June 27th, 1890 — Hawaii vs Great Britain game; Fitzroy Prewett's private box

It was the day of the Quidditch match against Hawaii! Cecily was so excited! To make things better, something had happened to the seeker, resulting in the Cannons' pride and joy, Cash Lestrange, taking his place. Cee thought that was for the best -- Cash Lestrange was the one who should have taken the position in the first place.

She was wearing a dress in the national team's uniform's colour and had her prized bludger-repelling parasol completing her outfit. However, the weather didn't call for a parasol, so it was currently folded next to Cee's feet. Her family had been invited by Fitzroy Prewett, to watch the game in his box. There were a lot of people invited, many of whom Cee recognized.

The game had an exciting start. The female Hawaiian chaser was quick to take hold of the quaffle and she was steadily heading towards Britain's hoops. Cee had leaned forward and grabbed the railing in front of her as she watched with her heart to her mouth as the British chased after her.

There he was! Beckett Longbottom took a hit at the bludger and-- he hit her!

"Yes!" Cee exclaimed mostly to herself, though then turned to the people next to her. "That was such a suave move from Longbottom!" She turned her eyes back to the action, her loving gaze stopping at Longbottom first.

Open to anyone who would be at Fit'z box!

  

Ben was looking forward to this immensely. He always liked Quidditch, of course, regardless of where he was sat or who was playing. Being in a private box was a welcome luxury, particularly given that he likely couldn't have justified even a middle-of-the-pack seat in the stands below while still saving judiciously in order to provide for his new household (the rent and utilities of which, he was acutely aware, he would have to shoulder in a few short months). He could have wished for something stronger than champagne, but given they had no idea how long the game was going to last, it was probably a wise restriction on Fitz' part.

Of course, most of his attention was focused on the match, not the booze. He was keenly watching Art, of course, but let his eyes drift through the rest of the players as the game started. The Hawaiians had two girls on the team, which was secretly exciting to him — he rather enjoyed watching women play Quidditch. He didn't really understand how any red-blooded young man could reasonably be against women playing. Women on broomsticks were sexy, full stop. He may not be able to actually do anything, now that he was married, but that didn't mean he couldn't watch and enjoy while the match lasted.

Apparently he wasn't the only one enjoying the view — or at least, Miss Gallivan's comment struck him in that light. Perhaps he was only projecting onto her because of his own feelings about it, but he couldn't help but respond with a chuckle, "Suave is a strange word to use to describe a beater, don't you think?"

  

---

MJ made this <3

The person next to her was Mr. Reuben Crouch, a man she had met at a ball back in May. He had teased her then and he had annoyed her somewhat but overall Cee had decided that she liked his company. In spite of his teasing, he didn't treat her like most men in the Quidditch industry. He didn't completely disregard her opinions and speak to her as though she didn't know what she was talking about.

"You have to admit that he swings his bat very gracefully," Cee replied with a grin. "He's like a prince but instead of a white horse, he's on a broom."

Beckett Longbottom was another man who spoke to her about Quidditch and seemed to have some respect for what she had to say, which was part of the reason why she liked him so much. It didn't help that he was so handsome!

  

Like a prince! Merlin, she was certainly smitten with Mr. Longbottom, wasn't she? Not that it mattered a wit to Ben; Miss Gallivan was just a girl he'd had a pleasant conversation with at a recent party, and he had no connection whatsoever to Longbottom. He'd been out of the professional Quidditch league long enough that he hadn't had any professional interactions with Longbottom, and they hadn't run in social circles that had overlapped much. It didn't make much difference to him if the two were on the verge of running off into the sunset together, or if Miss Gallivan was going to develop an unrequited crush and spend the rest of her week pining after an oblivious Quidditch player. It was certainly an amusing comment in the moment, though.

"You know, I think I saw a vendor downstairs selling little figurines of all the players," he said teasingly. "You could go buy a little miniature Longbottom and set him up in your bedroom at home, so you don't have to miss out on all that graceful bat swinging once the match ends."

The following 3 users Like Reuben Crouch's post:3 users Like Reuben Crouch's post
   Cecily Gallivan, Madeleine Backus, Melody Crouch

---

MJ made this <3

Cee had seen those figurines and she was now really tempted to buy one of them. She giggled a bit and covered her mouth with her gloved hands. "Oh stop it, Mr. Crouch, you are embarrassing me!" she said in a tone that suggested that she wasn't actually mad at him.

"Have you ever thought about how many young women's bedrooms your figure has ended up in?" Cee then asked. He had been a Quidditch player and he was somewhat handsome, in spite of his modest stature.

The following 2 users Like Cecily Gallivan's post:2 users Like Cecily Gallivan's post
   Melody Crouch, Ophelia Devine

Ben laughed aloud at that, certain at first that she was joking and making fun of him. He recalled after a beat that he had told her when they'd last spoken that he'd played professional Quidditch, and hadn't gone into much detail beyond that. Since she probably hadn't been avidly following every match back then — she would have been a child! — she might legitimately not have known that he hadn't exactly been a lauded all-star on the pitch. Really, he'd had to quit Quidditch before his career had even properly begun, there. He doubted that there was anyone making merchandise with his name on it, much less such a niche thing as a figurine.

"I think I may have accidentally mislead you when we talked about my Quidditch career," he said with a good-natured chuckle. "I wasn't ever a big deal. I certainly wasn't Beckett Longbottom," he said, drawing the name out in a tone that was sugar-sweet as though he was idolizing the beater just as much as she was, when of course all he was really doing was making fun of her.

  

---

MJ made this <3

He hadn't been a Quidditch star? He hadn't elaborated on his Quidditch career so Cee had built her own image in her mind, of him being a somewhat successful player. He seemed passionate about the sport and he was good looking, besides, so that had worked as a sort of halo effect.

Cecily laughed at his pronunciation of her favourite player's name. "That's a pity, Mr. Crouch! You could have stolen just as many hearts!" He still appeared to be in a good enough shape to play but he was married. And he'd said that his family didn't approve of it. Cee didn't like to pry on other people's economic situations, but it appeared as though he wasn't fully independent from his family.

  

The two of them had been speaking in a very free and friendly manner for this entire conversation, but this latest comment stood out to Ben as a step beyond just that. This was flirting — probably the harmless variety, but still. He assumed Miss Gallivan just wanted to have a little fun, and was enjoying the Quidditch match too much to want to guard her language. She knew he was married, and didn't strike him as the type of girl who would be interested in anything scandalous. All the same, he cast a glance towards his wife to see if she'd heard that comment, and to gauge how she'd reacted to it. If she'd heard, though, her face was giving no obvious clues, so Ben was on his own.

"What would I have done with a collection of stolen hearts?" he responded with a suave smile. "If you find the right one, you don't ever need a replacement."

(That was the right sort of thing for a devoted and loving husband to say, wasn't it?)

The following 1 user Likes Reuben Crouch's post:1 user Likes Reuben Crouch's post
   Melody Crouch

---

MJ made this <3

Cee had no intention of flirting with Ben Crouch, so her comment had been innocent, even if it had come off as flirty. The thing was, she felt very comfortable with Mr. Crouch, so that made her speech less filtered. She saw him as a friend in the same way, she saw Cash Lestrange or her old teammates at Hogwarts. If she had been interested in him romantically, she wouldn't actually have the same comfort in speaking to him. She would be flushing and relying on alcohol to make her feel comfortable.

‘‘You make an excellent point, Mr. Crouch,’’ Cee agreed with a nod. She was the sort of person to believe in strictly monogamous relationships, where two people loved and were devoted to each other. She didn't believe in intentional casual flirting. Her boundaries regarding relationships tended to be black and white.

She was about to add something to that when one of the Hawaiian fellows was knocked off his broomstick. Cee gasped and jumped forward to grab the railing so she could follow the chaser's plummet to the ground. She remembered too well how a Japanese had died in the previous cup!

  

Ben was congratulating himself on having navigated that potential pitfall in front of his wife, but was now faced with the dilemma of having nothing particularly interesting to say next. He was feeling too self-conscious about the possibility of flirting to let his normal suave conversation skills take over. Luckily something interesting happened with the match that removed the need for any sort of segue-way. Ben turned his attention back to the match, and moved over closer to some of the male guests so that the conversation wouldn't resume so readily once the excitement was over.

  

---

MJ made this <3