frederick hayes

"It was a terrible idea to give me the permission to steer this thing," Vera told him, although there was a smile upon her features that spanned from ear to ear. The jet ski's motor rumbled as it waited to be revved, the two of them already bouncing slightly upon the water. "They can eat sea spray if they're going to choose to go so slow," she said in reply, her mind more focused on the open water ahead of them. Adrenaline pulsed through her as she braced herself for an increase in speed. "You might want to hold on tighter," she barely got out the warning before she'd gone for it and was zipping them across the waves at an insane velocity, wind slicing at their skin as Vera's smile only grew. "Holy shit! This is incredible," she exclaimed passionately, the shore disappearing behind them as she aimed for the wide open sea.

“You can just call me the best partner, because I have every faith in your abilities to control this thing… maybe not at safe speeds, but I’m not worried about you crashing,” he said with easy confidence. Vera had proven time and time again that her instincts were sharp. Lethal when they needed to be. So when she told him to hold on tighter, he didn’t hesitate. Both arms wrapped firmly around her, his chin dipping against her shoulder as he murmured low in her ear, cheeky grin tugging at his mouth. “Thought you’d never ask.”

"Oh you are such a little shit bag," she groaned at his efforts, but of course they worked every time. With the provocation, Ingrid kicked herself into gear and felt a familiar pain sear through her calves as they worked overtime to make her faster. "This was supposed to be a fun jog," Ingrid shouted at him as she did her best to catch up to him. While she was decent at keeping up a good pace, she could assume she frequented the gym less than her coworker. "You owe me a smoothie after this," she insisted through pants, the sun beaming down on them through the trees as they barreled down the path.

“This is a fun jog… for me,” he added, that wolfish grin spreading across his face again. He never made a secret of how much enjoyment he got out of seeing just how far he could wind Ingrid up.

"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.

“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.

"You drive a hard bargain, Mister Hayes," she grinned back at him. She always felt lucky to have him in her life but moments like these only solidified that she'd won the lottery. "I know– if your job had more things like this you know I'd be there too, yeah?" Vera felt the need to mention, a soft giggle leaving her lips as he pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. "Me neither. It also feels so... grown up," she admitted with a laugh. "And I know we're both adults but there's things like getting a house that really make me feel that way."

"I think most would just call me stubborn." He answered in response, an amused smile playing over his lips. "Well, I am sure they will have a Christmas party and if they are accepting partners, you will be immediately invited." Not that she didn't already know that but sometimes it needed clarifying. "Babe, you've been doing all those grown up things for a while now, but I get what you mean. Actually owning somewhere is a big step and I suppose scary for a lot of people."

"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."

"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?"

"Come on now– there's no need for you to be taking off work for these things," Vera insisted fondly. While the intention was beyond sweet, she didn't expect him to do these sorts of things. Besides, his work was far more important than these social events. "But it's sweet that you'd even consider doing something like that. I wouldn't ask that of you however," she said, reaching to cup his face. "I'm just excited to start viewing places now. It's going to be so much fun imagining the way everything is going to look."

"But if I want to then you can't really argue it can you." Fred pointed out with a smile. "Of course I'd considering doing that because things that are important to you are also important to me." He reminded Vera, lifting her hand to his lips and pressing a kiss affectionately to her knuckles. "Same. I can't wait to get the process going and really build our life together." He knew that Vera wasn't the type to do that easily so he was very lucky that she saw a long future with him.

"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 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."

"As far as I'm concerned you're the best trophy husband that there ever was," Vera insisted with a grin. She'd been beaming the whole time Fred had been speaking, glad to know that he enjoyed going out with her and how much she'd show him off and brag about him to her friends and peers. "We've got some Quidditch press and parties coming up too– I'm sure if you've not got work I can expect to you to join me?"

Fred never really realised how much something like that could mean to a person until Vera. She seemed to value how much he enjoyed being around those she was friends with and just worked with. The fact he was open to always going with her with very little complaint drew a bright smile to her face and it was worth it for that alone in his eyes. He couldn't understand partners who wouldn't want to do that for one another. "Count me in. If you give me enough advanced notice, I'll make sure to book it off if I am not off already."

"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."

"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."

"And is that not a good thing?" she quirked a brow in reply. Vera was all about making sure they both got plenty of pleasure so she couldn't see things being to Fred's benefit as a bad thing. If anything it was thrilling for her in itself. "Do you feel like I don't take you out enough? And here I thought you might be getting sick of how much I like to drag you everywhere," Vera grinned back.

"I never said that it was bad in the least." Fred responded with a little chuckle. He'd merely been pointing out just how much of a good deal he'd be getting out of that situation. "I like being your Trophy husband and performing well for you. I'm good at charming people, the female population in particular so if I can impress people you hang around with, I am always going to take that opportunity. Plus I get to show off that I bagged a real hottie who is mega talented too. So I'd say I don't mind being dragged out at all."

"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 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."

Hearing him say things like that still made her weak in the knees, kissing him back warmly when he confirmed that there was nothing more serious to him than what they had between the two of them. "Is that so? Well then, I will be holding you to such promises– some teasing can be very enticing," she smirked, eyes gleaming as she was immediately on board with exactly what he was then putting down. "You do. I plucked you straight out of a romance novel and I couldn't be more okay with that," Vera laughed. "I'm living every hopeless romantic's dream it seems."

"I think that'll be to my benefit if you do, beautiful." Fred told Vera with a smile on his lips because he could never complain when he got the opportunity to work her up and inevitably take her apart later on too. She was so unbelievably responsive and he loved every moment of it. "Is this you saying that I am your own personal Mr Darcy?" He teased lightly. "Maybe we should take me out and show me off more often then if that's the case."

"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."

"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.