Dora

Dora || 19 || Former Hufflepuff || Puddlemere United Offices

[doratooker]

charlietooker​:

“I do,” Charlie said, though she wrinkled her nose because she knew what Dora meant by what she’d said as well; dating a girl like that just to sleep with her seemed like a stupid and gross idea. Charlie frowned at the next thing Dora said. She felt sort of bad thinking that might have been his first date. Only she’d actually done her best to be a pleasant fake-date and he hadn’t tried at all, so it didn’t really seem like he’d wanted practice or anything like that. So what was it, then? She laughed at the next thing Dora said. “He doesn’t! That’s the other part that doesn’t make sense, right? It’s like he’s terrified of us but he keeps bringing us the desserts, seemed like a giveaway he fancied one or both of us. But he wasn’t like…that kind of nervous on the date. Like bloke who fancies a bird and doesn’t know how to talk to her nervous. He just seemed like he didn’t want to be there at all. Maybe he won’t want to go on another fake date.” Charlie could hope.

Dora made a face because she was certain that her and Charlie were thinking of the same reason. That really was the only reason possible, as awful as it sounded. Both dating someone awful just for sex and dating, and having sex with someone just for gold was gross. Much better to think about the weirdness that was Oliver. “That’s so bizarre. Why even go through the trouble of asking Cene to ask you to fake date if he didn’t even want to be there? I would be so embarrassed asking a friend to set me up, let alone on a fake date.” She really didn’t get it. “The dessert thing just adds more because I was certain he fancied one of us. So what’s up with those desserts? This bloke is way more confusing then he has a right to be.” Especially since neither of them were interested in actually dating him. “I hope not.” Charlie didn’t need that weirdness in her life. “If he does maybe you can just suggest doing something that gets pictures taken without you actually having to be alone with him.” Dora wasn’t sure what, maybe a party or something. Anything seemed better than sitting there having a one-sided conversation with a bloke who clearly didn’t want to be there, yet had been the one to initiate the whole thing. “I really think it’s unfair that one of them didn’t tell you what was up. You think we could weasel it out of Cene?” Dora didn’t have hopes of that working but she couldn’t help but be even more curious now that the date had been so weird.

[doratooker]

charlietooker​:

Charlie laughed and nodded her agreement that Oliver definitely needed to be reminded she was doing him a favor, though she frowned slightly at the next thing Dora said. “I’m not sure. I mean, from the way he was acting I’d guess he’d never been on a date before. But maybe if that’s the kind of girls he’s used to showing interested that could explain why. He never seemed that egotistical,” she added thoughtfully. He’d always seemed shy, maybe a bit stand-offish but he’d clearly warmed up to Cene and Cene wouldn’t be as good of friends with the bloke if he was some ego-freak like certain other quidditch players. “Maybe he’s just paranoid?”  Of course, they’d thought Cene was just paranoid about that kind of bird… Before Charlie could get too far with that train of thought she was laughing at Dora’s agreement with her suggestion she be as bad a date as Oliver was, and her added suggestion. “Oh, that’d be brilliant! He wouldn’t notice at all. Maybe we can switch off the dates, you could ask him all the same questions I did and I bet he wouldn’t even notice that either. But I wouldn’t want to do that to you,” Charlie added with a snicker.

“I certainly don’t see why anyone would date one of this girls.” Dora figured she knew why but just wanting to have sex with someone  seemed like a bad reason to her. “He really has never seemed egotistical. Shy if anything. I bet he’s never been on a date.” Dora felt bad for him now. Except he hadn’t actually tried with Charlie. Sure it was a fake date but if he’d been trying to figure out dating the key would have been putting some effort into it. Speaking of effort, Dora laughed at Charlie’s addition to her suggestion of them switching places. “Oh my gosh, he probably wouldn’t would he? That’s so sad. But I almost want to do it,” she added through her laughter. “Merlin knows he doesn’t seem to realize which one of us he’s giving dessert to.” They’d yet to figure that one out. Instead Oliver’s weird reaction to fake dating Charlie just seemed to make his bringing them dessert even more confusing since he was clearly not attempting to flirt. Oliver seemed determined to remain confusing instead of them getting to know him better like most of Cene’s friends.

[doratooker]

charlietooker​:

“Dora!” Charlie let out a delighted squeal of laughter at her sister’s joke. Maybe that was mean but it was unlikely that was true and honestly if he was going to be that weird and not tell Charlie why she was fake dating him he had to know these were the kinds of conclusions she and Dora might come to. Charlie would keep his secret safe, but not from her twin. And Dora would keep it safe from everyone else, too. She snickered at Dora’s addition about the cameras, glad she also thought it was weird. “I don’t know what kinds of girls he’s used to dealing with but honestly just being hot isn’t enough to make a girl who isn’t just after your gold want to date you, especially not a girl who isn’t even trying to date you in the first place! I was doing him a favor!” That was the craziest part to Charlie. The date had not even been her idea, and she hadn’t loved the idea of dating her ex’s teammate. It was a favor to Cene. She sighed and shrugged at Dora’s question. “I dunno. I don’t really want to, but I don’t think Cene would have asked me to do this in the first place if there wasn’t actually a good reason for it.” Other than Oliver just being hopeless on a date, apparently. “But if I do go out with him I’m going to have to be straightforward with him. Or maybe I’ll just act like I’m terrified he’ll fall for me the whole time, see what he does with that,” she couldn’t help adding with a snicker. 

Dora laughed once again at her sister’s reaction, shrugging her shoulders slightly. She couldn’t get over how weird the whole experience had been. Not that they’d thought any differently as she’d helped Charlie get ready but this was even worse. “Maybe he needs to be reminded that you are, geez,” she agreed shaking her head.  Such a weird bloke. “Has he been on dates with other girls do you think? I’m just wondering what dating one of those birds who only wants a quidditch player for his gold must be like now.” Seemed awful enough  before tonight but maybe it was worse.  She’d always sort of pictured it like Cene’s ex but with far less secret emotional abuse and lying about being a shallow, awful person. Maybe she wasn’t that far off. She nodded at what Charlie was saying. “Maybe it was just to scare off the gold diggers.” Seemed unlikely but she really couldn’t figure out what the point was. Dora laughed, completely amused at Charlie’s comment. “You should! Show him what being on a date with him is like.” Unlike Sturgis, Oliver might not like dating himself. “Shame I can’t hide in the loo and we could just switch off so you’re not stuck the entire time chatting to a wooden bloke. Doubt he’d notice.” Dora did not want to date a quidditch player, not even fake dating, especially not Oliver after Charlie’s description, but she did feel bad for Charlie having to deal with the weirdo on her own.

[doratooker]

charlietooker​:

“No, he didn’t!” Charlie shook her head. “And Cene told me not to ask because Oliver is sensitive about it or something but you’d think he could have told me if he’s trusting me to fake date him and not tell anyone it’s fake.” The whole thing was just weird. “It sure would have made my job easier. I mean it’s like he thought I was going to try to date him for real or something just because I didn’t want to sit and eat dinner in silence.” Charlie sighed. “At least the food was good.” She snickered at her twin’s comment about the weird taking away from his being hot. “It does, it’s really a shame.” She nodded her agreement as Dora kept talking and rolled her eyes when she asked about the cameras. “Well he suddenly got awfully happy to be having dinner with me. Wanted to hold my hand. I mean he wasn’t actually happy about it, but he was trying a lot harder for the cameras than he was when it was just us. And then he let go of my hand like it was on fire as soon as they were finished! I mean, I didn’t want to keep holding his hand, but still. If we were going to have a fake date dinner together he could have at least tried to have a conversation with me. About quidditch, of all things, it’s not like I was asking if he has siblings or anything remotely personal!”

Dora rolled her eyes at what Cene had told her. “Seriously? Clearly you can be trusted to be in on whatever the big secret is. Or maybe it’s a little secret,” she couldn’t help adding with a snicker. There had to be something up if he needed a fake date and was super secretive and super sensitive about it. She didn’t think it was what she’d implied but after how weird he was to Charlie, Dora felt justified in making fun of him a little. Only to Charlie. She shook her head again over the whole conversation thing. Dora felt bad for Charlie for such an awful night but at the same time couldn’t help laughing at her description of him in front of the cameras. “That’s so weird. Did he think if he held your hand too long you’d get attached? Or maybe if you had an actual conversation like normal people that you’d fall in love with him. Clearly he’s got a dazzling personality,” she added with a teasing grin. “Maybe he’s gotten hit with one too many bludgers. I know it doesn’t seem to have done Cene any permeant damage but maybe he’s just lucky. Talking about his siblings, if he has any, isn’t even that personal. Let aloen discussing his job!” What a weird bloke! “Are you going out with him again?”  

[doratooker]

charlietooker​:

Charlie greeted her twin with a smile, plucking a few pieces of popcorn from the bowl and munching them as Dora spoke. “He definitely didn’t think it was a real date,” Charlie answered emphatically. A small part of her had wondered about that what with all the times he showed up in their office and awkwardly offered them desserts, but she also felt like it wouldn’t be like Cene to set her up on a pretend fake-date. He’d be more likely to just tell her his mate fancied her rather than set her up like that. Though she hadn’t expected Cene to ask her to fake date anyone. “I don’t think he even wanted to be there at all,” she continued. “Which was sort of insulting since it’s not like I was the one asking for a fake date with my ex’s teammate!” And Charlie was good company, even if he didn’t want to date her. “I mean, he wasn’t rude. If anything he was too polite, like he was just going through the motions? He barely made eye contact. Only time I got him talking was about quidditch. Which is fine, I don’t mind talking quidditch, but even then it was like pulling teeth to get much of anything from him.” Charlie shook her head. “Such a weird bloke.”

At least Charlie hadn’t had to deal with that on top of the whole Cene asking her to fake date one of his mates weirdness. Dora listened and munched on her popcorn. Her face registering her surprise at her sister’s words. She chuckled at Charlie’s comment about not being the one who asked for the fake date. Her nose scrunched up as Charlie told her some of the issues of the date. “Did he not even have the courtesy of telling you why he needed a fake date?” The least he could do if he was going to not even want to be on the date at all. “He really is a weird bloke, kind of takes all the fun of him being hot away.” Shame, not that Dora wanted to date a friend of Cene’s. Especially not after the whole Charlie dating Sturgis stuff, another weird bloke. “You’d think he’d be all in for talking quidditch, that’s all I ever heard him talk about. It’s not like you don’t know what you’re talking about when it comes to quidditch so there’s no excuse there.” How did you have dinner with someone and not at least attempt to find conversation? “That sounds awful. What did he do when all the cameras were on you?” Dora would see for herself when they all came out but she was curious to know if he at least made an attempt at any point in the date. There had to be some point of all of this.

[charlietooker]

Charlie had been on her share of mediocre dates. They couldn’t all be winners, after all. And she hadn’t had high expectations for tonight either, given that it was a fake date. A fake date she was going on as a favor to Cene, which was weird enough on its own. Even weirder was that it was one of her ex’s teammates. Things had sort of fizzled out with Sturgis in a way that left her without any hard feelings, but it was still strange to go out with another Puddlemere player. Quidditch teams were a lot smaller than football teams and the last thing Charlie needed was a reputation as some girl who was just after quidditch players. Based on her experiences with dating them, she was pretty sure she wanted the opposite at this point. “Dora? Please tell me you’re home,” Charlie called out as she let herself into their flat and locked the door behind her before sitting down on the couch and taking her heels off. “That was even weirder than we thought it was going to be.” 

[doratooker]

“In the kitchen, hang on,” Dora called out before finishing up the snack she was making. “Really?”  She found that hard to believe after all how could you get much weirder than going on a fake date arranged by your cousin with a teammate of your ex’s? Thankfully she was about to find out. Dora came into the living room with a bowl of popcorn and chocolate, ready to hear the details. “Perfect timing, now I don’t have to try and find a movie to entertain me while I snack,” she teased offering the bowl to her twin as she settled beside her on the couch. “So tell, how is it possible that date was even weirder than we thought because I’m finding that hard to believe. He didn’t try something like he thought it was a real date, did he?” Oliver had always been a mystery. A hot mystery, but also odd. More odd than hot really. Like how he’d always show up at the office with random desserts before getting flustered and bolting. The weirdo dessert thing was the only reason she thought he could have tried to make it a real date. And also the only thing she could think of to make it weirder than they knew it was going to be.

[doratooker]

ceneweardtooker:

Dora’s surprised exclamation had Cene’s eyes widening in a panic, but before he could get too bogged down by the thought that she’d figured him out she was continuing. Jumped to conclusions. Right. Only her conclusions had more or less been right, aside from the whole bird part. “Uh. Yeah…” He answered, unable to resist the easy out she was providing him just then, unable to stop the rush of relief he felt as it began to sink in that Dora really hadn’t figured things out. He let out a nervous chuckle when she mentioned being glad she’d kept quiet. Bloody hell, Cene was glad she had too. He let out another, slightly more nervous chuckle when she mentioned the way he’d acted and why she’d jumped to that conclusion in the first place. For a split second he was terrified she was going to realize what had actually been going on, especially when she mentioned giving him a shirt that hadn’t been meant for a bird. Bloody hell, he was walking a thin line here. “I um.” He cleared his throat, his hand finding the back of his neck. “Yeah, uh, yeah that um, that would have been.” Fuck, why couldn’t he just be normal? Hopefully Dora just attributed it to the awkwardness of the situation, because if the bloke in question hadn’t been his secret boyfriend Cene still would have felt awkward about this whole situation. Yeah. This was totally normal. “No uh, you can keep it,” he answered her with a small, nervous grin, hopeful that could just be the end of this entire conversation. “Do you uh, wanna fly for a bit?” Flying would make this whole thing better. 

Cene had always been more awkward then any of them, which was saying something because awkwardness seemed written in Tooker males DNA. Thankfully not quite so bad for the females. But even with that Cene still seemed a bit off. Nervous. Surely she had to be misreading him again because what would he have to be nervous about? Unless it was something to do with the bloke… Dora couldn’t figure out what about the bloke would make Cene nervous to be talking about him. Or about the situation because they weren’t talking about him. So it clearly couldn’t be the bloke. Maybe it was just the whole birds thing in general. They did always seem to manage to leave Cene nervous and uncomfortable. Talking about them might be almost as bad. Dora wasn’t sure because her and Cene didn’t normally talk about birds. But that seemed like the answer that made the most sense. Poor Cene. Dora might think about doing something to try and help him but now didn’t seem like a good time. Not with tryouts coming up. Maybe after the new year if he wasn’t preparing to go to the National team she would mention something to Charlie and Ann about helping Cene get over his fear of birds. “No more jumping to conclusions for me,” she told him honestly not realizing she’d just done that very thing to excuse his nervous behavior. His question just seemed to cement in her mind that he really was just nervous talking about birds in general. Flying always seemed like his most effective method to avoid them. “Yeah, flying sounds nice. Give Grandma’s fudge some time to be ready to eat,” she told him with a grin, happy to leave all the awkwardness behind them.

[doratooker]

ceneweardtooker:

“It’s about time,” he agreed with a chuckle, holding up a hand to his cousin for a high five. He’d have felt luckier if there wasn’t that persistent worry about Josh needling at the back of his mind, but this was still nice. At least until he started digging himself into a giant pit of lies that was only making Dora feel worse and worse. Bloody hell. He shook his head at her apology – honestly he couldn’t blame her for looking, he should have seen that coming to begin with – but that didn’t stop her from continuing on. She was excited for him. She was excited he was with a bird. It was probably unfair of him to assume that was the only reason, but Cene couldn’t stop that fear that things would change when she knew the truth. And she hadn’t even told Charlie. For him, she hadn’t told Charlie. And now she thought he was upset because he was alone. Her hug only made him feel worse, being given sympathy he neither needed or deserved. “Dora, don’t be sorry, please,” he shook his head and pulled away when she offered her fudge, feeling like a world-class git. Josh was telling his best friends about them and Cene was standing here lying to his cousin who hadn’t even told her twin sister when she thought he was with a bird, feeling miserable because she thought Cene was upset over some bird. “I’m not –” he started, his inner conflict reading clearly across his face and his voice.  “I – “ He tried again, rubbing a hand against the back of his neck. He hated this. He hated lying to his family, especially like this. This wasn’t just failing to mention he had a boyfriend, this was much more intentional than that and it made him feel ill. He adjusted his grip on his broomstick, eyes flickering down to the ground as he cleared his throat slightly. “….The person wearing the shirt was the person it was intended for,” he finally blurted out, panic and relief fighting for control as soon as he did. “There was never a bird,” he added, the words coming out just as quickly. Fuck, what was he doing? He swallowed hard, daring to peer up at Dora, terrified of what she would make of that, half-hoping she would put it together and half desperately hoping that she wouldn’t. 

Dora cheerily high fived her cousin, enjoying their bit of luck. Which was the only thing about this conversation she was enjoying sadly. It was clear she wasn’t making things better despite trying very hard to. In fact the way Cene looked made her feel like she was making it worse. Much worse. Bloody hell. His blurted out words surprised her. There wasn’t a bird? Oh. OH! “Helga’s hot pants! You mean we’re having this terrible, awkward conversation because I jumped to conclusions? Wow. I’m so sorry.” It was sort of comical which was why Dora’s apology this time was said in a less sorrowful tone of voice. She’d really gotten things twisted. “I’m even more glad I kept my mouth shut now.” What a disaster that would have been. Everyone upset for poor Cene when there was nothing to be upset over. Or worse, Charlie confronting the bird at the match. That would have been terrible. “You just seemed excited and a little nervous when we were talking about the tickets. I just assumed… Which boy have I learned my lesson on that one.” Dora gave Cene a sheepish chuckle. In her surprise, embarrassment and relief Dora didn’t think about how odd Cene’s behavior was. “I’m glad I didn’t give you a bird’s shirt. That’d have been embarrassing.” She couldn’t help wondering who the bloke was but she did feel like she’d been nosey enough already. Look how terribly that had turned out. Poor Cene subjected to her thinking he’d been screwed over by a bird again. Wow she was a jerk. Maybe she should just change the subject? Talk about fudge again. “Does this mean you won’t be taking my fudge?” Dora tried to lighten the mood but couldn’t help feeling like she was just sounding like a git again. Yikes.

[ceneweardtooker]

“Me either,” Cene answered with a chuckle. “If Grandma hadn’t hid a bit of it for me I wouldn’t have gotten any.” Tookers loved feeding each other, and thanks to his big appetite Cene’s grandma really loved feeding him. And Cene loved eating everything she cooked, so it worked out great. What wasn’t great was lying to her, or to the rest of his family for that matter. It was one thing when he was just not mentioning Josh. Actually lying to Dora’s face was decidedly different, and he liked it even less. But still he couldn’t stop the panic that bubbled up inside him when Dora said she’d looked at the match. Cene should have seen that coming, really, given that he’d never shown any interest in inviting a bird to a match before. He still hadn’t, really, but Dora didn’t know that. No, Dora thought he’d invited some other bird, only that didn’t make sense. Wouldn’t she have been looking for the t shirt? The shirt Josh was wearing? Wouldn’t she have seen it on him? Unless – oh, bloody hell. Maybe she had. She’d seen Josh in the shirt and thought – what, that the bird had given it to him? Josh had been with his mum, it wasn’t like – oh. Oh, fuck. The bird Josh dumped his drink on. It had to be her. Right? Bloody hell. Cene let out a breath, his hand tightening nervously around his broomstick. He didn’t like this. He didn’t know how to answer Dora without lying right to her face, and he didn’t know how to tell her the truth either. He wasn’t sure he was ready. Josh was ready, a small voice whispered in the back of his mind. Josh was telling his scary best mates right now. He swallowed hard. “I um…I’m not,” he began carefully, unsure of where he was going but at least that much was true. “But I –…” He trailed off, panicking slightly. He couldn’t do this. Not right now, not when he wasn’t ready. He had no idea how he was supposed to tell his entire family everything they’d thought about him for so long was completely wrong. He wasn’t what they thought he was. Maybe they wouldn’t care – but it would still change things. Cene hated that he’d been slightly relieved to find Tommy wasn’t around when he showed up, if only because things still felt awkward there. “Nevermind,” he tacked on quickly, swallowing hard and looking down at the ground. Bloody hell, he was a coward.

[doratooker]

Dora wasn’t jealous or upset that their grandma had hid some for Cene. Just the opposite actually she thought it was nice. Not at all surprising either given how much she loved Cene’s huge appetite. “Looks like both of us are gonna be luckier this year. Way to go us,” she laughed at her own words. It was a shame the rest of their conversation couldn’t be as nice but Dora had gone and put her foot in her mouth. Cene looked a little panicked and Dora felt even worse. He hadn’t wanted people to know about her yet, clearly, and she’d gone and looked. “I’m sorry,” the apology rushed out of her mouth once again because she was really sorry she’d been so nosey. “I wasn’t going to peek, I didn’t even remember the seat number. But I was just so excited for you and I couldn’t stop myself.” Dora didn’t want him to think she’d gone to the match intending to be nosey. As terrible as she felt Dora did feel a rush of relief to know he wasn’t with her. Short lived because Cene looked so miserable. Bloody hell. He probably thought everyone knew. “I didn’t tell anyone, about the bird or anything, not even Charlie.” Dora told Charlie everything but not about this because Cene was so skittish and she did want him to be happy. To find a nice bird who wouldn’t be awful to him. He deserved it. Her cousin was a great bloke, hard to see him as someone’s boyfriend thanks to his complete focus on Quidditch, but a great bloke. “I’m sure you’ll find someone, Cene. Someone who is nice and right for you.” Because clearly he hadn’t found that in either bird. Dora gave him a hug because he looked so miserable and it was all her fault. “I’m sorry I was nosey. Which doesn’t make up for it I know and you can have my fudge if you want.” Dora couldn’t help hoping he didn’t want it but she’d gladly give it to him if he did. Especially if it meant he’d feel better because he looked terrible.

[ceneweardtooker]

Cene chuckled at Dora’s words. “Yeah, no worries there. She was just starting on it when I came out to fly, so we should be able to snag some before we leave.” He didn’t know about Dora, but Cene was definitely planning to stick around until that was the case. Unless he heard something from Josh before then, but Cene was hoping that wouldn’t happen because that would imply bad news. He didn’t want to think about that right now. Though thinking about having to find a Christmas gift for Josh was not that much easier to manage. Cene felt like he knew Josh very well, but somehow the thought of finding the perfect gift for him was an extremely daunting one. It couldn’t just be good – it had to be perfect. Like Josh. Bloody hell, now was not the time for those thoughts. “Oh, uh, yeah,” Cene nodded, slightly distractedly, but he frowned slightly because Dora was right. It was harder to do things like that when they couldn’t go anywhere alone. Fortunately she didn’t let him linger on that thought for too long. Or maybe unfortunately. “I – what?” He blurted out, looking at Dora in bewilderment. Why would he care about her talking about Tommy’s girlfriend? And – what didn’t work out? A second later Cene’s eyes widened as he understood. Oh, fuck. The tickets and the t shirt. Dora thought there was a bird. And apparently she’d read Cene’s worry over getting a gift for Josh as him thinking about some bird things hadn’t worked out with. “Oh. No, um, it’s not –” He floundered, completely at a loss for what to say, especially with Dora looking not all that cheerful about the pair of them being single. Little did she know it wasn’t the pair of them. Fuck. What the hell was he supposed to say? Maybe he could still save this. “I, um, what uh, what makes you think it didn’t work out?”

[doratooker]

His words made her grin grow, she definitely picked a good day to come home. “Yes! Last year I barely got any, hopefully this means my luck this year will be better.” Grandma’s fudge was the best. Dora felt like she could probably eat her weight in it. Except there was all the other Tookers vying for it as well. She’d settle with slightly more than last year and consider herself lucky. If only she had better luck when it came to this conversation. Dora had tried so hard not to mention it to Cene and now here she was making him think about it. Because clearly that was what had him so distracted, poor bloke. She worried that he must have really liked the bird. And now she’d made it worse. Damn it. Dora stood helplessly by as Cene floundered mentally kicking herself for saying anything. Cene’s question had her looking at him apologetically, she was slightly worried he might get more upset at her knowing what had happened at the match. And even more worried that he might not know what had happened at the match. “Oh well…..I….it’s just….I’m sorry! I looked. I tried not to but I was just really excited for you and couldn’t help wondering if it was someone I knew or not. Maybe another player or someone from school.” She was the worst. Honestly! If she’d have just minded her own business like a Tooker should she’d have avoided all of this. “Anyway after how she was at the match I just assumed you weren’t with her.” Dora couldn’t shake the worry that Cene didn’t know and that the bird was just stringing him along and now he was going to find out from his younger cousin and how awful that would be. For both of them because she didn’t want to be the one to have to tell him his bird was awful, almost as bad as the first one had been.

[ceneweardtooker]

“Sure thing,” Cene answered Dora with a nod and a chuckle. Her offer was probably one he’d end up taking her up on before too long, but it was nice to catch up for a bit first. Still weird to think about his other cousin off with one of her teammates, but Strugis had kept himself out of those magazines ever since he started seeing Charlie so Cene figured it was fine. He let out a sheepish chuckle at Dora’s words. “Ya caught me,” he admitted with a laugh, though that wasn’t the only reason he was here. He just couldn’t tell Dora he was waiting for his boyfriend to tell his alarmingly violent best mates that he was gay. Not something he wanted to be thinking about right now, for several reasons. 

Fortunately there was enough going on at the Tooker residence right now that Dora was already changing the subject before Cene could even try to do so himself. Only what she changed it to was not something he was ready for. Cene knew Christmas was getting close. He’d already started thinking about what he was going to get for people. But hearing Dora talk about Tommy shopping for Emmeline made him realize he had yet to figure out what he was getting for Josh. Christmas gifts weren’t usually something Cene stressed about. He knew what his family and friends liked, and he enjoyed finding gifts for them. But this was different. This was his first Christmas with Josh. Hopefully not his last, but that was way too heavy a thought. Especially since Cene had absolutely no idea what to get him. And Dora was only reminding him how much he could blow things, like poor Tommy and those chocolates. Cene winced slightly when Dora brought that up. “Yeah, that was….not great,” he finally settled on, trying to ignore his own nerves but failing miserable. “I uh. I’ve got gifts for most everyone figured out.” Just not the gift that was possibly the most important. Bloody hell, he was going to end up getting Josh socks or something. “Still have to go shopping for them, though. Er, how about you?”

[doratooker]

Dora chuckled along with him, sure that he was likely to take her up on the offer. Cene hardly ever stayed on the ground too long if he could help it. Her twin’s relationship was still a little odd for her too. But she kept that to herself. Charlie was happy and that was all that mattered. She laughed again at Cene’s words. “I’d worry about you if that wasn’t on the agenda today. It’d take a head injury or being terribly ill to not want any of the goodies waiting for us. Has Grandma made fudge yet?”

“That’s for sure,” Dora commented, remembering how much that bird had blown up. At first Dora thought he was just remembering how awful that was. Or maybe sympathizing with Tommy since both blokes were pretty hopeless when it came to birds. But then Dora remembered the bird at the match. She really shouldn’t have brought up girlfriends, crap. “Same. Well I’ve gotten some shopping done but it’s a little tricky now that we’re not supposed to shop alone.” Normally Dora might get a little lost in thinking about the awfulness of the war but she was too busy trying to figure out what she could say to make up bringing up girlfriends to Cene. An apology felt like the best. “I’m sorry for bringing up Tommy’s girlfriend. Are you alright?” Dora looked over at him with a soft smile. Hopefully he hadn’t been too into her. Except he had invited her to a match, and given her a tshirt. That she’d given to another bloke, what a rotten bird. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out,” she told him softly. “You’ll find someone. And I’m still single too so it’s not like it’s just you.” Dora gave him a slightly larger smile trying to sound cheerful about it. Sort of hard given she did feel really bad for him. Not to mention she wasn’t exactly happy being single while everyone from her clueless big brother to her best friend had someone. At least her dorm mates didn’t yet.

[ceneweardtooker]

Cene was worried. Theoretically, he knew the McKinnons were good people – they worked with Tommy and Ed, after all. And they were Josh’s best mates. It was hard to imagine Josh being best mates with anyone who wasn’t a great person. But Josh was worried, and that made Cene worried, especially because other people Josh had once trusted were the reason he was worried today. Even worse was the fact that there was nothing he could do. Nothing except be waiting when Josh got back, but until then Cene felt like he was going stir-crazy. Which was why he’d gone home. The Tooker household was always busy, and even more so this time of year. He knew there would be plenty to do between cooking and putting up Christmas decorations, but as much as Cene enjoyed helping out with that he should have known he would inevitably end up on his broomstick. That was where things made sense, at least when Josh wasn’t around. 

Even flying wasn’t quite enough to get his mind off of Josh, but then nothing had been since Cene met his boyfriend. His boyfriend that he was fretting over but his family knew nothing about, while Josh was off telling his mental best mates about them. Cene landed glumly. Maybe he’d go inside for a bit, nick some food to bring back for him and Josh later. He trudged back to the house, glad to see Dora had joined him outside. “Hey, Dora!” He greeted his cousin with a friendly smile, looping his free arm over her shoulders when she got close enough and pulling her into a quick sideways hug. “Just got done. For now,” he added, his smile turning sheepish. Cene wasn’t sure how long he was gonna manage to stay grounded before nerves had him taking to the sky again. Dora was a good distraction for now, though. As nice as it was to see her every now and again at Puddlemere, it wasn’t quite the same as getting to hang out with his cousin when neither of them was working. 

[doratooker]

Dora returned his hug warmly. It was always great to see her cousin. Despite both of them being at Puddlemere most days she saw him surprisingly little. Or not surprisingly given it was the middle of the season and both of them were busy in their own ways. She laughed cheerily when he added ‘for now.’ “If you fancy going back up let me know, I’ll go up with you.” Going for a ride on a brisk winter afternoon followed by a nice big cup of hot cocoa and Christmas goodies was always great. “Charlie’s off with Sturgis so I thought I’d come by and see if there was anything I could help out with, and snag some goodies,” she added with a laugh. “Same as you I’m guessing.” She gave him another grin. It wasn’t uncommon to run into cousins and siblings here. Even though they’d all moved out now that Ann was living with Melia there was always someone here and something to do. Christmas just added to it all. Dora didn’t think even Hogwarts and it’s teams of house elves could compete with all the decorating and baking the Tookers did. Even now that she wasn’t away from home for ten months out of the year Christmas was still one of her favorite times.

“Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? Tommy claims he’s done with his, can you believe it? I think it’s all down to Emmeline because he hasn’t got her’s yet, just all the rest. Charlie and I are helping him find something for her this week. I think he’s nervous since it’s their first Christmas and he hasn’t always been that great at gifts for girlfriends. Remember that last one, he gave her a box of really fancy French chocolates and one of them was a chocolate covered snail?” Dora made a face at the memory. “Who knew you could be allergic to snails?”

[doratooker]

Dora had tried not to be nosy at the match but that had proven too difficult to actually achieve. It wasn’t her fault. Cene had only ever had one girlfriend. She still thought it was a shame that the bird had turned out so awful too seeing as how it was the only bird, prior or since that Cene ever showed an interest in. As far as she knew. Till now apparently. Of course she was going to be curious about who it was and hopeful. Sadly that hope had obviously been misguided. She’d forgotten exactly which seats she’d given Cene but there was only one person in the row wearing the same sort of shirt Cene had left with. A bloke who was sitting by a pretty bird. Clearly she had to be Cene’s bird. Except Cene’s bird was flirting with the bloke wearing the shirt meant for her. Had Dora been her best mate or her twin she might have marched down there and given the bird an earful. But she wasn’t and the match started so she put it out of her head for then. Fretting over it after the match was over. Dora couldn’t decide if she should tell Cene or not. Finally she decided it’d be better to keep it to herself and mind her own business. There was no way Cene would let a bird use him again and letting him know what she’d seen would just embarrass him. Dora wouldn’t want anyone to know if something like that happened to her, not even family. Hopefully it didn’t discourage him too much. Surely there was a bird out there for him.

Dora pushed it into the back of her mind. So much so it didn’t even cross her mind when she saw Cene as she walked from the apparition point to her parents’ house. “Cene!” She called out as she waved at her cousin, a wide grin on her face. Dora walked over to where he was standing, noting the broom in his hands. “Going flying or just got done?” Cene always seemed to look as if he’d just gotten off a broom so it was hard to tell. Probably because Cene had always just gotten off a broom. Her cousin took the Tooker quidditch obsession to new levels. They were all wondering if this was going to be the year he took it to the national team level but that wasn’t something they’d find out just yet. Thankfully they had all the excitement that came from preparations for Christmas to distract them. The baking had already started, which was the reason she’d popped round. Both to see if she could help and maybe snag some goodies to take back to her and Charlie’s flat.

[ceneweardtooker]

“Uh, thanks, Dora.” Bloody hell, she didn’t even seem suspicious and that just made Cene feel even worse. But of course she wasn’t suspicious; she thought the tickets and shirt were for a bird, and for once Cene was struck by the thought that it was actually helping him out now that he’d always been freaked out by birds. Except he was still being dishonest, and he doubted that was something he would ever be comfortable with. He never wanted to be comfortable with that. He was going to have to tell his family. Eventually. Just not now. But he would, and he tried to take some heart in that as Dora so kindly offered him two different shirts, trying to hide his relief that they were normal t-shirts and not some weird girly shirt he wouldn’t be able to give to Josh. “I’ll take the blue,” he told Dora, accepting it with a nervous smile. With another of his family members he might not have taken anything, worried as he would be they would end up snooping during the match. He didn’t feel like he had to worry about that as much with Dora. Hopefully he didn’t, because it was too late now. Josh was going to look way too hot in Puddlemere blue for Cene not to give the shirt to him. Bloody hell. Quickly Cene tried to school the grin tugging at his lips. “I, er, I should get going, I’ve got um – plans later.” Fuck, that was not helping his case. Definitely time to go, but he felt bad for not getting a chance to talk to Dora longer so he added, “Want to have lunch Monday?” He wanted to catch up with her, so long as she hopefully didn’t ask any questions about why he’d been here today.

[doratooker]

“Good choice!” Dora handed him the t-shirt, smiling at his nervous smile. She thought all his nerves were about the bird. Because birds were scary for Cene and he’d never done this. Sure he’d had a girlfriend but she’d done everything and Cene had just gotten pushed into it. But this was Cene doing it. That alone was enough to keep Dora from wanting to push. Poor bloke was probably nervous enough to be doing this. And whoever she was Dora was sure she was nice. Eventually she’d meet all the Tookers. Maybe soon. Hopefully soon because Dora was dying of curiosity. Especially when he said he had plans later. That sounded like more than just giving someone tickets and inviting them to the game. Sounded more like a date. Cene had a date! The thought made her smile widen, she was so happy for her cousin. Especially with the way he kept trying not to smile, he was obviously into this bird a lot. “I hope you have a good time, Cene.” She nearly suggested flowers but Cene had the tickets and a t-shirt, which really was way more Cene than flowers anyway. “Yeah, lunch on Monday would be great. Bye, Cene.” Dora couldn’t resist giving him a goodbye hug. She was just too happy for him. Cene on a date! She hadn’t thought that was ever going to happen for him. Maybe he’d feel inclined to spill how his date went. Or something about her. Even if he wasn’t lunch would still be nice.

[ceneweardtooker]

If there had been even a sliver of doubt left that Dora knew Cene wanted the tickets for someone he had more than friendly feelings toward, it was all gone with the way she answered him. “Ah – yeah, uh, thanks,” he answered, bringing a hand to the back of his neck and trying for a smile despite his growing panic. He was a terrible liar, he hated doing it, and if it was this hard keeping things just from Dora – how the hell was he supposed to keep this up? It was all the harder given how nice she was being. Of course she was being nice. All she wanted was for him to be happy – but what would she think of him if she knew the tickets were for a bloke? If she glanced over to the seats she’d just given Cene and saw Josh sitting there in the shirt she’d offered. Though he couldn’t help the thought that Josh would look really, really great in Puddlemere colors. Bloody hell. “I uh…I mean if it’s not too much trouble that’d be, um, yeah. That’d be good. Thanks.”

[doratooker]

It was obvious Cene was nervous. Though Dora assumed it was because he was going after a bird not hiding something. Cene always panicked about girls. Asking one out probably felt huge. And it was! The question of what bird he was asking out was on the tip of her tongue but she didn’t want to pry. Didn’t want to scare Cene away from it or she might pry. Had it been Tommy there would have definitely been more prying. Maybe he’d accidentally let it slip. Even if he didn’t she was still going to try and help him out. The fact that he was taking her up on her offer instead of just running with the tickets made her think he must really like this bird. “None at all. Of course, Cene. Anything to help you out.” Dora went over to where they kept them. “Sadly we don’t have the really cute tops they sell at the matches but the t-shirts are nice. White or blue? Or both?” Dora held one of each out to Cene. “We’ve only got one size but it’ll still be cute. She can just tie it up if it’s too big.”

[ceneweardtooker]

Once again Dora didn’t ask him any questions despite his admittedly strange behavior, and once again Cene was immensely grateful for his cousin’s kindness. And struck by that same nagging guilt once again for keeping something from her. For keeping a boyfriend from her – except that was exactly why Cene couldn’t say anything. Not to Dora, not to anybody. Not yet, at least. That didn’t make keeping things from his family any easier. Especially not when he glanced at the seats Dora chose for Josh and saw that she was giving him even better ones than she’d suggested before. Oh Merlin, Dora knew. She had to know. And then she was asking where to send them, and Cene couldn’t stop himself from blurting out - “No!” Fuck that sounded suspicious. He swallowed hard. “I mean – that’s okay, I’ll just uh, I was just gonna deliver them in person later. No need to owl them.” Bloody hell, he was blowing this. Thank Merlin Cene had never had a boyfriend at Hogwarts or everyone in the world would already know. A fact that had his panic increasing slightly, but he did his best to look calm.

[doratooker]

So much for some things never changed. Dora couldn’t be upset though, who could be upset at Cene? He was too nice, even more of an idiot about birds than Tommy, the Tooker bloke curse her dad called it. Cene liked someone. Someone he’d either invited or was going to when he delivered them in person later. Oh Helga! Dora was sure he didn’t have a girlfriend, she’d have heard about that. Especially given it was Cene. But also because he’d have sat his girlfriend in the box. It had obviously not gotten to that stage yet. He was still clearly nervous and probably unsure. Still Cene liked someone! More than that he was actually making a move. Inviting them to the match with tickets given in person. She was happy for him, even if she was still dying to know who it was. Dora didn’t ask, instead handing over the tickets with an encouraging smile. “Giving them in person sounds like a better idea. I’m sure they’re gonna love watching you play.” This was too cute. “You know we have some merchandise we keep around for giveaways and stuff if you wanted to give her a t-shirt or something to wear to the match.” She wanted to help her cousin impress whoever the tickets were for.

[ceneweardtooker]

“I hope so,” Cene answered with a modest shrug, though it was easy to return Dora’s confident smile. It was nice knowing how much his whole family supported the team. One of the key reasons he’d always dreamed of playing for Puddlemere, but Cene knew that confidence would extend to him no matter what team he played for. Which naturally had thoughts of the national team creeping into his mind, but they faded away easily enough now that he was trying to talk his way around getting Josh tickets. It was almost a surprise when Dora didn’t ask any questions, but Cene didn’t question that. And his relief didn’t last long, because then Dora was asking a question he hadn’t really thought through. “Oh. Uh.” Cene hesitated, a slight frown creasing his brows. Was it weird to give Josh two tickets? Was it rude to only give him one? “Both, I guess? I mean – you wouldn’t want to go to a quidditch match alone, right?” Fuck, he shouldn’t have asked that. But – no, it was fine, that was a normal thing to ask. Totally normal. He was fine, everything was fine. Bloody hell, he needed to get ahold of himself.

[doratooker]

Dora smiled at her cousin’s modesty, it was a nice change from all the cockiness she got from a lot of the other players. With everything that was changing it was nice that some things didn’t. But then not a surprise when it was Cene she was thinking about. Though this ticket thing seemed a little off. She kept trying to come up with reasonable reasons but it was getting harder to. Especially now that this simple question stumped him. Had it been what she’d thought and just some person from school he’d know the answer, wouldn’t he? That crazy idea that Cene was giving these to someone he liked came back. “Probably not,” she answered quickly. If it was some bird she’d probably like it better if she had a friend with her, Dora would. And since it didn’t seem like a random person Dora decided she could do better than the section she’d first picked out. Not that any of their reserved seats were bad but she hadn’t wanted to give really good tickets to someone just taking advantage of Cene’s good nature. But someone Cene was trying to impress, that she would do. “We’ll do these two,” she told him, pointing out the section. In case he needed to know what direction to smile in. Though it still seemed like a wild idea. She slipped them into an envelope and grabbed her quill. “What’s their name? I’ll send them out with the post.” Something she did plenty of times for other players but this time she was dying to know the name because this conversation had been odd, even for Cene.