Savoy Truffle (Kallie)

Eli walked through the hallways, looking for anything labeled "Licensing". He had been here for over an hour and a half, and couldn't find anything resembling what he was looking for. This was the last floor of the Ministry, so by any type of normal logic, he should have found it already.

Minister, Deputy Minister, Deputy Minister... where was he anyway? And why on earth did he need this stupid license, anyway? He'd been a bartend there for about a month, and only now was he told that he was technically breaking the law. Sighing, he turned to head back to the main lobby. Maybe the woman there had remembered where he could find what he was looking for.

Kallie walked down the hall, bundle of folders in her hands and a flury of underlings chasing after her telling her more things she needed to do. Didn't she have deputies for these kind of things?

For a few breif moments she was alone in the hall. She could see her office so close. If she could just get there, she could close the door, and pretend she was too busy to speak.

She was about to run up to the door when she passed someone that cause her head to turn. Hand half on her doornob, ready to open it, she froze and did a double take.

"Eli..." the name trailed out of her mouth before she could even stop it. She didn't really want him to be here now did she because if he was here than that would mean he'd figure out...

"Minister! Minister! Can I just have a -"

Kallie swore in Finnish softly under her breath. She turned with her usually perfessional smile to the worker that was adressing her All the while her brain was plotting the chances that she was wrong - that it hadn't been Eli, that he hadn't have heard... that she wasn't an idoit who probably ruined everything.

Eli grinned, "Kallie!" he had forgotten that she worked here, "Aren't you popular? Hey, do you-"

He looked at the woman who had just spoken, then back to Kallie, "Minister?" He noticed her hand on the doorknob of an office with a plaque reading "Minister of Magic- Kallie Nikkala".

Pointing to the door he sighed, "Can we talk?"

He opened it and rushed inside, "Don't you think this is something I should've known?"

Kallie visiablly winced at the sound of his voice, as he repeated the words, as he figured it out.

Can we talk? God, wasn't that just some of the worst words in any language. She held up a finger at Paulette, the secretary who had adressed her and wordlessly nodded her head at Eli.

"I'm sorry, Paulette," she said to the woman. "I really need to deal with this. Was it terribly important?"

The woman flashed a sympathetic glance between Kallie and her guest before nodding her had and parting with a 'I'll come back later Minister.'

The title made her wince again.

She followed Eli into her own office and closed the door slowly, pausing when she was done, just leaning her hand on the door and collecting her thoughts - collecting her emotions before they got out of control.

"Yes, yes I do think that," she finally said softly, squaring her shoulders and turning back around that. "I have been unfair to you. I should have been honest with you from the start but... when I walked into your establishment, I had been just looking for information... I had never imagined that I would..."

Eli's expression softened when he saw how distressed Kallie seemed. No, she was the one who lied to you. He forced all sympathetic feelings out of his mind.

"You had plenty of other opportunities to tell me," he frowned, looking around the large office, "Why didn't you tell me, anyway? I don't exactly see why you'd want to keep this a secret."

He laughed and looked out the window, "I mean, you've got an office on the top floor with an amazing magically fabricated view. Not to mention you're the leader of the wizarding world."
Turning back to Kallie, he put on a stern voice, "I'm still mad, you know."

She nodded her head, "True, I did but... I'm sure you know the rules of lies; you say it once and then suddenly... there seems no time 'right' to take it back."

Kallie laughed slightly despite what he said, despite, "Of course you are - you have every right to be mad, I'm sure I would be mad had the tables been turned, it is just..."

She sighed and looked around her, at the desk at the room - all of it was hers, it was more of a home to her than her own house she was never outside of it, and she never use to think that was a bad thing, never use to think that until...

"You Eli - when you're at work you are 'work Eli' and then when you leave you can be... whatever Eli you wish to be. Not only do you have the freedom to be who you want when you want... you're even still Eli at work but me..." Slowly she made her was over to her desk, and sunk into the chair. "I'm always here - even when I'm some where else, at least part of my mind is here, and when I'm here... I'm not Kallie - you heard them out there. I'm the Minister - there is no seperate identity. I never thought there was a problem with that, with not having a life outside of this until... until I entered you're bar, and for that breifest moment I pretended to be 'just Kallie'... and I realized how much I missed it, how much a needed it..."

She hung her head, and let her shoulders sink. It had been wrong - it had been stupid but...

"I was scared if I said the truth outloud... I'd lose that; I didn't want to lose that."

Eli let out a sigh, "I guess you're right." He looked down at his feet, not wanting to see her reaction. He hated being the cause of all this anxiety, "You shouldn't have to live like that. No one should."

He strode over to Kallie's chair, "It's going to take much more to get rid of me," he said, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek, "And I might just forgive you."

Kallie gave a small smile, "They shouldn't but I chose it; there are times, also, when I'd much rather hide behind my title - there is a comfort at times, to me, to just being the minister."

She gave a little smile as he kiss her cheek.

"Good - I'd hate to not be forgiven."

"Well now that were here," she gave a small smile, "Anything else you want to know? Just ask - I promise whatever you ask will get the complete truth this time. I do owe you after all."

"No one can blame you for that. Hiding behind a title, it just makes life simpler sometimes. I guess... people need that. But you still deserve to have a life beyond that. "

Eli sat on the desk, his eyes glinting just the slightest bit, "You do owe me..." He smiled, leaning in on his hands, "You don't happen to know where I should go if I were to get a permit? Apparently I'm not allowed to bartend without one."

"Turns out, we were being illegal," he gave her his best evil laugh, "You better hope I never get mad at you again, because I just might blackmail you."

She raised her eyebrow at him, a smile pulling slightly at her lips, "You're going to black mail me now? Well, I'll keep that in mind. But just so you know... I think this can go to ways; I think I could make things difficult for anyone that crossed me." She flashed him a teasing smile before looking down to shuffle some papers.

"Permits are just down the hall," she smiled, finally looking back up. "If you go straight down the hall, and turn right at the first opening you see, it will be the first door on your left."

"We wouldn't want you to continued being illegal, now would we."

Eli gave a nervous laugh, "Oh yeah, I forgot for a second that you're the Minister and I'm a lowly innkeeper... or whatever the cauldron is," he frowned, "That building is weird."

He shook his head with a smile, "Anyway, thanks for the directions," he kissed her on the forehead and walked back toward the door, "Can I expect to see you tomorrow night? I'll make reservations at a fancy restaurant or something."

Kallie gave a soft laugh, "Right now, whatever it is you're running it illegally. So you better go fix that - I'd hate to have to come arrest you."

She gave a teasing grin.

"I'll look forward to nothing else," she nodded and smiled at Eli went towards the door.