He sees her smile to herself at her desk, undoubtedly from a Solitaire win or a new time record in Sudoku. Now is as good a time as any to do it, he figures, at least she appears to be a little happy. Happier, anyway.
“Hey,” he taps lightly on her desk and she does a tiny double take when she sees it’s him. Her mouth does a yo-yo trick as it moves quickly from frown to smile to frown again before finally settling on a small smile.
“No messages,” she says quietly, and it kills him that that’s what she assumes now. Messages must be the only reason he’d go to her desk.
“Umm, actually I just thought I’d return this.” He slides the scarf to her, the cotton warm from his hand gripping it so tightly.
“Oh, thanks. I forgot that…” she trails off as she runs the material through her fingers, her mind seeming to travel far from the ringing phone she doesn’t bother to answer.
“Sorry if it smells like deodorant, it was buried in my shirt drawer.” His brain winces because it’s the first time they’ve said more than hello to each other in two weeks and he’s talking about deodorant of all things.
But his humiliation is short lived as he hears her laugh nervously, still one of the cutest things he’s ever seen and one of the reasons he still—
“Thanks,” she says again, and for a moment he swears that there’s an afterthought, something she desperately wants to add.
Nothing comes.
“No problem.” He gives a final tap on her desk and heads to the men’s bathroom because his allergies are acting up again. Why else would his eyes suddenly be burning and his vision a little blurry?
He gives up trying to explain the lump in his throat.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks for all the feedback you guys! Here's another one for your reading pleasure.
Chapter End Notes:
I've recently learned that Strong Men Also Cry, which accounts for the ending. Thank Cousin Mose for that one ;)
Reviews make me happier than seeing John Travolta in drag.
