Not sure I like this chapter, kinda just one of those in-between chapters that have to get done. I hope you like it, though. In a few places Ulrich is a little OCC, I think. Apologies in advance.
"Jer told me Odd asked him for the voice changing machine, and then I knew something was up. It never clicked in my head that he was going to call you and pretend to be me- but I was glad he did." He paused to take a breath, "I had called him earlier and told him I need help, to, oh you know, ask you out-" He leaned his body weight on his left leg, which rested on the sole piece of solid furniture in his office. A small dust of red appeared on his face as his right hand ran nervously through his hair. The mug full of coffee lay cupped in his left hand, still full with the black liquid.
Having calmed down a bit, she interrupted his rambling, "You never did get over that problem, did you?" She smiled at him, inviting the already obvious response.
As if the conversation hadn't been awkward enough, he looked down at the wooden desk, "No, not really. Haven't had much practice," he admitted. She shot him a look of disbelief, which made him grin, "You forget I'm shy by nature." Remembering his mission to explain last night's situation, he continued "So Odd called me during our date, and just 'wanted to check up' and make sure I hadn't screwed up, and of course I was angry he interrupted the date, so I asked him why he'd call if he knew I had plans." He shifted his eyes back to her face, "That's where the 'Weren't you the one who set this whole thing up to begin with' line came from." She nodded and swiveled slightly in Ulrich's computer chair.
"So, you're blaming this all on Odd?" her voice came off a little snappy, and his face fell a little. "Not that he didn't do anything wrong, it was rude of him to lie to me and you, let alone interrupt our date." Guilt convinced her to give him some credit, having the guts to have this conversation with her. Yumi remembered his broken phone and bit her lower lip softly.
Noticing the thoughtful look on her face, he took the opportunity to drop the bomb, "Do you forgive me, then?"
She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it before her initial thoughts could escape. "It depends, do you forgive me?" Her voice was timid, and she spoke quickly in an attempt to fool him into vainly saying yes.
It failed, and with out hesitation he questioned her, "For what?" He furrowed his brow, eyes connecting directly towards hers.
She cursed herself for throwing the question out there, "Well, the dishes, and water… and you left your phone, sink overflowed, it got a little wet," her voice diminished to a whisper, "I threw it at the wall, it broke," she gulped.
"You destroyed my cell phone?" His voice ranged a few octaves as the sentence was spoken, a look of shock plastered on his face.
Feeling even guiltier than before she tried to offer an excuse, "Ulrich, I was angry and I didn't know what I was doing," her eyes pleaded with him, "I'm so sorry." She stood up from the leather chair and moved around the desk to try and bargain with him, "I know it was stupid and you need it, I'll pay for you to get a new one," she leaned close to his body, which was now leaning on the desk, both feet planted firmly on the floor.
He diverted his eyes from hers, "How could you- why would you?" the hand on his desk slowly turned into a fist, "That phone had my work schedules on it, it had all my numbers," he looked back at her, "How am I supposed to get all those back? For –blanks- sake, it even had that text you sent me-" the sentence ended abruptly, his eyes connecting again with hers, "the day you left."
Her arms lifted from her sides, trying to embrace him, "Oh Ulrich, I can't believe," he pushed her away, "Ulrich, I know you're mad, but," In the process of backing away, her arm brushed into his, knocking the coffee cup over. The hot liquid spilled over the edge of his desk, splashing onto the carpet and pooling at their feet.
Deep brown eyes invaded her mind, "I can't replace that." A deep breathe and a sigh later, his eyes left hers.
"Why would you need to, I'm here- here with you," she tilted her head to the right and challenged his eyes, "and I'm sorry, again." Silence echoed in the room, "Can we give this one more try?"
Suddenly, Ulrich snatched his hand off the desk, "Oh, crap!" He searched his office for something to soak up the spilt drink. Yumi rushed into the hall way, searching for the nearest janitors closest, and reappearing with a rag. She knelt down, dabbing the cloth on the carpet.
Not noticing that his companion had already began the clean up, he bent down. In the process, the two heads collided, leaving both of them stunned for a moment. "Ouch," Yumi held the back of her head, squinting to compensate for the throbbing pain, "Why is it every time I'm around you, my head gets hurt?" Her soft eyes located his, no longer having to peer through squinted eyes.
With a smile competing to win over his face he knew his answer, "Only because I'm such a nice guy."
Yumi scoffed, "What ever happened to you being shy by nature?" with one eyebrow raised she stared intently at him.
He stared right back, "Nature left on a coffee break," he smiled sheepishly at her, "ego had to take over for a few minutes."
Without thinking, she laughed, "Alright, I have to get back to work." After noticing the distance between herself and the brunette, she coughed and stood up slowly, "I'll see you after work."
Ulrich caught her hand, "Don't worry about the cell phone, by the way." She nodded and smiled, waving goodbye and exiting the room. She bent down to pick up the coffee mug, remembering that his coffee had spilled.
"Do you need more coffee?" She peeked through the still open door.
Looking down at the mess the two had made, he shook his head, "No thanks, I think I'm good." The door sluggishly closed, and he returned to his computer chair. He opened his work schedule, and blocked out the last two hours of his work day for a "meeting" with the intern.
If his boss asked, they were discussing a possible interior renovation of the cooperate offices- over coffee.
So, you probably don't get why he's going to talk to her about that. I mean, he's on a business trip, after all. Hey wait! What did he come to Japan for? You'll find out in the next chapter- the date! The actual date. No fighting, I promise. Fluff. :)
Aimee