Lean on Me ||perciver

6. Mister Ministry

Percy smiled sweetly before exiting the apartment, leaving Oliver standing in the hallway, staring at the space Percy had stood just moments before.

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The apartment was quiet.

Not that it was noisy or any less quiet when Percy was home. It was simply that Oliver was more sensitive to the silence now that he knew his flatmate had gone to work.

Of course, he could always take a ride on his broom and practice, but he only did that five times a week now, and he wasn't feeling quite up for it. The groceries would have to wait until the afternoon anyway, as the majority of shoppers collectively crowded around noon to do their shopping.

Ah, well. Cooking it was.

He hauled himself out of his couch (which was very luxurious and expensive) and slouched to the kitchen. It would be a challenge to whip up a meal with the amount of ingredients currently available in their house, but he could make due.

He opened the fridge and rooted around for some inspiration of some sort, but only found the wrapped sandwiches that he had made the night before for Percy. He had obviously forgotten about it in the rush to leave the apartment. It wasn't unlike him to be eager to get into work, but it was rare for him to be so forgetful and dishevelled in the process.

Oliver gnawed at his lip as he considered what to do. He knew that Percy was too busy to get up from his desk to get food for himself from the canteen or anywhere else, and he would feel unprofessional about asking anyone to do it for him. So, this left him with one choice; to visit the ministry and deliver his lunch.

It would certainly be nice to see Percy again, and after his reaction to whatever had happened between them, Oliver had a suspicion of what was going on. He could even test the waters and see just how right he was.

Smirking to himself, Oliver packed the sandwiches into his bag and gripped his broom. If his theory was right, a world of possibilities were open for him. He could almost let himself get carried away in his daydreams of himself and Percy sharing intimate moments, but he wouldn't let himself go so far. He was a man on a mission.

He lifted off from the appropriate location and soared through the sky, determination streaking his heart. He wouldn't let Percy go hungry today, no sir. He would be the responsible one in their dynamic for once, and then Percy would get to see a demonstration of how steady and reliable he is. Percy would then fix him with one of his heartwarming smiles...

By the time Oliver had found himself in front of the ministry, he was afraid that a terribly smitten smile was plastered on his face for all to see. Not exactly a problem, but still a little embarrassing.

He confidently approached the secretary of Percy's department and coughed for her attention, which she gave rather cheerfully.

"Good day! What can I do for you, dear?"

Oliver could answer that proudly.

"I'm here to bring Percy his lunch. Uh, Percy Weasley. Is he here?"

"Of course he's here, he never stops working," she said with a trill giggle.

"Oh, yeah. That sounds like Perce alright," He confirmed. It was really like him to earn a reputation of being a downright workaholic. "Is he alright to have visitors in? I wasn't sure if they had anything important going in at the moment."

"Oh, don't worry, dear. You're perfectly fine. Have you known him long? It's certainly nice to see him taken care of."

"Oh, yeah. We go way back, since Hogwarts." Oliver was going to burst with pride, he had to take a few breaths.

The secretary gave him a considering once over and clapped her hands together with a sudden epiphany.

"You're his sweetheart? The one that packs his lunch everyday?"

Oliver so badly wanted to say yes. He wished to proudly say that he and Percy were an item and that of course he was his sweetheart. It was a rather pathetic notion.

"Yeah, I'm the one that packs his lunch," he said, hoping that his voice wasn't as dead as he thought it was.

"Well, come right in, Mr Weasley is waiting for you!" She winked, smirking when he blushed. He really broke his own heart sometimes.

The office was bustling with activity. There were witches and wizards frantically scribbling away at their documents while others carried stacks of books across the room. He had to push past two wizards who looked to be in serious discussion who were blocking the walk way. He predicted that it was something to do with transportation, like brooms or something.

He caught sight of Percy at the front of the room sitting at a large mahogany desk, surrounded by papers and books with a few quills in the air writing away as he concentrated on the papers in his hands. He looked in his element, graceful hands ever so often rising to push the gold framed glasses up his face or to shuffle some papers. His expression was cloudy, firm lines marking the space between his eyebrows.

To put it simply, he was enamouring.

"Hey, Perce," he breathed.

The man looked up, placing his head in the path of the sunlight from the artificial windows. If Oliver thought he could get through one trip to Percy's workplace and act like he wasn't smitten, he was wrong. Percy simply glowed as his lashes turned gold and his freckles were presented for all to see. It was really a humbling sight.

Oliver leaned on the desk in case his knees gave out on him.

"What are you here for, Oliver?" He asked, eyebrows furrowing.

"What, can't I fly in to see you every now and again?" He teased. His friend smiled briefly in reply but then frowned.

"I am rather busy as of now, and I have a number of things to get done before this deadline," Percy said, tone brief. "Not that I don't appreciate your visit, but my hands are rather full at the moment." His voice got smaller towards the end, as though guilty for being so. He looked exhausted, shirt ruffled and unkept. If he looked closely, he could see the dark smudges under his eyes.

"I understand," he assured, reaching out to flick his ear. Percy smiled and batted his hand away.

"Were you really just here for a visit?"

"Hm?" He snapped out of his examination of Percy. "Oh, yeah. No, I brought your lunch."

Percy blinked at the appearance of sandwiches on his desk apprehensively. "You could have just sent the owl."

Oh. He hadn't thought of that.

"Is it such a foreign concept that I may have just wanted to see your face?"

Percy blushed and ducked his head, gripping his documents.

"Just wanted to say hi and drop your lunch off, Perce, calm down," he said. "I've got to head off now, but you take it easy, alright? You'll have a nice pot of tea and some pasta waiting for you at home, so don't stay out too late." He almost finished with an 'I love you', it  felt so natural.

"Eat your lunch," he finished, "and have a good day." He then spun around to leave the office, ignoring some of the stares directed at him. Percy seemed to work with a bunch of weirdos, it seemed.