*~satisfaction feels like a distant memory~* k

Aiden hadn't been back in the UK for a few months but the first thing he always did was try and catch up with his friends. He hadn't seen Keela in what felt like years and he'd been looking forward to catching up. He had a flat in London he never bloody used but didn't want to give up. He'd rather just stay at his aunt and uncle's but then his parents would get all ruffled about it and he didn't want to deal with the hassle. He didn't spend enough time home (and he did feel like the Hayes' was home) to really justify moving back anyway. London was easy, especially with all his travelling, and he didn't have to worry about accommodations elsewhere because it was explicitly in his contract with Gringotts. To that end, his traveling suitcase was beyond everything he could hope for.

Grabbing a rather threadbare navy shirt from his bed Aiden contemplated where he wanted to take K. There were a few open air options and he couldn't quite decide where he was going to be pummeled. He was sorely out of practice and Keela was a bloody starter for the Falcon's he knew she was going to wipe the floor with him. Still the prospect was quite exciting. He got to spend time with one of his best people and he got to do something dangerous. While he wasn't necessarily a straight match for her, he knew her moves and he knew just the right things to do so that this would be as beneficial for her as it was going to be fun for him.

He made his way out of his bedroom, shirt clutched in his arms, and in nothing but a pair of grey running shorts. (He was a bit of an exhibitionist and at this point it truly wasn't anything new she'd be seeing in the event K showed up while he was slow to get ready). He eyed his floo for a second, contemplating if he had enough time to make himself a snack before K showed up, but gave up and folded himself over his couch instead, determined to just wait it out and see if Keela wanted to grab food before or after she clobbered him.

@Keela Doyle 

Life as a professional Quidditch player had proven to be more sequestered than she’d initially anticipated.

She had plenty of (overwhelmingly positive) interaction with her team, of course… but when the BIL was in season, Keela felt like she barely saw anyone outside of her second family. Not that she was complaining – for the past year-and-a-half since she’d signed her professional contract her life effectively revolved around the sport, and she had eagerly worked hard to earn her keep. They’d beat Portree earlier this month, but had lost to her childhood-favorite team just last week. Only ten points behind Caerphilly and Gravesend (who were currently tied for first place), though, Falmouth was still in a favorable position to potentially win the league.

In any case, Keela hated to lose… and so Aiden’s owl a few days ago had offered a rather well-timed distraction from recent events. Today was supposed to be one of her rest days but – she’d reasoned to herself with a good-natured smirk – a casual flying session with her former House teammate was effectively the same thing as a rest day. She’d have to remember to rag on him about that later.

It was a cool and blustery day, even for March, and so she was dressed in several layers, including warm training leggings and a fitted jumper with a long-sleeve shirt underneath. Even so, she shivered at a gust of wind as she waited on his porch after she’d knocked on the front door. Fortunately, he answered it rather quickly – and Keela couldn’t help but grin ear-to-ear at the sight of her friend and former Housemate.

“Well, well, well… look what the Kneazle dragged in,” she greeted teasingly, reaching out to pull him into a hug as she crossed the threshold. The Irish witch hardly registered that he was shirtless, considering she spent a decent percentage of her time in various locker rooms. “The worldly traveler has returned from yet another expedition. How’ve you been, mate?”

He wasn't going to complain about an armful of hot proffesional Quidditch badass. He was absolutely going to bask instead, and wrap his big dumb arms around her. He tucked his face close to her head for a second, just holding tightly, before letting her go. There was warmth on his face, and a grin on his lips as he studied his friend. "Exhausted." he admitted, lips curling up, as he tugged her inside. He'd left the shirt on the couch somewhere and it was a bit chilly. "How's my favorite celebrity been doing eh?" he asked, curious, as he made his way back towards the couch.

He finally let go of her arm, one his brain caught up that he was still holding it, as he swiped his shirt from the couch, and starting putting it on. "Should we get food, d'ya think? Part of me feels like you're going to torture me, and the other part feels like if I'm going to throw up anyway I might as well try to get the energy i'll need from food." he said, voice teasing, as he glanced back at her and flopped himself back on his couch. It was his favorite thing in the whole apartment, actually, a nice grey sectional with plenty of pillows that were so very very comfortable.

Leaning heavily into the embrace, she exhaled softly through her nose with amusement as Aiden nestled in closer. Previously a woman of very little outward affection, she’d found that she was slowly becoming fonder of hugs and other physical displays of affection. Perhaps it was the Falcons’ specific dynamic, or just the nature of Quidditch overall.

Keela allowed herself to be led further into the room, and flashed a grin at the word ‘celebrity’.
“Oh, y’know, the usual,” she affected casually. “Kicking arse, taking names… well, except for last week, at least. Actively working to protect my team from getting their skulls caved in, in any case.”

She hadn’t noticed he was still holding onto her arm – until he let go of it to put on his shirt. (Had he been working out more? She thought so.)
“Torture you? I'm offended,” she replied dryly, wrinkling her nose. “Eh, I never eat right before a workout. However” – she grinned wickedly, pretending to size him up – “I reckon playing you shouldn’t be too arduous, I’d hardly call it a workout.”

He dropped onto the couch, then, and K took that as her cue that they weren’t going anywhere in the next few minutes at least – which suited her just fine. She kicked off her shoes and nudged them over by the door, returning to plop down on the cushions beside him. She did make a beeline for the corner spot, though, nestling herself comfortably into the space and tucking her ankles partially underneath her.

“Anyways, I want updates,” she told him faux-bossily, snapping her fingers. “Where have your recent assignments been?”

If Aiden was a more observant man he would've picked up that Keela had gotten more tactile over the years. Tactile and friendly as he was he'd always left space for other people. He was a relatively large guy and so he tried his best not cage people in. His friends, though, well he'd always preferred the Gryffindor puppy piles. Keela was a nice sturdy weight in his arms and he sighed in return, feeling a bit more grounded. He loved traveling and he loved going to new places but he was so tired, lately, that he was starting to think some time off would be good for him. Some downtime from trying to get wrecked by some ancient boobytraps would be real swell.

"Kicking arse, indeed." he managed, laughing, as he thought back fondly on how deadly the girl could be with a bat. "Its a wonder they haven't named you Skullcrusher Doyle. You'd fit right in with the goblins." he teased, teal eyes playful, as he settled further in. Maybe she'd indulge him a bit on a lazy hang out with food. There was a floo-order Thai place that was amazing. They could digest and she could proceed to whip him bloody at Quidditch. Sounded like a fine day to him, actually, though it required for his friend to be free as well.

"Rude." he quipped, grinning, as he gave a little shrug. "Maybe you'd be willing to slum it with me for a bit? We can hang out, I'll get you some Thai, and you can tell me about all the injuries you've dolled out before I gather he courage to come within striking distance of you and a bat." he offered, a smirk growing on his lips.

"Sailing." he started, excited, as he leaned forward. "I'll only elaborate if there's food, though." he bartered, grinning. 

‘Skullcrusher Doyle.’
She rolled her eyes dramatically but smirked nonetheless, amused.

He called her rude, and she stuck her tongue out at him. As she listened to his proposition, she pulled one of the throw-pillows onto her lap and wrapped her arms around it, resting her chin on top. (Keela was surprised there were throw-pillows at all; Freya’s influence, – if not her actual doing – she suspected.)
As that thought crossed her mind, she felt suddenly disconnected from her peers; missing out on being involved in some of the little nuances of her friends’ lives. She and Quinn’d had many a discussion on what it meant to play Quidditch for a living, to make it professionally: the commitment (time and otherwise), the decisions, the personal life choices. K understood it then, and she understood it now – but now she was really beginning to feel it.

“Sailing?” she repeated, intrigued, then let out a defeated hum of consideration at the unabashed bribe. “You drive a hard bargain.”
Keela steepled her fingertips and drummed them together slowly as she pretended to deliberate. In truth, her mind was already made up – she loved Thai, for one, and for another… the longer she sat on this delightfully cozy couch, the less inclined she felt to exert any more energy than that which would be necessary to consume her pad Thai.

“Maybe I would. Deal,” she declared, burrowing further into the corner of the sectional to further cement her decision to ‘slum it’ for the time being. “Though it had better be delivery, ’cos now I’m not moving from this spot.”

"Careful, gives a man ideas." he teased, though old guilt tore at his stomach a bit. He was trying very hard not to think about it but despite his best the thoughts still circled his brain like a vulture. He felt something settle as K got comfortable and he mirrored her posture. "I'll make it worth your while." he wheedled, despite knowing he'd won. He felt sort of bad for changing plans but, well, maybe talking about his feelings as opposed to mashing them down and grinding them into a fine powder would be better.

"I might have ordered already." he admitted, feeling sheepish. He glanced down at his watch. "Should be here in a like 10, I think." and because he was a wonderful friend he'd ordered the Pad Thai. It didn't hurt it was his favorite, too, a long with Thai tea. So close he could almost taste it, actually, and he was quite looking forward to it. "Danny's all pissed at me." he blurt out, sinking onto the sofa and groaning against one of the cushions.

Sweet Morgana, maybe he could suffocate himself with it. Dying of asphyxiation sounded better than talking about bloody feelings.

“Oh, aye? Ideas, hm.” She almost stuck her tongue out at him again, just to be ridiculous.

“I'll make it worth your while.”

She lobbed one of the smaller, squashier pillows at him as a wordless concession of her defeat. She didn’t mind the cajoling – on the whole, the former Prefect and House Quidditch Captain did pride herself on her resistance to peer pressure, but sometimes it was nice to allow herself to be convinced to agree to certain [harmless] things.

“I might have ordered already.”

Keela sighed happily.
“I knew there was a good reason we’re friends,” she replied dreamily, blowing a chef’s-kiss in his direction.

But she paused, hand still suspended in midair, at his next comment – which was, admittedly, unexpected. Her focus shifted to Aiden’s face, her mouth quirked slightly in bemusement.
“Danny? Pissed? Hang on… actually pissed, or taking the piss?” The latter was exceedingly common and hardly newsworthy, as he was always teasing someone or another; the former, however, was about as common as surviving a Lethifold attack. She was about to follow-up with a harmless ‘what-did-you-do?’ tease – but stopped short at the expression on his face and as she processed the sudden confession.

“Well, shit. What… happened?” she asked instead. Sensitivity was never her strong suit; mostly she used dry and/or dark humor to gloss over any sentimentality or affection, especially when it came to her own feelings. She was getting better, but still far from perfect.

He laughed, clicking his teeth, just to spite her. He caught the thrown pillow, still laughing, and decided he'd just keep it. She could fight for it if she wanted it back, though he had no doubt who'd win that. (Keela, the answer was Keela) "Because you love me and think I'm incredibly handsome?" he mocked, grin still firmly in place. He was definitely feeling in better spirits, actually, and he was sort of loathe to ruin the good vibes by bringing up any unpleasantness but if he was to ... grow as a person a good rule of thumb would be to confront feelings and things that were linked to those feelings and not seal them in a box to be forgotten about and not dealt with at all.

Or something.

"I wish." he managed, groaning, even as familiar anger swirled in his gut. He wacked his pillow in frustration feeling off kilter still. He knew he'd sort of messed up in the sense that he was aware Danny had, feelings, and he'd messed up by not telling him there had been residual something on his end. He'd been pushing those thoughts back for so long now, though, that he hadn't thought about it. But how to admit that to Keela without mentioning why Danny felt the way he felt.... "I sort of... kissed someone. I think Danny sort of likes her and- its just complicated." he said deflating. A girl had never come between them before, either, which made it all the more frustrating because this was Freya. "I don't know how to go about fixing it I guess." he added, unsure. "I don't even know how I feel about it, myself, actually." because he had zero clue how to navigate any of it.

“Because you love me and think I'm incredibly handsome?”

“Merlin and Morgana… it’s a wonder your head even fits in this room, with the size of your ego.”
She grinned wickedly – he could call her a hypocrite, and she wouldn’t even be upset about it because it wouldn’t be a false statement.

But then he surprised her a little by thumping one of the pillows in frustration. She blinked, owl-eyed; Aiden was a passionate person, that was not surprising, but to see him genuinely upset was rather unexpected.

“Uh oh,” she remarked most unhelpfully as he began to explain. The Irish witch was hardly a suitable one to offer relationship advice, as it was: she was 0-for-3 in that domain, and that was when she’d been in school still. And as for her adult life, she had nothing to show for it: Quidditch was her boyfriend, effectively.
But girl drama, of all things, had come between those two? K was genuinely surprised; neither of them hardly took anything seriously, girls included (even if there was some degree of mutual interest). Whomever this girl was, she had to be some kind of unique to get both of them territorial and falling for her hook-line-and-sinker…

She was already invested because Aiden was her friend, of course – but this piece of information made it even more intriguing. Keela took a breath, deliberating as he expounded on the situation (though albeit not very much). Then, in her usual matter-of-fact manner, weighed-in on the situation. She needed a bit more context, to start.
“Hm. Right, so… you snogged her, but Danny also ‘sort of’ likes her. Are she and Danny going out? If not, has he told you he wanted to ask her out? Is there anything actually happening between them, casual hook-up or not?”

As to who this mystery girl was… Keela found herself both wanting to know and also sort of not at the same time. If Keela knew her (and she would, doubtless, if this girl had been at Hogwarts within a few years either way of her), then Aiden might skimp on the details – and that would be a shame.

Aiden burst out laughing, leaning back as he did so. He felt as if he had his ego under great regulation, actually! It was probably more that nothing quite fazed him as it should. He just sort of blazed by everything with the expectation that the more he tried the more he was bound to succeed. He didn't let failures bring him down at all, which probably translated to a very confident and cocky sort of persona. For those that knew him well (and he counted Keela among that lot) it was just a quirk of his personality. He had a difficult time parsing through negative emotions and so his default was just to ... not indulge in those at all.

You couldn't feel disappointment if you refused to be disappointed. The only downside to this was, of course, that he very rarely took anything seriously.

Still Keela and him were alike in great range of personality and he couldn't help giving her shit for it. "Hypocrite." he accused, though the bark of laughter he let out after was heartfelt.

Frustration, though, well that was a neutral sort of feeling he had a lot of experience with. (He refused to acknowledge his mopiness, mostly because it was usually of a short duration. At least outwardly, who the fuck knew what things happened in his heart)

"He definitely is not dating her." he managed, aghast, because Merlin that would... He'd never. "I'm not... no? Maybe something casual? Nothing serious at any rate." and by serious he meant he doubted that they'd boned. Ugh, he did not want that visual in his brain and he suddenly had quite a bit of sympathy for Danny having walked in on them. Blimey but this was too many steps into the complicated territory. Hadn't he just been thinking he wasn't built for complicated? "Danny and I haven't really talked about it." the probably should've but Aiden was notoriously tight-lipped about anything that actually mattered to him.

He'd been denying his feelings for Frey so long that it just... it was habit. He wasn't sure how they'd gotten to where they had, actually, because he usually had a lot better self control. "I've never had such a huge lapse in self control before." he added, brushing his blond hair out of his face and focusing for once on how he felt about it. It felt like he was going to drown in his own confusion if he didn't get it out, actually. "I don't know if I want to try for something real, either." he tacked on slowly, feeling guilty about it but knowing Keela wouldn't judge him for it. "But I can't help want her and its really not fair I don't think but I can't stop." he explained, lifting confused teal eyes to Keela. "Merlin I don't even know if she wants me that way, even, so its very much not a problem exactly. Just not sure what I should do about it all." because that was the problem wasn't it?

Aiden didn't deal well with not taking action. He was a decisive person and so it was all the indecision that was killing him.