Playing the bagpipes....

[Lily Drage]

Lily was so happy that her rooms in the apartment had finally come together. She had purchased furniture and accessories and it finally was beginning to feel like home. Her bathroom was stocked, she had provided some things for the common areas as well and had stocked food to the kitchen. It was comfortable and it was hers. Well, hers, Courtney's, Kale's and Ford's. Despite what had transpired between her and Ford a few months previously, they seemed to get along well as roommates. They needed to, seeing as they shared basically a suite on their end of the apartment. It made life interesting, but still, it was alright.

Sitting on the sofa in her room, looking out over the dark ocean before her. It was evening and she loved to sit and watch the colors play out in the sky. Tonight, the sunset was not reflected before her, but instead clouds and lightening. Rain was pouring down and it was a bit chilly and damp. She thought about going to get the umbrella she received as a present from Sumner, but changed her mind and grabbed a bottle of nail polish and began to paint her toes. She looked over at the picture of her friend on the end table and sighed. She missed her friend. They hadn't had time to talk since Christmas when she was at his dad's with him. Lily couldn't help but laugh as the image of Sumner started making the bear head on the rug talk and he pretended to growl. Today was his birthday and she hoped he would have gotten his card. She hoped he would be able to come for a visit soon, and had invited him for the day before they went back to school. Turning from the picture, she moved to slip her toes into her flip flops and stood up. Straightening her clothing, she moved to the sliding door to look out at the darkening sky, watching the rain pour down onto the patio she shared with Ford.

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner stumbled upon landing then swore loudly as the sky opened and drenched him within seconds. Thankfully his stepmum had helped him pack his things and put protective charms on his knapsack. He didn't know his dad had slipped a box into the bag, easily the first thing visible when opened. He had fallen hard for his new family and he would have mourned the time he had lost with his dad growing up had it not been for the easy acceptance of him. He grimaced as his trainers sunk into the mud. His bag may have repelled the rain but he didn't. Walking down the road to Lily's apartment, he finally stood outside her door and rang the bell. He waited, shivering from the cold rain soaking into his skin, arms crossed over his chest.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily was startled when the door bell rang. Walking out of her room and down the hall to the living area, she crossed the distance quickly to answer it. She figured it was one of her roommates having forgoten the wards or their keys or something. She opened the door and stood in shock. Her mouth hit the floor as her eyes took in the sight before her. Sumner. "Merlin's beard! Sumner!" she exclaimed, pulling him inside. "What are-- why-- I thought--" she stuttered and stumbled over her words. "I am in shock! I thought you were going to stay with your Dad until the end of break! Oh my goodness you are soaked!" Lily couldn't help but ramble on, she was so in shock that the man she was just thinking about, missing beyond belief was here.

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner came in, teeth chattering and he tried to smile though it came out a grimace. "C-couldn't take all the k-kids anymore." Not that he didn't love the little buggers, because they had grown on him. He'd taken Erik flying and even drawn a few pictures with Christian. Evan, that beautiful little toddler, had claimed him as hers, not letting him out of her sight most of the time he was there. It'd been funny and a novel experience. Though he'd refused diaper duty, no way was he going there. Scary. He stepped in with her and stood uncertainly for a minute, shivering. "I wanted t-to surprise you."

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily couldn't help but laugh as Sumner said he couldn't take the kids. In the two days she was there, she was mauled, attacked, claimed and dragged everywhere by the little tykes. "You totally surprised me! I am so glad you are here!" she said, attacking him in a huge hug. She didn't care that he was soaked to the bone or that she was getting herself wet in the process. She was just happy to be standing there with him in her arms.

Taking a step back, she grabbed his hand. "Let's get you warmed up and dried off. Come on." Pulling him through the apartment, she lead him to her rooms, knowing that he would not be staying in the guest quarters if she had anything to say about it.

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner hugged her tightly to him, smiling into her hair. She was so genuinely happy to see him that he wanted to kiss her right then and there but he began shivering more. Grabbing a hot shower and getting into warm dry clothes became top priority. He followed her, trying to glance around the apartment but left it for later. He stood within her room and awkwardly rubbed the back of his wet neck, his knapsack still around his shoulder. His pale eyes trailed down her trim body then back up. Damn he'd missed her, in such a short amount of time since they'd last seen each other.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily turned the lights up in her room, and moved to close the curtains that lined the windows to the ocean. Her room was large and airy, the color scheme reflective of the beach outside. Crossing the room back to Sumner, she hugged him too her again. "You should go take a shower, warm up. I need to clean up the mud from the living room before my roommates get back. You can put your bag anywhere." She looked him over and smiled, standing with her hand on her hip. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you." She could have burst she was so happy at that moment.

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner nodded, setting his bag down on the floor and beginning to open it. "Thanks, Lily. I'm damned happy to see you too!" Still grinning, he unlatched the bag and flung it back. A large box with bright white letters spilled out and tumbled onto the floor and landed between them. "I-am-going-to-murder-my-dad!" Sumner groaned, wanting to beat his head against the floor. Standing up, he stooped and picked up the package, stuffing it back in his pack. "Yeah," he said, beginning to chuckle, "I see where I get my sick sense of humor from." Grabbing some clean clothes, he grinned at her sheepishly and turned to go into the bathroom.

Turning, he grinned at her and closed the door. Within minutes he was under the hot spray, shampoo in his hair before it stung his eyes. Swearing, he poked his head out, searching for a towel. Not seeing one, he hollered Lily's name.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily watched as Sumner opened his bag and the box fell out. His embarrassment was adorable to say the least, and Lily did everything she could to keep from laughing at him. Soon as he headed out and down the hall to the bathroom, she burst out laughing. "Leave it to Tristan." Moving quickly, she headed out and into the hallway, cleaning as she moved back to the front door. Making sure the wards were in place, she headed back just in time to hear Sumner call for her.

She peeked in the doorway, realizing the problem. "Hang on a second, hun," she called, turning to the linen closet in the hallway and grabbing out a stack of towels to put in the bathroom. Setting the pile of them on the stand next to the shower, she took a washcloth off the top and opening the door just a bit, reached it into the shower. "Here, this might help."

 

[Sumner Drage]

"I can't reach it," Sumner said, groping blindly. He heard her come in and he grasped the cloth and wiped his eyes. His hair slicked into a wet helmet on his head, appearing nearly black from the water. Her arm was withdrawing from the behind the shower door. His hand grasped her wrist and knowing she couldn't see him, nor know the thoughts that stirred with him, he brought it to his mouth and nipped at the flesh. Hearing her exclamation, he grew bold, all thought of the consequences fled his mind. Steam rose around him, water beat on the side of his body and he knew. This was the moment that had been building between them for so many months. Sliding the door back, he met her eyes with his, pale gone steel grey, darkening as they met hers. With a swift yank, he'd pulled her in with him, the door closing with a clatter.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily sighed as Sumner brought her wrist to his mouth. Her eyes closed as she tried to gain some semblance of sanity about her. This was her friend. The thoughts that were flying at warp speed in her brain were not ones that she should be having about him. Suddenly, she was in the shower with him, his mouth on hers. She no longer cared if this was smart. Lily gave herself over to the moment at hand. She wanted this, and finally knew for certain that he did to. Her shirt was quickly removed and tossed out of the shower, all sense of reason following.

---

The water was still beating down on the pair an hour or so later. Thankfully, the water was heated magically and remained steamy. Her arms around Sumner's neck, she smiled at him. "Happy birthday, babe," she said softly, kissing him on the lips gently.

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner held her close, unable to believe what had just happened between them. He rested his forehead on hers, breathing deeply. He'd never imagined his first time to be like this; he'd been scared out of his mind then that all went away. Until it was only her, only Lily. The next moments passed by in a blur to him; drying off, carrying her like a bride to her bed. He lay with her, under the blankets and stared into her deep blue eyes, brushing her hair back. "You are so beautiful." His lips claimed hers and he knew no regret, no guilt. This was right, between them. Maybe it would come in the morning but not now. Hopefully, he thought with his last remaining thought, never.

---

Afternoon light tried valiantly to shine into the room around the curtains. Sumner, plaid pj pants thrown on hastily to grab food from the fridge in a stealth mission, sat with Lily on her bed. Biting into a cold chicken leg, he paused to wash it down thirstily with his bottle of water. "Do you uh," he bit into the meat again, "you think your roommates heard us?"

---

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily tossed on her robe while Sumner grabbed food from the kitchen. Seated on her bed crosslegged, she mowed down on the pasta salad that he brought back with the cold chicken that he found. "I don't think so, then again, I don't think Ford is home or he would have been banging on the wall. He is the only one that would actually hear anything." Stealing his bottle of water, she sucked some of it down, then handed it back to him. She set the plastic container down on the top of her trunk that was at the foot of her bed. Taking the food items off one by one with a devilish grin on her face, she took the chicken leg from Sumner's hand just as he had finished it. "I think we should make sure they all hear us," she said, tossing her robe to the floor and climbing onto his lap. Placing her hands on either side of his face, Lily kissed him softly. "If I am dreaming, please don't wake me," she whispered, then her mouth claimed his, her hands tangling in his hair like she loved to do.

---

The afternoon light gave way to the soft light of twilight as they laid in the bed under the covers. Lily slowly moved to the end of the bed and grabbed a bottle of water and drank a good portion of it down before laying back down. "Water?" she asked with a slight giggle. She gave sumner a silly grin, then placed a quick kiss on the tip of his nose.

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner barely moved when the bed shifted. He lazily wrapped his arms around Lily, pulling her close to him. "I think I need an IV. You've damn near killed me." He grinned, "C'mere." Kissing her then guiding her head to rest on his shoulder or chest. Reflecting on the past night and all day, he let his hand trail down her arm and back again. "How're you doing?"

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily smiled in satisfaction as Sumner wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, don't be pinning this all on me! You started it." She stuck her tongue out at him, then moved in and kissed him lazily on the lips. As he guided her head to rest on his chest, she tossed the closed bottle off the bed and rested her hand on his chest, stroking the skin there. "I'm fantastic. Never been better." Her words were a bit cryptic, but refelctive of what she felt. This was the best experience she had ever had and she never wanted it to stop. "How are you holding up?"

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner's lips quirked. "I'm good," he chuckled. And he was. It wasn't just what had happened, he wasn't so shallow to only be feeling happy from that. It was because he'd taken this huge step with Lily and as much as he searched within himself, he couldn't find any regrets. He didn't feel guilt at crossing such a big line with his best friend. In fact, he was happy because it was with her, because he knew he could trust her in anything. "So long as you don't think I'm cheap in the morning."

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily giggled as she lifted her head and looked at Sumner. "Cheap? Never. A wild man maybe, but never cheap," she said, sticking her tongue out at him. She could not believe they were actually doing this, they were actually here in her bed. Alone. It was such a huge step forward for them. She should feel guilty, she knew that. This was her friend's ex-boyfriend. He was her best friend. This was not how friends behaved. But for all the reasons they should not be doing this, she could not think of one that made her feel guilty. Stretching up, she placed a soft kiss on his lips before resting her head on his chest again. She was happy, nothing was going to change that.

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner laughed and wrapped his arms tighter about her. "I'll give you wild man." He buried his stubbled face into her neck and growled playfully, rolling them over. He didn't know how this would change them, their dynamic, nor how it would be for them when they got back to school. For now he was content to stay like this with her and see what the all too short break held in store for them.

---

Sumner ran his tongue around in his mouth, the small silver ball poking out from his new piercing. Turning from the mirror hanging in the back room, he held out his hand, wrapping it around Lily's. "You ready?" He kissed her palm then took his shirt off and laid back in the chair as the artist called out for him. Another was with Lily, taking care of her in the next chair on the opposite side of the private room. The guy was as big as his dad, hair pulled back in a ponytail. He asked if Sumner was ready, cause this would hurt like hell. "C'mon, how much could it-" the needle buzzed against his skin and Sumner yelped, holding onto the side of the black cushioned chair. "Okay, it hurts," he retorted as the guy chuckled.

---

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily couldn't believe he had talked her into this. It wasn't enough for him that this was his birthday present, but how could she resist when he poured on the charm and wanted her to have done what he was having done. A small silver ball matching his now graced her tongue, a few colored ones in the small bag in her handbag. They had only purchased a few so they could have some options when they were able to change them in a few weeks. Lily made sure they each had one in Ravenclaw blue for when they had their next games. "Yeah, I guess I am," she replied, a smile on her face as he kissed her palm. "I still can't believe you talked me into doing this."

Crossing to the chair that was indicated by the artist, Lily straddled the chair and laid down as she was instructed to, grateful she had worn a halter top. Her face rested on the black chair cushion, turned so she could watch Sumner's reactions. She couldn't help but giggle as he reacted to the pain. Just as she was going to open her mouth and smart off to him, the artist inking her stopped her in her tracks. "I wouldn't be too smart there sweetheart, your's is going to hurt just as much." She groaned, then braced herself for the pain. The burly guy started on her tender skin, tracing the pattern that was applied to her shoulder. It hurt. A lot. Trying not to give in to the pain, she focused on Sumner and replayed the last few days events in her head while she hugged the chair tight.

 

[Sumner Drage]

After two breaks and some swearing, Sumner sported his own ink emblazoned across his broad chest. The area around the outline was red, the tattoo shiny from the special cream spread across it. The tat artist gave him care instructions and walked over to Lily as she turned to him. "Well, looks like you won, you harpy," he grinned, walking outside with her after their tab was cleared. "So, what to do, what to do," he clicked his tongue, the ball feeling odd against his lip.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily kept checking things out in the mirror. The new ink on her shoulder was gleaming from the ointment the artist put on it, but looked amazing. She was really glad that Sumner had talked her into it, and even more so that she had won. She barely flinched when the tattoo gun was doing its job. Not that she didn't want to, but she was stubborn and competitive and wouldn't make a sound. Now she got the option of making Sumner do something in payment. Ideas ran through her head, but she was not ready to let on to what he would be doing. "You know what? I can't help you are weak. Whining in there like a little baby," she mocked, then smirked at him. Following him out the door, she stretched up, placing a kiss on his lips. "I am up for whatever you wish, m'dear. However, I think food is in order before I pass out." Lily had other ideas in mind, but thought that food would be a good thing before heading back to her place for the rest of break.

 

[Sumner Drage]

"Mm." He kissed her cheek, breathing her in. "Food would be good." Wisely he let the 'wuss' comments go for now, at least until they were alone and he could retaliate, Sumner smirked. He held her hand, walking down the street with her in the warm air. Scents from various restaurants and dives hit his nose, making his stomach grumble loudly. "Ah there. Definitely." He grinned, going inside the brightly lit chinese restaurant. The smell was incredible. They were seated at a nice little table at the window. Sumner ordered a plum wine and peking duck. Once Lily gave her order and the waitress had left, Sumner reached across the table and threaded his fingers through Lily's. "This is the best birthday I've ever had."

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily smiled as they entered the Chinese restaurant. She was starving and the smell was amazing! Taking her seat, she placed her order for a set of unagi, hot and sour soup and chicken lo mein, along with a bottle of beer. Just as the waitress was walking away, she added an order of crab rangoons also. She couldn't help but giggle as she realized she had more ordered than Sumner, but she didn't really care.

"I'm glad, Sumner. You deserve to have an amazing birthday." Looking into his eyes, she couldn't help what she began to think, that this was right. Every minute since they left school and were together felt right, felt totally perfect. The waitress returned with their drinks and food, setting it down in front of them. Slipping her hands from Sumner's larger ones, she picked up her chopsticks and began to mix her soy sauce and wasabi. "So, any thoughts on what we do with the rest of the day?" Picking up a piece of her sushi, she dunked it into the sauce and then placed the entire piece into her mouth, savoring the flavor of the eel and the rice.

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner inhaled deeply. His mouth damn near flooded with saliva from the scent. "Wow this looks great." From beneath his lashes he watched her pick up the chopsticks and mimicked her slowly. He managed a small piece of duck, bringing it to his mouth, before he lost a stick. Chuckling, he picked it up from his plate, sucking a bit of sauce off his thumb. The duck was good, the fried rice tender. "Damn this is good." He reached for the soy sauce and gave her a look that could have scorched the table between them. "Oh I think we'll find something to pass the time."

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily was caught offguard a bit by Sumner's comment just as she was swallowing the delicious sushi that she practically choked. Grabbing her bottle of beer, she took a swig from the bottle to wash the rice down. Smirking, she slipped one foot from her flipflop and slowly reached forward. Finding his foot, she slid her toe under the hem of his jeans, rubbing the skin she found there. "Oh, I think we will. I saw a few boutiques over there that I wouldn't mind checking out. I feel the need for some new clothes." She moved her foot up just a bit on his calf, keeping her face as straight as she could before eating another piece of sushi. Lily's eyes were trained on Sumner's, her true desires shown clearly in the blue orbs.