5. 5 #2
I listened as he moved around the room, pulling different things from his suitcase. His footsteps were light, and I could tell he was trying to be quiet, but it was so loud against the steady hum of the building.
“Please stop moving,” I begged. “I want to sleep.”
Elias huffed, but gave up on his task and slipped under the covers with me. “How could I forget how demanding you are when you’re tired?”
“You love that about me,” I argued.
He pulled me to him until my back was flush with his chest. “I wouldn’t say that.”
I turned my head as much as I could toward him. “Goodnight kiss,” I ordered.
He pushed himself up a little to reach my mouth, and gave me a quick peck, before settling back behind me.
“Thank you,” I said, shifting around until I was comfortable. “Goodnight.”
“Sleep tight.”
I slept hard, hard and dreamless, but the incessant beeping of the alarm on Elias’s watch brought me out of my stupor.
It woke me so often at home, and it irritated the fuck out of me every time.
Because Elias was filled to the brim with audacity, he let it continue to beep as he stretched before finally shutting it off.
“I hate your watch,” I said, my voice deep from just waking. “I fucking hate it.”
“I know,” was all Elias said. It wasn’t like I tried to wake up as angry as I did, it was just the reality of who I was. Some days were better than others, and I was always more cheerful if I woke up naturally, but waking up to the alarm on his watch was the number one way to ruin my mood.
“What time is it?” I hoped he had let me sleep as late as possible.
He moved to kiss me before he got up, but I pushed him away. I didn’t want to be touched. He was taken aback, his brows pinching together. After pausing to stare at me, he slipped out of bed and resumed whatever noisy task he’d started the night before. It seemed a lot quieter this time around.
“Eleven here, one in the morning at home,” he answered, his voice subdued.
I groaned, throwing my arms wide in the bed. “I didn’t need to know the second part, you ass.”
“I assumed that would be your next question.”
“No,” I griped. “My follow-up was to ask you why you didn’t let me sleep until 11:45.”
“I needed to be awake to set up my little command center here,” he explained. “And, I figured you could use some time to wake up so you could be pleasant to Dr. Novikov.”
“I hate your watch,” I moaned. “Also, Elias, I’m only mean to you.”
“Wow, thanks,” he said. “That means a lot.”
“Okay, Sunshine.”
“Okay, Lab Rat.”
I threw a pillow at him, but he caught it and tossed it back to the bed. “You’re being bad, again.”
I ignored him, choosing peace over violence. He messed with his laptop, an old clunky thing issued to him. Next to it, he’d set a box and a little satellite dish, and I could only assume that would be how he’d send his reports back to command.
“How’d you fit that into your suitcase?” I inquired.
“It’s a big suitcase, and I’m amazing at Tetris.”
He fiddled with the equipment until the light on what I believed to be the router turned green. “Nice,” he said, physically patting himself on the back.
After typing away on the laptop for a few minutes, he got up and walked over to grab fresh clothes for the day. Black pants, a thermal henley, and a fleece jacket. Classic Elias. He changed there, in the room, and although I tried to ignore him, I admired him from my place in the bed anyway.
He was muscular, but not in the way where he looked like his muscles were about to pop out of his skin.
He had a softness about him, too. Big, but lean enough to be agile.
The only way I could think to describe his physique was strong, incredibly strong.
Years of hard work had shaped his body to be that way, and his career demanded it.
When he wore a sweatshirt I was almost fooled that he was normal sized. Almost.
Before he slipped on his jacket, he put on a chest holster so he could carry a gun under his fleece. With his top layer zipped up, not a soul would be able to tell a gun was there unless they were looking for it.
“Are you going to get changed?” He asked. “I don’t like to be late.”
“You should stop talking. I was enjoying the view,” I said. Elias did a little body builder pose, patting his bicep, but I couldn’t see much through his thick clothing. I didn’t smile, and I rolled over in bed to face the wall.
He walked over to the bed and kneeled in front of it. “I’m asking you nicely to please get up.”
“Do you think I’m incapable of walking down the hallway by noon?” I snapped, whipping out of the bunk and pushing past him. He fell back onto his hand as I knocked into him.
“I didn’t say that.”
“I’m not seven years old, I understand how time works.” I all but stomped to my suitcase, throwing clothing for the day on the floor next to my feet.
“No, you’re not seven,” he agreed, walking toward the door. He crossed his arms, watching me have a temper tantrum. “You’re acting closer to twelve.”
The only weapon within reach was a rolled up pair of socks, so I threw one at him. He caught it with one hand, quick as a fox, tossing it back into my suitcase.
“Knock it off.” His voice was heavy, commanding, but he didn’t raise it.
“Make me.”
His hand went to his hair, gripping and tugging at it, and he took a deep breath. “I’m really not in the mood for this today.”
“That makes two of us, doesn’t it?”
“I know you’re tired because, in case you’ve forgotten, I am also severely jet-lagged. I know we are in a Russian shithole, but Jesus Christ, Cassie, get a grip.” He threw his hands into the air. “When you get to the mess hall, get some fucking caffeine.”
Taking a breath, Elias turned and calmly walked out. It was sobering to see him angry. He never yelled at me, and I could tell he was struggling not to.
I tugged my clothes on, deflated from our interaction and my complete lack of dignity. With no explanation for why I was so pissed off, I could only dress myself, brush my teeth, and keep my attitude in check for the rest of the day.
Being angry, taking it out on Elias, just felt so cathartic. Acting like a brat satisfied the child-like part of my brain, and he let me do it unchecked until I took it too far. If he hadn’t been so tired, he would’ve let me stomp around the room until I tired myself out. That’s just who he was.
I exhaled deeply, exiting our room, and wandered down the hall. Dr. Novikov was right, this place was too small not to find the dining area.
Bench seating was attached to the tables, and I could see they folded up into the wall like an old-school cafeteria.
Elias wasn’t hard to find, as he was the only one dressed in all black.
Not a lab coat in my sight, but the room was filled with a great mix of people, all wearing different colors like they were trying to bring a rainbow about.
Though if I had to stay here for too long, I’d probably be wearing hot pink, too, just to try to brighten my own mood.
Coffee was the priority if I wanted to make amends, and I intended on speaking to him. I wasn’t sure how necessary coffee was to the average Russian’s diet, but I was thankful they had a pot. These were scientists, after all. We all needed coffee, regardless of nationality.
As I approached the table where Elias and Dr. Novikov were seated, I noticed that Elias had gotten a tray for me, and it sat to his right. My chest tightened at the gesture. I was the worst.
I sat down next to Elias, setting my coffee on the table first, hoping he would see it and understand the silent truce.
“Buenos días, Dr. Hayes!” Dr. Novikov exclaimed. “Mr. Elias and I were just practicing our Spanish while we waited for you.”
“Good day to you, as well, Dr. Novikov,” I said, smiling. The image of Elias being forced to speak in broken Spanish with a Russian scientist was almost enough to cheer me up.
“I would like to show you to the lab today. Mr. Elias has expressed his interest in looking around himself. I believe this will be a good use of our time. I understand that you are still feeling tired?” I wasn’t worried that Elias had told him that I was behaving like a child, he was far more professional than I was, so he’d never do that.
I wasn’t surprised he had tried to give me an extra day off, either.
“I am pretty tired. I’ve never traveled around the world before,” I admitted. “It really drains you.”
“It does, indeed. Would you like to rest before we take a tour? Or would you like to see the lab after your lunch?”
“After lunch,” I answered quickly. “If I lay back down, I probably won’t get up until tomorrow.”
“Then I will return.”
A man came up to him, walking urgently, and leaned down to say something. They had a quiet conversation in Russian. While Dr. Novikov remained calm, the man who approached him appeared to be quite concerned.
“Please enjoy your lunch,” he said, standing up from the table.
When Dr. Novikov had joined another table, Elias spoke quietly. “Sounds like someone is missing, but I couldn’t understand much.”
“How could someone go missing up here?” I asked. The only place they could go was outside.
“I guess I’ll have to find out.”
I picked at the meat and potatoes on my tray, finding it bland, tough, and a slew of other negative adjectives that I preferred my food not be. Fresh ingredients would be out of the question in a place this remote, and I had a feeling that I'd be subjected to many more drab meals.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, my eyes never leaving the tray.
“We’re working right now.” His tone was firm and I could feel his gaze on me. “We can discuss anything related to work that you’d like.”
I sighed. “Eli,” I pleaded.
“Don’t call me that when I’m mad at you.”
“Can’t you clock out for your lunch break?” I asked. “In the States we get lunch breaks.”
“Fine,” he said. “I’m listening.”
“I’m sorry for being completely unreasonable and inconsolably miserable this morning.” I finally looked over to him, and he sat hunched over, elbow on the table, head resting on his hand.