Damn, Daniel!

Daniel Eansworth Hogwarts class of '88 Former Head Boy Once a 'puff, always a 'puff Herbology TA

[azariascolors]

“have you tried any of these yet?” azaria inquires to someone not too far from where she was, gesturing towards a type of sweet she was thinking of eating. “i mean i kind of want to, but it looks like a sugar RUSH waiting to happen, don’t ya think?”

[eansworths-blog]

“I have,” Daniel confirmed with a cheerful nod. “The toffee is pretty good-- the sugar cookies, too. I can’t speak to anything else though, unfortunately.”

[eansworths-blog]

rickyyng

Smiling after their kiss ended, Ricky shook his head slightly.  “No I could have tried to reach you other ways.  I wasn’t thinking, so don’t worry about it.  I have to say, this has been a much more enjoyable night than I was originally thinking a place like this would be, so I’m glad I got a ticket for this.”

“Me too,” Daniel answered honestly. The event had been reasonably fun thus far - the only thing that had been missing was his boyfriend. “Hey, d’you want to dance?”

[eansworths-blog]

rickyyng

Making sure to hold the other man close for a few minutes, just comfortable being in each other’s arms, Ricky took a deep breath before pulling back from the hug.  “I’m glad to hear that.” he whispered before leaning forward and kissing the other man on the forehead.  “Claramae will be thrilled…she seemed to think me coming here was super romantic or something,” he added with a laugh

“I mean, it was pretty romantic,” Daniel agreed, leaning in for a quick kiss. “I am sorry I made it necessary, though. I should’ve told you about the schedule change,” he added, contrite. Making Ricky worry enough to get a ticket to the charity ball meant he’d made a serious blunder, after all- even if it had been in an attempt to follow the Gryffindor’s wishes and give him some space.

[eansworths-blog]

rickyyng

Ricky sighed in relief when Daniel said that he wasn’t mad, more than happy to be able to hug his boyfriend like he wanted to.  He was a bit disappointed when the hug ended, until Daniel started speaking.  “Yeah, just a few times.  And that’s such a relief to hear.  I thought you were ignoring me.  So I’m so happy…so happy to know you weren’t.”  Towards the end of what he was saying, he pulled his boyfriend back into a tight hug.

“I’d never ignore you,” Daniel assured him “at least, not on purpose,” he amended, words muffled against Ricky’s shoulder. At this point, he was more interested in holding the Gryffindor as close as possible than he was in making sure his words were clearly heard. 

[adoraisms]

「 @eansworths  liked this post. 」

  “–la neta, i paid visit to hogwarts recently to check on society arin and i start last year– and you can imagine my surprise when i hear you are teaching assistant there now. i guess you figured out things after all, no?” adora beamed at daniel. they’d both been confused about their futures not so long ago, but look at them now!

[eansworths-blog]

“I guess I did,” Daniel agreed ever so slightly abashed. “It’s been great, honestly. Helping people and plants, all in one. What about you, though? How have you been doing?” he asked, eager to catch up with his former classmate.

[eansworths-blog]

rickyyng

“And I don’t care what they think.  I don’t live with them.  This world is way more accepting.  I work here.  I spend time here.  And I’d rather be happy… and I know they’ll eventually come around.  Well my dad will, mum is already there.”  There it was, he laid it all out like he planned.  He made a mental note of where he had last seen Claramae if this didn’t go well.  “I hope you aren’t mad that I did this here…in public…I did call.”

“Of course I’m not mad,” Daniel answered immediately, stepping forward to pull his boyfriend into a hug. More than anything, he was relieved that all his worrying hadn’t been necessary after all. Then his brain caught up to the last bit of Ricky’s explanation. “You called?” he asked, pulling away to look up at his boyfriend in confusion. “I didn’t get any... Oh. I was working extra hours for Professor Sprout this week, so I wasn’t home much. I was going to let you know, but... I didn’t want to bother you,” he explained sheepishly.  

[eansworths-blog]

rickyyng

“It’s nice to see you too…I’ve…been thinking.  About what happened with my parents…” he came to the realization that it didn’t matter how things went with them, Ricky spent the majority of his time in an entirely different world.  

Daniel paled, mind already racing to the worst possible outcome. That Ricky had been thinking, and decided that making his parents happy was more important than their relationship. Did that mean he was here to break up? No, that didn’t make any sense, not with the amount of effort that must have gone into procuring a ticket and getting ready. Unless the Gryffindor had decided it best to meet somewhere public, where he couldn’t make too big of a fuss. Oh Merlin, he was getting dumped, wasn’t he. “And...?” he prompted, waiting for Ricky to continue. If he was getting dumped, he wanted to get it over with.

[clarabaes]

「 @eansworths liked this post. 」

   “it’s a lovely party,” claramae said by way of greeting, looking just shy of bashful as she paused beside the hufflepuff. “–the company isn’t all that bad either.” this might’ve been her subtle way of finding out if daniel and ricky had seen each other yet.

[eansworths-blog]

“It is pretty nice, isn’t it?” Daniel agreed, looking around the room. This type of party wasn’t exactly to his tastes, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t lovely in its own right. “I... don’t really know most of these people,” he confessed “but everyone I’ve spoken to so far has been great,” he added, not wanting her to think he was unhappy with the company they were currently keeping.

[eansworths-blog]

rickyyng

“I am…here.” he replied.  He felt very very awkward at this moment.  “Oh and Claramae.”  After he had gotten word from her that she would be more than happy to get him a ticket, he tried calling Daniel once again, for the fourth time in total.  After no answer, he decided it was best to just show up and surprise the other man.  “It’s nice being friends with the Minister’s daughter.”

Daniel nodded, comprehension dawning. Of course Claramae was able to get him into the event. But why? Even if Ricky was able to get into the event, it didn’t explain why he would want to. With how the last several days had been though, he wasn’t sure it was his place to pry. “...It’s nice to see you,” he said instead, mentally kicking himself for how stiff and formal he sounded.

[masnctt]

Rajiv hates this. He hates having to pretend he cares about a story this guy is telling him, it was hard not to roll his eyes as the guy goes on and on about how he tamed a dragon by himself. Whatever, right? He’s not even really listening, anyway – instead, he tries to make eye contact with whoever walks by. Once he managed to make eye contact with someone, he mouthed, “Help me.” He’d do anything to get out of this conversation.

[eansworths-blog]

It wasn’t like Daniel to turn down a request for help, no matter the situation. So when he caught sight of someone requesting just that, he made his way over. “Rajiv, hey! I was hoping I’d run into you,” Daniel greeted, rather pleased int his moment that he’d taken the time as head boy last year to learn as many students’ names as possible. “Do you mind if I borrow him for a minute?” Daniel asked Rajiv’s conversation partner, smiling genially when they acquiesced and departed, off to strike up a conversation with someone else.

[eansworths-blog]

rickyyng

When he realized the other man spotted him, he smiled as he continued closer.  While muscle memory almost lead him to walking forward and kissing the other man on the cheek like he had done many times before, he was unsure of just how that would be received.  He stopped and brought his arms up slightly, while shrugging.  “Surprise,” he finished as sort of a question.

Daniel returned the gesture, though he was still too surprised to do much else. Still, it was good to know he wasn’t imagining things. “You’re... here,” he observed, still dumbstruck. He hadn’t heard from Ricky in days, to the point where he was quite sure he was being avoided - only to run into his boyfriend at an elite event he was fairly certain Ricky hadn’t had a ticket to. “How?”

[rickyyng-deactivated20181121]

@eansworths

Although he felt a bit ridiculous having put more effort into his appearance than normal, he hoped that it would all be worth it.  He knew that he had messed up with his distance and closed-offness after his parents had found out about him and Daniel.  He honestly wasn’t sure why it was affecting him so much.  Maybe it was that he had lost control over the situation and letting them know when they were both ready.  He knew that it wasn’t because he was ashamed of what he and Daniel had.  That wasn’t it at all.  Regardless of the why, he needed to get past it. He just knew that he had to fix all of this, awkwardness and overall tense feeling, with Daniel.  He hadn’t been planning on coming to the event, he had no way really to attend.  Prior to all of this happening he was more than happy to just hear about it after the fact from the other man.  But he knew that he had to do something, which is what lead him to owling Claramae.  Which lead him to here, this moment, standing in a crowd and feeling well out of his element.  But he knew he could figure it out, play the part, and do what he came there to do.  So he squared his shoulders and walked into the room, exuding confidence.  He knew that he may not find the other man right away, so he settled on talking to people and interacting with old schoolmates that he ran into.  He decided to take a breather and head outside with a drink, when he looked up and saw Daniel not far from him.  He slowly made his way over to him.   

[eansworths-blog]

Though he’d been apprehensive about attending such a lavish event, Daniel was having a surprisingly good time. He felt a little out of place, to be sure, but there were enough familiar faces from his Hogwarts days that he’d managed to keep from feeling too uncomfortable. Still, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt for being here without his boyfriend. He knew Ricky had been okay with his being Arin’s plus one, but it still felt odd -- particularly now that it had been several days since they’d last spoken. He’d been doing his best to give Ricky the space he needed, but... in all honesty, he’d thought the Gryffindor would have reached out to him by now. He tried not to think about it... and yet.

When he caught sight of his boyfriend a little ways away he did a double take, half certain he was imagining things. “Ricky...?” 

[scyre]

     desmond sayre was not meant for black-tie affairs and charity balls. he seldom smiled, found parlor room conversion dull and uninteresting, and genuinely wished that a fleet of dementors would flood the room just to zap away any spark of life and draw the evening to its close. unfortunately for him, he wouldn’t be able to slip into the shadows like he might have done in previous years. no, he was engaged to the minister’s daughter… whether he liked it or not, they were expected to be present. hiding in the shadows and leaving claramae to whether the storm on her own just seemed cowardly. 

thankfully he was saved from being engaged by one of his mother’s snooty friends by the glimpse of a familiar face. he excused himself and made his way over to them… snagging a couple flutes of champagne off an unsuspecting waiters’ tray on the way. “drink up.” he announced by way of greeting, handing the flute over before downing the contents of his own. “trust me. you’ll need it.” 

[eansworths-blog]

“Er,” Daniel stalled, caught off guard by Monty’s sudden presence and demand. The two of them had never been what Daniel would call close, but he supposed they must have conversed enough in the past for Monty to consider him at least somewhat enjoyable company. “Alright, then,” he agreed, accepting the flute and taking a sip. “Not having an excellent time, I take it?”

[eansworths-blog]

ofviixenisms

    “EXACTLY,” KAT nodded in agreement with a small smile. “sometimes it takes time. or you need to learn how to look real close, you know? and let your imagination run wild.”

“Makes sense,” Daniel agreed. He was about to elaborate when, out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of two fifth years engaged in activities that as chaperone, he really couldn’t condone. “Er, I should probably stop them,” he said regretfully, eyes widening as the behavior escalated. “Oi! You two!” he called out, dashing away to give them a proper telling off.

[eansworths-blog]

rickyyng

“It is what it is,” he replied before shaking his head.  “I don’t know what to do right now that won’t make it worse.”

“I’m sorry,” Daniel repeated. He was well aware that he sounded like a broken record, but at a loss for what else he could possibly say. He thought he’d been doing pretty alright at being a boyfriend previously, but now? He’d been attempting to walk a thin line between sticking closer than ever in order to provide comfort, and keeping his distance to give Ricky the space to work things through. Hearing the latter was what his boyfriend needed wasn’t exactly happy news, but he supposed there wasn’t much he could do about it. “Right, then. I’ll just... stay out of it,” he agreed.

[eansworths-blog]

clarabaes

  claramae pulled a face as soon as daniel said the word jenkins. ah, of course. she should’ve known he’d be behind something like this. the poor lad just couldn’t seem to help himself; it was like he had a compulsive need to take the most random of things! it’d be sad if it wasn’t so bloody ANNOYING. “you probably should’ve led with jenkins,” she said with a smile. “i can ask one of the prefects from my house to check his dorm if you like?”

Relief flooded Daniel’s expression when it became apparent Claramae wasn’t holding his dismal phrasing against him. “That’d be brilliant,” he said of her offer to get someone to check Jenkins’ dormitory. “Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.”

[eansworths-blog]

rcsieriisms

     “IT’S ALRIGHT,” kyle assured him with a smile. “thanks for the offer, but i think i’m good for now! i’ll come look for you though if i do end up needing help.”

“Sounds good. I’ll just... let you get back to it, then,” Daniel answered awkwardly, shuffling off.