Lines of Code (To the moon)

2

The tapping of Eva's footsteps echoed down the halls. Her and Neil had an early case, thus were there early in the morning. At least, she was. She had dropped him off at his apartment complex around four in the morning, when they got finished with their case. Their hours had always been messed up, that was just a part of the job. That never made everything any less tiring.

She had always been a morning person, she would go to sleep at eleven and wake up at seven. She'd eat some breakfast, and then get to work. She would finish in the afternoon, and then be able to spend some time in her garden if she was at home. She would water her plants, sometimes take out the weeds, but she also enjoyed reading in her garden. There was something about being surrounded by plants in the sunlight with a good book. 

Neil would make fun of her for having such a bland lifestyle, but she found it peaceful. Besides, she always could catch the slight change in his tone when he was telling a lie. She never pushed, but she always knew when there was something wrong.

Their most recent case wasn't anything special to Eva, but she noticed how rushed Neil looked to get through it.

 "It's already late-- i'd rather not spend four more hours in this shit hole." 

His wish was that he was more popular. It wasn't too hard to fulfill, they just had to change one event in his life and then boom-- he was ready to take the world on.

"Go on without me, I'm going to fill out the final paperwork outside the simulation," without even waiting for a reply he left. By the time she left the simulation, Neil was packed up and ready to go. 

She spent some time working on the paperwork for the case, and then took a nap in her office. When she woke up, it was eight in the morning. She let out a long sigh and pulled out a hairbrush and some makeup from one of her desk drawers, this was all a procedure when they had early shifts. 

Meanwhile, Neil had finished his paperwork at home. He attempted to go to sleep, but he instead slayed awake in his bed for an hour. He felt almost if he deserved praise for finishing his paper work the same day as the case, though they were expected to have it done one day after the case was closed. After driving to Sigcorp, he walked into his office and placed his belongings on the floor next to his old desk. He locked his door, and then painfully pushed the book case out of the way to grab his work in progress machine. After a good five minutes, it got booted up. He placed on the helmet, and was launched inside the other fake reality. 

He allowed himself to smile as he saw Faye standing in the middle of the void, staring up at the endless white sky. He made note to make this place have at least some scenery for her. 

"You're here," Faye spoke in a calm and flat voice.

"Yep. Had a case that went early in the morning," Neil summoned the control panel from the air and took notice of his hands. The tips of his fingers were callused, and the skin around his nails had been picked at so much that there was scars and scabs dotted around his nails. He took out his gloves from his pocket and slipped them onto his hands. 

"What are you coding?"

"Scenery."

Faye hummed and stared out into the void. After a bit, there was an area with grass, flowers, and trees. Faye happily flew over to it and sat down, leaning back on a tree. 

"Thanks," she glanced over at him.

"No problem."

Though it was subtle, there was a difference in the way that Neil sat down beside her that she found concerning. That was the way that he sat down seemed more like a collapse, rather than lowering himself to the ground. 

"So, how was the case?" Faye tilted her head slightly and twirled her hair around her finger.

"Fine," She hated how fast he shut down the question, though it was very telling.

"What was the wish?"

"To be popular," Neil adjusted his posture slightly and stared up at the sky he created. 

"What a dumb wish," Faye responded.

"Yeah."

The two sat in silence for a while, just staring at the sky. Faye cherished the moments with Neil while they still lasted. 

"Can you make a pond?" She asked.

"Mhm."

"Cool."