To: Newton Geiszler (newt.g )
Subjetc: Re: Article BioEssays
Geiszler, I fear I must admit that, although you have many flaws, I do love you
Herman blinked slowly to the screen's notification. It took him a long moment to realize he had hit send by accident, and now his colleague had received nothing but the start of the length e-mail he had planned to send. The man sighed, touching the bridge of his nose.
He knew the mistake had been entirely his fault. Herman hadn't slept in 2 days, working tirelessly to find out the next Kaiju attack. He was supposed to be sleeping, not writing reviews of articles at 3 a.m.
The man stood up with a groan, reaching for his stick. He limped to the nearby table, not bothering to turn any light on – he knew his tiny dormitory way too well by now, and the faint light from the computer screen was more than enough for him to serve himself a cup of coffee.
Again Hermann made his way back to his uncomfortable chair, feeling more disposed now to correct his previous e-mail to Geiszler. The man left the stick in its customary spot and sat again, snapping his fingers.
Hermann had read his colleague's latest article, following Newton's own request. His exact words, as he recalled perfectly, were "I wanna know if the math of the thing is right since the rest is obviously on spot."
Evidently, not only the rest, as well as the math applied were right. Hermann was about to praise his colleague's work before sending the message by mistake. Although he could be a bit of an idiot when he wanted, Geiszler was most certainly a good academic. His article was well written, so to the point that anyone could understand, and although the chosen subject had been researched before, it hadn't been done so brilliantly.
Hermann opened his e-mail again. After a moment of consideration, he started tipping more carefully as to avoid accidentally forwarding the unfinished message once more. His reply, to Hermann's own surprise, was lengthier than he had expected – two thousand words for a simple "the math is correct and you wrote a good article" answer? It was positively startling. He thought to himself he was becoming prolix, maybe a direct consequence of Geiszler's company; his colleague never really did shut up, after all.
With a shrug, the man hit send. He was too tired to rewrite the whole thing, and besides, it had been the first nice message he could recall sending Geiszler since… Well, since after they had met for the first time.
At least he took the care to apologize for the accidental message right in the beginning of the e-mail. Geiszler would surely read that, even if he ignored the rest of the two thousand words.
Hermann was about to close his e-mail and call it a day when a message popped up on the screen. He had a new e-mail, it seemed. With a sigh, the man opened his inbox, his finger tapping on the table impatiently. Maybe it was a message from the USA board – they never cared about the time zone.
To his surprise, it was Geiszler's. Hermann furrowed his eyebrows, clicking the e-mail. He had just sent his reply to the man thirty seconds ago! He certainly could've not had read it so quickly… Unless, of course, he didn't read it at all.
The thought angered Hermann. He had just spent his precious time reading and reviewing Geiszler's article, and he couldn't take a few minutes to read his reply? It was typical of him – and also infuriating.
The screen opened to reveal his colleague's message:
To: Hermann Gottlieb (hermann.g )
Subject: Re: Re: Article BioEssays
Hermann, forgive me if there's any typos in this e-mail, but I'm very nervous and shaking and probably won't lose time spell checking it.
Your e-mail was unexpected, but it just made my day – life – happier!
I never imagined you loved me…. And, may I say, what a horrible way of admitting it, you know, by e-mail. I like romance, fyi.
But I suppose I can't complain. You have no idea for how long I dreamt about this. I thought you hated me?
You always acted like you hated me, since that first moment we saw each other.
It doesn't matter now, though. I feel the same.
I love you, Hermann.
How pathetic it is that I annoyed you because I wanted your attention? You were always so cold toward me. The only moment we talked was when we were screaming at each other.
I know, I know, I acted like a 12 y/o boy with his first crush, but you did the same, pretending to hate me only to admit you loved me by e-mail at 3 a.m.
Whatever, I guess.
How I can one babble in a MESSAGE?
I love you.
You also have many flaws. We will have to work on them.
K, bye.
Hermann read the message twice, shaking his head every once in a while. Whatever sleep he had felt was gone now. The man opened his mouth as to say something, but no sound came out.
What in hell's name was Geiszler talking about? With his heart beating so heavily he could actually feel it in his chest, Hermann opened the "sent items" box as to read again the first e-mail he had sent – the one sent by accident.
"I love you" it stated.
"Oh boy," Hermann said aloud, his voice hoarse. He had made a terrible mistake.
The man stood up, suddenly feeling the need to walk… Somewhere. He quickly gave up on this idea when he felt his legs so weak they could not support him. Instead, he limped heavily to his slim old bed, his stick forgotten next to the chair.
How could Geiszler be so dumb as not to realize the e-mail was incomplete? Stupid, stupid boy!
A little voice inside his mind reminded him his colleague had ADDH and was probably running strictly on coffee for the past 5 days.
Hermann groaned, hiding his face on his pillow. His heart was still beating as though he had just run a mile, and now he could feel his clothes damping with sweat. The man would never be able to look at Geiszler ever again.
Maybe he could ask to be transferred? Despise his claims otherwise, he never did require a transfer, so Hermann didn't know whereas that was a possibility or not.
That same little voice inside him stated he was being a coward now, and Hermann thoroughly agreed. He was a coward.
Yes, the transfer would do. He would send a message to the USA board at once.
The man stood up once more, pulling the chair closer to the bed, throwing himself on it. His knee was throbbing badly, but he expertly ignored it.
His e-mail was still open, and there was a new message.
By Geiszler.
To: Hermann Gottlieb (hermann.g )
Subject: Re: Re: Article BioEssays CORRETED
Forgive me.
For some reason, Hermann was more shocked by this second e-mail than by the first one.
Only two words, nothing more. And yet, they were so unlike the Geiszler he knew – unapologetic and careless. Hermann could nearly feel his shame and heart broke through that screen.
Suddenly, the transfer seemed a stupid idea. How could he get away from Geiszler? After all they've been through together? After every little thing they knew about each other?
Who was Hermann fooling, after all? He did love him, probably since the third message they had exchanged, long before they met each other on that fateful day.
The man opened a new message, determined to tell Geiszler – Newt – how he felt about him – prove him right, tell him he had nothing to be sorry about. If he had opened his heart, Hermann owned him the same kindness.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard, shaking badly. The man watched them, lost in thoughts, one phrase stuck in his mind. "what a horrible way of admitting it, you know, by e-mail".
Hermann took a deep breath.
To: Newton Geiszler (newt.g )
Subjetc: Re: Re: Re: Article BioEssays CORRETED
I'm going to your dorms.
Don't freak out.
He hit sent, took his stick and, as fast as he could with a painful knee, left his room.