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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 17, 2009 4:13:33 GMT -5
She blushed when he pointed out that she had practically jumped his bones, and while she was quiet about it, there was a small smile on her lips as she went out of the room.
Riley came back a few moments later with each of their toiletries in a little bag that she stashed in the suitcase. When she was sure that everything was packed, she ducked back into the closet, finding a pair of jeans and a blouse to wear. Her hair had been smoothed over, and it was up, though she had grown used to Roland telling her she should wear it down.
Dressed and presentable again, she finally smiled up at Roland. "Well, I'm ready."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Aug 17, 2009 12:08:58 GMT -5
He was just about finished packing as well, but at her announcement, he paused to look up at her. With her hair pulled up like that, she always looked so restrained and sophisticated to him; not at all like the fiery woman who had just tackled him less than 15 minutes earlier. Maybe that was why he liked taking her hair down; it felt like he was unleashing her passionate side.
"I'll be ready in a few minutes. I was thinking I should probably send an owl to my parents or someone, letting them know I'll be out of town for a few days. I don't want them to worry if they can't find me."
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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 17, 2009 13:05:46 GMT -5
"Yeah, I can't imagine anyone will be happy that we're skipping town. But really... I just don't care anymore." It was such a completely honest statement from her that she normally would have never said out loud. But she was changing, just as Roland was changing. She was letting her less restrained side leak into work, while he seemed to be becoming more controlled all around. Maybe they were both finally balancing out.
"I'll send an owl to Angelique, as well. I have a feeling she would just fire me if I went AWOL again." She had caused Angelique a lot of stress, getting attacked, disappearing, lying... she sighed. Maybe this vacation would do them both a world of good.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Aug 17, 2009 13:30:18 GMT -5
"They'll be all right," Roland replied. "They won't be thrilled, but as long as I tell them before I go, at least they won't panic. But yeah... good idea about Angelique. Even if we're still on suspension, we probably shouldn't vanish without notice, in case she needs us."
He had finished packing now, and he closed up his suitcase. He had already laid out a change of clothes, so he took those into the bathroom, so he could get changed and cleaned up. It wasn't out of modesty that he decided to change in private; he simply knew that if he changed in front of her, they would probably end up in bed again, delaying their trip even more.
He emerged a few minutes later, wearing a fresh pair of jeans and a black button-down shirt. "I guess we should head over and talk to Arthur, and then we can send our messages from the owl office downstairs on our way out. Do you think we should take Phoenix for a walk first, or should we let Arthur do it, just so they can get acquainted?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 17, 2009 14:05:36 GMT -5
"We should probably let Arthur do it. I don't know how good of a guard dog Phoenix is yet, and I don't want Arthur to come in and get attacked or anything." She was sort of speaking on autopilot as she looked at him. Something about the casual, yet clean look of jeans and a button down shirt had always done it for her, and Roland... Roland looked good with that look. He was so distracting sometimes.
She finally made her eyes focus on his and smiled. "Ready?" she asked him finally, more anxious than she thought she would be to go back to her childhood him. She just hoped Arthur wouldn't feel like they were expecting him to say yes. Arthur was a good guy, but she would understand if he said no.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Aug 17, 2009 14:23:19 GMT -5
He smiled as he caught her appreciating him. While he'd never had a shortage of female admirers, he had also always been able to brush off such looks from women. But when Riley looked at him like that, it was almost enough to make him blush. He wondered if she knew that her eyes turned a dark bluish-grey whenever she looked at him that way.
"Yeah, let's go," Roland said, picking up both of their suitcases. "Why don't you go hook Phoenix up to his leash and we can take him over to Arthur's, so they can meet?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 17, 2009 14:57:58 GMT -5
Riley pursed her lips. "Maybe we should ask him, first. I don't want to just show up, luggage in hand. We should give him the option to say no, right?" She shrugged. "It won't take any longer."
She also sort of hoped the dog would forgive them. But it wasn't like they were going to be gone for weeks. It was just a couple of days where they wouldn't have to think about anything except each other. She was almost aching for it now.
"Come on," she said, taking his hand and making them put their suitcases down as she lead him over to Arthur's.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Aug 17, 2009 23:16:46 GMT -5
"Yeah, good point," Roland said. He set down their suitcases and slipped his hand in hers, then moved in for a quick kiss before they left the apartment and headed over to Arthur's.
As they stood in front of Arthur's door, Roland almost laughed as he remembered a sleepy-looking Arthur poking his head around the side of the door to ask them to keep it down when they were arguing about his night with Nathalia. It was odd; they had both been so angry that night, and now Roland could look back on it and laugh.
Squeezing her hand, Roland then turned to the door and knocked firmly.
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Aug 17, 2009 23:39:15 GMT -5
As it happened, Arthur had just finished dinner and was just sitting down to read for a while before going to bed. Much like Roland, he was not a very good cook and spent most nights home reading.
He was surprised by the knock on the door, and he almost dropped his book. He rather hoped it would be Molly, but he knew better than to expect that. More likely, it would be Ted, or maybe the landlord. He shrugged and got up, walking to the door. He peeked out the peephole and was surprised to see Roland and Riley standing there.
"Hello, you two," he greeted them as he opened the door. "If it isn't my two favorite neighbors. What can I do for you?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 17, 2009 23:51:15 GMT -5
"Hi, Arthur," Riley said, smiling almost shyly as she held Roland's hand. Roland might have known why the shy smile, but she hoped Arthur didn't. She still felt like post-coital bliss was written all over her face.
"How are you?" She asked, not wanting to jump straight into asking him to do a favor for them. He was sweet, and she didn't want to take advantage of him.
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Aug 18, 2009 0:05:35 GMT -5
Arthur may have been pretty innocent, but he wasn't completely stupid. It was pretty rare for them to come up for air, as it were, and there was no mistaking what they were usually doing in there. It was as he'd expected; as often and as viciously as they had once argued, it only made sense that they would do certain other things with equal frequency and ferocity.
So seeing them there at his door made him smile. They were clearly up to something. "I'm fine," he replied. "Just sitting down to a book. Would you like to come in for a bit?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 18, 2009 0:11:48 GMT -5
Riley frowned slightly. "No, that's all right. Roland and I are actually on our way out, and we wouldn't want to impose on you."
Much, anyway.
"Actually, Arthur, we were wondering if we could ask you kind of a big favor. And if you say yes, I promise I'll make you a really nice dinner."
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Aug 18, 2009 0:30:01 GMT -5
Arthur nodded. He had expected that, really. He didn't know what the favor was for, but he had already figured that they wouldn't be there if they didn't need some kind of favor. Of course, he didn't mind helping them out, as long as it was within reason. He couldn't imagine that they would ask him to do something too difficult, though.
"I'd love to help you out. But what do you need me to do?" Best not to agree to anything until he knew just what it was that he ws agreeing to do.
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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 18, 2009 9:29:25 GMT -5
Riley glanced at Roland, and then back at Arthur.
"Roland and I are leaving town for a couple of days... not too long, just a day or two. And if it wasn't too much trouble, I was hoping you wouldn't mind checking in on our dog from time to time? You know, just to feed him and walk him. He's a pretty good dog, just high energy."
Riley smiled, giving him those big doe eyes. Yeah, she could work them when she needed to.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Aug 18, 2009 11:01:24 GMT -5
Roland recognized that pleading look from her and had to hold back a smile. She already knew that she could give him that look at any time and he'd do whatever she wanted. Now she was using it on others. He found it adorable, and was strongly tempted to kiss her.
Instead, however, he forced himself to focus on Arthur. "If you can't, we'll understand... we could ask my brother or my cousin to do it."
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Aug 18, 2009 11:54:13 GMT -5
But Arthur smiled. "No, it's no trouble at all, really. I love dogs. I always wanted one of my own, but my parents couldn't afford it, and now that I'm on my own, I was sort of thinking about it..."
He couldn't help it; seeing Roland and Riley looking so happy and coupley made him smile. It gave him hope for the situation between him and Molly. If these two could work things out after all the nasty fights they'd had, then surely he could work things out with Molly.
"Do you want me to come over and meet him first, to make sure we get along?"
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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 18, 2009 12:17:24 GMT -5
Riley smiled widely when he said he would do it for them. Arthur was such a sweetheart. She would make good on her promise to make him a really nice dinner.
"I think you two will get along very nicely, but yes, we would like you to come meet him first. He's still a puppy, so he's kind of crazy some times. But he's loveable and loyal, and I think you'll get along fine. Did you want to come meet him now?"
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Aug 18, 2009 22:03:12 GMT -5
Arthur nodded. "Yeah, I can do it now," he said. "Like I said, I wasn't really doing anything. In fact, maybe I could take him for a walk before you leave, so he'll know that it's OK to go with me."
He stepped back into his apartment to put on a pair of shoes before he followed them over to Riley's apartment. "So, where are you going, if you don't mind my asking?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Aug 18, 2009 23:58:20 GMT -5
Roland shrugged and gave Arthur a slightly mischievous look. "Oh, just a little getaway," he replied. He left the word "romantic" to be assumed. He knew Arthur would easily fill in the blanks, but for Riley's sake, he thought it best to be subtle.
"We proise we'll only be a few days," he added. "Hopefully, Phoenix won't be too much trouble. He's a godd dog.... I did most of the training myself."
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Post by Riley Neves on Aug 19, 2009 0:07:07 GMT -5
Riley laughed at Roland as he boasted about the dog and his training. "My god, you are so arrogant sometimes," she said with a certain degree of honesty. She rolled her eyes and smiled at Arthur, tilting her head towards her apartment.
"I think a walk would be a good idea. Come on over, and I'll get his leash for you. He's really good about not tugging unless he sees a squirrel. I don't think you'll have many problems there, but he does like squirrels."
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