chapter thirty two: a cure for a hangover
Matilda was well and truly hungover. Her head was pounding and her entire body felt heavy as she felt a pair of soft lips on her forehead, twitching her nose at the feeling.
"Come on, love. I've got the bath ready for you." Matilda opened one eye and smiled as James looked at her, his hair ruffled and a look of love on his face. Matilda groaned as she sat up and stepped out of bed, throwing her arms around James.
"That's the spirit." He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her waist tightly and walked the two to their bathroom where a hot bubble bath awaited.
"Alright, hop on in and I'll bring you some tea." Matilda shook her head and nuzzled her face into his neck as she felt him chuckle. She simply refused to let go of him and her arms tightened around him.
"Have a bath with me?" James wasn't going to say no to that and the two were quick to get into the bath, slipping on the opposite sides.
"How'd you get a ring so beautiful?" Matilda looked at her hand that was practically covered in bubbles apart from her ring which shined back at her causing a small giggle to emit from between her lips.
"I know my rings. Also, Louisa may have helped just a little bit." Matilda chuckled and grinned to herself before looking up from her hand at James, watching as he took off his glasses to wipe them with the towel next to him as they began to fog up from the steam.
"Alright, I'm gonna fire some questions at you and I need you to answer honestly and quickly." James nodded, looking her dead in the eye, ready for whatever she would throw at him.
"Summer or Winter wedding?"
"Considering we're in Autumn, I can't wait until Summer to marry you. Winter." Matilda nodded and pondered her next question, wrapping her arms around her knees as bubbles rested on her chin.
"Large or small wedding." James scoffed and smiled widely, knowing his exact answer as soon as the question left her lips.
"Small, obviously. Don't want every bloody witch and wizard in the whole of Britain to be invited." Good taste, Matilda thought to herself before asking one more question.
"Are you happy you're marrying me? Don't regret anything?" James scoffed once again and pulled Matilda into his arms, letting her legs rest on his thighs with were slippery with soap.
"I am undoubtedly happier than I have ever been at the thought of marrying you. I can't wait. I only regret how long it took me to ask you." Matilda shook her head and gave him a kiss before pulling back. The two talked about what they wanted to do in the future after they got married before they came to the ultimate conclusion that nothing would really change considering they already acted like a married couple.
Sometimes Matilda felt like she was almost waiting for the other shoe to drop like fate had dropped one shoe in her lap and given her love and happiness but fate was a capricious thing and it almost felt inevitable that the other shoe would drop with consequences. But as she giggled in the bath, James making a beard out of the bubbles and trying to give her a kiss, she didn't care about any of that.
Unfortunately, sitting in a bathtub forever was not possible or ideal since they were fully aware of Evan and Gabi most likely still sleeping downstairs. With their hair still slightly damp, the two crept downstairs, now properly dressed as they heard the sound of laughter coming from downstairs. They looked at each other with a frown before they entered the kitchen to see not only Evan and Gabi but the whole bunch.
Louisa and Gabi were cooking the bacon and the eggs whereas Sirius helped out with the pancakes, the other three chatting at the table with orange juice in their glasses.
"Good morning, my sleeping beauties. Coffee or Orange Juice?" Sirius asked as he grinned at them from behind their counter.
"Orange Juice. Thank you so much, you guys. You didn't have to do all this or clean the mess from last night." Matilda looked around their clean apartment, no trace of a party is evident. Louisa appeared behind Sirius with a matching grin on her face and a glass of orange juice in hand.
"Of course we did. These boys are gonna be working hard for the next couple of weeks, it'll be nice to have breakfast with all of us." Matilda leaned over the counter and gave her a hug before pulling back and grabbing the orange juice with her left hand, considering her right was being held comfortably by James.
"Oh, in the name of Merlin! What is that on your finger?" It seemed almost like a repeat of yesterday when Matilda had seen the rings on Evan and Gabis' hands. Now, it was Louisa gawking at the ring that rested on Matilda's left hand. Louisa's outburst did not go unnoticed by the group as Sirius quickly flipped a pancake and came back to look at the ring, a smug smile going onto his lips.
"I'm sorry to say it, love. But pay up." Louisa frowned before glaring at James with a matching pout.
"You said you weren't going to do it until December!" James shrugged with a content look on his face, giving Matilda's hand a small squeeze.
"Sorry, I ruined your chances of winning a bet but the moment was just right." Everyone had begun to catch on now as the three boys that sat at the table came over to congratulate the couple, Evan beaming as Matilda hugged him tightly.
"You and Potter are a pair of copycats, huh? Should've known." Matilda smacked his arm as she pulled away, seeing some tears gathering in the corner of his eyes as he looked at his best friend with great pride.
"Potter is still a twat but he's a good man. I know he'll do right by you. Or if he doesn't I'll hex him." Matilda thanked him before she was ambushed by Louisa and Gabi, both the women hugging her tightly.
"Potter is a lucky man," Gabi said, holding one of her hands tightly as Louisa held her left hand and looked at the ring that she had selected with James. The boy had stressed the entire day as they shopped whilst Matilda was at work and almost begun to cry out of frustration until they spotted the ring that now sat on her finger.
"I'm a lucky woman." Louisa looked at the ring on her finger with a content smile on her face.
"Glad the size was right, he was an absolute mess when trying to find the perfect one." Matilda laughed loudly as they began to all sit down at the dining table, the food all sitting perfectly in the middle. This was another moment where Matilda let her mind wander to the other shoe.
She sat there with all her close friends laughing as Ozmo tried to get a piece of bacon before Sirius subtly fed him a piece earning a glare from Matilda. It was all too perfect for her to accept that this was her reality. She knew that there was an end to everything, good things included in that but she just hoped that this would never end.
Essentially this is the life I want and I am projecting that onto these characters. I just started Criminal Minds and omfg I get it, MGG is so fine, damn.
Thanks, Queenie.
(UNEDITED)