It had become quite a habit for you whenever you stayed late for your boss to come and join you and then end the night with him dropping you off. The first time you had stayed after the official working hours, a few days after your boss gave you a ride for the first time, he joined you while there were still a couple other coworkers about, trying to finish their work as well - they gave you astonished stares, eyes bulging out of their skulls, but their gazes soon turned into subtle smirks and wiggling eyebrows when your boss was not looking the more often it had happened.
It didn't feel awkward in the slightest, though. There was always a nice, friendly atmosphere between the two of you as you both minded your work and did not distract each other (although his face surely did sometimes give you trouble to focus), accompanied by a mug of tea or coffee and a couple smiles and praises from him.
Or, if he did not join you for reasons you'd never ask him about, you simply walked up to his office, knocked, he'd distantly yell, "come in!" you'd peek in with your head, he'd look up, your gazes met and without you needing to say something, he immediately got up and headed out, leaving his work there as he'd return after seeing you arrive at home. During the rides, although short - about ten minutes or less, depending on the traffic - you sometimes chatted with each other, leaving work behind to learn more about one another.
You began to see him as a friend rather than only a person of a higher status, an authority with control over you.
This night, the scenario was just about the same as the first night your boss had joined you - wanting to finish all your work before the weekend. Only, it was Thursday instead of Friday, that was the only difference. Friday was a national holiday, giving you a three days weekend instead of the usual two. He was still in his office, though - your coworker who shared the desk on the other side was still there with you, with the same idea in mind as you, finishing up before the free days.
You stood up to go to the restroom, to give your legs and back a little break from sitting in that cramped position in the chair.
As you passed by his office, you could not help but sneak a glance at the door, wondering what he was up to. With furrowed brows, you continued to the restroom. You didn't see him at all today, only when he briefly exited his office for a bathroom break, but even then he was in a hurry, practically running there to waste as little time as possible and quickly return to work again. He was there in the morning before you and probably going to leave after you, too.
When you came back to your desk, you dived into work again.
A distant thunder crashed and softly echoed throughout the big building. You looked up at the sound only to see faint droplets or rain falling onto the windows, the light of the lamps on your and some of your coworkers desks reflecting on them. The light drizzle soon turned heavier, with the rain crashing against the windows with more force as wind picked up.
"Does it really have to rain right now?" groaned your coworker, hands on her head. "I don't have an umbrella."
"Me neither," you replied only half heartedly - yout eyes were glued to the screen, barely hearing what she had to say or barely caring about the weather outside. You glanced at the time. "Hey, if head out now, you can still catch the last bus," you suggested, leaving the screen to look at her.
She checked the time on her own phone, and her face brightened, grim expression gone. "That's true." Without wasting any more time, she began to pack up. "I'll be going then before the rain turns to a storm. Nice weekend!" she yelled, already coming though the door and aiming for the elevator.
You took another glance at the windows before plastering your eyes to the screen of the computer in front of you - what she said was true, the storm will come soon. In the distance, where you could normally see bright neon signs and yellows illuminating people's apartments, the lights were only very dim, unclear shapes - the rain was so heavy in there already that it formed into a kind of fog, prohibiting you to see too far ahead. The clouds hid the moon.
More of your coworkers followed in her footsteps, hoping to catch their last buses or driving home before the rain will get too dense if they owned a car. When the thick clouds with the dense rain finally rolled above your company's building, too, they cloaked the building into that kind of fog, completely darkness outside, the rain falling so fast and so much you could not make out the dim lights in the distance at all.
A lightning bolted through the sky, although you could not see it. The only proof of it was the white light flashing in through the windows for a short, fleeting moment before the outside was dark again. By that time, even the last employee was leaving - last except you.
You figured you'd just wait for the storm to pass - they were usually short, with the rain soon passing away after maybe twenty minutes. You had no umbrella and there was no bus going near your home this time, and you knew that even a few seconds on such rain would result in you totally drenched and soaked, thus, you discarded the idea of running home at once.
Shutting off your computer, you walked to the window and peered outside, trying to decipher how long before the storm leaves. C/n was still yet to emerge from his office.
Fifteen minutes passed and there was no sign of any retreat. Actually, it managed to get even darker because of the rain.
As you were contemplating whether you really just shouldn't make a go for it and run, dodging the rain underneath bus stops or sunshades hanging above some shop's doors, the door of his office finally opened.
You refused to admit your excitement and relief.
His surprised eyes took you in, dark circles under his eyes. "You're still here? Though you would've gone home before the rain," he mumbled, too tired to even speak properly.
"I don't have an umbrella. I thought the storm would pass soon, but it seems like it's going to be a longer one," you sheepishly admitted.
"I told you, you could've just let me know to drive you," he said, but there was no hint of annoyance or anger in it - his voice was just as sweet as always, although with a hue of weariness.
"I only finished twenty minutes ago. It was already raining heavily at the time and it's dangerous to drive in such weather," you reasoned.
He came to stand by you, looked out of the big window. "It's really raining too much. Guess we need to wait before I can drive you."
Nodding in agreement, you shuffled back to your desk to sit down, followed by him closely. He took the chair from the opposite side of the desk and moved it next to you, plopping down on it with a sigh.
"Don't overwork yourself like this," you said softly without thinking about it. It had been dwelling in your mind too often, that the man looks too tired every time you stay late with him.
You could tell he was taken aback by your comment from the way his eyebrows slightly rose up his forehead and he looked at you with a questioning gaze.
"I'm not stupid," you blurted out, "I can see you're here before everyone else and also the last one to leave. The eye bags aren't hard to notice, as well, or how slumped you often look." You realized you had just basically insulted your boss and quickly rambled on, trying to save yourself, "I mean, I get that being a CEO has a lot of responsibilities and duties, but your body is important, too, so-"
He cut you off with a soft smile, "no, you're right, I know. But I just can't help it. I've always just worked and worked and worked - I guess that's just the way I am. I don't know how to do anything else but work," he confessed. Sighing, he leaned his elbows on his knees and ran his hands through his hair.
A silence stretched over you. The rain drummed against the windows rhythmically... Wait-
"I think the storm's going away," you said, looking out the windows into the night. He looked up as well, glancing at the windows.
"I think so, too." He stood up, grabbing your hand. "Let's go, then,"
He must be eager to get finally home and sleep, you thought, judging by his fast stride, yet a weary posture.
When you got to his car, barely a few drops were falling down the sky. There were still threatening, grey clouds looming above, though.
The drive to where you lived normally took merely ten minutes, but halfway there, the rain got heavier again, forcing C/n to slow down and making the ride a bit longer. But by the time he parked in front of your place, the storm was back - and even stronger, if that was possible. Heavy downpour crashed against the ground with loud thudding, a flow of muddy water streaming down the road.
"Hey, you can't drive back in this weather," you told him as you were unbuckling your seat.
He shook his head in protest, "I don't live that far. It'll be okay."
"How far?" You narrowed your eyes.
"Half an hour?" he shrugged.
"What? I can't let you drive so long in these conditions!" you partly exclaimed while trying to remain calm and composed. Clearing your throat, you said, "just sleep over at mine today."
He glanced at you without saying anything.
"Really, driving in this," you jabbed a finger pointing outside at the heavy rainfall, "is too dangerous. And you're so tired - what if you crash?"
His gaze softened as you voiced out your worry. You continued, "it's no problem for me to let you sleep here. Please, I don't want you to die."
"In that case, how comfortable is your couch?"