Potions & Charms

California

we're doing nouns or whatever now, sorry. Didn't expect to write that many chapters 

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One nap later Scott found himself at the dinner table with a large bowl of homemade ramen in front of him. He reached for the chopsticks when Avi joined him with another bowl and smiled lightly. 

"You good? Good nap?"

"Perfect nap, yes." He felt the man's hand against the back of his head and then, after Avi had pecked the top of his head, chuckled. "You're sweet." 

"Just taking care of my man." 

"Mhm. Thank you. Dinner looks amazing." He pushed some of the noodles into his mouth and hummed. "Tastes amazing too."

"Homemade. Been busy in the kitchen the last couple of weeks. Lots of baking and cooking and all that, you know? Maybe a hobby. I haven't had a hobby in years." Avi started eating, but he couldn't stop looking at his boyfriend. Happiness had flooded his body after he had spotted the tall man in the crowd at the airport and he still felt it rushing through his veins. "I'm glad to have you back." 

Dinner was quick, easy and filling and once done Avriel flicked his wrist to get rid of the used, dirty dishes. He wanted to take Scott out for dessert, a few weeks after moving to California he had noticed a small café just around the corner where the owners sold delicious cakes and pastries, but chances that Scott just wanted to crawl under the covers were high right now. The man was yawning already. 

"Do you wanna go to bed?" Avi asked and smiled lightly. "We can lay down if you want to." 

"I don't know, I haven't seen you in so long and now I'm too tired to do anything." Scott pouted and wrapped his arms around the smaller man, kissed him lightly. "Don't want to sleep." 

Avi hummed. "But we have at least two weeks, hm? Enough time. And you've been awake for so long already. Let's go to bed." He reached for Scott's hand and gently pulled him towards the bathroom. "I'll meet you in the bedroom." 

The bed was more than comfortable, better than the couch Scott had napped on after the flight. He smiled softly and made his way over to Avi who was already under the covers, then crawled over to him and flopped down. He felt the man's hands in his quiff and closed his eyes. 

"Long day, huh?"

"Mhm, long and good. What's the plan for tomorrow?" He shifted and placed his cheek on Avi's chest. "I probably won't sleep for long." 

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. It depends on when you'll wake up. We can go and watch the sunrise? Visalia is right next to the sequoias, they're beautiful, and I had some time to explore. It's around an hour to hike up, but the view is amazing. And if you sleep in we'll get some breakfast and I can show you around." HIs fingertips rubbed small circles over Scott's scalp and his voice was soft, gentle, almost enough to lull the baritone into a deep slumber.

"Okay, whatever. I'm fine with both. Want me to wake you when I'm up?"

Avi smiled and shifted slightly. "Sure. Not before five though. Did you pack warm clothes?"

"Yeah, a few. Not much, but I figured that we might do other things than just sleep and California can be cold in winter. What are your plans for Christmas? Do we have any?"

The Potion Master hesitated for a moment. "I haven't really thought of Christmas yet. We could, uhm, visit your parents? I would like to meet them, if- if that's okay? I know that there's not a lot of people to meet from my side but your family is still there and- I don't know, we've been together for a year already? I-" he stopped and sighed. "Sorry."

But Scott shook his head. "No! No, it's fine, really! I would love to introduce them to you, and you to them. I just didn't want to ask, in case you weren't ready or unsure. It would be an honor, Avi." He looked up and smiled. "I'll ask them tomorrow." 

"Okay" the bearded man said and slid on his pillow. "Will they like me?"

"Uhm, most definitely." 

Scott couldn't stop grinning. He was so happy to hear that Avi wanted to make his parents, a decision he had made himself without pressure from anyone, and to him it meant the world. The way his boyfriend had healed and grown, even without Scott being there, made him proud and suddenly he knew that all the time they had spent away from each other had been worth it. 

"What are you thinking about?" Avriel asked after a few moments of silence. "You have your thinking face on. I don't see it that often." His fingertips still roamed over the back of Scott's head. It was warm under the covers, just the right temperature, while the room was rather chilly — just how he liked it. 

"Just thinking about the progress you have made since you left Hogwarts. Don't take it the wrong way, okay? I just never thought that you'd do so well without any help. So far away from me 'n Kirstie and all that, just by yourself." 

Avriel chuckled lightly. "I think I finally managed to let go of the role I played for so long. I don't know anyone here, you know? Like, when I moved to Buenos Aires I had to figure who I was, without people around who already knew me." 

Scott hummed and turned on his side to look at his boyfriend. Avi's hair was open and his soft curls covered his shoulders, he was sure they would reach all the way to over his elbows if he'd tug on them, and his skin was tan. He looked good. 

"And after living there for a bit it still felt wrong. Still felt as if I was playing a role. So I moved again. I stopped in Mexico for a few months and then made it to California. And I feel like I'm more me. More Avi." 

"Basically like washing a really, really dirty pair of jeans over and over again until they're clean, huh?"

"Weird, but yes." 

"And why California?" Scott pulled the blanket up to his chin and tangled his legs with Avi's.

"I don't know. Just popped up in my head one morning. Maybe it was some kind of memory? I feel like my parents used to talk about America a lot, and something about being here just seems right." Avi paused and then turned on his side to look at his boyfriend. "I know that I'm being selfish, Scott."

But the other man just shrugged and reached out to tuck some hair behind Avi's ear. "Even if you feel like you are, it doesn't matter. Of course I would like to see you more often, more than twice a year for a few weeks, but if this is what you need to get better then you have to take your time and do that. Wherever that might be. London or Tokyo or Buenos Aires. Or the middle of nowhere in California. I'm like a golden retriever, Avi. I would follow you to Antarctica without even thinking about it."

Avriel couldn't keep himself from grinning and scooted closer to Scott, wrapped one of his arms around the man's waist and tucked his head under Scott's chin. "Thank you."

"Of course." Scott pressed a kiss on top of his hair and hummed. "Have you had a peek at the mess of memories yet?"