The "Oldies"

Part of her was expecting Professor Arryn to come out swing at her ballsy move. That he would pull away and chide her for thinking that kissing him was an appropriate course of action. Then he would suddenly remember his duty as one of the Yule Ball chaperones and insist that they try to sober up and begin patrolling the hallways in search of deviants that they should write up and report. This was what Dom was silently bracing herself for, the part of her that was not lulled into ignorance by alcohol-induced euphoria.

But he did not push her away. He did not recall their responsibility to the youth of Hogwarts. He kissed her back, and Dom pressed onward, slipping deeper and deeper into the kiss with the man that had become her only friend at Hogwarts.

He pulled away and she looked at him, searching his eyes for the hesitation she was sure he had. Now was the time to recall duty, to realize this is not what he wanted, that he was much to responsible and commitment-conscientious to just fool around with a friend. Somehow this did not fit with her image of Declan Arryn. But he had danced with her. He had guzzled whiskey with her. And now he had kissed her back.

He reached for the bottle and, for a moment, she thought she would be abandoned for liquid pursuits. But he set the glass aside and righted himself, pulling her into him. She curled her legs around him, her hands seizing his collar and tie - because when a man was in a suit, you took advantage of it - and she returned his kiss with even more enthusiasm than before.

A grin pulled at Declan's lips once Dom latched onto his suit collar, because the move felt so very like her that he couldn't help himself. He would have laughed were it not for the realization that he was actually getting into something with someone he considered to be a good friend of his. Declan didn't have many good friends, really. So why was he so willing to go along with it? Even Declan himself couldn't say. Maybe there was just something about her.

Still, he drew her lower lip between his teeth, softening the action by dropping a series of little kisses to her lips and then along her jaw. His hands found her hips, and his fingers nudged at her shirt, lifting it so he could run his palms over her back.

This was madness. He was mad. There was nothing else for it. And yet he couldn't help it. A very large part of him was starting to wonder after whether she wasn't different from everyone else. He wouldn't have allowed this with someone else - especially not someone he was on quite good terms with. So, why? he asked himself, despite the fact that he didn't hesitate. Indeed, his chin tilted, his lips pressing into the column of her neck. Maybe it's just the alcohol.

Even in his less-than-sober state, Declan knew that wasn't true. That was an utter lie. It wasn't just that. She could make him laugh, convince him to dance. Dom was the only one who could manage that with him. What's more, he didn't want anyone else to. So, maybe it was possible that he thought she was kind of special. Just maybe.

But that didn't matter, he reminded himself quickly, because he wasn't ready to take on something like that again. But - But then why on earth was he doing this? Declan did hesitate at that, lifting his chin so he could press his forehead against hers. For a few moments, he just let his eyes stay closed, breathing and trying to understand his own actions. That was the thing, then, wasn't it? Whether or not he felt ready. He had spent so long tell himself that he wasn't, but maybe that wasn't true anymore. It wasn't that he was ready to consider just anyone. But perhaps Dom had started to change his mind about one person in particular. In the morning, he could blame it on being drunk if she suggested that it wasn't something she had planned on because it was him specifically.

But right then, he was still reeling from the drink and from her and he didn't care about his own rules anymore. So Declan inhaled sharply and lifted his palm further up her back, releasing his words on the exhale that followed. "Tell me to stop and I will."

He wasn't just kissing her either. He was getting into it now, responding well as she clutched him tighter. He bit her lip and her eyes flicked upwards, and she melted a little bit more into him, flattening her hand against his chest. He peppered her with kisses, reaching under her shirt and causing tingles to run up her spine, trickling up and down, causing goosebumps and warm prickles to spread over her back. That was nice.

This had become Dom's romantic life, in all honesty. At least this was a friend. Typically, the people she managed to get involved with were near strangers, friends she had just become friends with, friends she knew from Hogwarts... It was being young. Being young was complicated, and lustful, and exhausting... But she honestly had never really considered the idea that maybe that wasn't healthy or normal.

But was it any better to be getting so intimate with a friend? And a coworker at that?

But reason went out the door, when her eyes flicked open and took open his face. Willing. Excited.

A smile unfurled on her face. "I'm not going to stop you," she breathed, and she swooped in again, tightening her legs around him as she pressed her lips back into his.

That was it, then. Declan had run out of excuses to not go through with it, and now she was practically - though, not in so many words - asking him to go ahead and do it. Had he been alert enough to properly consider it, he probably would have asked again. He would have made sure. But something told him she might not have said anything against it either way. But perhaps that was just wishful thinking on his part. Declan had no way of knowing.

He had promised himself, upon losing Danica, that he wouldn't take women seriously unless they heard the respect he kept so hidden and boxed away. Very few people were granted a look at the man he could be once he had decided to trust them, but Dom had worked her way in and he could see no chance of getting rid of her now. Well, unless something went wrong in the aftermath of what was rapidly becoming a definite thing. Whatever it was, though, it was something. And he hadn't been involved in 'something' in quite a long while.

In what felt like no time at all, Declan had turned them again, this time settling dome Down onto the couch. Between kisses, clothes were shed and the ending to their night that suddenly seemed so inevitable arrived.

Other than transfiguring up something to safely keep them covered, Declan was careful to at least have his bottom half covered up properly before they attempted to get comfortable enough to sleep. That much, he could focus on. Beyond that, his attention span was useless, and he pulled the conjured blanket up over her shoulders, wrapping his arms around her. The couch was kind of small, after all, and he hadn't thought to try and expand the thing. So, and the alcohol probably helped his decision along, Declan would do the after part. The over-night part. It was Dom, so of course he would. He would have been a right bastard for even considering leaving.

That, like so much else throughout their evening, had been because of her.

When morning rolled around, the first thing the sometimes-professor noticed was that his head was throbbing. Perhaps he really should have considered water or bread - or something, at least - before allowing himself to fall asleep. The second, and probably more important thing he noticed, was that Dom was still lying on his chest. Right, that would probably cause a bit of conflict, if not handled properly.

Unfortunately for him, it wasn't going to be up to him how the situation was handled. Because the door opened and the first thing he heard, as he scrunched his eyes closed to avoid her, was Adrienne's gasp and her complaint of, "Seriously? Here? Merlin..."

And with that, they were off. The kisses became more passionate, more adventurous, travelling from her lips and over her body as they re-situated themselves. Her hands traveled up and down his body, enjoying his surprisingly muscular frame. This was Declan Arryn. Declan Arryn. The guy she had to practically get down on bended knee just to convince to get out onto the dance floor of a school dance. She had worked hard to convince him to have fun earlier in the night, and now he was plunging forward to chase more and more fun at her simple statement that he didn't need to stop.

A sentiment she repeated over and over.

Before either could come to their senses about the potential consequences of their actions, they had acted. Declan had the foresight to conjure blankets - which was nice considering that Dom had no intentions to squeeze back into her jeans - and they settled in for the night, punctuating the rest of the night with sweet, trailing kisses, reminding them both of the affection they had both so desired.

Dom slept soundly typically, but sound had the most affect on her sleeping. And so when she heard a voice, her eyes slipped open. She blinked blearily at Declan and grinned wryly at him, proud of their little inside joke. But wait - he hadn't spoken. Dom twisted around, clutching her blanket up to herself. She squinted and lifted one of the corners of her mouth. "Oh. Hi, Adrienne. Nice to see you!"

Adrienne couldn't claim to be a prude, but she still shot a disapproving - if not utterly disgusted look - at Declan and Dom. It was the blonde that Adrienne was more concerned about. Adrienne had never liked Declan. Not since their first meeting. But Dom, the young woman had hoped, would be more sensible than this. Too aware of herself to actually sleep with Declan. It was clear, from the man's embarrassed expression, and the blonde's almost cheeky smile, that it wasn't just a snooze on the couch.

That, and Adrienne was quite sure that the younger of the two was not properly covered. When she sat up, Declan was also given away, since he hadn't felt bothered enough to search for his shirt the night before. Why would he want to sleep in a button up like that one, anyway? Not worth it. And although Adrienne supposed she knew that, she was unamused nonetheless. So much for a nice morning of grading her last papers before heading home. For a supposedly sweet Ravenclaw, the recent graduate was not the more forgiving of people, she thought almost apologetically. Adrienne knew that about herself. But Declan had gotten himself into further trouble, and now she had the power to chide him for it.

"Yes, hello, Dom," the brunette returned slowly, wondering if she was allowed to be cold to the younger one, when she was really only frustrated with the older one. "Declan, have you any idea how much trouble you two could get into? What's the matter with you?"

"Piss off, woman," he replied tersely, bringing a hand up to push his fingers through his hair. "This is none of your business and you know it."

This was not, Adrienne realized, something that the man wanted anyone to know about. Either he was ashamed, or he thought it actually meant something to the pair of them. Addie wasn't sure about the former, but the latter seemed fairly unlikely. The blonde appeared far too casual, and Adrienne wasn't sure she wanted to be there when he found out, too.

"If you don't want anyone to find out, you might want to consider going elsewhere next time," she pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest.

Dom had never exactly been shy. Her sister had walked in on her once or twice in her life, and Dom had only ever managed to laugh at the look on Victoire's prim face. A sense of shame had gone long ago. This was nothing compared to who she used to be with Roxanne Weasley as an influence. With Roxi, everything happened. Dom woke up next to strangers, was accosted on the streets by men who had claimed to have been her partner and would like to revisit the wonderful night they had spent together, and she knew that on more than one occasion something had happened with a small audience nearby.

That was the sort of stuff she should have been ashamed of.

But a drunken sleepover with a friend? That was positively innocent in comparison, and she was not about to be chided by a married woman who had married because the law forced her to about abstinence. She looked at Declan and rolled her eyes and Adrienne began speaking, but suddenly found herself irritated that only Declan was being scolded. She was just as responsible, if not more for having suggested the alcohol in the first place and initiated the kiss.

She turned back to look at Adrienne, narrowing hr eyes. In her graveling, hungover voice, she said, "It's not just his fault. I had a little something to do with it. That's sexist, actually. What decade are we in?"

Declan tried to send Adrienne packing, and Adrienne quipped back. Dom smiled wryly and tilted her head, her blonde hair tickling Declan's bare chest. "Maybe getting caught was part of the fun. Thanks for participating."

She was a bad person.

Declan watched as Adrienne bristled, having opened his eyes in time to catch Dom's reply. The blonde wasn't wrong, but Adrienne was clearly unimpressed, offering a huff and looking towards the door. Perhaps she really would leave, he mused to himself. Except Dom spoke again, and Declan stiffened, his brow furrowing. A twinge of guilt hit him, but in that same breath, he realized what had happened. It wasn't like he was the one who had taken advantage of Dom. She was right. She did have a little something to do with it.

Mind, he wasn't blaming her outright for anything. But he did have to stop and wonder if he hadn't made another stupid mistake because of a woman. Dom wasn't even close to the level of cruel that Danica had reached, but the reminder was there. The feeling of being disappointed in himself for not realizing was back, regardless of the fact that he had been far too drunk to make any normal or proper decisions. Hadn't she been to that point? In the moment, it had seemed like it. But she seemed pretty dang proud of herself for that.

"Adrienne, please, just leave." He snapped, ignoring the look of actual sympathy that flashed across the Ravenclaw's features. She hesitated a moment, as though she thought Declan was going to break something and she would be considered an accomplice, but did finally go.

The man's hands lifted to cover his face, and he lay there for a moment before sitting up. Right. He needed to... to leave or he needed her to say that she was kidding to make Adrienne uncomfortable. Declan didn't know, really. But he couldn't handle the silence or the fact that she might just want to stay there.

"I should probably go," he muttered, the words coming out on something of a sigh. "Gotta make sure nobody stole anything or whatever," he added, not bothering to come up with a more legitimate excuse. He felt like he had been used, rather like with Danica but not precisely in the same way. Still, that idea of being someone's "whatever" person made him want to cringe. He would have liked, for once, to be someone's only person. It sounded rather lame, even as he thought it, but he supposed he could be forgiven for admitting it just the one time.

Dom loved the look that went across the other professor's expression, glad to see that she had caused a reaction of some kind. Shock and awe was her motto, after all, and it was interesting to see how much her words could affect another person. Dom had always been the sort to say things that would make people turn and crane their neck quickly, to see if she was actually serious in whatever she had just said. She was used to being the crazy, outspoken one, and she wasn't going to stop enjoying it now.

Declan snapped at Adrienne and Dom turned to loo at him, a little surprised to hear him so on edge - why wasn't he more relaxed? She was nice and relaxed. Perhaps he just really did not like the Poliakoff woman. She glanced back when she heard the door close again, before turning to rest her eyes back at Declan, smirking at him with pride at having helped successfully drive off the snooping woman.

Declan covered his face and Dom tilted her head, curious. The dull throbbing in the base of her skull reminded her that hangovers were a thing and that there was probably a very good reason for Declan to cover his face. He sat up and she adjusted, sittong on the couch, one of her legs hooked on his knee. She reached up and pulled her hair tie off of her wrist and tied her hair up into a messy bun of sorts.

He made an excuse to leave and she looked over at him, reaching over the couch to pick up her sweater. As she pulled it on, she tilted her head and said, "Stole anything? Okay." Weird - but it seemed that Professor Arryn was back. All business, no play. Ah well. She continued shrugging her clothes on, saying, "We should probably stow away any extra liquor bottles," she joked, pointing at an open bottle on a nearby coffee table.

"Hey." She turned her head to look back at Declan and reached out, punching his shoulder softly. She grinned at him. "This was fun."

"I meant stolen from the Leaky," he replied flatly, realizing he had not gotten his intended message across. He wasn't going to stick around and play at being comfortable with her take on what had happened between them. Was it too much to ask for a woman who took things like this seriously? Declan wasn't sure if he was being pathetic or if every girl in his life was just mental.

Finding his shirt, tie and suit jacket, Declan started pushing his arms into his sleeves, but decided to ditch the die and jacket for now. No need to get that dressed up just to go back to the Leaky and shower anyway. She whacked his arm, and Declan stared at her like she had just suggested he should sell his business. He shook his head, turning away and allowing his eyebrows to pull closer together. Fun. It had been... fun. Sure.

"Yeah," he replied vaguely. "Just get back to your rooms before anyone else realizes you've been in here all night, okay? Adrienne probably won't actually say anything, but I'd rather not have it spread around, okay?"

Realizing what he had implied, Declan sighed and turned to look at her again. "It's not because it's you, Dom. That's not what I meant." He hesitated, wetting his lips as he tried to find the words. "I just don't do things like this, and I don't need any of our superiors to consider firing either of us. Okay? So I'm gonna go."