Chapter Fifty-Nine
English Countryside, March 2021
Two figures dashed up a hill, shouting and laughing. A dash of turquoise and a fleck of red; their hands never dropped.
"There it is!" Max pointed down the slope, where their new home was nestled into a bed of trees. "Told you it would be nice to see it first from up here."
"You mean the first time we see it as ours." Corrected Teddy, grinning. They could see the road winding between the rising hillocks, the other few cottages dotting it. Each was mildly secluded, mostly inhabited by other young wizarding couples. It was an up-and-coming area, with the magical village just a short broom ride away. "Isn't it great Mitzie and Hank live just down the road? I'm so glad we decided to look into this place."
The couple descended, unable to contain their joy. Coming from the back, they inspected the bushes that would bloom with roses and other fragrant flowers, the trees that would shade their outdoor reading sessions. Max spotted a spot perfect for a hammock.
"Ready?" asked Teddy, jingling the keys.
Max nodded, bouncing a little. "So ready." The door swung open and their feet crossed the threshold, and it did not take long for Max to run through the empty rooms with glee, hands in the air. "WHOO!" he shouted as Teddy chuckled, closing the door with his foot.
They wandered the small rooms, imagined furniture and moments and slowly let their dreams trickle into the walls. They breathed in the smell of wind and warmed wood and rain. Upstairs windows faced green hills, would see sunrises and sunsets.
"This is ours, yeah?" Teddy opened a door to the larger of the three rooms. "And here's a reading room and here -" he glanced shyly at his fiancée. "I thought could be a nursery."
Max peeked into the room. It was cozy, flooded with light. "A nursery."
"Yeah, in a few years...hey, you okay?" Teddy walked back into the hall, taking Max's face in his hands.
"I just - it's hard to comprehend." Mac sniffed, then laughed at himself. He wiped a few tears from his eyes. "Ten years ago, before that even, I thought - all of this seemed impossible." He took Teddy's hand from his own face, kissing it gently. "A nursery was impossible."
Teddy wrapped Max in his arms, red curls tickling his nose. He had grown to worship the smell of dirt on his hands, the freshness of greens and almonds that he ate in the morning. "This is our home." He whispered. "We will create memories and have friends here and one day bring home a baby that we will raise in these old walls." Max's tears dampened his cheeks. "You will teach that child about monocots and dicots and I will teach them how to fly."
"That sounds perfect."
Kissing the tip of his nose, Teddy smiled. "You're perfect."
"Hey," Max began unbuttoning Teddy's shirt. "Wanna christen the bedroom?"
In the flicker of evening, Teddy and Max welcomed their best friends into their new home. Mitzie and her husband Hank had walked down the road, while June had used the floo from London. The old friends lolled on cushions, drinking winde from the bottle because somehow all the glasses had been lost in the two dozen boxes throughout the house.
"I'm so done with men." Groaned June, taking a swig from the wine bottle. "No, no - I'm done with boys."
Teddy laughed and grabbed her bottle, June crying out in protest. "I know some pretty fit aurors that I can hook you up with Junie."
June scoffed. "No thanks. Max may be into the whole catching bad guys thing, but not me."
"What about bankers?" asked Hank, massaging Mitzie's feet, which she had thrown in his lap. "A ton work for the shop."
"Nice and stable." Max added, popping a sweet in his mouth.
"Should have nabbed you when I could." Sighed June, joking.
Teddy pulled Max to him possessively. "Nuh uh, mine."
The friends talked late into the night, but soon June had to go home and Hank nodded off in front of the fire. The three old friends spoke softly, reminiscing over their school days.
"Can I tell you guys a secret?" Mitize asked suddenly, scratching the label off her beer.
"O'course." The boys looked at each other, sitting up a little.
"This is my last hoorah." Her smile was secretive, joyus.
Teddy frowned, "What do you mean?"
"Hank and I - we're trying for a baby."
Jaws dropping, Max and Teddy tackled her in a group hug. "That's wonderful!" Max crowed.
"Just brilliant." Added Teddy.
"Hush, you'll wake him!" Mitize giggled. "I know everyone doesn't understand how we work, but we just do." It was true. Mitzie had met Hank when working at his chocolate shop in Diagon Alley after Hogwarts. He was a sensible, loving man seven years her senior. Somehow his gentle nature and Mitzie's whirlwind personality just fit. "It was my idea honestly, and I know I'm only twenty-three - but boys I do love Hank so, and I want this." She lovingly brushed Hank's hair from his forehead.
"We know, and you'll be a wonderful mother." Teddy said, then grinned at Max. They wouldn't reveal their plans now, but the secret nestled between them comfortably.
When Mitzie had pushed a half asleep Hank gently home, Teddy and Max lay on their mattress on the floor, their bed in pieces in a corner. The words hung heavily between them.
"I wish it was easier." Teddy whispered to the darkness.
Max squeezed his hand. "I know." His kisses spilled down his chest, then crept up Teddy's throat. "At least we can get married, that was only legalized a few years ago - adopting will be easier too, soon enough."
"We have a few years I know, but everything is just so much harder." Teddy buried his face in a pillow.
"Hey, hey - I love you." Pressing against each other, they trembled with the truth - the truth that it would always be hard. "We have a few years anyway, and for now we can look forward to the wedding."
"Right." Teddy nodded, kissing Max deeply. "This is enough for now."
"It is." Skin on skin, heart to heart, they knew it was enough for now. With a little house and a wedding to plan, a hand to hold - it really was.
A/N: Aw my boys.
Question: A Nursery? a NURSERY?
Rose