Closed it's always been you

[Chrysander Kaster]

The shop was quiet when they locked up, a rare lull Chrys wasn’t quite used to yet. After years of working mostly nights, handling clients, and feeling like he always had to be on, the slow and steady hum of people in and out of the shop felt like heaven, or a snail pace, he wasn’t sure which yet, but it was a relief and a bit of a strange adjustment he was almost surprised for. Honey was out with Sapphire and the twins today, something he had started allowing now that the twins seemed aware he was their father, and with Elio back from the little trip he had with his new fiance, Honey seemed more open and willing to accept new people, or things that were a little more out of her comfort zone and he was grateful for that too. So he had a bit more free time than he was generally used to having. He’d sent a note to Luna before he’d even had the chance to properly think about it.

It was hardly new, since for most of the last decade they’d been caught in a rhythm he couldn’t - didn’t want to - break. Luna had always been there, whether or not it was easy or messy or something in between for him. Maybe it was selfish of him, but he liked having her around, and he wanted her here today too. He always wanted her around. So he leaned against the wall outside a nice cafe he’d asked her to meet him at. Watching for Luna, brilliant, reckless, Luna - who had always managed to make him feel like there was more to want. He was lucky to have her in his life and he knew that. He’d been stupid not to think about it before. That was a lie, he had thought about it, but he knew she had deserved better than who he was before this. When he saw her, he grinned, “ah, just the girl I wanted to see, hello gorgeous,” he greeted, holding his hands out to her.​

 

[Luna Urquhart-Cade]

Luna felt like she had been in a rut for a few years now. She played Quidditch, saw her vast array of cousins and spent most of her time with Chrys whenever he wasn’t working, which due to his chaotic schedule would often mean they would spend nights and weekends together then go silent for months. Luna wasn’t sure the rut worked for her, but she didn’t know what else to do with her life.

The note from Chrys was pretty unexpected, it wasn’t how they usually communicated, but then they didn’t, he usually just showed up at her house and stayed there until he needed to be elsewhere. She pulled up to the cafe he’d asked her to meet her at, it was nice, quiet, almost romantic. Luna wasn’t sure what Chrys was up to but it was definitely out of character for him. “Hey,” Luna reached out to take hold of his hand. “What’s the with the third location? Are we going on a date?” She teased him.

 

[Chrysander Kaster]

Chrys laced his fingers with Luna’s easily, it was the most natural thing in the world - as most things were when it came to her. He squeezed her hand lightly and grinned. “Well, I figured showing up at your place like a stray kneazle one more time might earn me a hex or two,” he was constantly surprised she even bothered to open her door to him these days honestly. “Thought I’d try something different. You know… like effort.” Maybe she didn’t get it yet, he wouldn’t be surprised since he was being rather cagey, but he was trying to tell her something important, and he could only hope she was okay with it. Even if she didn’t feel the same way, and he hardly expected her to, but he would like her to believe him at least.

He leaned in close to her, like he was sharing a secret he only wanted her to know. “Maybe it is a date. I mean - unless that’s a terrible idea, in which case it’s absolutely not, and I’m just very invested in overpriced coffee and you looking pretty in the afternoon sun.” He was nervous suddenly, he hadn’t thought about the possibility of her saying no, or not wanting this. Maybe she preferred their relationship how it was, him showing up on occasion and using her bed. If she rejected him now… well honestly he wasn’t entirely sure he could just continue this as a friend date - he didn’t know if he had that in him at this point. "I guess I just wanted to see you. Properly. Not in passing, not between everything else. Just… here. With me.”

He gave her a little half shrug, “you still in, or am I getting stood up while standing?”​