Caring for Carers - Minizerk

Chapter 4

The rest of the afternoon was spent planning the first month of House 4's itinerary, and as expected, filling out more paperwork, considering the stuff can't be escaped. The pale sunlight that had previously cascaded through the windows, decorating various surfaces with delicate rainbow orbs had thinned, the rainbows splayed across the walls replaced by shadows, the room only illuminated (A/N: don't do it hoes lmao) by the faint orange trickle of the streetlight over the road, pulling both men out of their work.

Josh was amazed. He'd actually had a really good time with Simon, the two joking back and forth whilst still making progress, something he'd never been able to do so quickly with anyone before, maybe Tobi excluded.

He looks across the table at Simon, who returns the gaze, eyebrow raised.

"Have we really been working so long that it's already dark?" Josh ponders aloud, pulling his phone from his pocket, seeing the white numbers flash up on his screen, reading 21:27. His surprise must be written across his face, seeing as Simon questions him.

"It's coming up half 9 already, can't quite believe that." Josh unfolds himself from his slouch in his chair, one that has gradually progressed while lost in his work and in ease of Simon's presence. He stands, shaking out the feeling of pins and needles in his left foot, Simon laughing lightly at his movement. He's dancing around the room on one leg, spinning in circles whilst shaking the other, until he accidentally hits his ankle on one of the table legs.

"Fuck, that hurt." Josh laughs, his eyes welling up as they do after sudden run-ins with pain, although for some reason he's not so focused on that, watching the figure swimming slightly in his brimmed line of vision, as he throws his head back and giggles in his chair.

The humour both of them find in Josh's misfortune is probably heightened by how tired they both are, and how hungry they both are. Once their giggling stops, Simon's stomach audibly rumbles, and they both fall in to a fit of hysterics once more.

They actually do quieten down eventually. Being a recently opened residential place, you don't want to get on the bad side of the neighbours before the kids even move in. Get on the good side of the neighbours, even if they're insanely close-minded about anything that strays slightly from societal norms, like a kid being happy, being loud.

Josh finally gathers his bearings, mentally pulling himself together again. Making eye contact with Simon, he nearly loses it again, but manages to stutter something out.

"I know I turned down that drink earlier, but I'm really fucking hungry now. I'll take you up on it."

"I hope you don't swear like that round the kids, Joshua. I could have you fired."

"Piss off."

The two amicably walk down the road in the direction of the pub, having locked up the house on their way out, shoulders occasionally brushing against each other, conversation continuing to flow readily as they move.

If Simon whines about being cold frequently, just to see how Josh would react, no one has to know but him.

Reaching the pub, Josh holds the door for Simon out of common courtesy, having reached it first. Although the local pub is family-friendly, openly advertised as such, it is a Thursday night, coming up 10pm. There's a group of businessmen at the bar, drawing attention to themselves with their false bravado, trying to outshine each other, though Josh isn't really sure what it is they've got to compete over.

Whose wife is the most lonely, desperate to escape the utter boredom life under such a predictable person, maybe? Perhaps whose child feels the most resentment towards their absent father?