Christmas Break ( Keela / Vincent )

[shava]

He nodded at her surprised look. "Yep, they are wild cats domesticated. Very independent mind and very smart. used to doing things for themselves." Listening to the mention of a fancy wedding, he nodded. He'd heard that wedding planning could get out of hand very quickly, but wasn't sure exactly why that was. "Hmm. Circus? We can try to track one down..." Laughing at the mention of lock and key he hugged her close, glad she saw his family as he did enough to be able to joke about it. Knowing both of his siblings, they would be in it for the shock-the-bride's-family fun of it all.

"We'll have to warn your family about the shock factor and practical jokes. I doubt taking a wand would do any good, love, I'm sure they both have extras by now." he remembered her mother did seem to like a black choker a lot, not that he knew what the little heart was. "Most of the time? I never noticed a key one, only a heart on a little choker thing." Interested as she spoke he watched, remembering the spell as the face on the watch changed. While he had never seen the picture before, he found himself remembering the moment from a different angle.

"Niiiice... Oh yeah, I will like being reminded of that moment!" Slipping an arm around her he pulled himself closer, sliding his hand just under the edge of her waist line, a comfortable spot. The stone she had never mentioned before and his eyes went to hers with some surprise, a growing "I-told-you-so" in his face, delighted. "Really? You never told me about that!" Oh yes, this watch had some very special bits already... He kissed the side of her head and whispered into her ear "Years from now I'm still going to be telling the kids about the day mommy snogged daddy for the first time."

Vincent didn't know the name, but he had seen the symbol before, something Irish he knew. As she explained he nodded listening and smiling a bit as well. "Nice thinking, Mova, but I think anytime in the present with you is going to be my favorite, I'm not going to rush into the future, not with you here with me now." She blushed and he knew she was slightly uncomfortable, but he didn't want her to forget it either. "Keela," as he slid his hands around her and pulled her onto his lap, turning her so she had a leg on either side of him not for fantasy, but direct seriousness.

Putting a finger on the end of her nose he looked her right in the eyes up close. "I love your blushes, but darling we're a pair now." He laced his fingers in hers lifting them up on both sides as he spoke, his eyes wanting her to hear his every word. "We're going to build a new life together. No more lonely, no more me me me, but us us us." Kissing her very softly on each eye one at a time he said lovingly "We own each other, love, you'd better get used to the fact that this flesh is yours just like yours is mine. Don't be embarrassed to talk to me, love, about anything. We're in this together and that's my heart your blushing with, you hear me?" The end of that was a bit more loving then anything else, but the laughter was in his voice with it.

To her other points he just held her close on his lap and said softly "We can play it by ear. I'm starting to wonder myself about me. Not sure which way I want to head but I think building things makes the most sense and I do enjoy it. Maybe a pet store full of creations like Octo?"

[kyla]

She gave him a pointed look and smiled, "sounds like someone else I know", she teased. Rolling onto her side, she leaned up and pressed a kiss to the spot where his neck met his collarbone, nipping playfully before she returned her attention to the conversation. Her eyes widened, looked almost childlike in her excitement. "Can we?" her answering grin was radiant. The thought got her wondering about the rest of their travel time over the summer. The sky was literally the limit, and she wondered where the wind would take them. Enjoying his closeness, she laid her head on his chest. "What are you hoping to see while we're gone, love?" Keela had been traveling since she was young, but there was still so much of the world she hadn't seen. The thought was exciting, if a bit intimidating.

Keela's expression became thoughtful. "You don't think they'd really..." She rememebered who she was talking about, and the sentence trailed off. "Nevermind, we'll think of something. Maybe I can bribe them." Or threaten them, but she wouldn't bring that up just yet. "Oh right", she grinned. "I keep forgetting it only opens for mum and dad. He gave it to her while they were dating at Hogwarts." They'd been around the same age as she and Vin, she knew, which was really rather ironic when she thought about it. His touch was equal parts comforting and enticing. She wondered if the effect would dim over time, but looking into his eyes, she doubted it. His surprise was satisfying, and she grinned cheekily at him. "Slytherins aren't the only ones who know how to keep secrets, Caro." He brushed his lips over her ear, and the soft tone of his voice made her shiver in response. Turning her head, she pressed her lips to his, nipped his bottom lip gently and pulled back only far enough to see his eyes. "and I'll tell them how mummy beat daddy at skipping rocks. Sounds fair."

She smiled, "charming as ever, love", she assured him. When he pulled her into his lap, she met his eyes questioningly. The only time she could remember sitting this way was when they were kissing. It communicated an intimacy with which she was growing familiar. The seriousness in his eyes caught her attention. She was used to that intensity, but it rarely carried into conversation this way. Her lips quirked and she smiled warmly. "I know", she murmured. His lips on her skin were warm, and she wrapped her arms around his neck before leaning in to brush her lips across his throat. "I hear you love, I promise" Her lips trailed up and across his jaw line, and she pressed her body to his. It had been such a long time since they'd had any real privacy, but then, someone could walk in at any moment here as well. The thought cooled her ardor and she pulled back, biting her lip. "Later", she assured him, eyes dark and looking intensely into his before turning her attention pointedly to the door.

She pictured it, and smiled. [Color=Gold"It could work, its up to you, love."

[/Color] He still had time, she reminded herself, to figure things out while he finished his last year of school. The money in her trust fund could tide them over if need be. Oh, right, her trust fund. She'd only just found out, having been raised thoroughly upper middle class all her life, that her mum's family had been very very wealthy at one time. That part hadn't come as a big surprise, she'd seen Gran's house after all. What had thrown her, was the several million galleons currently stored in a trust with her name on it. Speaking of which... "Um, love, speaking of after graduation, there's something I should probably tell you." She took a deep breath, met his eyes, and smiled softly. "You know a little about Gran and where mum's family came from. Well,when grandmum married granddad, Gran disowned her, and my mum inherited everything." She watched his eyes, waiting for that to settle. "A lot of it went to settle old debts, but a good bit went into trust funds for each of us, Cern, Briana, Luch...and me." She bit her lip and glanced shyly up at him.

"Point being, there are a few million galleons somewhere with my name on them", I thought you should know since we were talking about sharing and all."[/Center]

[shava]

What did he hope to see? Well, everything really. "I don't really want to put a limiter on it, but I've heard about the Sequoias and Niagara Falls. Everything else is open in the North America, though I'd like to see some of the old temples in South America, the old ruins." The idea of bribing his siblings made him chuckle. "That would have to be an unusual bribe, just don't try to tell them no, it will make them more determined to do something worse then they might have."

The watch was cool and he turned into her kiss as she gave it and added "I'll trade you. You tell them about the kissing and I'll tell them about the rocks." His grin was mischievous in the extreme and she knew he had ideas already on how to tell it! When she hesitated his smile turned craftier and he glanced over his shoulder at the door. "Promise?" wondering if she had ever thought a roll in the hay might be in her future. Not that he had seen piles of hay anywhere or if it was even comfortable, but still.

But she had more surprises in store then he had thought.

When she mentioned having something to tell him he remained calm, no reason to panic yet of course at those words, but then she mentioned her great-grandmother. "You mentioned her. She was the one who made sure you learned to dance right?" Trust funds. Smart of her parents of course, but he wasn't sure he understood. After all, Cern was the oldest son so he got the lion's share of things he supposed. Vin was not expecting to hear a few million galleons were in her trust! Eyes widening, his head tilted to one side even as his mouth opened for a second before he spoke. "Wait wait wait -- I thought since Cern was the oldest son he got the farm and the majority? Are you saying they divided it equally?"

Wow, her parents were very very different! But did he understand that right, because her family did not live rich, in fact they rented parts of their mansion to others as a vacation place right? or was he misunderstanding still? "But." And he stopped a moment before continuing. "But your family doesn't live like they have money. I mean the house is much bigger then I expected, but still."

[kyla]

She nodded understanding. "We'll see where we end up, but I want to be able to tell mum and dad something. I haven't mentioned it yet." Because somehow, 'I'm going to a trip to I know not where over the summer with my boyfriend' just didn't sit right. North America, South America, he was really planning on some serious traveling. While apparation was always an option, she figured he'd prefer to do the majority of the traveling on his bike. "When exactly were you planning for sleep?" she teased. She was also beginning to wonder if he planned for them to be gone the whole summer. The thought worried her. She'd been hoping to spend some time with Cern, just the two of them, and with Briana and Luch also, before she had to report for her internship in September. Trying to force her tone into nonchalance, she brought up the most passive question she could come up with. "How long do you think we'll be gone?" She grinned, "I have siblings too remember?" She shook her head, "Briana tried to fly my broom once, just because I told her she wasn't old enough." The attempt had earned her sister a scar on her left knee, and the lecture of a lifetime, coupled with being grounded for the rest of said lifetime, but both parents had relented after a couple of weeks.

She was still smiling as she eyed him warily. "Why do you want to trade?" It wasn't that she didn't trust him exactly, at least, in everything that actually mattered. But, in cases like this, he had a mischievous streak to rival her aunts. She gave him a suspicious glance, easily melted by the distraction of what might come later. "Promise." she assured him. A moment later she offered him a mischievous smile of her own. "Later just might be when we go to your parents." She had learned to play this way as a direct result of being around him so much. It was a habit of his she'd picked up over the last several months. Her smile was teasing now. She enjoyed going back and forth, and challenging him often provided fun results.

Keela nodded, "dance, play hostess, eat properly, all sorts of boring stuff like that." He looked more surprised by the number than by the trust itself. Trying not to be offended by his tone and assumption, she shrugged. "I have no idea how much is in his, or anyone else's. They only just told me about mine a few weeks ago." It got her thinking, Was there more in Cern's trust than hers? She decided it didn't matter. It wasn't as if she even needed what she already had. If Cern's trust was the largest, it only made sense, since he'd be responsible for the family that continued the line. Vincent's reaction, however, had annoyed her more mordern sensibilities, and she frowned at him, slightly irritated. "What would be wrong with that, dividing it equally?" It was a loaded question, she knew it, and she wagered he was smart enough to realize it. If not, well, he could sleep in his own bed tonight.

Distracted by his curiosity about her family, she nodded. "It was a decision they made a long time ago. Because mum was raised mostly middle class and dad grew up poor, they didn't want to deprive us of knowing how to do things. They wanted a good life for us, yes, but they also wanted us to understand the value of things, so we'd appreciate them." They'd explained it to her that way at least, when she'd asked a similar question during the conversation about the trust fund. "That way, if we ever lost the money somehow, we'd still be able to take care of ourselves. We'd be able to live with or without it." Keela, not having the pressures of continuing the line, hadn't expected to marry wealthy. She didn't have any particular predisposition toward marrying pure, and so it struck her almost funny that she'd found her way more or less into a family her Gran might have approved of, especially because it had happened by accident. "It just...never mattered to them." It didn't really matter to her either, she realized, and she wondered if he understood that.

[shava]

She had him chuckling over the sleep line. "Ha! Well I won't be covering everything there, of course, but it is a place with wide open roads and with a little magic we can put the bike to the test. Unless you want to drive one as well?" He could always shrink one down to take with them in case she decided to change her mind at some point. "There are a thousand things to see there, but I don't plan on this being the only trip either. Maybe the first time we start on the east coast and run down the length into Central America? What, about three weeks or so?"

True, she knew how siblings could be. "Well just remember dad is as bad. They get it from him for sure," he said a mischievous light in his eyes. Vin did wonder if his little brother Darius hadn't inherited the most of his mother's darker side though. "Why?" His smile grew a bit wider. "I think I'll have more fun telling my side of being taught how to make rocks float across the water then you will, darling, what else could there be?" He winked.

At her tease about his parent's place he stuck his tongue out at her. "Tease. I knew I was in trouble." The more time she spent with Vincent the more her naughtier side came out and he liked that he was responsible for her getting that way. He was more then a bit astonished at the amount of money she mentioned, something far beyond what he would have expected. "Morgana's Mustache, that's a lot of money to sit on..." He didn't miss her irritation at his comments and knew he was pushing a limit with her.

"Just have never heard of anyone doing that before! All of the old families gave their eldest a good chunk of all of it and the others all got small amounts. It's how the old guard controlled that the main line stayed the only real line to do anything. Hearing your parents ignored that old tradition just surprised me!" As she explained about learning values, he realized this was one of the reasons she learned things like skipping stones or getting by enough to dream of riding a motorcycle. It was part of what made her so attractive to him and that he wouldn't be willing to change. "I have to say that is one of your better traits. I'll have to thank your parents for that some day."

"Mattering or not, it is who you are, Keela, and that's who I love too. Why would I ever complain about that and be honest?"

[kyla]

She tried to picture herself driving a motercycle and shuddered comically. "Maybe next time. I think I'll just go along for the ride this summer." She smiled, not knowing much about Central America or what the east coast entailed. Still, she trusted his judgment and the time frame suited her. "That sounds like a plan", she agreed warmly. "I'd like to work some family time in before things get...chaotic." It was the best word she could think of. "Plus, maybe we can work in a run in with your mum somewhere. I'd like to get to know her a bit." While she admitted that some of the things he'd revealed about his mother intimidated her in theory, the fact she'd gone out on her own and blazed her own path intrigued Keela very much. "Will we have to go through muggle customs for that?" Used to traveling by boat, she'd never had much to do with muggle travel rules, but on bikes, she suspected it might be different.

"Professor Silver..." Her eyes widened, "really?" She tried to picture it, found herself unable, and shook her head. She gave him a suspicious look that melted into a wary grin. "More fun.." she searched his eyes. "I'm sure." The wink made her laugh, but all the talk of family unearthed a rather scary thought. "Ash and Seth are a little...young...to be aunts and uncles just yet." She didn't want to say what she was actually thinking, for fear of offending him. Despite how crazy they were, they were also his family, and she knew from experience how resolutely he defended his family. Thankfully, the mood shifted and she was rescued. "Tease?" she widened her eyes at him innocently, trying desperately to look offended. "I have no idea what you're talking about." His reaction to her announcement about money made her grin in spite of her irritation with him. "No kidding, but I thought it might be worth discussing since..." Since she was planning to spend the rest of her life with him, but since he hadn't actually come out and asked yet, she hesitated. "Well, it seemed kind of important."

She grinned mischievously at him, feeling somewhat mollifed. "For all I know, Cern did get the bulk of it." Keela shrugged, "the Burke part of the famliy was really really rich at one point. Mum inherited the bulk of the estate, but she and dad did practical things with it. The house was just a frame when they got engaged." She looked thoughtful. "Some of it went to property repairs, supplies, that sort of thing." She began ticking things off on her fingers. "There's the animals, and our trust funds, plus they travel a good bit." To get time to themselves Keela suspected."I think they invested some, paid off old family debts with some, I'm not really sure." Both of her parents made fairly good money in their own rights. Her father was hardworking and intelligent, her mother could more or less charge what she wanted, though more often than not she undercharged if anything. They had built a life they were comfortable with, and treated the money from the Burke estate as a comodity rather than their livelihood. Noting his surprise, she smirked. "It wouldn't if you knew them. They aren't particularly traditional people. At least, not in that way."

Morally, Keela was convinced her parents had come from the dark ages. They agreed on most everything, or if they didn't, Keela never saw it. With few exceptions they were a united front on most things, and it had made it extremely hard to pit one against the other when she was younger. While they did bicker over trivial things ocassionally, Keela suspected that was more in jest than anything else. Pleased by the compliment, she smiled warmly at him. "They'd appreciate that", she informed him. Smirking at him, she added. "but what are my bad ones?" She shrugged at the question. "I just, you hit a bit of a button. Sorry." Feeling a bit silly now, she searched for a way to change the subject, rescued a moment later but her mum's voice. "Keela, Vin, dinner!"

Vin now that was a good sign!

[shava]

Vincent was a bit surprised at her interest in his mother, but she did have an incredibly lasting impression on people, so maybe it was just that. "Remind me to ask. Although her trips are sometimes sporadic. She's the only one who can get stuff from them sometimes so she gets used a lot as a reference gatherer." He heard her question and chuckled; he had so wondered the exact same thing when he first went to Africa. "I think each country has their own rules actually, but no, not muggle customs."

"You have to check in advance, but there will be a wizarding customs at most countries you have to check into. It's usually pretty casual though." Although knowing the Americans it would be something vastly different of course. Vin grinned, knowing she had only seen one side of his sister and brother. "Remember, we're a big family. They have taken care of little ones as much as I have taken care of them when they were smaller. I would trust Ash with toddlers easy, just not with boys her age."

He didn't miss her trying to gloss over the why about money; she was on the edge of asking him when he was thinking about it probably, but he still wanted her to meet family first. They were a noisy experience and while hers was used to kids, his was chaotic. "Well, I'm glad to have it out in the open. I certainly will have some money, but not like that." She went on to speak about where it had all probably gone and Vincent just listened, nodding as she spoke. Interesting backgrounds they had, very mixed and different. Hers had the cash, but did little with it saving it for the future, his had the expensive set up and owned an island, but was only standard wealthy having sunk it into the property itself.

About to respond after a few moments of thought, he heard his name called in a way he hadn't before and his grin matched her eyes as he muttered "Ah! Saved by the mom!"