They'd been writing letters back and forth to each other for too long and now it was finally, finally time for Jai to go visit Jordyn. The trip wasn't far, especially considering he could Apparate, but in terms of distance it really was close. His parents were reluctant to let him stay with a girl who they hadn't met yet, but Jai reassured them that he was responsible enough to handle this. His father had taken him aside four times before Jai's departure to remind him of all the spells that 'a young, excited couple might need.'

These horribly awkward were quickly becoming more frequent, and so Jai was elated to finally make his departure. He left early so that he could pick up some gifts for Jordyn, a couple things he knew she'd like and a few he wasn't sure about. It was all pretty corny and probably too much. With a new job and paycheck, it had been almost too easy to go overboard. He hoped for the best. It would be great to have some time with Jordyn, even if she was overwhelmed by gifts.

Jai had dressed casually, not really knowing what Jordyn had in mind for when he first got there. He'd packed some stuff, of course very meticulously. He couldn't help but feel nervous, his palms sweating. It had been a bit since he'd last seen Jordyn. He took a deep breath before knocking on her door.

Jordyn didn’t even bother to tell her parents that she had Jai coming.  They weren’t due back to London for another two weeks, and even then, her airy mother had apologized profusely and promised to be “out of her hair” before she could know it – two days, at most.  She had the mind to not outright ask if they intended on killing her remaining grandparent so they could move to the country.  With newer furniture and nicer things. 

Probably, she reasoned as she cleaned for the fifteenth time in the day preceding Jai’s visit.  Even if she was exhausted from her internship (even if she wasn’t kept past normal hours she spent endless hours studying and polishing up and practicing that sleep tended to get away from her.  She just wanted to make it looked better than well… tired and worked Jordyn had it.  It was bad enough much of the house was threadbare and weathered… but with clothes everywhere and dishes…

It was quite a mad dash to be able to get everything done and in top form.  But, Jordyn had managed – and she managed to take a bath on top of it all!  In the freshly cleaned tub with a little fizzy potion mixture – it was absolutely indulgent but sometimes Jordyn could justify the little luxuries.  Plus, it made her smell good – Jai always commented that she smelled nice. 

Even if she was still totally freaked out by how open Jai was, and she certainly wasn’t in a place to talk about feelings or anything (despite constant nerves about work – that was easy to talk about), she was excited to have him over.  She’d pulled on something that didn’t look like she tried too hard even though it’d taken an hour.  It took so much effort to look effortless. 

When she did hear a knock on the door, Jordyn’s heart sped up a million paces.  She pepped talked herself for a couple of moments before she reached to the door handle and turned it – surprised to see Jai standing there with boxes and flowers and stuff.  She laughed, a little dumfounded.  “You made it,” she switched her weight from one foot to the other and stood out of the way.  “Come on,” she held the door open, “come in, come in.” 

When she opened the door, Jai couldn't help but flash a big, goofy grin. She looked so cute, even though she wasn't in one of the elegant dresses she normally wore. And there were no gloves, but of course Jai wasn't going to comment on that. Instead, he handed her the flowers.

"Hey," he said as they walked inside together. Her house was huge, though a bit spartan. That was okay; less stuff meant Jai wouldn't feel the impulse to rearrange anything. He put his bag down and pulled Jordyn in for a kiss. Holding her again felt like being warm for the first time in years, like he'd been freezing since their departure. Now he realized how much he had truly missed her. Just her presence made his heart pump faster, made him feel hot and enlivened.

"Presents?" Jai asked after they pulled away from the kiss. He didn't let go of her, kept his hands on her hips. He was reluctant to let go of what he'd been missing for so long, though he knew at some point they'd have to detangle themselves.

When Jai came into the house, Jordyn felt super nervous about having him see the house.  There were the basics, and even if the house was big, it wasn’t filled with all that much. But now, at the very least, there were some gorgeous flowers in her hands and they were way too much for her.  She blushed as he handed them to her, pulling them near her face to be able to smell them.  “Thank you,” she smiled and sniffed them one more time. 

“Hi,” she added with the shy aversion of her eyes that suggested she was nervous but she was handling it.  They’d been apart for a while and Jordyn had been doing her internship – hell, she was studying her mind off and doing rounds (even if she didn’t say anything most days) and just soaked up everything.  She was trying to grow and listen and watch and do whatever she was allowed to, and it helped form some perspective for her. 

Even if she wasn’t ready to talk about things – or be more serious (than this), she was just going to enjoy some time off – even if she wanted to study too.  Not a lot of time to think about it though because Jai put down his bag and tugged her in.  The hand that had the flowers clutched in it fell to her side (though she did not drop the flowers) and wrapped her free arm around his neck. 

Kissing him was really nice.  Jordyn signed when they finally stopped kissing and she looked up in surprise.  “Presents?” her eyebrows drew in and she lifted the flowers again, “These are beautiful,” she smiled at him and stood up a little taller.  “Thank you,” she added before getting on tiptoes to peck his lips again.  “How was the trip are you?”

It was rather blatant: Jordyn was nervous. Rather than question it, Jai understood. He was feeling pretty tense himself. He'd been skittish for days before coming here, and he knew it wasn't just because of his father's surprise sex talks. He had a feeling it had more to do with the open-ended profession of love and the test of whether their relationship would last outside of the context of Hogwarts.

But Jai wasn't going to mention any of that, of course. He was the fake-it-till-you-make-it type in situations like this, so he put on the same front that Jordyn did. Eventually the anxious feelings would ebb and they'd fall right back into their mushy-gushy cocoon of adorable.

Of course she wasn't expecting presents, even though Jai always felt compelled to give her things. He had heard that models got free things all the time, free drinks at the bar and free tickets to shows, free clothes and cars and sometimes even houses. Jai couldn't believe these outlandish reports and could not understand why anyone would put their money toward a girl just because she was cute. But now Jai felt prepared to do all of that. Jordyn was a whole lot more than just her beauty, though. There weren't enough galleons in the world to give her what she deserved.

Was he ever going to stop feeling so sappy around her? Jai was rarely ever this poetic, outside of his thoughts about Jord. He kissed her. "There's more," Jai said in a sing-song voice, waggling his eyebrows.

"How was the trip are you?"

Jai smiled at the way she fumbled her words. She really must have been feeling jumpy... but hopefully there was at least a streak of excitement in all of her jitters. "It was good, I'm good," Jai answered. He smiled and pulled out the gift boxes and handed them to her. "Open!" He kept the box that held the necklace for last.

It seemed that Jordyn just never really knew what to expect.  She probably could have figured that out a while ago – since she was fairly sure her weird anxieties hadn’t been rejected (not that Jai had much room for that – given his equally strange ones).  But, there were many other things that made Jordyn a strange person who was difficult, at best, on her good days. 

But, he brought her presents and kissed her and sometimes it was still hard to believe that it was something in her life.  Giggling a little, Jordyn stood up straighter and let him go.  She ran her hands over her skirt and straightened out her top just a little bit. 

She was still a bit nervous over the idea of presents.  Especially, when amidst Jai’s half-hearted response about his trip over and himself (admittedly, it was a roughly worded question to begin with, but still), he pulled out not one – but three boxes.  She laughed again, still awkward and looked at all of the things.  “You did not have to do this,” she muttered, looking down as a fierce blush spred over her cheeks. 

Presents – wow.  There was a little jolt of excitement that shot through her and she shrugged a little.  “Okay,” she bit her lip a little and took the first box offered – chocolate!  That was honestly exciting, and she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.  Lovely!” she chirped and set the candy down, looking at the next one… then up at him. 

“You are honestly too much,” she tried not to smirk as she said it.  She peeled the paper back and opened the box to reveal mugs – one with a pair of lips and the other with a mustache.   She laughed and shook her head, looking at the bottle he’d brought.  “I’m supposing that is for these?” she grinned and placed the box next to the chocolates. 

When she finally noticed that he was holding another box, Jordyn’s eyebrows shot up.  “Well, what’s this?” she reached out to try and get to the box from him – expecting at least a little bit of a struggle to get to it.  Regardless though, she was the victor in the end and taking the black box, she considered it carefully.  “This best be nothing extravagant,” she warned before putting her finger on the latch that would open it up.  She looked at him instinctively, halting before she actually opened it. 

Just as he had expected, Jordyn informed Jai that the presents were unnecessary. Yes, well, he had known that, but he couldn't really help it. "Watching you pretend you're not excited is too fun not to," he retorted with a laugh. The elation she displayed just at the chocolates was priceless. He watched patiently as she went through the other gifts, continuing to act like she didn't love being spoiled a little. Jai felt proud that he was able to pamper her with indulgent gifts, especially at such a young age.

"Well, what's this?"

When Jordyn reached for the box with the necklace in it, he pulled back a little. He was teasing her, of course, but he he was also pretty nervous. The last time they'd been together, Jai had attempted to tell Jordyn that he loved her. Much to his dismay, she hadn't taken it very well. He didn't want her to freak out at this significant gift -- it wasn't real diamonds. He hoped she didn't think it was a bigger deal than it actually was. Jai had just seen the necklace while shopping and thought -- perfect.

"Go on, open it then," Jai urged her, his voice still playful.

Jordyn felt herself blushing again.  It wasn’t like anyone really gave her presents. For holidays, her family was usually in different places – she’d stay at school and her parents would go to her grandparents’ house in the country and that would be it.  They’d send something small and a note, that was Christmas.  Her birthday was an even smaller to-do. 

Presents for no reason?  That was just… well, she couldn’t say she wasn’t a little excited.  So, the suggestion made the pink show up just a little brighter on her cheeks.  At least now he was going to give her the last box – because if he was saving it that meant it was something really good (compared to other things… she couldn’t even imagine).  Taking it, she stuck her tongue out at him (with a smile) and rested it in her hands for a moment before she shifted its center of balance over her left palm so she could use her right hand to flip it open. 

There was a little necklace in it – a star and Jordyn squeaked.  “Here!” she lifted it out of the box and turned around, holding the edges for him to take by the sides of her neck.  “Help me put it on,” she demanded happily, bouncing a little on her toes. 

Witnessing Jordyn opening the gift was definitely a lot better than thinking about what her reaction would be. She bounced and requested that he put it on, and Jai beamed and took it back from her to lace it around her neck. She was so much shorter than him that she was on her toes.... or maybe that was just from the excitement. They made these things so small... but still, Jai couldn't stop grinning as he bent down to see the back of the necklace better. The gift had been a success; it was all he could have hoped for.

When he was done with the clasp, he brushed his hands down the tops of Jordyn's shoulders and gave her a quick kiss on the neck. He'd missed that neck, and her smell, and her face. "Let's see," he said as he returned back to his regular height. "What do you think?" he asked as she turned around.

She hated when she did things that she’d always promised herself and her friends she wouldn’t ever do.  When she couldn’t stop smiling and some goosebumps travelled up her arms when he ran his hands down her shoulders - a shudder and a laugh accompanying the press of his lips against the back of her neck.  She flicked her hair as she tried to look over her shoulder unable to peek far enough around to actually see him.  So, she spun on her foot and bit her lip - in an actually sincere bit of shyness. 

Letting her eyes fall to the necklace, Jordyn liked the sparkle - it was clearly not an actual diamond necklace, but that was okay.  She wouldn’t have accepted that.  But she was glad that he stuck with some clear stones - she hated things that wouldn’t match, which was why most of her clothing was in a neutral black or grey.  This would do well in her jewelry box.  “It’s wonderful!” she finally looked up and stood a little taller, holding her shoulders back and craning her neck while she pushed her chest out a little, to display her prize. 

Her eyes searched his face for a moment before she clasped her hands behind her back and swiveled her shoulders just a little bit, letting the light hit the little stones.  “What do you think?  Did you make a good choice?”

Choosing a piece of jewelry for Jordyn had not been an easy task. While he had enjoyed the experience of shopping for her, Jai felt unsure about what kind of jewels his girlfriend might like. He knew that she was a pickier sort, very peculiar about the garments that graced her beautiful frame. In trying to remember whether Jordyn wore jewelry or not, Jai came up with nothing. He could imagine her face perfectly -- but couldn't figure out whether her ears were pierced or if she liked bracelets.

When he saw the star-shaped necklace, though, he felt almost drawn to it. It felt too perfect not to buy. Jai had begun to think of Jordyn as his north star, his guidepost. He liked looking at her just as he loved to watch the sky. She was an undiscovered star, one fallen to Earth that Jai was lucky enough to have kissed.

He smiled sheepishly as she turned around, feeling embarrassingly elated at the sight of the necklace on Jordyn. Jai was proud of his purchase and was even more thrilled that she liked it. Even though the necklace did not have any real diamonds, it still glittered in the light. "I think so," Jai responded. "A star for my star." He brushed hair out of her eyes, then let his hands fall to her shoulder. Jai admired the necklace, which also provided an excellent opportunity to sneak a look at her chest.

"What should we do?" Jai asked. He was ready for their exhilarating weekend to begin and was curious about what adventures Jordyn had in store for him. Since he was the guest, he left the itinerary up to Jordyn -- she knew the area, after all, and could show him whatever places she enjoyed. He'd have to do the same when she visited him, of course, and that was a lot of pressure - but there was plenty of time for him to think about that.

That was so cheesy.  Jordyn felt her cheeks getting hot and she couldn’t help but laugh – and shake her head as her hands fell apart and rested back down at her sides.  “Oh no, Jai,” she looked up at him, her smile spreading into a wide grin.  “That was just – no,” she reached up and patted his cheek in a playful way before she kissed under his chin (since she couldn’t reach anything else). 

When she settled back down to the floor, she pursed her lips – he was right, they should do something!  She hadn’t thought about it… She didn’t really get past the whole idea that he was even coming over and that she had to clean.  She supposed she’d cleaned quite a bit.  “Um…” Jordyn looked up and then breathed out.  “Well, I suppose we could do the tour?” she tilted her head to the side. 

“It’ll be short, but… you should get to know the house and I can show you where to put your things,” she added, motioning that he should pick up his bags, “we’re just going to go past the entry hall to the stairs,” she started to walk, a little pep in her step as she headed that way.  “I set up the room at the end of the right hall for you,” she announced as they walked to the sparse entryway, the stairs having the worn edging that indicated there had once been carpeting there before it’d been pulled up – the paint on the wall that was just a shade lighter in squares also indicated old portraits that had long since been sold. 

She jogged up the stairs, familiar creaking not interrupting her gait at all.  “Then, I suppose I’ll show you the other rooms?”

Jai was well aware of the fact that Jordyn was not into lame professions of adoration. Part of him had deliberately taunted this quality when he'd called her his star; the other part of him was very serious. He felt a little silly for being so mushy, mainly because it was a fairly uncommon thing for him to do. Even when Lydie and Fae tried to snuggle him or act familial, Jai was resistant and preferred to remain aloof. Jordyn was the first person to make him feel unashamed of his emotional connection to another person. He smirked at her sassy response, even snickering a bit.

He nodded along with Jordyn's plans. Jai was very intrigued by this large, empty house. How many rooms did it have? He didn't want to make Jord feel awkward about its vacuity but couldn't help but notice the serious lack of furniture. Though he knew that her family was struggling financially, he couldn't imagine a house without a thousand little knick-knacks and family photos. There didn't seem to be very much of that here.

"Any embarrassing baby photos?" he inquired. She could always lie and say none existed, but he hoped there were at least a few funny pictures of her doing something childish. It was hard to imagine his girlfriend, who always did her best to act maturely and conservatively, as a toddler.

There were many blank spaces upon the walls where paintings clearly belonged, but Jai said nothing about their absence. He knew that she was self-cautious about her family's difficulties, and he was smart enough to realize where those paintings had realistically ended up: sold. Jai also wondered what her parents were doing, where they were -- but that was a conversation for another time. "Where's your room?" he asked casually. Very casually. So smooth.

She was glad that he didn’t make mention of the things that were missing, or just clearly not there.  Her whole life had just gotten emptier and emptier when she returned from school.  It was so typical for her.  When he asked about baby photos, Jordyn’s smile quirked a little bit.  “You’ll see them in the hallway,” she admitted reluctantly.  It wasn’t as though he wouldn’t get that when they reached the top of the stairs in the next few moments.

While the portraits were gone, there were family pictures – the rare ones – hanging in the hall.  They didn’t really convey warmth.  Many of them were just pictures of Jordyn, there were a couple of family group shots, mostly in still positions, all together.  Jordyn’s pictures when she was small were mostly outside, they had a garden in the backyard and Jordyn had always had a chubby face.  There was a picture of her with glasses that she hated. 

Walking past them as quickly as possible, Jordyn just hoped that he wouldn’t linger too much over the terrible pictures of her.  She was just glad she’d been able to shed some of that residual baby awful.  When he asked her about her room, it didn’t even register to Jordyn that it could be anything but a question.  “I’ll show you,” she said without even a hint of flirtation. 

It just was what it was, and she stopped in front of the door of the room she’d set up for him.  “This is the guest room,” she reached over and pushed open the door to reveal the sparse, but clean and carefully arranged room.  “The bathroom is attached, so you needn’t worry about that, and I’ve already put out towels.”  She put the good ones in his room, obviously.  She already knew about the ratty ones, so it didn’t matter if she had them. 

“My room,” she turned her head to look at the door about ten feet down the hall that was painted a light silver color, “is there,” she pointed to it.  Her parents had been absolutely horrified that she’d done that, but she had been fifteen and felt the need to do her own thing for once.  As a mark of rebellion, she kept it.  “After you get settled, I’ll show you.”

In all of the thinking he had done about this trip over the past couple of weeks, something he hadn't really considered was what Jordyn's house would look like. It didn't really matter to him, and as they walked around he noticed that the place was rather spartan. That was quite alright with Jai -- less things to worry about rearranging. Doing such a thing would probably be considered rude, even if it was just Jordyn, who understood.

He looked eagerly for adorable pictures, smiling at the ones of Jordyn. The family didn't look particularly close, but that made sense, Jordyn being the way she was. That had to come from somewhere, just like Jai's sensitivity had come from his aunt's. Jai could sense that she was a little uncomfortable and self-cautious, which was completely understandable. "So cute," he said, pinching her cheek and then kissing it. He was forced to pause and adjust one that was off-center.

Before he could get too involved with that, though, Jordyn was directing him to her room and that was much better than worrying about symmetry and order. All thoughts of right angles faded from his mind as she entered a room -- which turned out to be the guest room, which apparently he was staying in. Jai felt a small pang of disappointment. He thought they'd be sleeping together, but he didn't want to crowd or pressure her. "Cool, thanks, Jord," he said, kissing her on the head before putting his bag down on the bed.

Then she pointed out her room, which was easy to identify based on the pretty silver color. Jai smiled -- that was so Jord. "I'm good," Jai shrugged. "Unless you want to go out, or something?" Jai had brought some nicer clothes, but it was a bit early for dinner. "Or if you need a few minutes to hide the adorable pictures you think are embarrassing." He smirked.