Chamomile

[Pia Morales]

Working two jobs, and attempting to split time between work and play was not easy for Pia. Especially when she needed to focus on her healer training first and foremost, no matter the many other things that were on her mind. But she had somehow managed to stay sane so far through all the work and most importantly, she hadn't died of exhaustion. She was lucky to have a break between her work days at St Mungo's, and her work nights at the Medley that she either reserved for napping, to see her friends or to spend time with Calum so she didn't lose touch with the people she cared about. That day the latter was taking place and Pia was happy to finally relax with her boyfriend after what was proving to be a stressful week. She didn't have anything special planned but the lack of plans meant she could just relax and spend time with someone she loved.

She arrived home, showered, changed into more comfortable clothes and then began the process of making her and Calum a couple of sandwiches. It again wasn't anything special but she hoped that sandwiches and tea would be enough for him. As she put the second piece of bread atop her own sandwich, she heard a knock on the door and quickly walked to open it, pulling Calum into a hug and kissing him as soon as she was able to. "Missed you." She said, before walking back towards the kitchen. "I was making sandwiches for us but I haven't gotten to yours, do you want to make it yourself so it's how you want it, while I pour us tea?" She asked, absent mindedly retrieving some tea cups from the cupboards and placing them on the bench.
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[Calum Lloyd]

With dueling being his number one priority after leaving school, Calum had more freedom than he ever thought imaginable. The former Slytherin had not much else to focus on other than his girlfriend and he couldn't help but feel that life couldn't get any better. He no longer had his parents on his back as he made it clear to them that he was older now and could do whatever he wanted, and so that's what he did. However, there was a part of him that wanted more than what he had and he wasn't really sure why. He wanted to be able to have all of the money in the world, especially considering he wasn't really earning much lately, but he knew that would not come until a while and he had so much more to work on before he was able to get that far.

As Calum apparated himself to Pia's apartment block he felt a smile forming on his lips. He was going to see her again after what felt like a whole year and he couldn't help but feel happy about that. He took the steps up to where she lived and knocked firmly on the door. When he saw her face he beamed and hugged her tightly, kissing her firmly on the lips. "I missed you too, beautiful." he said, winking at her before she walked to the kitchen where she had clearly been busy making food before his arrival. He smiled at her efforts. "Sure, sounds like a plan." With that, he walked over to where the bread was and placed two slices on the bench before grabbing whatever he could find in the fridge. "How's your training going?" he said as he began to cut off chunks of meat and place them on the bread. "And your job? How's that working out?"

 

[Pia Morales]

Just being near Calum was enough to calm Pia down. She was glad to have friends and family that helped her feel comfortable and safe. Calum was of course one of those people and the only person she had wanted to see on that day, between the stress of her training and the shift at the Medley she had later that night. She smiled and turned to pick up two tea bags, placing them in the cups before retrieving the kettle. As she poured the boiling water in the cups she answered Calum's questions. "Training is a lot to take in, but I'm trying my best. The Medley is the same as always. Drunk people never get boring, though my shift tonight should be pretty quiet." It was a weekday which usually meant less of a crowd than on the weekends but it was still a heavy amount of work. In a club there was always cleaning to be done and drinks to pour. Pia returned the kettle to the bench and dusted her hands together, then moved to pick up one of the spare knives which she then used to cut her sandwich in half. "What about you? Anything new on the dueling front?" She asked. "I bet you're winning all the things, yes?" As Pia said this she playfully and gently nudged Calum with her elbow, mindful of the knife in his hand so he didn't accidentally hurt himself.

When Pia had finished cutting her sandwich, she returned her knife to the bench, picked up her plate and mug of tea then moved into the living room where she made herself comfortable on the sofa. She picked up one of the pieces of her sandwich and bit it, waiting to chew and swallow it before asking her boyfriend another question. "It's sad that we can't spend as much time together as we used to, but that's adult life, right?" She turned around, placing her chin on the back of the sofa and watching Calum in the kitchen. She was thinking out loud and to herself more than anything, but it was something that she had wanted to mention to Calum. Adult life was difficult, tiring, stressful and more work than she ever thought upon leaving school but it gave Pia the freedom to live the life she always wanted, even if she wasn't quite there yet. She was curious if Calum felt the same or if he was yet to notice that all the time they used to spend together had changed.
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[Calum Lloyd]

As much as Calum would never admit it, seeing Pia going on to do good things with herself made him proud. He couldn't help but feel good knowing that at least she knew where she was heading in life and, despite how stressful it was going to be on the way, she would be able to get through it. He nodded when she told him that she was trying her best and truly believed that she was. After all, Calum knew Pia to be a very intelligent person and he knew she would eventually find her footing and go on to do great things. "How could drunk people get boring?" he asked with a mischievous grin as he placed the second piece of bread on top and proceeded to put everything back in the fridge. "Dueling is going well. I'm currently training for the next tournament as always." The boy sighed, not really feeling his life was as interesting as his girlfriend's but willing to tell her everything nonetheless. "And of course I'm winning every round." he added rather sarcastically, chuckling slightly. Truthfully, he had lost quite a few rounds but it was nothing to really worry about.

As Pia finished up in the kitchen and moved over to the living room, Calum followed her with his sandwich in his hand, listening as she asked him another question. "Yeah, I get you." he said, sitting next to her on the sofa. "At least we're here now." He put his free arm around her shoulders, taking a bite of his sandwich. "I should visit you in The Medley one day while you're working and I'm not training." Calum felt that was probably his best idea yet and felt a bit guilty that he hadn't thought of doing that before. After all, it would be fun to watch her doing her job and seeing what she got up to on a daily basis. On top of that, he might be able to talk to her during her short breaks and any time with Pia, even if it wasn't that long, was worth it.

 

[Pia Morales]

Pia watched as Calum sat down next to her on the sofa, and nodded when he agreed that their schedules and time together had changed. It was unfortunate but that was how she assumed adult life would be - and it would be ridiculous to think otherwise, that sitting together in classes, eating most meals together, and relaxing in the student lounge with hot chocolates would continue to be a norm when they left school. Now they instead went to their separate jobs, working towards their individual goals and for the most part leading separate lives while trying to spend whatever free time they could get with each other. At least that's what Pia tried to do though she could not say the same for Calum as she knew nothing about what the life of a professional duelist was like bar what he had shared with her. Pia swallowed her bite of her sandwich and reached for her cup of tea on the coffee table, holding it in her hands to warm them up as she responded. "You are here." She said affectionately, still smiling as she sipped from her cup of tea.

When Calum mentioned visiting her at the medley, her smile widened. "That would be great, I could give you drinks on me and we could laugh at the drunk people when I'm not busy clearing tables." She sipped from her tea again, then added. "Am I allowed to visit you when you're training? Would be nice to spend one of my lunch breaks watching you." She winked then laughed at herself. Though it sounded like a joke she had been curious to see what Calum's training was like with her own eyes now that he was a professional duelist. It was fun to watch him duel while they were in school but she imagined that the dueling he took part in now was more difficult and dangerous. The difficult part was what intrigued her and the dangerous part was what she didn't want to think about. She worried that he would hurt himself but also knew that it was his choice to duel and injuries were part of the territory. No matter how scary it was to see someone she cared about put themselves in danger, it was not in her place to say anything about it and instead be fully supportive of Calum's decisions. Pia shook her head from her thoughts, and shifted closer to Calum so she could lean her head on his shoulder. "I really do miss you, you know." She said, sipping from her tea again and snuggling softly into her boyfriend, just glad that they could spend time together more than anything, despite their hectic schedules.
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