Working Relationship
Rating: K
Pairing(s): Very vague Nathaniel/Piper
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: The Bartimaeus Trilogy and the characters therein are the property of Jonathan Stroud.
Notes: I wanted to experiment with drabbles, and I've always had this inexplicable soft spot for Nathaniel/Piper, even though it would be a one-sided attraction at best on Piper's end. Still, Nathaniel seems fond of her, and so here are five 100-word pieces about their…we'll call it mutual regard. Oh, and I call Nathaniel "John" throughout, since I imagine these pieces taking place shortly before Ptolemy's Gate, when he's still entrenched in his bastard magician persona. Anyway, I hope you enjoy them.
I. Esteem
Piper approached her superior's study nervously; Mr. Mandrake had recently installed a sentry, and its hideous manifestations frightened her. So she was surprised to see it was a standard Gorgon head today, of the sort you might find on a standard doorknocker.
"Yeah," it said when she remarked on the adjustment. "The boss Stippled me for scaring you yesterday. Guess he likes you."
Piper flushed, although such gallantry was typical; Mr. Mandrake always took particular care to set her at ease in his house. He rarely had visitors, and sometimes she flattered herself that he wanted to ensure she returned.
II. Order
John doesn't realize how intently he's staring at Piper's pale, efficient hands until, noticing his attention, she fumbles the pages she's sorting. He quickly shifts his eyes to his draft of the next "War Heroes" pamphlet, but the words on the page are suddenly a hopeless jumble. The fact is, he likes Piper's hands, especially when they're putting things in order. What he wouldn't give to pour out his troubles and responsibilities on the desk and watch her shuffle and rearrange them into a manageable pattern, like a card trick. He closes his eyes; he wouldn't know how to ask.
III. Envy
Piper doesn't drink at work functions as a rule, but the stifling heat of the garden party and, more than that, the sight of Jane Farrar leaning in toward Mr. Mandrake conspiratorially has her reaching for a glass of no doubt spiked punch.
Ffoukes is at Piper's side, talking at her, but her eyes are locked on Farrar and her shapely, perfectly-glossed mouth forming the name "John." Piper can't imagine ever referring to her boss by his first name; once, ludicrously, she had tried to say it aloud at home, and her tongue had caught hopelessly on the J.
IV. Falter
Piper walked into the foyer as Mr. Mandrake was jogging down the stairs, looking thoroughly disheveled. The unprecedented sight was enough to bring her up short, and her superior also faltered, one foot suspended comically over the next step. She stammered out an apology, but her eyes roved of their own accord from the tuft of hair sticking up over one ear to his dangling shirttail to the single undone cuff on his left sleeve.
She wound up fastening that cufflink, her heart stuttering like the magician's pulse she could feel, just barely, under the warm skin of his wrist.
V. Trust
"Do you remember your real name?" she asks during a rare idle moment; they've been exchanging small talk about their apprenticeships. The unexpected, charged question sends a jolt down John's spine, and although he opens his mouth, no words come out. Her face reddens, and she looks intently down at the desktop.
"I'm sorry – I don't know why I…"
"Yes," he answers, and her wide blue eyes meet his. In the beat of silence that follows, the moment feels as if it's spun from the thinnest glass.
"So do I," Piper admits, softly, and something crystallizes between them, unseen.
End Notes: Writing something exactly 100 words long is harder than it sounds, damn. Thanks so much for reading!