l'obscurité

“There’s slow… and then there’s you,” Colm remarked, smirk tugging at his mouth as his gaze flicked sidelong. “Next time, I’m getting you a pair of Heelys. That way at least I can give you a little push. Or a big one, if it’s downhill.” His tone was light, but the grin he wore said he’d enjoy the image far too much.

"Heelys," he echoed as though trying to place the name to an image. "Are those the shoes with the wheels in them? Man– that would be a nightmare to be barreling down a hill in those. People surely had to have ended up in the hospital when they were popular, right?" Damien let out a vague chuckle at the mental image Colm had painted for him.

“I take it you don’t do this often,” Fred remarked, judging from Damien’s expression and the childlike wonder written all over his face as he tested how fast the bike could go, wind whipping past him like air resistance didn’t exist.

"I promise I'm not as miserable as my current delight is making me seem right now," he chuckled lightly when Fred had commented on how it seemed as though he didn't do this sort of thing regularly. "But I don't experience such childlike joy on a frequent basis either," Damien confessed, forgetting the last time he'd done something as simple as riding a bike.

🚲 - go for a bike ride

"I couldn't help myself– sorry," Damien replied over his shoulder with an almost gleeful laughter. It just felt so freeing to speed on and feel the air whip past him. It honestly made him feel like a kid again, taking the opportunity to enjoy the freedom that came with aimlessly biking around. "Hah– good idea. Although let's be so honest here, I would not survive anything remotely like the Tour de France. If anything you would be the one having to haul me back home because I'd twist an ankle or burst a lung," he chuckled, knowing that at the end of the day he wasn't as physically fit as his friend.

🗺️ - travel someplace together

"Alright sorry I'm taking in the beauty of nature and all that comes with it," Damien scoffed at his best friend sarcastically. "I'm often so busy at work and rushing around," he argued. While he was someone who would take a task seriously any other day, he had seen their destination as something they could work towards at a more leisurely pace but apparently that wasn't Colm's impression. "It's been nice to slow down. Surely you can appreciate using your time off to just relax– non?"

"I'm pretty certain Freya has to say that, or at least should think it." Fred joked back lightly. "I guess we kind of gave you the opening to broach living together with her too. Isn't it something you have already discussed at least a little bit?"

"So you think she's lying to me?" Damien scoffed in mock offense. "We have, yeah. I mean we've discussed a lot of things so this shouldn't be too big of a shock for her or anything. If I honestly think about it, I'm sure she'll be excited by the idea."

"I suppose that is one way to fix it. As much as I enjoy your company Damien, that might be a little too much." Fred said with a snort of amusement. "I'm not too worried about it all if I am being honest. When you want things to work, you find a way to make it happen." And he knew they would always find a way to be close. "Of course, I'd be more than happy to help you where I can."

"You sure? I've been told I'm a really good big spoon," he couldn't resist teasing in response. "Absolutely. It's all going to be great," Damien nodded. "You two are going to have an incredible place that's going to make the rest of us jealous," he added with a chuckle. "Fantastic. Thanks, Fred. I appreciate it."

"They are good cuddle buddies but comparatively speaking, I'd much rather have Vera in my bed to get close to." She happened to smell much better too which helped. When Damien mentioned it was a little bit like discussing twins, he snorted in amusement. "You get custody of one and I get the other?" He joked lightly. "But I just want them to be happy at the end of the day. They are sisters in their own right and I think I always knew I had to respect that to a certain extent." Fred explained with a shrug of his shoulders. "You're more than welcome to look with me. Maybe it'll give you ideas too. It sounds like you're not far off making the same moves."

"I guess another way around this is to get a bed big enough for the four of us," Damien added jokingly. "I'm sure it'll be fine. We'll make sure the girls have plenty of time together and if needed, we plan our own things around it to make sure we don't end up sleeping in the dog beds," he chuckled, the two of them poking fun at the situation. "And they both know we are always trying to respect their bond at least," he nodded. "That would be awesome actually. I don't know as much about the British real estate market as I do the French one so I could use your help too."

"I understand that. I am sure she appreciates it too." He wasn't about to start telling Damien to change who he was after all. Clearly it had worked for Freya because they were happy together still. "Yeah, they are very good dogs." Fred agreed, knowing the pair had been well looked after and trained by the girls. "I mean I know Vera will want it to be vaguely close to Freya so she can spend time with her but also for the dogs sake too. I am looking at what is on offer in the surrounding area and the obvious things like crime rate though really if we can get a proper idea of what we are after first, then at least we will know what we are looking for."

"Thankfully," Damien chuckled. "They are. And they're perfect for cuddling so sleeping won't be too uncomfortable," he added in good humor. "That makes perfect sense. We'd come to visit you both even if you bought a property at the North Pole, but knowing you two won't be far will be reassuring for both the girls I'm sure," he nodded with a smile. "It almost sounds like we're talking about splitting twins or something," he mentioned with a snort. "I understand completely. Well if you need a hand with anything regarding the search, let me know, yeah? I'd be happy to help."

"Of course not. I have had close friends before but no where near like what they seem to have with one another. It's something to be greatly admired though." Fred definitely didn't see it as a negative thing. Their loyalty was sweet to see. "Mate, I very much doubt she will take offence to it. I mean, you know what you are both like, it makes sense." Fred tried to reassure, knowing that his words were definitely truthful. "The same will be there for you two as well but for some reason I feel like if the girls stay over at one another's places, we'll end up in bed with the dogs." He said with a snort as the girls would crash together no doubt.

"Fair enough. I just want everything to be special– it's a fault of mine," Damien admitted with a sheepish laugh. "Not everything needs to be a grand gesture but I can't help but try to make it so," he added with a shrug. "At least I love the hell out of those dogs," he chuckled when Fred mentioned they'd end up sleeping with them if the girls were reunited again. "So are you looking at any areas in particular? I imagine you don't want to be too far even if commuting to work isn't too big a deal being wizards and all."

"I think they both will and I do feel bad for it but it's inevitable. It was just about when the right time was for them I suppose." And Fred was glad it wasn't years from now like he'd been a little concerned about. At the mention of Damien getting a place with Freya, Fred couldn't help but smile a little. That worked out pretty well in his eyes. "Hey, don't think of it like that, maybe put it to her as the perfect opportunity." Fred suggested, more than happy to be helpful both because he did want to see them happy but also because it served his purposes too. "Completely though. We've already discussed hosting garden events. We both want a nice outside area to entertain."

"Absolutely. I guess they always knew this would happen some day but it's understandable that it's not necessarily easy for them still," Damien nodded. "Their bond is honestly something I think should be studied," he added playfully. "Yeah, of course. I hope she won't see it that way either and will just be more excited for us to find a place of our own," he replied, the pit of his stomach stirring as he tried to imagine Freya's reaction. He wasn't worried at all, instead he was getting nerves from how excited he was to do it. "And I'll make sure there's a guest room for you and Vera to crash in whenever you'd like," Damien added with a grin. "Garden events? Damn, I cannot wait to see what you two do with your place."

"Yeah, thanks mate. I guess it'd been on my mind for a while and it just happened to come out when we were watching a movie. It's the natural progression for us and it's been coming for a while in my eyes." And from what Vera had said, she seemed to feel the same. "I know she's feeling a little guilty about leaving Freya though. That was the thing that made me hesitate about bringing it up sooner. They've always been so close." At the mention of house hunting, Fred gave a chuckle. "Somewhat. We've come up with a list of things we need in a house and what we'd like too."

"That's true– she's going to have a hard time with that, isn't she?" he considered, feeling sympathy for how the massive change would be for the girls. "I mean it would be a perfect time for me to ask Freya if she'd like for us to get a place together too. I wouldn't want it to seem like I'm only doing it because you are whisking Vera away, but the timing is undeniably perfect for it," Damien shrugged. Besides, ever since they'd gone to France for his cousin's wedding and the lost pregnancy he'd been thinking about their whole future together. They both knew they wanted after all. "I'm sure that'll be fun– putting your heads together and seeing what overlaps when it comes to what you both want from a house. I already can't wait to be invited for dinner parties," he grinned in reply.

"Yes, on this occasion I did have an ulterior motive to inviting you out for drinks." Fred stated as he held up his own and motioned towards the others drink that he'd bought him. "Though ulterior motive might be the wrong way to describe this and I suspect you may already know through Freya if Vera has spoken to her already but we have decided to move in together. We're going to find ourselves somewhere we can call our home."

"That's incredible news, Fred. Congratulations!" he exclaimed with enthusiasm when his friend dropped the news. He raised his glass to clink against Fred's. "I'm sure the two of you are excited," Damien remarked, settling in after the initial adrenaline from the news. "If Freya knows she hasn't told me yet which would be surprising to be honest, so I'm going to assume this is still fresh information. Are you guys already house hunting?"

"Oh don't pretend to be so dense. It doesn't suit you. It's not a handsome look." Isabelle huffed, giving the mans head a gentle rap with her knuckles. "Don't be too flattered, that comment might have knocked you a few steps down the ladder." She joked lightly.

He scoffed as Isabelle knocked on his skull. "I didn't realize you ran such a tight ship there," Damien laughed at her teasing remarks, knowing they were only joking back and forth after all.

"Oh my sweet boy, I know." Freya spoke on a whisper at the fact Damien had pointed out that they were going through this together, and that he wouldn't have left her to deal with it on her own. She didn't doubt any of that for a moment. Seeing the tears pouring down his cheeks too, killed her all over again and she found herself drawing him tightly to her. "I know you wouldn't say that but I assure you that in my eyes, you are." And really, that was all that matters. "Come lie with me?" Freya requested softly after a moment, just wanting to curl up in her bed with Damien and absorb all the comfort they could get from one another. She felt like they both needed that right now. It wasn't about whether one was hurting more than the other, but that they'd both been through such a terrible experience. One only the two of them in that moment could understand. "I love you so much, and I'm so sorry for all of this pain."

Damien didn't need her to ask again, in no time at all the two of them were cooped up in bed and grieving this loss together. As much as this hurt, it also felt like just letting the pain consume them together was a way of coping on the short term. It was just so fresh and nobody in their lives would be able to understand this pain quite as they understood one another's in this moment. "You have nothing to apologize to me for, Freya. None of this was your fault," he insisted softly, pressing kisses to her hair and tracing gentle circles along her skin. He wrapped his arms tighter around her, almost as though he was threatening to never let her go. "I love you too, ma vie. More than anything."

Perhaps Freya had needed this little bit of perspective because Damien had been supporting her so much to the point where she'd almost allowed herself to forget that she wasn't the only one hurting. The blonde shuffled forward gently, eyes still damp but she shakily took his face in her hands, holding the man so tenderly. "None of this is your fault." She felt that was the most important thing to get out of the way righ then. Freya didn't want him to think there was any hesitation in those words, or that she believed differently. "You have given me back so much Damien. I... this is not something I ever thought I would be going through but if I have to, I am glad you're the one by my side for it. I don't think I could... if you weren't here..." There was no way she could have made it through without him. "I need you. And you're my miracle. Please believe that." She could feel the tears falling again, this time for him too.

Without even having to think about it, his arms found a way to envelope Freya as she shifted forwards. Damien's hands resting on her upper waist gently as took his face into her own hands. "I can't imagine being anywhere else, Freya. Of course I'm here by your side. There is no world where I'd let you go through this alone," he insisted. "Besides, we're going through this together," he reminded softly, although his pain in regards to this would never match how it had to feel for Freya right now. "You don't need to worry about me going anywhere," Damien promised, tears streaming down his own cheeks at this point. "I would not say I am a miracle, mon coeur. But you can guarantee that I will always fight by your side no matter what."

A part of Freya wanted to shout out right then that their baby passing wasn't just a 'thing that happened' but she knew deep down he didn't mean to hurt her with his words and that he was being truthful. Sometimes bad things did happen and she couldn't stop them, it was just part of life. It just seemed so unfair that after everything, this was another thing she had to put up with and just accept. Hadn't she accepted enough already? She was pulled from her self-wallowing by the surprise that shook her at Damien's confession as she blinked up at him wide eyed. "How could this ever be you?"

"I've done some things I'm really not proud of," Damien admitted softly when she'd ask how any of this could be his fault. He hadn't wanted this conversation to take this sort of a shift. While he had every intention of telling Freya about this part of his life sooner rather than later, everything surrounding their baby had taken up time and space and he hadn't wanted to overshadow any of it with this. "And because of that well... I've always been convinced that I don't really deserve happiness. It's why what I have with you consistently feels like a miracle that fell into my lap. I'm often convinced that you are far too good to be true."