Nice

Nice

Lavender turned the key in the lock. It was always so ... nice to come home to their small flat. There was no other word for it. Nice.

She dumped the shopping on the gleaming kitchen table. Why everything was kept so tidy, she'd never understand. She certainly never did anything to help out in that respect. But it was nice coming home from work to an apartment full of pretty things glinting on shelves and tabletops.

She let the silence envelop her. She liked the quiet before she made it known that she was back. Such silence was rare with Parvati's talkative nature.

Time enough. "I'm home, Vati," she called out. She heard pounding feet and Parvati was in front of her, planting that kiss on her cheek and rushing before her to pull her out a chair.

"How was your day?" The usual question. Parvati always wanted to know how her day was.

"It was fine. Great actually," Lavender said. But her mind was elsewhere.

It was sad that Parvati's life could have deteriorated to this - cleaning surfaces until they shon, filling the apartment with pretty things, drinking in any information about the outside world.

Parvati, who had been so vibrant and full of life. Parvati, who was going to travel all over the globe and make Lavender insanely jealous with her postcards from exotic lands. Parvati, who had been a compulsive shopper with more pairs of shoes than Lavender cared to count and who had once planned to have a different hat for every day of the year. Parvati, who would spend the rest of her life being crippled by the disease that was taking everything away from her.

There wasn't a cure for everything.

"You've rested up, have you?" Lavender asked. It was unusual for Parvati to be properly awake at this hour, as much as she might try to avoid the yawning and dark circles framing her eyes. The obsessive cleaning usually took it out of her.

"Oh, yes. I had a sleep earlier in the day." Parvati said. Her once full, dark face was thin, making her eyes large and scared. Lavender noticed the earrings, pearls. She had given them to her for their last anniversary, a symbol of commitment, of never letting go.

At times, and these were terrible times, she wished that Parvati could die quickly and let Lavender mourn and continue life. She couldn't leave her best friend and partner in this state. Even though her feelings had waned. Even though she was in love with someone else.

Their relationship, like the apartment, was nice. Comfortable. Warm. Lavender's feelings for Emmeline Boot, two years her senior, were fantastic. They fizzed and sparked like fireworks in her chest. Much like how she had felt with Parvati, all those years ago.

Now it was just nice. Nothing special.

Parvati was looking at her expectantly. She reminded Lavender of a puppy who had been locked indoors all day, thirsty for the outside world. "There was a fight outside Flourish and Botts," she began. "And in the park, the leaves were starting to fall. Maybe we can walk there this weekend, if you're feeling strong enough."

Parvati smiled, though her eyes glittered with unshod tears. "That would be nice."