| Details for Exchanged Vows |
| Summary: | Tim proposes that he and Annie take their relationship to a new level, despite it's relative newness. |
| Date: | 25 October 1937 |
| Location: | Blackfiar's |
| Related: | All the other Annie & Tim logs. |
| Characters |
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Under the Blackfriar's Bridge. To protect them from the rain down on the shore of the river. Tim has graciously paid the local homeless to vacate the area for a little while. They know Tim as he often comes down here to have some quiet time, or to take pictures, or both. One of the homeless shuffles away as Annie follows a treasure map that's lead her from Tim's place, to a few shops to pick up a bottle of wine, some cheese, and finally a box from a pastry shop that is written on, 'Do not open!'. Then the map leads down under the bridge. That homeless man gives Annie a warm smile and wink, "Enjoy you love birds." He leans forward it's then that Annie recognizes the warm winter coat the man is wearing as something a bit Wizardish in style and as the same coat that Conner Moody is wearing in the famous picture of him and his wife. "He's a good boy that one." Another wink and he shuffles off to go get something warm to eat with the money Tim gave. Tim stops setting things up to stand and go greet her with a kiss. "There's m'Annie!" He sounds like perhaps he was a bit afraid that she'd not be able to follow his map!
It's been quite the trek, but Annie finally arrives at the final destination on the map. Her 'quests' have been neatly placed into a basket she carries, in a rather Red Riding Hood fashion. It was a struggle to obey the box, but she's managed so far. Still, it's not a moment too soon for the sake of her curiosity that she makes her way under the bridge. The coated man gets a warm smile from the girl, and his words bring her hand up to lightly rest on his arm a moment. The coat itself draws her attention for a moment, the curiosity passing again and she responds. "Ta… I think he is." Her eyes find the man himself, and his approach brings a broadening of her smile. "Alright love?" She steps to get her kiss, letting her lips linger on his before pulling back. "I nearly didn't figure out the first one. Then it suddenly dawned on me that it was wine. The rest were easier after that." She holds out the basket, showing him the treasures she's brought.
Tim looks in the basket she's brought and smiles proudly at her, "An' da seal on the box in't broken. Oi, I'm so proud of yee love!" He leans in and kisses her and then takes the basket and offers his elbow to her so he can lead her to the blanket on the shore that's already set up with a lot of other things to eat and drink and do. There's even a chess board and gobstones board for their entertainment.
Annie's giggle is stilled by the kiss, and she's beaming as he takes the basket. "It was a struggle, I'll tell yeh," she teases lightly, stepping along as he leads. Her eyes fall on the spread he's so lovingly arranged and she visibly melts, wrapping both arms around his and giving a hug. "Tim, look what yeh'v done. It's wonderful." She looks up at him, affection clear in her eyes. "I'm so lucky."
Tim does look rather proud. He offers her help in settling down and then sits down himself. The bottle of wine is opened and it's used to fill two goblets he's brought along with. As she's settling down she might notice there's a strange bundle sort of hidden underneath the flap of the picnic basket he already had. A rope of some sort, made from a lot of different ribbons. "I'm very glad ye like it…I'm the lucky one." He leans over to kiss her cheek as he passes her her goblet. "To us."
With Tim's help, Annie folds down easily onto the blanket, tucking her skirt around her legs. Her eyes do happen upon the bundle, her gaze caught by the colored ribbons, but it gets little consideration as she reaches to take the glass he offers, tilting her head for the kiss. A warm smile accompanies the raise of her glass to clink lightly with his. "To us," she agrees, then takes a sip. When she lowers the glass, her smile has an impish cast. "I think we could spend the rest of our lives in an argument over who's the lucky one. Each of us sayin', 'I am!'."
Tim takes a drink of wine before putting it down and then offering up one of his classic Tim dishes to her, Scotch Egg Salad Sandwiches with a side salad. The cheese she bought gets crumbled over the salad. "Aye, that's one of those things I said I could imagine." He can see it too, a picture of them on this very blanket pointing to each other old and grey the words they are saying plainly, "No I am. No I am." back and forth.
Annie accepts the sandwich from Tim, and watches as he crumbles the cheese. Such little things, but such thoughtfulness and love behind every one of them. It shows in his actions clearly, and she only hopes that she conveys the same to him. Lord knows, it's seldom that she doesn't look at him with absolute adoration in her eyes. "Yeh think of everything," she says with a soft laugh, then takes a bite of her sandwich.
Tim chuckles shyly with a shrug. "I just think bout yee a lot. Yee are a wonderful distraction m'Annie. Speakin o' thinkin an' all…remind me later about it aye? Just in case ye distract me wif them rosy lips an' make me forget wha we're doin' 'ere."
This draws a giggle from Annie. "Yeh mean these rosy scotch egg salad lips, m'love?" She casts Tim a curious look, "Remind yeh… about thinking?" She sounds confused and looks befuddled, but then smiles and laughs. "I'll remind yeh t' think, don't worry."
Tim leans over the basket to do said kissing of said rosy scotch egg salad lips! "Aye, the very ones. So how was your day today m'Annie." Every m'Annie sounds like it should be m'Love instead.
Annie draws a deep breath after the kiss, and lets out a slow, contented sigh. "I had quite the day," she says, her voice taking a conversational tone. "First I had to work, which was just like any other day. An' then I had to go on a treasure hunt." She leans a bit more toward Tim, her voice dropping slightly, "An' when I got t' the end of the hunt, I got the most wonderful treasure of all." She pauses, then smiles, her nose crinkling as she does. "An' yours, my darlin'?"
Tim chuckles, "Hell of a time tryin' to set up a nice picnic for the woman I love. Been terrified for hours that she got lost an' wouldn't make it 'ere. Cannae say how relieved I was that she got 'ere safe an' sound. I see ye met Albert on your way in. Stand up fellow."
Taking another bite of her sandwich, Annie nods to Tim's words, chewing quickly before talking. "He was very nice. Highly recommends yeh, yeh know." This comes with a cheeky smirk, which softens as she goes on, "I believe I've seen his coat somewhere before." She lets Tim know she noticed, without putting him on the spot if he doesn't want to say anything about it.
Tim smiles, though it's a touch sad as well. "Aye, I brought mah Parent's clothes down 'ere. Meh uncle an' I would come down 'ere an skip stones. Albert would join in and show us both up. He 'ad 'family' 'ere too, so I brought all of their winter things down an' passed'm out. Albert I made sure got the coat. M'Unlce 'ad a matchin' one and Albert always complimented'm on it."
Annie reaches over, gently petting her fingers along Tim's jaw before letting her hand drop. She doesn't say again how wonderful she finds him, it clearly shows in her eyes. "I was thinkin' the other day, actually," she says, a bit tentatively. "Well, there were some brochures at the library about the Society for Distressed Witches. I thought maybe I could do something, perhaps see if the library would get involved, to try and help." She looks at him thoughtfully, "Maybe a benefit of some sort, with some of the authors that I've met if they would come and sign books for charity."
Tim is obviously falling more and more in love with her with every single word that comes from those rosy scotch egg salad lips! "Ye are the most remarkable woman tha's ever graced this earth Annie Taylor. I think tha's a wonderful idea. I would love to 'elp ye any way I can."
Annie's smile is pleased, "Thank yeh, m'love. I think I'll talk t' Klio as well, see if she has advice on who I should talk to t' make it happen." She muses out loud, "I've met Dorothy Frost and Gilbert Sullivan recently. And yeh work with Janus Arkham, don't yeh? Well, first I'll need t' see more about bein' involved with the Society. I'll start there." Her sandwich is put down for a bit, in favor of having at the salad.
Tim nods his head and hmms and is looking very thoughtful about something. His eyes angle down to the side of the basket where that rope is. "m'Annie…"
Annie still looks thoughtful as well, mulling over how she might arrange things despite the fact that she's still got to look into the Society itself, but she can't resist trying to work things out while it's fresh on her mind. She's just taken another mouthful of salad when Tim says her name, and she looks toward him, chewing and managing a "Hm?"
Tim chuckles adoring her even with cheeks pooched out full of food. "I wanna ask ye somethin…" He swallows hard and clears his throat, a swig of wine for courage. Letting her chew and swallow before he pulls up the rope and leans forward with his forearms on his crooked up knees and in his hands the rope that he toys with some. "Yee an' I have been talkin' quite a bit bout thinkin' on future things. I said tha I cannae imagine a life wiffout ye in it." He rolls to kneel on both knees before her more. "Would ye please consider an Irish tradition o a Trial Marriage?"
Annie brings up her napkin and daps lightly at her lips as Tim reaches for the braided rope, and her eyes are curious as he speaks. That curious look lingers on her face. "A trial marriage?" she questions, as he kneels by her. "What exactly do yeh mean, Tim?"
Tim reaches to take her hand and wrap one end of the rope with it. "Ye remember 'The Trial'? Well it's tradition tha' iffin some lad er lass passes the trial, an' it continues to last tha the next step is the Handfastin'. It's a year an' a day together livin as man an' wife. Iffin it's good on that last 366th day den dey git married for real…It's a bit like an Engagement. I'm sure ye kin read it in one o yer books at the Library. If ye would like to do tha…I can wait. I can wait a lifetime for your answer. So long as ye are sure an' true wif the answer." Now this was a bit more like the proposal he had in mind.
Watching him wrap the rope around her hand, Annie nods to indicate she remembers the Trial only too well, and she listens with clear interest to his words. There is a pause as she looks at him thoughtfully. "So… yer askin' me t' marry yeh? In a year an' a day?" Despite being unfamiliar with the tradition, she's clearly willing to consider it.
Tim nods but also ticks his head back and forth in that 'kinda - sorta' manner. "I'm askin' ye to trial marriage me. Handfastin' the Old Ways of Marriage. So that we can live like 'usband an' wife for a year an' a day. On that last day, we decide if we liked livin that way, if we want to handfast another year n' a day… or iffin we would rather just be friends an' live out our days tha way."
Annie's head is dipped as she takes in the braided rope and it's meaning, and her eyes shift without her head lifting, so she can look at Tim through the fringe of lashes and hair. "And by husband an' wife, yeh mean…." She lets the words trail off, and hang there in the air.
Tim's adams apple bobs in a hard nervous swallow. "Ah mean, ye come an' live with me. We make my home, our home an' see how it goes." He fiddles with his end of the rope. Peeking through his own ginger lashes to her. His adam's apple bobs again and he looks like he could keel over from nervousness.
"And yeh want to do this…. tonight?" Annie is just full of questions! Ravenclaws do have this tendency to want to make sure they understand things, and obviously Annie's house was perfectly chosen by the sorting hat. In contrast to Tim's nerves, there's a calmness about the young witch.
Tim actually literally reaches up and tugs on his collar and tugs his tie a little looser. "This is for ye to ponder, to consider. We can do this tonight…tomorrow… a year from now. I just know tha' I've never been so sure about somethin'."
There's a lot of pondering going on in Annie's head in a very short time. She was brought up with Muggles, of course their way is the whole basis of the foundation of who she is. There's no such thing as a 'trial marriage', there's women who can be respected and women of ill repute. But. But, she knows enough about the Wizarding world to know that things are thought differently, and old traditions are still followed within their community. And Tim is very solidly of the Wizarding community. He also is making her an honest woman, in his family's way, and not just taking advantage of her. She knows that in her heart without a doubt. It may seem a very long time to Tim, before she speaks again. "We don't need witnesses? Rings? Nothin' like that?"
Tim is looking increasingly more confident, the more questions she asks, the more it sounds like she's seriously considering it. "We don't need any of those things. But they are yours if yee want them. Don't yee know yet that I'll do anything for ye m'Annie?"
Annie's head tilts up, and her eyes settle directly on Tim. There's a soft smile on her lips, and she says, "Alright. I will."
Tim has never looked so happy. "Oh m'Annie, really? Oh ye have made me so happy. Thank ye." He rocks forward to kiss her lips. "However ye want it Annie, truly."
The kiss is accepted, and returned tenderly before Annie pulls back and looks at the rope. "What do we do?" she asks. Now that she's decided, she doesn't seem inclined to put it off. Why? She doesn't have parents to ask, he doesn't have parents to tell, their really close friends combined seem a bit negligible. Her eyes are expectant as she looks up to the ginger wizard.
Tim is in the same boat with all of that. Keenan is probably his closest mate, perhaps Niamh a close second after she helped him out that one time. "Ye take a ribbon or string or something and ye braid it in with the rest of the rope. This is the rope that's handfasted nearly every Moody before us. We wrap it around our wrists, tie us together, then look into each other's eyes an' say, "Come what may, I take ye for a year an' a day. Or til the love grows cold. To have, an' hold." That's all.
Annie looks aside, to the box she'd picked up from the pastry shop, and the red string that wraps it. "Well," she says, keeping her eyes on it, "We have a nice bit of string there. But I'm not allowed to open the box." Her voice is a light tease, and she looks to Tim with a broad grin.
Tim laughs and gives her a light kiss again. He does love showering her with affection. "There is also a little something in the bottom of the basket…just in case. But the decision is yours m'Annie." He winks and angles his greens over to the basket where a tassle and long ribbon of fabric from The Scarf can be found.
Annie leans over, and she laughs when she sees what he's brought. She reaches in and pulls the fabric out, looking to him. "Yeh certainly do think of everything, don't yeh, my Tim?" She holds it out toward him. "What do we do?"
Tim smiles and pushes the things back towards her. "Just tuck it in and weave it in with the rest. The maid creates, the matron weaves, an the crone cuts. Or…somethin like tha." He rubs and scratches at the back of his neck showing a bit of nerves again.
Annie takes them, her fingers moving slowly at first, tucking the strip of fabric into the rope, weaving it with the others, and as she works her movement becomes more deft as the feeling of how it should be just comes naturally. It takes a couple minutes before it's finished to her satisfaction, and she looks up expectantly.
Tim moves to cuddle up with her as she weaves, laying her legs over his and just smiling as he watches her get the hang of it all on her own. He then reaches to take one end of the rope and he wraps it around her wrist like a bracelet and then he offers his hand to her. Warm and soft despite some calices here and there. One their fingers are tangled up in a hold he takes her free hand with his and together he leads them in winding the long rope of ribbons around their clasped hands and then his hand drops away when it comes time for her to tie it around his wrist.
Annie moves her hand easily as he guides, perhaps surprisingly free of nerves for this rather huge step they're taking. She's clearly not questioning her decision, nor doubting it. She takes up the end of the rope as Tim releases it, finishing the job by tying it around his wrist. Her eyes stay there for a moment, on the sight of their bound hands, and the hand holding his gives a light squeeze as she looks up to him for guidance.
Tim lifts up their very bound hands so that he can kiss a little peek of her hand through the ropes and then looks into her eyes. There's a moment of tongue chewing, he will not stammer now. He speaks very clearly in a good cadence, "Annie Taylor. Come what may, I take ye for a year and a day. Or til the love grows cold. To have, and hold."
Annie is as patient now as she ever is with Tim, knowing his pause for what it is and letting him take the time he needs. His words, his clear voice, bring a gloss to her eyes though no tears spill over. She pauses a moment, holding his gaze, before speaking softly but surely. "Tim Moody… Come what may, I take yeh for a year and a day. Or til the love grows cold. To have, and hold." Thank goodness for her Ravenclaw memory.
Tim leans in and kisses her with a great deal of rejoicing passion. "I love ye so. I promise I'll do everything I can to make ye 'appy." Another kiss and then he looks down at their hands. "The trick of it all is we're to stay tied up for as long as we can tolerate. Me great-great-great grandparents managed a whole month."
Always eager to return his kisses, Annie does so now with the knowledge that they're together now in a new way, come what may. Her brows rise at his comment. "A month? Cor, how in the world did they even change clothes, with their hands tied like this?" She laughs softly. "Well, at least we can try t' make it through the weekend before we have t' go back t' work, hm?"
Tim smiles and waggles his eyebrows at her, "With magic m'Annie. With magic." He murmurs rather romantically before kissing her again and gives a chuckle. "Though I'm guessing that we won't last until one of us has to use the loo." He winks and the chuckle turns into a full on laugh. "Would yee like to go back home now?"
Annie protests, "But we haven't even opened the box from the pastry shop!" The comment about having to use the loo brings her blush, but she skims it over for comment. For as much as she did think about this, there were some things she didn't really consider. But there's no doubt that, in time, there won't be much at all that she keeps from Tim in shyness. He's going through at least the next year with her. One other thing she didn't think about before pops into her head. "Tim… what are we now? Yer not exactly my boyfriend anymore…"
Tim hmms, "I think I'm what ever ye want me to be. Boyfriend, Fiance, or Handfasted Husband. If ye don't want people to know, I'm fine with boyfriend, if ye think there'll be judgment about us getting bound up so soon. I'm grand with whatever ye want Annie."
Blue eyes settle on Tim, considering. "I don't care what anyone thinks, it's our life, not theirs. We both know how much things can change in less than a day. I'm as proud t' call yeh my husband as I am t' be yer wife, Tim. So let's not mince words t' please others." And if you're going to do something important, don't do it halfway.
Tim smiles proudly. "I hoped that's how you would feel. C'mere Wife of Mine." He grins and slides her more onto his lap and kisses her very deeply. On the sly his free hand delves into the basket and tugs at the string on the box, opens it and then brings it around for her to see what he had created for her. "I hear it's a Muggle tradition…" Inside of the box is a small cake, the top tier of a wedding cake. On it is a pulled sugar sculpture of a lamppost with a woman in white waving down to a groom on a one knee kneel on the cake at the base of the lamp post.
'Wife of Mine.' What lovely words when said by Tim. She moves easily into his lap despite their bound hands, letting the kiss go on even though she feels his other hand fussing with something. And when the kiss is finally broken, she turns to look, and her eyes widen in surprise and wonder. "Tim… it's so beautiful." As much as she's held it together through this last week with him, this is the thing that triggers tears tonight. But they're happy tears that spill down her cheeks, and she laughs, "Yeh really do think of everything. I love yeh so much, my husband."
Tim returns the kiss with vigor but blushes at her complement. "That's nae true. I never ever thought that I could ever be this happy, this lucky, this loved. Thank you Annie….Taylor?" Another progressive tradition is in the wizarding world is that Witches don't have to take their husband's name.
Another thing Annie hadn't considered! She looks at Tim as she tries out, "Annie Moody." She thinks it feels fine, tripping from her tongue as easily as Taylor ever did. "But, we aren't legally married, so I'm not sure how that works. Can I just take yer name if I want to?"
Tim smiles and nods, "Just a trip to the Ministry and ye can change your name to Annie Mcwabbitywooster if ye like. Heh, I should change mine ta Tim Taylor." He winks and then gives her another kiss. The cake topper is removed and then he lifts up the small cake with his free hand all the way up to her mouth. With their hands bound up it will take quite the effort to cut the cake and serve and such."
Annie's face sobers at this suggestion. "Cor, that's brilliant. Let's both change our name t' that. Tim an' Annie Mcwabbitywooster." She tried, but she just can't keep a straight face, and she sniffles, because the happy tears made her nose a little runny. Her free hand raises to wipe her cheeks, and then she reaches to help Tim steady the cake. She giggles as she leans forward for a bite without shyness, then nudged it toward him for his bite.
Tim leans forward himself and together at the same time they take good bites out of their cake. Then the cake is lowered and he chuckles and leans in even more to nip away some cake and frosting from her chin and then her lips. "I love ye Mrs. McWabbitywooster."
Annie giggles, countering his nips for the frosting on her face with a lick to get some frosting from his cheek. "I love yeh, Mr. McWabbitywooster." This brings a fresh giggle, and then she leans in for a frosting flavored kiss.
Tim sets the cake down and then lifts a finger he's just dipped in the frosting to drag a messy line against her cheek. "Do ye wish to keep on with the cottage? I hoped that ye would stay with me at the house, with Bowie, he misses you greatly, always sniffling and moping about when ye aren't there." He is of course projecting what he does on the poor house-elf.
A light, indignant squeak comes from Annie as she's painted with a frosting stripe, but she laughs. "Do yeh think for a second that I'd be yer wife an' stay out in Hogsmeade? Are yeh daft, my love?" She teases him lightly as her free hand sneaks over, snagging a fingertip of frosting, and then depositing it on the tip of his nose quickly. "I'll keep watching the cottage, I just won't be spending my nights there."
Tim wears his messy nose proudly. "Jus' askin Wife o Mine." He gets a rather impish look and leans forward and paints her other cheek with the mess on his nose and then starts to kiss and nibble and lick it clean.
Annie offers only token protests to this, which are even further negated by the willingness with which she turns her head to make his nibbles easier for him. "I love t' hear yeh say that," she says softly. After a moment she pulls back, to catch Tim's eye. "Maybe," she says slowly, letting her words draw out, "We should… gather up our things… and go home. My husband." There's a meaningfulness to her tone and the look in her eyes.
Tim gives a little gulp at the tone in her voice and she's never seen him so diligently get things packed back away so quickly with just the one hand! Soon enough he's got everything all packed away and is holding the full basket in his free hand…though he does leave all of the left-over food up on a crate up higher against the wall, for Albert, then with his bound hand wrapped around her so his arm is over her shoulders he leads the way back up to the main road and then kissing her every chance he gets, stopping underneath their lamp post for a full minute or more to snog his wife for all to see he then scoops her up into his arms to carry her like a princes and *sploosh* he steps in the puddle. "Never fails." He laughs and with a soggy sound every other step he carries her up the stoop and into Their Home.