TWO
CHAPTER TWO
°⋆∴☽°:۵≼
0. mourning tea !
— IT WAS LATE IN THE MORNING WHEN VENUS MANAGED TO PULL HERSELF OUT OF HER COZY LINEN SHEETS. Near afternoon, she supposed, looking around her modestly decorated apartment and taking in the pretty iridescent rainbows that littered the hardwood- courtesy of the intense sunlight bleeding through her windows.
She sluggishly got up and prepared for the day, routinely grabbing her wand from her bedside table and uttering a quick couple of glamour charms for the many blemishes and scars that covered her body, paying extra attention to the rather obvious one along her forearm.
Eventually, when she felt satisfied with her appearance, Venus grabbed the outfit she had set out the night before and disappeared into the bathroom, intending to brush her teeth, settle her messy hair, and mentally prepare herself for work as an LAPD detective.
She re-emerged after a few minutes, clad in a white button down shirt tucked into a pair of comfortable black pants, complemented by the deep blue sweater vest she wore in silent honour of her old school house.
"Would you like to come with me, Fido?" Venus asked as she approached a small potted tree in the corner of her bedroom, cupping her hand and grinning as a little twig-like creature crawled into her palm, "You promise not to cause trouble?"
The magical creature nodded, the leaves on his narrow head following his movement as he tugged on Venus' sleeve.
"I don't believe you." Venus teased, nonetheless tucking the insect away in her shirt pocket, hiding him beneath the comfortable woollen sweater vest.
Her final order of business was wrestling with her clunky combat boots, double knotting the black string laces to insure they wouldn't annoyingly come undone.
Venus didn't necessarily love how awkwardly heavy the boots were, but after years upon years of wear, she'd gotten so used to them it was difficult to see herself wearing anything else. Plus, it provided her with a perfect spot to hide her wand when she was out in the muggle world and didn't want to wear some sort of holster.
She hadn't fully unpacked all her belongings yet, and she was sure her mugs were lost in the endlessness that was her enchanted bag. She'd been unable to make her own tea for weeks, her kitchen being practically barren of any proper equipment.
Therefore, her first order of business was a quick stop to Sawyer's tea and bookshop, which luckily enough for Venus, resided on a hidden magical street meaning she could quickly apparate there without worry of being seen by a non-magical gaze.
Or, she debated, looking at the shabby fireplace in her living room that she had only just recently gotten approved and connected to the MACUSA-governed networks- she could simply use floo powder.
Ultimately she decided to avoid the uncomfortable feeling apparition always left her with. Willing to risk a bit of ash on her clothing, she wordlessly aimed her wand at the fireplace grate, feeding a small flame into a crackling fire.
Within a few seconds, Venus effortlessly tucked her wand into her boot, grabbed her purse full of everyday necessities, and took a fistful of floo powder from a decorated clay pot on the mantel.
— A FRIGHTENED YELP AND CRASH OF THINGS HITTING THE WOOD FLOOR ACCOMPANIED VENUS' ENTRANCE TO THE SHOP, chuckling as she stepped out of the heatless green flames into the warm, delightful atmosphere that smelled of old paper and hot drinks.
"Are you trying to kill me?" Sawyer breathed, putting hand to his chest, surrounded by a mess of books that he'd no doubt been carrying before being scared by Venus' figure appearing in a swirl of smoke and emerald blaze.
"And why would I want to kill my beloved tea provider?" Venus teased, gracefully taking the hand that Sawyer provided as he helped her step over the mound of novels cluttering the floor.
"Ah, I see how it is. Y'know, I'm beginning to think you're only friendly with me for the benefits." He smiled lightheartedly, kneeling and beginning to clean up the mess he'd made as Venus took a seat on her usual stool.
"How'd you figure it out?" Venus grinned, a clear lack of maliciousness in her voice.
Sawyer just shook his head amusedly, "How are you, Space Girl?"
"I'm quite alright, Sawyer, and you?"
The man returned similar sentiments, creating tidied stacks of tales and textbooks that he carefully slid out of the way before turning back to attend to his dearest customer.
"What will it be today?" He asked, placing his hands on his hips.
"A regular coffee and um, a tea, please." Venus smiled, tucking her hands under her knees.
"Butterbeer flavoured again?" Sawyer suggested.
"I really would love that, but I have to head to work today." She scrunched up her nose, a regretful gleam in her eyes.
Sawyer waved his hand dismissively, snapping his fingers and relaying her order to the familiar house elf that appeared at the clacking sound, "Mine doesn't have any alcohol content, Space Girl, no worries. One regular coffee and one butterbeer tea, please, Buttons."
"Of course, sir."
"Oh- in to-go cups, Buttons." Venus added before the house elf could disappear again, "Thank you!"
"So, you're back to work today?" Sawyer asked curiously, leaning against his store counter and crossing his arms over his chest.
Venus breathed a sigh, her smile tightening in a noticeably forced way, "Yeah. Can't dwell on the old things forever, now, can I?"
Sawyer nodded understandably, turning and grabbing a small bundle of envelopes from the surface behind him, "These came for you last night, by the way."
She took the letters into her hands, "I really can't thank you enough for allowing me to use your owl, Sawyer-"
"It's alright, Space Girl, gives him quite the exercise, even if he's only taking it to the post office. Lord knows he was a lazy bat before you gave him a purpose." Sawyer chuckled, glancing at the brown owl that slept soundly in a small overhang on the second floor.
Venus' lips quivered with the weakness of her smile as she observed the spidery handwriting on the letter at the top of the bundle that read: 'George Weasley. Weasley Wizard Wheezes. 93 Diagon Alley. London, England.'
She tucked the stack away in her purse with a sad sigh, choosing to focus her energy on the day before her and not allow herself to be pulled back into depressingly tragic remembrances the same way she had yesterday.
Plastering an overenthusiastic grin on her face, Venus perked her head up and pulled a small plastic bag from a pocket in her purse.
"As promised," She offered the bag to the man before her, "Your pepper imps, m'lord."
"Sweet!" Sawyer pumped his fist as he graciously took the packaged candies into his hands, looking over the elegant brand logo on the front, "Probably shouldn't eat them in here, though, should I?"
"Not unless you'd like to burn this place down." Venus fell back into her usual banter easily, glad that Sawyer provided such fun, easygoing conversation.
"Y'think there's anyone in the market for crispy books?" He joked, looking as if he was seriously debating the pros and cons of consuming his favourite sweets.
Venus laughed, surprising herself with how real and genuine the sound felt. It always seemed rare for her to laugh like that. It was nice. Relieving. Like a breath of fresh air after hours upon hours of drowning in dull memories.
Still, she couldn't sit around with her brilliant new friend and just forget the world. She had certain responsibilities, and she was instantly reminded of those responsibilities when she heard the soft pop of Buttons returning to them, Venus' order in his hands.
"Thank you, Buttons." Sawyer leaned down to take the paper cups from the house elf, "You can take a break now, the store is pretty dead at this hour, I can handle the rest."
The house elf thanked him gratefully before disappearing yet again with a snap of his fingers.
"Here you are, dear Space Girl." Sawyer offered the cups to Venus as she stood, straightening out her clothing and accepting the warm drinks, "Do you need a tray?"
"I'll manage." Venus assured with a kind smile. "Regrettably, I really should be going. Chloe's gonna be wondering where I am.."
"I'll walk you out." He gestured an arm, offering for Venus to walk ahead of him before pausing in realisation, "Ah, but before I do."
Sawyer produced his wand from his back pocket, aiming it towards the blonde.
Venus looked down at herself, immediately seeing what he had noticed as he uttered 'tergeo' under his breath, causing all the ash and dust that had gathered on her being to be easily removed and turned to oblivion.
"Couldn't let you head to work covered in soot," Sawyer stated jokingly, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as he began to guide her to their original destination at the front of the store, "Probably would have raised a few questions."
"Thank you, Sawyer." Venus grinned, leaning slightly into his side as a show of gratitude, unable to hug him properly as her hands were full.
"Anytime, Space Girl."
— VENUS HADN'T BEEN WORKING WITH CHLOE DECKER FOR VERY LONG, and she was glad when she came to the realisation that they clicked quite well, all things considered. They were, after all, from two different worlds- and Chloe did tend to underestimate the witch, unknowing that Venus was far, far more experienced in their field than Chloe herself was.
Still, they easily made conversation, and seemed to share an instant bond born from the frustration of being women in a predominantly male workforce.
Whatever it was, Venus was glad to have been assigned as Chloe's partner- and she was sure to share her gratitude by bringing the woman a cup of coffee every morning she could spare the time.
"God, this stuff is amazing." Chloe groaned from her seat behind the wheel of her vehicle as she took a sip of her warm drink, "Where do you even get this?"
Venus chuckled, enjoying her own butterbeer flavoured tea, "Some obscure hole in the wall I found near my apartment- real easy to miss if you don't know where you're going."
"Well, it's incredible." Chloe smiled, humming as she placed her cup back in its holder, "Did you get the report I sent last night?"
Venus briefly recalled the email she'd received detailing a mucky crime where an innocent girl got murdered and the killer instantly got his just desserts. She pulled her cup of tea away from her lips, reflecting on what she'd read, "Yeah... I ran into Dan this morning at the precinct, he said it was an open and shut case."
"He did, did he?" Chloe sighed frustratingly.
"I assume you don't share in that opinion?" Venus smiled.
The woman shook her head, gripping the wheel slightly tighter, "I don't know... There was this witness, real weird guy- I think he got in my head about it and I just- I feel like I need to follow through on these loose ends."
Venus nodded supportingly, "So, where are we headed first?"
Chloe's lips upturned slightly, thankful that she didn't have to constantly defend her decisions around her new partner, "Well, I ran the shooter's cell phone, and we're on the way to question the last person he called. I'll fill you in on all the details before we get there."