#danicamp

It was hard to believe that a precision oriented auror like Scamp would have such a difficult time navigating to a bar, but in truth, he hadn’t asked her to come stand outside as he neared simply because he was feeling particularly directionally challenged that night. He revealed his cards as he approached her with a grin, a hand slipping to her cheek as soon as he was close enough. The touch blended seamlessly into greeting her with the taste of being intrigued enough by her company to get dressed and come out after an 11 hour shift on the field. 

Not that he wouldn’t be brazen enough to capture her into an attention domineering kiss indoors, surrounded by people, but some moments were simply meant to be personal and uninterrupted.

It had been two weeks since their grand escape to Cabo, Mexico. And yet, despite their deep, unobserved fears of loosing the intimacy standard they’d established in the bed of their hotel room that last night, Danica and Scamp still found themselves coming back to one another. 

They were in the smaller moments such as Scamp texting her during the lull of a work day or planning to meet up during a lunch break. It was in the bigger moments, like when Danica made a habit of sleeping over any night she had off from work or when they made plans for a date at a pop up quidditch exhibit and sushi for dinner afterwards. Heck, one could even argue they hit a milestone once Scamp accidentally hit to FaceTime call Danica while shaving his face. Danica, picking up the video phone call, just looked at him shirtless, hair a mess, and shaving while talking to her - the biggest smirk on her face while doing so. Their magic from Mexico wasn’t just in the small and big moments; it was in everything in between.

And so that early evening, in a rush from returning after her fitting appointment, it was not a surprise once Danica suddenly apparated into the middle of Scamp’s living room with a large black garment bag cover draped in her arms. She was clearly in a state of flush, slightly hot-headed as she had plenty in her mind to say out loud. “Can you believe-” She presented the garment bag out, as she walked towards Scamp with purpose. “I’m quite literally holding in my hand the ugliest fucking bridesmaid dress on this side of the world.”

Following their apparition home, Scamp had made it clear that what she wished to do with her evening was in her hands alone. If she hadn’t eaten in some time, a meal was hers since he was going to be throwing together something quick for himself anyway. If she wanted to shower, she was free to do so and if she simply wanted to collapse in bed that was an option too, he would join her shortly he assured. But before all of that he insisted, “Go into my closet and get yourself a shirt, will you? You’ve spilled so much Dragon Barrel on your jumpsuit.”

Scamp shouldn’t have been surprised that she would choose all of the above. It was hard to keep the endearing gaze out of his eyes as she sat at his kitchen island with his shirt draped over her shoulders, eagerly making her way through the ramen he’d put on. The quiet didn’t even come near bothering him, rather, it was an infinitely better change from their earlier surroundings. After being pulled into an uncharacteristically innocent shower that he admittedly needed, they conceded to letting the night end and Scamp couldn’t help the sense of relief that washed over him when her back stilled against his bare chest. 

Apparently, she hadn’t moved an inch since. He considered leaving her to rest while he peeled away to go about his morning, possibly even make breakfast before waking her. But he could hear her remarks at being left alone in bed while he snuck off already and with a chuckle in his mind, decided against it. Instead, he raised delicate fingers to brush back the hair from her neck and lowered his lips to her shoulder, just above where his shirt sat on her skin. And then a little higher, and a little higher still. His breath touched her earlobe for a few moments while he waited to see if she had roused at all. And then his nose nudged the back of her ear just before he kissed the spot, willing to simply pepper her with affection all morning if that was what it took to come to a slow and comfortable rise.

What made Scamp quieter, paying more attention to a distant nagging in his mind was packing his bags that fourth night. Still, Danica’s smart mouth was quick to bring him out of it each time she so much as turned to him and he was grateful. His smile reflected hers each time she aimed it at him throughout their final evening away from everything that served as a hang up to whatever they were to begin with.

And when Scamp found himself in bed at the end of it all, her back pressed to his chest as though she were meant to fit perfectly in the space, he thought he would be able to close his eyes and be done with that far away hum behind his brain. But as his arms braced around her, fingers resting beside hers on the cool sheet, he couldn’t keep away memories of what had chased them to a different continent seeking escape to begin with.

Danica’s eyebrows furrowed as her pout formed prominently. She was lost for a moment before her body froze at the quick flashes of memory she could piece together from the night before: Danica switching the brandy intake from glass to bottle, the call from a rather concerned Scamp, having that same Broadmoor arrive and sit next to her on the ledge. This wasn’t a planned occasion, or if it was, she did not remember it. And therefore, something felt very off in the space they were in.

The plan wasn’t to stroll into a Broadway show last second and then recreate their first speakeasy date, just without the damn near strangers part. But the creases at the corner of Scamp’s eyes all night made it clear that, well, quite frankly, fuck the plan.

By the time they’d reached the public portkey they planned to use to make it to their final destination, there was still laughter on his lips but by that point he wasn’t even sure why anymore- and he didn’t care. He was accustomed to the quick mode of transport but it was more grounding with his present company. 

The afterglow of Scamp’s grin lingered even as they settled in to their hotel room, in Cabo at long last. As he loosened the tie at his neck and walked towards the closet they’d be storing away in for the next few days, he spared Danica a glance. His own expression was reflected in her features and that made things in him turn and shift to fit in just the right places. They weren’t generally ones to unfurl verbally to one another, but in light of the night before, which felt like years ago now, Scamp told her, “It makes me happy seeing you so happy, you know.” 

The gentler smile on his lips made it clear how candid his statement was, stripped of the usual banter that tagged along with most of his compliments towards her.