ghosts. [tag; dante]

Hal had forgotten his lunch again.

Ruari was convinced that he wasn't eating in work and after that horrible flu thing that had been going around, he needed his strength. Hastily, she made a chicken and avacado sandwich and popped it into a brown paper bag along with an apple and a bottle of water. With a swish of brightly coloured fabric, she appeared in St. Mungo's in no time. The place, as usual, was hectic. She'd made the familiar route to her boyfriend's cubicle many a time. The welcomes witches knew her by now and they offered her smiles as she passed. She didn't like bothering him at work too much but sometimes, she just needed to see him. It was becoming a clandestine affair. In Hogwarts, the two preferred a quiet corridor to kiss but now, they made out in his office like a couple of lovesick teenagers.

The thought made her blush. Ruari was honestly happy. She practically skipped along the shiny floors, excited to see Hal, if only for a few minutes. She didn't want to distract him. If he got out on time today, they were going to go to dinner tonight. There was a new Lebanese place not far from his apartment that she was keen to try. She liked his home. Whereas hers was loud and cluttered, his was a haven of calm. He even had a little rooftop garden where she did her morning yoga sun salutations. He was glorious.

Heading around the corner, she was about to head to one of the doors when she stopped dead. Her heart dropped to rest around the pit of her stomach as she staggered, finding herself face to face with her ex-fiancee. Biting on her lower lip, her cheeks turned pink. "...hi."

It was another average day at St.Mungo’s. A bustle of patients to care for and everything was going rather swimmingly overall. Sure things were being hectic, but the healers knew what they were doing. Dante was no exception to this. He had just gotten out of a session with a patient who had suffered from a rather deep owl gash on their shoulder. The patient’s owl had gotten scared by some other creature that sneaked on them and dug their talon into their owners shoulder. Dante couldn’t help feel bad for the poor owl. It didn’t want to hurt its owner, but it happened and the owner didn’t seem to be angry with the owl just sad he had to go to the hospital to make sure it didn’t leave any lasting damage.

After leaving his patient Dante began to write his info into his dossier while heading back to his office. Ever since he almost lost it he had been keeping close eye on it. He even placed a location spell on it just in case he did lose it again so he would find it. He began to think about what he was going to do now. He was allowed a nice lunch break to relax after dealing with some more difficult patients earlier in the day. Dante had prepared a fine meal for himself back in his office and he honestly couldn’t wait to eat it.

As he turned the corner to head to his office he happened to look up from his dossier at the worst possible time. He found himself locked eyes to eyes with a woman of his past. Ruari and Dante were engaged to be married at one point, but the two ending up falling apart. Dante at the time was devastated, but he was getting better. Or at least he thought he was. He had taken up drinking a bit more when his emotions would flair up too much, but overall he had gotten over their relationship. He didn’t want to be mean or anything to her though so he politely said, “Hello Ruari it’s a surprise seeing you here.” This was true he never anticipated seeing her again. Though he worked in such a heavily trafficked place so why didn’t he expect to see her? Wasn’t that the reason why he left for those few months? To avoid her presence? Well he was back now so he would have to get used to seeing her.

Taking a deep breath Dante realized they needed to talk a little bit. Pointing to a near-by bench he asked Ruari, “Shall we talk for a second?” He didn’t want to pry into her life or open up anymore past wounds for the two. He wanted to make amends and possibly be friends still. He still cared for her and if it meant he had to be the better man about this and accept her decisions he would.

Why was he here? Hadn't he moved back to Naples? That was what she was lead to believe but then she realised; this was his job. This hospital was one of the best in the world, of course he'd be working here. In a flurry of panic, she wondered if Dante knew Hal. Hal knew she'd been previously engaged but he didn't know who she'd been engaged to. Dante, of course, was not a dirty little secret. He hadn't mistreated her. They'd just..grown apart. This sort of thing happened and it wasn't his fault. Regardless, she still feel nauseous and uncomfortable.

He was like a ghost of her past. When he said it was a surprise, she blinked. "I--" she began before words failed her swiftly. Did she regret ending the relationship? No. They were good together but they weren't right for one another. Had she married him, things would have been worse. What if they'd had children together? It was best that it had come to an end but she did regret that he seemed to blindsided by it. She'd never forget that look on his face. With any luck, he'd sold her engagement ring on or got his money back. Had the roles been reversed, Ruari would have flung the damned thing into the ocean.

Shall they talk for a second? Her body twitched. No was the overwhelming response her body wanted to give. She frowned as she folded her lips together before she nodded. He probably need an explanation, closure. Maybe he was dating someone new.  They probably did need to talk. She'd accidentally cast him out, perhaps more harshly than she'd meant to. She didn't love Dante any more and that had been the root cause for their break up. She'd thought of him more as a friend than a lover and that was why she'd made the decision. She'd honestly thought she was doing the right thing. She still did. He wanted things she was unable to provide him with.

Offering a small smile, she dropped into the offered seat and crossed her legs. "What can I help you with?"

Dante could tell Ruari was confused just looking at her. Guess news of his return didn’t reach her ears. Honestly Dante wanted to stay away from her as much as possible himself, but he knew eventually he would run into her. So he was slightly prepared to see her. “I returned after clearing my head.” This was his first thing to say to her. After the breakup he took it pretty hard. He didn’t even sell the ring for a few months hoping he would be able to use it again on her, though after the long months of isolation from the world outside his family he came to his answer.

Dante sat down on the bench with Ruari. He sat in silence for a little bit. He had to organize his thoughts. He knew she was confused and he also needed to voice his feelings to her. They both needed full closure and Dante had to be the one to start it. “I,” Dante paused. “A day doesn’t go by where I don’t think about you about us. The wounds you left on me cut deep, but I’m trying to recover. I want to become a better person from this experience. “Dante looked away from Ruari for a second. He turned back and continued, “I know now I can’t win your heart back nor can I ever be with you romantically now.” Dante took a breath before saying, “I do care deeply for you still to the point that I have tried to drink away your memory. I realize now this was a stupid mistake and it would only hurt me.” Dante looked at his hands where the cracks of working tirelessly lately were forming. “I can’t run away from my past anymore and I need to face it head-on. So what I want to say is. I would like to still be friends with you. I may have moments where I relapse to wanting to have more with you, but please be patient with me. I don’t want either of us to be hurt anymore. ”Dante looked into Ruari’s eyes before asking, “Is that ok?”

"Oh," Ruari said gently. It was an innocent phrase but she caught onto the under currents. She didn't feel that heartbroken when she ended the relationship. It was more that crushing guilt. Had she realised that she felt differently, she would not have allowed Dante to propose to her. She wasn't that cruel. Nervously, she twisted a ring around her finger. It wasn't an engagement ring, it was just one she'd had for a while. It was yellow and dented, a cheap little souvenir from a long-gone holiday. It took her a while to get used to not wearing Dante's ring. Her hand felt lighter somehow, it was the oddest sensation.

They'd been apart for over a year and so, his confession blindsided her a little. Ruari was so used to being the dumpee rather than the dumper. She'd never broken anyone's heart before and the feelings from their break up just came washing back. The guilt, the shame, the sadness. But there wasn't a "what if". Dante was perfect, he just wasn't perfect for her. The notion of friends made her feel uneasy. How can a person be friends with someone who knew her so intimately? They had long, deep conversations. He knew her secrets. While she was confident he wasn't a vindictive man, she couldn't see how this would work.

"I don't --" she began, wanting to console him. The mention of him drinking made her heart drop like a stone. "You shouldn't have to run away," Ruari said gently, sitting close but not close enough to touch. Things felt awkward, stilted. If Dante hated her, that was fine, too. "We're in the past but you were a big part of my life for a very long time," she said with a gentle smile. "And I don't want to forget it. You were and are one of the best boyfriends I've ever had. You deserve better," she said. This wasn't a pity ploy. It was the truth. Dante wanted them to move in together. He wanted her to meet his family. He wanted lots of kids and picnics and and roses and there had to be a reason why she was dragging her feet. Any normal girl would be utterly thrilled with his offerings.

Ruari met his eyes and offered a gentle, unsure smile. If this was what Dante needed to get over her, then it was her duty to help him. "Sure," she said softly, reaching out to squeeze one of his knees briefly and affectionately before removing her hand. "Friends is good. I can never have enough of those."

“Thank-you,” Dante said with a slight pained look in his eyes. It was finally over and the pain could finally leave him. He could pick himself up and live again. He took a deep breath before saying, “I do have one thing I want to give you before we head our separate ways once more.” Dante dug into his pockets and pulled out a bracelet. It was silver and simple one and it was inscribed with the word friends on it. Inside the bracelet was another inscription that said “I will never forget you.” Dante looked at Ruari saying, “I don’t expect you to wear it nor do I expect you to keep it, but I hope you can at least accept this gesture. What Ruari didn’t know was that the bracelet contained trace pieces of their engagement ring in it. Dante didn’t do this to make her wear the ring and claim her as his own, but instead to be a symbolic meaning that despite their love having melted that their history shall keep their friendship strong enough to survive the years.

Dante got up holding Ruari’s hand and with a smile said, “Well I should get back to work.” He began to walk away from her before adding right before turning the corner, “Tell Hal I said hi.” Dante winked before chuckling slightly and turned the corner away. He had known she was dating him now and she was happier that way. This is why he had to get his own conclusion so he wouldn’t have a green beast of jealousy growing in his stomach for a coworker. Things were better now and Dante knew this.

There was a reason that Ruari was usually the dumpee, not the dumper.

She frowned again. Love was complicated and messy. She had loved Dante. Truly. He was the perfect man, he just wasn't perfect for her. Maybe she'd been blindsided, caught up in romance and frivolity. Dante had been the ideal Victorian romantic man but perhaps that was the problem; things never felt really real. That was why she liked fighting with Hal, because it was a proper relationship. Not perfect but real.

She watched Dante with a small smile. She still felt disgusted that she'd ended things but she needed to. The pain he felt may have been intense but what if she'd carried on? What if they'd had kids? Moved in together? It'd be ten times worse. He felt more as a friend towards the end but it wasn't his fault. He couldn't have treated her any better or done anything more to convince her. They'd just...fizzled out. Shit happened. Simple as.

"Oh Dante," Ruari said, eyes wide as she held her hands out towards him with a shake of her head. "I can't accept this," she whispered as she was handed the piece of jewellery. As she flipped it over in her hands, she felt a lump of sadness appear in her throat. There was a crushing sense of gloom and sadness and guilt that settled around her shoulders, making them sag as she examined the bracelet. She couldn't wear that, she knew she couldn't. It'd be like a slap in the face to Hal. She wasn't sure she could keep it, either. It'd make it seem like she was holding on to a broken and battered relationship but she obviously couldn't throw it away.  Dante was too good for that. Instead, she nodded dumbly as she folded it carefully into her bag. She had no idea what she was doing to do.

"Oh. Right. Of course," she said, all in a tizzy as he told her he needed to leave. She stood, squeezing his hand affectionately. She even managed a smile. "Go on. Go and save some more lives," she joked, trying to disguise and order the wash of feelings that were addling her brain. Closure. Was that the word? Dante seemed better. They could be civil. It was likely that they'd never see each other again. She'd like to be friends but she wasn't sure if that was possible. Not really. At least they could be cordial if they ever crossed paths again.

Ruari winced as her ex-fiancee mentioned her current flame's name. She hadn't told Dante that she was dating Hal but he seemed...okay with it? Hal knew that she'd been engaged before but she wasn't sure if he knew it was to Dante. Shit. She'd have to clear that up. She'd have to tell Hal about the bracelet, too. She didn't want any secrets. It wasn't as though she was harbouring any feelings towards Dante. Things were just a little uneasy. But perhaps that was all in her head.

She nodded, offering a smile. "I will," she managed before giving a cheery wave. "Bye." Watching his retreating back, she wasn't sure what had happened. Was this finished now? Was the chapter closed? She massaged her forehead, trying to ward away the advancing headache. It was fine now. It had to be. Shaking herself, she turned and walked the opposite way. Still a bit shaken, she dropped Hal's lunch off at the welcome witches' station before practically sprinting out of the hospital. That was the thing about she and Dante; they weren't friends, they weren't enemies. They were just strangers with some memories.