She wakes up to an insistent pecking coming from the direction of her closed window.
There's still sleep in her eyes, and she stumbles out of her bed more than anything else. Hariel knows that magic would make it easier to open the window, but she has long since denied herself that option.
To her magic is both a curse and a blessing. She loves it and she loathes it, and finding a balance between those two extremes is almost impossible. She hasn't touched or used her magic in years and by now it's drowsy, almost asleep instead of the previous insistent buzz under her skin.
The fresh air is almost chilly so early in the morning, but Hariel ignores it in favour of the small brown owl launching itself into the bedroom of the small bungalow she has rented for the last few weeks.
It's Hermione's owl, and Hariel allows herself a small smile. With its frizzy hair, Archimedes resembled his owner a great deal, and even the way the owl is already impatiently waiting for her to relieve him of the letter tied to the small leg is eerily reminiscent of her old friend.
The parchment was folded tightly, and when Hariel sees the slightly looping handwriting, she unconsciously relaxes.
It's familiar and nostalgic in a good way. There are no important news, no hidden messages, just the usual 'how are you's and 'when will we see each other again' lines which have long lost their insistence, but still ring genuine regardless.
It is grounding - this letter. Makes her feel as if everything is still alright even when she has the feeling she's drowning. Hariel is too unfamiliar with love and lust and those feelings – but her attraction to Sei is too intense to ignore.
Sometimes she can still feel the phantom heat from when Poseidon licked away that small droplet, and the slight scrap of teeth still brings shivers down her spine.
She doesn't notice how tense she is until she takes a deep breathe and tries to relax. The fact that she is attracted to him remains however, and Hariel knows that she cannot stay as indecisive as before.
But even though she is a Gryffindor, she cannot quite find the courage to choose either.
Her decision is practically made without her conscious consent only a week after Archimedes takes her letter back to Britain where she knows her friends have long started to built a family for themselves.
It is an uncommonly cloudy and cold day for the middle of the summer in Rome, and Hariel – a little absent-minded and distracted – hasn't remembered to bring a jacket to the small café.
Then again, Sei hasn't either, and she tries not to be jealous of the way he so effortlessly looks like it's still twenty-something degrees and not the below fifteen she's currently experiencing as they wander through the cobbled streets.
She loves the dress she's wearing – a darker shade with a simple leather belt – but the wind is biting and chilly, and her exposed skin doesn't thank her for her lacking state of dress.
It shouldn't have surprised her.
But when Sei draws her closer, one hand subtly placed on the small of her back, the small space seemingly burning, she's still startled regardless.
It's inconsequential when only a moment later her whole body is pressed flush against a hard male one, Sei's other arm snacking around her other side to cover the space between her shoulders.
Her arms are trapped between them, and unconsciously she fists them into his shirt, instead of pushing him away.
She feels safe, Safe and protected, like in that moment nothing could ever hurt her.
It's an alien feeling, but good in a way that nothing else has ever been.
But a small part of her – the one who was unloved and betrayed, cynical and untrusting – still resists.
Then Sei bows his head slightly, nuzzling his face into the crook of her shoulder, his warm breath tickling her bare skin, and she shifts without noticing, giving him more access to her neck.
She forgets the way they are in public, though it's one of the quieter streets. She forgets everything but the feeling of dry, but warm lips brushing against her neck lightly, the feeling of the trail of liquid fire burning where he touches her exposed skin.
She's unnaturally still, even as his lips reach her lower ear, full of a strange kind of anticipation – until a quiet chuckle breaks her out of her trance.
''Are you a little warmer now, Hariel?''
Sei purrs into her ear, voice low and that husky tone that always sent shivers down her spine.
Hariel cannot quite manage to speak.
But Sei doesn't seem to mind, as his arms tighten around her – and Hariel rests her head against his shoulder.
It's peaceful, and she wishes they could stay this way forever.
Poseidon smiles against her fiery hair, inhaling the subtle hind of flowers and nature clinging to her body – and tries to quell the tender feeling in his heart.
He knows he's failing spectacularly though.
Then she looks up, a shy kind of trust in those emerald orbs, brittle but there, as if has finally made a decision to allow this – whatever it was - to continue, and Poseidon knows he's lost.
He cannot bring himself to mind it though.
A/N Sorry for the last update, but I was in Paris during the last few weeks on vacation with a friend. I'll try to update soon, especially now that things are finally getting a little more interesting.
C'ya soon
AriesOrion