"Nor… do you really need me for this?" Marcus asked a few weeks later as he sat on the sofa in Nora's office. It was about 2 a.m. and the woman was at her desk, furiously at work at a sewing machine. She glanced over her shoulder, giving him a look that quickly stilled whatever complaint that was about to pass his lips.
"I'm almost done with this and then I need to make sure it fits," she said, turning back to the whirling machine. Marcus sat back and settled in to watch her. She had insisted on making both their costumes herself. He tried to convince her he could take care of his own - truthfully with magic it would have been faster and easier - but Nora exclaimed that he'd get it wrong and that she had to be the one to do it.
Which is why they were both up at 2 a.m. the night before the Halloween party. With all the assignments she had going, she barely had time to finish them. Her dress was currently on a mannequin in the corner of the room. He had to admit, she was good for a muggle. They two were going as vampires and Nora had designed and made two intricately detailed gothic outfits that reminded Marcus oddly of some of clothes the wizarding world wore.
His chest constricted as he thought of the massive secret he was still keeping from her. Life in the muggle world was getting easier for him. He felt himself rather adjusted, all things considering. But it still pained him that every weekday he went to his office on Diagon Alley and nights when he wasn't staying at Nora's, he would go home to his flat there. Both places she couldn't see.
He talked about it often with Adrian, who was still insistent that they not say anything. He had been talking with Nora's father, but he was still against letting her know. Until Adrian convince him otherwise, they were stuck telling half-truths and white lies. Thankfully Frederick Pucey still hadn't managed to pick up that the Marcus Nora spoke to him about was Marcus Flint. Adrian said he had convinced him that she was dating a muggle bloke. Marcus could only imagine how well it would go over when he discovered his eldest daughter was dating not just a wizard, but a pureblood. He reckoned it would not go over well.
"Aha! Finished!" Nora declared. She swiveled around in her chair and stood, holding the coat out. "Try it on." Marcus stood and pulled his sweater off then reached for the coat. Nora tilted her head to the side, enjoying the sight of Marcus' toned torso under his thin t-shirt. Marcus smirked slightly as he pulled the coat on and looked up at her, holding his hands out as if to say, "What do you think?"
It was a little tight in the shoulders, but other than that it seemed to fit comfortably.
"Perfect," Nora declared with a smile. She then stretched and yawned. "And with that, we can go to bed." Marcus chuckled as he pulled it off and threw it on the sofa. He started to pull his sweater back on. "What's the point in doing that when you know I'm just going to pull it back off in about 2 minutes," she said as she stepped out of the office.
"I thought you were tired," Marcus said, following her. Nora turned around and stopped.
"I said we can go to bed. I didn't say anything about sleeping," she replied with a smirk as she kissed him.
When Nora had declared herself the queen of Halloween parties, she hadn't been lying. Marcus surveyed the nearly packed apartment, taking in the decor. Despite staying up late the night before, she had gotten up early to start transforming the flat into what Marcus could only describe as some sort of magical, gothic mansion.
Cobwebs hung from everything, with bats and candles suspended from the tall ceiling with fishing wire. Nora had startled him when he walked out that morning and found her perched atop a large ladder - he still didn't know where it had come from - and he insisted that she let him do the ceiling for her safety - to which Nora just rolled her eyes and ordered him to work on putting out the candle holders. When he hadn't done that to her satisfaction, she let him hang the bats and candles. He chuckled to himself as he worked, wondering just how Nora would react to seeing actual floating candles like the ones at Hogwarts.
Candles in wine bottles were all over the flat - on the dining room table, kitchen cabinets, coffee table and the TV stand - along with various bits and bobbins that added to the dark, haunted mansion feel.
A bar had been set up at the dining room table, complete with liquor in old fashioned bottles and goblets rather than the usual disposable plastic cups. A caldron sat in the middle of the long table with smoke seeming to pour out of it thanks to something she called dry ice.
Music pulsed throughout the home as people mingled and chatted. Marcus tugged at his vest and looked around, wondering just where the hostess had gone off to.
"Nora outdid herself this year," Adrian said walking up to him in. "This is above and beyond what she did during university."
"Who are you?" Marcus asked, taking in his white curly wig.
"I'm King Louis XV," he said as though it were obvious. Marcus chuckled and took a sip of his drink, looking around the flat. "What's she got you dressed up as?"
"Vampires," he said, grinning and showing off the elongated canines that Nora had temporarily glued to his teeth. She had also spent about 45 minutes applying his makeup.
At that moment, there was a break in the crowd and Nora walked towards Marcus and Adrian, a smirk on her face.
"Blimey, Nor," Adrian said, his eyebrows raised.
Her hair was piled up in a slightly messy updo with strands loose about her face. She wore red contacts that were framed by dark, smoky eyeshadow while her lips were painted in a dark burgundy lipstick that seemed extra vivid against her pale skin.
The dress was all black and very Victorian, corset and bustle included. Her neck was covered in a heavy gothic necklace. Nora shrugged.
"Told you I was out to reinstate my reign," she said with a grin, showing off her fangs.
"We should scout out some interesting venues for next year, see what you can do with something bigger than this," Adrian said. Nora laughed and shrugged again.
"We'll see," she said.
"How did you come up with the idea for these costumes?" Adrian asked.
"Realized I hadn't done vampire yet. And I kind of liked the whole gothic vampire vibe," she said. "Spent some time on Pinterest and boom. Vampire costumes." Marcus wrapped an arm around Nora and pulled her close to his side.
"Well, you certainly make a striking pair," Adrian said with a grin. "A bit scary though."
"Nor! Do you have another bottle of vodka?" Laura asked as she ran up to the couple, dressed as a pixie.
"All the liquor is in the office," she said, pointing down the hallway. Laura nodded and turned to walk away, her wings flapping behind her.
"Fantastic party, Nor," a woman dressed as a naughty Alice in Wonderland said as she walked up. "Maybe we should have you plan all the office parties." Nora laughed.
"Not sure I'll have time, but I may be willing to impart some of my party wisdom," she said. "Oh, right. This is my boyfriend Marcus and cousin Adrian. This is my co-worker, Lucy. She does fashion." The woman held out her hand and shook Marcus' and then Adrian's, lingering a bit longer with the single man.
"Nice to meet you," she said, smiling seductively. Marcus nearly laughed, though covered it with a cough and then took a long drink.
"Pucey, I can't believe you talked me into this damn party," Wood growled as he walked up, dressed as a pirate. With a scowl on his face, the overall look was comical with his cheap wig and hat slightly askew.
"Good to see you too, Oliver," Nora said, giggling. Wood took in her and Marcus' costumes then Adrian's and huffed.
"Why is it you lot have better costumes than me? Pucey, where did you even get this ruddy thing," he retorted, holding up the sash around his waist.
"Hey, mate, if you had decided to come earlier, I would have had more time to find you a better costume. As for them, Nora made 'em," Adrian said with a laugh. Wood studied Nora's dress and Marcus' waistcoat and breeches a bit more closely.
"Made 'em, aye? Next year you'll be makin' mine too. Adrian," he glared at the man, "is no longer in charge of costumes." Nora laughed.
"What makes you think I'm making your costume?" she asked. "I barely had time to finish ours."
"Wait, you made those?" Lucy asked. Nora nodded.
"I make my costume every year," she said proudly. "And I suppose now Marcus. Possibly Wood. If he's nice." She stared pointedly at the irate man who just rolled his eyes.
"How do you put up with her, mate?" he said, looking at Marcus, who chuckled.
"Life is never boring with Nora around," he said, looking down at her.
"I can agree with that. The office has been much more lively," Lucy said with a smile. "By the way, we still on for drinks at that music lounge next Thursday?" Nora nodded, her eyes lighting up.
"I've been dying to try it out. May be a feature there. Thinking of pitching a story on hole-in-the-wall music places," she said. Lucy thought about it and nodded slowly.
"Think that might fly. We haven't done something like that before," she said. "If you need a buddy to go with you to others, I'm more than happy to oblige."
"What's this? You get to go around and drink at bars for your work?" Wood asked. Nora smiled and winked.
"Gotta love being a journalist," she said. She then looked over, seeing someone new walk in. "I shall return. Time to play hostess. Play nice." She looked around the group before walking off.
"Really, you've got some woman there," Wood said, watching Nora walk off.
"Don't get any ideas, Wood," Marcus growled. Wood looked back at him as Adrian laughed loudly.
"Calm down, Flint. This isn't school," he said.
"You all went to school together?" Lucy asked. All three men looked at her.
"Boarding school," Adrian said smoothly while smiling. "We were all in the same year. Though these two were the biggest rivals I think our school has ever seen." Marcus scowled at Adrian.
"Come on, Pucey," he said.
"Don't forget I'm your boss now," Wood warned. Lucy laughed loudly.
"You lot are a riot," she said before walking away. Adrian cleared his throat and grinned at Marcus and Oliver.
"If you'll excuse me," he said as he followed her. Wood shook his head slowly as he chuckled.
"And everyone thinks I'm the one chasing birds," he said.
"You are," Marcus replied.
"Not always," Oliver retorted, frowning at Marcus. "Just because you're a chronic settler doesn't mean all of us should be."
"Says the man who's been married and divorced twice," Marcus said, laughing softly. Oliver's frown deepened.
"That is a mistake I'll not make again," he said, rolling his eyes.
"What? Marriage or divorce?"
"Either," Wood said. He looked around the party. "Is that… Katie Bell?" Marcus looked over, seeing a pretty blonde dressed as Cinderella. She turned, allowing Marcus a full look at her face.
"I didn't know Nora knew her," he replied, confused. He looked over at Oliver, who had a silly grin on his face. He recognized that look. It was the look he got only when he thought up a really good play. Or saw an attractive woman.
"Excuse me, Flint," he said, striding across the room. Marcus chuckled, feeling like Wood's declaration was about to fly out the window.
"What are you laughing about?" Nora said as she walked back up to him.
"Wood. Apparently one of our old schoolmates that he used to have a crush on has arrived," he said.
"Really? Who?" Nora asked, following his view and seeing Oliver deep in conversation with a pretty blonde that looked not much older than her. Though she knew she must be at least in her late 30s if she had gone to school with Marcus and Oliver. She studied her a moment.
"Katie Bell. You didn't invite her?" Marcus asked, looking down at her. Nora shook her head no.
"Never seen her before. Maybe Adey did," she murmured. Marcus looked over, seeing Adrian sneaking glances at the two while grinning and still keeping up with the conversation with Lucy.
"I would suspect you're right," Marcus said. "That bugger must enjoy playing matchmaker."
"Well, I suppose since things worked out so well with us," she said, grinning as she wrapped and arm around Marcus. He smiled down at her. "Come on. You need to introduce me to this Katie Bell." Marcus chuckled.
"Not so sure that's a good idea, Nor," he said, glancing over at the couple. She grinned up at him with a mischievous glint in her eye as she started leading him across the room.
"Come on… time for a little payback…"
The next day after cleaning and taking down all the decorations, the two were sitting on the sofa in Nora's living room. A movie was going, but Nora was on her laptop scrolling through something she called Twitter. Marcus didn't understand the concept of it, which Nora laughed at and then called him 'old man.'
She had massive headphones on with her legs stretched out towards one end of the sofa, while she leaned against Marcus. Suddenly, she sat up and grinned, looking over at him.
"What?" he asked, as she pulled the headphones off and unplugged them.
"Found a song I like," she said, placing the laptop on the coffee table and grabbing the remote, muting the TV. She then leaned over and pressed something on the computer and a video began playing. Marcus leaned up to watch it but she pushed him back into the sofa and leaned her head on his shoulder. "No, just listen."
It was a soft, slow song. A love song. She smiled as she sighed and closed her eyes, pulling his arm around her. She swayed slightly with the music. As much as he wanted to ask her about it, he stopped himself, instead enjoying the sight of her enjoying the song. He had to admit, while some of her preferred music was beyond him and just noise, he liked this one. After a minute or so of the song had played, he ventured a question.
"Got a thing for love songs, have you?" he asked. She opened her eyes and looked up at him.
"Marcus James Flint, if you haven't learned by now, I am a total romantic at heart," she said grinning. He raised an eyebrow.
"That so?" he asked. He then stood abruptly, pulling her up with him.
"What are you doing?" she shouted while laughing.
"Being romantic," he replied as he continued pulling her to the space behind the sofa. He then pulled her close, holding one of her hands out while he wrapped the other around her waist and began moving slowly with the song. Nora tossed her head back and laughed.
"We should do this more often," she said, looking up at him.
"As you wish," he replied with a cheeky grin, causing her to giggle.
"See you've been paying attention to my favorite movies," she replied.
"Kind of hard to ignore when you make us watch them every other day," he said.
"Admit it, you like that one," she said as they made a slow circle.
"It's not bad. But I like the other one better – the one with the kids after treasure," he said.
"At least I've instilled a love of the classics in you. Still can't believe you haven't seen 'The Goonies.' God, everyone around our age knows that one," she said. Marcus just shrugged.
"My parents weren't big on movies while I was growing up. They rather I read classics," he said, hoping that would suffice.
"You were robbed," she replied as she laid her head against his chest. "So… you think Oliver's going to ask out that Katie person?" Marcus laughed.
"If last night was anything to go by, I suspect he will soon," he said.
"Good. I like her," she said. They were quiet a few moments before Nora spoke again. "I like this. Dancing in my living room."
"I do too," he murmured as he looked down at her. In that moment, he forgot about everything. The secrets. His family. Their differences. All that mattered in that moment was just being there, with her. Just a few months ago, he had been trying to talk himself out of this. A relationship with a woman so vastly different from himself – what's more, who didn't know about his world. But in that moment, he knew that passing up on the chance would have been the biggest mistake of his life.
Adrian had to be cackling somewhere right about now. He never let Marcus live it down. Marcus chuckled to himself. He wouldn't mind admitting that Adrian had been right. Not in a million years. Not if it meant he had more nights like this – dancing to a love song in his pajamas with the woman he loved in his arms.
Marcus' eyes widened as the realization hit him. The amount of time didn't matter. Nor did the fact that there was still so much he couldn't tell her yet. He, Marcus Flint, was in love with Nora Pucey.
I did promise more cameos!
And just had to throw in a sweet moment of realization there at the end. Oh, and tons of 80s movies references. Totally giving away my age there...
Hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for reading, following and reviewing!