The Pretender

Welp Break, time to loose that Kevin haircut.

Chapter 7

It was what was rapidly becoming a normal day in the office for Break whenever he was on the same shift as Lunettes. Which was to say that he was currently over at the other man's desk, pestering him.

With an annoyed noise Liam batted Break's ponytail out of his face. "Do try to contain your hair, would you?"

Break had been leaning over his shoulder, the better to read what Lunettes was writing. He pulled the ponytail back over his shoulder and gave Liam a look of mock hurt. "Blaming my poor innocent hair for your distraction? How very unfair, surely your concentration isn't so fragile."

"Yes, but your hair tickles." Liam said crossly, but the kind of crossly that Break was learning meant he wasn't actually as annoyed as he seemed. "If you're going to insist on trying to read over my shoulder either contain it or cut it."

"You know, I've actually been thinking about doing just that." Break said casually, toying with the end of his ponytail. "It's been getting a bit much to take care of and I would be the first to say that I'm not one for excess work."

"Then why haven't you done it?" Liam asked.

Break shrugged. "I'd want to do it myself what with," his hand fluttered up to gesture vaguely at the bandages around the empty eye socket. "But I shudder to think of trying to cut it with magic."

"Don't try." Liam said at once, with such vehemence that Break glanced curiously at him. "That's how I ended up with short hair." he explained. "I botched it so badly that I had no choice but to cut it short."

"Then you'll have to endure this," Break waggled his ponytail at him, "A little longer then because I'm hardly going to a hairdresser." They would stare, would point when he wasn't looking, would whisper speculations among themselves just out of his hearing. He couldn't stand that.

"You don't have to. I can cut it." said Lunettes.

The look Break gave him must have been pure surprise because Lunettes said, "No need to look like that, I'm not that bad at it. And I'm offering a haircut with real scissors and everything."

Brushing aside a grin summoned at the thought that of course an apartment where Nightray lived had scissors aplenty, Break said, "You would really do that?"

"Of course." Liam said easily. "It would be no problem."

"When?"

"After work. Come back to the apartment, it shouldn't take long."

"I don't know if that would be the best plan." Break could only imagine what would happen if he came home with Liam and Vincent Nightray was there- though he was less concerned for himself and more worried Nightray would take his anger out on Lunettes. "Your partner and I aren't on the best of terms."

"He'll be out tonight." Liam said. "And he won't be back until very late."

"How do you know that?" he asked.

"He's going to have dinner with his brother," Lunettes paused to sigh and Break wondered if it was the brother or Nightray himself that was the cause of that, "He doesn't get to see him very often so he tends to try to spend as much time with him as he can. If he's back before midnight I would be surprised."

"If you want to take that risk." Break said, his tone teasing.

Liam waved his veiled concern off. "It'll be fine and, besides, it needs to be done." he glowered at Break's hair.

Break gave a sniff. "I think I've just been insulted."

There might or might not have been a smile on Lunettes' face as he turned back to his papers. "Possibly."

Break took himself back to his desk after they had worked out the details. Lunettes would walk home with Nightray as he normally did and then Break would Apparate there an hour later so there was no chance he'd cross paths with Nightray. It seemed almost too good to be true, a chance to talk to Lunettes out of the office, somewhere where he would feel both relaxed and like he had the upper hand. Not only was it an excellent opportunity for gathering information but he was even going to get a haircut out of the deal.

It couldn't have gone better if he'd planned it… which made him feel oddly suspicious. But since he couldn't see any obvious traps or ill intentions he was tempted to wave it off as his mind being paranoid. Besides, he couldn't pass up this chance for information.

These were, of course, the thoughts he used to rationalize his choice, he also knew part of the reason he wanted to spend time with Liam was that he missed having a partner to do such things with. It was Tamara who had dragged him to a barber a few times a year to get his hair trimmed and with her gone he'd been letting it go ragged. Toying with the ends again he sighed. He knew that he was, to some extent, using Lunettes as a replacement, for her.

But it didn't bother him much, after all, it benefitted both of them. Liam got someone looking after him when he so obviously needed it and Break got a himself someone to pester and amuse and prod. That Lunettes came with an extra little puzzle was only a bonus.

Break spent the next few hours all but twiddling his thumbs at his desk, he had no intention of working further on his report and there was nothing else on his desk to start on even if he intended to do work today.

This, however, was something that he was perfectly fine with as it gave him plenty of time to think of how he was going to try to coax information out of Lunettes. He would have to go, carefully, of course, the slightest hint that he was information gathering and the man would no doubt clam up again. But if he played this the right way he was sure he could gain quite a lot of information out of this haircut.

Finally Break heard the sounds of the other Aurors in the cubicles around him packing up and getting ready to leave. Parchment crackled as scrolls were stowed away, ink bottles clinked as they were capped, and capes or cloaks rustled as they were pulled on by those who were heading home. Conversation buzzed around the office, most would drop by for a quick chat with those they knew well before they left (some of the more morbid commented that this was in case they never made it to work again -being an Auror was dangerous even off the clock).

Oscar leaned over their connecting wall and gave him a wide grin before he headed off, which said without words that he had spread the rumors far and wide. Break gave him a wicked grin in return before he left, though it dropped quickly from his lips once the man was gone. He enjoyed this game, certainly, but it had been more enjoyable when Tamara had been around to laugh at his antics.

With a sigh he leaned out of his cubicle and peered down the row to where Liam was standing, speaking to Nightray. The expression on his face was uncomfortable as Nightray stepped closer to him with an unpleasant smile on his face.

He likes to think he owns a person. The words that Lunettes had said made Break watch them closely and notice for the first time how Lunettes always shifted away from Nightray before stopping himself and shifting back. And how the smile on Nightray's face grew more nasty the closer Lunettes let him get.

That couldn't be normal. Or right.

After a little more talking Nightray put an arm around Liam's shoulders and together they walked out of the office. Just more a moment, as they were turning, Lunettes caught his eye and gave the slightest nod. He had known Break would be watching… well, well, well.

Leaning back in his chair Break put his feet up on his desk, tilting his chair back and settling in for at least an hour's wait before he could Apparate over safely. Now whatever would he occupy himself with?

The sudden thought made him drop his front chair legs back to the floor. That was something he'd forgotten completely. There was someone, someone in this very building, who seemed to know Liam quite well. In fact, she had told him herself that they had been childhood friends. And this was someone he had yet to pester for information.

He grinned at his own cleverness and went to see if Sharon was done her shift in the downstairs infirmary yet.

As it turned out she wasn't but he was content to wait the half hour one of the healers told him it would be until she left outside the doors to the infirmary; he unwrapped a lollipop so he could lick it thoughtfully while he waited.

When Sharon finally came through the doors she headed straight for him, a curious expression on her face. "Healer Reese said you were looking for me?"

"Just for the sake of a chat." he offered her a lollipop, this one red and in the shape of a heart.

She took it cautiously. "This isn't made of something horrible, isn't it?"

"Not unless you count sugar as something horrible." he took his own purple lollipop out of his mouth to show her with a flourish. "See, nothing nasty here."

That seemed to reassure her because she unwrapped her lollipop and gave it a cautious lick. "It tastes like strawberry." she said, sounding surprised.

"Well, it is red." he pointed out. "It wouldn't make much sense for it to be pineapple, now would it?"

"I suppose not." she gave the lollipop another lick. "So what do you want?"

"Do I have to want something to talk to you?" he gave her a wounded expression.

"Yes, usually."

The dramatic hand he clasped to his chest made her giggle in spite of the stern tone she'd just used. "You wound me. Acting as if I care for nothing but using people."

"Then why are you here?" she asked, but her voice was more indulgent than previously.

"Well, to tell you the truth I'm concerned about your friend."

"Ah! So you do want something."

"No," he said, "Not really something it's just… well, he's in trouble. I'm sure you can see this as much as I can."

"Liam can take care of himself." Sharon said flatly.

"Maybe not this time." he cracked a piece off his lollipop with his teeth and she winced at the noise. "Maybe not with this person."

"I've known him for longer than you, I think I'm a better judge of that." her face had closed down and gone serious.

"Then did you notice that mark on the back of his hand?" Break traced a circle on the back of his hand, showing how large the bruise had been. "Do you want to venture a guess who gave him that?"

Sharon suddenly reached forward and grabbed him by the arm. For such a small girl she displayed admirable strength when she dragged him into a niche a little farther down the hall. Pushing him into the small space she leaned in close to him and whispered fiercely. "Now I know it's your job to push your nose into things that no one wants you to and find out things but this," she stabbed a slim finger into his chest, "This you need to leave alone. I don't care how curious you are, don't you dare go ferreting into this or you're going to ruin more than you could ever imagine. I won't let you do that to Liam, not after all he's been through."

"So you want me to walk away?" he asked quietly. "I'm afraid I can't do that now."

"Then at least stop digging." she snapped. "Be his friend if you have to but stop looking. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

"Why don't you let me in on this little secret that you know?" he smiled his best charming smile but she just scowled at him.

"I can't!" her voice raised in frustration and she winced, looking around to make sure no one else was in the hall to have heard them. She lowered her voice. "It's not that simple."

"Then this is how you're content to leave it? With your friend abused?"

"Do you think that I like the idea my best friend is being hurt?" she hissed. "Do you think that I would've just stood by if there was anything I could do to help him? Right now there's nothing I can do but be here for him when he needs me. And if you want to help him than that's what you should do. Be there. Stop treating him like some grand puzzle you want to figure out, it isn't right and you're fooling with things you don't understand."

And he couldn't deny she was wrong, part of what kept him bothering Lunettes was curiosity. He had wanted to know the man's secret so very badly. But that didn't mean that the time he'd spent befriending him hadn't gone both ways. Really he quite liked Liam, the man tolerated his antics almost as well as Tamara had.

And Break had been using him.

He spared a moment to feel a little shame and then his expression set. "I understand."

She looked a little surprised. "You… do?"

"I'll see to it that he isn't hurt anymore." he said and then he tapped her on the nose with his sticky lollipop, making her yelp and lean away. He used that as an opportunity to slip past her and into the hallway.

"That wasn't what I meant!" Sharon said furiously, hurriedly fishing out a handkerchief to clean the mess from her nose. But when she turned to shout after him she was alone in the hall.

Break Disapparated as soon as he was out of the Ministry building, to any Muggles watching it would have appeared as if he simply stepped behind a lamppost and, after a strange noise, never emerged from the other side.

When he appeared at his destination he was immediately sure that he'd made some sort of mistake. He was staring at a grey suit on a hanger, after all. And then he realized from the muffled light around the door and the faint smell of mothballs that he was in a closet -hopefully Lunettes' closet.

With a little fumbling he located the doorknob and opened the door. Only a few feet away stood Lunettes, holding a mug of steaming tea.

Liam must have seen him emerge from the corner of his eye because he dropped the mug and whirled, his hand going for his wand. He had it drawn by the time he faced Break and his lips were already forming the words of a spell, his face set in grim determination.

"Wait, it's me!"

What if I say I will never surrender?

(The Pretender)

TBC