(no subject)

[telecommute]

Leo was late.

Not late enough to quite worry, to call their superiors, but long enough for Ivan to start worrying. Admittedly Ivan's threshold for worry was a low one indeed, especially seeing as it wasn't like he could exactly go look for Leo. The coffee table was laid out with an empty space for whatever research Leo brought back, empty notebooks and index cards to catalog and sticky notes and all color of pens to organize waited in neat stacks to break the research down into usable and referable bits.

The small kitchen table was set up ready to take tea at. Ivan clicked a few beads on his rosary together before getting up to put the kettle on just the same, even without Leo there. Busying himself with the work would ease his anxiety, he just needed something to do with his hands.

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[telecommute]

Ivan's hands clenched and unclenched into fists, trembling as the adrenaline-fueled anger faded into just worry, then to regret at his outburst.

"... I ... I apologize," He said finally, choking out the words and turning away quickly. "We do not yet know each other well. I worry. I should not have yelled. But please - get a phone as soon as possible or - or find someone else's you can use if you will be later than you say you will be."

Turning on his heel, Ivan went to the kitchen area as he frantically tried to smooth his hair back into some sense of order, setting out plates and cups and grabbing the kvass he kept in the fridge.

[busybean]

"No- no, it's fine. You're right. That's- that one's on me." Leo could feel his face flushing hot with something like embarrassment, as if he were a teenage boy breaking curfew. "That's how people in our job get into really stupid situations. I'll get one first thing in the morning."

He had been growing extra sleepy again, but now he could feel the blood pounding in his ears, and so he just took a seat at the table and began to silently unpack their food.

[telecommute]

"Thank you," Ivan said quietly, the gratitude in his voice deep and genuine.

"... Have you had kvass before?" it was a shitty attempt to change the subject, but it was there. The argument had been resolved and passed, only thing to do was move on.

While grabbing the dark brown soda he also took a few more condiments and vegetables from his refrigerator, taking his aggressively plain burger and adding his own fixings himself.

Ivan liked his things in a very particular way. He didn't trust fast food places to get them right, even if it was a nice treat. UberEats had raised his variety significantly and yet he rarely branched out.