‘Watch our children because we are watching you.’ Atlas turned his head to the side and grimaced up at the sign. Parsing the sentence for the 8th time and wondering what sort of fool would encourage creepers to commit voyeuristic acts on their street. He understood the meaning plain enough, understood what was trying to be said, but the words were completely wrong. He glanced at the smaller, less reflective sign beneath, ‘Brought to you by the Neighborhood watch’. Neighborhood watch? Atlas whirled around the tail of his coat flapping as it was caught up in the slight breeze. He looked first up the street and then down, suddenly feeling rather vulnerable.

Eyes still scanning the street for the Milkman or the Girl scouts of any other monster that was foretold to loom large here, Atlas pulled a small moleskin notebook from his pocket, opened to the newest page and wrote in his clear precise script ‘research covert organization known as ‘neighborhood watch’’. The notebook was half closed when he glanced back up at the sign, opened the notebook and added, ‘connections to child sacrifice?’. That over and done with Atlas removed his wand from his pocket and made a series of small deft movements, and smiled with satisfaction as the letters morphed and rearranged themselves to read a much more clear message, ‘CREEPERS BEWARE!’. He nodded at it to show his approval and then proceeded up the street, counting off the building numbers as he went.

He hadn’t known how occupied a Muggle street would be at 11:30 in the evening. There were a few dragging out their bins for collection, but no one paid the wizard much mind. Which was disappointing, Atlas had spent the better part of the day watching the television and assembling some snappy bits of conversation should he find himself engaged by any of Will’s very normal, non-magical neighbors. The only living thing on the street that seemed to pay him any mind was a small yipping terrier that reminded him somewhat of Calixtus, maybe it was the high pitched yelps follow by hasty retreats, or maybe it was the quick little confused motions. He was prevented from musing upon it further when he counted off his final number and found himself before Will’s apartment building.

He’d never been here, but there was something very…organized about it. He stood in front of the small black fence gate, prodding it back and forth with one finger while he did a mental inventory of his supplies. Everything was in order, he gave the gate a final little push, smiled in satisfaction when it swung to admit him and hopped up the steps. Only to be confronted with…what was this thing? It looked like a series of buttons, with small bars next to them bearing names. Never able to resist a good button Atlas finger hovered over the first button of the first column, the one with a little black bar that reading ‘Popodopolis’. He pressed the button, holding it down and was shocked when a little voice spoke up, “Who is it?” They sounded irritated…Atlas supposed he would be too if he lived in a little talky box on some Muggle street in the middle of cold mid winter London.

“I was wondering if you might let me in?” The box said nothing. “I need to see a friend, its very important. I am doing research.” The box replied with a string of explicatives but the lock on the main door made a small clicking noise and Atlas was able to gain entry. Bright cherry halls, doors with mats in front of them and wreaths on the door, Atlas resisted his curiosity and didn’t stop until he had reached the apartment he knew to be Will’s. Turning the knob and pushing yielded no results and so Atlas went for the old fashioned technique pulling out a set of magically attuned lock picks and letting them go to work. As he was finishing a man strode down the hall stopping to appraise Atlas, who smiled in return as he stepped into the apartment, “Forgot something at my friends….” He fished for something appropriate to say in parting, “It’s 11:30 do you know where your children are?” Not waiting for a reply Atlas shut the door to the apartment, relocking it and toeing off his shoes before taking a look around.

The only light that appeared to be on was in the kitchen, but when Atlas entered there was no sign of Will. He returned to the main living room, perplexed. Will’s coat was hanging on the rack; there was a pair of work-ish looking shoes, and his keys on a coffee table. Atlas frowned and inched down another hallway, finding a slightly ajar door. Atlas toed the door open and found himself on the threshold to the Aurors bedroom. The bed was turned down for sleep but contained no occupant, Atlas leaned into the room and looked left, cocking his head and hearing the distinct sound of water running through the pipes.

Will was in the shower…well then. It would be rude to go in, Atlas stepped into the room proper, hands behind his back. Who knew how long this would take, a sweep of the room turned up a Department of Magical Law Enforcement hand book as the only semi suitable reading material. Atlas plucked the book from the counter and settled himself on the floor, back to Will’s bed with his front facing the bathroom door. Chapter 14: Breaking and Entering, that one seemed especially relevant…

Will appeared in his living room with a pop that would have frightened the neighbors if it weren't for a few muffling charms Will had installed soon after moving in. His friends often complained that he lived in a Muggle neighborhood, but Will was half-blooded, after all, with three fully Muggle family members. When he'd bought the apartment, he'd been trying to accomodate for the possibility of their visiting.

It hadn't been entirely in vain. His mother and sister Liz never visited; Trisha Channing was too exhausted by her years raising the three troublesome children that came before Will, and Liz was too busy gallavanting around the world. But his brother Michael did come every now and then, which was a huge comfort to Will. Despite six years difference in age and seemingly incompatible personalities, Michael and Will had always been very close.

He took his coat off with a sigh and laid it over the back of his sofa; after a moment, he moved it to the coat rack lest he forget about it later. It had been an exhausting day and he wished he could talk to Michael. Michael, a Muggle inspector, understood the frustrations of law enforcement, and he also understood his brother in a way that Will's friends sometimes couldn't. Michael still saw Will as someone he needed to take care of; and though Will loved his friends, he knew that sometimes it was hard for them to think of his as anything but content and in control.

He turned the light on in the kitchen and poured himself a nightcap. He certainly needed one after the day he'd had. He'd found Constance crying in the restroom vestibule, and later on he'd found Sofia muttering to herself under her breath and clenching and unclenching her fists. He'd given them both Dr. Preston's card, and spent the rest of the day worrying about them. E.B. was being surly; the entire department was at each other's throats. Will had spent most of his day trying to placate everyone, keep them focused, and get his own work done.

Will looked at the clock. 11:23 p.m. He needed to sleep, but he needed to take a shower first. He needed to wash the day's events out of his hair, so to speak...and then maybe he'd put on the South Pacific soundtrack to fall asleep to. Smiling a little at the prospect, he strolled into the bathroom humming "Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair."

When he got out of the shower, he toweled himself off and put on his bathrobe, singing "Wonderful Guy" brightly and loudly. Rogers and Hammerstein did almost as much for him as Mr. Darcy when he was feeling low, he observed as he opened the door to his bedroom.

"I'm as trite and as gay as a daisy in May--" Will's singing was cut short as he spotted someone sitting on his floor between the bathroom and his bed. A someone who was bent over, apparently reading something. A someone whose height was apparent even in his crouched position.

Atlas Caedmon.

"What are you doing here, Atlas?" Will asked wearily, resisting the urge to sneak back into the bathroom and hide there until he was gone.

(ugh worst post ever)

Atlas skimmed through section 11, morals and the ways in which they relate to unlawful entrance of ones private living space, and skimmed through most of the others until he reached section 235. This was, of course, the section with large red scrawling letters reading PENALTIES AND FINES TO BE ENACTED TO THE GREATEST DEGREE OF THE LAW SHOULD THESE POLICIES BE BROKEN, it seemed a prudent area to educate himself in considering his current surroundings. Atlas read through, noticing that this part of the manual didn’t have the same kind of dog-ears that other sections bared as a sign of repeated reading. He wondered if Will knew that someone caught breeding hinky punks in a bathtub not belonging to them could avoid time in Azkaban if they volunteer for castration, or that entering the house of a wand maker uninvited could result in a fortnight stint as said wand makers apprentice. He squinted at the print as it got progressively smaller. But, this punishment was only invoked if the perpetrator ‘broke before entering’ rather than the other way around, in which case it was a simple matter of if the craftsman wished to press charges.


There was muffled sound coming from the bathroom, which Atlas largely ignored he had it on good authority that many people liked to speak to themselves in the shower. He wasn’t one of them of course, talking to yourself made you a looney, but he could tolerate it in others. Though it had to be said few people tended to talk to themselves in such a lyrical way, he scrunched back against the bed and continued reading wondering how long Will intended to take.

As if on cue the water was shut off, leaving only the talking…which Atlas realized a moment later wasn’t talking at all. I'm as trite and as gay as a daisy in May—. Atlas let the protocol manual drop to his lap and fixed the bathrobe auror with a puzzled look. To punctuate the unsaid statement he also raised an eyebrow. He was interested in hearing more of the mans self analysis but Channing stopped the moment he laid eyes on him. It was too bad, Will had a rather nice voice actually. Will’s face went through a series of rapid-fire emotions, beginning with fear and ending with a sort of long suffering resignation.

What are you doing here, Atlas?

He looked like he wanted to retreat, which was really the great thing about breaking into someone’s at terrible hours. If they did get away, where the hell were they going to go? Atlas looked at Will for a long moment and then held the manual aloof, pointing to penalty 578. “I want your legal opinion, is what I’ve done here simply entering? I haven’t broken anything per say, so this means that statute 27 of penalty 578,” Atlas turned the manual and squinted up at it, “’Those unlawfully entering the house of an Auror can be subjected to death by weasel’ isn’t something I would need to worry about? Should really get around to updating these penalties. I mean really Will who’s afraid of being hugged my lepers these days?”


Will blinked at him and Atlas let the manual fall next to him, where he poked at it dejectedly. “I wanted to ask you being a gay…well the particulars of it.” He dug in his jacket and pulled out a notebook and pen waving them in the air so Will had a clear look at them. “Its research. You weren’t busy were you?”

Atlas wasn't moving. Will blinked. Atlas didn't. Will began to wonder if he had fallen asleep in the shower and that this was a dream. It was possible; and if that was the case, he'd be falling over in a few seconds and then he'd wake up and have his owl leave a note on Ben's desk explaining that he was taking a personal day tomorrow. He waited. Nothing happened. That meant that either his balance had improved dramatically once all the alcohol from that night at Jasper's (and the ensuing days) had left his system, or he had a concussion.

Atlas held up the book in his lap...which appeared to be his MLE handbook?

“I want your legal opinion, is what I’ve done here simply entering? I haven’t broken anything per say..."

It could still very easily be a dream or hallucination. Will stared at Atlas in confusion and some small degree of wonder. Was he really saying the things he was saying? Could a person really have thoughts like those? He had to be dreaming...right? He paused for a moment to consider the grown man sitting cross-legged on the floor before him, talking casually about lepers. A sinking feeling overcame him and he sighed heavily. People didn't say things like that...but Atlas did.

It wasn't a dream. It was just Atlas.

"It doesn't really matter, since there's no point in pressing charges against you," Will said after a moment more of bewilderment, "but you have unlawfully entered the house of an Auror. That statute says nothing about any breaking involved, so death by weasel is still a very distinct possibility. And you'd be surprised about the leper thing. Nevermind how easy it is to cure these days, people still seem to be afraid of it. I suppose we're set in our ways," he added with a shrug as he stepped towards the bed.

“I wanted to ask you being a gay…well the particulars of it.”

Blink.

What?

Will froze and looked at Atlas, sitting on the floor with his notebook and a petulant expression. He wondered if he should rethink the "not a dream, just Atlas" theory. It seemed beyond belief that even he would be interested in such a mundane (well, in Will's view) topic. He scrutinized the man as he sat there, pen in hand talking about research, and suddenly Will started laughing. Atlas was serious. Completely serious. Looking at that face and those ever-ready hands, Will decided that whether the night was real, a dream or a hallucination, he was going to play along.

"Not busy at all. The particulars, you say? Can you be a bit more specific?" Will asked, going to his bed. He laid down on his stomach and propped his chin up in the palm of one hand, looking down at Atlas with a smile on his face. "I'll tell you anything you want to know," he said, resisting the urge to wink.

Will was studying him, that expression that Atlas seemed to be able to bring out in almost anyone. The one that clearly expressed, “This is what going mad is like. It’s finally happened.” Will carried it off while at the same time managing to look neither angry nor disgusted. Though, Atlas wasn’t sure the man was capable of making such an expression. He wondered if Will got tired of always playing the good cop, if they ever let him do anything else he’d definitely have wrinkles by now. Atlas had speculations about the Ballentine woman, she seemed to do nothing but scowl but her face remained unchanged. He mentally noted to look into connections between the Ballentines and the legions of the undead.

It doesn't really matter, since there's no point in pressing charges against you… Right, good, over that problem then. Atlas proceeded to ignore what Will said next. There were words and they were arranged into Will’s very nicely packaged sentences, but really once they had cleared the hurtle of whether or not weasels would be appearing anytime in Atlas’s immediate future he went back to reconstructing his list of questions for the auror. He only started paying attention again when Will moved. Moved toward his bed. Only to stop when Atlas voiced the real reason he was here.

Atlas twisted in his seated position, craning his neck to get a look at Will’s face. Find out if this was going to be a bust or not. He could always try to find that dealer behind the Tescos….then Will laughed and Atlas nearly wrenched his neck turning back to him. Education to better ones self wasn’t supposed to be funny….7th year charms had taught him that. And he didn’t often make William laugh. Sigh, yes definitely, Will had honed sighing into an art thanks to Atlas. Sometimes Atlas could get a sort of gargling noise out the man, like when Jasper had fallen out of that tree in 5th year and Atlas had suggested they should just leave him there and let the birds take care of it. Laughing though…..

Not busy at all. The particulars, you say? Can you be a bit more specific?.

Not sure if I want to laughy, happy version of Will. Will was moving again and Atlas tracked him with his eyes, wary. The auror flounced…yes flounced was a good word down onto his bed and then squiggled up until his chin was almost hanging over the side more or less level with Atlas. I'll tell you anything you want to know,.

Inflection…what the hell did inflection mean? What the hell did anything mean? Atlas fiddled in his pocket, removing his ‘rape warning advisory system’. Helena had given it to him as a joke but it had been very useful over the years. Glancing at Channing Atlas adjusted his shoulder, trying to conceal the pamphlet and skimmed over the section that appeared. ‘Recommendations: - DON’T. DROP. THE. SOAP! - Wear a chastity belt.’. Atlas did have some soap…it was in his left front pocket…he’d have to make sure not to drop it. The chastity belt was a bust…they were so uncomfortable first of all, though someone had mentioned that a company called Wayne enterprises made some very nice ones.

He tilted his head up to Will, who was still smiling…what demonry was he up to? Atlas read the last line of the section. ‘If the threat of rape is imminent, try the following:
- Bum against the wall!’. He glanced down satisfied that a sitting position was just as good and then pocketed the graph. He shifted, scooting in a circle until he was facing Will properly, it meant his back was exposed but Will seemed the kind to act alone rather than en mass. He scrambled for an appropriate response.

“Umm well….I HATE THE CIRCUS!” He was squeaking…god. Atlas cleared his throat, opened his notebook and placed the pen to the paper. “And I don’t own any shorts….Well I guess first, what is this Circus angle? Is it a recruiting strategy? You might all consider dropping the clowns if it is. The lions too, bit of a heavy handed metaphor that one. Do you enjoy the circus? Who do you enjoy it with? Has Jasper ever attended the circus with you?”

In all the years Will had known Atlas, he'd yet to develop a sense for the man--that is, he was rarely able to predict what he would do. He doubted that anyone could do it with any great measure of accuracy, though Jasper was certainly very good in his guesses. As Atlas stared at him in sudden alarm and turned away, fishing in his pocket for something, Will's smile faltered. Perhaps being cute had been a bad idea. Will had no desire to end up partially blinded again. At that thought, he sat up and grabbed a pillow from behind him, holding it in front of him, ready to duck behind hit if Atlas tried to throw anything at him.

Will watched the other man very carefully, but he did nothing of the kind; just continued to stare at something behind his hip, glancing up at Will occasionally. As the threat of being attacked with something acidic became less and less likely, Will relaxed and started to feel a tad...annoyed. Yes, annoyed. Why couldn't he just ask the questions he'd come to ask and then leave? Why did all his neuroses have to get in the way of the man doing anything? He frowned and rested his chin on the pillow in his arms, and his eyes started to droop. That's right--he was tired! He was tired and Atlas was preventing him from sleep. Will began to feel downright indignant. He picked his head up reluctantly and started to tell Atlas to leave when the other man finally squeaked spoke again.

“Umm well….I HATE THE CIRCUS!”

Will blinked.

Atlas immediately launched into a series of questions about the circus. Will narrowed his eyes at him, trying to make sense of it. Recruiting? Dropping the clowns? Lions as a heavy-handed metaphor! For what? Will wondered. Did he enjoy the circus? No, not particularly. He'd been once as a child; his mother had wanted to take him on a special outing after a particularly stressful week in which she'd said Will had been very helpful. It had certainly been diverting, but the experience had been sort of ruined when one of the girls who stood on the backs of horses fell and was trampled to death.

"Has Jasper ever attended the circus with you?”

"No," Will said with a little scoff. "Why on earth would Jasper go to the circus? And no, I'm not really partial to circuses. Why are we talking about the circus anyway, Atlas? I thought you wanted to know about being gay. Honestly it's not much different than being straight. Why don't you ask your questions and leave so that I can go to bed?" he asked. He felt a little condescending...but decided he didn't care.

Atlas waited for Will to respond with baited breath, leaning a bit forward and toward the other man, he wanted to make sure he got all this. No, No? That wasn't helpful or expected, and did Channing just huff at him? Why on earth would Jasper go to the circus anyway, Atlas? I thought you wanted to know about being gay. Well, he did, why else would he be here? Risking life, limb, and with the threat of small weasels lurking he had come to Will because he figured the other man would be a sort of authority.

Honestly it's not much different than being straight. Why don't you ask your questions and leave so I can go to bed?. Atlas frowned up at Will, now he was being belligerent. Will was patient almost to the point of indolence and so it seemed strange that something as simple as a series of questions would manage to ruffle the man. Of course Atlas tended to have that kind of affect on people, an ability all his own. Normally he would revel in the joy of annoying the unflappable auror. Will had always seemed too kind, too willing to see the good in people, it had always made Atlas nervous. When he had met Will he had believed the man (then boys) charm to be put on, fake, but over years of careful observation and general closeness he had realized it wasn't a front. That had almost made it worse. Then he had become an Auror and suddenly Atlas had a new reason to distrust him.

“Its only,” Quick glance at his watch for the sake of accuracy. “11:54. Don't you people go out prowling the streets at night? Looking for litterers and hoodies to round up. Or is Ballentine on that duty for tonight, pity the poor person to come across her. Or do you have a full day of interrogations lined up for tomorrow?” Something occurred to him. “Didn't your boss disappear recently? It's hard to keep track these days.” If Will was annoyed already this line of talk wasn't going to improve the situation and so Atlas stopped. Forcing all the little questions he had back, focus, on task, Will is a gay so ask him about that, forget about everything else.

“The circus...its some sort of meeting place, recruiting ground. I think, I'm not sure. Had a run in with some filth of that sort. There were shorts and clowns and it was generally awful I didn't know if it was a trend.” He wasn't making sense, but being direct was difficult at the best of times. “Said filth was in the hands of one Calixtus Ferox who claimed to be using it as a learning aid...Jasper was hesitant to discuss details. He instructed me to mind my own business...” He glanced away from Will and began to draw little figures on the floor with his index finger. “Loudly. So I thought, who can I ask? William! I think Ferox has done something to him, but literature I have turned up is contrary to that assumption....”

Atlas was frowning up at Will. Atlas was frowning up at Will. It was almost enough to make Will start laughing again, and he might have if he hadn't been feeling quite so put-out. Atlas would be the sort to be annoyed when a normal person requested leave to engage in normal behaviors, like sleeping when the sun was down. Will ran a hand over his drying hair and waited not-quite-patiently for Atlas to get over himself.

“Its only 11:54. Don't you people go out prowling the streets at night?"

"Not me," Will said with a large, extended yawn. "That's only the entry level Aurors and the BHLers who don't sleep." He glanced fruitlessly over at the calender on the wall. It was too far away for him to see clearly. He wondered if he was just more tired than he'd thought or if he ought to get his eyes checked sometime soon. "I believe it is Ivy's shift tonight. You'd better be careful going home," he warned. "I don't think she likes you very much."

“Didn't your boss disappear recently? It's hard to keep track these days.”

Will's look of mild annoyance became a true frown. Atlas would nose into that sort of business. But beyond that, it was further hint to Will that something needed to be done within the department, and done soon. Something more permanent...he made a mental note to himself to think of the best way to get the department in order. The first issue would be one of leadership, but he didn't know if he trusted Level One to pick someone who would actually be any good for the department...

“The circus...its some sort of meeting place, recruiting ground."

"Atlas, Atlas, Atlas," Will said, shaking his head. "That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Sure, there are plenty of homosexuals in the performing arts, but you get more rejects and runaways at the circus than respectable gay people." He shook his head again and laughed. The things Atlas would believe! Everything but the truth, or what made sense, it seemed. "I think Cal's been messing with you. He's awfully tricky."

Not me.. This statement was punctuated with a jaw cracking yawn. Will wasn’t quite mean enough for the streets really. Atlas could just see him coming across some vandals and politely asking them to place there contraband on the ground and then asking them if they might like to get some pie. Pecan pie most likely. That was the best ‘no hard feelings’ pie. Strawberry just dripped of insincerity, of course the pecan pie would be a sham, they would finish up and then Will would gently but firmly tell them they still had to some back to the station. That had to be the reason that Will wasn’t out on night patrol.

That’s only the entry level Aurors and the BHLers who don’t sleep. Or that could very well be the reason. Will blinked owlishly at something on the wall and Atlas followed the gaze to the calendar. There was tiny pigeon scribbles all over it, unreadable from his current place on the floor. Picture above it was cute though, looked like a carousel. Except where there should be horses there were women with strange headdresses. Atlas didn’t want to look at it anymore, it would only raise further questions. I believe it is Ivy’s shift tonight. This drew him to look back at the calendar. Instead of what he expected under the current day (a skull and cross bones, a warning written in the blood of one of Ballentine’s unfortunate arrested) there was merely the name Ivy in simple black lettering. Will obviously underestimated the danger proximity to the Irish woman posed, even to allies.

I don’t think she likes you very much.. Atlas placed his patented vaguely knowing expression on his face and blinked up at Will. “Really?” He thought back to the last time he had seen Ivy, when she had become convinced (and rightly so) that he was stocking highly illegal ingredients, and ransacked the shop for the better part of a weekend. She had found nothing, been attacked by two lobsters and then insulted by Zoltar. The experience had been unpleasant for all involved. “I hadn’t noticed. What’s not to like?” He smiled up at Will for the briefest of moments.

They moved on to the real reason for his being on Will’s bedroom floor, a place he had sworn he would never be found in after 3rd year. Atlas provided his explanation and sat patiently awaiting words of sagely wisdom to come from the aurors mouth. Atlas, Atlas, Atlas. Yes that was him, present, accounted for, unanswered. He raised a hand and waved with his index and middle fingers.

This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.. At this Atlas felt a pang of failure. He had known and been actively trying to drive Will of his little patch of sanity for almost a decade now and this, was what Will had choosen as the strangest thing he had ever heard come from Atlas’s mouth? Not the fireflies who were spying for Japanese, or the chain of classic Disney films which (when played backwards during a half moon) would reveal the location of the head of Disney himself? Nothing. No, instead a perfectly legitimate question concerning a friend both of them cared for deeply had been given the title ‘most ridiculous’. He’d have to work harder in the future.

…but you get more rejects and runaways at the circus than respectable gay people. Now he was laughing….Atlas should have brought more of that powder. Weasels be damned. I think Cal’s been messing with you.. Atlas frowned, pursed his lips and snuggles up against the side of the bed. “Possible.” He drummed his fingers against the top of his up drawn knees. “That or theirs weight to the “Pink Mafia” theory and you’re just protecting your own. This whole circus thing could blow wide open. Then what would you all do? Obviously your recruitment stratagem got to Jasper. There’s no other logical answer. But I’ve been trolling the area and I can find no traces of any such agents. No strands from large fluffy wigs…no face paint. I did see a very fat women with some facial hair the other day…however judging from her reaction when I confronted her she has no affiliation to your cause….”

“Possible. That or there's weight to the “Pink Mafia” theory and you’re just protecting your own."

Will resisted the urge to shake his head again, having no desire to look like a bobble-head. Instead he merely put his pillow behind his head and fell backwards, sighing heavily. The Pink Mafia had nothing to do with gay men at all; it was a group of female freefly jumpers based in the United States. That, or a slang term for lesbians. Will didn't feel bothered to explain it, though, since he was sure Atlas wouldn't accept the explanation. He'd probably twist it around and use it to further support his theory that homosexual men had some kind of underground cult and Will was just trying to throw him off their track.

"Obviously your recruitment stratagem got to Jasper. There’s no other logical answer. But I’ve been trolling the area and I can find no traces of any such agents."

Will groaned and sat up. He breathed deeply, trying to remind himself that Atlas was a special person who needed patience from the people around him, and that it wasn't his fault he was so insane, it was his parents. It was a familiar mantra; he'd developed it in school shortly after meeting Atlas, back when hormones had made him more likely to get cross. He hadn't had to use the mantra in awhile, but that might have simply been because he'd avoided Atlas after the whole optical acid fiasco.

"If indeed we, meaning homosexuals, had targeted Jasper, we wouldn't have done it through the circus, Atlas. Jasper hates the circus, it's too dirty. We would have used the fashion world, obviously," Will said dryly. He sighed, trying to think of anything to say that would make Atlas leave. Just give him what he wants. He won't rest until I somehow confirm that there's a gay conspiracy targeting young, attractive straight men. Will chuckled; he knew some women who would probably agree with that theory.

"In fact, we've been wearing Jasper down for years with some very tempting male models. We also threw Alex Kapranos at him. That might have been what finally did the job," he said pensively.

The sound Will made was one Atlas was only vaguely familiar with. The kind of noise that one usually heard in conjunction with a long drawn out lecture or when someone was preparing to inform you that they had a terminal illness of some sort. Atlas knew it couldn’t be the later of the two. He had bran every day, avoided trans fat and made sure to take the long way back to the SHOP every Tuesday. Besides he had Rudolph to take care of and nothing bad could befall you when you had a skeleton to attend to and was dependent upon you. This left one option, impending lecture, which if things went, as they should would manage to solve this mystery. Will was lamentably honest, which was usually a cause for concern for Atlas, in this case however it could easily work to his advantage.

If indeed we, meaning homosexuals…. Atlas rummaged for his notebook, temporarily forgotten when he had had to look for the rape warning and flipped it open. Will had just acknowledged that ‘they’ did in fact, work within a conglomeration. He jotted ‘hive mind’ and then glanced back up, waiting for further nuggets of wisdom to tumble down the sides of the perfectly crisp duvet. We would have used the fashion world obviously. He knew it! He had warned Jasper or tried, all those funny looking stork like models and the magazines and advertisements that promised happiness that only a perfectly accented full suit could provide. What did Apollo call it…. accessorizing. He wrote the word and then proceeded to underline it several times.

He was broken out of his thoughts when Will chuckled, a light quite and thoroughly disturbing. In fact, we've been wearing Jasper down for years with some very tempting male models. We also threw Alex Kapranos at him. That might have been what finally did the job,.

Atlas thought….came up with nothing, thought again. He’d have to pay this Kapranos a visit, Possible alias for Calixtus. He noted quickly. “If this is the case why wouldn’t Jasper have gone for someone less….complicated. Slightly more pleasant, more like you really….” He added sourly. Face twisting as if he had bitten into the wrong flavored jelly bean. “This is ridiculous.” A muscle at the back his neck twitched and he rubbed at it with one hand.

“One grows accustomed to people being a certain way. Some nefarious element must be involved. Potions, body double, enchantments….Shirley. You’re an auror shouldn’t you be doing something about this?”

Will rubbed his forehead, starting to sigh. It turned into a long yawn and his hand moved from his forehead to his drooping eyes. What time was it now? He didn't have to be at the office again until lunchtime, but he wasn't really one to sleep late even if he wanted to. He inevitably woke up around nine in the morning. He looked at his clock: midnight. If Atlas didn't leave within the next hour, he wouldn't get his recommended eight hours of sleep and he would be groggy tomorrow, which was the absolute last thing he needed.

“If this is the case why wouldn’t Jasper have gone for someone less…complicated. Slightly more pleasant, more like you really…”

Atlas, unfortunately, didn't seem to be showing any signs of letting the topic go. Didn't he know that love wasn't quantifiable? Had Atlas ever been in love? Will knew that he'd been with what'sherface for quite a long time...Helena? Something like that. It seemed that Atlas just wasn't thinking of homosexual relationships as normal romantic relationships; he was viewing them rather more like dastardly partnerships. Will rolled his eyes.

"Jasper needs someone who is as complex and distorted as himself," Will replied, some exasperation in his voice as he repeated the same logic he'd given himself after his and Jasper's debaucherous dealings. "He wouldn't date someone pleasant, because pleasant is boring and Jasper's is a life of entertainments."

"One grows accustomed to people being a certain way. Some nefarious element must be involved."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Atlas. Jasper's sexuality has been questionable since we were in school. You may not have noticed, but I certainly did," Will said. "And he's certainly fooled around with men before this. He really is indiscriminate when it comes to sexual partners; his only real requirement is that they be attractive." He sighed again.

"Really, I'm happy for him," he continued. "I'm glad he's been able to form a real connection with someone. There's nothing for me to investigate, no suspicion or probable cause. At least, not where their romance is concerned," he added, flopping backwards on his bed again.

Jasper needs someone who is as complex and distorted as himself, Atlas snorted, turning full around and inching forward until he was able to rest his elbows on top of the bedspread. It gave him a better view of Will's face. Maybe Will had never had cause to speak to any of Jasper's former conquests but Atlas had. Usually he ran into them in the early hours of the morning, when he was making his daily round of the rubbish bins in the direct vicinity of SHOP. Models mostly...the odd musician or performance artist mixed in. They all fit certain bracket of a parody of a real person. Vacant, slightly confused by what had just happened to them, always wearing shoes. Atlas had a fairly extensive vocabulary and he could have conjured any number of words to describe these women, at no time would he have used the term 'complex'.

Maybe there were two shifts...one in the night and another in the day. Will saw the complex and entertaining, and Atlas got the human equivalent to day old coffee grinds. Shoed coffee grinds. I don't know what you're talking about, Atlas. A likely story.

Jasper's sexuality has been questionable... Something in Atlas's head popped and he lowered his chin down onto the bed. Resting in there while his brain worked on rebooting itself. There were certain phrases and couplets of words that he just preferred not to hear about, ever, or ever again. Even though this had been exactly what he had come there to discuss. Will had just cut through the vagueness of Atlas's statements in order to get to the real problem, with a speed and talent to the execution only carried off by those who wished the get something over with and just be in bed already. He began listening again in time to catch 'men' and 'in discriminant', he shifted uncomfortably and sang the quiet song in his head. Ceasing when there was a pause in Will's speech, punctuated with a sigh. Atlas looked over at him.

Atlas was willfully ignorant but he wasn't stupid. He was fully aware that Will found Jasper to be very attractive, had known that fact since sometime early on in school when Jasper had bounded into the common room all aglow, informing Atlas that everyone loved him regardless of gender, creed, race, blood or color. Nothing had come of it though and Altas had supposed that maybe Will had gotten over it, that it had just been a misbegotten school year crush. Then he remembered the Boy's Club meeting and the look on Will's face before he had fled, because fled really was the best term for it.

I'm happy for him. I'm glad he'd been able to form a real connection with someone. Atlas jumped and drew back when Will flopped down onto the bed, the wind from the motion flicking back his hair slightly. He raised a hand and ran it through his hair for a few moments.

“It was a s—t thing he did....keeping us in the dark about it. Terrible for you in particular I would imagine.” He coughed to clear his throat, not exactly sure about how to proceeded. “Your always happy for everyone Channing, its part of your problem. Makes your opinions rather hard to qualify.” He stood, pacing back and forth in front of the footboard, shuffling. “You don't have to be f—king someone to form a connection with them. We're connected I'm not there with you spooning am I?” The mental image was enough to make Atlas pause and shudder before resuming his pacing. “His taste in men is intolerable. Taste in man....I think Calixtus is planning to do something terrible to him. I ran into him the other night. He had some.....” This was so akward. “Porn.” He said in a meek little voice that sounded nothing like his own. “There were clowns and it was generally horrid. He said he was going to use it was a learning toll...Ferox...not Jas....” He coughed again, kept his hand up near his mouth. “Its all very nefarious, surely you see that?” He thought about adding the bit about when they had fought, and the bruises on Jasper's throat the next day but he refrained. Will was the most trustworthy person he knew, which meant he was also the least. You could never be too careful.

“It was a s—t thing he did....keeping us in the dark about it. Terrible for you in particular I would imagine.”

Will stared up at his ceiling as Atlas's words floated innocently around him. His expression shifted from confusion to anger before finally settling on his default when it came to the other man: exasperation. Will had conducted plenty of interrogations with wily criminals who tried to play him, though he hardly needed that experience considering the friends he had: he knew when someone was trying to get under his skin, and that was exactly what Atlas was doing.

What was he hoping to gain? What on earth did he want Will to say? If there was one thing Will knew about Atlas, it was that he was impossible to understand. Will could never fathom the man's thought processes. It was exhausting, really. But Will wanted Atlas to go away, and apparently that would only happen if he gave the man what he wanted. The trouble would be figuring that out, and Will was not disposed to play games with Atlas. So he ignored the attempt to draw out a personal revelation of Will's deep, desperate love for Jasper (which was, whatever Atlas might think, legitimately nonexistent; Will was a romantic, not an idiot) and went right to the point:

"What do you want, Atlas? Why are you so ostentatiously curious to know about Jasper and Cal's sex life? Why do you think I know anything about--"

"I think Calixtus is planning to do something terrible to him."

Will sat up immediately, looking at Atlas with a sudden alertness. The Auror might have been happy to turn the other cheek with regards to the sex lives of his friends even if they were hooking up with questionable partners--but if the situation became dangerous, his protectiveness, combined with his profession, kicked in.

"What evidence do you have to support this, Atlas?" Will asked. He clambered off the bed and went to his closet, looking for something to throw on. He had to get to the office to look for information, anything the department had on Cal Ferox. Atlas's suspicions were generally way off base, but he was talking about Jasper's safety now. Will wasn't going to take any chances. He just wanted to do a quick background check and see if there was reason to continue and begin an investigation.

"He had some...porn. It's all very nefarious, surely you see that?"

Will froze with a pair of trousers in his hand. After a brief moment of incredulous immobility, he shook his head and walked back over to his bed, rubbing his forehead. Leave it to Atlas to overreact to pornography. Will had to admit, clown porn elicited some very unsettling images, but surely that was nothing to get so paranoid about? Will looked over at Atlas, at the utter seriousness of his expression. Again, Will wondered that Atlas would come to him. The two hadn't ever exactly been close, and particularly in later years (since Will had joined the Ministry) Atlas had expressed a distrust of him. Why, then, would he come to Will with this concern, based only on very strange sexual possibilities? Why would he imply that an Auror should be investigating the situation?

"Atlas," Will said seriously. "What's really going on here? Why do you think Jasper's relationship with Cal is dangerous? If you want me to investigate, you've got to give me more to go on."

Will was holding a pair of perfectly pressed trousers in one hand and looking at Atlas as if he had suggested that they should round up everyone who enjoyed pickles and put them into camps. Rather than agreeing with him that clown porn was obviously the greatest threat to not only the wizarding part of the world but very possibly the whole of Great Britina. Maybe even beyond and while they could have Scotland if they wanted Atlas was very attached to most of rest of Europe. He didn’t know what he would do if the clown porn spread to Germany, a world without snitzel in the streets was one that he wanted no part in.

Both of them stood on opposites sides of the bed for a moment before Will carefully refolded the pants, placing them equally carefully back into his drawer and then returned to his bed. Where he flopped down and continued to give Atlas that look. The one that communicated that he wasn’t really positive about what exactly Atlas was up to but that he didn’t approve. But there was still a slight glean of the auror curiosity. Atlas had made the implication that some sort of harm might be coming to Jasper and that seemed to have stirred several of Will’s less often used senses. Namely the ones that indicated he should be doing some sort of investigation on Jasper’s behalf rather than a cover up to prevent an investigation on Jasper’s behalf.

Atlas. What’s really going on here? Why do you think Jasper’s relationship with Cal is dangerous? If you want me to investigate, you’ve got to give me more to go on.

He supposed that most of his stock answers where Will or any other level 2 were concerned, ‘I just have a hunch.’ Or ‘A racist badger told me’. Where not going to be enough to get Will away from the idea that Atlas had planted in his brain. There were several problems with exposing the information that Dear William was pressing for. The first and maybe most important one was that Jasper would be furious, he already had been before and Atlas had no great desire to face that forked tongue again anytime soon.

The second factor was that although he would love to have been able to pin anything on Calixtus, or at least cause him mild discomfort there was little that could be said to Will without implicating Atlas himself in the event from which had stemmed his base distrust of Cal. The Ministry Break-in. Carmen had kept her word and his name had remained absent from the pages of the Prophet, no one knew except those who had been there and Jasper who, regardless of how angry he became was very unlikely to let that secret out.

So instead of saying anything he merely snorted uncomfortably and tried to think of a way to get this whole conversation to a semblance of ‘on track’. He pinched at the bridge of his nose, shifted from foot to foot and when he opened his eyes and looked back at Will he knew it was probable that he wasn’t going to be able to get out of here until he had offered something.

“It’s a real pity your in the line of work you are.” He said finally, rocking his heels a bit. “Very unfortunate. I don’t like him and I don’t him trust for a large number of reasons I’m not going to tell you because I don’t think it would make a difference if you knew. You’re determined to see the good in people.” Atlas started crossing the room still debating what to do. “ I suppose considering our history with one another simply telling you I have a hunch isn’t going to be any good? How about this then? A little ant lion told me one day while I was mowing through some strawberry fields that he had seen a crack fox who had told him Calixtus was a member of the evil league of evil?” Will stared at him. “No? Thought so….I was just trying to understand what might be wrong with Jasper and thought you might have some perspective.”