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<i>”Careful, Sunshine.</i>
It rang through his mind all day and into the night, flitting through his thoughts the following day. It was almost like a parasite. It was annoying. It was frustrating. It was-
Ghost sighed, shaking his head for what must have been the third time in the past five minutes. Damn that man for making him lose concentration as often as he does. It used to be much simpler without Theo constantly bugging him. He was able to work on his experiments without the fear of being startled by his door banging against the wall as it flew open or the rare times Theo was quiet when entering the room just to lift him up and swing him around.
He was getting distracted again.
Sighing, Ghost set his items aside and sat down in his desk chair, pulling his glasses off so he could rub at his face in irritation.
<i>”Careful, Sunshine.</i>
Quickly standing up, Ghost shoved his glasses back onto his face and willed the heat rising to his cheeks to go away, putting a hand to his chest. There was an odd feeling in his chest and he didn’t know what to think of it but he had things he needed to complete. Unfortunately, one of those things required the very man he didn’t want to be around at the moment. Heaving out an annoyed breath, he dropped his hand and started towards his door to go find Theo.
Which wasn’t a hard thing to do. The man was loud. Everything about him was loud. His voice, his laughter, his yelling, his training, his smile-
Ghost stopped himself yet again from letting his thoughts ramble on about Theo. He was about to call out to the other when their eyes caught and that odd feeling happened again in his chest the moment Theo’s expression shifted into a wide grin and soft eyes. The feeling quickly dissipated the moment Theo wrapped his arms around his waist and lifted him up to swing him around.
“Ghost! I was wondering if I’d see you this morning or not!” Theo said happily, his voice far too loud against Ghost’s ear.
“Put me down, Theo!” Ghost hissed, pushing at the other’s shoulders until he was set down gently. Straightening out his clothes, he looked up at the other and paused for a second before sighing. “Don’t do that.”
“Yeah yeah yeah.” Theo chuckled, grinning still with clear amusement in his eyes. “Were you looking for me?”
“Yes, we were going to go over a few things about what you found on your last excursion.”
“Ooooh, down to business I see.”
The teasing made that odd feeling return and Ghost furrowed his brow slightly, quickly schooling his expression when he caught sight of Theo raising an eyebrow. “Yes, let’s go.” He said curtly as he started walking away. The other fell in step right behind him and he had to keep telling himself to not think about how close he was. Or how quiet he was being. Or how he just reached out to gently steer him away from a sharp corner that he had no idea he was going to directly walk into. Dammit that feeling was back in his chest.
No. It was his heart. It was coming from his heart.
Why was it coming from his heart like that?
And why was the cause of it Theo?
He didn’t have any more time to think about it as they came upon his lab door and they walked into it quietly. But the silence was broken almost immediately as Theo flopped down onto the chaise lounge that he personally dragged in there.
“So, I know you hate how I do my own notes so if I just verbally describe things would that work?” Theo asked, sprawling out comfortably on his seat.
Ghost had moved over to his desk, turning the chair slightly so he could keep Theo in his line of sight, and sat down as he rummaged around to pull out a few sheets of paper. “That will be just fine. Easier on my head in the end.”
“Perfect!” Theo clapped his hands together, grinning happily at the other. “So, to begin with what I found.”
Diligently keeping track as Theo’s sentences turned into rambling tangents, Ghost couldn’t help the small smile that slipped onto his lips. At some point, he stopped writing and just listened. What Theo was talking about at this point didn’t pertain to his findings in any way so he didn’t feel like he needed to keep track of it. He’d rather listen anyway. He was only shaken out of it when he heard Theo direct his voice at him now.
“Careful!” Theo was laughing as he rushed over to quickly snatch the vial that was teetering dangerously on the edge of the desk. “What was that about, Sunshine? You’re usually so careful about that stuff. You okay?” He was kneeling in front of the other now, peering up into his face to check on him.
Ghost felt his cheeks heat up rapidly and he straightened up in his seat, not realizing he had slumped down in it. “I-I’m fine. Thank you.” He cleared his throat and looked away quickly, avoiding Theo’s eyes. He heard the other chuckle, his face getting hotter and dammit that feeling in his chest again. It felt like his heart was flutt-
Realization hit him hard.
And it made him tense up so quickly that it startled Theo who was quick to reach his hands up and rest them against Ghost’s shoulders.
“Ghost?”
Instead of answering, Ghost merely looked at Theo and let out a slow breath as he tried to steady himself before leaning in to press his lips against Theo’s gently. He got a noise of surprise in return, hands slipping up to cup his face. Drawing back slightly, he gave him a small smile. “I’m fine.”
Looking dazed, Theo just nodded slowly and one thumb swiped against Ghost’s cheek slowly. “R-right. Um, okay. Cool.” He cleared his throat and let his hands fall to rest on Ghost’s lap. “Want me to continue telling you about everything still orrrrr?”
“Ah, yes. You were on a tangent about a...bird?” Ghost turned to grab his pen and journal again but paused, turning his head to look at Theo again. “Why was that bird dive bombing you?”
“Uhhhg, damn thing was after my food!” Theo threw his hands up in the air and leaned back to sit on the floor in front of Ghost as he went right back into his ranting.
Ghost ended up not writing anything else down for the night.