Much Anticipated Reunion

[Alexander Archer]

Checking himself over in the mirror one last time, his eyes flicked across the casual dark blue button-up shirt that was presently unbuttoned and that contained relatively close together vertical white stripes, as well as the well-fitted dark blue jeans with purposeful crinkles over the thighs, and he wondered how it could have possibly taken him over an hour to select the simple outfit. Satisfied at last, he stepped away from the body-length mirror and pointedly refused to face it once more as he buttoned up his shirt. His hair was neatly and seemingly casually done, a little bit of gel going a long way in his short brown crop, and he’d shaved readily that morning.

Wondering whether or not to pick Gavril up in his quarters or to meet him down there, he pondered both situations for a few moments. Having been too embarrassed to confront the professor of Transfiguration again much since their too brief meeting in the staffroom, he was unsure and suddenly resentful towards himself for not having had the forethought to locate the Russian and ask him about such a thing. Thinking carefully, he finally just decided on a course of action and planned the remainder of his night around it.

Shutting and locking the door behind him, he turned casually on his heel and began down the marble hallway, his comfortable yet trendy shoes making little noise beneath him. As the time for dinner within the school approached, he saw a multitude of students beginning to make their way down to the Great Hall; the vast majority of which were Gryffindor, given that he himself had started his trek on the seventh floor. Soon he began to pass Ravenclaws alike, and after what seemed like a lot longer than it actually was, he flicked into a side passage on the first floor and was simply glad that there were no houses located on this level.

Clearing his throat lightly, checking his breath with the old hand reflection trick, and running a nervous hand tentatively over his hair, he swallowed with some difficulty and moved further down the otherwise empty hallway. Reaching his destination far sooner than perhaps he might have liked, he looked around with a nervous glance before rapping lightly a few times on Gavril’s office door. As he took a small step back and threw his eyes around the doorframe aimlessly, he started to feel a small glimmer of a happy smile teasing the corner of his mouth. Despite his nervousness, he was quite excited to see how the night would turn out.

[Gavril Romanov]

He was nervous to say the least.

He had been going over their last meeting over and over again in his head. They were talking and carrying on, and shamelessly flirting, well, subtly flirting...he thought. It was dangerous, and then all of a sudden, in burst another professor which brought the conversation to a complete halt. He felt a bit unnerved by the way Archer decided to hastily abandon him in the staffroom with the other professor, having to possibly answer any awkward or unnerving questions, but luckily that wasn't the case, although Professor Sparrow did seem to catch on quickly as to what was going on between them.

They had just met! What was he thinking?? He threw down his flowey black robes across his bed in frustration as he was deciding on what to wear out that night. He nervously thought again on the way Archer quickly fled the scene. Of course, he was probably uncomfortable with the subject of being either homosexual or bisexual, and the thought of being exposed potentially frightened him. But that made Gavril worry about their potential future. Would he be so quick to abandon him like that in a different situation?

"Stupid. I should not be thinking like this... he said gruffly to himself as he shucked the clothing he had worn beneath his robes. He bathed quickly and then returned to his wardrobe. Now what to wear? His hand went in and pulled out a nice black, button down shirt, followed by dark washed jeans. After suiting up, he tucked down his shirt, and fasted a black, leather belt around his waste, with a small and tasteful, silver buckle. His facial hair gave him a subtle gruffness to him, but it was that of a gentle lion. His hair was pushed back and held up with a special product he had brought back with him from Russia. It almost made it look like his hair just naturally did that, but it was the magic of the product working. He sat down on his bed and pulled on some black harness boots, making sure his jeans went over the tops. He proceeded to stand and walk to the door.

Making his way down the corridors, he navigated his way to his office, surprised to see Alex standing in front of his door, an eager smile on his face.

"Alex...Good evening." He said with a smile and a nod as he came closer to Professor Archer. He began to roll up the sleeves of his shirt to the elbows. Alex was looking very appealing tonight, and it was making his temperature rise.

[Alexander Archer]

Turning his head in slight surprise to find the man who had just spoken to him, his expression melted into one of bubbling happiness. Not that he meant for it to; he was going for a suave, cool kind of look that just never emerged. Oh, no, wait... There it was. Sort of. Appearing sort of suave, albeit slightly uncomfortable, he rid himself of the awkwardness he felt in the situation and focused only on how happy he was to be dating again. Lord knows he hadn't been on a date in years.

Taking a moment to survey what Gavril was wearing, he decided on providing a smiling, cheery-eyed "hello" first. As his eyes travelled up and down the man before him, he took in how well dressed and, quite honestly, fantastic, the professor of Transfiguration looked. The jeans and shirt were of a similar fashion to what he himself was wearing, and he found a quiet amusement in that fact, one which he carefully reserved. Eyeing the small silver buckle on his belt, he found one last bright smile before flicking his eyes up to Gavril's.

Also taking careful note of the way his hair suited him so much and the rolled up sleeves, he cleared his throat once. "So did you have any place in particular in mind?" he questioned in a relatively normal voice, for once; not overly-enthusiastic as it was in classes, and nor the reserved tone he used when he happened to locate someone atop the Astronomy tower in the middle of the night. Not too loud, not too quiet; just right. "I know of a nice little place in Hogsmeade that serves quite good food," he added with a small smile, one which he couldn't help but look slightly like one a seventeen year old boy might adorn on a first date, much less a twenty-something.

[Gavril Romanov]

He cleared his throat as he prepared to answer Alex's question. "I think I like the sound of that...good food. Especially if they have a good bottle of Firewhisky." He said with a smile. He stood there for an awkward moment before leaning in and wrapping his arms around Alex in that sort of "manly hug" complete with a couple pats on the back. When he withdrew himself and stood back, he looked at Archer with new eyes. This was exciting. Here he was, a lowly Russian scholar, here in Great Britain, teaching at one of the most prestigious schools for Witchcraft and Wizardry, and now he's ambiguously flirting with the idea of dating another member of the same sex. The whole idea was exhilarating and nerve wracking at the same time. What would people think? People? No, this would have to be kept under wraps, and he was sure that Archer was probably on the same page as he was.

He sent furtive glances over each shoulder and wondered what anyone would think of the pair of them, both well dressed, and quaffed, looking like they were waiting on a set of well-dressed ladies to accompany them out on a night of fun. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and shifted his weight, shoving his hands into his pockets.

He was eager to get going, as he hadn't really spent much time in the United Kingdom. The idea of becoming familiar with the surrounding communities appealed to him and he hoped to create more than just one relationship during his time at the school. It was great that he and Alex had kicked it off well in such little time, but he wondered how other staff members would engage with him. His students seemed to be some of the brightest, young, budding wizards and witches of the community, therefore, he predetermined that the adult members would be more so.

Finding that his eyes had been allowed to wander as he thought, he put them back on Alex, searching for his, and flashing him a smile.

"Well then...Lead the way, kind sir." He instructed playfully, gesturing towards the surmised exit path.

[Alexander Archer]

A nervous smile unable to stray from his features, highlighted by the fine ware he had chosen to adorn for the night and his overall handsome appearance, he couldn’t help but allow it to widen as Gavril replied. With a small, shy kind of laugh, he appreciated the fact that they shared a like of Firewhisky and was strangely bolstered by that. Not expecting much contact at all, if any, he was taken slightly by surprise as he felt the other man’s arms around him in one of those rare contact situations between men – an awkward sort of hug that was normally accompanied by a strange sort of pat on the back. Smiling brightly despite himself, he returned the hug in the same manner.

As he pulled back, his eyes shone and his expression clearly showed how happy he was with not only the situation, but the man before him. His smile was dampened slightly, however, when he noticed that the professor of Transfiguration was sending quick glances around the hall and appeared more than slightly nervous. Admittedly, he was nervous himself, and most probably for much the same reasons, but it still quashed his hopes and mood slightly to think about it. Let’s face it, he was in no way openly gay, and didn’t intend for that fact to be discovered while he was on a first date, nor for it to be discovered at all. For the moment, he tried his best to put such thoughts out of his mind; if approached, he could merely slip in that they were to meet a few witches for dinner and had decided to meet up before going on their “double date”. He was more than slightly disgusted with himself for having such a stupid back up story, but that was simply how he was.

Wondering briefly whether or not Gavril had a back up story in mind, considering he was clearly slightly worried about the idea of being found together in such clothing and with such silly grins on either of their faces, he finally cast the thought into the back of his mind along with all the others not concerning dinner and the fun he would have on the night ahead. Wishing to take him by the arm, he saw that his date currently had his hands shoved into his pockets and figured it was slightly too hard to cover up should anyone happen across them; he had picked this time to go, however, because he’d assured himself that almost everyone should be feasting on the evening meal in the Great Hall.

With a half-hearted, soft smile on his features, he brightened considerably when Gavril flashed him such a charming and, truth be told, disarming smile. How could he be nervous looking at that face, looking into those eyes? A happy smile once more plastered onto his face as his partner for the night asked to be led down to dinner, he obliged with a slight nod and turned, beginning down the hall. Putting off the notion to perhaps slip his hand into Gavril’s, at least until he was sure they would not be encountered, he passed quickly by the Great Hall and down through the Entrance Hall, soon emerging into the brisk night air of February.

Finally emerging in the all-wizarding village of Hogsmeade, it wasn’t long before he veered off into a little side street and headed directly for a relatively small building straight ahead. He had been here only once before and had good memories of the place and the food contained within, and he was soon opening the door to allow Gavril pass through before him, the warm and very nicely decorated and themed restaurant beyond inviting them both in. Another thing he liked about this place was that, despite a regular flow of customers, it was normally not too full and most students preferred to reside within the Three Broomsticks.

Being guided to a candlelit table beside a nearby window that faced back out onto the street they had just wandered down, he held out the seat furthest to the door and inclined his head slightly to indicate that he should take a seat. That done, he moved around to the opposite chair and set himself down, casting a brilliantly charming smile across the table.

[Gavril Romanov]

And so they were off. He couldn't help but notice that Alex seemed to be going through several thought processes, presumably due to the actions and responses Gavril was giving him. He wondered exactly what Alex's views were on open homosexual relationships, especially amongst a professional setting. They were both professors at Hogwarts, both questionably of the same preference. How would they get on at school? In front of students? Or would they hide their feelings in front of others? As they walked, all these questions and thoughts crashed through Gavril's cerebrum, causing him to chuckle slightly at himself for thinking too far ahead. Here he was planning on how they would act around others when they hadn't even had a whole first date yet!

The crisp air of winter was something that Gavril was accustomed to. Being from Russia, it was frequently cold and snowy, so it wasn't so much of a shock to come to Britain and find the same conditions. The outside world was blanketed in a think layer of snow, allowing just enough of the world it obscured to poke through. The ground was firm and solid as most things get when they freeze, and the sounds of crunching were prevalent as they walked over the frosty path.

Finally they arrived in Hogsmeade, the Wizarding Central. Gavril was awestruck as they entered the bustling village, watching witches and wizard buzz from here to there, performing errands, or just having a jolly old time at the pub. A group of teens were huddled under an awning of some establishment puffing on some sort of magical cigar causing multi-colored smoke to be exhaled, they all seemed to be getting a riot out of it. Gavril smirked to himself as he could remember his teenage years back in Russia. He and his brother would often sneak out back during break from school, and puff on one of their grandfather's muggle cigars. It made him so sick the first time because he took such a deep drag and was not prepared to experience what came next, as he was not a smoker.

A quaint little restaurant was the place Alex had navigated to, and led him over to a candle lit table off in the corner, offering him a chair. Gavril nodded with a smile as he had a seat, and Alex went around to the other side and sat down himself, giving Gav the brightest smile ever.

"I'm just going to make an open observation here...we've been smiling at eachother a lot." He said nervously. It was odd, that smiling was what one did when they were happy AND nervous. Gavril was both. But for some reason, the smiles he was getting from Archer were making him even more nervous. The smiles, the whole idea of him being on a date with another man, it was foreign, and dangerous, and perhaps not really well regarded in the wizarding world, much less the muggle community. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and exhaled, blowing all of the negativity out of him. This was a night to remember. He would do his best not to think of things terribly too much and stay positive and happy. Taking another breath and exhale, he opened his eyes, careful not to smile too much at Alex.

He let out a small laugh as he looked across the table. "Okay! Okay, enough of this smiling! What is good here...?" He said, noticing, and picking up his menu. A waiter walked by, quickly grasping the attention of Gavril and he waved his hand calling him over. "I know right away that we'll need a bottle of Firewhisky...a BIG bottle." He said in a happy voice.

[Alexander Archer]

He had been simply fascinated by the enthralled look on Gavril's charming features as they had wandered through the streets of Hogsmeade, and he would not easily forget it as he looked at the man opposite him surrepticiously; he was, in truth, half looking at the menu, and half focused on the professor of Transfiguration. He was also having strange ideas - ones that involved a meal certainly not printed on the page before him. Gavril was exceptionally handsome, afterall, and he coughed lightly and took a small sip of water.

Raising his slightly embarassed gaze as Gav spoke, clearly nervous, he unhelpfully smiled broadly. "It seems I'm in the mood to smile tonight," he replied, leaving out the somewhat obvious fact that he had something to really smile for, for once. Trying, for Gavril's sake or perhaps even his own, to minimise the happiness evident on his features and failing quite miserably.

Returning the small laugh, he agreed heartily with the order of Firewhisky. There was nothing he felt like drinking more on such a cold, joyous night, and he scanned the menu to find a matching meal. "Hmm..." It struck him how oddly formal this whole situation was - and just how wrong that felt. He was too nervous; how he would love to be eating a picnic in some beautiful setting, able to just talk freely without fear of being overheard by anyone at all.

As his eyes perused the words on the nice little card in his hands, he finally decided on something and, being a quick decision maker, managed to catch the waiter as he returned with their rather large bottle and two Firewhisky glasses. "I'll have the steak thanks; medium rare," he said with a pleasant smile to the boy.

[Gavril Romanov]

He smiled, but it was unnerving.

As he scrolled through the menu in search of something acceptable to eat in the company of someone else, he found the task arduous as everything on the menu seemed to scream "Eat Me!" It all looked so delicious, so fattening, and yet so gratifying. He was a man of manners in the company of others, and when in the absence of company, he would relax and not focus on pomp and circumstance.

As the waiter brought back a magnificently large bottle of Firewhisky, and two glasses, his eyes flitted across the menu and onto the person of Alex Archer as the words "Steak" and "Medium rare" cascaded along Gavril's ear cannal. They quickly found a place to stare at on the menu in front of him as his mind raced. Well...steak, medium rare...doesn't seem like he's so particular about what he eats...maybe I should order the same thing...but I don't want him to think I'm sloppy... Quickly choosing something from the bottom of the menu, he spoke his request quickly.

"Errr! Ehm, I'll order the steak and kidney pie..."

He returned his gaze to the menu, and then quickly set it down on the table, sliding it over toward the waiter. He then withdrew his hands and shoved them between his knees, while looking at the table by default, hoping that the waiter would just go away quickly and let them be. Once the waiter collected the menus and poured their first glasses of Firewhisky, it was no more than a mere second that Gavril had already reached forward, and tipped the vessel back, draining half his glass down his throat. The fiery tingle that the liquid caused as it flooded his esophagus was welcomed heartily as he gulped down the last drop from his glass, putting it down quickly and glancing up at Alex, his eyes a bit misty from the Firewhisky.

He cleared his throat and blinked a couple times before a wry smile crept over his features. "Excuse me...I must admit, Alex...I am a bit nervous...especially with other peoples eyes..." He said in a low tone of voice, glancing to the side as he spoke of other people's eyes. He had a slight feeling that Alex may perhaps be on the same page as he was, for his body language reflected it a little.

OOC: TERRIBLY SORRY ABOUT THE DELAY!!

[Alexander Archer]

This night would be very interesting indeed. Smiling lightly up at Gavril's rather hurried and stammered request, he grinned almost to himself. As the waiter replaced the bottle on the table top, their menus and orders were carried away to the kitchen while Alex picked up his own rather full glass.

He took a small sip. The Firewhisky ran across his tongue, burning its way invigoratingly down his throat and settling like fire in his stomach. Noting that Gavril's hands had been between his knees and that the man appeared as if his parents were there, ranting about what a cute baby he'd been and re-telling embarassing family stories. A small doubt that had settled within him since they had proposed this little... well, date, and it was helped only in a negative way when his fellow professor seemed so anxious, so nervous.

He knew this was hardly the most normal occurrence in the world; hell, he probably knew that better than anyone. But he knew that beneath all of the embarassment and unfamiliar, that it felt terribly right. He didn't feel like he needed to pay for this, like he was wrong in some way... He just felt secretly happy that he had found someone like him; someone who's company he could just enjoy, despite being a little on edge.

Noting how hastily Gav reached for his glass and tipped the liquid back, he cast his eyes away. Despite everything, this was incredibly hard for him to just relax... He could very much tell that it was the same for the professor of Transfiguration. He wished he could just be rid of it, or be big proud guy, but he just wasn't. He was who he was... A lot of people didn't seem to accept that... Including the man opposite of him. Gavril couldn't even seem to accept himself, let alone Alex.

He raised his gaze from his glass as his partner spoke, looking with a curious eye to him. Noticing the wry smile, and not failing to notice how charming it made his features, he offered a small smile before it slipped from his face and he was back to looking at the intricacies of the table. "You're right... I mean, I am a bit, too," he offered lightly, quite determined now that if this was not going to work for any reason, he would not allow it to do with what other people thought or wanted, it would be about what they wanted. "But people may look, and people may talk... It's just a matter of failing to care," he said with a sort of false bravado that he only really felt in the moment. He knew that later he might look back on that and regret it, considering himself quite secretly the most likely to fail in this relationship simply because of what others thought.

Offering a smile to Gav, he took another, slightly bigger swig of Firewhisky. He certainly needed it after that little statement. That was the sort of thing his parents had been terrified of; they had seemed to like him just fine when he was his greatest torturer, moping and sulking about, and hiding away from the world. Things had, believe it or not, actually gotten better when he'd been kicked out; Alex had slightly more faith in himself, and he was gradually, ever so slowly, coming to accept himself. He still had a long way to go, by all means, but it was a start nonetheless.

Steering his thoughts away from the topic of his family, something he was usually very quick to do, he searched for a small conversation starter. "So are you looking forward to Quidditch season? I've got a decent little team formed," he said with a smile.

[Gavril Romanov]

He tapped his fingertips on the table next to his empty firewhisky glass as he studied Alex's movements for a moment. It seemed as though he disregarded the statement that Gavril had just made about other people's eyes. Perhaps he was being a bit too on edge? Dropping his gaze to the table, off in his own little world of thinking, he agreed with himself that he should try to relax and calm down, a quirky smirk and eyebrow arch aimed at the table reflected his inner workings.

Yes...I'm overworking myself. This is just a simple date, what do I care of other's eyes. His own had slowly traveled up to his dining mate and a small smile spread slowly across his face. Alex's features were so welcoming that it was hard for Gavril to feel nervous any longer.

The Quidditch comment took him off guard as he hadn't pegged Alex for someone that would be interested in the sport. He didn't really know much about it himself, and didn't really pay attention to such things. "Quidditch?" he replied, his eyebrows raising as his posture straightened a bit and he withdrew his hand back to his lap. "I hadn't pegged you for a Quidditch fan." He said with a quirky grin and a slightly tilted head that suggested he was a bit surprised that sports were being brought up on this dinner date. "Quidditch isn't really my thing. Not really into it, so I don't pay attention..." As he heard himself speaking, as if he had stepped out of his body and was listening to the conversation from a different standpoint, alarms went off in his head.

No, no no no no. You're isolating him by saying such things, fix it quickly! said a passive voice inside of him.

He cleared his throat immediately after he had finished and let his eyes dart back up to his after they had wandered for a moment. "But, I'm sure if you would tell me more, I may find that I actually can like it." He said quickly, with a coy smile.