Chapter Text
It was night. Gears woke up with a hand on his shoulder.
“Iceberg, how did you come here? The door is locked.”
Iceberg chuckled:
“I have my ways, Gears, you know that.”
Gears got up. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to fix it. Iceberg smiled:
“No need. Come, let’s sit awhile. Do you have coffee?”
And Gears made them coffee. Iceberg was tapping his fingers on the wooden table. He hummed a song along. Gears never really knew that song, but he wanted to hum along too. He knew that Iceberg wouldn’t mind. Soon enough, they were making up a random melody. Not too harmonic, but Gears found comfort in that.
Pouring coffee in the mugs, one of them being the one Iceberg got for Gears a year ago, Gears sat down.
“Sorry that I woke you up.”
“It’s fine, I don’t mind.”
Iceberg complimented his coffee. Gears told him that he could make it anytime for Iceberg.
“Would you like to eat lunch out sometime, Gears?”
“I can clear out my schedule, that’s a yes from me.”
“If you drive, that’s a yes from me too.”
Iceberg started tapping his fingers on the table once again, humming that melody. Gears tapped his fingers too, no matter how unusual it was to him. Their fingers touched often, the different kind of cold sending chills down Gears’ spine. But Gears liked that. He felt something familiar in that.
Iceberg was aware of time, Gears was not. Gears was also unaware of how heavy his eyelids had become. He put his head on his hand, slowly closing his eyes on the table.
“The work must have been tiring you out, Gears.”
“It does. I’m sorry.”
“No need, Gears. See you tomorrow. Sleep in your bed or your back will hurt in the morning.”
He held Gears’ arm as he went to bed. He gave him a soft kiss on his forehead. It gave Gears goosebumps. He fell asleep.
In the morning, Gears thought that he had seen an odd dream. He didn’t give it much thought, how could he? He was about to be late to work. He skipped breakfast, went to work, dealt with his hell of paperwork. He skipped lunch too, wanting to finish his work early and sleep.
He went to his quarters once he was done. He decided to eat something, maybe some leftovers. He entered his kitchen and found two coffee cups on his table: one full, one empty. He just pressed some sandwich bread down his throat, chewing the minimal amount. He got to his bed, closing his eyes and forcing himself to sleep.
It was a few hours of sleep when Gears woke up with a hand brushing his cheek.
“Are you sleeping, Gears?”
Gears got up:
“It isn’t important. Welcome, Iceberg.”
“Nice to see you again. I’m sorry that I didn’t wash the cups yesterday night.”
“It’s fine. I’ll handle it sometime. I really apologise about the lunch yesterday. I forgot everything.”
“It’s alright, Gears… It just concerns me how you ignore your health. Come, let’s cook something for you.”
And they went to the kitchen.
“Are you hungry too, Iceberg? I think you didn’t eat because I didn’t either.”
Iceberg just nodded. They cooked some eggs and put them on plates. Sitting down, they chatted and ate.
“I’m glad you finished your work early, at least. You have more time to sleep. I still feel guilty for disturbing you, though.”
“You aren’t disturbing me, Iceberg. Your visits are actually… warm, in a way. Not in a literal way, of course, but I think you understand.”
Iceberg smiled. He finished his eggs and complimented Gears. He washed his plate and put it back in the cupboard. Gears was too tired for his. He left the empty plate on the table. He felt his eyes close once again.
“Come, Gears, come… What about dinner tomorrow night, after work?”
“Surely. I can finish my work early. 9 pm, is it?”
“Parking lot, next to your car.”
Iceberg took Gears to bed again. He gave him a kiss on the cheek as Gears closed his eyes. Goosebumps again. Diving into dreams.
The next day, Gears was late to work. He skipped breakfast once again, running to his office. He rushed and compensated it by completing extra work. He managed to finish it by 9 pm. He was on the way to his quarters when he remembered his rendezvous. He ran to the parking lot and found Iceberg standing next to the car.
“I apologise, I almost forgot…”
“It’s fine, Gears. You remembered it and you are here.”
Gears held the door open for Iceberg, then got to the driver’s seat. They went to a calm diner. Gears got them a good table. He ordered them both some burgers. Iceberg liked the idea.
They chatted about work, chatted about their colleagues, laughed about stuff.
Once they finished, Gears asked for the bill. The waiter said that he could wrap up the unfinished food for Gears to take home. Gears said that there was no need, for there wasn’t any significant thing left except a few bread crumbles. He paid a good tip and drove Iceberg to the site.
Iceberg walked Gears to his quarters.
“Good night, Gears. Sleep well, alright?”
“You too, Iceberg. It was a good night.”
“It surely was. Thank you.”
And he went. Gears got in the bed, not even bothering to remove his clothes. He had an undisrupted sleep until morning.
In the morning, he had a memory of another weird dream. At least, he felt energetic. And he was not late to work. He went into the kitchen and found two plates on the table: one empty, one with eggs.
He got out of his quarters, walking through corridors and knocking on Iceberg’s door. Nothing. He checked his watch and saw that it was two hours before work hours. He didn’t want to disturb Iceberg. He walked alone to his office, starting his paperwork. Iceberg came right on time, sitting down and starting his work. Gears took a short break, getting them both some coffee, putting Iceberg's on his table.
Assistants came and went, carrying more and more paperwork. They often looked at the duo, shooting weird glances. Gears found it funny how even the assistants couldn’t believe the amount of paperwork Iceberg and he had been handling. At some point, Bright entered with a bunch of files in his hands. He looked at them both, eyes with worry, turned to Gears:
“Man, are you alright?”
“I surely am. Thank you for your concern.”
And Gears slightly took it as a challenge to finish everything that day. He was close to finishing when Glass entered the room.
“Hello doctor, pleasurable to see you here. As a guess, I’d say you are bringing more files?”
“Not really, Gears. I just require you for a little while. As a routine check-up.”
“Can we do it tomorrow? My schedule-”
“Gears, this is beyond my control. O5 specially asked for this. You interest them, you know, they follow your everything, so…”
Gears nodded and got up. He could finish the rest later. He took Iceberg’s mug in his hand and turned to Glass:
“Before we go, can I grab some coffee for Iceberg?”
Glass looked at him and the mug. He opened his mouth slowly, taking his time before choosing his words:
“Well, Gears… He can get some for himself. Don’t worry, alright?”
Gears nodded and put the mug back on Iceberg’s table:
“Iceberg, I’ll be back after this is done. If it takes long, don’t wait for me. I can do my work tomorrow. Just finish yours.”
He then turned to Glass, nodded, followed him to his office.
“Sit down comfortably, Gears.”
Gears did so.
“So… well… Dr. Bright let me know that he saw some oddities in your office. Many others did.”
“I reckon that you are talking about the ever-growing pile of paperwork. You needn’t worry, for we are handling that, me and Iceberg.”
Glass scratched the back of his neck, looking down:
“Yeah… that’s the thing. You seem to be a lot stressed lately. And it may cause some-”
“I am perfectly fine, doctor, thank you for your concern.”
“Gears-”
“In fact, if you are worried about my lack of socialisation, I have went to dinner with Iceberg yesterday evening. It was pleasurable. As you see, doctor, I am perfectly-”
“Gears, Iceberg is gone.”
“Where? I have seen him just ten minutes ago.”
“Gears, no… Not like that.”
Gears thought for a while. If Iceberg was assigned to another project, they would have told him. If he managed to take his evening off, he could have done that in the morning or the afternoon. It didn’t make sense.
And Glass had to swallow multiple times, because he was the psychiatrist and if he cried, who could be calm? If he couldn’t handle this, who could?
“I am afraid I do not comprehend, doctor.”
Glass sat down next to him. He put his hand on Gears’ shoulder:
“Gears, man, Charles, look. This happens sometimes, alright? This happens and it is an occasional, though an unhealthy stress response.”
Gears listened with a calm expression, hoping to understand what was going on.
“Sometimes, Charles, some people do not process losses. They cannot grieve in normal ways. Their minds do not really accept some stuff. When this happens, they refuse the… happenings. Is it clear for now?”
Gears nodded.
“Charles… We have noticed that you still fill a cup of coffee for Iceberg. He is gone. I am so sorry. It’s been a year, man. I am really, really sorry.”
Gears didn’t react.
“Gone, man, gone…”
And Glass couldn’t hold himself. He started crying. Gears patted his back and calmed him down.
“It’s alright, Glass. I had a chat with him last night. And the night before.”
Glass sobbed harder.
“Gears, Gears, Gears… Those weren’t real, man. I am sorry. Your mind created hallucinations of him.”
And Gears understood.