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+----- Thread: fish and chips and bad decisions // Mateo (/showthread.php?tid=1305)
RE: fish and chips and bad decisions // Mateo - Alice Ravenstone - 10-20-2026
Confusion was radiating off Mateo in unmistakable waves. He had no idea what she was talking about, and through Alice’s own emotional state, she knew that she’d have to explain it. But she didn’t have a copy of yesterday’s Prophet, so she’d have to use words about the photos that were taken of her, and, by proxy, him.
“Come on.”
Mateo pulled her across the threshold and shut the door behind them, and guided her to the sofa. Once she was settled, with Buckley firmly on her lap, he sat near her in the armchair.
“Alright. Start from the beginning. What happened?”
Alice looked at Mateo, her eyes on his momentarily, before she looked down at the table. And then she saw it – yesterday’s Prophet. Folded neatly. Hardly touched.
She wasn’t surprised he hadn’t made it to the gossip section. Most men didn’t care for that. It just figured that her father was one who insisted he stay apprised of the Wizarding society gossip he belonged to.
She sighed and reached forward, picking the paper up. She opened it and flipped through to the gossip section. He seemed genuinely confused. She could feel it. And he was concerned about her.
She looked at the photographs of her before holding it out to him.
There she was, in the moving photographs. Dancing on top of the bar. Wearing only her slip. His hands at her waist. The two of them engaged in a passionate kiss.
“My father saw this yesterday morning,” she said quietly while he looked. “Before I got home. And he was… furious would be an understatement. He… insisted he was going to find out who you are, even though I didn’t tell him your name and…”
She shook her head, biting her lip. “He’s planning the announcement by the end of the week, then an engagement party, and then the wedding.”
Her mouth felt dry again at the thought. Alice looked at Mateo. “I’m sorry I… didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
RE: fish and chips and bad decisions // Mateo - Mateo Wesley - 10-21-2026
Alice reached for the Prophet on the table, and Mateo watched quietly as she flipped through the pages. He had barely spared it a second glance yesterday, too hungover to care, too focused on getting to work without hurling up his guts. He had no idea what she was looking for, but he didn’t interrupt.
Still, something distinctly uncomfortable began to squeeze around his stomach, and his brows knit together.
The memory resurfaced a split second before his eyes landed on the photographs.
Flashes of a camera. The photographer across the room. The conflict that had stirred in his chest, followed by the decision to let things run their course. It all rushed back, ice-cold down his spine. His hand grasped the papers from Alice, eyes roaming until they settled on the man in one of the pictures.
Fuck.
That was his face. His hands on her waist. His mouth on Alice Ravenstone’s, for all of Britain to see, oblivious to the crowd. When had that been taken? How had he not noticed?
The question was ridiculous; he knew exactly how. The fucking whiskey. More than he’d ever had before, clouding his mind and judgment. What a stupid fucking idea in hindsight. If he’d realised he’d been caught, Mateo would never have let these pictures survive. He’d known there was a camera, and he’d done nothing.
It had been meant to bring him closer to finishing the job, and clearly it had. A little too well, and a damn sight faster than he’d anticipated. He didn’t doubt Alice’s determination to leave her life behind for one second. That much had been clear from the beginning. Having his face plastered across the Prophet alongside hers certainly hadn’t been part of the plan, though. Shit. This was a problem.
Alice’s voice barely registered over the rush in his head. He caught fragments about her father, the wedding, the announcement, but his mind had already moved on to more immediate dangers. When men like Thatcher Ravenstone decided they were going to find someone, they generally did. All it took was a dockworker who recognised Mateo’s face, a pouch of Galleons, and someone clever enough to know how to ask around. Ravenstone most definitely had both the money and the connections to search wizarding Britain until he was found.
Mateo drew a slow breath, forcing himself back into composure. He ran a hand through his hair as he leaned back in his armchair, tossing the Prophet onto the table. For a moment, he didn’t speak, staring off into the distance as his mind frantically sorted through the possibilities, discarding one after another.
He needed to talk to Goodman.
At last, Mateo looked back at Alice. Out of all the things, she was apologising to him. As if any of this was her doing. It almost made him laugh. Instead, he leaned forward and smiled.
“Don’t worry about it, love.” He reached out and playfully brushed his thumb along her jaw. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
His hand closed around hers, giving a squeeze. “You’re not going to marry anyone.” His smile widened a fraction, eyes briefly twinkling with mischief. Then the urgency coursing through his veins took over again, and he rose to his feet.
“I’ll have to talk to some people.”
RE: fish and chips and bad decisions // Mateo - Alice Ravenstone - 10-21-2026
Alice’s brown eyes watched Mateo, a knot forming in her stomach when she sensed his panic. Outwardly, the only sign that he was feeling any worry was his hand through his hair, and even then that was a fairly normal action for him.
Silence sat between them, she looked at the discarded Prophet, the photographs still moving. She bit her lip after watching for a moment, then looked back at him. What was he thinking? What could he do?
The danger Mateo was now in was not lost on her. And it was her fault. Because of who she was. Because she had lost control. Because her father had found out.
And that was probably the worst part.
Mateo finally looked at her and then leaned forward, amused at her apology.
“Don’t worry about it, love. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Didn’t she? If she’d only remained withdrawn when they met, if only she’d said no to his invitation to take her out that night. If only she’d fallen into line like her father asked.
“You’re not going to marry anyone.”
She sighed, frowning as she looked at him. She’d been reading people her whole life. The ease in his voice, the thumb along her jaw, the twinkle in his eyes… all of it was real enough. But underneath it she could feel the urgency, tight and quick. It all told her one thing: he really was worried. But he wasn’t going to say so.
“I told him I didn’t remember you and that I didn’t know your name. I –” She wanted to cry at the thought of her father doing something bad to him. “You’re in danger because of me and I don’t know what I can do to help you.”
Alice frowned, looking at Mateo. “He… was at work when I left. He won’t know I’m gone for hours yet. I can… go somewhere else if I need to, maybe that would be best.”
She really didn’t have anywhere else to go. She stood when he did, Buckley still in her grasp.
“I’m really sorry,” she said again, her voice quieter this time. She looked at Buckley rather than up at Mateo. “I keep saying that and it doesn’t help anything… I don’t know what else to do.”
RE: fish and chips and bad decisions // Mateo - Mateo Wesley - 10-22-2026
Whether she was fooled by his feigned unconcern or not didn’t matter at the moment. Mateo had more important things to worry about.
Thankfully, Alice hadn’t given his name away, though he hadn’t expected her to. She was too clever for that; she cared too much. Still, it was only a matter of time. The moment Ravenstone realised what his daughter had done, the hunt would be on.
If it wasn’t already.
Grim determination settled over Mateo, as it always did when something was at stake. His own life had been on the line more than often enough—handovers gone wrong, debtors trying to weasel out of paying, competitors looking for leverage. He’d always made it out alive, but this was different. This time, he had to deal with Thatcher Ravenstone.
His mind was already miles ahead when Alice apologised again, stopping him before he could leave without another word.
Mateo sighed through his nose, his expression softening.
“Alice.”
His gaze dropped to the stuffed animal she still clutched, and for a fraction of a second, his little sister flashed behind his eyes, asking when he’d be back to visit. The knot in his chest tightened further. His eyes flicked back to Alice. Had she always looked so vulnerable?
Mateo tried to smile.
“Don’t say sorry. I’ll be fine.” He gently curled a finger beneath her chin, coaxing her to meet his eyes. “Stay here. That’s all you have to do, okay? I’ll be back this evening.”
And then, before he could think better of it, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips. He lingered for merely a few seconds before he drew back with a wink.
And Disapparated.