VII.
Simple Pleasures.
'Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
I'm getting old and I need something to rely on.
So tell me when you're gonna let me in,
I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin.'
The wind drifted lazily past him; a cool, gentle whirl that swept the heads off several dandelions that had been swaying softly with the breeze moments before and tossed them into the air, creating a pleasant clash of yellow with the clear blue of the sky. It was spring and he could smell it in the air as he sat in the long, rippling grass, his legs stretched out in front of him and his eyes closed.
It wasn't a rare pleasure these days to have enough time to lie in a field somewhere in rural Scotland for the afternoon, but, to Oliver it was heaven. He'd had enough of London with its bustling traffic and horrendous weather and he was well and truly sick of Glasgow… he was even sick of Quidditch: after all he'd been through, what with the war and losing friends and family, it didn't feel real enough any more. In fact, his whole life was built around a surrealistic world, it wasn't plausible for him to live without fear any more, not after being trapped for so long by a constant struggle to hold on to his sanity. No, it wasn't real.
But this was.
This wasn't fear and it wasn't freedom, it was another thing entirely… it was peace.
For a second or two as he let his body flop back into the lush green rushes, Oliver wished Katie were here to see it all, to feel the peace and utter tranquillity that the untouched field possessed, but then he quickly nudged that away. She would be with George, pleading with him to eat something or say something or do something. Never mind the fact she, herself, was no better, with her jeans practically falling off her and her nightmares keeping him awake til four in the morning as he held her to him. No, Katie wasn't ready for peace yet; she was still fighting a war that she had to win herself: no amount of help he gave her would aid her to victory until she wanted it… and then he would bring her here, but not now.
For now it was just his place, his alone. It would be his sanctuary, his place to cry and to grieve, without anyone else's tears drowning his own out... his place to scream and to shout and to rage at the world…. his place to sing and dance with nobody watching…
It would be his simple pleasure, and he would treasure it and keep for his own until Katie was ready for it, and then he would share it with her, only her.
-x-x-x-
'Oliver, where are we?'
'Shh… just be quiet and listen to th-'
Pausing mid-sentence, Oliver gazed around in horror, certain there had been some mistake. His lush, green fields peppered with yellow dandelions and pastel-coloured butterflies was gone, and in its stead was a housing estate, obviously built by wizards as it had been made overnight.
'You spend every afternoon in a housing estate?'
'I- it was… I… its gone.'
As Oliver stared helplessly around, his jaw gaping and his brown eyes marred with a hunted look she hadn't seen in them for months, Katie felt the teasing, sceptical expression on her face fade away. Whatever it was that had been here and that had helped him to some sort of contentment with life had been taken away, and it was painful to watch as he took this in.
'I- this is not happening.'
He sank to the ground, collapsing in an orthodox cross-legged position on the driveway of the closest house. Kneeling down beside him, Katie wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips to his left temple.
'What was here before, Ol?'It took him a while to respond, but when he did she was startled to see tears welling in his eyes, threatening to spill over on to his perpetually stubbled cheeks, always awash with a slight five o'clock shadow.
'It was just th-this field… but it was so beautiful Kates, it was so beautiful. All green and long and untouched with yellow dandelions and butterflies and clear sky. And when it rained the grass would sort of soak it up and then when you laid down in it, it would be cool and – and now it's just... gone.'
Katie could feel her own eyes welling up now, the quiet tenderness in his Scottish brogue so sincere that she instantly realised how much the field had meant to him. It hadn't just been some piece of untouched land, it had been an escape for him and now it was gone.
'Ol, I'm so sorry,' she whispered, moving around so that she had her head tucked between his and his left shoulder, her arms wrapped around him as securely as possible.
'I wanted to show it to you,' he said helplessly, his voice wavering, 'I wanted it to help you like it helped me.'
Katie smiled.
'Ol, I don't need a field to help me out, I've got you, Oh Captain, My Captain.'
A slight chuckle gurgled in his throat as she used her old nickname for him and he let his head drop so that it rested atop her own.
'I love you.'
'I love you too, Ol.'
It wasn't fear and it wasn't freedom… it wasn't even peace.
It was just a simple pleasure to sit there with her on that overcast spring day and watch the last patch of dandelions sway with the breeze, a testament to better days and a future as bright as their little yellow petals.
Is this the place we used to love?
Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?
Oh, simple thing, where have you gone?
Somewhere only we know.
A/N: lyrics - "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane.
hey all,
sorry i havent updated in so damn long... lots happening around town.
i fell in love with this song after i heard it on Grey's Anatomy one night and was listening to it again today and got inspired for the first time in ages. so voila!
love love. x