Mei studies Hiroto's chin and cheek as he frowns at the map, a pen between his teeth and lips.
"I think It's best we try tomorrow, it'll be done by then"
struck back into reality, "yes, okay" says Mei
the apricot beam from the lamp below him swirls across Hiroto's face as he turns to her, the light pierces through the side of his face and illuminates the creek-like green of his eye.
suddenly snowflakes begin to float down behind the window outside, rare in the city, and quite a novelty for most- though work has always been a growing weed over anything remotely festive.
Hiroto moves away from the desk, "I'm making tea, will you have some?"
"yes, Thanks"
he moves out of the room, a minute later he shuffles back behind Mei and throws her coat over her shoulders. Mei lets out a discrete "huh!". Hiroto shuffles out again.
"it'll be worse tomorrow" he calls
Mei let's her eyes wonder, holding in a smile beneath her breath. Deciding if she has butterflies or not. No, maybe just a fire fly, yes, a single fire fly.
Hiroto Teo has always been a peer, a fellow, someone frank and intelligent. Never once was he someone who threw you a coat and one single fire fly. And maybe he still isn't. Maybe Mei is being curious, bored...Premenstrual? Perhaps there's no reason at all and this is all just the meaningless thoughts trickling into what feels like a bowl of yogurt but is really just Mei's mind.
There's new movements in the city, most likely another Russian organisation doing things they shouldn't be.
It's Mei and Hiroto's second year as partners, they move around the globe for private investigations, drug busts, homicide, murders and most commonly anything to do with the Russians. They have no home, no family and no social life.
Just each other- and a map, and Tea.
And perhaps a single fire fly.
Mei relocates to the hard brown couch, only slightly for two people, adjusting the coat around her nape and collarbones. Two hands and a mug of tea interrupt her thoughts, though she doesn't mind.
The two sit side by side and gaze ahead, all in sight is the de-coding machine, a lamp and the window panes stunting time with a shower of white spots.
"we don't do this enough" says Hiroto
"do what?"
"rest"
"right." "Thanks"
"what for?"
"Tea" Mei pauses, stuck. Should she bring up the endearing moment of the coat? Yes.
"and my coat"
He doesn't answer
There's just silence, Mei then places her cup on the ground beside her feet.
"I know you get cold easily" he says
He knows? Mei's mind scrambles for things to say, is he saying something? or is he simply just letting her know that he recognises a regular occurrence in which she begins to feel cold at certain times of the night?
"well I don't have much meat on me" she states
"My mum could help with that"
Mei quickly glances over to him and giggles, only to have him already turned to her. The two whip their heads back to the window almost immediately.
Hiroto rises up
"I'm off the bed then. Night Mei" and lightly taps Mei's rested hand on the arm of the chair as he moves past her and out of the room.
That must've been a moment. Surely.
Mornings were hard, everything was always stone cold to the touch.
Mei rose and pulled her socks over the ends of her tracksuit bottoms. She moved into the kitchen and unwound the bread bag, the day was dark and cold.
Hiroto was usually up by this time too, Mei always found him at the desk and gave him a small glass of coffee. He'd already had one but accepted the offer once to be polite and it became a routine. He began to wash up his first cup and put it away as if he never had it. Sometimes Mei would use the same cup that he washed.
This was never spoken about. But Mei knew from the first time.
She decided to knock on his door.
"Hiroto are you asleep?" she called
no reply
Mei held onto the cold door handle and twisted with a bit of anxiety she soon swallowed when she found Hiroto laying in his bed with his eyes to the ceiling.
they hung in silence, until Mei felt a bit impatient .
"what's the matter? are you sick"
she began to feel ill herself, this had never happened before. She'd never actually been in his room before.
she waited for him, she didn't mind.
Hiroto's eyes began to look glossy,
"I answered the telephone last night when you were asleep"
she kept waiting
"My father and brother died in a road accident last night"
they didn't speak of families much, there's always work to do or information to be read, or silence to be sat in.
Mei felt her eyes well up too, but she fluttered them away with her eyelashes.
"I don't know what to say' "Hiroto I'm so sorry"
He turned his head to her, they didn't leave each others gaze for perhaps one minute. Mei didn't let go of the door handle. She had a burning desire to crawl into the warm, still mountains of his bed and hold him, she imagined how it would go and what his response should be.
And then, after replaying the scenario through her mind a thousand times, she stepped forward and let the door handle go.
moving toward the weary man following with his eyes, Mei opened his covers. And then something good happened, the weary man lay his long arm and sleeve out in gesture of 'yes, I think if you lay with me, I'll begin to feel comforted, and for a minute, I will park my mind, and rest with you'.
Mei slipped into his warmth, he moved his head onto her chest and rest his other arm over her small frame. They had never, ever, been this close. It was rush of everything one could take on in their brain. She had entered his room, his private world, where he dresses and undresses. Where he thinks and feels, sleeps and dreams. She had walked into him- she was soaking in his scent. She had her hands rubbing his back and shoulders, these hands had only Brough him drinks and pens, and occasionally some money for her share of the groceries.
"I like that you pull your socks over your trousers" he interrupted.
"Thankyou" she added.
