Ten years and a whole lot of fun along the way

Yvette walked out of her apartment wearing cut off jean shorts and a tank top with sneakers. Her hair was gathered on top of her head in a messy bun. She was holding the leash that was attached to the collar of a large mastiff, named Rocky, that had a small scar on it's side. She rescued him three weeks ago and she found a home for him after he recovered from everything. In her other hand she had his bowls as well as the toys that he loved to play with. She grinned as Rocky bounced up and down in front of her, she laughed as they headed towards the center of London.

She took a breath in and couldn't believe she was living the life she always dreamed she would. She had started an animal shelter to take in abandoned animals as well as the injured ones as well. It was going really well for her though she still worked at the Leaky every now and then.

She finally reached the center of London and found the couple that was going to be taking Rocky to his forever home. She reached them and Rocky started getting more excited than ever upon seeing them.

"Hey guys, Rocky is really excited to be going home with you guys. I have his toys and his bowls for you. The leash and collar go with him, he's already up to date on his shots so he's all ready for ya." Yvette said with a bright smile on her face.

"Hey Rocky baby." The young woman said talking to the dog. "You ready to go home? Huh? We're gonna have lots of fun tomorrow!"

The man laughed at his wife's conversation with Rocky. "Thank Yvette. I'm glad that Rocky is gonna be part of the family. He's a great dog and our daughter loves him, we didn't bring her cause she's visiting grandma. We found a bed big enough for him though which is a good thing." The man said laughing at the latter as he petted Rocky's back. "Well we better get going otherwise we're gonna be late picking up Anna. Thanks again Yvette."

"No problem. Bye Rocky, you be a good boy now ok?" Yvette said giving Rocky one last hug and kiss on the head before the couple disappeared with him.

Turning around she began heading back, she looked over her shoulder for a second. Right as she was turning around she ran right into someone and fell on her butt from the impact. "Ouch." She said softly and sighed knowing she was probably going to get yelled at or reprimanded for not watching where she was going.

Declan had learned something over the years, and that something was to have more fun than he typically allowed himself. After things had fallen apart with Dom - his trust in her had failed and her ability to rely on him couldn't fully come into being - he had ended up back at Henry's flat, unsure what to do with himself. Immediately, he was swept back into the world of Quidditch and International sport politics, as bizarre as that combination of three words might seem. Politics, not in the generic sense, obviously. But still. It was this pull from his best friend that set Declan on a new path, and it was this path that led him to Yvette.

He hadn't been keeping tabs on her or anything, but if she was mentioned he did notice and take down mental notes about her successes or hardships. It wasn't as though he simply never saw her; she wasn't entirely removed from the Leaky employee family, as it was sometimes deemed. But their interactions became less and less frequent, and the day he ran into her on the street he hadn't expected to see her for  good couple of weeks, if not more, given how sporadic their chats seemed as of late.

But he certainly hadn't forgotten. A week after his birthday, ten years later, found Yvette on the ground and Declan laughing, good-naturedly of course, down at her. She had grown up over the years, just as he had really and truly come into his adult stature and discovered precisely how he ought to dress, act and look to be taken both seriously and just well, in general. Henry would forever claim that he was the better looking of the two, but they were now business partners as well as best mates, so that was reserved for casual time on the weekends.

As for Yvette, Declan stood there for a moment, grinning at her, before extending a hand to help her up. "Sorry, love," he offered, half surprised that he didn't feel nervous to note that the day of reckoning for their agreement had come. Perhaps he expected her to tell him she had someone waiting for her at home. Perhaps he thought she would have forgotten. Either way, he couldn't have known what would come for the pair of them as time went on.

"You alright there, 'Vette?" Declan added the question belatedly, brushing a hand over her arm as if checking for scrapes despite knowing full well that she had landed on something else entirely.

Yvette laughed and realized nothing about her klutziness had changed but she smiled up at Declan. She took his offered hand and rose from her spot on the ground. "I guess I'm still a klutz even after all this time." She said sighing as she brushed off anything off her pants. "Don't be sorry I was the one who bumped into you. It's not your fault Declan. So how have you been?"

"Yeah I'm fine, just embarrassed." She said laughing softly at herself. She blushed when he ran his hand along her arm like he was checking for scrapes. "It's been a while since we've talked last hasn't it? I know it's kinda my fault 'cause I've been working at the shelter a lot." She didn't know what else to say as she knew that today was an important day. She knew it was 10 years after their agreement and wondered if he found someone in that time. "Would you like to come see the shelter?" She asked wanting to just catch up with him and just spend a little time with him.

Yvette remembered trying to find someone in ten years but if she was truthful to herself she wasn't looking. Any guy that seemed interested would always say they didn't want someone who was obsessed with their work. She wanted to find someone but she was always working these days with the animals. She had been so immersed in that she almost forgot that 10 years had flown by.

She shook her head as if to clear it so she wouldn't get caught up in her memories. It was also right then when a group of people jostled past them and ended up knocking her into Declan. She had her hands up in case she fell but instead they landed on Declan's chest.

"I'm sorry," She whispered softly blushing again.

Declan caught her blush but made no move to acknowledge it in case that made her all the more embarrassed. Instead, he shrugged before answering her question. "I've been busy. Much more than when we used to work shifts together. You can blame my friend Henry for that, though. He always wanted to invest with me and I finally gave in. He owns the majority of the team," he went on, referring to the Quidditch club that they had taken ownership of, "but we both go for the same team to win, so I caved."

Yvette began trying to blame herself for their distance, but he was having none of it. "No, it's fine. You enjoy the work right?" Declan waited for her to nod or agree. "Then I don't get to complain. I've been the same way with the Leaky and the stuff with Henry."

She wanted him to go see the shelter? He couldn't tell if she realized what day it was, or if she was just being friendly. But he wasn't about to turn her down now that an olive branch of sorts had been extended. "I'd lo-"

A group moved past quickly, shoving past Yvette and sending her on a collision path with Declan. He blinked down at her, eyebrows raising as he realized his hands had flown instinctively to her waist. What a picture they much have made. "I'm starting to think I'm destined to just continually rescue you," he jested, voice lowered. Despite the people on the streets around them, Declan got the odd feeling that it was just the pair of them standing there. But that was mental, and he didn't even know if she recalled their sort-of agreement. Further, he didn't know if she had gotten into a relationship with someone that he hadn't heard about.

So he smiled for a moment, then ran his hands up and down her sides once before stepping away and hoping she had her balance back. "You good? If so, I think I'll take you up on that shelter tour."

"Maybe that was why I didn't see you when I came in on my days off. Maybe I should blame Henry for keeping you busy." Yvette teased softly not knowing what to say to him. She felt like she was out of depth with him but it set her heart in a gallop just teasing him. "Well if you like it then it's a good investment. I bet it's a lot of fun owning something like that. I mean I own the shelter but that's...sorry I'm just rambling." She went to run a hand through her hair and realized that it was in a bun.

"Yeah I really enjoy it. I get to help animals in need and it makes me happy to see them go to new homes." She said and nodded at his words.

"Maybe you are, you seem really good at it." She whispered as she softly slid one of thumbs across his chest. She stopped herself realizing she shouldn't do it in case he had someone. She wanted to just stay there but she wondered if he even remembered their agreement. She was certain he did but she wasn't going to assume that just in case.

She almost stopped breathing when he ran his hands up and then down her sides once. She wanted him to do it again but shook her head softly. "Yeah I'm good. Right shelter tour, come on." She said and instinctual took his hand to lead him towards her shelter.

"Oddly," Declan chuckled, "I think Henry might be rather proud of that."

His humor was done away with the moment Yvette replied. He just hoped she couldn't feel his pulse beneath her hands, because it wasn't steady in the least after that. Then, when she grabbed his hand and began the lead the way, it took him a moment to really catch on to what was happening. Declan had never been the hand-holding sort, always going for the draping-an-arm-over-her-shoulder thing. But there was something strangely comfortable about it in this case, and he smiled to himself before catching up and falling into step beside her.

"So," he began, nudging her shoulder with his, "tell me about what you've been up to with your friends," he requested. Was it obvious that Declan was fishing for information? Because he was. "Then," he grinned as he gave her hand a squeeze, "I can regale you with stories of my new and, if I may say, quite impressive bartending skills."

Yvette laughed softly but her mind was on the fact that he was still holding her hand. She felt her face getting flushed as they walked towards the shelter which wasn't far from where they currently were. She didn't know what to say to him other than talk about her work but didn't want to bore him with the fact that she's been wrapped up in everything there. She wanted to know if he was seeing anyone but was too afraid to ask.

Hearing him start talking she turned her head towards him. "Well not much actually. They all have boyfriends and I don't wanna be the third wheel when it comes to them. So the only other friend I have is Jack at the shelter, but he has a boyfriend so I only get to see him at work." She said softly. "Most guys don't wanna date a girl who is obsessed with her job of rescuing deserted animals." Feeling him squeeze her hand she smiled at his words. "Oh really? You may have to show me your new and impressive bartending skills. I mean you could just be saying that to impress me." She gave him a teasing smile at her words.

They arrived at her place of business which was a large building with a large fenced grassy area on the side. "Well here we are. Welcome to Cieux Porte, it means heaven's gate in Italian. A friend of mine helped me name it, she said that it was fitting since I took in so many animals." She opened the door and lead him in.

The reception area was large with nice comfy chairs along with tables that had magazines on animals. There was a large tv in the corner on Animal Planet. The desk that sat on the other side had pictures of animals playing or just lazing about. On the walls of the reception area were covered in animals that were put in their forever homes. A cat jumped down from the desk and sauntered over to them. The cat itself was large, looked more like a small dog than a cat. The cat rubbed along Yvette's legs then rubbed up against Declan.

"This is Jax, the shelter's mascot. At least that's what Jack says this guy is." She said smiling as she bent down to pick up the cat. "He weighs about 30 pounds but unfortunately every time I put him on a diet. He seems to not get any smaller so we stopped trying after three months. So we just leave him to eat the food we give him. It's never table scraps though." She put the cat down after one last pet. "Come on let's go see the rest of the place. I'll show you all the best parts of working here."

Curiously, Declan found himself listening to Yvette touch on the subject he had been wondering after, but nothing she said gave him any indication that she had actually found someone herself. In fact, she almost seemed irritated by the fact that everyone around her seemed to have someone. He had long since gotten over that issue, personally, but he could understand how working with people who had their other half could get tiring. There wasn't a whole lot of room to get together when everyone seemed to have plans already. It was half of the reason why Declan had never wanted to be attached at the hip with whoever he ended up with. It was also why he and Henry worked so well together. Neither had that other person to answer to yet, and although there had been a few over the years, neither man had completely thrown their work away for a relationship.

Her smile brought him out of his thoughts and he chuckled. "I might be," he joked in return, "but I'll have you know that I'm actually rather known for it now. So as much as I'd like to impress you, at least I'm telling the truth, eh?" Declan grinned, turning his attention on her building fast enough that he hoped she might not be able to comment on the fact that he had just admitted to his attempt to make her think better of him.

"Your friend must be very clever," he mused aloud. "This place really great."

Declan looked down at the approaching animal, his eyebrows lifting. Really, it was lucky he wasn't allergic to the poor things Yvette had had to take in. Then, this probably would never work. But he was getting ahead of himself, now.

He released her hand so she could pick up the cat, offering a gentle pat on the head by way of greeting Jax. When she suggested they go on and see the rest of it, he waited for her to aim for the back, then held the door open for her so that they could go into the back. Unsure what to do with his hands now, Declan stuffed them into the pockets of his trousers as he ambled between the rows of animals. Now and then, he would linger in front of one or the other, but after only a couple of them, he spoke again.

"So," he started, tone rather quiet though he didn't look over at her until he finished his question, "is it wrong of me to be happy that you haven't mentioned being in a relationship?" When his chin lifted and his gaze found hers, Declan smiled almost apologetically, but he had to admit that, really, he was glad.

"Well maybe when your working I'll stop by and see you work." Yvette said smiling thinking that maybe she needed to get out a little more. Her thoughts then strayed to the sight of him behind the bar doing some rather impressive bartending skills. She picked up on his attempt to think better of him and she giggled, "Don't worry Declan I know you'd tell me the truth." She grinned at him as she looked forward.


"Well you'll probably see her later maybe, depends on how long you stay here. She works part time here." She said then grinned more when he said it was great. "Thanks, it was really hard to get everything up and running but we managed it."

She showed him the new animals that were brought in then showed him the older ones. They all were going crazy seeing her and him. The cats were rubbing up against the cages mewling at them some trying to get their attention by batting at her. The dogs would jump and up down to get attention as well as barking and howling. She lead him down to the offices and vet clinic that was attached to everything.

Hearing his words made her smile as she looked right back at him. "I didn't mention anything because I'm not in a relationship. I tried but they hated the fact that I worked a lot, I never found someone who didn't care about that." She said looking at him. "Does that mean that your not in one as well? Is that why your glad that I'm not in one?" She looked at him then lowered her gaze feeling shy and vulnerable.

It was almost surprising to Declan that he felt so relieved at her reply. Even as he had crouched down to greet one of the cats whose paw was reaching out to them, he had kept his eyes on her to gauge her reaction. The smile she first offered made him feel far less anxious, and as she spoke he was a bit surprised that his ears hadn't turned red yet. Particularly when she turned the question back on him.

Really, he knew he should have waited longer before asking such a thing. But he had become more impulsive. And he had always been able to appreciate how straightforward Yvette was, particularly when it came to how she felt or what she thought of someone else. Some subconscious part of him had taken the comparison between the two of them to heart and he had tried to change. It hadn't been difficult with Dom back then, because he didn't ever expect to convince her he was right. But this was different and strangely nerve-wracking.

"No," Declan replied slowly, pushing himself to standing again before he elaborated. "No, I'm not. Haven't been for a while now."

He crossed the little hallway between the cages, reaching out to lift her chin just as he used to. "But I do remember what I suggested. And I was hoping you might, too," he went on, his hand drifting down so he could take hers up once more. "Because I think it's about time I took you out to dinner."