I'll rise and I'll fall again (Roytedoire)

[Deleted]

Okay. So, Vic had told Royal the basics. Now it was time to show him where she and Teddy had been hiding out and what the last few months of their lives had been like. She was pacing the entrance hall of Number 12, waiting for Teddy and Royal to arrive. She had sent Teddy out for Royal. All she could do was wait.

She had actually cleaned up a bit, not that there was much else to clean since Teddy was often there handling it. But she wanted to del useful. It had been almost a week since they found out she was on the mend and she was impatient to get back to work. She couldn't be Minister again. She knew that, and it broke her heart more than she cared to admit. Teddy, Odette and Royal would know, though. Odette, she groaned, finally settling on the bottom step and placing her face in her hands. How would Odette react to all of this? She had talked to her best friend a little, sure, but she avoided her just like everyone else. Thankfully Odette worked so hard that it could have been more noticeable... But then Odette went through all of that with Jacob and the baby and Victoire couldn't make her life worse by telling her. "Oh hey, by the way, I might die too! Love you, send flowers?" she muttered sarcastically to herself. No. She couldn't have put Odette through all of that at once. Just like Royal.

She heard the door start to open and stood up. Too fast. She sat back on the stairs.

@royal
@teddy

[Deleted]

Teddy had gone off to fetch Royal from the Ministry quite excitedly. He was over the moon excited to see his friend for the first time in months. He couldn't wait until they could find Odette and bring her back, too, but for now he was so happy he had found Royal. Teddy had Apparated the two of them to Grimmauld Place after finding Royal at the Ministry and he stood on the street with him for a moment before the house appeared to them. Teddy nudged his friend playfully before he led them up the stairs and into the house. "Welcome, Roy, to Number 12 Grimmauld Place." He opened the door and allowed his friend to enter first when he saw Vic on the stairs. "I should have known you couldn't stay put on the sofa," he chuckled lightly and shook his head at the blonde with an affectionate smile.

@royal
@victoire

[Deleted]

Teddy had been a good escort from the Ministry, Royal thought, and he had enjoyed their conversation as they prepared for their destination. Teddy had Apparated them onto a street, and then introduced Royal to the house he and Vic had been staying in – Grimmauld Place. The first sight that greeted them when they walked through the door was Vic sitting on the steps, to which Teddy commented that she wouldn’t have been able to stay put on the sofa. “When has Vic ever been good at following instructions and staying still?” Royal teased, looking at Teddy to join in on the joke with him. “I think half the reason she became Minister was so that no one could boss her around.” Royal gave Vic a bright smile to show that he was just kidding. If anyone else had implied that his friend had become Minister for anything other than her political prowess and her nerves of steel, Royal probably would have punched them in the face, but since it was him, it was allowed. Royal plopped down next to Victoire on the stairs, wondering if she had only stopped there because she had gotten too tired on the way down. He pressed his shoulder into hers, continuing to grin goofily. This felt good. This felt right. His mind flashed momentarily to Odette, and Royal’s smile softened slightly. He needed to see her again, too. They hadn’t seen each other all that long ago, but after their reunion, her absence caused a sort of ache in Royal. Soon the four of them would need to meet up, Royal was sure, but for now, the trio was enough.

@victoire
@teddy

[Deleted]

She looked up when they came in and breathed again, smiling. Her cheeks were going to start hurting soon. Two of her most favorite people were with her. Once Odette was clued in Vic was sure her face would fall apart from being with everyone she loved so much. Teddy introduced Royal in and Vic shrugged, raising her arms to either side to present the house. Then Teddy said that he should have known she wouldn't stay put and she scrunched her nose, her shoulder moving up toward her ears. "I was impatient," she admitted, her smile still wide.

Royals words made her laugh, "you're teasing, but that's true," she admitted. Then Royal moved to sit by her and she scooted a little to make just enough room. She pressed her shoulder right back into his and grinned, "hi," she said. She reached her hand over to Teddys in an attempt to take his. "How was the journey back?" she asked, turning to Teddy at the end.

@teddy
@royal

[Deleted]

Teddy grinned widely at Royal's lighthearted joke, no matter how much truth was behind it. Sure, Victoire had always been quite the busy body but that was exactly why they loved her. "The bossiness never stops. Even when she's sick, believe me," Ted said pointedly at Victoire with the same smile. When Royal moved to plop down next to Victoire, Teddy moved to lean against the doorway just next to the stairs as he smiled down at two of his best friends in the entire world. The only thing that could make this picture better was if Odette was perched up just on the stair behind them with her own bright smile. He reminded himself that she would be soon enough.

The former Hufflepuff's smile widened even more, if that were possible, when Victoire laughed. Teddy had always admired Royal for his ability to bring out a side in Vic that not many others could. Royal was such a kind individual, and he had been through so much but he still could stand there beside Vic and still smile a smile that Teddy found was more imprinted in his mind than he originally thought. It made Teddy's heart practically sing, seeing his friends happy like this. When Vic reached out for his hand, Teddy took it automatically. "It was good," Teddy nodded. "I can tell you I was far more of a mess going to pick Royal up than I was heading back," he said, referring to the excited jitters he had had before he left to pick up Royal. But after seeing his best friend again, those jitters seemed to disappear. But then Teddy's eyes found Royal's and there they were again. That was weird.

@royal
@victoire

[Deleted]

Royal chuckled when Teddy said that the bossiness never stopped for Vic. He hadn’t really expected it to - in fact, he would expect the bossiness to get worse because it gave Vic some semblance of control when she had very little of it. Royal felt a little rush of warmth when Vic knocked her shoulder against his in response, like things were finally making sense again. He had been a puzzle with too many missing pieces, and now everything was sliding back into place. There were still some things that were missing, pieces that he would never get back - Abby, his mind whispered sadly - but he was whole enough now that he could see the picture. He could see where he had been, and where he was now, and where he was supposed to go. Odette, Teddy, Vic - they made all of that clear again.

Royal was vaguely aware of Teddy and Vic twining their hands together, and clamped down on his impulse to take Victoire’s free hand. They were dating - he and Vic were not. His easy-going smile flew back onto his face when Teddy said that he had been nervous going to see Royal. Well, not said, but implied. “We got to have a good conversation.” Royal chimed in, even though the question hadn’t been as directed as much towards him. “There’s still a lot to get you both caught up on.” Royal said. He was sure they had heard most of the news that affected the Wizarding world as a whole, but there were more personal things to talk about, too, and Royal didn’t want either of them to miss a thing.

@victoire
@teddy

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Vic shrugged and smirked at Teddy affectionately as he said that the bossiness never stopped. Of course it didn't. This was Victoire. Then, Teddy answered her question saying that he was more of a mess heading to Royal than heading back. Victoire took that as a sign that just Royals presence made Teddy not feel as stressed about all this, and she felt a slight pang of guilt that she didn't let Teddy involve Royal sooner. Maybe it all would have been easier on Teddy to have someone there for him while he was there for her. Truthfully, she was still sure that not telling anyone was the best decision for herself and for them but... maybe not for Teddy.

She didn't realize she was frowning until Royal spoke up, and she turned to him and tried to smile again, though it was a little first. "And we have to catch you up a bit too. For starters this is where we've been lurking, thanks to," she paused, averting her eyes to the floor for a moment, "Harry. Hermione is coming by tomorrow," she added. She looked up at Teddy, her brown slightly furrowed, "it's been kind of lonely, just the two of us. But at least we had each other," she knew it was her own fault, the loneliness, and for some reason she thought admitting that out loud would somehow come clear to Teddy as an apology for making him do this alone.

@royal
@teddy

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Teddy held onto Victoire's hand and as he did, he could just tell that between the way Vic and Royal were both acting, there was so much left unsaid between all three of them. They seriously had a lot of catching up to do. Teddy just wished that Odette was able to be there as well. Teddy looked down as Victoire explained that Hermione was coming by tomorrow, and how quiet it had been in the house with just the two of them. He took his opportunity to attempt to lighten up the mood. "There was that old portrait of Walburga Black when we first moved in though," he said, a small grin spreading slowly across his face. "Things weren't exactly quiet until we moved her up to the attic."

The former Hufflepuff then watched Royal for a moment. Teddy knew Victoire was better. He knew that now the two of them were going to be happier than ever now. Ted knew they would be fine. But he desperately felt that he needed to know how Royal was. He, too, had been through so much. "But uh," he hesitated momentarily. "What about you, Roy? Get us caught up on you."

@royal
@victoire

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Royal was sure that he was probably supposed to feel more betrayed about this whole situation than he actually was, but after that initial stab of annoyance that he hadn’t been told (and really, had that been annoyance, or just plain sadness?) Royal had gotten a lot better about the whole thing. He was a little upset that Harry had been Vic and Teddy’s confidante instead of him, but he also had to admit the Potter patriarch had a lot more resources at his disposal than Royal did, and had to answer a lot fewer questions when he wanted to do something crazy. Royal smiled at Vic when she said that it was kind of lonely with just her and Teddy. “You don’t have to be lonely anymore.” He promised her softly. She would have him. They both would.

When Teddy asked him how he had been, Royal had to resist the urge just to shrug off all of his problems. They were still problems, even if talking about them wasn’t his favorite thing. “You know Abby died.” He began, looking at his feet so that no one would see if he started tearing up. “My mum… hasn’t been good lately. She, uh, doesn’t talk much. Doesn’t eat much. Doesn’t do much. Abby was her baby, you know?” Royal swiped at his eyes, feeling ridiculous because this was the sort of thing that he was supposed to be telling his friends. It just felt weird to do it all retroactively. “Addie hasn’t been doing well, either, but I think she doesn’t want me to see that.” Royal was worried about his remaining sister, but he didn’t know how to talk to her about what had happened. He had loved Abby, but he wasn’t her twin, and that was… different. “Jonah left the country, to deal with Jacob stuff, I guess.” Ugh. Why couldn’t he stop crying?! “And I couldn’t talk to Odette.” For a hundred and one reasons, he hadn’t reached out to the only other person who might have understood his pain until recently. Royal lifted his head up, closing his eyes as tears trickled down his cheeks. “It was just me, and I was alone, and…”

And I don’t want to be alone anymore.

And that was the reason he kissed Victoire Weasley.

@victoire
@teddy

[Deleted]

Royal said that they didn't have to be lonely anymore, and Vic mouthed a 'thank you'. She wasn't sure where her voice went in that moment, but it didn't seem necessary to use it.

As Teddy spoke about the portrait Victoire groaned, squeezing his hand a little. "Shh, she may hear us talking about her and come screaming," she half joked, but really her voice lowered a little. She. Hated. That. Painting. But it really wasn't her or Teddys place to do something about it. Really, it was Harry's. So only lord knew who'd be taking care of it now. James was supposed to come get the house, so it would be his problem. She made a mental note to remind James of where it was.

She just hoped that wouldn't get lost in all her other mental notes.

Teddy directed attention to Royal and Victoire turned toward him, awaiting an answer anxiously. Royal spoke about Abby, and Vic kept her eyes on him even though he looked down. He spoke of his mother, it made sense Hestia wasn't doing well but it was still hard to hear. When Royal reached up to wipe his hands Vics free hand reached toward him in an attempt to catch some of those tears herself. She gave Teddys hand another tight squeeze. There were there together, for Royal, for each other.

Royals crying grew and Vic kept a hand near his cheek, occasionally using one finger to wipe away a few tears. He mentioned Odette and Vic felt a harsh pain in her chest. She needed to speak to Odette. Teddy was right in saying she should talk to her best friend alone...

Then Royal looked up and Vics eyes locked on his. He mentioned being alone and she didn't realize she was leaning forward slightly until Royals lips were on hers.

She wasn't sure whether he kissed her or if she kissed him. But she did, and she inhaled deeply through her nose as she did so. She tugged on Teddys hand, somehow beckoning him to come down to their level on the stairs, even though her lips were on Royals. It didn't feel wrong, though. Not in any way. Victoire pulled her lips back just enough to break out words, "I love you," she said. 

@royal
@teddy
(-breathes deeply- okay, we can do this guys hahaha!)

[Deleted]

It warmed Teddy's heart to see Royal here. Victoire looked so happy to have their best friend back. He couldn't imagine the happiness she would radiate when they were all finally back together. His heart excitedly skipped a beat at the thought of all four of them reuniting. Though watching Royal talk about how he and his mother had been... that tug at a different heartstring. One that made a lump form in Teddy's throat. He felt awful that he hadn't been there for his best friend. How had he been so careless as to not even owl him? Seeing Royal swipe at his eyes, to presumably wipe away the tears that were coming, Teddy found himself wanting to comfort Royal. To be his shoulder to cry on. When Royal said Odette's name, he couldn't mask his own sadness any longer. Seeing his friend hurt made Teddy hurt. Victoire squeezing his hand grounded him at least a little.

And then Royal was kissing Victoire.

Teddy's reaction wasn't at all what he ever, ever thought it would be if he saw Victoire kissing someone else. It wasn't like when he saw her with that guy she worked with, and it wasn't like it was some macho jerk trying to sweep her off her feet. It was Royal and somehow... it was okay. And somehow Teddy found himself wanting to be a part of it.

Like a bit of an idiot, Teddy watched his two best friends for a moment. He was lost in his need to be a part of it but then Victoire was tugging on his hand and almost automatically Teddy got down to their level. He couldn't just barge right in. Sure, Victoire had tugged him down to them. Teddy had a feeling she wanted this too. But how could he be so sure about Royal? For the moment, Teddy sat beside them only a few inches away and as he did, he found his hand making it's way up to the back of Royal's head. It lingered there for just a moment before gently rubbing the back of Royal's head before finally he gave him a gentle touch to motion Royal to turn to him. Teddy bit his bottom lip in anticipation, the only thing still grounding him - Victoire's hand.

@royal
@victoire
i'm screaming

[Deleted]

Nothing mattered. The world around him could have been falling down around his ears, but that wouldn’t have mattered, because he was kissing Victoire, and she was kissing him back. She didn’t shove him away or tell him that she had a boyfriend, even though said boyfriend was right there. Royal was so unaware of his surroundings that he didn’t even register that Teddy was getting down to the same level as the two Slytherins until Victoire was withdrawing from him. Her lips were still only a few inches from his and she said those words, and Royal wasn’t sure that he could believe them. She loved him, but she was supposed to love Teddy, and he loved them both, and it was just so frustrating, and –

Teddy was motioning for Royal to turn to him, and the Slytherin prayed that he was reading the situation right before he bent forward so that he could kiss Teddy, too. He was pretty sure this wasn’t the way this meeting was supposed to go – there was supposed to be more talking about feelings and more slow burn and more realization that they wanted each other – but Royal had been through the slow burn before. He knew what it was like. And the normal worries about jumping straight into a relationship didn’t make sense. He knew Teddy – he knew Vic. They already completed him, and if this was any indication of what they were going to become, they were just going to complete him in a different way now. Royal made a soft noise against Teddy’s lips, never wanting to let go but also wanting desperately to get back to Victoire. The two of them were siphoning off the sadness, and the longer he kissed, the lighter Royal felt. This was good. This was right. This was real.

@victoire
@teddy
(is everyone still breathing? )

[Deleted]

Victoire felt Royals lips leave hers and she closed her eyes, turning to rest her forehead on his shoulder as Royal kissed Teddy, too. The closeness between the three of them right now was the only thing that made sense in the entire world. Still, she knew a part of it was missing. She thought about that part, about how that part might not exactly think all of this was totally normal... but at the same time, that part would probably embrace it, too. That part needed a loving family, a group, a support more than anyone. Sure they all had their own families but this was a different kind. Kind of how you have your family your grow up with and then you get married and start a new family. This was the new family.

Victoire realized she was laughing, just slightly, her lips brushing the sleeve at Royals shoulder. She tightened her hold on Teddys hand, sure that it was going to start turning purple and fall off his she held on any tighter. But she felt grounded by it. She felt secure on these steps, with these people. With her family.

@teddy
@royal

[Deleted]

Everything that was happening was so weird but it felt so right. Royal's lips against his was a feeling he had never felt before. How had he never done this before? Had this feeling always been under the surface and was this just the boiling point? Whatever it was, Teddy found that he didn't want it to end. He let his lips kind of take over, as his mind felt so clouded in one of the best ways. As wonderful as it all felt, he still felt as if it wasn't real. The only thing reminding him that it was, was Victoire's tight grip on his hands. And her laugh that he had fallen in love with so long ago. After just a moment or two more of lingering kisses, Teddy sort of reluctantly pulled away from Royal's lips and he blinked, staring at the place where they had just connected. "Wow," was all he could say at first to break the ice.

@royal
@victoire
(teddy and i are both speechless rn tbh)

[Deleted]

Royal was pretty sure that his heart had left his body sometime in the past two minutes. He was struggling to breathe, not because everything that was happening was bad, but because he just… couldn’t believe it. This made sense, so much sense that he wondered why they hadn’t thought of it before, but a part of him couldn’t help but think of Odette, about how he had sworn that at the end of this all, it was going to be them that were together. They were two broken people who needed to be broken together, and Royal flicked his eyes around, wondering if now was exactly the right time to bring that up. No, definitely not.

Vic was laughing, and Teddy pulled away, and then summarized the entire experience with one word. Wow. “I guess I owe you guys some sort of explanation…” Royal said softly. Even though everyone had enjoyed the experience, it was still kind of weird to randomly start kissing your friends, right? “I… just didn’t think that I could die happy without knowing what it was like to kiss you. Both of you.” He and Vic had kissed when they were drunk, once, but that was different, because they weren’t really all there. This time, they had both been there – and they had both liked it.

@victoire
@teddy