Love is in the Air pv Simon Kincaid F

[quote][quote]

Their flight at high speed around the castle grounds was exhilarating. AngelFyre now understood just what Simon saw in broom racing and having flown with him and getting to see how truly accomplished he was at it, she suspected she would be able to breathe more easily when he was competing. She would always hold a seed of concern, sure, but nothing like she endured during this last race, his first after his big fall in January.

As they sat once again on the picnic blanket in the shade of the walls, coming down from their highs and hydrating themselves, AngelFyre's mind was starting to move to what she needed to talk to Simon about, but that was very soon obliterated from her mind the second she felt his warm breath on her ear, thanking her. Then when he started kissing her, she was lucky if she could even remember her name, let alone what she wanted to say.

When they finally came up for air, his arms were still wrapped around her and she nestled her face against his neck, breathing him in deeply. For a moment as she was thinking of how she would start, she became transfixed on the pulse point there at his neck. Finally, she knew she just had to begin.

"Simon, do you know anything about Seers? I, uh - I ask because Colin said something to me a while ago that resonated with me and got me to doing some research, just like you did on yourself and just like I, myself, did on you once upon a time." She started moving her fingers aimlessly up and down his forearm as she spoke and sat up, turning to look at him. "Turns out, seers are a very rare occurrence; fully human, but the result of recessive magical traits on both sides of the family tree which skip generations in families." AngelFyre took a deep breath and just looked at him. "I know you have heard me say again and again that there are things I know but which I cannot explain how I know. But Simon, I do know them. Those things I tell you I know have generally had everything in the world to do with you... with us... so I understand how you could brush them aside as wishful thinking coming from me because they seem so self-serving on my part. I get it, love. I do."

Sitting beside him, rubbing one thumbnail over the other, unaware she was even doing so, she could feel her heart racing and the weight of her nervousness threatening to crush her. What she was about to tell him... ask of him... was head and shoulders, above and beyond, more terrifying than anything she had ever had to do, but she knew she had to do it, no matter the cost. "Simon, I believe I am a Seer, and I am pretty certain I had my first vision while I was with you." Locking her gaze onto his to see if there was any sign he might think her absolutely bonkers, she swallowed hard and continued. "It-, uhhmm, it happened the night in the Library when you confessed to me that you are a dhampir. Do you, do you recall the episode I had that evening?"

AngelFyre was starting to feel little and unsure of herself. Simon was doing as he always did, which was to give her his full attention, but nothing more. There was never a read she could get on him when she told him things of the greatest import, at least things that felt of great import to her, and it had crossed her mind on more than one occasion he could make a fortune as a gambler with that pokerface of his. He did not withhold on purpose. He was just processing. It was his way when he was receiving information. She knew she would carry on, because his safety was at risk, but oh how she wished she could see some glint of something in his eyes about what she was saying. She would not feel so much like she was floundering in deep waters alone, about to go under for good.

She closed her eyes momentarily, thinking back on that night. When she opened them again, she discovered he had leaned forward and was searching her eyes as well. She let out an involuntary gasp and leaned over to kiss him him softly, cradling his face in both of her hands. "I am petrified for you. I do not know any other way to say it. The vision, if it can be called that, that I had that evening concerned your father. It was the most horrible thing I have ever felt and it really rocked me because the overwhelming sensation I was aware of was one of danger... for you. That is what prompted me to ask you what your perception was of your father the night he came to your door." Tears were now beginning to track down her cheeks but she did not know this in the moment, nor would she have cared. "My heart dropped to my stomach when you replied 'Unsettling' and I knew then... with a rock solid belief of certainty... that you will not be safe with that father of yours, Simon."

Feeling a little guilty, as if she needed to explain why she never mentioned it earlier, she told him truthfully that since he had not heard from Adrian Hawthorne again at that point, she did not see the need to add more unnecessary pain or drama to his hurting heart, yearning to meet his father. "That all changed on April 25th when you received his owl. I have been walking around with a fear and dread in me that makes my skin crawl whenever you mention him. I have felt so disloyal to you because I know how important meeting him is to you, but I just wish you would walk away from him, love, and the plan to meet him. Let it be. Leave him in the past. Your mother did, and God, Simon, she must have had her reasons. If you cannot trust me in this, and I well understand why that might be, please... please... trust that your mother had her reasons. She knew him. We do not. Believe in her judgment and believe, please, in my love for you."

Looking him straight on, she simply implored again, "Please, Simon. Do not meet him. Stay as far away from Adrian Hawthorne as you can get. I beg you."

AngelFyre jumped right into the unexpected. She began by asking what he knew about seers and right when she asked, he sort of had this feeling. It was like, just by mention of the word, it was a bit of a revelation even before she got around to saying it. So often she did say that she knew something even without knowing why she knew something and he had never really connected the two until the word 'seer' came to the surface. Certainly he would have to look more into them.

Something about the way she talked though seemed somewhat urgent and that made him a little worried. Why was she? Did she think he'd think badly of her somehow? That she was crazy? No, somehow it seemed more than that. He listened, he listened as she said that her first potential vision was when with him in the Library. He remembered that evening well. It had only been a brief moment but there was enough of a difference between her alert and conscious nature and whatever happened in that moment. He remembered how she had closed her eyes, shook, and described it as the 'strangest sensation.'

That certainly could have been a vision, or at least the beginnings of a manifestation or something. Again, he didn't have too much knowledge to go on when it came to the subject - yet. Simon shook his head some though, his eyes connecting to hers and when she came to kiss him softly, he brought himself into that kiss to let her know that it was okay, that this wasn't something she needed to be upset about and yet when she pulled back, she still seemed to hold the same worried state.

Just as he was about to reduce her fear and let her know that this didn't change anything, she said that she was scared for him. Petrified. Whether that was just AngelFyre being her wonderfully descriptive self or expressing extreme worry for him - he wasn't sure. He didn't speak and instead he listened.

Petrified for you
one of danger - for you
not be safe.

He listened as she spoke how this had been bothering her for awhile and affected her every time that she heard about him. He listened as she mentioned his mother leaving and there being reasons for so.

Quickly his mind figured that perhaps it was her trying to figure out these new sensations, these visions, as being a seer and that's what got her so worked up. She had connected the moment to what he had said and perhaps she just had to grow more accustom to things and it really didn't have anything to do with his father. Maybe his mother had been wrong about his father and had judged him too quickly. But even Simon knew that deep down, he had that unsettling feeling from the one Summer night back on his doorstep the previous Summer.

Regardless, he had to meet him.

AngelFyre pleaded with him and outright asked him not to meet him, to keep his distance.

She was asking too much.

Once again his eyes just looked to her blue ones but as his thoughts began to get to be too much, he had to avert his gaze. "AngelFyre, I can't DO that," he said to her, not meaning to raise his tone a little at the one point and he glanced back to her, now a little softer - apologetically. "I can't. I won't. I don't want to go against your wishes but ...he's my father. My father. I've gone ten years without a parent in this world, AngelFyre, but now I've got one and I've got the opportunity to meet him and get to know him after a lifetime without. He's a connection with my mum who I don't remember and can provide me with some insight to her. He's part of who I am, part of WHY I am, and he can provide some guidance."

"I need to meet him. I need to know him. I'm sorry."

[quote][quote]

The blows, while not unexpected, landed hard. AngelFyre thought she would be prepared for what she knew to be Simon’s inevitable responses, but she underestimated just how much more frightened she could feel about the whole situation. Having no control, even the slightest bit, left her feeling helpless and that was where her fear was firmly seeded and taking root. This must be a little like what her parents felt over the spring break when she took her first steps towards independence away from their wishes and desires... and demands... and followed her instincts, choosing Simon. But this was different, too.

She was not Simon's mommy or his guardian. She held no authority over him or his actions. She was only his girlfriend, and that was a relationship he could choose to walk away from at any point, but the possibility of him choosing to leave her behind was not the principle guiding force for her here. In fact, she would readily accept their parting of the ways if that would keep him safe, but it would not. If he, however, grew tired of her worry and concern for him, that would break her, of course, but love dictated putting his needs over her own. It was a risk she was willing to take.... had to take. She was not demanding anything of him now. She was not asking him to choose her over his father. What folly that would be!.

To begin with, she would just never put him in such a position. It would be so unfair. It was not who she was as a person, nor was it who she wanted them to be as a couple. She was the wolf; grounded. He was the dove; untethered. She would always present him with her best advice, knowledge, wisdom, and perspective on any subject, but she would never... ever... demand how or in what way he was to act upon such offerings.

All of that alone should be enough, but there was more. It had been baked into the equation long before Simon Ezra Kincaid had even known that one AngelFyre Afton McCubbin lived and breathed, but it was, quite honestly, insurmountable. It would be insurmountable for any other person in his life as well. AngelFyre knew if she ever were to demand of Simon that he make that particular choice, she would not be who he would choose. It would not be an easy choice for him to make, of that she was quite certain, but it would be a simple one. There was no anger or jealousy or bitterness over such knowledge. AngelFyre knew Simon would not be choosing his father over her in such a circumstance. Simon would be choosing Simon.

And she could not blame him for making such a choice. Part of her even understood and supported his desire, no… his need… for making such a choice.

Trembling, she reached out for his hand. Everything was better when she had Simon’s hand in her own. Her stomach might be doing somersaults at the end of some springy bungee cord in the moment, but her voice was surprisingly resolute. “I had to try, love. I had to try. If our positions were reversed, you would do the same…” and then in a whisper, “…or at least I hope you would.” She took in one of those long, shuddering kind of ragged breaths that one makes after they have had a long cry and there are just no more tears. There had been no long cry, but she was spent. She had carried this worry for a long time.

She was also not done.

“When you think back on this conversation, I hope you will know that there is nothing you just told me I did not already know or that was unpredictable in any way. That is not because it is a seer thing; that is because it is an AngelFyre loving Simon thing. I know you will recognize how hard it was for me to ask you what I had to ask you. The real disloyalty to you in all of this would have been my keeping silent on the subject. I did none of this on a whim. It is not me being overprotective. The threat is real. He is a danger to you, but I also know you are in search of yourself, Simon. I know that he holds missing pieces you need and deserve to have to get a complete picture of yourself. I want to, and will, support you in that effort to learn about yourself. I-,”

She stopped short. Desperately needing to be as close as she could be to him, she sat herself in the space between his legs, facing him, her thighs resting on his hip bones as her feet planted themselves in the grass behind him. She rested her hands on his shoulders and looked deeply and steadily into his eyes as she continued, “I cannot imagine what it must be like for you sometimes to not know so much about yourself. I have tried, believe me I have tried. It is not something I any longer take for granted in my own life since I have been blessed enough to know you.” Her cheeks then flushed with her embarrassment as she shared one of her secret wishes.

“One of my cherished fantasies has long been that you would meet my father and the two of you would hit it off so famously that you might come to think of him as a surrogate father figure and he would come to think of you as the son he never had,” and her words caught in her throat with too much emotion. Even AngelFyre was surprised by how quickly her tears spilled over at that confession, and both her hands left his shoulders to cover her face as silent sobs overtook her. After a few seconds, she shook her head and looked up at Simon once again, wiping the tears away and smiling a little sheepishly at him. “It is a fantasy I still hold close to my heart, because…well just because. I believe you each need what the other could offer. Maybe it would not offer everything, but who in this life ever gets everything?” And she sighed deeply.

Straightening herself up and diving into the depths of his eyes once again, she said, “I love you, Simon. I only ever want what is best for you. Since you will not and cannot agree to not have this meet up with your father, would you at least please consider telling Aunt Maggie about it? The thought of you randomly showing up at the restaurant on three separate occasions to meet a vampiric father whom she knows nothing about, without her knowledge, is reckless and bone chilling. And if you will not allow even that to happen, will you then please allow me to ask my father to be there as backup for you? He will not speak to you or in any way make his presence known to your father, but oh, love, it would bring me such peace of mind. And my father would do it, Simon. I am pretty sure even you know he would."

She was being utterly sincere there. Iain McCubbin would have questions, sure, but he would do it. She had it on good authority that at least part of her surrogate father/son fantasy had taken some sort of root with her father.

“And quite honestly, if you say no to both of those suggestions and will not offer a reasonable suggestion of your own, or a reason as to why this has to be done in secret, I think there is a better than good chance that I will literally go stark raving mad," and she attempted a little smile before she simply rested her forehead against his chin, silencing herself.

He listened, not just to every word she said but how she said it - the pain in her voice, the scared sadness in her eyes. At least she seemed to understand this yearning he had to get to know one parent and how he felt the need to connect with him as he navigated through this world of (half) vampirism.

She wanted him to tell Aunt Maggie, or at least allow her father to be there. Neither suggestion sounded the best but he understood her reasons and knew he probably should abide by one. He didn't discount her feelings and he certainly didn't downplay her possible vision. He'd keep that headed warning in the back of his mind the entire time he was with his father and use it as caution.

"Putting me aside for a moment, I want to be your partner in this. Discovering this side of you and seeing if it's something that's just good solid intuition or a seer's gift. I know what it's like to start navigating through foreign waters and I don't want you to do it alone." He wanted to address this thought of hers that maybe, just maybe, she was a seer.

"And feeling that there probably is something there, I take seriousness in your warning, and I never wish to make you worry," he whispered to her, kissing the top of her head since it was so close. He then brought his hand down below her chin to slowly rise it and used the other hand to wipe away some of the tears that had fallen. "I'll be safe, okay? I'll keep my guard up."

"I'll be safe," he promised her again and he brought her closer to him as he held her, gently stroking his hand through her hair to calm her down. When he felt she had settled a bit, he drew back and gave her a small smile and connected his gaze to hers.

His eyes looked into hers. How clear they were and he thought about how perceptive she was, how deep she felt and how deep she was able to tell of herself. She really was a seer, in every way possible.

She was also amazing in every way possible.

"I love you, AngelFyre McCubbin," he whispered to her. It was low, but not due to lack of confidence. No, it was low because it was an intimate moment for the two of them who were within inches of one another. He was sure of his words, as sure as night follows day. He had thought it for awhile and while she had said such a proclamation to him in their relationship, he had yet to actually say it. "I never intend to do anything to cause you pain."

More with @Simon Kincaid

Simon was not always the most vocal of young men, and AngelFyre did not hold that against him. But in moments like these when he did speak, AngelFyre always gave his words her undivided attention. Her whole being quickened when he said he wanted to be her "partner" in the journey of discovery before her as a seer. She loved, of course, the idea of them being partners. Simon was her other half, so it was an image she had long held of them. Still, it was wonderful to hear him express it in that particular manner.

In her times of distress, which had been few, thankfully, Simon's wheelhouse was, most definitely, that of physical comfort. It was amazing how strong, yet incredibly gentle he was. His voice was not naturally harsh... ever... but whenever he took her into his wheelhouse, the softness and soothing timbre never failed to calm and comfort her. Yes, his dhampir traits blessed him with extraordinary physical strength beyond what a normal human being would be capable of, but his true strength, as far as AngelFyre was concerned, was his gentleness of spirit and character.

When she had finished all she had had to say to him, she found she was trembling. It was not a cold day. No, her trembling was simply the remnants of the adrenaline coursing through her, inviting her nerves to perform their last gasp tango in the death throes aftermath of her previous anxiety.

She felt his kiss on the top of her head and his fingertips brushing through the long length of her hair. Her breathing was normalizing as he pulled her even more closely to him, and she rested her head now in the crook of his neck. He was whispering his promises to heed her warnings and take them seriously. He promised he would be safe and keep his guard up. Relief started to wash over her, but she was still aching to hear him tell her what she most wanted to hear; that he would tell Aunt Maggie of his plans.

Her eyes were closed and she was aware that the word 'please' was playing in a loop in her brain as if she would somehow magically be able to will the words from his mouth. He promised one more time he would be safe and he pulled back from her, which caused her to look to him.

Simon was looking at her, which he had done many, many times before, but as his gaze met hers this time, it was the same... yet different. He was wearing the most curious expression and the only word she could think to describe it would be one of wonder. She met him in that space where time always stopped for them, but the connection was more somehow... more deeply penetrating. Preparing to ultimately hear his acquiescence to her request, he instead whispered, "I love you, AngelFyre McCubbin."

Stunned silence.

She remembered no thoughts quite honestly. She truly was in shock. Her mind managed to hear him say something about never intending to cause her pain, but she was trying to replay what came before that. Like a needle stuck in the vinyl groove of a record at the end of a recording, she just could not seem to get back to the beginning.

And then something moved within her and the enormity of the moment was fully realized. Her gaze still locked with his, and probably with a similar look of wonder crossing her own face, she responded, "I know you do. I love you, too, mo chridhe (my heart). Now say it again so I can hear you tell me while my brain is not short circuiting," and she leaned over and kissed him softly, beginning to tremble all over again, but for a completely different reason altogether than just a few minutes earlier.

A small smile crossed Simon's face as she lifted from the kiss and encouraged him to repeat himself for the pleasure of hearing it once more. "Say it again? Well, isn't someone rather demanding?" His smile widened. "I mean, it would be one thing to say it again if you hadn't heard but seeing as I think you have - that just means that you're wanting to hear it again for your own selfishness."

But as soon as he said selfishness, he slowly shook his head. "No. Nevermind. I'm wrong. Forgive me, please. Nothing about you is selfish, AngelFyre." She was one of the most selfless people he knew and that was a trait he held in high regard.

She had said such words to him before, made such proclamations, the 'I love you" but this was the first time of him saying it to her. It wasn't the first time he thought it though. She probably realized that from the way he looked at her, the way he comforted her, the way he spoke with her. Simon loved easily, but this wasn't the same sort of love he felt for everyone.

He tasseled his hand gently through the hair that fell closest to her face and looked into those clear blue eyes of hers. "I, Simon Ezra Kincaid, love, you, AngelFyre Afton McCubbin."

He thought about when the first time he felt it was, and the Midspring Festival came to mind. He thought of the first moment he really became aware of his feelings for her at the Lake, and he thought of the first time those feelings developed - in the Rehearsal Room. Simon knew that it was a little crazy to feel this as young as he was, but he also did things a little ahead of his time and hey, if you felt it, you felt it.

[quote][quote]

There. Right there. He said it again! Simon loved her! And he was actually smiling and teasing her, so she knew it was not something he was nervous or hesitant about. He really meant it.

wow Wow WOW!!!

She thought she was thinking those words in her head only, but there was a good chance she actually said them aloud. She would never know and it did not matter. Unlike her boyfriend who always seemed to maintain his aura of Mr. Cool, he had seen her flibberty-gibberty self often enough to know she held no, nor could she hope to maintain, such aspirations.

AngelFyre continued to look at him. She drank in not just his eyes, but his whole face. She was studying everything about it in those moments, committing it all to memory. As the blood thrumming in her ears began to subside and reason was finally reintroducing itself to her once again, she just smiled at him and reached up to caress his face.

“When I told you I knew, it was perhaps only a shade of the truth. I have felt it from you for some time, but the “knowing” only came when you said the words. Operating from my suspicions is not nearly as wonderful as standing with the surety of your feelings. I did not realize how much more power there would be in the one over the other.” All of a sudden, the Charles Morgan quote she wrote in his yearbook sprang to her mind with a deeper resonance.



She sighed deeply once again, and spun herself around so that her back was now resting against his chest. He naturally wrapped his arms around her and her arms naturally wrapped themselves over his. “Thank you for that. You just gave me another wonderful memory, and a completely unexpected one at that.” Then without realizing it, she dropped her arms to her lap and immediately started to rub one thumbnail over the other which was her expressive anxiety equivalent to his running of his hand through his hair. “I have often wondered something, and perhaps enough time has now gone by that I can ask about it.” She had purposefully turned herself around, not because she did not want to see the expression that may cross his face, but because she did not want him to have to deal with her penetrating gaze as he both heard the question and felt the feelings associated with it.

“Whenever you speak of the Valentine’s Day Tea Party and your 13th birthday, you always refer to it as the worst night of your life.” And just like that, she had flipped the lid open on his personal Pandora’s box. AngelFyre could feel with the mere mention of that night how tense he became. She reached back up with her right hand to lace her fingers with the fingers of his right hand while her left hand kneaded and rubbed his left thigh rather deeply, hoping to calm him and reassure him just a little. “I- I- uhmmm, I know why the bad is always the thing that comes to the forefront of your mind about that evening, and I know what that bad is, but I guess….” and she suddenly felt like perhaps this was a mistake, but she had no plans to mention Haley. There were things she wanted….needed… to know herself.

AngelFyre was no dummy. She knew Simon still held deep feelings for Haley. She knew he still loved her, too. He did not break up with her because he no longer loved her. He did not even break up with Haley because she, AngelFyre, was so amazing that he just had to be with her. His life would be easier in a lot of respects if those feelings for Haley did not still exist. But they did. They do. And they likely always would, though AngelFyre most sincerely hoped they would mellow out in time.

She had had her own moments of jealousy, truth be told, and that would likely surprise Simon very much. It was not easy to watch the boy who just recently became her boyfriend fawn over and trip over and chase after his ex-girlfriend without so much as a word to her about any of it. He was normally such a thoughtful fellow, so she had been left to wonder how it never seemed to cross his mind how his actions were more than a little hurtful only because he had never addressed them with her. She had worked hard to come to terms with that situation all on her own, and had long ago decided to trust that Simon knew his own mind and heart and would not hurt her. At least not on purpose. It was the main reason she initially turned down his request to be his girlfriend. She knew him well enough to know that when he loved someone, the relationship may change, but the love would remain. Hard as that was to have to face sometimes from her current position as his girlfriend, it was also one of the things that brought her a great deal of reassurance in their relationship. His heart loves big and strong and deep, and always seeks to have no hard feelings with anyone. He was still grappling with the consequences of his actions and working through all of that messiness with Haley, and unless he decided he wanted to go back to her, AngelFyre felt like that was something between the two of them.

Even so, a heads up would have been, and always would be, appreciated. If their positions were reversed, she had an inkling that Simon would be nowhere near as calm about the situation. Loving him was so easy when it was just the two of them. Loving him took a little more fortitude when she had to deal with the snarky whispers made most especially for her to hear about how Simon was breaking his back chasing after Haley. Those moments always felt like a gut punch, but then when she would collect herself, she always thought back to how he worked hard to keep her, and himself, at a distance, while he was still with Haley. The boy was 12 then, almost 13, but he did have a great deal of honor and character, however flawed and imperfect his process might have been. She leaned on his past intentions to help her through his current actions... a lot.

Still, something other than a breakup happened that night, and they had never really spoken of it. “I guess what I want to know is whether there is anything good that stands out to you from that evening? I realize the delivery and timing of my first expression of loving you were awful and nowhere near as lovely a memory as you just gave me, but that was not under my control, unfortunately. All of that aside, if you are able to separate the delivery and timing from the sentiment itself, and maybe you are not, what I want to know is how did it make you feel to hear those words from me? You wore no expression on your face at all, so I have always been curious. And anything you tell me, so long as it is the truth, will be respected. I promise.”

And laughing a little shakily, she followed up with, “And fair warning. I love that you have now told me you love me, but if you think for one second that I have forgotten about your meeting with your father and my request that you tell Aunt Maggie, think again, Mister Kincaid.”

"I don't think of that evening as all bad," he disagreed with her words. "Chaotic. Revealing. Surprising. A whirlwind. - Those would be words I would use to describe that evening. It was certainly one of the most eventful evenings of my life; one of the most eventful Birthdays, but no, it wasn't all bad."

"The heartache of seeing Haley hurt and adding that I think she had been suspicious for awhile, I sort of mentally checked out at the very beginning when I was sat next to both of you. I had this feeling it wasn't going to end well even before everything began to crumble around us. Sometimes even non-seers have some intuition," he said as he gave AngelFyre a bit of an affectionate squeeze when saying that.

"That was the bad, the heartache, the breakup, the pain of a broken nose. But I still walked away from that night knowing that you still liked me despite the time that had passed from when you write your note...the one with AngelFyre loves Simon and hearts all over that you mistakenly left in the Library. I also was liberated that night from a relationship that was barely hanging on for some time and it allowed me a step closer to you. So no, it wasn't all bad by any means."

The next day hadn't gone as planned either. He had hoped to have AngelFyre as a girlfriend by February 15th but it was probably good for him that she made him wait. It as probably good fir their relationship. Either way, he hadn't gone anywhere and they made it there now so that didn't matter.

"You know I was going to do that errand on where we are and were we see ourselves in ten years time. I still might for my own identity search but I didn't make the deadline. I still waiver over who I am with the whole....muggle life to wizard to dhampir. Still trying to figure all that out but I still know what I believe it, so it's not so taxing."

Simon laid back on the blanket, looking up to the blue sky above them but with the shade from the wall of the Training Pitch, he didn't mind the not fully blanketed sky. It was nice to see the clouds above slowly rolling by. He brought his hand around her to guide her to come lay beside him and rest her head in his arm or on his chest if she'd like. "Where do you see yourself in ten year's time, AngelFyre?"

[quote][quote]

Simon did not miss a beat before before correcting her misunderstanding of his feelings about that evening, and the correction lifted a heavy weight from her heart. She pressed her head back into him as he spoke and settled herself quite comfortably into his arms, eyes closed, just listening to him. He even made her smile-chuckle at his playful dig about non-seers having intuition, too. When he used the phrase, "...liberated that night from a relationship that was barely hanging on...", the dam of pent up jealousy and worry burst and was easily washed away. AngelFyre was silently astonished at how much energy she had knowingly and unknowingly put into maintaining that little public service project because she truly felt like she would have been able to fly in that moment had Simon not been holding her close. She listened silently until he had finished and laid back on the blanket with him, still in his arms but now looking up at the sky with him.

Watching the clouds slowly build and morph and stretch themselves into long, tenuous, taffy-pulled wisps of pastel pinks and yellows and lavenders, AngelFyre felt completely at peace. "We promised each other a long time ago that we would always be honest with each other and that sometimes means talking about hard things. Today has been a big one for us on that score, for sure," she sighed and leaned over to kiss his cheek before settling back into her cloud watching position.

"Your reply just now went a long, long way to easing a burden I have been carrying for a while, and I am sorry to have to admit to it, but I have been jealous about your lingering feelings about Haley and your pursuit of her, or more precisely, your pursuit to make the best peace between you and her. I had to keep reminding myself a million times over of the things I knew about you... about us... but it has not always been easy. I am only human, after all. Intellectually I knew... know... why you have been seeking her out, but knowing it and getting my heart on the same page has sometimes left me flat miserable. I think that corner has been turned today, but I thought you should know about it all the same."

She got very quiet for a few moments before continuing. "Just realize, much like the John Muir quote you once quoted to me over spring break and which I am about to paraphrase back to you, everything is connected. There is nothing... nothing...you do that does not affect me in one way or another, and vice versa I would imagine. And honestly, Simon, I would not want it any other way."

Grasping his hand and twining her fingers with his, she smiled as he asked her once again where she saw herself in 10 years. "You have either forgotten the answer I gave to you in my treehouse just a couple of months ago or perhaps you think it may have drastically changed OR for your own selfish pleasure," and she gently elbowed his ribcage as she took on a decidedly teasing tone, "you just want to hear me lay it out for you all over again, which I know you know I am more than willing to do, so I will be more than happy to revisit that deep well of a subject. Short and sweet, I see me with you, and THAT, my dearest love, is both an AngelFyre loving Simon thing and a seer thing. My future with you is one of those 'I know what I know but cannot explain why I know it' things."

She mindlessly caressed his hand as her thumb lazily made sweeping strokes against his skin. She wondered if anything had changed since she had first given him the answer, and honestly, the answer was no. If anything, their bond had strengthened so deeply in the last couple of months that the knowledge of what her life would look like in 10 years was even more cemented. "I do not have specifics. I do not know what my career will be exactly, but I know I will have one. And I know as sure as I know my name that you will be there with me, in a city and not on some family farm, or estate, in Stenton, Scotland, so relax, city boy," and she laughed a little. Then she swallowed and took a couple of beats before continuing.

"You know I am a serious person. I take my studies here very seriously and I take my parents' hopes for my future just as seriously as well. However, it may sound contradictory to say that the details of that future matter less to me than the bigger picture which is you and the family and future I see us building together. Will I practice law or be a magizoologist? I have no idea, and it is not that I do not care. I just care about our orbit more. You feel like my bigger purpose."

She lifted up partially, resting on her elbow so she could look at him. "I never told you this, but something happened to me the night we first danced in the Rehearsal Room. It was subtle, but just as powerful. It was also the very opposite of the horrible feelings that overtook me with respect to your father. The only way I know to describe it, Simon, is to say that when you first took me into your arms, I knew I was home. You are my home. Whenever, wherever, or however that looks, that is where I see me in 10 years."

"Whatever happened to that parchment with my incriminating doodles and heartfelt expressions of affection for one Mr. Simon Kincaid, anyway?" A bright smile lit up her face as she lay back down next to him. "If it perchance became nesting material for Rascal, you have permission to fib to me this one time."

As they lay there, a Snow Patrol song, 'Chasing Cars' sprang to her mind. If there was one purely selfish wish AngelFyre had for herself, it would be to be able to sing well. Since there was no Aladin's lamp nearby granting such wishes, she decided to simply recite some of the words instead, sparing Simon certain trauma.

Simon listened as she began to speak the lyrics of the song and he realized he knew what song it was from. It was from a group called Snow Patrol from Scotland. Nice things seemed to come from Scotland. John Muir and Snow Patrol and AngelFyre McCubbin.

He looked up at the clouds and began to process the new revelations presented to him. If AngelFyre really was truly a seer, than maybe it was true that she knew the things she felt she knew. If that were the case, then it carried with it quite a lot of weight and gravity to it.

That meant she truly did know that he had reason to feel 'unsettled' when thinking of his father. Perhaps there was every reason imaginable as to why she asked him to stay as far away from Adrian Hawthorne as he could. It would mean she had good reason to ask that he inform Aunt Maggie before meeting up with him, or even perhaps having a trusted source such as her father to go along.

That was still complicated, as far as he was concerned.

But it also meant good as well. It meant that her future being with him meant that his future was with her. Simon wondered if he took out his love locket if it was AngelFyre's voice that he heard. He didn't have it with him. It had been placed up in his dormitory in a small drawer in his desk when he got back from purchasing it in Hogsmeade one day with Clair Fernandez and it had sat there since. At the time of purchase, he wasn't quite sure who's voice it was, as it was at a low whisper, but now he was quite accustomed to hearing AngelFyre's voice. It was one of his favorite sounds - so long as it wasn't singing, an even then, while some would find it terribly amusing, he found it heartwarming in the sense that she tried her best and would sing confidently despite it not being her best of talents.

Simon now turned to face her, his eyes fixated on her as if studying a famous painting he would need to someday recreate from memory. He could probably do so - given enough time and practice. Would this really be his future wife? The mother of his children? The person who would be by his side for all the trials and tribulations as well as the joys of life? Simon leaned forward, kissing her softly before bringing himself closer to where she was. The two would stay out there until it was for supper and while Simon wouldn't want much, he would sit beside AngelFyre at the Hufflepuff Table where they could talk, she could eat, and he would work a little on a current piano composition he had been writing.

In the coming of days, whether weeks, months, or years, he would be eager to explore this perhaps gift of hers in being a seer. He'd also be eager to explore the path that would take them from their past and this present day as they headed into their future. Perhaps she was the compass to find the way.