(Untitled)

[headofaccounts]

The last time Pete Campbell was engaged, he hadn't had much of a hand in arranging the wedding that followed. As he stands in front of the bookshelf now, he can't say that he thinks it was much of a loss. He isn't complaining, not when there are still butterflies flitting around in his stomach, but the sheer volume of titles on the shelves (Wedding

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[sal_romano]

The moment of hesitation gives Salvatore a chance to look a bit less stricken, which he’s not entirely sure is an appropriate reaction to meeting an old friend. There’s no question, when Pete looks up, that this could be a look-alike, or a close reflection, or however it was they explained those occurrences here.

And as much as he might have thought that encountering someone he knew again wasn’t exactly the most welcome thought, or it might have terrified him as a concept, he finds it’s actually a strange comfort. He doesn’t know how his termination from the company was explained, doesn’t know what any of the others must think of him, and at this point in time he discovers he doesn’t actually care too much.

The two repetitions of his own name seem to change him twice, first from a sort of hesitant expression as if he was afraid of being incorrect to relief, and then a smile. The release of a pent-up breath. The question almost doesn’t seem to make sense, but of course it’s a logical one. He has to think about it, his answer having stretched without him thinking about it. “A few weeks,” he answers, then corrects himself, “almost a month. I’m sorry, I didn’t know there was anyone else here I knew.”

He lifts a hand to the back of his head, pushing his fingers through his hair briefly, like he was reassuring himself of reality, letting his mind catch up. Pete Cambell - engaged, was it? It was a familiar situation. “How long have you been here?” It's not accusatory, just wondering.

Sal had seen him in the office as he'd walked out the door, but he seems older, settled. It's strange that something as simple as that really brings home how odd this place is, even after almost a month of being here. It hadn't really struck Sal until now.