Work Text:
It was late by most people’s standards. Nobody was left working around the art department, not surprising. It was just Robert slaving over the newest cipher sent out by Zodiac himself. He thought it was funny that he could get so sucked into something that really didn’t concern him at all. He wasn’t stopping any time soon, though. It just wasn’t in his nature to give up so easily. The codes were just puzzles after all, weren’t they?
Robert was startled out of his tense state by something dropping onto his desk, effectively blocking the code from his view. With an annoyed glance, his eyes locked with an unlikely visitor. His demeanor softened.
“Oh, Paul. I was just, uh, finishing up some sketches.” He scrambled, trying to cover up that he was, in fact, not finishing up some sketches.
“Yeah, of course. I brought you something.”
Robert just stared at the bag sitting in front of him and made no attempt to look inside. He was a bit stunned, if he was being honest with himself.
“Earth to Bobby. You gonna keep staring at it until it opens itself?”
“Oh, sorry. Yeah, just let me…”
He fumbled with the small gift for a few seconds before he wrangled out the item. It was a large pin.
“I am NOT Paul Avery.” He read the text aloud and then promptly burst into laughter.
He was surprised to hear Paul join in, doubling over in front of the younger man’s desk. After a couple of seconds, Robert managed to regain what little composure he had left.
“Thank you. I’ll wear it with pride. Maybe our pal Zodiac will consider sparing me now.”
Paul just chuckled. His eyes crinkled at the corners and he looked uncharacteristically peaceful. The only time Robert had seen him like that was when they were damn near wasted. It made him wonder if Avery was keeping a flask behind his desk. But still, it was actually quite nice to see him so relaxed.
“I’m planning on making more of them, but I thought you should have the first one. Only fair, right?”
Robert hated how honored he felt.
“I was wondering,” Paul started. “Do you wanna get drinks? Ditch this hellhole?”
Robert thought about telling him no; he thought about staying tucked away at his desk, still hunched over the Zodiac Killer’s latest message of mockery. Then he thought about Paul: his dumb jokes, his sarcastic “not a care in the world attitude,” his rare and pleasant laughter, his, well, everything. A realization made its way to his conscience. Without this case, he never would’ve gotten this close to Paul. Maybe, in some twisted way, he was meant to be this wrapped up in his research.
“Yeah,” he pinned the button to his shirt. “I would like that.”