a/n: Pure unedited self-indulgence.
Disclaimer: Ha.
Title: going for the gold
Words: 1K
Summary: There are certain perks to having a professional Quidditch player for a boyfriend. [Gender AU – F/M]
"Come on," Halley removed the pen from her mouth, and she idly flipped to another magazine page. "You're halfway there to your daily goal."
Beneath her, her boyfriend groaned. "I'm going to die."
"Mhm. Keep moving, Weasley." She made a mark on the paper. The Witch Weekly's quiz was asking if she had the same glamorous fashion style that Halley Potter had. Dressed in a ratty pair of shorts and a borrowed Puddlemere United jersey, she snorted. The version of her on the page had sleek hair and was wearing a form-fitting black dress for a Ministry gala. "Would you say that I follow the latest trends?" She felt Gid's muscles tense beneath her legs as he readied himself for another push-up.
"The latest trend is stealing your boyfriend's clothes?"
Halley readjusted her weight on his back, her legs crossed in her lap. "How would I know? Keep your torso straight!"
Gid muttered something under his breath, but he continued working on the push-ups.
After making more marks, she straightened the page, and she chewed on her bottom lip as the charms calculated the results for the quiz. She pushed her glasses up her nose. "Huh, guess I'm not as glamorous as I thought I was."
"Should I be shocked?" he asked, voice wry.
"Careful, Gideon," she warned. "The next smart comment will earn you five more push-ups."
Halley studied his new haircut. "Do you think you'll consider growing it back?"
Gid touched his hairline. His hair was usually long enough to touch his collarbone in lovely waves, but now his mum was fawning over how neat it looked, short on either side and long in the front. According to family legend, the battles over his hair had been an ongoing event since he had been old enough to say no when she had brought out the scissors.
Until he had arrived at the Burrow for brunch sporting a new hairstyle.
Halley wasn't sure how she felt. His hair was the first thing she noticed about him when she had no clue how to find Platform 9 ¾. She liked it long and running her fingers through it, especially back in Sixth Year when it had been an on-going fantasy after Quidditch practice.
"It was getting in the way." Gid passed the bowl of fruit Rory asked for. He resumed filling his own plate. "Are you pouting?"
"No."
Maybe she was.
Halley chewed on her fried breakfast potatoes, a part of her mind traitorously admiring how the new haircut framed his face. She speared another potato with her fork. "Maybe you can keep it a little bit longer. For aesthetic purposes."
"This is where the magic happens."
The pitch was a far-cry than what Hogwarts had. The lush grass was clipped cleanly (no wayward cursed plant or missing homework assignment carefully transfigured as a plant), carefully marked with chalk. The goal-posts were gleaming structures of wood and metal. Navy and gold banners decorated the small stadium. This was the pitch she dreamt about during school practice before the reality of her fame hit her.
Halley was instantly in love. "I'm leaving you for a piece of land."
It wasn't overt thievery, in Halley's opinion.
But Gid stood by the doorway to her room, his newly-short hair wet from the shower, a towel sitting obscenely low around his hips. "It feels like I lose more clothes whenever I stay over here."
She put her hands together like a steeple under her chin. "Sounds terrible." She moved her gaze to admire the way his upper back muscles moved as he bent over to search for his clothes in her laundry hamper. "I wonder what will be gone next…"
"Yeah," he agreed. "Absolutely terrible."
Halley tugged at the hem of her shirt. "This might be yours then. Do you want it back?"
Gid straightened. He let the towel hit the bedroom floor with hardly a blink. "Depends."
She beckoned him to come closer. Once able to, she slung her arms around his neck and straddled his waist. "Let me know when they make a calendar for Puddlemere. I have my eye on Mr. August."
Friday evenings now meant lazily staying in bed, complaining together.
"Your captain's evil."
"Wood's your captain now."
"Pft!" He rolled to his back. "Any survival tips?"
The park was quiet in the early hours of the morning.
Halley breathed in the late summer air, her head clear as she jogged down the pathway. Behind her, she could make out Gid's steady footfalls as he tried to catch up. She slowed her pace to keep in time with him. Her smile, some would say, was too cheeky for such an early hour.
"Don't feel too bad," she said. "Most Dark wizards have trouble catching me." Halley sped up, leaving him red-faced as he cursed. Without needing to look, she threw up a two-finger salute with her hand. "You promised me a race!"
"You promised me a lie-in!" Gid managed to quicken his pace with a new burst of speed. He wasn't matching her exactly, but their new weekly routine was starting to have an impact. No matter how much he complained about getting up in the morning on his days off, Wood's threats about the need to stay fit were efficient.
"I can make it more interesting."
He lagged for a moment as they stopped suddenly near a park bench. He dropped his hands to his knees, panting. "Are-are you talking about some competitive fun?"
Halley wiped the sweat from her brow, thankful for the charm that kept her glasses on. Someone in the Auror Department had recommended it to her during her first few months. She used the free time to re-tie her messy hair back again. She considered their surroundings, thinking briefly back to her childhood with the Dursleys.
Running back then had been a tactic—be faster than Daisy and her friends. Now it was something Halley could enjoy even when it meant going after Dark wizards and dodging hexes.
"Only if you make a proper go at it." Halley checked Gid's hip with hers. "Let's see if you can chase me."
He groaned.
Halley shoved the rest of his jersey aside as he braced a hand on the doorframe for support. The other came around to her waist, stroking circles over her hipbone. Half-dressed in his kit with cheeks flushed from winning, Halley felt she'd been patient enough with making her way through the crowd of fans. Now in the empty locker room, Gid was just as eager to reciprocate with his brown eyes blazing with the same desire.
She stood on her toes, her body arching to meet his. "This is new."
Gid worked his fingers beneath the waistband of her jeans. He poked his tongue at the side of his cheek in concentration. "Thought you wouldn't mind a post-match celebration."
He was certainly right about that.
"Mr Weasley, is there anything you would like to thank?"
"My girlfriend," he said without hesitation. "She was captain back at Hogwarts, you know."