Stuck in Second Gear

When he told her not to mess with the piano, she wasn't really surprised, but she could admit to being slightly disappointed. That was only because she enjoyed the sound of the instruments, mind. She wasn't any good at actually playing them. She laughed a bit at his apparent lack of knowledge about the rooms in his flat, but then, she supposed that most rooms could be any number of things and decided to just go along with it.

At his question, she realized that she had left the bag by the floo, so she popped in to swipe it up and back onto her shoulder before returning to his side. "Sorry, got it," she said with a smile, determined to be more pleasant than she had been thus far. "All good."

"Cool."

Selwyn led the way upstairs to another long hallway, almost identical to the one below, apart from the linen closets that lined the wall opposite the stairs.

"So, my room's down the end there," he explained, pointing to their left.  

He crossed the hall to push open the door to the room ahead of them.  

"All the rooms have en-suites but I think the other one might be bigger than this.  It's up to you."

Of course, it also wasn't next door to his room.  Selwyn had no idea if knowing he was on the other side of the wall would make it easier or harder for Adrienne to get to sleep. Or for him to get to sleep, come to think of it.

When he showed her the rooms, Adrienne was conflicted. Luckily, they weren't decorated similarly to the one she had just run from. But they did mean sleeping alone again. To be clear, Kaiden had never been anything to her in any way that remotely belonged under the umbrella of 'bedroom topics.' But she also didn't have anything to be afraid of until the threat was finally vocalized and Kaiden knew just as well as she did what was supposed to come next. Until then, they had simply stayed on their sides, maybe tried to talk (though it always failed), and she was ale to fall asleep knowing that harm wouldn't come to her while she had a witness. A poor one, perhaps. But better than nothing. And she knew Keiran was watching him, so funny business would not be tolerated.

This was different, though. Selwyn had said as much back at the pub, hadn't he? They might look for her, even if only to save face. But the Poliakoffs were strange and definitely the sort of people who would go out of their way to get what they wanted no matter the cost. And they wanted a legitimate heir. It wasn't her fault they'd picked her, was it? Why did it have to fall to her to fix it?

So she stood hesitantly in the doorway, sure that the sheets would be cool and the room would be quiet and, on the whole, she could be comfortable. She could probably manage at least one night. Just to prove to herself that she could. Stepping in, she dropped her bag to the floor, and the noise it made was already enough to make her jump.

In that moment, she hated him. Kaiden, that is. Whether he meant to or not, he had helped his parents turn her into this idiotic mess of a person and she had no idea how to stop it.

"Wait," she said finally, turning over her shoulder and returning to the doorway. Her hand found the doorframe and the other arm wrapped around her torso. She had absolutely no idea how to say it. He would have wards up, surely. He would laugh at her, almost definitely. She didn't know him well enough to presume otherwise, even if she should have given him the benefit of the doubt.

"I'm not really used to-..." she gestured vaguely to the room she was supposed to call hers, "... alone anymore. If someone finds me, I wouldn't know my way around, besides," she added, clearly seeking an excuse or two. "I just... I don't think I'll be able to fall asleep."

Oh-kay. That was unexpected.

It was getting late. Selwyn rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes. He sighed.

"When I unhook the floo, we'll be well and truly in the muggle world. Nobody will be able to find you," he reassured her. "Come on."

He took her hand and led her down to his own room. Probably because he was with someone else, but when Selwyn opened the door, it was like he was looking at it with new eyes.

The master bedroom was massive, large enough to comfortably fit a king-size bed, his desk, another fireplace in the far wall and several feet of space between the end of the bed and the darkened windows.

"There's a futon we can move in here if you like," Selwyn suggested. "I am not giving you my bed."

Adrienne realized belatedly that she would probably regret saying anything. He seemed upset with her, so her instinct to simply return to her room came up but was stifled as his hand took up hers. Her free hand curled around his arm without Adrienne willing it to, and she didn't even notice it until they were staring at his room and he spoke again.

Her hands drew away and she silently willed him to release her fingers from his grasp as she spoke. "I wasn't asking you to," she replied quietly. She wasn't sure what, exactly, she had been expecting. Not anymore. "I wouldn't.

"The futon is fine. I'll go back to the other room tomorrow. It's just been a strange day," she muttered, pulling away properly to walk back to her things and get ready for bed.

It wasn't too long before she returned, wondering how long she would stare at the ceiling before finally being allowed to sleep.

Selwyn watched Addie walk to the other room and thought about what she'd said.  She was all defensive and he knew she was defensive because of other people and he didn't even take it personally.  It still made him feel weird.  

Was he even really in love with her, or did he just like helping her?  There was a fu¢ked up thought.  That was almost teacher-student degrees of wrong.  You'd think a part veela would know something about love.  But no.

He repressed another sigh, because she probably would have heard it from the other room, and walked through his own bathroom to the wardrobe.  Like everything else in this house, it was way too big for one person, especially since the quantity clothes he owned was so small.  

He rifled through the drawers looking for something suitable to wear to bed.  There had to be pyjama pants in here somewhere.  He knew he owned some.  He could imagine Adrienne's face if he walked back in there wearing only boxers.  

That was another thing.  How did she get so easily embarrassed when she had brothers?  And one of them younger than her, too.  Seeing a guy go through puberty ought to be enough to wipe the blush from any fair maid's cheek.

On reflection, it was a good thing he'd suggested that futon.  He'd been tempted to share the bed.  It was plenty big enough.  But Addie seemed so naive. He smiled mischievously to himself imagining her reaction if he'd woken up with a hard on in the morning.  Apparently Kaiden didn't suffer such inconveniences.  Did she even know that was a thing?

Found them.  The faded blue pyjama pants were too short and unravelling at the hems.  They'd serve their purpose, which was the important thing.

When he came back into the room, she was standing in the doorway, looking lost again.

"I have to get the futon made up for you and clean the dishes and unhook us from the floo network," Selwyn told her.  

He pointed at the television mounted on the wall opposite the bed.

"Did you ever have a telly when you were a kid?  You can watch it if you like.  Or come down and watch the one in the living room."

Surprisingly, a smile brightened her features at his suggestion. Not because she was desperate to watch television or anything, but because she wanted to laugh at herself. Here she was, worried about if she could sleep on her own (after leaving a terrible relationship, mind), and he was doing all of this work. But instead of asking for help, he asked if she had ever watched the telly before. She wasn't sure what he would think if she turned around and offered to help. She couldn't take his place off of the floo network. She could probably move the furniture, but she had no idea where the thing was or where in his room he wanted to put it. So that wouldn't be helpful.

However, she did have the chance to change the mood of the flat, which she knew full well had been altered because of her presence and her pessimism. But he was still retaining an air of friendliness that she wasn't sure she deserved.

"You'll laugh," she assured him gently, "but I may have brought a book with me. I did have a telly at home, but I never preferred it. So, if you tell me where I'll be out of your way I can just read for a bit. I'd like to be of some help, really, but I'm not sure what I could do. Besides getting out of the way," Adrienne laughed, the sound almost shy as she pushed her hair out of her face.

"Maybe I can help with meals or something to pay you back for everything. Or rent, maybe."

Selwyn pushed her shoulder.

"You're right, I think your book is silly," he replied sarcastically. "I totally didn't try to chat you up because you were reading in an incongruous location. And I didn't decide to help you because I care about you. I did it because I have a house elf phobia and I want you to be my live in maid."

By now, his giggles were spilling over his attempt to remain straight-faced.

"Now come downstairs and we can discuss your remuneration. Bring the book, I fear I may have to burn it lest it distract you from your work."

Selwyn ran turned and ran down the stairs, his laughter ringing through the house for Adrienne to follow if she wished.

Adrienne's cheeks colored rapidly, unsure that she had ever actually seen this side of him before. She didn't actually know how to respond to it at first. At least it didn't sound like he had grown too weary of her, despite her actions that evening. Or, if he had, he was very good at hiding it. Either way, she appreciated the comfort it brought her.

"You're dreadful!" She decided finally, the words coming out on a disbelieving laugh.

But he had taken off, leaving her standing there alone for a moment, utterly taken by surprise. After a pause, she reminded herself that she wasn't even out of her teenage years. Wasn't she supposed to be having fun and attending the World Cup and everything else? Surely others her age were doing that instead of worrying about their husbands' parents? Then again, the law had affected many.

Still, she decided that she rather liked the idea that she could still act her age. So, clutching her book to her chest, she bounded down the stairs and came to a halt next to him. She looked over at him with what was probably the biggest smile he had ever gotten from her, before she swept further into the room and swung around to face him.

"What first?" She asked, her voice about as teasing as his had been.

Ah, there she was. Addie had been the one to suggest the "bet" at the Three Broomsticks. Or, the one to suggest they should seriously gamble on what had essentially been a throwaway line, anyway. He knew there was a fun side underneath all that baggage.

"Dishes first," he told her. "I really do have a house elf... um, maybe not a phobia any more but they're creepy buggers. I probably know a lot more cleaning charms than the average wizard."

"That, and my family home's up in the Highlands," he threw the comment over his shoulder as he went into the dining room to collect the dirty dishes. "Cleaning charms are incredibly useful if you've just spent the afternoon walking through nothing but mud."

"What about you? What's your super secret talent?"