[Rosalie & Braith]
Who: Braith and Rosalie
What: A convenient meeting in a bookstore
Where: ... a book store?
Why: Because we can.
When Rosalie finished a day at the office, it was almost always a long day. Keeping the world of the Auror Training program running smoothly was a great deal of work, after all. She rarely sat - mostly, Rosalie kept moving throughout the room, talking to people and giving reminders, answering questions, making schedules, posting notices...and everything else that nobody every noticed. To Rosalie's mind, if her job was done right, it should be nearly invisible. And her work
was nearly invisible, largely because she was seen virtually everywhere over the course of the day.
At the end of the day, though, Rosalie finally got her opportunity to relax. Sometimes she went for a spin on her broom, or went home to take a hot bath and have a glass of wine. And sometimes, she went to the Tipsy Teapot for a cup of Earl Grey and a glance at the new acquisitions in the used book shelves. That was the activity for today; Rosalie cruised the aisles, pausing for a moment in the nonfiction section. She scanned the titles, her eyes periodically lingering on one here or there.
While Braith's own job might've been less labour intensive, he liked to think that it was no less stressful.
Any work at the ministry was stressful, but the fact was that Braith spent much of his time avoiding as many people as possible. It wasn't because he was a social recluse, but he didn't care much for the other Death Eaters and the Aurors only served to make him nervous. Because of that, there was a relatively small pool of people in his office that he could speak to safely.
That didn't mean he didn't run into other people now and again, though. On many of his cautious forays past the Auror Training program's door he'd spotted Rosalie, and now in the Tipsy Teapot he recognized her profile in the non-fiction section. He set down the armload of books he'd brought in from the family's library (they would never miss them in the vast halls of their manor) and walked over to her, giving her shoulder a gentle tap. "I have a feeling we ought to know each other."
Rosalie turned quickly, surprised at being approached. She squeaked a little bit, then laughed with relief when she remembered that there was really no reason to be frightened just because someone had tapped her shoulder. It was the squeak that had made "Sneak Up On Rosalie" a favourite game of trainee Aurors.
"I'm sorry!" she said, giving him a warm smile. Meanwhile, she looked at him and attempted to assess where it was she was supposed to know him from. She got a distinctly work-related vibe. "You startled me a bit. It does seem we should know each other, though...do you work for the Ministry?"
It
was rather cute, really. "Sneak Up On Rosalie" was still not a terribly nice game to play, however. Braith grinned and offered his hand to her with an arch of his brow. "No trouble at all. I should be apologizing for shocking you out of your book-induced revelry." He didn't much care for upsetting people, contrary to what people might think if they found out about his 'family profession'.
"I do indeed. You work ... in the Auror Trainee department, don't you?" He knew for a fact that she did, but it sounded a little too creepy to make it a statement and not a question right off the bat.
Rosalie took his hand and shook it gladly. She always liked meeting new people; for her, life had been a search for connections. She considered every person an opportunity for a new friend.
"It's quite all right," she said pleasantly. "And yes, I'm the admin for the Trainee program. Rosalie Diserafino."
Braith would be quick to tell Rosalie that he was a rubbish friend. It wasn't completely his choice, but the fact that so few people fit into his 'parent-approved friends' was something he had come to terms with early in life.
He nodded. "Braith Selwyn," he murmured as he returned the shake. Hopefully she hadn't heard too much about him - that was the way he liked it.
She hadn't, in fact, heard much about him at all. Rosalie was fairly removed from her mother's Pureblood family - they didn't like reminders that their daughter was a Squib. That meant she wasn't especially well-informed about Pureblood families in general. She was far enough behind Braith in school that she hadn't heard much about him there, either. And now, in the Ministry, Rosalie was far too involved with her own department to pay attention to very much in other areas. Thus, she knew nothing of Braith Selwyn except his name, and all she could tell from that was that he was likely Welsh.
"Pleased to meet you, Braith Selwyn," she replied. "What department are you in?" Rosalie had a gift for sounding genuinely interested in other people. Sometimes it was more sincere than others, but it always at least sounded real.
"Ah, the department of Magical Transportation." Not terribly glamorous a position, either, mostly pushing paper, but he left that bit out. He resisted the urge to fumble with the one book that he'd picked out from his own pile and instead merely shifted his attention back to the woman. "Not particularly interesting. And certainly not as busy as your department seems to be no matter what time of day it is."
Flattering other people always seemed to work out in Braith's best interest - either they would ignore the fact he didn't talk about himself much because they wanted to say something of their own or they'd be less-inclined to ask as a result. Still, he did need social interaction, so perhaps he'd chat the woman up long enough to at least offer to buy her something to drink. That was only polite, right? Right.
Rosalie chuckled at the mention of her department's level of activity. "It's a bit of a whirlwind in there," she admitted. "I'm glad of it, though; if it weren't, I wouldn't have a job."
As she chatted, Rosalie attempted to figure out why on earth the man was talking to her. In her experience, attractive blokes didn't usually just start conversing with her in the bookstore aisles. That was the kind of thing that happened to Joy. Rosalie had Nate and whatever their relationship was...but if there was any "seeing other people" it was being done by him, not her.
"I'm sure," he agreed with a nod, glancing to the counter. The woman was nearly done processing his books and he still had the one in his arm, so he lifted a finger to Rosalie. "Ah, I've got to drop this back with Miss Julette, but I'll be back in a mere moment." And he was - he dropped the book off and then returned to where he'd been standing. He was now left with a lack of things to do with his hands and it wasn't long until he was thumbing over the books on the shelves even if he wasn't looking at them.
"Anyway, I wish I could say that my own job was particularly challenging." Most of it was mindless busywork, but he couldn't bring himself to become a 'socialite'.
"What is it you do in Magical Transportation?" Rosalie asked curiously. "It seems like a place that would at least offer the opportunity for travel."
Rosalie had always wanted to do some real traveling. She'd mostly been stuck at home, though. She always felt so compelled to take care of her mother or her sister or the office that she'd mostly stayed put.
Braith wasn't entirely sure if that was supposed to be a bad pun or not, but he didn't mind much either way. "Travelling? Well, you'd think that ... but I'm in the office division. Most of the time I just legalize paperwork for the people going on the exotic holidays." Sad but true. Besides, it was always better to play down his job.
"It's hard, anyway, with the family being here." And having to feel protective of them no matter what.
Now
that was something Rosalie could instantly connect with. "Oh, I know exactly what you mean!" she said, a touch of a laugh coming into her voice to prevent her from sighing. She gave him a sympathetic smile. "If it's not my sister needing a babysitter, it's my mother. And if it's not them, it's the office. I can't imagine when I'd find the time to go anywhere. I've always wanted to, though," she added a bit wistfully. "There are so many beautiful places I've never been, and sometimes I wonder if I'll ever have time for them."
"I'm sure you'll have time." Because if she didn't, he wouldn't either. He was surprised at the way she jumped on that particular statement, but from the way that she was reacting ... her family life was much the same. Braith knew it couldn't be
too much the same, however, since she didn't look familiar from the Death Eater circle. Pity, perhaps they'd have had a chance at an actual conversation. He shrugged, glancing over his shoulder at the 'tea shoppe' portion of the store. "...can I buy you something to drink? It's the least I can do, interrupting your browsing and all."
Rosalie hesitated a second. She glanced back over her shoulder, though there really wasn't anything to look for. Was buying her a cup of tea a...a
flirting thing? How strange! And if it was, was it wrong of her to take him up on it?
It wasn't as though she and Nate were
exclusive, though. Rosalie would have liked to be, but she was always scared to suggest it. If she did and he said no, she'd be heartbroken. It had always seemed better to keep things simple and safe.
Quickly, she turned back and smiled. Rosalie saw no reason she couldn't have a cup of tea with her new acquaintance. After all, it was just tea. She shouldn't worry so much, anyway.
"I'd love to," she answered. "And don't worry about interrupting. It's nearly impossible to really interrupt browsing - that's one of the nice things about it. It's mostly the same when you go back."
"I suppose so, but I always wonder if the book that I really wanted to buy was bought up by someone else moments before." Braith was glad that she'd accepted the offer - once she did, he headed toward the Tea Shoppe without waiting to see whether she followed or not.
Hopefully she would, though. Their conversation had been reasonably friendly so far as he hadn't found any reason to break it off. That was more than he could have hoped for, so he wanted to extend it as long as possible. "But if you say so..."
As it happened, Rosalie did follow. She picked up a papercover copy of Girl on a Swing on her way, figuring that it could always use another read. She always enjoyed old favorites in her quiet time.
"I actually found just the one I wanted," she replied with a smile. "So there's no worry that it's already been snapped up."
"Then I have no reason to feel guilty ... but I'll still buy you that tea." He grinned slightly and shook his head after turning around to speak to her again. "What can I get you?" He found a pair of cushioned chairs for them to sit down in and then flagged over a waitress to grab him a small pot of Irish Breakfast.
This was perfectly normal. He was allowed to have tea with someone and not have it become weird, right? Well ... hopefully.
"Earl Grey, black," Rosalie answered, carefully seating herself in the chair. She never did have much of a sweet tooth, always preferring salty snacks to desserts and never putting sugar in her tea. "And thank you so much," she added, smiling at him again. "I really do appreciate the cup of tea. I quite needed one."
Rosalie smoothed her knee-length skirt out of habit, situating herself in the chair. She wasn't the fashionista her sister was, but she was always very conscious of the impression her appearance made. Less than trying to look fashionable and fancy, Rosalie shot for neat and classical.
Neat and classical was just fine by Braith. He happened to like women who were ... perhaps a little less flashy than some of the ones at the office or in the wizarding magazines. Then again, he couldn't say he wasn't attracted to the rebellious sort - Amelia was a perfect example of someone he really ought not to have associated with, and they'd dated for quite a long time.
He smiled a little. "Don't mention it. I'm always happy to indulge another book connoisseur." Not that seeing her buy one book made her a connoisseur. That was beside the point.
"What do you like to read?" she asked, obviously interested. As it happened, Rosalie was indeed a book connoisseur - she'd loved reading ever since she was a little girl. It has started out as an escape from the mad world her mum dragged her through, and it remained a pleasure for her. Talking about books was equally nice. She hoped she had some taste in common with this gentleman buying her tea - it would make conversation ever so much easier.
Definitely much easier, and Braith was very much tempted to just ask her what she liked to read and answer based on her tastes. It was a bit late for that, though. "I read a little of everything except romance," He admitted with an arch of his brow. "I was never much for the sappy unrealistic fantasies." Hopefully she wasn't a fan of the novels they advertised in Witch Weekly. He'd be sunk if she was.
Rosalie laughed, as she matched the sentiment. "Oh Merlin, I can't
stand romances!" she agreed. As much as she liked escapist fiction, romances were a little too painfully not like the real world. "If I'm going to escape the real world, give me historical fiction or science fiction or Muggle fiction or
anything but romance!"
Witch Weekly and horrible romances were all that so many of the women she met wanted to talk to. It seemed like half of the Ministry's female employees were obsessed with steamy novels and soaps on the wireless. Rosalie just found them all grating.
Grating would definitely be the word for it, although he'd never say something like that out loud to a woman who really did like them. People deserved to have their own tastes in things, right? Right. Braith nodded when she mentioned the genres she enjoyed, "I'm quite fond of historical fiction myself." He tried to stay away from Muggle fiction as a general rule, simply to avoid problems with his family and 'co-workers'.
"You don't know how glad I am that you're not nutters for those trashy novels." He was immensely relieved.
