-Kitty
Chapter 20: Closing Time
It was a noisy silence that permeated through the office space. The droning from the vent, an occasional whisper of rustling paper, and the clickety clack of typing. All that and a low, menacing, irate grumble coming from the cubicle at the end. Nevermind that he'd been provided a uniquely robust keyboard that could withstand the abuse from his clawed, demonically powered fingers, or the adjusted screen specially designed not to strain his hypersensitive eyes, the demon hunched over the desk maintained a persistent growl as he hen-pecked letters from the keyboard. Surrounding him was a collection of old office paraphernalia, freshly cleaned and crisp despite their repeated reuse over the years. A decades old desk that whirred and blew dust from another era out from its vent, a desk chair that creaked and groaned at every little movement he made. The cubicle walls surrounding him were tattered from holding up the photos and posters of previous occupants. Every item, large or small, breathed, sighing at the end of another long day, and every breath was filled with the accrual of musty scent from their years of use. They stood sentry around him, sleepily watching him complete his tedious task. It was a painstakingly slow process and the force of gravity latched onto his spine, gradually transforming his outline into a static, wilting posture that grew more and more wilted as the minutes ticked by.
Finally, the demon heaved a long, groaning sigh and straightened, his spine cheering the movement with a series of little pops. He tilted his head this way and that, baring his fangs as the release of tension seemed to send a rush through his senses. Lifting his arms above his head, he held them tight, reaching for the ceiling and savoring the sweetness of the stretch as it tingled through to tips of his ears, trembling as the rest of his body released the coiling spring of tension that had been slowly tightening the longer he sat at his desk. A soft giggle nearby caused him to turn his head, sending a suspicious glare to the figure near the door.
Kagome had been silently observing him for the last several minutes and he'd been keenly aware of her presence. Despite her quiet, gentle, unobtrusive aura, he felt her gaze like a spotlight had been trained on him, and the back of his neck prickled. Seeing him straighten and glare at her, the young woman pushed off from the wall she's been leaning against and casually strolled over.
"Done?"
He growled under his breath, rolling his eyes and glancing away. Kagome laughed in her usual, carefree way.
"Come on," she said brightly, her soft voice filling up the empty space, "It's not so bad."
His growl got louder and she laughed again. This time, her laughter finally broke through his stubborn sulkiness and he begrudgingly heaved a sigh, moving to stand and grab hold of his keys and bag. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but it was his favorite time of the day, waiting until he was the last one left and finally departing alongside the dark-haired woman standing before him.
"Come on," Kagome said to him again, "Everyone's waiting!"
'Eh?' He thought to himself. Who's waiting?
He narrowed his eyes, instantly suspicious again. He hovered stiffly in his chair, half standing, and the old plastic creaked loudly as it tried to decompress, fighting his remaining weight. Distantly in his mind, alarm bells started ringing, certain he wasn't going to like what this woman said next.
"We're celebrating your first independent case! Now that you've finished the event report, it's case closed!"
Perhaps she had the premonition that he was about to refuse, because she gave him no real choice. One quick swipe and she had his bag and keys and was disappearing down the hall before he could fully appreciate her surprising speed and agility to pluck something right out of his hands.
The growl erupted from his throat before he could stifle it and it was deafeningly loud in the sound abyss of an office space.
"Oy!" he exclaimed as he stood to chase after her. By now, he'd known her long enough to know it was futile to resist whatever plans she'd conjured up in that sneaky little head of hers. He made several half-hearted swipes for his keys, and one more for good measure, flattening his ears when she reached up fearlessly to ruffle his hair. There was a war inside of him, one side enjoying the casual, intimate touch, the other adamantly refusing to be assuaged and distracted by her efforts to appease him. But then her arm came around his and his skin tingled to feel her press in close. A part of him howled at the unfairness of it all, but the rest of him released his reluctance and ceded control of their destination to her as she began to not so subtly guide him out the door and down to the corner bar.
The door slammed behind them with a loud bang and a click as the lock fell into place and the office returned to its noisy resting state. The copier heaved a final sigh before switching to standby mode. Sometime after the pair's departure, the weary, flickering lights switched off, and at exactly half past six, the HVAC system switched off and the quiet, dark office plunged into silence. It was the weekend and the very walls of the old, dusty space sighed and groaned and sleepily hunkered down for the brief, but refreshing peace before the return to work on Monday.
…
A/N: Hey all, hope everyone's staying safe and healthy and sane! We recently had the announcement from headquarters that our return to office is being postponed until further notice as delta continues to sweep across the country :'(
I'm very grateful to have the ability to work from home and it's nice not having to commute anymore. I'm not even sure I'd want to return to the office when it eventually opens again. At the same time, I do miss the atmosphere at work and seeing everyone.
Looking forward to when the world opens up again… till then, guess I'll just write about it :P
