A Spot of Tea with a Side of Deception (And Scones)

The atmosphere of the tea shop did nothing for him, he hardly noticed the décor as Remus had his full attention from the very start. The rest was just a blur of background noise and color, Remus' brightness made everything else look dimmer by comparison anyway. The wizard listened to the man's excuse breaking his otherwise neutral expression to raise a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. When working as an auror he was naturally skeptic and didn't make a habit of taking things at face value. Remus' answers had set off a sort of 'spidey sense' for quite some time, but now it was impossible to ignore.

Gabriel let that answer simmer for a moment, sipping thoughtfully on his tea. Maybe if he let the werewolf words soak in and marinate they would make sense. He really couldn't say for certain that Remus was lying, not having been there himself but it just didn't compute. "So..." the blonde started finally as he set the delicate cup down. "In all the chaos caused by the Death Eaters descending upon the school your students or even one of the professors had the frame of mind to contact you of all people? To alert you that the Death Eaters were attacking?" Saying it out loud made the whole thing sound silly and cemented the fact that Remus was lying. "Instead of getting themselves out or preparing for battle they decided to take the time to run down to the owlery and send off a note?"

His sarcasm could be razor sharp when properly provoked and as much as he cared about Remus this was entirely earned. Remus had lied, Gabriel was certain. But why? That would judge if it was forgivable or not. His pride was a little bruised. "Or maybe not an owl.. Let me guess... They found a fireplace connected to the floo network and somehow unmonitored and instead of using it to help the children escape, they contacted you?" The man leaned back in his chair, blue eyed gaze fixed on the werewolf as if he was trying to burn a hole through the man. "Come on Remus, you're smarter than that. You can think of a better lie, can't you?"

In their short time together Gabriel had shown his devotion, hadn't he? Something with a little more thought? His demeanor changed, the stone faced mask cast aside. He picked up his spoon and fidgeted with the thing in lieu of biting his thumbnail and hurt of all things colored his facial expression. Not annoyance, not arrogance, but hurt. Vulnerability wasn't a comfortable thing for him and he would kick himself for this later. "You may not think I deserve the truth for whatever reason, but I think I at least deserve a better lie." Something he could believe, something that didn't insult his intelligence.

Remus was hiding something and trying his damndest to throw Gabriel off the trail. He tried to distract him, gushing in what would otherwise be an adorable way about the ancient castle in the distance. The blonde was feeling far too petulant to agree or admire the fond way that Remus' spoke of the castle, choosing instead to hum a noncommittal noise into his tea. Hogwarts looked old and dusty, since Remus did ask him but the auror knew better than to voice that sour opinion. Even the endearing lopsided grin did little to thaw Gabriel's icy demeanor. The mood of their outing was rapidly changing from two lovers sharing tea time to an interrogation, forcing Gabriel into the role of inquisitive auror.

His gaze had wandered away in thought but it was drawn right back to Remus as he spoke about his time as the Defense professor. "Ego doesn't suit you as well as humility does." Gabriel was the vain and arrogant one, after all. That was one of his favorite things about their relationship. Remus' modesty grounded and inspired him into a better person. This side of Remus was entirely different from what he was used too. It was cocky and defensive, something that Gabriel often found to be characteristics of someone who was hiding something. Gabriel just had to figure out what was being hidden and why, and the best way to do that was to dismantle his excuses 'til he had Remus backed into a corner where honesty was his only option. "And correct me if I'm wrong, but if I understand the timeline as well as I think I do... You were employed for a single year, several years before Hogwarts came under attack, right?" They entered the tea shop as two adults in a relationship but to continue along this line of conversation they were going to leave the shop as auror and suspect.

Remus was leaning forward, wanting less distance while Gabriel was very content to lean back in his chair, wanting more distance between them. Remus' desperation for less space jostled the table and he eyed the rattling teacups. His feelings for Remus was making it very hard to push forward. He didn't want to know what Remus was hiding because of how it would change them but because of who he was, Gabriel was unable to let go of his suspicion and leave it unresolved. His own defenses were raising, bracing for what was to come. He was blunt and sarcastic while maintaining an expression of cold neutrality. "It does matter. It's my experience that people who are telling the truth aren't so avoidant with the details. How did they contact you? I'm sure if you think hard enough you can remember, or at least contrive something believable." Gabriel needed Remus to offer something that he could believe if he didn't think too much on it, to bide their time 'til the next round of doubts reared their ugly head.

There was a very fatal mistake in Remus' furthered explanation. Gabriel seized on it, leaning forward to pursue the next line of questioning. The auror rested his elbows on the table after swiping back stray strands of dirty blonde. "And why was your wife there? The books I've read on the war were all pretty clear that the Ministry was under Death Eater control at the time, so why would they be sending Aurors to aide the school? And it was the students who summoned you, not your wife?" The whole explanation felt like it was falling apart and there was absolutely no hope that he could even try to believe it. It was an insult to his own intelligence. Gabriel tugged his hand away from Remus, the gesture felt hollow and manipulative. It stoked his temper, that hand curled into a fist and came down hard on the table. "Damn it, Remus. You've made me fall in love with you and now you want to play this game where you refuse to give me the truth. What are you trying to do?" Gabriel had fallen off the deep in several weeks ago, plunged into the relationship and was only beginning to embrace the feelings that bubbled up when he was around Remus and now the relationship was going to drown him for naively falling too fast and too hard for someone who was guarding the truth about his past (and present?) associations with his life. He didn't think that Remus was a Death Eater by any means, but what other explanation was there?

The longer all of it went on, the more he was convinced that Remus was a liar. The more that he thought about the fact that Remus lied, the more confused he felt. What in the hell could he be hiding? How bad could it be that he absolutely refused to tell Gabriel? He would rather make a fool out of himself by making up lies that grew increasingly more ridiculous. Remus' anger only fed his own and the anger surprisingly allowed him to think clearer. It lifted the lovesick fog that was preventing from looking at Remus' stories critically and minimized his fear of the answer. Gabriel needed the answers now more than ever, because his mind was running wild with the possibilities. "They made you resign? When you're Merlin's gift to magic? How very tragic for you." He was done with the tea and pretending to enjoy it. Auror Bishop set the delicate cup down and slid it away from him, far less aggressively than Remus had. There was no anger in his actions because he was in his element, this is where he thrived. Unfortunately for Remus he was just as adept at playing the 'bad cop' as he was the 'good cop'.

The reason for his resignation, that he was exposed, didn't compute with his story of being summoned by students. "So, you don't recall how it happened.." He made absolutely no effort to hide the suspicion or disbelief in his voice. The last bit made him feel like a bastard, delving into something so traumatic but he had to. For the sake of their relationship, he had to do it because the animosity between them made it abundantly clear that they couldn't continue as long as there was something hidden. "But students, despite the fact that you were exposed as a werewolf and that the werewolves had aligned with Vol---He Who Must Not Be Named, thought to summon you there when your own wife was too distracted and busy to reach out to you? Was this before or after they reached out to a Death Eater controlled Ministry that was, by all anecdotes, rife with corruption and darkness--for help?" They absolutely couldn't, as much as Gabriel wanted to just forget it and move on. He'd been miserable the past few days stewing in his suspicion.

Remus looked guilty. Remus looked like a liar and Gabriel felt sick and angry over it. For a brief and terrible moment, he wished that he would've thrown out that goddamn picture or maybe stayed back in the US. This wasn't what he signed up for, after all. Gabriel had uprooted his entire life and moved because he wanted to make a difference but not if the man he loved--yes, loved-- was the enemy. The word 'love' even slipped easily past his lips, something he would regret. The auror stared hard at Remus while mentally kicking himself for losing control of his temper and his tongue. "What does it matter?" he asked flatly, hand still clenched into a fist against the table. "You don't trust me, what does it matter what I said?" The lack of trust bothered him more than the dishonesty did. It made the relationship seem one sided and Gabriel feel like a fool. He put his whole self into it while Remus held back. Why? Was he not as important to Remus as Remus was to him? The blonde gave an exhausted sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "I love you, Remus." This wasn't the way that he wanted to confess such a thing. His heart didn't flutter or pound, there was no sweet taste to the word, no kiss or warm embrace. It wasn't a romantic declaration but an exasperated plea. "But I'm not interested in playing this game. Please don't insult my intelligence further by expecting me to believe your ridiculous stories. Just be honest with me, I won't think any less of you if you'll just be honest with me."