1st November, 1888 — Umbridge Household
February Umbridge

Leaving aside the immediate shock to the system that had accompanied the news of February's elopement with Edric Umbridge Marlena could not say she was overly surprised now that she was able to take stock of the situation and the dust had begun to settle. Febs had only avoided being caught in the embrace of several young men when they'd all been at school by the skin of her teeth - something Lena, quietly, had slightly resented her for each and every time she was barred from being near to Begonia, though it was a resentment that she could never hold onto for more than a minute or two - so it was safe to say the impetus towards foolhardy behaviour had always been there. It was, possibly, the biggest thing the three of them had in common, and Marlena felt an odd sense of pride that at least one of them had gotten a good result from such recklessness.

Calling on her as a married woman was odd though. It was truly peculiar to break the habit of a lifetime and not greet Mrs Lynch, easily her favourite of her friends’ mothers as the older woman sat in the parlour before somebody went to tell Febby she was visiting; or to not feel that same stab of sympathy she felt every time she saw the difference in the kindly woman who had read their cards over tea and was now…well, not gone, but definitely altered. Instead it was Febby in the parlour, Febby who was now the lady of the house and, for all the rumours that were flying around she looked as joyful and effervescent as ever.

Lena couldn’t help but smile when she saw her, incapable of thinking any less of Febs. How on earth could she? It wasn’t as though her reputation was lily white and, if given the opportunity, she would likely sully it more to have the person she wanted so who was she to judge? Besides, she couldn’t remember the last time she had seen a person so genuinely, extraordinarily happy and it even lifted her own curmudgeonly mood.

“We’ll never be animagi at this rate you realise?” She quipped as she took off her heavy winter cloak and draped it over the back of an armchair as though it was what she always did in this house; as though she had ever been in this house before in her life. “If you keep making it impossible for respectable spinsters such as myself to visit you.”

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   February Umbridge

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MJ: still raising the graphics bar as of 2022

Though Edric's London home was technically hers now too, Febs still felt quite out of place. She really couldn't wait until they got everything settled at the cottage and were there full time. She was desperately ready for that. It would really signify the beginning of their marriage, to her anyway. Being unsettled in a midterm living arrangement wasn't exactly starting off on the right foot, but they apparently couldn't do anything correctly anyway, so why should that have been any different.

If being considered the lady of the house was an odd feeling, at least entertaining her friends without anyone else hanging around was a wonderful perk of getting married (besides the obvious of course!). Febs had watched her mother enough growing up to know how this was supposed to go, but this was Lena, it was informal, it was just two friends catching up. It didn't need to be any fancy tea time or the highlight of anyone's social calendar. Fortunately she'd been thinking ahead and had just had Lena brought to the library, and the household staff had set up shop for her. In the future Febs highly suspected the next time she got together with her friends it would be in her own home and she wouldn't have to worry about it at all.

Grinning as Lena made herself comfortable, which automatically put Febby a little more at ease, and chuckled at her friend's comment. "Nonsense, this gives us a whole secondary library at our disposal and we don't have to worry about anyone getting all nosy about it." Not that Febs thought anybody would. "Plus, if we have to go anywhere we don't need a chaperon! I can do that now!" She laughed. That hadn't been something she'd consciously thought about, but it had popped up when Tuni suggested they attend the distillery event and Febs hadn't even had to ask anyone if she could go! Of course she'd run it by Edric, just to make sure he didn't want to come too, but in their efforts to lay low, she'd gone simply to accompany Tuni.

"And you're hardly a spinster." Febby narrowed her eyes at Lena playfully. It wouldn't surprise Febs if that's what Lena was aiming for, which wasn't something Febs had ever dared to ask. It wasn't any of her business for one and two, Lena seemed mostly content with her work so she wasn't going to pry.

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Mr Umbridge, Lena was pleased to note, kept a charming home that might have been dull were it not for the excellent library she found herself looking around as she pretended to feel entirely comfortable in these new surroundings. It had taken her years to feel at ease in Febby’s home – her old home, she supposed now – and she hadn’t been allowed in Begonia’s home for years; it occurred to her vaguely she should probably have made more of an effort to befriend some other people over the years but the inclination had never been there. There were two people she loved and she would make the effort to be a pleasant guest for no one else in the world.

It would probably feel different when Umbridge was here, she expected. He had always struck her as an agreeable enough gentleman, and really he was far from a bad match for February all things considered, but the suddenness meant that she, like everybody else, had barely had a moment to think about the two of them as a couple. They were a pair now. She was in his house, in his chair, with his wife and though she had no reason to believe he was the sort of man who would prevent Febby from having her friends here as often as she liked she couldn’t help but wonder whether that would remain the same. If nothing else he would probably get underfoot very quickly…

It was reassuring to know that Febby, at least, seemed to be much the same as ever. Effervescent and happy, and the moment she suggested herself as a chaperone Lena’s heart did an unexpected flip at the very thought. If Febby was their chaperone might there be times when, being married and having responsibilities, she might be called away by her husband, leaving her and Begonia together…alone… It would be the first time in years but might they still…

“I will be soon enough,” with any luck, she added mentally, unable to contemplate a life like the one Febby had chosen. But then she doubted Febby had ever given contemplated the kind of life Lena dreamed about in the quiet moments just after she woke, before she could marshal her brain into being anything other than sentimental and soft. The kind with russet hair and freedom. “But you, young lady,” she added with a half-smile. “You’re certainly not anymore… How does it feel?”

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   February Umbridge

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MJ: still raising the graphics bar as of 2022

Febs leaned back comfortably in her plush armchair, her favorite chair aside from her window seat, and regarded Lena carefully. Though she had firmly maintained that anyone in her life who mattered to her would stick by her after all of the dust settled, it was a relief to see it in practice. Lena had always been the kind to say what was on her mind, so Febs knew she'd come out and say anything she wanted to, if she did indeed have any comments on the matter at hand.

"That my dear is up to you, until a month ago, I was right there with you. I almost applied to the hospital." She nearly had, after that huge post-no-pregnancy fallout. What a mess that had been. Febs' smile softened uncharacteristically when Lena asked how it was going. They'd agreed to lay low, play it cool and hope to float out of the gossip ring as soon as they could and while she trusted Lena implicitly, she didn't think she could handle divulging the entire tale today. She would, eventually. "It doesn't suck," She laughed. "I was surprised, honestly." Though marriage had always kind of been an inevitability for her, Febs had never assumed it would work out like this. Not in a million years.

"I thought I would feel kind of trapped, but it's oddly freeing?" It didn't make sense, not really and Febs didn't truly know how to explain it well, but she'd try. "I don't need to really ask permission to go anywhere or wait for someone to be able to go with me, I can just, go on my own and not worry about it." Aside from perhaps running into snarky society bitches that needed to come down of their high horse, but that wasn't anything she couldn't handle. "I get my own space, nobody bothering me; I can read as much as I want; have you visit whenever I see fit; I get to avoid events if I want to." The list of perks really was endless. It also included sharing a bed with somebody she loved, having dinner with him, getting to go out whenever they wanted and not have to drag Mrs. H around.  

"Edric's been really good to me." Febs would also maintain that with her dying breath. Through their ups and downs, their fights, the drama, he would be nothing but exactly what she wanted. Nobody knew all of that of course, aside from Tuni, but Febs wanted her friends to know it anyway, even if she could only give them the "public" version of the story for the moment. "We've bought a new house." She barely contained the grin, unable to hide the enthusiasm for that.

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Had he been anything but good then Marlena might have felt obliged to introduce him to the depths of the Department of Mysteries and allow him to become lost in there, whether he was the Head Auror or not. Fortunately for him he had all the appearance of amicability thus far, though she would be lying if she pretended not to have thought about precisely how she would lure him down into the endless rooms and potentially treacherous areas of her workspace. Just in case.

“He’s bought a new house you mean?” Lena replied tartly, but not unkindly. She had outlined her feelings about the injustice of marriage meaning a woman was practically swallowed up by her husband, dowry and all, on many occasions and Febby probably didn’t need a reminder at this juncture. Not while she was so happy and glowing – Merlin, was she pregnant already? It wouldn’t surprise her: the speed of the marriage couldn’t simply be a result of the amortentia that was rumoured to have been sent across the whole community. Febby was a romantic, but she wasn’t an idiot, so Lena doubted she would have married without wanting to, potion or not.

Which begged the question of how long she and Mr Umbridge had really known each other. Lena adamantly ignored everything that appeared in Witch Weekly, having declared once that if the bloody magazine said the sky was blue she would seek a second opinion rather than believe it, but even she was not oblivious to the fact Febby’s name had been mentioned alongside Mr Umbridge’s more than once of late. Helga had taken great pleasure in telling her – along with every mention that ever appeared of her own name, though Lena found anyone’s interest in her utterly baffling – so she knew it was hardly out of the blue. Still, Febby hadn’t told her anything.

“Ignore me, I’m just jealous I suppose,” she offered to soften her initial response, though they both knew it wasn’t true at all. She rarely asked permission to go anywhere and frequently retreated to her own space without others bothering her, but then again she had never been a debutante and she had a feeling her parents had given her up as a lost cause before she had even finished school. “But its fine, I’ll get a house of my own someday…I might have to wait till Mulciber dies and I get his job but he can’t live forever,” she added with a smirk. She’d had her eyes on his job for years and his wife since the matchmaking debacle in the summer. “By then you’ll be an expert at running your own home and I shall have to call on you to run mine too.”

As though any home of hers wouldn't run like clockwork.

  

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MJ: still raising the graphics bar as of 2022

Febs couldn't help but to stick her tongue out childishly at her friend when she corrected her. She nearly rolled her eyes too, but thought better of it at the last minute. "If we're going to be technical, yes. But I picked it out, so it feels like we bought it." It was his money and she still felt weird about spending it, but now that they were actually married it wasn't that odd. As long as she didn't go overboard with anything, it would be fine. At least he hadn't said anything to her yet...

"No you're not,"  If Febby had to guess, Lena would be the one of them to reach the ripe old (not really) age of spinsterhood and breathe a sigh of relief. Lena had married her job and seemed to like it that way. Febs knew that if she hadn't gotten entangled with Edric she too would have likely found herself a job to marry and that would have been that. They could have had their own little spinster house, in another life. "You will, I don't doubt it. You should hoodwink that unmarried brother of yours into sharing." She chuckled. Eugene was... something. Febs had harbored a tiny crush on him, once upon a time, when they were little first or second years, but that man was so much a scatterbrain, she had to wonder just how the pair were related. He seemed to thrive on chaos and adventure while Lena was the epitome of a bookish introvert, in the best way possible, of course. How she hadn't gotten sorted into Ravenclaw was the real mystery.

Humming out a little noise of approval, Febs nodded along. "The key is a good housekeeper. Mrs. Harding will be joining us at the cottage and truthfully, she does positively everything, though I am starting to learn." Hosting dinner parties and the like would be highly unlikely at their little cottage by the sea, but maybe small ones every once in a while with people that mattered would give her some practice at it. Febs hadn't really any idea how her mother did it, not with a house full of kids and a relatively full social calendar, but Febs didn't exactly aspire to be her mother either. Certainly she would be required some ministry functions here and there, but only to attend and stay decidedly out of the limelight. Aside from that she looked forward to their quiet little life by the ocean.

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The mere suggestion of sharing a house with her brother out of choice made Lena wonder briefly whether Febs had in fact utterly lost her mind after all. She had no vast objection to Eugene’s presence, and his outlook on life was certainly more compatible with hers than Helga’s, but eventually even he might disappoint her and Marlena preferred to keep at least one relative moderately elevated in her estimation; familiarity would only breed contempt. And eventually he would find himself a wife – of course he would, he had a fine career before him, a pleasant enough manner and he had been called a hero this summer for getting lost then sleeping on their mother’s chaise for a long weekend. He would marry and then what? She would be relegated to living in somebody else’s house again and back where she started with the added benefit of everybody whispering about what a shame it was for her, poor old spinster that she was.

No, she would much rather bite that particular bullet as early as possible and strike out on her own. Preferably while she was still young enough to find a living companion that was more suited to her tastes…it wasn’t impossible was it? True, she had never given much thought to what a life with anybody would look like, never dreaming she would be given the chance, but perhaps it could be managed? It would need to be secret, that went without saying, but why shouldn’t she have someone? Would Febby understand? In her heart Lena liked to think she might but there was no way of knowing without potentially ruining one of the few relationships in her life that didn’t give her anxiety. Not knowing for sure meant she could pretend…

And what about Begonia? She would be married soon too, but still Lena felt as though they existed in an odd limbo whereby they couldn’t ever forget what had happened between them but were never allowed to actually talk. She definitely needed to put that to bed before she could think about letting anybody else in.

Then. Once that was done and dusted and she had found somebody to call her own, that was when she would tell Febby.

“You’re a fast learner, I’m sure you’ll be fine,” she replied with a slightly faraway smile, before refocussing herself as adeptly as she always did at work. “Speaking of which, I believe you said something about a secondary library? I’m still slightly worried about being a bee but I think I’d rather know once and for all what my terrible animal fate will be.” She grinned and folded one of her legs underneath herself casually, leaning forward towards February. “Are you still game?”

  

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MJ: still raising the graphics bar as of 2022

Lena seemed to take a moment to ponder the suggestion, but Febs couldn't tell if she thought it had any merit or was deciding on the nicest way to say it was an idiotic idea. Trusting Lena to say as much if it were the latter, Febs was surprised when she didn't actually respond, so for once may have been sparing her feelings on the matter.

The subject of the secondary library made Febs waggle her eyebrows at her friend. "I meant this one, in addition to our other collections, though there is a secondary library in the house, I'm not allowed." Febs shrugged and pulled a little bit of a face. Edric had said this was her home now and as much as she wanted to really believe him, it wasn't. This was their temporary living situation until they got the cottage all set up, their little home sweet home. Merlin she couldn't wait to get to setting that up. So many ideas and details to take care of. Merlin she sounded like one of those girls she swore she'd never be. Ugh, damn him for doing that to her.

"It's more my father-n-law's study, so I feel like intruding would be of rude? I've never met him, but the butler warned me it would probably be best to stay out." Well, Edric had asked her not to go in, but she didn't think Lena would think very highly of that. Now that she thought about it however, Febs wasn't even sure if Edric had bothered to write to his father to tell him or not. She might have to be a pester and ask him. Then again, she supposed it didn't really matter. Her parents were still clearly furious and though Febby was honestly hoping they would come around eventually, the wound was still a little to fresh right now. "I'll have my own in the cottage too. I'm going to fill it with whatever I want, so I will keep my eye out for more resources." A whole section on transfiguration, some on charms, all of her novels, eventually rows of children's books. It was going to be glorious. Febs could already could envision it, the plush armchairs, a desk for Edric, the fireplace, her little heaven on earth.

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Lena glanced around the shelves, face a picture of distaste as she considered quite how appalling it would be to be allowed to look at the books in a library but not to be able to read them at one’s leisure. Febs had never lacked boldness so it seemed odd that she would deny herself unless she had been explicitly warned not to – that question was quickly answered but really, Lena curled a lip with immediate dislike, what right did the surly butler who had shown her in have to dictate her friend’s movements? February was the lady of the house now, was she not? Wasn’t that how it worked? She could hardly claim expertise in the matter but Lena had always assumed that one of the few benefits of marriage was that one was in charge of the servants if nothing else and could tell them to stuff their warnings accordingly.

Lena couldn’t imagine much worse than being tethered to one man only to be told what to so by another, possibly on the orders of a third. Merlin, she would happily die alone as long as she could be in her very own library when she did it!

“Where are you setting up? By the sea?” She guessed, sure she recalled her friend mentioning such a desire during one of the many long nights they had spent in the dormitory talking when they ought to have been resting, Begonia with them and their poor dorm-mate trying desperately to get some sleep.

All things considered the chilled, salty breezes coming off the ocean were not Lena’s idea of paradise but she was aware she might be in the minority with that preference. She would rather her view be made of branches and falling leaves – for some reason whenever she imagined this home it was always autumn, russet and glossy green gathered together amid the detritus – and she had plans for a garden, but unlike Febs, her home was still a dream in the far distance, not somewhere she might be by Christmas and she felt a pang of envy for that.

“You’ll have to invite me when you’re settled, I’ll hunt down the books we need to make a start,” it didn’t seem the moment to say that she already had them stacked up neatly at home. She had been preparing to bring them to Febby so they could make a start when she had heard about the elopement and had thought better of making a fuss about her thwarted transfiguration ambitions. She might have read the first few chapters while she waited for the dust to settle but that wasn’t something she needed to share either.

  

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MJ: still raising the graphics bar as of 2022

Febby studied her friend for a moment, but was saved from having to say anything by the arrival of one of the maids with the tea. Busying herself with fixing a cup, she pondered the implications of her own statements, but there wasn't much to be done about it. She smiled at the maid, who she could tell was not very fond of her, but Febs only had a little time left here to deal with this here. They'd be in the cottage soon enough and Mrs. H would be perfectly adequate for their needs.

Once the maid left, Feb brought her tea to her lips, contemplating her friend once more. "You know me so well. It's on this adorable little island on the channel. Needs a little TLC but I can't wait to get my hands on it." Febs was and always had been the kind of person who thrived on doing. Even as academic as she could be, the classes with practical aspects, DADA aside, had been among her favorites. "I can see the ocean from my bedroom window, the little beach is covered in smooth pebbles. I'll start a rose garden in the spring." Febs had so many plans for it she'd had to start keeping a journal of all of her ideas.

"Of course, I wouldn't dream of having anyone else help me in the library." It would forever be a work in progress, but getting the initial organization down would be the hard part and certainly Lena's analytical mind would be the one to use to get her going. Not to mention with Edric at work all day, she'd start to go mad if people didn't visit often. "You're always welcome when you need to get out of your own house." She teased.

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The maid that sauntered out didn’t seem especially fond of either of them but Lena gave her very little thought beyond that; her looks were barely worth remembering anyway and if this was not to be the house that Febs’ laid down foundations then it was likely their paths would never cross again. Still, she filed her away in the vault of her brain all the same – it never hurt to recall who might cause trouble further down the line!

“Well, I’m glad to hear it. I’d hate to be blacklisted now that you’re all loved up.” She said, only half-joking as it had been a genuine fear of hers that she might find herself suddenly cast too far adrift from the only real friend she had ever managed to make that was not far too complicated for her to even be left alone with these days and did not judge her for the decisions she had made, or was yet to make. February had never been an especially judgemental soul but married people were a baffling breed to Lena, one never knew what they would decide was a sensible course of action, and far too often when a man made a decision his wife was forced to fall in line.

Which meant that there was a slight chance, however small and horrible, that February might be compelled to cut her out. She didn’t know Umbridge well, knew nothing of his character at any rate she realised with a jolt having only really known of him in a professional capacity, so perhaps he wouldn’t want his wife associating unduly with a spinster and, more specifically, one like her? He couldn’t know, of course, but rumours did persist and all it would take was February to tell him a tale of their schooldays and he might be able to make life that much harder for her, both here and in the one place Marlene felt entirely at home.

Best nip that in the bud if she could.

“Perhaps I will be soon enough too.” She said, awkwardly and not entirely sure why she was telling such a pointless lie. Febs would know, of course she would, she must know about her by now and she had simply been too polite to say anything.

  

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MJ: still raising the graphics bar as of 2022

Smiling fondly at her friend over her teacup, Febs bit her lip to hide the threatening smirk. "I would never, you know you were my first love." She teased lightly, a wink in her friend's direction. Who could ever really replace a first friend? Somebody who had gone through all those years of school together, every up and down and in between? "Besides, I think Fortuna is the only one who is not supposed to be around when Edric is home. Not that I let him dictate my friends." He would have to put up a very good reason to truly stop her if she wanted or needed to see her friend. Unfortunately, Tuni had brought Edric's ire upon herself and there was little Febs could do to fix that on either front. Of course, participating in Tuni's elopement probably hadn't helped. Febs highly suspected that Edric thought Tuni to be the bad influence when it was clearly the other way around. Febs was always the bad influence. Always.

Still, the original issue had been Tuni's doing and Edric would be slow to forgive- if ever in this case. "But that is entirely her fault and as much as I love her, I don't blame him either." It could have been a disaster. Well, more so than Febs had already done to herself. She was done tempting the fates though, no more scandals or rumors, as best as she could manage. Their midnight argument at the beginning of the month had seen an end to the chapter of her life where her decisions no longer impacted herself alone. She realized he was right and what was at stake so she was doing her best to toe the line without becoming a bore herself.

Febs ignored Lena's additional comment, knowing full well that she wouldn't be surprised if her friend never married. It wasn't for some and Febby had, over the last six months, decided that people ought to do more of what made them happy, versus what others expected them to do. "Just promise me you won't stop visiting when I've got a babe on my hip." Now that was a real fear that Febby secretly harbored. Now that she was in a different stage of life from some of her friends, she worried that they would fall out of step completely.

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If it weren’t for the fact that she was a fully-fledged, grown-up, ever-so-serious-Unspeakable with a breadth of knowledge that would likely make even the most arrogant man turn and run on his heels away from her then Marlena might, just might have choked on her tea like the ever-so-shockable debutante she had never been. She was shocked though, whether she wanted to admit it or not, and it was certainly because of Febby’s lovely, flattering words, though they might have allayed her fears more had they not been followed by...well, by that.

Because despite knowing logically that marriage invariably led to children it had not occurred to her to think that Febby might soon have one of her own. Surely it had only been a few months at most since they’d sat in the Gryffindor dormitory fretting over their exams? How could one of them be approaching motherhood already? All the girls she reluctantly called her peers spoke about was their future marriages: she had barely considered what would come after that and how much further away from her own situation it would take her oldest friend. And, if Febby was now married and thinking about babies then it might only be a matter of months, weeks even before Begonia was too...

“Of course I won’t,” she said stiltedly, not entirely sure herself whether she was telling the truth or not. She had no idea how to speak to somebody with a baby, having not so much as attempted to have a one-to-one interaction with either of her older sisters since they had given birth and the tempo of their lives had been changed dramatically. She was sure the same would happen to Helga soon enough - was she really going to be sat with Eugene feeling ever-so-slightly baffled and uncomfortable forever?

“I might become your only source of sensible conversation.” She forced a sly smile. “It’ll be like school all over again.”

  

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Febs smiled a little more genuinely as Lena dispelled her fears well enough. There may have been a hint of hesitation in her friend's response, but not enough for Febby to dwell on it too long. She knew on some level, that their friendship transcended their life changes. Though they would likely be on uneven ground from here on out, Febby had to hope that it wouldn't cause them to drift too far apart.

"You are quite right," The laugh that bubbled up was unavoidable. Aside from Mrs. H, and Edric by the end of the day, she would be craving adult interaction at some point. "Though I think you've always been my only source of sensible conversation." Her laughter faded into a soft chuckle. Between nagging Nate and August at school, dealing with her sisters and society at large, she had always been able to fall back to Lena without any need to censor what she said or hide how she felt. It was a wonderful constant in her life she would be heartbroken to lose.

Settling herself more comfortably in her chair, Febby eyed Lena carefully. "And now I feel old." Though they really weren't, Febs had been on the "older" side of being a debutante, but by no means a spinster- neither was Lena. "What about you? Do you think you want to get married?" Febs had a feeling she knew the answer, based on some of Lena's comments over the course of not only this conversation, but over their friendship, and based a little on history, but she thought she would like to hear the honest to goodness truth straight from the source.

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Marlena felt her entire body become very still. It was not a question she was often asked, strangely enough given her age, and she was glad for that; glad that for whatever reason people seemed to be nervous about asking her, as though there were worried about what she would say. Her mother had given up asking directly, her siblings wouldn’t dare and her friends… well it was mostly Febby after all she had had never asked before, not directly at any rate. Surely she knew? Marlena didn’t have the courage to blurt out the truth, not the whole truth at any rate, which left her in a pickle: how on earth was she supposed to answer that without blatantly lying when it was a question she had no answer for.

“Who’d put up with me,” she answered dryly, attempting not to fidget in her seat like a child as she tried to ignore the jolt of fear that always reared its head whenever she had to focus too much upon her own life rather than her work. The intricate secrets she delved into at work were the finest friends she had ever known - they asked nothing of her she wasn’t already willing to give and, with a little bit of coaxing, they offered themselves up to her. But did she want to get married?

“I doubt I’ll ever have the opportunity to have what you have,” she said carefully, honestly, glancing up at Febby underneath her eyelashes, willing her not to ask anymore.

  

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MJ: still raising the graphics bar as of 2022