With My Tail Between My Legs

[Shaymon Ross]

@'benedict Sterling'

What career change was this? The forth? He felt incredibly guilty and sheepish walking over from the Werewolf Capture Unit to his old friends in the Auror department after just giving his resignation in person. It wasn’t that he didn’t like his job chasing down werewolves. It just wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life. He’d wanted to be an Auror since fourth year at Hogwarts, and he’d been happy working there before he’d decided on a whim to just bugger off to Canada.

It had only been out of shame that he hadn’t returned to being an Auror once he returned. He felt he didn’t deserve the right to just show up and ask for his job back.
Even though that was what he was doing today.

He’d been incredibly stupid, and he wanted to make things right.

He knocked on Sterling’s door after saying a quick hello to any of the Aurors who happened to be in the office, and opened the door when he heard a call from the other side.

  

[Benedict Sterling]

If Ben was expecting anyone that day, Shaymon Ross was the last person he'd expected to see. When his friend had handed in his resignation, Ben had been visibly disappointed. He liked Ross - he was a hard worker and he seemed to like his job. Something in his life had driven him off, and (from what had transpired between Ben and Ari earlier in April) Ben honestly couldn't blame the man.

Still, surprise registered on his face as he saw his old friend come in, and he dropped his paperwork at once. "Ross!" he exclaimed joyfully, getting up and going to give his old friend a clap on the back. "How are you, mate? It's been a while."

  

[Shaymon Ross]

Shay grinned when Sterling seemed pleased to see him enter the room. He opened the door fully and stepped in. Half shutting the door behind him he strode across the room to meet the man, clamping a hand on Ben's upper arm while receiving the pat on the back with a chuckle. He always liked the man. There wasn't, in fact, a single person in the Auror department he didn't like.  

"Too long, I reckon. Which is, incidentally, why I'm here." His smile shifted from the playful grin to a bit awkward. He hated doing this. He hated any sort of awkward situation. 

"I'm well enough for being jobless..." he chuckled, "I was hoping there would be a position open here. I've just handed in my resignation at the WCU."

  

[Benedict Sterling]

Well this was a twist. Ben blanched, mostly because he didn't expect a reply like that. "Oh?" he asked, tilting his head inquiringly. He found that although he didn't expect Ross to say that, he wasn't entirely surprised he wanted to return. Werewolf Hunting, as exciting as it was, just wasn't (in Ben's opinion) as much of an adrenaline rush as being an auror.

He released his friend from his grip and walked over to his shelves, looking at the files of the aurors he had. "It looks like we do have a few positions open, actually." he said, turning back to Ross. "May I ask why you handed in your resignation?"

  

[Shaymon Ross]

He was relieved that his request wasn't met with outright rejection, though the question posed to him was a little bit complicated. More complicated, he was sure, than Benedict knew.

"To be honest, the job bothered me." He placed his hands on the back of the chair before the other man's desk, leaning into it as he spoke. "The amount of downtime was frustrating, between full moons. A lot of investigative work into things that were mostly rumours and frankly..." he paused, wondering how much he should say. He didn't know where Sterling fell in his views of werewolves. "It really brought out the worst in people... I never really liked the thought of chasing down men and women who couldn't control what they did a few times a month."

They didn't kill them. But there were a few times where they had come close out of necessity. He hadn't liked working as a Hit Wizard in Canada either. He wanted to feel like he was helping people, rather than destroying their lives. The people Aurors usually captured tended to deserve it.

  

[Benedict Sterling]

As he listened, Ben crossed his arms contemplatively and leaned against his desk. All points that Ross listed Ben found to be very reasonable and rather true. While werewolves were decidedly dangerous, it wasn't their fault they couldn't control what they did. He nodded along and when Ross finished, he glanced back up. "I'll say that I'd be happy to give you a position that we have open," he began slowly, bringing a hand up to absently stroke his beard. "Though I need to know that you won't do the same thing to us as you did to the WCU."

Though his words were serious, he smiled apologetically at his friend. This was one of the things he didn't like about his job - he didn't like doling out these serious words. "Real life gets in the way of work, trust me, I know." though he didn't want to get too in depth to that conversation. "But this is work, and I need to know you're thinking relatively long term."

  

[Shaymon Ross]

Ah, here came the awkward bit. He nodded his head in agreement to what Sterling was saying, and although he was feeling awkward, he kept his gaze on the other man's face, taking in the apologetic smile and knowing the man was just trying to do his job. But he would have the same questions were he in the same position. 

He paused before speaking, wondering how personal he should get on this, and he started slowly. "...I think... leaving the first time was one of the biggest mistakes of my life." He'd lost his best job. He'd lost Adella. For what, really? "The only reason I took the position with the WCU was because I didn't feel I could come back here after leaving so abruptly. I've... grown a lot since then." He smiled a small smile, "At least, I'm trying to. If you think it's too much of a risk hiring me, I would understand, but I'll probably keep trying."

If they wouldn't hire him as an Auror, he'd apply to Magical Law Enforcement if need be.

  

[Benedict Sterling]

As he responded, slowly, Ben started to smile again. That's what he wanted to hear. Really, he would have given Ross the job no matter what he said, but what he was glad to hear was that Ross admitted quitting in the first place was a mistake. Ben had always thought that, but he honestly didn't want to tread on his friend's toes if werewolf hunting was genuinely what he wanted to do. "I believe you when you say that," he said, nodding and pushing off the desk he was leaning on. "and I trust that you'd keep your word if I rejected you." He walked to the shelf again and pulled out Ross's file before grabbing the necessary forms to re-hire.

"But I won't make you do that. When are you willing to start? I don't think I'll need you for another week or so if you need to finish wrapping things up."

  

[Shaymon Ross]

He grinned with the absolutely relief of it, and felt as if a weight had been lifted. He didn't know just quite how badly he needed this until just that moment. He was also very pleased he wouldn't have to find a different department, and save the embarrassment of having to grovel for a position whenever one became available.

"They've accepted my resignation at the WCU so I can make myself available whenever you need me here." He couldn't help but sound excited as he spoke and he strode around the chair to shake Benedict's hand. Sterling was a good man. "Just let me know and I'll be here." He was too excited to even make jokes, and he felt a little bit silly, like a boy again.

But if he really wasn't needed for a few weeks, that meant he could probably take Eliza on his promised trip to Paris.

  

[Benedict Sterling]

Ben reached forwards to shake Ross's hand, pleased he had another talented auror on his team. The more help the better. They were pretty slow at the moment but he wasn't entirely bothered by that. It allowed him to catch up on paperwork and brainstorm new ideas to make the team better. "I'll need you to fill these out," he said, handing the papers to Ross. "Though I don't think I'll need you for another few weeks or so. Come in and re-claim your desk when you can, but let's say you won't officially start until....June 1st, let's say?" That sounded like a clean start date.

  

[Shaymon Ross]

Not even the paperwork could put him into a funk now! He took the sheets offered and continued to grin like an idiot, nodding his head and thinking about how great it would be to return. Although he got on well enough with his WCU coworkers, he never quite bonded with them like he did with his fellow Aurors. There were, in fact, a few coworkers in the other department that made him feel a little ill-at-ease.

"That's perfect. When they're finished with me at the WCU I'll bring my things." 

Paperwork in hand, he headed towards the door, giving a cheeky little salute -- more himself now -- as he slipped out the door, shutting it behind him.