She managed to successfully put the finger as far from her mind as possible. She didn't want to know. In fact, she prefered not even finding out if the finger was even Dorcas'. She hated dead things. Nothing creeped her out more. Even moreso, nothing creeped her out to death like dead things. Animals, objects, people.
Her father had been her first encounter with something dead. And it was an encounter that rightfully made her adverse.
"You ready?" She glanced up to see that Dudley had been standing in the front door of her house, watching her. How long had he been there? "Or... you can read more. We have some time to spare-"
"No," Aquila insisted. She set the book down quickly, grabbing a bag with clothes for an overnight stay. "I'm ready. Sorry... I didn't hear you come in."
"I know," Dudley shrugged. "I was standing there a good ten minutes."
Merlin, how was she supposed to protect them if she was so distracted all the time? She needed to start focusing. She could focus. Absolutely focus. She left the Quidditch book on the coffee table and moved towards him. "I'll be back tomorrow night, Mum!" Aquila called for good measure. Though she had already told the woman multiple times she was leaving, her mother tended to forget.
Or refused to believe it. Aquila supposed each was possible.
"I can't believe you're friends with Hadrtson, Duberry, and Jack Rowell!" Dudley opened the door for her and she plopped herself inside. "How?"
"Well, Hartson was four years older than me, and he played for Hufflepuff's team," Aquila told him simply. "Duberry was five years older, and he played for Gryffindor's, with Charlie Weasley. Absolutely wicked team. And Jack Rowell... he's way too old to be a teammate. But he was a teacher, taught Defense my first year." She shrugged. "All of us had at least one things in Common - Quidditch. Rowell was the Hufflepuff Quidditch coach at the time."
"Bloody hell," Dudley murmured, starting his car and backing out. "Are you sure you don't know everyone in the entire world?"
She laughe. "If I did, I'd have absolutely no free time." He turned the radio on, but to a low rumble, and they made their way towards the first match, in Swansea. "This is fantastic. I've never really... I mean, I've seen the matches on the tele, but... never been to one."
"Precisely why we're going."
It was easy to say that the crowd getting ready for the Swansea game was excited. In fact, Aquila and Dudley looked a bit left out with their normal appearance. Everyone else had paint on, or Swansea jerseys. Dudley shut the door behind him as he got out, joining Aquila on the bumper. "So... I don't think we're quite ready yet."
"What do you mean?" Aquila asked, glancing toward him as he pulled something out of his pack. She didn't know why he insisted upon a backpack for the event. But now she understood. "We're going to paint?"
"Ourselves."
Her eyes widened, and she glanced towards the fans that were obviously in the middle of their own party. Aquila had never painted her face before. "Really?"
"If you want," Dudley ammended. And did she want to. He helped her with the colors and putting it on right, and she in turn created a matching face for him. She giggled nonstop as they made their way through the crowd, to the gates.
Once at their seats, they began to document the trip. She withdrew a camera from her bag, taking a picture of the two of them with their paint on, and then she began to take pictures of the surrounding area. She had many rolls of film. Enough for anything to happen.
The first thing she noted was that the stadium was much different than a Quidditch pitch. For one, it wasn't as tall. It stretched, perhaps a hundred to maybe fifty feet tall. Whereas a Quidditch pitch could go so high as five hundred, as the World Cup pitch was.
Ireland's was topping four hundred.
"It's so short," Aquila admitted quietly. "Like, the stands."
"Well, we don't fly," Dudley chuckled. "And if you get too high, you won't be able to see the players on the grass." He pointed towards each end. "Our goals... Probably the hardest seats to get near. Middle's always best though. You can see everything."
"We have seven players. How many do you have?"
"Teams are huge," he admitted. "We can have anywhere from twenty to thirty, maybe? It's so phsyically intensive that a lot of players can't stay the whole time. They switch out every so often. Reserves, team mates, etc."
"Interesting," Aquila admitted. "Quidditch you play until you drop... sometimes literally." She surveyed the field, seeing the players warming up. "And the ball... There's only one."
"Can't touch it with your hands, unless you're the goalie," Dudley explained to her. He pointed to the men in each goal. "Some of these guys have wicked skills. They can do flips in the middle of the play, and it's phenomenal."
She was intrigued. They sang God Save the Queen, and Aquila was quite surprised by the fact that she didn't know the words... The Royal Family was royal in her world, too, but... but not sang to in the beginning of games. In fact, they didn't even recognize them as the rulers in her world. The Minister controlled everything. The Royal Family was just... novelty.
"This is how it starts," Aquila heard Dudley explain. And it was a long game, but the timing was set. Ninety minutes. And in the event of a tie, just a bit longer.
Everyone in the crowd was so excited, that Aquila couldn't help but be as well. A Swansea player did exactly what Dudley had explained - a kick, but also a flip, in mid-air. And Aquila was highly impressed. Without a broom for momentum, it was all purely muscles. And adrenaline.
Swansea won, which meant they were thrust into the celebrating group of fans. Cheering, going absolutely mental. Merlin, is this what fans did in the tent area after the Ireland matches? It sounded much the same. She never went to those parties. She apparated from the stands so she wouldn't be accosted.
Her and Dudley didn't have that option. So they held hands tightly, as they would be separated in the constantly pushing crowd. Her grip was so strong, she was worried she might be hurting him.
"Once we get to the car, we'll be able to head to the hotel."
She nodded, though he didn't see it, as he was leading her. Aquila stumbled a few times, but managed to keep an even pace. She could see Dudley's car, their ticket to safety. Merlin. This happened every game?
Her had was released once they reached the bumper of the car and she quickly got into her side, relaxing into the seat. Dudley did the same, letting out a heavy sigh. And then Aquila started to giggle.
"What's so funny?"
"So much energy," she admitted. "It's so exciting. And they were so happy they won..." She shook her head. "It's all just so... amazing." And she found she couldn't stop giggling. "Did you see that guy that was standing on his car?" Dudley twisted around, looking out the back window to see a rather large, obese man that was shirtless and waving around a Swansea flag. "He's got to be freezing."
Dudley started to laugh then, too, as the man kept dancing to the victory that was his muse. They waited in the car for an hour, as the crowd began to dispurse, talking about the match, all of the things they saw, and who they think could make it further on other teams, such as the national team. He then explained to her the World Cup, much like her own, except the matches all occured in a few weeks time, instead of spread out over four years like her world's.
The hotel was small, a one bedroom room that only had a double sized bed. She hadn't been in a hotel before, either. Her fingers ran along the given amenities. "And these are what people sleep in if they are on the road?"
Dudley nodded, tossing his bag into a chair. "Yeah. You sort of rent the room for a night, or however many nights you're staying." He gestured to the room. "Not much, but it's got the essentials."
"And these are everywhere?" Aquila questioned.
"Oh, yeah. All over the world." It was fascinating. She sat down on the bed, finding that it was perhaps a little harder than her liking, but nothing she couldn't live with. The mirror on the far wall showed her the paint on her face, some of which had smeared in either sweat or the light drizzle near the middle of the match. She lightly wiped at a flake of paint under her eyes, revealing some skin.
"Do you mind if I shower?" Aquila questioned. "I don't want to get anymore paint anywhere."
"Oh, yeah, of course." She smiled brightly and grabbed her bag, fishing out a few clothing items that she would sleep in. "There should be a stack of towels in the bathroom. And shampoo and stuff." She nodded, walking up to him and kissing him on the cheek. "What was that for?"
She shrugged. "Because I wanted to... because you're good to me." She smiled softly. "Because this has been amazing. And... beacuse of you. Thank you."
"I'd do pretty much anything to make you happy," Dudley admitted.
She kissed him gently, on the lips this time, trying to put what she felt for him there. "And I to you." She fell back on her heels, stepping away so she could go take a shower. "You have a little white on your face."
He chuckled. "As do you."
"Do I?" She paused at the bathroom door, glancing back at him. "Damn it, and I thought I was careful." She moved to close the door. "Oh, and Dudley?" She smirked when he raised an eyebrow. "I call the right side of the bed."
"You always do!"
She giggled, shutting the door and starting the shower, digging around for a towel and some soaps. There weren't really that many... and she couldn't exactly use magic here. She'd make do. Her hair wasn't that dirty anyway.
Her shower was short, as she didn't want to steal all of the hot water. She brushed her hair as best as she could with the small comb she brought, and slipped on her shorts and a t-shirt, her nightwear. She opened the door, letting the steam out, and smiled towards Dudley as she popped her toothbrush in her mouth.
"Did I get the paint off?" she questioned.
"Yup," Dudley nodded in assurance. He lifted himself off of the bed and approached her, tucking a strand of her sopping wet hair behind her ear. "Missed a spot."
"Where?" Aquila asked, twisting as she glanced in the mirror.
"Here," his breath came out in a whisper, and he kissed her skin lightly, near her ear. She knew there was no paint there, as she had checked by her ears specifically when she got out of the shower. She giggled as his breath tickled her skin, shoving her toothbrush to one side of her mouth as she twisted to look at him.
Merlin, why was he so good to her? But he darted out of her grasp before she could grab him, and flew towards the bathroom, a pile of clothes in his arm. Aquila rolled her eyes, brushing her teeth in peace as she heard the shower turn on.
Her body fell into the right side of the bed, and she felt her wet hair dampening her pillow. It was uncomfortable, but she was too exhausted to care.
She fell asleep, without meaning to, before Dudley even turned the shower off. She awoke some time later to the sound of the lights turning off in the room, and Dudley sliding into the bed beside her. But the blankets were trapped under her body. She turned slightly, using her arms to pull the blanket out from under her, and she turned her body into him, covering herself up. His arm held her, in nothing untoward, and she felt his mouth at her damp hair, kissing her softly.
"Goodnight," he murmured.
"Night," she responded in a sigh, one hand under her pillow, and the other holding onto his arm wrapped around her.
The morning was full of birds chirping and her groaning as she tried to make the sound go away. She had a god-awful headache. Her arm moved, pulling the pillow out from under her head, and she smashed it over her ears, muffling the sound, thankfully, but also accidentally hitting Dudley, it seemed.
"Sorry," Aquila apologized immediately. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping the pain would go away. "Massive headache."
"I might have some advil in my bag," Dudley muttered, his mouth so close to her neck that she shivered slightly. "I can check."
Before she could even answer, he was sliding out of the bed, the sound of the sheets running against his body. Aquila exhaled gently, her arm still holding the pillow close to her head. "It must be from being so tired," she murmured when he returned, offering her a handful of pills as she turned over to face him. It was very bright, but she managed. She took the pills from his hand and popped them in her mouth, swallowing them in one go without water. "I was just so excited."
"It takes a lot out of you," Dudley agreed. He touched her arm gently. "Does it feel better yet?"
She smiled gently, moving over so he could rejoin her. "Almost, doc." He chuckled lightly, sliding under the sheets once more. "It's fading." Of course, Aquila knew it wouldn't work immedialy. She smiled gently at Dudley from under the pillow, and he had to adjust his body so that he was able to see her properly. "Thank you."
"What are boyfriends that are training to be doctors for?"
She giggled, glancing at the watched fastened around his wrist. "When do we have to leave?"
"Check out is at eleven," he told her. "So we have a few hours."
She nodded and closed her eyes. She was only able to relax for a few more minutes, unable to fall back asleep. When she sat up, her headache gone, she ran her hand through her hair, finding that some spots were still damp. She could only imagine the state it was in.
Sure enough, the mirror revealed that the waves of her natural hair had been crinkled by the pillow, and when her hair dried, the curls had dried that way as well. She sighed, moving towards the bathroom so that she could rewet it.
"How far away is the next game?" she asked over the sink's noise.
"About five hours, including some traffic we might hit." A very long drive. "So, if we leave around check out time, we'll be good." She agreed, and walked back out of the bathroom, her hair much more presentable. She checked the contents of her bag, finding some clothing, and pulled out a bra first, ducking her arms into her shirt so that she could put it on. She smirked at Dudley in the mirror, as he seemed fascinated with the fact that she could do something blindfolded.
Which meant he knew the complications of getting a bra off.
"It's not as difficult to put on as it is to take off," Aquila teased. She pulled her shirt off and shoved it in her bag, reaching for her clean shirt. Dudley flushed at her teasing, and glanced away, muttering an apology. "There's no need to apologize. If I wasn't okay with you staring, I would have changed in the bathroom." She slid her arms through the shirt, before pulling it over her head. "How far from York to home?"
"Four hours, about." She nodded, signalling she heard. "So, we'll get home about two in the morning?"
She nodded, once more, and then shimmied out of her shorts, grabbing a pair of jeans. Afterall, it was winter. She turned around to face Dudley, biting her lip. "What's your favorite food?"
It was a sudden question, unexpected. "I like Thai." She thought about it. "And you?"
"It's called belini. Russian pancakes, sort of... My family is from the Ukraine, so my mother used to have the elves make it all the time... she stopped, though." Aquila shrugged. "What's your favorite color?"
"Blue."
"Ravenclaw," she smiled lightly. "Although it's a conflict of interest with green, since... well, Ireland. So I like both." She blinked at him, watching him. "And your favorite television programme?"
"Nevermind the Buzzcocks," Dudley admitted. "Wickedly hilarious." She hadn't heard of it.
"Favorite hobby?"
"Watching tv, rugby... parties?" He met her eyes, and she saw the suspicion. "What's with the twenty questions?"
"It's only been four," she chided lightly. "I just didn't know them... I feel like we don't really talk about ourselves much... we kind of just talk about everything else. Which I like. But I'd also like to know your favorite color."
He chuckled. "Well, ask me anything. I'm an open book."
"And I as well." She giggled, sitting on the edge of the book. "But good, because I love reading."
They asked each other nonsense questions for the remaining three hours, before they packed up everything and headed down to the lobby, to check out. The drive was long. They picked up a few snacks, a few other things to eat, and by the time they hit York, they had a few minutes to spare before the match.
"How to Muggles get from continent to continent?" Aquila questioned. "For instance, I know there's boats, but sometimes Muggles can travel within the day. How? A boat to America would days, if not a few weeks."
"We fly," Dudley shrugged. Aquila raised an eyebrow. "Er, not like brooms, but like... um, like a car, with wings... and it flies. You can fit up to like two hundred people or something into one."
"And these are always flying? How many are there?"
"Oh, thousands," Dudley insisted. "Easily. Maybe more. They're in just about every major city, and every major country. Maybe on the way through London, I'll drive by Heathrow."
"Heathrow?"
"It's an airport... uh, where we keep the planes."
"Oh," Aquila murmured. "I would like that."
So it was a deal. The match in York resulted in the teams loss, and though while equally as exciting as the first, the parking lot wasn't full of celebration like in Swansea. So her and Dudley were able to easily slip out and make their way to a restaurant for dinner.
"I'll pay," Aquila insisted. "You've paid for everything else so far... it's the least I can do."
Dudley shook his head. "This is all apart of your Christmas gift."
"But everything's had to have cost a fortune," she insisted. "The petrol, and the meals, and the hotel, and not to mention the tickets-" She met his eyes. "Please?"
"No can do," Dudley insisted. "The waitor's going to give the bill to me." She huffed in defeat, deciding that next time she'd have to be sneakier. Or smarter. Either one would do.
So they ordered, a nice Italian meal from a fancy restaurant they were way underdressed for. If she would have known she would have worn some more decent clothes. But the waitors didn't seem to mind by their decor. Her gaze traveled to the man across from her, declining the wine the waiter asked if they wanted. "I'm driving," Dudley admitted.
She supposed it was safe. So, she declined as well, because it wasn't fun to just drink by yourself. She placed her order, then Dudley did, and when they were alone, she took his hands, holding them across the table. "Thank you," Aquila told him quietly. "I actually really like football. It's sort of growing on me alarmingly fast."
He chuckled, his fingers curling around her own. "I was hoping it would. Now all we can discuss is Quidditch or football. Nothing else."
"Or rugby," Aquila interjected. "That was fun to watch. You're quite good, you know."
"Not even," Dudley laughed. "I tend to just play for fun, so I don't worry about it. But professional teams? Those are some dedicated players. Almost as bad as you when you start training."
She giggled. "Just because I run three miles in the morning and after dinner does not mean I'm... the only one. Other people do it too, you know."
He looked her over, almost as though she was insane. "The only one I know of."
"Okay," she agreed. "Maybe. But in retrospect, the football players at these games are running at least three miles. If they play the whole time. Each. So honestly, it's not that much of a run." She shrugged when he opened his mouth to protest. "Alright, fine, it is." She glanced at their hands, smiling slightly. "Still, it's been so much fun doing this. And... I'm glad we're doing it."
"Me too. To be honest, it's ... sort of fun, learning about each other, without really learning about each other." She giggled. It was true. "The Quidditch. The Football. The school, the different systems..."
"God, I wish I could show you everything," Aquila said quietly. "But it's not quite safe... When it is safe, though, I promise." He seemed to like that idea a lot. "The castle, the grounds, the forest, the village, the lake, the Squid, everything... Diagon Alley, and Knockturn, and Gringotts... and Stonehenge on a Summer Solstace, and... and the World Cup, and dragons and unicorns and ... everything. So much I want to show you, but I can't... at least not now." She stared at their hands, her fingers playing with his own. "I love your world. I never thought I would, since I've only known mine... but your world is so massive... there are billions more than mine, and yet... you're so connected to everyone. News reports, games, and traveling and ... it's so... liberating, to be lost in the crowd, rather than being a Black daughter. Your technology, your medicine, your lives are so much more advanced... and I can't believe I used to think that... that my world was so great."
"That's because it is," Dudley shrugged. "You've grown up in it your whole life, just like I've grown up in mine. We've become... immune to the beauty in our respective worlds. But, they're really the same world, yours just is a little more secret than mine... and a tad more magical." She smiled at him. "My world has castles and knights and stories, and movies and a history of war and conquering and expanding and contracting... and maybe we don't have magic, but we sure as hell try to compensate. Quite embarrassing really... Bloody hell, we've walked on the moon, circled Earth, flown miles past the moon to try to get to other planets... My world's great, but yours... you have dragons and those bloody owls that know exactly where to go with a letter, and instant cures to everything, and it's such a small community, because ... it's so precious."
"Remind me to let you rant about our worlds," Aquila said with a smile. "It's very soothing to hear you talk about them."
"Do you want me to go on?"
She was about to tell him to please keep it up, when the waiter returned, two steaming Italian dishes being pressed onto the table, separating their hands. "I would, but fate seems to think we need to eat. Thank you," she directed the last bit to the waiter, and he bowed gracefully before walking away.
It took some effort to steer him away from the world talk, but she didn't really want to get caught up in it again. So, instead, she asked him about school, his teacher related to Madame Malkin, and how his friends were doing.
"Piers is in Germany for the break," Dudley told her. "Some family there or something. Malcolm is all right. Caught some flu or something a few weeks ago, so he's feeling under the weather. And Amber is hitting up the guys, as always. I think she's raked in her fourth boyfriend this term?"
"Well, I'm not too surprised. My guess would have been two," Aquila admitted. "She's a good friend of yours then?"
Dudley shrugged. "Sure, grew up together. Mum would always have me play in the kids that lived around us, at that dingy little playground. Amber, Piers, Malcolm, the whole lot would come out, play. Close to her as I am to everyone else."
"That must be nice, having kids your own age living around you, especially when you're young," Aquila admitted. "It was just Evan and I, in London, in our community. Most of the elderly lived there, so we'd be lucky if family visited with their children."
"What was it like?" Dudley asked quietly, like he was stepping in unwelcome territory. "Without a dad? You don't have to talk about it, if you don't want to-"
"It was... lonely. Mum was pretty much gone, too. Evan and I took care of ourselves, well he for me at first, and then ourselves. Mum was always crying, always throwing fits and shouting at nothing. She blamed us, she blamed the Order, she blamed the Dark Lord. It never ended. And then one day it just did... but by then, Evan and I were grown. We'd become independent and didn't really need mother anymore. But we were worried, about her and what she'd do once we left the nest. I missed Dad all the time. I don't remember much, except for the last time I saw him alive. He was telling me these stories, about this cave..." She trailed off, shaking her head.
"And I would play with his ring. He gave it to me, that night, told me to watch it and wait for him to come back. And then he was gone for days and days and when the doorbell rang, I knew it was him. I ran down the stairs and was right next to my mother when the door opened and... and he was laying there, his eyes staring at the sky, and a message carved into his chest. . . I wasn't completely without a father. Once school started, and I got to know the Weasleys, Arthur became my second father, and by second year I was close with the Diggory family, and Amos became my third. They were supports when I needed them, someone to talk to, get ideas from, be inspired... Arthur supported my interest in the Muggle world, and Amos my love for Quidditch. I may not have had a dad at home, but I had them." She shrugged lightly. "What was it like with a father?"
"Boring," Dudley admitted. "Dad works all the time, always has. And he wouldn't get home until late, especially when I was little. He was also nervous. They treated me great, but... it was Harry they... Dad was never a dad to Harry. Not even an Uncle. More like that ophanage warden that scares the crap out of little kids. Hated Harry. Still does, I think. So I grew up with that, knowing I was the prefered kid in the house. And I got in on Dad's games. I looked up to him, started to bully Harry because it made him proud, made me look cool to my friends... and it got out of hand. But dad... never realized it. He hated Harry. Mum was more compassionate but she still didn't like him." Dudley twirled the spaghetti on his fork. "So what was it like with Dad? It was... far more influential on my life than I wanted it to be, looking back."
"You were still so lucky to have a father."
"And for you... how do you think our life would have been different if your dad was still alive?"
It was a question Aquila thought about often. "I don't know," she admitted honestly. "He wasn't a bad person, he was just in the wrong crowd, listened to the wrong people... his mother, the woman that was screaming in the portrait when we went to Black House... she was a huge impact on him. Hated all of them, hated everyone. Despised Sirius, for deserting, and was disappointed in my father for not being what she wanted him to be." Aquila took a sip of her water. "But I suppose I would have changed, because he was a Death Eater, and he would have introduced me more to that world. I would have been raised with firm blood supremist ideals, perhaps become more materialistic, less sporty. I'd probably be married, dropped out of school, maybe a child or two on the way." Aquila shrugged at the surprised look on Dudley's face. "I would most likely be married to a Death Eater, or someone receiving the mark soon. And I would have been proud of that. Sometimes, it's a good thing my father tried to make ammends. Because that life scares me far more than the war we're in right now."
"Really? Two kids by seventeen?" Dudley questioned.
Aquila snorted. "Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration... I'd at least be pregnant with my first child." She shivvered. "I don't want kids... At least not now. One day yes, but with the war... it would be so dangerous. But I know I don't want to get married. I don't want that restraint, that commitment, because then I'd have to give up everything, become the housewife and never fly again. And... I don't think I could do that. I couldn't be happy."
"So don't get married," Dudley shrugged. "It's not like a requirement for anything. I mean you've got great reasons too. Your mums been trying to get you into an arranged marriage for how long?"
"Since birth," Aquila admitted. "Dad always refused when I was a baby, Evan says. So... about seventeen years."
"That must suck."
"Tell me about it," Aquila sighed. "She's only trying to look out for me, in her weird... twisted way." Dudley found her assessment of her mother amusing. "And neurotic. But... let's not get into that. It would ruin the evening." She glanced at him. "Tell me about something."
So, he told her about the Moon Landing in 1969, nearly ten years before her birth. He went on and on, and Aquila didn't know there could have been that much information. And once he finished that, he began to tell her about the Titanic, and its recent rediscovery. They talked so much, that when the waiter brough the check, she slipped it off of the table before Dudley could notice it and pulled a few hundred pounds. Dudley kept talking, watching as she smiled to what he was saying, and Aquila signalled the waiter discreetly, shoving it into his hand.
She rose, taking Dudley's hand. "How is it that such a large ship, if you describe it that way, could sink by scraping up against an iceberg?"
"Wait, I need to pay-"
Aquila raised an eyebrow. "I already did."
"Aquila-"
"Oops," Aquila shrugged. "Continue the story, please?"
"I'm talking a lot," Dudley admitted, pulling out his carkeys.
Aquila giggled. "No, I like hearing you talk. It's a nice change from me always talking... which I apologize for. I have a tendancy to talk... a lot."
Dudley chuckled. "It doesn't bother me." But once they were secure in Dudley's car, she asked him once more to continue the tale of the Titanic, and so he did. She didn't know if he stopped his tale once she fell asleep, as the drive was long, but she awoke sometime near London, her eyes catching the bright city lights, and the car was silent.
"Sorry," she apologized, glancing towards him.
He shrugged. "You're tired. Can't help that."
"I know, but you must be exhausted," Aquila said, glancing towards him. "Aren't you?"
"Well, sure," Dudley admitted. "But we're almost home. About twenty minutes."
"Oh," Aquila said quietly. "Was it a terrible drive?"
"Not at all," Dudley admitted. "Pretty straight shot. And at night, we don't hit too much traffic." Oh. The twenty minutes seemed to fly as Aquila rubbed sleep from her eyes. Little Whinging was recognizable, even when the only thing illuminating it was the street lamps every few houses.
"It looks so quiet," Aquila said after a moment.
She sighed when they stopped in front of her house. "Mum's awake." She grabbed her bag out of the backseat and groaned again when she saw the living room light flick on. "And no doubt ready with the tests."
"Tests?"
She glanced at Dudley. "She wants to make sure we didn't sleep together," Aquila stated bluntly. "In a more intimate sense than the same bed." She kissed his cheek quickly. "But thank you, for the last few days... It's been a blast. And make sure you get home okay."
"I'm three driveways down. I think I'll manage." She bid her adieu's, shutting the car door behind her, and watched as he drove the three houses, pulled into the driveway of his own, and parked. Safe. She exhaled, facing her own home. She had nothing to hide.