(This has yet to be rewritten.)
"So, how was work today?" Chrollo had placed his fork down and was now looking at me through his lashes. He had taken me out to eat all of a sudden, seemingly in a good mood.
"It was okay" I shrugged, reaching for my water so that I could wash down the food that was, unfortunately, painfully dry. "Turns out, Illumi Zoldyck is my new coworker.."
Chrollo furrowed his brow and mouthed the familiar sounding name. Turning to me once he remembered who it belonged to, his eyes lighting up with pride. "Oh! Isn't he an old friend of yours from our school days?"
"Yes.. He is."
"You don't seem too happy though."
Placing down my glass, I wiped away the droplets that had collected themselves in the corners of my lips with my napkin.
"Well.." I paused for a moment, thinking of what I could say...
"He is a massive dick."
Looking up after hearing what sounded like a strained cough, I was met with the sight of Chrollo forcefully swallowing what he had in his mouth, followed by the sound of his somewhat rich laughter.
He smiled at me, amused. "Why's that?"
"He just gives off this annoying vibe, first of all. Second of all, can you believe that he just arrived and is already ordering me around like some dog he's trying to teach a new trick!? It's so belittling. That's not even including the fact that he practically attacked me today as well." the more I spoke, the more my annoyance was revealed. I decided to leave out the fact that Illumi had forgotten who I was, didn't seem like something Chrollo would really care about anyways.
"Attacked you?"
"Yeah! Crazy right? Psycho!"
"Well, I suppose people do change over time.. However, why would he attack you?" By now, Chrollo had been leaning closer towards me. His arms resting on the table.
"How should I know? I was packing up to leave and heard a really loud sound coming from the training center so I went to check out what caused it. Only to see some mannequin ripped to shreds and no one in sight.." I sunk into the plush back-rest of my chair, the tips of my fingers cold.
"I tried to see if anyone was in the control room when, all of a sudden, this creep appears behind me and nearly slices my neck. I don't know... Maybe I startled him.." Fidgeting, I looked back up after my eyes had begun trailing down to my lap, only to see Chrollo's eyes fixed on me. Invested in what I had to say.
"He did say he wasn't expecting anyone to still be there." I mumbled and looked back down.
The silence had drawn out and I felt myself growing embarrassed, heat slowly climbing up my neck and gathering itself into my cheeks. The sudden rustle of Chrollo's clothes had me sneak a quick glance back up to him;
He was now leaning back again, his arms crossed over his chest. He seemed to be deep in his own thoughts, eyes unfocused, staring far. Clenching my jaw, I exhaled loudly through my nose and fiddled with the silk table cloth that had kind of pooled into my lap, slightly too big for the small table. "What were you up to today?"
"I had something urgent that I needed to attend."
"What was it?"
Making eye contact with Chrollo again after my question, I nearly jumped in my seat. His eyes had gone cold now, like stone, and his face... blank. Though, only for a second, I had felt so small underneath his heavy gaze, so suffocated.
"You usually never ask me about my meetings.." Then he was back to his normal carefree attitude, running a hand through his hair and adjusting himself in his seat. Had me question if I had gone crazy, or if my eyes were just tired because of work.
Thrown off, I had developed a hunch that maybe I shouldn't press further on the subject but, the pinching sensation that had formed itself at the back of my head failed to leave.
"Well, you never give me any details and I'm just curious. You know?" I tried playing off my new-found concern, attempting an innocent façade. The cold sensation that had begun in my fingers had now creeped up to my wrist and I clasped my hands together, feeling uneasy.
"Ah, I see. It's nothing to be curious about, you'd find it boring anyways."
Would I? I'm even more curious now.
"Just worry about yourself from now on, okay?" What was originally supposed to come across as somewhat selfless came across as more demanding if anything. I could have sworn I saw his eyebrow twitch as he followed up what he said with a sweet smile.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
The rest of the night had been long, I had offered to pay for my drink and meal but Chrollo insisted that he pay the whole bill since he was the one who had taken me out to eat in the first place. He seemed awfully sweet afterwards, carrying it out during the car ride to my place as well.
At every red light, he would reach out towards me and grab my hand. Sometimes lacing his fingers through mine or just placing his hand atop my own and affectionately rubbing circles in my palm, occasionally asking me if I was feeling okay or if I wanted him to turn the heating up. I suppose it had relieved the tension I felt during the previous conversation we had had back at the restaurant, I felt more relaxed.
"Would you like to stay the night?" I had blurted out the question once I got out of the car, feeling a little awkward after staying silent the whole ride back.
Chrollo blinked at me, his expression was a mix of confusion and surprise. I immediately regretted asking.
"Don't we have work tomorrow? And, well, I need a change of clothes and-"
"I could just wash your clothes, you can borrow a robe, and I have spare toothbrushes and extra towels." I felt more and more embarrassment claw at the base of my throat while I listed the reasons he could stay. Was I begging? It was fine, he could leave.
He quickly gained his composure back after being clearly taken aback by my imposing, the glimmer in his eyes now dancing with amusement.
"Alright, I'll stay the night." he removed the keys from his car and stuffed them in his pocket, getting out with a satisfied grin.
"Also... My car..." I had just remembered that I drove to work, and it had still been parked there.
"Oh, don't worry. We'll just go to work together tomorrow and you can take your car back home." Chrollo shrugged and rubbed my shoulder before locking his vehicle and guiding me into my place.
Once inside, we both took off our shoes and hung our coats before I made my way to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water.
"Is it okay if I use your shower?" Chrollo had poked his head through the kitchen doorway, his hair disheveled.
"Sure, the towels and a robe are in the closet facing the bathroom. Don't forget to place your clothes in the clothing hamper beside the sink." I said, taking another sip from my glass.
It wasn't long before I heard the shower start and I had placed my glass in the sink before heading to my bedroom and flopping down on my bed. I was exhausted, so much had happened today and all I was looking forward to now, was sleep. I curled up into a fetal position and closed my eyes. "I'll just rest a little.."
‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹
A fruity smell, like green apple but not exactly... Perhaps green apple mixed with something else. Kind of smells like my shampoo.
...
Something is nudging me, pushing my back. It's cold, that's annoying.
‧˚₊꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒷꒦︶︶︶︶︶꒦꒷‧₊˚⊹
My eyes had shot open and I realized that I fell asleep. Turning over, I looked up to see Chrollo looming over me. His hair seemed a little damp and he was wearing the extra robe that I had, which barely fit him.
"Oh! I'm sorry, it's just that I wanted to know where your laundry machine was so that I could wash my clothes. That way I wouldn't have to sleep in this robe, considering how small it is.." I could already tell by now that I had become a deep shade of red, springing up into a seating position on my mattress before dragging him to the quaint laundry room beside my living room.
"Here it is, I'm so sorry I fell asleep." I muttered, while he went back to the bathroom to fetch his clothes that, I assumed, he put in the hamper.
"Don't worry, you deserve to rest." he came back and set his pile of clothes on the floor, placing one article at a time as the washing machine filled with water and I poured in the detergent.
After closing the lid, I felt something warm quickly press against my lips. Only taking a second to realize that Chrollo had given me a kiss.