Cainan had no option but to smirk. The vindictive side of him wanted to see this particular ex of his suffer— albeit a small suffering. Still, standing before her, he took another satisfying bite into the apple while he considered his words. “And what ‘bout you?” He asked, nose scrunched as he considered the half-eaten apple in his hand. “Bitch can’t be an easy hurdle to scrub off, can it?” Cainan tilted his head to the opposite side, a silent sort of challenge. “’Ya know what I’m most interested in?” He took a step closer, his gaze narrowing on hers. His chin tilted, asserting some power. “Whether I’ll hear a sorry from ‘ya lips?” Real question was: would it even mean anything.
𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 as she reigned back her emotions to smile curtly. ❝ Harder than scrubbing off the memory of your hands on my body, if that’s what you mean. ❞ A bald-faced lie, but what would he do? Compel her to tell the truth? Even Cainan wouldn’t stoop that low. No, Valentina was an expert liar, with a poker face to fool thousands. There was little Cainan could do to outwardly ruffle her feathers.
...Except that. ❝ Oh, come off it. You’re not serious, are you? You really think you’re entitled to an apology. ❞ Half-appalled and half-amused, she lifts both eyebrows imperiously, more than well aware of her failure stature-wise, but choosing to assert her power through the ferocity of her gaze alone. ❝ You want one so bad? Bend down and I’ll whisper it to you. ❞
With a delivery in his pocket, Cainan had been on his way just one flight of stairs up to meet a customer. Couldn’t be more than thirty steps. But fuck if life didn’t have some cruel sense of humor. The apples just had to belong to her. And he scoffed as he bent down, swiping an apple off the floor. “Who says I was goin’ta help ‘ya’s?” As if to prove a point, Cainan rubbed the fruit against his shirt before biting into it. Then, slowly, he began taking the steps up, avoiding the traffic of Red Prince and Gala’s. Once in front of her, he swallowed down his bite and leaned a half-inch closer. “Finders keepers.”
❝ 𝐃𝐎𝐍’𝐓 𝐃𝐎 𝐈𝐓. 𝐃𝐎𝐍’𝐓. 𝐂𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐍. ❞ Valentina’s eyes blazed as he, of course, took a bite of the apple. Never mind that Valentina could spare upwards of half the bushel: it was the principle. Those were her apples. With forced calm, she set down the groceries on her doorstep and spun around to face him. For a moment, she contemplated snatching the apple back, but that was too much of a scene, and she didn’t want him to know how much or how badly he got under her skin. How much of her heart and head was still clouded by the past they’d shared. Instead, she set both hands on her hips, staring up at him with badly hidden contempt. ❝ Glad to see you haven’t changed a bit, ❞ she scoffed. ❝ Once an arse, always an arse, hm? ❞
𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒. It was this exact stubbornness that led to broken bags: specifically, today, the biggest bag hanging from the tip of her pinky, overflowing with perfectly ripe and ready for the bruising apples. In just one second, the bag split from where it was hanging from her trembling finger, sending two dozen apples rolling down the stairs.
❝ Fuck! ❞ And as footsteps followed up behind her, and Valentina chanced a glance over her shoulder, she swore again, quieter. ❝ I don’t need your help. ❞
“I know, I wasn’t planning on leaving it there,” Gabriel said, figuring that was just common sense, “I don’t want anyone else to get hurt over the obvious flimsiness of the bag.”
❝ 𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓’𝐒 𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐒𝐘 𝐎𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐀𝐑𝐌 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐇? ❞ She questioned, glancing down at his torso. Possibly inciting words, but when was Valentina Puddifoot ever known for holding back what she was really thinking? ❝ And anyway, you could have put it in another bag. Just saying. ❞
Normally, Gabriel considered living on the second floor a blessing: he could use the stairs and get that workout without it being too much of an inconvenience. However, it failed to be that the moment that he heard his giant bag of cat food open and spill all the way down the stairwell. “Fuck,” he muttered to himself as he turned around to see that there was someone behind him, “Sorry about that,” he immediately apologized, “You didn’t get too covered did you?”
𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄- Cat food was raining from the heavens like a Goddamn Purina Armageddon. Shaking the pellets from her hair- thank Christ, it was dry food- she sighed and offered a thumbs up. ❝ Not too covered. You’d best clean that up proper before someone else up comes up. Someone could break an ankle if they’re not careful. ❞
The bell rang overhead and he stopped mid-sentence, glancing toward the door and smiling for a beat at the new arrival before getting back to the matter at hand. If he rushed slightly, it was only because he had lost track of time and, true to form, he was now going to be running late. Only when the last customer was out the door and he could flip the sign around does he look to Valentina again, quick to speak before she can say anything. “Give me five minutes to close up. I’ll be fast, I swear. We’ll miss like… one trailer.”
𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐒 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐃, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀 𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐓 𝐓𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐑 belied her waning patience. Truthfully, Valentina didn’t care about missing the trailers: that wasn’t the point. If she were being completely honest, she simply wanted enough time to grab herself some of the caramel popcorn the theater by her offered endless refills for. After all, how was she supposed to judge the film properly without the right sustenance?
❝ You know we can’t all just apparate right outside the theater. And after last time’s nauseating experience, I refuse to use Floo powder. I refuse, Teddy. ❞
It had felt like an excessively long day — a rare one in which she worked daytime, instead of at night — which only ever meant one thing for Will; she should be going to bed early. Of course, that was simply impossible to do. Not when she had to pass the Gargoyle on the way home to change, the pull of alcohol and camaraderie already radiating from the pub even at this hour. She was contemplating her speech to convince Valentina to join her, digging in her bag for her keys, and that combination of distractions has her nearly tripping on a stray ankle as she approaches their front door.
“What the f-” she comes up short, staring down at the sleeping blonde with a pitying furrow to her brow. “Merlin…” Leaning down, she taps, and lightly shakes, her roommate’s shoulder for attention. “Did you know, you have a bed right in there?”
𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐏𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐃: not a good sign. Would she even be able to sleep tonight, now that she’d dozed off? And in front of her apartment, of all places... Who was she? James Potter? ❝ Gee, hadn’t crossed my mind, Will- ❞ Shaking off the lethargy, she sits up and roughly finds her way to being vertical once more. ❝ I forgot my key this morning. And then my phone died. So here we are. ❞ A yawn is tugged from her forcefully; ❝ Bloody hell, I’ve no right to be this tired at six in the evening. ❞
Once the door is open, she stomps towards the fridge and helps herself to a cup of the iced tea she keeps ever-full. ❝ You going somewhere tonight? ❞ Valentina herself had planned for a night in with the desserts she’d brought home, possibly doing some editing on their latest recording for the Wombat Files.
𝐅𝐔𝐂𝐊, 𝐒𝐇𝐄’𝐃 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐊𝐄𝐘. Searching through her pockets for her phone was a useless endeavor; the battery was drained, and by the knocks she’d left on the door of 3D, Will was not home. Sinking down to the floor, she let her head fall back against the door, committing herself to staying calm until her roommate or someone came in with a phone she could use.
The early morning shift she’d worked all day must have tired her out more than she’d realized though. The next time her lids lifted, it was turning dark outside, and someone was tapping her shoulder. ❝ Huh... What’s going on? Will? ❞
look who just moved into 3D! is that FLORENCE PUGH? no, that’s definitely VALENTINA PUDDIFOOT! rumour has it the 24 year old is a PUREBLOOD and is a SQUIB but now SHE/HER spends their time as FILM CRITIC and WAITRESS. i’m sure they’ll be a great addition to the apartments since they’re A PROBLEM-SOLVER and WITTY despite being INTIMIDATING and OPINIONATED. take some time to settle in. just remember rent is due on the first!
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
aesthetics: the typing of cold fingertips against a keyboard. nitro-coffee and artisanal baked bread dipped in hot chocolate. tendrils of hair falling into your face and bold eyeliner. a dry laugh and a subtle smirk.
headcanon 1: she becomes after many failed attempts at different jobs, a part-time film critic. she works for a muggle magazine, green light magazine, and at a muggle cafe called the cookie jar. she often gets to bring back baked goods, snacks and some meals home. her experience at madame puddifoot’s makes her perfect for the job.
headcanon 2: her roommate is will york, and they’ve known each other since before will’s been to hogwarts, having lived in proximity of each other for a long time. they have a podcast together called the wombat files, where they shoot the shit, talk relevant topics, etc.
headcanon 3: she did some modeling when she was eighteen/nineteen, and became well known for her very pert nose. occasionally, when she’s short on cash or needs something expensive, she’ll do a gig or two, but she hated being a model passionately, and only does it if the case really calls for it.
headcanon 4: madame puddifoot’s isn’t doing too well, and valentina feels a lot of guilt for “abandoning” the family legacy, and makes up for it by sending as much money as she can a month to her mother to support her mom and grandma. she visits once a week too, because despite being a squib, her mother has fought her internalized phobias of disability to love her child properly, and as many issues as valentina has with her family, she does still love them.
headcanon 5: she has two other siblings; they’re twelve year old twins that are enrolled in hogwarts, and they’re both in hufflepuff. their names are charles ‘charlie’ and alistair ‘ali’.
headcanon 6: both valentina and will have been repeatedly told they are ‘opinionated girls’ but this manifests different within the two of them. valentina is unrelenting and has strong opinions about everything, feeling sure about her world-view, even while not logical. her opinions are based off her experience and how she perceives the world, not through other’s. why should she care about how another person views the world when they can speak for their own experience; she can only testify to hers. in other words ‘i hate that cake, it tastes gross, and therefore, you shouldn’t order it, because if I don’t like it, then it doesn’t matter’. she is not against changing her opinions, but it would take something great for her to shift her opinion.
BONUS
wc: on and off fling, co-worker, arch-rival at her magazine, childhood friend turned enemy.
