sircharlesirons

[sircharlesirons]

[sircharlesirons]

littlefreya-asquith‌:

Freya was having a hard time reconciling the fact that Charles was actually here with them. The last time she’d seen him, it had been at the train station where they’d made so many promises to each other. So much had happened for each of them since that time. Were they different now? Too different to pick up where they left off? It wasn’t like she could just ask him outright. “Yeah, you have but there’s so many things she hasn’t done yet either. We’re not even walking yet.” In some way she hoped that he would take some solace in being able to witness their daughter taking her first steps. 

Even as she introduced them, the brunette looked between the two and couldn’t help but notice Charles’s face. It wasn’t giving her any indication of how it was going or what he was thinking. It was like he’d stepped out of his body. In a split second it changed though. Watching him lean forward to kiss their daughter made her heart swell so much she felt it might burst from her chest if he kept it up. But then something else happened. He was kissing her. Lips were pressed against her own and time froze. 

It couldn’t have been more than a few seconds but it was enough for her to remember the way he tasted the last time. The hand that wasn’t needed to support Natalie on her lap rose so that she could gently touch her lips. A soft smile took over her face, almost bashful in nature. “She is gorgeous. I’ve always told her it was her father’s dashing looks that made her so.” She laughed softly, not ever knowing how to respond to complements. Instead she figured it was best to redirect the conversation. “Would you like to hold her? I know this has to be a shock to you so you don’t have to. We can take this as slowly as you need.” Freya wasn’t sure what the timetable was for dealing with a situation like this. He seemed happy enough but the idea of being a father and actually being one was totally different. As if she could understand what they were saying, Natalie reached out with her small fists toward Charles.

If Charles hadn't felt strongly for Freya, there wouldn't have been a chance he would have spent the night with her like he did the last time he was on English soil. It could have been chalked up to nerves or swirling emotions related to leaving the next day, but his heart had always been tugged in her direction that the choice was a sincere one instead of a reckless one. Now, looking back, though, knowing what he had missed, he wished he had waited to give them both all the time in the world.

But then again, if they hadn't, how would he have yearned to touch her lips just as much as before? To feel the softness of them against his own before being hopelessly entranced by her gaze that'd always follow afterwards? Just like now. Charles wasn't far out of reach, tasting her breath and smiling at how her fingers brushed her damp mouth. Another laugh bubbled to the surface as his eyes glanced down. "Dashing," he repeated with a grin spreading.

He looked back at her with a softness that was undeniable at the offer until he was able to nod his head. "No," he immediately spoke. "No, trust me, I want nothing more. It's a surprise, yes, but..." Taking Natalie in again made every word that could have possibly fit to end the sentence seem so inadequate. Nothing could be perfect enough. His hands carefully reached on either side of her small body, lifting her up to hold her close against his chest. She was cradled as if she was the most fragile thing in the world. Such a peculiar feeling.

He was able to shift her to one arm, as the other was able to brush at her thin hair. A wide smile was shared with her, cooing her name to her until another small peck was placed at her forehead. With the lightest of touches, his chin rested atop her head to look back at Freya.

"I know this comes much too late," he spoke quietly, taking a pause to wet his lips, "but I cannot possibly have you be a mother without also being my wife. This is so improperly done, I'm aware! But... how could I not ask you?"

Since you’ve been gone

[sircharlesirons]

littlefreya-asquith‌:

There was already a connection between the soldier and the daughter he’d barely just met. She could see it in the way he couldn’t tear his eyes from her every time Natalie smiled or made a funny noise. Any normal man who wasn’t related to the child was more or less unbothered by the young girl’s presence. Freya’s face scrunched in amused confusion as he asked about their daughter’s age. As if she could be anything else. “How long do you think you’ve been gone? It’s not like I could speed up time. Although when she started teething I sorely wished that I could.” If there was something amiss about the way he was taking in the information, she wasn’t akin to it. 

What she wasn’t going to do was tell Charles that his mother had all but let her think he was gone for good. Looking back, she’d been the fool who’d blindly taken the information as truth and mourned a loss that wasn’t real. And here he was now, saying that she meant something to him without blatantly doing so. She nodded, having to swallow thickly to hold back the lump in her throat that was quickly forming. “Good to know.” Was all she could manage. 

It took him a moment or two but Charles finally took a seat on the blanket, though she did notice it wasn’t nearly as close as the room allowed. The problem was that he left for war. There was no way for her to know if he still felt the same way for her that he did when he left. She’d heard so many stories of soldiers who returned as different men altogether. “I bet you missed the fog more than anything. Or wait, was it the masses of people alway nosing their way into your business?” She teased him lightly in hopes of raising his spirits. 

While he continued, Freya leaned over to pull their child into her lap. As usual, Natalie was a squirming mess. “Why would I slap you for saying that? I used to dream you’d show up out of nowhere, ready to…” She paused, shaking her head. In truth it had always ended there. Just short of her finding out what he wanted from her. If he could sit here and proclaim to have missed her as much as he said, then maybe he was ready to take a leap. “Would you be interested in meeting your daughter then? I’ve told her stories about her brilliantly brave father. It’s probably time you two met.” She sat the infant up a little straighter in her lap so he could see her properly. “Natalie, this is your father. Charles, this is our little girl.”

He hadn't been thinking of how he had phrased his question about Natalie's age until he heard Freya's question right back at him. His smile would have been humored had it not looked as though it was recovering from embarrassment. "I suppose that is fair to say," he finally spoke. It's not as if she could be any older than one, but she certainly could have been a little younger than what fit so perfectly to him.

Charles attempted to be comfortable where he was. It was a beautiful setting. Fresh grass, shaded by the tree above, covered by a soft blanket with a beautiful woman and her child. There was just something inside of him that had grown unfamiliar with such pleasures. Beyond the emotional worry and shock of seeing her with a family, there was certainly something else that he hadn't faced head-on just yet, perhaps much too early for him to even know about fully.

For now, though, he could give a soft chuckle at her words. If she was trying to ease him, it certainly helped. "Without doubt," he replied with a smile given to her, eyes lingering on her. "I've missed... many things," he went on. The list would have been far too great, and many of those she didn't need to hear. They were mostly mundane necessities that maybe would have garnered a confused look from her.

Again, the soldier's cap tapped at his legs once or twice after hearing her trail off. There could have been an endless amount of possibilities to end that sentence off with. Ready to what? Ready to hold her? Kiss her? Marry her? His lips pursed slightly with a bow of his head before looking back at her, his head tilting up once more. All at once, a warmth entered his body as his ear grew numb. Freya was speaking, his brain was parsing her words, but his heart was running rampant at what was being fed to him.

He didn't know when, but all he knew was that Natalie was taking up his sights. His daughter. Their daughter. All uncertainty vanished in an instance, and before it could be stopped, he leaned over to plant a kiss to the top of the young girl's head before moving up to kiss her mother.

Charles' lips were still vaguely parted when he leaned back after just a moment. The kiss was sporadic but meant with every nerve of his body. A breath drew in before released, slower than when it had been taken in. An airy laugh left him as all of his actions came crashing down on his consciousness, but at least he was devoid of regret. "She is absolutely gorgeous," he murmured, eyes dropping down to the little girl before returning to her, "just like her mother."

Since you’ve been gone

[sircharlesirons]

littlefreya-asquith‌:

Freya was more than annoyed at herself for letting his words get to her as much as she did today. Some days their jabs were no worse than silly banter as they passed in the halls. Someone to tease when no one else could handle it. After a few of the other girls today had been on her case though, she found that she was at her wit’s end. Having to sit next to Charles just grated on her nerves, knowing that he would always try to best her. She heard him respond but kept speaking anyway. As long as the professor didn’t look her way, she was going to give him an earful. 

It was obvious that he wasn’t listening to her. She knew it and yet kept prattling along about whatever rolled into her brain. Anything to blame on the male so she didn’t have to think about her own problems. Seeing the professor cut their eyes at him felt like a win, however so small. “Actually you’re horrible at being nosy. I’ve been on four. Not all of us need two hands to count the number of people they’ve kissed. And even if I hadn’t been on any dates, it wouldn’t even be close to being your business.” The potion was of little consequence as it was one they’d done a few times before. She possessed a gift for potions so perhaps it was a blessing that they work on this one today while her brain was elsewhere. 

Without raising her head, her eyes slid up to connect with his own. She hoped that by look alone, he would understand that she wanted to say very rude things to him. Instead she bit her tongue and reached out to take the ingredient from him. A finger brushed against his and it made her gasp. Had he spelled the ingredient to give her a shock when she took it? That was doubtful. Even he didn’t have the gall to pull something like that in the middle of lessons. “I-I’m not acting off today. You’re just slightly more irritating than usual.” The venom that had laced her voice previously was gone and replaced with confusion. What the hell was happening to her body? There’s no way on Earth she should feel these kinds of reactions with Charles. It just wasn’t natural. Almost absently, Freya tossed his offering into their cauldron. “Can you hand me the next one?”

Charles gave her a sharp look from the side as she gave him the total count of her dates. Besides it being the point that it was literally double the amount he had been on, in spite of what she had imagined, he had to ask the first thing that came to mind. "With who?" he asked in a hushed whisper. "How could you have found that many victims?" She had to be lying. It was the only solution that he wanted to focus on. The others relied on him admitting that she was actually pretty and smart enough to deserve them, but that wasn't going to be done today.

When she was handed the other ingredient, the Gryffindor's eyes snapped to her at the sound she made. Brows furrowed, clearly unaffected by the touch in comparison, but looked at her as if to question if she was feeling okay, contrary to the lack of words that spilled out with the same sentiment. He was glad he didn't when he heard the next words from her. He gave a roll of the eyes as he looked away. "I'm never irritating. You're just sensitive when it comes to me," he threw back in a less lethal tone than hers, giving her the next ingredient before it was sprinkled in, turning the potion a slightly off color.

"What was that gasp for, by the way? You're being mental today."

More than Hate

[sircharlesirons]

littlefreya-asquith‌:

What he was saying made sense she supposed. After all, she’d all but moved in and it was to be her home for the foreseeable future so why not act like she truly lived there? And if it helped Charles ground himself in the present rather than the past, then by all means she was willing to do whatever it took. “Neither did I! You see, I never wear things like this so when I attempted to put it on the first time, it was all so obviously wrong. Either that or fashion has become much more avant garde than I had anticipated.” She felt silly for just admitting to the fact but they were at the very least friends and knew that he wouldn’t make fun of her too badly. 

Her fingers pulled at her dress in an attempt to make it longer over her legs. The whole point of the night was to go out and pretend like they were normal kids, not born into the families that forced them to follow traditions to the letter. In some attempt at normality, Freya had allowed her friend to help her choose a dress for the occasion. Her eyes strayed to Charles only to see that he was staring out his side window. Maybe she had a tiny ulterior motive. She’d never admit to it out loud since they’d agreed to go forward with the match as friends, but she wanted more than anything for him to notice her as a woman. But it wasn’t something she was going to press. 

“That sounds like a plan to me. I’m sure at the very least we could blend in and not make ourselves known. You know, this may be really good for the both of us. Just getting to relax and pretend to be anyone else for the night.” Her eyebrows furthered even though she gave a small laugh at his question. “Yeah, I guess I do. Not that I ever do so in front of anyone.” Mostly in French too but he didn’t need to know that she went that far. “The better question is do you? I’m sure you had to have some kind of hobby at school.” One hand raised so that she could run a finger over her bottom lip at the thought. “You’d do that? I mean, we could think of new things to do every month to make sure we never got bored too!” One thing her life was sorely lacking was adventure. Her parents had made sure that her upbringing was comfortable but so utterly sheltered. The thought of guaranteed adventure was one she couldn’t easily pass up. “How far was the festival, again?” She shifted in her seat slightly so that she was more facing him as they drove along.

Freya was absolutely charming. She had a certain innocence to her that played to his weaknesses. It was no wonder that Charles felt the need to be her protector, particularly for tonight, and particularly when she was dressed like she was. It made him look forward, eyes trained more so on the road, smiling with another chuckle brushing past his lips at her words. "Well," he began with a slight shrug to his shoulder, "if it is any consolation, I do say you look much better than whatever I could do with it. I'd probably get frustrated and throw it on the bedroom floor." By the end of the sentence, Charles made a definitive choice to look back at his side mirror while his brain dwelled on the words that had come out of him, taking a different tone to him once they were out of his system. God, this would be a long night if this was any indication of where his head was at.

Thankfully, he had only a vague notion she had pulled at her dress again, seeing it faintly from his peripheral that he chose to ignore for the time being. He concentrated on the lanes of the street, the leather of the steering wheel, the pedal beneath his foot, anything but her skin.

"Not in front of anyone?" he repeated at her, jumping onto the next subject as if he had been thrown a lifesaver. "I play the piano when I can. It would sound much better if there was someone that sang along to what I was playing. Perhaps, we could save that for another day?" he asked before turning to look over at her, watching her finger trace her lower lip before realizing the car had driven through a stop sign. He went back to the road with a sharp turn of the head while one of his hands thread through his hair to comb it back. "It should only be the next street over," he answered her, noticing her now looking at him a bit more keenly in her new position. "Hopefully, we'll be there in another minute or two."

Promises, Promises

[sircharlesirons]

littlefreya-asquith‌:

Even with her daughter sitting next to her, it was hard to believe that she wasn’t dreaming. What could he possibly be thinking? If she were honest, her own mind was silent except for a loud humming noise that she was marking up to shock. That was about the only reason she would lose her senses like that. When he left for war, they’d both been so young. Now he’d been through a war and she’d been through birth. Somehow she knew that were both far older even though it’d only been about a year. Natalie cooed and held fast on her mother’s hand so Freya tried as hard as she could to use that to ground herself.

“Why would you be intruding?” Her face screwed up in confusion at why he would think that. Freya took a moment to glance around their place under the tree to see if it looked like someone was coming to join them but nothing. “She’s always a handful, to be honest. Not even one and she’s running her mommy absolutely crazy.” The brunette couldn’t help but smile down at her- their daughter. It was going to be weird actually sharing her child with someone else, even if he was her father.

Charles couldn’t stand still and if she weren’t used to watching her child so very carefully then she may not have noticed at all. She wondered what he thought about her after all this time. At his words, an easy smile pulled at her lips. No matter how tired she was, hearing this man admit to wanting to see her and spend time with her still made her heart thump in her chest. Freya moved a few of the toys to make a space next to her on the blanket for him to sit. “You’re not a bother. I thought you were gone.” Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper. “Your letters stopped and when I went to your parents to see if they had heard from you, they told me that they hadn’t. At first I feared you just didn’t want to speak to me.” Natalie tossed a toy, blowing a large raspberry as she did.

“But then I realized it must be something so much worse. It was awful.” It wasn’t hard to recall the way she felt like there had been a hole in her chest after he’d stopped sending letters. There were so many sleepless, sorrowful nights where she was inconsolable before she realized that she needed to pull herself together. She wasn’t the only one who mattered any more. “You have no idea how relieved I am that you’re back.”

He had been gone for far too long; he had seen far too much; and God had he missed what he had left behind beyond measure of either of the two combined. He didn't even know if he looked the same as he had left her to imagine him by. Charles didn't feel anything like the man that had gone off to war with loyalty in his heart and soul. There were bruises and wounds in physical and emotional form, and yet he hoped and prayed that she could look at him without seeing any of them. He knew that the way she looked was everything that he had remembered with as much clarity to detail as he clung to. The only difference was who was with her.

The baby made another laughing sound, making the soldier smile softly. She looked like a joy, yet why did her very presence cause his heart to stutter with confusion? He knew why. She was either his or someone else's, and he didn't know which one would be easier to accept. He hoped she was his, but how hollow it would be to know that he had missed everything about her until just now. What a fate he could have left her to, to the both of them.

Freya's question hit him like a lightning bolt, shocking him out of his thoughts. Desperately, he wanted to say 'because your husband may get jealous' or 'what if your husband doesn't approve of a strange playing with your baby?'. Yet, all of those thoughts were just that: thoughts. None of them made it past his mind.

"She's not one yet?" he asked suddenly as if the words had finally caught up to his brain. He had been so wrapped around everything else that the most essential piece of information had initially escaped him. That would be the rigth time. His heart skipped before stalling. He couldn't set himself up for a scenario that he didn't know with certainty.

Dark, brown eyes were trained on the young girl before they drew back to Freya at her next words. The lightness that was brought to the heart was ripped from him. His lips pursed together as his head lowered, guilt ridding him, even though he was not to blame for the silence.

"That would never be the case," he assured her firmly, staring at her with remorse laced in his gaze. "I wanted to talk to you every day, but I couldn't." What he had feared, what he had already known in his soul, came to light from her lips and somehow in spite of it all it hurt even worse than what he had told himself. She truly did believe that he had fallen, and to that, he could not answer her. There were many times he thought he was going to, and there was nothing he could say that could tell her otherwise without it being a lie.

"You have no idea how good it is to be back," he finally answered her after taking a deep swallow. Looking at the room she had made for him, he gradually knelt down, leaving his hat hanging from his thumbs over the other side of his bent knees as he sat beside them with feet planted in the grass and not on their blanket, just enough distance that he could bear while still being polite. What if she had married? All the hurt he had put her through in her absence, how could he even blame her?

"I hope you don't slap me after all this time," he murmured in a gentle voice, giving a vague grin, "but I've dreamed about seeing you again so many times." Certainly not like this, but even so... "If you're upset with me, I would understand, but it's been quite nice to come home to someone I've thought about as much as you."

Since you’ve been gone

[sircharlesirons]

littlefreya-asquith:

From what Freya knew of his days back in school, he was always in line. Not a hair out of place. Instead his rebellion was elsewhere in the form of his love affair that put him in this bind. Not that she could say she minded. If he hadn’t needed someone to step in and be his other half then she would have never gotten the chance to get to know him. That in and of itself would have been a crime in her eyes. “You’re not going to make me have things immaculate are you? I’m not messy but some of us didn’t exactly have military training.” She teased, trying to take some of the tension from the conversation as she knew this was a tricky topic for him. 

God, the situation was awkward beyond measure. It made Freya want to laugh if just to rid the nervousness from her limbs. She could see the way Charles was putting things together in his head and not knowing what he thought was enough to make her fingers tap against the bare skin of her leg. There was still an awkward tension in the air, both of them perhaps thinking about the other choice of dress up in her room. “It’s not comfortable. I tried it on and it took three different times before I had it on right.” She laughed, hoping that would be the end of the dress talk. The one she was wearing showed more than enough skin for her. That mixed with the way he’d looked at her when she first walked in the room was enough to make her stand a little taller in her heels.

Freya buckled herself into the car, waiting patiently for him to join her on his side. If they weren’t forced into this odd situation, if the world were a little different, this would almost feel as if they were going on a date of some sort. A small smile tugged at her lips at the thought of it. “That’s what you and I need! To walk into a music video. Although we look the part tonight I have the feeling neither of us would know what to do with ourselves.” Her hands pulled at the hem of her dress to pull it to cover a bit more of her thighs seeing as how it rode up a tiny bit when she sat down. “This is going to be fun, I think. To tell you the truth, I haven’t been out to relax in a long time. You just have to promise me that we won’t get lost. I’m horrid with directions.”

"No, not at all," he chuckled through his answer before turning his head in her direction briefly. "Please, be my guest to be messy once in awhile. It might ground me a bit more." The last sentence hadn't been a conscious one, a sentence that he had considered very well before it landed against his tongue. After hearing it, it was as if he was speaking to himself instead of having it be attached to the conversation with the woman next to him. He could need something to put him back in sorts, even if he acted genuinely fine and well-adjusted on the surface. The only issue was that Freya had seen how he slept on several occasions, more like the lack of it or the disturbances throughout it.

It nearly made him lose his place in the conversation until she spoke up again, making his smile return to his face, even if it was more wiry this go around than before. "Three?" he repeated with the bridge of his nose wrinkling from a small laugh. "I didn't know there were three different ways to even wear a dress. It sounds quite complicated. I feel much more simplistic in comparison."

The steering wheel turned, curving to the driveway before reaching the asphalt of the street. It was only in his peripheral vision that he saw her fingers play with her dress, stretching it back down over her legs. As proper as he was, it was an automatic reaction to distract himself briefly with his side mirror before falling back to the scene outside the windshield. "I don't know about that," he answered softly. "We could find a way to make a noble effort out of it, anyways." Pausing for a moment to make a turn, he glanced over at her again. "Do you sing at all?" For a pair that lived together, it didn't fail to surprise him how much there was to learn about each other. "I will gladly take care of directions. I like to think I'm decent with them.--We can make these sorts of outings a... monthly... perhaps weekly event, if you'd enjoy it."

Promises, Promises

[sircharlesirons]

littlefreya-asquith:

There were so many things that Freya had come to accept in her short life. The general public would always look at her either to judge or pity her but that was of no consequence to the young mother. She was going to build an incredible life for both her and her daughter no matter what it took. But it was quiet days like this where she truly took the time to enjoy how things had turned out. Sure, she would have much preferred to be married before having a child but that wasn’t the way things turned out and most days she could live with that. The infant babbled next to her, insisting that she continue reading even though she was far too young to understand the story. She leaned in to press a kiss to Natalie’s head before she would continue.

It was a few pages later that a familiar voice shot through her chest, causing her to freeze completely. The young woman would recognize that voice anywhere. Charles. The man who’d left for war over a year ago. One that she’d been mourning for months after his letters stopped coming. Freya, in her worrying, had even gone as far as visiting his mother only to find that she hadn’t heard from the soldier either. As far as she was concerned, he was lost and she was once again alone in the world. But then she looked up and there he was in full uniform, looking like he’d just stepped off the train. She felt like an absolute fish out of water with the way she froze as her brain tried to compute that he was still alive and standing there not feet from her. 

Natalie broke her out of her shock with a laugh, Freya patting her leg before clearing her throat. “Charles. I can’t believe you’re here.” She was having a hard time reconciling the fact that he wasn’t really dead. “When your letters stopped coming I thought..” Her words caught in her throat, suddenly unable to say the word aloud at all as she sat a little straighter on the blanket she shared with her daughter. Their daughter. “Do you want to sit with us?” Finally she motioned toward the infant that was chewing on the edges of the book she was holding. She reached out to pick her up, pulling her into her lap to make space for the man if he so wanted. 

Charles watched her react carefully. It was like she was looking at a ghost, the way she was looking at him right now. Her body had tensed up, and it made him purse his lips lightly out of wonder. He wondered mostly what she would finally say or what she would do, but it was the child, who was immune to the feeling, that brought her out of the frozen shell. Her joyous sound was welcomed by the young captain, making him smile again with a small laugh of relief. He needed something to lift the awkwardness, even if it was temporary.

The moment Freya spoke to him, his eyes swept back to hers and he felt the knot rear its ugly head back in his stomach. Perhaps if she hadn't had the small child by her side that told him of another life, he would have seen her words in a different light; but all his mind could do was wrap around the idea that she felt the need to try to explain herself. Charles never wanted that for her. He never wanted her to have to feel as though she was obligated to stay attached to a dead man, even if such a man was standing before her now.

Held in his left hand, his cap was absentmindedly tapped at the side of his knee while he considered everything. He stopped when he realized the action, which came after hearing her offer to him. "I don't want to intrude," he answered politely. His smile was empty on the inside, but given none the less. He tried to make it look as genuine as he could before continuing. "It already looks as though you have your hands full," he attempted to joke. Pausing, his attention centered on the baby. "She's beautiful."

But how old is she?

It was a question that suddenly hit him the more he looked at her. This was not a child that was as young as he originally thought. She was an active, playful, attentive girl. She was beginning to learn and laugh and really see the world. She didn't need to be constantly wrapped in a blanket or jostled to fall asleep. Was Freya even married? He tried to glance at her left hand, but it was out of sight, and it was too improper to just blurt out the question of where on earth her husband was.

"Perhaps, I could join you... If it's not a bother," he began again, forming an apologetic tone the more he went on. "I know it must be a shock to appear like this. I don't blame you if you had thought of the worst case scenario."

Since you’ve been gone

[sircharlesirons]

England. It was always thought of as home. The change of weather throughout the day, where there's fog in the morning, rain in the afternoon, and sometimes a clearing for the night, was a familiar feeling. It was the scent of tea from the homes and shops and the trains from the commuters and visitors that Charles had clung to during his time away, but it wasn't nearly as strong as the image of a young woman he had left behind. It was hard to tell if she had kept writing to him. In a way, he hoped she had stopped on her own, even if the thought stung. At least that way, though, she would have found someone that didn't bring back the amount of baggage he could feel resting on his back rather than the tangible kind that was strapped across his shoulder.

He had stepped off the train and onto English soil for the first time in what seemed like a lifetime. It was like another world without war, and he didn't realize how differently he looked at things when there wasn't a constant danger on his life. It was good to be back to a quieter place, and how ironic it was to think that the bustling city was anything close to that. Crowded platforms with the trains whirling were welcomed in their deafening commotion, and every so often Charles was given a little sign of salutations because of the uniform that was decorated with medals, showing a valiant effort in the fight. He would smile politely back and walk on, but it didn't change the awkwardness he felt. He never expected that type of feeling to carry with him, but it was all going to be part of the adjustment. Perhaps he needed to clear his mind, become more settled in the country he loved, before going directly back to the family. If for only a moment, he could find a way to become more grounded. With all of his clothes fitting into one bag draped across his body, he made his way to the park, dodging a pair of children running playfully from it en route. He turned his back for a moment for them, redirecting his sight to stumble upon a known face, making him pause.

It was her. He watched her for a few more seconds to be sure, but he knew it was her. Of all the gore he had witnessed, all the terror he had faced, he never had been frozen in place until this very moment. He didn't know what caused this feeling more: seeing her or seeing the child with her. Had she gotten married to someone and started a family already? Was it best if he walked away now? His lips formed a thin line as he considered the possibilities, blocking the one he felt most within his heart--that the child belonged to no one but them. He would drive himself mad if he continued to stay this way and he would be in an even worse shape if he turned away. It was impossible not to be drawn forward, not knowing what fate laid ahead of him. He didn't have the faintest idea of what to say or what to do, but he kept edging closer until there was nothing left.

"Freya?" the name sounded foreign aloud, bringing a faint smile on his face out of instinct. "It's nice to see you again."

Since you’ve been gone

Life was never easy or kind. That much Freya had learned from her short years in existence. It had been just over a year ago that she’d given up every semblance of a normal life by having sex with a man who was leaving for war. She wasn’t sure now what had taken over her body. Charles was a good man and they’d just gotten to a point where she thought things could fall in line for them to be more when he got word that he’d be going off to war. Both had been scared about what could happen and one thing turned to another and they had shared a night together. Even when he left they’d kept up correspondence through letters but eventually even those came to an end. 

Whether he’d lost interest in her or worse, Freya kept all of his letters in her bedside drawer, rereading them often. It was after they’d stopped writing that she’d found out that she was pregnant with his child. Not knowing whether he was alive or dead, she chose to keep the baby in his memory. It may have been selfish but she needed that last bit of him in hopes that he would live on through their daughter. 

Now, Freya found herself in the park near her small home under a large tree with the infant. They were looking at a book, long forgoing actually trying to read to the strong-willed child who wanted to turn the pages herself.  She laughed, wondering just when it was that her little one had developed an attitude of her own. 

[sircharlesirons]

littlefreya-asquith:

She noted his tone, shaking her head at the way  he could twist anything she said back on her without so much as an effort. It was often something she counted on when she felt the need to have it out with someone just for the fun of it. Today however, was one day that she hadn’t wanted to interact with the male at all. If anyone would be able to catch that she was off of her game, it would be Charles without a doubt. It made her completely vulnerable. “How lucky for you then. Guess you only have to spend a bit of time wondering how terrible a person I am or how to insult me next.” Her words were a bit harsher than she’d meant but when all else failed, her defenses prickled. 

Freya sat a little straighter in her seat and squared her shoulders to face him. “Pay? Oh no. I don’t have to pay anyone. Mainly because you haven’t dated anyone that wasn’t a product of your own imagination. Everyone else that comes is there only to support those of us that have to deal with you on a daily basis.” It wasn’t anything that she knew but she wouldn’t be surprised if she were wrong. As much as she hated to admit it, Charles had grown into his tall frame. If she didn’t hate him so much she wouldn’t be bothered to say that she hadn’t noticed that fact. 

The whack of a wand to wooden desk would shock her from her icy glare, bringing a fierce blush to her cheeks. It wasn’t often that she was the object of a teacher’s annoyance. Even more annoying to the girl was that she felt Charles was entirely to blame. “Maybe the fact that you aren’t trying to save me from anything. You think that just because you’re a Gryffindor you have the right to be so intrusive but how about you keep your big head out of my business?” Her voice was low as she hissed venom back at him. And now she felt as if she were five years old all over again. 

Freya took a steadying breath, forbidding herself from crying out of frustration. He didn’t need that satisfaction. “Shouldn’t you be worrying about saving your own skin?” Her eyes moved to avoid looking at Charles, instead keeping them glued to the professor as to not get yelled at again. 

It was often seen that the one that donned the green and silver robes was the smug, heartless student that their house was known for. This of course was a stereotype, just like it was that every Hufflepuff was flowery, every Ravenclaw was witty, and every Gryffindor could fight a lion just because they could. These lines always blurred in reality, just like they were with Freya and Charles sitting in their potions class. It didn't feel like her latest attack towards him was insulting exactly, if anything it felt like a means of defense. He was not the bully here, surely not. He just looked at her, surveying her level of annoyance and wondering why she wasn't bouncing back already. "It isn't worth the trouble," he quietly replied back, somewhat acquiescing for the time being as he started to arrange the ingredients on their table.

Busy with his work, he didn't meet her gaze as she continued to talk to him. That will be the first ingredient needed, followed by that one, and that'll be used as a dash throughout the process... His attention was at a minimum towards her now, but caught onto the part about his dating life, making him laugh. For the noise, he got a warning glance from the professor before Charles was able to whisper his rebuttal once he was free from inspection. "My own imagination? And how many dates have you gone on, Asquith? Because I'm counting zero. Jealous any?"

He was careful to look back at their teacher as he talked about their lesson for today. It seemed rudimentary that they would be making Babbling Beverage, but they were soon set off on the task, which also meant a little more freedom in supervision. As he flicked his wand, the flame underneath the cauldron appeared gracefully, which was more than he could say for her hissing remark. "Of course, because, as we all know, Gryffindors are notorious for slithering into other people's business." Presenting her with the first ingredient to throw in, he looked at her squarely in the eyes. "I'm not the one that is acting off today."

More than Hate

[sircharlesirons]

littlefreya-asquith:

She always seemed to talk herself into circles when she was nervous. Why would this be any different? Trying to complement the man she was soon to be bonded to as a formality was odd enough but lately she’d been trying to figure out exactly what it was that she felt for him. Whatever it was, it’s not like it mattered much. Freya had to remind herself over and over again that this was an agreement between them. One to protect not only his secret but her inability to feel attachment to another person. His confusion at her words only sealed that the submissive was probably putting much more thought into it than she should be. 

“Well, you look good in your regular clothes too but that may be more of your military training, right? I’m sure they had rules for how you should be dressed at all times.” Not to mention the fact that his mother most likely made him pay extra attention to the way he dressed at all times. His words caused her to blush. There was something so sincere about the way the words came out that caught her off guard and made her body react without her permission. “Y-you really don’t. Believe me. I don’t think I’ve ever been out in public with as much skin showing. One dress had these cut outs-” Her hands were motioning to her upper body before realizing what she was doing and stopping mid motion. “Again, this was the safest choice. I promise.” 

Freya settled into the seat as he closed her door to join her on his side. Charles had used the word beautiful describing her and it had been on purpose. Once he got into the car and started it, she finally felt safe enough to answer him. “I really appreciate it. I know that it’s hard bringing someone like me into public when I have such little experience with people but I’m really happy to get to do this with you. So thank you for taking me with you on this adventure.” Her head dipped a bit in shame. Back before the two of them came to an agreement on this con of sorts, the brunette’s friends often teased her about how innocent she could be and how they always had to stop to explain things to her showing her first hand how much of a pain it could be to bring her along. 

Charles smiled softly, looking at her with kind eyes before remembering the rules and requirements of the academy he attended. "You could say that," he replied with a tinge of a laugh. "Everything had its place, and if you didn't match how everyone else looked, there were punishments given. I almost missed being back at home with all of the demands." His head dipped slightly at the joke, in spite of the amount of truth that it held. If given the choice, he would have stayed in his training than gone back to his parents' domain because at least he was moving in a direction he could fulfill professionally, even if personally was still dubious.

His head raised back, tilting at the blush blooming on her face and the movements of her hands that soon followed. As the meaning clicked in his mind, his eyes blinked a few times to remove the obvious image that was forming. "I can imagine," he finally muttered honestly before adding to the statement. "It's not that... conservative." Charles glanced back at her before brushing back his hair at the nape. As mature as he was for his age, the chances of his concentration being intact throughout the night had she worn it would have plummeted, and for awhile he was just thankful it was the one she was wearing now. "It probably wouldn't have been that comfortable, anyways."

With her door closing by his hand, he eventually slipped into the car behind the wheel. As his hand slipped behind for the seat-belt, he listened to her with a shake of his head. "It's my pleasure to take you. There's nothing hard about it in the slightest," he assured. "I'm not an expert myself in any of this, but we'll learn together. I'm not exactly sure what to expect," he said as the engine started. "I feel as though we'll be entering in some sort of music video."

Promises, Promises

[sircharlesirons]

littlefreya-asquith:

Freya took her time laying out her parchment as well as her quill. If they were going to sit next to each other then she was at least going to be as comfortable as she could. “Well, I figured all the time you spend thinking up insults that you must have plenty of time to obsess over me.” Without moving her head, her eyes slipped over to glance at his face. It wasn’t any fun unless she got under his skin. She tried not to scoff, keeping her voice low enough not to let anyone around them hear their exchange. No one needed to know that the two were at it again but them. 

“Hmn?” Her head picked up as she pretended like she’d zoned out. “Oh loads. Me, for starters. Anyone you’ve ever tried to chat up. We get together every few weeks to talk about how horrid you are.” The sarcasm was dripping from her voice which she knew that Charles would pick up on. In truth, they’d been competing in every way since first year and it hadn’t gotten any better. Even with everyone winding down for the lesson to start, Freya refused to let him think he’d won anything. “Me? Civil with you? Okay I think you’ve had a head injury at some point. You’re clearly delusional.” 

She did laugh this time, no longer keeping her voice down as she spoke at a normal volume. “I can’t believe you’d even say that to me. You do realize that you’ve been on my case for six years now, right?” Her body turned slightly in her chair to take inventory of him. Though he’d grown into his features since then, he was still the boy she’d met so long ago and fought with every moment since. Just thinking of all the trouble he’d been could make her blood boil. 

"Surprisingly," he began, already hinting at a contradicting tone, "when it comes to you, it's a natural gift that doesn't need a lot of time." She seemed more wound up than usual. There were times when they would go through this sort of banter and it was like water rolling off of a duck. For this time, he felt as though he was getting the upper hand in this round, partially crediting whatever had caused her mood to flare up before she even laid eyes on him today. Although, most of it did have to do with their dynamic chemistry that was akin to oil and water, never quite mixing and always at odds.

Charles' eyebrows raised casually at her sarcasm, feigning a half-hearted attempt at surprise. "Well, at least we know which one of us is obsessed with the other now," he replied with a grin creeping over his lips. "How much do you have to pay the ones I've gone out with to say bad things about me?" Not that he had particularly done a lot of it. He wasn't nearly the type to go from one person to the other. If anything, he had been on possibly two serious dates before, which only went so far as a kiss. However, it didn't mean he had to divulge every little secret to the girl next to him either.

Hearing her laugh in such an unusual setting and at a more unusual topic, the raising of the eyebrows was no longer out of irony. He merely stared at her, half-surprised and half-amused. Immediately after her words, there was a striking of the professor's wand against his desk and a clear warning issued out. Charles only moved his attention back to her with a victorious glint in his eyes, smug and self-satisfied. As the voice of the professor droned on, back to the original tempo and tone as before, he began to whisper back to her.

"I'm only trying to keep the peace," he began, sugar laced within his words. "What is so terrible about me trying to save you from detention?"

More than Hate

[sircharlesirons]

littlefreya-asquith:

The thought that Charles might ever see her as more than just the girl with whom he put on a show for his parents had never before this moment occurred to her. In her mind, his heart belonged to the man he’d given it to while away at war. But in a moment such as this, when his eyes were glued to her figure as if he was trying to drink it in all at once, the feeling was intoxicating. Freya could almost imagine that she could be what he needed. All he needed. Her heart thumped in her chest at the notion before she tried to push it to the back of her mind. This close to their ceremony, it wouldn’t do to let her mind get muddled with anything like emotions. Not that the poor girl with almost no experience on the subject should have any say in a matter of the heart at all. 

It was clear that he didn’t know how to take her compliment. Not that he couldn’t, only that she had not worded it as well as she should have. She blamed the way his shirt stretched over his arms, distracting her to the point where her communication skills were lacking. “No, no! Thanks is definitely an appropriate response. I only meant to say that comfortable looks good on you. As much as I enjoy the buttoned up look, you can carry yourself well.” Freya felt like her words were still more jumbled than she would like. Hopefully the young Captain would not notice the way she stumbled over her words as she covered her tracks so to speak. When he made mention of her outfit, the submissive ducked her head to hide the fierce blush she knew would be covering her cheeks. 

“The dress is new. At the news that I had found a dominant, my good friend Dayna assumed that I was going to be in need of a new wardrobe. As a means of compromise I settled on a few items. Believe me, this is one of the most reasonable of the bunch.” In truth, she wasn’t sure she’d even get the chance to wear the dress and heels outside of the four walls of her room but the festival had seemed like the perfect excuse. The look that Charles had given her was a reminder to thank her best friend for the push. His skin felt so warm against her cold, slender fingers. The pair hadn’t been much for physical contact, mostly due to the fact that their entire existence was a facade, so Freya wasn’t entirely sure that she hadn’t lost her mind when she’d reached out for him. 

Freya noticed that his eyes stayed trained on her own and she wasn’t entirely sure what to make of that. From one moment to the next, it was hard to decipher what was real and what was a show. “You don’t have to say that.” She laughed softly as she followed his lead out the door. “It’s not like I’d be all that willing to wander off. Who would catch me if I fell trying to run in these heels? I’d only trust that job to a professional such as yourself.” She avoided his allusion to anyone stealing her away. If the small woman ignored the fact that she was less confident than usual in her odd appearance then maybe no one would notice her short-comings. “I’d be more worried about falling than anything else.”

Charles would be lying if he said that he knew exactly what Freya was thinking. He often thought he was rather good at reading people, but now he couldn't tell if the young woman was just trying to be nice or if she was worried that he took the original compliment the wrong way. In either case, his brow furrowed slightly to show his confusion towards her before laughing again. "Okay, well, I appreciate it," he replied, trying to downplay the significance she held for it. "It's nice of you to say. Maybe I should wear it more often?" he asked with a shrug of his shoulders.

A moment later, after his own words had reached her, he noticed the redness in her cheeks. His lips curved to one side at the sight, somehow amused by it, not in a mocking way but more of a sense of finding endearment in it. There was a fuller smile that came to him by the end of her words. "It's very nice," he repeated his comment on her dress, finding a calmer tone than the first time the statement came from him. "I’m somewhat curious to know what the other choices were,” he teased before realizing the connotations that could have been paired with it. “In a simply curious way, I promise, not an objectifying one, if that sounded at all like that.”

Leading her out the door, he glanced back at her. It felt as though her eyes were always resting on his skin, a gentle type of attention. Even as he locked the door behind them, he regained his position back at her side effortlessly before opening the car door for her. “I meant every word I said,” he assured her as his hand laid on the metal frame, holding the piece open even when she was seated. “Someone will try to snatch you up, I guarantee it. You really don’t want to know how some guys think when they see someone beautiful.” He gave a sliver of a smile, almost apologetic on behalf of his gender, but continued on. “But I’ll be there to fend off the rest of them and to catch you, all right?”

Promises, Promises

[sircharlesirons]

[sircharlesirons]

littlefreya-asquith:

At his comment, Freya willed herself to calm down. No matter what she’d been through there was no one this boy of all the humans on Earth was going to cause her to lose her mind. If she could get out of the next year and a half then she’d never have to deal with him again. “Oh, that’s such a shame. And here I thought you were the chair of my fanclub.” Her voice was ripe with sarcasm as she slid her book to the open seat next to him. Everyone around them was avoiding their eyes so she figured getting one of them to trade places was going to be hopeless at this point. 

The small girl turned on her toe, nearly dropping herself into the open chair next to the boy that she wanted to hex into oblivion. “Or you’re just such an unpleasant guy and no one could stand a decent conversation with you. They wouldn’t be the first to think so.” Her bright eyes cut to look at him, still not sure why he felt the need to mess with her. Soon enough, her curiosity got the better of her so she lowered her voice and continued. “Why today? Do I have some sign on my back that I don’t see? Any other day you would have sat anywhere else. What did I do to you this time, Irons?” 

His head comically tilted in her direction with a saccharine grin. "It's very sweet that you think I would know you better than anyone, Asquith." Charles' lips only twisted in an amused pose while his eyes swayed back to the textbook, keeping busy like a good student should have been. Of course, the pages had already been absorbed nearly when he possessed it for the first time. It was more of a peripheral means of consuming time with the rest of his attention being focused on the slight shift in the air that came from her slipping into her chair, surrendering the battle in a long and continuous war.

"Do you have any sources to reference?" he responded nonchalantly with his vision still trained on the printed words, ignoring the stare boring a hole in his face. It was only when she lowered her voice did the brown irises shift to take her in with his own curiosity emerging from the tone she was presenting. His eyebrows raised vaguely. Truthfully, he couldn't cite anything that she had done specifically lately, no more than the usual at least. It was second-nature to behave in this manner to her, something ingrained too deeply to debug, and he saw it as mutual.

"You know, I'm actually not that bad," he whispered back to her as he noticed the professor beginning to survey the students that had showed up, a tell-tale sign that class would start in a few moments. Giving her a direct look, he continued. "Try something different, like being civil with me for once."

More than Hate

[sircharlesirons]

littlefreya-asquith:

She couldn’t fathom why Merlin would deem today of all days the one to throw dealing with this man in her path. But why not? Everything else seemed to work against her. Why not Charles too. Even as she stood there, knowing that he knew she was near him, he ignored her. Sitting there like nothing was wrong in the world and he wasn’t in her seat. The slamming of her book was the only thing that even slightly seemed to rattle him enough to speak. 

Her lips pursed, trying her best to compose herself rather than start a scene in the middle of the potions classroom. What was more annoying, was the Gryffindor was shooting her a look that lesser witches may have fawned over. Freya however wasn’t falling for it one bit. “You know I sit here every day. Please go sit wherever you usually do.” Her words were curt as she tried to keep it simple as possible. Even though he was a giant pain, it wasn’t entirely his fault that she’d been having a bad day. Though as he continued talking, she threw all of that out the window, not caring one bit that their classmates were rolling their eyes in anticipation of another of their infamous rows.

 “Seeing as you’re the one currently sitting in the seat, Irons, I think that says more about you than it does me. If you were as popular as you think you were then maybe someone ought to be sitting there.” For the past six years, this boy had been tearing at her every nerve. No matter what was going on in her life, he was there to poke at the fire inside of her that she could typically keep calm. 

The fringes of Charles' soul radiated with warmth at knowing that he was getting under Freya's skin. As morally dubious as it was, it couldn't help but be amusing at the very least. For her to be this annoyed at something so simple was positively too easy. His eyebrows just raised at her claims. Of course he knew that this was her seat--it was impossible to ignore the same routine for six years running now--but that didn't require him to let her know that. "I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I don't have your entire lifestyle mapped out," he spoke softly before giving a dismissive shrug to his shoulders at her next round.

"Maybe because I'm apparently the only one that dares to disrupt your special seating arrangement, and they didn't want to get in the crossfire?" he offered in a joking tone. His eyes took a quick survey of the other classmates. The majority looked as though his teasing theory could have actually been legitimate, as they tried to distance themselves from the two for the time being. The brown eyes returned to her shortly before gesturing to the seat next to him. "I have no problem with you sitting here," he went on, "but I could ask the professor, on your behalf, to get you another seat since you have certain requirements that need to be met."

More than Hate

[sircharlesirons]

Charles was incredibly studious for a sixteen-year-old, but it didn't make him any more eager to play nice with one girl in particular. Put aside the traditional rivalry of Gryffindors versus Slytherins, and you would still have Freya and Charles battling each other for the best grades, the best quidditch scores, and whatever else the other wanted. For today, he came into class expecting her to be seated at the front, where she religiously claims every single lesson, but the seat was empty. He checked the time again, finding it past the usual cut-off point when she would be marching in, and he took advantage of the opportunity.

Settling in and laying out his books before the cauldron, it was only a few minutes later when she barged in. By then, he was casually flipping through the pages, noticing her a mile away and yet not giving her the slightest bit of acknowledgement. Even when she predictably shot daggers at him with her look, he pretended with a small smile that she hadn't even bothered coming to class. It was only when she slammed her book did he blink once, taking his time to meet her stormy gaze with a charmed one of his own.

"Well, no this is my seat, hence why I'm currently sitting here," he responded calmly with words enveloped in a slight grin. "Although, if this was reserved as yours, then how is it that the only empty seat in this room is the one next to it? I just don't understand why anyone wouldn't want to study with you... It's quite alarming, actually."

More than Hate

Freya had been rushing all morning. On any other day, she was the girl who showed up early to class, books in hand but for some reason today she’d been five minutes behind. Maybe the world was tilting on a different axis. In any case it irked her to see that her biggest rival had taken her seat in potions. The sixth year Slytherin stormed over to the boy garnished in red and gold, fixing him with her signature glare. When he didn’t move at her look, she slammed her large book down on the double desk hoping he’d be started enough to notice her standing there.

“You know this is my seat, Charles. Why don’t you switch with someone else so neither of us has to suffer through today with the other, okay?” All the other seats were taken and with the way her day was going, working with him was the last thing she needed that day.