Thistle and Stone [Chaennie]

Chapter 5

CONSUME

TW: Sexual Assault

Roseanne and Jennie were seated in Croaker's office, Roseanne tapping her fingers against the edge of his desk, Jennie anxiously bouncing her leg. They had only been there for five minutes, but it already felt like too long spent together in silence. The two of them had spoken only sparingly since meeting in Taehyung and Jungkook's foyer an hour after their failed talk that morning. Jennie had watched as Roseanne descended the stairs in her Unspeakable robes, her face a mask, letting nothing through. They had side-alonged to the Ministry that morning, and Jennie could still feel the brush of Roseanne's shoulder against hers and the feel of her hand tucked into the crook of Roseanne's arm.

"Um, Park," No longer able to stomach the silence, Jennie cleared her throat and waited for Roseanne to turn. She shifted a bored glance at Jennie, her eyebrows barely raising in question.

"What is it, Kim?"

"I wanted to say that I appreciated your apology this morning. I feel like... well, I'm sorry that I jumped down your throat after. I know I haven't been the kindest towards you either, and...I apologize." Jennie nervously twisted her hands in her lap. She was frustrated at herself for the way Roseanne made her squirm under her gaze, the way her pulse jumped when she narrowed her eyes at her.

"Alright, Kim. We'll call it even then." Roseanne continued to lightly tap her fingers against Croaker's desk, alright looking past Jennie. Jennie's gaze followed her moving hand, watching as her tendons moved under her pale hand, hearing the soft thuds of Roseanne's fingers meeting wood.

"And," Jennie pressed on, "I'd like you to call me Jennie. At least sometimes."

Roseanne finally turned fully towards her. She watched her carefully, her eyes flickering over Jennie, searching her gaze. Jennie felt a tug on the bond. It seemed almost like a caress, a soft pulse of pleasure between their magic.

"Jennie, then." Roseanne's lips barely pulled into a smile before falling again. "But I prefer Kim."

"Ah!" Croaker pushed into his office, and Jennie jumped at the sudden intrusion. "I was hoping to see you two! Now, let's get you both up to speed."

Croaker set down his bag with a heavy thud on his desk, methodically pulling out a number of books as he asked about how they were both doing.

"I did, ah, a little further investigating after your departure yesterday," he hummed, arranging his robes around him as he settled into his chair.

"Ms. Kim, since you were able to place the snakestones with their phonetically matching runes, I think we've established that you've successfully broken open the first portion of this, ah, magic. As you've both experienced, it's connected a part of your magical cores that, at this early stage of the bond, has unfortunate consequences if not followed. Now, Ms. Kim, as you're not an Unspeakable, I can't grant you access to our offices. So I've set you up with Ms. Park and our team in an unused office in the DMLE, thanks to Mr. Jeon. They've had some successful leads with tracking the origins of the stones, but I think some good could come from further examination of the parchment. Which is why," he tapped the tower of books in front of him, "I've collected a number of useful reads for you to look into. I'll show you both to the new office, and we can chat on the way over. Shall we?"

Croaker was on his feet again in a moment, and Jennie reluctantly stacked a number of books into her arms as she followed him and Roseanne back down the hallway. She trailed behind the pair, both their robes gently whipping behind them as they walked.

The team, it turns out, was exactly as Roseanne had described. Baekhyun, Kai Kim, and Suzy Bae were waiting for the group in the assigned office. Baekhyun smiled at her apologetically, and Kai extended his hand politely in greeting. Baekhyun looked the same as the day before, except for an added look of exhaustion. Kim looked like a significantly grown-up version of himself, handsome and reserved.