Closed A Sweet Treat

[Miles Cresswell]

Miles had been busy lately. Between work, spending time with Oscar and fretting endlessly about the proposal, he hadn't had much time for himself lately. He had decided to take a little shopping trip today, heading to Flourish & Blott's to pick up some new books. He had bought himself a few work-related ones, but also one or two just because they looked interesting. Passing Florean Fortescue's, Miles had decided to treat himself to some ice cream as well. That was how he found himelf on a bench overlooking the harbour with an ice cream cone and a bag full of books. There were worse ways to spend some free time. He ate the chocolate ice cream as he watched the water, his mind drifting back to Oscar again. He really liked him a lot, and he needed to stop letting what happened with Rupert ruin hs life, right? But what if it all went wrong? On and on his mind went, he was honestly getting a little tired of it.

 

[Monty Pendleton]

Monty was in an usual mood. It wasn't strong enough to be called a bad mood, but he was restless, as if one minor annoyance would be enough to tip the balance. He'd already been into the town once that day, but he'd completely forgotten to pick up the one thing he gone for. On his second trip, he'd discovered that the Apothecary was out of stock anyway, rendering the whole thing a complete waste of time. He was wandering aimlessly about the harbour, wondering where else he might find some crystal phials, and if it mattered to him enough to look, when something stopped him in his tracks. Monty knew that profile. Not just because he'd seen the man it belonged to out and about, but because it was almost identical to his good friend Rupert's.

Hadn't Rupert mentioned a twin? Monty had assumed he lived in England, but the likeness of that nose and brow were impossible to ignore. He approached the bench hesitantly. "Sorry," he said, realising he was interrupting the man's ice-cream. "Sorry to bother you - have we met before?"

 

[Miles Cresswell]

Miles was managing to keep his worries at ease slightly, pushing them away with thoughts of nice things. He jumped when someone spoke to him, turning to the voice in alarm and nearly dropping the ice cream onto his lap. "Oh! Hello." He said quickly, making sure to balance the ice cream before looking at the man. He blinked at his question, taking him in. "Er... perhaps." He said, a vague memory stirring in the back of his mind. "I think so, maybe." He added hesitantly. For some reason, his mind was going to bowties. Why did he associate this man with bowties? "Maybe in a store?"

 

[Monty Pendleton]

Monty had obviously startled the poor man. He smiled apologetically. A store... Yes, that seemed right, although he couldn't have said which store, or when. "Quite possibly, yes," he said. But that wasn't why he'd interrupted the man's ice cream. He saw people he recognised every day; the wizarding world was an even smaller small world than the usual small world. He didn't often see people who looked exactly like his friend, only blond. "I'm so sorry - this is a strange question - but you don't have a brother called Rupert, do you?"

 

[Miles Cresswell]

Miles was a little reassured that the other man seemed to agree, though he still felt a little uncomfortable talking to a stranger. He always worried he'd say something wrong. He took a small bite of his ice cream and nearly choked on it as the older man mentioned Rupert. His eyes widened and he put his handkerchief to his mouth for a moment. He shouldn't be surprised, as the Deputy Minister, Rupert was fairly well known now. He just hated it. "I- I do." He said warily, clearly reluctant about the connection. "Why do you ask?"

 

[Monty Pendleton]

Well, that wasn't the reaction Monty had expected. The man almost looked frightened at the mention of Rupert's name. Perhaps he was tired of being recognised all the time; it must have been odd, having a famous twin - especially one in politics. "Oh, I'm just a friend," said Monty, keen to put him at ease. "It's funny; I thought he looked familiar when we met, but I've only just put two and two together now, seeing you here. You and I met first, yes, in a shop. I remember. We fought over a bow-tie, didn't we? Or was it an antique table?" Monty laughed. How extraordinary that he had met Rupert's twin first and then forgotten all about the encounter. "Sorry - am I bothering you? Do you mind if I sit down?" In truth, he needed a bit of a rest anyway. All that walking on very little sleep had taken it out of him.

 

[Miles Cresswell]

Miles knew it wasn't normal to be scared of Rupert, of the mere mention of his name. But he was. The moment this man said he was Rupert's friend, Miles wanted to run away from him. His mind immediately decided Rupert must have sent him to spy on him, though he knew somewhere that was ridiculous. He nodded slightly at the question, then quickly shook his head. "No- no I don't mind." He said, though he had honestly tuned out most of what the man had said. "You can sit." He said quietly, starting to fidget.

 

[Monty Pendleton]

Monty had hoped introducing himself as Rupert's friend might put the man at ease, but if anything, it appeared to have made him more uncomfortable. Contrary to what he had said, he clearly wanted to be left alone. "Oh! Actually, I - completely forgot - I'm supposed to be meeting somebody. Sorry," he added, though he was sure this would all come as quite a relief. "Anyway, it was nice to see you. Take care."

That look in his eyes, Monty reflected as he crossed the street. It was fear. What had he been so afraid of? It might have been plain old social anxiety, except that the last time Monty had struck up a conversation with him, he'd been quite at ease. Was it Rupert, then? Perhaps the two men had contrasting political views. Perhaps he'd thought Monty might challenge him on them. Yes, that had to be it; no other explanation he could conjure seemed more likely. Still, the encounter left Monty feeling guilty and unsettled. He had never meant to cause any alarm. He was only trying to be friendly, and somehow he'd managed to go and upset Rupert's brother.

This was going to trouble him all day.

 

[Miles Cresswell]

Miles' brain was scramblnig for some sort of excuse to get out of this conversation, but it was soon clear he didn't need to think of anything. He sighed in relief when the older man excused himself, smiling just a little too brightly at his excuses. "Oh, no problem. Maybe some other time." He said unconvincingly, before he focused on his (somewhat melting) ice cream with a soft sigh.