Hey guys! Deadcanons from Tumblr requested a Marcia/Beetle BrOTP One Shot and here it is. :) I hope you all like it at least a bit. I have finished the Milo/Marcia One Shot as well, but after working months on it, I realised that I don't like it, so I will rewrite it... And I guess the next pairing will be Marcellus/Marcia, but very fluffy, I can already promise. (Prepare to swoon!)
Note: I've used a German word here to represent Marcia's mother tongue, but it could be any language. It's the language I know best, so I chose to use German as the placeholder for another language that could exist besides the language that the people of the Castle speak.
"It has to be somewhere", she mumbles and flips a random book open. Not what she is looking for. "Unbelievable that someone made a botched job of the chronicles of the Castle... Or maybe someone wanted it to be lost."
"What do you mean?", the muted voice of a young man asks. Its owner seems to be buried under a pile of books and has a struggle to free himself. Nothing that would worry Marcia Overstrand too much. After a disapproving click of her tongue, she overlooks the accident and addresses herself to her own pile of books again. "Well, I mean that it might have been in someone's interest that the notes about a special event will never be seen ever again. It happened from time to time, although it shouldn't have and it's a shame that it happened to one of the chronicles. All I find right now are books about the Time Turn, but although the topic is very interesting, it's not what I need right now, dear god!" The ExtraOrdinary Wizard sneezes twice after a dust clouds engulfed her. This is obviously not a section which gets cleaned very often.
Beetle looks at her in surprise. "We have books about the time before and during the Time Turn?" This is why he loves trawling the Manuscriptorium together with Marcia so much. She always surprises him with her knowledge about the existence of books he never thought that would exist in here, just like right now. Of course, he knows the Manuscriptorium very well, probably better than anyone else who works here, but he doesn't know all the hidden places she knows. And she is always up for a nice chat which makes his work less boring.
"Sure we have... Oh dear, you really never knew about them?" Now it is Marcia who looks surprised. Usually every Chief Hermetic Scribe knows about them, it is weird that this one doesn't. "I'm sorry, I guess I should have told you. Actually, it would have been the duty of Jillie Djinn, but after everything that happened... well... She wasn't able to tell you, was she? But now you know they exist and if you should ever need one or want to read one, they are right here in front of me."
"Aren't that... Cookbooks?", Beetle asks confused and comes closer. "I always thought they were."
"Of course they look like books for cooking, or otherwise you would have more visitors in the Manuscriptorium than you prefer. Those books are only for your and my eyes. And later for your successor and Septimus. Well, theoretically he could already know now about them, it is not forbidden, but I know him well enough to know what would happen; he wouldn't be able to stop reading anymore until his thirst for knowledge is satisfied and he would forget about his life and his duties."
"So I have to keep this a secret.", he concludes a bit disappointed. He hates having secrets before Septimus, especially when it is something such interesting and fantastic. Both of them love books and tend to discuss them for hours and Beetle would love to do this about the Old Times, but if Marcia doesn't want her apprentice to know about the books, then he has to keep it a secret.
"By all means.", Marcia answers and pulls out one of the books. "It is only the spine which has a spell on it to look different. The cover and the back are still the same so you can see the title and everything. Every cooking book in this section is not really about cooking, so have fun with a shelf full of books about the Old Times and the Time Turning."
"But why are they a secret? Shouldn't everybody know about the Old Times?", Beetle asks and sneaks a peak at the book over her shoulder. "Why do we all live in a lack of knowledge why everything changed?"
"Because one could argue that the Old Times were not always that bad and because it is very difficult to understand the way the world worked back then. We do not even know if we can trust these sources, and the Chief Hermetic Scribes and the ExtraOrdinary Wizards only keep them for storing knowledge, but kept them under thigh wraps out of many good reasons." She flicks a little spider out if his hair. "We do not have any proof that the things these books contain are true. Metal, paper, the material they called plastic; everything is gone by now and all we have is the words of these historians. Some of these books even interfere with each other, so no one knows what is true."
"Sounds legit, but you only mentioned your profession and mine... What is with the Queen? Doesn't she know about them, too?" Beetle touches one of the books reverently. Even only getting a glimpse of an idea how the world worked before the Time Turning is more than he ever imagined.
"There are things that the Queen should not know about." Marcia simply says and closes the book with a clap. "Or at least, it is not necessary that she knows about it."
He groans and looks at her with his personal 'are you serious?' face expression. "For real? I am not allowed to tell my best friend and I am also not allowed to tell my girlfriend?"
"Well, you are not allowed to tell your best friend at the moment.", she replies and looks at him apologetically. "But if you want to tell Jenna, I can not stop you because it is not forbidden. But why breaking a tradition as old as the Castle itself?"
"Old is not always good.", Beetle says level-headed and imitates the paralanguage she always uses when trying to come out on top in a discussion; with foothold, crossed arms and a challenging face expression. Actually, he learns a lot from her. It is not only knowledge you can find in books, but tactics and life hacks as well. She is much longer in this business than he is and sometimes he can copy one or two tricks to succeed in his job since they have to put up with the same people, or at least with the same kind of them.
His brown eyes stare directly into her green ones. It is like a stare battle with a cat; if you look away or blink it means you loose and hell, Marcia can last a long time without blinking. But now she already looks away after half a minute. "Smart boy.", she says with a smile and puts the book back into the book shelf. "You are right here, but in this case, I do not feel very well. It may be my intuition and it can be wrong, but I'd rather not give away this secret to her."
"Aye-aye, Ma'am.", Beetle says and breathes out heavily to make his lack of joy at her instructions known. "As you wish."
"But now let's try to find this stupid book. Actually, I have something better to do than searching for something in an archive that is bigger than my apartment." She sneezes again. "Oh god, how do you all survive it down here? If I had to work down here every day, I'd already be dead."
Beetle has to grin. She can be good entertainment value, most times involuntary, but still. "If you want I can continue with the search and you can go back to work. And as soon as I find it I'll bring it to the Wizard Tower."
"You would do that? Thank you!" She puts her hand on his shoulder. "What are you doing on four p.m. today?"
"Ahem, dunno, I will probably go home for tea because in the evening I'd like to check the new books we got yesterday.", he answers and shrugs. "Or what do you have in mind?"
"Tea as well, but in this new little Café in the maker mile, and I'd like you to join me." Sometimes he does not know if she invites people, or if she simply expects them to come, but nevertheless, he feels flattered. "Don't look at me like this. All I want is to have a nice chat with you outside of this dark and death bringing place." To underline her words she sneezes. "And dear god, is that a moth or a bird? Ah, who cares, as long as it is dead."
"Sure, I'd be glad to join you!" He returns the smile. "So, today, four pm, at the new Café. Got it."
"Perfect.", she replies and turns to go. "Oh, and concerning the books about the Time Turning... Keep in mind that this so-called knowledge is only a collection of assumptions and theories. We still do not know what really happened and how life really was back then. You may get an idea, but that's it. And they can be really hard to read due to the circumstances that they were written many hundred years or even thousands of years ago. Of course, the books are not the original ones, but copies, so the language might not be very understandable for you. And the content is extremely weird, it took me hours to be able to understand one or two theories in there. It may be interesting to read, but you cannot use it as a real source of knowledge."/
He looks at his watch. Quarter past four. Damn, he is late. It's the first time that she wants to meet him outside of their working time, and he leaves a not very fair impression with her. He can already see her outside of the Café, waiting impatiently, with her right foot tapping on the ground constantly and her arms crossed.
But as soon as she sees him her face expression lightens up. "You are a bit late.", she says reproachfully, but she does not seem to be upset. "Did someone detain you?"
"Yep, Foxy asked me a few things, annoyingly it wasn't even about work, but about Rose." He rolls his eyes. "But nevertheless, I am sorry. I know that you are short of time."
"About Rose?" Marcia frowns but shakes her head. "Let's get in first."
The Café is not small but looks comfortable and elegant. He can understand why she chose to give it a try. It seems to be the ambience she enjoys, at least he can imagine that it suits her taste.
Immediately as they sit down one of the waitresses comes over to them, ready to take their order. "Hello, how can I help you?" He can hear the tension in her voice, she probably never imagine that she would serve the ExtraOrdinary Wizard one day when she applied for the job. The effect Marcia has on her is understandable, even now, after getting to know her better, he tends to knuckle under to her.
"I would like a cup of black tea, with rock candy if possible. And maybe one of the cookies?", she replies without even looking once at the menu. "They look delicious. What do you want, Beetle?"
"Uhm, a light tea and scones, please."
"Coming up." The waitress smiles at them, still nervous, but in a good mood. "I am back in ten minutes."
"But now back to Rose." Marcia lowers her voice a bit and her smile is wiped away as if it never existed, just like the waitress she ignores so well. "Why did Foxy ask you about her?"
"Dunno, I am afraid he fancies her. He asked me weird questions, for example if she is happy with Septimus, if she will be back soon since she is on holidays at the moment and all that kind of stuff. Didn't Milo take her with him to the mainland?" He starts chewing on his bottom lip. "I don't like whatever is going on."
"Me neither. But you are right, she is on the mainland at the moment and will return as soon as the Cerys picks her up." She frowns again and looks up to the ceiling. Foxy... She can't imagine that he tries to pinch Septimus his girlfriend, but Rose... That's another topic. She probably does not cheat on him, but she definitely is no stay-at-home who does not enjoy a little flirt; at least Marcia can imagine it as far as she knows the girl. She can be wrong, and unfortunately, she is wrong very often when it comes to romantic things, but her gut instinct is not very fond of her. "Do you know more about their relationship? You are Septimus' best friend, while I am only the annoying tutor."
"She loves him, don't worry. But I see trouble coming up if Sep should discover his jealousy side or if Foxy becomes too intrusive. Do you have any idea how I can defuse the whole situation?", he asks and looks at her. "You have more experience with such things."
"I think you are barking up the wrong tree. I never had to deal with a love triangle, at least not with one I was not involved with." She grimaces as she says the second part of the sentence. No good memories...
Beetle has to grin. "Milo, the Queen and you?", he asks, despite being unsure if it is save to bring the conversation round to this topic.
"Yep.", she answers, and he can see a small smile playing around her lips. "But since you asked for a tip... You cannot stop whatever is happening between them, but I understand your fear concerning the atmosphere in your friend circle and the well-being of your best friend. Septimus is a young man who has his head on straight, maybe you talk to him about it, if Rose should show any evidence of fondness towards Foxy? Advise him to not tell Rose or Foxy about your suspicion, but he will be on guard. Don't tell him that Foxy fancies his girlfriend, but tell them that he tries to be closer to her, let open if it's in a platonic or in a romantic way. No idea if this will work, or if it will be the start of a disaster, but..." She shrugs. "Actually it is not our business, although I would not advise Rose to cheat on him, or otherwise she will attract my annoyance."
The last sentence makes her love for her fostering son nearly palpable for Beetle. Most people would not believe it if you told them that Marcia Overstrand has a big heart, deep on the inside, although she does not show it very often and sometimes even denies it.
"There she probably is not the only one.", he replies with a grin and leans back in his seat. "How many people are on your personal... how did you call it the last time you threatened me? Abschussliste? What does that actually mean exactly?"
She has to grin as well. "It is an expression that exists in my mother tongue. Abschussliste means hit list, but in a negative way. It is used as a metaphor because Abschussliste means 'list of people I will shoot'. The expression is usually used by hunters, but there it is not so metaphorical and not about people but animals. And you are right, my inner list is pretty long."
"Your ability to speak more than one language is enviable. I have no idea how it works in a brain, to know be able to communicate and think in more than one language." He really is fascinated by it. Here in the Castle, it is as if you live in an own universe, no ones knows another language besides merchants, traders and those who moved here. But there is no need for a normal citizen of this country to learn another language, so there are no offers. In the past, he did not know that his language is not Marcia's native one, although she has a little accent if you listen very very closely. But since she spends more time with Milo, who shares the same home country with her, she uses it again, sometimes it seems a bit nostalgic. It blows his mind every time someone else talks in another language, it is simply fascinating how words that he does not understand make sense to someone else, that they never have not known them or, at least, cannot not understand them anymore. If it wasn't the ExtraOrdinary Wizard he would ask her constantly if she can tell him more words and phrases, maybe he would even ask her to teach him a bit of it. That Jenna is not interested in learning the language of her biological father... If he had the chance he would.
"Yes, that's what most people think." She sighs, obviously a bit none too happy. "But it is annoying, actually. Not for Milo, he grew up with this language, he learned how to write and how to use it in daily life. But I did not live as long in my home country as he did, my parents moved too often. Although my mother talked to me in it and he wrote me many letters and made me write many letters, I am not very good in it. Actually, I am not very good in any language. You grew up with your language, and you use it perfectly, without having to think about it too much. I can speak a few languages, all of them a bit, but..." He can hear something like bitterness in her voice. "I will never be perfect in one. I will always struggle with it, at least a bit. Of course, I am long enough in this country now to be as good as everyone else, but it's... The feeling is not the same. It is hard to describe. It is as if something misses. A huge part of what constitutes a person."
Never he had thought about it like that. Maybe she feels a bit lost in this big mix of languages. It is a very personal topic and it is hard to believe for him that he talks with Marcia about her life. "Hm." For a short moment he does not say anything, not only because the waitress brings their orders, but especially because he needs a few seconds to find a good answer. "Does this not constitute you as an individual? Every person experiences something else in life, and I think this... fact about you shaped you and makes you yourself."
"Wise words for such a young man.", she replies while starting to stir in her cup. "Maybe you are right, but it is nothing you should be jealous of."
To be honest, Marcia has been his squish for quite a while now. The day they walked down the streets of the Castle together at night after a party at the palace, something has changed between them. She was the first adult who recognised him as an adult, as someone who is equal, unlike his mother who still struggles with not treating him like a child. But he never had thought she would ever be interested in spending time with him outside of their business, although he always had wished she would. And now he sits here with her in one of the Cafés and they talk like old friends and as if there are not twenty years between them.
"Let's not waste so much time on such a negative and philosophical dialogue. I'd rather want to know what is between you and Jenna. I mean, I understand if this is too personal and if I go too far with asking you about this, however, I've watched you over the last few years and nothing ever happened in public, also I am able to see a certain bond between you and you called her your girlfriend, don't you? But I can't remember if you really did." She takes a few small sips from her tea before she continues with speaking. "You know me and you know everyone that lives in the Wizard Tower. We are nosy as hell, so excuse my question."
It's nearly cute how she does not feel well with asking him it and how she tries to defuse the situation in advance, even before it can get awkward. But to him, there is nothing wrong with this question. "I guess you can call it a relationship. It's not easy to date the Queen, but a little believe in something can always help." It was intended that he used her life motto, especially because it is true; believing in something really does help, no matter what it is. "What about you and Milo? I've heard all sorts of rumours, you know what kind of people visits the Manuscriptorium. From a friendship with benefits to benefits without a friendship and engagement; I've heard everything."
She has to quash a laughter which ends up in a sound that causes a few other people to turn around to them. It only takes her a few frowns until all of them look away again; a talent that only a hand full of people, including her, seem to have. "And all of those things are wrong, although all of them would have something interesting about them, to be honest." Secretively she leans forward while looking him dead serious in the eyes, but the quirk of the corners of her mouth bespeak her amusement. "Let's say we are a couple, but as often as I am a grass widow... He seems to mean it and we have the feelings that a serious relationship requires, thank god. Had been an Odyssey of feelings until we got to this point."
"I am happy for you, seriously, but there is another question coming up: Does Jenna know about it? And Septimus?" He knows how sensitive his girlfriend reacts to the topic Marcia and Milo, so it would be good to know how much she knows about them. Otherwise, it can become damn nasty for all involved.
Marcia shakes her head. "Milo and I agree that it is none of their business. Septimus already knows it, he has seen us a few times together, and he seems to be okay with it. Actually, he seems to be happy for us which means something to me. I guess, Jenna already knows it from him, but I'd rather not put my hand in fire for it. And I have to admit that I don't care very much what she thinks about it, her whole attitude annoys me, at least in this case." She seems to be on edge, Jenna really seems to irritate and confuse her with the result that alone speaking of her lets her voice have this undertone of peevishness.
To not irritate her even more with defending his girlfriend, he nods. The two women seem to have a serious communication problem, but he does not want to discuss it with Marcia now. He really is happy for her, because even to him it has been clear that she has romantic feelings for him. The night she saw him again at the palace, short before the Dragon attacked the Castle, she had been so happy afterwards. But that they would find together... It had been in the stars for a very long time. He remembers Septimus saying: "Marcia will be the last one who will realise that she fancies him, trust me.", after he asked him if the two adults made any progress concerning their relationship. The thing with Hildegard had been hilarious to him, but it had not been very advantageous for building up a relationship. That they found together now, eventually and finally, it is a good thing to hear. The story between them is certainly interesting, but he does not dare to ask her too much about their shared past or her personal life in general.
"I think she will be okay with it in the end.", he says and tries one of his scones which tastes surprisingly delicious. "But in a way you are right, it is none of their business."
"Finally, someone who understands. And since we already speak about things that are not someone else's business..." She clears her throat and starts rummaging around her bag. "I've been working in the archive several times without you, Foxy let me in. While looking for certain books and documents, I found a few sheets of paper with your handwriting."
He groans loudly. Not those papers. But Marcia has no mercy and continues speaking.
"You know how curious I am, but let me assure you that I only sneaked a peak on them. Yet I have an assumption what it was and because your birthday is coming up... Maybe you can need it." She hands him a properly packed package over and again he groans. The whole situation is awkward. He has never expected that she would come up with a present and especially not with one that refers to what she has found in the archive. "It's very likely that I will be busy on that day, so I give it to you now. But don't open it before your birthday."
"I rejoice over the present, I really do, but it would not have been necessary and you know that. And I assume that you read what you have found." Slowly he takes the package and he has the uncomfortable feeling of blushing.
"How well you already know me.",she replies and does not seem to bother about him feeling not very well in this situation. "I shouldn't have read it, but... Well, it happened and to be honest, you seem to have talent."
His cheeks must have the colour of a tomato by now and he is not able to answer any louder than with a mumbled 'thank you'. It's embarrassing that she read his texts, which he kept far away from all the other members of the Manuscriptorium. And the last person he would have wanted to read it on this god damn world found it and actually read it. Although she seems to like it, he does not feel well with it.
"Oh my god, it embarrasses you." He can see the amusement in her eyes and she laughs silently. "I am so sorry, both for being amused and for telling you I read your texts. I really had no idea about your feelings over it."
"Seems not like we are able to talk about a very pleasant topic today.", he answers with a crooked smile on his lips. "First Rose, then Jenna, and now this."
"Yes, but I've never been very talented in having conversations.", she responds the smile and again she takes a few sips from her tea. "But who cares, as long as you are not offended right now."
"No, but it's just... To be honest, I don't think I am very good in the writing thing." He runs his fingers through his hair before he takes a bite from one of his scones.
"Do you enjoy it?", she asks.
He slowly nods before he answers. "Yes, I do."
"Then who cares? If I had cared whether I am very good in calligraphy or origami, I'd not be able to fold a little piece of paper into a swan in under seven minutes and I'd not be able to outdo Dandra when it comes to handwriting in birthday cards. What I want to say: It is okay to suck, as long as you have fun, and if you stop doing it you will never become better because training is everything."
"That's actually very motivating, thank you." Her tip is wise, and she is right. "But... you make Origami figures? I'd never expected that."
"Hey, I am only a human as well, believe it or believe it not." She acts offended, but her paralanguage tells him something else, of course. "And everyone needs a dark secret."
Before he can answer her something else seems to catch her attention. Suddenly she sits straight up and looks out of the big windows of the Café. "Did you hear that?", she asks, still staring on the street.
He shakes his head, a bit confused. "No, nothing." What did she hear?
"Maybe I'm already hallucinating..." Everyone else looks calm, no one seems to have heard what she has heard. "About what did we talk? Hopefully about how badly done this black tea is, because god, it is bad." He can hear her bite on one piece of the candy rock, must be a benefit for her teeth.
"Can't complain about mine.", he answers and finishes his cup with one last big sip. "But is this a no to this Café?"
"Well, this is definitely not a yes, but everyone deserves a second chance. Especially because the cookies are good."
Suddenly the earth seems to tremble. The remaining bit of her tea swashes back and forth, the dishes clink silently. Everyone in the Café looks around worried, and some follow Marcia's example and stand up. A nasty bang tears the silence apart and causes her to wince.
"Beetle, give me my coat. Hurry!", she snaps and throws a few golden coins on the table. "Do you think that's enough? Oh, who cares, the waitress knows who I am and she knows to whom they have to send the bill. And if it is too much, well, lucky waitress."
Immediately he jumps up and helps her into her coat, and not half a minute later she rushes down the streets of the Castle, with him in tow. He has no idea what the hell is going on, but she seems to know, or, at least, intuit it. When they reach the Wizard Way she nearly starts jogging, as well as some other Wizards that are on their way to the Tower.
"What's going on?", he asks, breathless and worried. It has to mean something when Claire Nelson starts running, even the woman herself often jokes: "If you should ever see me running, start running yourself, because there is a 99% chance that something deadly is behind me."
"I guess it has something to do with the energy field. It's nothing serious, it happens from time to time, but the residents of the Tower should gather to agitate the subject. And their Magyk will help the energy field to recover if it should have taken damage.", she answers without even looking at him. "Actually, I could need your help."
"Ahem, my help?" He tries to catch up with her, but its hard without starting to run. For what could she need his help? She has Septimus, her beloved apprentice, who is always the one who saves the day and world. The bitter taste of usually being the number-two choice comes up his throat again. Maybe that's another reason why he was so happy about her invitation. Usually no one really cares about him, usually it's Septimus who has everyone's attention, or Jenna if he is not around. Especially because it's something concerning the Wizard Tower.
As soon as they entered the entrance hall she turns around. "Yes, I want you to go into my rooms and into my study. There should be a key on the bureau and if not, then go three rooms forward on the right side into my bedroom and look on the beside cabinet."
"Will the door let me in?", he asks, a bit confused. Into her apartment. Into her sanctuary. The only rooms he has ever seen were the living room, Sep's room, and the kitchen. The library must be huge and he hopes to be able to see it one day, but being allowed to enter her study is a good beginning.
She stops walking for a moment, sudden enough to make him run into her. It's as if she does not even notice, maybe she simply does not care. She starts fumbling with her belt and thrusts something cold and coincident warm into his hand. "Give it back when you give me the key, but it should open the door for you. Now hurry up, I'm on floor ten, room seven."
"Okay dokey, I am back in..." He looks at his wrist. "Two minutes, fifty-three seconds."
A smile flashes over her face. "Thank you."/
"Do you want something? Water? A cup of tea? Coffee?" She throws her keys on the dresser and hangs up her probably extremely expensive coat, before she takes his coat off his hands, although he was about do hang it up himself.
"No, I'm fine, thanks... Or maybe a cup of coffee?" Her apartment is very... flamboyant? Eccentric? There is no word for it. Although the furniture is not her own, just as many other things in here, the Marcia touch is definitely visible. She seems to have a propensity to a cluttered furnishment, but at least it's elegant and there are many curiosities in between. Considering that she is not allowed to rearrange everything and to remove things without a reason, she managed it to bring her taste into it. It's definitely not his taste, but chacun à son goût.
She simply nods and points at the door to the living room. "Make yourself a home."
Half a minute later he is alone in the room, on the couch near the fire, able to look around a bit. It has changed the last time he had been here. There are other books on the table than the last time, of course, but also the pictures on the wall have changed. The big portrait is gone, instead, there is a big and expensive looking eastern art piece now, and the things on the chimney-piece are different now; Septimus' stuff seems to cut out hers. In general, all the things in the room are a bigger and better mix of their stuff. It looks more lively now, more as if someone actually lives here. Actually, he envies the relationship his best friend has with his tutor. Of course, they do not always get along very well because Marcia was, is and always will be a difficult person, but, all in all, they seem to have a deep friendship or some sort of that.
"Your coffee, my tea... And my couch." Nearly disapprovingly she looks down at him and does not sit down. Only slowly it dawns at him and equally slowly he slips onto the easy chair next to it, without looking away.
Immediately she sits down, hands him the cup over and takes a sip from hers. "What will you do on MidSummer day?", she asks, obviously eagerly interested. He can see why people who know her better appreciate her presence. She may not be a person who is easy to handle and maybe she is not good in handling other people, but she has her own charm how she sits on the couch, with her hands embrace her cup, her green eyes sparkling not because of the fire next to her, but because of her good mood, and how she enjoys the conversation.
"Dunno." He shrugs. "I will work, I guess?"
She cocks her eyebrows. "You don't visit your family?"
"Do you?" Challenging he returns her look. He has never heard of her visiting her family or having contact to them at all. What is it her business that he won't visit his mother?
"I haven't seen my parents in, without joking, decades. I don't even know where they are at the moment, maybe they are already dead. That's a bit of a difference since your mother lives in Port now." Her voice is harsh, he may have touched a rare nerve. "And I am already in a coffin with one foot, while you are much, much younger."
"But not less busy."
Suddenly she sits up, puts her cup on the small table. "What's wrong?"
He puts his cup on the table as well but stays stooping with his elbows on his thighs. Again they stare into each others eyes, but this time, she does not seem to have the intention to let him win. No blinking, no looking away. He can feel a tension, but not a positive one and not a tension particularly between them. It is something deep inside him, like a hardened muscle.
"I think I have to go now." He stands up and turns towards the door. "Thank you for the tea, the coffee, for the present, for everything today. I really enjoyed it."
Immediately she stands up as well and grasps his sleeve. "Tell me, what's wrong? Is something with your mother?"
He doesn't know what to do or how to react. There is nothing wrong with his mother, she seems to be alright. Alright with George, her new boyfriend. Of course, he is grown up now, he is not a child anymore, but he just does not like the guy that sits in the apartment of her mother like a fat rat. Sometimes he meets up with her, but whenever George is around he avoids visiting her. If he told Marcia why he does not go home... No, it's ridiculous and she would not understand it. Actually, he'd be very ashamed if she, of all people she, would know the reason why he does not go home on MidSummer day. "It's nothing.", he replies with a strained smile, in the hope that she will not realise it.
But although Marcia is not very good in the interpersonal thing, she sees the lie in his eyes and smile. "Why don't you tell me? You know that I will not judge you."
You may not judge me in front of me, but who knows what you will think about me., he thinks grimly, but he does not answer her. No one says something in the next minutes, she waits for the answer patiently. Marcia Overstrand waits patiently. Sounds like a paradox.
Suddenly, actually not so suddenly, because she takes her time, but it feels like suddenly to him, she pulls him into a hug. It comes completely unexpected and at first, he has no idea how to react. Her arms are loose around his waist, her hands are placed on his shoulder blades. No one moves, and he has no idea how long the hug lasts. Seconds or minutes? But it is weird and pleasant at the same time. It feels like as if in this very moment the border wall between a business relationship and a friendship falls. A hug might not be something special, even people he hardly knows get that close to him every now and then. But for Marcia, it is a big deal. Body contact clearly is not her thing, so whenever she shows this kind of affection you know that you have crossed a certain border in her circle of friends and acquaintances.
She takes a step back again and gives him a smile. "If you need anything, you know where I usually am and you know where Septimus usually is."
"And you know where I can usually be found." He wants to give her offer back, it's only fair. The age difference does not mean that he can't be there for her like any other real friend would, that's not how life works, at least that's his opinion. He does not want her to be some sort of a mother figure who cares about him in a different way than he cares about her. And the most important thing is that he does not want to challenge Septimus for the person he relates most closely, he really can't need jealousy between him and his best friend, although it's not very likely that Septimus would see him as a threat because to be honest, Beetle has not the slightest idea about how deep the relationship between tutor and apprentice is, but he can imagine that, since Marcia was the first person Septimus ever trusted and since Marcia always seems near to a break down when Septimus manoeuvres himself into another dangerous situation, they have some sort of a mother-son relationship. But that's only speculations.
"But can I ask you something else?" Suddenly a thought appears in his mind. "What was the matter with the Tower?"
Immediately Marcia cocks her eyebrows. "An apprentice of another Wizard tried if her self-made charm works, but instead of letting it be after it failed the first time, she tried it until the Wizard Tower interfered with the Magyk to protect itself. It's nothing serious, but annoying and unnecessary because the energy explosion was a result of stupidity. As I said before, if something like this happens it usually is nothing serious, but I rather take a look at it immediately than waiting until we have a real catastrophe."
He nods because as the Chief Hermetic Scribe he knows what it means to have the responsibility for a building and its people. "Better one time too often overcautious than one time too little."
"How right you are... It's half past seven now, do you want to stay for dinner with Septimus and me, or do you really have to go?" She glances at the door, checking if there is any indication of her apprentices return. He usually comes home around this time, so chances are high that he will come in a few minutes.
"Why not? I'd really appreciate it."