@❛ estelle ysolda egan。 chilly and overcast weather in london often comforted him on lonely nights. at work in the ministry, when he worked on his “passion projects” inside or outside. the sound of the rain pattering on the shingles of his apartment. alec was accustomed to the frigid winters from montana, to the point where the freezing cold transferred over to his soul.

exhaustion lingered in him from the previous nights, figuring out the logistics in the limits of the human body and their capability in absorbing magic, all in the death chamber. numerous trials and errors add up in passing, details that remained to be suppressed in the department of mysteries. but the conversations he had with estelle seemed to interfere and meld into his thoughts about their anatomical experiments.

a feeling of warmth—not caused by summer heat—welled up within him, as he spent more time with her. and it’s a feeling entered uninvited, a tenderness for another human being that was left unheeded to. and it irritated him, as if it’s an itch he can’t scratch away.

as he approached her, with a box of ‘chips’ and a couple of alcoholic beverages in his hold, he felt the urge to roll his eyes at her comment, even with the fatigue wearing down his eyelids.

“you don’t look so peachy yourself, stelle. since you find yourself so amusing, maybe you should go for a circus troupe then.” a smirk formed on his lips as he sat next to her on the bench, popping the cap off of the bottle of liquor as the box of chips was freed from his grip.

the river stretched for many miles, from the bridges afar to the twilight overseeing their usual sitting spot. glancing at her, he noted how ravenous she was while indulging in their snack, a look of concern briefly crossing his face before settling into his default stoicism.

“don’t tell me that’s your first meal since yesterday. but hey, you can take the entire box if you want. but—“ reaching over to take some pieces for himself, he made a segue for his next comment. “not before i get my fill.” then he drank out of his opened bottle.

@❛ alec greenwood。 the vanilla twilight was much more vivid today, the sun merely peeking at the horizon before it slumbered after a day’s work. estelle sighed as her gaze lingered at the purplish sky. finally — being afforded a few days of rest after consecutive sleepless nights was merely a reprieve, a minute diversion from the exhausting project she had chosen to dive into.

yet, despite the grueling research, she found it quite. . .enjoyable, oddly so. perhaps, it was the familiar company of an acquaintance (a friend?) that allowed for the whole process to be less tedious. that, or she was merely excited for the outcome like she always had been. even so, she surely did enjoy her partner’s warmth amidst the coldness of the death chamber.

she could not help but wonder — when was the last time that she had felt comfortable around someone?

her thoughts were interrupted by a man approaching the bench she had chosen, a box of chips and two bottles of drinks in his hand. his visage shared the equally deep bags that she had been sporting beneath her eyes for the past few days and estelle could not help but laugh softly at the thought. downing what seemed to be the last few drops of alcohol in her bottle, she scooted over and made room, tidying the space between them.

“look like you’re about to topple over, alec,” she mused softly. when was the last time she had genuinely been amused? “more than the food in your arms, in fact. here, let me?” estelle gently reached out to pluck box of chips from his arms. though quite full just by the sight of it, she dug into the pile, nonetheless, only pressing a small one into before settling the food unto the bench.