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[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

In all honesty, Geo was terrified of what was about to happen, but she’d told herself over and over again that it was the right thing to do. She’d been living with Austin for nearly a year, and the pair had been dating for over four. This made sense, and despite what she’d told James the the party she just knew this would be the best thing for the couple to grow even closer. The Auror hardly got to see her boyfriend these days, their work lives were so busy and even when they did get a chance to be together, they ended up recapping on things that really they should have already been aware of. Perhaps it was tradition that the a man would be the one to do what Geo was about to do, but she wanted to take matters into her own hands, and had been thinking about the best way of going about this that would be special to them. On one of the rare days they actually had together, Geo had suggested the pair take a walk down to one of the lakes, make a day of it even, just enjoy the time they had together when really it was so uncommon at the moment. She’d even packed them lunch and hoped it wouldn’t be too cold to sit outside. She tucked away a small box, trying to push down the nerves that sat in the pit of her stomach, putting on a brave face to the former Hufflepuff. “This isn’t so bad,” she commented, walking out into a hill that overlooked the valley, the large lake that ran through it was really beautiful, although Geo had to pull her jacket closer to her to ignore the chill in the air. “Not everyday you see something like that,” She had hoped it would be the sort of place Austin would come to write, and even though she didn’t get to see him do that a huge amount, she knew it was important to him.​

 

[Austin Branning]

Things between Austin and Geo were different lately, they were both busy with work, Austin seemed to be working longer hours due to the back to school rush and Geo was hardly at home since she had started her auror training. Austin was proud of his girlfriend, it was what she had wanted ever since he had known her but he missed her. It seemed almost unusual to have time alone together but they had enough free time that Geo suggested to go for a walk by one of the lakes and make a day of it. It was nice, the views were spectacular, it reminded him of a few places he liked to go when he had the time to sit and write, not that he'd done so for some time. "It's beautiful," Austin agreed, "It'd be nice to live closer to something like this," Austin had the distinct impression that Geo had something on her mind, she seemed like she was a million miles away.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo had to make the most of what she was seeing, not just because she lived and worked so far from anywhere like this, that it was a view that was more than a rarity, but that it was also a memory that she would be able to treasure in years to come. Austin was right, it was beautiful. Beautiful and calm although Geo wasn’t sure if she could live here. Take a holiday perhaps, but it was almost too quiet and tranquil to be here permanently and she would miss the bustle of the city. She could see Austin would have been happy here though, this sort of thing would have suited him perfectly. “Yeah,” she agreed aloud, figuring it would have been a bridge they could cross when they came to it, swallowing the nerves that continued to grow. “You could bring up a family here,” she mused, thinking about the girls and how much they would have loved to run around in an open space like this, not that space was especially hard to come by in the manor. It would be different for the Brannings though. “You know, I think about our future a lot. And what would be in it,” she said, turning to face her boyfriend, moving the hair out of her eyes as the wind blew across the hills.​

 

[Austin Branning]

Austin smiled when Geo suggested it was good place to bring up a family, she was right but that was something he'd given up on in recent years but he didn't say anything, he didn't want Geo to dwell on why he felt that way. Austin suspected that while this was an ideal setting for him, it would be too boring for Geo. His girlfriend had always come across as being more action orientated, her career choice had only confirmed that for him. It made him wonder if they would be compatible long term but he couldn't bare to think about that. "You have?" He asked, Austin hadn't thought they were thinking much about their future just yet, they were at a point in their lives where they were just figuring things out, Austin was still working a job he'd got while at school and Geo was still in training. "And how does it look?" He asked wondering what the future she had in her mind looked like.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo wasn’t entirely sure where the couple stood on their idea of children, although rest Geo would loved to have adopt one day. Give a child or two a new home and bring them up in a loving family. That of course was years away, especially because she needed to focus on her career as an Auror first of all, and Austin she believed still wanted to move more into writing, and there would be plenty of time for that later down the line. The blonde nodded, turning to face Austin a little more with a smile, “Well, in a few years maybe we could move away, somewhere more like this.” She began, watching for his reactions, “Don’t get me wrong, I love our house. And I love you,” was she stalling for time? They’d already walked all the way round to this point, yet she was sure she could have pushed it more if she wanted to. No, she had to do this. This was important to them and would bring them closer, something she knew they were lacking. Despite living together, Geo felt like they’d never been further apart but it was okay because this could be fixed. “Austin, you mean the world to me,” that part wasn’t untrue. Despite the distance there were many things that Geo was now because of his influence. “I.. I want to make sure you know that. And that no matter what we go through, it will always be us in the end.” Geo did believe that, that they’d already been thrown curve balls in their relationship but they could always pop out on top if they put their minds to it. Maybe they weren’t exactly like other couples but it wasn’t like any one else was perfect.​

 

[Austin Branning]

Austin liked the sound of them moving somewhere like where they were in future, perhaps in a future where they could adopt a child or two. Geo seemed to be building up to something, he smiled when she told him she loved him, "And I love you," He got in quickly before Geo continued to speak. Austin smiled and took hold of her hands. "Geo, I do know that, what's going on? Is everything okay?" He asked, concern growing in his voice. "You can tell me anything,"

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo smiled, squeezing his hands as he took hers in his own. Why couldn’t they have moment like this more often? Ones that reminded her of how close they’d once been, rather than brief hellos when they saw each other in the kitchen. They were so busy that they rarely got to be just Geo and Austin anymore. They’d been together so long, they had no many memories, and Geo knew she had to do what she could to preserve them. It still amused Geo that Austin would jump to a conclusion that something was wrong. There were only so many times she could fight it, tell him that he could trust her too. “Yes, yes everything’s fine,” she said, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice and she pulled her hands out of his. “Austin I wanted to bring you here for a reason. I thought it would give us a chance to reconnect and, I wanted to ask you something.” If anyone had asked her a few years ago whether she’d get married, she would have said no. In fact after being asked a mere nine months ago, she had said no. But the distance between Austin and Geo was growing too strong, and she didn’t want to be a stranger any longer, their lives a memory of what they’d once been. She slipped her hand into her jacket pocket, pulling out the box she concealed and stepped a little closer to the former Quidditch Captain. “We’ve been through so much, and I know this is only the start. I want a real family, one to call my own.” She said, opening the box and taking a deep breath. “Will you marry me?”​

 

[Austin Branning]

Austin was shell shocked by the words that came out of his girlfriends mouth. It was a question that he had wanted to ask, that he had planned to ask nine months earlier but overhearing a conversation between her and her best friend James where she had said in no uncertain terms that she didn't want to get married, so Austin had hidden the engagement ring he had got for her and forgotten all about the whole thing. "Geo," Austin said, wanting to say yes but he couldn't get over her change of heart. "I heard what you said to James, on New years eve," Austin said, he should have just said yes. "I was going to propose then, but I heard you said you didn't want to get married, what changed" Austin asked.

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo has no idea that Austin had heard what she’d said to James that night. Her smile faltered as he searched for the answers behind her eyes but if she were honest, nothing had changed beyond the knowledge that she had to do something to salvage what they had left. The Auror was speechless, unsure what to say at all as she’d never expected this to be the response of all the options she had imagined. “I.. didn’t know you heard that.” She knew it wasn’t going to do anything to help his confusion, but really what else was there to say? Geo lowered her hands a little, feeling as though she was both transparent and more a stranger to Austin than ever. “I didn’t want to get married, I didn’t think it was what I wanted but,” it still wasn’t what she wanted, not really, but what else could she do when she was losing someone she used to be so close to? “But I think it would be good for us. And maybe, maybe this will be like a fresh start, and a new chapter.”​

 

[Austin Branning]

Austin really wanted to believe that Geo had simply changed her mind about wanting to get married but it didn't feel right. For her to do this after they had been, if anything, growing apart over the last few months. "Geo," Austin sighed, dreading where the conversation could lead. "Why now? You were right, we have so much going on, you are still in training and I'm still working in a shop, we have so much time to get married we don't need to rush, we should focus on spending time together and trying to reconnect, we shouldn't rush into getting married,"

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo could feel herself getting increasingly more nervous. This was exactly what she’d been trying to avoid and now that she was face to face with the reality of her situation, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to convince Austin nor herself for much longer that it would be a good choice. It was all just words. There was nothing left between them now. She’d felt out of place for a while now, but had believed that if she stayed that it would have fixed itself. “Austin we don’t even talk anymore. I barely know you. No, no we need a fresh start. Things can be different.” She missed who’d they been at school, how she used to seek him out for peace and comfort when the rest of her world got too busy. Now coming back to him was like coming back to someone she barely recognised. “If we get married then we will have that. We’ll be a family properly.” She nodded, although she knew her own words were weak and the idea that she’d actually ever have that was dwindling fast. “I have to make this work. I don’t know how, we keep falling further and further apart but, we can still fix it” she added, tears appearing in her eyes.​

 

[Austin Branning]

It was clear that Geo seemed to think getting married would solve their problems, as if drawing a line under their current problems and signing a piece of paper would be the answer they needed. It was true, they didn't talk, they didn't have chance with both of them working so much, they only crossed paths at home during the few hours they weren't working, or when Geo wasn't spending her free time with her friend James who she also spent all day at work with. "Geo, I love you, I love you so much but getting married isn't a magic solution to our problems," He sighed deeply. Their relationship during their school years had been strong, Geo had been his port in the storm during everything he'd gone through but their time apart once he had graduated and she remained behind, had proved to be a set back they couldn't get over, not really. "Marriage won't do it, but we can still fix this, if you really want to,"

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Marriage wasn’t a solution. Geo knew, deep deep down that he was right, but she didn’t want to believe it. She wanted to think that maybe if they pushed themselves closer together, that maybe their emotions would follow too. The blonde was looking up at her boyfriend, trying to suss whether it was just her that felt this way, but not for the first time she realised she could barely read him at all. She didn’t know what he wanted any more, not really. He wanted to make her happy, that had always been obvious, but was it enough when they didn’t know how to do that now? Even now Austin was proposing that they could go ahead with this, if it was what she really wanted. She closed the box between them, tucking it back in her pocket and looking away, across the hills and down the valley towards the lake, a place that was supposed to be special. Truth be told she didn’t know what was special. They didn’t have a place or somewhere that held meaning and sentiments. Marriage wasn’t going to fix this. It was a somber thought, and Geo was unusually quiet, as though the reality of her life was unravelling in front of her eyes and there wasn’t anything she could do to keep forcing it back together. “I love you too. I know I love you,” she said eventually, “I don’t know if I’m in love with you any more though. And I don’t know if we’ve grown too far apart to come back from it,” she said, still unable to turn to look at him.​

 

[Austin Branning]

Austin didn't want to think about what the words Geo was saying meant. His optimism was low but he had hoped for a brief moment that there was a part of Geo that wanted to try, but it was clear that no matter what they might have hoped, it was the end of the line for them. "I understand," Austin said softly. They had been together years but they had both changed since leaving school, it was almost too much to ask that they remained the same people as they went through one of the biggest changes in their lives. Austin stepped closer to Geo and put his arms around her to pull her into a hug. "I guess this is it," Austin said resting his chin on Geo's shoulder for a moment before he pulled back. "I'm sorry it came to this,"

 

[Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Saying it out loud was like taking in a gulp of breath air after feeling suffocated, and while Geo had prepared herself for all sorts of reactions, she’d never expected their day to take this turn. Geo wondered whether she would have to say more to explain what she meant, but maybe Austin did see it too, the way he so gently agreed with her. She let him move her into a hug, wrapping her own arms round his shoulders tightly as she realised this really was going to be it. He deserved someone who was so much more on the same page than she ever would be, and at the end of the day they sought a different type of life style. “I’m sorry too,” she said quietly, letting out a big sigh as she considered what this meant. It was going to be a long trip back, but it was for the best this way for them both even if it wasn’t immediately clear.​