Chapter 5 - Flowers
Robin pressed her ID badge into the scanner to get past security in Exalt, Inc. She had arrived earlier than usual to get herself organized for the week. In front of her, she saw a tall, built figure with a headful of brown curls in a charcoal suit. She grinned and looked around her surroundings to make sure that no one would see her excited skipping towards him.
He pressed a button on the elevator and then squared his body to it with a leather briefcase in hand. Robin arrived at his side and stood beside him with professional poise. "Good morning, Director Knight," said Robin.
Frederick turned to him and pleasantly greeted her. "Good morning, Miss Grima."
"How was your weekend?" asked Robin.
"It was nice," he answered. "How was your weekend?"
"Eventful. I got to spend a lot of time with my boyfriend." Robin smiled.
"Sounds like a lucky man," said Frederick.
The elevator arrived with a ping and opened. The two stepped into the elevator. Frederick pressed their respective floors.
"Too bad they have video surveillance in the elevators," Robin said in disappointment and sighed. Frederick chuckled at her side. His hand brushed her hand, and then he linked his pinky with hers. The ends of her lips curled, but she didn't look at him, in case it looked obvious to security. "I guess this will have to do, since I didn't get my kiss from my boyfriend this morning."
"I'm sure he's pretty upset he didn't get to kiss you too, Miss Grima," said Frederick. Robin giggled beside Frederick, curling her pinky tighter. He smiled softly at her.
As the doors began to close, someone yelled, "Hold the elevator!" The sound running footsteps came closer and then a hand wedged in between the closing doors. The doors opened and revealed a young man with blue hair in a checked dark navy suit with a pink tie.
"Robin! Hey!" said Chrom with a wide smile. "I didn't expect you to be here so early." He turned his head to the other person in the elevator. "Oh, hey, Frederick." Chrom stepped into the elevator.
The couple immediately unlinked their pinkies and shifted away from each other. "Good morning, Mr. Exalt." Frederick nodded in acknowledgement.
"Hey," Robin murmured and looked down at the floor.
"I hope I didn't ruin your weekend by showing up at your place, Robin," said Chrom, reaching across her and pressing his floor. "I realized that it was pretty sudden. I wanted to apologize, but I don't have your new number. And showing up at your place again didn't seem like a good idea." Robin brought up a hand to her face. She wanted to hide.
"Chrom, we're at work," Robin said in a strained whisper.
"I know. When else would I get to see you?" Chrom asked. "We match."
"What?" asked Robin.
"Your shirt and my tie. They're both pink," said Chrom.
Thankfully, Robin's floor came up first. The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, allowing Robin to make her desperate escape. "Have a nice day."
"Okay, we'll take later!" Chrom shouted at her as the doors closed. Once the elevator resumed its ascent, Chrom asked, "So Frederick, how was your weekend?"
"Fine," said Frederick. "Yours?"
"I guess it was okay." Chrom turned to Frederick. "Hey, you have something on your neck."
Frederick's hand self-consciously pressed against the side of his neck. He had forgotten that Robin made managed to sneak in a hickey. Frederick calmly said, "It's a bad reaction from the new after shave I got."
"Ah, I see," said Chrom. "Hate it when that happens."
Anxiety had dug its claws deep into Robin's mind. The memory from earlier this morning was consuming every other thought in her mind mercilessly. She tapped her finger against the table top behind her computer screen.
"Robin?"
Robin wondered if Frederick was angry with her. She had been sending him texts all morning and afternoon, but there were no responses. She checked her phone again, in hopes that she missed it vibrating against her table.
"Robin?"
She put her phone down. They promised each other that they would minimize their interaction at work, unless contact was absolutely necessary. Worry gnawed at her sanity. What if he thought she was cheating on him? What if he was angry at her? His concern for her past relationship with Chrom did nothing to help her inner demons. She couldn't focus on her work at all.
"Robin!" Someone shook her, startling her. Her head snapped to her left to see one of her teammates, Sumia. "There's a delivery for you." She pointed to the delivery man holding a bouquet of flowers. "He said they were addressed to you."
Hesitantly, Robin stood up from her seat and walked over to the delivery man. "Are you Robin Grima?" the delivery man asked.
She nodded. "Yes, I am."
"Okay, can you just sign here so they know you received your delivery?" The delivery man pulled out an electric keypad with a touch screen. He offered her the stylus.
So many thoughts ran through her head. Who would send her flowers? Why did they send flowers? A prominent frown grew on her face as she signed off the delivery. This wasn't something Frederick would pull. They promised they would strictly maintain a professional relationship at work. The delivery man passed over the gigantic bouquet of purple and white to confused Robin.
"Who's it from?" asked Kellam.
Robin cradled the ridiculous bouquet and looked down at it. They were purple hyacinths and white tulips with no card attached.
"Did someone do you wrong, Robin?" asked Sumia carefully.
"Huh?" Robin hands tightened around the bouquet.
"Purple hyacinths and white tulips symbolize an apology and asking for forgiveness," said Sumia.
She screwed her eyes show and a frustrated frown appeared on her face. Robin fought the urge to scream out in frustration. She knew exactly who it was.
Chrom.
Her team stared at her expecting an answer. Robin opened her mouth, but immediately closed it.
"Is it from your boyfriend?" asked Cordelia curiously. "Did he forget an important date?"
"She's not seeing anyone," said Maribelle.
"Oh, look at the time! It's lunchtime!" Robin announced after stealing a glance from the clock. "You guys go fuel up. We're going to have a progress meeting after this. I need to be somewhere right now." Robin walked over to her desk and grabbed her phone. Without another word, she left her team in their disappointed curiosity.
"Don't you have lunch with Cherche usually?" Gaius asked. He had his legs kicked up on the top of his table.
"She's off on a business trip in Rosanne. They decided to send her since she knows their customs and mannerisms," said Robin. "You should seriously let your interns go eat. I feel bad for them." She stabbed a fork into her homemade salad, and speared a grape tomato.
"They're free to leave whenever, actually. I didn't designate set lunch breaks and stuff. If they're tired, they can go take a nap. If they're hungry, they go eat something," said Gaius. "I'm not their mother."
"This may amaze you but sometimes routine and structure do wonders for people," she said. Robin took a bit of the slice of chicken breast and chewed.
"Anyway, why are you here?" asked Gaius. "Empty-handed no less. No pastry. And why did you bring green stuff with you?"
"Chrom sent me an apology bouquet," said Robin.
"What the hell is an apology bouquet?" asked Gaius.
"It's a bunch of flowers that mean 'I'm sorry' or 'forgive me'," said Robin, her face crumpling furthermore.
"Did not know flowers had meanings," said Gaius. He pulled open the bottom drawer to reveal a rainbow of candy wrappers. The mess rustled when Gaius stuck his hand in to search for a box of candy.
"Yeah, they do." Robin sighed. She had forgotten how after Chrom had found out about flower meanings and used to buy her flowers all the time. She knew a couple of the flower meanings, but hyacinths and white tulips were new. Well, now she knew.
"What's so bad about that?" he asked.
"It's bad because…" Robin stopped herself from saying more. Gaius didn't know that she was dating another employee of Exalt, Inc. She watched him open the box of chocolate almonds and offered it to her. She put down her fork and dug her fingers in to the box and pull out a chocolate almond in between her fingers.
"Because?" Gaius quirked an eyebrow.
Robin pursed her lips and exhaled loudly. "Maybe I should quit my job."
Gaius snorted. "Nah, they probably won't let you. They like you too much. They'd probably just offer to give you a raise. And, who would bring me my snacks when you're gone?" Robin didn't even fight the urge of rolling her eyes at Gaius. "It's bad because you don't want to tell your boyfriend, right?" asked Gaius. "And you'd prefer not to tell Blue that you're seeing someone, yeah? So you feel super guilty."
Robin pursed her lips at Gaius and glared at him. Gaius nonchalantly threw a couple more chocolate almonds into his mouth and crushed them in between his teeth. He grinned at Robin, taking her reaction as a confirmation.
"Should I just give them back?" asked Robin, crossing her arms over her chest. The two stared at the bouquet sitting on top of Gaius's work table.
Gaius scoffed. "Like that's going to work, Bubbles."
"Eugh, I know," said Robin, letting her head drop back. Finally, she said, "Maybe I should talk to him."
"Who? Blue?" Gaius raised an eyebrow.
"No, the person I'm seeing," said Robin.
"You still won't tell me who it is," said Gaius.
"Gaius." Robin groaned. "Please don't add to my headache. I'll tell you in due time."
"Okay, Bubbles. You know I could just easily find out by hacking your phone?" Gaius smirked at her.
"I will kill you with a spork if you do that," said Robin darkly.
Gaius laughed gleefully at her threat, not taking her threat seriously at all. "A spork?" he spluttered.
"It's the deadliest weapon, obviously." Robin giggled. "You can stab and scoop. Like for eyeballs."
"Wow, Bubbles. You're kinda evil," said Gaius.
"Fear me, human," said Robin.
Gaius chuckled. "Does your boyfriend know this dark side of you?"
"Hmm, probably?" Robin smirked at Gaius. "Do you want some of my salad?"
"No," said Gaius flatly.
"It's not that bad," said Robin, taking another bite of it.
"Why are you eating salads again?" asked Gaius. "Are you going home soon? I swear to Naga, if you say it's because you're on a diet—"
"Pfft, no. I swore off of diets a long time ago," said Robin. "I just really wanted extra vegetables today."
"Okay," said Gaius, settling into his comfy chair. "You know this could be easily solved by telling Blue you're seeing someone, Bubbles."
Robin's chewing slowed and her eyes fell down to her half-eaten lunch. She swallowed and met his stare. "He'll probably obsess over who I'm seeing…and I'd rather that he doesn't try to find out who I'm seeing."
Gaius laughed pleasantly. "You and your secrets."
"Do you want the flowers?" asked Robin.
"No. I don't want your sorry flowers," said Gaius. "Give it to a homeless person or something."
"I can't do that. That's almost heartless. If he found out, it would hurt his feeling," said Robin.
Gaius raised both brows, widened his eyes, and tipped his chin down at her. He was giving her an undeniably judgmental expression.
"What?" she asked.
"Do you hear yourself?" he asked.
Robin blushed with realization. "Oh gods, Gaius." She buried her face in her hands. "Okay! Okay! I'll give them to a homeless person."
Robin didn't end up giving the flowers to a homeless person. She realized that a homeless person had no use for sorry flowers. She sat there in her kitchen staring at the vase full of flowers. She pursed her lips and crossed her arms. She narrowed her eyes at the violet and white buds on her dining table. She should've thrown them out, but for some reason she couldn't. It wasn't the flowers' fault.
Robin sighed. She checked her phone again to see if Frederick had gotten back to her. Nothing. She suppressed the urge to cry out in frustration and chuck the phone across the kitchen. She knew he wasn't ignoring her. That wasn't like Frederick. He wasn't immature like that, but she wanted to talk through this morning's awkward encounter with Chrom.
Robin dialed 'Teddy Bear' and waited for him to pick up. She waited longer than usual, but he eventually picked up.
"Hello? Frederick Knight speaking," he answered the phone.
Robin knew straight away he was with people related to work or at work based on the way he picked up the phone.
"Oh, you're busy," Robin told herself.
"Is there anything I can do to help you?" he asked.
"Did you get my texts?" she asked quietly.
"My deepest apologies. I'll get to them as soon as I can," he said.
"Alright, I'm guessing you're with someone pretty important," said Robin. She sighed. "Sorry to bother you while you're still at work. I'll talk to you later."
"Wait," he said. "There were some complications this morning," said Frederick, pausing for a moment before continuing, "should I be concerned?"
The flowers stared back at her. She glowered at them. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it," she said quietly. "Good luck with work. I'll see you around. I miss you." She hung up.
The rest of the week wasn't better. She only saw glimpses of Frederick at work. He apologized for what had happened on Monday and they texted and called when they could, but he was busy all week and working late. Robin understood though, he had an entire department to manage and she only managed a couple teams.
Chrom's anything but subtle advances didn't help the whispering and stolen looks from the employees she worked with. So far she had received jewelry, chocolates, an unopened love letter, and two tickets to a popular musical. Each gift was wrapped in more extravagant packaging than the last. They were carefully placed on her desk each morning. Robin had collected everything into a paper bag and planned to return to Chrom.
Cherche still hadn't returned and Robin dearly missed a close female presence in her life. Gaius was great and all, but she just need a girlfriend right now. Her foot accidentally bumped the paper bag full of Chrom's gifts underneath the table. It was a sore reminder that she needed to take care of this before it blew out of proportion.
After the last employee left, Robin sat at her desk, finished up the loose ends, and filled out the weekly progress report she was required to send to Phila, the Executive Director of Design. Once she was done, she checked her phone again: nothing from Frederick. Robin pouted and put her phone faced down. She saved the file and turned off her computer.
Robin pulled out her turquoise planner from her bag. It was at the verge of bursting and had a rainbow of sticky tabs along its sides. She opened it and flipped through it to see if her team had any deadlines coming up or if she had any personal appointments. Her eyes scanned the neat, colour-coded scribbles. As of immediately, there was nothing for her to worry about.
"Whoo!" She let out a content breath and concluded her day. Robin forced her planner closed and somehow managed to get the button to click in place. She packed her bag and let it hang on the inside of her elbow. Robin bent down underneath and grabbed the paper bag from underneath her desk.
She made her way to the elevators and pressed the up button. If she remembered correctly, Chrom was on the fifteenth floor. She had a wait for a while since it was the end of the day on a Friday and most of the elevators were headed down. Finally, the elevator dinged open and it was empty. Robin climbed in and pressed the number fifteen. She contemplated what she should say to Chrom when she was returning the gifts. Robin closed her eyes and took slow breaths, trying to calm her jittery nerves.
The sun was warm, but not too warm where a cardigan was too much for the weather. The trees were well past budding, and the flowers were preparing to uncurl their petals to peacock their beauty to the world. The birds chirped love songs and flew duets in the air.
Robin's fingers were tightly interlocked with Chrom's as they walked in the park. She leaned her head against his shoulder. He leaned in and kissed the side of her head.
Robin sighed happily. "It's so nice out."
"It is, isn't it?" said Chrom.
"So nice to take a break from all those textbooks and assignments," said Robin.
"I know. I thought I was going to die in the library without seeing daylight," said Chrom.
Robin giggled at Chrom's remark. "Cookie, you barely go to the library. You probably spent less than two weeks in the library in total just this year."
"Birdie, two weeks in the library in a year span is two weeks too many," said Chrom.
Robin rolled her eyes with a smile. "That's nothing compared to how much I spend in the studio."
"I know," said Chrom and nipped her ear.
"Hey! We're in public," said Robin, blushing furiously.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I spent more hours at the art studios on campus than at home because of you. And who cares if someone sees?" said Chrom with a small shrug.
"I care," said Robin quietly.
"Okay, so hypothetically, if we were in a war and I had to go off to battle and we were surrounded by people, you wouldn't kiss me goodbye?" asked Chrom.
"Chrom, that's a dumb question," said Robin, rolling her eyes.
"Humour me, Birdie," said Chrom with a grin.
Robin puckered her lips in thought and then answered it seriously. "Chrom, I would be there by your side fighting with you. Heck, I'd probably would've strategized the entire battle for our forces since you're terrible at keeping yourself organized." Chrom laughed and wrapped his arms around Robin. He nuzzled his face into the Robin's neck. "That tickles!" she shrieked.
"You win. I should've known better," said Chrom. "Of course you'd be there with me."
"Chrom, stop it. People are looking at us," said Robin, trying to squirm out of his arms.
"There's nothing embarrassing about showing the world that you're my special person," said Chrom.
To Robin's relief, Chrom let her out of his arms and took her hand again. It made her giddy whenever they were together. Every touch, every embrace, and every kiss were blissful, but she was never comfortable with public displays of affection.
They resumed their stroll. They had to savour their short time together before they had to return back to prepping for their final exams and finishing up their final assignments.
"So, hypothetically question," said Robin.
"I thought you didn't like hypothetical questions," said Chrom.
Robin ignored his remark and continued anyway. "If for some reason we couldn't be together," she said while watching Chrom's teasing expression become serious, "what would you do?" Robin knew this was a rather childish question that most women asked their partners at some point, but she wanted to know his answer. Perhaps it was the tiny voice of insecurity at the back of her mind wanting to find out how much he cared. Or maybe it was a worst case scenario the masochistic side of her thought of.
Chrom had his eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. "So can we not be together because something happened between us or some invisible force isn't allowing us to be together?"
"Hmm," Robin hummed to herself. "Both."
"If something happened between us, I would try to get us to work our way through the problem. That's what a relationship is about, right?" Robin nodded at him. "And if it was an invisible force, I'd fight it. I'd fight for us until we could be together."
Robin with a blush dusted across her cheeks. She pecked him on the cheek. "You're incredibly sweet, Cookie."
Robin wasn't sure how her action would be interpreted. She knew better than anyone, it would take a lot more than returning gifts and a conversation to get Chrom to give up. The elevator doors opened, allowing Robin to leave the metal box. Her grip tightened on the paper bag full of Chrom's gifts. She stepped out on the relatively empty floor. There were still a couple stragglers, but even they were preparing to leave for the weekend. Robin searched around for the familiar headful of blue hair.
"Robin!" shouted an enthusiastic voice.
Robin spun around to see Chrom walking towards her with a happy bounce in his steps. Of course, he'd spot her first. "What brings you here?" asked Chrom with a grin.
"I need to return this to you," said Robin, offering him the paper bag full of gifts he had sent. She needed to clear this up.
Chrom hesitantly accepted the bag. "Was something to not your liking?"
"No, it's just we're not together anymore and this is inappropriate," said Robin carefully.
"But you accepted the flowers," said Chrom.
"Yeah, I admit that one took me by surprise. I was prepared for the rest of the week though," said Robin. "I can grab the flowers for you too, if you want."
"Robin," said Chrom. She could detect the hurt in his voice and tensed uncomfortably. "Why don't you just accept the gifts?"
"I can't." Her wore a painful grimace and avoided eye contact with Chrom.
"What am I supposed to do with them?" asked Chrom with a low chuckle at the end.
"I don't know," said Robin, her frustration leaching into her answer. "Give them to one of the women your father sets you up with. I'm sure they'll appreciate it more." Self-consciously, she brought up a hand to her lips. She immediately regretted the words she spat out thoughtlessly, but at the same time, there was a hint of satisfaction deep inside.
Chrom stiffened at her verbal stab and he averted his gaze from Robin. With a guilty frown, he said slowly and quietly, "You know those meant nothing. I told you. I didn't have a choice in the matter."
Robin's lips were zipped closed and her brows furrowed. She tried to decide if she should try to make a recovery from this or not.
Behind him was a rather tired looking Frederick walking towards them. Most wouldn't be able to tell when Frederick was tired, but Robin could tell based on the slight off-centered tie, his serious expression more pronounced than usual, and his hair more tousled than usual—a sign he wasn't getting much sleep or he was very stressed. Robin studied Frederick with deep concern for his well-being.
Frederick arrived beside Chrom and said, "Mr. Exalt, I think we should call it a day."
"Yes. I'll see you on Monday, Frederick. Thanks for all your help this week. Let's talk when you have time Robin," said Chrom coolly. With that, he walked away.
Robin stood on the spot torn. A part of her wanted to run after him and apologize and another part of her said that it was for the best. The part of her wanting to run after Chrom won, and she turned around, but something stopped her when she took her first step. She snapped out of her thoughts and glanced at her shoulder. It was Frederick's firm hand. She held her breath. She had momentarily forgotten Frederick.
"Miss Grima, I've had a long week, and I get the feeling you've had a long week as well. Why don't we call it a day," said Frederick pleasantly. "Let's head home and call it a week."
They were the only two left in the building, especially after Frederick had to return to his office for a couple more things. Robin fussed over Frederick's tie as they waited for the elevator.
"You look exhausted," she said, fixing his tie. Once she was satisfied, she pressed her hands onto his chest and smoothed out the fabric.
"You do too," he said.
Robin chuckled softly and said, "I'm trying to cut my caffeine intake. The transition's a bit rough."
"I appreciate the effort you're putting in," said Frederick.
"Anything for you," she said. She remembered how she really fought tooth and nail for her coffee intake, but in the end, Frederick had reasoned with her with his rationality.
Before they could start another conversation, elevator arrived. They stepped into it and Frederick pressed the ground floor button. An awkward silence fell between the two. Robin's anxiety caused her to stress about what to say to Frederick. Did he see everything? Did she explain what was going on to him? Did she ask him how he was feeling? She opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish, trying to figure out how to explain anything.
In the end, it was Frederick who broke the silence. "I told him relationships were frowned upon." He didn't look at her when he spoke.
She had a feeling that he saw everything. Robin decided she'd play it cool and if he didn't bring it up, she brush it aside. She asked, "But he didn't listen, did he?"
"Apparently not. He said something about it being an informal rule and not the law," he said.
"Sounds like him," said Robin with a scoff. "Your place or my place?" she asked softly.
"Your place. It's closer," he said.
"Have a seat in the living room, I can make us some tea," said Robin. She slipped her shoes, neatly paired the shoes, and placed them on her shoe rack.
"Don't you think we should eat something first?" asked Frederick. He followed Robin in.
"Yeah, I can stick lasagna into the oven. I pre-made some a while ago," said Robin. "Does that sound okay?"
"Yeah, it sounds good," said Frederick.
Robin noted as he relaxed in her presence, how exhausted he sounded. "Go rest, I'll join you after I stick the lasagna in the fridge and make some tea," said Robin, leaving him behind to head to the kitchen.
Robin walked into her kitchen and pre-heated the oven. She filled her electric kettle up and pressed the button. She dug through her cupboard of teas and pulled out one of the tins of loose leaf tea.
"Do you need any help?" asked Frederick from behind.
Robin shook her head. "Nope, I'm good." She heard his footsteps come closer. As she spooned the loose leaf into open tea bags, she felt his arms wrap around her waist. "I told you to just relax." Frederick hummed in her ear. "Tired?" He nodded once on her shoulder.
The water finished boiling and the kettle clicked off. Robin reached over and grabbed the kettle. She poured the hot water over the tea bags.
"Your flowers are wilting," said Frederick.
Robin's steady hand faltered, but she steadied it immediately as she poured water into the second cup.
"Are you okay?" he asked, letting her go.
"Yeah, I'm fine," said Robin. She glanced over at the vase on the dining table. The water level was clearly low in the glass vase and the flowers were starting to droop their heads. "I need to throw them out," she said as she eyed the flowers. "Thanks for reminding me."
"Who are they from?" asked Frederick calmly while receiving the steaming cup of tea Robin offered him. He took a sip from the cup and watched Robin spoon sugar into her cup. The spoon ended up bumping the rim of the cup, spilling some of the white granules on the countertop.
Robin walked over to her fridge, grabbed her milk, and walked back over. She felt the balance of the milk carton shift in her hand and carefully poured the milk into the cup. The milk clouded in the hot liquid and slowly dispersed. Wordlessly, she stirred the tea with the spoon and it made uneven clinking sounds as it hit the side of the cup.
"They're from Chrom," she said quietly, her eyes fixed on the cup in her hands. She felt her heart quicken.
She brought up the cup to her lips and blew at the surface, causing ripples to form. She sipped at the tea a couple times. Then she looked up, because Frederick hadn't said anything. He wore a deep frown. She couldn't tell if it were out of disapproval or concern. She added. "It doesn't mean anything. There's nothing going on between us."
"Robin," Frederick said.
"I'll take care of it, Frederick," said Robin earnestly.
He looked like he ate something sour. "Can you tell me what happened between you two?" he asked.
Robin pressed her lips together and shifted her eyes away from him. "It didn't work out, so we broke up. A long time ago."
"Is that all?" he asked. "Because I feel like there's a lot more to the story."
"Frederick, they're just flowers," she said. "I had no idea they were from him until after I signed off on them. I'm serious. There's nothing going on." Robin watched him digest her words.
"So, I have nothing to worry about then?" he asked.
"Nothing." Robin smiled weakly at him, like she was hiding something.
Frederick sighed. "Okay. Can you promise me something?" he asked.
"Mmhmm?" She nodded eagerly.
"If anything happens, can we keep secrets to a minimum?" he asked.
Robin detected uneasiness in his voice. He probably wanted to know all the details of her past relationship with Chrom, but he was too much of a gentleman to ask. He was restraining himself. She could at least make this one simple promise with him.
"Okay." Robin tipped her head, asking for a kiss. Frederick gave her a brief peck on the lips and left her in the kitchen. She felt a heavy heart in her chest and sighed.
Frederick wasn't happy with her.
Author's Note:
Just wanted to say an extra thank-you for those who always take a couple minutes out of their day to leave reviews. It really does mean a lot to me and I know how the story is being received, especially with all the hours I spend fixating on a lot of details that I'll probably scrap anyway. You guys are awesome.