Beach Cuddles

Theo shivered under her fingers and Mali shivered at the feeling of his breath against her ear when he whispered right back at her. She didn't miss a single thing about Theo, not even the way that he leaned in trying to coax another kiss. Mali was happy to oblige of course, murmuring "Mmhm. Did I tell you how handsome you are when you're sharing ice cream?" into his neck before pressing her lips just above the first kiss while sneaking in a light and playful nip since bites were the theme of the evening. "So, so handsome." When he would finally cave and relinquish the ice cream it would have definitely been an earned prize, she was laying it on thick. Mali knew just how to work Theo and it worked, he passed up the carton up to an excited squeal from her.

Mali snatched the cup away, sitting back on her heels and leaving Theo out in the wind. "Mm, I know what you mean." she told him with a nod, scooping up a spoonful of ice cream, "A lot's happened, hasn't it?" So much, some really good things and some really bad things and even a few she didn't like to think about. Mali paused with the spoon in her mouth while a twinge of anxiety snaked up her spine. Thinking about what happened made her uncomfortable and Mali did what Mali does and sought out the safety and security of Theo. She moved from behind him and into his lap. "It's a little unfair, isn't it?" Once the floodgate was open there was no stopping it. Everything came rushing at once and it was overwhelming. As a Hufflepuff she found the concept of fairness to be very important and was having trouble reconciling their hand in life with her world view of karma and justness. "We can't seem to catch a break."

Mali scooped another spoonful of ice cream and offered it up to Theo. Heavy conversations required a little bit of sugar to sweeten and lighten it up, to keep the weight of it from crushing you. The next spoonful was hers, though. She had worked very hard to part him with his ice cream, after all. "I'm lucky to have you, or I'd literally been dead." There was an invisible pressure around her neck, tightening her throat right up. She resisted the urge to rub away non existent fingers by tightening her grip on the carton and spoon. Mali knew there was nothing there, that it was all in her head. Just an anxiety response, but she could feel it so vividly. It was hard to breathe, but Theo was there. Everything was okay. She leaned into him, seeking comfort. "No one even noticed. How could no one notice?" The incident at the apothecary was on her mind and refused to be ignored. Deep down she understood that people were too absorbed in keeping themselves alive to notice another struggle in a sea of struggles, but damn it she'd almost died feet from a slew of people until Theo came to her rescue, and got attacked for it. "Do you think that was their plan all along? To lure someone else to attack?"

The witch considered the wizards words as he scooted back and she dug in to his hard won ice cream. "Mmm..." Mali paused, tilting her head while peering down her nose into the dessert, thinking. "Your sweets and your cute bum." she said, sneaking a sideways glance at Theo while wearing a devilish grin on her face. The ice cream was sweet, but Theo was always sweeter. Mali pushed a sprinkle around one of the scoops with the tip of her spoon before deciding "I think I fancy your bum the most." After another scoop of ice cream she quickly added "The ice cream gives it some solid competition, though." It's sugary goodness only just lost to the more attractive parts of her handsome troll's anatomy.

Really, though... The way Theo was so in tune with her and how she worked was the real winning quality. It was exactly what Mali needed, too. She was a little witch full of insecurity and worries who thrived when she had someone who could coax her down off of the ledge and help her work through it. Sometimes all she needed was the physical closeness and the sense of security that Theo provided. He was so patient and kind to her. Everything she did for Theo, he returned ten fold. He held her together when she would unravel and pull apart at the seams on her own. Mali could work through her overwhelmed feelings because she didn't have to do it alone, because he was there every single step of the way. She was mad for him, as evidenced by the only slightly reluctant way she shared his own ice cream with him.

"You'll have me as long as there's ice cream, at least." They couldn't get too mushy, because that would undoubtedly lead to vulnerability. Did they really need that right now? Mali felt like what they really needed was a beautiful night on the beach and bellies full of ice cream. Too much had happened, though. There were too many emotions and fears to be ignored, especially when she had started to lead them down that path. It ws too late to turn back now, they had to process what happened. At least they would process it together, with ice cream and warm embraces. After another bite or three, Mali passed up the last spoonful of ice cream to the troll who stole her heart. "You're my favorite person to share it with." That was definitely something.

After setting the empty carton down in the sand, Mali relaxed back against Theo while she traced meandering and zig zagging lines along the arms wrapped around her waist. "Do you think she can? Read minds, I mean." What was it called? Leg--something. There was some sort of magic that allowed people to see into other people's minds and mess with them. They'd even used it back at the farmhouse to manipulate what they saw. It was an advanced bit of skill so naturally Mali didn't pay much attention to what it was, considering it was firmly past her own capabilities. "You fought brilliantly against it the first time. I dunno that you'd remember it like that, but you kept breaking through the Curse." This took them back way beyond the apothecary all the way to where it all began, in the spell damage unit of the hospital.

She turned sideways so she could hold Theo too, her arms encircling his waist and her head resting against his shoulder. It couldn't be anymore comfortable for him to remember these things than it was for her, so she wanted him to feel secure too. Theo needed to know that she wouldn't let anything happen to him if she could help it, just like he wouldn't to her. "Little bits of you kept coming back, I think that's why you didn't really hurt me and that one witch, the one that did the curse, that's why she left. She could tell she couldn't hold you anymore. That takes a strong mind, doesn't it? Everything I've read about it says that. If you can fight against that, you can fight against anything." After a quiet moment, Mali hesitantly added "I don't really wanna fight anymore. I'm tired. I just want to be left alone." She chewed on her lip, feeling restless and unsettled. The witch shifted in his lap, turning back so she could lean against him again.

Mali leaned to the side and reached into the sand, drawing a heart with an arrow through it with her index finger. "It feels so senseless. That makes it scarier, there's no real reason behind it. You could say it's because we got one of them arrested, but why did she even pick you in the first place? Why my floor? There were so many floors and so many people. I loved both of those patients. I cared for Mister Longbottom almost my whole career." As short as that career was. All that had happened made her feel aged beyond her years instead of a young, fresh faced twenty something. "We're good people, aren't we? We lied, but we're making up for it. We don't deserve any of this."

A wink. Goodness. Ice cream and cheesiness didn't usually go together but Theo made it work, made it seem adorable. When he wiggled in the sand she laughed out loud, not even bothering to try and muffle it with a hand. "He!?" she asked, amused by the fact that Theo's Cute Bum was apparently an entirely separate entity from himself. She leaned back to watch the butt wiggling in the sand, laughing out loud. "Does the bloke have a name?" Mali asked, grinning in amusement that apparently Theo's Very Cute Bum was an entirely separate entity from himself, capable of things like jealousy. "He's got no reason to be jealous." Mali told him, giving said bum a pat before she returned to the almost winning ice cream. "He's still my favorite. Only just, though."

"I dunno." Mali shrugged as they treaded into dangerous, emotional territory. "I think it could be good defensively." Reading minds, that was. "If you can read someone's mind you could figure out if they're an enemy or not, couldn't you?" If someone could've read the woman's mind while she was lurking through the hospital corridors, maybe they could have gleaned her plans and put a stop to it before it began or at least gotten themselves prepared. Instead, it was a complete and totally blindside. "Besides, reading your mind could prove very interesting... Although, I don't really speak Troll." Humor and gentle teasing was a big part of their relationship, they couldn't veer completely off the edge without inserting a little bit of it to bring themselves back.

It was a wonder, how people with such different body dimensions could fit perfectly in each other's arms. Theo was much bigger than she was, tall and broad, but he seemed like he belonged there when she wrapped him up in her own embrace. Theo leaned into her and she leaned into him and together they carefully picked through things that would never fully be processed. Mali didn't think it was something that they would ever get over or totally move past. It would always lurk in their shadow and cling to their souls like some terrible cancer that couldn't be removed. Her heart broke a little when Theo spoke. Her arm tightened around him, holding him as close as humanly possible. There was a prickle of tears in her eyes but Mali managed to blink them away before they could form. It was all unfair, Theo shouldn't have to carry a wonder like that with him. "You didn't make it worse. I think you would've killed me if you didn't fight it. She wanted you to do it, and I'm really no match. There's no telling where she would've stopped if you wouldn't of fought."

When she felt the weight of him on her shoulder, Mali turned to press a long kiss against his cheek before resting her head against his. "I dunno how people like Remus and his friends manage to do what they do. Fight them all the time? It's exhausting and terrifying. They fight dirty, like you said. I'm afraid they'll bring the fight to my dads or to Eoin or something. Eoin's too precious to get wrapped up in something like this." Wasn't she, though? Mali was the epitome of good once upon a time. She didn't lie, she didn't deceive people or break laws but the darkness that poisoned the wizarding world was twisting her into a different version of herself. Theo, too. As much as she had to feel guilty for, Mali never killed anyone. She never cast a spell that took someone's life but the same couldn't be said for Theo. Gentle Giant with a Jealous Bum that he was, that would probably haunt him forever.

Mali added a '+ His Bum' under the 'TA' Chaos didn't make it feel any better, though. If they could find a reason then maybe she could assign meaning to it but if it was random chaos? "It doesn't mean anything..." she said out loud, trailing off in thought. "We were just scared." Mali agreed, nodding her head. "I didn't want to lose you to Azkaban. I'd do it again, too. All of it, I'd do every bit of it again even if I knew how it would turn out. You needed me then, and I've needed you since then." Like now, if Theo wasn't here she would've fallen to pieces ages ago and he was the only thing keeping her together right this moment.