Disclaimer: Not mine
Notes: AU
--
Trip had been de-bugging some programs when he first heard it-- an angry, definite thud. It was enough to make him jump in his seat... but after several moments of silence, he decided it was nothing to get worried about. Probably one of his neighbors upstairs had dropped a pot or something equally heavy. He went back to his work, typed in a few keystrokes-- and then heard the thud again. And again. And a lot of screaming.
Officially worried now, Trip bolted out his door and bounded up the stairs, following the screaming until he got to the third door on the right. He pounded on the door. "Hello?! A-are you okay in there?" He grabbed his cell with his free hand, just in case whoever was inside didn't open up and he needed to call the police (and now that he thought about, it would have been a lot smarter to just do that from the safety of his own apartment, but he didn't have time to kick himself for that now...)
He was greeted by a very tall, very imposing looking woman roughly his age with a thick blanket tossed haphazardly over her. "Yeah, what do you want?"
"I-I heard yelling form downstairs, and I just thought--"
"Yeah, sorry about that." She grimaced as she rearranged the blanket. "My heater's busted. I've been trying to fix it, but it's being stubborn and the fact that it's the middle of winter and I'm freezing my backside off doesn't help..."
Trip made a mental note to speak to his landlady about the apartment building's tendency to carry sound.
"... So unless you can fix my heater for me, I need to get back to trying to beat it into submission," she continued as she began to shut the door behind her.
"Actually, I probably can. Is it all right if I take a look?"
--
"It looks like your problem is a loose wire. Once I fix that, it should work."
The woman wrapped the blanket around her shoulders a little tighter. "I hope you're right..."
"Oh, I'm Trip."
"And I'm Katie." She rubbed her hands together briskly as she offered him a smile. "So, did you just move here?"
"No, I've been here about a year."
"Really?" The smile turned into a thoughtful frown. "I've never seen you around before."
"I... don't get out much." Suddenly wanting to change the topic, he turned his attention back to the wiring. In no time at all, he was finished. "Okay, let's give it a try." Trip put down the screwdriver and turned on the heat. A few moments later, warm air was pumping into the living room. "Good as new."
Suddenly, Trip found himself on the receiving end of the biggest bear hug he'd ever gotten in his life. "Thank you thank you thank you--"
For the sake of his ribs he tried to pry free, but she was too strong for him. "It's fine-- I just wanted to help..."
She finally stopped hugging him, but she still had him by the arms. "Well, there has to be something I can do to thank you."
"Really, it's fine--"
"I know. You can come to my place for dinner tomorrow." She smiled again. "I promise I'm a lot nicer when I'm not freezing to death."
"Katie, I--"
"So I'll see you then?"
He starting to realize that it was hard to argue (or do anything else) when Katie was smiling at him. "Yeah. I'll be here. Do you want me to bring anything?"
"Just your company." She saw him to the door, hugging him again before she let him leave.
It wasn't until he heard the click of Katie's door lock that Trip let himself lean against the wall. That had been... one of the more interesting experiences in his life. But even though he'd only known her for a few minutes, he was willing to bet that any experience with Katie was interesting-- like how he was supposed to have dinner with her tomorrow night.
Finally, he stood up again and made his way to his own apartment, trying not to think how Katie's smiles had made him feel warmer than the heater ever could.