Closed Snatched Hopes

[Raawhiti Te Rangi]

Rāwhiti couldn't do it. He couldn't face his team, not now. Maybe not ever. For all his talk about hard work and glory, he had let them down seconds into the game. Rāwhiti had no idea how Penny had managed to spot the snitch ahead of him, let alone get past him so quickly, but none of that mattered. She had won. He had lost. And this loss was final. Sure, Gryffindor had one more game to play, but it was just to avoid being bottom of the pack. He would never take the championship, never hold the cup, never play one of the international teams.

What was he supposed to do now? With the rest of his life? Rāwhiti had lived, eaten, breathed Quidditch for as long as he could remember, but now... he couldn't even win a school match. Outmatched in seconds by someone who just played for fun, who hadn't spent seventeen years dreaming of playing professionally. His life's dream, snatched away. So no, Rāwhiti couldn't face his teammates. He had fled the stadium as soon as the match ended, found a quiet place to throw up. It was too much pain, more than his body could bear. Hidden behind the pitch, Rāwhiti curled around his knees and shook with weeping as he watched all the doors in his future close ahead of him.

 

[Emery Mettlestone]

Emery had barely settled into the stands with his book when the game was over. He hadn't actually seen the moment the snitch was caught, but he had seen the moment right after and had been able to see Rāwhiti's disappointment even from the stands. He would never really understand Rāwhiti's Quidditch obsession, but he understood how crushing this was. It seemed unfair for the game to be so short too, almost insulting. Not for the first time, Emery cursed the stupid rules of Quidditch for upsetting his boyfriend. It made no sense that a game could even end this quickly, but he knew trying to explain that to Rāwhiti now was the wrong move. He had watched him rush out of the stadium once the match was over and had tried to follow him. It still took him a little while to find him, and when he did, he sighed and sat down next to him. "So, that sucked." He said, patting his back. "I'm sorry." He added quietly.

 

[Raawhiti Te Rangi]

It said a lot, Rāwhiti supposed, that he didn't so much as flinch as Emery joined him. He couldn't even fathom what he would do if anyone else came near - bolt, almost certainly. He felt sick with grief and pain and embarrassment, but somehow Emery was still a comfort. Solid, steady - he always got it in a way other people didn't, even though he also didn't get it at all. It was devotion, he supposed - devotion was the thing Emery got in the way nobody else really seemed to. When your life was focused around one specific thing, that thing would always matter above all. Emery understood. So instead of fleeing, like he would have done from anyone else, Rāwhiti leaned into the touch. He turned and pressed his face to Emery's shoulder, letting the sobs wrack his body, sorrow pouring from his every pore. "It's over..." He hiccuped between sobs.

 

[Emery Mettlestone]

Emery was relieved when Raawhiti turned to him instead of running away. He let him sob into his shoulder, reaching over to put his hand over Raawhiti's as he sobbed. He stroked his thumb over his knuckles lightly. "It is." He said softly. "You'll do greater things." He added. He knew it wasn't the reassurance he was probably looking for, but it was true. Emery knew Raawhiti would play professionally, probably be captian of a real team someday. Then he wouldn't care anymore about that time he lost while in school, even if that was impossible for him to imagine now. "You'll be okay."

 

[Raawhiti Te Rangi]

Rāwhiti never expected Emery to be all that emotionally open - he had known his boyfriend far too long to be bothered by his usual dryness and walls - so it was a surprise just how easily Emery soothed him. It wasn't enough to stop the sobs shaking his body, but he was able to lean more into Emery and let the Ravenclaw share his burden, knowing he was here, he cared. He was wrong, but at least he was trying. "No, tha-that's it..." He sobbed quietly. "I've won one game in-in three years as captain. I'm done."

 

[Emery Mettlestone]

Emery knew he wasn't any good at this. Too logical and pragmatic to really soothe anyone this upset, but he couldn't help who he was. And he honestly thought Rāwhiti needed a little reality check. Not that he couldn't be upset, but it also wasn't the end of the world. They were talking about Hogwarts Quidditch here, it was extremely obvious to Emery that Rāwhiti would go on to play much bigger games that actually mattered. "It's done here at Hogwarts." He said softly. "But we're not going to drop dead the second we graduate. Rāwhiti..." He reached up to cup his cheek. "You're a good player, even I can tell that. You're more driven than anyone. I know it's disappointing now, I know you feel like you let everyone down. But- but this isn't the end of your Quidditch career. It's just a crappy footnote at the beginning of it."