Stressful Days (Kieran & Victoria)

Honestly Kieran had been more excited to get out in the field than to keep studying all the time, but he understood how university could be enjoyable. "Yeah, university's cool. Personally I am enjoying doing the actual work more, though." he said with a shrug. "As for not studying forever, I'm sure there are probably people who do just that." he told her with a laugh.

Seeing her blush and not even able to look him in the eyes after his compliment was pretty dang cute. "You are very welcome. Also, your blush is really cute." he said, unable to stop from teasing her a little more. Kieran knew that he was probably overdoing it a little, but he couldn't help it when he had such a fun person to tease right here.

Kieran just laughed and shook his head when she told he didn't have to down it. "It's okay Victoria, I wouldn't have done it if I didn't want to." he assured her. The feeling of her soft hand on his forearm was nice, and he gently placed his hand over hers before sliding it off. He gave it a gentle squeeze before letting go. "Seriously, don't worry about it. Just get me another drink like you promised. Think I'll try what you're having, the vodka with orange juice." he told her with a smile.

"That's awesome, I was okay but doubt I was ever good enough to try and go pro." Kieran admitted. When she asked what house he was in he smiled widely. "Ravenclaw for me, with all the other geeks." he said. Listening intently as she told him about how she used to be paralyzed he couldn't help but think her story was a lot more interesting than his own. "Wow, that's pretty incredible. Azalea must have worked really hard to fix you up." he said, not really sure what to say after hearing something like that.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with being a book nerd. I am one too, so you won't get any judgement from me." Kieran assured her. "Dancing is really cool, I know the basics but nothing more than that really. My goal was just to not step on any girl's feet." he told her with a chuckle. "So you have a niece and nephew huh? How old are they?" he asked.

Kieran shook his head at that and laughed. "I don't mean necessarily staying at a college your whole life. Teachers and professors would have to do a fair amount of studying to stay current on their subjects, I would imagine. Or if you became a researcher, or something like that." he explained. He had thought about both those options when trying to decide what to do after Hogwarts, but all of the traveling and exploring involved with cursebreaking was simply too good an opportunity to pass up. It was hard, but the rewards with what he did were well worth it in his opinion.

When Victoria didn't reply after that he felt a little guilty for putting her in an awkward situation. "Sorry about that, didn't mean to make you feel awkward. I'll ease back on the flirting." Kieran told her, blushing a little himself at that point. Usually he didn't flirt much, but then again usually his company wasn't quite so pretty. Hopefully the awkward moment wouldn't ruin the lovely conversation they were having.

Kieran smiled when she ordered him what she was having. "Thanks. Never had that particular combination before but it looks interesting." he said, taking a sip when the drink was brought out. It was different than anything he had before, but really good. Kind of funny that two such flavors could make a nice mix, definitely not one he would have at first thought would be tasty.

The certainty with which she told him he was probably brilliant made him blush a little and he shrugged. "Our team did pretty well. Only won the Quidditch Cup one year when I was on the team, but we were always competitive." Kieran told her. He had enjoyed all of his classes, but his time with the Quidditch team was probably his favorite at Hogwarts. He was surprised when she said that she had gone to Hogwarts for her last two years. "Yeah, Hogwarts is a pretty special place. That's too bad I missed you at Hogwarts though, must have just been by a year." he said.

Kieran couldn't help but be impressed with the positive outlook the girl had on things. If he had gone through something like that he wasn't sure how he would feel about it, even after finding a cure. "You're something else, I can't imagine many people who went through that would have that attitude about it. Unless I miss my guess you are one of those people who's happy and smiling all the time aren't you?" he asked, laughing a little.

Her telling him that dancing was really easy had him snort and shake his head. "Maybe for some people, but I know at least for the guys, most of us don't have a clue what we're doing." Kieran explained. When she said something about having the right partner he nodded. "I suppose having the right partner would make a difference. Guess I just haven't found mine yet." he said quietly. When she applauded him for trying he laughed a little. "Well, I haven't had to dance often but it would have been rather rude of me not to dance with a date when the option of dancing was available." he replied.

Seeing the mobile phone was a surprise, as not many magical people used them. Looking at the photos he couldn't help smiling, Ivan certainly was adorable just like Victoria had told him. He couldn't help thinking of one day having children of his own after looking at the photos. "Yeah, he really is cute. That little guy's going to be a heartbreaker in a couple years." Kieran told her.

Kieran laughed a little as well hearing her go on about her niece. "Not at all Victoria, I asked about them after all. You're welcome to go on about them as much as you like. I assure you if I had nieces and nephews I'd be the same way." he told her with a grin. "Do you want kids of your own someday?" he asked, pretty sure the answer would be yes but still curious.

The overly long explanation of why she remained silent made him laugh a little but nod in understanding. Kieran thought it was kind of cute the way she explained all the possible outcomes of ways she might have responded. "Well I don't think I would ever think you were big-headed Victoria, I may have just met you but even I can tell you aren't in the slightest. As for calling me handsome that would just be flirting back if you were interested or just a nice compliment that didn't mean anything. Really depends on what you want it to be." he told her with a wink. "Do you really think that or was that just a possible thing to reply with?" he asked, unable to help himself from asking.

Kieran nodded when she said the Hufflepuff team wasn't the strongest. "Yeah, they work hard but part of me thinks the Puffs are too nice to ever be the best team at Hogwarts. Not that anybody but the Slytherin teams ever get really nasty, but you can't be afraid of hurting your opponents while playing." he commented. He couldn't help but shake his head a little at how cheery this girl was, and took another sip of his drink. "Indeed we have. Hopefully the beginning of a nice friendship." he said.

At the end of her speech when she said this is where he would go running because she was weird Kieran just shook his head. "Nonsense, there's nothing strange about optimistic and cheerful about life. Sure, most people don't think that way but it's not weird." he said with a shrug. "Honestly, it's kind of refreshing to meet somebody so positive. I try to stay optimistic, but it's more of a challenge for me." he admitted.

Kieran had to admit he was intrigued when she mentioned a dance class, and figured he may just check it out. If he didn't like it he didn't have to go back after the first time. "That sounds kind of fun actually. I might go...but if I do you have to show me the ropes. In exchange for helping me out...how about I buy you dinner after?" he asked, hoping that would be acceptable. It sounded an awful lot like a date, but really he didn't know her well enough to date her and he hoped that's not what she thought he was asking for. He bit his lip nervously while he waited for a response.

When she said that he was being raised to be a gentleman as well Kieran smiled and nodded. "That's great. If the little guy ever needs a babysitter and I'm not working let me know. Sounds like it would be fun to meet him." he said honestly.

Hearing Victoria talk about having little ones of her own made him smile, he was sure she'd be a great mom when she got around to it. "Victoria, I highly doubt that finding a man who's interested in both you and kids will be a problem when you're ready for them. Any guy would be lucky to have you." he told her seriously. "As for having kids of my own...I hope so. I was an only child and I've always wanted a big family, so maybe four or five. Honestly I'm ready now, I already have a good job and a place of my own. But, I haven't exactly had the best luck when it comes to dating." he admitted with a sigh.

Hearing a thank you surprised Kieran, as he wasn't entirely sure what there was to thank him for in all honesty. Since he wasn't sure he gave her a nod back and smiled, before his eyebrows rose when she told him that she thought he was handsome. Not only that, she made it seem like an obvious fact. He'd gotten compliments before of course but the way she said it complete with the blush and obvious nerves about saying it made him flush as well. "Wow, thanks. Nobody's ever quite put it that way before to be honest." he admitted with a chuckle. He wasn't trying to come across as mean, it had simply been a while since he talked to a girl close to his age who got flustered like this. "Sorry if this is weird for you, I'm really not trying to tease you too much." Kieran told her. Pointing it out probably made things worse, but he felt like he had to say something to try and help her feel comfortable.

Kieran watched her attempt at being ferocious before tipping his head in acknowledgement of her ferocity. "My apologies, I concede this round to the ferocious badger." he said, half jokingly but also understanding her point. Seeing a grown woman acting so cutely was kind of endearing, and he really hoped that nobody tried to take advantage of such a nice person. He was certain there were people who probably would try though, sad as it was.

"Everybody has their own quirks and not everyone gets along." he agreed. "Personally I find people with interesting perspectives rather fun to get to know, but part of that could be my Ravenclaw curiosity showing itself." Kieran admitted with a shrug. "Have you ever read anything by a muggle author who goes by the name Dr. Seuss? A quote by him just came to mind and I was wondering if you were familiar with him at all. He writes children's books." he explained.

Kieran was tempted to ask teasingly what had happened to her partner before deciding to let that one go. He wouldn't want to make a joke in case the person was ill or had gotten hurt. Yes, he liked making jokes but he never wanted them to have the possibility of coming across mean or insensitive. "Excellent, do the people usually dress nice for it or wear casual things?" he asked, not wanting to show up in the wrong attire. Her making a joke about hurting her feet made him gulp slightly. While he wasn't the worst dancer he hadn't been entirely joking about having accidentally stepped on a date's feet while dancing. "No promises on that, but I'll try not to." he told her.

The reasoning of not trusting a complete stranger with their kids made complete sense and Kieran blushed, embarrassed for having forgotten that they barely knew each other. "Of course, and he should be. Sorry about that...asking to babysit for somebody's relatives after having a drink or two with them is kind of a strange thing to say." he apologized, looking away for a moment. Most of the time he was fairly comfortable around other people, even lovely girls; but, he had his awkward moments too.

Not a lot of guys wanted to settle down and raise a family, which was something he'd never really understood. Even when he was still young and hadn't dated much he knew that he wanted a big one of his own someday. "Well, yeah. It's just an estimate, not a set number." Kieran told her. The comment about the Quidditch team made him chuckle. "I really hadn't thought about the Quidditch thing, but if there were five than me and a wife would make it seven." he said, kind of amused at how that worked out. Upon hearing her say it was only a matter of finding the right girl and that even if he didn't he could adopt Kieran simply shrugged. "Hopefully I will. If I don't though...well, I'm not sure I'd adopt. Yeah, I really want kids but having all that responsibility on only me? I would try my best, but I'm not sure I could handle single parent thing. And not that I wouldn't love them as much as if they were my own, but I did always dream about having them the regular way. Fall in love, court the lady, propose, and so on. It sounds cheesy I know...but why not dream big, right?" he asked, a little unsure of himself when showing so much about who he was. He didn't think she would judge him or think him odd, it simply wasn't normal for him to tell people so much about himself. Victoria had a way of making him feel comfortable that not many people did.

Kieran could tell that she was being honest and appreciated it, smiling widely at her. Such a beautiful girl must have been hit on before...so he felt rather honored that she was actually staying with him and talking. "Well, it's a pleasure to introduce you to something new. Hadn't really expected to find anybody interesting to talk to, but I lucked out." he told her with a wink.

He scratched his head for a moment as he tried to remember the exact wording before it clicked. "Don't think this was in any of his stories, it was just a quote by him I always liked." Kieran explained, before going on. "We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love." he said, blushing a little upon sharing such a corny quote. "Kind of an odd thought, really." he admitted sheepishly.

When she explained how people usually dressed he nodded, what she was saying making sense. Kieran would probably try to look nice anyways, even if it wasn't technically a date. "Sounds good, I look forward to seeing you in a lovely dress." he told her honestly. He hoped she was a good teacher, because even though he knew he wasn't as bad as some guys at dancing he'd messed up plenty before. "You probably know better than I do how it'll go, I'll trust you on that one." he replied with a chuckle.

Being told parenting was tiring was not a surprise. Even though he was only child he knew his parents got stressed with taking care of him. "I bet. It's a good thing they have such a great aunt to help." Kieran said quietly. A small part of him wanted to ask her out for a proper date, but then he thought better of it. He was gone so often with his work that it wouldn't be fair of him to try and make something work even if she was open to it. So instead, Kieran pushed that thought to the back of his mind and hoped it wouldn't stay there too long.

Kieran smiled back, understanding that she was probably one who wanted that too. "True. I'm really glad I came out tonight." he said. His day wouldn't have been nearly as good if he hadn't bumped into this former Hufflepuff. The mention of another drink had him raise his eyebrow, before he laughed a little. "Another? Well, I can't say no to that offer. Would you like to share something to eat though, too? Might be a good idea to get something to help absorb all this alcohol."