Dirk Cresswell

[dfcresswell]

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RP blog penned by Steph for AmorFati. 

I also play: @missmary; @beeavery; @pembrokesbox; @epimetheusb; @nottsoinnocent

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[aoife-oleary-deactivated2021082]

WHEN: 21 June 1983 WHERE: Summer Solstice Festival, Nature Pavilion  WHO: OPEN

Aoife’s pace was slow as she meandered around the festival with a quickly melting sno-cone in hand, dyed purple from the sugary syrup it was drenched in. She ate at it quickly, already regretting the purchase. It kept her from reaching out and getting as close to the creatures as she’d have liked. “I’m sorry,” she apologized by means of grabbing the nearby stranger’s attention. “Have you seen a rubbish bin anywhere nearby?” Her own attempt at spotting one had left her wanting, and she wouldn’t have asked if she hadn’t already spent considerable time looking first herself.

[dfcresswell]

Dirk was just considering leaving the Nature Pavilion and going to find Bertram within the crowd of the festival when a familiar face caught his eye. He walked closer, not wanting to call out her name and interrupt the conversation she was having with someone unknown to Dirk but it soon became apparent that she was only looking for a bin and the stranger gave no more than an unhelpful shrug before continuing on their way. “Aoife! Hey! You know, I think you might have to evanesco it. I haven’t seen a bin at all. Strange, actually. You’d think they’d want one in here especially because of, well...” He pulled a face. “All the mess.”

[dfcresswell]

Where: Summer Solstice Festival When: 21st June Who: Dirk && @bertrey

They had been to plenty of these sorts of things together before but never together. Halloween had been the closest, except that Dirk hadn't known Bertram's feelings at the time and ever since confessions and revelations and decisions to give it a go had occurred, they had been keeping things to themselves. Not in the sense of keeping it a secret, and that certainly wasn't to say they hadn't been on any dates but Dirk was a naturally private person so walking through such a busy place hand in hand with another man made him feel a little self-conscious. It very much felt like a public outing together, eyes of reporters around them and practically everybody either of them knew in attendance. It made Dirk glad that they had opted for a quiet weekend just the two of them for their birthdays and Valentine's weekend, when it had all been so new and fresh. He was certain he wouldn't have been ready for this any earlier. Now, however, he gave Bertram's hand a squeeze and looked at him with a smile that said he had no doubts or reservations any longer. He wanted to be here with Bertram, nobody else. "Where do you want to go next?" he asked, though quickly followed up with his own suggestion. "I'm not sure about the whole dancing with a tree thing, but we could go and see if they're playing any decent music there."

[dfcresswell]

Where: Summer Solstice Festival When: 21st June Who: Dirk && @fcnwick​

When the paparazzi got a little too much, it was an apologetic look towards Bertram that Dirk slipped away and ducked into the Nature Pavilion for a break. He was attempting to find the rumoured merpeople in the depths of the lagoon when a particularly loud squeal from a nearby child scared off any possible creatures from coming near to the surface of the water. Dirk looked around to people watch instead and his eyes landed on Benjy nearby. He waved over to the man and greeted him with a smile. “Benjy, hi! Are you here with...” Just before he let Barty’s name slip, he remembered his friend’s request that  he not say anything about his budding relationship. Dirk wasn’t sure if that was for Barty’s sake, and the reaction his father might have, or for Benjy’s sake. Just in case Barty hadn’t told Benjy he had mentioned it to Dirk, and also because that conversation had been a while ago and Dirk was not a gossip and would not pry but that meant he actually had no idea what their current relationship status was, he instead asked, “With anybody? Or, uh...” His demeanour dropped slightly as he remembered what Benjy’s job was. “Are you here to take photos?” It would be just typical if he had come in here to get away from the press and inadvertently invited them over to him anyway. Bertram might not be there at that moment, but Dirk would prefer to avoid his relationship being plastered all over the papers.

[ohmuseohmy]

(x)

[dfcresswell]

@bertrey

[now-at-punkwarren-deactivated20]

PATRONUS ANALYSIS: 023. THE HEDGEHOG

The first impression of an individual with a hedgehog patronus can be very deceiving. On the outside, they can first appear happy-go-lucky and kind, as well as slightly naive. They are optimistic individuals in the way they want to be happy and have the feeling rub off on others, but this is not who they are completely. Rather, they actually have a tough personality to them, and have the ability to fight and defend themselves. Do not take the for weaklings, because they certaintly are not, and are much more persceptive than they appear. The most common house for a hedgehog patronus is Hufflepuff. The most common signs are Cancer and Saggittarius. 

[dfcresswell]

bertrey​:

Bertram rolled his eyes at Dirk’s comment but his lips remained smiling. It amused Bertram to no end whenever Dirk would let his guard down and complain about the wizarding world because the muggle world just did it so much better. Bertram himself didn’t have much contact with the muggle world despite his mother being a muggle herself. That’s why Dirk’s concerns entertain him deeply. “How else would they get their charming smile, Dirk? Not everything can just be down to natural looks, can it? Besides, how do muggles get nice teeth? How is that any different from whitening potions?”

Dirk’s voice crack prompted Bertram to stop midway. He got both of them out of the bathroom but they were still too far from the bed for Bertram’s liking. But Dirk’s hesitation no longer seemed like his usual kind wherein he simply needed a push. No, his hesitation seemed more… Pained. Worried. Bertram frowned. “What?!” Bertram sputtered when he realized what Dirk meant. “I’m not… I’m not trying to be fresh with you, Dirk. I just wanted to cuddle like I said.” He rolled his eyes as if it was obvious. “We agreed to take it slow. Part of that is not trying to sleep with you. I promise.”

“By flossing and by seeing a dentist twice a year to make sure there aren’t any problems and sometimes they have braces if their teeth aren’t naturally straight.” Dirk knew full-well that some people did use teeth whiteners but he wasn’t about to bring those up. It was just some jokey repartee anyway, and a nice distraction from the concerns that had chased him into the bathroom.

He winced at Bertram’s reaction. “I— I know,” he said, but his voice was hesitant. Uncertain. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I know you’re not going to try and force me into anything, it’s just—” The expectations. The pressures. He wasn’t sure how to describe them, however, especially when he wasn’t really sure where they were coming from. Perhaps it was just that however slow it might feel to Bertram, this whole thing had been sudden and unexpected to Dirk and he had never spent any time thinking about spending time in bed with another person. “I’m not sure if I’m acting how I’m supposed to.”

[dfcresswell]

fcnwick​:

it had taken him a while since arriving home, but benjy finally remembered to go to gringott’s on his day off.  he still had most of the money he’d taken out for his trip, and he was tired of worrying about it.  it wasn’t that much, not once you factored the exchange rate between his parents’ muggle money and the ever-confusing wizard’s system.  he still didn’t understand how it worked, he’d always just let the workers at gringott’s figure it out whenever his parents sent him money or vice versa.  

“hi!  i’d like to make a deposit.  i have — ” was all benjy was able to get out before the goblin started reprimanding him.  he wasn’t even sure what he did;  he’d just touched the desk to give himself some leverage because they were so tall. it felt like he was on his tiptoes taking to the worker.  benjy had a strong look of confusion on his face until he heard dirk talking, and immediately his face turned red from shame.  “oh jeez, i didn’t know.  i feel so bad.”  he looked for the goblin he’d apparently insulted, but he’d already gone.  “i just wanted to deposit some money back into my account, but now i don’t know what to do.”

Dirk winced and shook his head. His tone had come across a bit harsher than he meant it to. After all, Benjy was muggleborn as well. He hadn’t grown up in a world where goblins run banks. In the muggle world, customer service was more important than perceived slights against the teller. “It’s okay. You live and learn. I can talk to—” But the goblin had already gone and Dirk sighed. “Pride is important to them but money’s more important. Give him ten minutes or so to calm down and he’ll be back. They’re used to wizards not knowing their etiquette and customs. The main thing is to be direct but not in a way they see as demanding. That’s why their desks are so high, you know, to remind wizards that goblins aren’t below them so they see touching their desks as wizards trying to object to that.”

He had been about to continue with advice for how to approach the goblin when he came back but Dirk became abruptly aware that he was rambling, as sometimes he was wont to do when it came to goblins. “Uh, yeah, so that’s why. How are you, anyway? Haven’t seen you in a bit.” He didn’t mention Barty, because Barty had made it pretty clear that anything going on between him and Benjy was a secret but the question was burning on his mind.

[dfcresswell]

bertrey​:

Bertram laughed along with him even though he didn’t think his laughter sounded as pretty as Dirk’s. With only the two of them together, it hardly mattered. “I don’t think that’s how it works, Dirk.” Bertram calls Dirk by his name a lot whenever he was feeling affectionate. “But I’d love to see you get drunk anyway. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.” With that Bertram wrapped his other hand around the one Dirk just placed over their interlocking fingers. He has no plans of letting go either. “Come on then. It’s not gonna fetch itself.” Even though it could with a flick of a wand. Bertram just thought that dragging Dirk around would be a lot more fun. The musician stuck a tongue out at his boyfriend. “Well, it’s not my fault you’re so prompt and proper all the time. You wouldn’t even entertain the thought of being late just so we could cuddle in the morning.”

He stopped and looked at Dirk blushing profusely. Bertram didn’t think it was something he should feel guilty about but it was nice to know that Dirk knew and yet, he didn’t mind all the same. He brought their hands up to his lips and kissed Dirk’s hand. “I don’t think you will hurt me, Dirk.” Bertram paused and let his sentiment simmer for a while before continuing. “But if you do. Think of all the amazing songs I’ll get to write,” he teased. “There’s gonna be a whole album dedicated to you. Each song would be about how a beautiful man stole my heart and called it his.” The musician looked up and smiled gleefully, waiting for Dirk’s reaction. “Now enough of that. Let’s get started with drinking.”

It was incredible the things Dirk had never noticed before. Like the fact that Bertram’s laugh lit up the entire room or how the way he said Dirk’s name was so soft, almost reverent, and Dirk wanted to hear him say it over and over just to hear that tone in Bertram’s voice. Had he really missed these details for all this time? Or perhaps they had always been there and he just didn’t realise that the reason he found it so easy to joke around with Bertram was because he had wanted to hear that laugh. “You’ve definitely seen me drunk before,” Dirk pointed out, but he was distracted from dragging up memories of Hogwarts parties and the early days of trying to fit in at the Ministry and celebrating the wins or commiserating the losses of both their careers in the years since. Their hands wrapped around each other was a much better thing to focus his attention on. “If you ever make me late to work, you get to be the one to explain to the goblins why.” He wouldn’t mind so much with his human colleagues but he had no intentions of making any dents in the good relations he had built up with the goblins with something so asinine as showing up late.

Dirk had spent so much time worrying if starting a relationship with Bertram would in hurt, simply because he didn’t know what he wanted but part of deciding to go for it was letting go of those worries, so he only nodded to Bertram’s proclamation. He didn’t dwell on it or insist on making another apology or make a defence of himself that if he did end up hurting him, it wouldn’t be intentional. Instead, he took the opportunity to divert the conversation, as he let  Bertram pull him to his feet and they headed to get the wine. “Have you written any songs about me before?” It was only just occurring to him that if Bertram had liked him for a while, then maybe some of his songs had been about Dirk all along, which was a little strange to think about.

[dfcresswell]

arabellafiqq​:

Arabella did not understand the relationship between wizards and goblins in Britain. She knew that the general relationship between the two groups was tense, as it was back home, but they had nothing like Gringotts back in the States. Or maybe they did, in a way, but there was one, singular bank for all American wix. First: the country was too large for that. Second: it was strange, wasn’t it? To put a group in charge of all your money who you didn’t understand and didn’t necessarily trust? It was strange to her, but she did her best to be polite when she needed to stop in at Gringotts. Changing muggle currency to magical coins and vice versa was probably a more demanding task than the average patron requested. Didn’t mean she always got it right.

She held back the sigh as the goblin dismissed her. She made to step back from the desk when the other spoke; she looked up at him with a small frown. “Oh. Is that it?” she asked, brow furrowed. “Have they considered signs about that then?” She shook her head. “Nothing I can’t handle another day.

“You probably caught him on a bad day as well,” Dirk admitted, lowering his voice so that none of the goblins would hear him. “They have to deal with wizards looking down on them all day long and some of them are better at being patient about the differences in culture than others.” It was part of why he valued his job so much. The dynamic between wix and goblins was a complicated one and most people didn’t understand it anywhere near as much as they should. Goblins played such a vital part in their economy and wix wanted to take advantage of their shrewdness without paying them the respect and rewards they deserved. “I imagine they would consider putting a sign up to be unnecessary. A bit like every office in the Ministry having a sign on the door to say ‘if you wish to be polite, you should knock before you enter.’”

He chewed on his lip for a moment to bite back a pointed comment about people not bothering to learn about goblin culture before they went into a business ran by goblins and when he noticed the muggle money in her hand, he was glad that he had held back. There was already a culture shock with being muggleborn and just because he had overcome it didn’t mean everybody could so easily. “You know, if you’re just looking for a small change, I can do you two galleons for a tenner.”

[dfcresswell]

tdtnks​:

It was a long shot that a random bystander would happen to know anything about the letter, and even slimmer that the letter would belong to that bystander. He sighed but kept a pleasant expression. “It was a worth a shot. I hate for something important to get lost down a storm drain. Could be a bill or love letter, you never know,” he said with a quiet chuckle. Ted squinted at the name again as the stranger rattled of his suggestion. “Maybe a Fawley? I think I went to school with someone with that last night.” They were a pureblood family, from what he remembered. Being married to the runaway Black daughter made him aware of those sorts of things.

He shrugged as he looked back up at the man, holding out the hand not grasping the letter. “Thanks though. Sorry if I distracted you from something.” He glanced behind the stranger and only saw a poster and a petition. “I guess I’m not surprised,” he added, nodding towards the petition to cancel the Quidditch cup.

“It doesn’t look like a bill, at least. Sorry I couldn’t be more help,” Dirk said with a shrug. “Maybe...” He didn’t sound convinced, though. Dirk forgot sometimes that the Wizarding World was as small as it was so he wasn’t in the habit of assuming something like this would actually be addressed to someone one of the two of them knew. There were a lot of potential surnames including those he knew from the Muggle world. “It might even be Finley. If it is a love letter, then they need to work on their handwriting if they want to be sure it gets there. I know owls don’t necessarily need that if you tell them who to go to but... Christ, what happened to the owl?” He looked up at the sky as if he expected to see an injured owl flapping around above their heads. That was more worrying to Dirk than the letter. He figured if it was that important, the sender could just write another one but there were few reasons that would cause a good postal owl to drop a letter like this and the majority of them didn’t bode well for the bird.

“Oh, no, not at all. I was just taking the scenic route home. Actually I stopped because of that one,” he gestured to Bertram’s poster. “He’s, uh— we’re—” He still wasn’t used to telling strangers that they were dating and in this case it felt a bit too close to bragging given the context. Instead, he settled for explaining, “We’ve lived together for nearly four years and it’s still weird to see his face plastered around Diagon Alley. Though I do think he’d get a kick out of being next to a campaign to cancel Quidditch. I’m not convinced that will go very far. It’s the biggest sport in the country.”

[dfcresswell]

bertrey​:

Bertram laughed as Dirk got all flustered. He was still unaware of the possible thoughts running through Dirk’s head. All he could think of was how cute Dirk was and how he can’t wait for the chance to pull him back to bed. He grabbed the tube of toothpaste and squeezed some into his toothbrush’s bristles. While Dirk was looking at him through the mirror, Bertram preferred to look at him directly as he started brushing his teeth. “Oh. I know,” Bertram tried to say with his toothbrush still in his mouth so it just came out as garbled. “How else do you think I maintain my megawatt smile.” It was a joke since Bertram rarely smiles for the camera. Not even a lot in front of a crowd. Most of his smiles were reserved for Dirk alone.

Dirk had just finished washing his mouth, so naturally, Bertram used the opportunity to lean over and press his still lips that were still covered with suds against Dirk’s lips. Bertram was smiling himself silly as he pushed Dirk away from the sink with his hips before rinsing his own mouth. “Now, are you done yet?” he asked, grabbing Bertram by the wrist. “I’d like to come back to cuddling, please.”

“The fact that Hogwarts never made sure we were seeing a dentist regularly did sometimes make me wonder how much education there was about that,” he commented, dryly. It was nice that these days he could say things like that to Bertram which screamed of his muggle upbringing without having to worry and it made it hard to believe that for so long he had avoided such a topic with his best friend. “They should change the name of Witch Weekly’s Most Charming Smile Award to the Best Use of Teeth Whitening Potions Award.”

The joke felt like it had fallen flat a little when the taste of toothpaste was pressed against his lips again in the form of a kiss. In something of a daze, Dirk let himself be pushed away from the sink as he dropped his toothbrush back into its holder, now looking at Bertram properly but there was a hint of a frown on his face as he did so. It was all so domestic but that wasn’t really the problem. Boarding school followed by these years living with Bertram meant that domesticity wasn’t such a foreign concept to Dirk. He was completely focused on what they were going to do when they left the safety of the bathroom and all too soon Bertram was done and asking to head back to bed. “Berty,” he said, voice cracking a little with the anxiety of what he felt he needed to say and the uncertainty that it might make this thing between them crumble. “I don’t— I’ve never—” He trailed off with a hand gesture as if to say you know.

[dfcresswell]

Where: Gringotts, Diagon Alley Who: Dirk && open

He saw it happening only when it was too late to do something about it. Goblin culture could seen finicky to those who didn’t understand it but it was just like the differences with other wizarding cultures. Certain symbols and actions that might be neutral or even positive for one group could be deeply offensive to others. The difficulty here was that each Gringotts goblin had their own desk and one thing that they found very offensive was others placing their hands on their desks. For the most part, it was okay. This was why their desks were raised so high, not to keep them above wix (although Dirk was sure that played into it a little bit) but to keep those wix’s hands off their desks. There would always be someone who did it anyway, though, either out of ignorance or defiance.

“That’s not a good idea,” Dirk started to warn, but he had left it too late and already the goblin had become snippy and dismissed the customer with a cold and cutting glare. “Too bad,” Dirk said, “but they consider it rude for guests to touch their desks. You didn’t have more business to do, did you?”

[dfcresswell]

ailajohnson​:

She looked down at the tuna sandwich the other had handed her with a disgusted look.  “I –” she took a deep breath, trying not to come across as an asshole if this had genuinely been a kind gesture.  “am going to need a bit of clarification, I guess.  Are you trying to poison me, or are you doing a random act of kindness and just so happen to have horrendous taste in sandwiches?”

It had been years since she had lived at home, since she had been forced to eat the disgusting combination of tuna and mushy peas that her father seemed so drawn to.  It looked like cat food that had been partially digested, and it didn’t smell much better.  “Oh no,” she protested as they tried to take it away.  “I’ve got to eat it now, I don’t want to break your spirit or whatever.  You tried, even if you sort of failed.  Just – if I don’t make it past this moment I want you to call me beautiful and brilliant when you give the eulogy at my funeral.”  She sighed, peeling back the wrapping and taking the smallest bite off the corner.

Dirk checked his watch again, despite knowing he had plenty of time. It was just that the goblin he had a meeting with today was very particular. Or, perhaps, easily irritated was a better way of describing her. And particularly difficult to work with when she was irritated. A little prone to random bouts of violence in those cases, too. Dirk had learned over the past year that there were a couple of things that he could do to try and stop her from becoming irritated. One of them was getting there on time. Not early, because she considered that to be rude, but not even half a minute late because then he would be wasting her time. The other thing Dirk could do was bring along a tuna sandwich from her favourite shop. The gift of food really worked miracles.

He had enough time that he knew he would have to distract himself for a little bit if he wasn’t going to turn up at Gringotts too early and irk the goblin, so when he saw Aila, he walked over and lifted his hand up in a wave. Unfortunately, that move was just enough to let a piece of parchment fall from the file he was carrying for his afternoon meeting. “Here, hold this,” he asked of Aila, thrusting the sandwich into her hands so that he could get his files back in order before the wind took them. “No, it’s—” he started, getting distracted from his own words as he made sure the file was secure this time before he freed up a hand to reach out for the sandwich again. “I wasn’t—” But Aila had cut him off, holding the sandwich back from him so that he couldn’t take it and Dirk could do nothing but gape as she proceeded to unwrap his goblin peace offering and take a bite. “Ah, crap, I’m going to have to buy another now,” he muttered.

[dfcresswell]

bertrey​:

Bertram thought he knew everything about Dirk. From their days in Hogwarts to moving in together, he spent every day learning more about him. Sometimes, he’d think that he already knew all there is to know. But just their first kiss was enough to prove that he was wrong. So wrong. That first kiss taught Bertram more about Dirk than the decade they spent together.

And after their second kiss, Bertram was just rediscovering Dirk all over again.

Bertram looked at him weirdly. “I didn’t know my boyfriend is an aspiring alcoholic,” he teased before bringing up their interlaced hands. “Or I uh… guess not since you don’t look like you want to let me go. And to answer that question, it’s not a lot. Since you’re always so busy all the time,” he joked. Bertram squeezed Dirk’s hand back before looking up at his boyfriend. He didn’t know where Dirk’s declaration was coming from but it wasn’t at all unwelcome. “Hey, don’t worry about it. You have nothing to be sorry for.” Bertram thought about it for a few seconds before adding, “In fact, can I tell you something? It kinda didn’t matter because I’ve treated you as my boyfriend ever since we kissed for the second time. Is that bad?”

Dirk just laughed and shook his head. He didn’t really drink all that often, but with nowhere to be, he saw no reason to limit it to the evening. “The sooner we start, the sooner the hangover ends. I’m not letting you go, you’ll just have to take me with you.” He wrapped his free hand around over their joint ones to stop Bertram from trying to let go of him. “Oh, yeah, so says the one who works weekends. At least my job is a nice, civilised nine-to-five,” he teased back. It did limit their time together, however, when their schedules were in such opposition, which is why it almost felt enough to celebrate them simply getting a weekend to themselves.

Heat spread through Dirk’s cheeks as he looked down at their hands. “I know you have. It’s not bad. I... liked it. It helped me realise that I wanted it, too, not just that I didn’t want to hurt you.” But he also knew it wouldn’t have been fair to leave Bertram with any uncertainty over how Dirk felt, no matter how much Bertram tried to say it didn’t matter.

[dfcresswell]

tdtnks​:

Location: Diagon Alley Who: open

It was by instinct alone that Ted managed to catch the letter half-flying, half-skittering across the cobblestones of Diagon Alley. Ted frowned and squinted at it, turning it over. His eyes skimmed the lettering on the back, but the handwriting was chicken-scratch. He craned his head, searching for someone or something who might’ve lost it. Ted spotted nothing; no frantic people, no circling owls, no healers in sight. He glanced at the letter again, but the word were still scribbles. Was than an F or an L?

Motion in the corner of his vision broke his focus. He waved at the disappointingly calm bystander, picking up his feet to reach them. “You didn’t lose a letter did you?” he asked in a hopeful tone, holding it out for them to see. “I caught this, but I can’t read the name or address on it.”

Dirk left Gringotts with the intention of enjoying the fine weather and walking home, no need to rush now his work day was over. It gave him chance to look around and properly take in the street he had grown a bit too used to over the years. It was a shame that he had viewed magic with such scepticism when he was first introduced to the world, really. It was truly incredible and Dirk felt he had missed out on the full impact most muggleborns got when catching their first glimpse of Diagon Alley.

He gave a startle of surprise when, in taking in so much more of his surroundings than usual, his eyes fell on a poster advertising one of Bertram’s concerts. He had never been one for taking photos but Dirk found himself wishing he had a camera with him, if only because it was hung right next to someone’s handmade petition to cancel the Quidditch cup this year in light of what had happened last season. He didn’t have a camera, though, so he stepped away and made to continue his walk along the alley only to be distracted again, this time by someone waving at him. Or... Dirk thought it was at him. He didn’t recognise the man but a glance over his shoulder told him that there was nobody else around whose attention he might be trying to catch. “A... letter?” he asked in confusion, frown clearing when he saw the parchment. “Not that I was sending and I don’t think it’s for me. Hard to tell, really.” The handwriting really was awful. “I don’t recognise the writing. Is that... Lawley? Don’t recognise the name, either. Sorry. It’s a shame there’s not a post office in Diagon Alley, although, they’d probably charge you for it, even if it’s not yours.”

[dfcresswell]

bertrey​:

Bertram was expecting more kisses. Either given by him or coming from Dirk. Instead, Dirk was already slipping away. So much for staying in bed the entire day, Bertram complained to himself. Toilet, he says. Bertram supposed that he could at least excuse that. With Dirk out of the bed, Bertram’s side immediately turned cold. The bed still smelt overwhelmingly of Dirk, but already, Bertram’s arms were craving for something to reach out and hold on to.

When Dirk was taking longer than Bertram expected him to, he finally decided to throw himself out of the bed and followed suit. Thankfully, Dirk didn’t close the door of the toilet behind him. Bertram slipped in and found Dirk leaning against the sink, brushing his teeth. He smirked. Wandlessly, he gestured into the air. “Accio toothbrush.” Immediately, his toothbrush came flying towards his hand. “I don’t mind if your breath stinks, you know,” he teased.

He pushed the bathroom door to behind him and took a moment just to breathe. The whole thing was so overwhelming and Dirk didn’t know how to feel. Suddenly, it all felt so different to cuddling in the living room or even kissing. Something changed the whole feeling them lying in bed together, despite having stayed that way all through the night. Dirk splashed some cold water on his face to try and distract himself from his thoughts and then relieved himself. As he washed his hands, he realised he still wanted to put off going back to bed. Back to Bertram. Where he would have to face the fact that label or no label, lying in bed with someone he had been kissing recently might lead to certain expectations. Dirk reached for his toothbrush, not really thinking through the action until Bertram walked in. Dirk looked at him through the mirror, glad that having a mouth full of toothpaste was enough to stop it from being obvious that he was starting to panic. Just a little bit.

“I—” He nearly choked on the toothpaste and took a moment to spit into the sink, running the tap to let it drain away and to wash around his mouth. “That’s not—” It hadn’t even occurred to him that it might look like that — not that Dirk was worried about morning breath, but rather that brushing his teeth might imply he expected them to kiss. “Dental hygiene is important,” he mumbled in defence of himself.