Any thoughts on how Christian would behave around his s/o in private because I don't think he would be the type to show pda in front of everyone? (✿☉｡☉)
DRABBLE ’ CHRISTIAN NOTT && PDA.
oh god great thing to ask. i believe christian is the desired outcome of a pureblood education. a strict one. the nott family is one of the most disciplined in my opinion, with values that demand excellence from their children. and christian, well, i believe that his parents managed to be worse to him than he was to theodore, which is also... not good.
hitting your kids as a normal method of discipline wasn't that long ago, nor is it totally extinct today. christian got some hits as a kid and barely some as a teenager. why? because he was in survivor mode like theodore does. the difference is, theodore manages some critical thinking out of this—realizing it's not normal, that this is unfair... among other things—because has good friends. close friends. friends that don't treat theodore as a means to an end, unlike christian's generation.
i believe that the war made people closer with the loss, or even value their kids after losing other family members and experiencing a world of terror. that includes trauma, but also changing. that's partially why kids like draco, for example, are coddled, protected, spoiled but also expected to follow some pureblood values; lucius doesn't actually hit draco, with the exception of a smack on his nape or hitting his cane on his fingers once in that deleted scene from chamber of secrets.
what i mean to say is, things were different back then. traumatized young adults led to maybe protecting their kids and holding them closer, which might influence their friendships in hogwarts. even with the purebloods. theodore has mattheo. he also has lorenzo, who's fiercely loyal to his friends. he has pansy, blaise, even daphne, draco too despite his moments. and when the death eaters resurface, they're all there for each other. to support. to help, to understand, to protect each other.
christian didn't have that. his friendships were hollow. if there was a circle, then every single person in it had to have some use or connections that makes them worthy. obviously, that means there wasn't a profound bond, and therefore, christian didn't have someone to talk to when he received the dark mark, nor when his parents pressured him, nor someone who told him: "hey, your father angling his cane to your lower back so it's not noticeable isn't normal. you shouldn't be grateful he didn't give you something legible."
this doesn't mean he's excused for his behavior. what i mean to say is, the ambience shapes you. and christian's ambience was the enforced belief that his loyalty is to his family, its success and benefitting the nott surname outstandingly. or else. the pressure was twice as worse because christian doesn't have siblings, so there was no second option nor plan b, should he become a failure.
this toxic sense of loyalty also led to christian being cynical, which is a trait that theodore inherits. christian doesn't believe nor trust others—purebloods, especially men, are raised to be self-sufficient. that means that if you have a problem, you deal with it alone. if you ask for help, you're incompetent. incompetence is a dangerous thing to suggest near the notts, especially the generation that came before him.
the dark mark wasn't perceived as traumatic for christian because that was another expectation. like joining the death eaters has the same weight as being shown the ropes of the nott's family business. same expectation as an outstanding score in all of his subjects.
this emotional disconnect with others, be it in friendships, trusting others, asking for help, being self-sufficient and the pressure of being his family's only heir might be what made his relationship with phoena so... cold. marriage, for christian, is an expectation that requires a few children. it's not about love. not about happiness. he didn't mean for phoena to be so unhappy and disappointed with him—christian expected phoena to be raised under the same expectations as he did.
so when phoena acts so human, christian is the one who's disappointed. because that means that phoena is someone he has to provide for in more than one way: money. it means that phoena is another responsibility in his already heavy and tired shoulders.
it also doesn't help that phoena was forced onto him. but that's a conversation for another post.
all of this to explain the pda with christian nott: it is private. a glimpse of the tender parts of him that a rough childhood didn't fully stone. not meant for anyone's eyes, so you aren't assumed to be his weakness (which you are). pda is somewhat foreign to christian too, because as you can assume, he wasn't properly coddled nor soothed by his family—a few touches on his face, maybe having his hair fixed, all of this by his mother.
so pda is a slow discovery. it's uncharted territory for christian, who doesn't touch you as it should be, to serve some formal purpose, but because he wants to. wants to distract himself with his hand on your hair, wants to brush his knuckles over your cheek when you act sweet and he doesn't verbalize a grateful word, a brief touch on the tip of your nose when you're being cheeky.
and guess what? kissing is his favorite, too. because kissing isn't mandatory, isn't something you have to do—considering that marriage, in pureblood standards, is a union for social strength, business and to get more children so the bloodline doesn't die—but it's done because you enjoy it.
hates hates messy kissing. not messy in terms of saliva rolling down your chin—when you get that heated with him, christian doesn't mind messiness—but messy in a lack of rhythm, harmony, teeth clashing because you're speaking different languages with your lips. christian prefers slow kisses, languid and sensual, to savor the moment with you. definitely enjoys having you on his lap, his hand warm and heavy on your thigh.
it takes some patience and coaxing to get christian to touch you more often and get increasingly affectionate. he's trying, seriously—but do try to understand that this seems an alien world for him.
a very pleasant one, though.
