did it make him feel? His reaction took mere seconds. He pulled her closer to him, leaned down, and pressed his lips back to hers. The kiss was slow, an exploration of how truly felt. Because he could say all of the same things. She was clever and responsible. He liked being around her. He liked the way she made him feel. She was good with Olive and Lucia equally. And, yes, he was worried. He was still worried about how things would progress between the two of them. Her fears weren't unwarranted; what if they didn't work out? What if they didn't work about because his career got in the way of things? What if he couldn't be there for her like she needed him to be because of a game? What if he disappointed her? He was worried for what might happen. But right now? He liked the way this felt. After a few seconds he pulled back and exhaled slowly. "I like this. I like you. I want to see where this goes, but I want to take things slow." He said everything as plainly and a blunt as he could.

Tag; @angie