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Push & Pull

Chapter 3

Realizations

At the beginning of the end, Rose Weasley slipped on her favourite heels and lined her lips in red. If she was going down, it would be in style.

She was sipping her tea when Roxanne slipped in the door, her "I got laid" grin on.

"Another walk of pride completed flawlessly," she purred, throwing her jacket on the couch and sitting at their small kitchen bar. Rose got about to making another cup for her roommate, an act of routine more than anything else.

"So Rick?" Rose grinned, clutching her mug and leaning over the counter, "Rick Campbell from Hufflepuff?"

"Hufflepuffs know how to use their hands," Roxanne shrugged, a big smug smile spreading over her face.

"Eww, gross," Rose threw a sugar cube at her big headed friend.

"Probably won't meet up again, he wasn't great without his hands," she cringed. Rose made excessive gagging noises as she put her cup in the sink.

"I'm gonna go be an adult, unlike some of us," Rose stuck her tongue out.

"Yeah, good luck with Malfoy," Roxanne rolled her eyes, sipping on her tea. Rose cursed, leaning forward and resting her head on the cabinet over the sink.

"I'm gonna need another drink tonight," Rose muttered, picking her head up and hitting it on the cabinet. Maybe if she killed all of her brain cells, she'd lose the ability to talk, and forfeit the whole situation.

"I'm bringing in the big guns this time," Roxanne reached across the counter, grabbing a pad of paper and a quill.

"Do I get to know who's coming out?" Rose turned her head, earning her a giggle. There was a nice red line imprinted on her forehead where the counter had rested.

"Nope."

"That's about right."

"All you need to know, is that you'll be wasted before they get here, and I'll clean up."

"Okay." Rose mocked her roommate, remembering the cups she'd tossed last time she promised to clean up.

"For real this time!"

...

"Good morning Miss Weasley, looking especially attractive today I see," desk worker Sam greeted Rose, and the world was righted again.

"Thank you, and good morning Sam," she grinned, grabbing a lollipop from the jar on his desk. She took a moment to sift through for the strawberry one.

Sam's morning smile faltered, "Sorry about the interruption yesterday, Mister Longbottom had come in early and already introduced me to Mister Malfoy…"

"You're okay, Sam!" Rose laughed off the apology, "You're doing splendidly. Any dismay I had at your late arrival was only because I personally missed your smiling face brightening my day," she teased, handing him the wrapper to her candy. Their banter was a typical morning routine for Rose, and after the debacle the day before, she felt that her workplace wouldn't crumble as long as he was there.

"Well then I'm glad to deliver my shining services to you today Miss Weasley," he grinned, tossing the litter for her. When he looked back up, his gaze flicked behind her.

A throat cleared, and Rose spun around, eyes locking on Scorpius Malfoy.

He was in a perfectly tailored dress robe, and though he stood at a professional distance, Rose couldn't help the flush in her cheeks. Curse the Weasley skin tone.

"Good to see you early Miss Weasley," his voice seemed to echo in the long hallway. Scorpius was truly a Malfoy. He was towering; an intimidating wizard in her workplace. Even if she wasn't insanely attracted to him and reminded of the way his hands felt on her every time she looked at him, she would have been intimidating. Rose dealt with intimidation the way she always did, glad that she had her war paint on. She slipped the lollipop she'd been holding into her mouth so that she could offer him her hand.

"This is my typical arrival time,," she spoke, not quite meeting his eyes. If she was going to keep her job, she had to stay focused. It once again became difficult when his hand clasped hers, and her skin tingled. He should have been a Hufflepuff, Rose's mind told her, and she bit her tongue. Stop. Stop. Stop. She pulled back quickly, turning to enter the door.

"See you soon, Sam!" Rose grinned at her friend, and she couldn't help but notice the eyebrow raise that he gave her. Stop it, he'll notice you idiot! She screamed at Sam through her smile, but they were already scanned in, and she was free of Sam's teasing look.

Rose was instead leading Scorpius down another hallway by her worker's desks. She was hyper conscious of the way she walked, trying to keep one foot in front of the other with no wobbles. At this moment, she was proud she had chosen a skirt. She imagined his eyes burning into her. Even the most restrained wizard couldn't help but notice Rose's curves. She hadn't been blessed tall and willowy like Alice or with a tight body like Roxanne, but by now, Rose knew how to use her curves to her advantage. It just so happened that today, she was trying to dig up old memories from Scorpius, and at the same time intimidate him right back.

"He's nice," Scorpius noted as they walked. Rose peeked over her shoulder and he was gazing around the office. Now it seemed it was his turn to not meet her eyes. Who's nice..?

"Oh, Sam! Yeah, Sam is a dedicated, friendly worker," she responded, stopping to unlock her office door.

Rose grimaced as they entered. Her office lived in infamy among her staff. There were stacks of paper all over the three desks in the room, one large center desk holding the least of the damage. In her efforts to create a mask for herself, she had forgotten how unprofessionally unorganized she was. She pulled her wand out, and with a wave, the two chairs in the office were cleared. Her gorgeous view of London was slightly more obstructed.

"I'm so sorry for the mess," she blushed, taking a seat behind her desk. Scorpius stayed standing, despite her efforts to make him more comfortable.

"You were never the most organized," he smirked, and she tensed. Rose took a second to relax. She was in her office, he was Albus's friend, they had hung out often at Hogwarts. There was no reason to make this awkward.

"You're one to talk," she laughed, "I've seen your Quidditch locker." Scorpius couldn't stifle a laugh himself, and this time Rose really relaxed. They could make this work.

Scorpius finally took a seat, and Rose realized with a start that she didn't know the nature of his job there. She racked her brain, trying to develop a strategy to be as direct as possible.

"So," she grabbed an errant curl of her hair, an awkward habit of hers when she was uncomfortable, "I apologize. I have the only closed office in the lab, we're a small center. I'm more than happy to share my space, there's plenty of room once I clear these stock forms," she turned to straighten some papers on her desk as if that solved part of the problem.

"As long as you're okay with clearing one of your desks, I could definitely make this work," Scorpius looked at the one to her left. A quill fell off a stack onto the floor to emphasize his compromise.

Rose looked to him for a moment, and the reality of the situation hit her in the gut. Here was this boy, her age, presumably a business partner of Malfoy Industries, there to take over her lab that she'd spent two years building. Sure, it was Mister Longbottom's lab, but once he'd seen her abilities, he sectioned her out a niche, allowing her to thrive in her little corner of the world. She really saw Scorpius in that moment as anyone else would: a threat to that perfect career.

"Look," she clasped her hands together, leaning forward onto her desk, "Scorpius, I have no idea what your business plans for my lab. I know they have various prospects including the Finnigan Lab, which already produces innovative charms. I'm not sure what the intentions are for my work, except that we won't be fired."

"I'm sorry," Scorpius grimaced, and her heart sank, "Nobody ever explained to you our process."

"I've been assigned to your lab, because yours has been producing the most promising potions out of Longbottom's teams. I'll be learning of your current projects, assessing many qualities of the work, and determining the next avenues of research."

Rose's brow furrowed, thinking over his explanation.

So I have to prove the relevance of my projects. Rose reasoned, thinking of her staff. They had been working so hard. Some of them, at first, doubted her methods. That was until they saw her great successes. There was a method to the madness, though she wasn't sure she could make everyone else understand. I only have to prove it to Scorpius. She noted with a deep breath. She couldn't let them down.

"Then let's get to work."

…

Rose had dropped Scorpius off on Alice to give him a tour while she cleaned up her office. He had grinned at her, shaking her hand firmly. Alice, the great friend that she was, gave no indication to Rose, pulling him quickly away. She could trust Alice to keep him occupied.

Back in her office, Rose leaned against her closed doors, biting her lip hard. She had a lot to do in a small amount of time. Her cleaning started productively, thoughts swimming with ways to introduce him to the methodology behind her projects. But with every paper she stored into a drawer, her anger grew.

He has the ability to cancel my projects. She simmered in her building frustration, What gives him the right…

Rose filed old receipts, calling Sam to pick up a few boxes for storage. He walked in, large grin plastered on his face, ready to gossip about Rose's reaction to Scorpius. If anyone realized when Rose was putting on a face, it was her loyal accountant. But once he'd opened the door to her office, he'd stared on in horror. There were papers flying everywhere, the blinds were crooked, and there was an actual fire in her trash bin. He grabbed the boxes and exited the war zone as fast as he could, mentally noting to buy her a martini next time they were out.

"Stupid fucking Malfoy," Rose mumbled, now regretting that she had worn a skirt as she knelt on the floor to pull papers from under the desk, "Bloke thinks he can walk into my life again as if nothing ever happened." she burned some pages of notes, strongly considering implementing some of the hexes she had learned from her aunt Ginny.

Now, her memories of their fantastic night together were like pins in a voodoo doll, poking her whenever she moved.

"Tell me what you want Rose," Scorpius caressed her cheek, dragging his fingers down her neck and over her taut nipples. She felt herself clench, face twisted with desire.

"Fucking prick." Rose snapped in the present.

When she didn't answer, he pulled back. She reached out to him, trying to get him closer with the need burning in her eyes. He had fantastic restraint.

"You have to use your words. Anything. I'll do anything to please you, Rose."

"Thinks he has the right to…"

Rose could barely think, her mind trying to draw up the dirtiest thing she could think of to surprise him with her maturity.

"Could you," she started, reaching a hand out. He grabbed it, pulling her off the desk. She steadied herself, placing another hand on his chest. His skin burned where they touched, and she felt a renewed desire, "... Could you spank me?"

She faltered as she remembered the way a grin slowly spread across his face.

When Scorpius entered Rose's office at the end of the day, it was pristine. The desks had been shifted so that they were both cornered next to the large window and angled towards the center of the room. To be honest, Rose didn't know her office was actually that big.

"This is perfect Miss Weasley, thank you," Scorpius grinned, and her stomach dropped.

Miss Weasley? Oh hell no.

"Fine." she snipped, frozen. She couldn't let herself appear affected in front of him, "Good. I'm done for the day," she quickly gathered her things, her topped out temper burning through the room. Scorpius shifted uncomfortably. Good, she compromised to herself, If I'm gonna suck at hiding my feelings, he'd better at least be ashamed enough to be fucking uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry if the situation isn't ideal…" he trailed off, slipping his hands into the dress robe pockets. That did it.

"You really don't get it, do you?" Rose advanced on him, finally snapping. How did he have the nerve to still think this was about a bloody desk!? He was much less astute than she'd remembered him being.

"Seriously Rose? If I knew why you were pissed at me, I'd have tried to-" Oh, now it's Rose.

"Three years ago," her eyes blazed, and he stopped, eyes finally flickering with a building realization, "After the Gryffindor win and your crates of bloody firewhiskey, you fucked me senseless, then we never spoke again. Let's keep it that way."

Rose stormed past him, leaving a stunned Scorpius in her wake.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Seriously, I'm never quite sure how my works will be received, and this has had a small, but good response! THANK YOU! Tomorrow's post may be a little late, as my work schedule has picked up a little. I hope that only builds the suspense! Please let me know what you think, as I would love to tailor the reactions and next directions to your tastes. OR surprise you. ;)