At No Time || Bruno Mars

24

"You're up early." Kimioko halted her trek toward the kitchen for her routine morning cup of coffee when she saw Peter sitting at the kitchen table, a pen wavering between his teeth as he stared at his laptop. Kimioko would have guessed he'd been up all night had it not been for his well-rested alertness.

Removing the pen from his mouth and taking a moment to glance up from the screen, he indulged her, "Yeah. I'm making notes for Roger over the first quarter of the video. I was supposed to do it last night, but I got a little side-tracked."

Peter didn't let on that him being "side-tracked" had actually been he and Trystan working on lyrics over a plate of tacos at a restaurant she'd been introduced to through Angelique. Most of their night had been spent eating and laughing, and it wasn't until they were both walking out to their respective cars that they remembered what they'd even gone for. Peter made a mental note to actually work on something the next time he and Trystan decided to produce together, and not get caught up in her laughter so much that it became the only reason he attended.

"Mm." Kimioko nodded and made her way to the refrigerator to grab her favorite creamer when she realized Peter had already started a pot. "Are you feeling better?"

Peter gave her a look before returning his attention to his computer. "I've been feeling better for a week now." The vain voice in the back of his mind that smirked, No thanks to you, nearly pushed past his lips, but he kept it hidden. If he let that slip, he'd probably let it slip that Trystan had been the one to nurse him back to health. For the first few days, she'd come over for an hour or two to help him through the worst bouts of his ailment, and the week after she only checked up on him through phone. Peter missed her actual presence for the last week of his illness, but would take her voice through a phone than nothing at all. Shit, he cursed. He'd craved the voice of a friend over his own fiancee's. There was a  notion coiled deeply inside him that was blooming, and he wasn't too sure if he wanted to drown it out or let it grow. The latter, as of recently, seemed much more appealing.

"Oh." Kimioko paused the pot of coffee over her mug. "Well . . . that's good." The aroma from the beverage was overwhelming as she watched the russet stream pour into the cup. It was as if the steam was berating her for not having noticed Peter's betterment.

A whole week? Kimioko thought as she swirled a spoon inside the mug. How hadn't she noticed? I know I had to have asked him, she assured herself though she couldn't actually recall doing so. She'd parked herself on the couch every night to avoid getting sick, which she was sure he understood, but work had kept her from the household for the past month. Disregarding her inattentiveness, she reasoned, Well, at least I asked.

"I have to take a shipment of outfits down to that dance studio on third. The owner is helping with a music video and they needed good costumes to wear." Kimioko traipsed to the table and at in the seat adjacent to Peter. It wasn't until she'd taken a sip of coffee that she peeked over the rim of the mug and saw him staring at her with a cocked brow.

"Kitten, I know. The studio you're going to is Melissa's. That's the studio Elle Marie and the rest of us are working with. She personally asked for your work?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. It must've slipped my mind." Kimioko waved a free hand before taking a mouthful of the warm drink. If her mouth was full, she couldn't say anything else that would let on she'd been incredibly absent-minded of what went on in Peter's world for the past month. When he didn't look away from her, Kimioko was forced to swallow and admit her mistake.

"Babe, I'm sorry," she apologized and placed a hand on top of his. "It's just been really hectic these past few weeks with the business and Daddy and Christmas coming up–,"