Closed New Beginnings

[Asaiah Murphy]

When Asaiah apparated back into the apartment, he still found it difficult to believe that he had actually managed to become the new coach for the Moutohora Macaws Quidditch team. The Macaws had been his favourite team for as long as he could remember and coaching them had been a lifelong dream of his, so the fact that it was actually going to happen was still very much surreal to him. If only his parents were around to watch it happen. They would've loved it, and Hannah too. ''Freya?'' Asaiah called out. She'd been the first person he wanted to tell the good news to. ''You home?'' He was practically bouncing with excitement. He had told her all about how nervous he had been for the interview and how he had worried that they probably wouldn't take him on cause he was still rather young for a coach, but all those worries were long gone. ''I have to tell you something!'' He knew all too well how his girlfriend felt about his position as Beater, so there was no doubt in his mind that she was going to be relieved to hear that he had been appointed as coach.

 

[Freya Odegard]

Freya wasn't entirely sure how she had gone from working a ministry job that was starting to suck the life right out of her to taking over a sweets shop, yet here she was. Admittedly, the idea of running a shop was a little nerve-wrecking but she was sure things would be fine. She could totally manage a shop, she was sure of it. That and the prospect of not being constantly buried in ministry paperwork made the whole thing more than exciting and she couldn't wait to tell Asaiah about it. "Right here!" Freya called out when she heard her boyfriend enter the appartment just as she was finishing said paperwork. Possibly the last she'd ever have to do. For the ministry at least. When he called out he had news she was quick to get up though, putting down her pen and walking over to the door opening. "What's up?" She grinned as she leaned against the doorframe, wondering what he could have to tell her that he was so excited about. What she did know was that if he was so excited about whatever it was than so would she. And perhaps he would be just as excited when she told him her news.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah turned around when he heard Freya's voice coming from her room. ''You are not going to believe it,'' he said, grinning stupidly at her before walking over to give her a hug. With all the stress and anxiety that came with a job interview, Asaiah's jovial mood was a big change from how he had been acting and feeling recently. All of his pent up emotions were starting to pour out slowly. ''They chose me,'' Asaiah said as he let go of her. ''They actually chose me,'' He knew that he had not been the only applicant for the job which did not surprise him at all. What did surprise him was that the board actually chose him to take over the job from the previous coach since he knew some of the people he was up against. People with way more experience than him. ''I'm going to coach a professional Quidditch team!''

 

[Freya Odegard]

Freya had already heard from his tone of voice that Asaiah was excited about whatever it was he had to tell her, yet when she saw him she was still slightly surprised at exactly how excited he seemed to be. Which was a pleasant change in behaviour. She smiled when he hugged her, getting more and more curious about his news with every passing second. When he did finally tell her the news Freya couldn't keep herself from hugging him again. "No way!" She exclaimed excitedly before placing her hands on his cheeks. "Asaiah, that's huge!" Freya grinned at him, unsure if she had ever seen him beaming like this before. Coaching such a well-known quidditch team really was a huge deal though and she couldn't be anything but happy for him. And perhaps a little bit extra for herself. It wasn't a secret that she had been worrying about him a lot, especially when things weren't going well with the team and he regularly came back from practice being hurt. With him being a coach she wouldn't have to worry about that so much.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah couldn't stop grinning as Freya placed her hands on his cheeks. It was just such a relief to finally be able to let go of those stressful feelings that he couldn't help but grin and be happy about it. He leaned forward to kiss her, wanting to share his happiness with her. He would still be out of the house a lot to train and play matches with his team, would probably even have to go overseas for some away games, but he would come back home again in one piece which was something he was genuinely looking forward to. No longer did he have to worry either Freya or himself with bruises or recently mended bones. ''We've gotta go and celebrate,'' Asaiah exclaimed happily.

 

[Freya Odegard]

Asaiah's enthusiasm about the whole situation almost made Freya wonder whether she should even share her own news as well. Maybe she shouldn't, maybe she should just wait and tell him tomorrow and let him have the spotlight for now. Then again, surely he'd be as happy for her as she was for him. He knew how much she had grown tired of her ministery job after all. She smiled when he kissed her, scrunching her nose before letting her hands fall down again. "We should." Freya nodded in agreement. "But before we do I have some news as well." She added, deciding she might as well share in the excitement while they were at it. And yet it made her nervous. Taking over a shop was quite a big decision after all. "You, uh, you remember Honeydukes? In Brightstone?"

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah was already thinking of a place where they could celebrate his new position on the team when Freya told him that she had some news to share as well. He tilted his head in curiosity when she asked him if he remembered the sweet shop in Brightstone. Of course he did, he often visited the shop with his friends during the Brightstone weekends, but why was she asking him about it? What news could she possibly have that involved Honeydukes? Did she have a trip to Brightstone prepared for them? His jar of sherbert lemons had been empty for a couple of weeks and he wouldn't mind refilling it again, so he definitely wouldn't be opposed to it. It had been a while since they had last visited the village anyway. ''Yeah, I do,'' he said and gave her a questioning look, finding himself to be extremely curious what this was about.

 

[Freya Odegard]

Freya nodded when Asaiah said he remembered the shop. Ofcourse he remembered the shop, who wouldn't? Sure, they hadn't been to brightstone in a while but Honeyduke's was basically where every hogwarts student went to refill their sweets stack during the year. "Right. Well, I'm not sure if you heard but the shop was looking for someone to take over the shop and uh.." Freya explained, fiddling with her hands a little. He'd be the first person she would tell the news to and somehow the thought of saying it out loud made it a bit more daunting. She had never run a shop before, who said she would even be good at it? What if she messed up? "It's me." She eventually said after taking a deep breath. "I quit my job and I put an offer out and.. I'm taking over." Freya continued with a small shrug. "I actually own Honeyduke's now." She finished, smile growing slightly with those last words as her nerves slowly started to mix with excitement again. It was exciting after all. Nerve-wrecking, yet exciting.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Now that Freya mentioned it, Asaiah did remember reading an advertisement in the newspaper not that long ago that said that Honeydukes was looking for someone to take over the shop. He hadn't thought much of it though and had not seen another advertisement in the paper ever since, so figured that the shop had already found its new replacement. It only made him more curious to know why she'd mentioned it. He could tell that she was nervous about something since she began to fiddle with her hands, which made him a little nervous as well because he did not have a clue as to where she was going with this. His mouth stood ajar at what she told him next. Whatever he had been thinking of, it definitely hadn't been that. It took him a couple of moments to process the news of his girlfriend taking over Honeydukes from its previous owner because he had not expected her to do so at all, especially since this was the first time he was hearing anything of it. A smile appeared on his face, however, and Asaiah found himself reaching for her hands. ''Frey, that - that's huge!'' he said, still a little dumbfounded. It would be a big step up from working behind a desk at the Ministry to running a sweet shop in one of the busiest wizarding villages, but Asaiah wholeheartedly believed that Freya would be up for the task. ''That's awesome! Why didn't you say anything before, you goose!''

 

[Freya Odegard]

Asaiah being excited about the situation didn't surprise Freya in the slightest. It wasn't like she had ever doubted his enthusiasm or supportiveness. Ofcourse he would be supportive. She knew that. Still, telling him had made her more nervous than she had expected. The telling part mainly, not who she was telling. She'd tell him anything. But saying it out loud and watching his reaction made her realize how big of a change this would be to her life. "I guess it is, huh?" She responded before giving him an apologetic look at his next words. "I don't know, I got nervous about it." She added sheepishly. "I mean it's a pretty big change going from doing desk work to owning an actual shop. A populair one, nonetheless." Freya explained with a small smile, gladly holding onto his hands. "I guess saying it out loud just suddenly made it extremely real. I mean I've never even done anything like this before. What if I mess up?" Freya asked, looking up at him. If there was anyone who could convince her that she'd be fine it was Asaiah. She'd believe him before she'd believe herself. Even if she knew deep down there was a part of there that was confident she could do it. If there hadn't been, she would have never pursued the shop in the first place.

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah was easily excitable normally and with both of them sharing their news to each other, there really was no end to how happy he seemed to be for both himself but especially for her. He just couldn’t stop smiling at her. He could understand Freya’s reasoning for not having said anything to him sooner. To take over one of the more popular shops in the village would be a big leap for anyone who would be new to running a shop. She had quite the daunting task ahead of her, even he knew that, but there was no doubt in his mind that she was going to be great at running Honeydukes. ‘’You are going to do wonderful as its new owner,’’ Asaiah told her. ‘’And knowing you for as long as I have, I don’t think they could’ve picked a better person for the job,’’ And she wouldn’t be on her own in the shop, there were still the assistants who she could call upon if she ever needed help. Even he would be more than happy to help her out. ‘’There’s one thing we know for sure, though. Nothing there is going to be sweeter than you,’’ he said cheekily.

 

[Freya Odegard]

Freya grinned when Asaiah told her he thought she would be doing wonderful as the shop's new owner. She had obviously known he would support her, but hearing it out loud was still extremely encouraging. It made her nerves sink down as well, making her regain her confidence about the situation. She could do it. She knew it. It just had to take some getting used to. A bit of studying perhaps, making sure she knew what needed to be done and how to do it. And if she really got lost she'd always have the staff to help her out. "That's terrible." Freya jokingly rolled her eyes at Asaiah's remark before letting out a laugh. She couldn't help the grin that remained on her face afterwards though, glad to have him with her and knowing he'd help her out whenever she needed to. "Seriously though," She started as she looked up to him again, wrapping her arms around his waist. "We should celebrate."

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

‘’Well, I was thinking of the usual again, you know, pizza and a movie, but with your news as well, I don’t think that a simple meal like that is going to do it for me,’’ Asaiah said, smiling as she wrapped her arms around his waist. ‘’Why don’t we dress up a bit and go to someplace fancy downtown? We definitely deserve a proper meal now. And who knows, we could do shots afterwards if a fancy dinner doesn’t do it either,’’ he added jokingly. They did deserve a proper night out in the town, though. It had been a while since they had last done something like that and this was the right occasion for it. ‘’Also, with you being the shop’s new owner, does that mean that I can refill my jar of sherbert lemons for free?’’ he asked hopefully. It couldn't hurt to ask even if it was mostly meant as a joke.

 

[Freya Odegard]

Freya would've easily said yes to heading out for pizza and a movie like they often did, but the prospect of actually dressing up fancy made her forget the other idea within a second. "Sounds like a plan." She smiled at the idea. They didn't often do anything fancy and she did agree with Asaiah that this was as good a time as any to treat themselves. Things were going well after all and even though it wasn't officially the same it felt like they had both just gotten a promotion. Got an upgrade, at the very least. "Well now it definitely sounds like a plan." Freya grinned when Asaiah mentioned getting shots afterwards. She wasn't sure if getting drunk out of their minds was the best way to celebrate, but it couldn't hurt to have a little fun. Especially since had plenty of reasons to celebrate. "Hmm, not sure. I'll let you know when I figure that out.." She laughed. "Or make a decision about it, who knows."