Closed When one door closes

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo hadn't actually given James the full picture yet of what had happened between her and Austin. She'd already taken leave from her job which meant that James would have been either by himself or partnered up with one of the other Aurors for the last week or so, and while Geo did miss her role and seeing her best friend every day, she'd also been making the most of her newly found status. It was strangely freeing, not to have to worry about whether or not Austin was waiting for her at home, and while it had been a big decision and a huge change of life, it was like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. After finding out that James was getting wind of the situation, she knew it was better to just tell him everything before he found out too much from anyone that wasn't her. She'd apparated outside his house, taking a moment to settle her stomach before bounding up the driveway and rapping on the door. She was unusually nervous to see James, and she could only imagine how many questions he had. It wasn't as though Geo had been an open book about her feelings towards Austin after all, and asides from the topic briefly popping up over a game of baby Quidditch, she was sure that the news would have shocked most people.​

 

[Professor James Cade]

The past week had been strange for James, it felt more like his early days of his auror career when he didn't have a settled partner, he had been rotated with aurors, some more experienced than him and a couple of the newer recruits. Of course it wasn't like that, because there was a huge Geo shaped hole in his life. James hadn't realised how dependent he'd become on the younger girl, or rather that he was simply so used to her presence and had come to enjoy that presence, not having her by his side at work, not spending time with her after. It felt...wrong. Maddie had been back in the country in the last few weeks, it had felt amazing to have her back in the house and the kids had loved seeing their mother, but no sooner had she come back, she had gone back to her travels and research. James had found in the weeks that followed he was missing Geo more than Maddie. The blonde was the permanent fixture in his life, she was his go to back up when he couldn't handle raising three kids, she was his partner in every sense of the word.

James was surprised to hear a knock at his door, anyone who regularly visited the mansion would just walk straight in and that list was short. While his house was ostentatiously big it was relatively hidden. James got out of the armchair and put his glass on the table next to it and went to answer the door. Before he had been able to say anything he had caught a glimpse of the blonde at the door and in lieu of any verbal greeting he sunk down to wrap his arms around her waist, lifted her off her feet and pulled her into a tight hug.

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Nothing about the last week for Geo had been planned. She'd just tried not to go back to the house she still shared with Austin as little as possible, which mean for the most part she'd been couch surfing or spending her evening's at various Inn's around the town. She had already known Maddie was back in town, so had left James to it, after all she didn't want to invade their space but she hadn't wanted to go home, either. As the blonde waited nervously on the doorstep, it only occurred to her a few seconds before the door was pulled open that usually she would have let herself in. Perhaps it was because she was used to seeing James every day that after their routine had been momentarily disrupted she didn't want to just walk straight in. At the end of the day she still knew her best friend had a life of his own away from her. Everything for Geo was currently up in the air, every day would bring new unforeseen challenges that the Auror just had to take in her stride, although hearing that James wanted to talk to her properly she was more than grateful for the opening. ​

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As the door was pulled open, she barely had a moment to even smile at him before he'd lifted her up into a tight hug. With her arms wrapped around his shoulders, she buried her head into the side of neck, finally feeling as though she was back home. With James brought a sense of security, and while she knew she was perfectly capable of handling herself, he was still the safe spot for her to come back to. She didn't even need to ask if he'd missed having her around, the hug itself gave more away than the man ever needed to say out loud. She was high enough to just wrap her legs around him, hands still on the back of his neck as she pulled away to look at him for a moment, "I guess you heard, huh?" Geo smiled a little, partially nervous although she wasn't entirely sure why.​

 

[Professor James Cade]

In that moment with Geo, James had never felt more conflicted. The feeling he had holding Geo in his arms, having her return the embrace with just as much enthusiasm made him feel complete. It was a feeling he used to have when he was with Maddie, he felt a moment of guilt as he thought about his wife. In their brief time together back in the same country and under the same roof their relationship had picked up where it left off but there was still something different. Being with Maddie felt like a betrayal of Geo and now he welcoming Geo after their time apart, it felt like a betrayal to Maddie. James didn't realise he was capable of such complex emotions, he'd been in love with Maddie since he was twelve, it had always been so simple to him but they had spent so much time apart since their graduation with Maddie perusing a career as a magizoologist. If they had remained together after getting engaged James was sure their relationship would have continued to grow strong and doubt and conflicting feelings would never have entered his mind, but they hadn't stayed together. It was true that James too had gone off to play international Quidditch, but his mother died and still Maddie had stayed away. James had given up his nomadic lifestyle and returned to the real world to care for his sister and in time the number of people he cared for grew as he and Maddie began to have children, but still she went back to her research trips and James continued to support her endeavors. His connection with Geo had come from nowhere and the absence of his wife had only helped in the blurring of lines in his and Geo's relationship.

"I heard," James said continuing to hold Geo in place, her wrapping her legs around him only increasing the intimacy of the moment. "Do you...want to talk about it?" He asked, not yet feeling any need to put the girl down. James had heard about Geo's break up with Austin but that was the extent of it, he didn't how or why the relationship had come to an end, but he couldn't ignore that he had been...happy about it. He had never been shy about his opinion of Austin. The boy had always seemed fine enough, but fine wasn't good enough for some as remarkable as Geovanna Volt. Geo was extraordinary and she deserved someone who could meet her at her level not drag her down to whatever boring existence Austin was trying to trap her into. As Geo looked at him James felt himself instinctively moving his hand up to her face to brush her hair away, leaving his hand to linger on her face a few moments longer than he should have,

 

[Professor Geovanna Adler-Cade]

Geo was accustomed to being close to James, although this was very different. She was looking into his eyes, not breaking contact when James moved her hair from her face. He'd not done that before. She was nervous to move, aware of something between them for a second although it was hard to place. Geo didn't want to let go, her thumbs at the base of his neck instinctively stroking his hair line for although it was so brief, she wasn't sure if he'd notice. The Auror forced herself to glance away, taking a breath and released her legs to drop back to the ground. What was she doing? This was James, her best friend, her colleague, her ex's brother, Maddie's husband. Geo knew she'd had a strange week but that didn't mean she could just cross all the lines in front of her. She couldn't do that to James or the girls, or the Waldens. What caught her most off guard in that second however was easily she could've. Geo had always admired James, even when they were kids he was a figure she'd looked up to. She remembered this very first time she'd met him; he'd sold her her wand. Thanks to her friendship with his sister, Geo had always remained close to the Cade's, although it was only since graduating that Geo had been naturally drifting closer and closer to the man. The former Hufflepuff blamed her own feelings in that second on the recent events with Austin, and even though she'd been in contact with a number of people in the last few days, it wasn't surprising that the person she was closest to had this affect on her. That had to be it.​

"Okay," she nodded, sliding her arms away from James' shoulders, replacing her gaze with a reassuring smile. Maybe he would have thought she was stupid for how she'd tried to handle things with her ex. She knew proposing was an extreme way to solve the issues she'd been having, although at the time she'd genuinely believed it would have worked. No however she'd seen that doing so would have been a huge mistake and that Austin had been right, it wasn't going to fix anything at all. "We should go in," she added, realising they'd been on the doorstep a while, and tried to ignore the fact something had just shifted in the atmosphere.​