Bobby entered his apartment and threw his coat over the arm of his couch. The past week had been unbearably hot proving that taking a coat to work was habitual more than necessary at times. He quickly entered the bedroom, changed into cooler clothing and returned to the living room with no plans for how to spend the evening.
Upon his return he noted something out of place. Underneath his heavy coat lay a smaller one. He picked it up and examined it. It was much too small to be his, and the unprocessed wool edging proved that it wasn't. He knew who it belonged to—the only person who ever entered his apartment other than himself.
Eames had been there the night before to go over more case notes—each of them insisting more and more often that spending the evenings throwing ideas around made them more productive during the day. She had had this particular coat as long as he could remember. In fact, she had probably been wearing it when they were first introduced. He could think of countless times she wore it to the office or at a crime scene. But it was something that he never thought of, something that was so subtle and so ever-present, that it had just blended with the aura of Eames herself.
He brought his nose down to the thick fabric and breathed in her scent. Bobby usually didn't go into her personal space, but she was the one who left her things in his apartment. It smelled faintly of raspberry and soap but most of what hit him was an overwhelming urge to be with her. He wanted her to know, at that moment, how much she meant to him and how much turmoil he would be in if she were to ever leave.
He felt guilty for taking up so much of her life. "An acquired taste," yes, but that was only part of it. He was so unintentionally demanding and he hated himself for it. She had a family and a life without him. He was part of her working world—not her entire existence. He signed, resigning himself to the fact that he would give her this evening off. He hugged her coat to his chest and began his customary thought process, only this time the thoughts were everything but haphazard.
Fin