Whenever I close my eyes, I picture you there.

Whether or not it was her first day back at work after the explosion at the Ministry, Mairen was thrilled. She had a chance to actually take on cases now that she was less restricted and now that she felt less self-conscious. It was just strange walking into the building, since it wasn't the proper department. But, stranger still, was the idea that Scorpius wouldn't be walking down the hallway like he always had. It was wrong, somehow, despite the confusion and and anger she felt towards him.

It wasn't as though she could do anything about it, though. Not now that he had gone and so much time had passed. It had been weeks, in fact, since she had moved in with Theodore. It was much better than staying at her father's - which felt too much like being a child - or staying at the office or the Leaky - which felt downright pathetic. And they were getting on rather spectacularly, given her initial hesitation. Esme was a wonderful little girl, and Mairen was starting to feel rather like she fit in. Especially after Christmas and after the night when she had gotten so totally trashed that she had finally explained everything that she assumed had happened.

Unfortunately for Mairen, she wouldn't be given her own office, despite her promotion to a proper lawyer at the Ministry. Because of their limited space and their need to keep things under wraps, she didn't have that option. Too many things had gone wrong for the Ministry to take any chances with putting the building somewhere obvious. That just meant that she would be assigned to share it with someone who she likely knew but had not seen in a while. She had stopped in before Christmas, to say that she could actually say the things required of her to be a Lawyer at the firm. But she had not been given the chance to take on any cases. Then again, she might have found one in Theodore if she couldn't find a way to talk her way out of it. But perhaps whoever she shared an office with would be willing to help. She didn't mind, of course, but it was a bit of a conflict of interest after how oddly close they had become.

Holding her jacket in one hand and her bag in the other, Mairen made her way onto the third floor and stopped at the end of the first hall to check the list of who would be in which office. She tucked her jacket under her arm and lifted her free hand to run her forefinger down the names in search of her own. When she found room number 23, she sucked in a breath and froze, her shoulders tensing up and her spine straightening. His name was there. How the hell--?

Unsurprisingly, her name was listed beneath his, informing her that she would be sharing the office with him for an undetermined amount of time. Merlin, but she hoped someone was pranking her. And that the Ministry would be rebuilt as quickly as possible. Realizing that her painted nail was still hovering just below his first name, she drew her hand back in surprise and shifted her weight, fidgeting. She couldn't walk down that hall. Certainly there was someone she could trade with? Or someone would jump out and announce that they had been the ones to change the list and scare her.

She swallowed once, then glanced around, trying to decide if she was going to run back to Theodore's and tell him she needed a new job, or if she was going to hurry into the office and act like it didn't bother her in the slightest.

Scorpius was back on English soil, walking into work. If the man tried, he could almost pretend everything was normal. Well, if one ignored the constant ever-pilling snow. And the new offices due to the Ministry building being damaged. And the lack of Mairen by his side, gaping like a black hole, sucking all of the man's attention away from anything else he tried to turn his mind to. So, alright, maybe Scorpius missed Mairen a little. If "a little" meant "more than he had anything in his entire life".

Scorpius had written to Cesca the night before, just after his arrival back home. The young witch had sent a scathing letter in response, words so sharp that the man was surprised just reading them hadn't drawn blood. The lawyer would be meeting with his sister that night, after Honeydukes closed. The blond could only hope that he'd be leaving the store later with all his limbs present and in tact. If not, well, his sister wasn't cruel enough to keep him from the family healer. Probably.

He'd considered writing Mairen a letter too, but ultimately decided against it. All of his drafts had sounded far too childish. The first time Mai heard from him would not be through paper. No, he would talk to her face to face. Scorpius had searched what seemed like everywhere for the redhead, before ultimately giving up and heading home to tumble, fully-clothed, into bed.

The shop-owner was just decreeing that he would ask around after Mairen as soon as he got off work, when it became obvious that wouldn't be necessary. It seemed that he would be sharing an office with her. Unable to open the door in the face of actually seeing the witch again after so long, the Death Eater had pivoted on his heels and headed to the nearest source of coffee. Scorpius had planned what he wanted to say to her so many times in his head, yet suddenly none of his words seemed adequate. After spending as long as he could possibly excuse away loitering with his drink, the man headed back to the office he had yet to enter. Upon nearing the correct door, his breath caught in his throat. There she was, standing right before the entryway to the office they would be sharing. The man licked his lips once, twice.

"Hello Mairen."

Footsteps sounded down the hall from room 23, and something inside of Mairen knew it had to be him. Her gaze remained focused on the door, even as her lips parted and she exhaled quietly. Even as her shoulders deflated, she did her best to keep a strong stance. The snow, of course, didn't help the chill that innately ran down her spine. She definitely wanted to run home to Theodore now, if she could dare call his house her home. Would she even make it to the end of the day? Already, she wanted to explode at him and ask what she could possibly have done to make him leave.

But then he spoke her name, and she blinked, her anger melting - unlike the snow that seemed to engulf the entirety of Wizarding England. The snow that was piled up around her ankles now, since she couldn't seem to bring herself to move. He came up alongside her, though, and she tore her gaze from the door and swung her hair over her shoulder as she looked at him for the first time in what felt like years.

And, by God, she was terrified. Angry, admittedly, but mostly frightened. She could feel the way her eyes widened at the sides, but she couldn't help it. Theodore and Keiran knew about Ana's threat, but Scorpius didn't. No matter how many people she warned or tried to protect, it seemed like she would never have been able to finish dealing with it. It would never go away. Mairen was just lucky that Avery had talked Keiran out of confronting Ana about it.

Icy blue eyes swept over the blond man, a wave of frustration hitting her without warning. "Malfoy," she returned, lacking all of the teasing that had so often come along with her usage of his last name. As soon as she realized that his last name had almost become her own, Mairen deflated, wondering if the page would have just said Mr. and Mrs.-

That was not something she had the strength to deal with. That made her ache desperately, and all she could do was rip her gaze away and reach for the door handle. Of course, the snow blocked her way and made her glare at the bottom of the door. She grumbled under her breath, and held her bag out towards Scorpius with a look that said that he had better take it from her lest she become all the more furious. The bag left her hand after a moment, and she turned back towards the door, using one foot to help shove it open.

She let out a frustrated sigh, only just managing to keep from whining pitifully when she saw the inside of the office. Two desks sat facing each other, their backs touching so the people who used the room would be forced to face each other. Mairen immediately started trying to figure how she could rearrange the room's setup, but it looked like the place might be too small to manage it. So she frowned and trudged inside to try and pretend like working with snow on her desk wouldn't be irritating. To try to pretend like she wouldn't be sneaking glances at him all day.

Mairen had spoken to him, spoken! Clearly the witch had regained her ability to speak. Scorpius could barely wonder how, in face of the crushing knowledge. Clearly, she hadn't needed him. The man was expecting he would come back, and Mairen would be mad at him, of course, but then he would tell her he had a solution, a way she could speak again. Then the redhead would be so relieved and happy that she would accept Scorpius back with little hesitation, and it would be like no time had passed at all. A pipe dream, he realized now. Mairen was very intelligent, and she had other friends, Scorpius shouldn't be surprised that the ex-Gryffindor was speaking once more.

But of all the things for her to say, Mairen had said Malfoy. She'd called him Malfoy. She hadn't even been teasing either, surname accompanied by a straight face instead of curved lips or lilting tone. Well, of course she had. Scorpius had disappeared, after all. Disappeared without a trace for months and months and months. He had nobody but himself to blame. The man had thought about writing, so many times, but never could find the words. How ironic, a Malfoy struck mute by feelings. Oh, what his father would say.

Scorpius was pleased that she had her voice back, certainly, having it stolen from her had been terrible for the witch. And yet, he couldn't help but feel bitter. All that time away, all the searching, even his injuries, had been for nothing. Mairen was already back to full health, or so it appeared, and the blond had nothing to do with it.

Following after the other lawyer, Scorpius took Mairen's bag, heavy with the knowledge that he needed to say something. The idea of sharing an office with Mairen while she hated him sent something ugly curling through his chest. She was still so very beautiful, too. He had wondered, once or twice on particularly quiet nights, if he wasn't misremembering her beauty in his loneliness. He hadn't been.

"I think we need to talk- I need to explain," Scorpius informed her after a few moments, hating the way that her gaze was resolutely fixed on her desk while his own had yet to leave her.

Blinking, the man's attention was drawn towards a vase on Mairen's desk, where what Scorpius had thought was one flower had just become two. Eyebrows pushing inwards ever so slightly, the shop owner continued to watch as two became three. Mairen was hardly the type to have some sort of joke flower in her workspace. Then again, more than a little time had passed.

There was a hint of surprise from the Malfoy, and Mairen could have slapped herself for not remembering. The last time he had seen her, she had been unable to speak. Of course he would be shocked. But it was his own fault for leaving before she found a way to fix it. Not that she had done so herself, obviously. She didn't dare try anything to counter it on her own. That had been Albus's doing, though she did feel guilty for not having seen him too much since then. Especially considering-

Well, that didn't matter so much now that she was staring her ex-fiance or whatever he was in the face, and living with Theodore. Suddenly, she realized that it was probably time to take a look at her life and wonder if, perhaps, she had made too many strange decisions. At least, she mused to herself, she had left the ring in his flat, on the dresser in their his room. At least it wasn't staring her in the face every day while she tried to be a friend to Esme and to keep from being a nuisance to Theodore. Now, it seemed like it might not have been the most wonderful plan, but it was too late just as so many other things could not be helped, now.

On the desk was a purple-tinted carnation, making her blink in surprise and stop short of her chair. Even though she could feel Scorpius coming in behind her, she couldn't help but stare, astounded, as the flower duplicated and then continued to multiply. He had said something, and she was meant to answer, though, so she looked his way and reached a hand out to take up her bag. She meant to do it gently, of course, to keep from seeming completely horrible. So when her hand accidentally brushed his when she grasped the handle of the bag, Mairen inhaled and nearly froze. Instead, she swallowed, refusing to look him in the eye, and turned back towards her desk. The bag was set down so that Mairen could press her palms against the top of the desk.

The number of flowers increased once more, and she jerked back, her gaze flicking towards the vase. Soon, they would not all fit. Did it stop when there were too many? And besides, where had it come from? Was Scorpius so desperate for her to listen to him that he was filling her desk with flowers? Mairen rolled her eyes, pulling out her chair and brushing off what snow she could manage, despite the flakes that continued to fall from the ceiling like it wanted to bury the both of them in the room forever.

"Fine," she replied finally, sinking into her chair and crossing her arms in front of her chest. She, admittedly, wished that her expression was not so icy. "Explain to me why you didn't tell anyone you were leaving." Another flower. "Explain why you were gone for so long." The first flower fell out of the vase and onto her bag. "And explain why you didn't write to inform me that you weren't dead or were coming back. Because I waited, and it sucked, Malfoy. I got someone to help with my... problem... because you had left me no other choice. It was that or be alone, and I was sick of that. So, really, just explain why I shouldn't walk out of here and demand an office change."

She was too angry to pay attention, but the ache that brought about her words had also brought about enough flowers to cover the snowy desk. She finished her aggressive little rant, blinked, and looked down at the flowers. A dark glare took her features and the carnations had the gall to present a few more on top of their pile.

"Okay, wait," she added loudly, holding a hand up. "Was this your idea of a joke, Malfoy?" she asked, gesturing to the flowers as she shoved her chair back and stood again. "I can't tell if you were meaning to be nice or something, but I'm really not amused. Especially with the room already being small, this seemed like a good idea? Make it stop."

It wasn't that Scorpius had forgotten about Mairen's temper, it was just that, well, memories didn't exactly do it justice. The redhead did have something of a tendency to go from zero to raging in five seconds or less around Scprpius. If he wasn't blinking in the face of her icy rage, the man would have almost been temped to smile. By Merlin, it was good to be home.

Only, perhaps things weren't so good. Not yet. The blond's normally silver tongue always seemed to freeze up around Mairen. It was one of the things that had made the witch special, at first, worthy of attention. Now it was just another obstacle to overcome. What use was eloquence, Scorpius couldn't help but think, if it vanished the moment one really needed it. If his old housemates could see him now, they'd find the entire situation quite a riot. Thank Salazar for small favors.

"Mairen, I-" Scorpius started to explain, before being cut off by the woman herself. Normally, when voices were raised at Scorpius, he lashed back at them. The ex-Slytherin had never dealt well with people verbally attacking him with volume. However, the blond had stayed quiet when Mairen began to rant at him to explain. After all, this was Mairen and he may have deserved it, just a little. He would not, however, allow himself to feel guilty. Scorpius had left for her, and no matter what he felt in his chest when Mairen admitted that being left alone had been difficult, his intentions had been nothing but noble.

Later that day Scorpius would wonder why he had even bothered going off to find a solution for Mairen's voice. Truthfully, doing so may have been the most self-sacrificing thing he'd ever done in his life, and he had gained nothing but trouble from it. The age-old saying about the road to hell would seem rather applicable, he would think. Then again, Scorpius was always going to be headed towards perdition.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Scorpius admitted, frustration leaking into his tone. "I've got nothing to do with that," he added, waving his hand in the general direction of the still multiplying carnation. "Seriously Mai," Scorpius continued, tone still just a touch too sharp, yet still unable to revert to surnames like the witch had, "not my style."

“Lunch?” Adriana Rookwood queried, following her brother upstairs into the hallway of his home.

The dark haired man bent down and grabbed the ends of his shoelaces, tying them quickly before getting up and grabbing his scarf and coat from the end of the upstairs banister. The witch looked at him wryly, turning away to go back downstairs once more. Theodore jutted his head forward obstinately, raising his eyebrows at her as he fixed the collar of his coat. Adriana shrugged her shoulders as a slinky smirk followed her nonchalance and Theodore rolled his eyes, reaching down to take his keys and phone from the table, absently reaching into the bouquet in the vase there to pull out some dead leaves.

“Let me know if I need to come back, okay? You know how these work?” He wiggled his phone at her. She poked her tongue out at him and Theodore chuckled as he made towards the door.

“Enjoy your date,” was the airy reply. The response was the slamming of the door.

It was a short walk to the Ministry in the bitterly cold London air. Theodore shivered into his coat, wishing he’d had the foresight to bring his gloves. Once he’d gotten into the underground, though, there was a little bit more warmth about and after wincing and flushing himself into the government building he joined the fray of witches and wizards fighting their way through to their work places. Theodore moved at a leisurely place as though he had all the time in the world. He did really, and certainly knew the back ways into the department he was looking for.

Running his fingers through the front of his hair, Theodore turned the corner and found himself bumping into a frazzled intern whose folders and papers fell all over the floor. Immediately, ignoring her protestations, Theodore knelt down and picked it all back up again, handing it to her in a more orderly fashion, offering her a smile as he straightened up. She paled upon fixing her eyes upon him, though, and Theodore opened his mouth to apologise. She hurried past before he could get a word in edgeways and he sighed, shaking his head before electing to wander down to Mai’s office.

He’d really gotten accustomed to living with the redhead. His grand plan was to surprise her and take her out for lunch and as much as his sister teased him, he didn’t think it was a date. She was a roommate for heaven’s sake! Theodore shook his head at the thought. As he neared the office, though, something caught his eye. A flower on the floor. Crouching, Theodore picked up the flower, twiddling it between his thumb and forefinger curiously.

“I wonder,” he murmured to himself, rising up once more.

Stepping forward, Theodore moved to the door and brought his palm to the door handle. He stalled when he saw the names on the door and licked his lips hesitantly. He opened the door up with as much confidence as he could, willing himself to wash away the irritation that had leapt into his veins. His eyebrows rose as he stepped inside, flowers crunching underneath his shoes. Theodore looked across the room, his eyes falling upon Mai, the Rookwood studiously electing to ignore the Malfoy man.

“Are you alright Mai?” He asked immediately, holding up the flower he’d found. “You weren’t meant to make this many in a day.”

Mairen huffed dramatically at Scorpius's reply, pushing off of her desk and moving to scoop up the errant, offending carnations. Just as she was opening her mouth to chide the blond even more, the door opened instead, and she looked up in surprise at Theodore's entrance. In a way, she felt both anxious as well as calmed for his being there. It was terrifying to have both of them in the same room, but she was also glad that he was the one who had come in, especially now that he... knew. Or he knew what she felt was true, at the least. He knew about Ana's threat against the Malfoys and her friends and family, and a part of her knew that Theodore would help her if she truly needed it. He had offered, in a way, already. But she couldn't help but want to do it as she always had - on her own, and in her own way.

But his words had her taken aback, and she glanced down at the flowers in her hands. "Theo," she breathed, shaking her head in confusion. "What do you mean, I made these?" Mairen asked after a moment, pushing through the snow and fallen flowers to stand beside him.

"What are you doing here?" she added gently, not wanting him to think he wasn't welcome. At the same time, though, she was thoroughly confused, and half waiting for him to do something mad and address Scorpius for what Mairen had tried to explain. "Did I forget that you were coming down? I don't think I left anything at home," she added without truly thinking about her wording. Still, she glanced around the office before her gaze fell on Scorpius again and she stiffened once more.

For a moment, she felt like she ought to introduce the two men, but then she realized that, if anyone knew each other, it was probably these two. The men were from two obscenely well-known pureblood families. How could they not know each other? It didn't make sense that they wouldn't. So she wasn't at all sure what to say. Instead, she glanced between the pair of them, finally registering that Theodore looked almost worried about her. What did those flowers mean, anyway? And... well, if he knew what it was meant to do, it must have been from Theodore. He didn't strike her as the type to play a prank like that - something seemingly senseless.

She peeked up at him from beneath her lashes, wondering if he had meant well but his magic to get the original flower into her office had gone awry. Mairen wasn't sure if she wanted to ask Theodore if they could leave, or if she wanted to stay and prove a point to Scorpius. He had abandoned her when she had very little control over her life, and Theodore had helped her to conclude her list of things that would make up for her losses. A twinge of anger struck her again, until she found herself frowning at Scorpius disapprovingly. Even if he hadn't put the flower there, he had definitely made her life harder. Again.

To say that Scorpius was surprised when Theodore Rookwood entered the office would be something of an understatement. The blond hadn't seen his old housemate in quite some time. It must have been, well, just over a year, Scorpius would imagine. The lawyer was almost certain that he'd spent a few minutes talking to the other man at some sort of pureblood function around that long ago. They had hardly talked for long, nor about anything important. It had been little more than an exchange of pleasantries, Scorpius was almost certain. Theodore obviously wasn't here for him, however, so the blonde stayed silent and watched as the other man conversed with Mairen.

The two seemed rather familiar, something that confused Scorpius more than a little. The man had a difficult time thinking of a reason for the two to have met. It wasn't like Mairen was a pureblood, where just that status was enough of a reason for you to know everyone else who claimed the same label.

Then Mairen spoke to Theodore, completely ignoring the presence of Scorpius in a way that he hated just as much as he hates fudge. And Scorpius' loathing of fudge is practically legendary. Even after the redhead was done talking, it took the blonde a few moments to process what he'd heard.

I don't think I left anything at home.

...left anything at home.

...at home.

...home.

Scorpius didn't feel his heart shatter into a million pieces, nothing so dramatic, but the words did feel like a strong punch to the gut. So the two were living together. Theodore had provided Mairen with that utter ridiculous flower. The Death Eater schooled his features. Mai clearly wasn't his, not anymore.

Scorpius had to clench his jaw to keep his lip from curling. Mairen deserved far better than Theodore. It wasn't that Scorpius didn't like the other man. They'd gotten along well enough during their school days, respect tying the two wizards together in the way friendship never had. Still, bar blood status, Theodore hadn't exactly been the type most fathers wanted to see their daughters with. Not that Scorpius himself had been much better. Actually, one could argue that Scorpius had been worse. Not that it mattered anymore.

"Theodore, what a surprise," the blond greeted coolly, "it has been a while." Mairen's dissaproving eyes were still burning holes into Scorpius, even as he tried to pretend they were not.

Theodore Rookwood couldn’t decide what he wanted to do. That was uncharacteristic of him, typically. He was a man who was always twelve steps ahead. He had things planned. He knew details. He was not a fool. Yet, now struck with Scorpius and Mairen in the same room he found himself stuck and unsure of what he wanted to do to provoke the Malfoy. Immature friendship and lusty comradery meant nothing now – not when there was a point to prove and it was this: Theodore could much better look after Mairen, better than Scorpius could have ever hoped for himself.

So the provocation process was what Theodore was torn between. He knew what he wanted to exemplify, the aforementioned above, but how he was going to do it was what troubled him. He ascertained what one option was: hex Scorpius Malfoy to kingdom come or beat him black and blue in a dreadfully Muggle fashion but one which Theodore felt was more appropriate. He also could also just charm Mairen and maybe even kiss her to prove his point. That, though, was in sharp refute of what Theodore just didn’t want to do: disrespect her. He also didn’t want to be smacked and therefore embarrassed himself so he ignored all of his options and did what he’d come to do in the first place: just be with her.

“I didn’t just buy you a flower for Christmas,” he murmured, stepping closer to her as though he was to tell her a secret. He held up the flower for them to both eye and he turned it gently, waiting, and sure enough another popped into his grasp. “I wanted to do something that would be lasting. I wanted to make you smile. I bought you this flower because you like it but I put a modification of the Gemino Curse on it with the proviso that when you felt sad or stressed or unhappy these would multiply to make you happy again,” Theodore wanted to kick himself. It sounded ridiculous now he was saying it out loud.

“I also,” he bounced awkwardly on the balls of his feet, “came to surprise you with lunch. It’s a bit weird not having you about but um… Adri’s got Esme today so I thought I’d come and see if I could whisk you away for an hour. Basically I just want your attention,” he joked self-deprecatingly, smirking at her. “But, um. I think we need to get rid of some of these flowers, too. Might brighten someone else’s day.”

It was then that Scorpius spoke and Theodore’s fingers curled into his palm by his side as he truly considered the beating-black-and-blue option he’d been considering. He could feel his wand in his pocket, burning against his thigh, aching to be used to rip a new one out of the idiot. Theodore turned, determined that he was going to be courteous, especially given as he had every intention of ruining Scorpius’ day by whisking Mairen away and returning her flushed and happy in a way that the blonde wizard couldn’t dream of evoking in her. Theodore, granted, was at a loss at the minute of how properly to do that but he knew he could and was determined he would so he had half an idea.

“Scorpius,” Theodore returned in a similar tone, the pair enacting his bizarre battle of pureblood while in regards to who could sound the airiest and most uncaring. “I’m surprised you have the gall,” he commented.

Idiot, a little voice went off in his head, sounding so desperately like Adriana’s. She wasn’t half wrong, either.