Forever Until Now ((Dixie))

[Professor Adam Greene]

Forever. It was a long time, that was for sure. Ever since their wedding, the thought of forever had been on Adam's mind. 'Till death do us part...' Was death the end? Did forever even exist? Adam liked to think that it did, at least when he thought about Dixie. Life was too short if that was all he got. He wanted more. Perhaps it was selfish, but he couldn't help but want there to be more. As he lay awake in bed, he had to push the thoughts out of his mind. If he didn't, he knew that he would only be wasting away the precious seconds that he could be sure that he did have. Every second with Dixie was like another gift that was even better than the previous one. He smiled to himself as he pondered the events of the past few months. Since Christmas, he and Dixie had been married, and he had been teaching at Hogwarts. They had moved into a small cottage in Hogsmeade. It was much smaller than what both he and Dixie were used to growing up, but something about it seemed perfect for them. Life couldn't have been going any better.

The first rays of sunlight started to filter through the curtain behind the headboard. Adam would soon need to get up and get ready for another day's work. He was happy that he had left the Ministry. Hogwarts was much more suited for him. Sure, he was still getting the hang of the whole professor aspect, but it seemed to be going well so far. The students were a bit difficult at times, but Adam found that they were willing to respect him a lot more when he wasn't fake with them. Rolling on his side, about to get out of bed and head for the shower, he felt a tug at his t-shirt. Turning to see a tired smile on Dixie's face, he laid back down facing her.

"Good morning Mrs. Greene," he said softly, taking his hand a few strands of stray hair from her face. Adam stared into her eyes and smiled as his hand rested on her cheek. It was times like this when he wished more than anything that he didn't have to get out of bed. Something about the warmth and the thought of Dixie in his arms seemed much more appealing than even bothering to get up and moving for the day. His logical side seemed to always win though, no matter how hard he tried to tell himself that staying in bed was the better choice. "What are your plans today? I have a few hours for lunch if you want to meet in town." He was jealous of the fact that Dixie could make her own schedule and pretty much do what she wanted. Though, at the same time, he was happy for her. She was getting to do exactly what she wanted to do, or so he assumed. Then again, he was happy with his job too. It wasn't the same as being the Minister of Magic, but Adam wasn't quite sure that he'd even want to do that anymore. Aside from knowing he wanted to be with Dixie, he wasn't sure what else he wanted. It was scary, really. The thought of things in the future was overwhelming for him. At this point, he was content with just knowing that he wanted Dixie. He was afraid anything more might just complicate things. The more things in life only meant more chances for things to go wrong. The simplicity of just himself and Dixie was too good to need to add to in his mind.

"You do know how terribly difficult you make having to get out of bed, right?" Adam gave her a taunting look of misery. He rolled onto his back again and starred at the ceiling for a second. The sun was shining even brighter into the room at this point. "Can you believe that we're finally here?" he said, totally changing the subject. "You know, like, who'd have thought just a few years ago that this would be who we are? You are happy, right? Cuz if you're not happy, then it totally ruins the point I am trying to make." He turned back to Dixie with a laugh as he knew (or at least hoped deed down) that her answer would be a 'yes'. "I guess I just had always been optimistic though I never really convinced myself of that optimism. For everybody else, I was always looking on the bright side. I'm just not sure I ever believed it myself. But now... now I think I believe. I believe that good things happen, and I believe that those good things happened for us." He watched Dixie, wondering if she was too tired for such serious things. He had been awake for a while now, his mind going on and on. Perhaps he was just too analytical.

[Dixie Holden-Greene]

Everything was so new to Dixie. She hadn't expected her life to turn out this way. This happy. It was something completely…wonderful and she could honestly say that she had never expected her life to be wonderful in any way. A lot had happened to Dixie in her life, and she had thought that it would remain that way for as long as she lived, and probably even past that. But the appearance of Adam had completely changed that. From the night they had first spoken in the common room, Dixie had known that things wouldn't be the same anymore – and that Adam was someone she could lean on, trust, and eventually she realised he was someone that she could love. And she did. Her life with Adam had been a roller coaster, from the events that happened two Christmases ago to today at that very moment where she lay in bed beside him, her eyes closed peacefully. It was just now starting to settle down and Dixie was enjoying it with a breath of relief. She couldn't ask for anything more. Could she?

Her eyes opened slowly when she felt the beds weight shift, meaning Adam was about to get out of it. She turned over gently and reached out with her hand, tugging on his shirt gently to get his attention. When he turned to look at her, she smiled at him, though she knew she looked tired. It was that morning grogginess that always seemed to be in her when she first woke up and hadn't had some tea. Dixie was glad when he laid back down, her smile brightening even more when he spoke. She felt that familiar flip in her stomach. Mrs. Greene. That was her. She closed her eyes a moment as his hand moved some stray strands of her hair from her face, and then opened them when he rested his hand on her cheek. It felt warm against her skin and yet she still shivered slightly at the touch. Dixie turned and kissed the palm of his hand before answering, "I have to run to the office for the day, they need some more designs. But I can definitely get away for lunch," her smiled settled nicely across her face as she thought about that. Lunch with Adam would make her day. Not that her day was terrible. She loved her job, it was her dream job, and although she knew Adam had his mind set on Minister of Magic, he seemed to be alright; even content, with his new job at Hogwarts.

"It's a sign," she told him with a smirk when he teased her about making it difficult to get out of bed, "It's a sign that's telling you that you shouldn't get out of bed, and you should stay with me, and we should ignore the world." Dixie's smirk melted into a warm smile, a loving smile, and she knew that was impossible to do. The world called for them, every day. It was something that they both knew they couldn’t avoid. Their life together was great, but the world stopped for no one – even though sometimes Dixie wished it would. She was happy, very happy to be married to Adam, to live in this cottage, to be…stable and all of those things, but at the same time – life was getting harder and she couldn't help but wish that sometimes it would just let her have a breath. Her job was demanding, and although she got to pick her schedule, she had many deadlines she had to meet. Many of which she didn't even want to meet.

Adam had rolled onto his back now, and Dixie leaned up on her elbow, watching him intently, lovingly. He seemed to be thinking about something, and the moment she wondered what he was thinking, he spoke. Her smile brightened, "Of course, I'm happy. Happier than I've ever been, you of all people should know that." That couldn't be more truthful. Adam had seen her through a good majority of everything that had gone wrong. He had seen her in her worst, and he had seen her in her best. She was always at her best when she was with him. He spoke more, and Dixie couldn't help the soft smile that was spreading across her face, tugging at her lips gently. She took his hand and held it, her eyes still looking at him as she thought about something to say.

"Good things happen to those who deserve them, I think. And we deserve them. I mean, we've been through some things, love, and… well, I think we deserve all of this. If not more." Dixie shrugged slightly and squeezed his hand gently, in a way that showed him just how much she loved him. Even the slightest touch could do that, as she knew, and she hoped he got that too. She remembered the night of the Christmas part (and disaster) when he had squeezed her hand three times…it was one of those things that just never left her memory because… well…it made her happy.

[Professor Adam Greene]

"A lunch date it is then," he replied happily. "12:30 at Millie's?" Adam had grown to favour the daily soup special at Millie's since they recently moved to Hogsmeade. It was the best soup he had tasted, which was why he usually ended up ordering a second bowl after greedily sipping down the first. His favourite, which had only been served on two occasions, was the chicken-noodle. It was more than just your everyday chicken-noodle soup though. He wasn't quite sure what extra ingredients were added to it, but it tasted like nothing he had ever eaten. The thought of it made his stomach grumble as he realized his time for getting breakfast was now being spent with Dixie. He didn't mind though. He'd settle for a quick breakfast of toast and juice if it meant a few more minutes with his wife.

He merely sighed when Dixie said that they should just ignore the world. If only it were that easy. "I tell you... the world can't go on without us. I mean, seriously, I think that the fashion business would die within hours if you didn't go to work. And then, what would all these students do if they were deprived of a subject as relevant as Arithmancy!" He laughed at his sarcasm. Truth be told, he and Dixie didn't have jobs that were highly important for society to function. They were fine jobs though, and all that mattered was that it helped them to live a comfortable and happy life.

"I know, I know," he said guiltily whenever Dixie assured him that she was happy. "I guess that it's just easy to forget sometimes.... you know? Not that I forget how happy I am. I just sometimes don't remember how bad it can get, but when I do remember, then I find myself realizing how good it is." He let out another sigh as he realized how quickly the minutes could pass whenever he didn't want them to. "But you're right. We deserve good things." He rolled over and kissed Dixie, the feeling of pure joy washing over him as he took in the moment. He loved having her in his arms. It made him feel so alive.

"But all good things must come to an end," he said, pulling away from her and flashing a look of disappointment. He rolled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom where he turned on the hot water. Within seconds, the water vapor had collected on the mirror, fogging it up and casting a mugginess throughout the room. Adam hopped into the shower and pulled the curtain shut. "So what new designs are you working on," he shouted over the sound of the shower. The one good thing about having a small cottage was that no matter where either of them were, Adam and Dixie could always hear the other one talking. He remembered when he lived with his parents and Sierra. Nobody was ever nearby when you needed them. Numerous times, he found himself roaming the halls up and down, shouting names at the top of his lungs just to try to find whomever it was that he needed.

While Dixie told him about her most recent design ideas, Adam finished up showering, now more awake than ever. He wrapped a towel around his waste and went back into the bedroom where he proceeded to get dressed for work. After graduation, Adam had been relieved to get out of the school robes that he was required to wear. However, now as a professor, he was required to be just as dressed up. Of course, having Dixie there to custom make all of his robes was a bonus. "They all sound great," he commented. Just then, he heard a knock coming from the front door. Sending a confused look at Dixie, Adam threw on his shirt and buttoned it in a hurry. "Who in the world could that be at this hour?" he questioned aloud, heading for the door.

Another series of knocks came just before Adam reached the front door. Opening it and feeling a slight morning breeze rush through, Adam saw a man that looked a few years older than himself standing with a lopsided grin on his face. It was their neighbour, a man that Adam had seen outside of the house a few times and had only shared a few quick greetings with him. "Can I help you?" Adam asked in a confused yet kind sort of tone.

"Yeah, mate. Sorry to bother yeh so early, but I've been havin' a bit o' trouble with my subscription to the Daily Prophet. The owl that delivers it is a bit on the elderly side, and I think he may have went a bit wonky lately. I've found my daily paper in a few odd places, and then lately, it just stopped showin' up all together. Yeh haven't happened to see any stray issues layin' around your yard have yeh?" By the sound of his accent, Adam was sure that the guy must have had some Irish descent in him. He stood, analyzing him for a few seconds before giving an answer.

"Um, not that I'm aware of." Adam turned and hollered back to Dixie. "Hon, have you seen any random issues of the Daily Prophet floating around the house lately?" Just then, Dixie emerged from the kitchen.

[Dixie Holden-Greene]

Dixie nodded with that same smile on her face when Adam confirmed the lunch date. They had started eating there and it had become sort of 'their place,' which was good. Dixie liked having a place where they could escape their jobs and just be for a couple of hours. It was somewhat silly to return to the cottage when they would just have to leave it again anyway. Lunch seemed much more convenient and Dixie never objected to it unless she had a meeting she had to get to. Lately, though, things had been rather easy and slow going. She was sketching every night when she waited for Adam to get home and then in the mornings she added some on before apparating off to work and submitting them for critiquing. Then she'd fix the things they'd want for the rest of the day, supervise some other things, and then apparate back home. It wasn't nearly as bad as during other times where she had to have designs done every day. Then was when she was quite stressed.

Her laugh mingled with his when he made a sarcastic remark, "Oh, yes, darling. The fashion empire that Tarisa built up would simply collapse because her assistant's assistant doesn't show up to work." Even as she said it she knew she was fooling herself. She was more than an assistant's assistant. An assistant's assistant wouldn't get her designs critiqued. Dixie was the protégée of Tarisa and everyone knew it. Soon, Dixie would be the one running her own fashion line… she could feel it thrumming through her veins. It made her sick, but it thrilled her at the same time. Dixie bit her lip in thought of it but looked over at Adam when he spoke again, taking her mind off the future held for her job. She smiled understandingly. She knew what he was talking about. Forgetting. She had tried so hard those months in Paris to forget everything that happened quite like he had forgotten everything… but it didn't work. And it was like she couldn't ever remember what it felt like to believe she'd never see Adam again… never be with him in the way that she wanted to, needed to. When she did, though, she knew why she wanted to forget in the first place.

Dixie kissed him back when he kissed her, getting that feeling that she got whenever he was that close to her, and then whined when he pulled away and said all good things must come to an end. She rolled over onto her stomach and snuggled her face into his pillow, breathing in the scent of his shampoo before turning her head to rest her cheek on it and look up at him, "Can't we play hooky?" she asked, even though she knew the answer was no. She watched him disappear into the bathroom, but she made no move to start to get ready. She just closed her eyes and breathed steadily, letting the scent of the blankets and Adam fill her lungs. She listened to him and then sighed, even though he couldn't hear, "I've got a new pyjama line coming out," she replied, loud enough for him to hear over the sound of the shower before pulling herself up from the bed and moving to pull her long, deep purple robe over her shoulders and her pyjamas, "Well, out of my mind that is. There's no guarantee that they'll make it into something."

There was never any guarantee that they'd run it, make it into something, put it into the store. She couldn't wait until she could see her clothes in a window display at the mall. Dixie sank onto the bench of her vanity and picked up her brush, running it through her brown hair and then pulling it up into a short pony tail. She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked….happy, which was something she couldn't say she recognised on herself two months ago. Dixie Holden had never been happy, but this was Dixie Greene. And Dixie Greene was always happy. Even now as she stared at herself, a small smile ghosted her lips. Adam walked back in then and she looked over at him before saying, "And I have some more designs for your robes, love. But you can't see them until later… when they're made." She smirked and stood from the bench and kissed his cheek before leaving the room to make him some tea.

There was something about playing the housewife that Dixie loved. She loved making him tea, and she had even attempted at making them dinner… but those hadn't gone over well. Eventually she resulted in using magic to make the dinners, using the food she had bought (which made her feel even more housewife-ish, to her delight). As Dixie entered the kitchen, she flicked on the light and moved to the refrigerator. She made the chai tea easily, as if it was second nature to her and it probably was. By the end she had two cups of steaming chai tea, one for her, which she took a drink from, and one for Adam. She sat down at the island on the stool just as there was a knock on the door. Adam got it, and Dixie decided to bring him his tea. She picked it up, along with hers, and headed into the main room where Adam stood at the door with their neighbour.

"Oh, hello, Ross!" Dixie greeted warmly. He had been over the previous morning after Adam had gone off to work, asking about the newspapers. She walked over to her husband and handed him his mug of chai tea before looping her arm through his, speaking to Ross again, "I'm sorry… I haven't seen any… you can have ours, though," Dixie looked up at Adam, "That should be alright, yes? Ross has been having quite the difficulties with his newspaper. I think we should just start ordering two copies and giving him one." She chuckled quietly and looked at Ross again. He was tall, rather very tall, and he had a head of red hair – bright red hair. He was a nice man, Dixie had talked to him once or twice, and each time she thought about how nice it was that they had nice neighbours like him. Dixie took a sip of her tea before introducing them, "Ross, this is my husband, Adam. Adam this is Ross, he's our neighbour to the…left…I think?" She looked questioning here, as if it were too early in the morning to have to decipher between right and left.

[Professor Adam Greene]

Ross? Adam gave an inquisitive look whenever Dixie greeted the man as though they had known each other for years. He took the mug of tea that she handed him, and he let the familiar aroma fill his nostrils. It brought a smile to his face as he was thankful for Dixie's constant attempts to do sweet things for him like make his most recent favourite beverage. The smile quickly faded though as his mind came back to the present situation where he stood at Dixie's side, still a bit taken of guard by the realization that Dixie and Ross seemed to know each other fairly well. Then, Dixie suggested that they simply give Ross their copy of the Prophet, and, even more, she suggested they might as well just order a second copy to be delivered for Ross on a permanent basis. "Uh, yeah, sure," Adam stuttered, not really sure if Dixie was being genuine or sarcastic. It wasn't like they couldn't afford it. The inheritance Adam received was more than enough to support a life much more lavished than what he and Dixie had chose to live. He found it odd though that Dixie would suggest something so forthright whenever he barely even knew anything about Ross. He seemed like a decent guy, but Adam wasn't going to base an assumption off of a few minutes of interaction.

"Here you go," Adam finally said, taking his wand from his pocket and levitating their copy of the Prophet from it's place on the ground where it had fallen through the mail slot on the door. Adam hadn't even scanned it yet, but he knew there'd be time to flip through the pages of the copy in the faculty lounge at Hogwarts. Adam was normally quite unselfish, but something about the situation seemed to cause him to feel a bit unsettled. He ignored the feeling though as Dixie properly introduced them to each other. "Nice to finally have an official meeting," he said with a half-smile as Dixie tried to figure out which direction Ross lived in respect to their own house. Adam shook hands with Ross after giving him the newspaper. "Thanks, mate," Ross replied. "Any time," Adam said, a bit hesitantly. "Hopefully your owl service improves for you." As Ross nodded and waved goodbye with a smile on his face, Adam closed the door with a click of the latch and turned back to Dixie with an odd sort of look on his face. "That was a bit bizarre," he commented with a confused grin.

"Anyyyways," Adam said, shrugging as he walked past Dixie and went back into the room to finish dressing for work. "What kind of pyjamas did you say you were making again? Anything made of silk? Not that you'd catch me dead in a pair of silk pyjamas." He laughed as he threw on his outermost layer (a black robe that Dixie designed with brilliant blue stitching) and walked up behind Dixie, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her on the back of the neck. "I was thinking about changing my hair colour," he whispered in her ear, changing the topic of discussion. Going back to preparing for work, Adam grabbed his magical briefcase which was a gift. It was supposed to hold a volume of over two-hundred times it's size, all the while weighing no more than a few kilograms. He took a sip of his chai before continuing with the thought of changing his hair color. "Perhaps I'll go with black. Professor Snape seems to gain quite a lot of respect from the students, even if it is only out of fear. Maybe it's the dark hair that does it for him." He laughed, wondering if Dixie even thought that he was being serious. "Then again, maybe I will go with red. Ross seemed to have the whole red-headed thing working for him." He smirked, and then ran his fingers through his hair. "Of course, I've been blonde my whole life. I don't know if it'd look good any other way." Adam was likely not going to change the colour of his hair, but it was something he had always considered. Sometimes he just wanted to mix things up a bit. Though, when it came down to it, he never was one to follow through with his random spurts of craziness.

Seeing that it was now too late to even think about making a few pieces of toast, Adam went straight for the refrigerator and poured himself a glass of cranberry juice. He would save the rest of his tea for when he got to work. Taking the glass to his lips, he drank the slightly acrid tasking juice and then put the empty glass in the sink. "So I'll see you at lunch then?" Adam asked, ready to grab his broom and fly to Hogwarts. The bad thing about Hogwarts having the shield that prevented apparation was that Adam had to fly to work every day. It was a short flight, but on the cold days, the weather could be quite biting to the uncovered skin. It was worth being able to live outside of the castle with Dixie though. Before his retirement, Dumbledore had agreed to let Adam live in Hogsmeade, rather than living in the castle like most of the professors. It would give him a chance to live a more normal life, especially if they were to ever have a family, something that Adam knew he needed to talk with Dixie about eventually. He was in no rush though. There was plenty of time for that. He didn't want to scare her either. For all he knew, the last thing she might want to consider could be raising a family. "Have a good morning, hon," he said, kissing Dixie goodbye as he took his broom from the closet and went outside where he kicked off of the ground and began his daily flight to work.

((You can either end it here and we can start a new post for a new day. Or, you can wrap this up and just continue in this same thread and have them meet for lunch. Or, you can just continue in this thread and pick up at the end of the day, assuming that we just skip lunch and pretend it happened. Doesn't matter to me. Just PM me if you want to discuss it. )

[Dixie Holden-Greene]

Dixie looked up at him when he answered her question about Ross just taking their copy. It wasn't like she read the paper, it depressed her too much, and it wasn't like Adam couldn't get another copy at the school – but still, she felt his attitude seem to change beside her. She chalked it up to him being surprised by the familiarity with which she greeted Ross, but that was somewhat expected. It was the first time Adam had met their neighbour, and it was the second time Dixie had met him. She didn't believe in formalities amongst neighbours – it came from living so far from the nearest neighbour when she was growing up. She liked the fact that she could right next door and knock on Ross's door if she wanted to, not that she would. Her eyes remained on Adam a moment, up until he levitated the paper to Ross, who took it. She looked down at her tea and managed a smile, that bright Dixie smile that brought a dimple to her right cheek, before waving bye to Ross. Adam then closed the door and Dixie looked up at him, shrugging slightly at his statement. She didn't think so, but then again she had when Ross had asked before. Again, she chalked it up to Adam being shocked.

She followed him slightly, still quiet, as he asked about her pyjama line. She stood in the doorway a moment before she decided it was time for her to get ready, too. Dixie took a sip of her tea and then set it down and moved to look through her dresser, "They aren't silk…" she said with a smile, trying to keep the image from Adam in silk pyjamas sneaking into her mind – she wouldn't be able to stop laughing if that happened, "They're cotton. They're aimed toward a teenage girl group, though, so I don't think you'd find in, love. I'm sorry." Dixie looked over her shoulder at him and smiled brightly before continuing her search through her dresser, "They're a set of pants and tops. The tops have some symbol on them – you get to choose between a peace sign, a yin and yang, et cetera et cetera. The bottoms have matching symbols. My adult ones… they're for women, they're the silk ones. They're a kind of… oriental feel to them, I guess you could say. I'll show you the sketches later…" Dixie shrugged and pulled out a pair of black dress pants and set them on top of her dresser just as she felt Adam's arms around her waist and his lips on her neck. She closed her eyes and shivered, before a small smile stretched across her face.

Then he whispered in her ear about changing his hair colour and Dixie let her jaw drop and she turned to look at him over her shoulder, but he was already walking away. She hurried out after him, "Wait wait wait… you…you want to change your hair colour?" Her eyes grew wide and she leaned against the island, watching him with a look of pure shock on her face. She loved his hair. She loved the colour of it. But of course, if he really wanted to go through with it, Dixie would be behind him one hundred percent. She listened to him talk about Snape, and that pulled a smile over her lips, but then he mentioned Ross and she raised an eyebrow, "I don't like red heads… besides…" she moved around the island over to him and lifted her hands to run her fingers through his hair gently, "I love your hair," she smiled softly at him. She wondered now if he was even being remotely serious about it, but nevertheless – she couldn’t help but fall for it.

"Lunch, yep." She kissed him back happily and then watched him leave for work. She looked out the window as he kicked off with his broom and she kept watching him until he was nothing more than a dot in the sky. Then with a heavy hearted sigh she walked back into the bedroom to finish getting ready, wondering how hectic her day was going to be and how she was ever going to get through it with the thought of Adam changing his hair colour on her mind.

-|-|-|-

"Coryn, Coryn…I told you…" Dixie sighed for the billionth time that day, "These are…uh… you know…you know what… just…" Dixie looked at her watch and sighed more, "This is fine for today…you go on home, I'll see you tomorrow." Coryn looked at her as if she were the sorriest person in the world. Dixie smiled softly and patted her hand, "Really… it's fine. Tarisa's happy with the work we've done for today. Hell, Tarisa would be happy with a little advancement, just the tiniest one." Coryn smiled and then packed up her things before heading out with a tossed goodbye in Dixie's direction. Dixie murmured one back and looked at the design that was on the table. She plucked at a curl and felt it spring back up before grabbing a coloured pencil and starting to shade in the design on the jeans. She didn't know how long she had worked, but when she looked up again it was because she was finished.

"Well, aren't you the busy little worker bee?" Tarisa Glass was sitting in one of the chairs in the corner, apparently she had been watching Dixie for awhile. Dixie jumped slightly and turned around, "I heard you tell Coryn to go home, why didn't you, I'm sure hubby's waiting for you." Tarisa smirked and stood from the chair, her long brown hair was pulled up into an elegant knot in the back of her head, and she wore a pant suit she had designed herself. Dixie shrugged and handed the sketch to Tarisa, "I over work myself, but I'm heading out now. I'll see you tomorrow." Dixie grabbed her bag and jacket and pulled it over her arm before heading toward the emergency stairwell she used as a means of apparating out. "Hey, Dixie?" Tarisa called from the doorway, causing Dixie to turn around and wait patiently, "You're a great designer." Dixie smiled softly and bowed her head in thanks before heading back in the direction she was heading before.

The feeling she got when Tarisa told her a design of hers was amazing, made Dixie feel like she was flying – it was the second best feeling, next to being with Adam. Which was where she was heading now. Dixie pulled her wand from her bag and apparated out of the stairwell. She had gotten used to apparating now that she had her license. She just didn’t like doing it after just eating. Dixie appeared in the living room of their cottage and collapsed on the couch. She usually got home later than Adam did simply because classes ended a lot earlier than her work day did, and so it was with confidence she called out for him.

((I just skipped the lunch. I hate having to RP them eating. ))

[Professor Adam Greene]

It had been a long day at work... not necessarily bad, but long. Lunch with Dixie seemed to go by so quickly, and Adam felt bad that his mind had been running a million different directions. A few times, she had to literally stop her conversation and bring his attention back to her. Overall, he was having a hard time accepting the fact that he was doing a sufficient job of teaching Arithmancy. After all, it wasn't like he specialized in it. It was a subject he merely enjoyed while a student at Hogwarts. He received good grades and all, but he never was quite convinced that he was the best choice for the job. Still, Dumbledore had seen something in him, otherwise he wouldn't have given the job to Adam, right? Dumbledore's judgment always had seemed to be quite near to being flawless, which was the only string of acceptance that Adam could cling to at that point. He wasn't doing terribly either. The students seemed to enjoy class, and he felt as though they were learning. It was just hard to finally accept that he was best suited for what he was doing. He knew it might take time to get fully adjusted to his change in career.

With a tired slump, he flew from the castle's highland to the valley where Hogsmeade rested. As the view of his cottage came onto the horizon, he smiled as he hoped that perhaps Dixie might already be there. A few minutes later, he landed gently on the moist ground, still wet from the light drizzle earlier that day. He walked up to the front door and without much of a thought, glanced over at the house which he knew belonged to Ross. Instinctively, a tug in the bottom of his stomach made him turn away, brushing it off as nothing more than a minor annoyance. He didn't know why, but something about Ross just seemed to get under his skin.

Fumbling with the doorknob and seeing that it was locked, Adam reached into his pocket with the realization that Dixie was spending yet another late day at work. He took out his wand and opened the door with the Alohomora charm. A dreary silence settled around him as he walked into the house. It was the time of day when the sun was just beginning to make its way along the horizon, preparing to set in the next hour or so. Dim shadows throughout the house were easily extinguished as Adam lit a few of the lamps in the living room and kitchen. He figured that he'd get a start on dinner so that by the time Dixie came home, they might have a quiet meal together. This time, he was determined to be a bit more attentive as he would attempt to prevent his mind from wondering. It helped that he was beginning to get a bit sleepy.

After changing into more comfortable clothing, Adam went to the kitchen and rifled through the cupboards. He decided on pasta, and then first began by putting a pot of water on the stove and lighting it with his wand. While he waited for the water to boil, he went to the fridge to find some tomatoes to begin making a sauce. Minutes passed as he continued to get dinner ready. It wasn't long though before he heard the front door open and Dixie call his name. "In the kitchen!" he answered, the aroma of his sauce filling the air. "Salad or no salad tonight?" he asked, knowing that Dixie was the one who always appreciated a good salad. The more time he spent living with her, the more he began to enjoy what it meant to be a family. Sure, it was only the two of them, but it was the most functional family he had ever lived in. Before, it was just he and Sierra. The Greenes had never been much of a real family with the way his parents were always away and distanced from Sierra and him.

As he thought about family, he realized that Dixie's family hadn't been to visit them in their new home yet. In fact, he wasn't even sure if Dixie had talked to her family at all recently. It was a subject that Adam tended to avoid unless she brought it up. Sierra had visited once, but being in school, she was often busy with work and Quidditch. Though, this year she had been able to make visits to Hogsmeade. Adam figured that the next time she made a trip there with the school that she might stop in for a bit. "So when are we going to invite your mom and Hank over for dinner? Or even Mack for that matter..." Adam smiled at the thought of inviting people over for dinner. It seemed so adult-like, and for a while, Adam was feeling as though he wasn't truly an adult. Despite being out of school, having a job, being married, and owning a house of his own, there was a part of him that felt too young for it all. It was growing on him though, and he knew that he wouldn't have preferred it with anybody but Dixie. "We need to invite Rae and Clay over too. Maybe even Bryce and Ash. They seemed pretty nice. Though, it would be weird, seeing that I have them in class." Adam laughed as he drained the water from the pasta and poured the homemade sauce over the limp noodles.

((Lol... I just realized that despite you skipping lunch to avoid rping them eating, I skipped right to dinner. We don't have to rp a lot of it. Plus, being at home gives us more options and less formalities that we have to worry about compared to eating at a restaurant. )

[Dixie Holden-Greene]

Dixie had pulled her legs up on the couch, stretching them in front of her leisurely, her head resting on the armrest and her eyes closing to the brightness of the room. It didn't take long for Adam's voice to reach her ears, telling her that he was in the kitchen, but it took her longer to get the energy to swing her legs over the couch and stand, making her way into the kitchen where she could smell something wonderful cooking. She pulled out her wand and levitated her bag into their room and then tucked her wand away before peeling off her coat from her back and resting it on the back of one of the stools at the island. She smiled lovingly at her husband and breathed in deeply, "Mmmm, I love a man who can cook," Dixie smiled at him, "Salad would be lovely," she told him in a soft, tired, tone of voice. She sat down on one of the stools and watched him cook, silently, her eyes drinking in the way everything just fit together. They were so perfect in their little cottage. If someone had told Dixie three years ago that she would be a wife to someone as amazing as Adam, living in a cottage in Hogsmeade, she would have laughed at them and referred them to her therapist, but now it was all she could see. It was just missing something, and every day Dixie felt like she was getting closer to understanding what they were missing.

She rested her chin in her hand as she listened to Adam ask her about inviting her mother and Hank over, and Mack, and she sighed slightly; "I don't know. Mother and Hank are…well…they're just getting over the separation, you know? I swear, they act like newlyweds more than we do. And Mack… well, she's…what? 5, 6 months pregnant? She just left Hogwarts a month or so ago, so you just missed her…but I'm sure having her and Alex over wouldn't be a problem. We'll just have to make sure she isn't about to go into labour. Apparating myself every day is one thing, apparating my very pregnant sister is another." Dixie rolled her eyes and then reached behind and unclipped her hair from the clip that she had used to pull it back while sketching earlier that day. She hadn't been happy when she heard about Mack's pregnancy, nor about her and Alex getting engaged, but Dixie had decided that it was Mack's life and no matter what Dixie said, Mack was going to do with it what she pleased. Besides, Dixie wasn't one to talk. She dropped out of school to run to Paris from memories and tragedies that swallowed them whole. Mack seemed happy, too, and Dixie – above everyone else – knew that Mack deserved happiness just as much as she did. Dixie had her happily ever after…why shouldn't Mack?

Adam was finishing up the dinner and Dixie realised just how hungry she really was. She had eaten at lunch, of course, but her appetite had slowly disappeared throughout the date as she had to keep working to get her husband's attention. She wasn't upset with him about it, she knew he was overwhelmed, but at the same time Dixie couldn’t eat while she felt like she was blabbering on and on about something that Adam just wasn't interested in, or didn't seem to be interested in. She smiled up at him when he spoke of Rae, Clay, Ashley, and Bryce, "Yeah, we'll have to soon; especially since Rae invited us all over to her cottage for Christmas. It's only fair to return the favour. Besides," Dixie smirked at Adam and stood from her seat on the stool and moving over to the fridge to take out a bottle of sparkling cider and then opening the cabinet and reaching up to take out two wine glasses. Although they had the glasses, Dixie and Adam rarely drank; or at least Dixie didn't and they hadn't had a drink together since that night. Sparkling cider and alcohol substitutes were often found in the house for dinners such as these, but other nights things were just fine with a glass of soda or milk. Tonight, though, was a cider type of night and Dixie moved around back to her seat to pour them some cider as she spoke, "I do wonder how Bryce and Ashley are doing. They seemed really cute together at the party, but something seemed… off…" Dixie shrugged. The former gossip queen was retired and did not really care about gossip like that anymore.

She took her wand out again and accio'd some napkins over to them, before helping Adam with setting up. Soon they were sitting and starting on their food, Dixie having to control her desire to just ravage the entire plate, "It's incredibly nice to come home to food when you've been starving all day," truth be told – Dixie had been eating more and more lately. She was surprised she hadn't gain weight, but she just couldn't stop herself. She was so hungry all the time. And she was getting pains in weird places. Not to mention she was feeling even more fatigued than regular. She figured it was from how little sleep she got, how busy she was, and little things like that. But now something nagged her in the back of her mind that she pushed away as she twirled some of the pasta around on her fork and ate. "How was your day, love?" Dixie asked after a couple of moments of silence, her lips rounding around the glass of cider as she took a sip. She loved the fact that they came home and ate together. When she was growing up, it was a rare site to see the family eating together unless her father had some big business partner over. She had always wondered what it would be like, and she now understood why everyone did it. They must love it just as much as she did.

[Professor Adam Greene]

Adam worked diligently to finish their meal as he listened to Dixie's reply about having her family over some night. At the mention of Mack being pregnant, his mind trailed off on the subject, a tinge of guilt washing over him when he thought about how he had been secretly using magical birth control so that Dixie wouldn't become pregnant. Every time he wanted to tell her about it though or simply talk about the idea of having children someday, something seemed to come up, and the conversation just seemed to slip away. Truth be told, Adam would have loved to have kids... eventually. The thought of being a father now though scared him more than he could explain.

"Yeah," he added, bringing himself once again back to the real world and making an effort to prevent himself from constantly slipping into a state of daydreaming. He wasn't even sure what he was agreeing to, but it was something about Clay, Rae, Bryce, and Ash. Together, he and Dixie finished setting up the table before sitting across from one another as the meal let off steam in front of them. Adam let out a small sigh and then smiled as he looked Dixie in the eyes. The small moments like this, the ones where it seemed that he could truly forget about the chaos that life naturally brought, were the times that he seemed happier than ever, his true self.

"Anything for you," he added with a grin whenever she commented on how nice it was to come home and find food waiting for her. Adam spooned out some of the pasta onto his plate and then tasted a bite of it. Could have used a bit more salt, he thought. Regardless, he was hungry, and it didn't taste terrible. He made a mental note to himself to experiment with some of the spices next time. Who knew he'd develop a bit of an interest in cooking once he was married and in the position that meals were his own responsibility and not that of the elves that made his meals at both his old home and Hogwarts.

"My day?" he questioned, forcing his uncooperative memory of the day to come back to him. Adam had a habit of forgetting some of the most recent things, such as what he had for breakfast. For him, he was constantly thinking about so many other things. Important things. He didn't have the mental capacity to keep up with his habitual pondering and at the same time remember the things he deemed mundane and unimportant. "I guess it was good," he finally concluded with a shrug. Nothing stood out as being terribly bad, and the highlight of his day was getting to see Dixie at lunch, despite being a bit distant. Again, he forced his concentration back to the here and now, making sure to treasure the small bits of life that gave him true joy. "And what about you, Mrs. Fashion? Anything new at work that you might be able to model for me?" He gave her a wink as he took another bite of pasta. His guilty smile was too much to hide as he caught Dixie's eye and laughed as he reached across the table squeezed her hand.

[Dixie Holden-Greene]

Dixie's eyes locked onto Adam's and for a second the entire world seemed to pause in its turning. Everything froze to her, as if there were nothing else going on – nothing of any importance close to this moment, to this life that she was living. It was as if there were no hardships in her past or soon to be in her future, and as if everything was falling into place as perfect as possibly could be. She loved the feeling that she got when she and Adam locked gazes, her brown eyes staring into his blue ones. It was the same feeling you got when you were on a roller coaster and you dropped down a hill – as if your stomach was suspended in mid air while the rest of you just goes at full speed. It was a feeling that Dixie never got tired of and for as long as Adam could make her feel that way – Dixie was going to remain the happiest person on Earth. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips, her dimple showing prominently. There wasn't really anything she could say to him in reply to it, there were no words to describe the fact that just him willing to do anything for her was far better than anything on the planet she had ever come into possession with. Her eyes told it all.

They started in on the meal then, and Dixie had asked about his day. As she ate silently, her stomach slowly quieting in the growling, she listened to Adam say he guessed it was good. She chuckled quietly at that before taking another sip of her wine and looking up at him. Days just seemed to be good lately – it wasn’t like in school where exciting things happened nearly every week. She had taken a bite of her pasta when he asked about her day, and if she had anything to model for him. Another smile tugged at her lips and she lifted her gaze at him, her eyebrows rising but her smile evident on her lips. She felt his hand on hers, and she squeezed it back, that familiar warm feeling spreading through her, "Maybe," she told him with a secretive glance before taking her hand back and picking up her glass of cider again. Truth be told, she hadn’t done anything at work that day except design. Nothing had been created, they were getting ready for a runway show in London in a couple of weeks and so Tarisa had been off supervising that, but Dixie had been stuck at the studio with Coryn – trying to perfect a dress for high fashion; which was something that she hadn't dabbled in yet.

Tarisa had been talking about needing Dixie for the show, but Dixie wasn't sure she wanted to supervise the show. She would have to think about it, talk it over with Adam, see what he thought. She wasn't quite sure why she didn't want to supervise it, probably because she wanted to get a jump on her own line and her own company but Tarisa had always been very understanding of her so Dixie felt guilty for even thinking of saying no. Dixie finished her pasta and looked up at Adam again, "Ashley and Rae are coming over tomorrow," she told him with a shrug, "we're sneak attacking Ash with hair dye and new clothes," a pleased smile spread across Dixie's face, but the little voice in the back of her head told Dixie what she had really invited them over for. She shrugged it off, shrugging her shoulders, too, and finished off the rest of her meal before leaning back in her seat, her eyes locked on Adam's and her smile spread over her face more as she watched him finish eating. Then she stood from her seat and took up their dishes, setting them in the sink before heading back over to him and kissing the side of his head and whispering, "I might have something to model."

With that, she reached for his hand and gently pulled him up from his seat, weaving her fingers in between his, trying to push any worrying thought from her mind.

((Have I always sucked at ending posts? *looks confused*))