Middle Court Yard

He waited long enough to get his lungs full of air they were burning for, and then returned her attack with a grin.

It took only a moment before she began emitting giggles and almost high-pitched shrieks. Her knees flew up to her chest in order to somehow defend herself.

He couldn't keep himself from laughing fairly loudly, delighted to hear Ace's giggles. "Why didn't you introduce me to this sooner?"

Wheezing, her breaths came shallow and rapid as she spoke. 'Because.. i thought... you knew.. already.' she found it almost sad that he'd never been tickled before.

He stopped to give her space to breathe, still chuckling quietly. "I didn't."

She realised she was half slouching on the bench, shuffling so now she was lying down on it, still gasping. 'at least you know now... and i'll use it against you!'

His eyes widen. "You wouldn't dare."

'Watch me.' she squirmed so she was pressed against his side, beaming mischievously.

He actually looked a little wary. "Perhaps tickling could be some form of assault, I'll have to look it up."

'I was kidding, i wasn't going to do it again.' she answered truthfully, instead encompassing him in an awkward side-on hug.

He smiled, planting a kiss on her head. "It's certainly a good weapon. Was that your question, introducing me to tickling?"

'Sure.' she smiled at him, glad she'd shown him something that would let him laugh.

He hummed in thought for a moment, thinking up a new question for her. "What do you consider to be your best trait?"

'My intelligence.' she responded without hesitation. 'What else could i say?'

"Your good humour," he suggested.

'on occasion, okay..' she reluctantly agreed. 'How did you end up being Eagle?'

"The same man that raised me and pushed me inspired me to. Some of the things he had me work on were old cases that he could get his hands on. I simply wanted to try and make the world better, less crime-filled." Chase shrugged.

"What made you want to enter a relationship with me?" He'd been at a loss for questions, and he was honestly curious. He was hardly appealing looking, and when he'd first came to Hogwarts he'd barely had any personality to speak of.

'Because..' her tone changed immediately, filling with adoration and a deep sense of respect. 'You were different and unusual. Unlike most people, you didn't seem afraid to stand out.'

He blinked. He didn't know what answer he'd been expecting, but that wasn't it. "I never bothered to try and put on some sort of appearance for other people. I'm comfortable with this, that's all."

'Exactly, everyone else around us tries to act, to put on a mask, it's quite irritating.'

"I suppose so." Chase proceeded to lightly play with her hair as he thought for his next question.

"Given the choice, what job would you have? Any job in the world."

'The job we share now.' she admitted. 'I don't know what else i'd do, apart from be some sort of researcher.' she clasped one of his hands again, thumb running small circles on his palms.
'So..why a relationship with me?' she returned his previous question.

"You opened my eyes to so much," he admitted. "And you're really the only person I could ever be attracted to, but it's because of your mind and personality."

being completely indifferent about her looks, she smiled brightly, practically snuggling up beside him. 'and equals in chess.' she added.

"That too," he agreed with a laugh. "Where would you like to go in the world? In terms of geography?"