RP: A Dinner Date

[tt_viktor.insanejournal.com]

Date: November 7, 2001
Characters: Viktor Krum, Alicia Spinnet
Setting: Viktor's Home
Content: PG
Status: Private : Complete



Over breakfast, Viktor had given Sasha strict instructions that she was only to gather ingredients from the marketplace, since the little elf had been wildly excited when Viktor told her they would have a guest for dinner - a female guest. The elf had been working tirelessly since their arrival to unpack as much of the trunks as possible while integrating his family heirlooms into their new home. At first, it had seemed odd to see the family crest tapestry hanging on the wall of the living room but Viktor had come to realize that it was the best place for it and it made him feel more connected with the old world to have it there where he could see it every day.

His day at the Ark went by quickly as he was busy with two litters of Crups that had arrived that morning, and he had begun training to work with the Chinese Fireballs. That part of his day had been equally interesting and enjoyable since he had been able to work with Charlie Weasley directly. Not that Viktor minded working with any of the Senior Keepers but Charlie was an old friend from the war and his light grasp of Romanian gave Viktor more ease to communicate. Viktor was, however, careful not to mention his date for that evening - he loved Charlie like a brother but he did not wish to compete with the ginger for a woman's affections, and certainly not a beauty like Alicia.

Apparating back to his front porch just before 5:30 pm, Viktor took off his boots by the front door and left them outside as they were caked in mud. He was drenched to the skin from the series of downpours throughout the day but he stripped off his t-shirt and jeans in the ensuite and took a hot shower. Miko watched him from his bed while Viktor stood in front of his closet making selections of clothing. Finally, he chose a pair of black trousers and a blue button-down shirt, fastening the cuffs as he pushed his feet into a pair of loafers. It was casual enough not to say 'formal' and yet 'formal' enough to imply a date and not an evening between friends. Viktor had every desire to continue his burgeoning friendship with the blonde witch but he also intended to push the envelope of romance to see if she was agreeable.

Starting dinner cooking just after 6 pm, Viktor went around and lit a few candles to add some level of comfort to the room. The datapad was set on the coffee table and he had discovered the stored music application, queuing it to play some Tchaikovsky on a low setting. Miko followed him into the living room and made herself comfortable on the spare chair, watching him silently as he surveyed the rooms for any flaw. Sasha had set the table and she was now fussing over the sweet loaf of cheese bread she'd made for dessert. Viktor checked the time - just ten minutes to 7 now and decided that, if things went well, he would break into his personal cache of coffee later on to share with Alicia.

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[tt_viktor.insanejournal.com]

His warm smile deepened when Alicia repeated his toast in his own language, her sweet voice intoning the words in a way that made him want to lift his chin in pride but he did not. That she tried his language was more than enough to solidify his decision to court the pretty blond - if she was receptive to that. Viktor waited until she had taken the first bite before he began eating, though he paused and gestured mildly with his fork. "Tomato bring acid. I use root vith similar base," he clarified, pausing a moment before adding. "Taste become stronger vhen you add vine."

Viktor paused in eating when she questioned him directly. There was something in her tone. Unease? He wasn't certain. It was only when she finished speaking that he chuckled warmly. "Nyet, I no vish tale of you. Brother is family, da? It proper I meet him - if ve vish pursue... future. I vould velcome invitation of visit but Sam must know of dis. Only proper."

He smiled devilishly, lifting his glass to his lips but pausing to speak before drinking. "I trust you vill ask of me vhat you vish know. Und you speak vhat you vish of me know of you. Dis vhat meal in Bulgaria do. Ve talk. Ve share of self. Make all family in heart dis vay. I no do dis now, now for you und I to share of self vith privacy."

[tt_alicia.insanejournal.com]

Alicia's eyes narrowed slightly in curiosity of the point Viktor was headed towards. She nodded; yes, Sam was her family, there was no doubt about that, but it still didn't explain why he wanted to meet him, at least not until he got to the actual reason. Alicia could feel her cheeks heat up, her heart was beating furiously and her stomach was doing flip-flops again. Carefully she put down her utensils, resting her elbow on the edge of the table as she hid her smile behind her fingers. Her eyes were glued to Viktor's as she slowly shook her head, then bit her lower lip. "You want..." she started, then couldn't help but chuckle softly. Never before had a man told her this specifically what he wanted without being lewd about it. It touched her more than she could say. "You want to pursue a future with me?" Slowly, without thinking, the shaking of her head turned into a discreet nod. No, she didn't know if there was a future for them, yet, but she would very much like to find out, and if that meant that Viktor should meet her brother, then so be it. On the other hand, she couldn't completely let go of the fact, that Viktor and Sam was the same age.

Clearing her throat, Alicia did her best to clear her head so she could share with Viktor just a small fraction of all the things and thoughts that were racing through her mind at this point. "You'll meet Sam," she assured him, then gestured to the food. "We talk over dinner in England as well." Her chuckle was warm as she followed up on what Viktor was saying. "In my family, after we all had moved out, we got together for Sunday roast at least twice a month, though on occasion it was moved to Saturday, and that was when we caught up and talked about anything that was going on." Looking down at the food on her plate, she took a private moment when her memories strayed back to the last time the five of them had shared Sunday roast together. That had been years ago, and though she missed them all dearly, it had gotten easier to live with, and it made her think that maybe Sunday roast wouldn't be such a bad tradition to continue here in the new world. "You've cooked this delicious, Bulgarian meal," with a small smile, she pushed away the sad memories and looked back up at him. "So maybe you would let me return the favour, and you could meet Sam over a meal at my place?"

Carefully she cut out a piece of the meat, savoring the taste, swallowing before she spoke. "I want to get to know you, Viktor," she smiled at him, "and I appreciate that I can ask you anything I want to know about you, but..." Gently she wiped her mouth and put the napkin back down again. "But I want you to ask as well. It hardly seems fair that I get to ask and you only get to know what I want to tell you."

[tt_viktor.insanejournal.com]

It was clear that what he'd said had some effect on her but to what end, Viktor was not sure. Had he been rude? He had no idea what the English did for courting but he reexamined his words - none of them had seemed rude but she was blushing as if he'd invited her to fuck. He was trying his best not to react to the shaking of her head. What that meant to her was something different than to him - he was struggling to remember that they were opposite from his own country. "Da," Viktor answered firmly, setting his fork down, trying to find the words to describe what he was thinking. "Dis new vorld. Ve young, da, but vill no be young alvays. Ve must dink of future, of family. Haff I spoken vrong?"

His chin did lift just a touch when Alicia agreed to introduce him to her brother. Good. He continued to ate while she spoke, listening carefully. So, her family was close as well. This was good. They shared something very basic but also very strong. When he introduced her to his teammates, it would not be a shocking or frightening experience for her - at least not in the sense that the gathering would be familiar. She must have an attraction to him if she was agreeing to give this a chance and that was more than Viktor could have hoped for. "I vould be muchly honor to dine vith you und Sam," Viktor assured her firmly, flashing a warm smile.

Reaching for his wine glass, Viktor found himself caught in her gaze, the color of her eyes so warm and inviting. "If dis vhat you vish, den it vill be so," Viktor agreed, pausing to drink from his glass. "Vhy you vish be Healer? Vas dis vhat you vant as child?"

[tt_alicia.insanejournal.com]

"No, no," Alicia shook her head, immediately reaching out to touch Viktor's hand. "You haven't said anything wrong, Viktor. Quite the contrary. I..." Her voice trailed off again as a small frown appeared on her forehead while she tried to put words to the things she couldn't even explain to herself. "You are so kind, so gentle and as ironic as it may seem, with me being English and all that, I have never experienced anybody being the perfect gentleman like you have tonight, and it's..." Alicia made gesture with her hands, lacking the words to describe how mind-blowing this was to her. "I can honestly say that I've never had a man treat me like you have tonight, little less talk about the future on what I can only think of as a first date... and it scares me, but at the same time, I don't want you to stop." She licked her lips, still looking at him, then shrugged slightly. "Maybe it's because it's Sam you'll be meeting, to do the proper thing. Maybe that is why it's difficult for me to see it as the proper thing to do. Had it been my parents, then yes, I could possibly better relate to it, but it's Sam... he's your age, and it's difficult for me to see him as anything but Sam, little less someone you need permission from, so to speak." She sent him a warm smile, hoping to see the look of confusion and uncertainty fade from his face.

Viktor's warm smile came as a relief to her. It suited him and it if was up to her, he would wear that smile all the time. "I'll be looking forward to spending more time with you," Alicia replied, returning his warm smile, "and for you to see that Sam is just Sam, even if he is my brother. We're just... us."

Drinking from her wine, mirroring Viktor's move, Alicia took a moment to consider his question. Then she shook her head as she swallowed the fragrant liquid. "No," she said with a chuckle. "When I was little, I wanted to be a Quidditch player. I wanted to have nine brooms, and a goat, and I wanted to drive a lorry and make hard candy and marry a prince and have five children." She sent him an amused smirk. "Then I grew up, or at least, I got older, and I still wanted to play professionally, only... there was a war coming and that changed my view on a lot of things." She glanced down at the glass in her hand, then back up at Viktor. "I don't think I really noticed my interest in Healing until my seventh year at Hogwarts, when my nose was broken, and I realized that I already knew how Madam Pomfrey was going to Heal it. I started imagining what it would be like to Heal for a living, and that's when it struck me, that if I could see myself being happy doing something other than playing Quidditch, being a professional player wasn't for me. So rather than being the best Chaser ever, I changed my goal into becoming the best Healer I can possibly be." Setting her glass down, she once again rested her elbow on the edge of the table, leaning slightly forward towards him. "How about you, Viktor? If you hadn't become a professional, then what would you have been doing?"

[tt_viktor.insanejournal.com]

The touch of her hand on his was distracting but no more so than the words she was speaking. Gentle was not a description Viktor had ever been called before in his life and he wondered if the English really had a reputation for being proper if she was considering his actions to be surprising. That he was speaking frankly about the future, certainly, he saw could be unnerving but Viktor did not believe in hiding his intentions. If they were to pursue was relationship, then it should be in open regard for one another, with honesty being laid down like the foundation of a home. "First date imply more come after, da?" he answered, with a tilt of his head. "In my country, dis proper. Dat I meet family. Dat intent made clear, da? No permission, Alicia."

She had wanted to be a Quidditch player. He knew she had played in Hogwarts. That she was a Chaser. Viktor's smile broadened. Nine brooms. He'd only brought two through the Portal but he had left behind many more at his family estate. A goat? He couldn't see why she'd want one but he knew there were some on the livestock farms. Viktor had no idea what a 'lorry' was or 'hard candy' - was that different from the little drops of candy his mother had always kept around the manor? He arched an eyebrow of amusement at the prince - Viktor wasn't muggle royalty but his father had been a Duke, a title that had, technically, passed to Viktor but he'd never used it. His smile warmed then. Five children. That was close to his desired number of children, as well. There was only a few forkfuls of food left on his plate when she finished speaking.

"I vould vork vith Father. He haff... had trade business. I learn, even vith Quiddith," Viktor answered, his expression sobering as he thought of his parents. His gaze shifted from watching her features to a point just over her shoulder. "Each day, Papa, he tell me of day, of trade, vhat ve invest, vhat ve no invest, who he speak vith, vhy he do dis," he continued, the memories washing over him. The image of his parents, how they let him into nearly every aspect of their lives, how he never for a moment doubted their love and devotion, not just to him but to each other. "My parent, dey ver muchly proud dat I play Quidditch. Dis vhat I dream of, vhen I child. Quidditch. I see first game vhen I five. I know den, I vill be Seeker."

[tt_alicia.insanejournal.com]

"That is true," Alicia conceded; a first date did imply that there was more to come. This was just the first time she had ever had to really think about what this first date could lead to and that was a new experience for her. Still, she nodded in agreement. When Viktor put it like this, it did make sense, and though it wasn't what she was used to, she couldn't see anything wrong with doing things the way he considered proper, especially since she didn't find them improper. "You will meet my brother, and we will do this properly," she smiled at him.

Though Viktor was still eating while Alicia spoke, she still watched him, watched his reactions to what she was telling him. She could only speculate as for what went on in his mind, but his expressions gave her a hint. The expression on his face when she mentioned the goat nearly had her burst out laughing, though she somewhat understood him; even she wasn't sure why she had wanted a goat so badly back then, but she remembered the desire to own one vividly. However, the warm smile on his face when she had mentioned the horde of children she wanted had her smirk a little. At this point, she didn't know how many she wanted, just that she wanted some... eventually.

She had just taken a bite of her food when Viktor began speaking. Watching him as he spoke, listening, she once again put the utensils down. Even though Viktor's gaze was distant and not focused on her, she couldn't bring herself to continue eating while he was telling her something that was affecting him like this. While she had the impressions that his parents had died before he had come through the portal, she now knew that to be so, at least by the correction Viktor made when he talked about his father's business. Most likely his mother had too, or given how highly Viktor valued family, she would have been here as well.

"You held on to you dream and you followed through," she said softly, moving her plate away. There was still food left, and more than on Viktor's, but she didn't feel hungry any longer. "I think any parent would have been proud to see their child succeed like that."

[tt_viktor.insanejournal.com]

At least she was giving him a chance, both to get to know him and be open to furthering a relationship if they suited each other well. It was one thing to be physically attracted to her but quite another if she did not share his desires for the future. That separated witches from being one-offs, as the English called them, and being a potential wife.

It was easy to fall into memories of his parents, though they had been gone from his life for over a year. Back in the future, their personalities had surrounded him in every aspect of the manor, but here, his new home was a mixture of his own personality and theirs through the objects he'd brought with him. When Alicia stopped eating, he was a little concerned that he was bringing the conversation down but there was a glint of interest in her eyes which told him she was listening to what he was saying. "Da, dey verer most proud," he agreed, smiling again.

"Dey stood by my choices. Ve no alvays agree," Viktor chuckled, thinking back on some of the heated discussions he'd had with his father about putting off marriage in favor of Quidditch. Lifting the wine bottle, he topped off her glass again, then his own and set it aside. "But dey varm, loffing parent. Dey vere killed in var. Like many other. My vorld before var vas only Quidditch. Much focus to be best." He paused, reaching out across the table to gently take her hand in his own. "Vhat of hope for future? Vhat you vant?"

[tt_alicia.insanejournal.com]

"I don't think children are supposed to always agree with their parents," Alicia chuckled, caught by the shift of emotions in Viktor's demeanor. She easily recognized the mourning for his parents, but also the fondness with which he seemed to look back at them. At least with her dad. When it came to her mum, it was all still a little too fresh for her to feel anything but an immense longing for her.

Viktor's hand was warm, and as it covered her own, Alicia recognized the calluses from years of riding a broom. His question came as a bit of a surprise, though it also brought with it a small bit of melancholia. "My dad died in the war, too," she told him softly, "and my brother, Sam's twin. They were at the Ministry when it fell." Drawing in a deep breath, she nodded, sending him a small smile before she shrugged lightly. In many ways her hopes for the future were very simple, and yet, she also found them significant "I don't think my hopes for the future are all that special or even out of the ordinary," she told him, curling her fingers around his. "I want to be happy and not feel like I've settled for anything less than what I actually want, and I want that kind of happiness for my loved ones as well." Raising her glance from their hands to meet Viktor's gaze, she sent him a small, almost embarrassed smile. Yes, he had been the one to talk about the future, but this was a new experience to Alicia, and talking about the future with someone she had just met was slightly daunting to her, in that she couldn't quite let go of the notion that if she did, he might think that she wanted too much, too fast. "I want a family of my own, and I want my children to know this place but also where we came from and how we got here. Most of all, though, I want to feel at home here. I don't want to feel like a guest or so completely out of my element whenever I look around."

[tt_viktor.insanejournal.com]

He chuckled again, warm and deep, a small tilt of his head in agreement to her statement. He'd stopped himself from shaking his head, remembering at the last moment that it meant disagreement to her. With the exception of Quidditch games, Viktor had spent most of his time after the war in his home city, Sophia, and even here in the Settlement, he spent his time at the Ark or with his friends who were an island of Bulgaria in this new world.

Ah, so she had lost family as well. He noted that she spoke of her father and another brother but not of her mother as she had Sam, the brother who had come with her. This could mean a great many things but Viktor did not chose to speculate on it. When she was ready, she would tell him. He did, however, note that she did not pull away from his touch, no, in fact, she was returning it so he let his thumb gently stroke the soft skin of her knuckles. His expression was somber but with a hint of a smile, determined as he was to follow what she said closely. "Special in all ding. Vant of happy, care for loved vons, dis special to me," Viktor pointed out.

"Dis new for me, Alicia. Never before haff I speak of future vith voman," he explained, noting her hesitant glances. "I vant of family as vell. Vant of home fill vith laughter und loff, as I had. I tell you dis because ve vant common ding. Common but important. If no I vant of child, den ve vould know dis first und last date, da?" He paused when Sasha appeared with another dish, the cheese bread sliced into thin slabs, that she placed on the table with a shy smile before disappearing. Viktor continued. "Long I dink dis life for later but dis new vorld, everything change. My team, dey change mind also. Future vhat ve make now."

[tt_alicia.insanejournal.com]

Alicia felt like crying. Not because she was sad, but because she was touched. She had always prided herself with being strong, with her capability of having dealt with everything that had been thrown at her and come out on the other side stronger than she had been before. Yet sitting here, Viktor holding her hand and wanting to know what she wanted for her future without finding her needy when expressing it honestly was almost enough to make her come undone. She nodded, agreeing with how he summed it up; this was important to her too.

His explanation could just as well have been her own, to some extent, at least and she couldn't help but chuckle softly when he reached the one point she disagreed with him on. She didn't get to elaborate, though, as the tiny elf appeared, placing what most of all looked like buttered bread in front of them. Alicia returned the elf's smile, then looked back to Viktor.

"I don't know," she told him, her smile holding a hint of teasing in it. "Even if either of us didn't want children, I don't think this would have been our last date." Turning his hand around, she kept her eyes on it as she traced the lines across his palm with the tip of her finger. "I think there would have been several more dates, though none that truly mattered. We'd have fun, and we'd be talking like when we first met rather than about something of actual importance, because..." Again, she raised her eyes to look at him. "There's chemistry, and you know it, and it would have been a welcome distraction until either one or both of us got our priorities straight and set out for something healthier with someone who wanted the same us we did."

Closing his fingers back around her hand, Alicia let their hands come down to rest on the table again. "But we do want the same thing," she continued, "and the chemistry is still there and that makes me want to try for that future I didn't dare hope for until tonight. Maybe it will be our happy ever after, or maybe you'll change your mind when you see just how much I enjoy my rationed morning coffee, or perhaps you have some unfortunate, deal breaking habit that I cannot tolerate. But I'd like to try." She swallowed and looked down at their hands again. "Unlike you, my friends aren't here, though I'm hoping they'll come through soon. I don't know if they will, though, so the most I had hoped for in the future was to not be alone here, to have found new friends." Her smile broadened slightly as she picked up her glass, holding it up as if making an unofficial toast. "And then I went for a run..." Blinking slowly, she looked at Viktor over the rim of her glass as she took a slow sip of her wine.

[tt_viktor.insanejournal.com]

Chemistry. Ah, yes, that he understood. That zing that he'd felt during their first meeting, the prompting it gave him to contact her for this date. To be sure, he was very attracted to her - a monk would have trouble denying an attraction to this witch - and he wanted to take her to his bed but he had the sense that there was the potential for something more - something that he'd never sought with any of the women he'd had in the past. The gentle tracing of her fingertips was intensely distracting, that playfulness, the tone of her voice, the hint of smoky desire in her eyes, made Viktor take a stern hold of his own desire.

"Da, chemistry here," he agreed with a touch of husky growl in his voice, his fingers tightening on hers for a brief moment before relaxing again. "Und fun haff place. Haff place vith us now und future - dis no must change. But ve try for more, da? For team of family." He lifted his own glass with his free hand and returned her gesture in kind but he did not drink until after she did. When she was done, Viktor rose, still holding her hand, and guiding her to her feet.

Stepping back, he led Alicia away from the dining table into the space between the sofa and the hall, resting one hand on the curve of her hip and curling their joined hands against his chest as he drew her close. The music was soft, a slow tune to lazy to waltz to properly, so he modified the box waltz into a much slower dance. "I vant know vhat 'break deal' habit bother you," Viktor stated firmly, moving his hand to the small of her back, his fingers splayed against the cool fabric of her dress. "Und I tell you secret. I haff kaffee for later." He lifted their hands, pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

[tt_alicia.insanejournal.com]

As her smile broadened briefly, Alicia's cheeks heated up. Viktor's voice had grown husky; he had been affected by her touch, and though she had somewhat expected a reaction from him, actually seeing it happen made her very much aware of herself and how much affected she was by it all as well. Slowly, she nodded in agreement. Yes, they would still have fun, but there would be more, and though it was a tad frightening sitting here with a man she was very attracted to and agreeing on trying for a future together, she also found a security in it. This time, she didn't need to worry about feeling too much, too fast, and even if she did feel too much, too fast, she got the feeling that she didn't need to hide it for fear that it would scare him away.

Her eyes were on Viktor as he got up and went around the table, without letting go of her hand. Trusting that he wouldn't expose her to anything uncomfortable, she followed his gentle guidance, until she found herself in his arms, held close to him, and dancing slowly to the soft music. Viktor's body was solid against hers, she could feel the heat radiating through his clothes as she looked up to meet his gaze. Alicia opened her mouth, about to fulfill his desire to know what constituted deal-breaking for her, when he shared his secret with her and then kissed her knuckles, making a shiver run up her spine. Her eyes widened and her cheeks went crimson red when she chuckled and hid her face against his chest – oh, but he smelled so good. "Oh, I completely forgot my manners," she groaned, raising her face to look at him again. "Instead of bringing over a bottle of wine, I brought a small tin of coffee for after dinner... and I forgot to give it to you when I first came. I'm so sorry."

Sobering slightly, she considered her answer to him. "Infidelity is a deal breaker," she told him, "as is beliefs in Pureblood supremacy and Muggle subservience and any kind of physical, psychological and verbal abuse." Shaking her head she reconsidered those three things, then nodded. "Yeah, no, I don't think I could tolerate that in any way. What about you? What would you consider deal breaking?"

[tt_viktor.insanejournal.com]

He didn't understand her embarrassment but, when she tucked herself against him, Viktor was surprised by the deep sense of protection for her that welled up inside him. It didn't put him off in any way. Many of the women he'd been with in the past were overly independent. They had simply wanted sex with a World Cup Seeker, but this - his masculinity found it very appealing. His hand pressed more firmly at the small of her back. When she lifted her head again, his dark gaze was serious but he chuckled at her exclamation.

"Dis very kind of you but save kaffee for more visit," Viktor assured her warmly after she had finished speaking entirely. His dark eyes glinted with interest as she listed off the behaviors that would prevent them from moving forward but his features settled into a slightly stern look when she finished. What foul beast of a man would disrespect a lover in such a way? He stopped moving, then. "I vill no dishonest vord vith you. I haff many vomen but no vith any vord of future. Dis change. I haff no desire for share."

He released her hand, slipping his palm against the curve of her neck, barely cupping her jaw gently as he looked down into her gaze. "Durmstrang teach all magic. Some say dis make me dark vizard but I no fight for Voldemort, I fight against. My parent, dey killed for belief dat all equal, for dey fight against." Viktor paused, fighting the intense feelings of anger and disgust at the thought that a man might have hurt Alicia in the past. "Only veak covard man hurt lover."

"I no share. If ve lovers, den no other lovers, da?" Viktor stated firmly, his thumb stroking the curve of her neck lightly. He saw no reason to restate her declaration of equality for other humans as it was clear they agreed on that as well. As she also wanted a family in the future, that wasn't something that needed repeating either. "Dishonest vith me. Ve different, da, but I no vant dishonest drive vedge between us." He stopped there, feeling like he might not be clear but wanting to hear her reply.

[tt_alicia.insanejournal.com]

So intense. The only word Alicia could find to describe the look in Viktor's eyes was 'intense'. Even if she had wanted to, she doubted she could have drawn her gaze from his as he denounced ever doing any of the things she couldn't accept from anyone. "It doesn't matter to me how many women you've been with in the past," she assured him softly, her hands coming up to rest on his chest. "We both have pasts and there's nothing we can or should do to change that."

His hand on her neck made her tilt her head slightly, seeking his closeness. Of course she had heard the talks of how Durmstrang taught the Dark Arts, but she was also well aware that the Dark Arts only were only dark because of the intentions behind them and that even what was considered white magic could be used for malice. What really touched her, however, was that Viktor's parents had given their life in the fight against those who had fought to eradicate people like her own parents. "I'm sorry about your parents," she whispered, her hand coming up to cover his on the side of her neck.

"No other lovers," Alicia assured him. "It's not what I do or anything I have ever done." With each stroke of his thumb, she moved closer to him. They're slow dance that had come to a halt shortly after it had started, now continued in the minute movements of his caresses and her reactions. "Differences are no excuse for dishonesty." Gently she traced her fingers down the back of his hand to his wrist. "I may not be able to tell you everything without being asked, but won't ever be anything but honest with you."

[tt_viktor.insanejournal.com]

It was sensible for her to view things as a step forward from their own pasts but it was a sentiment few other women he'd been with shared so Viktor was pleased with her rational logic. He was more pleased with the way she was comfortable touching him, so natural with a hint of hesitation that was slowly falling away. Her hand pressed against his at her neck and he nodded solemnly, thinking just then what a crime it was that his parents had not lived to meet this witch. "Dey believe dat vhat right vorth all. Dis vhat I believe," Viktor replied.

She moved closer and it was so tempting, so hard to keep from kissing her but it was important that he hear her out, that he know of her understanding, that there be no misconceptions between them. His parents had enjoyed a marriage of deep love and respect right up to their deaths and Viktor had vowed at their graves that he would settle for nothing less to continue their legacy. When she finished, however, Viktor saw that they were still in agreement and that was enough for him.

Bending his head slightly, Viktor paused just an inch from her lips and then slanted his over hers in a warm, questioning kiss, drawing her firmly to his body with the hand at the small of her back. It was slow and exploring, hot and languid, pouring heated desire into every inch of his body as it drew out. He was reluctant to break the kiss, the spark of chemistry flaring into a wall of fire, but Viktor did, finally, drawing back with darkened gaze and heavy breath. "Haff you more of des breaks of deal?" he asked huskily.

[tt_alicia.insanejournal.com]

"You believe that what is right is worth everything?" she asked him, believing that she had at least gotten the gist of what he had said, though wanting to be certain that she hadn't misunderstood him. Alicia recognized that belief from herself, though she hadn't put exact words on it until now.

Being this close to Viktor, watching him listening to her, it was unlike any seduction Alicia had ever experienced. On some level it almost felt as if they were negotiating their way into turning their mutual attraction into something deeper, and yet it still felt completely unavoidable at the same time. Unlike her own parents, who had grown up next door to each other and started dating as teenagers whenever her dad had been home from Hogwarts, she was settling any potential differences that could interfere with a shared future with someone she had only just met.

For just a moment, Viktor's lips hovered so enticingly close to her, yet still without touching her that Alicia thought he might be waiting for her to close the distance. He moved just as she tilted her head that last inch, meeting him, meeting his kiss by inviting him in. Her fingers slipped between his on her neck, while the fingers of her free hand curled around the fabric of his shirt. She swallowed down a soft moan, making her breath hitch in her throat just moments before she let go and gave herself completely to the kiss. The kiss ended with a soft sigh, and Alicia licked her lips, tasting Viktor there, before she opened her eyes to look at him. "No," she chuckled, shaking her head slightly, trying to clear her mind again. "No, I think I got them all." Without thinking, she reached up and caressed the tip of her finger against the corner of his mouth and down along the line of his beard to his chin.

[tt_viktor.insanejournal.com]

"Da, if ve no stand for right, den evil free to harm," Viktor agreed. These were principles that his parents had instilled in him from a young age and had been part of his life for as long as he'd known. His parents had been in a position of social elite and they took that responsibility very seriously, using their influence to help promote the belief that Muggleborns were no different from Purebloods. His mother had been extremely vocal in trying to get those labels removed from the local papers entirely.

The kiss was everything he hoped it would be - full of desire and potential. Viktor couldn't even chuckle at her soft moan, feeling swept up in the kiss, a mixture of need and a flare of want. This was a dance he'd never done before - working toward a proper courting - and he didn't want to misstep but her taste was intoxicating. And the soft look in her eyes when he drew back tested his resolve not to push too quickly. He smiled as her fingertip traced along the edge of his beard, turning his head just the smallest bit to let her finger continue. "Good, good," he chuckled.

Reaching up, he caught her hand and lifted it, palm up to press a warm kiss there, then another to the curve of her delicate wrist, before returning it to his chest. It was an enormous struggle to pull his focus back from the desire to kiss her again but he knew if he continued doing that now, then it was likely they would end up in bed sooner rather than later. "Let us sit, da? Sasha vill bring kaffee," Viktor asked, glancing toward the sofa and back to meet her gaze. "und ve... talk more. Tell me of vhat you do."