Summer's Heatwaves

Silk

His stare rested on the smooth wood that composed the desk. Observing the sky reflecting itself on the mirror-like polished texture. Two chairs, as it always was until then. One was empty now, filled only with the void of this unnamed absence.

Tinea went to lean on the edge, gently posing his back against it. Watching wearily as his colleagues passed by, the mail settled on the table and only him to scan it. He couldn't really grasp the complexity of this emotion; shame, sadness, anger, all of it.

The young man tried taking his mind off it, searching with his eyes the category of the papers laying on the table.

He sat down, running a hand through his hair to appreciate the new shaved texture. One positive point was that he could finally take a seat in front of this computer he dreamed of owning so much. Finally being able to check how many days he could take off was a relief. A blue thing caught his eyes, that old stylus Valentin used.

Tinea took it in his hand, twirling it between his fingers, enjoying the false sense of security and familiarity it strangely exuded.

He was feeling a bit lonely at this desk.

But as it was reading his mind, someone stood in front of his desk. It was one of his team leaders, a proud woman on her tall heels.

"- Hello, I have something to ask you."

The young man could not help but release an "uh oh" which fortunately passed for irony in the eyes of his boss; it was not like he could afford complaining much.

"- Can you take care of your new colleague, show him around and what your work is about. "

He looked up at her.

Tinea: What do you mean... "My new colleague" ?

Tell me they did not replace him so quickly.

A slight annoyance could be heard in his voice, he was angry that no one had really addressed what had happened. But the working world did not have time for this sort of thing, he understood it very quickly.

That was probably Val' who made this place more... "Familial", then what it really was.

But when his bored gaze finally met the ebony gaze of this soft familiar figure, it was like all his ridiculous problems vanished. Curly, long and gorgeous black hairs surrounding this face who always had the softest expression.

Tinea: Antony !

***

Tinea had shown him the way. Both already had that familiarity that made good friends, going around with a little excitement in their heart as the novelty arrived in their lives.

Tinea: You really should have not come here, this place is hell.

Antony: Come on, you know there is nothing else in all of Thavach... And I'm not really the type to do manual work.

Tinea: Don't like getting your hands dirty ?

The young man was showing his friend how most of the tools worked. The scanner, its categories, the computers, their pages... But his new colleague was mainly looking at him, seeming a little curious, which did not escape Tinea.

Tinea: What ?

Antony: Nothing... You look... A little sad.

Tinea: You look dead, do you see me asking why you look like that ?

The dark haired young man looked at him, a little playful.

Antony: I would love for you to ask.