Chapter Text
Monday March 1st
Oliver never expected to separate from his husband of eight years, but here he is in a family law firm. A couple friends recommended this particular law firm and it was easy enough to schedule an appointment with someone when he called Friday. He arrived early and though he’s wearing business casual attire, he feels entirely underdressed to be in the office. He sees a couple other people that look like clients that aren’t dressed as conservatively as the staff so he feels a bit better.
The receptionist calls his name and he stands up, holding the documents they asked him to bring along to his appointment today and follows the witch down a hallway to someone’s office. He’s seated and when the door closes, his lawyer introduces herself.
“Hello Oliver, I’m Rebecca Smith. We spoke last week about your intent for divorce. Is this still your plan today?”
Oliver thought he was ready for this but he feels the nerves get to him as his hands turn sweaty and his button up feels too tight. He swallows and says, “Yes, nothing has changed on that front.”
He remembers coming home early Thursday afternoon before the kids were out of school and heading upstairs to their bedroom when he saw his husband in bed with his editor. After his editor slunk away, Dan tried to say that was the only time but Oliver would say what he saw was not a couple’s first time together. It’s all terribly cliche and wishes it hadn’t happened, but he doesn’t know what he could have done differently. His friends have all said the well intentioned things that it wasn’t his fault, there’s nothing he did wrong but his brain can’t accept that.
He knows he can’t stay with Dan, even if it means tearing apart their little family. It’s been hard enough trying to explain things to their seven year old twins why papa isn’t there anymore. It breaks his heart that they don’t fully comprehend what’s going on. They’re still under the impression that papa had to go visit someone unexpectedly and keep asking when he’ll come back or call.
The lawyer is looking at him expectantly and shit, did Oliver zone out? He clears his throat and apologizes, “Sorry, mind repeating that?”
Her face is largely impassive but he detects a note of sympathy in her brow. She repeats for his benefit, “Just from looking through the documents you have here today, you were the sole income yes?”
Dan comes from a wealthy enough family and never technically had to work, but he was working when he and Oliver met. He kept working until they had their children and though Oliver never asked him, he opted to stay home with their children as the primary caregiver. They’re old enough now that if Dan had wanted to go back to work, he could have but it seems like he found something else to preoccupy his time instead.
He replies, “Dan has his own money, we have a pre-nup.” He points at an agreement that’s at the bottom of the stack.
She looks at the thick agreement and says, “Okay, this will take time to read through and verify the terms but from what you told me last week, it’s pretty straightforward.”
Oliver knows better than to hope it’s a simple thing to do but nods as she gives him a list of instructions on what to do next. He’s brought along a notebook and is writing this all down, feeling numb again. She notices but doesn’t remark, which is probably for the best. She ends with, “We can serve papers to him by Wednesday, but we’ll let you know at least 24 hours in advance in case something changes on your end.”
She gives him a knowing look, like her firm has done this before and he doesn’t doubt it. It’s only Monday and while Wednesday seems so fast, Oliver doesn’t hesitate as he says, “No, I’m sure but thank you.”
Rebecca stands up and Oliver follows her out to the elevator. She pulls out a business card and says, “I’ll be in touch if anything comes up, but don’t hesitate to reach out. Here’s my mobile and other contact details.”
The elevator door opens and they wait for the people getting out before parting ways. It’s here that Oliver sees a face he hasn’t seen in a couple years at least. He sees a flash of recognition pass through Marcus Flint’s eyes and can’t help but note how his lips part before his tongue darts out to wet them.
Oliver feels his heart race, wanting nothing more than to jump in that elevator as quickly as possible, because he’s already struggling with the idea of telling people outside of his immediate family and friends. Now it feels real though. This law firm primarily deals with family law, so it won’t take long for Marcus to figure out why Oliver is here today.
Instead of walking by, Marcus stops and looks at his colleague to say, “Hey Rebecca, treat Oliver well. We go way back.”
Rebecca flushes and says, “Of course, Marcus.”
Oliver hadn’t heard what Marcus was up to these days following retirement, but it’s quite a surprise. He can’t say that Marcus doesn’t look good in a suit because he does. Merlin, what’s wrong with him? He’s not even divorced and he’s thinking about other people. The idea of dating terrifies him, he thought his days of awkward small talk were over but apparently they were on snooze—last week was the wake up call he never wanted.
Marcus turns to him now and asks, “Heading out?”
“Yeah.” He needs to head back to the office, he used this as his lunch break but thankfully always has some kind of protein bar at his desk that will tide him over until dinner.
“I’ll see him out, Rebecca.” Marcus doesn’t even look back at Rebecca but she hears the dismissal and walks back in the direction of her office. Marcus hits the elevator button and asks, “How are you doing, Oliver?”
He doesn’t want to talk about this with Marcus because his brain keeps going back to those few months they dated, fucked? He’s still not sure what to call it ten years later because Marcus wasn’t out then and he was clear with Marcus then he could only be with someone who wasn’t ashamed of him. Oliver met Dan shortly thereafter and the rest is history. He tries to put that out of his head and says, “I’ve had better days.”
The elevator door opens for them and it’s empty. Oliver’s not sure if that’s a good thing or not and steps inside, Marcus following him in. Marcus hits the bottom floor and replies, “Sorry to hear that. Hope we can help you out.”
“I’m sure Rebecca will do fine.”
“She’s an associate, out two years. I can help take a look to make sure nothing is missed, if that’s okay with you.”
“I’m just a sports column writer, I’m not sure I can afford your hourly rate.” Oliver flushes as he realizes how that sounds but doesn’t say anything further because he should not be teasing Marcus right now. The way Marcus winks and smiles at him does something to Oliver that he doesn’t want to own up to just yet. Oliver needs to focus on the divorce and his children, not remember what it was like to be under Marcus in bed on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Marcus offers, “I’ll do it pro bono. I read your article every Sunday and I’m looking forward to your book.”
“That’s very generous of you, but only if you have time. The book’s on hold until I find another editor.”
“I’m between cases at the moment, so I’m free right now.” Marcus hands him a card much like Rebecca’s card and notices his mobile is still the same number. As he takes the card, his and Marcus’s fingers brush together and Oliver feels that tell tale spark he hasn’t felt in a decade. Marcus looks at him and his lips part again, Oliver needs to pretend he wasn’t just as affected, opting to look away as if that isn’t also a dead giveaway. Their problem was never physical attraction and it seems like that part hasn’t gone away.
He doesn’t say anything and is relieved when the elevator finally reaches the bottom floor and they step out, thankful to get some physical distance away from Marcus. It’s pretty busy down here in the lobby and it’s such a contrast to the quiet demure office upstairs.
“Thanks, Marcus.” He gives Marcus a smile before looking down at his watch, then says, “Well, I have to go pick up my kids.”
They say goodbye and Oliver’s not sure why, but he trusts Marcus to do as he says.
He has the kids home and they’re doing their homework, for now… His mobile has about ten missed calls and rolls his eyes as he sees they are all from Dan. Fuck Dan. He probably thought Oliver just needed the weekend to cool off, but not this time. There is no way he’s accepting any apology from Dan because there’s nothing he could say that could undo this. He’s already changed the locks and wards on their place. They’ve had a couple big fights in the past, but knows this is the thing that ultimately separates them.
He’s in the middle of making dinner, opting for spaghetti which he considers a win over the pizza he almost ordered. But they’ve had too much takeout this weekend as it is and need normal food. He loves muggle technology, the ability to order his groceries from his mobile and have it delivered to his home? Amazing. He’ll make a salad because they need to eat their vegetables too.
His daughter Sarah, named after his paternal grandmother, comes up to ask, “Hey dad, can we watch something before dinner? We finished our homework.”
“You promise? I’ll come check in a bit but if it’s not done, then no TV for the rest of the week.”
She has that look in her eye as she thinks about if she really finished everything, “Um, let me go check.”
His kids are avid quidditch fans and would hate to miss watching a match. That’s punishment enough to miss watching their favorite team. She runs off and he smiles to himself as he continues chopping up vegetables.
Oliver’s mobile buzzes with a message and he almost ignores it, because the chance of it being Dan is high but looks at it just in case it’s someone else messaging him. He sees it’s an unknown number, so he washes his hands before reading it. “Hi Oliver, Marcus and I had time today to review your case. We’d like to speak with you tomorrow morning. Please call our office to schedule time at your earliest convenience.”
Of course they can’t say what they need from him and starts pacing his kitchen as a reflex but stops as he saves Rebecca’s contact details in his phone going forward. He’s thankful his work schedule is flexible enough to allow for these meetings, especially if he needs to balance child care with his work. He has a meeting with his manager tomorrow to ask if he can telecommute a couple days each week. He needs to look into some after school care options.
He knows she won’t tell him what it is, but all the same Oliver replies, “Thanks Rebecca.”
Maybe he should have included Marcus in his thanks but supposes he could text Marcus on his own and decides against it. Seeing him again today was unexpected and he finds himself curious about Marcus, which he hasn’t been in a long time. When they hooked up, Marcus told him he was bisexual but had never had a boyfriend. It was fine when they were only sleeping together, but Oliver eventually caught feelings and asked him if they could be something more.
Marcus’s surprised look and slow response that day said it all to him, that Oliver was an idiot for even hoping. He quickly left and when Marcus finally messaged him a day later to ask if they could talk, Oliver didn’t respond. Even when Marcus wrote to say he liked Oliver back, he didn’t bother. Oliver doesn’t want to settle for someone who has to think about if they like Oliver—he wanted someone that knows already.
He recalls hearing that Marcus married a pure-blood witch later that same year and they had a couple kids, but heard they divorced four years ago. He thinks one of their sons must be around his kids’ own age.
He realizes his friends had to have known Marcus worked there and the possibility of Oliver running into him was high. Sure enough one of his friends messages him, “How did today go?”
He messages Katie back, “You could have warned me.”
“Haha, so you saw him then right?”
“It’s not funny. He was nice enough about it, offered to look into it.”
“OMG. Lawyers don’t do things for free. He totally wants another chance with you.”
He starts typing but deletes it. His friends thought he was too harsh with Marcus back then and maybe he was… Still, he should not be entertaining this and says, “Katie, now’s not the time. Maybe in a few months when life resembles normalcy, but not right now.”
“Sorry, you’re right. But he’s still hot right? He looked hot from the website.”
“Missing the point…” Because all said and done, he can’t turn off his feelings and though his heart aches right now, he still loves Dan. He thought he’d grow old with him and needs to be able to mourn the loss of their future. He’s not sure how some people can get divorced then find someone else so quickly, maybe they’re able to move on quicker.
“I can’t imagine what that’s like, Oliver. I’m so sorry. Coffee soon?”
Oliver can’t stay irritated at Katie long and she knows it. He smiles, “Yeah, how about Thursday? They might serve papers Wednesday so I might need all the support I can get afterwards.”
“That works for me!”
“Thanks Katie.”
He sets out dinner and checks his children’s book bag, sure enough they did everything they were supposed to tonight. That’s a relief. He calls to let them know dinner is ready and they eat together. He supposes this is their new normal and wants to do everything he can to make it work for them.
He’s getting the kids ready for school, while checking when the law firm opens so he can to schedule an appointment with Rebecca and Marcus. He lives within walking distance of school, so as he walks his children to school, he gives the office a call the minute they open. They’re able to meet with him at 9:00, so he has more than enough time to make it there.
As he’s walking out of the school, he sees Dan sitting on a bench outside. He thinks about turning around and going to the bathroom to apparate home, but he’s already been seen. He swears under his breath as he walks over and Dan looks up at him with a tired smile.
“Hey baby. I miss you, I miss the kids. Can I—”
“Dan, stop.” Oliver interjects. While he doesn’t believe that first part, he knows the second part to be true. More often than not, Dan was the one who got the kids going in the morning and helped them get ready for bed. In the past few days he realizes how much Dan did and while he knows it was an act of love, it’s not enough.
A few parents are walking out and looking them over curiously. He doesn’t want to be a spectacle and motions for Dan to follow him. He’s walking to the tube, as if he’s going to work, but it actually connects up with the law firm too.
“Oliver, I’m sorry. What can I do to fix this?”
“Dan, why did you do it?” He wants to include, Was I not enough? He knows the answer to that question and doesn’t ask.
“I’m an idiot, okay? I promise it won’t happen again. I love you.” When Dan tries to take his hand, Oliver pushes his hand away.
Oliver wishes that was enough, that it was just a stupid fight they could get over but it’s not. “Look Dan, it’s not okay.”
He sees his train coming and Dan knows it too. He hopes Dan doesn’t get on with him because then he really will have to go to work, to only apparate over to the law firm. “Can we talk after work?”
“I—I don’t know.” He’s stalling because he can’t just say it yet, his heart is racing and he feels like he’s going to be sick. “I need to think about it.”
Dan looks irritated as he says, “You haven’t let me come home since Friday.”
“What do you need? I’ll send you your stuff.”
“So that’s it then? Eight years of marriage means nothing to you?”
Oliver bites his tongue on the irony of Dan saying this and doesn’t say anything further as he boards his train. He’s relieved that Dan knows better than to follow him. He makes his transfer and exits the station.
He sees a coffee shop near the law firm and figures he can hang out a bit. He emails work to let them know he’ll be an hour late this morning. He certainly puts in more than his forty hours each week, often staying up late to edit and revise his articles. So he knows that’s never a concern from his manager at the Prophet.
He orders a drink and sits down. He has his laptop with him, so he may as well work a bit. He’s been working on an updated volume for Quidditch Through The Ages and was stoked beyond belief when his proposal had been accepted by the publishing company who hold the copyright two years ago. He’s supposed to finish his book in time for holiday sales next year, but with this latest development it may get pushed as he needs to find another editor.
Oliver notices out of the periphery someone standing by and looks up to see Marcus. He greets him, “Hey, morning.”
Marcus points at the spot across him, “Mind if I sit here a moment?”
It is crowded in here and can’t begrudge him the spot, so he says, “Sure.”
“Are you okay?”
Oliver’s fought the tears here and thought he brought them under control but maybe he still looks distressed. Marcus knows everything so there’s really no point in lying and says, “I was ambushed at school. At least he had the decency to not do it in front of the kids.”
He sees something he never expected to see in Marcus, empathy. He takes a moment before replying, “I’m sorry, Oliver. Having gone through it myself, I know it’s not easy.”
Though Marcus doesn’t elaborate further, Oliver sees the same pain he feels reflected in Marcus. He doesn’t need to know the circumstances of Marcus’s divorce to know that he understands what Oliver is going through right now. “Thank you.”
He notices they aren’t alone when he looks up to see Rebecca, but she has eyes only for Marcus as she says, “Hi Marcus.”
Marcus’s face shutters and is impassively friendly as he says, “Hello.”
She notices Oliver as an after thought and says, “Oh, is this where we’re meeting this morning?” She’s looking at her mobile, as if checking the meeting invite details.
“No, I just happened to run into Oliver before heading in to the office.” Marcus stands up and looks at Oliver to offer a genuine smile as he taps the table in farewell, “See you in a bit.”
Marcus leaves and Rebecca practically trips over herself to follow after him. Oliver wants to laugh, it’s kind of cute and wishes Marcus saw her crush on him. She seems nice enough though a bit young for him, so maybe he does and is just ignoring it until he has to address it, the latter would be in line with what he’s experienced personally with Marcus… He tries to stop those thoughts because that’s ancient history, no longer relevant, and should not concern himself with what Marcus does or who he sees.
Oliver works a bit more before heading over to the law firm a few minutes early and has checked in. He has his coffee and is reading some article on his mobile when he’s called forward for his appointment. He’s led down the same hallway as yesterday to Rebecca’s office.
He shouldn’t be surprised, but he had almost hoped to see Marcus’s office. It would be interesting to see what personal effects, if any, he had there because you can always tell a lot by someone from what they choose to display on their desk and in their office. Maybe Marcus has some quidditch memorabilia, that’s sure to strike up a conversation with most clients. Whereas Rebecca’s own seems to be tied to her alma mater, an honor society, with a couple photos of what appear to be friends. It comes off as, I’m a young professional but still want to have a life…
He sits down in a chair across from her and it’s just the two of them. She makes idle chat but Oliver would like to get down to it, if he’s honest. He’s about to ask what was so urgent that he meet today when Marcus comes in to join them.
Rebecca’s done very well at being professional but she hasn’t managed properly to school her facial expression. Oliver wonders if he should say something, but he’s not sure to who. Of course, instead of the seat by Rebecca, Marcus takes the one by Oliver. He thinks Marcus could be using him as a buffer against Rebecca but manages to keep a smile off his face because it seems so ridiculous.
He clears his throat before asking, “So, what did the two of you find?”
Even though this is Rebecca’s case, she looks over at Marcus and defers to him, so Oliver turns in his seat to look over at Marcus. Yesterday his suit was black, but today his suit is a midnight blue and Oliver thinks this one suits him better, though he would have chosen a different tie.
If Marcus noticed his gaze, he doesn’t show it and says, “So it seems that your husband had an unusual clause in his pre-nup.”
Ugh, Oliver tenses as he thinks back on it. He really should have taken it to a lawyer all those years ago, but then he didn’t think he’d ever look into divorce proceedings and asks, “What in particular is cause for concern?”
“The children are biologically yours, correct?”
He nods and says, “No, our son is Dan’s and our daughter is mine.”
The twins aren’t technically twins, they found an egg donor and two surrogates. Their children were born a few days apart, some years they celebrate both birthdays on one child’s birthday and alternate each year.
Marcus continues, “Well, the agreement says that any children, regardless of paternity, he reserves the right to shared custody.”
Fuck, this can’t be happening and Oliver feels like the room is spinning. Of course, on some rational level it seems fair however he doesn’t want to share the children with Dan because the alternative would be to separate them and that’s cruel. He naively thought they could have a clean break but hearing this, he knows Dan will push for shared custody. Whatever their problems were, Dan loved and cared for the kids in the exact same way.
Oliver’s still in shock and doesn’t say anything, so Marcus says, “We could challenge it if he invokes that right, but we’ll need to know more about the breakdown of who did what. If we can make a compelling case—”
He holds up a hand and interjects, “Dan did a lot for the kids, he quit his job to take care of them. Of course, they’re old enough that he could have gone back to work if he wanted to but he stayed home. He even setup trust funds for them when they turn 25.”
Marcus and Rebecca share an unspoken glance and Oliver knew it, his chances aren’t great.
Rebecca adds, “He may not invoke that clause, but we’d like to prepare you all the same for that possibility.”
She doesn’t sound sure of herself and Oliver knows how Dan is, so he doesn’t put much stock into her wishful thinking. He asks, “Anything else?”
“Your money is separate, his agreement was mostly to protect himself. So you don’t have to worry about that.”
“Naturally.” Oliver thinks it’s all ridiculous that someone thinks he’d try to take something that wasn’t his… “Well, if that’s it I should go to the office.”
Rebecca nods, “Okay Oliver, we plan on serving him papers tomorrow afternoon. If anything changes—”
“I won’t.” He’s sure they have clients that get cold feet and backtrack but not him.
She continues, “If anything changes, you have until 1:00 tomorrow to tell us know. Oliver, we recommend mediation first before court.”
“Okay.” Ugh, he really doesn’t want to be in the same room as Dan but will give it a try. He stands up because he knows that’s covered the main thing for him here today.
Marcus stands up and follows him out. He feels like a mess right now and should have taken the day off instead. If he feels this bad, maybe he should take the week off but decides against it because he’ll need the time off for future meetings.
He steps into the elevator and still hasn’t said anything to Marcus, then looks up when the elevator stops. Marcus pushed a button and looks over at him, “Hey, it’s going to be okay.”
Oliver looks down and feels his eyes tear up again, then asks, “How do you know?”
“I know every situation is different, but I know you’re as resilient as they come and can weather this.”
He leans back against the elevator wall and looks up, hoping this will stem the waterworks. It helps a little bit and he slides against the wall to sit down. He looks down at the floor, looking at the delicate mosaic and thinks it’s wrong this is in an elevator because it’s beautiful, he didn’t notice it last time. He manages to respond after a moment, “Everyone says that, but it doesn’t feel true. I think you’re the only person I know who’s gone through something like this, so your perspective is helpful.”
It’s certainly one of the last things he expected to have in common with Marcus. He wonders if it’s too much but then notices Marcus sit down close but still giving him space. He wants to say that his suit will get ruined and looks Marcus in the eyes, seeing that same empathy again in Marcus’s face and his throat feels too tight.
“I get it. I’ve heard them all, too.”
“How long did it take—for things to feel normal again?”
Marcus sighs and runs a hand through his hair, mussing up the product he had there. Then he responds, “Honestly? You have to stop thinking about the old normal and come up with your own. That took almost a year.”
He can’t fault Marcus for his honesty, because it’s what he expected, even if his friends think things will be okay after the papers are signed. He stands up again and Marcus does, too.
He dusts off his pants, then says, “Yeah, I figured as much. Thanks, for being honest.”
“Anytime.”
“So, how much do you bill for this?” He never expected the candor and openness from Marcus.
“I don’t know, you’re the first.”
He flushes because of course Marcus doesn’t just dole out little heart to hearts with anyone. It’s silent a moment before Marcus presses the elevator button to resume service and they’re down in the lobby again. The noise breaks the spell over what tiny bubble they had.
Oliver has to admit he feels much better and is about to express his thanks again but here in the lobby, Marcus is back to being professional. He lets Oliver know that he and Rebecca will be in touch if anything else comes up, then heads back into another elevator.