Across the Universe

[Crispin V. Cold]

Crispin's sharp eyes took in everything around him in the busy restaurant. Yet the only thing that kept him captivated was the flame haired woman in front of him. Candlelight played off her high cheekbones, illuminated her golden eyes. He held her hand across the small table, his thumb rubbing across the back of it. "What did you think of the brick one?" His eyes smiled into hers, waiting for their orders to be done and brought to them. They'd looked tirelessly all day, each new place building excitement as they'd walked hand in hand like a young newlywed couple. Brochures were stacked haphazardly at one side of the table.

 

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

Andromeda had tried her hardest to look good enough for him, after five different outfits she finally settled on her jeans, a figure hugging navy top and navy jacket. The weather mightened have called for a scarf but to her it was still winter back in Ireland and often this time of year she felt homesick for it, so draping a scarf about her didn't seem such a big deal. Slipping on her high pumps she brushed out her hair and went to meet him.

The day was exhausting, walking here and there. Viewing apartments, houses, pokey little flats with no more room to swing a cat in. Some of these places she had simply wanted to bundle him back out the door, there was no way she would let him live in some awful place alone. The thought of him being alone always niggled at her, she knew she would be able to see him on vacations but soon he would be leaving the school and making his way out into the world. As she gently mimicked his movements of stroking his hand with her thumb, Andromeda knew she wasn't as upset or worried by his leaving after graduation as she had been by Bruins.

The difference was he wasn't leaving her, she could trust in his feelings for her, in hers for him. Smiling at him now she felt the ache in her feet from the hours of viewing, she should have worn flatter shoes she mused.
"The brick one?" she chuckled disarmed momentarily by his smile, he would always be able to do that to her. Always be able to make her feel special, as if she were the only girl that mattered, the only one in the world. Her own amber eyes sparkled back with their own answering smile to him.

"Weren't they all brick?" she teased before flicking open one of the brochures and watching fascinated as a 4-D replica of a red brick house appeared. There were still things about the magical world that fascinated her and this had been one of them. The pop up style brochures that the realtor had given them. The house rotated showing the steps up the front and the small garden while at the back the garden was fenced in, narrow but very long. With a pergola meshed with beautiful pink roses. The house itself had been constructed of a deep red brick, three floors high with a basement and an attic. It seemed like too much space for just one person and it also had seemed like too much money. It was beautiful though.

Andromeda had instantly visualised herself in the spacious kitchen, brewing up all sorts of delights and potions and had to quickly stop herself from this type of imagining. One room had been transformed into a library and this had set her to simply standing there with her mouth hanging open in awe. The shelves had reached right up to the ceiling of the room. Endless endless amounts of books to fill those shelves, how would Crispin ever get around to reading them all. When they had been shown the master bedroom, Andromeda had blushed crimson and her hand had grown hot in his. The large bay windows overlooking the beautiful garden out back, walk in wardrobes but so much room that any size bed would seem lost. The realtor must have assumed they were a young married couple for she had constantly made little comments about how they would never need to leave this particular room.

Andy had not been able to take much more and grinning broadly had to wink at her beloved before letting go of his hand to walk into another room. This room had been much smaller but had obviously been a nursery of sorts. Andy had stood completely still, gone a paler shade than what she usually was and backed out before anyone could have seen her reaction or at least she hoped no body had.

"Do you mean this one?"Andy looked from the brochure to the young man before her, "Don't you think it's a little big for you? Unless of course you rent some of the rooms out and make some money on the house while you're living there."
She would not tempt herself by presuming that someday they would be living together, sharing their lives in every way. Something about their viewing today made her think long and hard about the type of future they might have together, something niggled her deeply and she would have to broach the subject carefully so she would have some idea how long they might last. Her forever might not exactly be the same as his, what she was capable of giving him might fall short of what he deserved and wanted.

 

[Crispin V. Cold]

Crispin shook his head, smile still on his face. "No I can't see myself doing that. I like my privacy. Can't have people under foot, poking about." His eyes flicked down to the 4D structure and he made more mental notes about the house. He would have gone for an apartment, had been his original goal, until they'd come across that dream of a house. It was like the one he had grown up in with his parents, warm and inviting. A place where children would be happy and know they're loved. "It's perfect Andy. A house to make a home." He withdrew his hand, picking up the brochure and bringing it to eye level. Turning it to study the rooms more, he stopped. "I'll probably make the nursery a small study, at least until the children come."

 

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

Andy had picked up the customery goblet of water and had begun to sip it slowly as he looked at the house. He took his hand from hers to move the brochure closer. The waitress at the same time placing their order before them. Andy's mind was well and firmly entrenched on the word 'home' he had used. They could make a home. Of course he hadn't specifically said 'they' or that it would be them that would be making that particular house into a home but had it been implied? She took another sip of her water only to send it flying seconds later, spluttering out of her as he mentioned children. The waitress chuckled lightly before leaving them to enjoy their order but Andy could no longer enjoy anything.
Her brain was spinning. Did he really want children? Wasn't it a bit early for bringing this up?

Taking up a spare napkin she patted down whatever areas she seemed to have wet before looking with extreme embarrassment at him.
"You want..." she knew that now was best after all, if he wanted a dozen kids then he should at least be with a girl who wanted kids, "you want children?"

 

[Crispin V. Cold]

Crispin absently thanked the waitress, still lost in studying what would most probably be his new home. When Andy spoke, he glanced up, preoccupied. "Hm?" He hadn't been aware he's spoken aloud about children. "Someday," he said off handedly, setting the brochure aside and breathing in the delicious aroma of the coq au vin. He sipped at his red wine, mismatched eyes flicking up to meet hers. "Don't you?"

 

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

She placed her goblet of water down firmly with both hands, so that their shaking wouldn't be noticed. Trying to focus her thoughts she felt her knees begin to knock together. This was bound to come up at some point, she had imagined it alot later down the line than this though.
"I did ... once" she could not but be anything else other than truthful, "I came from a large family. Well not my immediate family but the O'Briens are fairly big in number. I guess I always thought that a large family would be nice then... well now it's different isn't it? It has to be."She didn't know if he would get it or not, so decided to rephrase herself completely.

"because I'm... I am.. " he knew what she was so why she was finding it hard to say it out loud was beyond her, "I am what I am."
The unfortunate thing now was she knew damn well that as soon as she slept that night it would be to dream of beautiful dark haired babies with either his blue eyes or her own amber ones.

 

[Crispin V. Cold]

Crispin came back to himself fully when the goblet clunked to the table. He watched her struggle with her words and it pained him. "Hey," he said, his voice incredibly gentle as his hand covered hers again. "What you are," he shook his head, pausing to study her face, love evident in his face. He hadn't known it was possible to love this deeply so young in life. "You're wonderful, Andy." He squeezed her hand, withdrew it to pick up his fork and knife. And with all the obliviousness of a young man, said in a matter of fact tone, eyes on his food, "Besides, it was in my studies about werewolves that it's possible to carry children long term." He began cutting into his rooster.

 

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

She smiled at first, Crispin always managed to say the right thing somehow. Looking across at him she waited for whatever remarkable insight he had when he picked up his knife and fork and seemed to simply have left the subject pass him by. As if it meant nothing to him. Andy knew that she was probably making more of it than what she wanted too but his next sentence made her hand squeeze tightly around the stem of the glass goblet so hard that she shattered it.

"In your... your studies" she looked for a moment at her hand, shards of glass spread about the palm with only a few nicks in her skin. The tiny flecks of blood were nothing, there had been no pain, "Is that all I am to you?"
she knew she was being unfair to him but couldn't help it, her temper always managed to get the best of her somehow.
"Some class project? something for you to study? Are you going to finish with me as soon as you've sat your NEWTs? my services no longer required!" she stood up and pushed her chair backwards, "please don't let me interupt your food!"

She picked up her scarf and jacket that had been lying draped across the chair preparing to walk out so she could simmer her temper.

 

[Crispin V. Cold]

Shocked at her outburst, Crispin could only sit there, eyes wide. He went over what he had said, what could have possibly set her off and hurt her feelings like this. Then his hand went to his forehead, his eyes closed as he grimaced. He'd sounded like some unfeeling dolt, uncaring of how she would receive his words. He'd sounded, he realized with horror, just like Arcturus. Jumping up, he came around the table. "Andy," his hands came up and gently grasped her arms, "Andy I'm sorry." He kept his voice low, not wanting to embarrass her. "I didn't mean it like that. That's not how I see you." His hands rose, cupped her anger pinked cheeks, his eyes intense, blazing in his face. "I love you." His voice roughened. "You're not some experiment, some anomaly. You're my girl now. I'd cut off my own hand before I'd ever hurt you."

 

[Andromeda Fiorelli]

Andy watched as he came to stand in front of her, all ready to smack him one if she had too but as if knowing this he took hold of her arms and spoke gently to her. Her amber eyes stared into his for what seemed like an eternity, she listened to him and allowed her temper to cool as she did so. His hands upon her cheeks felt simply like the anchor she needed. His calloused hands that she loved, his hard working hands that she adored touching the soft flesh of her face.
"I love you too" she closed her eyes feeling completely foolish now, opening them to look at him again she bit her lip at first, "I'm sorry. I tend to jump at things, take things sometimes too personally. I'll get it undercontrol someday. It's just a touchy subject for me that's all".
She felt the jacket and scarf in her hands but still looking into his eyes she tried to smile.
"I tend to over react a lot too, guess it's better we find these things out now than later". Not once had she realized that in her flood of emotion she had actually said the words to him, had told him while sober that she loved him. It had come out so naturally, so honestly without her having to even think about it.

 

[Crispin V. Cold]

Crispin wrapped his arms around her, pressed a kiss to her cheek. "It's okay." He held her close, grateful that now he finally could. He drew back, a grin quirking the side of his mouth. "We're getting used to each other." He chuckled, taken with the novel idea. Their relationship was so new, they were both so young. "I'm sure I'll anger you a lot. I tend to forget myself around you, I'll try harder to remember next time." He still didn't see, couldn't comprehend why she flew off the handle so quickly when he mentioned her condition. He loved her. He didn't care that she turned into a werewolf every full moon. He did care that she went through it, would tell her the secret he'd held to himself. When he looked into her golden eyes, he saw Andy, the girl he loved. Not a wolf, not something evil. Just her. Just his girl.

"Hey, why don't we get this food to go? I've got something to show you." He'd turned and was shrugging into his own jacket when he stopped. She'd said it. Now. Freely, without any inhibitors. He smiled at her, his heart lightened.