I wanted to write something cute, and I was in the mood for some Briefs/Panchy fluff. What are you gonna do?
A young, short, and scrawny man was sitting on a train, not having moved for his entire trip. He had just hours left to complete his dissertation. All of the research had been done, and he knew exactly what he needed to write. He had spent the past eight years of his life, trying and perfecting a new way of compacting items. Just a few weeks ago, he had his breakthrough. He was just having trouble converting it all to a readable format. This dissertation would make or break his academic career. He had spent nearly a decade of time and thousands of dollars to achieve his doctorate, and he couldn't afford to blow it all away, now.
He was vaguely aware of his surroundings. The train was unusually packed, and passengers were coming and going at a higher rate than normal. Most likely, they were going home from the recent holiday. Not that it mattered to him - once he got into the zone, nothing could distract him from a task.
He felt himself being tapped on the shoulder. He glanced up. A tall blonde woman was looming over him, with a smile on her face.
"Is this seat taken," she said in an enthusiastic voice.
He waved his hand. "No, go ahead."
She sat down in the train seat, with her hands in her lap. He couldn't help but glance over at her. She was sitting with her back perfectly straight, her eyes closed, and a wide grin. He couldn't help but think she was quite pretty. He shook his head. He didn't have time for this - he had to get back to work, on this paper. It wasn't as if she'd be interested in him, anyway. As the train began to move, again, he continued to type away on his computer.
"Whatcha typin'?" She said, leaning in to the screen. She still had her eyes closed.
He sighed. "A dissertation for school." He turned the computer slightly away from her.
"Oooh, fun! What's it about?"
He should have ignored her and went back to work, but he humored her. "I've come up with a way to break down molecules of an object into a compact capsule. I've figured out the science, and I've even made prototypes. Now, I just have to write about it."
"That small? How?"
"That's the problem. These guidelines are making me have to put it in layman's terms. It's such a complex science. One has to know a lot about physics and properties of matter for it to even begin to make sense."
"Try explaining it to me, then!"
He looked up from his computer and over at her. Her hands were clasped, and her head was tilted to the side. He was beginning to wonder if she ever opened her eyes.
"Well... alright. I'll try. Let me know if it starts sounding too techy."
He explained the whole process to her, trying to find ways to simplify the techno-babble. She shook her head and stuck out her bottom lip when words sounded too complicated, but nodded enthusiastically when he got something right. When he did, he typed the notes onto his computer, making sure that he didn't miss a single bit of advice. She didn't yawn or look disinterested - he had her full attention the entire time. Even the professors started to look bored, after a while, but not her. She was just as enthusiastically interested, as she was in the beginning.
He typed out the last notes he needed, as the explanation finished. He glanced at the clock - he still had a couple hours to spare.
He let out a breath, and slouched, in his seat. "Thank you," he said. "This was a life saver."
"Oh, it's no problem! I'm always happy to help a cute man, like you!"
His eyes widened, and he blinked. There was something he never heard before. He looked back at her. She was still smiling at him.
He cleared his throat. He was starting to feel a lot warmer. "Anyway, can I get your name? I mean, it's for the paper. I-I want to give you credit, and not plagiarize your help, after all."
"Oh, it's Panchy. What's your name?"
"B-Brief. My name's Brief." He was keeping his eyes glued onto the screen, trying to curb his nervousness. He quickly typed in her name and closed the computer. Just then, the train mercifully came to a halt. "Welp, this is my stop, I better get going, it was lovely meeting you." He quickly shoved his computer into his bag, and nearly ran out the train door.
"Wait!"
Brief stopped on the platform. Panchy had run up behind him, her eyebrows furrowed.
"I was hoping I'd have a way to see you, again."
She actually wanted to see him again? He was speechless. He'd never been able to get a woman to return his calls, let alone this.
She glanced back at the train. The next round of passengers was almost done boarding. She suddenly grabbed his hand, took out a pen from his front pocket, and scribbled out her number onto it. He didn't even have time to react, before she was done.
"Let me know when you get your PH.D.. I want to celebrate it, with you."
He slowly nodded, and smiled back at her. "Yeah. I will."
She smiled, again. The conductor called for final boarding, and she ran back towards the train. As the train began to leave the station, she was pressed against the glass of the window, waving at him. He just stood there, and waved back, as the train went out of sight.
He looked down at his hand. Underneath her number, she wrote a short message.
Good Luck, Dr. Brief!
- Panchy
He committed the number to memory. He might just have to take her up, on that offer.