Connor was quite notably alone. No parents in the kitchen, no family dog nagging him for the crust off his morning toast, no friendly-but-still-unwelcome teasing on his more adventurous outfit choices. Nobody but him. But did he feel lonely? Nope– he felt independent.

With nobody pressuring him to eat, he skipped breakfast, which he hated anyway, and spent extra time shaving his barely existent beard and styling his dark hair to flip back in an artful flounce. 

It was his first day at the internship that had brought him to the city, and he’d dressed carefully in neatly pressed grey chinos over loafers that showed a peep of his slim ankles, a crisp white linen button up with the short sleeves playfully rolled, and lastly, he shrugged into a silky olive bomber, just for the walk over. It was still cold in the mornings after all, and he wanted to drink iced coffee. 

He studied his outfit in the mirror– it was perfect, obviously, and he noted how specifically he looked like he worked at a lifestyle publication. And in fact, he did, as of today, work at a lifestyle publication.

When he was done checking his clothes, he gave his reflection a dazzling smile and a small wink of encouragement. 

His smile broadened when he bumped into James heading out as well. James nodded brusquely at him, a protein bar dangled from his mouth as he locked the door one-handed. His other hand supported a motorcycle helmet. He was disheveled, but like... in a hot way. With his steel-toed boots unlaced and loose around his ankles and a leather jacket over a black tee, he looked pleasantly rugged. 

Connor smiled at him, pausing to make it obvious they were going to walk out together. James’ eyes narrowed suspiciously, and Connor ignored it. 

This was his chance to get to know James. Maybe they would meet every morning and become close! Maybe James would start coming out earlier and earlier each day just to spend a few more minutes in Connor’s company. Connor would bake breakfast pastries to offer him and they could walk to work together. Wait! James had a motorcycle! They could go for morning rides! They could watch the sunrise together! This was perfect! 

He turned to James, with a coquettish smile. “You’re up so early! Do you always leave at this time?”

James’ protein bars slipped out of his mouth and he grunted, annoyed, as it bounced off his chest onto the floor, leaving a messy trail of crumbs behind. James ignored his question, distracted with brushing himself off. When he was done, he strode down the hall as if he were alone, then took the stairs. Connor dashed to keep up with the taller man, falling into place next to him on the six flights down. “Is that a motorcycle helmet?” He refused to give up ‘til James acknowledged him properly

“Yeah,” James answered, his voice still held a hint of roughness as if he’d just woken up. Hot~

“That’s so cool! Wait a sec. Here–” He reached out as they stomped down the final flight, and brushed some lingering protein dust off James’ shirt, then he pretended to be distracted by a sudden thought, “Ooh are you headed downtown? Can I have a ride? I’m running late.” Connor laughed charmingly. “You’d really be helping me out.” He wasn’t late, Connor was chronically early and work didn’t start for another hour.

James paused at the bottom of the stairs. “Ugm, I can’t. Sorry. I only have one helmet.” He didn’t sound sorry at all, but that wasn’t going to stop Connor from pursuing his goal. 

“Oh, really?” Connor sighed, then fixed an expression of exaggerated disappointment. “Only one helmet but, is it really necessary?” 

James grimaced and somehow still looked handsome.  He pushed the door open. “Yeah, only have one… with me.” He was already walking away. “Too dangerous without one. You might die or something. You don’t want to die.” 

Connor had to agree with that. He did not, in fact, want to die. At least not like that. Falling off a motorcycle?! How ungraceful. It really wasn’t for him. He could already see the headlines and to be frank, if he were going to die, he’d choose a totally different outfit. 

“Maybe next time,” James said, throwing his leg over his motorcycle. 

“Okay, tomorrow works great! Sounds like a plan, see you then!”

James sighed. He closed his eyes for a brief moment. “Yeah. Yeah, sure. Tomorrow. Bring a helmet then,” he said, lifting his hand instead of saying goodbye, then left without giving Connor the chance to answer. 

Connor sighed, watching James’ broad shoulders and tight waist head away from him. He would have liked to wrap his arms around that on the way to work. What a delightful start that would’ve been. 

James was such a standoffish guy. Was that because he was already dating someone? Connor frowned, it’s not like he was hitting on him, he was only being friendly. What was wrong with being attracted to your friends anyway? Hot people are hot, that was just facts. It’s not like Connor wanted to date someone just yet anyway... The small corner of his mind that held logical thought reached out to think about Inho, and he shut it down hard. Not today, Satan! That bundle of disaster feelings was staying under wraps until he could poke it without hyperventilating. 

Still, Connor was determined to win over all the guys next door. He was pretty sure he was already friends with Victor, Oliver seemed like a friend freebie, but James…

He caught a glimpse of himself in a shop window while he walked. James would come around, he nodded confidently and continued his march to his first glorious day.