Cleaning Out My Closet (Char and Air)

[Charlotte Smith]

Charlotte had decided that she would make her way to her old house, the one she no longer shared with Cobalt to try and sort outthe rather deralict building out, after all it was her house she didn't want it falling into disrepair!

Sighing softly when she reached it Charlotte found it to be in a worse state than she had realised, the grass was over grown, the house itself looked awful, the black and White paint having started to flake quite badly...

Then there was the porch, it was just too broken to fix well on her own, with her box of tools Charlotte approached the house, gulping a little, the black marker heart clear on her hand as she thought about the Wraith that could still be in there.

Sunny day as it was, Charlotte decided to paint the house afresh, rolling up her old shirt sleeves, and putting her brushes in the front of her dungarees Charlotte set to work.

[Airen Auditoren]

Airen was walking to where Charlotte told him to meet her. He saw a run-down house. He saw Charlotte walking toward it. Smiling, Airen quickly caught up to her.

"Hey, Charlotte," he said when she had rolled up her sleeves. He had on jeans, a white t-shirt, and a jean jacket on him. He'd recently found a new style for him, and it suit him fine. Airen looked at the house. The grass was up to his knees, and the paint was chipping so that large patches of wood could be seen.

"Would you like a hand?" he asked, gesturing to the house.

[Charlotte Smith]

Charlotte jumped a little as she heard someone speak from behind her, when she turned around she saw that it was Airen, but it did nothing for the large streak of white paint she had just spread across her cheek.

Blushing slightly at looking such a state Charlotte tried to dismiss it enough to wrap Airen in a large hug before gesturing to the paint with a sheepish smile.

"Hey Airen, if you want to help that'll be great, but you don't have to, you came to hang out with me and I know I'm sort of rude for doing this now but..."

Taking a look at the house in front of her Charlotte sucked at her lip piercing nervously.

"This place kind of creeps me out when I'm here alone."

[Airen Auditoren]

Smiling, Airen took out a napkin and wiped the paint off Charlotte's cheek. He wrapped his arms around her, returning the hug. Airen thought her blush was cute, but then he himself blushed at the thought.

"I'd be happy to help if you want me to. I came to be with you, and if that includes helping you fix this place up, then I'll do it. You could never be rude. You're too kind for that," Airen replied with a smile.

Laying a hand on her shoulder, he comforted her at her nervous change in demeanor.

"That's why I'm here, to help you not be afraid."

[Charlotte Smith]

Charlotte smiled happily as Airen wrapped his arms around her and she took a moment to appreciate his new look, it really did make him look different, but it wasn't a bad different, in fact, it was quite nice.

"Well, if you insist Air, here you can use this brush."

Reaching into her dungaree pocket she picked out a wide brush and handed it to him with a smile.

"You look very nice today by the way, I just hope you don't get your clothes ruined by the paint, I'd hate for anything like that to happen, but I dont have a spare set that would fit you."

With a slight blush Charlotte pecked Airen on his cheek, and was glad, even though he didn't know about her past, maybe she'd tell him today.

"This is my parent's old house...I suppose it's mine now."

[Airen Auditoren]

Taking the brush, Airen smiled at Charlotte, thankful that she'd let him help her fix up her house. He lowered his hand with the brush.

"I got these clothes so I could fit in better in the muggle world. I can't tell you how many strange looks I get in those Renaissance clothes," he said, chuckling at his foolishness. 'If you can't laugh at yourself, then don't laugh at all,' his aunt would always tell him.

Blushing at her peck on his cheek, Airen smiled. They'd grown close over the past year, and he was glad that they'd decided to wait to date. It gave him time to learn how to properly treat his future girlfriend.

"Once we get it squared away, then you can make it your own by adding your own personal touch," he said.

[Charlotte Smith]

Charlotte smiled happily and began to paint the walk if the house that she could reach from where she stood, it was a very large house and it would take a while for them to finish it, maybe even a few days or a few trips out here.

"Well they were a little strange but I did like them, they made you look really...Uhm...handsome, but these clothes are lovely too."

Blushing a little Charlotte made sure that the flaking paint was stripped away before painting over it slowly, making sure to avoid the black woodwork that needed painting over too.

"I sure can! I have an idea of what I want to do inside, really smart and modern, but not to sparse you know? Lots of pictures and...oh listen to mr I'm rambling."

She turned to Airen and grinned: "How are you Airen? Had a nice holiday so far?"

[Airen Auditoren]

Airen crouched down next to Charlotte and helped paint the walkway. He made sure to keep his strokes nice and smooth. A steady hand, an artist's hand he thought to himself. Charlotte certainly had it. His artist's hand was more suited for pencils, fine paintbrushes, and the like.

"I just thought a small change was in order," he said nonchalantly. He truly liked his Renaissance clothes, but this outfit seemed to call out to him. He liked to think of himself as belonging to both the muggle and wizarding worlds, but hey, that was him.

"I don't mind, really. I find myself talking out loud to myself a lot, so I'm not much different," he said, turning his head back to her and smiling brightly.

"Yes, I have. Mostly trying to find something to do. I visited my aunt in Italia," (Italy) he replied.

"What about you? How are you and Professor Smith?" he inquired.

[Charlotte Smith]

Charlotte blushed slightly and hoped that Airen hadn't taken what she had said as an offense, she hadn't meant it that way, after all she liked the way he looked in both styles of clothes and just in general the way he looked.

"I um, I...I'm sorry if what I said came out as offensive I didn't mean it that way, I think you look very nice."

Glad that Airen didn't think that she was alittle odd for just going off on a tangent, Charlotte realised just how much work she had left to do, it was going to be a few months until it was done.

"It's going to take a really long time to get this all ready, especially when you see the inside, it's all smoke damaged." she sighed

Charlotte smiled happily and nodded her head: "I'm glad that you're going to see your Aunt, I worry about you sometimes, I don't know what you do when I'm not here, I'd hate for you to be alone."

With a smaller smile Charlotte shrugged: "We're doing okay, he's busy with jobs at the moment so he's not really around, but he'll be back soon hopefully."

[Airen Auditoren]

Smiling, Airen laid a hand on Charlotte's shoulder.

"You didn't offend me at all. I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. I know what you meant," he said comfortingly. He squeezed her shoulder softly. He went back to work.

He looked back at the house. It did seem that they'd be working on this for awhile, but he was just glad to help. 'It also means more time with Charlotte,' he thought with a blush. Wow, he was sounding sappy.

"I'm happy to help. I'm sure it will take less time with the two of us," he replied with a smile.

"It's not so bad. I didn't have many friends when I was growing up, so I soon got used to it. I'm happy with the friends that I have now," he responded, Airen laid a hand on Charlotte's shoulder. "There's no need to worry about me."

"Don't you ever worry for him? Do you ever get lonely?" he asked, concerned.

[Charlotte Smith]

Charlotte smiled happily as Airen comforted her, the feel of his warm hand on her shuolder made her sigh softly and continue painting with vigour, hopefully they would be able to get the front of the house done today.

"It sure will! And when it's finished, we can both use it as our house, because I don't really visit here much, but I will once it's all fixed and it's painted nicely inside."

That was the part she was most afraid of. Going inside. The outside of the house was fine, she could still run away, but inside...inside was were the memories lie.

"I'm glad that you're happy now Air, I want to make sure that you stay that way, so if you ever need anything just ask, mkay?" she said in a happy tone before going back to painting.

Feeling her heart lodge in her throat Charlotte coughed a little then smiled once more, masking her worry like she had done for a while:

"I always worry about my Papa, I love him I can't help it, and I am lonely when he is gone, but I know he'll always come back, because he loves me and I love him." she said quietly.

[Airen Auditoren]

Airen smiled at Charlotte's enthusiasm. She seemed to radiate joy and happiness, and he couldn't help but smile back at her. He bent back down and started painting the walkway once more. He raised an eyebrow when she said 'our house'. It made him feel happy. He could definitely see a future... whoa, slow down. You're too young. He focused on painting the walkway.

"I'm sure you'll make some good memories in there, and I'll be sure to visit here often too," he said.

"Just be sure not to forgo your own happiness for mine. I don't want you to give up something important to you for me," he replied. He often found himself surprised by how dedicated he was to making her happy. Maybe that was just how love worked he thought with a smile.

"I understand. My aunt worries about me living in a different country, but I always be sure to come back and assure her I'm okay at least once during the break," he replied, having been in a somewhat similar situation with the roles being reversed.

[Charlotte Smith]

Charlotte giggled when she realised what she had implied and she thought about it for a moment, before dismissing it, besides her Papa would get so angry if she told him what she had just thought, even though he liked Air a lot.

"What I meant was...if you ever needed another place to stay you could stay here for a few nights, after all, I don't know where you live or anything, and I don't want you getting lonely..."

With a large smile Charlotte nodded her head to Airen's request, that would never happen, because even if she had to give up something important as long as he was happy that's all that mattered to her.

"I'll make sure that we're both as happy as we can be."

Having done all of the lower wall of the house, up to where she could reach, Charlotte sighed and decided to have a sit down in the long grass, it almost covering her head.

"That's very kind of you Air, I'm sure she appreciates it, I know I would." she murmured from inside the grass.

[Airen Auditoren]

Chuckling at her comment, Airen nodded his head. He liked the thought, but truthfully, he just wasn't ready to dwell on it yet. That'd be for in like fifth or sixth year.

"I know. I do get a bit lonely, but I always find a way to take my mind off it. Now, I have some one to keep me company," he said, smiling at her.

"And I'll help," he replied. Sighing, he lifted his hand to the back of his neck and rolled his head around it. He'd been looking up at the wall he was painting, and his neck was getting cramped. Turning around, he didn't see Charlotte, but upon a closer look, he found the top of her head just breaking to surface of the tall grass. He sat down beside her.

"She does. She and I write letters to each other, but it's not the same as seeing her face to face," he said wistfully. He laid down in the grass and put his hands behind his head. The clouds were not so numerous today, but there were enough to make shapes. Smiling, he looked for shapes he recognized.

[Charlotte Smith]

Charlotte smiled happily, she was glad that Air thought of her like that, after all she would be here for him whenever he so wished her to be, that was what friends were for and she was glad that he wouldn't be lonely in her company.

"This grass really is too long, I think the next job will be to cut it, I'm sure we have some hand operated lawn mowers somewhere around here."

Seeing Airen rub at his neck Charlotte felt a little bad she didn't want him to get a stiff neck from painting so much, she was used to it herself because she painted so often.

"Does your neck hurt? You should put some heat on it or something, or we can wait and I'll work the kinks out of it later, I learnt how to do that because I get it a lot when I paint."

Now unable to see Airen because he was lying down in the grass Charlotte moved over next to him and looked up into the clouds like he was doing, grinning she pointed:

"Look! Doesn't that cloud look like an elephant?"

[Airen Auditoren]

Airen was glad that they were fixing this house the muggle way. There was always something more satisfactory in doing the work yourself rather than doing things solely through magic. Use magic enough, and it ceases to be magical.

"I can do the yard work. I used to do it all the time in Firenze (Florence)" he offered.

Airen nodded his head. He was glad that Charlotte could help him, but he didn't want her to do it too often, so he decided to not strain himself so much.

"Thank you, Charlotte. I'll try not to strain myself so often," he replied.

Looking in the direction that she was pointing, Airen smiled at the elephant. He looked at his area. Laughing, he pointed at the shape:

"Yes it does. Check out this boxing monkey." Sure enough, there was a cloud with a monkey that had its 'fists' raised in a boxing position.

[Charlotte Smith]

Charlotte was a little worried about having Airen cut the whole yard, after all it was quite big, but if he did the grass while she did the upper part of the house they would get more jobs done that way.

"If you insist Airen, after all, I don't want to give you too many jobs to do I don't want you to get sore shoulders too."

With a slight smile Charlotte was glad that Airen had agreed to let her help with his sore neck when they were done.

"I just don't want you to get hurt." she said quietly.

When Airen pointed out a boxing monkey Charlotte gasped and moved her head to lie on his chest so she could see it, giggling a little she nodded, and looked for her own shape:

"That's so funny! I wonder what else I can see...look! There's a dog on his skateboard!"

[Airen Auditoren]

Airen smiled at Charlotte's concern for him. He found it very endearing. He'd done more work than a simple lawn mowing before, so he'd be fine.

"I'll be fine. I've done plenty of yard work at my aunt's villa, and trust me, that is no small task," he replied, laughing at the memory of the first time he worked the yard. He took more breaks than a seven-year old cleaning his room.

"And for that, I'm thankful," he said. He laid a hand on her head and began to absent-mindedly stroke her hair.

Looking in her part of sky, he smiled. There was a vague shape of a dog on a skateboard. Was that his tongue hanging out? Airen laughed at the shape. Looking around, he saw a dragon-like shape in the clouds.

"Doesn't that one look like a dragon?" he inquired, pointing at the cloud.

[Charlotte Smith]

Charlotte grinned she could imagine Airen had done lots of hard work before, after all he had all of that training for being a sword mags so he would need to be strong for that, and the thought of his Auntie putting him to work made Charlotte chuckle.

"She must have a really big house! If I ever visit Italy in the future it would be nice to see it, maybe paint it, but I'll have so many wonderful things to paint."

Unable to stop purring lightly Charlotte nuzzled her head into Airen's hand, she had never thought that she would be this happy anywhere near her old house.

Moving her head to look at the dragon in the sky Charlotte grinned and nodded her head, it looked very real and she couldn't help but think about the dragon in the school grounds.

"We never did go to find that dragon did we? I think we should promise ourselves that we will go this year, if you want to go that is...um...I can go on my own if you don't."

[Airen Auditoren]

"Well, it is big. We have a wide open field near it, as well as a small farm. My aunt is always bugging me to bring some friends home, so I think we could go there sometime. With some of your friend, if you want," he said. He couldn't help but chuckle with her, her laugh was contagious.

Airen watched the dragon cloud move through the sky. He was glad he'd seen it. He reminded himself that the next time he visited his aunt, he'd pay a visit to Epos. He was glad that Charlotte liked him stroking her hair. He continued. It was a habit he thought he was going to take up.

"I'm going to. I really want to see it as well, and I don't want you to get hurt either," he said softly.

[Charlotte Smith]

Charlotte listened to the description of where Airen lived with a large smile on her face, it sounded lovely and she couldn't believe that they had their own farm! How extraordinary must that be?!

When he mentioned that she could come Charlotte squeaked happily

"Really I can come? Oh thank you Air! I'll look forward to it! What kind of animals do you keep on your farm? Do you have horses?"

Although not her favourite, Charlotte could always admire a beautiful horse when she saw one.

Continuing to purr as Airen played with her hair Charlotte sneakily grew it longer so that he would have more to play with, looking back into the sky Charlotte couldnt help but think about the dragon again.

"Im glad that you'll be coming with me Air, I know I could do it on my own but...it would be a little scary I think, do you suppose it has a name? The dragon?"

[Airen Auditoren]

"Yes, you can come. I thought about asking those on the train as well, but the conversation had already moved on. We mostly have just horses. Although, there is an eagle family that nested in a tree near the house," he replied.

Airen thought about Epos. He thought about how his aunt had told him to name the dragon. He was quite nervous, but his aunt had told him to let the name come to him.

"If it doesn't, we'll think of a name for them. It shouldn't be too hard," he said. He noticed that her hair seemed longer, but he decided that it was just his imagination and kept running his hands through it.

[Charlotte Smith]

Smiling slightly Charlotte knew that it was special that Airen had asked her to come to Italy with him, but when he said he was going to ask everyone she still smiled but felt a little sadder at the thought of it.

Charlotte perked up again at the mention of the horses and grinned: "I love horses! They're so beautiful, I wish I knew how to ride one."

Pouting softly Charlotte smiled once more when Airen said that they could name the dragon together, she hoped that there would be a cool name that she could think of.

"I wonder what we could call him, I don't know any cool names, I was thinking something like Sebastian but that sounds weird."

Charlotte sighed and poked Airen's cheek gently: "You're very good at playing with my hair."

[Airen Auditoren]

Airen felt Charlotte's shoulders sag ever so slightly. Realizing that maybe he had said something wrong, he decided to amend that. He did still want to invite the rest of the people he knew, but maybe he could make sure that Charlotte got some alone time with him if she wanted it.

"Yes, they are. If you want, I can teach you how to ride them. It's pretty simple," he said, a smile on his face.

Airen looked back up at the clouds. He thought about riding horses with Charlotte, and, since they may be dating soon, taking her to a surprise picnic or something. He was hopelessly smitten with her, but he wasn't complaining. He'd shown amazing self-restraint around her, but that may not last past two more years.

"When my aunt told me how to name a familiar, she said to let the name come to you," he advised. He didn't want to sound like a nerd, but he was a bit on the smart side.

"I'm glad you're pleased," he said, poking her side and hoping to find a ticklish spot.

[Charlotte Smith]

Charlottes eyes sparked happily and she nodded her head, so very excited about learning to ride a horse she forgot about being in this creepy house and quite forgot about any sadness that she might have been feeling a few moments ago.

"Really? You'd teach me? Oh Airen! Thank you so much!"

Pecking his cheek Charlotte wrapped her arms around him and hugged Air tight to her, so very happy about what she would be learning to do.

"What colours are your horses? Ive always thought that White horses were the most beautiful, but they're all lovely."

Now that the trauma of the ball had passed Charlotte was clear to think about what had happened with Humphrey and she hoped that she hadn't been too harsh on him.

"Let the name come to me? That makes sense, although it means well have to wait until we see it, have you had any pets yourself? I know you've got your owl."

Charlotte squees and wiggled away from Airen as he poked her, tickling her slightly and she giggled: "No no don't tickle me."

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