“So?” Beth asks the next morning with an expectant tone.

“So what?” I give her a quizzical look as I pick up the next box of packed up fossils.

“So have you done anything yet?” She asks me, a hidden smirk on her face. I whip my head over my shoulder to look at her. I know full well what she means, and she knows full well that I’m going to give her the run around until she states her question plainly. And yet, we’ve found ourselves in this situation again.

“I’ve done plenty of things since you’ve seen me last.” I answer plainly as I move the box over to the palette for loading.

“That’s not what I meant.” Beth says with a heavy eye roll, though I don’t miss the smile that pulls on her lips.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific then.” I can’t help but chuckle a little as I move on to pulling fossils from the next shelf, carefully nestling them into an open box. I pull the extra tags off each one as I do so, neatly ordering them on the catalog so as not to lose track of anything. Beth huffs at my response.

“You know what I mean!” She says in an exasperated tone as she works on the shelf next to me. I can’t stop the laughter that escapes me, the motion of it shaking my arms and shoulders. Beth scoffs but continues to work beside me.

“No Beth,” I say. “We haven’t done anything yet.”

“Really?” Beth asks almost incredulously. I give her a look and she shakes her head in disbelief. “Even if he wasn’t as attractive as he is,” I make a choked sound at her statement but she carries on without a pause. “Wouldn’t you want to get it done and have him gone by now?” She asks, pausing from her work to look at me.

“I’ve already told you, that’s not how it works.” I say with a sigh. It’s not really my favorite topic, nor one I want to think about at all if I can.

“I know,” Beth says in an exaggerated tone. “But you’re really telling me the two of you haven’t done anything yet? Nothing?” She asks me. I’m reminded of the events of this morning, of my time at home before I left for work.

My morning had started off fairly usual, aside from the smell of a male in my house. It wasn’t unpleasant, but you never realize what your house smells like until it starts to smell different.

Similar to yesterday, I made sure to get my morning routine all done before I left my room, and just like yesterday it was a good thing I had. Kenji was already awake, and made breakfast again. It was the same dish as the day before, and I realize that he’s only been cooking the food he bought, but I decided not to say anything on that matter.

“Breakfast again?” I say with a smile when I reach the kitchen. “You’re spoiling me.” I add a small laugh at the end to punctuate the joke, but Kenji barely responds save for that tiny yet polite smile. It doesn’t feel real, more like something he feels inclined to do.

“I was already up,” he says by way of explanation. “Besides, I’m home all day, I’m not going to just sit here and do nothing for the household.” He says this as if it’s nothing to worry about, just a simple fact. He’s not upset, or happy for that matter. It simply is. I’m not sure how to respond, but I don’t have to.

“I do have some work to do today,” Kenji says while standing up from the table. I only just noticed that his bowl is already empty; a few grains of rice are all that’s left. “So I’ll be in my room if you need me.” There’s only one reason I can think of to need him, and it would appear it’s the only reason he can think of as well. There’s something dark and primal in his eyes as he walks past me to the sink, washing off his dishes.

I feel as if I am frozen in place, watching him complete such a mundane task. He throws me a look over his shoulder, and I could almost swear there is a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. When he turned back, he practically prowled over to me, standing just inches away from me. I didn’t think I was short, but he towers over me at a height I can only guess is six feet or more. At this range I have to look up to face him, our noses nearly touching as I do so.

“Is there anything else you need?” He asks me, his voice low and dark. There’s a dark promise in his eyes, something ancient and feral. My brain is nearly scrambled just from the sight of it. Nearly.

I swallow the growing lump in my throat before I can respond. “No.” My voice comes out small and shaky, showing my uncertainty and warring emotions. There’s a flash of emotion in Kenji’s eyes - surprise? Amusement? - but it’s there and gone in a heartbeat. Kenji pulls away and turns back down the hallway, taking his all to familiar scent of clean rain in a forest with him. I feel the loss of his presence both physically and emotionally, and I’m worried it isn’t just my hormones speaking.

I barely register his quiet and polite goodbye as he heads back to his room. I’m too busy thinking about how absurd it would be to actually like him. I’ve known him for all of two days, obviously it’s my body speaking. It’s nothing more, and it won’t be anything more. Besides, he already stated that this is a business relationship, so even if I did have any feelings they clearly aren’t reciprocated. I shake my head clear of this mess and grab myself some food for breakfast.

“No,” I tell Beth again. “We haven’t done anything yet.” She pulls a face, and is clearly about to say something more but I put in one last thing before she can. “Yes, I will be sure to tell you all about it after. I didn’t realize you had an Asian fetish.” I tease her, making a face at her before jumping back to work.

Beth makes an outraged noise. “What? No- I- Urgh!” Beth returns to her own work, her hands moving with a frustrated jerkiness as she pushes through the rest of the shelf. I laugh, and it seems to cut some of the tension from the room. Beth snorted a laugh beside me, and I knew she wasn’t really upset with me.

“So,” Beth started after a moment’s silence. I didn’t mind the quiet so much, but Beth never failed to start up a conversation. “When did you say the construction crew was going to come by?” She asks as she stuffs a larger specimen - an upper mandible - into the straw and bedding of the next crate.

“Supposed to be tomorrow.” I say, grabbing a set of fossils that make up the delicate wing bones of an ancient and long dead dragon. Beth makes a noise of both surprise and frustration, and I can’t help but agree with her. “I know, this would have been done a lot sooner if Derick had shown up yesterday.” He had tried showing up this morning, but I just can;t have an unreliable employee, and I had already given him more than enough chances. I wouldn’t be surprised if I got a phone call or two about it though. I shrug off the worry - mild as it is - and keep working.

Beth and I have been packing fossils and various artifacts for approximately two hours now. We had gotten through a good bit, but the tediousness of packing them in just right made things take longer than I cared to admit. I had to close the museum for this, which was a bit of a disappointment since the weekend’s were usually our busiest time.

“I thought you said they were coming later?” Beth asks, pausing to look at me again.

“Yeah,” I say without breaking my work flow. “Except they called me early this morning, and bumped us up on the schedule.” Beth groans and drops her head at the new knowledge. I shrug and continue packing. “I imagine the Council had something to do with it, though it’s awfully quick.” I’m honestly surprised how fast they were able to gather everything up. I knew they had global reach, but didn’t things take longer than that? Perhaps things did, and they only moved up the construction they could get done, and I’ll be left with a half complete basement for a month. I wouldn’t be surprised.

“You think they’ll get it all done soon?” Beth asks, almost as if she had read my mind. More like we’re on the same page. I remind myself.

“Probably not,” I say. “They’ll likely start and do whatever they can,” I tug out a particularly heavy fossil. “And then we’ll be stuck in limbo while we wait for whatever fancy machines or parts they need to install,” I’m careful as I do my best not to drop the fossil. “And by the time they’re done the frozen mummy will arrive.” I dust off my hands before pulling off the extra tag from the fossil. “We’ll cope.” I say with a shrug, turning to face Beth. She seems lost in thought, staring at the fossilized skull of an adolescent dragon. It’s one of the few that I’ve been able to work on, and one of the most valuable pieces in my collection.

“Do you think I’ll still be here by then?” Beth asks quietly, not looking away from the fossil in her hands.

“What?” I ask, confusion causing a line to crease between my eyebrows.

“I’m supposed to Turn in a couple months,” Beth says quietly. “And then I’ll have… other duties.” Her voice trails off as she gently rests the fossil in the crate. I swallow the lump forming in my throat, unsure of what to say. I know what she means by ‘other duties’, I was the one who had to teach her about it.

“I’m sure you’ll get to stay here, at least for a little bit.” I say encouragingly, though she and I both know it might not be entirely true. She looks at me for comfort and I give her a weak smile, unable to do much more. She gives me one in kind and we continue our work in silence. For once, I almost desperately want to break that silence, to tell her it will be okay or to say something that will lighten her spirits.

“You know,” I say as the heavy silence almost becomes unbearable. “He is kind of hot.” I laugh, though it’s one filled with some sort of embarrassment that I can’t quite explain.

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” Beth exclaims, laughing and returning to her bubbly cheery self. I smile back at her, unable to resist her infectious attitude. “And it’s not an Asian fetish!” She says this with a hard jab of her finger to emphasize her point. I laugh again, more wholehearted this time. “I simply understand how to appreciate a good looking man.” Beth finished with a laugh, and I joined in as we moved on to the next shelf of fossils.