Will stepped into Magnus' office with a knock, padding across the intricately woven carpet to hover by her desk. She glanced up with a light smile and he immediately winced at the taped bandage she was sporting. "How's the hand?" He asked, drumming the edge of the wood lightly.
"Far better this morning." She flexed her fingers as proof, motioning for him to take a seat. He looked well rested, free from the stressed out vibe that had befallen them both last week and she wasn't sure whether to be offended that he had needed to vacate the Sanctuary to relieve his burden. Deciding not to dwell on the matter, she tilted her head with a curious nod, "I trust your date went well?"
"It was good... great," he amended, and she noticed he didn't correct her on the description as he had previously. "Listen-" he continued before she could comment on the fact, "do you by any chance remember a Gordon Clarkson?"
The smile on her face grew recalling the charming empath, "indeed I do, though I haven't heard his name spoken in a long time." She had met Gordon in his early twenties, helped him control and utilise his powers and after that he had frequented the Sanctuary often. It had been immensely hard watching him age but he had embraced the fact claiming he didn't envy her gift of longevity, admitting he could feel the unbearable weight on top of her shoulders. He had been uniquely qualified to understand the draw backs of living far too long and they had spent many hours discussing the ethics over lukewarm tea.
"An aspiring man," she praised, leaning forward in her chair, "but a long time before you're arrival here."
It was a prompt for him to continue and he obliged, shifting towards the paperweight on her desk. "I met his granddaughter, Isabel Clarkson-" he picked up the glass ball, rolling it delicately around his palm and Magnus sensed the act was intended as a distraction.
"The women you had dinner with?" She guessed, quirking her lips in the hope it would ease any potential awkwardness.
He nodded, "I didn't mention the Sanctuary, she saw the card in my wallet and admitted her grandfather used to come here..." It was a slight tangent but he didn't want her to think he just went around, openly admitting their line of work to pick up women. "Anyway," he pressed, getting back on track, "she's interested in meeting you and I thought, maybe if you weren't too busy sometime... you wouldn't mind?"
"Of course." She extended the offer with a brief smile. She did mind, however the reasons for her reluctance were entirely inappropriate and she sternly refused to acknowledge them.
"Great, I'll let her know," he eased himself up from the chair, feeling a certain hesitancy that he couldn't quite explain.
She had already returned her attention to the open laptop on her desk, a subtle form of dismissal that wasn't uncommon, but this time it bothered him. If he were honest he'd been expecting some kind of a warning, in the very least a caution that he remain fully dedicated to his duties whilst pursuing other 'interests' but there was nothing, not even the slightest hint of an objection. Could that be the problem, did part of him actually want her to disapprove? It was a ridiculous notion but it stayed with him as he left, rolling around his thoughts until he literally ran into Kate who jolted the idea from his mind.
"Damn Will," she rubbed her arm gingerly, "watch where you're going next time, yeah?"
"Sorry-" he flushed slightly, raking a hand through his hair, "hey, did Henry get that new absorption spectro-whatever thing yet?"
"Fitted it this morning," she boasted, proud to take some of the credit. While she was nowhere near up to Hank's standards, some of his techno mumbo-jumbo was actually starting to sink in. "How bout you-" she retracted the arm he had collided with, nudging it playfully into his side, "how was your date?"
Once again Will found himself turning red and he scoffed, trying to feign composure. Did everybody know? "Grea... good, pretty good-" he finally settled on, disturbed by the sudden glint in her eye.
Kate couldn't resist and bit down on her lip giving in to the urge to tease him, "pretty good as in you might call her again or pretty good as in you scored?"
He rolled his eyes, feeling a little less awkward as they settled into the banter. "Pretty good as in, that's all you're getting-" he shoved his hands firmly in his pockets, slightly amused by the over exaggerated pout she tried to pull.
"Come on William, you can tell me. I won't tell anyone..." she worked her best pleading tone trying to coerce him but he didn't budge, not even a fraction. "Fine, I'll just have to get it out of Hank later."
He laughed at the indignant puff she gave, dismissing it with a wave, "goodbye Kate." It might be that Henry was susceptible to her ploys but he certainly wasn't going to let the information slip and he smiled to himself feeling somewhat sorry for his werewolf friend.
OO
OO
"Dogboy!"
Henry bumped his head on the rack of machines, cursing as Nikola's voice rang loudly in his ears. He was sure the man deliberately liked pissing people off. "Please don't tell me you've got the chemicals ready-" he groaned, pulling himself to standing height. He'd foolish made a bet that he could have a casing ready for the grenade before the scientist could come up with the formula and while he had a working stunner -the Gapperlator Kate had nearly destroyed his lab with- he was nowhere near completing the second half.
"Of course I do." Nikola feigned offence, put off by the insinuation it should have taken him longer. "I trust you're not even close to completing your share of the work?"
"I know, fifty bucks right?" He drew out his wallet and handed over the cash with a sigh, "at least I didn't blow anything up."
Nikola gave an indignant snort, casting his eyes to the burn markings on the wall and Henry resisted the urge to slam his head against the rack again. "For the hundredth time that wasn't my fault."
"Sure, fine, whatever-" Nikola drawled, already starting to bore with the conversation when the monitors on the desk caught his eye. The main feeds were showing the front door, the lobby and the SHU, and while nothing particularly interesting was happening at the moment, he found his curiously piqued. "Any idea what time our young William scuttled in?"
"No, why would I-" Henry clicked, realising what the older man was suggesting. He wanted to go back through last nights tape and find out when Will had gotten in but A, it was none of their business and B... well there was no B, but it still felt wrong. "Come on man, that's just low. You want to find out what happened why don't you just go ask?"
"Please," he tucked the fifty dollar bill snugly into his shirt pocket, "I have no desire to get involved in his childish antics. Watching you play here in your lego factory is mind numbing enough."
"Not asking you to stay," Henry bit back, hoping he might take the hint and leave but was sorely dissapointed when Nikola reached down to pick up his notes.
"Seems you need all the help you can get-" he flipped through the pages, mentally rechecking all the calculations. Even though the engineer was on the right path, with his help they could fast track the prototype to be finished in the next couple of days. Progress that would definitely help him get back on Helen's good side. "All right Scooby, lets get some work done shall we?"
Henry sighed, resigned to the fact he could use the extra assistance. While it might be more painful in the short term it was better than having him continually barging in and interrupting... oh yes, that was definitely a good mantra.
It might help get him through at least fifteen minutes.
