Another drabble-sized next part to an earlier fic. Much earlier... I meant to finish this one this summer... maybe over the holidays?
Cubes Part 2
Fridays are usually pretty good workdays. I mean, sure, sometimes time goes slow, but you wake up in the morning knowing that you can turn off that alarm- not just reset it. From then on it's just a countdown until the end of the day.
I was not having a good Friday.
Part of it was my fault, I admit it. I'd a hell of a time falling asleep last night- my eyes kept wandering over to the wall that divided my apartment from Heero's. It was all ancient history- why did I keep thinking about it? Dredging up those old memories wasn't going to do me any good. What Heero and I had was a war thing- stress release. Nothing else.
No matter how much I had wished otherwise at the time. No matter how much I wished otherwise now...
Especially when I opened my door at seven am, to find him there, scrubbed, pressed and two cups of coffee in his hands.
"I needed one," he'd said with that smile of his. "Thought you might too."
It was better than any coffee-ad fantasy.
Morning traffic kept me focused on the road and not on my passenger, which was probably for the best. I flipped on the radio with the excuse of listening for traffic reports, which filled the silence between us without any awkwardness.
But now, seated at my desk, less than an hour away from lunch, my four hours of sleep making the screen blur in front of my eyes and my thoughts on the man on the other side of that flimsy partition, I began to wonder about my sanity.
Focus. I told myself. Just like the bad old days. Focus on what's in front of you right now, worry about the rest later.
"Maxwell?"
I turned to find one of my coworkers grinning at me. "What?"
"Some of us are ordering in today from the Italian place on the corner. Interested?"
"No thanks. I'm just going to do my usual. Gotta escape the maze for a bit."
"Understandable!" He nodded and moved on. I shook my head a little and focused on my screen. I could do this, I could.
"Hey."
I turned and looked at the opening for my cubicle. No one was there. Was I hearing things?
"Duo. Up."
Oh. Oops.
Heero was studying me over the top of the wall. "Didn't you sleep last night? You look tired."
I shrugged. "Nothing more caffeine won't cure."
"Can I join you for lunch?"
"Sure. Leaving in half an hour?"
"Thanks." Heero started to vanish and I realized something.
"Don't you want to know where I'm going?" That was the usual topic of conversations on Fridays. 'Where are you going for lunch?' could beat out even 'What are you doing this weekend?'
"Nope. Just heard you say you were leaving to get it." He smiled a little. "I was hoping for some fresh air."
"Ah." Okay, that made sense.
"Thanks," he said again and vanished.
It probably wasn't the best idea, going out to lunch with the source of my distraction, but maybe after lunch I'd be able to concentrate better after spending an hour with him?
Yeah, it was a faint hope, I admit it, but it wasn't like I was going to tell the guy no either...
Sad, I know, but true.
TBC...
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