no more night, blue skies forever • • a r i / l u c i

"Mm," she replied softly, lifting her eyes to the sky. Faint grey clouds bloomed above despite the night, their undersides lit by the orange-tinted glow of the city. When the haze of the dome had lifted nearly a year ago, she had spent a few nights just looking up at the sky to reassure herself that the occasional flicker that reminded her that something shut them out from the world would not resurface. She hadn't stepped over her broom for another few months, as though the freedom it had once brought was no longer attainable. Now, clouds felt reachable again, but they could still feel heavy.

A little thrill raced behind his fingers as he traced her body. She shivered a little, finally noticing the chill settling over her bare shoulders. "I don't think that's a thing to feel good about," she pointed out with a brief laugh. She wondered how much he knew about Death Eaters. They had sent some students to Beauxbatons during the war; she wondered if they'd ever talked about what they'd left or merely held it in. She wondered if he thought about Death Eaters as people or as the faceless masks they pretended to be. The first was much scarier to Ariana. Of course, Prosper was not scarier than Death Eaters; but one of them she'd known more how to handle. Uncompromisingly, she thought.

She chuckled softly, remembering teasing Camm when his beard hair had started filling in. "Am I going to regret asking about it?" She hadn't decided if she liked beards yet. She'd started out with a solid "no" but there were a few people who looked good with one. Ari wondered too if she would see him before that. The space between their visits had slowly been decreasing.

Her lips raised in a bit of a smirk. "It might have been a little like you wanted to be bigger than you are. And now you've realized you're big enough that you don't need that so much." Was it true? Ari didn't know, exactly; he had just stolen a bottle of champagne to bring up here for her. But it also felt more authentic, in a way, like before he'd internalized some idea of what the kind of person he wanted to be was and now it was just who he was. "Or maybe you just got big enough," she amended. She blushed suddenly, realizing perhaps too late that there was an inappropriate connotation that had not at all occurred to her. "I mean, big like, in presence, that kind of thing," she added hastily, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Guess we'll find out," Prosper responded, half a smile on his lips as he stroked his jawline, imagining a villainous goatee where his fingertips touched. He hadn't missed her shiver, and wondered vaguely if the goosebumps he'd raised were entirely due to the shapes he drew languidly along her skin or whether she was cold. It wasn't a cold night, at least not compared to the monthly average, but she was wearing considerably less than he was. His fingers followed their path down her collarbone slowly. He stopped short of inappropriate, but only just, before shifting forward and withdrawing his arm from her entirely.

Prosper shrugged the long jacket of his dress robes from his shoulders deftly, placing it over her shoulders with a flick. He didn't give her time to protest. As she spoke, however, he quirked an eyebrow at her words. Being the person he was, Prosper caught the double meaning in them long before she did. A slow smile spread across his face as he leaned back, draping an arm around her once more and letting her go on and on. He laughed when she realised what she was saying, and gave her body a light squeeze as she curved into him, her cheeks flushed. Pretty smile, he thought. "Presence, right," he said with another light laugh, kissing her on top of her head just because he could.

—

The distance between Paris and London was so small, and Prosper had always been so comfortable with apparating, that he actually ended up dropping her off right outside her door at the end of the night. By now, the sun had been down for many hours and the streets were quiet and properly cold. They'd stayed up on that rooftop for quite some time, using warming charms liberally while they talked. And kissed, he thought rather smugly. A part of him was disappointed that the night was coming to a close, but it was late and he'd already decided not to push things too far tonight. Prosper knew he'd be going home with his head full of her.

"This is it?" he asked, following her lead and slowing his walk to a stop as they reached a door. Prosper took an extra step past her, turning to face her for the goodbye. "Did you have a nice night?" he asked her. He knew the answer already, though. Dissatisfied with the space between them, Prosper reached for her instinctively, touching her waist then slipping his hand around to the small of her back to pull her closer. "I did," he told her unnecessarily.

Ari looked up at him, dark eyes shining with reflected light, as he draped his jacket around her. Though she didn't realize it consciously, a part of Ariana gravitated to being taken care of. She fit so seamlessly into the role of supporter and caretaker that to have someone looking after her when her life wasn't in danger felt novel, somehow. "Shhhhh," she hushed. She didn't mean it.

--

Prosper took her home, like the gentleman he'd been all night. She had lost track of time; her wristwatch had been deemed inappropriate for the rest of her attire, and the moon was new. Thankfully, there was no class on Sunday, so despite her struggles to keep her eyes open she wasn't too worried. "Mhm," she uttered, stifling a yawn and blinking rapidly in an attempt to be more present for their last few moments together. She smiled at his question. A more sarcastic version of her, rolling her eyes at Freya, might have tried to joke that it was terrible, but instead the corners of her eyes crinkled. "Yes," she said simply. "Thanks for the tickets," she added as an afterthought, chuckling slightly. The performance they had watched seemed like ages ago already, replaced in her recent memory by a landscape of warm hands and hours spent talking.

The rest of her life came knocking at the back of her head--the way the heels had begun to chafe, the chill of the night, her exposed attire, how she was going to get in without disturbing Camm or Titius--but instead she breathed another moment in, doing her part to close the distance between them. She lifted her heels a little further off the ground, her lips searching for his as if they'd been doing it for more than one night. Dropping back, her statement came out with a hint of a query. "I'll see you?" It seemed pretty certain, after tonight, but there was enough wondering left in her to raise her last syllable. "Be safe," she added.

Ari turned her head to smile in his direction even as she tapped the door to unlock it, pushing it open quietly. The cold air swirled in behind her, but she left the door open for an extra second, her eyes peeking out from the crack to meet his again before giving in to her common sense and letting it swing shut. Her bed and new dreams awaited.

Tickets? Oh right, Prosper thought, the tickets. In all honesty, the teenager had forgotten about that part of the night. He'd enjoyed the performance, of course, but much of his focus had been on the girl beside him. Perhaps running into Luciana during intermission had actually been a good thing; it had derailed their course of action and led them out on a merrier adventure. Disappearing away from the safety and distraction of the theatre's patrons had given him more space to explore Ariane.

"Mhmm," he murmured, sliding his hands around her back and pulling her in. He was pleased when she tilted her chin to meet his kiss. Prosper warmed her lips with his; he made sure to leave an impression of sweetness that would last. When he finally had to, he released her reluctantly. "Of course," he said, choosing to answer the questioning tone in her voice. Prosper nodded once at the be safe comment, but his lips quirked into a little smile because it was both sweet and amusing that she expressed her care for his safety in that way.

He waited until she'd stepped inside - one hand raised in a stationary wave - before finally turning away. It took him a moment to orient himself and realise where he was; Prosper didn't often country hop just to spend minutes before returning. As expected, his head was full of her as he started walking, reaching inside his robes for his wand. Her perfume, her smile, each sentence they'd exchanged. He was already planning the letter he'd write to her when he was home.