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A long day in the lab had turned into a very late night, so Hermann couldn’t fault him for falling asleep at his deck. If he hadn’t been snoring louder than the LOCCENT repair bay he might have left him there. It had been a few months since they had been assigned to work together, and as much as he disliked Newton Geiszler at first sight, the Kaiju-obsessed biologist had grown on him, even though he’d never say so.
He watched him for just a second longer, before tapping the chair with his cane. “Dr. Geiszler!” Newton’s eyes snapped open, and he shot up in his chair. A scribbled stickynote stuck to his forehead, he quickly glanced around until he noticed Hermann beside him.
Hermann frowned, then peeled the square from his face and laid it back on the desk.
“Dr. Geiszler, if you are going to fall asleep, you may as well be asleep in your bed.”
“Well, you look like you’re about to fall asleep to,” Newt said, stifling a yawn. He glanced at his watch, “Maybe it’s you who should be going to your bed.” He was probably right. Hermann had been staring at the equations and data up on the board for about 5 minutes straight without coming any closer to figuring anything out when Newton’s rumbling broke his attention. He hadn’t realized how tired he was until he stopped.
Newton yawned and stretched, causing his his shirt up a bit to reveal the bottom of his stomach. Hermann quickly shifted his gaze elsewhere in the lab. “Would it kill you to tuck in your shirt, Newton.”
“You know, it just might.” Newt said matter-of-factly his chin propped in his hand. Hermann frowned harder. “Alright jeez, I’ll go to sleep. Really, though, you should too. You look exhausted.”
They spent a few minutes sorting the scattered tools and papers so that the place wasn’t a complete mess when they got back. With the lab in somewhat respectable shape and the lights out they both lingered for a moment. They were too tired to think of anything to say. Finally, Newt gave him a nod. “Night, Hermann.”
Hermann nodded back. “Good night, Newt.” It wasn’t until he saw the stupid grin on his co-workers face that he realized the slip.
“Good night, Newt?” The look on his face was as infuriating as it was cute.
“-Newton I said! ‘Good night, Newton!” Herman sputtered.
“Oh. Alright.” But the grin remain firmly in place. Hermann could feel his face grow hot and prayed Newt could not see it in the dim hallway. There was no point in trying to deny what had really come out of his mouth. Even if Newt really had misheard him Hermann still would never hear the end of it.