I love you, just like this

Part 1:

Imogen takes a moment to watch the lightly falling snow through the staff-room window. It's like icing sugar being sifted onto a cake. As Cackle's Academy's P.E teacher, she's usually always doing something, not really taking the time to stop. The Christmas holidays are nearly over, it has been a fairly quiet one all things considered; her days spent with Constance either actively doing things together or working independently in the same room. She went to visit her family for Christmas Day itself. She insisted Constance join her as she didn't have anyone to go to and would have just sat in the castle alone. Imogen couldn't bare knowing that while she was enjoying herself her girlfriend? Lover? Partner? (she still isn't sure which label feels right) would be alone. She chose not to tell her family about her and Constance as she felt it was best kept between them, she knew Constance was already extremely uncomfortable just being in the same room as Imogen's family and certainly didn't need to add to that discomfort by having people pry into her personal life. Imogen told her family that she was her fellow teacher and that she had no other plans for the holidays so she had invited her to join them. Imogen's family was taken aback by Constance's rather harsh presence at first and never really felt totally at ease with her in the room. Imogen recalls the moment when they met her parents for the first time, they walked up to Imogen's parents' front door and her parents were presented with bright and sporty Imogen and Constance who her father described as looking as if she were on her way to a funeral. This had not gone over well with Constance, who attempted to leave there and then. Imogen made her father apologise but the awkwardness never really left the air after that. Still, she was glad she got to spend the holidays with Constance and that she hadn't been left alone at Cackle's.

Imogen takes a sip of her tea, still watching the snow fall. Snow can be charming she thinks, when you're inside drinking hot tea and are nice and warm. Imogen's thoughts drifted from the wintery scene outside her window back to Constance, she expects she will be back shortly, she did say half-four. Imogen looks at her watch, it's nearly a quarter past. It is almost Constance's birthday. A day which Constance herself would rather not acknowledge, but Imogen feels she should do something for her. There are few occasions when she is allowed to publicly acknowledge what an amazing person Constance is to her, her birthday definitely counts, she thinks. Imogen has a plan for what to do for this special occasion. She needs some help though. She runs through the list of possible candidates for helping her. None of the other teachers would do, they would not so easily keep her secret, and would likely not want to help someone with who they have such a difficultly getting along with, particularly in the case of Miss Bat. She can't do this alone, so one of the students then? It dawns on her, that her only option is someone who, while being the most trustworthy, is also the least skilled: Mildred Hubble. The girls will be back tomorrow, Imogen remembers, so there will be enough time for her to go through with her plan.

Listening to the gentle rhythm of the clock ticking, she thinks about how she will approach Mildred to ask for her assistance. Perhaps she should enlist one of Mildred's friends also as a back up to prevent a catastrophe, perhaps Maud Moonshine? She seems like the most reliable option. Imogen turns her attention away from the snowy scene and towards the door, she hears someone approaching. The door swings open with force: It's Constance. Imogen is surprised she didn't use magic to get in.

Constance is covered in snow, and is cursing just about everyone and everything she can as she dusts herself off, removing her cloak then her bonnet.

Imogen gets up and goes over to the kettle, she pours Constance a hot cup of tea. Once Constance gets herself settled she hands her the steaming mug, "Thank you," is her reply. She is grateful Imogen is thoughtful.

Imogen sits back down in her chair, "I take it I don't need to ask how it went?"

Constance looks up, "A bloody disaster! You'd think we were asking for solid gold cauldrons or some other ridiculous thing!" Several of their cauldrons and their stands needed to be replaced and Constance being the ever meticulous potions mistress that she is, decided she needed to inspect the replacements herself,"I sorted it out in the end, but let me tell you Imogen, that oaf of a man tested my patience."

"I'll bet he did," Imogen replied, only wishing that she'd been there herself when Constance inevitably showed what she was capable of to the cauldron supplier. She did feel a little sorry for the man, though she would never let Constance know that. She was sure at least on some level he probably deserved it, trying to pull the wool over Constance Hardbroom's eyes was an invitation to certain death, "Why does Miss Cackle insist we still use them anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know, something about having done a favour for a long-lost relative who used to be a student," Constance says, drinking more of her tea.

Imogen smiles at this, typical Amelia.

"So, what did you get up to while I was gone?" Constance asks, she is in a much better mood now that she's back in the same room as Imogen. She goes and sits beside her, the tea has helped warm her up, but she's craving the warmth she gets from Imogen.

"Oh, not much really, worked on some lessons for the new term," Imogen says moving over on the sofa so Constance has some room to sit. Getting this sofa for the staffroom was a genius idea, she's quite proud of herself for that one. "I'm glad you're back though," she says, leaning over to kiss Constance gently on the lips.

Constance smiles, she's glad too. She returns the kiss. Imogen puts her arm around Constance's shoulders and they sit like that enjoying the physical contact. Constance is enjoying the warmth also.

She's not sure when it started exactly, the two of them sharing Constance's bedroom. She still keeps most of her belongings in her own room, but she notices a large amount have made a home for themselves in Constance's. It almost feels like what ordinary couples lives must be like. Imogen knows she isn't the only one awake. She rolls onto her side, now facing Constance's back and places her arm around her. She gently moves Constance's long brown hair off her face, and kisses her neck. Constance responds to the gesture by turning to face Imogen. She returns the kiss softly on Imogen's lips. They lay in silence for a few moments before Constance realises she needs to get up and begin her morning routine.

Imogen lays there watching Constance, observing her doing these small daily tasks is something she's grown to love. It allows her to witness a part of Constance that few get to witness: the part of her that is ordinary. Watching her she almost believes they lead normal lives, until Constance starts using magic for everything, then she knows their lives are not ordinary. She wouldn't have it any other way though, her life with Constance at Cackles is special and unique and she feels lucky she is allowed to live it.

Constance's magic finishes tying up her hair, and Imogen gets out of bed to begin her morning routine. She starts by going for a run to clear her mind and get some energy for the day. She changes into her running gear, "I'll be back in about half an hour," she says, making sure to kiss Constance before she leaves. She has to be careful as she walks out of Constance's room, she doesn't want anyone to start gossiping about them. Constance gives her a nod and a smile and lets her leave.

The morning air is crisp, thankfully it isn't snowing; running in winter has its challenges. Imogen chooses to run through the forest where the trees are thick and not a lot of snow makes it onto the ground. As she jogs she thinks about her plan for Constance's birthday. Today is the day she's planning on approaching Mildred and Maud about helping her. She doesn't know if she will tell them what she needs it for or who she's making it for, she hopes they'll still help her. She picks up her speed a bit, and continues on her path. The forest is fairly quiet in winter and Imogen would think it eerie if she hadn't run through it hundreds of times before. When she feels she has gone far enough, she turns around and heads back to the castle. She arrives back in time for Constance's first class to begin. This is perfect, she thinks. She'll go shower and get herself organised and then catch Mildred and Maud as they finish their potions class. She walks past the windows of the potions lab, stopping ever so briefly to admire the striking woman at the front of the room. She smiles and heads up to her room to get herself ready. She walks up the many stone stairs of the castle, even she recognises there are too many. She's not fortunate enough to be able to use magic to be able to instantly transport her to destination. She's nearly finished her complaints about the stairs when she reaches her door, she unlocks it and goes inside. The first thing she does is gets her shower ready, turning on the water ready for her to step in. She removes her clothes and tosses them onto a chair beside her chest of drawers. She steps into the steaming shower, it's just what she needs; the warm water running down her back, soothing her muscles. She is relaxed, though is still conscious of the time, she needs to make sure she doesn't miss Mildred and Maud.

She finishes up her shower and dries herself off. She walks over to her chest of drawers and selects some clothes, they are in reality much the same as she just took off; she prefers it this way. She feels she is lucky that she is able to wear comfortable clothes as often as she chooses. She leaves her room and walks back down the many stairs she was complaining about moments ago. She makes her way down to the potions lab, and the girls are still in class, but she can see that Constance is wrapping up the lesson. She is currently assigning them their homework, in her usual tone which lets the girls know in no uncertain terms that it will be extremely unpleasant for them if they don't return it by their next class. Imogen can honestly say this aspect of Constance's personality is both attractive and also slightly terrifying. She knows better than most why Constance is this way, so she is able to see the bigger picture and not be so quick to judge. She does wish she would lighten up a little sometimes though. The sound of wooden stools scraping against the floor lets Imogen know the class is over. Constance visibly winces at the sound and promptly tells the girls that if they ever do that again they will be writing lines until their graduation. A soft, defeated chorus of "Yes Miss Hardbroom," rings through the room as the students are permitted to leave. Just outside the room, near the windows, Imogen is waiting. She lets the girls file past her, waiting for Mildred. Mildred is still in the room, being scolded by Constance for spilling her left-over potion on the floor, "Mildred you really must be more careful, how do you expect to get anywhere in life if you don't pay attention," Constance says, almost pleading with the girl, she feels she says these words every lesson, she almost forgot what it was like to teach Mildred Hubble, but this moment makes her wonder how that was ever possible.

"Yes Miss Hardbroom," Mildred answers, her gaze towards the floor, "I'm sorry Miss Hardbroom."

"Off you go Mildred, before you knock something else over," Constance tells her, gesturing towards the door. Mildred walks towards the door and notices Miss Drill standing there, "Hello Miss Drill," she says, she doesn't particularly feel like talking to anyone, she just feels she should be polite. "Mildred, when you get a chance I'd like to have a word with you and Maud, is that all right?" Imogen asks. "I'm not in trouble with you too am I?" Mildred asks, assuming the worst.

"No! Of course not," Imogen reassures her, "I just need your help with something. Can you meet me tonight, after dinner?"

Mildred is confused as to why Miss Drill would need her help, but accepts anyway.

"Excellent, meet me here at the potions lab," Imogen tells her, patting her on the shoulder.

"But Miss, Miss Hardbroom locks the room after she leaves, how will we get in?" Mildred asks, she is sure now she will get in more trouble if Miss Drill's plan goes ahead, whatever it is.

"I'll make sure we can get in, don't worry Mildred, please ask Maud if she can come too, okay?" Imogen says, trying to make Mildred feel better about helping her. She can see she is worried about getting into more trouble with her formidable potions teacher.

"Okay Miss," Mildred says as she walks away, she knows Miss Hardbroom is still in the classroom and she doesn't want to spend more time near her than she has to.

Imogen thanks Mildred and walks into the classroom, as she is sure Constance knows she's here. It would be strange if she just left without talking to her. She walks over to her, Constance is using magic to clean the blackboard.

"Mildred getting up to her usual mischief again I see?" Imogen asks, noticing the spilled mess on the floor. She is a little surprised that Constance didn't make Mildred clean it up herself, but she figures she didn't want more of a mess to be created.

"That girl will never learn," Constance says, sternly. Clearly she is still recovering from the incident. With a flick of her wrist she vanishes the mess from existence and clears up the remaining mess left on the tables.

"Kind of you to clean it up for them," Imogen says, noticing this uncharacteristic display of leniency, "careful or you'll make people think you're going easy on them," she teases. Few ever have the courage to speak to Constance this way, but Imogen knows her well enough to be able to tease if she wants to, she knows the banter is fun for Constance too.

Constance knows she's being baited, "My dear Imogen, you seem to have everything figured out, don't you? In this case I was merely being efficient."

"Efficient, I see," Imogen says, now standing very close to Constance.

"Imogen…" Constance begins, looking down at her lips, as if she is about to kiss her. Just as her lips graze Imogen's she pulls away, "You're not the only one who can tease," she says, stepping back. She crosses her arms and is gone in seconds.

"Cheeky, very cheeky," Imogen says, she knows Constance lingers for a few seconds after she disappears, she catches students in this way all the time.

She can hear a fading laugh. She was right.