Of Life, Love, Magic & War [A FBAWTFT FanFic]

Chapter 14: Necessary Actions

Author's Note: AND WE'RE BACK!! Thank you, everyone, for bearing with me not updating this story while I was away for the summer. I am back now and will be back to updating this regularly.

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Percival woke the next morning to the sound of a knock on his door and he grumbled in annoyance, pushing himself up on his elbows and letting his eyes adjust to the light streaming through the curtains. He felt miserable and dirty despite his late-night shower and he rolled over onto his side in order to get a few more minutes of rest yet another rap came at his door. Percival groaned and rolled out of the bed to make his way to the door, unlocking it and sharply pulling it open to shout at whoever had thought it was a good idea to wake him so damn early in the morning. 

Of course, it happened to be none other than his increasingly troublesome secretary and her eyes went wide at the sight of him.

"Mister Graves!" Edith gasped, throwing her notebook up in front of her and squeezing her eyes shut.

He simply stared at her in confusion before realizing that he had answered the door in nothing but his boxer shorts. Percival just sighed and carelessly let the door fall wide open as he trudged over to the dresser where he had left his bag, tossing it open and fishing out clean clothes to make himself more presentable. Edith blindly tried to find the handle of the door in an attempt to give him privacy, finally reaching it and starting to pull it shut but before she could close it all the way, he called out to her in a displeased tone.

"Miss Matasen, I really don't like being woken before I need to be." He told her as she hid behind the slightly ajar door while he put on an undershirt.

"Ummm... It's 8:15 Mister Graves." Edith informed him and he quickly pulled his pocket watch out of his pants from the previous day to check the time only to see she was very much correct.

"Fuck." He hissed, scrambling to get ready.

"I'll just wait downstairs..." Edith trailed, waiting for him to say something and closing the door when he didn't.

Percival had ignored her, putting on his socks and garters followed by a crisp white shirt, waistcoat, and pants. He headed into the bathroom to finish cleaning up, running wet hands through his hair to slick it back before putting on his shoes, suit jacket, and a bit of cologne and grabbing his coat and the case file before leaving his room to head toward the lobby.

Edith was patiently waiting for him there, sitting in a lounge chair in her usual statue-like manner with her notebook in hand although her eyes were sealed shut like she was trying to erase the image of him in his underwear from her mind. Percival chuckled to himself as he descended the stairs, finding her reaction charming along with the way her brows pinched together tightly. He took in the sight of her as he walked across the lobby and much like him, her daily attire did not change much nor did the styling of her hair but the spring saw the fabric of her clothes change from warm wool to light linen.

She was however dressed more casually than usual, trading the typical sophistication of her work attire for a soft blush pink dress that hit her mid-calves. The waistline was loose, the fabric flowing and flaring just slightly towards the bottom and she wore warm-looking black stockings underneath along with her usual black oxford heels. Edith's brown coat hung off her body, the belt left untied and buttons left undone, probably forgotten about due to the morning's earlier events.

"Miss Matasen," Percival called as walked over to the door and pulled it open.

Her eyes shot open and she quickly stood from the lounge chair to make a beeline for the door, exiting the lodge as he held it open for her with him not far behind. They didn't say a word to each other as they walked the quarter mile down the road into the village looking for the home of the wizard MACUSA had identified as the source of the rapidly spreading cases of Great Plains Fever. For the most part, the day went as expected, they found the wizard's home and Percival entertained a brief escape attempt before casting a binding charm and dragging the man back across a field into the small farmhouse.