It's Showtime

[Archie Renner]

Practicing quidditch was both a way for Archie to feel confident for the upcoming Gryffindor game and a way for him to distract himself from his recent break up with his boyfriend. Though Archie still faced trouble believing his skills as keeper were as notable as the rest of his team, that did not diminish his motivation to practice nor did it mean he was anything less than confident when he organized to practice with his team captain later that day. Practice made perfect after all and honing the skills he did have would relax and distract Archie from everything else playing on his mind, while allowing him to feel like he was prepared for the first game of the year as he spent time with his team captain who he admittedly pushed away during the previous year and wanted to reunite with. It was a win/win decision really and Archie strolled down to the pitch that afternoon with those exact thoughts in mind. When he arrived to the pitch he let out a sigh before placing his broom gently on the ground and later dropping the bag hanging on his shoulders as well. He looked around the pitch, surprised it was near deserted except for a few students sitting in the stands then knelt down in the slightly damp grass to unzip his bag. He retrieved some of his protective keeper gear from the bag and put the gear on while he waited for Jean to arrive.​

 

[Jean Snow]

Jean was running late. He'd finished class with plans to run upstairs and grab his broom and gear to practice with Archie add they'd planned. The Gryffindor was looking forward to it. He hadn't been able to spend much time with the guy in the previous year. On his way up, he'd run into a lost first year who'd he'd turned in the right direction and Professor Kingsley who apparently thought that Head Boy was synonymous with being Head Box Carrier. He would never understand why the woman never used magic to carry her boxes around. Finally, she'd freed him and Jean had raced to his room, grabbed his broom, and ran out before anyone else could stop him. He kept at it, enjoying the breeze through his hair as he headed to the pitch, students getting out of his way so they wouldn't get trampled.

Finally, he was on the pitch and Jean made his way to Archie, breathing in deeply through his nose and out of his mouth to even out his breathing. "Sorry I'm late. Kingsley caught me and made me help her with boxes. Do you know she never uses magic to move them? She said it's character building to carry them...but then she doesn't carry them herself." He rolled his eyes as he tossed his duffel bag on the ground and began to pull out his gear, strapping it on expertly. "How have you been?" he asked, his gaze on his gear and not his friend. He'd known something had been going on with the boy last year and though he'd be lying if he said it hadn't hurt that Archie hadn't opened up to him at all, he was glad that the guy seemed better these days.

 

[Archie Renner]

Jean arrived just as Archie secured the straps on one of his arm guards. He quickly got to work putting the other on and looked up at the older boy as he did so, listening to the explanation of why he was late but not really minding the lateness. Archie was synonymous with losing track of time and in his need to practice he could have easily flown around the pitch on his own if Jean made him wait a few minutes longer. He simply shrugged in response as he pulled the last strap of his arm guard to secure it in place. "Maybe she thinks we all need more character?" He said but did not really believe his own words. The image of Kingsley employing Jean, head boy and Gryffindor quidditch captain of all the other students in the school to carry boxes for the sake of 'character building' seemed as farfetched as anything to Archie. He smiled to himself at that thought before he realized he was yet to congratulate Jean for being named head boy and immediately opened his mouth to do so.

"Congrats on making head boy, by the way." He said as he reached one of his arms to pat Jean on the shoulder. It was times when Archie realized how little time he spent with the older Gryffindor outside of quidditch practice or their house table during meals, that he also realized how much time he wanted to spend with Jean. He did consider the other boy to be one of his good friends and alternately wished they had not spent gradually less time together during the previous school year. The realization that this would be Jean's final year at school had hit Archie and he was frustrated at himself for letting his problems at home add distance to all his friendships. He did not know what he would do without the other boy's company and guidance in everything quidditch related, so he wanted to make up for lost time with Jean while simultaneously making the time he still had with the older boy worth it. Inviting Jean to practice that afternoon was one of the ways he intended to do that. "I've been okay. Busy, but okay." Archie said, responding to Jean's question as vaguely as he could to keep himself from being a burden. "How are you?" He asked in return. Archie then looked down to inspect the gear he had on and deemed it worthy for practice despite not being dressed in his full keeper kit. "Ready?" He asked as he turned his gaze back to Jean, an ever present smile on his face.
​

 

[Jean Snow]

Jean shrugged as he continued putting on his gear. “Who knows?” he replied, not even trying to figure the woman out. Tightening the last strap, Jean stood up to his full height, an easy smile on his face as he thanked the guy for his congratulations. The Gryffindor still wasn’t quite sure why he’d been chosen over some of the others, but he was pleased that it was him. Jean had always thought that his family underestimated him, but after receiving the badge in the mail, he’d begun to wonder if it wasn’t him underestimating himself that made him believe that his family underestimated him. It was fairly complicated, so Jean didn’t think about it much. It had given him a different outlook on things in the past few months though.

Nodding his head at Archie’s assessment of his life, Jean chuckled as the question was turned to him. “The exact same” he replied, picking his broom up from the ground where he’d tossed it to put on his gear. He had patrols to attend, practices to lead, and that wasn’t counting his involvement in the Brotherhood and the Wild Patch Club where he was a member. Jean had been struggling to find time to spend with Victoire let alone his friends, but he knew he’d get himself into a routine…eventually. His life couldn’t stay this hectic. “Hell yeah” he grinned, pushing off the ground and up into the air. Realizing that he’d forgotten the quaffle, Jean pulled out his wand and summoned the quaffle to himself. “Are you ready?” the captain asked as he tucked his wand away. Archie, in Jean’s opinion anyway, was the best Keeper out of all of the teams. Finch had sucked badly during the last game, and he hoped her confidence was shot. Lydia was pretty good, probably second best after Archie, and he had no clue who Ravenclaw’s Keeper was. Their old one had graduated.

 

[Archie Renner]

The smile already present on Archie's face widened when Jean said he was ready to pratice. He laughed at Jeans enthuasim because it matched his own before he looked down to his attire a second time, pondering if he should put more protective gear on but quickly dismissing that thought. This was just pratice after all; there would be no bludgers to protect himself from and just a back and forth between him and Jean so his helmet and leg guards would only make movement in the air more difficult. It wasn't a regular game where there were far more dangers than a simple quaffle being thrown by one of his team mates. It didn't make sense to put on his entire kit so Archie was quick to follow Jean's lead into the air, picking his broom from the grass where he left it before mounting it and kicking off into the skies.

He sped past Jean and to the nearest hoops, feeling the wind mess up his blonde hair and the cool breeze hit his face before he took place in front of the middle hoop and turned to face his team mate. This was not only going to be a way for him to practice, but a way for him to reunite with Jean after being distanced during the previous year. He stretched his arms over his head then shook his shoulders loose as he laughed to himself while staring Jean down. He planned to playfully taunt his friend while honing his skills and he was ready for it all. "Are you going to throw the quaffle to me or just hover there?" Archie shouted from his spot, choosing not to move an inch until he saw Jean move first. "How can you expect to score against me if you don't even try?" He shouted again and lent back slightly on his broom as he waited for his friend to make a shot. Hopefully a shot he could catch easily because that meant he could taunt Jean just a little bit more.​

 

[Jean Snow]

Jean watched Archie head off to the hoops and was trying to assess which direction to go when the Keeper started trash talking. Jean had never heard him at it before, but he was certainly getting into it. A smirk crossed the captain's face as he sat leaned forward on his broom and listened. Half of Jean wanted to see if he could make a shot from this far out, just for laughs but from this far out, Archie was sure to save it. And with all of his trash talking, that just wouldn't do. Now, Jean wanted to get this first shot in, just so he could laugh at his friend.

Finally, Jean began moving, the quaffle tucked safely between his arm and his side. "I won't have to try, Archie" he boasted, picking up speed as he drew closer to the scoring area. Transferring the quaffle to his hands was always a bit tricky, but Jean managed it easily enough. Just before he did, the Gryffindor turned slightly, releasing the quaffle just as he was parallel to the center hoop. The ball continued towards the far hoop, and Jean slowed so he could watch Archie do his thing.

 

[Archie Renner]

Archie knew that Jean was a great chaser. He had seen it with his own eyes in all the quidditch games they played together and additionally all the practices they took part in. He certainly knew not to underestimate the guy and expected his trash talking to ignite even more power in what would already be a powerful shot. Playing around during practice was all fine and dandy, but all fun and games were pointless if it didn't mean the practice was just as hard, if not more. Archie wanted Jean to come at him with all he had and the only way he knew how to do that was trash talk and watch from afar with a playful yet arrogant grin while Jean boasted.

He kept his eyes attuned to Jean's movements and tightened his hands around his broom as the other boy flew closer. Watching as he moved the quaffle between his hands. Archie half-expected Jean to shoot for the center hoop but quickly changed his movements when the quaffle was shot in a different direction. He sped to the far hoop, reaching his hands as far as he could. When the quaffle grazed his fingertips Archie refused to let it fly in and instead used the small contact he had with the quaffle to hit it away from the hoops enough for him to fly and retrieve it. When the quaffle was safely in his arms he let out a sigh of relief, panting quietly as he flew up to where he was previously hovering because although he did save the shot it wasn't easy to do so. It took a lot out of him but the most important thing was that he saved his dignity and could trash talk Jean a little more before the next shot was made. "Didn't think you'd go so easy on me!" Archie exclaimed as he threw the quaffle back in Jean's direction. "Give me all you've got! You know I can take it!" He fought the urge to laugh at his words because laughing would break concentration and he was certain that the smallest break in his motivation to keep Jean from scoring would be his downfall.​

 

[Jean Snow]

Watching as Archie barely made the save, Jean wasn’t too upset that it hadn’t soared through. He was more concerned that Archie might have broken a finger or two with that save, which while easy enough for a nurse to fix right up, would keep him from practicing with the team for a day or two. Thankfully, the Keeper showed no signs of injury, but instead came up with the quaffle already trash-talking some more. Rolling his eyes, Jean breathed a sigh of relief, happy that he hadn’t injured his friend. “Easy?” Jean huffed as he caught the quaffle easily enough. He nearly threw it at his friend’s head for that comment, but instead he narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what he would try next. Finally, it came to him.

Doing a quick loop around that took him further away from the scoring area but still certainly within a close enough distance that his next words could be heard. “Can you though? You could barely handle a kiss from me…on the cheek. I don’t know if you’re ready for all of this” Jean joked, hoping that would be enough to distract his fellow Gryffindor. With that, Jean zoomed forward again, tossing the quaffle straight at the top of the center hoop. He threw it a lot harder this time, though not as hard as he would have liked because he was too busy failing at stifling his laughter.

 

[Archie Renner]

Archie continued to pant quietly as he threw the quaffle back towards Jean. Saving the shot left Archie feeling more tuckered out than he originally thought and he knew it was all because of his need to save his dignity. He wouldn't have put all his energy into saving the first shot otherwise. There were many more shots to come, just as difficult to save as the last and it would be best for him to conserve his energy so he could save more than one as he often did during games but by the time Archie realized that it was all too late and much of his energy was spent. Regardless he tried not to show how difficult saving that first shot was for him and hoped that eventually his body would warm up and his skills would properly show. He hovered in front of the hoops as he waited for Jean to attempt another shot and made sure to keep a closer eye on the other boy's movements.

Unfortunately all his preparation for the next shot was in vain. Jean's trash talking about the cheek kiss dare at the Snow's birthday party distracted Archie from his reverie of concentration because it was not just unexpected but completely outlandish. Why Jean chose to bring that up out of every other subject to trash talk confused Archie while the memory brought a crimson flush to his cheeks. So much so, that when he attempted to save Jean's next shot he overestimated the distance and the quaffle flew straight past his arm through the top of the center hoop. He cursed under his breath, flying to retrieve the quaffle from the other side of the hoops and throwing it back towards Jean when he was close enough. "Everyone knows my greatest weakness is men! You can do better than that!" He shouted eagerly to save face but he was sure it was pointless. His blush was evident on his features but he wasn't sure how evident considering his distance from the other Gryffindor. "Come on snowball!" He shouted.
​

 

[Jean Snow]

The Gryffindor caught the quaffle with a small shrug. Sure, he could do better than go after Archie’s biggest weakness, but why? It was right there. It was such an easy thing to use to distract the guy, and it had worked. “I couldn’t help myself” Jean chuckled. Turning his broom to fly away so he could attempt another shot, Jean bristled at the new ‘nickname’ that he’d just been called. He mouthed the word to himself as he shot away, wondering if that’s what people called him when he wasn’t paying attention. He’d have to ask Victoire, wondering if she knew anything about this silly nickname. Mouthing the word again, Jean shook his head, glad that he was at a far enough distance that, hopefully, Archie hadn’t seen him talking to himself.

Taking a deep breath, Jean used his free hand to swipe at the top of his head which was getting sweaty. He gripped the quaffle well, and shot far, zig-zagging to try and make things harder on Archie. Jean threw the quaffle, not getting a particularly strong throw off this time around. He frowned to himself, figuring Archie would have no trouble with that one. “I think we’ve got a good shot at the cup this year” Jean called out. Even though they were practicing hard, they were still teammates, and Jean was excited to share his hopes for the team. “I heard Isaiah’s new Keeper is a second year” Jean chuckled to himself, knowing he’d have fun shooting quaffles by her.

 

[Archie Renner]

The flush on Archie's cheeks refused to budge and he felt redder than a tomato. It caused him to blush more simply at the fact he was blushing so obviously to begin with after such an insignificant, off-handed comment from Jean. He shook his head in an attempt to focus on playing through the heat in his cheeks and returned his eyes to every single one of Jean's movements. He was determined to save the next shot and face whatever comments Jean also threw at him with a braver, less flustered demeanor to what he was currently showing.

Luckily, Jean didn't intentionally throw him off guard with words that time and Archie was easily able to trace the captain's zig zag movements enough to swerve on his broom, saving the shot in time. A smile returned to Archie's features as he clutched the quaffle to his side, refraining from throwing it back to the other boy when he spoke. Archie wanted to believe Gryffindor had a better chance at the quidditch cup that year than the years previous solely because Jean was the captain. He nodded at that comment, agreeing with it and feeling relieved that Skye and Lowan were out of the picture for good and every player could be treated with the respect they deserved. Archie flew forward slightly when Jean mentioned the Ravenclaw keeper. "Must have had a bad turn up to the try outs." Archie shouted, resisting the urge to snigger at Isaiah's decision as he threw the quaffle back in Jean's direction. Isaiah was smarter than appointing a second year as the starting keeper so clearly the try outs were a bust. Either that or the Ravenclaw was much, much stupider than Archie gathered from their interactions. Whatever the reason, an inexperienced keeper on Ravenclaws side might turn future games in Gryffindor's favor and with that notion the cup definitely seemed closer to Gryffindor's clutches than ever. "I do hope we win the cup!" Archie shouted again, returning to his proper place in front of the hoops, ready for Jean to make another shot at him. "C'mon snowball, while I'm young!" He taunted, repeating the nickname he had given Jean while he waited.​

 

[Jean Snow]

Jean was waiting for the Keeper to return the quaffle, but he kept it in his grip as he spoke. The Gryffindor shrugged his shoulders. Orwell was his only Ravenclaw friend, and he didn't play quidditch so Jean had no way of knowing. It made sense though. He couldn't see why else Isaiah would have such a young Keeper. Catching the quaffle easily, the Gryffindor was ready to try for another shot. He was equally ready to keep talking as well.

As Archie called him that nickname again, Jean's blue eyes widened. "Do people really call me that or just you?" he asked, curious and also a bit horrified. Jean tried his best to appear tough and knew that more than a few people thought he was arrogant, something he didn't really try to dissuade people from thinking. But to be called 'Snowball' threatened to destroy all of that. It was so...cutesy. It was something more suited to his younger sister.

 

[Archie Renner]

Archie watched as Jean caught the quaffle and laughed when Jean asked if he was the only person that referred to him as 'snow ball'. It was a nickname Archie gave Jean many months ago while talking with Orwell, and a nickname that Archie was yet to use to Jean's face until that day. It could be misconstrued as an insult but Archie thought of it as nothing but an affectionate means to refer to his captain. But he, of course wasn't about to admit that so easily, and instead answered the question with a smirk when he got over his initial bout of laughter. "Depends. Do you want me to be the only one that calls you it?" He shouted from the spot he was hovering in front of the hoops.

Jean was still yet to make another shot with the quaffle, and Archie had not forgotten that. He began to grow impatient as he hovered on his broom with nothing else to occupy his mind or his hands except for the anticipation of when Jean would throw the quaffle and the thought of whether or not Jean enjoyed Archie referring to him with his special nickname. It left him to show his impatience outwardly with a sigh before he opened his mouth to speak again. "I said, while I'm young! I can feel myself growing a beard here!" Archie shouted again, not mentioning how impossible it was for him to actually grow a beard in his adolescent state but not minding how obvious that was all the same. He just wanted Jean to make a shot already so he could distract himself with practicing and avoid feeling flustered again.​