Wow, it's been forever since I wrote anything... School's kept me really busy... -sniffle- Anyway, here's another chapter. I hope you'll like it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except a nagging feeling that I'm forgetting to do something really important.
Holly and Root looked away from each other nervously, taking a step away from each other. Root had never felt speechless before, but his current loss for words brought a whole new meaning of the word to him; I can't believe we were that close… and she was actually awake… What is she thinking?
Root couldn't bring himself to look at Holly, afraid of what he would see written in her face. He cleared his throat awkwardly.
"W-well, I'll just be… o-organizing my stuff,"
"I need to… go over some, uh, old case files" Holly sounded nervous as well, Oh great, now she's completely freaked out.
Quickly grabbing his bag, Root rushed past Holly, avoiding her eyes. As he walked away, he heard her take a shuddering breath and go into the kitchen. In what seemed like an eternity of no more than fifteen steps, he finally reached his room.
Root leaned against the door, closing carefully. Slowly, he let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
"Oh gods..." he muttered to himself, What is going through Holly's mind right now? Is she freaked out, is she disgusted...? All sorts of questions raced through Root's mind; She might not have even really noticed anything. I'm just jumping to conclusions. What was that anyway? Not even five seconds, the longest short time span of my life, probably won't be worth a second thought to her. In Holly's eyes, all that happened was a clumsy moment, followed by her former boss acting really flustered and strange. D'Arvit! Why did I have to act so stupidly?! Now she'll be thinking of me as a lunatic.
The commander began pacing around the guest room. Why are you even agonizing over this!? She probably doesn't care about you at all. Well, that's not completely true. If she didn't give a care about you, then she wouldn't have offered you a place to stay... What does she think of me anyways? Am I just her commander, or former commander? Am I a father-like figure? A surrogate father? She could just think of me as a friend, or just an annoying elf that seems to refuse to stay out of her life. Oh gods...What if I'm being a burden to her? She could just be being nice to make up for not completely listening to my "last" orders or something.
Root reached into his bag with a slightly shaky hand, reaching for the fungus cigars. He had stuck one into the corner of his mouth, and was reaching for the lighter when he remembered how Holly detested them. Cursing the nervous habit, he threw the unlit cigar back into the bag and plunked down on the bed.
Holly walked shakily into the kitchen. A door closed quietly in the direction Root had gone. Holly leaned her elbows against the countertop, burying her face into her hands. She could still feel the ghost weight of Root's hands holding her around the waist. Wow, what just happened?
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. It didn't work. She could still hear her heart pounding in her ears. I don't think I've ever been that close to anyone in my life. I must be getting worked up over absolutely nothing. I've run into people before, and it hasn't bothered me that much. So why is it now? Holly shook her head at herself and ran her hand through her short hair. It did feel nice to be held... What's going through his mind? Probably "that stupid clumsy female can't watch where she's going." or something like that. Or maybe nothing about me, or what happened, at all. Might be wondering how he can get away with smoking in here...
Holly grabbed her bag that she had brought home from work and pulled out the paperwork she had to finish. She shook her head ruefully; no matter where she worked, there always seemed to be endless paperwork. She stared at the sheet in front of her, still lost in her thoughts. I wonder what he thinks of me as... He did seem to infer that I'm his friend. But that might've just been because I made a reference to him as my friend. I could just be an acquaintance. Am I still considered an employee? Maybe not... Oh, I don't know. He might not think anything of me. I'm just an annoying ex-employee who he's being forced to stay with. I bet he can't wait to leave and smoke his nasty cigars. Holly let out a shaky breath, feeling put down by the last possibility, Why does that thought bother me so much? I'm just being stupid. Stop distracting yourself and finish the stupid paperwork already!
Ten minutes later, she still hadn't made any progress. In frustration, Holly stuffed everything back into her bag. She crept down the hall to her room. When she passed Root's room, she could hear him shuffling around, and occasionally muttering to himself. She had to keep herself from giggling at the thought of the Commander talking to himself. Holly quietly continued down the hall and closed the door with a soft click.
Yeah, that was really short and bad... But please click the review button and tell me what you thought. I'll give you magical hot chocolate (or for the people in the southern hemisphere, magical ice cream :D)