on feathered wings
"When you said we were going on a road trip," Theo said slowly, "this isn't at all what I thought you meant."
The house that belonged to the Notts was a gloomy, old-fashioned beast, but what it lacked in aesthetic appeal, it made up for in sheer height; the looming turrets and high stone walls cast a grey shadow over the lawn, a curtain that fell over the object of Theo's ire.
Blaise smirked at him, checking his fingernails for non-existent dirt. "Well, you don't know me very well then, do you?"
A carriage the size of Draco's ego was parked on the neat grass, roughly three feet from where Theo's front door hung open in slack-jawed horror. He closed it quickly before his mother could complain about a breeze or come out to shriek about her grass, and dragged his luggage down the porch steps. And then he stopped and stared at the very bottom, unwilling to get closer until he knew for sure that this wasn't some elaborate prank on Blaise's part.
He wouldn't put it past him. Blaise had done far worse things than park a horse-drawn carriage on his lawn in the name of making Theo's head pop.
Blaise seemed unconcerned with his worries. He pushed away from the carriage, still smirking in a blithe sort of way, and gestured at Theo's luggage; at his wandless, unspoken command, the trunk lifted away from the grass and floated towards the back of the carriage.
Theo reached out and snagged the jacket on top before it could bob away, folding it over his arm. It was a Muggle jacket, a fact which would leave his mother prone on the ground in a fit of hysterics if word got out. Theo had been a little iffy at first, but Blaise was the one that got it for him, bringing it back from a vintage store that was apparently 'to die for' and shoving it at him, demanding that he wore it.
He hadn't worn it yet, but he saw the way Blaise eyed it approvingly, and he knew he'd made the right choice to pack it. He averted his gaze, staring warily at the carriage instead.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
"If you say so," Theo said, still unsure. "Do you know how to drive this?"
It wasn't the carriage that worried him so much as what pulled it. Four winged horses were tethered to the front of the carriage, all of them neatly enwrapped in a ruby red harness. Against their stark black hair, the reins shone like jewels, clearly fashioned with care and money. Zabinis had a knack for showing off their wealth in a way that should have looked tacky, but managed to be elegant.
"Are you afraid, Theodore?" Blaise strolled closer and leaned in to bump his shoulder, an obnoxious smile on his face that softened slightly at their closeness. "Don't worry, they're perfectly well-trained. Mother wouldn't allow me to go off in anything that might hurt me, and I wouldn't allow you to go off in anything that might mess up your pretty hair."
Theo made an inarticulate sound and stalked past him, heading for the carriage door.
Not even five minutes into their journey, and Blaise had already proven himself a liar. Theo's hair was so much of a mess that it closely resembled a ball of wool. He tried, fruitlessly, to comb it out of his eyes, scowling darkly at Blaise's ungainly sprawl of limbs. He was taking up the other half of the carriage, which unfortunately had such comfortable seating that Theo couldn't complain about it.
But he could complain about the breeze. Or he would have, if Blaise would stop talking for long enough for him to get a word in edgeways.
"Muggles call it a road trip, but I think the road is optional," Blaise mused, ignoring his glare. "It still counts, don't you think? I didn't do much research, but we've got a list of places to tick off and an end-point, so I say it counts. Who's to say what a road is?"
"Can you stop the philosophy lesson and shut the fucking windows?" Theo demanded, sweeping his hair back for the fifth time.
"I can tell that you're already having so much fun, but try to tone it down a little. We haven't even left London yet."
The windows did not move up or down, but a quick spell blocked most of the wind out. Theo sighed and leaned against the cushioned back. He was thoroughly exhausted, and they'd only been in each other's company for ten minutes.
"You're going to be insufferable, aren't you?" he muttered, shooting Blaise a baleful look as he bundled himself into the jacket.
"You can admit that you find me handsome and charming, you know."
Theo huffed and looked out of the window. "Not if I want to keep a shred of self-respect."
"Oh, Theodore, darling," Blaise said, his laughter filling the carriage; Theo's stomach swooped, and he knew it wasn't entirely to do with the way they were diving through the air. "We're well past that."
[Word Count: 855]
