{she b u r n s like the s u n} orli

Was it terrible that he’d been looking forward to this moment all day? Or, well, at the very least since Orli had arrived. He felt like a kid, and it was vaguely embarrassing. Still he couldn’t quite manage to stomp his impatience down and as soon as he got the chance he made a break for it, tugging on Orlaiths hand, and dragging her along across the manor. He was rather fond of his home, and privately thought that his mother had very good taste. Glass chandeliers hung around the whole manor. Burnished silver and glass decorations made the place shimmer and the wards kept everything humming with warmth and warning. To him it felt like comfort. The passed by the hallway that led to his tower, marble busts with flowers and vines creeping along the corridor, as he led the girl up towards a hidden door that led towards stairs.

This place was... just for him. His tower was a lot bigger on the inside than would appear on the outside, such was the nature of magical buildings. The natural light was perfect coming from the bright window, and it glinted of the large terrarium that looked like it was part of the wall. A built in charm would dissolve the glass when it was time to escort Lady to feed. The large white boa constrictor was comfortably catching the last rays of light, flickering her tongue in greeting.

His books littered the floor and desk, shelves of notes, parchment, and sketches littering the surface of his work area. Large plush velvet chairs for sitting and a reading nook with blankets was carved into the stone, nearest the window. Zooming posters of dueling tournaments, broom races, and Quidditch decorated the walls. Everything was a sea of silver and navy. His two brooms were mounted on the wall, at the ready. A plush navy couch rested on the far end of the room, opposite the window. There was another door that would lead to his room and beyond but he wasn’t really focused on showing the girl that.

He tugged on her hand again, dragging her towards the towers window and pressing them both on the glass. “Give it a minute.” he murmured, eyes bright, as he waited for the last rays of sunlight to pass through the horizon. A plethora of color burst through the horizon, swathing the skyline in brunt orange, pinks, purples, and blues. The view was unparalleled as the dying sun cast its glow along the vast estate. Sunset was beautiful, yes, but not the only view he’d brought Orli here for.

@Orlaith Dewar

Equally, Orlaith had been experiencing heightened feelings of excitement and anxiety ever since Ben had mentioned that he, firstly, wanted the youngest Dewar at his birthday, and then that it wasn't a particularly large gathering. The knowledge of both these things had sent the blonde into a tailspin that had made concentration on anything except preparing for this experience impossible. She was sure her schoolwork had suffered and was more mundane instead of her normal exceptional standard, a fact that irritated her. However, it was Ben, he was the most intriguing, engaging and puzzling boy she had come across for a long while; and with this news Orlaith found herself obsessing over what he meant and knowing that she was unlikely to find out before today - if at all.

The initial pleasantries on arrival had been nothing short of torture. When there were witnesses around, the sixth year knew it was next to impossible to have any chance whatsoever of getting a glimpse into Ben's mind to understand his motivations behind wanting her here. She couldn't ask him, it was his birthday party, everyone was paying attention to him. After a while, the blonde had resigned herself to thinking she better had just focus on enjoying herself at the party because it was looking like it was going to be exceptionally difficult to get any time alone with her housemate whatsoever. That is, until Ben took the moment for himself.

Lifting the front of her pink silk embroidered gown up slightly so she didn't trip on her dress, the Slytherin allowed herself to be dragged to what she gathered was a private location, Orlaith found the number of butterflies in her tummy increasing as the numbers of watchful eyes decreased. "Where are we--?" the blonde began to ask as noise from the party grew dimmer. Blue eyes were darting everywhere, drinking in every detail of their journey as she tried to guess where she was being led to.

All her guesses would have been wrong, she realised, once they had arrived at their destination. There was definite amazement as Orlaith looked around their new location. It was most certainly private, much like the garden they had found themselves in during the party in Italy, only it looked like a part of the manor that belonged to one person in particular. A study perhaps? A study tower? Though, Orlaith did wonder in that case, what the purpose of the snake and the luxurious couch was. Ben wasn't finishd leading her however, so before Orlaith had a chance to enquire about those, she found herself being pulled again; this time towards the towers' window.

Flushed from the unexpected journey to the middle of nowhere an undisclosed location in Ben's manor, Orlaith brushed her blonde curls over one shoulder and glanced upwards at Ben as he instructed her to wait for something. Whatever it was, his gaze was fixed on the view outside of the window and so her own eyes followed. She didn't see what the fuss was about until colours burst onto the horizon, creating the most beautiful real life painting of sunset that Orlaith had seen in a while. "Oh, wow--" she gasped, her elegant fingers twitching gently inside Ben's hand before tightening their grip around his. "--beautiful." she sighed, tilting her head. "Is this tower... yours?" It would explain why Ben had bought her to this specific viewpoint instead of another. It didn't explain why he was sharing this view with her alone instead of all the party guests; and that was a question that made the butterflies in her stomach turn violent with angst.

At the risk of being a complete and utter pansy he actually couldn’t agree more. The scenery was beautiful. What made it better though was getting to squeeze the girls fingers while he enjoyed a sight he saw everyday. It never got old, really. But Ben was always quite good about gazing out at horizons. He usually climbed the highest vantage point to either draw or stargaze.

His grandfather had taught him everything he knew about the stars, too. He was pretty sure he could recite a plethora of stories attached to each star in this part of the world. Astronomy had always come fairy easily for him because of it. It didn’t hurt that his father had taught him a great deal of Latin to go with it. Italian and French were both Romance languages, after all, and so Latin was fairly easily to decipher most the times. He had so much useless information tucked away in his head. Family mottos, stories... Ben quite enjoyed the quieter aspects of magic, too. Subtle, magical things that he enjoyed. He was fascinated by the obscure fantastical.

“Yes.” he murmured, leaning closer to the stone and giving the girls hand a squeeze. He wasn’t sure what he was doing exactly. Part of him just wanted to enjoy his birthday with the girl he ... with Orlaith. Even though it wasn’t technically his birthday it was still the night he always celebrated. He used his free hand to fiddle with the dials on his telescope, running his fingertips along the silver metal idly before he glanced back up. There was still a bit of time before the fireworks started. His mother usually tried to hunt him down before they were in the air. But he could at least show the girl beside him the stars and tell her a story.

He felt a pang, memories resurfacing, of a night similar to this one with Meg. It had always been difficult for him, to share his true likes with the people closest to him, especially when he looked back on it with mixed feelings. Meg and him hadn’t really ended well, had it? He had to remind himself that he could have this with Orli but not anything else. “I have a surprise. It’ll be a bit.” He admitted, grinning as he gave the girls fingers another squeeze. “I was planing on entertaining you with the stars and some stories. Do you have a favorite?” He asked quietly, gesturing with his head at the stars that began to twinkle as the sun finally set.

The private person that she was, Orlaith hadn't thought to bring anything to Ben's party to document her time there - well aside from his birthday gift of course, which the Slytherin sincerely hoped her housemate would like. However, in that moment she was wishing she had a camera or a canvas and some paints, the horizon at that moment in time would have made for a beautiful painting. Her thoughts and regrets were momentarily interrupted by the feeling of pressure on her hand, and it was only then that the blonde remembered their hands were still entertwined. Ben wasn't pulling his hand away, and Orlaith wasn't either. Even as he reached to fiddle with a telescope...

Considering Ben's gaze to be distracted from her, Orlaith found herself closing her eyes momentarily and inhaling deeply to supress her nerves. He was maddening and he didn't even know. This whole situation was extremely romantic, even if it was only the youngest Dewar that felt so, and she was sure that her feelings about the situation were not the same as his but the urge was there to push boundaries. It didn't help when she already, coincidentally, knew and remembered what his li-- 'Don't!' she found her mind telling her, alongside another deep inhale as she lost track of what it was that Ben was even doing in that moment. It seemed like he had been silent for just a beat too long, but perhaps that was just her imagination. Hopefully.... just hopefully, he wasn't looking at her. She turned her head slowly, hoping that Ben was still preoccupied with the telescope, or the view, or just anything else so that he hadn't seen anything that indicated how much the blonde's mind was wandering off track.

Orlaith remained quiet during this time, mostly because she didn't trust herself to speak or move whilst their hands were connected and they were alone like this. However, after what felt like an age, Ben did speak and that lightened the situation a bit. If she focused on the comforting sounds of his du-- his voice, just his voice, no description of said voice necessary -- if she focused on that, perhaps she would be able to keep the rest of her thoughts on track. She grinned at the mention of a surprise. "Why do you have a surprise lined up for me at your birthday party, Ben?" she asked, letting out a small nervous chuckle as her other hand absent mindedly reached for his shoulder to rub it. That was before she realised what she was intending to do and tried to cover up her actions as though she was simply brushing something off his shoulder instead. She really needed to behave right now. Yes she enjoyed spending time alone with Ben, but until she knew that she had a real, meaningful, chance with him the Slytherin could not let herself get carried away and become another one of the many girls Ben simply played with. The ambitious blonde wanted more than that.

Clearing her throat gently behind a clenched fist, Orlaith considered Ben's subsequent question. Astronomy was not her favourite subject, but it was important in terms of timing when she planted things or brewed potions, so she did pay attention in class. Did she have a favourite constellation, however? It was something that the Slytherin hadn't thought about before now. "Is Astronomy one of your better classes?" she asked, running a thumb over the back of his hand before realising it was definitely time to let go. She was going to get herself in trouble if she held on any longer. "I don't think I have a favourite, just yet--" her gaze drifted back to the view and remained there as she pulled her shawl around her a little tighter. "--but perhaps you can help me decide. I like the stories of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, as well as Auriga and.." Orlaith gently bit her bottom lip and looked down as she tried to remember the name of the last one. "... I think the last one was cancer, but not the one where he simply gets stepped on by Hercules, the other one."

Oddly enough Ben really wasn’t staring at Orlaith. He was content enough to enjoy the view and kind of just be. The sixteen year old wasn’t the type to fill the silences with empty words. He much preferred meaning to chatter most the time. Unless he was making fun of someone or playing some sort of joke. Finding that perfect combination of rude but funny was a work in progress for him. He had a reputation to uphold, after all. Couldn’t go around Hogwarts and have people think he’d gone soft.

It said a lot he wasn’t really worried about that stuff when around the blond Slytherin though.

His gaze did flicker up to Orli’s arm when her fingers fluttered over his shoulder. His eyes automatically snapped up to her face as a small smile curved his lips. “I’m generous like that.” he murmured, blue eyes sparkling with both honesty and some mischief. In reality he had the bad habit of showering his loved one with as many thoughtful gifts as he could. He made it a point to always find them the perfectly expensive gift. He thought that the desire for pretty baubles in order to show off definitely came from his Layton blood but the desire for genuine delight the gift-giving caused was a Danvers trait through and through.

A happy hum escaped his closed mouth as he felt her thumbs run across his hand. Part of him wanted to lean even closer and bury his face in her neck. He wanted to splay his fingers across her golden curls. It was... maddening sometimes, being this close and not just letting himself get carried away. Problem was that they were both quite tactile. On his end the problem was amplified but just how lovely he found the girl before him.

“I’m pretty good at it, yea.” He wasn’t going to admit it was an unofficial Danvers courting tradition. That would lend meaning to their current situation and probably spook her. Sometimes it was difficult not to come across as too intense. “My grandfather taught me.” With the hope he’d continue the tradition like his father had. It was a silly thing, really, but there was something romantic in it. He wasn’t mature enough yet to admit to wanting... something.

“The bears or the charioteer. Some options.” he teased. Personally he wouldn’t have picked either for her. Though cancer was a solid choice. “Definitely the story of the crab.” He decided, shifting so that he could move the telescope between them. The mourned the loss of her hand for a moment before me moved so he was behind her, her curls close to his face as he hovered. “The story goes that Hercules, son of Zeus, was given twelve labors by Hera to test his strength and courage.” he started, fingertips finally brushing along her curls as he gathered her hair.

He honestly couldn’t resist any longer. Her hair was so bloody soft.

“Hera hoped that if Hercules failed his twelve labors that it would prove to Zeus that he was unworthy of his love, for he dearly loved his mortal son.” he murmured. “After successfully slaying the Nemean lion and gathering its fur, Hercules moved on to his second labor.” Utterly soft silky hair was seriously a weakness. It took basically all of his willpower not to pull her as close to him as he could get her.

Bloody hell, he really need to stop. He just... did not want to.

“The Learnean Hydra was to be his second labor. To kill it he had to outsmart its nine heads and if were to chop one off, another would take its place. Hercules outsmarted it by having his nephew Iolas sear each head with a torch after he cut it off. Fearing that Hercules would be successful Hera sent a crab to grab his ankle and distract him.” She smelled quite nice, too, didn’t she? To say nothing of how lovely she looked in her dress.

“This is where the story diverges, yea? Some say Hercules crush the crab under his foot and proceeded to defeat the hydra. In this version Zeus put the crab in the sky as a reminder of Hera’s failure. In other stories it’s said that Hercules himself kicked the crab so hard it was sent to the stars, and forever represents his victory.” He could spout off a few more facts about Cancer. One of the biggest clusters had an interesting story. “Want to hear another one?” he asked quietly, still playing with her hair.

Was this their way? One of them would try to be restrained, tried to create distance, for fear of ruining whatever this was between them, only for the other to scupper up that plan by doing something completely innocent and yet a million miles worse?

Orlaith had moved to view the constellation through the telescope, listening with earnest as Ben shared the story of Cancer. His proximity was intoxicating enough without him physically making contact; so much so that it took a moment for Orlaith to concentrate enough to actually find the correct constellation. Her housemates' hovering was enough to make Orlaith feel warm, and she wasn't sure if that was from his body heat or hers, and then she felt it.

"...oh." Came a small noise, which the blonde sincerely hoped Ben would disregard as a noise made in response to the story, or towards finding and looking at the constellation, anything other than his current actions. Her body stiffened and Orlaith had to force herself to physically relax as his hand made contact with her hair. Hair was... dead, it wasn't meant to feel anything unless someone tugged or picked at it, but in that moment Orlaith could have sworn that she no longer had hair but exposed nerve endings growing out of her head. Why else did the motion of Ben playing with her hair feel so electric? The sixteen-year-old found herself thanking Godric that it was January, which meant it wasn't warm enough to go anywhere without covering up, because she was sure Ben's touch was giving her goosebumps. What was he even saying to her? Oh right, the story of Cancer.

There was a low, shaky inhale and exhale before Orlaith looked up from the telescope, turning her gaze to meet Ben's. Did he not realise what dangerously thin ice he was skating on here? The young Slytherin was trying her utmost to not cross a boundary and ruin things between them, and he was making that impossible. Unfortunately, she was making no attempt to stop him-- mostly because she didn't want him to stop. It was just unfortunate that of the entirety of Ben's detailed story about Cancer, Orlaith probably only managed to take in about five percent of it. It was like her brain stopped working everytime his fingers made a movement in her hair. "Hmm.." Orlaith murmured, her mind blissfully happy as she blinked slowly in his direction. She began sucking in her bottom lip before instinctively reaching for Ben's hand again. No, no, she didn't want him to stop playing in her hair, but he was asking her questions and if he expected her to respond he needed to allow her to be able to think. Something she couldn't do when he did that.

"Another story.." she repeated as her brain slowly rebooted from its temporary shut down. She swallowed hard, a slender thumb running gently up the inside of his hand. "I--" she grinned, and then quietly chuckled, her eyes looking at the ground for a moment. She very nearly just... but she wouldn't allow herself to cross a boundary without Ben giving her definitive permission to do so. Even then, Orlaith knew that she needed assurances, assurances that she was sure Ben wasn't ready to give yet-- which was a major part of the problem in the first place.

"--yes, I'd like to hear another. Auriga perhaps?" she suggested as she stepped closer to him. She did have a workaround here that could potentially benefit both of them. "Would you mind holding me? I'm feeling a bit cold." she asked. The blonde knew that if he held her, she was likely to melt; however, with his height it meant his head would be positioned high enough above hers that he wouldn't see what her face was doing.

The real problem, he realized, was that neither of them seemed to have much self control when it came to the other. The combination was like casting incendio in the middle of a parched forest. All the spell really had to do is catch one branch on fire and it would easily turn into an inferno. He lost his head rather quickly this close, and he definitely couldn't keep his hands still. So long as he kept them securely on her hair and didn't stray southward it would be alright.

He let one of his hands be caught, his other hand had stilled but he kept it tangled in her hair. Soft and lovely. Honestly how could he be expected to resist? (The only true way to avoid getting into these situations would be to limit their interactions but at this point he didn't think he could do that. He was starting to question the root of his hesitancy.)

"Alright." he agreed, voice low and soft, as he untangled himself and rearranged them into a more comfortable position. He gently grabbed her shoulders so that her back was resting comfortably on his chest before wrapping his arms around her. They both faced the window as he told himself it was such a bad idea to lean forward and brush his lips along her temple, her cheeks, her lips... Bloody hell. He took a breath and closed his eyes, centering himself, as he exhaled.

He was stronger than this, wasn't he? It wouldn't be good for either of them if he just gave in right now. His head was a mess of thoughts even as his chest ached. He could stand to not be greedy for a night couldn't he? This was enough, at least for now.

He tried not to think about how nice she felt in his arms. Soft, warm, and with the scent of her hair in his nose. "Ben blanket, at your service." he tried to joke, but his tone was still several octaves too low and gruff to land as a joke. He also knew it was a simple thing to cast a warming charm. This closeness was an indulgence. "How about Orion and the Pleiades?" he offered, feeling a rush of feelings he couldn't quite put a pin to. "He's one of the brighter constellations." he started, tongue feeling heavy. "Orion the hunter. His right shoulder and left foot are Betelgeuse and Rigel. And that bright line of stars make up his belt. If you follow his belt down you'll see his sword." he was going on automatic at this point.

He was lucky enough he could spout astrological facts so easily. He cleared his throat when he noticed his voice kept dipping down the lower register. "He's depicted frequently as the tallest and the handsomest of men." his lips quirked a little at that. He'd always liked Orion. "The story goes that Orion was the son of Poseidon the sea god and that he wielded a bronzed club fabled to be unbreakable. A lot of people assume he's in constant battle with Taurus but there's a lesser known story about him and the Pleiades, which are tucked inside of Taurus." he explained, taking another subtle inhale of her hair. Just... lovely.

"The Pleiades were seven sisters, daughters of Atlas and Pleione. The legend goes that Orion fell in love with them and was determined to court them." it was always funny to him that he hadn't just fallen in love with one. One girl was usually plenty trouble enough for him. He couldn't imagine juggling the affection of an additional six. No, thanks. "In order to protect them they were snatched by Zeus and placed among the stars where Orion pursues them across the sky each night, determined to win their eternal love." he murmured. It wasn't a particularly romantic story, really. Definitely not his favorite but it certainly brought to mind due to the sad way it ended. Sadder for the Pleiades, to be so pursued and then banished to the stars for safety.

Orion was called The Hunter for a reason. He didn't want to be Orion in Orli's story, though, he wanted to be Perseus.

There was an inward sigh of relief as Ben indulged her request. Unfortunately, Orlaith was not remotely cold, quite the opposite in fact, thanks to the various indescribable thoughts and feelings crossing her mind at the moment. As such, when Ben enveloped her in his arms, the Slytherin began to melt as predicted. It was the best, most secure feeling the blonde had had in a while, and true to her nature of allowing her hands to do the talking when she wouldn't allow her lips to, her fingers began to absentmindedly run themselves along her housemates forearm as he volunteered the next story to be shared.

"Sure..." the blonde responded quietly in agreement, not requiring much convincing to hear a story other than the one she requested. Orlaith turned her head slightly so that the side of her face was resting on his chest instead of the back of it and at this point it would have been fair to say that the sixteen-year-old had zero interest in the stars and their stories; she was simply enjoying what she was able to get away with in this poisition. She could blush to her hearts content, breath Ben's scent in, and she didn't have to care what blissful expressions her face was giving off because the brunette couldn't see it. This was perfect.

Not having very much of her wits left about her meant that Orlaith was only making the occasional murmur to make it seem like she was listening to Ben's every word. Really and truthfully, the young Dewar only started listening when Ben mentioned that the story of Orion that he was sharing, was in fact a polyamorous love story. "Court... them?" Orlaith repeated with a slight chuckle, her hand drifting "accidentally" to far up his forearm to gently brush over the top of his hand. It was only noticing that their skin was making contact that caused the sixth year to pull her hand back.

Perhaps she was going too far with this, but it was hard to think this through when the feeling of Ben's breath tickling the top of her head was literally causing her mind to go numb. It was the closest to impulsive Orlaith had ever been, save for her interactions with Dougie. Dougie was different however, being impulsive with Dougie hadn't posed a threat to the longevity of their relationship - it had strengthened it. Then again, as horrible as it was to even think about, Dougie didn't have very much to lose when he got involved with a girl, Ben did. That was part of why Orlaith had to take such care with him, so that she could make it clear to him that this wasn't just a power play, it was about who Ben was and how he made her feel.

"Well... that sounds like something my father would do, in all honesty." Orlaith laughed, tilting her head upwards to catch Ben's eye, her hand still absent-mindedly stroking his forearm. "Sounds like the mistake Orion made was not making one of Pleiades feel special. He wouldn't have to chase them if he had." the Slytherin mused, offering Ben a soft smile as she did so. However, she couldn't shake the feeling that she had let something slip there, more of a hint than she intended to.

He wasn’t proud of himself for this but he could honestly not resist the urge to tuck the girl closer and bury his face in her hair. It was soft, golden, and smelled lovely. He was turning into a pansy. It made him vaguely nauseous that he could,in any, way resemble Brad Johnson. Blimey.

The thought made him physically ill and he made an internal promise to not ever become quite that pathetic. Urgh. Well that was certainly a sure-fire way to kill the mood. Trust the idiot Hufflepuff to literally ruin his time when he wasn’t even present. Loki would tease him mercilessly if he knew. Not that he’d tell him, of course. There were things in a wizards life that should remain private.

“Yea.” He murmured, feeling his ears turn a bit red. “It’s er, well, just a story.” That clearly depicted life as it was back in the day, but he wasn’t going to elaborate on that specific detail. “He wanted to keep them, though a different version implies he was after one sister in particular.” The story could be interpreted a few different ways. “It’s hard to say, since he’s destined to never get what he wants the most.”  he murmured, feeling a sort of echoing sympathy for Orion. He knew what that was like.

He froze for a second as Orli’s words registered, a sinking sensation enveloping him. He wasn’t - did she- was this? He took a moment, throat clogged, as he pondered her words. “Maybe-“ he whispered weakly before stopping himself. “Maybe he just didn’t know how.” He finally said, biting his lip, as his gaze flickered out toward the window. It sounded like an admission to even his own ears. “Orli I-“ whatever he planned to say was cut off as an explosion of noise and lights sounded. The dark horizon filling up to the brim with blues, greens, silvers, and whites.

The fireworks had started.

For Orlaith, who was generally speaking, quite rational and logical when it came to studies and what she enjoyed about them, the idea of taking interest in astronomy for anything other than the purposes of its impact on potions brewing and growing plants was extremely foreign. However, she was taking an interest at the moment and she knew it was for no other reason than her pathetically ... and potentially hopeless .. crush on her Slytherin housemate and his interest in that side of astronomy. As such, when Ben brought up the theme of destiny, Orlaith found herself considering his words for longer than she would have under any other circumstance, wondering if the brunette was somehow seeing himself as Orion in this situation. And then wondering what it was that he thought he didn't deserve. And then wondering if that was why he had developed such a reputation for the kinds of relationships he was known for having with girls in school.

"It's different when you become a constellation I suppose. Stars are fixed, and so he is destined to never get what he wants, because he physically can't." the blonde mused thoughtfully, trying to remember not to nestle her head against his neck as she spoke. There was every chance she was reading too much into this, and so doing such an action without a certifiable reason for pushing such a boundary could be extremely damaging to this relationship-- kinship rather, they had been developing, nurturing, for nearly a year now. "But... I think... until we become a constellation, we can never really say we're destined for something-- don't you think?" she asked, turning slightly in Ben's grip so that it was her side connected to his front now and not her back. Her hand remained on his arm so that she made it clear through her non-verbal communication that she didn't want him to let her go just yet.

What this position meant, however, was that when her taller, stockier, housemate responded to her unintentional slip of her feelings towards him, she could see as well as hear his response. She saw the way his gaze drifted, how he bit his lip, and felt the deep desire to once again just know what was going on in that beautiful mind of his. 'He didn't know how', Orlaith wished she could know if Orion was explicitly the 'he' that Ben was referring to. Part of her felt it wasn't; part of her wondered if that was just foolish hope overriding her sensabilities.

Her face lowered as she took in a shaky inhale, this experience was maddening, wasn't it? It was nothing compared to the previous experiences she had had with James and Dougie, both of which seemed so straightforward and simple in comparison to what she was experiencing with Ben. Her gaze only lifted at the sound of her name, but whatever that was going to be about would never be revealed thanks to some extremely ill-timed... fireworks?

The blonde turned back to face the view, settling into Ben's arms again as she tried to engage the rational part of her brain once more. It was officially new years, a happy time for most, but Orlaith seemed stuck on wishing the old year had stuck around a bit longer just so it could take all this uncertainty around the kind of relationship they had, or wanted to have, with it. Was it both of them, though? Or was it just her? "These are for you?" she asked, noticing that the colours of the fireworks seeming to be distinctly linked to both the Danvers and Slytherin house colours. That couldn't have been a coincidence, not here. "Happy early Birthday!" came the sing-a-long voice as Orlaith twisted around once more, reaching up to give the fellow sixth year a hug. "And happy new year!" she smiled into his neck, inhaling deeply again as she considered their closeness at that moment in time.

Why couldn't 2003 take it's uncertainty with it? Why couldn't she start 2004 knowing where she stood with Ben? She hated feeling like this. "Ben--" the blonde began, taking a step back for a moment. "--I have... I have a present." she smiled, reaching into her small beaded handbag to produce a silver, rectangular jewellery box. She held it delicately between the elegant forefingers and thumbs of both hands, her eyes fixed on the box for a moment before lifting them to meet his. Why was she so nervous about this? Was it because Ben had specifically rejected the idea of being a hero and so there was a chance he wouldn't like the engraving on the chained silver bracelet? It simply said 'My hero' on the outside, and the date they had had their first "kiss" on the inside and a love heart at the end. That day was quite important to Orlaith, not just because it had actually been the day of her own birthday party, but part of the problem was that she didn't know if it was as important to Ben too. It had been a dare after all.

Then there was the chance that the bracelet... the more she thought about it... revealed more about her feelings to him than she would have liked. She had enjoyed Ben before then, but that kiss, that moment was the day Orlaith realised she was too conflicted in her feelings to remain in a relationship with Dougie. "I'm scared to give it to you." the blonde finally admitted, her gaze wandering off to the side as she felt her cheeks explode with warmth. Another deep breath, and then the blonde fixed her gaze back on her housemate, bringing the jewellery box close to her chest. "I'm... scared... it will ruin things... between us." she continued, slowly, hesitating every so often on finishing. "So I think... if it's going to do that anyway--" the blonde broke off, pressing her lips together and shrugging hopelessly at the idea that she may very well be breaking her own heart at this moment. "--here." she finished finally, abruptly. As she said it the blonde stepped forward and gently pressed the box to Ben's chest, tiptoeing up to press a gentle kiss to his lips at the same time.

There were... plenty of things he didn't think he deserved. Things he'd told himself he wasn't exactly meant for, given his record involving relationships. He considered himself simple when it came down to it but he always found himself in impossibly difficult and complicated scenarios when it came to emotional entanglements. Briony, Whitten, Cappy, Meg... That wasn't even counting, well, it just it got messy was the issue. He was free when it came to physical affection but his heart was a more guarded thing. Briony had ruined him from that sense and the effects that had on his relationships were far reaching. Even with his most kind-hearted of intentions he always ended up hurting someone he cared about. Always ended up making some sort of mistake or, worse, got to the point he just couldn't do it anymore.

Irma, oddly enough, had been the most simple. Fun and filled with little consideration though he'd thought about things being more seriously for a brief time. He'd known she wasn't truly interested in him like that, though, and he respected her for it. So many witches flocked him because he had money and had an impressive lineage and it was difficult to parse their true motivations. No it was truly best to just ... not.

Only he hadn't planned on, well, Orlaith.

Something he hadn't considered was if she was even interested in, well, anything. He was so stuck on not letting things escalate that he hadn't given himself the chance to contemplate if she returned the affections he was so focused on pushing back and away. But then Ben was overly confident in his abilities to woo and to persuade when he wanted something badly enough. That he wasn't putting all that persuasion to good use spoke volumes about how highly he regarded his housemate. "Thanks." he managed, a sigh escaping his mouth, as he wrapped his arms around the girl again. He was ... content for the moment. He'd always enjoyed the light-show and somehow having Orli here to share it with him was... pretty spectacular. Part of him felt like he could be happy with just this. 

But then she was smiling into his neck and he froze, willing himself not to pounce. Her lips were way too close to where he wanted them to be and it was sort of maddening really. "Oh." he said quietly. He pleased smile blossomed on his face as he took the box in his hands, curiosity shinning bright in his eyes, as his gaze flickered back up to Orli's face. She seemed... nervous. It was quite a fetching look on her. "What-" he started, a confused jummble of anxiety, panic, and expectation making his jaw work and his brow furrow as he tried to speak. He felt his present press against his chest and before he could find the words to articulate quite what he thought about the whole thing the blonds lips were gently brushing up against his. He felt heat bloom where her lips touched his, present forgotten, as he crushed her to him as his lips slanted against hers. The fingers of his left hand settled against her hip and the fingers of his right crawled up her shoulder to her neck before settling against her blond hair.

If anyone asked Leo if he was proud of his son, there wouldn't be an ounce of hesitation as he responded. It was difficult not to be with how dedicated Ben was. It was rewarding for him, to see his son slowly grow into a man. He saw glimpses, now more than ever, of the man his son could one day become. He loved both his boy, truly, though he didn't believe in coddling either. He was was a hard man, raised by another hard man, and he wanted to be sure his sons were prepared for the life they'd eventually lead. His wife, he knew, had a different opinion about that but he was a pragmatic man.

Still it was difficult not to be pleased when your child excelled in virtually everything they took to. He wasn't someone who worried about school tittles so much because he focused almost exclusively on what pursuits his boys filled their time with. Ben filled his time with... anything he could get away with. That, for him personally, was an admirable trait. The only thing he mourned, in a way, was how quickly Ben was growing up. As he walked the familiar pathway to his sons tower he held in his hands a decanter and a pair of glasses. He'd seen his son disappear as was his won't but hand't noticed he'd left with company. It was tradition between son and father, after all and Ben usually pulled the disappearing act when he could.

As the eldest Danvers made his through the threshold surprise colored his face. He took a moment to set the decanter down, as well as the two glasses in his hand, before pointedly clearing his throat. He was equal parts amused and disapproving, as he raised a single eyebrow, prompting his eldest child to explain. He knew, of course, exactly what had been occurring but he'd be remiss as a parent to let this kind of conduct go. If his son wanted privacy he should have tried harder to hide the girl that was currently clutched in his arms.

It was very reminiscent of the kiss that had sarted Orlaith down this rabbit hole of confusion, adoration and... a whole host of other feelings the blonde couldn't name when it came to Ben. Feelings that were strong enough to make the Slytherin question the relationship she had been in at the time, questioning feelings that she had hated herself for having. She had left James for Dougie, more or less. At the time, the then fifth year hadn't exactly known that her relationship with James had come to an end until Dougie made her feel the way she had. And now, here she was again, single because... mostly because Ben made her feel things Dougie couldn't. However, unlike the situation with James, when Orlaith left Dougie she still hadn't known if the relationship was over. This was why she had meant to take her time with Ben, allow herself the space to fully understand what her feelings were for her housemate. The problem was, she was trying to be rational in a situation that had no room for rationality.

And now here she was, surrendering herself to her feelings instead of her logic... and it was breathtaking. It was like she felt her heart stop the moment he pulled her closer, returning her kiss, and it completely shut off all her thought processes so that all she could do was feel. Her free hand worked its way up around to the back of Ben's neck and her lips parted so the severity of the kiss between them could increase. The young Dewar noted she probably would never be able to share her thoughts in that moment about where the kiss should have gone in polite company, but for all her desires about what she would have liked to have happened in that moment, the blonde already knew she was not pushing for any of them to come true. Whilst she knew there was a high probability things between herself and Ben were ruined... at least in terms of just having a nice simple friendship... a part of her still clung to the hope that things were not so messed up that perhaps one day, if they thought about it a bit more, they might have decided to pursue something more.

Breaking the kiss to breathe for a moment, as slender fingers worked their way through the soon-to-be seventeen-year-old's hair and the Slytherin found herself slowing uttering his name as she pulled back. Her eyes fluttered open as she considered that it was likely best if she left now,  but with one hand in her hair, and another hand on her hip -- though she did have other preferences about where she would have.. right, that was especially not appropriate to think about right now. "I--" the blonde began, moving her free hand to take one of Ben's and place it around the present. "--I should..." Orlaith trailed off as her ears heard a noise that indicated they were not alone.

All the colour that had flushed her cheeks to one of the deepest shades of red she could probably go suddenly disappeared quickly as she realised who it was. Ben's father. "F- I mean... Sorry!" the sixth year gasped, covering her mouth as she tried to jump back out of Ben's grip. Her shawl half fell from her shoulders as she did so and a look of pure horror filled the blonde's face. Also, probably owing to the fact that Ben was noticeably stronger than her, she found herself unable to escape her housemates grasp. It was probably for the best, had the younger Danver's let her go the blonde would have probably fled the room immediately.

Of all the people to walk in on this moment, Ben's father was at the very bottom of Orlaith's preferred list. A place he shared only with Ben's mother. "Sorry, Mr. Danvers..." Orlaith said sheepishly, her eyes moving towards her housemate. "--I was... I was just saying I should probably go." the blonde sucked in her bottom lip as she tried not to die from the shame of it all. "Ben..." Orlaith pleaded quietly into her housemate's ear as placed one of her hands over his. "..please?" Under any other circumstance the sixteen-year-old would have welcomed the fact that Ben was keeping hold of her. However, this was not at all the impression she wanted to make on Ben's father, and it was made especially worse by the fact that Ben wasn't letting her go.

A little shiver ran down his back as he felt fingers against his hair and Orli did not make it very far before he was interrupting her with another kiss. Words weren't needed. They were superflous. What mattered was the sensation of her lips against his. Then again Ben had ceased thinking about anything else. His mind was blissfully blank, suffused by warmth and softness. His fingertips rubbed lightly at the witch's chin, mindlessly for a second, before his brain finally caught up to him. He blinked his eyes open for a moment, confused and vaguely annoyed, before reality kicked in. For a second he'd assumed it was Baylen. The reality was, of course, a lot worse than his brother making a nuisance of himself. He closed his eyes, still clinging to the girl in his arms, before huffing and squaring his shoulders. His father would only take embarrassment on his end to signify that he was hiding her. That really... wasn't the case at all. He was just, selfish with her time he supposed.

It was sort of cute how Orli was a jumble of nerves, though, even if he had zero intention of letting her run away. "It's fine, trust me." he murmured, rubbing her shoulders before letting her go. He put a little space between them before gripping onto her hand with a friendly tug, then cleared his throat, as he faced his father. He let the silence settle, uncomfortably, meeting his fathers gaze squarely before a sheepish grin tugged at his lips. "This is Orlaith." he said simply, fighting down the urge to scuff his shoes. He wasn't a kid anymore and its not like his dad didn't know exactly what they'd been up to anyway. "We were just going, erm, back downstairs after the fireworks were done." he added, gaze flickering to the glasses his father had presumably set side. It was a bit of a Danvers tradition now, wasn't it? Maybe it was time he let Orli go? "I - meet me downstairs?" he murmured, his hand coming up to brush down the hair away from her pretty face. He felt a pang, regret making his chest tight, at the thought of not spending anymore time with her tonight. "You still owe me a dance." he added, hoping she wouldn't leave at least until then.

Leo was... quite amused by this point. His blue eyes glittered for a moment at the girls reaction and he had to fight a grin off his face. Most people assumed he was dour and serious whenever they met him but the reality was quite different. He just didn't like frippery and lacked interest in inane things. His wife usually spoke enough for the both of them and he liked it that way. That didn't mean that he couldn't see the humor in things. And Benji had certainly gotten himself into a bit of a predicament, hadn't he? He didn't recall hearing about this particular girl, though, which meant of course that she had be held in some sort of esteem. His son had as tendency to drop acquaintances quite casually in conversation. A mention here or there in terms of what he had planned out for the day.

That he hadn't mentioned her specifically meant, of course, that he'd consciously left her out of the conversation. There would only be one reason for that and knowing Benji as well as he did he knew the reason. "No need to apologize Miss Orlaith." best to put the poor girl at ease, as his son was trying to do. She looked like a Dewar, not that it really mattered to him what stock she came from. The things that tended to impress him were more tangible and less to do with uncontrollable circumstances. "I just need to borrow my son for a few minutes, if you don't mind?" he asked, shooting the girl a quite familiar looking smile, dimples and all. "A Danvers tradition can't be overlooked." he said, pointedly looking at his son. He'd almost teased them but realized quickly that the girl seemed quite skittish. That was a nice trait, though, he wouldn't have approved very much if she'd been brazen.   

If Orlaith could fully and entirely have her way, she would have fled to another country and perhaps even changed her name in that moment. An overreaction, yes, but she was sixteen and she had just been caught having her most vulnerable moment to date with her crush - by the father of said crush. She was entitled to have an internal meltdown at this age, under these circumstances, and if all Ben and his father could see at that moment in time was that she wanted to flee, the young witch could have taken that as a compliment.

Blue eyes searched for Ben's own as he rubbed her shoulders and assured her 'it was fine', words that made no sense whatsoever to the blonde at that point in time. However, when the sentiment was also further supported by Ben's father, only then did Orlaith somewhat relax. Somewhat because she couldn't tell why both Danver's men were being so casual, unless it was to do with something she didn't know or couldn't see in this situation. Some sort of family dynamic that she wasn't understanding, likely because her family wasn't exactly a unit, not like the families of her friends. There were two distinct factions under one roof, and when you included the extended family, the numbers of complex divisions noticeably increased.

Her head was still reeling from the fact that she had been caught, but also that Ben had introduced her, with her actual name, which meant there was no denying that she had been the girl in this situation when it came to future social events. Godric, she hoped she wasn't going to become the subject of gossip. But she was being dismissed, she could ruminate on such problems from outside the room. Unsure of what shade of red she was showing Ben as he arranged her hair, the Slytherin nodded to her housemates request. And whilst she had heard the words, it didn't actually dawn on Orlaith that Ben meant meet me downstairs, until he said something about owing him a dance. That was when her internal meltdown went from ten to one-hundred.The plan was to kiss and flee and not face up to the consequences of her actions until the train back to Hogwarts or some other time like that, Ben insisting that she stay royally scuppered said plan. And yet, she couldn't leave, not if he was asking her to stay. If he was asking her to stay, that possibly meant...

And just like that, Orlaith was at one-thousand.

Swallowing hard, the blonde nodded and looked back to Danvers Senior. "If you'll excuse me then." she finally said in response to his earlier request, her eyes stealing one last glance of Ben's features before departing the tower via the door she entered in. Once on the other side, the sixteen year old found that her legs gave way and a rather rude expletive quietly escaped her lips. She was intending to move away from the door, perhaps not go straight back to the party given that she was a bit too overloaded for social interactions, but for the moment she unfortunately couldn't walk. A shaky inhale later, the blonde settled on just giving herself a few minutes and burying her face in her hands to regain some composure. Then she would try to move.

The tall Slytherin silently admired the flush suffusing the apples of Orlaith's cheeks and tampered down the urge to let his hands linger. He could feel his father's gaze boring into him and he didn't really feel like tempting fate too much more at the moment. He knew, of course, that his father was being considerate of Orlaith's feelings and lamented whatever this conversation was going to be, at least partially. "I'll see you in a bit." he assured, his lips curling into a small smile as she walked out. He sighed once she was gone and crouched down to pick up his forgotten present, fingers pressing into before his gaze flickered back towards his father as he motioned towards his desk. The sixteen year old wasted no time in joining his father on the leather arm chairs slumping into his seat as his father handed him a full glass. "Cheers." he murmured, clinking his glass, before settling in quietly. They did this every year, though this time something had interrupted the tradition a little.

As the girl walked out of the room Leo focused all of his attention on his oldest son. He smiled slightly as he studied him before motioning him to sit and poured him a glass. "Cheers." he
 murmured back, smiling, as he leaned back as well, taking a drink from his glass. Neither said anything and he was silently proud at his sons lack of reaction as he sipped on his own drink. "Are you going to open it?" he asked lightly, raising an eyebrow, and nodding towards the wrapped present his son was still holding. He knew that look well, and it surprised him a bit to see it. While Benji took everything he did seriously, there was one glaring exception to that rule. "This seems like a bit of a ... shift in pace for you." he prompted further. When Benji was younger there had been butterbeer and a game of wizards chess as he taught his son a valuable lesson in patience and strategy. Once one thing was mastered they moved on to the next until there was nothing left but for his son to put all he'd learned from him to practice.

Ben wasn't quite prepared for what was coming. His father was too shrewd by far. It didn't help matters that this is what they'd been doing for going on three years now. His father was pretty ruthless when arguing a point and he knew without the conversation starting where this years debate would be leading. He'd brought this upon himself, really, what with being caught and all. Now he would be forced into confronting the things he'd been putting off all the while defending those things to his father in a game he'd been gaining ground on. It chafed, of course, but he'd left his weakness open to be exploited. His father was nothing if not exceedingly willing to show him the error in his judgement. He fortified himself with another sip of his drink, holding his present in his other hand and just sort of contemplating. "Yes." he said, decisively, answering both questions at once. It wouldn't do to give more away than intended. He needed to by himself more time to really... think things through right now. So he opened his present.

Nestled inside the box was a silver bracelet. He lifted it from its box, studying the engraving on the front, then the back, before pocketing it onto his shirts breast pocket. He took another sip before he glanced back up, willing his face not to burn. It was a given that he'd be wearing it which should generally mean he shouldn't be having such a tough time with this conversation. This shouldn't be a hard thing. The feelings certainly weren't, after-all. "I fancy her quite a bit." he admitted quietly, feeling both a sense of relief and a feeling of suffocation all at once. "I'm not good at keeping girls happy, though, not long term anyway. They always wind up wanting things I can't give them." he added, biting his lip. "I don't want to ruin anything." all of his hesitations and fears hovered between father and son as he leaned forward and ran a hand through his hair.

He didn't think he'd ever seen his son deprive himself of something he wanted. It was usually quite the opposite where he worked quite hard for it. "Benji." he started, feeling affection swirl in his chest, as a smile softened his face. "Honestly it's about time you took a girl seriously for once. I was beginning to think you'd never like a girl enough to try." a soft look had settled on his sons features as soon as he'd opened his present and the way he patted his chest a few times as he spoke really said everything for him. Still it was nice to hear the sincerity. It seemed as though his son had accepted whatever way this conversation would shift. He doubted many fathers were quite as lucky as he was in this regard. "The only pressure you'll feel is the one you put upon yourself. If you're unsure, however, snogging her during the New Year, a few weeks shy of your seventeeth, and at your celebratory party sends rather the wrong message, doesn't it?" not that he worried about it himself. He was pretty sure they'd be seeing more of the girl in the future. "You should introduce her to your mother. Properly. She's a Dewar?" the first part brooked zero argument and the second was more a probing question than anything.