i make it a point to stay positive (royal)

[Deleted]

Vic wasn’t really expecting to take a night off but somebody *cough* Royal *cough* had a brilliant idea. A day spent in France with just the two of them, what could go wrong? She agreed to meet him outside his house so they could apparate together. Victoire had apparated to France many times so her ability to do it was well seasoned and fairly non dangerous anymore.

She knocked on the door but opened it slightly to step inside before waiting for someone to answer. That was what she used to do back in the day and she was trying to get things back to normal, so she walked in and stood in the entrance hall. Royals mother, Hesita poked her head out from another room to greet Victoire and gave her a little wave. Vic, of course, smiled back, unsurprised to see Hestias wand drawn before she disappeared back into the other room.

”Are you ready, Royal?” Vic called out.

@royal

[Deleted]

Few people could say that they actually had to force their best friend to take a day off of work. Even those who did say that probably didn’t mean it. Royal had been worried that Victoire would go to her office that morning and he would literally have to drag her out of it. It sounded like she was here now, which was good, because that would have been quite the scene to make. He didn’t even want to think about how much trouble he’d be in with the Minister’s Guard. It wouldn’t be the first time they had made them fear for his life, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

“I’m coming, Vic!” Royal shouted as he exited his room and thumped down the stairs. “Bye mum!” He called as a courtesy. She knew he was leaving the house with Victoire, but it still was necessary to inform her she’d be on her own. Royal would never tell his mother, the ex-Auror, but he worried about her. “Would it be silly to ask you what the answer to our question is?” Royal asked as he opened the door so they could leave the house. “I mean, I know you’re supposed to ask every time, but if you are an imposter, I’m sure you’d be able to overpower me either way, since you managed to get past the guard and everything.” It was a logical conclusion, and though Royal doubted that Vic was a fake, it was good to get in the habit of checking, especially before he left the company of one of the Wizarding world’s finest retired (but living) law enforcement official.

@victoire

[Deleted]

She heard Royals voice and he came down the stairs, calling a goodbye to his mother before approaching her. ”Cookies, lemonade, yum,” Vic said quickly as she followed him out the door. ”But you’ve got a good point,” she chuckled. They headed toward the edge of the property where they could apparate safely.


”So. France. Paris? It’s a bit cliche but it’s a beautiful city, I don’t know… do you have something specific planned? Should I have dressed differently?” Victoire didn’t like knowing exactly what was going on. It was completely against her nature to accept surprises and it was even more against her nature to go out of the country for a day on vacation. But, she wanted this relationship to be exactly what it was before and better, obviously, and she knew shutting him out because of work again would not give her that outcome.


Plus… even she knew that she needed a day off.


@royal

[Deleted]

Royal chuckled a bit as Victoire said the answer to their security question about as quickly as anyone could ever spit it out. At least now he didn’t have to worry about being killed on his day off by someone disguised as his best friend. That would be a sucky way to go. Assured of her identity, Royal followed Victoire to the edge of the property, where the protection spells allowed them to Apparate without any nasty repercussions.

He nodded when she began to speak. “Paris sounds good. Do you know anyplace we can Apparate to without drawing too much attention?” The city was always swarming with Muggles by virtue of the fact that it was a tourist trap, and it would not look good if the Minister of Magic accidentally broke the Statute of Secrecy. “When we get there, we have to get a croissant. I love croissants.” Everyone knew that the French were the best at croissants. And cheese. And pastries. And wine. This was going to be fun. And fattening. But mostly fun.

@victoire

[Deleted]

She knew she could be more cautious about the security question and all but she had made it this far, hadn’t she? Plus, wasn’t she supposed to be acting like a girl in her twenties and not the woman who runs the government right now? It was a hard transition, of course, but if she was going to go through with this she had to commit. THen he asked about where they could apparate and she nodded. ”We’ll get a croissant,” she promised, rolling her eyes as she took his hand. ”All right, get ready,” she announced before apparating them both.


They arrived in a sketchy looking attic type place. It was above an abandoned little shop just outside of Paris. Victoire turned to Royal and smiled, ”here we go! Don’t worry, people sleep up here all the time,” she said with a shrug, heading to the ladder that would lead them downstairs.


Once out onto the street Victoire found herself closing her eyes, breathing in the air. ”Wouldn’t it be nice to live here someday?” she muttered, mostly talking to herself at that point.

@royal

[Deleted]

Royal smiled impishly at Victoire. He was going to drag her across the entire city if he had to, as long as he got his croissant. Maybe he could convince her to stop for wine, too. When she took his hand, Royal held his breath – the sensation of Sidealong Apparition was not nearly as nice as Apparating by himself, but since he didn’t know the city well enough, it was the only way both of them could get there. He wasn’t entirely sure why an attic was the first place that came to mind for Victoire, but he was in no position to argue with her, so he responded to her shrug with one of his own.

When they were back on street level, Royal blinked around. He had been to Paris before, but not nearly as much as Vic had. He was more than a little surprised when she mumbled something about living there permanently. “I don’t think I’d ever be able to leave England.” Royal said, biting his lip. He knew the question wasn’t directed at him, per se, but it was still one that warranted some thought. England was where he had been born, and where his father had died. It had a lot of emotional baggage, but it was home. “Would you want to live here, after you retired?” He asked her. Vic’s retirement was probably the only thing that would ever let Royal ascend to the position of Minister, but when he thought about it, the whole idea seemed sad rather than hopeful. That was probably because, somewhere deep down, Royal wasn’t sure if Victoire’s departure from her position would be her choice. No one chose to be assassinated.

@victoire

[Deleted]

Retirement, now that was something Victoire had never thought about. She paused, looking over at Royal with eyes full of contemplation, maybe a little confusion mixed in. Would she move to Paris? Would she ever retire? Not that she could be Minister forever, but would she ever be able to leave England an the government there she had built her world on? She blinked, swallowing hard at the next thought. Would she even live long enough to think about retirement? She knew Royal was thinking the same thing. He had to be. She nodded her head, though. "Yeah. I think I would," and part of her really did. Part of her really wished she could eventually settle down, maybe even in Paris, start a family... not that those were her top priorities, but an image flashed against her mind of a little boy who looked an awful lot like a certain tall, brown haired (sometimes blue haired) guy she knew...

She shook her head smiling and reaching over to link her arm through Royals. "Come on, let's get you that croissant," she teased, pulling him back into motion.

@royal

[Deleted]

Royal swallowed hard when Victoire said she’d honestly be able to leave England behind. They couldn’t afford to have dreams like those, could they? Honestly, Royal wasn’t sure if he’d have a dream even if they were practical. He had already fulfilled one of his big ones when he finished his book. Becoming the Minister was another hope of his, but again, since it meant that Victoire would have to step down, he wasn’t sure he wanted that. He was pulled out of thoughts by Vic’s tugging on his arm, and Royal’s face bloomed into a smile. “You know, now that you’re out of England you can stop acting like the Minister.” He teased. “No bossing me around, missy.” Of course, Vic had bossed him around even before she had become Minister, but that was beside the point.

“After we get the croissant, I want wine.” He announced. “It’s a damn shame to go to France and not get wine, did you know that? You could make that a law, you know. Every wizard who visits France must bring back at least 250 milliliters of alcohol. Like Prohibition, except for not.” It was the exact opposite of Prohibition, and Royal still couldn’t figure out why the American government had thought that was a good idea. Alcohol was always good, in good company.

@victoire

[Deleted]

“You know, now that you’re out of England you can stop acting like the Minister.” Vic shot Royal a glare at those words and even managed to stick her tongue out for a moment, shaking her head. "Since when have I not bossed you around?" she said, raising an eyebrow and squeezing his arm a little with her own.

Then he said he wanted wine too and she rolled her eyes even bigger. "Well, if you want to get started on the alcohol that soon, fine, but they may need me at work tomorrow so don't get me completely wacky," she said, knowing that would undoubtedly be where the night ended. She wasn't much of a drinker or a partier, but she could feel it already, the need to completely decompose her walls and her inhibitions tonight. She would be able to function well enough tomorrow, right?

"I'm not sure about bringing any back with us... but, maybe the office could use a stash, especially if you join us," she said, casually leading him toward the nearest bakery. Once inside, she still didn't release his arm as they went up to order. "What kind of croissant do you want? I'll buy," she said, reaching for the muggle money in her purse.

@royal

[Deleted]

Royal snickered as Victoire solidified his point about being bossy. “You’re the best kind of bossy, Vic.” He paused. “Though is it too much to ask that someday people might think that I wear the pants in this friendship?” Everyone knew that Vic bossed him around, of course, including half the Wizarding World, probably. It wasn’t like Royal particularly cared – he wasn’t the kind of person to go mental because he was told to do something. Of course, one day he’d like to be the one doing the bossing, if at all possible.

“Any alcohol you consume will be consumed voluntarily.” Royal promised. “Or with a minimal amount of duress.” He said, eyes flashing with amusement. “But you might want to cancel your morning meetings, just in case.” They both knew that drinking in moderation was impossible with French wine, each other, and the stress that came with being some of the youngest politicians in the Ministry’s history. Royal trailed behind Vic into the bakery, taking a deep breath as he entered. There were so many delicious scents, and he wanted one of everything. He refused to be a glutton on everything, though, so when Vic asked him what kind of croissant he wanted, he just shrugged. “Plain, I guess? Or whatever you think I’d like.” The labels on the croissants were in French, and Royal didn’t speak the language. For all he knew, Victoire could be poisoning him. He hoped not. That would be a sucky end to their friendship.

@victoire

[Deleted]

Victoire couldn't help but laugh loudly at Royals comment about who wore the 'pants' in the friendship. SHe hsook her head, lifting a hand to clap him on the shoulder. "It's not too much to ask but I don't think it will ever happen. I can pretend though, if you'd like," she smirked, taking her hand off of him then, continuing to chuckle alittle.

Victoire smirked further as he said that ther would only be a minimul amount of duress when it came to the alcohol. She nodded, "already did," she answered, in refrence to cancelling her morning meetings. SHe wanted to cancel her whole day but she never did that. It was almost impossible for her to even comprehend the concept.

She shrugged as he said she could order and when up to order two croissants of the same flavor. She handed him one and paid before stepping to the side. "Back home Uncle Ron insists on someone else trying anything I'm about to eat," she rolled her eyes and took a bite out of her crossiant.

@royal

[Deleted]

“I’ll take pretending.” Royal agreed with faux solemnity. He hadn’t really expected anything to come of his joking plea; Vic was Vic, and he wouldn’t have her any other way, even if it did mean that people thought that he was a pansy. They were half right, if you saw pansy as a synonym for homosexual – Royal didn’t, but a lot of people did, so he’d take it. Maybe.

Royal rolled his eyes when Vic said that her uncle made someone try a bite of Victoire’s food before she ate it. He was all for keeping her safe, but that seemed a little bit excessive. “If you die from eating that croissant, he’s going to kill me.” Royal declared before taking a bite of his own pastry. “It’s not like any of these people know who you are, let alone know that you’re important enough to be assassinated.” He said around the mouthful of food. “Croissant, check.” Royal announced after he swallowed. “So is it too early to start looking for a vineyard?” It was five o’clock somewhere, right?

@victoire

[Deleted]

Vic smiled at his words but didn't say anything further, She knew when a joke was over. Still, she would actually try to be a little less... bossy, at least on this trip that was supposed to be for pleasure and best friend time. She didn't get that stuff very often and she wanted nothing more than to enjoy it while she could!

She nodded as Royal deducted that if she died from eating the croissant that Ron would indeed kill him. Then he said that they didn't even know how she was and she smiled, "good thing, because I really don't want Uncle Ron killing you," she said between bites. Once she was finished, Royal asked the question as to if it was too early to find a vineyard. She shrugged, "it's Paris. It's never too early for some wine and cheese," she said, completely serious. She stood, "I'm not sure where the nearest one is but if we start east we should find something," she said, gesturing for him to follow.

@royal

[Deleted]

Royal snorted when Victoire said that she didn’t want her uncle killing him. The idea of her uncle being able to overpower him was a little weird for Royal. He was sure that Ron was in great shape and all, but Shacklebolts, as Royal had made a point of telling Victoire before, were fighters, and when Royal was in danger, the claws came out. He made another noise of amusement when she conveyed the ‘it’s always five o’clock somewhere’ mentality of wine and cheese in Paris. He could get behind that.

“I mean, if vineyards are really as ubiquitous as I was led to believe, then we could head any direction and find something.” He reasoned. “But if you say east, then east we will go.” Royal agreed. He was glad that Victoire had gestured to which way was east, because his sense of direction was not good enough to pick which way that was without prompting. “Is it bad that I want to break the record of how many glasses we’ve drunk in one night?” He asked as they ambled along.

@victoire

[Deleted]

Vic nodded at his deduction, "exactly!" she agreed. You really could find a vineyard anywhere around here. It was easier to just pick a direction and go with it Vic knew, even in something as simple as trying to find some wine and cheese.

Vics eyes widened at his next comment about breaking a glasses of wine record. "Welll... I mean, i guess we're here to loosen up, aren't we?" she said slowly. She linked her arm through his as they walked contemplating how much 'loosening up' she'd actually allow herself to do. "One of us should at least stay sober... right?" she turned toward him, "I'm grasping at straws aren't I?" he laughed, her free hand covering her mouth for a moment.

@royal