Unequivocal by BeanerWeasley

Rose/Scorp: "You just what?! You want me to kiss you and sweep you off your feet and tell you I'm in love with you and always have been? Well, I tried that! And guess what, Weasley? You're still engaged and I'm still the idiot that thought I had a chance. So please, if you have any shred of feeling for me, just leave me alone."

This story is told from Rose's point of view.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter 1

"Babe! I'm heading out!"

"Okay, wait just one minute!" I call down the stairs, peering around the doorway. I pull one of my Uncle Bill's old Weird Sisters t-shirts over my unruly red hair and grab my black work boots.

I bound down the stairs, jumping over the bottom two steps. Once I make it to the kitchen, I toss my boots toward the door and turn to face Perry. He's watching me impatiently, green eyes displaying nothing short of boredom.

I run my hands against my neck underneath my hair and flip the ends out from beneath my collar.

"You're leaving early today," I remark, slightly out of breath from speeding down the stairs.

He rolls his eyes. "Not all of us can apparate anywhere we want in a matter of seconds. I actually have to use regular public transportation."

He approaches me and gives me a quick peck on the cheek before turning to leave.

I sigh and lean against the wall. "You're not even staying for breakfast? I've barely seen you for weeks!"

He sets his briefcase on the poured concrete countertop and opens it to do a quick scan of his belongings. His usual routine.

"You know the firm has been working on a big proposal," he starts, distractedly. I watch as a crease forms between his dark eyebrows. "I've got to go all the way to Hertfordshire today so I need to get going. Maybe you should try getting up early for once if you want to see me."

I see a hint of a smile on his face as he quickly meets my eye and I scowl. He snaps his carrycase closed and I see his initials embossed on the leather surface. It's the one gift I've given him that I've been really proud of. I feel my scowl soften slightly.

He opens the door, heading out into the crisp morning air and I snap out of my reverie.

"You knew I was a late sleeper when you proposed to me!" I call after him as the screen door closes behind him. He waves his hand without turning around.

"Love you!" he yells over his shoulder from the bottom of the stoop. I watch him turn down the busy street, crowded with commuters, and sigh once more.

I collapse into a seat at our tiny kitchen table and flick my wand to pour myself a bowl of cold cereal. I think of Perry commuting in the hustle and bustle of all the other muggles.

What a hassle. I do not know how he puts up with that every day.

But then again, I guess he doesn't have a choice. A muggle is a muggle is a muggle.

I pull my breakfast toward me and summon a spoon, digging in ravenously. I notice Perry's sneakers in the corner sitting neatly in line with the edge of the cabinet, laces tucked inside the shoes. I eye my pile of shoes on the opposite side of the door. An unorganized heap.

It really is a shame that Perry spends so much time in transit. He works long enough hours as is. But I guess he knew what he signed up for when he decided to become a lawyer. And I guess I knew what I signed up for when I decided to become his fiancé.

I take a few more bites of my corn flakes before looking at the clock.

8:06. Ugh.

I told my boss I'd be in at 8 this morning. But, in my defense, I told him that yesterday afternoon when waking up on time seemed a lot more feasible than it did this morning.

I get up forlornly, leaving my cereal bowl on the table, subconsciously knowing that I'll forget about it and Perry will end up cleaning it tomorrow before work.

I step into my combat boots and let my wand tie the laces for me before walking out into the fresh, cool air. I discreetly point my wand at the door to lock it. The sun is shining for once as I hop over the bannister of the porch into a small grassy patch hidden from view of the street.

Sometimes I wish I could apparate directly out of the townhome, but then I think of the prospect of random people apparating in and out and realize I don't care to take the security risk.

But damn if it wouldn't be convenient.

I turn to face the lush green bushes standing between the sidewalk and me. At this point, this has all become quite routine. I take a deep breath, picturing Gringotts, and spin on the spot, barely noticing the squeezing sensation before I arrive in the entryway of the grand wizarding bank, my eyes taking a second to adjust to the brightness of the sun glaring off the light marble walls and floors.

Once I find my bearings, I quickly head toward the offices, ignoring the chaos surrounding me. I'm hoping to sneak in unnoticed, but of course when I get there, the curse breakers are already in the conference room having the morning meeting.

Damn.

I enter the room slowly, trying not to draw attention to myself, but my boss immediately spots me.

"8 o'clock arrival, huh, Rose?" he calls over from the front of the room, somewhat sternly, somewhat jokingly.

I feel my cheeks heat up. "Sorry, Chris," I say reluctantly, trying not to scowl. This is also an occurrence that has become fairly routine. But that doesn't mean apologizing to the boss in front of a roomful of people ever gets any easier. Swallowing my pride has never been one of my strong suits.

"No, no. No need to apologize to me. But you should apologize to all your coworkers here!" I look around and see the mocking faces, some friendly and some annoyed. "We've had to wait for you to show up to give the big news!"

I look back at Chris' hulking figure. He's as tall as a professional basketball player, but built like a professional wrestler. And I mean the staged type of wrestling where everyone takes performance enhancers and hits each other with chairs.

"I was just about to tell everyone that we are getting a new curse breaker tomorrow!" He slaps his hands together in a gesture too extreme to be considered a clap.

A few people mutter amongst one another and I exchange a look with some coworkers across the room.

"As you all know, Rose has been a one man – well one woman – team since she started here about a year ago. But she'll finally be getting a partner tomorrow! And he comes here with experience. He was previously working at the new Gringotts site in Ukraine as a charm setter, but now that construction is done, he isn't needed there anymore, so he's agreed to transfer to London!"

Chris smiles widely at me with his white shield of teeth. I unenthusiastically return the smile, but I do think this could be a nice change of pace. Typically, Chris helps me out with my section of the vaults, but he's complete rubbish when it comes to paperwork. Plus, his much-too-boisterous attitude grates on my nerves during early morning assignments. Actually, it grates on my nerves during all assignments, time of day aside.

"So once we brief our new guy on all the protocols, etcetera, etcetera, he should be ready to work. I'm thinking 10 o'clock tomorrow morning for a meeting-slash-introductory situation. As long as Rose can pull herself out of bed by then."

This time I really do scowl, but Chris just laughs loudly. It's more of a guffaw, really.

"Anyways, that's all I have for you today. Curse breaks are posted outside the door! Keep your wits about you!"

I turn around and am the first to leave the room since I barely made it through the door in the first place. I give the assignment list a once over and feel my forehead crinkling in dismay.

Ugh.

Nothing except routine maintenance with Chris.

I start heading to the tunnel entrance and feel a heavy slap on the back. "You ready to check up on some vaults?"

"Mmhmm." I give Chris a half-hearted glare, hoping he realizes I'm not in the mood for this right now, but of course he seems oblivious and chats loudly all the way to our section of the vaults.

I walk out ahead of him, trying to keep some distance between the two of us in hopes of deterring his incessant talking. I start to check the charms on the cells to make sure everything is secure as he continues whatever conversation he's in the middle of.

"It'll be nice for you, I bet," I catch him saying as I try to focus on the task at hand. I didn't listen to the first part of his soliloquy, so I don't have any idea what he's talking about.

I glance back at him questioningly, but he's not paying attention.

"Sorry, what was that?" I ask, curiosity getting the better of me.

"It'll be nice, I said. Not being followed around by your boss all day!"

In these situations, I find it best not to respond. Chris is always trying to bait me into making a miserable comment that will get me into trouble. I bite my tongue and give a nod of the head before walking down a set of stone stairs ahead of me. A cart flies by on the mining tracks to my left, sending a cloud of dust into the stale air. My hair blows in front of my face and I shake it away haphazardly. I can already feel the effects of the humidity of the dank underground cellars. This is why I don't style my hair.

I continue on in silence, wandering through the dark winding paths of the bank, shadowy stone arches looming in every direction. Chris goes on about whatever topic he's keen to talk about and I nod and agree absentmindedly until it's time to turn around.

Once we make our way back to the light of the ground level, he turns to face me.

"So this is our last run together for a while!" I wave my wand and shoot a jet of water at my boots to clear the dust and dirt, debating whether or not I feel like responding.

"Yep," I say without looking at him.

He seems unperturbed by my inattention. "Well, you'll be training the new guy tomorrow, so rest up! Hopefully he'll pick up on things fast. From what I hear, he's whip smart. Much like you, I'm hoping." He smiles warmly as I turn to face him. I give a small smile back, genuinely grateful for a rare compliment from my boss.

"Sounds good," I say, putting in more effort than usual to sound cheerful.

He chuckles at my attempt and starts walking away. "Yes, sounds good indeed!"

I catch up to him and we fall into stride together. I resist the urge to laugh as I think about how ludicrous we must look considering I'm a fraction of his size.

I turn to head down the hall to the records room to fill out a report for the day. Of course, Chris doesn't even attempt to look like he's going to help with it as he continues walking in a different direction.

The more I think about it, this new partner thing might really work out.

"Hey," I call out. He turns around, probably expecting me to ask him to help with the report, but I gave up on that a long time ago. "You never did say who the guy is that's starting tomorrow," I continue. "Maybe I know him." After all, my family seems to know everyone in the wizarding world.

Chris' wall-of-white-smile is back. "I think you graduated with him, actually. Name's Malfoy. Scorpius Malfoy."

I spin around to fully face him, hair flying in front of my face again as I do. But before I can think of anything to say in protest, he turns to walk away, whistling cheerily as he does.

I blankly stare at the empty space where he once stood for a minute or so before slowly turning back toward the records room.

As I wind my way up a set of stairs, I find myself wishing I could keep Chris as a partner.

This new partner thing might really work out, I think to myself, mocking my previous optimism.

Work out?

Ha!

Yeah. I doubt it.

A/N: I'm back, friends! :) I told you I'd have a new story, and finally (a couple months behind schedule), here it is! This one will be anywhere from 18-20 chapters (I have 14 chapters already written, so updates will be posted at least once a week).

As you can see, this is only the beginning. Sorry for the absence of Scorp in this chapter... but don't worry, he'll be in the rest of the chapters! After all, he's really the best part of any story ;)

Let me know what you think of this chapter! How do you like the set up of the story? Where do you think this is headed? What is going to happen in the inevitably tangled web between Rose, her fiance, and Scorp? Can't wait to read your thoughts!