Evan was sitting in his office when it happened.

Erwin personally came to the door instead of Will. His eyebrows drew together, and his lips were in a straight line, which conveyed nothing.

“Come to my office. Now.”

He left as quickly as he came.

Evan wanted time to digest that. To consider what was happening. But it would be bad to leave him hanging…

It took a few minutes to get there.

The silence in his boss’s grand office was as unnerving as always.

“I don’t enjoy having to tell you this, but I know you two talk occasionally. So, I thought it would be best to notify you myself.”

Evan walked closer, eyes intently on Erwin’s. He continued.

“There’s something more relevant to you as well, so please stick with me. …Will doesn’t work here anymore.” He opened his mouth to speak again but stopped himself when he saw the way Evan trembled.

No way. He was the only person Evan could talk to at work. What now?

“Why…?”

“I’m sorry. I can’t give you that information. But, listen, there’s something else. Though you might be a little snappy—perhaps for good reason—you’ve been very diligent ever since we hired you. Because of it, I’ve been considering offering you a promotion. Actually, I am.”

The whiplash was making Evan’s head spin.

“I…”

“I’m sure you’re aware of the pros and cons.”

An opportunity to work closely with this man and the chance of really making it somewhere. That included wealth, of course.

But his free time would be nonexistent. Would he be able to spend any time with Jasper if that happened?

Also, there would be no coworker to make every day a little less tiresome.

He couldn’t. There was no way he was letting go of the new world he had discovered.

“I am aware. And I don’t think I can accept your offer. If possible, I’d like to keep working like I am now.” He was trying to still maintain some professionalism.

Erwin didn’t say anything at first. He merely studied the employee who stood in front of his desk.

“Alright. If that’s what you want.” It wasn’t clear whether he approved of Evan’s decision or not. But when were his thoughts ever obvious?

He spoke up again.

“That’s all. You can go now.”

With a dismissive wave of Erwin’s hand, Evan left the office.

It wasn’t any less suffocating in the halls of the company building, despite most of it being made of glass. He wanted so badly to just leave and go home for the day. But after that meeting, it would only be right for him to keep proving himself to his boss.

The walls trapped him inside for yet another day.

Feeling lost even during the weekend, Evan wandered around his apartment. It was all spiraling in his head.

His coworker getting fired or quitting… The decision he still wasn’t sure was the right one…

He had to consider what really mattered to him if he wanted these grueling days to end.

A thought crossed his mind.

Of course.

He marched to the entrance hall and threw his jacket on.

It was time to go back. But first, on to the store.

A few hours later, he came staggering into the apartment, a myriad of items in his arms. It was a bit tough to lock the door, but he managed.

Bringing it all to the living room table, he sat down on the couch with a sigh. Clay, a plywood board, and some shaping tools.

Eating here might be difficult from now on.

The clerk gave him some pointers when he was out, so getting back into the process of this wasn’t going to be too foreign.

Evan got to work.

It was surprisingly freeing to sit there and mold that little clump of nothing into… something. It didn’t look like much even as time went on, but Evan didn’t mind.

It was simple and fun. A reminder of how he used to do it every chance he got in art class and such. Until it became a waste of time. At least, according to him at the time.

Minutes turned into hours.

He took a moment to just look at it. Squinting his eyes, he could kind of imagine it looking like a dragon head. Kind of.

Caught up in the excitement, Evan picked up his phone.

All he told Jasper over the phone was to come over, but for some reason, he didn’t ask any questions and just agreed to it. Was it the tone of his voice?

It was getting late when a knock came from the entrance.

Evan hurried to get to it and found a man standing in anticipation beyond the door.

“So… What’s going on with you?”

“I, uh…”

What he hadn’t prepared for was the embarrassment that slowly crept in from having to tell Jasper about it.

“Well?”

“Just… follow me.”

They walked into the living room together. When Jasper saw what was standing on the table, his eyes immediately lit up.

“Oh! Wait, you did it. I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be some sort of reptile, but it's cute.”

Evan rolled his eyes, but his smile was impossible to erase.

“Is it weird for me to be excited about this? Somehow I can’t stop calling myself childish.”

“I get why you might think that. But in our stressful lives, it’s pretty important to remind yourself to have fun. You know, remember what fun even means. The communities I joined kept telling me that, and I couldn’t agree more.”

“Hmm…”

“Also, there’s no need to worry about getting far with art if you don’t want to. That never has to be your end goal.”

“You have a lot to say about this, huh?”

Jasper chuckled as he slipped into the couch.

“Why yes, I do. It’s my life after all.”

“Well, you’re probably right, my clever and experienced artist.”

“I’m yours now, am I?”

“For tonight, maybe…”

Jasper leaned back on the couch. His smile was… inviting.

However, when thoughts of his talk with Erwin resurfaced, he couldn't make a move.

“Is something wrong, Evan?”

“The only coworker I ever got to talk to on a more personal level got fired. Or quit. I don’t know…”

“Have you talked to them about it?”

“No…”

Jasper didn’t need to say more. His intense gaze said enough. Evan spoke up again, determined.

“Should I do what your grandma did? I doubt he’ll open up if I just call.”

“If you know he’d be okay with you showing up at his door all of a sudden.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Off you go, then. Leave me and my new apartment alone.”

Evan smiled.

“Alright, alright, have fun.”

As Evan walked through the hall leading to the door, he glanced back at Jasper through the doorway. He was looking at the clay with a smile, which Evan immediately took to heart.

He made the right choice.

When Evan showed up at his coworker’s door, he was met with a look of surprise. It quickly turned into one of realization, though.

“…Evan. I was going to tell you. I was.”

Evan wrapped his arms tightly around him.

“Please don’t apologize; I’m sure you had your reasons. And… you were never obligated to tell me about it.”

It took him a moment, but he eventually reciprocated the hug.

“Thank you… I may have gotten fired—abruptly, I might add—but I got in once. I’ll get in again. Somewhere else. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Evan retracted his arms. He knew as much, but that didn’t mean Will was going to be fine with all of this.

“I at least want to make sure you know I’m here for you.”

Will sighed, before stepping back into the entrance.

“Want to come in?”

That would be the first time Evan had even set foot inside his house.

“I’d love to.”

It was going to be a quiet night. But a much-needed one.