special brew. | BrightWin

10.

B

"I saw you, you can stop hiding now."

A bag with a container of soup noodles was hanging on my door handle. I saw a familiar pair of white and black converse sneakers peeking out from the corner of the lift lobby. Win was always wearing those pair of sneakers, so I could recognise them anywhere. The scent of the cologne he always uses was also faintly present in the air.

He sheepishly peeked his head out from behind the wall and smiled in embarrassment. His ears were slightly red, and he was scratching his head as he slowly approached me at the door.

"Hurhur, I, uh..."

"Aren't you tired by now? It's almost ten."

"No, not at all." He said with a tight lipped smile. "Are you feeling better already?"

"Yeah, my fever has subsided completely. My throat's also not scratchy anymore, thanks to the tea you bought. It really helped."

"That's great! You look much better than you did in the afternoon too, the color has returned to your face."

"How do you know how I looked earlier today?" I narrowed my eyes and eyed him suspiciously.

"Er, well..." he stammered. "Ahem, anyway, since you're feeling better already, I should get going. Finish up the noodles and get some rest."

"Do you wanna come in for a while?" I asked just as he turned around to head to the lift. He turned back to look at me with a pair of wide, unblinking eyes glimmering from behind his glasses.

"Can I?" He asked softly.

"Come on in." I said as I stepped aside. He took his shoes off before stepping in, leaving his socks on. He was afraid that his shoes would make my floor dirty and insisted on leaving them outside the door. I just laughed and picked them up to bring into the house, and placed them on the shoe rack near the door.

He glanced around in amazement, and was marvelling at the interior of my house. He noticed my cat sleeping soundly in her little basket by the window, and was fascinated by how adorable she looked when she was asleep.

"She's so cute!" He whispered, not wanting to wake her up. I smiled and shook my head as I watched him softly stroke her head while looking at her with eyes full of affection.

An image of him stroking my hair flashed through my brain, and my face instantly felt hot.

"Are you okay? Has your fever returned again?" He asked worriedly when he noticed me touching my face.

"No, it's nothing." I replied. "Sit anywhere you'd like, I'll make you a drink. What would you like?"

"It's okay, I don't need anything. Quickly eat the noodles before they get bloated."

"Actually..." I said slowly. "I had some food just a while ago so I don't think I can finish it."

"Oh no, I'm so sorry, I didn't know. Sorry for assuming, I'll take it away."

"No, you don't have to." I said hurriedly. "I mean, I can still eat a little. We could have it together if you'd like?"

"That's a good idea." He says with a smile.

He sits at the dining table while I prepare two bowls and two sets of utensils, and we divide equal portions of the noodles into both bowls.

"You shou-" I was too late in telling him to remove his glasses before scooping up the noodles, and the steam had already fogged up his glasses.

"Ugh, I always forget." He grumbles as he removes them and wipes the mist off the lens with his shirt. I giggle at his silliness, and he pretends to be annoyed at my reaction.

Non-stop chattering, the occasional bicker and laughter rang through my home that was once just a house. It was just the two of us and my cat, but somehow it felt complete, like everything was right where it should be.

When we were done eating, he picks up both our bowls and brings them to the sink to wash. I didn't even try stopping him as I knew he'd insist on washing them anyway, so I just let him.

"Milk?" I asked as I got a carton of milk from my fridge to show him. He nods his head while scrubbing away at the bowls. I get two mugs from my cabinet, and fill both mugs with milk before bringing them out to the living room.

"What would you like to watch?" I ask as he comes to sit beside me on the sofa.

"Anything's alright as long as it isn't some kind of creepy documentary or movie about ghosts and monsters." He shivered.

I chuckled. "You're scared of ghosts?"

"It's Dew's fault. He always like spooking me out with ghost stories and says our office is haunted."

"I like watching creepy documentaries though." I teased.

"I beg of you not to turn that on or I might just have to sleep here tonight because I'll be scared to sleep alone." He says as he grabs one of my cushions and hugs it tightly.

"I'm just kidding, I'll show mercy today." I laughed. "I'll randomly pick something then."

We ended up watching Iron Man. We both lay back on the sofa, sipping on the milk as the movie played.

"Hey, what does this guy-" I quickly stopped myself when I realised Win was fast asleep on my sofa. He must have been exhausted from work and coming here to bring me food on top of that.

I glanced at the clock, and hesitated to wake him up. I figured that it would be better for him to go home to rest, but looking at his peaceful sleeping figure, it was hard to do that. He was not tiny or petite at all, but the way he slept on my sofa looked so much like my baby princess, who was now lying on the floor curled up into a furry ball.

"Win..." I said softly and gently poked him. "It's time to go home."

"Huh? Gosh, I fell asleep, I'm sorry." He said as he rubbed his eyes.

"Here's your bag. I'll call you a cab, there aren't anymore buses at this hour."

"It's okay, I can call one myself." He says while yawning.

"It's alright, I've got one already. It will be arriving in five minutes, so there is just enough time to head down to the lobby to wait."

"Thank you." He smiles sleepily with his eyes half closed as he saunters to the door. "Sleep well, and just stay home for another day to recover fully, okay?"

I follow him down to the lobby despite his protests, and waved at him as the cab drove away. When I got back upstairs, I washed and put away the mugs. I plopped down onto the sofa, hugging the cushion as I drifted off to sleep with my cat snoring away at my feet.