got all my stars aligned [william]

june 2001

Finally, the last Hogsmeade weekend of the term was almost over. She loved the business, of course, especially after the Dome had interfered with that, but after a day of nonstop children in every direction, Honey Bea Flume was ready to hang up her apron and call it quits. Thankfully, she had something to look forward to that evening and that prospect was keeping her in a very cheery mood. Such a good mood, in fact, that she had let her few employees go home an hour early (once the crowds had slowed considerably, of course) and wasn't even expecting them to make up the time by coming in early the next day.

Will should be there a little after Honeydukes closed. For some reason or another, they hadn't been able to find the time for his in depth, behind the scenes, and very private tour of the shop. He had been there, of course, as it had been a few months since they first met, but Honey always managed to get distracted by him before she could properly show him around. But tonight she would make him dinner, give him the tour, and then get distracted. Maybe not in that order, and maybe 'make him dinner' would mean 'picking something up from the Three Broomsticks and replating it'.

Either way, time was moving slowly and Honey was getting anxious. It had been a busy week leading up to this students' week, staying up into the wee hours of the morning in the kitchen to bring inventory up to snuff with what she was expecting to move. It had been worth it, as she had nearly sold out of the filled chocolates, treacle fudge, and sugar quills, with students stocking up on treats to bring home to share or devour on their own. The next week was sure to be more of the same, getting the Hogwarts Express trolley all stocked up and ready to go.

Will had a contagious laugh. He was comfortable. Fun. Smart. Insanely attractive. She was happy when she was with him. And she wanted to maximize the fun they were having because it was usually around this point in the timeline where someone wanted to get serious, to start looking ahead for the long term, which was exactly what she didn't want to do. Light and fun and not serious for as long as possible. The more time she spent with the man, however, the less sure she was that he was just in this for the hanging out and getting busy aspects of the relationship.

She pushed all those thoughts from her mind, though, as she once again rearranged the cakes in the display case by the front counter, biding her time until closing, when she could change out of her sugar splattered clothes, run a comb through her hair, maybe apply a bit of lipstick, and figure out what she could buy from the Three Broomsticks and reliably pass off as her own cooking. She wasn't a bad cook, but it was clear that her talent in the kitchen lied with sweets. The bell above the door tinkled as someone pushed their way inside, and Honey Bea looked up, ready to offer the latecomer a free sample of a new flavor of truffle.

But it was Will, so prompt he was early. Normally she would be a bit put out that she hadn't been able to make herself a bit more presentable, but she had been looking forward to this so much that she was glad to see him. Honey swooped down on the last few stragglers in the shop with a,  "Shoo, shoo, we're closed," motioning with her hands towards the door. "You can have whatever's in your hands right now," she offered, hoping that would convince the students to leave that much quicker. It was only half past seven, sure, but she had done quite enough business that day that she wouldn't miss the last half hour she was supposed to remain open. The bell over the door jingled merrily in stark contrast to the confused looks on the students' faces as they filed out, a few galleons worth of merchandise walking out with them.

She followed the kids to the door, locking it and flipping the hand painted sign to "Closed" with her wand before throwing her arms around her very welcome guest. "You're early," she said, brushing his lips with a kiss before turning around and heading back towards the front counter, pulling Will by the hand. "I was going to have dinner ready but now you'll just have to help yourself to something sweet while I get something pulled together."

@William Dasher

This was usually the time where things started to go wrong.

Will was an old fashioned man in a modern world and this contemporary way of "dating" was confusing. While he was exclusively "seeing" Honey, he didn't for one second assume it was the same on her end. He liked her a lot. She was smart and beautiful and a breath of fresh air but he had a niggling thought in the back of his mind; he wasn't the one for her.

When he came to the realisation, it stung a little but he knew that he was punching well above his weight. It wasn't that he wanted to marry her or anything. He was happy with the way things were but it didn't sit comfortably with him but he wasn't going to breach the subject. On occasion, he'd wanted to pull back. It seemed a little unfair on both him and her. The thought had put Will in a rather precarious position. It seemed wrong to carry on seeing her and it seemed unnecessary to label whatever they had going on. Deep down, he was sure he and Honey were on the same wavelength. He had a feeling things maybe starting to run their course but he couldn't be mad or upset about it.

It was a warm evening as he strolled down the familiar cobbled streets, his large hands deep in the pockets of his well fitting jeans. Dinner and a tour sounded lovely. He'd spent many a day in Honeydukes at school and he was keen to see and learn about all the intricate workings behind the scene but its owner continually distracted him. As a well trained guest, Will had brought along a bottle of white wine. He had no idea what it tasted like and whether or not it was any good but his mother would punch him if he turned up at a lady's home empty-handed.

The gaggle of children that dashed past him and out into the summer's night made him blink but he offered Honey a wide smile as she drew closer. Placing the wine down on the nearest surface, he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed affectionately, lifting her a little off the floor. "Hello," he said brightly with a dimpled grin, pausing to kiss her back and set her back down. He blushed slightly at her words and awkwardly scratched at the back of his neck with a sheepish smile, the buttons of his pale blue crisply ironed shirt straining at the motion. "I'm sorry," he offered. "Family trait," he admitted. "I was born two weeks early and I've seemingly been early for everything my entire life ever since."

Swiping the bottle, he placed it into Honey's free hand as his fingers slipped into her much smaller ones as he eagerly followed. "Absolutely no problem at all," he was quick to tell her, sneakily reaching out and popping a few cubes of fudge into his mouth and chewing, his cheeks puffing out like a hungry hamster's. "Cookie dough fudge?" Will asked as he followed her, trying to pick out the flavours. It must be new or a trial because Will had eaten a lot of Honeydukes fudge over the years and he'd never chanced upon this particular flavour.

"Can I help with anything?" Will ventured, adjusting his glasses slightly as  he looked around. He liked it here, he decided. The place was wild and eccentric but it was also warm, homely and welcoming. He reckoned he could easily spend a few hours here and outstay his welcome. "Oh and I brought you this." Reaching into his pocket, he extracted a small bottle of chocolate liqueur which he produced with a smile. He remembered he'd bought her a pint and her face made the funniest expression. He had a good memory and she recalled saying she liked chocolatey drinks. He'd never got around to buying her a drink and this was him making up for it.

Next out came a small parcel that was wrapped neatly in shining pink paper. Inside was a ridiculous jumper to replace the one that he'd accidentally ruined. It seemed odd, giving woollen things in summer but they'd been so busy tearing one another's clothes off to find time to hand it over. He leaned against the wall, eyebrow arched and a smile playing around his lips. It was obviously a gag gift but he thought she'd look positively glorious covered in rainbows and unicorns.

"Oh I wasn't complaining," she said with a grin. Far from it, actually. She took the bottle of wine with a smile, though in her mind she had already added it to the collection of other bottles of alcohol gifted to her, stored away in the pantry, waiting for the day she would make a new alcohol-filled truffle. She had never been the 'unwind with a glass of wine' type, but was a nice gesture. She much preferred when he was her present, but there would be plenty of time for making that happen later.

She stifled a laugh as Will wasted no time in helping himself to a bit of fudge. "Yes! I think it's more cookie dough than fudge so I'm still figuring out if I can call it 'fudge' at all." Honey shrugged, not too fussed to deal with that now. "How about you fill up on candy so I don't really need to cook?" She laughed, but she was far from joking. The idea of cooking dinner had seemed like a good one, but that was before she spent all day dealing with students, and before Will had arrived at all. Now, eating dinner was really the last thing on her mind. But she was distracted from her distraction as Will spoke again.

"More?" Honey arched a brow, trying to figure out what it could be in the two seconds that it took Will to reach into his pocket and produce his gift. She took it excitedly, looking down at the label with a laugh. "Oh thank Merlin, I was worried I would have to drink the wine to be polite." She laughed, grinning up at him. "I'm sensing a theme in the gifts, Mr. Dasher. Are you trying to get me drunk?" Smirking, Honey placed the new bottle next to the bottle of wine on the counter, looking up just in time to see yet another gift. Damn, he was a really good houseguest.

She wasted no time ripping through the paper (in the same shade of pink as the candy floss, she noted), her eyes widening as she held up the jumper in front of her. "This is fantastic," she cooed, her eyes jumping from a unicorn to a dinosaur to a donut. "Really fantastic," she added quickly, handing him the gift back for a moment. Reaching behind her, Honey undid the bow of her apron strings, taking the neck strap up and off in one swooping motion, and tossed the apron aside.

The blouse she was currently wearing, a rather nondescript white, long-sleeved number with the gold Honeydukes H embossed on the chest, was over her head before she could tell Will to pay attention to what was happening, though she had no doubt that he was. She plucked her new jumper from his hands, this time taking a bit longer to put clothes back on. Still, she was eventually wearing it, her hands smoothing it out as she looked down at it with another laugh.

She took a step back, holding her arms out, and twisted slowly from side to side. "How do I look?" She knew the answer without having to hear it from Will, but she wanted his opinion all the same.

Will offered Honey a smile and shook his head playfully. It really wasn't his fault. He lived such a mundane life and Honey lived the opposite. Immersed in sugar and imagination, he just wanted to be around her. She made him happy, simple as that. She was so vivacious that he had to restrain from turning up even earlier than he already had.

"'sreally good," he replied as he chewed, stuffing another piece into his mouth when she wasn't looking. "You really didn't need to," he said casually, hoping not to accidentally undermine her efforts. He'd be happy with a takeaway. "Let me help," he continued. That was the least he could do, really. "Ooh! What're these?" He asked, his hand darting out to pick up a small lavender coloured perfectly spherical ball. Without waiting for an explanation, he popped it into his mouth and almost instantly, the strong taste of strawberries hit him. "These I like," he told her swiftly.

Honey's honesty made him snort with laughter as he offered another shrug. The honest answer was that he couldn't help himself. She was sort of like a Siren's call to him and he was still trying to figure out what kinds of gifts she liked. At least he'd learned that wine wasn't one of them. "Maybe," Will replied casually as he stepped forward and ran his fingers through her shock of copper hair, revelling in the softness as it slipped through them like silk. "Would you mind if I did?"

He laughed again, rich and deep as he watched Honey tear through the paper. He knew she'd find it funny but he was surprised that she liked it as much as she did. Quickly catching the jumper, his big brown eyes were distracted, watching the apron sail through the air. Her reckless abandon was both terrifying and wildly arousing. The fact that anyone could see was odd. With a practiced gaze, his eyes slid down her curves. In the dying sunlight, her pale skin seemed to glow and he couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he'd been granted permission to touch it.

She commanded Will's attention and momentarily, he'd forgotten to breathe. She was a rollercoaster ride and he felt like he wasn't strapped in. He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he shifted uncomfortably, wondering if Honey had any idea at all what she was capable of doing to him.

He was both impressed and relieved that the jumper seemed to fit well. Girls' clothes were labelled strangely. They didn't come in small, medium of large. They came in numbers and odd squiggles. He'd had to ask his sister, Arden, for advice. It was a bit of a minefield. He could have picked a size too big and she could have accused him of thinking that she was fat or something. The wine was a miss but the jumper was a hit, thank Merlin.

He offered her a dimpled grin. "Absolutely beautiful," he told her honestly. Will stepped over to her, tilting his head. "I think the dinosaurs are my favourite," he said solemnly with a nod. "The blue ones," he added. "Do you like it?" He asked her, casually running his fingers down the inside of her forearm gently. He slipped his fingers into hers and squeezed gently. "If you were a dinosaur, you'd be a cutiesaurus," he said and then he winced. How stupid was he? He groaned and slapped his free hand to his forehead. "Forget I said that," he whispered as though someone else was listening. "How about I help you with dinner?"

Honey inhaled as Will stepped close, doing her best to not derail the entire conversation by latching onto his face with hers. “I wouldn’t mind at all,” she replied softly, her lips curling into a grin. She might prefer it, even. They had yet to get exceedingly drunk together; she tried not to do that to herself too often and Will wasn’t exactly a part of her latest night of alcohol-induced reckless abandon. She needed to fix that.

She returned his grin, basking in being called beautiful like it was the first time she had ever heard it. She nodded seriously as he did so, looking down to take in the blue dinosaurs he was pointing out. "I like the doughnuts," she concluded, "And the diamonds." Looking back up at him, she grinned again, nodding enthusiastically. "I love it." She also loved the feeling of his hands on her, though she was suddenly regretting putting the sweater on at all and adding more fabric as a barrier between her skin and his.

"Wow." The woman stared at William for a second, pursing her lips together as not to laugh at his latest compliment. She wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh because of how awful it was, how cheesy and adorable it was, or how embarrassed he seemed to be because of it. Maybe a little bit of all the above. She wished she had some other dinosaur related line to give him, if only to make him feel better, but there really wasn't anything she could think of. Instead, she lifted his hand to her lips and gave it a kiss, asking "Forget what?" with a smile and a shrug.

She let go of his hand as she nodded. "Dinner. Yes. Um," she headed into the kitchen, looking around at the bit of mess she had made throughout the day. Cleaning as she went had never been her strong suit. She pulled her wand from her pocket and pointed it at various surfaces and pans and parchments, putting things away or sending them to one of the large basin sinks on the far wall to deal with later. “I think pre-dinner drinks are in order,” she proposed, hoping to buy some more time before either cooking or giving in to take out.

Honey Bea slipped her hand into his much larger one and pulled him along with her into the pantry. It was a separate room off of the kitchen and nearly as big. There were shelves filled with ingredients of every sort, different varieties of sugars and flours, extracts and flavors, cacao in various stages of chocolate, and options upon options of things that could be of some use in her confectionery. But the point of this trip was along the far wall, with a few shelves of alcohol in bottles of different shapes and sizes, some collecting dust, other more recent acquisitions. She didn’t make nearly enough alcohol-infused treats to warrant the amount she was gifted with, yet she had nearly every option available.

“People send me gifts and think they’ll get chocolate back,” she mused, “But the ones who think I like Scotch just because I’m Scottish don’t get the good stuff back.” While there were no bad options where the Honeydukes’ inventory was concerned, there were some less-than-stellar sellers. Honey squeezed his hand before letting it go and taking a step back towards the kitchen. “Have whatever you’d like,” she suggested with a wink, only mostly referring to his drink choice.

Honey pulled down a couple glasses and set them out, filling one about halfway full of the chocolate liqueur once she had pried the bottle open. She chilled the liquid with her wand and swirled it around a little bit before hoisting herself up on the counter and taking a small sip. It was good; she couldn’t taste the alcohol in it thanks to the chocolatey flavor, but she knew it was there. And hopefully Will would be able to tell that it was there, too, she thought as she took another larger sip.

Flushing pink, he gave a laugh and scrubbed the back of his neck with his left hand. At least she found him funny. Or it was a pity laugh. He couldn't even blame his lack of coolness on Honey because he didn't have any before he met her, either. "Forget I said that," Will replied with a wrinkled nose in distaste. "I don't have any street cred but that would completely ruin whatever I had left."

As she took his hand, he found himself smiling again, pausing to reach out and run the pad of his thumb across her bottom lip. He snorted with laughter and rolled his eyes, instantly relaxing and it showed visibly. "That's my girl," he said casually, bumping her with his shoulder playfully as he followed her through. The words were nonchalant before he remembered that Honey wasn't his girl. She never had been. Shifting awkwardly, he hoped she'd forget that comment too.

Like a puppy, Will followed her willingly. His big brown eyes looked around him, drinking in the details as he went and feeling extraordinarily lucky. How many people had seen the backstage area? He assumed Honey had other "partners", despite how horrible word was and how uncomfortable he felt about it but in this moment, he treated the private tour like it was the first one she'd ever given. "Wow," he said softly as she let go of his hand. This was like a laboratory and he was completely engrossed, stopping only as she spoke once more.

"That doesn't work?" Will asked seriously, eyes wide in shock before he cracked a grin to show that he was only kidding. That fact was safely locked away. "That's rude," he said gently, feeling affronted on her behalf. That was just a huge glaring stereotype. "You should make cranachan with it," he offered helpfully. He assumed she knew what was in it but that in and of itself was also a bit of a stereotype, too. "I'll take it off your hands if you don't want it," he said with what he hoped was a charming smile.

If she didn't like whiskey, then he'd help her get rid of it because he was a gentleman. Taking a particularly neglected bottle, he opened it with ease and poured a healthy measure into one of the glasses she'd provided. Sniffing it dubiously, he took a sip and blinked. "This tastes expensive," he said with a laugh as there was a slight grainy burn to the amber coloured liquid. "I, however, would never resort to such dirty tactics," he told her as he sipped at the whiskey which was warm but not unpleasant.

As Honey sat on the counter, he wasted no time as he drew closer to her. It was almost like she was the moon and he was the tide. In a swift movement, Will had closed the gap to stand between her thighs, his whiskey now forgotten, placed on the counter near her. "How is it?" He asked, nodding to the chocolate liqueur that he wouldn't touch with a ten foot barge pole. With strong hands, he reached behind Honey and hauled her up and off the counter so her chest was flush against his and her legs wrapped securely around his waist.

Dipping his head, he kissed her soundly. Suddenly, he wasn't really that hungry. At least, not for food. Maybe she had something grand planned and Will didn't want to appear rude by asking if she'd rather order in. A capable chef, he could whip up a stir fry in less than ten minutes if she wanted him to. He had absolutely no idea where he was going but he walked, his hand deftly picking up the little bottle of chocolate drink. Perhaps he should have been a Quidditch player in a past life because he hand one hand beneath her backside to keep her from slipping and he'd managed not to bump into anything so far. Spatial awareness win.   

Will felt like he was intruding and he suddenly came to his senses. He paused, resting Honey against the nearest wall and coming up for air. "Sorry," he said, pink cheeked and breathless. "I wasn't sure what I was thinking."

“Oh, cranachan, why hadn’t I thought of that?” she replied with a wry smile, implying that she had most certainly thought of that. Of course she had. But there was only so much of the dessert you could make before you felt obligated to eat it, which was a bit of a problem when one didn’t like Scotch and that was one of the overwhelming flavors. “But absolutely, please take it. Or leave it and come back for it,” she added with another smile. She might have made that offer to other people before him, but he was currently the only one that should be taking her up on that offer.

Honey shrugged, having absolutely no idea which liquor was more expensive than the next. She sipped on her own drink, though each successive sip was a tad larger than the last as she grew more familiar with the taste. “There are other, dirtier, tactics that work much better on me,” she said casually, taking another drink.

Smiling, she watched him as he came closer, tucking her feet behind him as centered himself. “It’s great.” Both the drink and the company. She took a final swig of her drink, finding the bottom of the glass much quicker than she had anticipated. She wanted another drink, but apparently Will had another idea; Honey had barely enough time to set her glass down before he picked her up. She was grateful she had been able to change out of her dirtied blouse from her workday, though now she was regretting ever putting on another one as it was just getting in the way of things.

She forgot completely about dinner or drinks or really where they were anymore. Will had this power, this switch that he turned on to go very primal, and Honey was head over heels for it. She had learned to expect the tickle of his beard, almost looking forward to it as their lips met. She could taste the whisky, though everything else that he was doing was completely making up for the flavor, and then some.

"I like when you don't think,” she said quietly, catching her breath. “I wasn’t going to ask you to stop.” She liked when he took what he wanted, when he wasn’t the extreme gentleman she figured he had been raised to be. But still, to a certain point, she didn’t mind being in charge. After all, her legs were still wrapped around his waist, what was he really expecting her to want? “Try not to think some more,” she said before kissing him again, one hand wrapped securely around his shoulders, the other buried in his hair, tugging on his locks.

She only stopped when she had run out of air, and then it was her turn to not think: “Do you want to go to the Caribbean with me?” She had no idea what made her think it would be a good idea to take a holiday together, but maybe getting away from his usual surroundings would help Will to loosen up a bit. Be more like this. She slipped her hand from his hair to run her thumb over his bottom lip, trying to get her brain to catch up with her mouth. 


“What I mean is,” she started with a smile, “I’m teaching at the summer school and I’ll have to do a bit of traveling.” She wasn’t really planning to stay on the island, being quite ill suited for warmth, sand, sun, everything that was the exact opposite of her far northern part of Scotland. “And you should come,” she adding slowly, hoping she wouldn’t have to point out her innuendo.

Still she kept talking, not sure if she was trying to convince herself or William more that this would be a good idea. “So many islands, there’s bound to be at least one nude beach.”

Will was torn.

He wasn't the sort of guy who lost control. He was very much a head-over-heart kind of guy, which was a stark contrast between him and his younger siblings. He acted in a smooth, professional manner. He was kind and affable and poised and articulate but there was something about Honey that made him wobble. There was a push and pull and he lost his head in random spurts of emotions. It was new and uncomfortable and was quickly becoming a regular occurrence.

"No I know but --" Will was about to apologise some more. He wasn't one for manhandling. Except for when he threw her over his shoulder on the first night they met. And then when  he accidentally ripped her dress. And then right now. Whoops.

A large hand pressed against Honey's lower back, applying pressure to scoot her forward so they were connected from lip to hip. His other hand slipped easily beneath her new jumper and snaked upwards, along the curve of her spine with expert touches before easily finding the clasp of her bra. She smelled nice. Like vanilla sugar and something else he couldn't put his finger on but he liked it. He also liked it when her perfume was imprinted on his bed sheets. He knew, scientifically, that scent couldn't hang around for ages but he was convinced that hers did.

"What?"

The writer pulled back with such force, his head smacked a metal pan hanging from a hook in the ceiling with such force, it almost gave him whiplash. His chocolate brown eyes widened in surprise and then soon narrowed in confusion. Was this like…a couple's holiday? He wasn't sure he was ready for that and he was sure Honey wasn't either. The way she stroked his lower lip seemed to kickstart his brain as he gently kissed the pad of her finger before cracking a grin.

"Well," he said briskly, downplaying his surprise. "I could do with a bit of a tan," he joked. She needn't know that he hadn't taken a holiday in five years and camping in the Lake District didn't really count as such. Unfortunately, all that swam in front of his eyes was Honey, dressed in a bikini and he blinked it away.  She'd be teaching, she made that clear so he figured he'd be spending most of the time by himself. It was no bother, that was how he tended to live his life. Staying silent, he decided to let her sweat. He needn't say anything, he just simply snorted with laughter. Her mind was filthy and it was fast becoming his favourite part of her.

"Mm," he agreed as he smoothed a lock of her hair behind her ear affectionately before tilting his head a little. "Are pineapple print shirts out of the question?" Will asked, sliding the hand he had near her bra back down to her waist slowly. He nodded along casually. "I'm hoping," he began nonchalantly. "Or at least a deserted beach," he offered with a shrug. Honey was the type of girl that just might get him arrested and he was actually looking forward to it immensely.

"When do you leave?" Will asked. A practical sort of man, he figured she might want time to get herself set up and then he'd come out and join her. He didn't want to overcrowd her. He frowned in though. "I'll have to buy some summer clothes."

Usually she liked when they didn't talk, assuming that they would fill the silence with more physical activities, but this time she was getting nothing. She couldn't honestly believe that he wouldn't want to go with her, considering who he would be getting to spend time with, but maybe she had been just a tad too forward. Sure, Honey was never really one for subtlety anyway, but asking Will to go abroad with her was a bit different from dragging him upstairs and having her way with him.

Yet thankfully he didn't let her second guess her decision to invite him for too long. "Out of the question?" she grinned, tilting her head as he tilted his own. "I have three." Well, two were sweaters, but more or less they were the same thing. "So I really hope not." She didn't need to mention that one sweater matched one owned by her brother and both of her parents. They weren't quite on the sharing family photos' level yet. Her parents lived on Majorca now, which was about the extent of Honey's experience with island life, and she wasn't even sure that Majorca qualified for that, either.

She wanted to protest as he moved his hand in the opposite direction, moving away from the 'drag up to the bedroom' direction it had previously been heading in. But bringing the conversation back to the nude beaches might work out in her favor, after all. She returned his shrug and smiled sweetly. "I'm not above using magic to make a beach deserted." Her smile widened a bit as she nodded, adding, "Just so you know." She was about to suggest that maybe they start practicing for that right away when he started talking again and she did her best to hide the disappointment from her face.

"Never mind that I had just mentioned nude sunbathing and you're going on about putting on more clothes." She dipped her chin to place a trail of light kisses up his neck, brushing his hair back to clear a path to his ear so she could add in a low whisper. "Doesn't seem fair, really." She found and fiddled with the top button of his shirt, leaning back so that her back was flush against the wall. "But yes, a nice new summer wardrobe. I hear it's rather hot there, so you probably shouldn't wear too much lest you overheat."

She wanted to tell him about just how little clothing she could wear, but in reality, she was planning to waltz onto the beach in a large sun hat, dark socks with sandals, and flowy linen to complete the rest of her look, until she could properly assess just how much the sun was going to hate her while she was there. It wasn't going to be her best look.

Her fingers found the second button as she continued, circling back to one of his earlier questions. "I leave the second of July," she paused as she moved to the next button, which was as much as she could reach considering just how pressed up against him she was. She wasn't quite ready to let up on that in favor of undressing him in her kitchen. That would be just as satisfying in a few minutes.

"And that just so happens to be my birthday," she parted the unbuttoned fabric of his shirt, sliding one hand under as she moved her other to the back of his neck. "So you should probably start making up for missing it." Sure, she might have been planning to spend the night before her birthday with him, so they would technically see each other the next morning, but planning ahead was a much less sexy option.

She was done talking, had completely forgotten that the whole 'reason' for his visit was to make him dinner. There were much more important things to attend to.

Will was not, and never would be, as comfortable as Honey chatting so openly about the topic of sex. He was English. As a nation, they were uptight as they came but she was so unapologetically adorable that he couldn't help but grin. She wasn't like anyone else he'd ever met. As a general rule, he tended to get hard and fast with relationships. Things progressed quickly because he usually agreed to whatever the other person wanted. Fast forward eighteen months and there he was, sitting in a flat he didn't like with a person he didn't really love.

He cracked a grin. "Good to know," he replied gently, about the pineapple shirts and the fact that she'd be cool using magic to banish people. He'd never been skinny-dipping, again, too uptight but with her, nothing seemed too much.

"Sorry," he chuckled, his chocolate brown eyes closing as she kissed his neck. His large hands slid down her spine to rest at her hips. Will nodded sagely, a smile spreading across his wide mouth. "You're right," he said swiftly. "But you need to get your head in the game. You've got children to teach," he reminded her playfully. "You can teach me later on when you clock off." He was trying really hard to flirt and be open to her way of thinking but it just sounded a bit too serious and rather mundane. Like a shopping list.

Second of July? Will tried to place the date but he was far too distracted by the pleasant way Honey was undressing him. He needed to reschedule meetings, make sure the office had plenty of tea and coffee and drop Dave off at his parents' home in the country. He looked down at her sharply. Her birthday? How could he have forgotten? Oh shit, now he needed a present. And he had no idea what to get. Even in his very limited exposure to women, he knew it wasn't very romantic to ask what she wanted.

Now that his shirt was pretty much open, the cool air made him shiver as his hands slid around to her bottom and he hoisted her up and a little more securely to his body. "Absolutely," he told her as he dipped his head to kiss  her soundly. He had a lot of ideas bouncing around his head for her birthday, anything from a dinner to a full on island celebration, including a bonfire and her in grass skirt. Swiftly, he snorted, bumping the tip of his nose against hers as he smiled against her lips. "That tickles," he told her softly as goose bumps rose on the skin of his forearms.

"Well I can't waste time, can I?" He asked Honey gently as he rolled his broad shoulders, his shirt almost slipping off. He had no idea where Honey's bedroom was or even if she had one here. He'd never really been backstage before. Had it been anyone else, his attention would have long been distracted by all of the bright and shiny things in this place but she herself was something so dazzling, he just couldn't look away. "What if," he began, gently tugging at the hem of her new and ridiculous jumper he'd gifted her. "I get you out of this?"

Will kiss her again and lifted her up easily and turned to walk through a nearby doorway, all absorbed in her. He saw some stairs and he had no idea if there was any space up there but he was sure she'd let him know. The stairs were creaking beneath their combined weight as they kissed and he made it near to the top before he slipped on something. With a grunt and a curse word, he held Honey to his hip to hold her like a small child, twisting her a little so he bore the brunt of their weight on his outstretched hand, saving her from getting bruised. "Okay now you really need to take your jumper off." It was impossible for him to be sexy and it was really getting on his nerves.

"Absolutely." She was agreeing more with the kiss than anything else, mostly because she had already forgotten what they had been talking about seconds before. She loved that he could do this to her, make her forget about everything that wasn't him when they were together. It was a nice change. She shook her head in agreement, sliding her hands under his shirt collar to help him shrug it off, her hands moving quickly down to his waist to help him untuck it as much as possible considering her legs still wrapped around him.

Honey nodded, answering wordlessly. But she was much too absorbed in kissing him, in running her hands through his hair, gripping the back of his neck, tracing lines down his chest to take a break long enough to undress. Of course, she had no qualms about getting it on in the kitchen as she had mastered cleaning spells ages ago. She would pause and take off her new jumper in a minute, quickly followed by the rest of her outfit, no problem.

But Will had other plans and she wasn't about to stop him. She busied herself by planting a trail of kisses behind his ear, along his jaw, from his neck to his collarbone as he moved through the shop. There was really only one option for them to get to the living-quarters part of Honeydukes and she was sure Will was smart enough to figure it out.

She hadn't been expecting to fall but she really shouldn't have been surprised. She had only been successfully carried up the spiral staircase to her apartments one time, and it surely wasn't for lack of trying. She really needed to look into a wider and less complicated system for ascent. Honey couldn't keep herself from laughing as she untangled her limbs from his, standing up slowly and swiftly taking off said jumper, tossing it over the handrail to the floor below.

"C'mon," she grabbed Will's hand and pulled him up the final three steps, pushing open the door to her small, but quite cozy living room, dining room, kitchenette combo room. It was at least a lot bigger now that she didn't share it with her parents and brother. She let him have two seconds to look round before her hands found his belt buckle.

[aaand scene]