beautiful destinations (Louisa)

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Frederick moved his hand. It took all of Louisa's self control not to react to the intended contact. Louisa didn't consider herself a romantic in any way, or even really that interested in it, to be honest. She'd never thought much, about... well, being with anyone. And here she was, on a date with her husband, who contradicted everything she was. Accidentally getting married? People would laugh if you suggested Louisa would do such a thing. Actually like someone, and not just her music was also laughable, but Frederick? He was completely and totally opposite her, in every way imaginable. And yet, despite every single piece being against who Louisa was, here they were. And it was... nice.

Despite the glass still pressed against her lips, she smiled just a little as he thanked her in his usual flamboyance. She'd just set the glass down when he continued, mention 'this' again, asking if they really wanted to have that conversation. Louisa actually froze, because to be honest? She didn't know what to say. What were they do to? Neither of them had brought up the obvious, and logical answer. Divorce. It should have though. It should have been brought up ages ago. Louisa hadn't dared to look at him since that contact on her back was made, but she finally looked at him, her expression just as unreadable as always. "I don't know." She answered honestly. They should discuss it, she knew that. And yet... Part of her didn't want to.

@frederick

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She froze, and Freddie waited for her to speak. It took a moment, but that was to be expected. He didn't want to consider... separating legally, at least not yet. Then, she finally looked at him, and he had no idea on earth what she was thinking. He had to admit he kind of liked that, it was like a mystery all the time. "I don't know," she said.

Freddie contemplated, then pressed his hand into her back and leaned forward a little, lowering his voice. "How about this," he started, "tonight, we eat, we drink, we be merry," he chuckled, "and forget for a moment that we're already," he paused, "married. We just act like we're on a first date, maybe a second, and be ourselves," he continued. "Because I for one know that I'd like to actually get to know you, Louisa Hoh," he wasn't sure if she'd said her last name out loud, or if it was in the program for that concert, or with the invitation... either way, he'd picked it up somewhere in the last week.

@louisa

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He finally said it. What neither of them had dared to say aloud, at least to each other since they met that day at the Three Broomsticks. Married. This peculiar and fascinating man was her husband. Hearing it aloud felt very different than thinking it. But what he said, that he wanted to get to know her... It made her smile. It didn't really surprise her that he knew her last name. It'd been in the concert's program, and it'd also been on the pass backstage she'd given him. And... Wait, her cheeks felt... warm. Just a touch. Was she blushing? She was. Not much, but 'not much' for Louisa always meant more than it looked. "I'd like that." She found herself answering. Enjoying tonight, even though it'd been totally spontaneous. Getting to actually know each other. It seemed silly, to have to get to know your husband but their entire relationship had been on abnormality after another. Maybe it was.... time to finally do things right between them.

Almost as if her composure suddenly returned, Louisa broke the eye contact they'd been making and covered it with another sip from her drink. "I'm not nearly as interesting as you make me seem. But what would you like to know?" She finally managed to say, her voice back to her usual unassuming and passive tone.

@frederick

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He noticed her cheeks redden a little, and he was excited about that, maybe a little proud. She said she'd like that, agreeing to his offer of just enjoying the night and talking with each other. Then, she broke eye contact to take another drink and Freddie remembered his stomach.

He took a few bites of his food as she spoke. He shook his head at her words, chuckling lightly. "No, no. I'm sure you're more interesting than I make you seem," he countered. "Hmmm, where to start!" he considered, taking one more bite of his food before swallowing to speak again. "Let's start with this, what part of Germany did you grow up in? Any other siblings?"

@louisa

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Louisa wasn't.... Used to showing this much emotion. Ever. Even though by any one else's standards she wasn't showing that much emotion at all. But for her? This was almost to a nauseating level. But Frederick? He seemed incredibly proud of himself to cause so much emotional expression. She wasn't sure how she felt about that...

There was a small, but comfortable silence as they ate a little, but Freddie was the first to break it, countering what she'd said. It made her smile just a little. "Before Daniel was born we moved around a bit, both my parents were athletes. But after, we stayed close to Berlin. It's just us two." She explained, her smile growing fond as she thought about her childhood. "Do you have any other siblings? Or just your sister?"

@frederick

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She spoke about how Daniel was her only sibling, how she'd moved around, about her parents careers, etcetera, and Freddie listening intently while gently working on his meal. Then she asked of him and he swallowed his most recent bite before speaking. "Awe, just the two of us, as well! I guess we have that in common," he grinned, his eyes squinting a bit and wrinkling at the sides along with the smile, "but my parents weren't athletes. My adopted parents, I mean. My mother was a seamstress, my father a businessman. It was pretty standard, which was exactly what I needed after... well, after such other things," he said, sort of waving off his childhood before his parents adopted him. He had mentioned a little already, of course.

"Is your brother an athlete, then? Since you aren't, at least not professionally, i'm curious as to whether he took after your parents," he questioned.

@louisa

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This was... well nice. Enjoying dinner and conversation. No worries about controlling her emotions (more than she usually did) so Daniel wouldn't worry. The two of them. Just the two of them. A date. A date meant there was... mutual interest, right? Louisa still wasn't sure what all her feelings for Frederick meant, but she knew she wanted to get to know him more. Wanted to... Well see what happened. And by asking her, it meant he was interested... right? She wasn't the most versed person when it came to courtship, after all! Despite being so confused about the entire situation, her outward expression and body language didn't give it away. She was just as calm as always. "And we are both the oldest. We also have that in common." She noted matter-of-factly. As he went on to talk about his parents she smiled softly, though she caught that slight hint at his past. Being adopted, it meant something had happened to his birth parents. Whatever that was... Well, it didn't feel appropriate to ask just yet, so she just nodded and took another few bites.

"Yes, he is. I believe he'd like to play Quidditch Professionally. But I've never been much into sports. The gene skipped me." There was a laughing smile of hers. She was absolutely terrible at sports and never been very interested in them. But she liked to support her brother. "But music runs in the family as well. My aunt is a musician, a singer. Her son, my cousin, goes to Hogwarts. He has a lovely singing voice." She added before taking a sip from her drink. "What is it you like to do in your spare time?" She asked curiously. She knew he ran the orphanage, but there was much more to him than that, she was sure.

@frederick
(hahaha, had to finally throw that comment about Adrian in a post! That kid needs to get outed sometime.)

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Freddie grinned as she pointed out that they were both the eldest siblings as well. "Yes! That is a good point," he agreed. Then she answered about her brother, and how he played Quidditch but she didn't. He smiled back at her, it was hard not to when she did. Music ran in the family too, she explained, mentioning her aunt and cousin. "Lovely! What a blessing to have," he said.

Then, she asked what he did in his spare time and he chuckled. "what's that? Kidding," he snickered, "I like to paint. The night sky, mostly, so I stargaze a lot. I also enjoy reading, mostly science fiction," he chuckled, offering a shrug and taking another bite of his food before answering again, "normally I just like to be out and about when I'm free, since I'm often focused and surrounded," he explained.

@louisa

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It just kept startling Louisa how.... loud and excitable he was. Would she ever get used to his energy? It was such a contrast to her own personality, she wasn't.... sure how to handle it. And it made her feel bad that her own reactions wasn't nearly as passionate. It must make her seem painfully dull next to him. What the staff of the pub must think! Nodding at his words, she smiled at the compliment. Sports and music, two traits in the family. Opposite by nature but they made it work. Much like Louisa and Frederick when she thought about it.

Listening to him talk about himself for a minute gave her a chance to eat and just enjoy hearing him talk. She'd felt like she'd been doing most of the talking between them, so it was nice learning more about him. Obviously running an orphanage didn't give him much free time. It was.. almost odd. For such a passionate and excitable person his hobbies her surprisingly deep, and she couldn't help but look at him with a soft expression. "Hence riding your bike in winter?" She answered, finally mentioning the bicycle he'd just finished tying up when they'd run into each other.

@frederick

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He chuckled as she mentioned his bike and he nodded. "Yes. I don't fear the cold," he teased, lifting a finger to tap the end of her nose. "Plus, I think tonight I knew I'd find you to sit with to keep warm," he chuckled, not really realizing how flirty that sounded. This was just... Freddie, and she was Louisa, and he liked her.

They finished eating and where just wrapping up their drinks soon, and Freddie turned to her with a wide grin. "So. We can either call it a night, go dancing, or... drink some more," he suggested with a short shrug. Honestly, talking to her had been the best thing about his time with her thus far. Well, maybe a close second to seeing her play the piano. "Whatever you want to do, I'm yours," he added.

@louisa
(maybe 2 or 3 more each

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Louisa couldn't help that small, but genuine smile at his comment. That he'd known he'd find her tonight. "You do have an uncanny ability to find me." She softly answered. He really did. It had to be a sixth sense or something. Not that she was complaining though. She... Well, she liked seeing him.

He was leaving it up to her on what happened next. To go their separate ways, or see where the night took them. And she found herself smiling just a little more as he added that he was hers, whatever she wanted to do. The most logical answer would be to go, to call it good for tonight. But something stopped her from giving that answer. Maybe it was the slight buzz from the alcohol. She'd never been one to handle alcohol well. Her tolerance was low, and it always made it difficult to make the most logical decisions. This was exactly how she'd ended up marrying Frederick in the first place. One to many drinks. Not enough to make her forget what happened, but enough to make her make a decision she normally wouldn't. "Do you like to dance, Frederick?" She found herself asking, thus making her intentions clear that she wasn't ready to end the night....

If she were totally sober the night would have gone differently. Yes, they might have still gone dancing. Might have still gone on that long walk in the night just talking. Might have gone for another drink to warm up after that long walk. But... they might not have shared that kiss right when the clock struck midnight, welcoming in the new year. They also most certainly might not have ended up back at her apartment. Kissing and.... more.

And she most definitely would have remembered that three years ago today she and Freddie had done almost the exact same thing.

Today was their anniversary.

@frederick
(or, ya know, we can move on to the next morning. And the picture because it's adorable! )

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Her voice was soft as she said that he had an ability to find her and he shrugged gently, leaning toward her a little more. "Or maybe we just have an uncanny ability to find each other," he suggested, raising an eyebrow at her. Then, she asked if he liked to dance after considering his question and he grinned. It seemed as though he had a few more hours with this angel. He clasped her hand and started to lead her away, into the rest of the night...

Dancing, walking and talking, warming each other up with their arms and whatever manner of drinks they chose, that's what the night consisted of. When the clock struck midnight, they kissed, and that's when Freddie thought about the last time they had spent the night together. The first time, the only other time. It was on a New Years Eve, also. And now, they were waking up in her apartment, in her bed.

He didn't recall all the details, but he had enough to know how they had ended up here. He groaned a little as he awoke and leaned over to kiss her shoulder that was in reach. "Morning, Louisa," he greeted softly.

@louisa

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There was something soft and warm against Louisa's shoulder. The briefest of flutters. So gentle that she shouldn't have even felt it in her sleep. She did though, that light gesture gently stirring Louisa from her deep and blissful sleep. There was a wonderful warmth next to her, the presence comforting. And in her still rousing state? She didn't know immediately what it was. Just that it made her smile ever so slightly in her sleep and she felt a strong desire to move towards it. So, though still not awake she shifted in her sleep, rolling onto her side, closer to that warmth.

"Morning, Louisa,"

The sound of her own name, in that beautiful and deep voice, softly spoken as if a prayer, was enough to finally pull her from that deep slumber. Those deep brown eyes of her fluttered in sync with her wakening mind. And last nights events seemed to come back to her just as those eyes took in that handsome face.

Frederick.

Oh....

Oh!

Louisa sat up as she felt that first wave of shock. Last night. Oh merlin, last night! "Morning..." She found herself responding breathlessly as her mind raced, piecing together the events and remembering everything that had happened. Oh, it'd been wonderful. All of last night, and not just... once they'd gotten back to her apartment. All of it. Frederick was amazing, so amazing. And she was not the sort to.... well do this sort of thing. Ever. And yet she'd done it twice with the same man. This man.

What in heaven's name was she doing..?

@frederick

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She sat up quickly and he leaned back, not wanting to get in the way of her freak out that she was bound to have. She greeting himself softly, and he smiled, she was clearly having a break down. He gently reached a had over to her and lightly wrapped it around her wrist beside him. "You don't have to run right away, you know. Plus, I'm pretty sure this is your place not mine so..." he half mused half teased.

He was actually feeling oddly calm about all of this. He knew how much he admired her. Looked up to her. Wanted to be a part of something with her. Even with all the crazy parts, they had at least got to talk last night, which was more than they did a few years back.

Then it hit him. It was another New Years Eve. "Oh, happy anniversary!" he added, chuckling in hopes that she could laugh it off too...?

@louisa

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Apparently it was too early for her regular calm and almost emotionless demeanor to set in. Because his words only made her eyes widen in an unfamilar fashion to her. Sure, last night she'd been... a little more emotional than usual but still not to the standards of a normal person. He was right, in those few moments she'd been trying to piece together an adequate escape, and his reminder of this being her apartment only made the events sink in even more. Her apartment. It wasn't that she didn't have to run, it was that she couldn't. His hand on her wrist was.... reassuring though.

And, for some that was enough to settle her shock. Because Louisa's eyes closed and she slowly relaxed, laying back down next to him. Her mind was still reeling, but she could... she could figure this out when they weren't in her bed.

At the mention of their anniversary her eyes immediately flew open again. Was it.... Oh Merlin, it was. For some reason hearing him laugh like that was almost contagious. While she didn't laugh out loud, there was that familiar crinkling in the corners of her eyes as the corner of er lips twitched upward in a smile.

@frederick