ad astra per aspera

Where: Crabbe Manor When: Early December Who: @crvbbc​

Brigitte kept checking Vincent’s office, looking for him. It was getting late and she had been waiting to complain to him about his wretched mother for hours. He had insisted that it would be good for them to spend some time together today, without him as a buffer, and it had been catastrophic. She hated the way that she had decorated the manor for Christmas, told her that it was too French whatever that meant. And she kept insisting that Brigitte had no manners. It was the most insulting and humiliating day of her life. She had told Vincent that it wasn’t a good idea, had insisted that they weren’t ready to be left alone, she knew that his mother hated her and thought that she wasn’t good enough for her son, as stupid as that was. The man was in his thirties, she thought that he was perfectly capable and selecting a wife. He had picked her after all. 

On her fifteenth trip past his office in the past hour, she finally heard the telltale sign of him in his office. Not caring about propriety, she pushed open the door and walked in. “I’ve been looking for you for hours,” she told him, crossing her arms over her chest. “My visit with your mother was horrific. Do you hate the Christmas decorations that I put up? She had a problem with them and just about every other thing I had to say today.” 

.

Vincent had a gruesome day at work. But to be fair, every day was as gruesome as the one before when you managed to become such a prolific workaholic as himself, even if he got enough work done for the next day, there would always be more shit piling up his desk come morning. He really didn’t have to, but by now it was one of his habits he found harder to quit, like tobacco and cursing out his relatives. 

He wasn’t really used to having anyone waiting for him to come back, although he knew what would be better for both him and Brigitte, his routine was easy to follow. So when he stepped off the fireplace in his home office he only had time to evanesco himself off the Floo powder remnants before Brigitte opened the door. He opened the globe-shaped liquor cabinet 

“Good evening to you too, dear. What are you having?” He asked as he pulled out two cups and served himself with bourbon. He chuckled, not her being mad that was particularly funny to him, but the ongoing antagonizing his mother was directing her was bordering the absurd. “It’s definitely brighter than what I was used to, but it’s not bad at all, looks cleaner.” It was definitely better than the very lack of thematic decorations he himself would bother to deal with. Even though he was tired, the novelty of coming home to someone to talk to, even though his wife seemed livid, was very welcomed right then, especially when it was about, once again, his mothers attempts at putting his wedding in jeopardy. “Indulge me, what was it this time?”