absence of sleep;open

Absence of Sleep

Kit unscrewed the top of his large flask off, turning it upside down so that he could use it as a cup for his tea. He actually had his own cup in the staff room at work, one with a picture of a black Labrador puppy on it, but that was for the day time when the Auror office was crowded, and people were popping in and out making crappy cups of coffee and tea for themselves because they didn't fancy queuing up in the canteen for one. He didn't fancy using the crappy work teabags his colleagues were so fond of by daylight, so he had made his own flask of his favourite brand at home and took it with him. It was the middle of the week, and three in the morning, but that was no excuse not to enjoy the things you liked while you sat at your desk looking over case files because sleep wasn't your friend. Kit was having a strange week. Mother's Day had been only a week ago. A week and three days, to be exact, and it had played havoc with Kit's mind, as it usually did. He had taken pink roses to lay at her grave, and he had had dinner with Ollie and their dad to mark the occasion, but missing his mother was never something that got easier for Kit.

She had died when he was just a boy, and he had had to grow up fast to help his dad look after their family, what with Max being a vampire and unable to leave the house in the sunlight, it limited their father on what he could do to care for his children, and so Kit had had to step in, being the eldest, and figure things out. Max worked his hardest to bring in money during the night, and Kit looked after his siblings in the day while their dad slept. It wasn't fair, and it wasn't always fun despite Kit trying to make it so for the little ones that looked up to him, but it was nothing compared to how unfair it was that they all had to grow up without a mother. He managed to block it out most days, to keep the sorrow at a low volume, but mother's day always gave it a boost. He missed his mum. What he wouldn't give for one hug from her, one smile, one conversation so that she could tell him she was proud of who he had grown up to be. It would never come, and he needed it so much. He had been having nightmares all week. Beautiful dreams of time with Liliana, causing him to wake in tears. Coming in to the office to keep his mind busy had seemed like a good idea, but the silence only gave him more room to dwell on thoughts he didn't want.

He had been wandering the office, pulling files from drawers, doing bits of research for his cases tomorrow - Merlin knew how he would survive the day with no sleep - and pouring himself more tea when he heard the lift. Someone else was coming. Strange for the middle of the night. Kit sat at his desk in his little cubicle, staying hidden behind the partition as he heard footsteps approach, getting closer and closer to his location. Who the heck was it? He was tempted to peep over the top of the partition, but that was a stupid idea. What if the building had been infiltrated by Death Eaters and he was about to announce his presence to one of them and end up in a fight to the death - undoubtedly his own death - all because he had the urge to peek?Then again, what if it was just Alvar Bellerose settling himself in at his own desk beside Kit's and muttering to himself over case files in front of him? That seemed more likely, considering it was Alvar and Kit was being dramatic and paranoid. You could never be too careful, though. Standing up, he peered over the top of the partition at the dark haired guy he had gone through two years Auror training with, and cleared his throat. "If only they could answer," he said, golden eyes staring intensely at the picture of the dead man at the top of the file Alvar was looking through. Lots of pictures could talk in the wizarding world, but general photographs were not so magical, unfortunately.



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tag: @alvar
notes: <3

Absence of Sleep

Relaxing considerably now that he knew who he was sharing the office with at this time of night - morning? - Kit rubbed a hand through his hair, leaving it sticking up in ten different directions, though he hardly noticed. It was a habit he had when he was nervous, ruffling his own hair, his dad used to tell him it would fall out if he didn't leave it alone, but it was just his thing. A quirk, a comfort when he felt on edge or embarrassed. Or when he was in the presence of someone really good looking and had no idea what to say to them. There were lots of things that triggered the small act, though it probably wasn't the best idea to scruff himself up around someone he had a crush on. Luckily there weren't many who fell into that category. Alvar certainly didn't, and Kit felt comfortable in his company. Of course Alvar's family had a reputation, and Alvar himself had fought to change the way he had been raised, to be a better person. There would always be a niggling doubt there, but the man deserved a chance for a better life than what he had been living before, Kit would give him that at least.

"I can't really nag you for doing the same thing I'm guilty of, can I," Kit laughed, moving around the partition and catching the chair Alvar summoned for him to sit on. He turned it so it was facing him and sat on it backwards, resting his arms on the back rest, his long legs stretching out in front of him as he rolled himself closer to the desk and Alvar. "What's your excuse?" he asked, wondering if Alvar had any particular reason for his insomnia like Kit did, or if it was just general restlessness. Kit wasn't one to pry usually, and if Alvar fobbed him off with some lame answer, Kit would take it and move on. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to divulge his own reasons to the Alvar, either, talking about his family wasn't something Kit often did on a deeper level. Shallow conversations were fine, but when it came to his mother, that wasn't something for just anyone to hear about. He could always just claim he'd had a headache that was too severe to sleep through, or that a case was playing on his mind and he hadn't been able to resist coming into work to look it over in the quiet of the night.



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tag: @alvar
notes: <3