Let's Give This a Try

[Brian McKenna]

Over the last couple of years a number of cute little cafes had popped up along Diagon Alley, filling store fronts that in some cases had been vacant since Voldemort's time.  Brian was sitting at a table on the patio of one such cafe (had it been Fortescue's?) nervously chewing on his thumbnail and watching the passersby.  

The waiter came up for the third time, rolling his eyes.  "Are you ready?" he asked again.

"No, I told you I'm waiting for someone," Brain answered impatiently.  Okay, so maybe getting there half an hour early was a bit much, but that really didn't give the guy the right to harass a patron, did it?  He probably thought Brian had been stood up.  Maybe he had been.  Maybe she wasn't coming after all. 

He checked his watch, noting that it was still early and wondered if this had been a mistake.  His brothers thought so, saying Stasie had too much baggage, but Brian didn't really care about that.  All he knew was he couldn't stop thinking about her and now that her husband was out of the picture (he knew better than to ask too many questions about that), there wasn't really anything keeping him from seeing her.

He had told her she could bring the wains if she needed to (but the thought of them coming made him even more nervous) and wondered how much that would piss off the waiter if he now asked for a bigger table. The guy was already eyeing him suspiciously from the service area.  Best to wait and see if she even brought them.

He looked at his watch again and noted that only a couple of minutes had passed.  Worrying again that he had gotten the place wrong, the date wrong, the time wrong, the whole situation wrong, he gave up on his thumbnail and started fraying the edge of the table cloth, further incurring the wrath of the impatient waiter.


{Anastasie Travert, I hope this is okay }

[Anastasie Travert]

Stasie hadn't felt the giddy high that accompanied getting ready for a date (was this finally considered a date?!) since she had been introduced to Julien. Even that had been the first time she'd really been nervous meeting up with a guy. Back at school when she'd had flirtations with some of the male students she'd been so confident that she knew she never had to worry. Thanks to her heritage men were usually falling over themselves to get a chance with her and she'd used that to her advantage. Julien actually gave her a reason to worry. She'd known from the start he was supposed to be her betrothed. How would that not strike fear into the heart of a sixteen year old meeting the guy for the first time?

This time though was entirely different. She was now a young widow and mother of two small children, and trying to get back out there with a guy that she really cared about. Not to mention in normal circumstances she had to keep up appearances enough to make the rest of the family think she was still recovering from the death of her husband and even more so to make it seem like she had not been the one to kill him in the first place. For the most part it wasn't hard. The fact that she'd taken another life gave her enough emotion to make the act believable. But this time she was just trying to fly under the radar and try for another chance at happiness. So far every time she'd seen him Brian made her heart happy.

The blonde fidgeted with the hem of her dress for probably the hundredth time that day as she made her way to the place she'd agreed to meet Brian. At least she didn't have to worry about her babies. Q had been gracious enough to take them since he was the only person she trusted with the knowledge of her whereabouts. She hadn't known what would be the best thing to wear that day, but eventually had decided that the powder blue flowered sundress was a fine choice and with fall approaching it would only be so much longer before she couldn't wear such cute things to impress.

Her hands shook as she rounded the corner at just about the time she was supposed to and found Brian already seated at a table. Her heart sped up. Had she actually gotten the time wrong? He looked like he'd been there a while already...Stasie put on a bright smile, it wasn't hard because despite the nerves she was still very excited, and approached the table. "I hope you weren't waiting on me too long."

455 (It's great! Sorry for the rustiness in writing!)

[Brian McKenna]

(I didn't forget us!)

Damn, she was beautiful.

As soon as he caught sight of her, he grinned and he wasn't quite sure if his nerves heightened or relaxed. Was it possible to feel this ecstatic and calm at the same time? Hopelessly flustered and perfectly calm all at once? Scared of what the future might hold and still confident that this was meant to be? Fearful that he wasn't good enough for her, but certain that they belonged together?

Damn, he was a sap.

"No, not really," he lied because him being there ridiculously early really wasn't her fault. He stood up to hug her, but then wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do and tried to play it off as a handshake before realizing that was just lame and going for the hug again. At least his hesitation made it easier for her to back out of any physical contact if she wanted. "I hope this place is okay. I've never been here before and I wasn't sure if you were bringing the wee ones."

[Anastasie Travert]

The sight of that smile that she was beginning to commit to memory almost made Stasie's heart stop. It certainly made it flutter as that giddy rush washed over her again. When she had first reconnected with Brian and she'd had that inkling that there was an attraction there at first she'd worried. What if it had been that same thing, that element to her blood that made men go stupid around her and try and impress her, hoping for a chance at more time with her, that had made him want to be around her again? Had it been someone else that worried might have prevailed for longer than it had, but there was something about Brian. She trusted him with every fiber that he was being sincere. In quite the reversal she found herself daydreaming, longing for the next time they could get together.

Well, today was the day!

The woman took in the first hug reach and she reached for him as well, before he...well she wasn't sure what he was trying to do, but it made her giggle when he eventually leaned in again for a hug and she went oh so willingly to his arms. "I'm glad," she remarked, staying in the hug maybe too long? Maybe not long enough? Oh, she was overanalyzing everything today! "I don't think I've been here in years, maybe not since school." She could feel herself begin to blush, and not even for any particular reason. For goodness sake, Anastasie, you are not a schoolgirl anymore! "I have Quinten Blackburn watching the kids. I wanted us to have plenty of time."

273

(Sorry, posted it with the wrong character XD)