she who entangles

Who: Justin Finch-Fletchley, Victoria Frobisher
Where: Out on Euphoria Lane, late at night.
When: Sometime in the late summer/early fall, 2003. Justin's still living in his crappy flat.
What: Justin bumps into Vicki on the street. Also? Justin's still a dork.
Rating: G.

Justin was exhausted as he waved his wand at the door of the Magic Bean, shutting it and activating the wards for the night. He was working the late shift, yet again. While he loved his job (it was certainly a sight better than what he'd left at the Ministry), he really hated the hours sometimes. Whistling slightly off-key, he shoved his hands into his pockets and began the long trek back to his flat. He hated living so far away from Euphoria Lane, but he really couldn't afford even the cheapest flats here. He would have searched for a roommate, but Justin didn't want to take his chances with someone he barely knew. So he rounded the curve headed towards Diagon Alley, not noticing anything around him. When he looked up briefly under a streetlight, he noticed a woman coming towards him. She looked vaguely familiar, even from that distance, and she seemed to be in a rush. When she approached, he noticed the familiar blonde hair and knew exactly who it was. He managed to muster up a smile from somewhere before calling out, "Hey, Vicki!" Vicki was hurrying down the lane, a scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. She'd missed two days of work, and in a turn of events that seemed almost intentional, had returned to huge piles of work that had to be completed TODAY. Consequently, she was rushing her exhausted self first to the babysitter's and then home and hopefully to bed. She almost stopped short when she heard her name, a bit startled. Looking around, she finally noticed Justin a few feet away. Hoping she didn't look too frightful, she smiled back. "Justin. Hello. Almost didn't recognize you, I'm sorry." He shrugged lightly, too tired to really quip about it. "It's all right. It's too dark, anyway." He inched towards her as he grinned a little and continued, "It's a bloody miracle I can see where my feet are taking me!" He would have gone on in that vein (since he was apparently in a rambling mood) but she seemed very preoccupied. "Sorry if I interrupted something," he added hastily. Summoning up a better smile, Vicki convinced herself to stand up straight. "No, you didn't. I just wasn't paying attention to where I was going. It is a bit dark here, isn't it? Shame there aren't a few more street lamps..." It was a testament to her exhaustion that the most interesting thing Vicki could currently speak on was streetlamp distribution, but she didn't even really notice. "Yeah, it is," Justin replied noncommittally as he watched her clearly putting up an effort to carry on the conversation. "I meant it, you know," he grinned again, but more understandingly this time. "You seemed to be in a rush and I was just going home. I don't mean to bother you, honestly." A small bit of regret crept into Victoria's subconscious, along with a stubborn desire to stay put and talk to Justin. "No, you're not at all," She smiled at him a bit more animatedly. "I'm just going home as well. It was...a longer day than usual at the Ministry," She wasn't sure what it was that made her bite back her original comment, which was to say that she had to free up the babysittter, but for some reason the Ministry excuse slipped out first. Justin definitely understood that. "Yeah, the Ministry can be beasts when they decide they need you." A momentary shiver travelled down his spine and Justin was suddenly hit with the urge to invite her somewhere indoors. But the Magic Bean was closed, and to invite her to his flat was disrespectful. Not only did it hint at sex, but no one deserved to be cooped up in the closet of an 'apartment' with him. So that meant that they had to endure the slightly chilly night air. He decided to try a different tack. "I suppose our paths never crossed the past few days, did they? I missed you at the shoppe." The teasing grin on his face made that risky statement completely harmless. Pulling her scarf a bit closer against a cough that threatened when the wind blew, Vicki shrugged with a small grin. "It's been terrible, really. My coffee is rubbish, but I was hardly fit company for the rest of humanity, you see." "I'm sure it has been," he said in a mock disappointed voice. "I don't like to boast, but everyone knows my coffee's the best. Even in the shoppe." That wasn't necessarily true, since the other baristas were just as good if not better, but Justin suspected she already knew that. Vicki laughed with a small cough and shook her head. "It is, it's very true. I've been desolate without it. I would have been by this morning, but I was running so late it just wasn't possible," She grinned at him, her mood already lightening a bit, though she was quite aware of the lateness of the hour. Justin wasn't sure how much of that was flattery and how much of it was the truth, but it was flattering nevertheless. She'd at least wanted to stop by before work, hadn't she? "Where do you work in the Ministry, if you don't mind me asking?" He scuffed his shoes a bit on the sidewalk, trying to keep the blood pumping. "Oh! Just a...tiny little department really. We're with accidents and catastrophes, but it's really just a good cover for Charms work and experiments," Vicki shrugged almost as if embarrassed. "You know the type. Tiny office, lots of papers, a few desks jammed in." "Really?" Justin asked before he could stop himself. "I used to work at the Ministry, actually. But that was years ago, in the Department of International Magical Cooperation." He laughed, watching his breath puff out into the night air as he continued, "I was a very, very, very junior undersecretary in the International Magical Trading Standards Body. That basically means they had me writing up reports about the lengths of unicorn tail hairs." Vicki tilted her head in interest. "From the Ministry to the Magic Bean? That's quite a change of pace. What brought that on?" Standing still made the night seem a bit cooler, and Vicki shivered a bit as she tugged her scarf more snugly around her throat. Shifting her feet a bit, she hugged her arms around herself. Justin shrugged before he replied. He got that from time to time with girls he dated, so he didn't mind answering. "Hated it, actually. I wasn't involved in the war, but my time during it taught me that the next day could be my last. And really, unicorn tail hairs can hang themselves for all I care. I want to at least enjoy my life a bit." He stamped his feet to get some blood flowing through them and added impishly, "Besides, I love coffee! It was a win-win situation right there." Victoria nodded. Her experience with the war had been quite different than most, but she certainly understood the sentiment. "Well, that makes sense," A momentary wave of sadness, or perhaps regret, washed over her as it did sometimes...thinking of what her life might have been like had she not had Elisabeth. Still, she loved her daughter and couldn't imagine life without her... Vicki shook her head to clear it and focused on Justin once again. "And I for one am incredibly glad you like coffee. It makes my life just that much better," She grinned at him, the sadness dissipating quickly. Justin watched her curiously as her face changed when she mentioned the war, but he didn't think too much of it. Most people had had their own difficulties with that time and he just thought it was something along those lines. "Yes, I'm glad I make coffee too. Not only does it make your life better, it's..." He really couldn't believe he was about to say this, but he took a deep breath anyway and said it. "It's made mine better too, by getting to know you." Vicki blinked. It was really the only reaction she could formulate instantaneously. The old Victoria wanted to smile cheekily and make a leading comment, but the thought of Elisabeth held her back. There weren't many men interested in the mother of a toddler. Still, she couldn't help a grin from spreading across her face. "I'm flattered. Really..." She hesitated then. Suddenly a clock chimed somewhere, and Vicki realized once again the lateness of the hour. "I ah...should go. Or I'll never wake up in time to get my coffee in the morning," She hoped the implication that she'd see him in the morning would dull any rebuff he might have heard in her reply. Justin bit his lip and mentally cursed himself eight ways from Sunday. This was bad, really bad. He wanted to tell himself that he was just joking and he didn't mean it, but the truth was that he was starting to look forward to seeing her every time he had the morning shift. Work wasn't all that busy then, and she was much nicer to look at than half the people at the shop. "You're right, it's freezing. I'm sorry I kept you out so late... and from whatever you were about to do," he said, stammering a little in the middle of that. Thankfully some shadow fell on his face so she couldn't see how red his face had turned. She'd made him nervous. Vicki could tell, and she did feel bad. Smiling warmly, she reached out a hand to touch his forearm. "Don't apologize. I'm quite glad we ran into each other," It was true, too. Though she gave a small internal sigh at the knowledge that the relationship could hardly go anywhere, she could certainly enjoy his friendship. Pulling her hand away, she gave him a slightly more playful smile. "I'll see you bright and early, all right?" Justin wasn't expecting her to touch him. But when she did, he felt as though he could feel her warm hand even through his coat and jumper. "All right, I'll see you in the morning!" he smiled half-heartedly as he gave her a sketchy wave and walked away towards his flat. Inside, he still felt like a fool but maybe something could be salvaged from this if she didn't end up hating him for fancying her so much. Victoria returned the wave before hurrying down the sidewalk. Elisabeth would surely be cranky by this point, seeing as it was nearly eleven. Still, Vicki had a warm feeling in her chest. It seemed she was on her way to making a new friend, and it felt good. Despite the marathon day she'd had at work and the lingering fatigue from her cold, she couldn't help smiling...nor could she wait for her morning coffee.