Not Happening (OPEN)

"I do," Sacha's gaze rested on the photo a moment before he tucked it away again. "I love him very much, indeed." His tone was soft as he spoke of his son, the man clearly fond of the boy.

He gave a soft chuckle. "I'm sure he won't," Sacha agreed. He took a seat beside her on the couch. "It will be fine, though. I'm certain of it." Leaning closer, he pressed his lips lightly against her temple in a reassuring gesture.

"Matthew isn't the only one you need to meet, though," the man remarked.

Alise smiled at the warmth in Sacha's voice. That was the sound of a parent. Soon, she hoped to have that sound in her voice as well.

"If you say so," she murmured, leaning into the arm rest with a yawn. At the touch, she reached over and grabbed his hand softly.

"Is there another kid?" she asked bluntly, "Because after three kids, I'm drawing a line,"

Sacha threw back his head and laughed. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, deciding that he was going to rather like having this woman around.

"No," he replied, still chuckling a bit. "No other children. Apart from my mother and grandparents, of course, you need to meet Ketty." The name was said with intent, however; he was calling for the bearer of the name.

Ketty appeared silently opposite the coffee table from them, large amber eyes going calmly from one to the other. The house elf was dressed in a frilly pink skirt, not unlike a tutu, which was paired with green and blue spotted top. A broad orange ribbon tied back her long brown hair.

"Sacha?" Ketty inquired politely.

"Alise, I'd like you to meet my oldest friend," Sacha introduced the eclectically attired elf. "Ketty, this is Alise. We're getting married."

Ketty nodded, gaze moving to Alise and back again. "Is she pregnant?"

Sacha inclined his head in affirmation. Ketty's eyes returned to Alise, studying her for a long moment, before letting out a loud sigh.

"This will not do," she murmured almost to herself as she shook her head. "Miss Alise, you are much too thin!" Ketty admonished sternly. "You are not supposed to be so skinny - you are pregnant!"

Alise blinked in surprise of the house elf. Sure, she had seen one or two before this, but never a freed one. Never one in such ... interesting clothing. She sat up and let go of Sacha's hand, a bit embarassed at the sudden marriage. Trying to be polite to the elf, she gave a business like smile.

"Nice to meet you, Ketty," She managed, confused by the elf's stare. Was she disappointed in Alise? The Russian knew she wasn't the cream of the crop and she looked... a bit unkept with her old clothes, but she still wanted the elf's approval, especially if an important man like Sacha was friends with her.

"I'm only a month or so," she explained, smoothing her shirt against her flat stomach, "And I've gained so much weight since I've modeled. I couldn't possible gain more,"

Ketty tsked, shaking her head some more. "When have you seen a pregnant mother who was so thin? Never! Miss Yarina was skinny, too. She almost lost Sacha before he was born!" The elf sighed admonishingly. "You must care less about your figure, Miss Alise - the baby is more important, now!"

"She's right," Sacha said quietly, eyes on Alise. "It's a concern of mine, as well. The baby will be growing; putting on weight is inevitable - and healthy. You'll lose it again, afterwards. It'll be fine. Promise."

Alise shook her head indignately as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I read a book about this stuff! A mother only needs to eat about 400 more calories a day!" She ran a hand through her hair. "And just call me Alise, honey. Miss is to formal,"

She turned to Sacha, measuring his expression with careful eyes much like he had done earlier. Letting out a sigh, she dropped her hands in defeat.

"I guess a few pounds more won't be so bad," she murmured, stepping towards him, "Just a few,"

Ketty gazed calmly at the woman, clearly unwilling to be moved from her stance, though she said no more on the matter, just then. "I will make supper," the elf declared, instead, promptly blinking out of the room, silent as ever.

"Getting her to stop calling you 'miss' may be a losing battle," Sacha remarked lightly. "My mother has been trying for years, and she's still 'Miss Yarina'."

When she stepped towards him, he reached out an arm and tugged her against him. "Do not worry about your weight," Sacha murmured in her ear, rubbing small circles into her back. "Eat healthily and when you are hungry, and take care of yourself, then all will be well.

"I think we should have a small, informal wedding, soon, then a larger one after the baby has come, if you like. I do not want you to have any more stress than necessary. What do you think?"

Alise sighed in aggravation as the elf disappeared. She wasn't hungry, yet something told her that her eating habits would be under close observation for a while.

"I'll worry if I want to worry," she huffed, leaning away from his touch and out of his arms, "And I'll get her to call me Alise. Trust me,"

She touched her necklace at the thought of a wedding. The first was so stressful... "Don't spend money on me. Eloping is fine. I don't need a fancy wedding or anything,"

Sacha was unruffled as she pulled away. He didn't blame her. They probably wouldn't be together at all, were it not for their unique situation.

A trace of amusement flickered in his eyes. "Good luck with that," he told her. The man inclined his head. Again, she touched her necklace. Anxiety? Something she was recalling? He was uncertain, but given time, he was certain he'd figure it out.

"That's not quite what I meant," Sacha stated, matter-of-fact. "You deserve whatever sort of wedding you should like. If you truly wish to... elope, I shall comply, nevertheless, I have no intention of your marriage to me being a secret."

Alise stuck out her tongue as she settled into the sofa again. Playing with a strand of hair, she let out a puff of air and mumbled as if it was a dirty little secret, "I sorta want a nice wedding. Something classy,"

She twisted her chain around softly, giving him a soft smile as she inched off her shoes with her heel. "I guess I should tell you about my first marriage, "

Sacha elected to take a seat on a chair across from her. He gave a nod. "Then, you shall have it," he said agreeably. "After the child is born. As I said before, I won't have you unduly stressed."

He gazed at the fire for a long moment, contemplating his response. "If you should like," Sacha said. "We'll make it an equal exchange, shall we? Of course, mine wasn't a marriage, but... It only seems fair."

Alise let out a forced breath of air, stretching herself over the entire couch. She closed her eyes, turning to think of where to begin her tale.

"It was the beginning of my sixth year. I was completely in love with a seventh year named Fredrick Yoderi. My little Freddy," Her hand went to her necklace again, "We had been dating for a year and, being the stupid kids we were, we decided we should drop out and just get married already." He snorted, glancing back at him, "And we did,

"Of course, my mom was pissed, but we didn't care. We found the cheapest place we could and tied the knot," She shrugged, pausing to yawn as if it didn't matter, "Then we stayed together for four years, blah blah blah, and then got into a huge fight."

Alise looked away into the fire, biting her lip, "Long story short: he hit me, I left. That's the short version of it,"

A muscle along Sacha's jaw tautened. To say he disapproved of a man hitting a woman was an understatement. It was a good thing Fredrick Yoderi was unlikely to ever meet him, because he would probably hurt the man.

"My turn, I suppose," Sacha said, turning to look at Alise. "Matthew's mother is a woman formerly of the name Lydia Wright. I had finished my education as a student at Durmstrang and was traveling, experiencing different countries, mostly. Then, I met Lydia, and I... fell in love with her."

The man's gaze had slipped away from her, staring thoughtfully at nothing in particular. "I proposed, but she was already finished with me. There was no place for me in her life. She shot me down.

"Nearly thirteen years later, she asks me to meet with her..." His gaze turned hard, expression darkening. "It was only then that she told me we had a child and that she needed me to take him so she could get married.

"As you might imagine, any good feelings I might have had for the woman are long since gone."

Alise frowned deeply, then pushed herself up off of the couch. She sashayed over to him, placing her hands over his. She couldn't imagine someone doing that to what she imagined to be a innocent teenager. Rejection, then a kid? That was harsh.

"Hey, I'm sorry, that really stinks," she moved a hand to the side of his face as she moved up to straddle his hips. She began to dot kisses on his cheeks: her way of making up for his pain. "If it makes you feel better, I'd never do this to you,"

Sacha let his hands settle on her hips as she straddled his lap. He closed his eyes as she lay kisses across his cheeks.

"Had she only tossed me aside," Sacha said softly, "I might even yet forgive her. That she could heartlessly do the same to her own child - to my son... is unconscionable. He's only a boy."

He took her hand in his, turning his head to place a soft kiss to her palm. "And I would never strike you, nor allow anyone else to do so."

Alise kissed him chastely before pulling away and softly sitting on his lap. She couldn't help but smile in this warm moment; she didn't have a lot of these in her life.

"Thank you for this," she said, taking his jaw within her fingers, "You are a good man, you know? One of the best I ever met,"

He rested one hand on her leg, to help keep her from sliding off his lap, the other gently stroking her hair.

"Thank you for not keeping this from me. I know that you could have, but I'm grateful you did not." Sacha gave a self-deprecating smile. "I try to live by my conscience. If that makes me a good man, then so be it."

Alise took the hand on her leg and slid it upwards on to her upper thigh. With a twinkle in her eye, she brought her lips to his neck, humming softly into his skin.

"You are quite welcome," she purred in between kisses, "A good man deserves rewards, you know,"

Her kisses became longer and rougher as she neared to spot where she had given him a hickey the last time, "You do want one?"

Sacha's hold on her tightened gently, his breath hitching slightly in his throat at her attentions. He was certainly aroused, as she could no doubt tell.

"I have never," he responded, tone a bit husky, "been one to turn down rewards."

Alise cocked a grin, nipping at his neck in a flash of teeth. Her hands went to his shirt collar and started to slowly unbutton his shirt.

"Well, then sit back and let Alise take care of you, hon' " she brushed her hair to the side before pressing her lips into his in a desperate manner.

Sacha returned the kiss, a corner of his mind pondering the source of her desperation. Though, perhaps, she was not the only one feeling a bit desperate. They were two people scarred by those who ought to have cherished them, suddenly brought together by something that hadn't be planned. The whole situation could go so very wrong - or it could go entirely right.

The thought of either was terrifying.

So, Sacha matched her fervor, a hand reaching up to tangle in her hair as he pulled her closer.

Alise moved her hips into his painfully slow, slowly down the kiss to be tempting. She needed this. She needed to feel wanted and loved for once in her life and if she had to do this everyday to be loved, so be it.

Finishing unbuttoning his shirt, she gave a stiff nod, as if approving what she saw.

Sacha moved to trail slow teasing nips down the side of her neck, even as his hands slipped under the hem of her shirt to trail lightly up the skin on her sides, bringing the shirt up with them.

It wasn't often that Sacha forgot anything. However, it seemed that Alise had now been around for two such occasions. The first was the night they had met. The second...

Ketty had reappeared silently in the room, putting the tray she was carrying down with a loud clatter. "Sacha," the elf said evenly, "Miss Alise, supper is ready."

Alise, who had her hand tangled within the man's hair when the elf appeared, pulling away and smiled at the elf. She was expecting the elf to return, of course, but not that quickly. She thought they'd have a little more time.

"Thank you, sweetie," she hummed, fixing her hair. She paused, then ran her fingers through Sacha's hair again, fixing it. She began to button the Russian's shirt, calling to the elf, "Just call me Alise, please!"

Sacha and Ketty's relationship was... unique. While the man considered the elf an equal, as well as his closest friend, she had also been the one primarily in charge of his raising since he was an infant. That put her somewhere between a mother- and a sister-figure.

Which was no man's choice of person to have walk in on an intimate moment.

"Thank you, Ketty," Sacha told the elf. For his part, any embarrassment he felt was well-hidden.

"You're welcome." Ketty's amusement was not hidden at all. Her large amber eyes turned to Alise, before the elf gave a sigh. "My use of 'Miss' is meant only in respect. Since you insist, I shall try to remember to just call you Alise. I will make no promises."