[OPEN] On Borrowed Time

Adrienne looked at him properly when he replied, tilting her head to the side as she considered his words. It was a fair enough statement, she couldn't argue that. But she didn't actually know what she wanted.

"Scared? Yes. I am. But the chance, the opportunity, for something better is far less worrisome than staying in a marriage that could lead to those terrible things you mentioned. I don't have it in me to trust his family. I'm not sure I ever have. But at the time, it seemed like the best option..." she admitted, lifting one shoulder in a sort of shrug.

She finally looked down and noticed that his hand was still outstretched. Adrienne couldn't tell if it was an invitation to reach for him again or not, but after a moment she decided she didn't care. Extending her arm, she let her fingers brush across his palm so that she could settle her hand in his.

"I don't know how I'm going to deal with my current situation. I really don't. But I'm quite sure that, although Kaiden will have to leave, I don't want you to. So I suppose it's also about what you want. If I can handle things smoothly - or, at least, smoothly enough to get out of their hair... what next?"

He really shouldn't have got that much of a rush just from her touch.  Selwyn wasn't a shrinking violet when it came to physical contact; he'd have been the quidditch team's shining star if not for Scorpius Malfoy and Elijah Krum soaking up the limited attention spans of the staff between them.  But initiated contact, and from a woman as well, that wasn't something he had a lot of experience with.

"I guess the next part is up to you," he told her.

He could have made it easier on both of them and told her what he wanted.  Was he already making wedding plans in his head?  Maybe.  He'd already figured out he wasn't close enough to anyone to have a best man, at any rate.  Damn Scorpius' stupid ideals, or this wouldn't be a problem.

"That does make it a twinge more complicated, then, doesn't it?" Adrienne asked, a smile somehow finding its way onto her face when she let out a quiet laugh.

"This is so not normal," she added under her breath. "Um. Well, first I obviously have to figure out how to convince Kaiden and his parents to go for the whole annulment thing. But after that's sorted... I suppose I'm mostly concerned with getting to know you. I should have asked earlier, but I don't even know if you're still at Hogwarts. After leaving last Christmas I didn't really keep in touch with many of the professors. Well, except Keiran but he's dreadful at remembering or sharing gossip, so he's useless when it comes to keeping me updated."

She shook her head and smiled fondly, but kept on. "I don't want to pile questions on now, and I much rather like learning things spontaneously. Like our conversation tonight. But there are some things I'll be innately curious about. Like how I didn't realize you were interested. Or why your family has the blood magic ordeal going at all. I know I could just toss everything I'm wondering about into the open, but that doesn't feel very organic."

She was rambling again. She hadn't been nervous like this very many times before, so perhaps it was a bit of a quirk that she just had not realized about herself.

"I don't suppose you're the formal date sort?" she asked, surprising herself.

He'd done it.  How had he done it?  She was taking him seriously, even talking about annulling her marriage and Selwyn hadn't tried anything untoward at all.  

He blinked while she rattled off all the things she was curious about.  In her place, he'd have felt just the same.

"Why Miss Adrienne, are you trying to ask me to dinner?" he asked.  "How formal will this date be?"

He slipped from the usual cultured English accent he used when teaching into his native Scottish brogue.

"Wi' ye need me to don the kilt, lassie?"

"I... I didn't mean to do so. But apparently I am," she admitted, her cheeks burning. In an effort to cover her dismay at being so forward, Adrienne ignored the fact that it was actually alcohol, and lifted her glass again.

When he spoke again, however, she realized how terrible that idea had been. She practically inhaled the drink from a sudden fit of laughter, and she had to actually clear her throat a few times before she dared an attempt at responding.

"I don't know about kilts. Although that is quite possibly the best thing I've heard in a long time. I mean, if that's more your style..." She shrugged. "Between the two of us, I'll confess I expected to be the one who was wearing the skirt."

A little smile pulled at her cheeks but she tried to sober herself enough to give him a straightforward response. Even if it came out as more of a question. "Are you suggesting that I should be the one to pick? I guess since I asked it's sort of my job, huh? I've always been one for surprises, but I think I could manage planning something."

Selwyn laughed at her reaction. He had been trying to lighten the mood, but a drowning wasn't exactly what he was aiming for.

"Just checking," Selwyn smiled. "Some ladies like a man with good legs. I'm told I have good legs; it's all that running about after sheep. And students. And magical creatures."

"But I could wear a suit if you think it's more appropriate."

Selwyn squeezed her hand.

"The person who asks is the person who plans," he said decidedly. "These are the rules. You should write them all down for the Ravenclaws of future generations."

"I doubt there's anything you can think of that would really disappoint me," he added. "I didn't expect to get this far."

Adrienne fidgeted. She was sorely tempted to lean around the edge of the table and look, even though she probably wouldn't have been able to tell. But that would have been awkward, and the rest of the evening had already been so strange that she wasn't sure it was worth making it worse.

"If you wear a suit, though, I'd have to wear something exceptionally fancy, wouldn't I? So maybe something slightly more casual, hmm?"

Adrienne glanced down at their hands, somehow surprised to feel him give hers a squeeze. The gesture wasn't something that she actually understood, but she rather enjoyed it, secretly.

"I'll publish a book on it, shall I?" She jested.

"I certainly didn't come in here expecting this, either. So how about I try to handle things with Kaiden and then get in touch with you?" She suggested, feeling a twinge of guilt for planning all of this before even talking to the person she could get into the most trouble with. But it was high time that she started considering her future for herself.

"If the behaviour of some of the kids in my classes is anything to go off of, you'll doubtless make millions," he assured her.

Selwyn hadn't forgotten about Kaiden. He had deliberately put the other man out of his mind when Adrienne said she wanted to get to know him better, though. He wanted this evening to last forever, but he knew Adrienne was practical and had a feeling it would soon be coming to a close.

"I have a flat in London," he told her. "If I'm not at Hogwarts, I'm there. You'll tell me if they try anything unpleasant, yeah?"

He gave a twisted smile of amusement at his own words.

"I mean, I'm not trying to be your knight in shining armour, but it's a decent size. If you needed somewhere to go."

Adrienne wanted to frown at his question, if only because she would have rather forgotten that they might actually go so far as to try and harm her in order to get what they wanted. But she knew better than anybody how questionable the politics of her husband's family could be. It was lucky they thought she and Kaiden got along, really. Otherwise, what might they have tried, just to get their way?

"You may regret making that offer," she warned him seriously. "I have no clue what he'll say when I tell him I want things to change. I don't know what to expect. You might just end up getting an owl at your window one day, and I'll be badgering you to let me in. It would be better for you to seriously consider how much crazy you can handle before saying something like that."

"You know a lot of what you say sounds like you're trying to make yourself believe that nobody cares about you?" Selwyn asked.

"You don't have to take me up on it, but I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't sincere. The whole reason I offered is because you don't know what Kaiden'll do."

"Even if it turns out to be convenient for him, his parents sound like nasty pieces of work," he pointed out. "Exactly the type to make things up about you to preserve their boy's good name."

"So thank you, but I already considered how much crazy I can handle and I think since I may have talked you into it, the least I can do is give you somewhere to go if things go bad," he finished up.