┬─┬ ノ( ゜-゜ノ) (breviate) wrote in thedept, @ 2013-09-20 23:00:00 |
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Evelyn was going to miss this place. He stood with his hands on his hips, looking more than a bit rumpled from all the packing and cleaning and making the place look as if he'd never been there. Which was, well -- that was futile really. No matter how hard he tried to make sure he left the small office (doubling as reception and tea room) outside of Justice Francis Pickles' chambers, he could still detect small signs of Evelyness. The scuff mark on the corner of his desk, from that time he trod on his robes while carrying barristers' submissions, clung resolutely to the polished mahogany surface. A stocky vase displaying a flowering cactus sat in the middle of the coffee table, prickly but pleasant enough. Evelyn had considerately began brewing a pot of coffee using a battered-looking french press, enveloping the room with the smell. For a moment, he almost felt a pang of what seemed to be homesickness. After all, Evelyn did work at the Ministry for more than two years. The office, in particular, held many memories. Sure, a large number of said memories involved having brick-like court files occasionally thrown at his head, but he had some good ones. Like that one time Justice Pickles said 'thank you' when Evelyn took a pumpkin to the head during the Dragon Rights protests. There was a muffled thump and then the savage sound of pages being turned behind Justice Pickles' door. He could hear the new associate nervously mumbling about how a document was misfiled. Evelyn smiled, unsure whether he felt pity or some sort of strange camaraderie. He'll have a steep learning curve ahead of him. But then again, the same could be said for Evelyn really. He heaved one box unto his desk, the paperweights shifting precariously and bumping against his favourite work mug. Two years in the same place. And now… well, he'll have to see. He was terrified; absolutely terrified. So much so that he was dawdling in the same office he'd toiled and laboured for hours longer than his position description had specified. There was something completely unsettling about having time stretch out in front of him without any reference point, not even a few dots in the distance to guide him. And yet, on another level, he was looking forward to it. This next adventure. He leaned on his box and failed, his elbow sliding past the edge of the box causing him to nearly impale his cheek on his nameplate. Evelyn will have to work on that. He will have to work on a lot of things. But that's okay, he has time. He pulled the box in his arms and then looked at the other one sitting idly on the floor. Vivean sat munching on a packet of crisps on Evelyn's couch. Wendy dozed cautiously a few metres away after having smelled cat all over Viv's shirt. (Ev met Charlie, the stray that adopted his brother. She was somewhat of an acquired presence, so he could understand why Wendy decided to hedge her bets.) He dried the last of the dishes and sat down next to his brother, flicking through the channels until he found an interesting-looking documentary on the BBC about Mesopotamian taureau vases in the Louvre. Vivean protested audibly and made a swipe at the remote control but he seemed to reconsider after seeing the ridiculous things. He then began to make faces, attempting to replicate the vases. "Muuuurgh?" "I don't think that's quite accurate." Evelyn was trying to keep his face straight and failing. "Muuuurgh." "They'd sound more like cows. I mean, they are cows." His brother pitched his voice lower, sounding guttural. "Uuuurgh--" "Hey, do you mind helping me with a few boxes next Friday?" "--Uuurghaahahahahahahahaha." Viv was turning pink from laughter and he kept on laughing, eventually subsiding to a feeble 'haaaaaaa'. "Nah." Ev shrugged and tried to steal some crisps. "It was worth a try." Brightening up, he tried to get his wand from his pocket so that he could levitate the other box but the one in his arms almost spilled over, making him wobble awkwardly on the spot. "Is that a new dance move?" Evelyn looked up to see his brother leaning on the doorway, a hand casually slung behind him with his jacket. In stark contrast to himself, Vivean didn't look like he was roughed up by over-enthusiastic pickpockets. "Did it look cool?" "No," Viv grinned, sidestepping him to sit behind his desk. His former desk, that is. "So this is it, eh?" Ev nodded, turning around to look at him. "I thought you couldn't make it?" Viv just shrugged and said, "Eh." He couldn't help but smile. He did care! Well, of course he did. Evelyn felt a little bad for that thought. Viv sometimes might not show it, but Ev could count on him when it mattered. As if he could sense what was going through his brother's mind, Viv threw him a pitiful frown, the corners of his mouth dragging down comically. "I came for the beer." "I didn't mention beer." "It's usually implied," he said, bending down to pick up the other box. "Especially when you ask people to do manual labour. God, do the right thing, Ev." "Alright, alright," Evelyn laughed, opening the door and holding it open for Vivean to pass through before following him into the hallway. Half past five on the Friday afternoon and the Ministry was as empty as a zombie-infested town. As they reached the Atrium, Ev sighed. It was a strange thing, nostalgia. He could distinctly remember his first day as his eyes roved the cavernous ceiling, darting past Munchies before landing on the fountain. It gleamed dully, the afternoon sun from a few magically fabricated windows casting shadows around the hall. Evelyn thought that this was it. But maybe he needed the experience to realise that sometimes things don't always work out as planned, and that was completely okay. "Are you having one of those bitter internal monologues?" Vivean said, interrupting his train of thoughts. "Not bitter." "Just a bit?" "Noooo…" Evelyn trailed off, turning quiet again before abrupting adding, "People will forget I was even here in a few months." "Eh, it happens," Viv said, leading now that Ev had slowed down to oggle the Atrium once last time as an employee. "World keeps turning, people come and go -- that sort of thing." He shrugged, casting a sidelong glance at his brother. "No way but forward." Evelyn looked at him curiously, letting the pause go on that Viv narrowed his eyes and said, "What?" "That was really beautiful." "It's 'cause I'm deep and shit." "... Yeah." They walked past the apparition points, instinctively heading towards the long row of Floo connections, and Vivean began to whistle. It started off unfamiliar, the melody tugging at his mind like a half-forgotten grocery list. Only when Viv started singing under his breath that it clicked -- of course. A smile tugged at the corners of Evelyn's mouth and began to sing along, trying to hold a note. He could see Viv in the corner of his eye, a smile mirroring his. As you walk on by, will you call my name? In perfect, almost boyband-like unison, they both punched their fists in the air and kept them raised as they crammed into one of the Floo connections. Yes, Ev thought, this was a good note to end this chapter on. A very good note indeed. |