Forum Block
Stacked With: MC4A; Hogwarts; Houses; Shipping War
Individual Challenges: Short Jog; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux
House: Hufflepuff
Year: 2 (Stand-in)
Category: Standard
Prompt: Tomorrow may be a day away, but today feels like an eternity.
Word count: 1,312
Notes: Muggle AU; Modern-day era
Helga blew out a breath as she closed the door behind her and leaned against it. She let her backpack slide off the shoulder that had been carrying it and thud onto the floor. She was tempted to join it but refrained and instead pushed off the solid wood door to move into the kitchen and switch the kettle on.
One more day and she would be gone. She'd have to return, but she'd be able to rest for a few weeks and finally be in the same room as Salazar again. No more of them both staring at a screen and aching to hold the other; from tomorrow until the end of the Winter holidays, they'd be together. The kettle clicking off brought her out of her thoughts and she quickly pulled down a cup and proceeded to make herself a black tea.
As she let the tea steep, she glanced at her watch and sighed when she saw it was only three o'clock in the afternoon. Five hours until she could reasonably go to sleep and hurry along tomorrow, and seven hours until she would feasibly be able to sleep—sleep and Helga were merely good acquaintances at the best of times and excitement did not help their relationship.
With a sigh, she picked up her cup, chucked the tea bag into the bin as she went past it, and then carefully collapsed on the couch. There was a pile of documents she had to go through hidden in the bag sitting by the door. With a determination born of many hours spent going over similar documents and the wish to merely rest, Helga ignored the bag that her mind was silently screaming at her to pay attention to and instead sipped her tea.
Five hours. One could do a lot in five hours, if they had the desire to do so. Helga did not have such desire. She curled up on the couch and drank the tea until it was all gone and then merely sat holding the empty cup, wishing it was full again. Eventually she pulled herself off the couch with a groan and shuffled back to the kitchen to boil the kettle again and refill the cup.
As the kettle boiled, she moved over to the door and scooped her backpack up before dumping it on the couch. She returned to the kitchen just as the kettle clicked off. Once more falling onto the couch without spilling the precious tea, Helga pulled over the backpack and a lap-table before getting to work.
She might be starting her holiday tomorrow, but that didn't mean she could get away with not working today.
Within moments, she had fallen into the routine of grading assignments interspersed with the occasional sip of steadily cooling tea. Once this pile was done, she would be free and clear until she returned to the university for the first semester. She didn't look at the time while she was working; adding an accurate countdown to the one already ticking in her mind would merely agitate her.
Finally, she checked off the last student's name and assignment on her list and placed it all neatly aside to be dropped off on her way to the train station the next day. Only then did she let herself glance at the time. Five o'clock. Three more hours until she could curl in bed and pray for sleep.
Helga collapsed further into the couch and checked her cup to see if there was any tea left. There wasn't. She considered refilling it but didn't yet feel like getting up. Instead, she stared ahead blankly, letting her mind slow down from the whirring it had been doing the past two hours. Eventually she got bored and flicked the TV on, changing the channel to one that played non-stop reruns of old shows and curled up to continue staring blankly ahead but with added stimuli.
Four hours later, she switched the television off, dumped her cup on the kitchen bench, and moved into the bedroom. Her small suitcase sat in one corner, ready for tomorrow, and she smiled when she saw it. All she had to do was put her toiletries in after she had brushed her teeth and then it would be complete. Still smiling, Helga went to do just that.
It was eleven o'clock and Helga was lying in bed staring at the darkness that concealed a wall. Sitting against that wall was her suitcase. She just wanted to go. No more waiting around, it was so close and yet still so far. She was just thankful that she had a relatively early train and wouldn't be waiting around for half the day tomorrow.
With a groan, she flopped onto her other side and stared into that darkness. Grabbing her phone from the nightstand where it was charging, she quickly selected a podcast and let the sound of people chatting about the history of food draw her attention away from the thoughts of tomorrow. Halfway through the episode, Helga finally fell asleep.
The next morning was a whirlwind of activity. From double and triple-checking that she had everything, to dropping off the graded assignments, and arriving at the train station half and hour before she needed to be there while quadruple-checking she had everything. After she had located the platform her train would depart from, Helga looked around for a café and found one.
With a pot of tea in front of her, Helga relaxed a little. She was here, and in about an hour she would be heading to Salazar. She had never been to Salazar's new haunt, the man had moved there only a few months ago to take a position at the university. Helga had elected to remain where she was and it was only via the wonders of technology they had been able to see each other.
After numerous cups of tea and glances at her watch, Helga was finally boarding the train. She couldn't contain her smile or her fidgeting fingers as she watched the landscape go by. Only another four hours and she would be in Salazar's arms again. She pulled her phone out, plugged her earbuds in, and started the food history podcast. Four hours of silence would be hell and the history of food was something Helga found fascinating.
Finally, Helga was stepping off the train with suitcase in tow and looking eagerly around for the face she knew so well even though she knew it wouldn't be there. Salazar had texted her and let her know he would be late due to traffic and a neighbour's dog taking an opportunity to go wandering outside the front door without being noticed.
Giddy from being in the same place as Salazar even if he wasn't in the near vicinity, Helga made her way to a café and settled down to wait with another pot of tea. She watched the stream of people going by, sometimes stopping and greeting whoever it was they had come to meet. So many stories happened in a train station; there were reunited families, unhappy boarders, excited travellers, and everything in between.
"Is this seat taken?" a voice asked from behind her and she shook her head before the voice clicked and she turned to look at the speaker.
Salazar grinned at her. Without caring about her tea spilling over the rim of the cup as she thrust it down on the table, Helga jumped out of her seat and flung her arms around him. He returned the hug just as fiercely, both of them basking in the ability to actually touch each other after three long months apart.
"I missed you," Helga said, regardless of the fact they had talked several times a week.
Salazar held her closer. "I missed you too."