Closed Walks Together

[Graeme Fergusson]

It had just been over a week and a half before he could see Abby again. It had really felt like too long. The man had apparated from where the last game had been in South Africa and after both he and Fraser had taken a short nap, they were meeting up with Abby and Zerrin. It wasn't quite valentines day yet, but Graeme knew with his work and her work they might not be able to do anything for it, so he'd gotten a little something for her, ahead of time. He had brought a bag of things for this, including spare food, and plenty of things to have a good time walking in the park. Fraser was half holding his hand as they arrived at the park, and telling him about the quidditch game Graeme had just played. He couldn't help but hope that Zerrin was ready for it. They were a little early for the meeting, so from his bag he pulled out a football and passed it over to Fraser, immediately using the time, to play football with his son. He was exhausted and admittedly a little sore from the stray bludger hit but he was still putting enough effort into this, and enjoying have fun with his son. Graeme was keeping an eye where he knew Abby and Zerrin would arrive. ​

 

[Abigail Cromwell]

It had been... years since Abby had been on anything even resembling a date. She had dug through her clothes for nearly an hour before realizing she didn't even own anything nice. Thankfully, Zerrin had stepped in and helped her throw something nice together, and she had to admit she looked cute. Zerrin had brought his ipod, and the longest headphones he owned. He'd apparently been up most of the night building a playlist of music he thought Fraser would like.

They arrived at the park, and Abby spotted the boys right away. Of course Graeme was playing football with Fraser. Zerrin broke off right away, dashing over. Abby lingered a little, her heart pounding. She was actually awake this time. It had been easy with Graeme before, at her own home and half awake. She straightened the hem of her skirt, feeling uneasy. Graeme seemed so much bigger now. Surely the other day had just been a sleepy mishap, he couldn't have been actually serious, could he?

Abby followed after Zerrin, hoping it wasn't obvious how badly she was blushing. Graeme was just going to be polite, let the boys play, and find some way to let her down easy, she was sure of it. She offered a shy smile as they drew near, Zerrin already caught up in some fast paced conversation with Fraser.

 

[Graeme Fergusson]

Graeme noticed Zerrin before he looked up and noticed Abby. He gave her a little wave, before making sure that Fraser had seen Zerrin and seen where he was going. He moved over to Abby immediately going in to kiss her lightly on the cheek, wanting to wrap his arms around her in a hug. "Hey sweetheart," he greeted warmly. "I missed you," He reached into his bag and pulled out a rose and a little valentines day card which, was mostly about how excited he was for them in the days, weeks and months to come. ​

 

[Abigail Cromwell]

Abby's breath caught as Graeme kissed her, her eyes fluttering shut. She hummed softly, unable to help but smile warmly. "Hey, superstar," She greeted gently. Her heart fluttered at his words, and she stepped a little closer. "I- er- I missed you too," She managed softly. She blushed deeply as he pulled out a rose and a card. She swallowed nervously and gently took a small bag of chocolates from her pocket, wrapped in clear plastic with a blue ribbon around it. "I- um... Zerry and I were up all night making these for you boys," She admitted softly, unintentionally slipping into her baby name for her son in her shyness. "He was insistent on helping," She smiled shyly at Graeme.

 

[Graeme Fergusson]

There was a part of Graeme that worried he was moving more quicker than her, but she had chocolates for him and he smiled fondly, "Happy valentine's day," he told her. he took out one of the chocolates and ate one of them. "These are delicious Abby!" he exclaimed happily. He called out to Fraser and got him to come over so he could also give him a chocolate. When the boy had run back off he held out his hand to Abby so that they could start walking. "How've you been?" ​

 

[Abigail Cromwell]

Abby giggled softly. "Happy Valentines," She murmured, smiling as he enjoyed his chocolate. She took a peek at the card while Graeme called Fraser over, blushing deeply at the words inside. She tucked it into her pocket, slipping the rose he'd given her into the button hole of her overalls, running her fingers gently over the petals. She looked back up at him as he turned his attention back to her. She slipped her hand in his, lacing his fingers.

She scooted closer, walking along with him and bringing up her other hand to rest in the crook of his elbow. "Oh, you know. An old man groped me at the restaurant, I had a hotel room soaked in... well, something, that took an hour to clean properly, the local church ran me ragged for two hours then walked out on their tab," She sighed softly, shaking her head. "The glamorous life of the nine-to-five work force," She gave him a wry smile. "What about you, superstar?"

 

[Graeme Fergusson]

Graeme smiled softly to her, letting his fingers lace with hers as did. He was pleased that she came in close and then listened to how her week had been. He frowned deeply, of course Graeme knew that working in these environments had those sorts of hazards but all of it sounded terrible and he felt bad she had to do them. He did also feel bad for thinking that he could solve all her problems, but he knew it wasn’t his place. Certainly not yet. ”I’m sorry the general public is terrible,” he told her with a little frown, it probably didn’t make things easier, but he could still try and be nice about it. The man thought his problems didn’t really pale in comparison, his bruises and tiredness were nothing. ”We were in Scotland for some of it, saying hello to Aonghas and then we were in South Africa for a game. It was a rough game,” he said with a little smile, ”We won, but not by much, I’m sure Fraser is regaling Zerrin with a play by play of it,” Graeme told her softly. ​

 

[Abigail Cromwell]

Abby chuckled, shaking her head. "Well, that is the general consensus," She teased him gently, squeezing his hand. It was sweet of him to be concerned though. Her smile faltered a little as he talked about his Quidditch, but she did her best to hide it. She had always known he was a Quidditch player. "I'm sure Zerrin is loving every moment of it," She countered. "We, ah, we don't usually have spare money for tickets to games," She offered in way of explanation. She knew that if Zerrin had expressed to her he wanted to go, she would have pulled it together for him. But Quidditch had always made her uneasy. She knew Danny was on a Professional team, he had been scouted and accepted, but she had never followed through to find out which team.

She bit her lip, peeking up at Graeme. "Actually, um... I think... He hasn't said anything yet, but... I know Zerrin would very much like to see one of your games, if that was alright?" She asked gently, looking to the boys. Her grip on Graemes' arm tightened a little bit. "I, ah... there isn't, erm... you don't know Daniel Higgins, do you? He's a seeker," She peeked up at Graeme, chewing the corner of her lip. She really hoped he didn't know the name. If Danny was on Graeme's team, Abby might just have a panic attack right there.

 

[Graeme Fergusson]

Graeme smiled fondly, looking towards Zerrin, he would want to nurture Zerrin's interest in the sport if he wanted to. He knew quidditch was a little touchy for Abby, but he knew too that she wouldn't stop Zerrin's interest in it, and certainly with him and Fraser around the subject was unavoidable. "Well, if wants to come to any games I can get him tickets to any of mine," he said, he thought it would be easier to just offer for his own teams since they'd be free anyway. He then nodded.

"Oh for sure, we have a big game in Skye in a few weeks, why don't you both come along?" he offered, "You can meet my mum and see my house," he thought it would be pretty nice. He felt her grip tighten and glanced at him. The name was vaguely familiar. "I've played against him in some games here in New Zealand, honestly he's a poor team player and fairly bad in his role too," Graeme replied. "Why?" ​

 

[Abigail Cromwell]

Abby nodded. Zerrin would probably really like that. She chewed her lip, unsure if she should go along as well. She wanted to support Graeme, really. He was a good man, strong and kind and just... perfect, in every way. Her grip tightened a little on his arm and without meaning to she walked a little closer to him. She peeked up at him as he offered to take the two of them along to his next game. She hesitated a moment, but he offered to introduce them to his mother and take them to see his house. She nodded slowly. "I'm not sure your mom will like me," She tried to joke lightly, "But we can do that, Zerrin will be excited when I tell him," she offered.

A tiny bit of relief washed through her to learn Danny wasn't on his team. She held back the urge to roll her eyes at his description of the man. That sounded like him. He was charming when he wanted to be, but he had always had an over-inflated ego. She tried to play it off when Graeme asked her why, embarrassed to admit he was Zerrin's father. "Oh, no reason, really," She tried to cover quickly. "I picked up a few Quidditch names, I thought it might help talk about it," she thought that might sound like a reasonable excuse. Abby decided to try and change the subject. "That's enough about Quidditch, though. After this, would you boys like to come over for dinner again? I could rub your back," She offered.

 

[Graeme Fergusson]

Graeme frowned lightly as Abby tried to joke. "Ma will love you, trust me," he assured her, "And she'll love Zerrin too," he knew it could be daunting to meet the parents of those you were dating but Graeme had always been a mother's boy and his mother was a compassionate and loving woman, he couldn't see a scenario where she wouldn't love Abby. He thought it would be good, to show her his life, take her away for a little bit from everything she had and show her perhaps a little fun and perhaps a little of how to relax.

Graeme was a little confused as to why she asked about one specific player and no others. "Did you know you can buy an action figure of me?" he told her with a little smile, perhaps thinking she'd read about quidditch players. "Dinner would be lovely," He squeezed her hand lightly. "And my bruising would certainly be thankful for it too," He then called out his son's name and in rapid gaelic told him of the plan, and he could see Fraser immediately launching excitedly into telling Zerrin. "That's Fraser on board too,"​

 

[Abigail Cromwell]

Abby chewed on her bottom lip, her fingers digging just a little into his arm. Meeting his mother seemed like a big step. Abby couldn't help but worry. She really liked Graeme, but she didn't see herself as someone that could be brought home to meet the parents. Abby looked scruffy at best when she wasn't working. Her hair was perpetually a mess, her sleeves always too long. She'd been on her own for so long she wasn't sure how to be herself, much less a proper girlfriend. Her parents had passed on when Zerrin was barely a year old.

She blinked, drawn back from her thoughts as he asked about the action figure. She giggled lightly. "Oh, I know," She smiled, peeking at the boys to make sure they were preoccupied. "We found one at the shops a few days ago," She told Graeme, a bit conspiratorially. "Zerrin had to have it. He keeps it on the nightstand by his bed." Abby smiled fondly, looking up to Graeme with a warm smile. "He really does adore you, you know."

Abby's brow furrowed a little as Graeme mentioned bruising. She rubbed his arm gently as he told Fraser what was going on. She looked up to him, concern clear in her eyes. "Graeme, are you hurting? We didn't have to-" She trailed off, slowing a little and rubbing at his arm. She almost said that she wasn't worth the trouble, but the boys were happy enough to see each other that she didn't want to diminish the value of bringing them together.

 

[Graeme Fergusson]

Graeme laughed lightly as she said that Zerrin had one and really felt warmed by the fact that Zerrin liked him. It was important to him and likely to Abby too that on top of them getting along that they got along with their kids. "I'll sign it for him," he joked lightly, but he thought it might be interesting if Zerrin ever brought his figurine with Fraser's one too. He glanced back at Abby and then shrugged. "It's just a little left over bruising from the game, bruising salve will have it cleared up by tonight," he said. "Nothing was gonna stop me from seeing my beautiful girlfriend today," he told her, since in his mind, he'd missed her too much and they had a date, why would he bail on her date. He squeezed her hand lightly. "I'd missed her too much,"​

 

[Abigail Cromwell]

Abby chuckled. "I think he'd like that," she agreed, wondering when might be a good time to tell Zerrin. She was brought out of her musing as Graeme spoke about the bruising and the salve, biting her lower lip gently. She could take care of that easily enough, right? Her breath caught as he spoke again, her heart stuttering. "Aw, Graeme," Abby smiled shyly, before pressing up on tiptoe to kiss the underside of his jaw. "Well, it sounds to me like she has a very sweet boyfriend," She murmured, nuzzling into his side.

 

[Graeme Fergusson]

Graeme would certainly be able to sign the figurine for Zerrin especially if he would want that, since it really was of no problem for him to do. He gave a little smile, as she kissed him. "Which is what she deserves," he replied with a little smirk, since of course that did mean her. "When's Zerrin's birthday?" Graeme asked curiously. ​

 

[Abigail Cromwell]

Abby giggled softly. She hesitated as Graeme asked about Zerrin's birthday. "Actually, about that..." she bit her lip, looking to her son. "His birthday is the 24th." She peeked up to Graeme with a bashful smile. "Ten days." She chewed her lip, considering her options. "Usually, we just have a movie night and bake something together." She tried to do the math in her head. "When is your Quidditch match?" She asked, curious what she would be able to do.

 

[Graeme Fergusson]

Graeme gave a little frown, "Oh....that's that day of my quidditch match," he said with a little tentative smile. he didn't want to encroach upon Abby's time with her son, especially not for his birthday. "If you guys come to the game I'll make sure someone organises some cake," he offered, that way come win or lose they were going to have a party, but he knew if Abby wanted to have it just her and her son he wouldn't stop it. ​

 

[Abigail Cromwell]

Abby hesitated at Graeme's words. She chewed her lip, studying her son. "We're coming to the game," she decided, nodding. "Zerrin and I can spend time together wherever we are." She looked up to Graeme, and when she spoke again she sounded almost shy. "Zerrin... he would be upset if you and Fraser weren't part of his birthday. And honestly... I would be too." She blushed deeply and looked away, squeezing his arm gently. "Maybe- maybe it's in my head but- it- it kinda... already feels like we're this little family..." She spoke very softly, her heart thundering in her chest. "I know it's early, you don't- you don't need to say he's your son or whatever- just- he adores you, I think- I don't know, I think this could work. With us." She bit her lip.

 

[Graeme Fergusson]

Graeme gave a little smile nodded. "What kind of cake does he like?" Graeme asked, already thinking about where to go to get a cake, and what sort of thing to buy him. He was into music, maybe he could get him a present or an IOU for a present when he wanted one, when he picked one. Graeme was a little in his own world and then glanced at Abby as it seemed that she had something rather important to say. He nodded along before looking back at Zerrin, "I'd love for Zerrin to be my son, he's such a good kid," he told her. "And you know Fraser loves you already, and he loves Zerrin so much," Graeme said. "Yeah, it's early, but we're parents this was always going to be a little different, and even though this is early days, I fall in love with you too, if you'll allow me," He told her. ​

 

[Abigail Cromwell]

Abby smiled softly at his question, that was an easy one. "Oh, he likes carrot cake, or hummingbird cake sometimes," She replied. Abby bit her lip a little harder, her grip on his arm tightening. She was peeking at Graeme through her bangs, unsure of what he would say. Her breath caught at his response, her heart fluttering in her chest. She stopped walking, falling a little closer into his side.

"Have I told you that you're wonderful yet? Because you are," She nuzzled in against him, unsure how to react. She hadn't been expecting... well, any of this. That handsome man sitting in her diner being kind to his son was suddenly in her life. They'd seemingly committed to a serious relationship in one date and halfway through the second he was already saying he'd love to be the father to her son.

The rest of their walk went well, and eventually they settled down for a picnic. Once the boys had finished eating, they'd taken off down the hill and were playing at the park. She smiled, cradling her drink. Her now bare feet were tucked under her and she was leaning a bit more into Graeme's side as they sat watching the boys. Unthinkingly, she slipped a hand over Graeme's knee, content in his company.

 

[Graeme Fergusson]

Graeme nodded, he knew he'd have to make a note of that, and figure out what a hummingbird cake was, but it couldn't be too difficult. He did know where to get a cake and was sure they would know exactly what type of cake it was. He looked at Abby and gave a little smile. "I'm wonderful and you're amazing," he returned the compliment and then let them settle for a picnic. He made sure that Fraser had something to eat, and something to drink, before he went off to play, but he was moving the moment he could. Fraser moved his arm to be around her shoulders and holding her lightly against him. "This is nice," ​

 

[Abigail Cromwell]

Abby giggled softly, laying her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. "It is. You are." She rubbed her thumb gently over the inside of his knee, watching the boys playing in the park. She laughed lightly. "You know, this is probably theeeee... second best date I've ever been on," She teased him, looking up at him. "Our first date was probably the best," She smiled, reaching up and pressing a kiss to his jaw. She settled back into his side. "So... hows it going for you?" She asked, biting her lip. She didn't think she had as much experience with her love life as Graeme surely did.

 

[Graeme Fergusson]

Graeme had to hope his shoulder wasn't too uncomfortable for Abby, it was surely a little but not too much. He gave a little smile as she ranked their dates. He gave a little nod, he knew his experiences with Maya wasn't the same as Abby had had with her ex. He had in some way loved Maya and it had been as far as he knew good. He could say these were better than that, but it might only in part be because he didn't remember those dates because of how everything ended up. "Perfectly," was his response, "These dates are the best I've had," he said, deciding that this was both true and likely accurate. "I wouldn't change one second of them for the world," ​

 

[Abigail Cromwell]

Abby giggled gently, squeezing his knee lightly. "Now I know you're bluffing," She teased him gently. "But I'll let it slide," Abby pulled away, mostly just to grab a little thing of chocolate dipped strawberries from her bag. He wasn't the only one to bring snacks. She held one out for him, smiling as he ate it. She set the berries down between them and reached over, wanting to brush his hair back and steal a kiss.

"It's not fair, you know," she told him, looking back down towards the boys. "I was just fine the way I was, working most of the time and giving Zerrin all of my attention." She smiled a bit shyly, letting her hair fall a bit to cover her eyes and offer a bit of protection. "Now I'm stuck missing Frasers' laughter mixing with Zerry's, or that eager smile he gets." Abby bit her lip, looking down and reaching to brush her fingers almost hesitantly against the back of Graeme's hand.

"And I keep thinking about your hands," She admitted softly. "Strong and sure and warm, maybe a little rough," She laughed gently, before sighing. She drew her hand back and looked away, a bit of sadness creeping in and wrapping around her like a vice. "I've been by myself for a long time, Graeme. Not- not just romantically. Zerrin's dad... he didn't just destroy my reputation, he turned everyone at school against me. My 'friends'... and then I lost my parents before Zerrin was even a year old..." Abby sighed, dropping her eyes to her lap and holding her hands together.

"Zerrin... he's been my whole world. Quite literally. I don't go out, I don't see people... I don't know what I'm going to do when he goes to school. I've just been his mother for so long... I'm not sure what I am without him anymore." She spoke gently, not noticing the tears until one fell on her clasped hands. She startled, blinking, and quickly wiped at her eyes. "Oh, oh dear," Abby straightened quickly, offering a soft apology to Graeme and turning away, trying to compose herself.

 

[Graeme Fergusson]

Graeme leaned into the kiss when she gave it, pleased she wouldn't push what he'd said, or wanted clarification, just left it. He smiled fondly as she began speaking again, feeling a sense that he needed to listen to what she was saying, and not immediately assure her than he felt the same. He hadn't lost everything because of Fraser, he'd left everything behind by choice. He put a hand on her back and very slowly rubbed it, giving her some assurance that he was there and that he was listening. He leaned in when she finished, with his fingers turning her head towards him so he could wipe away her tears.

"Abby...you've been on your own for a while, and I won't ever diminish what you've managed on your own, I'll just hopefully support you a little, and be there emotionally and physically as long as you'll let me," Graeme told her with a soft tone. "But you know, you are more than just Zerrin's mum, or my girlfriend. You are a magical person Abby, and I'm sorry you've had to be alone and struggle alone for so long," He told her with a warmth. ​