You Make Me Smile
Title: You Make Me Smile
Character Pairing: Justin/Padma
Prompt: Black ink
Rating: G
Word Count: Word Processor says 974
Summary: “Amortentia is not something we treat on this floor!”
Author's Notes: Title taken from this song. Also, as a happy disclaimer, nothing is mine.
Link to Prompt Table: Table.
“Amortentia is not something we treat on this floor!” the young Indian woman exclaimed, waving her clipboard of files madly around. She had just fought her way through the innumerable cupids who had been following people around all day singing valentines and the throng of love-struck ninnies milling around the way to the fourth floor.
“I want these people on the Third Floor where they belong!”
“But Healer Patil-”
“Now!” Padma said and the trainee begrudgingly set about herding the mass of temporarily in love people away.
She heaved a sigh and closed her eyes and massaged the headache that she knew would develop in a matter of time. Valentine’s Day was always hectic, and already this day was proving much worse than last year (which consisted of a couple trying to charm their own carpet to fly so they could have a romantic evening with the stars, only to incorrectly apply the charm and, needless to say, the couple did not look at all pleasant after their fall).
When Padma opened her eyes, she was greeted by a dozen stargazer lilies. She blinked at the long fingers wrapped around the stems, knowing perfectly well whom they belonged to, but she raised herself up on her tiptoes to peek over the petals at the man behind the bouquet.
“Bossing people around already?”
Padma smiled and shook her head in silent amusement as she started down the corridor in short, quick strides. “What brings you here? Hopefully not Amortentia, or else I’m kicking you down to-” she began and tugged her quill out of her hair to jot a few notes on her files, then frowned at the black ink that had covered her hands earlier that day from all the writing she had done for her charts.
“Far from it,” Justin Finch-Fletchley replied and turned on his heel to follow her. “I thought my good friend Padma might like these. I saw them in a window and they didn’t look like they belonged there.”
“It’s a good thing you rescued them from the life of being a window display,” Padma replied with a solemn nod.
Ever since New Year, the two started exchanging letters and had met for tea a number of times, with some light flirting thrown in here and there. In fact, this wasn’t the first time he had shown up at St Mungo’s just to drop of a surprise of some sort (such as a box of tea he just happened to see that he knew she liked, or a book at a shop that he just happened to find that she wanted to read, or some incense that he just happened to spot at the store that she mentioned she had just run out of). If she were honest with herself (which she rarely was when it came to these things), she would admit she was interested in him, but he was just a friend (was there such a thing?) and he was just being nice, even if he had chosen a terrible time to surprise her with flowers (what sort of just-friend does that?).
“What was all that about?” Justin asked.
Her private thoughts were interrupted, though. “What was what about?”
“The Amortentia raucous.”
“Apparently someone spiked the Odgen’s at The Three Broomsticks,” Padma answered with a roll of her eyes, finally took the flowers, and thanked him as she resumed her trek down the corridor.
Justin followed her again. He reminded her of a bored puppy who just wanted to play fetch, but no one would throw the stick, so he followed everyone around until someone would cave in and toss it. He hardly looked bored at all, though; quite the contrary, he looked nervous and as though he were having a hard time forming syllables.
“Look, Justin, I’m working and I’ve got a lot to do, so-”
But he cut her off. “Go to dinner with me,” Justin blurted, then shook his head and changed his statement into a question. “Will you? Er. Will you go to dinner with me?”
“Sure,” Padma said, “but tonight’s not a good night, we’re going to have people in and out of here all night long, and I’ll get stuck staying late-”
“Late is fine,” Justin quipped. “I can wait up.”
“Don’t be silly, you’ll starve. How about… we… oh.” It was then that she realized that he wasn’t asking for a simple chat over tea. She was almost too shy to look at him, and his nervous energy was somewhat contagious, but she was in a hurry and really, what was the harm in a dinner date? He hadn’t specified what exactly he wanted from her other than to have dinner, it wasn’t commitment of any kind.
“All right,” Padma finally said and instantly she felt the tension fade away.
He looked pleased and impish and excited and the combination made Padma want to throw her arms around him and squeeze him to bits and pieces, but her trainee had come back and was already shouting questions at her from the far end of the corridor.
“What time should-”
“Just show up,” Justin said. “You have my address.”
“Right,” she said, and a second later added, “I’m not, um, looking for a boyfriend, though. So you know. I’m far too busy all the time for one.”
He didn’t look the least bit fazed, which was a bit shocking. “I didn’t ask if I could be yet,” he pointed out with a smug, lopsided grin.
And with that, he patted her on the head once, pointed out how messy her hands were and asked how that was at all professional, and she hugged her flowers gingerly, and she swore there was a bounce in his step when he left (not that she was watching him leave, of course, not at all).
Character Pairing: Justin/Padma
Prompt: Black ink
Rating: G
Word Count: Word Processor says 974
Summary: “Amortentia is not something we treat on this floor!”
Author's Notes: Title taken from this song. Also, as a happy disclaimer, nothing is mine.
Link to Prompt Table: Table.
“Amortentia is not something we treat on this floor!” the young Indian woman exclaimed, waving her clipboard of files madly around. She had just fought her way through the innumerable cupids who had been following people around all day singing valentines and the throng of love-struck ninnies milling around the way to the fourth floor.
“I want these people on the Third Floor where they belong!”
“But Healer Patil-”
“Now!” Padma said and the trainee begrudgingly set about herding the mass of temporarily in love people away.
She heaved a sigh and closed her eyes and massaged the headache that she knew would develop in a matter of time. Valentine’s Day was always hectic, and already this day was proving much worse than last year (which consisted of a couple trying to charm their own carpet to fly so they could have a romantic evening with the stars, only to incorrectly apply the charm and, needless to say, the couple did not look at all pleasant after their fall).
When Padma opened her eyes, she was greeted by a dozen stargazer lilies. She blinked at the long fingers wrapped around the stems, knowing perfectly well whom they belonged to, but she raised herself up on her tiptoes to peek over the petals at the man behind the bouquet.
“Bossing people around already?”
Padma smiled and shook her head in silent amusement as she started down the corridor in short, quick strides. “What brings you here? Hopefully not Amortentia, or else I’m kicking you down to-” she began and tugged her quill out of her hair to jot a few notes on her files, then frowned at the black ink that had covered her hands earlier that day from all the writing she had done for her charts.
“Far from it,” Justin Finch-Fletchley replied and turned on his heel to follow her. “I thought my good friend Padma might like these. I saw them in a window and they didn’t look like they belonged there.”
“It’s a good thing you rescued them from the life of being a window display,” Padma replied with a solemn nod.
Ever since New Year, the two started exchanging letters and had met for tea a number of times, with some light flirting thrown in here and there. In fact, this wasn’t the first time he had shown up at St Mungo’s just to drop of a surprise of some sort (such as a box of tea he just happened to see that he knew she liked, or a book at a shop that he just happened to find that she wanted to read, or some incense that he just happened to spot at the store that she mentioned she had just run out of). If she were honest with herself (which she rarely was when it came to these things), she would admit she was interested in him, but he was just a friend (was there such a thing?) and he was just being nice, even if he had chosen a terrible time to surprise her with flowers (what sort of just-friend does that?).
“What was all that about?” Justin asked.
Her private thoughts were interrupted, though. “What was what about?”
“The Amortentia raucous.”
“Apparently someone spiked the Odgen’s at The Three Broomsticks,” Padma answered with a roll of her eyes, finally took the flowers, and thanked him as she resumed her trek down the corridor.
Justin followed her again. He reminded her of a bored puppy who just wanted to play fetch, but no one would throw the stick, so he followed everyone around until someone would cave in and toss it. He hardly looked bored at all, though; quite the contrary, he looked nervous and as though he were having a hard time forming syllables.
“Look, Justin, I’m working and I’ve got a lot to do, so-”
But he cut her off. “Go to dinner with me,” Justin blurted, then shook his head and changed his statement into a question. “Will you? Er. Will you go to dinner with me?”
“Sure,” Padma said, “but tonight’s not a good night, we’re going to have people in and out of here all night long, and I’ll get stuck staying late-”
“Late is fine,” Justin quipped. “I can wait up.”
“Don’t be silly, you’ll starve. How about… we… oh.” It was then that she realized that he wasn’t asking for a simple chat over tea. She was almost too shy to look at him, and his nervous energy was somewhat contagious, but she was in a hurry and really, what was the harm in a dinner date? He hadn’t specified what exactly he wanted from her other than to have dinner, it wasn’t commitment of any kind.
“All right,” Padma finally said and instantly she felt the tension fade away.
He looked pleased and impish and excited and the combination made Padma want to throw her arms around him and squeeze him to bits and pieces, but her trainee had come back and was already shouting questions at her from the far end of the corridor.
“What time should-”
“Just show up,” Justin said. “You have my address.”
“Right,” she said, and a second later added, “I’m not, um, looking for a boyfriend, though. So you know. I’m far too busy all the time for one.”
He didn’t look the least bit fazed, which was a bit shocking. “I didn’t ask if I could be yet,” he pointed out with a smug, lopsided grin.
And with that, he patted her on the head once, pointed out how messy her hands were and asked how that was at all professional, and she hugged her flowers gingerly, and she swore there was a bounce in his step when he left (not that she was watching him leave, of course, not at all).