InsaneJournal

Bina had spent part of the morning in Rufus' office, working out how the transition was going to happen, who she was going to hand cases off to, and what would be changing. It was, perhaps, not the most glorious part of the job, but necessary, in this case. It was odd, six months ago, she would have done anything to get this job, but now she wasn't sure if she believed in what the Aurors stood for. She believed in upholding the law, of course, and using whatever means necessary to accomplish that, but she was less clear of where the line between 'dark magic' and 'good magic' lay. After all, they could use so-called unforgivables to bring in criminals, but there were plenty of other ways to kill a person than just the killing curse. She needed coffee, and a break. She made her way to Magical Games and Sports to steal a cup of their coffee before picking up a pastry from the refectory and making her way back to the DMLE, somewhat lost in her thoughts.

Promotions and the announcement thereof rarely stayed under wraps long within the Ministry, and during a short coffee break to stretch his legs Will had overheard mention of the DMLE doing some management shuffling. Of course he couldn't assume Bina would benefit from that but there was a strong likelihood she could've. So Will extended his coffee break to walk by the auror front desk, not the department itself and say hello to the witches manning it. It turned out that had been an excellent decision, since one had very excitedly whispered that she'd heard Auror Bulstrode had probably gotten the deputy chief promotion. It wasn't quite official yet or anything of course, but she had been in the Chief Auror's office an awfully long time this morning...not to spread rumours but she thought he ought to know given their relationship...

And this was why you were friendly and flirty with front desk witches. This right here.

Will could barely contain the pleased smirk on his face, managing to temper it into just a delighted smile as he thanked the ladies and asked them where he might find Bina. She'd apparently left a few minutes ago for a break, probably getting coffee elsewhere he suspected.

Deputy Chief Auror. Oh it was one thing to have an auror in your grasp and fond of you, it was entirely another to have the Deputy Chief Auror in that position. This was perfect, an individual auror only had so much sway but this new position? Now this was useful.

Rather excited, and now in a stellar mood, Will walked off at a brisk pace, having excellent luck in catching sight of Bina in the hallway with a cup in hand and her mind elsewhere. With a bit of mischievous spirit, Will walked faster to catch up, smoothly taking her hand in his and tugging her with him as he continued walking with no real warning or explanation other than to give her a wide grin and hold his index finger up to his lips.

Bina looked up in surprise, her mouth still full of pastry and barely managed not to spill her coffee (which would have been a travesty given how good the coffee in Games and Sports was). She was about to protest before realizing she still had a few minutes left of her break and simply shook her head in amusement as she let herself be tugged down the hall.

She didn't have far to let herself be led because Will tugged her into a nook and pinned her against the wall to give her a fierce kiss, not caring about the pastry issue. It was a while before he pulled back to let them come up for air, but only slightly and for a moment to smirk at her briefly. "I hear congratulations are in order, Miss Bulstrode." Though he didn't really wait for an answer before he kissed her again.

Luckily she swallowed the remnants of the pastry in time and after a moment of nervous glancing around, let herself melt into the kiss. She pulled back and raised an eyebrow at him. "I know Ministry gossip travels fast, but I wasn't expecting it to travel that fast. And it doesn't go into effect until October anyway."

Will pulled back and chuckled, looking rather shameless about having found out so quickly. "No reason not to celebrate it. Looks like they finally did some promotions right, about time you got it."

Bina wasn't sure how to answer that, she wasn't sure the auror's mission was what it should be and she had a feeling the new job would still leave her restless. Instead she kissed him softly before pulling back. "Well, we can celebrate tonight if you feel the need."

His smile softened at the kiss and he gave her one in return, lowering his voice to a gentle whisper. "I mean it Bina, you deserve this. Congratulations, I'm happy for you." He'd still been holding her hand and now intertwined their fingers before bringing it up to kiss the back of her hand in his usual affectionate gesture. "It's a promotion, it deserves celebration and a reward."

She flushed slightly at the praise, not used to it from William and it took her by surprise. She pulled back enough so she could take a sip of her coffee and collect herself. "If you insist," Bina said with a small smile. But it might just mean more late nights."

Well at least the flush meant he'd gotten her happier about this promotion, she didn't seem as pleased about it as he thought she should be. "You say that as if you're not talking to a fellow workaholic," he teased gently. "It just means we celebrate before the late nights kick in. Tonight?" Will glanced around but their nook was hidden enough and not many people were walking around in the middle of the morning. He gave her a quick wink and lowered his voice more. "Relax, lay back, and I'll eat you out all night. What do you say?"

She couldn't help the slight shift of her position at his words, and part of him wanted to drag him to the nearest broom cupboard to make him put his words into action. Her tone remained even though. "I say it depends how much paperwork I have," Bina said with a sly smile. "But yes, you have me tonight. I don't have other plans. Though I may be busy on Saturday. Could we switch it to Sunday?"

Will smirked back at that sly smile and gave her a quick kiss. "Sounds good. And yes, we'll move it to Sunday. Work or play?" The answer only half interested him, he'd find something else to occupy his Saturday evening, it wouldn't be hard.

"It might be Sunday dinner with the Bulstrodes and then on our own. I'm not sure if this is the sort of thing my father will want to host dinner for," she said. Bina was all business. It wasn't just that they were at work - that certainly hadn't stopped her from having fun in the past, but Deputy Chief Auror was big. And although her politics aligned with Rufus' for the most part and supported the use of unforgivables, an Auror was still an Auror to many purebloods and she didn't know if this would make her task with her family as society even harder. "Hmm? Oh, play. Out of town friend."

"Ah, alright." Will paused, turning a little more serious for the next part. "Whether he hosts or not, this is a good thing, Bina. You were frustrated at your lack of ability to change anything around here, and now you'll have sway. That's big, and it's what you wanted. So give yourself one night to pat yourself on the back and enjoy it okay?" He leaned in to kiss her cheek and nodded at her explanation for Saturday, giving her a small smile. "Alright, have fun then." Simple as that, since he certainly had enough dalliances out of town. In fact he prefered it that way, more discreet by default and you didn't have to worry about encounters elsewhere.

"Not here," Bina hissed in a whisper. Frustrations like that shouldn't be discussed in a Ministry hallway, in her opinion. There were other reasons she was frustrated with her job, and this wouldn't help any of it. Maybe she'd need a standing appointment with MG or convince him to let her test brooms for him. She sighed and took a sip of her coffee. "Look, we can discuss it later. It's a good thing, I'm sure, it's just… complicated."

Will had to refrain from rolling his eyes in annoyance here, and simply sighed and nodded. Of course it was complicated, most things were, but to let that cloud your view of the potential a new position could bring would only hold you back. Will just nodded and pulled back a bit to give her space and allow her to have more of that coffee. It seemed the promotion hadn't made her happy in the least, well...so it went. He could be pleased about it on his own and separately.

She saw the change in his mood and frowned, offering him a sip of the coffee. "Will.. I'm sorry, I'm being rotten about this whole thing. I just-" I just don't believe in my job. She sighed. She couldn't say that and certainly not here. "Obviously the stress is getting to me already. But I'll see you at 8. Maybe I'll even convince Rufus to let me off early so we can celebrate."

He took the offered coffee to give himself something to do while she apologized, his mood slightly deflated though he wouldn't admit it. Instead he put on a reassuring smile for and gave her a kiss. "It's fine, I'll see you at 8. At least try and enjoy your day and look forward to tonight alright?"

She pulled him close and rested her head against his shoulder for a moment, closing her eyes and just letting his presence comfort her as she stayed there. She should be happy, he was right. And she had been, hadn't she? For a moment, at least? But.. everything was upsidedown in her life. "Eight. Should I have Zinny bring me a change of robes?"

Will let her pull him in and rest against him for a moment, bringing his arms around to pull her close and give her a moment. Clearly a lot was happening in her head if a promotion had her so...well like this. "Of course, I said we're celebrating didn't I?" He smirked at her like this was a silly question. He was trying to tease here, lighten her mood just a little, and yes he did think it a ridiculous question. A fancy night out was warranted, and really she couldn't do that in work robes.

Bina chuckled slightly. "Yes, but your methods of celebrating don't always require clothes," she reminded him affectionately, not pulling back just yet. "Are you still getting off at five? I can probably be out and home by seven if that works better for whatever plans you're hatching in your head."

"That'll be the rest of the evening," he winked down at her. "No, I tend to get off later even if I end at five technically. Seven works though. Dress to impress, I plan to give the lady a night she'll thoroughly enjoy," Will grinned.

Somehow she didn't think Will meant a night of flying at breakneck speeds followed by a bubblebath. Bina smiled and took her coffee back, sipping it greedily. "Yes, sir," she mocked playfully. "Can't tear yourself away from your job? It's a good thing I'm not waiting at home for you every night and punishing you for every minute you're late."

She smirked. "Though I'm wondering if I should take a page out of your book and take a holiday the next two weeks before the change goes into effect."

Of course there'd be no flying in the plan for tonight, though actually he did have a bubblebath in mind for part of his plans tonight. But she'd find out when the evening came. Will made a face at her but was smiling at the mocking. "Fortunate because you'd be late more often than I am," he teased.

"Well technically I only took a weekend off, but a vacation isn't a bad idea between jobs, relaxing recharge is needed sometimes. Might be a good thing to do." Perhaps she'd come back a bit happier about things.

"I don't suppose you're free?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Since work prevented me from joining you on yours?" She frowned when she got to the bottom of the coffee cup and realized she'd finished it already. She couldn't go get more from MG until at least the afternoon. She'd have to make do with the stuff on their floor at least until lunch.

Will gave her an apologetic smile, it'd be nice to take two weeks off but he really couldn't, not to mention next weekend was Hogsmeade weekend. "Not for a full two weeks I'm afraid. I can look into taking a few days and the second weekend but the full thing isn't possible."

"As if I could take two weeks off," Bina laughed. "Well, I'm busy this weekend, so it's only next weekend. And let's be honest, I probably won't take more than a day or two off work."

"I did only expect a week maximum," he admitted with a chuckle. "Hmm, next weekend is Hogsmeade weekend. So I'll see what times I can manage, depends where you vacation I suppose."

"Right," Bina said, face falling and quickly ducking her head so Will wouldn't see. Instead she glanced at her empty mug. "Well, I suppose since I've finished my coffee, I ought to head back. I'll see you tonight. And thank you."

Will nodded and was about to kiss her goodbye when he stopped at the 'thank you'. "Whatever for Bina?" Will smiled. "I just stole you away for a moment to congratulate you is all."

"For everything," she said quietly, reaching a hand to caress his cheek and running her thumb against his lips before brushing her own against his. "I'll see you at seven, darling."

He gave her a soft smile and returned the kiss, giving her hand a squeeze before he stepped back and put on a more work-appropriate smile. "Seven. Have a wonderful rest of your day, Miss Bulstrode." With a final wink, Will turned to walk off back to his department.