Some R & R Time

[Rhianne Cade]

It was a wonderful evening after Rhianne finished work and went home to freshen up. These past few weeks had brought her much happiness. Truthfully, this was the happiest she felt since her mother died. Shaking her head, the former Gryffindor put those sad thoughts to the back of her mind. Now would be an evening of enjoyment. She was getting ready to go out with the person who was giving her this much happiness - Robert Kain. They had been seeing each other frequently ever since they came across each other and had a deep conversation. Following his sudden visit at where she worked and an impromptu dinner invitation. They had been inseparable since then, meeting for coffee or just to talk whenever they were both free from work. Robert was a primary school teacher and when she surprised him with a visit once, it really warmed his heart to see him so great with kids.

Satisfied with her look for that evening, Rhianne went down from her bedroom just in time to hear her doorbell ring. With a bright smile and a fluttering heart, Rhianne made her way to her door to open it. There, on its other side, stood her second most favorite person after her parents. Despite how many times they saw each other, she still could not get over how this man still affected her."Hi there.", she softly said with her smile still on her face.​

 

[Robert Kain]

Whether it was due to the comforting sense of familiarity, or the fact that Rhianne seemed to have a similar schedule to the man, Rob always seemed to have the time to spend on his social activities; Something he'd cast aside at one point in his life when realising they were no longer important. He'd come to find that actually his own relationships were just as worthy of attention as those he shared with both his own family and the children that he worked with, and while Rob spent a great deal of his work day persuading even the youngest of people that friendship should be cherished, it was rarely a piece of advice he'd taken up himself until the day he'd been reinstated with his former girlfriend. It was for this reason that while the pair had chosen to dine out that evening, Rob didn't feel like eating. There was a nauseating sense in his stomach that he hadn't realised was even there until he'd received some news and considered its conclusions, and now that his presence, or lack of it, would be duly noted by a few, he felt as though he needed to come clean.

Knocking on Rhianne's door, he waited for her to answer. Despite his feelings he was still able to present himself as outgoing, and showed her nothing less than his warmest smile as the door opened and Rhianne appeared before it. "Hey" He replied, glancing up and down at her outfit. She always looked great no matter what she was wearing, but he could tell she'd made an additional effort for their date this evening, although that only made him more confused about what he should do. He leaned across her give her a hug, not wasting the opportunity to compliment her on her attire before offering out his arm for her to take, remaining always the gentleman as he'd been taught to believe he should be.

 

[Rhianne Cade]

Rhianne smiled at Robert's compliment. The way he looked at her that night before complimenting her warmed her heart. As he leaned across to give her a hug, Rhianne wrapped an arm around his neck to reciprocate this sweet gesture. His familiar scent filled the air she breathed, stirring her emotions more. "I miss you.", she said with no hesitation. It was the truth. She missed this. She missed him and she wondered what would happen if he suddenly left again without telling her. Shaking away those thoughts, the woman vowed to only think of good thoughts for that evening. Robert, always the gentleman, offered his arm for her to take. This prompted to grab her coat with her purse in its pocket just by the door to slip on. The night could get colder. Taking his arm, she stepped out of her house, waving her hand to lock it safely.

Arm in arm, they set off for a cafe called The Dartmoor for dinner. But knowing this man with her, Robert always had tricks up his sleeve. The evening was lovely with some residents also taking advantage of the nice weather. There were kids playing in front of their houses with their parents nearby. Being an only child, Rhianne adored children and would love to have some of her own. She watched them laugh with no worry of the world. Glancing at Robert, she slightly bumped him with her hip. Laughing at her own silliness, she asked, "How's work?" She knew that managing kids was tough but Robert was great with them.

 

[Robert Kain]

At Rhianne's words, his smile widened on his face. "But I'm right here!" He teased nervously. Years away from his family and friends, in situations that were more dangerous than he cared to recall, and caused him to find it difficult to make attachments, and even though he enjoyed the time he spent with Rhianne he knew that sooner or later things would end. Perhaps even sooner once she heard what he had to say. He didn't want her to get her hopes up, knowing in the back of his mind he couldn't be the person she needed anymore, if of course he ever had been to begin with.

Any onlooker or passer by would have taken Rhianne's question as small talk, and that may well be how she had intended for it, but with this particular topic on his mind it wasn't something he could give a simple answer to. At this rate, they wouldn't even reach the restaurant before he had to tell her his news. He shrugged, not really knowing how he could take the conversation to a serious turn quite as quickly as it was appearing to. He wanted to at least enjoy the time they had together before he ruined it. He turned his head to look across a grass clearing. They were dressed up for a night out but if their discussion were going to go off track, perhaps they should too. Robert never had liked the fancy scenes and forcing himself into a suit, and with his arm still linked with hers he pulled her towards a small path away from their intended destination.

"Work.. got complicated" He said honestly, not wanting to sugar coat his excuses, something he'd done way too frequently as a teenager. As the began to walk down the small path and the sky was growing darker, he realized too that now they were here, it was a good as a time as any to talk to Rhianne properly, without the presence of anyone else around to listen in. There was a bench, a stones throw away from a childrens empty playground, and taking a seat on the cold wooden chair he offered for Rhianne to sit beside him.

 

[Rhianne Cade]

Rhianne laughed at Robert's comeback. It was true. He was right here. With her. It had been a long time that somebody aside from her family said those words to her. This made her smile and feel sad at the same time. With the happiness and contentment she felt, she did not notice her companion's bothered look on his face.

They were walking for quite a while and the cafe was not for a couple more meters. Rhianne asked Robert a question about work which somehow took him a while to answer. Rhianne was about to repeat it when he suddenly pulled her toward a small path away from their destination. "Rob? Where are we going?", she asked although she allowed the man to pull her. As they ambled down the road, Robert finally gave his answer. However, this prompted the former Gryffindor to frown. How could work get complicated for someone who adored children? she thought.

A bench was at sight and the place was still with the sky growing darker. Robert led her to the wooden chair, him taking a seat and offered her the place next to him. She settled with a contented sigh next to him and affectionately laced her fingers through his. She turned to look at him, a question in her eyes. She knew that Robert easily knew what she was thinking about.

 

[Robert Kain]

Robert accepted his hand, stroking the back of her palm and he tossed the thoughts in his head. "I took a new job." He wasn't going to dance around the subject, and it was only fair that she knew what was happening. "I was approached and I took a job as a private tutor." All in all it doesn't sound too bad, and for the former Gryffindor he knew it would be a good start to entering the career he really wanted. Being a teacher was great, but one on one tutoring held so many more benefits to teaching a large group of children, and he was looking forward to being able to impact the life of a young person. It seemed like good news though, and Rob knew he would have to finish giving Rhianne the bad news too before she took it the wrong way. "It's in Auckland." he finished, finally looking up to face the woman that he'd spent so much time with recently.

Unsure how Rhianne would take the news, he turned to face her on the bench, taking both her hands in his before he spoke. "The last few months have been more fun than the last few years, and that was because of you" he said honestly, looking into her eyes. "I know what we have, and what we've had in the past, it's not perfect. I don't want pretend it is. And I know that this development and move will be difficult." Robert was doing his best to explain what he was thinking, but he was going to need to just get to the point if he wanted her to understand what he was trying to get at. "Rhianne, I want to be with you. Properly. Like we were once before." He'd known for a while now that he enjoyed her company more than most, but with the addition that he would have to move away, he had prepared himself for her rejection too. "I'm moving to Auckland in a few weeks, but I don't want to lose you" Robert didn't realise but his voice had been very quiet. There was no point moving without telling her how he felt though, and if there was any chance that they'd have a long distance relationship he had to take it.

 

[Rhianne Cade]

At the mention of a new job, Rhianne's face brightened. She was happy for Robert. She almost laughed when he said that work got complicated. Getting a new job would never be a complication. In fact, it was a blessing. Still turning her head toward him, she smiled as she started to congratulate him. "Oh, Rob! That sounds fantastic! I'm so hap-", however, she stopped short as she realized what he said next. "Oh. Auck..", she swallowed the lump in her throat. It was so sudden."Auckland.It was...far.", she managed to say softly. She looked at the face of the man she had been spending a lot of time with. At least, he told her before he left unlike before.

She was not sure how to react. She was happy, yes, but sad at the same time. That meant he would pack and leave and even if there was something between them, it would be different, considering that they won't get to see each other as easily as now. If he would ask her to do a long distance relationship, she would agree to it. Hell, she would even move if he'd ask her to. Before she could say anything, Robert took her hands and faced her. She angled her body toward him as she held her breath on what he had to say. Him looking into her eyes melted her heart, even hearing him say all those words to her now. Rhianne controlled herself not to break down in front of him. But he just had to ruin it. In a good way. Robert asked her to be with him. Properly. Just like when they were students. In a relationship. She looked down to their hands as she prepared herself to give him an answer that would change their lives. He said that he was moving in a few weeks but Rhianne did not care anymore.His last six words already confirmed her choice.

She squeezed his hands as she looked up at him again. With tear eyes, she inched closer and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "Yes. I want to be with you too.", she answered softly. She did not care if they only had weeks left together. They would make it worthwhile and even make each day special when he moved to Auckland soon.
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