Work Text:
Alec watched as Ellie grabbed her bag from her desk, he longed for his licence to drive, after his operation. Lifts home with Ellie, were interesting to say the least, the constant talking, the crumbs of snacks on the car seat and that god awful music she made him listen to.
‘Why are you looking at me like that?’ Ellie was certain he was staying late just to wind her up, she missed the days when a 5 o’clock finish meant 5pm and not 6.15pm. The man had no friends, so worked constantly, she usually wouldn’t care until she became a taxi service.
‘I’m just wondering what shite is going to be playing, on our drive home this evening.’
‘I’m many things Hardy, but I’m not a radio DJ for the local station. You’ll have to bloody wait and see.’ Her response, triggered an eye roll in response from her impatient boss.
As they reached the lift, Ellie looked at the two flights of stairs. If it wasn’t for his dodgy heart, she have challenged him to a race down them. He would have declined and called her something along the lines of ‘childish’ but god it was worth it. Every now and then she saw this fun element to him, a rare moment that nearly always wasn’t inside the station.
‘It’s always bloody cold in this lift Miller.’ He said as he pushed the button for the ground floor.
‘Yes I know, the air conditioning is always on. It’s a glitch.’ Before she could tell him to stop moaning, the lift made a sharp noise and abruptly stopped. Alec looked concerned, but Ellie didn’t have the same expression.
‘This bloody lift. Twice I’ve been stuck here. It’s a nightmare, no doubt a nightmare that will be even worse, now I’m stuck with you.’
‘Christ sake Miller, if it’s dodgy, we should have walked down the stairs.’ He was shaking his head, in a way that made her unbelievably angry. It was one of those pet hates she had developed, ever since he began doing it.
‘Oh so it’s my fault that the lift broke. Typical, bloody typical you would blame me for that.’ Ellie leant back against the wall, and slid into a seating position, her head facing the other way. She pulled her phone about, only to be greeted with more disappointment.
‘No signal?’
‘Of course I have no signal... twat.’ She was more than aware that they sounded like an old married couple. For one, she didn’t care. And two, you’d have to pay her good money to marry him. Alec decided to sit next to her, both of them leaning against the wall. No silence was uncomfortable anymore, they’d been through too much for anything to be uncomfortable.
‘So what are you having for tea?’ Alec didn’t care, but it was easy conversation.
‘Why can’t you cook?’
‘No Miller. I’m just making conversation.’
‘Beans on toast, at this rate.’ She checked her watch. Now 6.30pm, she’d been stuck with him at work for a very long ten hours. Soon to be eleven. She was subconsciously drumming her fingers on the lift floor, out of complete impatience.
‘Stop doing that.’
‘No.’ And with that she started drumming even faster. The only sound interrupting her, was the sound of the lift fixing itself. Their eyes locked and Ellie shot out a smile. Alec, less impressed and just standing up as it started moving. He reached out a hand, as if to help her up. She took it, reluctantly. Relieved when the doors opened to expose the car park.
‘If that was a romance film, we would have spent all night in there.... and kissed at the end.’ Ellie said, as they fastened their seatbelts in her car.
‘Shut up Millah.’ He looked so done with her shit, if her job wasn’t to wind him up, she probably would have been more supportive. Instead she turned on the sweet sound of the spice girls, and watched how his head ended up in his hands.
‘Another day at the office Hardy.... another day at the office.’