It was with mild bewilderment that Bruce watched Fauna Blake try to process the news. Iona herself wouldn’t have called it news, if she were honest. The pair had always been very good at separating their private lives and work. Most of her colleagues knew, there was no secret there, and Bruce was far more likely to wear her heart on her sleeve. Zora had always liked the division, a reality which Bruce never questioned because she was all too happy to be anonymous to the aurors. Now, in her new role, she suddenly wasn’t so anonymous. For Auror Blake, this was clearly something very exciting.

Spectre and Storm. Balfour Spectre? Yes, she’d sent them an engagement card. They’d chatted over lunch about his new fiancé and their love of affection. But why would that matter so much to Fauna?

The words started to sink in, attainable, adorable. Fauna Blake was gay. Newly open to it, perhaps.

Bruce suddenly grinned and reached for her water bottle.
“Closet not been suiting you too well?” she suddenly asked, twisting the cap off the bottle to take a swig. “Much fresher air out here in the open.” She rose her eyebrows before frowning. “Adorable isn’t something you necessarily want to attain, yeah?”

Closet! What?

"Oh," Fauna blushed very brightly. Why had she continued to blather? This new Division Head was just trying to get settled in at her job and find out who would be helpful at the Ministry and here Fauna was, making it personal. Blurting out everything she had tried to downplay over these past few years in an attempt to be the most badass Auror she could be. Untouchable! No crushes here, nope! No pesky feelings! Yeah right. It was just that sometimes, she wanted to keep a few things to herself. It wasn't exactly a secret, but she'd rather not hear Flora-Sexy-Auror in the halls of Level Two.

"Oh, um, not exactly. I mean, I was pretty open about it at the holiday mixer. You know, over the weekend. Er, I kind of had a date," she bit her lip, not about to throw Tia's name into the mix. She was talking to Tia's new boss for Merlin's sake.

"I'm sorry," she chuckled and shook her head, embarrassed. "I didn't meant to blurt everything to you, it's just," she gestured at the photo. "Um, I know you were asking about important things earlier. I'm trying to remember what that thing was. And adorable is, well, it's not so bad?"

She lifted one shoulder and smiled. It really wasn't, not for romantics at heart. But she'd take attainable level of romance any day!

Apparently not in the closet then. Fauna mentioned having a ‘kind of’ date to the holiday mixer. Bruce hadn’t been on a date for a very long time, but even she knew that a ‘kind of’ date was not real. Who was she, a complete stranger, however, to say anything? The amusement at her reaction to the great auror Zora Roh being married to her was only worth so much. They were strangers and it wasn’t her place to pry.

“It’s a matter of opinion.” Bruce replied with a smile. Adorable was all well and fine if it was sustainable. Balfour was a good guy; they’d always gotten along well, and she didn’t know Johann. But if it worked, it worked. “It’s your prerogative to share your love with the world. But be prepared for those you shared it with to want the gory details if it falls apart, too.”

Ok, too much personal talk. Too morbid. Bruce laughed and shook her head.
“This is what happens when I’m let out of the house. You’re not alone, Fauna.” she widened her eyes and rose her brows. She’d been rather starved for a variety of company over the past three years.

“I want to discuss with people about some…improvements in Werewolf Registry. I like your outlook. You interested?”

Fauna blinked at Bruce's warning of gory details, but at her laughter Fauna smiled shyly and sat back, relieved that the new Head of the Werewolf Wing was so relaxed and gregarious. If she'd blathered like this to the Aurors, it would have been incredibly embarrassing. This was embarrassing but manageable.

"Thanks," Fauna said simply but sincerely.

No, Fauna wasn't alone, and neither was Bruce. Though Bruce didn't shout about love from the rooftops, her willingness to display a family photo on her desk was more than Fauna imagined Roh or Bagnold or many others at the Ministry would do. If things ever fell apart, a few of those who were privy to the gory details might also help pick up the pieces. Fauna hoped so, anyway. That was one benefit to having everything out in the open. The cane, the photo, and now the seat behind the desk were all symbols of hard won victories and by their sheer visibility, called to others who fought similar battles.

At the mention of the werewolf registry, Fauna perked up. "I would be."

If time allowed, if Pratt agreed, etc etc. Bruce already knew that.

And because she said she already liked her outlook on other matters, Fauna only hesitated a moment before voicing her thoughts.

"As far as I can tell," she started slowly, trying to gauge her expression as she talked. "There are more reasons why werewolves avoid registering than there are incentives for them to."

There were families, like the Grants, who didn't trust the Ministry in the slightest and were even less inclined to seek help should the worst happen. When the worst happened, people died. Muggles and the vulnerable.

"So, in an imperfect system, how to balance, um, a welcoming atmosphere with fair and consistent and effective," she paused, about to say consequences but it didn't feel like the right word. "Policies?"

Her gaze shifted to the side, looking thoughtful. Nerding out. One reason why she happily shared a flat with Penny Pickler.

In truth, it was rather a relief to progress from discussing her relationship with her wife. Bruce wasn’t a private person, but Zora was. That meant that however much Bruce would have been happy to talk about Zora (she could talk about Zora forever), she had always agreed to refrain at work. People didn’t need to know; she got that. Zora worried about safety and criminals knowing her vulnerabilities; something Iona also understood. Therefore, it was good to get back to real work talk.

“Exactly my thinking.” The redhead confirmed Blake’s opinion about a lack of incentive to register at the ministry. Blake continued, saying exactly what Bruce herself had been aiming for. It caused a smile to reappear on the witch’s lips as she nodded.
“That’s the question, isn’t it?”

Pushing her chair back from the desk, Bruce rose to her feet. “I’ll be arranging a working group to discuss how to go forward and answer this question, Fauna.” She took her coffee cup from the desk and grabbed her cane, starting to move around the desk. “You’ll hear from me in the new year.” They were done here.

Arriving at the door, she pulled it open and glanced back at Blake.
“I hope Zo doesn’t go too hard on you. She forgets that she was a trainee once, too.” Just like she forgot how she was also once a teenager shortly out of school with no direction when she was berating Waverley on her lack of plans.

Efficient yet friendly! Fauna rose from her seat, stepping around the piles of boxes and books to the door. She hesitated, wishing she had more to add, but she'd best stop while the new Department Head had a favorable impression of her.

Zo?

Oh. The Zoh. She bit her lip to stop herself from chuckling at the similarity in nicknames.

"Not at all," Fauna raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I mean, I think she remembers. She treats everyone fairly," she nodded, rubbing the back of her neck in delayed embarrassment as she considered just how uncomfortable Roh might feel about this conversation, not to mention the chat earlier about the photo.

Still, Fauna meant it. Roh was the one who had given her a pep talk about the Figaro situation, the one who had taken her and Raine out for drinks, and the one who had said go to Azkaban and check the visitor logs like any other Auror, Fauna. Plus, she stood up to the nonsense of the other Aurors. Plus, she remembered her name was not Flora.

"Thanks for uh, including me and everything. Have a good holiday if I don't see you again before then," she smiled. Fauna had lots to look forward to in the new year if she was going to be weighing in on politics she actually cared about.

She left the office with a pep in her step. Not too early for surprises after all.