returning to london (reggie)

[luke]

Luke confidently walked out of the lift crammed with ministry workers and entered the more spacious corridor. He ignored all of the odd looks that he received and instead, offered polite smiles and nod of the head toward the people he recognized and those who greeted him.

The reason for all of the odd looks was due to the clothes that he was wearing. Unlike all of the other witches and wizards around him, Luke was wearing a black muggle suit. It wasn't like there were no others dressed in muggle clothing, but they were far and few and all of them worked with muggles in some way or form.

Currently, Luke was heading toward his boss's office to drop off a file. The file contained information on the trial next week. Luke had already read it during the long wait in the lift since it stopped at almost every level. The young man quickened his steps when his stomach growled. It was lunch and he had missed breakfast that morning. The sooner he dropped off the file, the sooner he could eat.

Reaching his boss's office door, the young assistant gently turned the door knob and walked inside. The great oak desk was filled with papers and folders sacked miles high. It looked like once lunch was over, Luke was going to have to do come organizing. Placing the file in his hand down on top of a small pile for folders, Luke turned around and headed back to the lift.

There were a few people who were still at there cubicles working. There was no doubt in Luke's mind that they had a deadline to meet and would be skipping lunch. The lift arrived and Luke walked in. His mind wandered to what he should have for lunch. He had only been back in London for a short time and didn't recognize very many people. It seemed that during the few years he had been away, people had changed drastically. Or maybe Luke just didn't remember very many people. What ever the reason, Luke decided that he would eat lunch at the little café he found in muggle London that was situated near his favourite muggle bookstore. Just like he did yesterday and the day before.

Because of his lack of attention, Luke accidentally exited the lift at the wrong level. He didn't realize this until he was several feet away from the lift and by the time he turned around, the doors had already closed. Luke chastised himself for not paying attention. Now he would have to wait for the next lift which for all he knew, could take a while. Lunch rush hour meant full lifts.

The lift finally came and Luke stood inside, extremely annoyed with himself and this silly situation that he was in. People entered and exited the lift, none of them Luke recognized. That was until he noticed a dark haired woman enter. At first, Luke dismissed her as another nameless person who he didn't know but a moment later, a feeling of recognition flared up. He did know this person, but who was she?

As soon as he asked himself that question, Luke just about smacked his. Of course he knew this person, it was Reggie. His Reggie. The Reggie who he grew up with. His ex-girlfriend. how could he have not recognized her right away? But upon a moment of examination, Luke realized that Reggie did look different from what he remembered. She seemed...more mature. Not exactly older, but definitely not a little girl any more. Not that she was the last time he had seen her.

"Reggie?" Luke said quietly. Just in case this wasn't Reggie.

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[regina]

Business as usual. An early start in the morning, followed by about three cups of coffee, and that was just before breakfast. After breakfast, a hop over to the Ministry where she'd hopefully arrive before her boss did. Today was her lucky day, and she'd managed to get started on the trial transcripts before it was noticed that she hadn't started the day before. Following the sorting of the transcripts was a morning full of running around, taking the lift down to the courtrooms and the archives more times that she could count, and don't forget that coffee.

Half an hour ago, she'd noticed that lunch was finally coming up. Ever since then she'd been checking her watch every thirty seconds or so, wishing that time would speed up so that she could take a break, however short. For only so long could law keep her interested, and today she was particularly on edge. The previous evening she'd had a bit of a fight and a falling out with her boyfriend. While he'd been repentant all morning - they worked in the same department, so she saw him regularly - she just wasn't quite ready to let this one go. However, she'd promised to have dinner with him, lunch too if they could both manage to get away at the same time.

Resisting the urge to throw something at her boss as he wandered past, Regina took another look at the clock, then practically leaped up out of her chair. Finally, lunchtime had come. As she snatched up her purse and jacket, her boss came stalking back, demanding she go file some more paperwork before leaving. Knowing that the option was doing the work or getting fired, she took the papers. She'd simply file them after returning; it wasn't like he'd notice the difference. Upon carefully folding the pages into her purse (it was bigger than it appeared) and pulling on her muggle jacket, Regina headed for the lifts, her relief at escaping almost glee.

As patiently as she could, she awaited the lift, the pointed toe of one of her shoes tapping idly at the floor. Ever since beginning her work at the Ministry, she'd been dressing so much better than at school. For one, her sense of style was no longer practical, but professional. Heeled shoes, pencil skirts, blouses; it was all part of her new professional image. Of course, that image was over two years old by now, but she still needed to keep it up, even if others in the office didn't think it was worth the effort.

At last the door dinged open and Regina stepped inside, pivoting to face back out again. A few moments of quiet muttering between passengers mixed with the clanking of the lift, and then a voice disturbed her lack of thoughts. Normally she wouldn't have started, or quickly whipped around to identify the speaker, but - except for her sisters - it had been a very long time since anyone had called her 'Reggie'.

Though already large, her eyes widened with shock at the sight of the changed-but-not Lucas Landrey. A hundred different thoughts vied for attention, and she found herself blushing at some of them. Flustered, she tore her eyes away from her examination and comparison of his features, and set about putting her thoughts back where they belonged. Hadn't she already decided that she'd let the past go? Now here it came, sneaking up on her when she least expected it.

What to say? It would be no good to stand there like a dumb fish and simply gape. To cover for her initial, shocked reaction, she cleared her throat quietly and spoke. "It's been a while since anyone's called me that," she answered, voice low, then tried a tentative smile, "Lucas." There. Back on track. For now. Unfortunately, it was lunch break, which probably meant that he was heading out as well. Oh, this could be bad, especially if she ran into her boyfriend. At the moment she wasn't sure which one she'd rather spend lunch with.

[luke]

Luke swallowed and gave Reggie a small smile. It was supposed to be friendly but it was probably unconvincing. It wasn't that he was feeling hostile or anything, it was just that seeing Reggie again brought back a torrent of memories that were both sweet and sour. Sure they were close and basically inseparable when they were younger, but the years that they had been apart looking for their own future, it had left a rift that neither were willing to acknowledge. This rift was left to grow bigger, up to the point where they no longer wrote to each other and knew close to nothing of each others lives any more.

Hearing Reggie speak was like having flashbacks back to their childhood and all the times they spent together in and out of Hogwarts. Then the painful memory of going their separate ways came up and Luke wasn't sure if he could remain composed. He didn't really want to leave Reggie behind, but he really had to go. Staying wasn't an option for him. He needed to prove to everyone (his family really) and to himself that he wasn't a good for nothing bastard child. Working internationally did wonders for his confidence. If it wasn't for Loretta, he wouldn't even be in London right now, but the duty of older brother called.

The most painful part though, weren't the memories. It was the way Reggie said his name. Lucas. Reggie never said his full name unless she was telling him off or was annoyed with him, which really didn't happen all that often since he was the one who usually got annoyed. Luke realized then, that he no longer really knew Reggie. She worked in the ministry, that was obvious, but in what department? Was she single or did she have a boyfriend? How was she getting along with her sisters? Luke desperately wanted to know these things, but he was as good as a complete stranger right now.

Luke was about to reply when he realized he didn't know how to address Reggie. He could, of course, just call her Reggie, but she had called him Lucas. So maybe he should call her Regina. It wasn't like he had never called her that before. He called her Regina often enough when they were still dating that it wasn't too weird to call her by her full name now. One problem solved, about ten more to go. While Luke knew what to call her, he didn't quite know what to say. It wasn't his style to go head first into something without planning it out first. Seeing as Reggie opened the topic of them having not seen each other in a while, Luke figured that it was probably the best place to start.

With somewhat a plan in mind, Luke felt less tense and was grateful that he had remained (at least in his own mind) composed. Hopefully, Reggie didn't notice his unease. "Habits die hard," answered Luke. Short and precise with no hint of falling apart. That was good. His voice was steady and his body was relaxed, even if his mind wasn't completely at ease. Working internationally had really helped improve his acting skills, not that he didn't have any before, but stress and pressure usually meant that he fell apart. But not anymore as this conversation had proved.

Luke wanted to have lunch with Reggie but wasn't sure if had any previous engagements. He wanted to catch up, to apologize and to be friends again, because Luke missed the person whom he could talk to completely truthfully. Not wanting to be blunt and ask her out to lunch right away, Luke decided for some conversation first. He wasn't beating around the bush, just being diplomatic. "So, where do you work in the ministry?" asked Luke.

((Wow, 2 long posts in 2 days. That's a big improvement compared to my museless streak. And I can just see Reggie breaking Luke's heart. -sigh- And the school computers are slooooooowww.))

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[regina]

There had been a day in her life, when she'd thought that she'd never be seperated from the man that stood next to her. As time had worn on, she'd found more and more that their interests differed, that their personalities clashed, yet they'd remained friends for as long as there was still need for it. Once they'd parted ways, that was it. It hadn't been a seamless tear; barely a week went by without thoughts of Luke crossing her mind. Every one had brought a pang of regret, though she didn't regret her decision to get over that time in her life. Hogwarts was gone, school was over, everything was different. And if they couldn't keep up to one another, then maybe they shouldn't try.

Now, however, those regrets returned with a vengeance. Half of her wanted to find some secluded place and catch up and to hell with everyone she'd met since starting work at the Ministry. The other half argued that she couldn't just drop everything for someone who'd run off without a backwards glance, happy to escape his family and, perhaps inadvertantly, her. More than anything, though, she didn't want to get her hopes up just to find out that he was only stopping by in Britain for the day before heading off to yet another exotic locale. Or, at least, that's what little she'd known of his career path before they'd lost touch.

Feeling alone in the lift full of people, Regina was glad when it came to a halt one floor above, at the Atrium. The arrival allowed her an opportunity to gather her wits - again - and sort out what it was, exactly, that she was going to do. First and foremost, she had to answer his question. It wasn't like she wanted to hide her job or anything. "I'm in Magical Law Enforcement, Wizengamot Administration and Legal Office," she recited, keeping her face somewhat falsely cheerful. "Lawyer-in-training." Without thinking about it and despite the partially enthusiastic way she'd said it, she rolled her eyes - not that Luke would understand why. She wasn't about to burden him with her complaints about work. "Where are you now?"

Tucking her purse more snugly under her arm, Regina came to a decision. It had been barely a few minutes since she'd run into him, and already she was wanting to think of herself as 'Reggie' and go back to teasing and bothering her former best friend. Glancing up at him - it seemed he'd received that last-minute growth spurt he'd always wanted - she smiled sincerely and glanced toward the exit. "I know of a lovely muggle café a few blocks from here..." she suggested without actually saying it outright. If he said 'no' she wanted to be able to cover her own back, which included not sounding stupid or eager or presumptuous.

Actually, now that she really looked at him, she noted the differences from the last time she'd seen him. Already she'd noticed his height, but his hair was different, too. She was also surprised to see that he was dressed in a handsome muggle suit; apparently she wasn't the only one here with a knack for dressing appropriately for interactions with muggles. That meant that it would be exceptionally easy to just go to that café; no need to change or leave robes behind. If she really wanted to admit it to herself, she still thought him one of the most lovely men she'd ever seen, and the extra years had only improved his looks.

Still, she was worried. What would they talk about? At the moment they had the subject of work, but that would be soon exhausted. After that usually came the catching up, and at some point she'd have to tell him that she had a boyfriend. Another thought struck her: had he picked up some exotic girl off on his travels? The very thought made her a mixture of jealous and saddened. Yet who was she to complain? She'd done the exact same thing without a second thought.

This was going to be more tricky than she'd first realised.

[luke]

While Luke had been traveling, he had been much too busy with work to do much else. He spent all of his time either behind a desk or talking with others. In other words, there had rarely been a moment where he wasn't doing something unproductive. The few rare times where he found himself doing nothing and allowed his mind to wander, usually in th emiddle of the night when he couldn't sleep but was too tired to get back up to work, Luke found himself thinking about home.

He missed Reggie and he missed Loretta. Other than that, there really wasn't anything in in England worth staying for. So he left. This actually made Luke feel guilty since it made Reggie seem less significant than she was. If Luke could go back in time, he probably would've found a way to drag Reggie along. But back then, he had been too eager to leave his family (hopefully forever). He had been so eager that, despite years of planning ahead, he had left the two most important people behind him without so much as a 'I'll be back'. No plans were made for his return except for a half promise of letting Loretta move in with him.

Luke idly wondered why Reggie was a lawyer-in-training as he listened to her talk. Luke remembered that Reggie had wanted to be a teacher. She'd make a good one too. She was much more patient than he was. Maybe she changed her mind while he was away. Luke also noted that Reggie's voice was less than lively. It was falsely cheerful, missing the usual genuine enthusiasm when she spoke to him. The only part that sounded anything like the old Reggie he knew was when she mentioned her being a lawyer-in-trianing. Maybe the enthusiasm was never really there and Luke had imagined it all. Luke wasn't sure about anything with Reggie anymore. Hopefully, talking to Loretta would go more smoothly.

Still keeping his face politely smiling and looking attentive (more out of habit than anything), Luke paused for a moment before replying to his former best friend. The young man had a standard response when it came to answering what he did, where he was from and other questions of the same variety. What he did was an easy question. He would answer that he worked in the Department of International Magical Cooperation in the International Magical Office of Law. No elaboration was needed because it sounded impressive enough by itself. Saying anything more would make it sound like he was either bragging or being overly modest. Answering where he was from wasn't very hard either. He'd say that he was from London and went to Hogwarts. There was no need to explain that he was born in Paris.

The thing with talking to Reggie was that he didn't need to sound impressive. It was a nice change really. No one who had asked him these questions ever wanted to know that he had to be an assistant of a nobody for a whole year, or why he had chosen this specific office or department to work in, or even what his family thought of all of this. All they cared about was that it sounded impressive so this young man must surely have an impressive background with all the right education and know all the right people and must've jumped to working full time right after graduating. Which wasn't true at all.

Ever being the diplomat (it was too much a part of him to just not be), Luke made sure to word his words carefully so that he didn't sound too excited to share the news or too unhappy about his situation. Sounding too happy would make Reggie's situation seem like a failure and sounding like he was complaining would make him seem like he was looking for sympathy. "I was working in the the Department of International Magical Cooperation in the International Magical Office of Law, but I just transerred to the Department of magical Law Enforcement," said Luke, deciding to not mention what position he was now working in.

Reggie then mentioned a muggle café, in what Luke was assuming was an implicated invitation to lunch. All the better since he didn't have to think up a way to ask her. Luke smiled (genuinely this time) and nodded. "Sure, I was thinking about going to the same place for lunch anyways." Hopefully, all would go well. And maybe if their battered friendship was repaired, Reggie might help him with a few things.

((Woot. 800 words. I haven't written this much since Seth and Dom's fight.))

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[regina]

How was it fair that, after having given up on ever seeing him again, Luke just walk right back into her life with nothing more than a simple greeting? No sign of surprise, no "I missed you"s or "I'm sorry for abandoning you to the dullest life imaginable"s. Damn his calm composure! Was he an unfeeling automaton? A cold, heartless, arrogant bastard, that's what he was. He was working in the same department as she, and he barely even blinked at the news! And now he just wanted to go on like... like what, exactly? Go back to being best friends like at Hogwarts? Turn into the average coworkers that didn't really give a damn about the other's life? Neither of those were going to happen. But two missing years couldn't just magically be returned to either of them.

A deep breath cleansed her of the growing negativity. They'd talk. She'd find out what was really going on before she got worked up over nothing. No need to be rude, right? Just because he'd gone off to Merlin-knows-where and done Merlin-knows-what didn't mean that she ought to be upset at him. Again, she reminded herself that she'd done almost the same thing, without actually leaving Britain. For now she'd just get a coffee and calm those frayed nerves, even if she still felt like turning around and hitting Luke for being such a damned idiot.

Regina resisted a smile. If she did hit him, he'd probably let her go at it; he had always been fairly tough when she got mad at him and went as far as hitting him. Luke just let her go at it, probably because it was better to get it all out at once than have her brood on whatever the problem was that day. Anyways, he'd deserve it. But would this still be true today? Or had he changed as much as she felt she had? It was impossible to measure that sort of thing. Admittedly, the years without his brother had probably done some good, just as her time spent repairing the relationships with her sisters had helped her a great deal.

Normally, something had to be said at this point, but she really didn't like small talk and the more important things ought to wait until they were away from the multitudes of potential eavesdroppers. "Had enough of travelling?" she asked. In reality, she had no idea why he'd transferred departments and returned to Britain. Tired of travelling, of dealing with foreign wizards? For his sister, maybe? Certainly not for her. She had no idea how long he'd been back, and it wasn't like he'd made any effort to contact her again.

Amongst the continual stream of people in the atrium she spotted many people she knew, but ignored them. If things went sour today she'd have all the time in the world for her other friends. However, if things went well... she had no idea what was going to happen from here on in. See, there he went again! By just dropping back into her life she had to choose between new and old friends, between her new routine and the ways of old. Inconsiderate old coot. To think that she'd originally thought his return a good thing! It wasn't like she could just bring him into the fold of new ministerial friends... right?

Wondering at the possiblity of balancing old and new set her back into a better mood. Sort of. The only thing that would truly resettle her would be to actually find out that certain things had not changed. That meant talking, that meant coffee, that meant getting out of the Ministry. Nearby were the fireplaces that lead the workers into a muggle building in order to blend into the general population. Carefully, she threaded her way towards them, only glancing back once or twice to make sure Luke was coming. Without waiting for a prompt, she stepped into the fireplace and was quickly whooshed up to the building.

Although she hadn't given him much chance to answer her question, Regina still wanted to know the answer, and so waited for him to emerge from the Ministry in order to continue their now much more private conversation. How lovely it was to be away from the hoardes of witches and wizards below ground! It helped that the day was, for rainy London, a pleasant one, from what she could see through the window. The clouds hadn't entirely dissipated, but there was evidence of sunlight somewhere in behind. Smiling, she turned back to where Luke should have appeared by now. "Shall we go, then?"

[luke]

In between each question, there would be an awkward pause. Luke knew that a situation wasn't awkward unless you made it awkward. This particular situation didn't have to be awkward. The problem was that both he and Reggie were being too stuck up and not very willing on taking risks. having been apart for so long, neither of them knew how much the other had changed. Saying the wrong thing could potentially ruin what little of their friendship they still retained. But they weren't getting anywhere! If Luke was alone at home this moment, he would hit something out of frustration. But he wasn't, so kept his cool. As usual.

Luke resisted the urge to look away or fiddle with whatever was in his pocket. Maybe it didn't have so much to do with the fact that the two were stuck up as it had to do with their pride. Luke absolutely refused to allow himself to show his discomfort and nervousness just to make things less awkward. He was sure that Reggie felt something similar. Neither of them were known for giving in. Especially when there was a way of doing things without losing their dignity.

The frustration returned and Luke fought the urge to sigh and run a hand through his hair. This would be so much easier if they were alone. With the few people who were also on the lift, Luke and Reggie could not say anything in case something they didn't want to be known got out. The people who worked in the Ministry were such gossips. Not to mention how much easier it would be to only make a fool out of yourself there was only one other person to witness it.

So when Reggie asked Luke in a what sounded like joking tone if he was tired of traveling, Luke was relieved. He had never liked small talk. It was, for the most part, pointless and a waste of time. It made for a good transition between introductions and the point of the conversation, but that was all. Small talk consisted of the exchange of people's statistics, which basically meant it was a whole load of crap that Luke didn't care to know about.

Luke followed Reggie and a moment later, he found himself in a muggle building. "You could say that," replied Luke with a small shrug, continuing their conversation. Tired of travelling wasn't really the problem. He didn't mind moving from place to place. He just felt the need to return to England. Sort of. He wanted to see Loretta, that was basically the only reason. He missed Reggie too, but that was his own fault. Luke had hoped that maybe he would get the chance to fix their relationship. But that was never top priority until this moment. It had been something in the back of his head for later. Always later.

That particular thought made guilt swell up inside him. So much for calling himself her best friend. He would have to do something extra nice for her later. Luke tried to convince himself that it was a form of apology, no matter how small, but he knew that it was mostly just an attempt to make himself feel less guilty. This thought almost made Luke bang his head against the wall. Apparently, there was no winning in this situation.

Noticing that Reggie was in a somewhat better mood, Luke returned a smirk and held the door open. "After you, my lady." That line was nostalgic. Luke remembered saying those exact words countless times before.

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[regina]

Nostalgia hurt. Welling up through her being, it reminded her of times passed that would never, could never happen again: the days up in the clock tower, the nights reading over each others' shoulders, the hours in the library spent studying or distracted by whatever happened to be on their minds. Adult life, which was supposedly freeing and something to be looked forward to, had thus far been rather disappointing. Parties and drinking and Ministry work and owning flats and sexist bosses and fighting for promotions and boyfriends and scandal and late nights out and shopping and no time to slow down. And on top of that was the return of the ex. Not just any ex, either. Luke had been her best friend before anything else, and that... that she missed, more than anything else.

Now that they were going out for lunch... Wait. Were they going out or just going to lunch? Never before had she been so confused about her own intentions around Luke, except for, well, the entirety of fifth and sixth year, when she'd been torn between trying to get his attention on a romantic level and keeping their friendship going. They were both twenty now, and that meant that it had been fourteen years since they'd first met, first become friends... and two years since that friendship simply withered away when they were each too stubborn or proud to keep sending letters or ask if the other was still... interested.

For all she blamed this on Luke, she'd pushed him away when he'd run off. Not once did Regina ask about his travels beyond the first few letters, and even those hadn't been particularly kind. Not asking about his travels, but rather rudely informing him of how life moved on in London without him. No wonder he'd taken so long to come back. And, of course, she was a bit presumptuous to assume that he'd come back for her. Luke had a sister who would be hitting legal age right about now, maybe that was why. Now that she really thought of it, she had quite a few questions to ask him over lunch. Maybe it would take more than one lunch to get through them all.

Getting her hopes up was probably not the way to do this. Expect the worst, so that when it turns out better you're pleasantly surprised rather than disappointed. Now that she'd taken a moment to realise her own fault in all this, expecting the worst was definitely the best plan; she really had no idea what had happened these past years, just as he would have no idea what had been happening with her these years.

The corners of her mouth turned upwards as he held open the door for her, with that oh-so-memorable phrase shaped by those perfect lips. Whoever said that chivalry was dead hadn't met Lucas Landrey. He was her knight in not-so-shining armour, no matter the years and continents separating them, and he'd been that knight ever since he'd handed her that colourful rock in the playground when they were six and Reggie had been crying. Still she remembered what he'd said then, how, at age six, he'd thought she was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen and that he'd surely marry someone just like her. Had that changed during his travels? Veela and sirens and those mediterranean witches with the perfect olive skin and flowing, dark hair...

Jealousy would not be tolerated. Reggie clamped down on it before more ideas came to her already vivid imagination. Two years, she reminded herself determinedly as they made their way down the street. Two years. All she'd have to do is reign in her fluctuating emotions until after lunch, when they parted ways to return to their separate departments. If only this hadn't come up so suddenly! She would have much preferred to be able to sit at home and think it over (and possibly throw a few things while she was at it).

As she forced her thoughts away, Reggie realised that a gap had formed in the conversation, not that either of them particularly enjoyed small talk. Since Luke had left off, it ought to be up to her to restart it, if only she could find a single coherent thought that might be expressed to her companion without either hitting him or causing him to depart.

"Did you meet anyone while you were travelling?" she asked, seemingly innocently. The knowledge that she currently had a boyfriend preyed on her mind, and she wanted to blurt it out, no matter how unseemly that would be. "Anyone that interested you?" she clarified, as he might accidentally take her first question to mean the wrong thing. Mostly, she feared that he hadn't found anyone, and then she'd be the impatient, unfaithful one who went through boyfriends like some women went through shoes.

This was going to be impossible.