start a fire in your heart [tomie]

"No, you cheated, give it back," JR said grinning as he leaned across his broom and tried to snatch the beater's bat from her hand, laughing as she moved away from him and he maneuvered his broom closer, his leg brushing hers. "Nope, not counting it, you clearly cheated, Vos," the Slytherin told her again, but there was no censure in his voice like there would've been if it was anyone else facing off against him in the stupid challenge they had come up with.

It was a cool afternoon in April, but at least it wasn't raining. Yet. JR fully expected it to start pouring on them any moment, the weather here being so fickle and all, but he found himself enjoying it while it lasted. Or maybe it was just Tomie. With her smiling like that at him, it always made him feel a bit better. Thank Merlin, no one could read his thoughts though. If Nola got wind of him being this mushy over his girlfriend, he might just have to punch himself in the face.

He was dressed casually in some Slytherin green and gray quidditch practice warm ups, his eyes bright as he and Tomie challenged each other to games they made up on the spot. First, Tomie had challenged him at trying to juggle the quaffles, but little did she know, he actually did know how to juggle. Then they went on to speed racing brooms across the pitch and it had been so close (in his opinion) that there wasn't a clear winner. And now they were air borne, using beater's bat to hit practice bludgers through the hoops for no other reason than just to see if they could.

JR was proud to say he was winning two to one currently. "We should probably dock you a point for cheating so now it's two to zero," he told her with another wide smile.

@Tomie Vos

Tomie tossed the beater’s bat from her right to her left hand deftly, keeping it away from him on her far side. “Nuh!” she argued, leaning away but not flying away “Nuh-uh!”. She was grinning, but bit her lower lip as she shook her head, the wind blowing strands of hair into her face. His leg bumped hers.

The juggling thing had been a fluke; she hadn’t expected him to actually be able to do it, let alone with quaffles. She’d clearly won the race (not by heaps, but it had still seemed pretty clear to her that she’d touched the middle hoop first but whatever!) and now this bludger thing wasn’t going her way; there were only two options, really.

Option one involved letting her competitive side take over for real and doubling down on trying to win. That was her usual approach, but it meant that she really had to eat dirt and swallow her pride if she lost, and they’d been having so much fun that that didn’t sound like an appealing way to end the day (not that she thought she’d lose, but begrudgingly, she admitted there was a chance). So, option two it was.

They were hovering close in the air, brooms and legs almost touching. Tomie leaned in close for a moment, teasing even as she held the bat away from him. “What’re you gonna do?” she breathed, before throwing herself to the other side and dropping down through the air and out of his grasp. She leaned forward, flattening herself to her broom as she picked up speed, only pulling out of the dive when she was close to the grass. She picked a side of the pitch and went for it.

JR laughed, the sound free and light, as he reached across her to try to grab at the bat again. The being-close-without-feeling-awkward hadn't exactly disappeared since they had officially started dating, but the third year was proud to say that he had gotten marginally better at not acting like a dweeb about it. Tomie, who was so good at everything (except maybe juggling), never seemed to have those problems so maybe spending more time with her had rubbed off on him.

He wasn't opposed. It was fun to goof around with Tomie.

His chest felt tight as she leaned in closer, her hair blowing towards him, her smile so bright it was distracting. Honestly, he had no clue what he was going to do because when she talked like that and came so close, it was hard to think of a cool reply, but she was there one second and gone the next. JR blinked before he realized just how quick she was. Diving with speed and agility and he went on pure instinct, following her, feeling clunky and ill-timed in his dive with the lack of preparation. He wasn't as smooth as her leveling off either and not as close to the grass, chickening out in the last twenty feet or so, but he leaned over his broom in the next second zooming after her to catch up.

It was easy, in moments like this, to remember why she loved quidditch. It wasn’t just this, of course — it was the roar of the crowd and the pressure and the promise of glory and her fingers wrapped around a little golden orb, wings fluttering furiously, too — but at the heart of it all was one, simple thing.

Flying.

She tucked the bat under one arm like it was own personal quaffle, to be kept away from the enemy team at all costs. Tomie dropped very low to the ground for the fun of it, the tips of her sneakers punching through the tallest strands of grass as she cut her way through. She could feel the air rippling underneath her, beside her. Her hair billowed behind her, slapping at her neck as she pulled straight up. She spiralled to slow herself down and came to a stop facing the direction he was following her from.

When he got close enough, she flew away again, but not fast, this time, just quick enough that she could look over her shoulder at him. She kept smiling, her expression brightening when she turned and noticed that he was smiling, too. Merlin, it was so cool to have a cool boyfriend. They really made a pair, she thought, even if she had had to beg all the kids who lived in her building (Ara and Benny’s little brother included) not to let it get back to her parents.

It was very uncool to have parents who would literally commit murder if they found out she was “dating”, but Very Cool to have a cool boyfriend. They were two of the youngest quidditch players in their school, both pretty well liked (especially now that that stupid truth-or-dare stuff had mostly blown over), both did okay in class. It just made sense? Plus, he'd had a thing for her back in summer. Maybe he'd liked her the whole time since then; she didn't know, she hadn't asked.

"What're you gonna do?" she repeated, not really looking where she was going. She was a touch breathless after her dive.

The wind, the rush, the Gryffindor in front of him -- he loved this feeling. The chase only made it that much better, both determined to win, but also not really wanting it to end.

He squinted as the wind rushed against his face, flattening himself to his well-polished broom that he dedicated so much time to oiling, attempting to make himself more aerodynamic in hopes of catching up with her. His broom was newer, faster, but Tomie had always defied odds with her raw skill and agility. If he wasn't her boyfriend, he would probably be much more jealous about it.

She zipped and he followed, catching her flash of a smile as it spurred him on again, grinning back at her. If only actual quidditch games were this fun too, then maybe he'd understand how so many people did it for a living. All it had amounted to so far this year was this insurmountable pressure to play well, something he hadn't exactly done this year. But when he was out here with Tomie, he had given himself a rule not to worry about real quidditch. He could spend the other twenty-three hours of the day worrying and training and owling his father back with his strategies for his next game, but this one hour? It was his. Theirs.

JR heard her question across the wind and he honestly didn't know how to answer. What could he do other than try to catch up to her, match her impossibly quick speed? So he did. Flying so close, closer than he should have as they flew at breakneck speeds, and reached out an arm to swipe at her, a gesture of pretend as he wasn't close enough to grab her and wouldn't know what he would do if he could actually grab her anyway, but this kind of playfulness felt new to him, exciting too, so he leaned in to it.

Tomie slowed a little, laughing as he caught up to her. She was sure she could have rolled out of the way or zipped to the side or something unexpected if she really wanted to get away, but this part was fun, too. “Nope!” she called out, wobbling on her broom a little as he swiped and missed. She wasn’t paying enough attention to what she was doing; she made herself glance ahead before looking back at him over her shoulder. She was always doing that — not looking where she was going. It was more fun to be in front, looking back.

After a little more of this, Tomie abruptly decelerated so fast that he shot past her. She waited for him to come back, and didn’t zip away this time. “Not bad,” she teased, flashing a breathless grin. They were a pretty competitive pair, and when they weren’t really competing, it was still natural to play as if they were. She was drifting a little in the air, pushed very slowly by the breeze and her own lack of focus. Tomie pushed her hair out of her face and held the bat out for him to take with her other hand.

She glanced up as a drop of water landed on her arm, blinking as another droplet fell right on her nose. Wiping it with the back of one hand, Tomie looked back at JR, still smiling. “Seems dangerous,” she said, not sounding perturbed in the slightest.

She called out to him, teasing even as she zipped and zagged and he did his best to keep up. Literally his best. How was she so fast? He had to remind himself that this was supposed to be fun.. and it was.. but he still wanted to win.

He was so focused on it, tucking himself down to be more aerodynamic, focused on the backend of her broom, that he was slow on the uptake. JR zoomed past her and it took him longer than he wanted to admit to realize the maneuver she had pulled. He gritted his teeth as he had to pull around and circle back, brushing off the embarrassment and at least her grin and her teasing made it a little easier to take. "Yeah, yeah," he said with a shake of his head.

"Guess you'll win when you give yourself a head start," he grumbled as he drifted closer and took the bat from her hands, the wood beneath his palm felt supple but well-balanced. He liked the feel of it and gave it a few swings, hearing it whistle through the air, and nodding. He had always wondered what it was like to be a beater. Wyatt Sr never took much stock in the position so JR had never even really considered it.

As he felt drops on his cheeks, he glanced up and sighed. There was the Scottish weather he was so fond of (not). But perhaps if he waited another ten minutes, it would change again. It was that fickle. He saw the expression on Tomie's face and shook his head, even as he tried to fight a smile. "I'm not staying out here in a lightning storm just because you're a little daredevil," he told her haughtily and then glanced up at the clouds wondering just how bad it was going to turn.

“Guess so,” Tomie said, only smug enough to be playful. She watched him swing the bat around with a little wistfulness; it made her feel cowardly, but a part of her felt like it would be easier to be a beater, and there was something appealing about that. Chasers and beaters both had multiple people playing the position. Keepers just sort of stayed in one place, and if your chasers did their job super well then you didn’t get to see much action as a keeper. She held back a sigh, wanting to keep her thoughts light.

Tomie nudged her broom a little closer as he looked up at the sky. She had to speak a little louder over the wind, which had just started picking up, too. “What, scared of a bit of rain?” she asked, knowing full well that wasn’t what he was saying at all. She was especially bantery with JR; it was just how their friendship — uh, relationship, she corrected quickly — was. Tomie was pretty intuitive socially; she was only play-confrontational if she thought the other person was comfortable. JR liked it, so it made her want to tease more.

Their knees bumped, and Tomie shivered a little. It wasn’t really raining yet. A couple of drops didn’t really count, right? — But it was getting colder. The breeze was chilly, and she’d sweated a little in their chase. "Wanna head back, then?" she asked.

He hummed a non-reply and tried not to let her smugness get to him. They were just playing around, no need to get all bothered by the fact that he didn't win, he tried to coach himself. It didn't work, not really, but if it had been anyone else he would have been loud about demanding a rematch. Why it was different with Tomie was behind him.

The wind whipped around them, tugging at his clothes, making his cheeks feel windswept and not in a good way. But at Tomie's question, he made himself roll his eyes. "Hardy har har," he replied. Of course he wasn't scared of rain. He just didn't like it. The way his clothes would stick to his body, making him feel clammy and hot at the same time, plus they'd have that damp smell that was gross. Ugh.

But what was he to do when he heard the challenge (even if it was playful) in her voice. Even with the wind around them, he still felt his heart in his ears beating loudly as she came so close that their knees brushed, but he tried to play it cool, pursing his lips with a half shrug and found himself saying. "No, I'm good if you are.."

His eyes met hers and he gave her a hint of a lopsided smile. Apparently smart decision making went right out o his head whenever Tomie was around. It made him wonder at it, but he didn't exactly hate it either.

The wind was picking up, and after a moment of it messing her hair up and getting it in her face, Tomie grabbed the hair-tie from her wrist and held it between her teeth, using her hands to gather her hair up into a high ponytail before she tied it up nice and tight. It wasn’t really a look that she liked on herself — her hair all neat and back from her face — but it was the most convenient for quidditch. And it was convenient now.

Not that she had any experience or anyone to compare him to, but JR was a pretty good boyfriend, she thought. It kinda made sense; he was a pretty good friend, so why wouldn’t he be a good boyfriend? What was the difference, really? They held hands now, and she’d kissed him on the cheek a few times and sometimes he carried her books or whatever but it didn’t feel that different. It just felt like maybe she had two best friends right now, even if she knew you could really only have one best friend. Regardless, it felt good. Maybe Benny had been right all along.

JR was giving her that grin that she thought was just for her, and Tomie smiled back. She liked the attention, she couldn’t deny it. Tomie was close enough, so she patted his chest lightly. “I’, good,” she said unnecessarily. “Hey, I wonder how far we could fly before someone stopped us,” she said thoughtfully, eyebrows raised as she looked out past him, over the forest. They weren’t very high up, and couldn’t see that far, but that was easily changed. She looked back at him, mischief in her expression. “Can we go a bit higher though?”

JR moved his broom to the side with gentle pressure of his knees, watching as she tied her hair back, noticing how different she looked than usual. Not bad, just different. He started to wonder why she didn't wear it like that more often and then caught himself wondering that and quickly changed topics because wow was he being dumb or what. Tomie probably didn't even care about her hair. The fact that she patted his chest gave him both a thrill and a little bit of a heart stutter.

It was like his heart forgot how to work when she touched him. He glanced over her shoulder in middle distance as he tried to focus on her words, a frown turning down his lips as one brow arched. "How far? I guess as far as the closest muggle town? Why?" he asked and then immediately thought he shouldn't have. Tomie, typical Gryffindor, always pushing the boundaries while JR didn't necessarily want to break the rules but didn't want to look lame about it.

So it was a good thing when she turned her direction up instead of out. Well kind of. JR glanced up and a rain drop fell right in his eye making him squint and blink as he brought a hand up to rub at it. "I guess," he said to Tomie, looking at her in a one-eyed look before shaking his head. As if she would take no for an answer, he knew that look.

He angled his broom up and flew up higher, feeling more drops of rain falling on his cheeks, but it was still just a sprinkle as the ground fell away beneath them. It was a good thing he wasn't afraid of heights. "This good?" he asked, leveling off, and already guessing at her answer. Tomie wouldn't stop until she was in the stars.

“We could probably go further, right?” She asked, looking at him, a spark in her eye. When they were legally allowed to do magic outside of school, she was gonna buy an awesome broom and travel around on it. She’d just make herself invisible or whatever, and then put all her stuff in a backpack… “Are there rules about international travel on brooms?” she asked distractedly, shifting a little as she angled her broom at a small angle and started drifting upwards.

She stayed relatively close to him, not wanting to have to yell anything she wanted him to hear. They moved in lazy spirals upwards, circling around some kind of unspoken central point. “Bit higher,” she answered, raising her hand to wipe away a couple of raindrops that had landed on her cheeks.

The higher they went, the windier it got. It was noticeably colder up here. Tomie’s wand was in her backpack by the base of one of the giant quidditch hoops, and they were high above the tops of the hoops now. “Wish it was clear,” she commented, looking down at the Forbidden Forest. The trees stretched further than she’d have thought; she was surprised she hadn’t come up here just to have a look.

Tomie kicked her legs as they rose, wobbling a bit and then clutching her broom handle with both hands, grinning at the adrenaline and the disapproval she predicted he’d feel at her antics. She shivered and tried to keep her teeth from chattering. “Lake is pretty, huh,” she called, drifting a bit closer to him.

"Further where?" JR asked, one brow lifted as he looked over at her. "Don't tell me you plan on flying to France today," he added, deadpan. He half-doubted her intention, mostly thinking she wouldn't go anywhere without a backpack full of snacks. Maybe he would mention that if it seemed more serious about it.

They spiraled, orbiting around each other, and JR felt the clutches of comfort escaping him as they went higher and higher. Spurred on by her words, he nodded, blinking rain drops from his eyes. He didn't want to back out first.

But Merlin, it was worse up here. Worse and kind of cool, but mostly worse. Wind whipping against his cheeks, his fingers feeling brittle as he gripped his broom, the temperature of the air drooping several degrees as an added bonus. He glanced at Tomie, hoping to see some semblance of sanity there, but instead he saw her grinning and making his heart stop as she wobbled on his broom

He threw out a hand, scolding her with a "don't do that" even as she grinned at him, making him feel silly for worrying. JR found himself glancing down, seeing the laces of his trainers dangling so far above the forest, and couldn't help thinking he'd be dead if he somehow fell from his broom now. Giving her a shrug, he said, "Looks the same as on the ground.." But he was a little distracted by how close she was and how far they were up and how she looked different with her hair pulled back.

JR smiled a bit at her, at a loss for what to say, but he knew he was just being weird staring at her. "How high up have you gone?" he asked, the first thing that came to mind and then he wanted to slap his hand to his forehead. He didn't really want to find out because there was no doubt that she'd push the limits more than he would and he was worried his little question would set her off.

“French desserts are like, really good,” Tomie teased, ever playful against his deadpan expression. Not that she’d ever been to France, of course, but she liked pastries — loved chocolate croissants — and if they were better over the channel then it was obviously on her list of destinations to visit. She gave him a smile, and kept looking at him with her eyebrows raised, wanting him to smile back.

“Okay, okay,” Tomie said, still smiling as she adjusted herself on her broom, wobbling until she was in a better position and could glide along in the air more steadily. Well, as steadily as she could with the wind buffeting her as it was. She could feel her ponytail whipping behind her, and she’d lost sensation in her fingers. She should have worn her quidditch gloves, she thought.

“I dunno,” she said, floating a little closer to him, her eyes on the lake now. It looked so small and dark from up here. Small and dark and cold. “I think it all looks different up here.” Tomie wiped some more raindrops off of her forehead with a palm, then held onto her broom handle with two numb hands. She didn’t have a very good risk-assessor in her brain, but JR did, she thought. They were up high. She could die, if she fell. Weird.

Speaking of… “Um,” Tomie leaned ever so slightly to the side, looking down at the ground and trying to judge how far away they were. She looked at the tallest towers of the castle. She wasn’t paying attention, and she went a little close to him, their shoulders brushing lightly. “Oh,” she said, glancing up at him with a smile. She spoke loudly even though they were close together now. “Sorry, um. Not much higher than this, I think,” she said. “This might even be the highest, I dunno.” Tomie shivered.

She course-corrected again, but it was getting harder and harder to stay steady against the wind. They’d drifted away from where they’d started rising; the quidditch pitch was down and a little to her left right now instead of directly under her. “What about you?” she called out, squinting a little, against the wind.

JR raised his brows at her. Then, because he felt like showing off a little, he replied to her in the best French he knew, his mother's language rolling off his tongue a bit awkwardly, but he felt like it made the point he wanted. "French desserts are good. My favorite is crème brulee. And you?" JR said in French, waiting a bit, and then switching back to English with a smug smile. "Well?"

The Slytherin glanced down again, swallowing as he tried to get the worry and fear about falling off his broom somehow. He was being careful, unlike Tomie, and his grip was tight and firm on his broom, but still the worry wouldn't go away. Especially as Tomie wobbled on her broom and he threw out an arm, hovering his hand in the air next to her as if to catch her if she suddenly decided she wanted to try a barrel roll around her broom. He wouldn't put it past her.

As she flew closer, his hand actually did touch her side and his heart leapt, not sure if that was ok. It was vastly different than holding her hand which he was now confident about after the past few weeks of doing it often in between classes and he was even good with initiating the hand holding too. This was different though and he moved his hand away, but still hovered since she didn't seem to be concerned about slipping off her broom as he was.

He had been distracted by his thoughts so he hadn't even caught what she had said so he just nodded like he had and hoped that was good enough. What about you? Shoot. His inattention was already biting him in the butt.  As they drifted, JR reached up to pull on the strings of his hood, tightening it around his neck so the cold air couldn't get down his shirt and chill him even further. He sniffled too as he tried to buy himself time to focus his thoughts. "Yeah," he finally said with a shrug, not really knowing how to answer.

Then changed the subject. "Want to race down? Or were you trying to stay up here until we get fried by lightning?" A little smirk turned up his lips.