5 July 1921
The last three weeks had been hell. School let out at the beginning of June, then he spent a week cleaning up his quarters and office, getting ready for the move to the dungeon. The news that he would be leaving Hufflepuff for Slytherin should have been a welcome announcement, but he would miss his angry little badgers. Some of them.
Being a resident of Slytherin House for seven years made the news more palatable. Far better then inheriting a tower room. No one on their right mind would ever give him the Ravenclaw house.
Once the cleaning and packing were done, he made a list of things he would need to bring with him before next term. Specifically, things for his new class because he was now not only Deputy, but a full time Professor.
God help the children… and him.
After getting home from the castle, the news of Catrin’s Pregnancy made the round, making him supremely happy for his oldest brother. Unfortunately the pregnancy was taking a tole on his sister in law, so Wesley couldn’t make the quarterly audit of the foreign Blackwood & Son’s stores. With their dad getting older, it fell on Gideon’s shoulders.
The next eldest being Archer, who ran the less legal side of B&S, Hayes bringing up the rear of the boys, only working on the financials. Ask him to audit inventory and sales strategies and he was liable to claw his own ears off. And then there was the baby, Lavinia, who ran the Diagon Alley bar with an iron fist.
Gideon said goodbye to Rose and Fiona, hating the tears in their eyes. He was so madly in love with Rose, and Fiona had carved a spot in his heart that was irreparably changed. He would miss them fiercely. He had thought about bringing them out for a vacation, but that would just delay the return to London, and getting the girls moved in. Having them all under one roof was what he needed more than anything.
The three weeks abroad had been difficult, removed from the B&S business for nearly a year, but he fell right into the role with ease. Some stores were being run beautifully and needed very little instruction from him. They held meetings, went over financials, talked about new products coming out before the fourth quarter and went over hiring needs. A few days there were enough, then he was off to the next building.
Others tried his patients. Their flagship store in Berlin, Germany was failing in most metrics. He was there for a full week and a half pinpointing the issues. Turns out it was a management issue. The manager in question was let go, the Assistant taking up the position with ease, and already making strides before Gideon left. There would be more training needed, but they were on their way to success.
During his trip, Gideon took very little time off. He was exhausted, but wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. Now, finally back in London, he was ready to crash. It was just around dinner time, but he had plans to crash, then wake up early and head straight to Rose’s place. He would go tonight, but he was dead on his feet. What he had planned would take sleep and energy.
Walking into the front door, Gideon toed off his dress shoes, unbuttoned his suit jacket and dropped his suitcase to the floor. Hanging up his jacket, he sighed, happy to be home. Shutting his eyes, Gideon took in a deep breath, happy for the first time in weeks. His senses were exhausted, but he started noticing a few things. First, the smell. It was vanilla, but not sweet treats vanilla… rose vanilla. The house smelled like her.
His eyes opened, taking in the foyer. A pair of heels, two small to be Vin’s. A much smaller pair of mary janes. Fiona’s shoes. “VIN! Where are you?!”
Unbuttoning his vest, eyes scrunched up in thought, there were other things different. New toss pillows on the sofa. Kids coloring books and crayons on the coffee table. His heartrate was accelerating. His mind coming to one conclusion, but not wanting his hopes to be wrong.
Then he heard it. Footsteps. Running. Little feet running barefoot on the wood floor.
“GGGIIIIIIDDDDDEEEOOON!!!!”
Fiona ran down the hall and launched herself into his arms. Catching her was second nature, his little monkey. Arms wrapped around this tiny frame, he squeezed her tight, never wanting to let her go.
“My sweet, what are you doing here?” He hugged her again, kissing the top of her head and began walking towards the kitchen. Then he heard footsteps. Waiting on baited breath, Gideon watched as someone walked down the hall towards him.
Every day, Rose stared at the calendar. Every day, she missed Gideon more and more. The plan was that once he returned from his endless business trip, she and Fiona would move into the townhome. But that was taking entirely too long. So when Lavinia asked if she wanted to move in early – to surprise Gideon when he returned – Rose was all for it.
With Lavinia’s help, she and Fiona moved in. Rose loved sleeping in his – no, their bed… because she could smell him, even when he was gone. For the first time in her life, Rose felt truly happy. Fiona settled in easily, as they’d been working on her room since term was over, and really the little girl had always been adaptable.
Focusing on moving was helpful, considering Rose’s position at the castle was going to be changing with the next term. She would no longer be Head Nurse (though, she’d be lying if she said she wouldn’t check in every once in a while), but would be taking Gideon’s place as Hufflepuff Head of House. She was thrilled for the change, but she was also nervous. Moving took her mind off of that for a while, but once they were settled, Rose was back to worrying.
Not only would she be overseeing the Hufflepuffs, she would also be teaching. Rose Byrne, the teacher. Who would have thought?
“VIN! Where are you?!”
Rose looked up and grinned. She’d been lounging in Gideon’s office, surrounded by his things. She had a notebook open, from jotting down notes about what on Earth she could teach about Defense Against the Dark Arts.
She just about jumped up. It took everything in her to not run and jump at him the way that Fiona probably did. She heard her daughter run and yell, and imagined her launching herself at him. She grinned as she walked down the hall, barefoot and comfortable in one of his undershirts. And a pair of his pajama pants. Rose’s clothes were here, too, of course, but… she missed him, and felt closer to him when she wore his things.
“My sweet, what are you doing here?”
He was making his way towards the kitchen, but when he heard her footsteps he stopped. Rose grinned as she approached him. “It took you long enough to get home,” Rose said and stopped a couple feet away from him.
“I hope you don’t mind, but we moved in about a week ago. We just couldn’t wait anymore…” she said, smirking as her eyes met his. Her right hand began messing with one of the charms on the bracelet he’d gotten her for her birthday. She rarely took it off.
As Rose came into view, wearing his clothes, Gideon almost wept with longing. God she looked beautiful. “It took you long enough to get home.”
The look of confusion must have been obvious, because she took pity on him and explained why they were there. “I hope you don’t mind, but we moved in about a week ago. We just couldn’t wait anymore…”
Gideon let Fiona slide down, placing her feet on the floor as they walked towards Rose. Hands now free, he wove his fingers into her hair, bringing their faces close. Then he stopped and looked at Fiona, not releasing Rose’s face. “Avert your eyes monkey, smoochie kisses can’t be helped.”
He laughed as the little girl groaned, mumbling something under her breath about adults and disgusting. Her little feet ran towards the kitchen. With a wide smile on his face he pulled Rose to him, smashing their lips together. Breaking away for much needed oxygen and answers, Gideon kissed her forehead, then temple, then the spot behind her ear, whispering, “You’re moved in? Completely?”
Having them here, all under one roof made his heart burst with happiness. It was a weird sensation, one he wasn’t used to. “I love you so much. The last three weeks were torture, lets never do that again, ok?”
The way that Gideon’s eyes focused on her made Rose’s heart skip a beat. God she’d missed his blue eyes. He set the little girl down and closed the distance between them. She’d missed being in his orbit so much. Just his presence made her feel better; like everything was right in the world.
She closed her eyes briefly as his fingers messed with her hair. The kiss was right there – she could feel it coming. But he stopped and looked at Fiona.
“Avert your eyes monkey, smoochie kisses can’t be helped.”
She smiled as her daughter groaned and ran off, mumbling about how gross they were. Gross or not, Rose didn’t care. His lips crashed into hers and Rose melted. God she’d missed him more than she thought she had.
After a few moments, Gideon broke off the kiss before kissing her forehead, temple, and the spot behind her ear.
“You’re moved in? Completely?”
Rose smirked and nodded, biting her lip. She could hardly contain herself. “We are, yes.”
“I love you so much. The last three weeks were torture, lets never do that again, ok?”
Rose pulled him close and hugged him tightly, listening to his heart beat for a moment.
“Deal… we’ll just have to go with you next time,” she added and looked at his lips. “I missed you too much… so did Fiona… she drew you a ton of pictures.” Rose pressed her lips to his.
“I missed you too much… so did Fiona… she drew you a ton of pictures.”
A smile stretched over his face. This was the dream, coming home to his wif…. Hmm… That would come, in time. Less time than most would think appropriate. Coming home to the love of his life and family, sitting around the table, the sounds of laughter and love.
“I can’t wait to see them. Show me the house? What stuff did you change?”
As they walked through the rooms, Gideon didn’t immediately see the changes, until they were pointed out. New couch pillows, no longer in greys and greens. Now, splashes of color were sprinkled throughout the house. An orange throw blanket, yellow pillows, a rug with fall colors, tying in the greens all over the house.
The forgotten crayons and kids coloring book on the coffee table. The art station tucked in a corner of his office. He loved every second of it. The house felt lived in. Alive.
Holding onto Rose’s hand, they went up the stairs towards the bedroom’s. Passing Fiona’s headed to his own, they walked in and he smiled. Chuckling at what he saw before him.
“You are bound and determined to bring color into my dark life, aren't you?” It was an appropriate question, on two fronts. One, as it was stated. Looking around the room, there was a red throw blanket at the end of the bed. Deep burgundy pillows mixed in with his various shades of grey and black. On the dresser, some of her jewelry left after she took it off one evening and a pair of shoes kicked to the side, left for later.
Walking into the bathroom, he saw her things scattered on the counter top and on the shelf in the shower. Her bath products add a sweet smell to the air. Rose was still in the bedroom as he walked from the bathroom to the closet. It was almost laughable, looking at the difference. One side, neat rows of dark suits, white shirts, textured vests. The only colors being darker shades of blue, green and brown. Then, on her side a rainbow explosion of color. Every color was represented in bright detail. It was a perfect picture to represent them dark and bright, light and surly.
Walking back in to the bedroom, he went straight to Rose, wrapping his hands around her waist, pulling her close. He kissed her temple and nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck. Smiling, he took her hand and pulled her out of the room and across the hall to Fiona’s room. There was a cute sign on the door with her name and a shiny gold star and silver moon. It was good indicator as to what he would find when the door opened.
As the door opened, Gideon’s breath caught in his throat. The walls were a mint green, with a bright silver chandelier in the middle of the ceiling. There were shiny stars and moons all over. Splashes of yellow, pink and light blue made it a rainbow of girlyness. The wood full sized bed was perfect for her to grow into, covered in pillows and her favorite stuffed animals. He smiled wider when he saw the niffler and monkey stuffed animals cuddled up with each other.
Turning towards Rose, he pulled her close and kissed her lips gently. “I love it. All of it. You made my house a home.” He ran his hands through her hair, holding her just right to stare into her eyes. “I love you baby, so much.” He said, before pulling her into a long, deep kiss.
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