I Know That We Were Made to Break (Sebtoire)

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It had been an intereting year. A bit of tragedy had been thrown around here and there but an interesting year nonetheless. The Minister's position had been taken away from not one, but two people and now the youngest Minister in history held its place. It wasn't exactly weird to be the adviser to a younger person. Victoire Weasley was actually very knowledgable and she was certainly better than the man who had taken over after Kingsley had been killed. Victoire Weasley was... intelligent, kind... beautiful, selfless... Seb could go on. Sebastian had felt an overwhelming attraction to the young Minister since she had aquired the position in the Minister's circle and when she had volunteered for the position of the Minister for Magic itself, well, that attraction only grew. Seb always had had a think for people with power and a drive for their career. And Victoire Weasley was the epitome of a career driven person.

Sebastian was working late again, as always. But as he sat in his office just down the hall from the Minister's, he wondered what Victoire was up to. She had seemed a lot happier lately. And considering the recent events with the station, Seb found it only a little odd. He decided to see what the young woman was up to, being that they hadn't spoken for quite some time. Sebastian quickly finished up the paperwork he had been filing through and headed out his office door. As he walked down the hall, he straightened up his suit jacket. The thought occured to him then that he didn't even know if Victoire was still at work. He hesitated in front of her door, his hand at the ready to knock. This hand been the position he had been in once or twice before when he and Victoire... well, that was in the past. Sebastian didn't have relationships with coworkers.

@victoire

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Victoire barely left her office before the whole Teddy fiasco, now she left occasionally. Tonight was not one of those nights, though, and she was still there. This tournament and everything with the extra secureity at the school and ministry was enough work to keep her busy for the rest of her life. Royal, Sebastian and Caden had a lot of extra work to do as well, but she didn't feel bad about that. At least she was delegating, right? That was something she had worked hard to be able to do.

She looked up at her door suddenly, expecting a knock any second. She always had a feeling when someone was out there, and this time someone was definitely there but... they didn't knock. She stood, wand in hand, crossing to the door and standing in front of it, "yes?" she asked through the door, waiting for the person to reveal themselves. She wasn't scared, she was sure it was just someone who was hesitant to talk to her... she wasn't that scary, right?

@sebastian
(aaawww that title </3)

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Standing outside of Victoire's door wasn't a big deal. At least that was what Sebastian had to tell himself. Truthfully, it was still a big deal. Victoire had been the first person Seb had allowed himself to be with in a very, very long time. That was important to him. But that was over now. They were just coworkers now. Maybe friends. Friendly coworkers that is. It was just that standing outside of her door reminded Seb of how they used to not be just "friendly" coworkers. He physically shook his head to shake the thoughts from his mind when Victoire spoke from behind the door, surprising Seb a little.

"Oh, uh, it's me," Sebastian stuttered out at first. He still had his hand raised to knock and he awkwardly looked down at his feet as he spoke to a door. "Your adviser."

@victoire

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At his voice, VIc let out a sigh of relief, and then silently cursed herself for being so weird. It was only proper, though, right? She slowly opened the door when he said your adviser and smiled awkwardly at him. "Seb, hi. Come in," she took a step back, swinging the door open in order to make room for him to step through, if he so chose. If he did she'd close the door behind him.

"What's up?" What's up!? She cleared her throat, "I mean, are you here to advise me on something?" her eyes showed a glint of humor but her smile was slightly strained. She was already planning in her head how to explain about Teddy, but her mouth was broken right along with her brain.

@sebastian

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When Victoire opened the door, Seb felt a weird pang in his lower chest. It was where he used to get an odd flutter whenever he would see Victoire in the office back when... well, back when they were certainly seeing one another a lot more. Now it just felt... different. Not good, but maybe not entirely bad? Sebastian really couldn't tell.

When the blonde asked him "what was up," Sebastian felt this awkward air about the two of them that he found himself cursing. He should have known better than to ever have an affair with a coworker; it always ended up awkward and uncomfortable. And now, a relationship that was once professional and clean cut was soiled with awkward banter. "Uh, no, I - uh," Sebastian walked through the door as Victoire offered him to, looking at his feet as he did. He turned around to face her when he was back inside. "I, uh, just wanted to catch up, I suppose." His eyes widened then, realizing that statement could give the wrong impression. "Just talking, though," he added quickly; very obviously trying not to sound like a bumbling fool.

@victoire

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Seb was stumbling through this just as badly as she was. She wanted to laugh, make a joke about it, but it didn't happen. Then he said what he had come for, that he wanted to catch up. And there it was. Her opportunity to make a joke out of this. He said just talking, though," and her face broke into a smile until she let out a laugh. She crossed to him, placing a hand on his arm, hers eyes full of amusement and her being slightly out of breath from trying to release all the awkward tension. "Seb, come on. We can talk. We're friends," she squeezed his arm gently and began pulling him toward her desk, "have a seat. I'll get us some tea," she released him and crossed to fetch the tea, catching her breath when her back was turned to prepare it.

After a moment she turned back to face him, smiling once more, crossing over to lean on the edge of her desk. "what's new in the world of Sebastian? Besides work things, I mean. I already know about those," they could do this, right?

@sebastian

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When Victoire let out a laugh, Sebastian felt slightly more at ease. Hearing her laugh in a... friendly setting was much more comforting. It made him feel like he was actually speaking with a friend and not with... an ex-friend with benefits. Even when Victoire put her hand on his arm, he didn't feel that physical pull he had felt toward her in the past. Sebastian offered up a smile at the blonde as she went off to prepare the tea. Friends. Perhaps that was something Sebastian could learn to be with Victoire.

Victoire turned back around and she smiled again. Seb flashed one in return, albeit a little awkwardly. "Well," he started, though he wasn't exactly sure where to begin. "Uh..." It took him a moment to find the right words. What had gone on in his life outside of work? It wasn't a topic he usually discussed with coworkers. "Well, my sister is expecting another baby." There, that was news right?

@victoire
I figured this could take place before he meets Mei

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Sebastian seemed unsure what to say for a moment, but Victoire was patient. He mentioned his sister having another baby and Vic grinned, "that's fantastic! I know how much you love those kids," she nodded. "Another baby with the best uncle in the world, right?" she chuckled, moving back to the tea to prepare the bags so it could steep. "And that's it? Nothing fancy happening?" was she working up to her news about Teddy? Maybe. But she really did want to know how he was doing... she missed spending time with him and if they weren't... well, talking was really their only option so they had to find things to talk about, didn't they?

@sebastian

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Sebtoire smiled as Victoire said she knew how much he loved his niece and nephew. It was really weird to think about how... oddly close he and Victoire had gotten for a few months between the late nights and the late late nights. He really didn't want it to be awkward moving forward, as he had actually grown to consider Victoire Weasley a friend, and Sebastian could really use more of those. He looked down, smiling, as Victoire commented on the whole "best uncle" thing. Sebastian definitely didn't think he was the best, always being so busy with work, but it was so nice to hear Victoire say that. Sebastian looked back at Victoire again, feeling much more at ease with their conversation now. "Nope. That's about it," he said with a half shrug. "Wh - what about you? How's your family?"

@victoire

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Vic nodded as he said that was all that was new with him, and then asked her about her own life and her family. She shrugged, "my family is doing well, I think. My Uncle Harry, you know him, seems to be having a hard time with the tournament and all... which is upsetting," she sighed. She didn't really want the tournament this year, either, but she eventually gave into the idea. Now, she actually thought it was a good idea. Even more adults at Hogwarts and incredibly capable seventh years was a nice bonus, plus it was a good distraction for the kids from the horrors of last year. "My Aunt Ginny is doing better with the memory loss," she added. Vic hadn't spoken to her much lately and she regretted that.

"And of course all my cousins, and my cousin who is the Champion for Hogwarts," she added. "And Teddy is back from Brazil," she paused, looking away for a moment, "you've met Teddy, right? On my guard," speaking of, she needed to get on track with the whole firing him thing...

@sebastian

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Oddly enough, now that the conversation was moving it was surprisingly more easy to speak naturally without noticing the awkward tension the two of them seemed to have around one another. Seb hoped silently to himself that that tension would go around eventually; he'd love to be able to converse with Victoire normally one day. When Victoire spoke of her aunt and uncle, Sebastian nodded somewhat sympathetically. He knew, of course, that Harry had been a champion in one of the most historic tournaments in their history. He imagined seeing another, especially one that his children probably entered, could be nerve wracking. And of course Sebastian had heard of her aunt, but he was glad to hear she was doing better. "That's lovely to hear," he said happily. "But I'm sorry about your uncle." Seb knew how stressful work could be, especially in the Auror department. Harry was probably drowning in stress.

Sebastian nodded once and raised his eyebrows. "Congratulations to your cousin," he added, professionally. "Your family must be excited." Then Victoire spoke of Teddy. Sebastian knew him, of course, though Seb was completely unaware of the history that Victoire shared with him. "Oh, yes. He - he used to be an Auror in training, correct?" He had recognized the boy when he had come home from wherever he was and he had even spoken to him once, albeit awkwardly, and Teddy had mentioned his brief stint in the Auror training program. Silently to himself, Seb wondered why someone with such promise and talent would give up on such a program.

@victoire

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Victoire waved a hand, "he'll be all right. He always figures it out. And if he doesn't... well, that's not a scenario I'm wanting to worry about right now," but she knew what would happen. She and Hermione would have to take his job from him for a time, and she didn't want to do that. She wanted Harry to find his confidence and his bravery. She knew it was in there, it always was and he was just not seeing it right now.

He congratulated her about Anna and Vic nodded, "my family is excited, yes. Excited and worried. I'm mostly just happy that she's prepared. She's up for this, I know that," she assured him and herself. Then Seb tried to guess who Teddy was and Vic nodded, letting out a nervous breath. She was getting closer to having to tell him. "Yes, he was. But he's back now," come on Vic, you already said that.

She lifted her hands to place them on her desk, folding her fingers together in front of her. "I'm seeing him now. Romantically, I mean. We dated at Hogwarts," she said slowly, trying to keep her cool.

@sebastian

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Seb put on an empathetic smile when Victoire explained her uncle's future well-being wasn't one she wanted to worry about, which was understandable. Harry Potter was a busy man, and both he and Victoire had enough to worry about without having to worry about one another. "That's wonderful to hear," he nodded as Victoire spoke about her cousin's readiness for the tournament. "Sounds like she has a wonderful support system behind her." He nodded.

Sebastian actually was able to keep himself collected in a professional manner when Victoire then explained that she was dating Teddy like she had at school. He should have expected something like that to happen eventually, which was probably why he was doing such a good job at keeping his cool, but it was still a slight surprise. "Oh," he said, nodding. "Well, I - uh, I am happy for you. Happy for you both." It was a little hard to say, but... Sebastian found that he meant it.

@victoire

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"She does, yeah," Vic confirmed. Then, she explained Teddy, and she tries to gauge his response. He seemed... surprised, a little, but not exactly disappointed. He said that he was happy for her, for them both, and she smiled, nodding and leaning forward. "I really, really hope you are, Seb. I would be incredibly unhappy if this... I just want us to remain-" she didn't want to 'friends', because she didn't know if that would seem rude. "I just hope we can continue this relationship. Colleagues, friends, and maybe confidants," she chuckled, hopeful.

@sebastian
(you can end it?)