Cross My Heart | Bae

If there was ever a single thing on this earth that could make Benji defy the very laws of gravity, it would be Ruth Anaya. That smile of hers, wily and unapologetic would lead him to do things his mind would never conjure otherwise. There was no part of him that could resist her, and time and time again he'd found himself in a world of trouble and 'bad' decisions, all because she'd needed him. He regretted none of it, and would continue to embrace every single temptation she dangled in front of him.

At his own detriment surely, but Benji had never been one for precaution.

"Still waiting for my exorcism."

As the ocean attempted to do Julia's job for her, Benji held tightly to his sweet girlfriend his hands locking against his elbows as the wave caught him with its momentum. He stumbled slightly, water filling his ears as his lips held fast against Rae's, refusing to relinquish them even against the force of nature demanding otherwise.

He grinned as she pulled away, both of their heads popping up above the surface again, his heart beating erratically now behind his sternum in his greed to have her again. "Don't you dare," he finally muttered, stealing another kiss, even as he felt a sudden tug around his middle.

What Rae didn't realize was that Benji wouldn't just have guards posted outside his door - he'd probably be forced to sleep on the sofa of Julia's room that night. He held fast to the girl as he felt himself being pulled by invisible hands back to the shore, while Julia remained sitting on the beach, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

He tumbled backwards into the sand as they met the shore, taking Rae with him and he burst out into a laugh, looking back up at his mum and sister. "C'mooon," he said, a sheepish grin playing on his lips.

"Don't make me take you home, Benji. Or you, Rae."

Julia looked at them over the edge of her sunglasses, before turning her attentions back to Kate and Adira.

Benji grinned at his girlfriend, his eyes finding hers again and her murmured quietly. "One more go?"

Rae giggled at the second kiss, thriving under the way she continued to command Benji's attention. It had been an issue since their first year--if one could really call it an 'issue'. Rae thought it was fine. Long before they'd gotten tangled up with each other as anything more than contentious best friends with poor communication skills, Rae had always ...sometimes destructively...chased his smiles, his tugs, even his exasperation. The saying, "bad attention is better than no attention" was a perfect mirror of the way she felt about the boy, and she'd proven time and time again how willing she was to make that reality.

Thankfully, that hadn't been the case in a long while. They still bickered, and there were times their feelings got hurt, but it felt like ages since she'd last had to lose her ever-loving mind for Benji to pay attention. It came easily now, effortlessly, flowing freely from the boy and into her.

She wouldn't dare put an end to it, nor did a single muscle in her body want to. Rae felt like she could stay out there in the water with him forever.

Fate, or rather Julia Laurence, had other plans.

It was subtle at first, the tug that saw them moving closer to shore. With her line of sight trained out at the ocean, the young girl didn't realise that the motion she felt had nothing to do with the unrelenting waves and everything to do with a mother determined to put an end to their good time.

But she did notice, eventually.

With only moments before they crashed into the sand, Rae became acutely aware of the fact that the water all around her was receding. From her shoulders, down to her waist, then lapping at her calves. A shiver ran through her at the sudden exposure to the air after being submerged. That was all her body had time for before the pair of them went toppling to the ground.

Benji broke her fall, absorbing the greater sum of the impact and allowing her a soft thud of a landing. His laughter tore hers from her throat. Despite the severe look Julia cast at them to behave, Rae was in stitches.

Not actually wanting to be taken back to the castle though, she rolled off her boyfriend, flopping next to him in the sand where she could once again feel the sun beating down on her face while she offered Julia her own amused grin.

"One more go?"

Brown eyes flickered briefly back to Julia. The woman seemed preoccupied, Kate giving silent pleas for her to get the sand off her satin gloves. Rae made to ask why the girl even bothered at the beach and on such a hot day, but Benji had said she was a weirdo and that was enough explanation to cover a multitude of things she'd seen the girl do on the rare occasions she saw her at all. Sand would be everywhere, fussing over her bathing suit wouldn't stop that.

"You'll get us both grounded," Rae whispered with conspiratorial glee. She propped herself up onto her elbows and leaned over to plant another kiss on his lips, not nearly as bothered by the possibility of being stuck in a luxury room for the night.

"You'll get us both grounded."

A threat that landed with absolutely no impact whatsoever. Benji had been in trouble countless times, still holding the record for the most detentions in one term - a feat that much to Julia's exasperation, he was quite proud of. There were consequences of course that he was happier to avoid, and therefore didn't do things that would reap them.

This however, when Rae's lips found his again, was an action he was one-hundred percent happy to take the fall for.

Warm, soft and sweet. There had never been anything else on the face of the planet that had made Benji feel simultaneously at peace and chaotic at the same time. It was a strange dichotomy that he had zero intention of trying to understand, but the way his heart raced and slowed at the same time every time her kiss met his was thoroughly addicting. It sent soft flickers through his veins, his lips buzzing with the sensation he never wanted to relinquish.

The only thing that could have parted him was the sharp slap of fabric that hit both of them in the side of the face. He yelped slightly, more from surprise than pain as Julia's hat, having taken on a mind of its own, attacked the two furiously, whacking and slapping away. From the towel, Adira crowed and giggled, her babyish laughs bubbling up and filling the air around them.

"That's right, Little. It's what they deserve, isn't it - Kathryn! Darling, are you sure you don't want to lose the gloves? It's scorching out here..."

---

Later That Evening

"Not bad. Both in one day, eh?"

Benji smiled as he held the reins to Rosie's black mare, Noir, a sugar cube flat in his palm. She was a smaller horse, gentle and good for beginners - or at least that's what the groom had said. Benji had ridden her a handful of times before and she seemed lazy enough, never picking up the pace past a leisurely trot.

It wasn't his thing. He preferred his skateboard and not smelling like a barn after, but plenty of the family seemed to enjoy their horses. They often went riding together - though he usually elected to sit it out unless Rosie insisted he keep her company. "Here," he said offering his girlfriend a cube. "Hold your hand flat out, right under her nose. She won't bite - not like Amelia's sodding beast." The memory of the chomp at his hip sent a scowl across the Hufflepuff's face.

"Want to ride and I'll walk her?"

If there was one thing Rae could say she wasn't used to, it was adult supervision. Rather, it was the sort of adult supervision that took a real interest in her indulgences and sought to put an end to them. The girl had to say...she wasn't a fan. Her lips couldn't have had more than two or three seconds before she and Benji were being accosted by a vengeful hat that didn't abide watching the youth enjoy themselves.

Rae recoiled when it started hitting, her back growing straight as she pulled up off of Benji and into a sitting position. Both hands went up to block the hat's attacks, the baby's giggles punctuating the absurd nature of what they were being made to endure.

"Alright, alright, we're done," Rae whined. Couldn't even enjoy a good snog on a beach anymore. It was the very antithesis of the soft girl summer she'd always wanted to carve out for herself.

Next time, they were coming to the beach on their own.

They would just...uh...have to convince Julia...that that was still a viable option. Rae scooted away from her boyfriend, leaving him to the hat's retribution. She scooped up Adira and plopped her in her lap to answer to the tickle monster, allowing Julia to deal with her little shadow, who was adamant to have the sand removed without losing the gloves in the process.

She supposed she could kiss her boyfriend another time.

---

"Not bad. Both in one day, eh?"

It wasn't at all.

Rae was tired from the day of water fun and heat, but it was easy to push a large portion of that aside when Benji told her they could still go horse riding. The tiredness in her lips dissipated, and that nap she'd been so sure she needed was now delayed by at least an hour.

Rae carefully took the cube of sugar, stepping closer to the creature that easily towered over her. "I never knew they were this big..." she said with quiet awe, extending a hand with straightened fingers for the animal to help herself. They had winged horses back at Hogwarts, in the menagerie, but they were magical and bigger than THIS horse.

The young girl thought...for whatever reason, that only magical horses really got to any notable size, but this was already proving less true, and there was little she could do but marvel.

His question had her turning large brown eyes to him.

"You're not riding with me?" Wasn't that how all the majestic tales went? The maiden on horseback, freshly rescued by the prince. They had to gallop into the sunset that was still a few hours away, but had started. Mind you, Rae didn't need rescuing and had spent much of their relationship reminding Benji of this (even just as friends), but sometimes a girl wanted to be swept off her feet, dammit!

"It'll be more fun if we do it together," she insisted.

There was nothing else for it. He was getting on that horse with her.

"Yeah and she's a smaller one," he said petting Noir's nose lightly. He'd been surprised too, the first time he'd laid eyes on the horses at just how big they actually were. Growing up in the city and knowing literally no one who could have ever afforded a horse, it didn't lend to him being exposed much to them. "Like this," he said, straightening Rae's hand out just a little more, and held her hand up as the horse nibbled at the sugar cube.

"You're not riding with me?"

Well, he certainly wasn't planning on it. "No, I was just gonna..." he held up the reins and gave them a little shake, nodding as though it was the most obvious thing. He'd walk the horse and Rae could ride to her heart's content. He'd get his exercise and wouldn't have to smell like a barn after. It really was a win-win situation here.

"It'll be more fun if we do it together."

"Ugh," he groaned, seeing the way those bright brown eyes twinkled at him. It was ridiculous how easily she could get him on board for all the shit he had absolutely no interest in. Dueling, dancing, horseback riding. It was getting ridiculous, honestly. He grinned as he rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said, tossing the reins up and over Noir's head. With one hand on the horn of the saddle, he hiked one foot up into the stirup and swung his other leg over the side of the horse's back.

He reached his hand down to pull her up, and when she'd gotten properly seated behind him, he gave a little click of his tongue.

Noir led them out of the stable and out into the wide open fields that spanned the estate, barely trotting along. Merlin, they could have jogged faster. "She's lazy." Benji gave a little chuckle. "Rosie's dad was thinking about getting her a new one, and keeping Noir for the little girls when they're older," he trailed off a bit.

He gave a little shrug. "Might be able to get her running when we get her further out."

She could already hear the beginnings of protest falling from his lips. No, he wasn't planning to ride. Yes, he probably had something else in mind. Something far less suitable to the day she was having than her boyfriend hopping on the horse with her so they could have the cutest ride of their entire life. Then, maybe they'd break into a gallop across the countryside like the heroes of old. The wind whipping at her still-damp hair, tearing at the clothing, while the horse led them on a journey of discovery.

The girl had it all planned out in her head and only needed him to plop himself atop the saddle and take on the role of the male interest in her fantasy.

"Ugh."

Rae grinned at his groan, wide as a Cheshire cat at his willingness to play along when he so obviously didn't want to. In many ways, she was used to it. Benji Laurence usually had complaints. Flower crowns were his main gripe, but there were a myriad of other things he preferred not to be involved with. Something about not being a pansy, and always something about whether she wanted a real boy or a fruit cake.

She wanted him just the way he was, of course. Rae just...also liked to be indulged. It was just about her favourite thing in the world.

Positively delighted, she planted a kiss on his cheek before he pulled away to get himself settled on the horse. The girl took his hand when it was offered and helped herself up behind him. Both hands wrapped around his middle, locking at her fingers. Rae nestled herself against his back, ready for this portion of her summer fantasy to begin.

"She's lazy."

"You be nice to this horse, Benji. She's gonna take us across the tall grass and into the sunset." But not if they hurt her feelings. It was probably important to shower a horse in compliments, the way she showered Echo in them. It could only end well.

"She'll run when she's good and ready. You just make sure you look really manly when she does."

The kiss on his cheek was enough reward in itself, all he needed to shrug off his own irritation.

Warmth flooded his cheeks as her arms wrapped around him and he shook his head a bit. "She doesn't speak English, Rae. She barely understands anything beyond a sugar cube." Noir wasn't the smartest horse, he'd gathered. Aside from being slow in her pace, she also seemed slow to catch on to what was going on at any given moment. A sugar cube was seemingly the only thing that got the animal to heed any sort of request, but at least she didn't bite.

He could deal with stupid. Not so much aggressiveness.

Across the grass and into the sunset. If Rae knew anything about Noir, she'd know they'd be lucky to get the horse past the cherry orchards without her stalling to nibble her fill.

"There's nothing manly about bouncing up and down on a saddle," he insisted, deciding he liked the feeling of his girlfriend leaning against his back, the soft scent of her hair wafting from behind him and filling his senses. "James said I need more lessons to...uh, stop doing that I guess, but I'm not really interested."

Steering clear of the cherry orchards, much to Noir's obvious irritation, the duo moved slowly towards the open fields. "What do you think of everything so far?" he asked, and then glowered a bit to himself. "Aside from my uncle that is."

Honestly. Benji couldn't even exist in his own home without having to compete with someone for Rae's attentions.

As the field opened up in front of them, the boy clicked his tongue again, pressing the heels of his shoes lightly into Noir's side, urging her to do anything other than practically drag herself. As though understanding that there was company - a sweet girl who had defended her honor against the offending boy - Noir gave a little snort and with an energy Benji had never seen before, began to bolt across the field.

"Shit!" He gripped the reins tightly, hoping Rae was holding on. "Shiiiiit."

He didn't...exactly...know how to make her stop.

Ah, there he went trying to be manly again, insisting this moment wasn't already a defining point of their summer, with him taking the lead and holding the reins so firmly and leading them across the grounds looking every bit as regal and stately as the duke he would one day become because James wasn't allowed to have more babies.

"We'll agree to disagree. You'll fuss about what makes you a man, and I'll swoon over what's happening. We can compare notes after, but I reckon I'll have been the one to have a better time." Hell, she was already having a grand time, even amid his protests on her perception of what was going on. By now, her boyfriend knew good and well that not many things could remove her from the fantasies she buried herself in. Rae liked the worlds she created and, as often was the case, she nestled right in and ignored the things she neither liked nor served her.

Truly a simple girl.

"What do you think of everything so far?"

"Well--"

"Aside from my uncle that is."

Rae nuzzled her face into his back, amused by his caveat. Of course, she noticed the way Benji soured every time she spoke of his uncle, in the same way she was sure he noticed the way her literal soul lit up every time the man walked into a room. It wasn't her fault she had working eyes, and it wasn't Benji's fault he wasn't a strapping older man with an entire dream castle and a smile that could end wars.

"Silly," she teased, chiding the boy lightly. "You hate to see me having a good time." Rather, he hated to see her ogling someone she already knew she could never have and had no real intention of pursuing. It was Elliot all over again.

He hadn't handled that well either.

"But, I like it. It's all so grand. I feel like...like I've been sent off to a whole different Britain." Nothing like the streets that had been home for so long and not like the newer world she'd found with her mother. It felt like a whole thing on its own. "I couldn't imagine it. I'm here, and it still doesn't feel real." She bet Benji had felt like that for a long while, too. Back at school, he'd admitted to not feeling like he deserved it, and now she could see why. It had nothing to do with the veracity of the statement and everything to do with the sheer...opulence...

"You finally m--"

And they were off.

Rae's sentence died in her throat, replaced by the gasp that scrambled up her throat when Noir suddenly took off. It sent her heart hammering at once, the girl delighted by the dramatic turn of events. While Benji swore, Rae grew alive.

"WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

This was what she'd followed him down to the barn for.

"Faster, Benji! Faster!"

The sweetest nuzzle into his back, and for a moment, Benji decided that maybe...her idea hadn't been a terrible one. Despite her gentle teasing about his uncle, he had to admit that he liked the way his jealousy got her attention, and the way it then showered on him.

He understood what she meant, of course. Both of them had grown up on the streets - it was just three years ago that had been their life. Scrounging, fighting, scrapping, surviving. It was all surreal to look at them now.

Of course, he couldn't really ponder all of it in depth with the way his heart was slamming into his chest with ever unexpected slam of Noir's hooves against the earth.

FaStEr?!

Benji didn't think he could slow this fucking horse down if he wanted to at this point. Color him surprised that now, when he was sat atop it with his tiny girlfriend clinging to him and screaming like this was the best thing ever - because she was nuts, genuinely - Noir would decide to unlock her inner Thoroughbred and launch them down the field like she had money riding on the outcome.

The Hufflepuff clung to the reins, knowing they were the only thing tethering him to his mortal form. Of all the ways the boy thought he'd meet his end - and make no mistake that he always figured he'd die young - it definitely wasn't being launched from the back of an ordinarily lazy horse.

Rae, meanwhile, was pressed up behind him, whooping like she’d just won the lottery, her laughter ringing out over the thundering hooves.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?!" Benji shouted, though he doubt anyone could hear it over the sound of Rae's cackling and Noir's unhinged gallop. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest, his cheeks feeling windburned. Even if they weren't, he was absolutely convinced. He'd never recover from this.

But then, Rae’s arms squeezed tighter around his waist, her laughter brushing his ear. Against his will, he couldn't help the grin that broke across his lips, even as they rocketed toward certain death.

At the very least, a completely embarrassing dismount.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?!"

"We're having the time of our lives!" Rae yelled back.

If Benji was terrified or uncertain, it was entirely lost on the 13-year-old who felt like the wind itself riding atop this majestic steed. She could feel the way his muscles tightened beneath her arms, but it had been easy to chalk it up to him tensing so he wouldn't suddenly lose grip of the reins. Much like had been the case back at the beach, Benji was the anchor tethering them now, the last defense against them both toppling off the horse and potentially breaking their necks.

Speed like this, it was only a matter of how injured they'd be, not whether or not they would be. Such thoughts didn't last very long inside her head. They were moving too quickly for doubts and fear to creep in, possibly outrunning even common sense itself.

Even if not thrown suddenly, Rae had heard that horses could trip, and when they did, their weight often meant serious injury for them and the rider.

But, again, nothing for her to concern herself with. Benji knew exactly what he was doing (surely, why else would he have spurred the horse into this gallop as she was so sure he did?). It was evident the boy already knew so much about Noir--maybe he knew tons about all the horses back in the stable--and she wasn't about to complain about him wanting to show off.

Consider her overly impressed.

Easing around him to have a better look at where they were going (tall boyfriend problems), Rae spotted an opening within the line of trees.

"There!" She tugged at his arm, trying to convince him of their next course. "I bet it leads out into the meadows! Turn there, Benji!"

It was time to take their little breakaway show on the road and see what Noir could really do. Rae could only imagine how thrilled the horse was to finally have an opportunity to prove she wasn't what they'd all thought. It was a mini-freedom party for them all, even her boyfriend in his...er...current state.

"Hurry, or we'll miss the turn!"

"We're having the time of our lives!"

Yes, Noir and Rae were having the time of their lives. The horse's snorts and grunts as she ran, the way she didn't seem ready to let up any time soon, certainly seemed to lend to the idea she was just as enthused as Ruth Elliot.

Benji liked a good adrenaline rush - when it was on his terms. An unexpected equine death march across the estate grounds, however, was not on his planned list of thrills. "Glad one of us is!" he shouted back to his completely unfazed girlfriend, while he made a mental list of all the little rememberances that would grace his headstone.

'Son. Brother. Would-Be-Heir. Known for his questionable life choices and killer upper body strength. Survived by his lunatic girlfriend.'

If Benji Henry could read minds, a part of him might have melted a bit at Rae's assessment of his horse-jockeying abilities, but he would have argued she was sorely mistaken. The boy had absolutely zero clue what he was doing.

"I bet it leads out into the meadows! Turn there, Benji!"

She really needed to start having less faith in him. In fact, he was certain that if she did, they'd already be halfway to stopping this demon horse together. Instead, he was panicking as she screamed coordinates at him and urged him to somehow control the horse in that specific direction.

He pulled tightly on the reins, urging Noir to the left, and felt a slight relief when the horse obeyed. Great, now maybe if he could figure out how to make her stop, she might acquiesce to his commands. They tore through the line of trees, Benji ducking low to avoid branches, and hoping Rae was following suit, less she be absent a head.

Out the other side, the wide meadow opened up, leading further out into the far ends of the grounds. Through patches of wildflowers and an actually insane leap over a small hedge, Benji had decidedly had enough. With his heart slamming into his sternum at a rate he'd never felt before, he pulled back on the reins, praying to whatever omniscient presence available, that it'd actually work.

It did.

When Noir finally slowed her gallop and came to a slight trot and finally a full stop, the boy practically fell off the horse, his legs so wobbly and jittery that he didn't know if he'd ever be able to stand again. The dramatics were truly in full force. Benji slumped to the ground, fighting to catch his breath, not caring if Noir took off on her own again. Truly, let someone else try to wrangle her.

He shook his head, certain that his heart had forgotten how to beat at a proper rate. He glanced up at his girlfriend with an exhausted grin. Reaching into his pocket he produced the last two sugar cubes and clicked his tongue at the horse. Ears perked, she leaned her snout down when Benji held his hand above his head, taking her little reward.

"Did I ever tell you I hate horses?"

Rae was along for this impromptu treat, ready at every step of the way. When the trees appeared, she ducked; when the meadow opened up, she gasped in awe. Receiving Benji's invitation to spend a week at the castle, the girl had had a different image in mind. She imagined Hogwarts first, with its wide open spaces and infinite possibilities. Then she remembered he was part of some nobility now, and it likely wouldn't be a free-for-all. That had tempered her expectations significantly, and left her thinking they would have a...nice but ultimately uneventful time.

How wrong she'd been!

Darting through the undergrowth, watching a new world open up while the wind whipped and whistled old tales of lighthearted adventure, Rae felt each and every care in life melt away. There was no past dragging behind her, reminding her of where she'd come from or the things she endured, nor was there a future that required her contemplation or fear.

There was only a horse that had received her own liberation, the warmth radiating off the back of her boyfriend, and the wild thumping of her heart while her system flooded with intoxicating adrenaline. For a girl who always chose to live in the moment, forsaking all else, Rae was entirely captivated.

But nothing lasted forever, not even a joy ride with her best friend.

Noir's movements grew slow, the tautness in Benji's muscles alluding to it being something of his doing.

She didn't protest beyond a soft, disappointed huff. Rae watched the boy slink off the horse and onto the ground, looking like he'd just come out of one of those fancy Muggle washing machines. For the first time since they'd taken off, she could see that he hadn't been having as good a time as she and Noir had been, and for that reason, she wouldn't tease him mercilessly. Instead, Rae scooted forward to take his spot, leaning forward against the horse's neck in a more relaxed posture.

"That was amazing," she said airily, a bit of awe and wonder remaining in her eyes. The comfort was short-lived when Benji's offer of sugar got the horse bending, forcing her into a more erect posture again.

"And you get to do this whenever you want."

"Did I ever tell you I hate horses?"

She grinned widely at him, affection pooling for the fact that he'd indulged her, knowing damn well he had no business being on the thing if he hated her so much. "We'll fix that. You just need one of your own you can love on indiscriminately and talk to in cute, tiny little voices."

Teasing? Only slightly.

Rae cast her gaze out toward the rest of the meadow. "This is incredible." It reminded her of the times her new mother had let her go on excursions with her, out with the creatures and vast expanse to be explored like she used to imagine her make-believe father did.

"And you get to do this whenever you want."

Never.

Benji pressed his lips together as she shook his head, his expression making no secret of exactly what he thought about it all. It was all good and well that Rae had loved it - honestly, good for her. Benji was thrilled that his girlfriend was having a good time; it could only bode well for her wanting to come and visit more in the future.

But he was perfectly fine never sitting atop that thing again.

"We'll fix that. You just need one of your own you can love on indiscriminately and talk to in cute, tiny little voices."

He couldn't help the laugh that burst through his lips, originating deep in his throat at the very idea. "Professor Barlowe would make Julia's ears bleed if she ever considered getting me one," he said with an even more emphatic grimace. And that was saying a lot considering the man - who he considered his favorite of all the professors - could hardly seem to muster enough energy to keep his eyes open most days. "No," he said heavily, finally feeling like he was catching his breath. "I think I'll do us all the favor and pass on that one."

He glanced up at his girlfriend, a smirk finally perking up in the corner of his mouth. "I'll just save all my cute little voices for Echo. She seems to appreciate it more than this one anyway."

Absentmindedly, he gave Noir an affectionate little pat on the snout, wiping his hands together once she'd taken the sugar cubes.

"This is incredible."

It was. Even he had to admit it. The boy followed her gaze out across the rolling hills that stretched far out towards Arundel village and even further towards the beaches they'd just visited. "Yeah," he agreed quietly, "it's sorta unreal, you know?" He knew he didn't have to elaborate, Rae was likely already thinking it. To be here, as a part of it all, as though he belonged and never had anywhere else - it often threw the boy's mind for a loop. If his mates back in Hackney had any way of knowing about this, he knew they'd roast him endlessly. Call him a sell-out or a soft-boy or anything else they could manage.

Knowing they'd jump at the chance too if it had fallen in their lap.

"Someday," he said, his grin widening, "this is all gonna be ours." Hazel eyes settled on the image of the line of deep blue in the distance, wondering how many other boys his age had sat in this same spot and thought the same thing over the centuries.

He sighed finally, flopping back into the grass, letting the warm evening air envelop him as Noir snorted and helped herself to a patch of wildflowers that looked extra enticing. "Coming down here?" he motioned up at Rae, as he closed both of his eyes, waiting for her to take him up on his offer.

Rae ignored the faces her boyfriend was making, content to believe that Benji was living this surreal life with majestic horses galloping across meadows and a stirring sense of conquering the unknown.

The girl was no Gryffindor, couldn't stand most of that brood or their way of turning the most peaceful of nights out wandering into a recipe for getting her millionth detention. Still, this sort of thing appealed to her. Being out in nature had always offered solace for her. When the walls closed in, it was the place she felt free. There was a reason that only the harshest winters could force her to remain inside the castle.

Rae snorted lightly at his little quip about Barlowe. "That man can't even be arsed to move when it rains. You think he'd care if your mum got you a horse?" Professor Barlowe was many things. Concerned about the pets kids kept at home in fancy castles wasn't one of them.

"I just think if you gave Noir another try, you'd fall in love." Rae was already getting there. Rosie was a lucky girl to have a horse this sweet, willing to hammer her way through trees and fields alike in the pursuit of something alive. She'd have to ask her later if she could ride her again, maybe see if they'd let her help take care of her while she was there.

Wouldn't that be a dream?

"Someday, this is all gonna be ours."

That sentence squeezed at something inside her chest, forcing her gaze back to the boy who made himself comfortable in the grass. Her expression softened as dark eyes took him in. 'Ours', he'd said. His...but also hers. Theirs. When Benji Laurence thought of his future, she was still in it. The sudden emotion of such a realisation created a small lump in the back of her throat that she forced herself to swallow.

No one's future ever involved her. Rae had become used to being a temporary fixture, there, then thrown away. Billie often said different, and she was starting to believe her new mother. Now there was Benji, too. When he looked at this big castle and all its fancy fixings, when he thought of the life he'd someday have as a duke...he thought of her, too. She didn't know whether she could trust the feelings that swirled through her, but she liked them and supposed that was all that mattered for the moment.

"Coming down here?"

She didn't need a second invitation. Rae slid off Noir's back, hitting the grass without a sound. She patted their faithful steed on the nose in final thanks before slinking down next to Benji. The girl nestled herself into his side, her head resting on his chest, where she could listen to the rhythmic sound of his heart beating. With time, her eyes closed, too.

"I love you, Benji," she said, nuzzling briefly against his chest.

It was the perfect end to what had been a perfect day. Rae allowed herself to melt into the comfort and stillness, her mind still going back to his words. She wanted to hear them over and over as silent reassurance that just maybe, he would stay.