Falling Into Beds (Marcos/Ally)

[Rosalie]

Ally took one last look around the bar downstairs, confirming that it was empty and the wards were in place before she turned. "Nox" she murmured, and the flickering bulbs extinguished themselves at once. After closing the door behind her and setting the external wards, Ally stepped to the curb raising her wand hand. Normally, she would use the apparition points, but it had been an exceptionally long day, and she didn't trust herself to make it all the way to Scotland without losing at least an eyebrow in exchange. So, instead, when the violently purple bus came screeching to a halt mere inches from her feet, Ally merely took a step back as the doors swung open. The man, a Hufflepuff who had graduated a year behind Ally who's name she couldn't ever quite remember, looked her up and down and whistled. "Alleanna Moon" he spoke as he continued ogling her. "It's been much much too long."

Under normal circumstances, Ally might have indulged in a little harmless flirtation with the bus attendant, but she had spent most of the day fielding excuses for late materials shipments and the evening breaking up bar fights downstairs for the newly hired bar tender who was fresh out of school and smaller than Ally herself. Besides, she had never found the kind of men who lacked any sort of wit or subtlety the least bit tempting. "Hi David" she answered neutrally. "How much?" Undaunted, he smiled in what she knew he must think was a roguish manner. "For you, lovely, it's on the house." Not willing to risk finding out what 'on the house' would actually cost her later, Ally turned her gaze to the driver. A kindly, and much older man who looked annoyed with the attendant's theatrics.

"Hi Mr. Mason" she said, more warmly as she dropped two galleons into the box by the steering wheel and moved firmly past David, who now appeared thoroughly miffed. Her eyes found the nearest empty bed without looking too closely at the other patrons. She had taken maybe three steps when the bus lurched suddenly to the left, depositing her rather haphazardly in someone's lap. A tangle of limbs in lace, leather and six-inch heels, Ally was quick to apologize. "Oh, Godric, I'm sorry, I..." She caught sight of a familiar face, however, and her expression changed slightly. "Well, of all the gin joints in all the world." She smirked.

Words: 407
Outfit: Here
Lyrics: Ed Sheeran - Shape of You
Tag: Shava

[Shava]

It didn't occur to him to look up at the voice, but it did catch his half-attention as he read his book on the bed. Used to the bus, he had gotten his feet wedged in the footboard and was reading on his back with one hand on the bars when the bus moved again. He had a split second of warning as her body fell over him and he let go of the book to catch her around her middle keeping her from falling whoever she was! As the bed rolled forward with the rest hitting the empty one in front, he felt her shift in his arms, but her words made him suddenly look at her face!

"Uh hang on! I know you!" Her face was more familiar then her name but after a second he got it. "Ally? Ally...Moon?" Huh! Now that took him back quite a few years! "Wow, long time no see, you've ah--" grown he said mentally, his eyes catching a view of her outfit and how she filled it in! His hands didn't let go as he struggled for a polite ending saying "...changed! A lot!" Damn, and how much so!

Realizing they weren't dating or that personal, he released her at the next slide so she could move to her bed if she wanted saying "Okay, hold on now..." And as she moved, he glanced around and caught his book up quickly before it disappeared and then turned his eyes back to her. His eyes wondering what kind of job she wore that in and trying not to jump to a conclusion he asked "Wow, been years. What are you doing these days?"

Rosalie

[Rosalie]

Ally grinned up at him. “Actually, would you mind sharing? It’s hard to hold a conversation if you’re sliding in different directions” she reasoned. “Good memory” she commented when he said her name. She studied him a long moment. “I’m sorry, I can’t remember your last name, but Marcos I remember.” Then he released her. With his permission, she sat, crossing her legs and moving her bag to the corner of the bed with the easy sort of sensual grace that had come naturally to her since puberty. Once she was settled, she renewed the cushioning charm on her boots and gave a soft, relieved sigh.

She was willing to forgive the implication of his comment, knowing that seeing her had startled him. She snorted softly. “Yes, five years will do that for a girl” she pointed out teasingly, enjoying his confusion. He told her to hold on and she offered him a mischievous look. “To what?” she murmured, her tone went soft and took on a tell-tale richness. At his question, however, and noticing the way he was eying her clothes, she laughed. Realizing what he must be thinking, she shook her head. “I'm a designer. I own a shop in Hogsmeade called the Clockwork Rose” she told him. “I design and sell magical versions of muggle steampunk couture.” She appeared amused by the idea he might have thought she was some sort of escort. She had dressed much the same in school and some of the Slytherins had made some jibes to that effect. Not that Ally had ever much cared.

Taking in his rather haphazard appearance, she turned the question back on him. “And you’re a long way from…” She searched through her memory. “Puerto….Rico?” That sounded right, to her at least. “What brings you...?” She glanced around them pointedly, "here." Just then, the bed lurched sideways, and though she had braced for forward movement, the sudden jolt toppled her upper body, landing her in his lap again. This time, however, she grinned up at him. “We have got to stop meeting like this”, but she made no move to sit up just yet.

Words: 352
Outfit:
Lyrics:
Notes:
Tags: Shava

[Shava]

He shook a head not minding at all. "Of course not, I haven't talked to anyone from school in years..." She couldn't remember his last name and he told her "Jimenez. I think my brother was after you all the time in school." he laughed remembering those days and shook his head at the foolishness. She pointed out that girls filled out and he half-laughed. "I doubt I would know, I've not seen anyone familiar except family for as many years as I can remember. My job keeps me on the road."

A puzzled look however came to him as she asked what to. "Oh, have you not taken this before? The bed frame is the only thing that's safe. You get used to balancing with it after awhile. I usually put my feet in the bottom rungs..." stopping as he realized her height which was enough for another idea. His eyes lit up at her mention of clothing design. Sounded like she had hit the big time then! "Oh wow! You hit the big time then?" Well that was cool, too bad he hadn't been dating her back then in school! That thought made him laugh at himself, knowing he would have gone out on the road anyway.

She remembered his home and he smiled, knowing he didn't look well off. "Work. Just came back from Thailand and off to meet a client in London tomorrow. Have to show up to get paid." The beds thrust forward and slammed again into the front of the bus wall. "Ha, here, I have an idea if you will permit me..." Giving her shoulder a push he turned her over facing away and slid an arm around her waist. In her ear he said "Now, my feet are in the bedframe below us, my other arm in the bedframe above me. One arm, no chance of taking advantage, just holding us still. If anything you need your hands to keep your bag from getting away."

Man, she felt extremely nice up close. "So what's this steampunk stuff you said? Somehow that word doesn't fit in my head with all this black...lace you've got on."

[Rosalie]

He spoke of school and she smiled ruefully, nodding agreement as she did so. “Me either” she admitted. “Except my family and the occasional customer that is” she amended. Across the aisle, an elderly woman in magenta robes was giving Ally a disdainful look. Undaunted, Ally met the woman’s narrowed eyes and winked, causing the woman to huff disdainfully before returning her attention to a tattered, paperback novel with a vampire and a very…ahem, well-endowed woman embracing on the cover. Ally snorted softly before returning her attention to Marcos. “Madden!” Ally agreed, only just now remembering the incidents to which he was referring. “I got the feeling he wasn’t used to hearing the word ‘no’ from the fairer sex all that often” she confided it as though she were telling a secret. “Whatever happened to him? And…Maddox? Wasn’t he a Ravenclaw?”

At the mention of travel, Ally’s expression warmed. “I spent the first two years after school touring with an international ballet company out of Paris” she told him. “But I got tired of ‘seeing’ the world without actually seeing the world.” She studied him. “So what is that you do exactly?” she wanted to know, always interesting in hearing other people’s travel stories, especially since she was doing so little of it herself these days. For a moment, she thought he was being intentionally obtuse when he mentioned whether she had experience with the Knight Bus. She decided he really was that clueless and now she was forced to contemplate whether it was worth being obvious enough he would get the hint. Since she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been on a date, much less spent the night with someone, it wasn’t a hard choice.

At his question, she grinned. “I’ll be putting on my first runway for fashion week in the spring.” She tried very hard not to sound unbearably arrogant. “It started out as a way to make money doing something I loved, and then it just kind of…took a life of its own.” He mentioned his clients and she nodded. “Sounds a bit like my life, except my clients mostly come to me or send ridiculous numbers of owls.” At his request for permission she arched a brow but gestured for him to go ahead. As he re-situated them, she shifted against him under the guise of getting comfortable, moving her body very intentionally against his. With a casual gesture, she cast a sticking charm on the bag and then rolled carefully so she was pressed against him, her hair curtaining them both. “There” she murmured, her voice soft. “Problem solved.” She smirked down at him. “What? You have something against leather and lace?” She took the hand that had been bracing her and drug it up the side of the corset against the lace pattern that trailed down her stomach. “I think it’s rather…lovely.”


Words: 480
Outfit:
Lyrics:
Tag: Shava

[Shava]

"Maddox got married and settled down. He has two kids now. Madden...Well, six kids amongst five women I think. He's not a father type at all. I feel sorry for my nieces and nephews." Madden was, more and more, very ego centric. "Well, sounds like you are doing well then, probably better than anyone else I know." She asked what he did and he gave her the standard explanation with maybe a bit more, interested in her life. "I'm a collector. People hire me to retrieve hard-to-get things from around the world. This trip is was a particularly rare plant."

A shrug and he added "It's pretty dangerous sometimes. They aren't hard to find without a reason and there are some bad parts of the world still. I end up in most of those, but it pays what few bills I have. Mostly soft beds in motels," he laughed. She talked about doing a runway and he raised his eyebrows impressed. That certainly sounded like the big time to him! "Yeah, my clients are more pushy then that I'm afraid, but they have the money which I need so I go where they want me to." He didn't sound angry as much as resigned to the fact he worked for others.

She pushed against him and his eyebrows went up, but then she guided his hand and his breath sucked in. "Um...yes, it feels quite...nice, I was, uh, just saying I'd never heard the name before. It's not my style, but I'm very open to...new experiences." He could feel his pulse skip a beat as he felt her tummy and got a bit excited. "Would you be open to--" oh Merlin "being my guide for a time?"

[Rosalie]

As he spoke of his brothers, she noticed that David was glaring at them out of the corner of her eye and her lips twitched. “Good for him” she answered, remembering the shy, awkward boy who had seemed so different in personality from his two, outgoing brothers. “My siblings all went that way as well.” She smiled in a mildly self-deprecating manner. “My brother Luke and his wife have three kids.” Here, she smiled affectionately, “and my sister Nessia is about to have her first.” He spoke of Madden and she grinned knowingly. “Please don’t take this the wrong way” she cautioned, “but I think I kind of saw that coming”, she admitted. She had always been a decently good judge of character, and though Madden had initially appealed to her physically, she had always found something…lacking, when she considered the idea.

Despite her best efforts, Ally warmed under the compliment. “I wouldn’t say that necessarily” she offered, “just think of the ones who are wading around in family money” she pointed out, shifting so that her back was to the front of the bus and David’s glares weren’t visible anymore. While her family was better off than most, Ally hadn’t been interested in living off what amounted to her trust fund. Like her parents and grandparents before her, the desire to do something special with her life had been too strong to even consider lazing about like some pampered princess for the rest of her life. So while her vault contained more than enough at this point, she’d kept adding to it steadily, first with her touring money, and then with the profits to the shop. She knew that this attitude was the reason her family still had everything they had accumulated over the centuries while so many other fortunes had dwindled due to greed and laziness.

She listened to his description of his job, and smirked. “You sound like a treasure hunter” she observed casually. The idea intrigued Ally rather than bothering her as it might have others. Her family had been full of them after all. Though a plant might not sound like a treasure, she knew from growing up around her uncle Darius that some were rare and quite valuable to the right person. “Potions ingredient I assume?” she sought confirmation of her assumption. “My Uncle Darius is a potions master, and I know some of his stores are very very rare.” She caught the woman from before eyeing them again. Ally wondered if she was trying to figure out whether Marcos had hired her or not. The thought was a highly amusing one. “My family were pirates for several generations” she told him. “So treasure hunting is in our blood I guess you could say.” She grinned mischievously at him. “Though they spent a lot more time on boats than I suspect you do.”

His mention of danger only served to increase her intrigue. “What’s life without a little risk?” she reasoned. For a girl who had scaled the walls of Hogwarts and cliffs all over the island her family called home, danger was relative. He mentioned motels and she frowned. “But where do you stay when you aren’t working?” she asked him curiously. She didn’t mind staying in motels necessarily, had done it quite a lot during her days with the ballet, but it was no place to stay regularly. A person needed a home to come back to. The look on his face when she mentioned the runway made her smile. She laughed knowingly. “Oh they can be very pushy” she assured him. “I once had fifty owls in eight hours from a woman in Prague who wanted me to design her daughter’s wedding dress.” Ally shook her head. “I finally sent her back a quote for the project and she thought I was being unreasonable since I had ‘an entire week to make one dress.’“ Completely ignoring that Ally also had the shop to run, employees to manage, and an exceedingly large family which often needed her for one thing or another.

It had been her experience that women who ordered one-of-a-kind designs were exceedingly hard to please. Ally was very careful when taking on private projects, lest she kill one of her greatest and longest-lasting passions in the process. “I sent her to another designer” she told him. “And he sent me a fruit basket.” She smiled softly now at the memory. A few minutes later, Ally was certain she now had Marcos’ undivided attention. His expression as she drew his fingers up over the delicate lace pattern that trailed her sides, was absolute confirmation, and she thrilled in it. It had been so long since she had done anything like this, and a long-dormant part of her seemed to exhale in relief. She had been denying her physical needs for almost two years, and while she had been busy enough at first that she hadn’t noticed the absence, she realized now that it had been too long since she had felt someone’s touch this way, seen the look in a man’s eyes as she drew him into imagining all sorts of things that might lie in store.

He seemed a bit lost for words and out of depth, leading Ally to believe it had either been quite a while for him as well, or he lacked experience. Not ideal, since Ally preferred men who knew what they wanted and what they were doing, but she could work with it. “Steampunk is based around a slightly more modern version of things from the Victorian era” she said softly. “This corset for example” she continued as she drew his hand to her waist, “is far more recreation than function.” She leaned down, pressing her body to his for a moment. “Or at least it could be.” She murmured the words against the shell of his ear, letting her lips brush against his skin. Raising herself back up to look at him, she heard the woman across the way clearing her throat insistently, whether trying to get their attention or David’s, she wasn’t quite sure.

Still, it served to remind her that they had an audience, and so she disentangled herself slowly, to resume lying next to him on the bed. She lay on her side so that she could see his eyes. If she was right, separating them so suddenly would only draw him more, so perhaps not all bad. His question seemed to confirm her earlier thoughts on his experience, but she smiled. “I might be persuaded” she agreed, catching a peripheral glimpse of David’s expression, which now bordered on murderous. ‘Hell hath no fury like a man scorned’ she thought. The bus lurched to a stop, and Ally sat up, recognizing the familiar scenery. “This is me” she climbed out of bed, shouldered her bag and stood. Glancing first at David before she turned her gaze on Marcos, she smirked, her expression bordered on a challenge. “Coming?” she murmured, offering him her hand.

She took immense pleasure in David’s gobsmacked expression as the two of them passed down the stairs to the sidewalk near the apparition point. “Evening Mr. Mason” she said warmly a moment before the doors closed. Once the bus was gone, she faced Marcos. “I warn you” she cautioned teasingly, “the house is done in the same style.” She grinned at him, “I thought it might be a good start for your…tour.”

Words: 1,245
Outfit: Here
Lyrics: Give Me Love - Ed Sheeran
Notes: Aaaand I'm back. XD
Tags: Shava

[Shava]

Talking about Maddox brought a smile to his eyes for certain. "Yeah, wish I got home more than once a year, but I have to make a living too. Rough world sometimes." He ducked his eyes a second since he didn't have a hand free, missing the glare from David. "Yeah well Madden never settled in his head I think. The idea of settling down with anyone bothers him I think; he's a bit too free in his head. Maddox was always ready to settle, I'm the only wanderer physically it seems. In my mind I've just never found the situation I would like. So I'm the only one without kids so far."

Her comments about people with money brought a curious look from him before he said "Except in school, I don't think I've ever known anyone well who had money. I mean my clients obviously do, but not otherwise so it still fits. You are doing better to my eyes at least." But after a second he added to that "But I don't think of anyone just inheriting money as doing well though. I mean, I don't know what all it involves, but people who run a business and do well with it beat the snot out of any who just inherit, you know? Effort shows." He shrugged, thinking he remembered her family did have money, but if it was just seed stuff she had still proven his point.

Asking about his job, she brought up some points and he gave her an appraising a second time. She sounded like she knew more-- 'ah ha' as she mentioned her uncle. "Don't think I've worked for him, but plants sometimes yes. It's not always what I would call treasure mind you, but some people have unusual tastes. I don't do slavery or deal in kids though," he said strongly and suddenly, his hand tightening just slightly around her waist, "though I know there are some who would. And there's only one shipwreck I know of they are looking for hires for, but it's been on the market for years cause no one can find it. There aren't many wizarding kind who treasure hunt so I've got a small number to compete with."

So her family came from pirates? His interest increased and he looked her over again. "Really? Oh not that's interesting, never met anyone with that kind of background before. Where were they based out of?" Maybe there was a chance she knew some secrets of their success? "Did they leave any kind of notes or records behind? I've always wondered what kind of tricks they might have learned about that made the pirates so successful." And in the light of her words, in a way his job could be considered very piratey in a way. That was an interesting thought. "Never thought of it before but my work has a lot of similarities to pirating..."

The mention of risk had him puzzled with his mouth, pursing his lips to the side slightly. "Yeah, I've had to have some scars healed. There have been some close calls and some rough nights, but that just adds on a danger charge to the final I guess. I don't much like those jobs, but they pay well and sometimes one has to risk a lot." The question about home however he had been asked enough to not care about answering. He sighed after a moment and shrugged. While he had a storage area a friend kept locked up, he didn't really consider anything home anymore. "No where. I guess I could always crash with mom, but I don't feel comfortable with her new husband. It just doesn't feel right. I guess I'm homeless except for the hotels."

Listening to her talk about pushy clients had him thoughtful a few moments too. He had his share of details from clients, but fortunately once he was in the field that was considerably more difficult. "There I have an advantage. Once i'm out in the field most owls can't narrow down where to reach me so I'm safe," he ended with a chuckle. Most of the contracts he used had a clause for that worked in anyway. Her 'invitation' as it seemed to be could be his imagination, but he rather hoped not! As she explained the style, he took the permission to look down along her curves and blatantly admire both her and the outfit. "Well I hope you don't mind me saying, I've never seen anyone wear anything like that and I doubt I will ever see someone wear something that well again either..."

Oh he was interested all right! It had been what, two years now? He knew what he wanted, but it was nowhere he went really and he doubted he would ever find the right girl in this occupation. As the bus moved again for another stop, he tightened his grip for a moment to steady her (thinking she didn't seem to mind) before she drew back a bit. Looking over at the woman clearing her throat he said to her "Stuff it, we're not going to do anything with you watching avidly anyway, I'm not into voyeurs!" The woman's eyes got wide and she gasped, clearly offended. However at that moment Ally said something and put out a hand for him to come along and because of the woman (and the man seemed to be watching them with angry eyes; he wondered why) he took her hand on impulse.

As the bes doors closed he said to the young man watching them "You really like flies that much?" to make him shut his mouth, but regretted it as the bus disappeared. "Probably shouldn't have done that but oh well," as he followed her, suddenly wondering if he would be able to get a ride on the bus again or would have to start using less handy transportation. She warned him, but he only shrugged. "I've been in some crazy places, but as long as there are no headhunters in your basement I should be fine with a tour." He made a face. "I've had enough of blowguns for a lifetime..."

Rosalie

[Rosalie]

Pleased that he seemed interested in what Ally considered the best part of her heritage, she grinned. “The Scottish Isles mostly” she told him. “Though several spent some time other places. The main house has been in the family for…much longer than anyone cares to think about.” She thought about his question for a moment. “I’m sure there are some somewhere, in the library or the attic” she said thoughtfully. “Dad’s read through a lot of it, so he would probably know." He began to make the connection and she smiled. “It sounds like it at least” she agreed. “There are a few things that have been passed down, tricks and such, but most of it is going to be in family journals and ancestry records.” She hadn’t been through much of that in several years. She’d been very curious about it as a kid however.

He mentioned his scars, and she smiled ruefully. “That makes two of us” she agreed. Flipping her wrist, she showed him a thin, raised line on her arm. “My rigging malfunctioned while I was scaling Gryffindor tower during seventh year” she explained. “It doesn’t look like much now, but it was tricky to explain to Madame Pomfrey at the time.” On that at least, they agreed. “High risk, high reward” she pointed out. “Nothing worthwhile comes without risking something.” It was one of the reasons Ally liked a challenge better than guys like David who assumed based on her wardrobe she’d go to bed with anyone. Merlin, but she hated men like that. Though she had already decided to push his buttons and see how far things went, his admission about lacking a home brought her up short, and a softer expression crossed her face. “That’s…” She frowned. “I spent two years after school living in hotels while I was touring” she admitted. “It’s one of many things I don’t really miss.”

She bit her lip. “Listen, I’ve got two guestrooms if you’d prefer to stay somewhere a little less crowded while you’re in town” she offered impulsively. The idea of someone being without a home bothered her tremendously. It wasn’t something she could easily imagine. Still, she hadn’t ever had anyone at the cottage besides family. It was her personal space, and she treated it as such. But then, what had made her offer it so easily to a man she barely knew? Not the kind to think too closely over her decisions, she shrugged it off for the moment. There would be time to consider her subconscious motivations later, after he had taken off on his next adventure.

His point about the owls earned him an envious glance. “Lucky” she said simply. “Sometimes I think it would be amazing to go somewhere where I couldn’t be found for a day or two.” (Or a week or two) Appreciating the compliment, she smiled. “Well, I did personally design it for myself” she pointed out. “Fits like a glove” she darted him a mischievous glance from under her lashes as she said it. It wasn’t until he spoke to the woman across the aisle that Ally’s eyes widened, and she let out a surprised laugh. Realizing she might have to reconsider her previous assumptions, she worked to catch her breath. The woman, now red faced, huffed, gathered her belongings, and made her way up the stairs to the second level, muttering something about the lack of decency in today’s young people. she told him, Amused, and impressed, Ally batted her eyes at him playfully. “My hero” she teased. “I can’t believe you just…” She shook her head. Maybe this would be more interesting than she’d given him credit for.

As they exited the bus, Ally had turned her attention to Marcos without realizing that David was still standing at the door, mouth ajar. It wasn’t until Marcos addressed him directly that Ally turned, recognizing both embarrassment and fury in the former Hufflepuff’s expression. “Probably not” she agreed, “but I appreciate it. Maybe he’ll think twice about propositioning me the next time I have to take the bus home.” His joke about headhunters sounded dangerously like an innuendo, but that didn’t jive with the man who had been so oblivious only a few minutes earlier. A little confused, Ally led him down the sidewalk toward the cottage she had called home since she’d retired from touring two years ago. When they reached a seemingly empty spot on the sidewalk which appeared to be a measurable gap between two muggle homes, Ally took his hand. “You won’t be able to see the house unless you pass through the wards with me” she explained. She felt the shimmer of the magic as it accepted them both and smiled as the house came into view. “So, what do you think? No headhunters, no blowguns, almost nothing that bites.”

Words: 810
Outfit:
Lyrics: Drops of Jupiter - Train
Notes:Ah the art of the parting shot
Tags: Shava

[Shava]

Huh, well now he didn't know any better but... "That's sorta unusual isn't it? pirates keeping records? I always under stood, though I'm not history person, that the early pirates were illiterate and unorganized mostly. Like, only the captain and the pilot usually knew how to use maps I thought." Hers sounded far better off family wise just from what she said about records. She showed him a scar and he winced thinking about the height of the tower. "Yeah I remember when we found the signature of the Maurauders on the top of one of the towers, that was pretty amazing. But yeah, very high."

A look of wistful thinking as he added softer "Yep, I'm afraid that's true in more ways then I could hope. Those who risk for the most dangerous, get the best rewards." Memories of a pair of sisters ran through his head and he felt a few pangs for lost chances and pipe dreams. Neither sister was meant to be with him he had finally realized though he had been a fool up till a point. She spoke about not missing the hotel part and he leaned back slightly saying "Eh, it's become my normal thing I guess. I don't notice it as much as important as I used to. After all I only sleep there, not like it needs to be anything fancy." And few of the ones he stayed in were.

The offer of a free room was as much finance consideration as he needed really, though she meant it otherwise. Seeing a chance to both catch up, possibly make a more solid friendship, have some freaking company which didn't see him as a money cost or a threat also weighed in the quick answer. "Uh, I'd be in town about a week if that's okay? I don't want to cause any problems..." but the look in his eyes was clearly one of 'Oh I'd take that...' Her comment about disappearing had him give her a slightly pitying look. "I bet. There are times I wished I had more ways to get mail at least, but it's tricky in some parts of the world."

It fit like it too and he was admiring what must be underneath it when he became annoyed with the older woman. "Well you heard her I assume! Like we were making out in front of her. I swear, some people have far too interesting a dream in their heads about reality." He looked annoyed after the woman's steps, but then she distracted him with a hand. Her words as the bus disappeared however-- "What? He did that?" What a nerve! Making a note of that information he shook his head. "Insane, I did just think it was the crones who were unbelievable about reality..." She told him about the wards and Marcos felt a bit of sadness hit him.

The wizarding world really had changed because of the wars in ways impossible to forget. Homes didn't used to need such security or protection enough to turn them into little forts and he suddenly felt glad he didn't have a home. What a mess to think about, concern for. As she showed him the cottage he said "Nice defense actually, is that the norm these days or are you just like" he squeezed her hand making his thought clear "special?"

Rosalie