chrysons·:
Holidays away from the Nott Manor were a strange concept for Chryson. For nearly twenty Christmases now, he had followed along the same stilted traditions, miserable every step of the way. Moving in with Adira had offered a new beginning, one far away from his father but still too uncomfortably close to all the baggage he would never be able to escape. Adira was a bright spot in it all, even if Chryson felt like things had seemed a little strange between them since the big move.
The holidays had crept up unannounced, catching him unaware now that there was no more Hogwarts, no house elves to prepare the decorations while his mother drank and his father yelled. It was the bareness of the Selwyn Manor covered in a slight dusting of snow that really hammered the impending event home one chilly Friday evening as he arrived home from work. Shivering, he let himself into the house, making sure to announce his presence to not startle Adira with his sudden appearance before setting off to find her and propose a new, festive plan for the evening. “Hey, I’m back!”
@missselwyn
Hey, I’m back. It was amazing how a few simple words could bring such a smile to Adira’s lips, despite the fact that she heard them almost every evening. Chryson had been living with her a little over a month, and she was certain that was the best choice she’d made in months, inviting him in. To get him away from his father, but also, in a way, to get her out of her own mind. She’d been a shell of herself when she’d begged him not to go back to Nott Manor, to another engagement he didn’t want, to that horrible man. Within weeks, she found herself slowly blossoming into something close to herself. Still, while her days were lonely and her fears crept back in, evenings had become a comfortable constant for the young woman. Chryson would come home, and the world felt righted within itself. Perhaps it was merely the company of someone she adored so much, and she knew that was part of it. The biggest part, however, was that, with him so close, there was no hiding how bad she’d gotten. So she did the tricky work and tried her best to be better. While most days she forgot her lunch, she did try to eat a small breakfast and always ate dinner with Chryson.
Her cheeks, plumper now than they’d been when he moved in with her, turned rosy as she tried to temper her own excitement. Things weren’t perfect between the pair; there was still a lot left unsaid. But one thing could be said--this arrangement was better than either of them on their own. “In the study, Chrys!” she called out, though she was sure he knew where to find her. In the past month, she’d turned her father’s study into her own little den, spending some money to brighten the space up and make it feel less haunted. She put down her book--a new on on Dragon’s she’d managed to nab the last time she left the house--and moved towards the door of the study, peeking her head out in an attempt to catch sight of him before he came in. “You sound chipper.”












