Closed Me vs You

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

James at home wasn't the same person as James at work. While Geo appreciated that Jess' brother had an eye open for her while they were training as Aurors, he seemed to be much more relaxed when they had a chance to spend time with each other as friends instead of colleagues. They'd been friends for years through Jess, and Geo had spent countless summers with the Cade's already to know James well enough, that apparating to his house and letting herself in wasn't exactly unusual. With Maddie away travelling, researching creatures and writing her own books, and with Geo spending more time with James now that they worked together, it made sense that she kept him company, helping out where she could especially when it came to his daughters. "James?" she called out, closing the large door behind her and dropping her bag down in the lobby. It was debatable that in a house as large as this whether the man had even heard her, but she could only wait to find out. They'd already spent most of the day training, but since both their respective partners were busy with work that evening, Geo had already invited herself over in the hopes that they could have an enjoyable few hours instead of sat contending with their own responsibilities by themselves. "Jamesssss, it's me," she called out again, moving through the house to see who she could find. The blonde was drifting through the rooms of the Cade mansion, a house that had once belonged to Ezra. She walked towards the kitchen, fixing up her hair into a high ponytail as she'd come in. The heat of the summers in New Zealand were a dramatic change to the winters of America, and it took a toll on her own body temperature. She heard footsteps behind her, and turned to see a tiny human toddling towards her, "Hey bubbi," she smiled at Bailey, wondering where her dad had got to. Bailey was the perfect spitting image of James and Maddie combined, and she crouched down to the girl to say hello.​

 

[Professor James Cade]

James still wasn't used to living in such a big house, even the house he'd grown up in wasn't nearly as big as the old Cade manor. Ezra's decision to give it up and hand it over to James and Maddie had been surprising but not unwelcome, when raising you could never have too much space. Once James was home from work he sent the nanny home and settled in the evening, his house elf was off somewhere doing whatever he did when not working. With no Maddie the house was often quiet and James didn't do well with silence so he would often try and engage the kids in something. Bailey was the only one who could walk so far and that would often mean her waddling around the house and James pretending to struggle to catch up. He was in the process of stalling to let her get a head start when he heard his name being yelled by his best friend and partner. Ever since working together James and Geo had become almost inseparable, which apparently meant letting herself into his house despite spending an entire work day together. Rather than announce himself James proceeded to sneak up behind his daughter, holding his finger to his lips for Geo to see so she wouldn't give him away. "Got you," James said picking Bailey up and swinging her round in his arms. "Ok now I'm dizzy," James stopped and put Bailey back down so he could gain his own balance. "Look Bailey, Aunt Geo has come to visit, again, say hi,"

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Bailey seemed to recognise Geo enough now that when the Auror came over she was more or less happy to see her and was comfortable enough not to be too cautious of her presents. Geo however didn't even break eye contact from the toddler when she spotted movement from behind, not wanting to give away any notion at all that her father was about to play with her. Geo only started laughing when James lifted Bailey up into the air, standing to watch the pair. Bailey's eyes lit up when she spotted James, and Geo was looking on at them with such intense admiration that for a moment she forgot what she was doing. The Auror was never going to be able to experience a moment quite like this, despite it being an image she'd been hoping for the most in her life, so seeing James with the girl was as close as she would come. As Bailey was placed back on the floor, Geo was ruffling her brown hair as she tried to regain her balance, almost falling over but staggering a little and holding on to Geo's leg. "Are you stumbling too?" Geo teased, grinning up to her friend. She moved forward to wrap her arms round James' neck, squeezing him as though she'd not seen him for weeks. "I bought the games," she added as she pulled away, hoping that she'd be able to show him once and for all that Hufflepuff were the better house, although she had a feeling he'd put up a fair fight in defence. "I hope you brought the food," she added cheerfully, still facing him but walking backwards towards one of the study rooms, hoping that he'd remembered to light a fire. This house was huge but it still had its cosy spots, places that reminded her of the home she'd lived in for seven years. Happy to help James out whenever Austin was busy at the shop, she knew they had a few hours to kill and she fully intended on kicking his a**. ​

 

[Professor James Cade]

Bailey seemed unaffected by the spin but James took a moment to regain his balance before he could speak again and look properly at Geo. "Yep," He laughed, before he had fully regained his balance Geo had moved toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck, he instinctively put his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly, greeting her as if they hadn't just spent all day together. James clapped his hands together and smirked as Geo showed she had brought the games. "Excellent, I hope you're prepared to be dominated," He laughed as Geo walked backward into one of the adjoining rooms, thankfully Dakrey had lit fires in the appropriate rooms so the house was just warm enough. "There's some nibbles in the room behind you, Dakrey is working on something more substantial,"

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

As Geo walked through into the next room she was laughing at James' confidence of winning. That was what made her victory all the more exciting, because it was though there was a genuine competition between them and neither Geo nor James wanted to let the other win them over. "There's no need for me to be prepared for that James," she turned to grin at him over her shoulder, walking through as the warmth hit her body. Even though it wasn't really cold outside, it still felt cosy in this room and it was obvious that the house elf was considerate to their needs. "That is very kind of him, guess that means we have time to ourselves," she said, watching to see Bailey toddling after them behind her colleague. "You know, I suppose it's a good job we're playing this," the Auror turned her attention to the little mini Quidditch game that she was able to purchase from her boyfriends store, setting up the little figurines for Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, naturally, and hoping that James' daughter wouldn't run off with any of his players. That would be a tragedy. "After all, suppose I should give you a chance at beating me at something," she winked, always eager to get one up on her partner.​

 

[Professor James Cade]

Geo's confidence was well earned, she did have a tendency to beat him whenever they played their games but James was confident today would be different. "Yes, and soon Bailey and the twins will be in bed so you don't have mind your language when you start trash talking," James laughed. Geo's comment about her giving him a chance of winning by playing mini Quidditch only made him laugh more as he watched her lay out the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff coloured pieces, while watching Bailey out the corner of his eye to make sure she didn't run off with one though he was a little curious to see which house figure she'd be drawn to. "Geovanna I say this with love, you're going down," James smirked, he was overdue a win.

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo was still grinning at James when he told her the kids would be in bed soon. She'd not seen the twins that night but they were probably playing with one another she supposed. Once the game was set up, the blonde bounced back up to her feet, moving towards James to cup his chin so that he was facing her as she peered down with a mischievous smile, "Don't worry I'll let lose soon enough, better make the most of what you've got right now," she said, before moving past her colleague to scoop up his daughter before she got too caught up in something. At least if they were with the pair they could keep an eye on her. Geo brought her back towards the table, taking her original seat and sitting Bailey down into her lap, leaning across to pick up one of the little Gryffindor players, "Hey, you see this guy? This guy is getting too big for his boots and you know what happens then?" she asked Bailey, kissing her temple before throwing the player off the board completely, "He's gonna have lots and lots of regrets. Maybe he'll even want to apologise," Geo gave a fake little gasp to the toddler, watching to see if she would try and play with any of the golden players. They were the best after all.​

 

[Professor James Cade]

"I bet you will," James laughed, watching Geo get up from her seat to scoop Bailey and take her over to where she had been sat. He watched in mock horror as she picked up the Gryffindor player representing the seeker and threw him away. "Oh its like that is it?" James scanned the board and picked up one of the Hufflepuff players with a beater bat in hand. "See this guy Bailey? We don't like this guy he...doesn't measure up," He laughed and flicked the Hufflepuff beater figure to the floor. "Now be a good girl and pick daddy up off the floor,"

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

For years, James had just been Jess' annoying older brother, but the more she'd been spending time with him now that they had the same job, the more she was learning about him for who he was rather than from his sisters perspective. Geo laughed as James' mocked his shock at being discarded, watching as he then proceeded to pick up a player from her own team. Geo had expected him to pick up a Chaser, not a Beater, and the smile on her face faltered a little when he realised it wasn't her that he was throwing out. Her blue eyes witnessed the baby Austin flying through the air, trying to work out how she felt about that. James usually did make jokes about her boyfriend not being good enough, but it was though in that moment there were different connotations to the actions. She knew that if she was going to be a good girlfriend, she would have certainly defended the former Captain more than she found herself doing. Even when they'd been in the store she'd not come to Austin defence after James' jokes. What did that say about her? It was a stark reminder that things between her and Austin weren't as they were supposed to be. She watched Bailey jump out of her seat and run after the figurine that James had just flicked off the table instead of the tiny "Austin" which caused Geo to laugh, although it was a little less heartfelt than it had been a moment before. "Clearly she has a favourite," she half joked, taking a handful of the snacks that were out on the table.​

 

[Professor James Cade]

James watched his daughter get down from Geo's lap and go to pick up one of the figures on the floor but it wasn't the Gryffindor seeker she picked up, it was the Hufflepuff beater. "My own daughter," He said as he watched her return to Geo. "She's clearly been spending too much time with her Aunt Geo," James laughed. It might have seemed like odd timing but it was getting late for Bailey. "Right little miss, time for bed," He said leaning down to scoop his daughter into his arms. "Don't cheat while I'm away," James said over his shoulder as he carried Bailey upstairs to her room. He returned a little later and drooped into the chair opposite Geo. "So, don't feel like defending your choice in boyfriend?" He asked wondering why she had been suspiciously quiet about his not so subtle jab at Austin.

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo was still laughing when James felt betrayed after Bailey chose the yellow figurine, although Geo didn't actually think she was old enough to know what she was doing. The Auror narrowed her eyes at James, "Don't know what you're talking about. I don't cheat," she said, although there was still a smirk on her face as though he wouldn't know what she got up to when he left the room. Geo had thought she'd gotten away with staying silent about Austin, that was until James returned and questioned her about it. "What?" she looked up at her colleague, trying to shake off any guilt she had for not standing up for her boyfriend. "I just. I don't know. It was just a joke wasn't it, so.." she began to tell one of the little chasers where to fly to on the pitch, watch it sweep around the field as she had once done at school. "You were kidding."​

 

[Professor James Cade]

James laughed, "Of course not," Once James was back in the room after putting Bailey to bed the conversation took a different turn and he wasn't sure Geo appreciated it all that much. "Maybe," James said simply. "Say it wasn't, so I don't think he's right for you," James suggested, fiddling with one of the Gryffindor chaser figures. "What then?"

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

James continues to push the idea that he really didn’t think much of Austin, although his bluntness took Geo a little by surprise. She guessed she should have been expecting it, it wasn’t like James a subtle man after all. “Why not?” She asked, still not looking up at him but pretending to be keenly involved in the match at hand, not wanting James to get the upper hand just because she was distracted with the topic of conversation. Really she was just interested to hear whether he’d picked up on the same concerns she had.​

 

[Professor James Cade]

James thought about the question, why did he believe so firmly that Austin wasn't right for Geo? They had been together for years and certainly they had been a couple for as long as they had been close friends so what had changed. "I just feel like, you aren't the same Geo from school, you're changing, growing and I think you've outgrown him, Austin strikes me as the type who wants to settle down and have a quiet life somewhere picturesque, whereas you want to run head first into danger, those two people don't have happily ever after with each other,"

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Hearing James talk to her as though she was glass was, strange. It was like he was looking straight through her, he could see everything. She could feel the difference, not just in that way she would talk to Austin now but the way she’d changed from when she was younger too. Sometimes she forgot that she’d known James since she was eleven; she hadn’t been the only one to grow up. “You’re not wrong,” she said eventually, looking up to him briefly. “We’ve always been opposites, that’s why we were attracted in the first place. I used to go to him when things got crazy, and I like to think I helped him be more confident,” Geo shrugged, “Why can’t that be a happily ever after?” The final comment was more of a genuine question she needed the answer to.​

 

[Professor James Cade]

James listened and nodded along as Geo spoke, the conversation had suddenly taken a deep turn which was unusual for the pair of late but not unwelcome, it was a sign of their ever growing bond and James was glad Geo was comfortable opening up to him even if it took a gentle push for her to do so. "You helped him become more confident and he was your rock, but the question is, is he still your rock?" He asked, suspecting he already knew the answer. "Your relationship may have been exactly what you needed at the time, but it doesn't mean its what you need now, there's no shame in recognising that it hasn't grown with you,"

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo tried to think back as to when James has managed to become so.. mature. Not a word that was used very often around the former Gryffindor she was sure, but obviously being with Maddie had changed a few things. Geo didn’t really have a rock, not so much as little pebbles that she could rely on for different things. “We spent a long time separated when I was in Scotland, and then he graduated. Now, we’re around each other whenever we want but it feels like we’re even further apart,” it was hard to explain, “Anyway, relationships are meant to evolve, aren’t they?” She sent him a small smile, “We’ll figure it out,” she added, more confidence in her voice than in her heart.​