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Late. How can he be freaking late? Ah right. A cat in his wheel well, a freak accident on the tunnel, and on the other side, the morning rush. So there he is, sweating despite the cold winds, briefly greeting dispatch before running towards the briefing room. Will he have a seat? He planned to take the seat next to her, but at this point, he’ll be thankful if he gets a seat on the back corner behind the towering heads of his peers. “Tch.”
Finally arriving at the door, he takes a deep breath in. Here goes nothing. Levi bursts in, nods at Shadis, looking displeased by the whiteboard. But the instructor says nothing, only pauses as he finds a seat… a seat is offered.
She removes her red scarf and the flight bag placed on it. He sends questioning looks at her, and she simply nudges her head, her jet-black hair waving towards the leather chair. He mutters his thanks as he sits. Then to his surprise, a cup of coffee is placed where her manual has been on the large desk they are sharing. He wants to ask some more about this, but her attention is back on the whiteboard as Shadis continues his lecture regarding human factors and crew resource management.
Levi grabs the cup, and feeling a post-it note on the other side; he turns it: You’re Late!
He lets out a smirk and glances at her, breathing in the aroma of dark coffee he will usually have. Did she know he likes his coffee dark? Her lips ever curve slightly up, but her shiny dark gem of eyes smiles further. “Tch. Brat.”
The lecture drones on for the next four hours. It’s a relief to hear the words, “See you tomorrow,” from Shadis. Levi checks his watch, twelve twenty. No wonder everyone just scrams out right after.
Now his seatmate is about to do the same. He needs to say something if he wants to have that proper conversation he’s been postponing for the past couple of weeks. It’s all the butterfly’s fault. Had it not been flapping crazily inside his stomach, then perhaps he could utter some decent word out. Never mind that, as usual, he’ll try again today.
“Thanks.” He manages to croak. That went out smooth… he guesses.
“Mhmm. No prob.” She’s gathering her materials on the table and organizing them, “I can send you the notes later this evening.”
He started packing his notes, “Hn. You have a flight this afternoon?”
“Nope. Want to hang?”
Levi’s head snaps towards her, but her eyes are trained on the manuals she’s stuffing neatly inside her bag. But there’s no mistaking it; she just asked him to hang out. What’s the best way to hang out? He finds himself scrambling for options as he takes out his phone, fingers almost trembling as he swipes through. “Sure. It’s cold, but the weather’s nice out. There’s a free plane from one to five. Do you want to fly to Stohess and grab a bite?”
She stands straight and faces him squarely, adjusting her scarf, “I’ll be PIC on the way back.”
“Sounds good.”
“Freaking smooth.” Both of them instantly looked back. There are still two people right in the back corner. Hange’s biting their lips, but their shoulders shake uncontrollably from laughter. Mike is smirking—his cheek against his hand—leaning forward, he speaks again, “About time, man.”